Happy Birthday Rhonda!

Today Rhonda turns a year older.  I don't know exactly how old Rhonda is but she is WAY older than me.  She is a grandma!  You'd never know it though because she just keeps going and going.  She raises puppies and ride bikes and keeps busy with her grandkids.  Rhonda has always been sweet and lovely.  I remember watching her get ready for her dates by combing her beautiful long locks and then taking a small strand from the front on both sides and clipping it in the back.  It was quite a stylin look!  She also had the best smile with sparkling white teeth.

When she wasn't busy with boys she would be found practicing her drill team routines in front of the big glass window in the family room.  Lots of head flipping and hand slapping on one's thighs could be enjoyed by one and all.

Remember when some boy flipped her bra strap and got beat up by Brian for doing so?  Good times, good times!

I am thankful for Rhonda and her kind heartedness.  I hope she has a great birthday.

PS a belated post about Awesome Eric soon to come!!!

Happy Birthday Marie

Marie in the middle 

Something I would like to do here on KGC blend is feature our relatives during the month of their birthday.  In the month of December there are 3 K/G offspring who celebrate their birthday.  Today is Marie's birthday!!!  Aren't we all glad there is a Marie in our family?  She is one of the nicest sisters one can have.  I remember growing up with Marie she was always happy to have you hang out in her room.  She had a great collection of stuffed mice and a large red standing stuffed poodle that I really wanted for my own.  It was one of those monstrous carnival prizes that make a child's heart beat faster.  I think it may have received some damage from my trying to ride it like a horse.  Marie never got upset.

Marie is the sister I like to call when I have parenting questions.  Her kids are all turning out so great that I know she must have all the answers.  In fact I called her this past week before she left for Mexico and asked her about what to do with an angry disrespectful teenager.  Do you know what her sage advice was?  Not to argue with them.  That will be really hard for this feisty Whatcott but I will give it a try.

I asked Marie what was new in her life and this was her report:
Trisha had her fifth baby on Thanksgiving day!  She had a boy and named him Dillin Scott.  It was her easiest delivery and I hear she is already thinking about having another one.  Go Trisha!  Trisha and her husband Brandon recently bought a plot of land to build on just a short distance (like a block or two) away from Lisa and Doug in Spanish Fork.  Won't that be fun for them?

I spoke with Randy for a quick moment and he told me how much he loves the Whatcott trait of "getting things done."  He assured me that Whatcott's were not all bad and I was like "what?!  I thought Whatcotts were practically perfect in every way.  That's what my Dad always taught me.  Anyways I hope Marie has a wonderful birthday this year.  We all know she deserves it.  Please leave a comment with a favorite Marie memory.

A Family of Zombies

This "Dead Bride" idea is fast becoming a nationwide family favorite! This is a picture of Megan Vogel in her costume for the Halloween concert of ZYSO (Zion Youth Symphony Orchestra). The cello was drug on stage behind her (like a disembodied limb). She's now 15,... so we're glad to know the flies and maggots MIGHT keep the boys away a little while longer. -ha!

The Sclafanis-A Look Back

 Last October the Taggs enjoyed a visit with this happy couple.

 We ate and laughed and marveled at all the sisterly similarities we posses.  

Shauna worked her creative magic on some Halloween costumes for my kiddos.  Here is some of her handywork:  

Dead bride (Audrey) and Cinderella (Eliza)

I believe you've already met Elvis/Drew.  

Shauna found this great jacket at the thrift store for me. 

 I never knew Shauna liked to be tickled so much.  It tickled me to see her so happy.

Dawn Visits DC

The Johnson's Are in the House

Hey Everyone!!! I just want to give a thanks to Kelly for starting this blog. I think it is a great idea even though everybody does not always post.

Erin Hill's Bling

Elivs is in the Building

My youngest boy Andrew has very few inhibitions.  I am not used to this in a middle school student.  It's like he has no self conscious side.  This characteristic is admired by his mother and makes his older brothers uncomfortable for him.  But it sure is entertaining!

This morning he is proving this once again with his whole hearted-desire to go to his new middle school dressed up as the King.

The King is not as full of himself as you might think.  Here is was spotted loading the dishes.

The King made his own bed and ate a humble meal of Rice Krispies for breakfast.

The King obediently wore his rubber bands on his braces this morning claiming that "Elvis is nothing without his band(s)!"

Oh thank the heavens for this child!  He cracks me up!  And he has promised to tell everyone who bedazzled his thrift-store pleather jacket with this awesome star....

"His Mama!"

"Thank you very much!"

PS: The engagement ring in the last post is Marcy Whatcott's

Guess that engagement ring!

Thanks for playing 'guess that baby' with me.  You must have all been scratching your heads on that one eh?  That cute sleepy guy is none other than April Whatcott Kimball's baby Thomas.  I hear he had a fussy night last night so let's hope things get better soon.  We all know how tough being a new mom can be!

