B's First Band Concert

B playing her Saxophone.


Aunty Deb, B, and her friend that is in the band with her.


Uncle Paul conducting the band.


B getting ready to go on stage for her first concert. (She did say she had a few butterflies in her tummy before she went on stage!)


Me and Luke waiting for the show to "get on the road"!


Nanny, Dad, Alex, and Papa came to see the concert as well.

B has been been playing the Saxophone and the piano this year. She started with school started in August. She amazes me with her musical ability. She played so well and we were all proud of her. It was exciting to see her play with the band as well. They all did a great job!

My Birthday

My birthday party this year was a surprise dinner with family and friends at Chili's! It was a lot of fun and I got a lot of really nice stuff.

The gang together for dinner.


Kev & Kids got me some workout gear and an awesome watch that monitors your heart rate and counts your calories while you're working out. It's way cool and I love all the stuff I got from everyone.


Kevin's mom and sister collaborated with my mom to get some pictures of me and Sara. They picked this one and got this frame for it. We all cried when I opened it. It was a very thoughtful gift. I very much appreciated it, as I was really missing Sara, especially on my birthday.

Lots of updating..Alex Tae Kwon Do Tournament

Tae Kwon Do Tournament 2009


Alex getting ready to being his "form"


Practicing with the mouth guard; getting ready to spar


Alex sparring. He did SO good. He placed 2nd in this category and got a Silver medal! This was his first Tae Kwon Do tournament. He was a bit nervous to participate, but with some encouragement from dad, he did it. We are so proud of him and he continues to learn and improve with each class. It was a great accomplishment for him!

It's time..

Aaron Michael Taylor June 11, 1971 - December 25, 2007

Tomorrow is the day we are making a donation to The Road Home Homeless Shelter on my brother Aaron's behalf. Thanks to everyone who has donated items, it is going to be a LARGE donation. I have been so impressed with how much people are willing to give, if the opportunity is given.

I wanted to write a few things down that I learned about Aaron, after he passed away.
1. He was selfless. If he had a little bit of money, he would go into the Subway, buy a foot-long sandwich and find one of his friends to share it with. Even though he was usually hungry enough to eat the whole thing himself, he knew that many others like him wouldn't even get half of a sandwich to eat.
2. He was a protector. We talked with one of the older ladies that worked at the Subway. She told us that if she was ever working late, he was always there at the end of her shift to sit outside with her until her ride came. So she didn't have to sit outside by herself. He watched out for her and made sure she was safe.
3. Although he was homeless, he was still my brother. I love him and I miss him very much. His death was tragic and incomprehensible. I do not understand how one human being can treat another so terribly.
4. I know that Aaron is in a much better place. I feel that he is at peace. I know he is watching over us as we give back a little bit, the same way he did.

I have pondered a lot about making this donation. I hope that we can offer a little bit of comfort to people that have nothing. We have been so very blessed. We are grateful for the opportunity to help others.

I know that Aaron is proud of me. I am honored to make this donation on his behalf. I know that he is happy because I can hear him laughing.

Service for someone else.

This is my brother Aaron. He was homeless.



On Christmas Day this year, it will be 2 years since he has passed away.

Our family is putting together a Service Project for Christmas and we would love your help.

Many homeless people don't have warm jackets, socks, or blankets to give them some sort of comfort during the winter.

I know I often wonder how we can help, even if it feels small and insignificant. Well, if we all work together, we can make a big difference.

We are collecting coats, blankets, and new packages of socks. Any size, any color, anything is appreciated. We will collect the items and then we will take the donation and make it on behalf of my brother Aaron. (If you would like to go with us when we take the donation - sometime in December - we would love to have you come!)

If you are willing to donate, you can drop it off at my house or shoot me an email (nmturner50@hotmail.com) and I will come and pick it up.

Tis' the season to lighten someone else's burden.

Thank you in advance for your help.

****If you would like to donate in the Phoenix Area, please email me and I'll get you my mom's information. We are getting such a good response after only one day, we decided to make this a family tradition. My family is collecting is Arizona and we are collecting in Utah. ****

If you would still like to donate, and you cannot get us your donation, please just take your donation to your local homeless shelter. Please remember that EVERY homeless person is loved and wanted. They are someone's child, sibling, family.

Halloween 2009

Happy Halloween 2009!



This is Luke's BumbleBee mask. Not sure if he's in there or not, but I found this picture on my camera and I thought it was way cool!


Luke-BumbleBee, Alex-Optimus, Addy- Punk Pirate, B - Mix-n-Match, Noah - Whoopie Cushion. Great friends+ Candy+ Costumes= One Fun Night!!


Our carved pumpkins. Not too spectacular, but fun nonetheless! B's is up at the top, then Alex's, then Luke's. They all sketched out what they wanted and dad helped carve them.


My kiddos. Anticipating Halloween night!


Luke got to go with Kev to the parade at the kids school. He was pretty excited to wear his costume. He's sitting with some of his friends, waiting for the fun to start!


I don't know what the title of B's costume is...so I called her the Mix-n-Match. Tattoo sleeves, Orange shirt, and striped hair. (I hope it doesn't stick!)


Optimus Alex in the parade.


So I should get "Mom of the Year" award for this. We went out trick-or-treating and were going along having a great time. I looked at Luke's feet, as we were making our way down the last street on our way home. I couldn't figure out why he was walking so weird. Then I saw his shoes. The wrong feet. Awesome! I was really on top of things that night!!


We had so much fun on Halloween day. I met some of my friends on Lehi Main St and we did some trick-or-treating along the store fronts. Apparently this is a yearly tradition. It's the first time we've gone. It was fun. Maybe we'll make it one of our traditions. Then it was home for a bit. I made Taco Soup (which was so yummy!!) and our friends, the Allen's, came over. After filling up on dinner, we got the kids costumes on and out we went. My kids are crazy. They RAN from house to house. I could barely keep up! We got to our friends house - he's a fireman, and she's a police officer. I was saying to Rob and Simone that we should have the kids say, "my back cops, my back"! (It's a line from a movie!) Next thing I know, I can hear Luke saying it up at the door. I laughed so hard. Between the shoes on the wrong feet and that, we had a few good laughs. What a great night!!

Luke Turns "4"

My baby turned "4" on October 19th. What a fun day!! We did a lot that day. I was able to take the day off. Me and Kev took Luke to lunch, then we had a small friend party at the house. We played a crazy wild game of "Duck, Duck, Goose", and "Pin the nose on the Clown". We had dinosaur cupcakes and lots of fun toys!


Blowing out his cupcake with all this friends!


He got a new Tranformer, which he LOVES!


Luke and his friends.



THEN...it was off to the Skating Rink for some wild skating, more cake, and even more presents!


Uncle Wade, Aunt Julie and cousin Violet gave Luke this Hulk. Luke danced to it all night and is still playing with it! What a great gift. It does the "Hulky Polky"!!



Uncle Rob, Aunt Simone, and the Allen kids gave Luke this BumbleBee. It was fitting..since he was going to be BumbleBee for Halloween!



This is one of my most favorite pictures! Luke had been asking for the Wolverine Claw for ages. We kept telling him he may get it for his birthday. He was SO excited to open his bag and find this little beaut in the bag. I think it made his night.

He also got a new Spider Man bike from Aunty Deb and Uncle Paul and Nanny and Papa. He rides it almost everyday and he's getting very good at riding.

Happy Birthday my sweet boy. The last 4 years have gone by more quickly than I'd like. We love you!