double dog dare me...

So once upon a time in my life a long long LONG time ago....I was a dare devil.

Dare me to jump off a 50' cliff....done.
Dare me to climb a really high cell phone tower...done.
Dare me to drive really fast....done. (mom & dad read this blog, therefore I can't state how fast REALLY fast is!)
Dare me to jump into a pool filled with icy water...done.
Dare me to a game of chess...done.
Dare me to rollerblade while holding on to a rope which is attached to the back of a truck...done.
Dare me to play baseball in WalMart...done.
Dare me to dress up like Richard Simmons...done.

Fast forward a few years, a husband, and two kids later and I've been a sad case of a sissy-nin-com-poop-pants.

I'm talkin...
Ten and two.
Speed limit.
Safety goggles.
Full piece swimming suit.
Afraid of heights.
Rollerblades donated to DI (along with Richard Simmons headband and shorty-shorts).

A real, genuine sissy pants.

Anywho, someone may or may not have DOUBLE dog dared me to blog once a week.
All I can say is YOU'RE ON, AMIGO!

(and yes, I feel like I'm a rebel without a cause.)

new family pictures...

how we roll

Yep. We play croquet on our front porch...in our jammies.

Hicktown.

(BIG sigh.....)

Where to start? Holy moley.

I live in a very quaint trailer. Let me explain. It has a big deck, an added on laundry room and master bedroom, rock wall in the part of the front, and when I dropped a bottle of opened baby food today it hit 3 walls. Awesome. I feel a little more hickish now that I live there. I'm not sure if it's more hickish or white-trashish (one and the same right?) For those of you who think I'm complaining, I'm not. It's our home. My stuff is there. Brody has half of a bedroom. The stove works. AND it's temporary, it's temporary, it's temporary, it's temporary, it's temporary- repeating it so many times just makes it sound weird.
Brody is LOVING (emphasis on LOVE) being close to all his cousins and grandparents. He's already had a cousin sleep over. I built them an awesome fort to play in- which consumed the entire living/dining/hall way. Another thing that is nice about such a small space is that it is really easy to clean. However, if one thing is out of place it looks like a tornado had a hay-day.
Dotti is 7 months and could care less where we live. She has been sick and finally snapped out of it yesterday. She is laughing and smiling a ton again. Sick babies are quite stressful and hard on a mother's eyes, complexion, patience, emotions, and sleep patterns...but I actually enjoyed waking up with her and taking the time to rock her to sleep. That is part of what being a mom is all about. Am I right, or am I right? I love it.
What's that you ask?
"Where are the darn pictures?" "What's a post without pictures?"
I'll tell ya...it's this. It's me. It's me just talking and telling you how it is. You have an imagination...use it. :)

Whoa attitude. (refer to the part where I had a sick baby and suffered from lack of sleep.)

I hope to post pictures...emphasis on hope.

love from the trailer park,

Tara

little lady

Doesn't she look so like a little chunk of goodness: She has such little features until her cheeks come along. Little nose, little lips, little ears...and then WHAM...big fluffy, kissable cheeks! I love this little lady.

my life in pictures...

Hi. *awkward silence.
How've ya been. *awkward pause.
Remember me and how I used to be cool and blog and stuff and stuff?
Well, (as I awkwardly look at my feet shuffle back and forth) my excuses pretty much suck so I'm not even going to try.
But, just incase you were wondering...my life went on.

The kids still chilled on "Poppi's" lap. Trace and Brody still wrestled and played football in the park.
I still cuddled my little Dotti cakes. I've been making projects.

I've been feeding her...if you couldn't tell! (Not a fat joke Dot, I promise.)Buzz comes to visit most days... And does a cool "Buzz" dance. Dotti was a fairy for Halloween...
I made some rad shirts for Thanksgiving. Very cute.

Man, I never thought posting could be so awkward. It's almost as bad as going to WalMart in Show Low on a holiday and running into at least 10 old high school pals...and you don't know if you should say hi after you both did the double take look or just pretend you didn't recognize them! Sorry for the awkwardness...

But I know you are all dying to hear my excuses...so here I go:

I thought about preparing for a marathon. I changed a diaper or two. I was busy painting my toes. I had a brain/memory problem and I forgot how to blog. I forgot how to type. I can't figure out Photoshop Elements. I almost threw my computer out the window. I was playing with my kids. I was busy making dinner. I tried, but I just couldn't do it. I ran out of cool things to say. I was watching BYU lose. I was teaching my students how to type. I was driving to work. I was facebooking. I was doing laundry. I was busy trying to do jumping jacks. Perhaps I'm lazy. My house was occupied with family and friends. I couldn't find the answers. My dog ate the computer. The house was too cold and I couldn't find my slippers. I have ADD (and no, not my bra size.) I was teaching Dot how to roll over. I was teaching Brody how to hold still. I was busy bathing the kids. I was busy making lesson plans. Trace took the computer to school. I got a smart phone. I was partying in Las Vegas. My computer chair is not comfortable. Oh, and I happen to be a little busy because we're packing and headed back to Arizona.

