Change of Plan...

So I’ve decided to change blogs. If you haven’t heard by now, there is no more Scott and Megan. We have been officially divorced since the end of July. I don’t want to go into detail since this is a public forum but if you have questions about it feel free to email me. I’m not afraid to talk about it. Scottrtaylor1@gmail.com


In an effort to turn over a new leaf and move on, I have started a new blog to replace this one. If you’d like to keep updated on what I’m up to, check out my new blog at www.lifeofaTaylor.blogspot.com.

For those of you that have listened, given advice, a hug, or just cared during this difficult time I sincerely thank you.

Changes... Plus a New Roof

I have been going through some huge changes in my life recently. Some of you have no doubt heard. It has been extremely difficult but I am hanging in there. I have debated on whether of not I would keep this blog and haven't been posting much because of that. I decided for now I would keep it up and maybe switch to a new address sometime in the future.


This last week I had the roof replaced. Johnny (My sister's brother-in-law) needed a car and I needed a roof. I traded him Megan's old Honda Accord that was sitting in my garage for his labor. I bought all the materials and he went to work. The project ended up being much more work than we originally thought. Almost all of the plywood had to be replaced (50 sheets) because it was de-laminated. There was also some rot where there were leaks in the roof. It took a little longer than planned and Johnny got some help from my brother, My dad, his brother (my bro-in-law) and me.

Before the roof was black and had a lot of soft spots. I chose a color I thought would look good with the color of the house. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. (Yes I know my yard need some attention. One thing at a time.)

Tribute to Brindy

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Brindy.

Brindy as a little puppy.

Attacking her little football. She loved to rip the stuffing out of toys like that.

Yogurt cup.

Pinned down.

Striking a pose.

Sit..... stay....

Big Smile!

Brindy loved the snow. She would run with her head down and mouth open so she could eat it.

She also loved the beach.
And water...
And Sticks.
Then she got a new playmate.
And they became best Friends.

Goodbye to Brindy

Friday I went backpacking with my brother and some of his friends. Megan helped her friend move so she took the dogs down to Corvallis for the night. I got home Saturday evening and 15 minutes later, Megan showed up to drop off the dogs before she was going to go help her friend unload the truck.

I heard Brindy barking so I came outside and saw Megan standing in the middle of the street and Brindy lying next to her. I ran out there and grabbed Karma and put her in her crate inside. Then I got a piece of wood to put Brindy on. Some guy (He might be our neighbor across the street) helped me put Brindy on the board and into the back of the Escape. We were both shaking. One of Brindy’s eyes was really red and swollen and she wasn’t really moving or making much noise.

As we drove to the vet, Megan told me that she had treats in her hand and let both dogs out of the crate. (Every other time they are so excited to get home, they run to the front door.) Across the street a girl was running. Brindy saw the runner and bolted out into the street after her. Brindy got hit by a white mini-van. The van pulled over and it had a “student driver” sign on the back. The runner was shaken up and apologizing and the instructor from the van ran out and apologized.

We got to our vet who isn’t very far away. It was closed so I called the number on the door. The message said if it was an emergency to go to the emergency vet clinic in Tualatin. I called to get directions and tell them we were coming. While we were driving, Megan sat in the back seat and petted Brindy. Brindy moved a little and was having some trouble breathing. We pulled up to the emergency vet and as we opened the back of the Escape, they came out with a cart and took Brindy inside.

They took an x-ray and the vet said it didn’t look like there were any broken bones but there was trauma to her head and one of her lungs and her diaphragm didn’t look normal. We said goodnight to her and went home. The vet called several times that night to give us updates. Her brain was swelling so the vet said she didn’t know if Brindy would make it through the night. At 8:45 am the vet called to let us know Brindy was in cardiac arrest and they were doing CPR. They asked if we wanted them to keep trying and Megan said they could stop. The vet said that there was probably too much trauma to the brain and she wasn’t able to control her breathing and heart beat anymore. We picked her up around noon and I buried her in the back yard behind the shed.

It was a tough day. Brindy was my first dog even though she was more Megan’s dog than mine. Before Brindy, I never liked dogs. I was bit by a dog when I was in middle school. She did bark a lot but she was always happy and really loved us. It was so fun how excited she would get when we came home from a trip and she hadn’t seen us in a while. Or when she’d work her way onto our laps and try and get us to pet her. She was 2 and a half years old and she will be greatly missed.

