Second Half of 2011 In Review

So I am a slacker. A major major slacker. I would like to think I have been spending my time doing more important things than blogging- but who are we kidding? I am just a slacker. So I am going to wrap up 2011 in a "best of" post, concise and to the point of the defining moments of second half of the last year. Maybe this year I can start fresh in 2012 (only one month late). So here goes it goes- wish me luck, and feel free to stop reading at any time.

June: 
Family Vacation to Yosemite National Park in California:

Danny and Owen

The family in front of a really large tree (its late and I can't remember the name of it)

A few quick things about the trip:
-This was the first time our whole family has been together since Danny and I got married (Stephen was on his mission, and everyone lives in different parts of the country). It was so fun to see how everyone interacted!
-Russell wrote a show called "The Taylor Bunch" (the exact script of a Brady Bunch episode) and we all acted it out which was not only an amazing feat but incredibly humorous.

Also in June: I got called as the ward Young Women President and Danny left for his internship in Chile.

July: 
Girls Camp near the "City of Rocks" in Idaho. There are only three Young Women in the ward so we had just as many leaders as girls but we had such a good time. I love that the girls view us not only as leaders but as friends. We made crafts, braided strings into each others hair, made fires, hiked, and of course went "snipe hunting." One night I stayed up late with the girls and played Truth or Dare. We had so much fun, one of the girls made me eat a tablespoon of mustard though and I about lost it!

Hiking at the City of Rocks

Braiding Each others hair

Also in June, Danny was gone all month doing an internship for the LDS Church in Santiago, Chile. He really enjoyed the work he did there and he especially enjoyed the people he worked with. He got to see a bunch of really cool places and things but my favorite part of the whole thing was when he came home on July 30th!

August:
My goal in August was to cram an entire summers worth of activities into one month (since Danny was in school or gone for the rest of the summer). We spent a lot of time visiting family and enjoying being in the same country. We also went to Florida with our good friends Chad, Tiani, Melinda, Tony, and Cam. These are some of the funnest people to be with. We went snorkeling in Key Largo, went to Universal Studios/Harry Potter World (dream come true), and spent a relaxing day on the beach. 

Snorkeling in Key Largo 

Eating at a seafood shack on the beach

Drinking butterbeer at "The Three Broomsticks" in Harry Potter World

Hogwarts

September: 
September meant back to school, and more importantly for Danny, back to soccer! This month was full of getting back into the swing of things with school, work, sports, and church. It was nice be back to normal life.

October: 
Ever since we got married (and when we were engaged) I have wanted to dress up like Lucy and Ricky Ricardo for Halloween because, lets by honest, this is kind of our life (except Danny isn't musical). Unfortunately Danny's regional soccer tournament is always the weekend of Halloween. So this year my friend Karie and I planned a Halloween Party on Monday so I would have an excuse to dress up. 

(we didn't really get a good picture)

November:
This month was full of trials for the Taylor family.
On November 9th my little one-year-old niece, Sadie, was diagnosed with Leukemia. She is the happiest little girl in the world and it was really heart wrenching to see this trial in her life at such a young age. Two days later my sister Julianne delivered a little baby boy, Zachary. He was born born healthy and without too much difficulty, but about 8 hours after he was born he started having trouble breathing and was rushed to another hospital. To make a long story short, his lung collapsed and he came fairly close to not making it. My sister was in one hospital and her newborn son was in the NICU in another.

As I was in Utah waiting every moment to hear news of how my family members were doing many times I felt helpless. I wish I could be there for them, carry the burden, or help in any way I could. (one lives in California, the other in Washington DC)
All I could do was pray that they would be comforted and that Heavenly Father would watch over them. As Thanksgiving came closer I felt like I should take the opportunity of having a few days off of work to help in whatever way I could. So I flew out to Washington DC for a few days to watch Zach's older sister and help drive Julianne to and from the hospital to visit her son. I was so grateful for this opportunity to spend time with my sister who I rarely see, and (hopefully) I helped lighten her load a little. There is nothing like a few trials to really make you grateful for everything that you have. This really made Thanksgiving even more meaningful for me.

Update: Zach was in the hospital for almost a month but has made a full recovery and is doing great! Sadie began chemo therapy right away, she is responding very well and things are looking very good for her.

December:
Always a favorite of mine, this month of December. I love that the snow is still exciting, that school is ending for Danny, and that it is Christmas time. Sadly, this December was a little less cheery than usual because it was foreshadowing by Danny leaving for another internship at the beginning of January. I tried to suck every last morsel out of the time we had together (pretty sure Danny got sick of me) but it sure didn't seem like enough. We spent the month with family and friends, the usual Christmas parties and seeing people we don't usually get to see.

The annual roommate Christmas party

Alright thanks for hanging in there. I will make a valiant effort to do better in 2012