Speaking of new events, I am aware of two recent engagements in our family.  Here is a ring for you to shield your eyes from and then take a guess at who's ring it is.  There's no prize for the winner but just sheer pride in the fact that you know who's getting married to who in the family.  Maybe I could get Dad to part with a can of bacon from the basement for the winner if you guess it right.  I do have some pull there...

Now here's the sparkly ring.

"I've always wanted a sparkly of my very own"

                                                                     Jeremy, Secret of NIMH

Now for how to guess:  Click on the word "comments" 

and type your answer in the box.  

Then hit return...

Guess That Baby!

One of the more recent additions to Keith and Gwen's long list of great grandchildren 

Costume Discussion

In our household we LOVE Halloween.  I actually start talking about possible costumes over a month early.  I know, call me crazy, because kids change their minds so much about what they want to be so I should probably not open my big mouth yet.  But if you want great costumes (and you have 5 kids) you gotta give it more than a week to think about (in my humble opinion).  Ebay is one of our favorite places to costume shop and the good ones go first, so we like to get a jump on things.

So yesterday afternoon I was having a casual chat with Audrey (age 7) while she colored with sidewalk chalk.  Eliza (3 yrs) listened in.  Eliza and I have already had conversations about her costume.  At one point she and I had decided it would be fun to go as Miss Nelson and Viola Swamp.  I would love to dress up like Viola Swamp.  I even have a great swampy voice I can do for her.  However, surprisingly Eliza was vying for the role of Ms Swamp.  I guess I could go as Miss Nelson.  It's much less fun though.  I gotta say my hat is off to Eliza for wanting to branch out into such a deep character at the tender age of three.  In the end we thought re-cycling an excellent Cinderella costume for her this year would be the final answer (for now).

So my conversation with Audrey was also surprising.  I wonder sometimes if she isn't growing up a bit too fast.  That happens when you are surrounded by older siblings I suppose.  Or maybe I am just screwing up as a mother.  That could also be the case.  It turns out that my 7 year old teenager wants to be something "dead."  When I suggested a pretty harmless mummy perhaps she said "no like a dead cheerleader or a dead bride or something"  We started kidding around a bit and I suggested we take one of her old costumes like the gypsy from last year and just add our skeleton hands and call it a dead gypsy.  Or perhaps we could invent dead Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.  Of coarse I was kidding.  People would think we are nuts (we are).  Then the funniest of things happened.  Eliza who had been taking this all in got up and came over to me.  She put her cute little face right in mine and whispered "are you sinking what I'm sinking?"  I confessed I didn't know what she was 'sinking.'  Then she said with a serious tone "dead Cinderella!"

I could have died from laughter.

A Late Update

It's late and I have no time to do a proper post but here's a quick update.  Congratulations to Roland!  The awesome brother who took the M & M challenge and posted first.  Way to go Roland.  I am thrilled to be sending you your extra large bag of M & Ms.

So what is new in our family?  Not much.  Troy just went to the store for milk at 9:45 pm.  He was home all day with me and no where in there did we find time to go get some milk.  He was exhausted but he still went.  What a guy.  Why did he have a day off you ask?  After all he didn't go to dental school where you can pick and choose your schedule right?  He's a busy Neuro Opthamologist.  But he does take days off from time to time to "sharpen his saw."  Anyone read 7 habits of highly effective people by Steven R Covey?  He talks about taking a day off to recoup and sharpen yourself up so you can 'cut' more productively the next day.  He ran ten miles today as well preparing for his marathon in October.  So I am not sure if you could have called today restful for him.  He's beat!  Another interesting (gross) tidbit... he just went downstairs and found a glob of corn chips held together with melted cheese in our hobby room.  We like to enforce the 'no eating outside the kitchen' rule at our house.  Someone must have taken those cheese chips "to go."  Must have been the infamous 'not me.'  He does everything around here.  I hate that guy!

Well with that I will close this post and add a picture of my beautiful girls at the beach last August.  Have a wonderful day!

Kelly

HEY YOU GUYS!!!!!!

Well,

Since Kelly Baby took the time to set this up and since I Love Kelly, I thought I'd blog even though I hate it! I thought about just stealing some stuff from my families blog, but I'm the king there here I'm just an indian, so I'll just write a short post, post some pics and take home the prize thanks Kelly BABBBBBBY!

I've gone to a 3 day work week and I have to say that I have mostly wasted the extra time but, I have fished more, gone on more family vacations, gone boating more, seen more grandkids, taught both boys to wakeboard this summer, and generally played a lot. Unfortunately my finacial picture has gotten worse but, with my carreer I am glad to still have a job and money in the bank, in case I don't have a job next month.

So here are a few pics of my family, that should tell of some of the time I have spent playing over this last 2 years working 3 days a week.

Looks like the number of pics you can post is limited so, this is all you get for this blog!

