On tadpole fishing and kiddos

After that lovely plane flight extravaganza on Saturday night,

I finally made it to Hawaii.

There is a video that shows the greeting I received, and someday I'll show it to you.

It will be worth your two minutes, I promise.

As my aunt and I watched it, we just smiled and she said, "pure happiness".

It's true. I could not be more happy to be here.

I hang out all day with the oldest princess (age 6),

the little prince (age 3),

and my twin and comrade (age 4).

My first night here, the adults went out to dinner and left the kids. 

By adults, I mean the married people. 

Until I reach that point I'm pretty sure I'm kind of like half an adult.

but regardless, I watched the kids.

Honestly, it wasn't even that I watched them...

I played with them. 

There were no tears, no fights, no drama.

I'm all about the no drama.

So the adults left and we played in high volume squeals and giggles for 15 minutes, 

then we, naturally, needed to go catch tadpoles from the pond. 

6 kiddos+me+outdoors+perfect Hawaiian weather+pajamas=bliss

I sat there and thought over and over of how lucky I am to be here.

To have a family to love, who loves me back.

Extended and immediate.

...and if you don't love kids like I do, try.

You can learn a lot from them.

And if you love them, normally they love you back.

No questions asked. 

Taylor Ann

On what could have been a long, long night.

Have you ever missed a flight?
It feels horrible.
I had never missed a flight, and always secretly prided myself in the fact that I would never.
I pay more attention to detail than that.
I never kid myself into thinking I can make it through security in a half hour...
I make sure I'm close to the gate long before boarding time...
So I was safe from that panicked feeling of missing a flight.... right?
Not.

I woke up just as the flight attendant was announcing connecting flights.
The one to Kahului, Maui was just a few gates over... 69A.
So I got off the plane and scrolled down the screen until I saw Kahului.
There it was, 69A, and the time was changed to 7pm.
Oh good, I thought, just an extra twenty minutes wait. No big thing.
I proceeded to get something to eat.

At 6:40 I hopped in line, but when I got to the front something was wrong.
It wasn't my flight. My flight was different from the connecting flight they announced.
And 6:39 was my original takeoff time, so my plane had just left me behind.
No no no no no no.
Thats all you can think when something like that happens.
As if somehow that's going to make it less real.
The next flight wasn't until 9:30 the next morning. 
I called my mom. I called my aunt. I called my dad, brother, and little sister.
I called everyone I could think of that lives in the greater LA area.
I even posted on my Facebook in case there was anyone I missed.
Nobody answered, and nobody responded. 
So I sat there for a solid hour or more, nobody knowing where I was,
and me not knowing if I would be spending the night alone in a cold airport.
Then I thought of a friend who was going to graduate school in LA, and I was pretty sure term had started a few weeks ago.
So I called. Brilliant. Best decision ever.
She picked me up from the airport and I tagged along with her for the night.
At the end of the night we got caught up talking about life until wee hours of the morning,
and slept like rocks for 3 hours or so.
3 hours in a bed with blankets beats all night on chairs alone any day.

I thought about it a little as we talked, and as I prayed in gratitude that night.
I am so grateful for that experience.
I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to spend some time with someone
who I wouldn't have otherwise had the chance to.
After all, she was just an employee in the office where I volunteered...
it would have been an easy friendship to pass by.
So next time you think it's not worth it to make friends with people in your classes,
or put your headphones in instead of have a conversation with that receptionist...
think again.
Life happens all too quickly, and sometimes you might need a friend.
Let's be real, too often we are in need of a friend.
If you're like me,
you may need a miracle to keep you from spending a miserable night on the floor.
I'm not saying I'm perfect at these things,
but I'm grateful I did it ok at least once.
It made for a splendid night and an even more splendid friendship.




So if you were overly curious about the details of my last plane flight adventure,
there you have it.

Love you forever,
Taylor Ann

A claw-foot tub.

Ok, my parents moved into a new house recently and it's awesome.
I call it Mama's dream.. she literally planned every detail of every room.
One of my current favorites is my bathroom.
claw-foot tub,
gold and silver scroll-y detailing,
black and white checkered floors.
claw-foot tub.

claw-foot tub. oh did I already say that?








