the possibilities are endless: Countdown to Taylor: 10 days to go

My oldest son has been serving a LDS mission since July 28, 2010 and that means we have NOT SEEN him since then. We have stayed in touch with weekly letters and a handful of phone calls. I am unable to articulate how EXCITED I am to see him!!!! In preparation I am writing and sharing some favorite photos and stories of him. (Hey I am a scrapbooker)

As the oldes Tay has always been the experimental child, we try things out on him. Luckily he has turned out ok... One wacky tradition I started was when you turned nine you could get your very own pet, one that lives in a cage. At the time I thought it was a good idea, because I really believe that caring for pets provides rich learning experineces for kids. Well I still believe that, but clearly did not know what I was getting myself into. For Taylor's ninth birthday (pictured above) he got a box turtle from a local pet store (with a good reputation). We read up on how to care for this turtle, named Cutie, and felt adequately prepared for this venture. Throughout the summer Tay enjoyed playing with his turtle, carrying Cutie around the yard, setting up a play pen, feeding her, and just watching Cutie move around. Things were jolly until November when I suggested he get Cutie out and feed her. (you are NOT supposed to do this in Utah because the box turtles hibernate) Well a few days later Taylor comes running to find me and says, "Mommy Cutie has grown super big, almost gigantic." I followed him to his room to see Cutie, she was completely bloated and swollen and no longer alive. I felt AWFUL!! I did not know that she was already hibernating, I thought she couldn't start until December. So needless to say we had a burial and a very sad nine-year old boy. And guess what I had to look forward to?? FOUR more birthday pets!!!

Even before Taylor got Cutie as a pet he has always loved animals. He would set up his toy animals in a Lion King style formation and play with them for hours. We would check out books about animals and some of his favorite picture books are animal stories.