Pictures of Wisconsin

The reason for us going to Wisconsin was that Patrick's sister, Angie, married her sweetheart, Rodney, on May 21, 2008. Now all three Taylor "kids" are married. Their wedding was lovely. Bishop Wilson of the West Allis II Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints performed the ceremony.


Bridesmaid (Sara) and groomsman (Ray) the other fourth (including the parents) of the growing Ray Taylor Jr. clan. I love this picture. I think they look just great! They were married last year, June 30th (I think). That was our excuse for taking the trip back last summer. I love such happy excuses.

Mom and Dad Taylor . . . soon to be Grandma and Grandpa Taylor. This is at the dinner just after the wedding.
Um . . . clearly this isn't part of the wedding festivities. No, it's me at my parents' farm (The Funnny Farm) riding one of the latest tools/toys-- a very speedy lawnmower. Someday my kids will groan when they complain about mowing grandma and grandpa's yard and I tell them it used to take us 8-10 hours to complete the whole thing. But it's true. Happily, the new mower does the job in a fraction of the time. Patrick and I mowed while we played, but if you look behind me in the picture, it's obviously not a good mowing job.

Patrick on the other latest tool/toy. Farmer Pat. I think the best thing about this tractor is that it is BRIGHT orange. I enjoyed the lawnmower more, but my dad and Patrick bonded over the much heftier tractor.
This isn't in order and I'm too lazy to fix it. But this is me at my baby shower. Mom Taylor threw me one in Wisconsin while we were home. Patrick got to watch at this one and he said he was grateful that showers are thrown because they're so helpful, but he's glad they get thrown for women. I'm grateful for them too, but there is this fine balance of showing appreciation for the gifts while not boring all the guests to death which I am not sure I ever reach. Plus, no one talked while I opened the gifts. Talk about pressure to entertain. *Gulp* Still, it was the first time I got to see Sara, Sandy, Grandma, and Mary during this trip and it was the first time ever I got to meet the fiancees Katie and Rachel as well as Sandy's twins Conner and Aidan. And I'm finally learning Grandma's sisters names-- after several meetings.

Patrick with baby Connor. Patrick first met the twins when he was back in Wisconsin for his Grandma Taylor's funeral. This was before we had had the ultrasound. Their cuteness convinced him that it would be okay to have a boy. (Which is good given the circumstances.)


Future Grandpa Taylor with one very limp, very contented little baby. I just loved this. The kid looked like he was melting.

We visited Nathaniel at work. He works at a gigantic theater. We refrained from the ice cream, which I think is impressive considering that it looked stinking amazing! However, we did get a picture before we headed out for lunch at the mall. Our other excursions included hiking with my mom (should have gotten a picture of that-- boy, is it beautiful in Wisconsin!) and going to the exhibit Body World at the museum. It was fascinating and I would recommend it. My favorite part was the prenatal exhibit because it was amazing to compare what I saw with what I feel happening to me.

Back at the farm. Mama and llama. Llamas are funny looking creatures no matter how you slice it but these ones had just been sheared. However, her two babies (which she raised from birth) are amazingly friendly. I think this one is named Abinadi-- that or Liahona. When she was trying to think of names for them originally, Patrick recommended Llamoni which I thought was hilarious, but it apparently didn't make the cut.

And that's a bit of Wisconsin. It was fantastic. Now we're back to life here. It's still pretty exciting though. On Memorial Day, Patrick and I celebrated our two year anniversary. Besides the fact that I was sick, it was a fantastic day. We relaxed and spent time together, and we also got things done. It was a really nice balance.

On Tuesday, I went for a blood test to make sure I don't have gestational diabetes. The nurse called me yesterday to tell me that I'm low on iron and should take an iron supplement besides the prenatal vitamin. That's interesting because that happened to my mom when she was pregnant with me. The nurse calling made us a little nervous, but low iron is something we can fix and perhaps it will help me feel healthier sooner.

Today marks 100 days until our due date. It's crazy to think that we'll be spending Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas (and every holiday after that) with a little munchkin in our lives. Only three more months before he arrives. That's weird. Sadly, we still aren't doing so well in the name department. Conan (the Barbarian) and Jebediah Obadiah Zephaniah Taylor III are the best we've come up with so far. Okay, that's not true, but we do have some work to do on that front.

Tomorrow is Patrick's birthday. He's going to be 24 years old which he notes is his mid-twenties. (I'm still early twenties for a while yet-- ha!) We will, of course, have pizza (from Papa Murphy's we've decided) and we will have a cake. I will make it if I am feeling better. Also, Patrick will open his presents. One of them is slightly dangerous (particularly in his hands), so beware!

Wisconsin

We're here in Wisconsin for the week to attend Patrick's sister's wedding. Angie is getting married tomorrow. We are staying the week at his parents' house. Right now Patrick and his mom are playing on the Wii, the dog (Sassy Pants) is sleeping on the couch, and Dad is in his bedroom.