A little sugar scrub, hot water, and twenty five minutes of silence never hurt anyone.
Just saying.


And anything, anything Sabon.... I'm in love.
Taylor

In the heart of a good book, sometimes you feel...

"Now and then, I lie awake thinking I might like to have someone courting me. But it would have to be someone who is a square shooter and who has a train load of courage. And it would have to be someone who doesn't have to talk down to folks to feel good, or to tell a person they are worthless if they just made a mistake. And he'd have to be not too thin. Why, I remember hugging Ernest was like wrapping your arms around a fence post, and I love Ernest, but I want a man who can hold me down in a wind. Maybe he'd have to be pretty stubborn. I don't have any use for a man that isn't stubborn. Likely a stubborn fellow will stay with you through thick and thin and a spineless one will take off, or let his heart wander."

-Sarah Prine
These Is My Words

i think she had it about right.

A good ole Cenote adventure.

Our family has always loved Mexico.
There's a certain charm about it, and something in the air.
The hot, humid, sultry air.

There has always been an itch for Mexico that we couldn't shake.
I can't speak for us all, but for me it's the language,
the colorful buildings and intricate tiles,
the connection to culture,
the excitement of the unexplored,
the food. fajitas, tacos, guacamole, fruit.
the history, the townsquares, the cathedrals.
the little people with brown eyes.

After Chichen Itza, which I suppose will have to be a post in and of itself,
we went to a Cenote [pronounced see-no-tay] and walked the streets of the nearest town.
Rewind. cenote. we walked in and were just blown away at how beautiful it was.
[oh and also the lack of restrictions which would have been EVERYWHERE had this been the US]
Most of the people that came on the bus with us were just standing around the edges,
but that didn't pacify us Veaters near enough- Zane jumped in almost immediately.
Brooke, Dad, and I followed.
Jess stayed on the edge with mom and husband as a good pregger should.
Zane proceeded to jump off the ledge halfway up, and we cheered shamelessly.
Then came time for us all to jump, though we weren't sure where from.
The highest spot ended up to be our destined point of departure.









We ended up making quite a scene, the four of us- shouting across the way to the others and such.
Brooke had people cheering and taking pictures. What a stud of a 13 year-old, right?
We then proceeded to have  a nice lunch in town and eat at a charming little restaurant.
My family was goofy and slightly irreverent- all in good humor and Veater fashion.
[And yes, my hair looked like that for the entirety of the trip in case you were wondering.]

Yay for Mexico.

Taylor Ann

Hello Cancun

Spring term is over.
Which means finals are over.
Which means business law is OVER.
Which means I went home to Coarsegold for a week.
Which means I got to spend time with the preggers before she leaves for Boston.
Which all has made me very happy.
All of which was wonderful.

Now I'm in Mexico.
HOLLA.
And it's even better.

I literally have nothing to do except whatever it is I feel.
Yesterday after a run and good solid workout at a lovely hole-in-the-wall Mexican gym,
I joined my mom and my sister on the beach.
I had a book in my hand [because how could you sit in a chair for hours and do nothing?] and got through only 7 pages.
Then I had the thought- I have the option to literally do nothing right now.
I don't know how long it's been since that has been an option. 

So I did.
I watched the kids play in crystal clear water and enjoyed the breeze.
Then I turned over on my belly and laid there in silence until I fell asleep.

The only bad thing that could happen here is a sunburn.
And let's be real- considering the circumstances, that's not all that bad.


 



Missing you from Mexico...
But probably not.

Taylor Ann

[you want to follow these picturas erryday? feel free to insta-stalk me: smalltowntaylor]

I belong to dreams and stories in my mind

[disclaimer: I have dropped off the face of the earth, I know it. It started with frequent adventures at 1 in the morning, then finals, now home... where I eat tacos and ice cream and lay out with my family instead of blog. judge me, but it's secretly so fun. not secretly if i share it on the internet like this, but whatever. and I started this post about a month ago, and just finished. how people EVER write books is beyond me- i can't finish a dang blog post]

This post is dedicated to Brooke. 
Homegirl is this feisty ball of wonderful,
and that is really a pretty solid overall description.

