Life & stuff...

A few pictures of some random happenings...

The girls have been begging to play with clay so I finally got some and here is what they created: Sophie made an impressive frog eating a fly and a pink elephant, and Nora made a sculpture of me - well at least of my head.
The similarity is startling.

We've been playing with the neighbors. Here's a great picture of Brian entertaining all 6 kids at once.

Nora crammed her 4 year old bottom into this baby doll high chair and couldn't get it back out again.... she was quite upset and crying, "Now I'll never be able to sit in my car seat again!" Of course this was right before we had to leave to pick Sophie up from school. After about 5 minutes I found the right position (touching her toes and slightly bended knees) and was able to wrangle her out.

Pretty funny stuff happens around here sometimes.

Miles spends a majority of his day playing at the train table. He LOVES it so much. Which means I do, too! He naps with a car or a train in each hand and is ready to go right  back when he wakes up! Man I love this boy.

On a side note - blogger updated how to post and it is a bit different... hopefully I'll figure it out!

These small hours...

Yesterday afternoon was perfect. Brian was out doing visits with our ward so the kids and I decided to go on a walk. Nora and Miles were in the stroller and Sophie was on her bike. We were just going to go around the block but ended up walking the route that I run in the mornings. I didn't have my camera, my cell phone or a watch so it was just a peaceful walk talking with my kids about whatever they wanted to talk about. Nora spied a huge hairy caterpillar that had to come home with us, we stopped at the nearby middle school's football field and played on their football practice equipment - which the girls loved and reminded me of doing the exact same thing in the field across from the house where I grew up. Then we found a great rolling hill - there are not a lot of hills around here - so we had to try it out. I haven't rolled down a hill in a very long time and I thought I was going to puke! We were all laughing so hard. Miles couldn't roll very fast so I strapped him in the jogging stoller and pushed him up a smaller hill and then let it go! He loved it and laughed so hard I had to do it 3 more times. Then we walked back home. It was so great not to be concerned about getting anywhere or taking pictures or answering my phone. Just enjoying my kids. Once we got back home Nora had an accident, Miles head-butted me and gave me a fat lip and Sophie had a meltdown over playing with the neighbor's broken tire...... and the chaos resumed.
But those few hours were pure bliss.

Just can't help myself...

Oh my. If your a Twilight fan click HERE. And I will NEVER admit that I watched it 3 times. NEVER! I don't have time for stuff like that, seriously. And I'll never admit that I cried at the end. Nope, I'll never admit that either.
(Thanks Dawn!)

Kid updates!

I've been meaning to do updates on the kids considering Sophie just turned 6, Nora just turned 4, and Miles is now an 18 month old. So here they are! I finally got out the other day and took their pictures - with a bribe to head to the Children's Museum afterward - and thanks to Brian they had someone there to make 'em laugh!
Here is the one shot of the kids with them all looking at me and acting normal!

Right now Sophie is having a bit of a hard time adjusting to First grade. It started out well but starting last week every morning has been a battle. Yesterday she was having such a fit in front of the school Brian sent her back home with our neighbor while he continued on to school. And I really thing the problem is her sleep. She has always had a hard time going to bed (I remember rocking her to sleep as a baby with both of us crying, and when she was a bit older holding her hand outside her crib until she was asleep, then sneaking across the floor on my belly - only to have the floor creak and start all over again.... oh, the things we do as first time parents!) Now she is good at going to bed but has such trouble falling asleep. Sunday night she was in bed at 8pm and didn't fall asleep until 11:15. Which was the cause of the meltdown in front of the school. It is very frustrating because I don't know what to do to help her. We have a bedtime routine/schedule that has been the same for years, she doesn't watch tv before bed, and we start to wind down at 7:30. When she is well rested she is truly a sweetheart. But when she is over-tired it affects everything else. Poor girl. She is such a joy in our family and is a wonderful big sister. She is a natural little mother and loves all the babies in our neighborhood. She is constantly trying to convince us to let her get her ears pierced - and she just may win.
We love this girl!

Nora is having a great time right now being at home with me and Miles. We do pre-school lessons 3 times a week and she is very good at making sure they get done by reminding me every five minutes until we sit down and do it. She is so fun to have constantly at my side. She is pretty easygoing but when something goes wrong she can be pretty darn feisty! She is not excited for kindergarten next year because that means she has to get shots (I haven't told her yet that she is actually getting the shots for kindergarten next month...)
Oh, and she thinks her full name is Nora Gracie Girl Phillips!
We sure love her, too.

Miles is at such a fun fun age! He is so cute and funny - even if he is a little rascal. He loves cars, balls, giraffe's, tools, looking at books, riding in the stroller, sitting on his bike, being with his dad and pestering his sisters! He is becoming a less picky eater which is great and starting to talk more. Some of the words we hear often are: ball, da-ee (daddy), bike, no, uh-huh, yeah, mo-ee (mommy), and rarr (is that a word?). That's all I remember, but he is at the stage that he'll attempt to say anything you tell him to and it is so cute.

