Anniversary Celebration

We went out on Saturday night to celebrate our anniversary. We dropped the kids off at my moms to have a sleep over since were going to be out late. We tried out Farrelli's (thanks for the idea Karolee via Kathleen). It is a movie and dinner theater in Scottsdale. We watched Juno (funny, similar feeling to Napoleon Dynamite, not for the prude(I hate that word but I don't know what else to call it))and ate dinner. We had a spinach and artichoke dip as an appetizer, which seemed like it had cheddar cheese or something it was a little different but good. Scott ordered the baby back ribs, his review: good, ribs are hit or miss so he would probably try the cheeseburger if we went back (he always regrets trying anything besides a cheese burger). I had a tomato and mozzarella salad with a balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing and I added chicken, my review: pretty good, just enough food, I just thought it was odd that the chicken was not hot. The Harkins theatres have priority to the movies so they have to wait until Mr. Harkins is not showing the movies anymore so they are not the first showings although there was a sign on the door that said Century Fox will now be releasing their movies to them so they know that they will be showing Nim's Island when it comes out. Overall review: ALL staff very friendly, seating is more comfortable and private than other movie theaters, food a little expensive and attempts to be fancy, but still ok. It was overall a good experience that I would say is worth trying. It would be a great idea if it was closer and served more casual food then you could save time (I am thinking $ for babysitters)by doing both things at once. Happy Anniversary to us!
(Pictures to come when I get my camera working)

Flashback Friday

Here are some pictures of Scott and I dating, and on our wedding day since it was our anniversary this week. I was hoping for some childhood pictures of Scott since it was also his birthday this week, but no luck, maybe later.

Another Favorite Meal

Here is another favorite meal of ours (I really do love food don't I?). The kids scarf it down, it's quick to make, and the leftovers are just as good!

Cheeseburger Rice

1 lb. ground beef

1-3/4c water

2/3c ketchup

1tbsp mustard

2c instant rice

1c cheese

Brown meat and drain. Add ketchup, mustard, and water. Bring to a boil and add rice and cheese. Cover and cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Sometimes I double it or we do not have any leftover.

9 Years

Wow! It's been 9 years since Scott and I were married for time and all eternity. I can't say it's all been easy, lovey dovey and fun, but we have made it this far and we still love eachother. Of course, like most of our holidays/family events this one is also over ruled by sports. Scott will be going to some March madness games tonight and we will go out and celebrate on Saturday night instead.

9 Things I Love About You

1. You are incredibly FORGIVING. You have forgiven me time and time again. You are not judgemental and accept people and their faults unconditionally.

2. You have this amazing ability to be DIRECT with people in a way that it is not offensive. You can tell anyone they are an idiot and they love you even more. I don't know how you do it.

3. You are the LIFE OF THE PARTY. Not in a self-indulgent obnoxious way you just always have ideas of what to do and keep the party entertaining. People can always come to you for ideas of what games to play and what to do.

4. You are a HARD WORKER. At anything you do wether it is work, serving and you play hard. You never stop.

5. You are a terrific DAD. You are involved with your kids, you put them to bed, you make sure they do fun things, you wrestle with them, you do your funny laugh with them. You never complain about having the children when most men think of it as babysitting and you take them often allowing me to regroup.

6. You're the HEAD OF OUR HOUSE. Although I am a control freak with strong opinions, I love that you step up to be the patriarch of our home. You lovingly discipline our kids and you can get them to clean up quickly with no complaints. I love your sense of duty and willingness to provide for the family. It is hard work and not a burden I would want to bare and yet, you do what you can so that I am able to stay home and be the mom.

7. You are UNSELFISH. If anyone asks you to do anything (play, work or serve) you do what you can to figure out a way to do it. You always let me drive the nicer car, let me choose where to eat, and forgo your wants and needs to meet the needs and wants of your family.

8. You are SMART. Most people do not realize this about you or give you the credit you deserve because you are not a loud personality. For some people this might make them frustrated, but you are fine to let others that need the attention and control have it. And of course you know every single thing about sports.

9. You're HOT! I love your blue eyes, manly shoulders and strong biceps.

I LOVE YOU SCOTT!

Scott's Birthday

As we were on our way home to surprise Scott I snapped some pictures of the wild flowers in bloom. Some as I was literally driving by and the red ones were when we were slowed in traffic.

