The winner!

So - apparently I had a contest - and forgot to announce the winner and the prize! To recap, here's the picture:
And the winner is: A TIE!

Granelda Thudpucker who submitted: "You put your fork near my plate again...."

AND

Art who submitted: "I got turkey on the plate and on the brain, but who's the turkey with the camera?"

Thank you all and congrats to Granelda and Art! Your prize of a cool new mix CD mastered by Miss Five will be in the mail soon.

So this is Christmas...

I have had a wonderful Christmas this year. The Taylor family is quite traditional and our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day traditions are pretty set in stone...except when one of the four members of our family is serving an LDS Mormon mission . Last year was a little rough as we weren't really sure how to DO Christmas without our boy. But this year we figured it out and, though different, our Christmas Eve and Christmas day have been wonderful!

We had our six Elderos over to enjoy Christmas eve...

Playing dominoes and eating treats

We even had a stop-by of carol singers! They sang a barbershop arrangement of Jingle Bells - so fun!

Then it was time to open presents - all the Elderos got new ties!

Trixie opens some of her wonderful gifts. That scarf isn't just keeping her warm...it's also the perfect accessory to her outfit!

In the picture before this one, Dad was making a really dumb face and it made us all laugh...

And I'm still laughing about it...

Dad and Miss Five - can you tell we're related?! This is just as we were heading out the door this morning in search of eggs. And the Safeway was out of eggs. And the fourth location we tried had the needed eggs.

Merry Christmas!

I'd like to buy the world a Coke....

Live Blogging!

So - it's a for REALS snow day here in Oregon...Taylors lost power - and we all know how Miss Five does without WiFi...

So I'm at work today with my Mom and I know it will be so exciting to read what I'm doing...so I'll keep updating through the day. Maybe minute to minute...you don't know!

10:17 a.m. I'm almost done drying my pant legs by the giant radial heater. I may have 1st degree burns on my legs - the heater is THAT hot. I've finished my egg McMuffin and am enjoying my water while I wait for Mom to give me my first project. Also - there is easily a foot of snow outside. And my Mom used a 7 inch plastic dustpan to "shovel" the walk. You should have seen it.

10:28 a.m. I typed up a label for a shipment to Azerbaijnan and am now working on a new Christmas mix. I have well over 24 hours of Christmas music and I think I'm going to send my mix to the radio station since all they have is "All I Want for Christmas is You" and "Oh Holy Night."

10:30 a.m. The power is allegedly back on at our house - so hooray for PGE! Woo Hoo! I'm hoping we don't need to get a hotel room for the night - even though we packed for it! We might need to get two rooms - one for Dad and Me and then another room for Mom and Kyle.

10:41 a.m. Another of the staff members is coming to work...so I have to move computers. But don't worry - this thrilling blow by blow of the day will keep coming...

12:13 p.m. I've been playing Scrabble online with my friend Matt who is in Russia. It was so fun to chat with him and get totally creamed at Scrabble. I was working really hard to avoid all the bonus squares. SUCCESS!

1:05 p.m. Actually been working for a little bit now - getting file labels typed up for the previous month's orders. And waiting for the delicious lunch to arrive. I'm pretty excited about that...pizza.

2:35 p.m. Lunch is over and now it's back to making more labels for files. During lunch we were notified that the UPS driver was off in a ditch, waiting for a new truck and a tow out of the ditch. The driver also said, "If you want your packages to go out, you'll need to bring them to me. That's what they told me to say!" And we did want those packages to go out - so the packages were delivered to the ditch by the Intrepid Tundra Adventurers. Now I have the radial heater going on my feet...what a day for "working!"

3:28 p.m. I am discovering that my local friends who were traveling away may not be traveling away. Am currently not working and instead trying to figure out how to help them save Christmas.

3:46 p.m. Menu planning...and hoping I get it right...

4:00 p.m. Just one hour of work left! Har har har...

4:26 p.m. Just sent the last of the labels to the printer. Now the trick will be getting them ONTO the files by the time Dad gets here at 5:00 p.m.!

This never happens...

So...here in the NorthWest...they've canceled Christmas. I enjoyed a "snow day" every day last week. School was canceled, programs were canceled, parties were canceled, tennis was canceled. And here's why:

Crazy tons of snow in Beaverton!

The view out the front door...

There's easily over six inches of snow...and we just don't do that here in Oregon.

The view out the back. Wow.

They canceled church today - which means that all those choir rehearsals were in vain. Well - not for me - I don't sing in the choir. I'm just saying...

And thus concludes the weather report.

The pudding...

They say the proof is in the pudding...well...here's our pudding. Last night was the fifth annual Taylor Holiday Home Evening. It was such a ball - even though several families were unable to attend due to the icy roads and dicey weather. This year the Taylors perform "Mamacita, donde esta, Santa Claus?" Please do enjoy...

A few stills...

It's always fun to get glimpse, isn't it? Here are a few pictures from the Holiday Home Evening...Trixie and Miss Five are the mamacitas...and NO, I don't have a lazy eye.

The Elderos are The Beach Boys

Mark...oh...my...word. Isn't he delightful!?

We had amazing performances - Lexi and McKay (and their parents...I KNOW, RIGHT?!) were gangstas

Neutral Mask...by the McDermotts. I always get creeped out by seeing neutral masks smiling... BAAA!

Of course, I have one million pictures from last night - but if you want to see them all - you'll have to stop by and see the slide show...and all the other performances.

Shuffle survey...

This post comes from a survey - where all the answers come from song titles. I put my iTunes library on Shuffle and then each song title was my answer to the question...please do enjoy:

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Traditions of Christmas

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
That Fine Mister

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Olympic Hymn (Him?)