We arrived in Chicago on Saturday, and my parents came to get us with their baby goat, Obadiah. We arrived at Patrick's parents house and had a delicious dinner with both sets of parents. Afterwards I went to WDO (Waukesha Deaf Organization) with my mom. Everyone there was so kind-- they clapped for me as I walked into the room with my mom. I felt embarrassed that I can't communicate better; I haven't taken a signing class for about a year, perhaps a year and a half. I need to practice more because I don't want to forget what I've learned in the all the semesters I took classes at school.

On Sunday, we attended sacrament meeting at the West Allis II Ward. Afterwards Patrick's mom threw a baby shower for us. It was mostly a family event. We got all sorts of cute outfits. I realized I'm a big fan of babyoveralls-- they are SO cute. We also got a bunch of other bigger gifts like a car seat and high chair and baby monitor. Plus, Patrick's parents already got us a crib. It's fun to be getting ready for the big event. It's only about 100 days until his arrival, which is a very, very crazy thought. After the shower, we had a barbecue at the house. Parick's brother, Ray, cooked hamburgers, which were delicious, as he told us himself. In the evening, Patrick, his mom, and his dad, and I went for a walk. It was a beautiful evening and it was nice to get some exercise.

On Monday, we spent the day with my mom. We went hiking in a beautiful area nearby where my parents live. We rode the four wheeler some and visited my mom's friendly llamas and goats. We also visited my brother at the cinema he works at and then went to lunch at the mall. It was such a nice, relaxed day with my mom. When we got back, we went to a bachelorette party for Angie at Olive Garden. I had a salad and chocolate gelatto. I'd never tried gelatto before, but it was very good. I'm fairly certain that the waiter and the whole restaurant was thoroughly scandalized by the event. Bachelorette parties might be better held at somebody's home, unless the purpose is to embarrass the bride . . . which, in this family, is an important aspect of the marital preparations, so the tradition probably won't change.

Now, Tuesday, Patrick and I had a relaxed morning and then went to Marquette for a tour. Patrick is thinking about attending their part-time MBA program. It was a nice campus and the woman we spoke to at the business school was helpful and friendly. This afternoon, we'll spend the day here relaxing and running some errands. In the evening, we have the rehearsal and then the rehearsal dinner for Angie's wedding. We're invited because Patrick is an usher.

Then tomorrow is the wedding. Thursday we'll spend the day with my parents. Friday we don't have plans during the day, but we're having a game night in the evening, Saturday is the open house, Sunday we'll go to church with my parents at Kettle Moraine Ward, and then we'll head back to Utah.

Probably the next post will be pictures and we'll have plenty of them. Oh, Wisconsin is beautiful! Both the state and all the family here. We're having a great time, and we'll have to adjust to life with work and school again when we return.

Our Summer Schedule

Well, we've started to get into a routine with me working thirty hours a week and Patrick working in the afternoon instead of having to get up at 3:30 in the morning as well as going to school.

So, we get up at 6:00 am now. While Patrick showers, I toast waffles for us to eat for breakfast. We trippled a batch and made them using Pattie's waffle iron. I also throw together some snacks for us to eat while we're on campus. When Patrick gets done showering, we eat breakfast together. Then I go take a quick shower and try not to use up all of Bethany's hot water. After we're both ready, we go for a walk around the neighborhood. It's always pretty much the same route-- to the park and walking around the park if we have enough time. Then we come back and head up to campus. I have a parking pass to park at the Maxwell Institute so we get to park right on campus, which is so great!

Patrick goes to class and I either read a book waiting for my building to open since we get there before 8:00 am or I go to the library and wait for the Interlibrary Loan office to open up. I have already finished The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan. At first I didn't love it, but by the end I thought I'd probably like to read more of her work. It turned out to be a good story.

Anyway, Patrick goes to class at the Tanner Building and I start work around 8:00 am. He gets a three hour break between classes in which he does homework, gets his hair cut, makes phone calls, deposits checks, and other useful things like that. Then he has class. His early class is personal finance, which he likes, and his later class is economics, which he doesn't like very much. At 2:00, Patrick comes to my office (where I have been posting articles, proofreading, source checking, and other fun editing things like that) and picks me up to go home.

At home, we eat lunch and usually play backgammon. Then Patrick tries to get to work around 3:00. He's there until around 7:00 and gets home at 7:30. While he's gone I try to straighten up, I read, and I do projects that I've been wanting to do for some time. We save dinners for when Patrick gets home so we end up eating kind of late these days, but it's nice to have him there with us. We still have a couple hours now before we go to bed, so we play a game or relax and then go to bed around 9:30 or so. This schedule is working pretty well for us, so it's a nice change from the exhaustion of the past two years. (No matter how much sleep you actually get, when you wake up at 3:30 in the morning, you are always tired.) That's all for now. Off to work!