Roland

I am a Child of God

Hey family!

It's Kelly again wondering where all of you are out there.  No posts from anyone but me so far.  I know I sent out nearly 40 invites and many of you know how to post.  Perhaps I did the invite thing wrong and maybe I will try again.  But in the mean time here is a video of my sons playing a duet on their violins.  You may recognize the tune.  Drew is my younger son playing the main tune and he has been taking violin for just about a year with his current teacher.  She is fabulous and he has made great strides with her.  He did have some lessons before in Iowa but that teacher wasn't as great.  Nathan has been taking for going on 7 years now and wanted me to let you know that is NOT the hardest thing he knows how to play.  It might just be the sweetest thing to my ears though... 

I think that if you have interest in contributing to KGC blend maybe I will have to give some instructions, and possibly some incentive....I believe you need a google account and have to set one up (with a password) if you don't have that yet.  If you already have a blog through blogger like Marie, Rhonda, Roland and myself then you already have an account.  If not get someone to help you set up an account.  

To create a post, first go to the KGC Blend webiste (the one you're looking at now if you are reading this) you have to click on the orange and white B up in the top left corner. (It's the blogger logo) If you are viewing the website that is where it always is.  After clicking there you should see another blue tab to click that says "new post."  It will then take you to the title slot.  Choose a title for your entry, click in the writing space below (or type the 'tab' button on your keyboard and it will take you there) and start writing.  When you are finished click the orange tab that says "publish post" at the bottom left-hand corner and you are finished!  So easy.  I would be happy to walk any of you through the process on the phone if you like.  My number is 301-570-1157.  

Now for some incentive.  I will mail the first author (besides me) an extra extra large bag of peanut M & Ms as soon as possible.  You won't believe how much better the M & M's taste when they come from Maryland.  Good luck!  

Calling all Family

Hello!  Here is a new blog I have set up for all of us to contribute to.  Similar to the family letters that Mom (Grandma Gwen) used to organize and send out to us all, this will be a way for the internet to help us keep in touch.  Many of us have our individual blogs but now there will be a central location for us to read up about one and all.  I have been thinking of doing this for a long time but haven't sat down to do it yet.

Reading an essay by Megan Vogel has inspired me to start this blog today.  It gave me new insight into who this niece of mine is who I rarely see but now know a bit better.  You can write updates or have your kids write here.  You can copy their creative work if it's awesome (or even if it's not) and post it here for all of us to relish.  You should also know that only the authors, as in those I have invited to be authors, can read this blog.  It is not open to all the world.  If you or one of your kids want to be added to the author's list just send their email to me at nttagg@gmail.com and I will send them an invitation.  As it stands now I have sent invites to all Keith and Gwen's kids, their spouses, and the grandkids who are on the family stats list.  If it needs updating, and I sent emails to the wrong address, then please let me know this as well.

I have had so much fun learning about extended family through blogging.  Rhonda's, Roland's and Diane's kids all have interesting blogs that I will be glad to post links to here on the sidebar (computer lingo for the side for you newbies).  All you need to do is click the links and check in on them if you have the desire.  So far I have set up family blogs on the side bar that are open public blogs.  I can take them off or add more as you wish.  Just let me know, I completely understand if someone doesn't want their blog on the side bar of this family blog.

Now without further rambling here is Megan's essay.  She had to write this for her English class.  It was her "I am Sarah" assignment but was supposed to be about herself.  I particularly enjoyed the part about the feet...

(I will be posting instructions on how to post in the next day or two for those who are confused as to what to do next)

I am Megan and I am extensive. Capturing the essence of who I am would take a lifetime of work, a mountain of paper, and the work ethic of a beaver on steroids. I am confusing and confused. I am something that I doubt even I could explain. I am Megan and I am an enigma.

I am Megan and I detest feet. Feet are one of the few things that push me towards violence. Feet are disgusting. Bony feet, flat feet, stinky feet, dry feet, calloused feet, and particularly big, ugly feet always seem to be in my space. I don’t even like my own feet. I am Megan and you had best keep your feet away from me.

 I am Megan and I am bubbly! Mix that with some hyperactivity and a bit of ADD, and you will get a big pot of me. This is me within the chaos of my comfort zone. I talk too loud, and I think too little. I am driven by emotion rather than logic. I am Megan and I am a highly reactive substance.

 I am Megan and I am the laziest overachiever you will ever find. I do math problems by hand, because I’m too lazy to stand up and get my calculator. I procrastinate, complain, rationalize, excuse and wing my way through life on a whim. I then get mad at myself when at 11:00 at night I’m still working on my "I am Sarah..." paper. I am Megan and I am sleep deprived.

 I am Megan and I am an artist. I am an author and my writing can give me a voice where often my voice fails. I am a musician and my music can convey any emotion. I am the rain dancer, the sun-shiner, and the puddle-jumper. I am strange, I am different, and I am Megan.