Rylee's blessing

It is tradition that my kids are bathed in grandma's green Tupperware bowl the night before their blessing. Then one year later, we take their picture again to see how much they've grown. Isn't she just darling?

Rylee Britt Phillips-Blessed December 5th, 2010 by her daddy, Gavin Phillips.

Here she is in her beautiful blessing dress! She looked just like a little angel. It is so much fun having a little girl to play dressup with.

We also have another tradition where the kids have their pictures taken with the gun. Just training her early for hunting days with the family.

This is THE ONLY good picture I got from her blessing!! My kids were being absolutely ridiculous! Cade refused to get his picture taken and was screaming and throwing a fit. Rylee was hungry and crying as well. Cameras weren't working, everyone was frustrated and onry. UGH! At least the actual blessing was good. Gavin did an excellent job. And she didn't puke on her dress til after it was all said and done. Sheesh! Glad that's over and done with. 

Halloween 2010

Even though it was a horrible night for trick or treating, we braved the elements and went out anyway. The boys had a blast running in the rain and collecting as much candy as they possibly could. Dad and I were quite content under the umbrella, but was secretly wishing to be home where it was warm and dry.

Ty wanted to be a zombie prisoner. I went looking for a costume to match this idea, but they were all so expensive, I decided to just make it myself. So, with a little spray paint and masking tape we have created a zombie prisoner. He was quite proud of it and liked all the blood and gore.

Shay wanted to be Buzz Lightyear. And thanks to Aunt Paula and his cousin Mason, we were able to pull it off! They had the costume from years past and he couldn't have been more pleased! He was a little disappointed that we didn't have the big clear helmet to go over his head, but he managed to be happy without it.

And last, but not least, Cade wanted to be Woody. AND again thanks to Aunt Paula and cousin Mason we made it happen. And we've been Woody ever since! Sometimes it changes to Batman, Indiana Jones, or Mr. Incredible, depending on the day.

Rylee Britt Phillips

Our little angel has finally arrived! Born Monday, November 1st, 2010. 4:33pm, weight 7lbs 8oz, length 19.5 inches. Healthy, beautiful, and happy.

She has so much hair. At first we thought it was all red, but as the day went on, we could tell it was much darker. Brown with red highlights.

Here she is at 8 days old. Mom couldn't help herself and had to play dressup. We may have to wait a while on the headbands, though. They are much too big for that tiny little head of hers.

We are so grateful to have her in our family! She is truely a blessing and a miracle. I am so blessed to have 4 happy, healthy, wonderful children. I cannot wait for the next chapter in our lives to begin!

First day of school

Is summer really over? Can it be true? It has been a bitter sweet beginning to our school year this time around. All my boys are in school now. Ty in 4th grade, Shay in 1st grade, and Cade in Preschool. I have really enjoyed having them home this summer and am not really ready for them to go back yet. We didn't get to do all the fun things we had planned to do this summer and starting school makes summer feel so final. Like we've lost our chance to play and have fun. Maybe it means I can't handle my boys growing up. Even though I love what big helpers they are, I still want them to be little and fun and ... Maybe I just don't want them growing up cuz then it means I am getting older? hahaha Who knows.

But they were so excited to get back to school. The school shopping was so fun. Watching them get to pick out their own shoes, clothes (with a little persuasion from mom), backpacks, etc. was a lot of fun. Seeing all three in their own little personalities, starting to break away from each other and like their own style, their own things. Cade is big into camo and Batman this year. Shay likes Lego Batman and Lego Indiana Jones. Ty wants to look grown up and look "good" he says. Shay is still a little uncertain about being gone all day and having to eat lunch at school and recess on the big play ground. But after today I think he is really going to enjoy school. He is so smart and loves to read. He just needs to get used to it i guess. Cade was sad this morning that he could not go to "the big school". His school doesn't start for another week so he was a little heart broken to not get to go out with his brothers.

I think they wait another week to give moms a chance to recuperate from the first week of school with the other kids. Sheesh! I was just fine dropping Ty off. Shay, I got a little choked up but held it together. . . til we got home. Then I lost it. It was too quiet! Was it the fighting and arguing that was no longer present in my home that made me breakdown? Or the fact that they were really gone off to school ALL DAY!? I don't know which, but I had to control myself for Cade's sake. Haha he kept looking at me like "What in the world is your problem, mom?!"

Good times! Good times! Now I get to experience this from a whole new perspective with a little girl. I hope it is as entertaining, educational, and fun as it has been with my boys.

BYU Couples Clinic

Gavin and I attended the BYU DATE NIGHT: Couples Clinic on Wednesday Night. We had a catered dinner provided by Ruby River and got to tour the locker rooms and the field. Then we had discussions with some of the coaches on the basics of football. We also got to hear from Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall and his wife Holly, Greg Wrubell "The Voice of the Cougars", and Keith Stubbs (radio DJ for 101.5 The Eagle) did his stand up comedy routine.
We also got to have photo opps with many of the players, coaches and YES even Cosmo!



Before the major storm hit! It rained off and on the entire night. But it was still lots of fun.