He throws some pretty impressive fits by throwing himself on the ground and banging his head around. He also has a super cute pouty lip. He has been randomly sleeping in a toddler bed up stairs in the girls' room because I want him in there before Christmas. He thinks it's pretty great to be in a big boy bed! We sure love him. He is the main source of entertainment around here.

I love this picture because this is how he folds his arms when we say prayers! Love it!

And my favorite picture of the day:

I told you Brian was making them laugh! I think at this point he was dancing a jig with a chair on his head... I had to tell him to tone it down.

A new tradition

Today is a day I do not look forward to each year. Many of you know my dad died 11 years ago on this day. Each year my stomach slowly knots up the weeks prior to this day as I dread it's coming, but time truly is the key to healing - next to our Savior and the Gospel of course. Since I've started this blog I've posted THIS and THIS. Today I am starting a new tradition. Every year instead of posting on the sadness of his death I am going to post some memories of my dad so that I can have them written down and recorded, and so someday my kids can read them and come to know the incredible man that he was.

(He was a rather silly incredible man.... and this is the only picture I could find on my computer that I hadn't posted before! I wonder why?)

A memory:

When I was young - 4ish? - we lived in a house we called "The Brown House". It was an old two story house that my mom loved. It was right across the street from the High School my dad taught Art and coached Football & Track at. A house that I remember doing pre-school in, watching our cat climb up my mom's back in the kitchen as she cooked, and where my sister and I shared a bedroom where I specifically remember her teaching me one night how to say my prayers "in my head" so I wouldn't bother her by talking out loud. This house had a little window on the second floor - I think it was in my brother's room - and since my dad was the track coach we conveniently had some of the "port-a-pits" sitting on our front lawn for a time - I don't know if that is the correct name for the big blue mats the high jumpers & pole vaulter's use, but that was what we called them. Anyway, I remember climbing out that little window onto the ledge of the house and jumping to the porta-pits below, all with my dad's encouragement of course.
My mother probably wasn't at home.

AND

A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DEAR GRANDMA JOHNSON!!
My kids and I got to stay with my grandma one night while we were visiting this summer. It was so wonderful to be with her! She is such a sweet lady, we love her so much. Staying with her brought back so many memories of being in her home with my grandpa and all my cousins all sleeping on the floor at their house in Utah. Such great memories. I love you Grandma!

End of summer fun

We are trying to enjoy the last bit of summer - although I am anticipating fall with a very high degree of excitement - I love fall and wish the seasons went like this: Spring - Fall - Summer - Fall - Winter - Fall - back to Spring. But maybe I wouldn't enjoy it so much if that were the case. Anyway. Here are some pics of us hanging out at our favorite places for summer fun!

The Park:

When I look at pictures of Sophie lately I realize how much she is growing up!

Miles really wanted to play at the park.... he really did! But he couldn't bear to part with his 2 Mater's to do anything that required the use of his hands.

Here is Nora's version of "look at the camera"

Yep, still got 'em...

We also went to the Lake for the last time to swim

There was a garden that was FULL of frogs! You could hear them jumping all over
- here are just two of them.

Brian and the kids looking for fish

Nora could spend an entire day playing in the sand and water. Sophie enjoys it but after about an hour she rinses off and gets dressed and says she's done. I think Nora could play at the beach - all by herself - for hours on end! She loves it!

Miles peeking at me from the stroller

Brian worked so hard to catch some minnows for the kids, under less than perfect minnow-catching conditions. All he had was a small bucket - he did manage to catch one!

I was helping Sophie float on her back all by herself. She hadn't figured out how to hold her breath and float, but she did it that day and was quite excited.

Happy Birthday!

Today is Brian's birthday - and it's a big one. He is now a 30 year old! We met when he was 15, so now I've known him for 1/2 of his life. Crazy!
In honor of his 30th birthday here are 30 things I know and love about him:

1.He is FUNNY - and he knows it. But it's true! He makes me laugh every day.
2. I have never seen him lose his temper, he is as cool as a cucumber.
3. He loves telling a good story - and does so very intensely
4. I have to be there to correct these stories - because he often exaggerates them! :)
5. He loves playing board games - Yahtzee, Scrabble, etc.
6. He is not a TV watcher. Unless it's Sports or something like the History Channel.
7. He gets teary almost as often as me watching good movies/shows like Extreme Home Makeover (the other night we watched Pollyanna and we both cried at the end! Haha!)
8. I don't know anyone who doesn't immediately like Brian.
He's just one of those people who is so darn likable!
9. He can meet a total stranger and strike up an hour long conversation with them.
10. He is always wanting to learn. For example, whenever we take any of the kids to the doctor he is constantly asking what the machines/tools are for.
Sometimes I wonder if it drives the doctors crazy!
11. He is always so patient with our children, and rarely even raises his voice at them.
12. He always cheers for the underdog - which explains why he's been a Jazz fan for so long!
13. He always gives other people the benefit of the doubt.
14. He loves getting songs stuck in my head. All he has to do is sing one little snippet of a song and it is in my head for the rest of the day. Drives me crazy.
15. He never knows all the words to a song! But that does not stop him from singing, he just makes up his own words- and they usually sound like they might be right!
16. He is an awesome cleaner. It comes in bursts, but when he is in the cleaning mode it rocks.
17. He is super tolerant of his impulsive wife!
18. I know if there was something I really wanted he would find a way to get it for me.
19. Even when he is very busy he always finds a way to be with his family for a little bit each day. 20. He loves when we get new library books almost as much as the kids do (possibly more!)
21. He is always positive and optimistic.
22. He always has a smile on his face. Even in High School people would comment on how he always looked so happy!
23. He loves music. Unfortunately playing it has been put on hold for now but someday he'll be able to enjoy playing the piano again. For now he still loves listening to it.
24. He loves finding totally random, funny videos on YouTube. Like THIS one or THIS one.
25. He is completely unselfish and NEVER even mentions anything that he wants for himself.
26. The kids all scream and race to the door every day around 530 when they hear Brian walk through it. It warms my heart every time!
27. He is a great student and enjoys learning.
28. He is a great teacher.
29. He is a worthy priesthood holder and fulfills his church callings 110%.
30. I hope our girls find someone who treats them just like their dad treats me.

