10 Things I Love About Rhaegan!

From the day Rhaegan came into our lives we have been thankful that we were blessed with such a sweet little girl. She of course has her moments but always finds a way of melting our hearts and helping us remember everything we love about her. There are definitely more than 10 things I love about her but the blog would go on forever so I had to narrow it down a little bit.

1. She has the biggest blue eyes and knows how to work them in her favor. They can hold such big emotions and when she cries they produce the best "crocodile tears" (as my dad use to call mine).

2. She loves to read! Her day begins with books and ends with books. Before she even starts to think about going outside with her friends she has to flip through at least 30 books. What an adorable little nerd.
3. She is so polite and kind to others. Of course we have to remind her to say "please" and "thank you" for time to time but they are a big part of her vocabulary.

4.She has so many great friends. She loves to play outside with all of them and enjoys trying new games that they make up each day. She has a love for Spiderman and Power Rangers because 99% of her friends are boys. We could say "she's one of the guys."

5. She helps out around the house all the time. Her new favorite chore is cleaning the toilets and folding the laundry. She always wants to help and tries so hard to do a good job.

6. She loves to swim (just like her mom). Whenever I mention the words "pool" or "swimming" she immediately runs to find her suit and sunscreen. She's my little fish.

7. She loves going to church and nursery (surprisingly). It took us about 1 year to get her to stay in nursery but now that she's comfortable she asks for it daily and loves to comfort those kids who are upset when their parents leave.

8. She loves animals. She's not afraid to pet them, hug them, eat their food, whatever it takes to get near them she will do. She especially loves dogs and hopefully one day we will have one of our own.

9. Her prayers are so sweet. My eyes fill with tears every time she says one. She loves to bless the food even when we're not sitting down to eat and always, without fail, blesses President Monson. She really helps bring the spirit into our home.

10. She loves to try new things. Her current favorite activity is doing puzzles. She wants to take them everywhere and loves to do them for all of our friends.

There are so many more things that I love about Rhaegan. Maybe this blog will be a "to be continued....." blog. We'll see.

Beauty Queen in the Making

My little Miss Rhaegan decided one day that she was old enough to start wearing makeup. I don't have any makeup besides mascara so that is what was going to have to do. She found it, opened it, and applied it. Doesn't it look beautiful? She came walking out of my bathroom and was so proud of herself that instead of getting mad I thought what a perfect photo opportunity. There is a picture of me at her age with makeup all over my face so it must be genetic.
You will still sometimes find her in my bathroom looking for the mascara but luckily I found a great hiding place for it. Now it's on to the deodorant. She is definitely becoming a girly girl.

Annual Ward Campout

Last weekend was our ward's annual camp out and Shae and I decided (pretty much at the last minute) we would try out the whole camping thing with Rhaegan for the first time. I was a little bit nervous because when I don't get enough sleep the next day is pretty much the day from you know where. I really thought Rhaegan would enjoy an exciting new adventure and so I told myself "one night won't kill me." Well...we didn't sleep but it was a lot of fun. Our tent was on a major slope so we kept ending up at the bottom of the tent on top of each other. It was also really cold and I hadn't prepared our family for the drastic weather change. Rhaegan was layer is all the clothes I had brought for her. It all turned out okay and we survived and what's even more amazing is so did Rhaegan. I think we might just try camping again some day. Rhaegan loved the tents. It was like her own little fortress.

Breakfast the next morning was prepared by the bishopric and while they were making the bacon the smoke started to fill the lodge and off went the alarms. It was so loud as you can see from the above photo.
We put together a friendly game of volleyball which turned out to be a blast. I don't even remember who won.
Rhaegan discovered the fire pit right by our tent and enjoyed throwing rocks into it and then fishing them out, ashes and all.

X Game Contestant

Watch out X Games, we have a new contestant entering the four wheeling competition. Her name is Rhaegan Taylor and she will be riding with a little man known to most as Dennis the Menace.

Rhaegan was a little nervous to get on the four wheeler but once she got a little taste of how exciting it was she didn't want to get off. Her friend "Dennis" loves giving the neighborhood kids a ride on the back and went nice a slow for our little girl. They look like a young teenage couple off on a date or to the Prom. Thanks for the great ride, "Dennis."

Strawberry Days

Two weeks ago Pleasant Grove celebrated their annual "Strawberry Days." There was everything from the rodeo to a big carnival with a bunch of fun rides. One of the days was "Huckfinn Day." They took a big park and transformed it into a place where kids of all ages could participate is some really fun activities. There were pony rides, bean bags tosses, face painting, fishing (for real fish), big blowup bounce houses and much much more. Rhaegan of course loved the pony rides and enjoyed watching her friends do all the other games.

Rhaegan was a pro at riding the ponies. She was having so much fun and didn't even have to be held. She's a natural.
Of course there were lollipops and plenty of other delicious treats for the kids to enjoy.
At the end we decided to try a little face painting. Rhaegan did so well. She told the girl what she wanted and then sat super still while she painted it on her face.
Here is the finished product.

Sun Valley II

Here are so more adorable pictures from our fun trip to Sun Valley, ID. ENJOY!!

Rhaegan and her cousin, Hailey, had so much fun ice skating together. Hailey was so amazing with all the little ones. Rhaegan loved her.
I know the lighting is bad in this picture but I had to capture the "hairdos" on camera. Look at Rhaegan...what a ham!
The whole family (except Shae's oldest brother Darin and is wife Mary and son Seth). The background is my favorite part.

Triple Axel

No, it wasn't exactly a triple axel but Rhaegan did impress us with how much she enjoyed ice skating. The ice rink in Sun Valley is amazing. Being able to skate outside in 80 degree weather is pretty exciting. Shae of course had to hold her hands the whole time but really enjoyed watching Rhaegan learn something new.