Paint

With the help of family and a friend, we painted the house this weekend. It really needed it and it looks so much better! Here are some before and after pictures. The pictures were taken at a different time of year so you may notice the tree isn't green in the "before" picture and we trimmed the rhododendron in front of the door.

Before

After

It still needs some touch up but we got so much done the last two days. It was very hot so the paint dried quickly. Originally I was going to go with a green color with white trim but the Khaki complements the brick much better and it was free. (My brother-in-law started to use it on his house and he didn't like it. So I got over 10 gallons for free!)

I posted pictures of the green and brown paint options of Facebook and I got an overwhelming response to go with the brown. I was also told to go with a bold color for the front door. So it's red. I think I like it so far.

Brand New Mazda!

Well new to us anyway...

Megan has been looking for a Mazda3 to replace her 1991 Honda Accord. The Honda has over 170,000 miles and has seen better days. After test drives and lots of research, Megan found a good deal on a Mazda at a dealership in Vancouver Washington. We drove up Saturday and bought it.

The new car is a 2009 Mazda3 with less than 7000 miles. It is pre-owned. I guess someone bought it in October of last year and traded it in a few months ago. It's fun to drive and Megan loves it. I was going to try to take a picture of it last night but I was really busy.

The ad is still on Craigslist so I took these pictures from the ad.

Brand New Honda!

We got a brand new Honda to replace our old one. The old one was getting pretty rusty and wasn't running that well. I used the new one today and it was nice!

It's a lawn mower by the way...

The self propel function of the old one didn't work so it was a lot of work to mow the lawn. Now it's a piece of cake.

On the Boat

Saturday we went out with a bunch of friends on Max's boat. There were 12 of us. We went out on the boat last year and I tried wakeboarding. I didn't do so well last year so I didn't try this time. Max went first to show us how it's done. I had my camera and took a few pictures.

Between the flips and the 360's it was a good show. My camera started acting up after that so I didn't get pictures of anyone else. I think it was too hot out there or something.

I put on sunscreen and still got burnt. I think just about everyone got a little burnt. It was a hot day but it was nice to be on the water.

The Oregon Zoo

We went and checked out the farmer's market downtown this morning and then met some friends at the Oregon Zoo. Melody had a pass so we didn't even have to pay.
The weather was amazing!

Zack and Hyrum

Isabella Kissing the rail.

New Tent

I found a good deal on a backpacking tent at the REI Outlet online. So this is our new tent.


We plan on trying it out this summer. We really like camping but we didn't go at all last summer except for the back yard. We are determined to go this summer. Megan has only been backpacking once before so it will be an adventure.

Keeping Busy

I've been keeping busy the last week by working on the house. We have so many projects that I have started that need to be finished.

My dad helped me put in the windows sills a week and a half ago. We got all the sills in and most of them trimmed. The ones that were trimmed are now painted too.
Last Saturday I started putting up the tile in the shower. It's not my favorite task but it will be nice when it is completed.


I bought some seeds to plant a small vegetable garden. We were going to build raised beds but I think we'll save that for next year.

Megan's parents bought us a whiskey barrel to plant in. I bought a liner a few days ago so now I can get things planted.

The dogs definitely enjoy the sunny weather. They can spend all day outside if it's sunny.

Arizona Part 2

Sunday March 29th we went to church with the Ellsworths and I was able to participate in the blessing of their new son Mason. Afterwards they had a get together at their house with all the family that came for the blessing. Everyone was so nice. Anthon and Jennifer have an awesome family!

We rented a car and headed north through Sedona and ended up in Flagstaff. Sedona was really pretty and we ate at a restaurant that had the best peach cobbler I have ever tasted. If you’re ever in Sedona, check out Ken’s Creekside Resturant.

Right before we arrived in Sedona.