I'm so lucky to have him as my husband. Happy Birthday Brian! You're the best.

Happy Grandparents Day!

The simplest toy, one which even the youngest child can operate, is called a grandparent. ~Sam Levenson

Few things are more delightful than grandchildren fighting over your lap. ~Doug Larson

Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children. ~Alex Haley

Grandparents are similar to a piece of string - handy to have around and easily wrapped around the fingers of their grandchildren. ~Author Unknown

Happy Grandparents Day to all the wonderful and amazing grandparents that bless our lives.
We love you all so much!

A Full Day!

Today was busy! Here's the breakdown:

* Grocery shopping - blah
* Shopping with friends at a huge Mom2Mom Sale. I scored some winter boots for Miles for $2!
* Baking Bread - yummy
* Budgeting - yucky
* Cleaning the inside and outside of the car (Brian & the kids)
* Mopping the kitchen floor - ick
* Feeding lunch to the missionaries
* Baking cookies - chocolate chip
* Playing outside with neighbors
* Taking dinner to friends
* 2 loads of laundry
* Bathroom cleaning (Brian again)
* Finishing up The Soloist - so good
* Painting the top of a coffee table I picked up off the curb for free - pictures to come.

And it's still only 7:30! I still have a few more things to do, like putting the kids to bed, beating my husband at scrabble and finishing up a project for a friend's birthday - and although I didn't get a shower today and the kids had cold cereal for dinner I am pretty happy with all that was accomplished today.
I love Saturdays!!

Here she goes again...

Sophie started First Grade today! School doesn't start here until after Labor Day - which I think is awesome. We met Sophie's teacher last week and according to Soph "she is a really sweet lady". It was bittersweet sending her off today where I no longer have control of the things she is learning and the kids she is playing with. But she will learn and grow from all of these experiences and I am excited for her. And I admit - I am really looking forward to running errands with just two kids to pack around! :) I will miss having my Sophie girl home to help entertain Miles and I will miss her grand daily plans for slumber parties, beauty shops, selling stands and camp-outs!

Here is our cute first grader

Ready to go - with her suitcase backpack that she got for her birthday

Sophie and Spencer - 0ur neighbor she walks to school with almost every day

All the little girls giving Miles some loves - he looks thrilled!

The good-bye committee

Ready to start the day!
The night before school started I asked Sophie if she was ready for school again. Of course she said yes and then asked me if I was ready for her to start school. I said, "I'm not really excited for you to be gone all day!" To which she replied, "Oh mom, I'll be back next summer!"

PS. For another funny Sophie story click HERE.

Backyard Camping

A few weeks ago the kids (meaning our two girls and our neighbor friends Spencer and Madelyn) decided they wanted to have a camp-out in our backyard. So they all came up with a list of things we had to do at the camp-out, which included:
* making S'mores
* watching a movie in the tent
* catching fireflies
* having a pillow fight

We did all of those things and had a great time. The only downfall of the night was when the kids realized that they were not going to be able to sleep in a tent together all by themselves outside. They did not want the adults outside with them, and then they tried to convince us that it would be great if the kids slept in one tent and all the adults slept in the other tent :) We decided the mom's and kids would sleep outside with the big kids and the dads could sleep in the house and listen for the younger ones (although I bet I still would have heard Miles first!) I admit I was a bit sad when I climbed in the tent after getting ready for bed and Sophie says to me, "Ummm, mom what are you doing?" The kids kept trying to kick me out of the tent! (I think Ruth's kids were trying to do the same to her but I can't quite remember...) They finally realized we were there to stay and dealt with it. Funny kids. Overall we had a great time. Since then the kids have planned a pajama party and multiple clubs together. What great memories for them!

The kids eating their s'mores

Cute Eliza

Silly Nora!

Miles and Spencer

Catching fireflies

They wanted to catch fireflies and put them all in the tent so the fireflies could be their nightlight

Getting their movie ready. They watched Tom & Jerry, always a favorite.