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Jesus, The Very Thought of Thee

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
The Christmas Song

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Woodstock

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Bad

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Bleeps

WHAT IS 2+2?
The Rain in Spain

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Love at Home

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Ebudae

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Gone

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Our Finest Dreams

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
I Don't Need Anything But You

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
I Dance Myself to Sleep

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
The Ballad of Davey Crockett

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Heal Me, I'm Heartsick

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Circle of Friends

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
The Joy You Feel

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Orpheus in the Underworld - Can Can

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Grow for Me

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Metaphors

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Slouching Toward Bethlehem

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Magical Mystery Tour

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Loves Me Like A Rock

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Drown in my Tears

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Lovetown

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Rich and Poor

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Nothing in This World Can Stop Me Worrying 'Bout That Girl

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Feed the Birds

Get on it!

If you haven't been over to Design Mom - you need to head over and get in on her Twelve Days of Christmas giveaways - get clicking and commenting!

Dominate State '08

Saturday night was the Oregon State High School Football Championship game...and I totally went to support Southridge High School - which has a lot of kids from church on the team. And, DUDE...they totally WON. Here are some pictures from the game...

I rode to the game with my doppelganger, Malia.

OH MAN... this guy had the most amazing hat. I've never seen a Naugahyde hat in person...but this was spectacular.

It got quite cold. And yes, I'm wearing pigtails with ribbons in the school colors. I'm also wearing a shirt, a polar fleece vest, a scarf, and a denim jacket all UNDER the wool coat that you see.

This is the moment when we realized it was a done deal - and we were just seconds away from the win.

Final score and the HD jumbo-tron showing the winning team! Way to go Skyhawks!

CAPTION CONTEST...

This picture cracked me up...and so I'm hosting a caption contest. The winner will get something special from Miss Five her ownself! Get commentin' because the contest ends at 10:00 p.m. PST on Sunday, November 30, 2008!

Arts and Crafts...

Part of the Taylor Thanksgiving Feast of 2008 included arts and crafts. Here's what we made:

Elder Tu'itakau (from Tonga) in his pajamas wearing his matching blue turkey

Mark - he's sure excited about HIS turkey

Jordin (who DID make a turkey head-dress) and Trixie sporting her pink turkey. Trixie was all pink yesterday - and sure looked great!

Elder Gray (from Utah) colored his turkey beautifully, but wasn't so safe with his scissors.

JANE Boland in her turkey head-dress. Excellent!

Elder Kavanaugh (from California) got very creative with his turkey - including one wing that was purple and the other that was blue.

The Feast

The Taylor family had quite a departure from our normal Thanksgiving day festivities...we had people OVER! And we had such a wonderful time...check it out!

I am especially proud that we had seats for all 17 people! No one had to sit on a piano bench or on the floor or anything!

We also had matching "service" for everyone. Well, one table was it's own set of china/stemware/silverware...but everything matched, DUDE! Awesome

Featured here: Elder Cook, Jane Boland and the back of Nikki's head. Nikki followed the rules that pajamas were to be worn. But everyone WAS dressed comfortably - and really, that's what matters most, right?

Looking from the dining room into the living room. Featured here is Merrie Boland, then at the next table (left to right) Bobby Boland, Jane Boland's head, Jordin Roth, Elder Cook's head, and Nikki's hair. Mom sat in that empty chair. At the furthest table you can see me and Petie. Josh also sat with us, but had stepped away from the table when this picture was taken.

After dinner, games were played...like "Wash the dishes!!" and "Store the leftovers!" and "Where's the PIE?!" We also had rousing games of Apples to Apples and Dominos. I also tried to box Jonah on the Wii. I was not successful.

I was so delighted by the day - and had so much fun with people that I loved. And I really do love all the people that joined us yesterday. Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to you!

I'm looking forward to this...

Mail order...

Dear Seth -
I know this isn't what you wanted for me - but I had do go with what my heart told me. I surely do love the iPhone - but all I really want is a phone. Just a phone. I have my amazing Touch, for which I am still grateful, and that does all the other jobs I might need. I'll let you know when it arrives - but here is what I am expecting in the mail in just a few days...
Love -
Miss Five

Image via here

AUTISM: The Musical

You should find yourdelf a copy of this documentary - and see it. Even if you've only ever just heard of autism - this is such a beautiful film. Seriously - see it.

SPOOKY!

I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween, full of tricks and treats! We had a wonderful Halloween - with the local zone of missionaries coming over for a night of festive fun!

We set the scene with spooky lights and jack o'lanterns

We had dinner including BBQ ribs and funeral potatoes. Spooky, no?

Trixie and Corky, out on the patio, cooking ribs and enjoying some, too!

And then - the grande finale - the roasted pig arrived. It was awesome! And while you can't get the full scope - we had about eleven companionships of Elders, plus our family and some friends who stopped by. Spooky fun for everyone!

A great tool for the arsenal...

I will soon be adding this super-cool candle carver to my bag of party tricks...

And you can use it on just about anything and how fun would that be for a party?

Visitors...

We had a great time with the Ottley girls visiting us...can't you tell?

Ruthanne gets ready to color...

Abby is ready to make some art

Mom and the girls all went on a walk to see the many leaves that are all around - and brought many beauties back...

They even did their homework while they were here!!

Today we went to the Portland Children's Museum - and made some creations in the ceramics studio

Then the doctor met with some patients

And Doctor Abby gets ready to see her patients...

And in the end - we all went shopping...

The girls are now up in Seattle on the next leg of their journey - and I hope they had as much fun as we did!