Monday morning we headed out to Monument Valley. It was a long drive but there was some interesting scenery. It was 32 degrees when we left Flagstaff and there was some snow on the ground most of the way to Monument Valley. We stopped in Kayenta for lunch. I heard about a Navajo Taco stand there but there was just an empty stand there. We ended up eating at Burger King (it was that or McDonald’s). They had a Navajo Code Talkers Exhibit inside the BK that was kind of interesting. We left Kayenta and barely crossed the border into Utah and turned back into Arizona to get to Monument Valley. The views were amazing and we took tons of pictures. We took the Pontiac Vibe on the 17 mile scenic loop. I was surprised we didn’t scrape the bottom of the car because the dirt road was pretty bumpy.

Monument Valley Arizona

The Pontiac Vibe we rented on the dirt road.

A Panoramic that looks better when it's bigger...

Our hotel room Flagstaff was huge and pretty fancy. If it weren’t so cold outside, we would have gone in the Pool. The Chili’s near our house in Portland closed so when Megan found out there was one in Flagstaff, she got excited. The Molten Chocolate Cake was delicious as usual.

Tuesday morning we ate leftovers from Chili’s for breakfast and checked out of the Little America Hotel. I got pulled over on the way to the Grand Canyon. I think being very polite and honest with the officer helped because he let me off with a warning. I drove slower after that.

The Grand Canyon was enormous. We walked along the rim taking pictures amazed at how beautiful and massive the canyon is. We ate at a restaurant there and checked out the gift shop. We even saw a few people on rascal scooters at the Grand Canyon like the commercials. We laughed about that.

Us at the Grand Canyon

A Panoramic of the Grand Canyon that again looks better when it's bigger.

We drove back to Gilbert and played some more Rockband with Anthon and Jennifer. Wednesday Megan watched Mckay while I went with Jennifer to drop off their Suburban at the mechanic. When we picked up their suburban from the mechanic I also dropped of our rental car. I played with McKay in the park and then Jennifer and the kids went to Thatcher to visit her parents for the weekend. Megan and I went on a long walk in the sun. When Anthon got home from work we got pizza and of course played more Rockband.
Thursday we spent our morning lounging by the pool in the sun. Anthon took us to the airport and we made it back to rainy Oregon. We had a great time in Arizona and Megan is convinced she wants to move there. I’m warming up to the idea but I’m not sure I could handle the heat.

Arizona Part 1

We spent most of last week in Arizona. Megan really wanted to go somewhere sunny for Spring Break and we settled on Arizona. We used some buddy passes Megan’s cousin gave us for the flight down. It was our first time flying standby. The flight was very full and they told us that all the seats were taken. Everyone boarded except us and they said we could stick around if we wanted and see if someone doesn’t show up. We waited and it turns out, three people didn’t show up. There was one lady ahead of us on the list and we got the last two seats. We boarded and took off to Arizona.

I have a couple of friends from my mission that live in the Phoenix area. I emailed them a little while ago and Anthon (Elder Ellsworth) offered to let us stay at his house as long as we didn’t mind his kids. Anthon, his wife Jennifer and their kids picked us up at the airport and we went out to dinner. We had a great first evening talking about the mission and catching up on what we have been up to.

The next morning after a huge breakfast Jennifer made we decided to venture out to Wal-Mart. Anthon let us use his car and with our GPS, I was confident we could find Wal-Mart and get back. Turns out the maps on our GPS aren’t all that updated. We found a Wal-Mart a lot farther away then Anthon had described it but it was getting back that was the tricky part. Their address wasn’t in our GPS. I thought we could find our way back, but we got lost and I called Anthon to direct us back.

The weather was so nice. After all that rain in Oregon, it was nice to get some sun. We decided to go on a walk and we found the Wal-Mart we intended to go to in the first place. We wandered into a Target near the Wal-Mart and saw Rockband for the Wii. Anthon and Jennifer had talked about it the day before and we wanted to do something to thank them for their hospitality. They were letting us stay at their place for 4 nights, feeding us, and let us use their car. We bought them Rockband 2 and I carried it on my head back to their house. They were at Costco so I got it all setup before they got home. The look on their faces when they walked in and realized it was for them was priceless.

That night John (Elder Wilson), his wife and little boy came over for some Feijoada. It was a lot of fun to eat Brazilian food and talk about the mission. We also played some Rockband and a game called Curses. I didn't take any pictures so I stole this one off of Anthon and Jennifer's Blog. Here we are playing Rockband. Megan, Scott, Anthon, Jessica, John, and Ethan

Makenna and McKay playing Rockband.