Here are some of the players pretending to be "The Tempations". They lip-synced one of their songs just before it really started to dump on us. Then Coach Mendenhall said it was time to go in. Too much lightning for his liking.




Isn't that beautiful!? It was truely awe inspiring to see the stadium from that perspective.
And the rains came down!! It was a down pour for most of the evening. We were soaked but it was a lot of fun. I am so glad I got to spend some quality time with my husband doing and learning about what he loves so much. I really hope he enjoyed meeting the coaches, players and staff and being that close to the game as much as I enjoyed being there with him. We are definitely ready for some FOOTBALL!!! GO COUGARS!

Camping at "The Ranch"

We traveled down to the Paunsagaunt (spelling?) for 8, count 'em 8, days for some fun, rest and relaxation! The kids had a blast: shooting BB guns, fishing the creek and Tropic Reservoir, swimming in Tropic, riding 4-wheelers, and just flat out running amuck with out a care in the world.


Grandpa's cabin on The Ranch that he used when he was a boy herding sheep back in the day. Someone had gone in and stripped it down to nothing. Took an old stove and basically trashed the place. It had an old leather sofa bed that had been ripped to shreds by animals and junk everywhere.

The two mighty hunters! They shot this chipmunk at the same time. They had lots of fun shooting BB guns and trying to kill everything in sight!

The collection of grasshoppers the kids had for fishing in the creek. They were so excited yet I don't think they even used one grasshopper.



Our campsite on the first day. We had a blast swimming, fishing, roasting marshmallows, shooting BB guns, riding 4-wheelers, making traps and catching chipmunks and squirrels. For 8 LONG days we did nothing but eat, sleep in, relax, play and have fun. But boy was I glad to be back to my own bed and a nice, hot, long shower!!! Whew! 8 Days was long enough for this pregnant camper!

Trying to fish the creek. It was very hard because you couldn't stand right over the water or the fish would see you. So you had to stand back about 20 feet and cast into the creek which was only about 4 feet wide in some places, 6 feet in others. But it was still a challenge.

Swimming at Tropic Reservoir with Cedar, Mason, Ty, Cade, Sadie, Justin, Ky, Corbin, and Shay. My parents invited their neighbors the Briems and two of their grandkids. They fit right in and we all had fun getting to know each other. Mason and Ky were the same age and became fast friends. Never left each others side all week.
Grandpa supervising the BB gun shootout contest.
Another mighty hunter with his haul!

We had a visitor.

I got up yesterday morning to get ready to go to the doctor. Came in the kitchen to start making breakfast and about lost it when I saw this little creature lurking in my backyard! I was totally not expecting to see a deer in my backyard at 8 o'clock in the morning but there she was. Just wandering around looking for a way out. I had to run and grab the boys so they could see. They were in awe at first then Cade went busting for the door saying, "I wanna pet it! I wanna pet it!" It was quite a fun little adventure. The boys were excited to tell their dad we had a deer in our backyard. They had never seen one that close up before. It was quite an experience. Needless to say I was late for my doctors appointment. It was just too much fun to sit and watch her, to see what she was up to.

I'm trying to be crafty...

My friend came over to my house the other day for a visit and had an armful of stuff. I asked her what she brought over and she said,"We are going to make a craft." I was like "SWEET"! I love making crafty things. I'm just not very good at it. So I knew if it was from her, it was going to be FABULOUS! And this is what we made...




The paper circles are the actual craft. This is just what I made out of them. The instructions said to put them on dowels and stick them in a potted plant or something, but I knew they would be ripped to shreds in an instant with all the little kids around here, so for me that was not an option.



I was dying for something to put on my front door anyway and this was the perfect fit.

Last Day Of School

On the last day of school I rent a big blow up something-or-other for the neighborhood kids to come and have a party. Moms help chip in on money for the rental and bring treats. This is the second year that I have done this and it is a huge success. It gives the kids something to do after a short day at school, starts the summer off with a bang, and gives us moms a chance to visit with the kids entertained but within earshot. It is so much fun and by February my kids are already asking if we are going to do it again.






We have water balloons, and kids can bring their own squirt guns, or whatever water toy they have. We usually set up a little slip'n'slide for the little kids and a wade pool. Its supposed to be for the little ones, but the big ones use it to fill up their guns and buckets and what not.



I thought it would be a huge headache, but the other moms really love it too so they make it a lot easier on me for planning and preparing and so on. It will be a tradition around here for years to come, I'm sure!

Las Vegas

Gavin and I got to go to Las Vegas with his boss, Paul, his brother and their wives for a weekend getaway trip. It was so much fun and so relaxing. We went and saw the movie "Alice in Wonderland", walked up and down the strip, shopped, hit balls and the driving range and watched F-16s land at the Air Force base! It was pretty awesome!

Special Olympics

Ryan, my brother, was entered into the Special Olympics this year for wheel chair racing. And he won the GOLD MEDAL! Blew away the competition. haha Wish I could upload the video but my computer is an idiot! Or maybe its just operator error :)