Yesterday was Scott's birthday and he thought we were going to be at the cabin so I planned a little surprise for him. We headed home in time to blow up some balloons and things and then we went to surprise him at his soccer game. I had gotten some email addresses from Scott's email so the soccer team would know what was going on(he will probably change his password now) and made sure that his friend would have him at dinner until the last minute before his soccer game. I called him as we were on the way to the soccer game and I heard him say to his friends as he answered the phone that he had to go to his soccer game. We were really tight on time and him coming from Costa Vida we were going to be getting there at about the same time. I told him that were still atleast an hour away from home and he reminded me that he had a soccer game and would be home late. I tried to keep him on the phone so he could not say bye to his friends by singing Happy Birthday on the phone but he threatened to hang up so I stopped. We pulled in and as we were getting out of the van he pulled in but the kids ran over with the poster and the balloons and said Happy Birthday! It worked out a lot better than the original plan and I would say that he was surprised. He got a little testy with my whole production because he does not like "public attention" even though deep down I know he does. At the end of the game (which they won) everyone had chocolate chip cookies which Scott requested instead of cake. We got him a new Wii game and the charging station for the controllers, but he may change that for another controller instead.

So, I came home only to realize that I did not have a house key on me so we had to go to my mom's for the girls to take a shower (which they had not had for like 5 days) and to blow up the balloons before we headed to the soccer game which ended up to be a good idea since we were in such a hurry my mom was able to help me. The 1st picture is of Claire's new toy. She just kept watching the balloon move as she moved her leg. The 2nd picture was of all of the balloons that were let go in the process of blowing them up.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCOTT!

(I think he is past the age where you disclose it, but I will leave that up to him)

The Cabin

Monday morning I packed up the van with all of the stuff for Me, Claire, Tate and everything for Scott's birthday surprise (details coming in next post) and headed to Scott's parents property. We let the girls miss a couple days of school since Telia was in town. The weather was sooo great! This is the perfect time of the year up there where the days are not hot yet and the night are still cool enough to have a campfire.

Above is some pictures of the cabin. What you can't see just below the bottom of the first picture is a creek that runs through the property. The kids got wet in it several times. The next picture is a the ramada where we gather and talk and eat and just in front of it is the campfire circle.

Below is the kitchen. Scott's parents and Scott's grandpa (Lynda's dad) did all of this work with re-claimed from a property down the way . This is where I had to cook 3 batches of chocolate chip cookies for Scott's birthday. The next picture is Claire in the swing while I am making these cookies. I am afraid there is not really anything I can do about this finger sucking even though I swore my kids would never suck their thumbs or any fingers. Never say never especially when it comes to what your kids will or won't be.

This is the kids with Uncle Joe who was so good to give them all rides on the 4 wheeler since Scott was not able to be there (he has been super busy with work lately). The next picture is of Tate because he basically just sits on the quad all day waiting for someone to come give him a ride. Everytime I would walk by he would say "come on mom let's go".

Easter Sunday

We did not have much going on before church since the girls were gone and then we went to church. The talks were wonderful and the music was so moving. After church we went over to my parents for an Easter dinner where mom and dad gave us the whole report on their trip to Scotland. Then it was on to the infamous Easter egg hunts! Grandma Phillips had goodie bags for all of the kids and had eggs hidden in the back yard for the kids to find. She had a color for each kid to find. Tate's color was yellow although he was more interested in just getting the quick ones in the grass. He quickly lost interest and was playing with the tether ball and riding bikes. Then it was on to the adult hunt. This was the first experience for Dustin so he was shocked when we got so violent and ruthless to find the eggs. As I was clearing a pathway Scott and Toby started to fight over an egg that was over my head and knocked my camera out of my hands-and we had not even started! At one point after the hunt had started we counted eggs and I only had 5! I was thinking I could only have $5! We counted all of the eggs and realized that there were still 16 left to be found. So on went the hunting. By the end of it I had 12 eggs. And the winner is..........ME! I came out with the most again this year with $45! Tara and Jared had the least with about $25 between the both of them. It was funny at the end we were talking about how when my mom first started doing this it was only $1 bills and now we complain that we only got $25. Hopefully mom doesn't think we need some humbling next year:-)! I had my dad take some pictures while we hunted so I could show you. Claire was quickly declining and getting sicker so we headed home to get her some medicine and get some rest before we headed up to the cabin the next morning.