I remember when I left for college, my mom asked,
"what am I gonna do without you?"
you would think oh... so sweet! but ehhhh mostly it was kind of like a cry for help
The question had nothing to do with my relationship with my mom, we made it just fine when I left.
[or better.. did any of you get closer to your mom when you left for college? I think maybe it's universal...]
It was about my relationship with Brooke.
You see, with lots of personality and sense of humor comes a little...feisty.
I somehow was just the right amount of ridiculous
to get littleone out of those funks that came with the fiesty.
And thus we bonded- me and all my ridiculousness, and Brooke and her sass.

When I was about to leave for college, [and by about... I mean months and months in advance]
and babygirl realized I would not live at home anymore, she moved in.
And by moved in, she slept in my bed every single night for probably 8 months.
When I was out for the night, she would leave notes on my pillow...
and often try to spoon me upon my arrival home.
When I was in for the night,
she would never complain about the lights being on when I needed to be up,
she just cuddled up and went to bed there anyways.

So that's about us. Pretty simply put- we love each other. She's dang cool.
When I came home a few times back, both Jess and I were shocked.
Brooke, who is our baby, was no longer a baby.
She had rounded some kind of invisible corner from little girl to young woman.
Ahhhhghghh. what?!
Little did I know there was more where that came from.
I got asked if she was my little sister the other day
[what?! I have 8 years on her! now I know how it feels, jess...]
aka she is lookin' old these days.
Which I guess kind of makes sense, because she graduated from 8th grade a few weeks back!
Which is the point of this post..... which I haven't gotten to until now.

So, without further ado, I will let you look at pictures...
which will subsequently prove my point about her looking so old.






[lookin like a babe these days, right?]

To my baby girl,
high school is wonderful.
It's a time in life when you honestly can do anything and everything...
and all at the same time.
As with most things in life, it will be what you make it.
And you will get out of it what you put in.
Be kind and be genuine....people will love you as they always have.
If girls pretend like they don't, just be a little sad for them.
For they have sorely missed out on having a friend like you.
But mostly, know there is a big sister in Utah who loves you more than most.
Thanks for being my friend, and loving me unconditionally, sweet girl.
You're gonna be great.

-Tay

Goodbye little brother, no wait... come here!

Little brother is the best.

The absolute, absolute best.

He is funny, and kind, and takes life serious enough... but never too serious.

He graduated high school this last week.

His graduation was filled with robes, gold chains, a speech... the works.

Every little girls eyes are riveted when this boy is around,

and mama's heart brims with pride and joy.

I, for one, am a very proud sister on account of this boy.

And we'll forgive him for not being able to take a serious picture for his life these days,

for such is the life of a seventeen year old boy.

Look out BYU.... he's coming this fall! 

Soooo much quality bonding to be done for he and I.

So many poor girls hearts to capture.

Taylor Ann

The best part of it all

I walked in last night at an ungodly hour.
It was around 3 in the morning...when no person should be awake.
So, naturally, nobody was.

I walked into mom's room to tell her we got home safely and crawled into her bed for a second.
She held my head in one hand, and rubbed my back with the other.
She told me how glad she was that I was home, and I remembered why home is the closest place to heaven.

Then I went and crawled into Brooke's bed to inform her of the same thing.
She wasn't coherent at first, but put her arm around me, as is customary for her to do to whatever object happens to be in her bed...
But when I gently told her again that it was me,
she immediately put both her arms around my neck, and held me tightly until i silently slid away to my own room.

I sat in my room for a while in those early morning hours, just being grateful for all the people I have.
I went out on the balcony and felt the wind on my face,
I teared up in happiness fo being back in the company of people who will love me forever,
Inside and out.
Mistake after mistake.
Imperfect, silly little me.
They don't care.
But you know what the best part is?
When I'm around them I don't care either.

 

Happy to be home again.

 Taylor Ann