The end.

the red headed kid

just to let you know...

yes. i still have brody.

yes. he is my favority red headed boy.

yes. he is a wonderful big brother.

and yes...he is still as crazy as ever.

no. he is NOT neglected. if anything, he gets more attention that anyone i associate with.

we sure do love him. he is a blast...

(i also know that this picture is over-contrasted...but i had to do it so you could see the cool rocket ship, alien, and planets.)

Also, if you look close enough, you will notice that there is a trampoline in the rocketship, per request of my favorite 3 year old red headed boy.

the other dress...

So, I took pictures of Dorothy Kate in HER blessing dress...
yes, she is spoiled and got to wear 2 dresses. (mine and hers.)
But this first picture worries me a little bit.
WHY?? I'll tell you why...
She's only 4 months old and looks VERY mischevious...

She is one cute little gal.

NOTE: I also got a new photoshop elements things and i pretty much suck at it...any body want to give me some lessons. (seriously.)

explosions and events

So there we were...

Dorothy Kate was dress in her new, fluffy, satin, WHITE blessing dress...equiped with a lovely bow I made her and some cute satin shoes. Just a little doll, I tell ya, a little sweet doll. After Trace gets done doing the sweetest blessing I've ever heard he brings her back to me and informs me that the little doll thinks it is time to eat.
So I do my thing and she does hers. A few minutes to a half hour later we are back in church. Luckily my dear dad is there and he, of course, wants to hold the little precious lady of the hour. I do as any good daughter would do and pass her to him.
A few seconds to a minute later I hear a gurgling and a bubbling.

First thought: PLEASE don't get on the dress!! I haven't taken pictures yet.
Second thought: Nice out.
(thoughts may have been simultaneous...or vise versa)

I look over and my dad pulls Dotti away from him and *"stuff" is everywhere.
My dad's shirt....check.
My dad's suit coat....check.
My dad's slacks....check.
The bench....check.
The floor...check.

*I say "stuff" cause I was in church and I'm not allowed to say that other word while attending.

Then a miracle happened. I looked at her dress....and NOTHING. Just a hint of "stuff" on her bloomers. A miracle I tell ya.

THEN: Exit Tara holding the baby as far away from her as possible.
A few seconds later: Exit Jim (Tara's dad) holding a blanket in front of him, covering the ish.

Luckily he had a change of clothes in the truck.

Good story Hansel.

As for other news: I got a job. I am an elementary computer teacher. (no spelling involved) It's lovely. The kids are hilarious. One class brought me cookies but as they were handing it to me one of the little girls whispered, "I wouldn't eat them because ZACK sneezed right into the dough!" Nice...

I accidentally told them that my nick name was T-Lizzle...which was a HUGE mistake.
I told them that "It's MRS. T-Lizzle to you!"
Therefore, my new name around the school is MRS. T-Lizzle.
It's only Part time so I'm not away from my kiddoes TOO much. Just 5 hours. I love it so far. Who knows, maybe the PE teacher will get into a freak gasoline fight accident and then I'll just have to take his spot...

peace out. word to your mother.

MRS. T-Lizzle

the name

A name and a blessing:
Last weekend we headed to Arizona to give this little lady a name and a blessing.
Her name: Dorothy Kate Porter (surprised you didn't know that)
The reason we named her Dorothy: My Nanny (my mom's mother) is one dear, sweet, fiesty, beautiful, strong, loving, wonderful, and amazing woman. She knows how to laugh and she knows how to tease. She knows how to take a joke and she sure can dish one out. Therefore, my little miss Dotti has some big shoes to fill in her own little way.
The reason we named her Kate: Quite frankly, I liked it. But...deeper meaning would be if you take Kenneth (my husband) Trace's initials KT...it kind of sounds like Katie...but I liked Kate better and WHALAH, there you have it. Dorothy Kate Porter.
I believe she is a doll sent straight from heaven.
The dress she is wearing is actually MY dress from 27 years ago. She has her own and it is quite delightful as well. (pictures to come of that...she wasn't in the picture mood this afternoon when I tried.)

I love her. I love her little rolls and dimples. I love that she blows bubbles non-stop and smiles everytime you talk to her. I love that she sits on her Poppi's lap and watches sports.

I love that she is ours.

She is my favorite little girl thus far.