Jam Packed Saturday

Ahhh we're back. Let's start with the Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday.


I have been putting together an Easter Egg Hunt every year since we lived out here in QC. It includes family and friends in the ward. I love it! Although I tend to get stressed about entertaining this event is so low stress becuase we do a potluck breakfast and I don't have to come up with entertainment or clean my house or anything. Easter came so early this year and people did not bring their eggs by until Friday so I was starting to worry we would not have a good turn out this year, but we had a great turn out! I know I have this problem where you can read my emotions on my face (I am not a good "faker") and I am not good at showing excitement or looking happy. For some reason smiling is really hard for me :-) Anyways I think that I ended up looking a little tired/stressed/unhappy on Saturday, but honestly I was just enjoying the event and was feeling very relaxed and peaceful. The weather was great when it is normally HOT by Easter. I hope that everyone enjoyed it and I hope to continue to do it every year. Also, if anyone reading this brought bacon and is missing their rubbermaid container with a red lid-I have it-come and get it. Here are some pictures...

Claire was so good all morning she just could not stay awake any longer!

Oh the wait seemed forever!

The feast!

The kids...


Shelley told us she is expecting with this cute basket! We are so excited for her!

After that I was ready for a nap, but did I get one? NO. Some of our favorite people on Scott's side of the family were in town from New Mexico. Joe, Nancy, Telia, Hailey, Shauni, and Carter. Macey and Emmy love Telia and talk about her all of the time and wish she lived closer, so when they are in town we try to get them together as much as possible. Scott's parents, grandparents and Joe's family were heading up to the cabin after the egg hunt and we let Macey and Emmy ride up with them. So, anyways, I was going to drive up Monday morning and meet up with them so I had to head straight to the tire shop to get the tires replaced. They have needed it for a while and there was a vibrating at high speeds that I was afraid would turn into a blow out every time I was driving. Then at this point I only had Claire (Scott took Tate to do some work) so I ran some errands to plan for Scott's birthday. Then straight from there it was on to a BBQ of sorts at the Burley's. We ate, chatted and the men took the kids to our house to watch I am Legend while the women played speed scrabble (one of my faves).


It was a long day that ended late with a headache, but it was a good day!

Stay Tuned

I have lots to post about Easter and other things, but I just have not had the time to sit down and post them. I am headed out of town and will catch everyone up when I return on Wednesday! Thanks for checking up on us!

Hiking Usery Pass

Remember I said I needed to get into shape sooooo, I decided to agree to going hiking with the Williamson's. We went and hiked Usery Pass. The weather is great right now! The wild flowers are in bloom and beautiful, and would have made a really great picture, but I thought I would need all hands to catch me if I were to fall so I did not bring it up the mountain. As my legs were burning, my blisters were growing and I thought my legs were going to collapse I had to remember that all of my kids (obviously not Claire) have done this hike no problem. Apparently even Tate has hiked every step of that hike. Scott's dad is a sprint hiker-no breaks. I could not keep up with him and I think that Shelley just felt bad for me and stayed with me:-)!!! I am sure I will be really sore for a couple of days, but it felt good to get out get the blood pumping.

Tate's coloring job

OK this is how Tate colors. I am so thankful he does not generally color on the walls or anything (although he has colored the couch, the piano bench and several other things) for as much as he gets a hold of markers he mostly colors himself. He usually colors his face and arms. I just wonder what goes through his mind, does he think he is doing his make-up, coloring clothes on himself? What? Although it can be frustrating I also think it is a little funny.

Last Day

Today was the last day of our Spring Break and it is back to the same old tomorrow bright and early. This is probably one of the most enjoyable spring breaks I have had in years. I just really enjoy no plans and no schedules somehow it allows me to feel free and unrestricted and able to do some fun things with the kids.

Today we finally made it to the Temple Visitor Center to see the photography of Christ display. I thoroughly enjoyed it! I was a bit disappointed to hear that they are no longer showing the movie that went with it, but it is still great. The lady there said that they have had numerous requests from all over to have the display so it sounds like it may travel. While we were waiting for Scott to meet us there we wer enjoying the temple grounds. I kept feeling like I should be taking pictures with this great backdrop, but I was really just in the mood to enjoy the peace. I did snap one picture of the girls.

