I promised I wouldn't be lazy again and I was. :(

We've been having lots of fun around here lately. Izzy started soccer last weekend and loved it. Elly is rolling all over the place and now she's starting to sit up by herself a little bit. Bryan's been busy with soccer, work, and a new exciting project I'll announce on here soon! And I've been along for the ride; booking some shoots (new photography blog post tomorrow) and enjoying being around my sweet family.

Also recently the 18 days of Taylor have started. While this sounds completely narcissistic it's actually Bryan's fun way to celebrate my birthday. We won't go into why he's doing so much for me but it might involve the words golf trip. ;)

But seriously it's so sweet and the gifts aren't big expensive things (at least I hope not.) so far I've opened some cute sunglasses and some awesome orange shoes I've been coveting from Target. It's just sweet and makes me excited to be thought of everyday for a couple of weeks. Way to go B Ket!

In other news, it was announced yesterday that "Finding Dory" the sequel to "Finding Nemo" will be coming out.... In November 2015. Bummer that it's taking so long but totally worth the wait. And how crazy is this, when it releases Izzy will be 7 and Elly will be 3?! Yet another reminder of how I can't stop my girls from growing up.

Well that's the short version of life as of late. I hope my readers are still out there and enjoying this!

Until next time...

Taylor

I feel like I need to start off by saying that the title of this blog has nothing to do with the content other than it has the word "games" in it, and Bryan and I quote Backstreet songs to each other on the reg. That being said this could quite possibly be my most ridiculous/nerdy post to date. But I think the male readers will thank me for this one.

Ladies, do your men love to play video games? Does it drive you absolutely crazy? Do you dread the release of any new game? You are not alone my friends. 

When Bryan and I started dating he was a 20-year-old college student living with 4 other 20-year-old guys in the not-so-exciting town of Stillwater Oklahoma. If you don't know anything about Stillwater, you're not missing out (aside from some really great people have lived there.) Because OSU was not close to where I lived Bryan and I would mainly see each other on the weekends. I quickly learned that a weekend for college guys were a great excuse to amp up the xbox time. 

I have to admit, I didn't understand how guys could play video games so often and not get bored. That is until I decided to give them a try. We'd play on occasion together and it wasn't too terrible. Fast forward 4 years and the gaming time has significantly decreased but you can never take away that instinct for a guy.

Every year there are two days that I don't look forward to: The release of the NBA 2Kwhatever, and Call of Duty. I know these days mean a few weeks of some extra play time. I've always played games with Bryan here and there, but this year we took it to a whole new level. 

After Bryan waited an eternity, in his mind, for the new Call of Duty game he finally got it on Christmas. I'm not sure if was the lack of sleep from having a newborn or a moment of insanity but I started playing with him and couldn't stop. We made it a semi-nightly routine to play a few games to unwind after the girls went to sleep if we didn't have anything on the DVR. I have to admit, it's been fun. So much fun that we sank to an even lower level and he got me my own gamer tag. If you don't know what a gamer tag is be glad, you don't want to know, much less have one! 

Now Bryan and I still play at night, and I've gotten slightly okay at it. I used to be so annoyed with video games, but now it's a fun, stress-free way for us to decompress, have fun together, and talk about our day. Not something I want to do every single day, but I'm not so repulsed by the release of a new game anymore. 

I think it's really important to have fun in your marriage/relationship and do things that you might not normally do that your partner is interested in. For some people that may be playing video games, watching shows that you're not crazy about (ours was The Ultimate Fighter but now I'm hooked on that!) going shopping, exercising together, cooking, etc. Whatever it is take some time and do it with them even if you'd rather be doing anything else on the face of the planet. It may not become your new favorite hobby, but it's a great and easy way to make your spouse feel special.

What's something that your significant other does that you don't get super excited about? Have you tried to join them in that activity? Did you like it and will you do it again? Sound off in the comments section.

Until next time....

Taylor

Have you ever found something you didn't know you lost? Or maybe something that you didn't know you needed? Both of these happened to us in the last few days, and I bet you have no idea who found the most ridiculous thing... Hint: it wasn't me. 

A couple of weekends ago, in an effort to get rid of some things we no longer need, and to save my sanity, Bryan and I finally cleaned out the coat closet in our living room. I wish I had taken a before and after picture because this thing was a mess! It resembled a mini, not so intense, episode of hoarders. No worries we didn't throw trash in it or lose any animals, it was just a catch-all for all the random things we didn't have a place for. During this adventure we threw away a bunch of stuff that we no longer wear or can't fit into. It was fun to remember when and where we got some of the things, but even better to get rid of stuff that was taking up valuable space. 

During this purge I found something I had no idea I had lost. On my first trip to Vegas 3 years ago I bought a zip-up hoodie that I loved. It was everything a hoodie should be in my book: comfy, simple design, inexpensive, and bonus points for a fun memory connected to it. It was my go to for a long time, until I "lost" it. Honestly I had acquired different jackets, got pregnant, it was too cold, or too hot, and eventually I just didn't know I missed it. That is until we uncovered it from the black hole of the hoarder closet! 

I was so excited when we were going through the piles of random clothes we had in there and it appeared. Of course I couldn't throw it away and have been gladly wearing it regularly since. I must clarify that I did in fact throw a lot of other things away, some were harder than others, but I was much happier with a clean, stress free closet than I will be with any of those clothes I no longer wear. Also, we didn't technically throw the clothes away, we donated them, so no worries peeps we are semi-green.

The second scenario happened around the same time. Bryan and I had gone to lunch one day and I could not find my sunglasses when we got in the car after eating. I figured I left them on the table, but we were in a hurry so I decided not to worry about it. A little back-story on my sunglasses: On our honeymoon I lost my favorite pair of sunglasses in the ocean (which probably negates my previous green statement.) So we went to the mall and I got the same pair. Sadly a few months later Bryan lost them when I asked him to hold on to them at an outdoor event. Since then I've worn the same green pair of lost and found sunglasses that Bryan snagged from his old job. Which might make us green again, right? Well I was convinced this green pair had suffered the inevitable fate of all the other glasses and was lost for good. I had looked everywhere, the diaper bag, my purse, the car, etc. They were gone.

That weekend we went to Target (big spenders right here) and I got a new pair of glasses. They looked pretty much the same just a different color. I'm a huge baby when it comes to being outside with no sunglasses so I was overjoyed to have some new ones! A few days go by and Bryan was looking in another bag I had with me that day to get something and lo and behold the green glasses were in there! I felt pretty dumb for a few seconds, and told Bryan he should take them and wear them. I had no idea about the can of worms I opened.

Bryan wore them for about a day and realized he's really been missing out on sunglasses. The other thing he realized was that he wears glasses more often than contacts so sunglasses weren't exactly fitting for his fashion life. So he started hunting for something that is so ridiculous it should be illegal, and a few days later these were on our doorstep:

I mean really grandpa? Did we need to sink down to this level? I must admit this picture doesn't do them justice. For a great example of how not cool these are click HERE. There are so many things wrong with this I can't even bring myself to write about them, just know I will not be seen in public with these bad boys unless absolutely, life or death, necessary. 

It's funny how we can go so long without something and in an instant decided that we NEED it. What is something you suddenly realized was essential to your life after a long period of time? Share your story in the comment section below!

Until next time....

Taylor

Yesterday marked a momentous day for our family, Bryan started playing in an indoor soccer league and I got to watch him play soccer for the first time ever. It's pretty weird to miss out on something that was such a big part of your spouse's life. Bryan never saw me cheer, act, or sing and I never saw him wrestle, play soccer, and be the most popular person ever. So needless to say it was pretty fun to watch him do something he loves so much. And of course he wants to pass all of that down to the girls. We're hoping to get Izzy into soccer this spring and if she likes it she'll be able to play on a team next season which would be so fun... and cute... and sad because my baby shouldn't be that old. 

I have to admit my knowledge of soccer is less than minimal. I know you need to kick it in the goal, yellow cards are bad, the time keeping is weird, and David Beckham plays. Speaking of Mr. Beckham, I'm pretty convinced that we are well on our way to being the next Beckhams. 

We have a few differences such as: 
- We smile
- We aren't rich, freakishly skinny, or have great hair (Bryan has a great hair, the girls and I have thin, do nothing hair)
- We only have female children
- I am neither Posh nor a style icon
- We don't have sweet English accents
- We've never been a part of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. (Still waiting on that call though, pretty sure it's coming any day)

However we do have some similarities, which include:
- David and Bryan are both incredibly good looking. 
- We like soccer
- We've all lived in America
- Victoria designs clothes, and I wear clothes
- They've probably met the queen, I was homecoming queen in Jr. High....

So as you can see we lead very similar lives. I just hope they're ready for a little competition. In all seriousness though it was really fun to go watch B Ket bring the heat, and I can't wait to see him score even more goals next week! 

Is there something you and your significant other haven't shared that was a big part of your lives pre-marriage? Tell me about it in the comment section!

Taylor

Hey everyone, it's been awhile! A lot's been going on in our lives that's made updating the blog hard the past few days. But take heart I will be back to blogging on the reg by this weekend!

So the other day I was at my parents and I asked my mom what my next blog should be about. She didn't have any suggestions but someone did. Can you guess who? Indeed it was Izzy, she has an opinion on just about everything. She suggested I "write about a picture of me and daddy." A lot of Izzy ideas are a little out there but this one was great! 

So this one's for you Boogie....

First of all I have to give credit to Michelle Meisner for this picture, she's incredible! I feel like it perfectly captures the essence of Bryan and Izzy's relationship. They are literally two peas in a pod. Bryan has that perfect balance of the good cop and bad cop that (usually) goes well with Izzy's very goofy/very sensitive personality. I say usually because while he is a great girl daddy he grew up with only brothers and still doesn't fully understand that sometimes girls are emotional and don't feel like joking. But she quickly forgives him and they're back to being best friends in no time. She is very routine oriented while he is more spontaneous which is great because it helps Izzy get out of her comfort zone and helps Bryan to have a little more structure sometimes. I could go on and on about the characteristics that make them such a great pair. But the bottom line is she thinks he hung the moon so there's not much wrong he can do in her book.

One of my favorite things about them is this:

Izzy goes to daycare at Bryan's work so she rides there with him everyday, which I'm convinced is where she truly learns how to be goofy. She also learns some tough lessons in the car such as how she's way too old to be having accidents and that getting sent to the office at school is not okay. But may favorite lesson that she's been learning since day 1 is how and why to pray. Soon after Elly was born she had a tough time adjusting while at school and so Bryan started praying with her on the way to school. Which now, because school and church are the same building, we have to pray anytime we go to the church no matter the reason. Not a bad problem to have.

I always love hearing about the adventures that they have together, and I hope when she's older she's still just as crazy about him. There's nothing more attractive than my man being a great father.

Sorry to brag on Bryan again, but how can you deny this face?

Thanks for reading; see ya soon!

Taylor