Then after that we went to grab a bite at one of my favorite stops on that side of town...Pete's Fish and Chips! I have to eat there any time I am in the area which is not often. The funny things is I have never ordered fish there, and I don't think that anyone in my family does either. We always get the burrito and usually in large quantities so that we can eat them for the next week. I know, weird, but I think it is one of the best unknown secrets. It is this incredibly unhealthy deep fried mystery bean mixture burrito. It has a great taste and is perfected with their special sauce. I will also argue that they have the best onion rings ever made! They have a crunchy crust and the onions are sweet (I know people always say that about onions but I have never tasted "sweet" in onions). Just remember that there are no onion rings made on Fridays, they only take cash, and they have no other sauces, but their special sauce which I love.

Flashback Friday

OK I am posting this on Friday..late at night, apparently I just don't know what time zone we are in.

This sort of a long flashback that is dedicated to Easter's past since Easter is coming up.

I will have to confirm with my mom, but I believe this was our Easter attire.

I was probably 6 or 7 in this picture.

This is me hunting for eggs in our backyard. I have no idea how old I was here,

but I look way too old to be hunting for eggs!

I guess you are never too old to hunt for eggs. My mom keeps it spiced up and us adults look forward to hunting for eggs all year. My mom now fills eggs with cash for the adults to find. She hides them around her house and they are hidden very well. We start spying them as soon as we get there. Last year I was the major winner with an amount over $50 (I can not remember exactly). We make out pretty good and it is a good competition. I will have to make sure and have my mom take pictures this year because I am sure we look hilarious!

This was us at our other house at an Easter Egg Hunt put on by a friend in that ward similar to the one I do now. This is where I got the idea because I thought it was such fun!

I had to copy part of one of my scrapbook pages because these are my favorite Easter dresses. You will see them in the future on Claire! At this point of the picture taking Emmy had already ruined the bow I slaved over the night before and would not sit still for one good picture.

Today

Today we took another day trip of sorts to Hobby Lobby at 99th Ave. and the I10. I had never been but had heard lots about it, so I decided to check it out. I loved it! It has such a big selection of home decor items, rod iron decorations, etc. Everything was really well priced which is the best part. I got some stamps, ribbon (which was 1/2 off!), photo boxes, one of those wooden words that says EGG (that was 1/2 off too= $4 WOW!), Diamond Glaze (needed for a project), a towel stand for my Kitchen and some $1 or less toys for the kids because they were good. I can't wait for the new one to be built on Greenfield Road and then I am not sure I will be visiting JoAnns or Michael's again.

After that we went and had lunch at Peter Piper Pizza (the busiest one I have ever seen).

The weather has been so nice in the evenings and Claire was a little fussy so we took a walk to the "green" park. The kids played while I continued to walk around the edge of the park. It is time to start burning some calories again since I pulled out my shorts/capris for the zoo the other day and only 1 pair fit! I better hurry up it is getting hot already!

Now my baby is crying again, but I will settle her down and go take a hot bath!

Cleaning Frenzy

I told the kids that yesterday would be cleaning day until we found both of my missing shoes. I know it was my fault in the first place for not putting them away but my kids tend to shove things where they do not belong and I have been missing my brown flip flop and my silver one for a while now. We never did find the brown flip flop but the toy closets clean, the laundry is done, the girls room is completely cleaned out, my room and bathroom are clean (amazing in itself), Tate's room is clean (instead of taking a nap he usually pulls everything out of his drawers and dumps all of the books out of the basket), the loft is clean, the upstairs is vacuumed, the kitchen is clean. Even if it is for but a moment, it feels good. Well, atleast it felt good yesterday, but today my back is killing me!

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for...


1. Cell Phones. How did we ever do anything without them? If it was not for my cell phone, we may still be lost in Tucson and I would not ever get to talk to Scott.

2. Music. As I sit here and sing along with my playlist. I love the power of music and what it can do to a mood of a room and how you feel!






3. My Dad. It was my dad's birthday this week. He is a man of few words, but it is my goal to get to know him better this next year. I am thankful for all that I do know about him -honest, hard working, loves baseball and sports in general, really smart and remembers everything, simple and low maintenance. Love you dad!

Day Trip

Me, my sister Tara and all of the kids took a day trip down to the Tucson Zoo today. It was well worth the drive. The kids are only $2 each, the animal exhibits are close to each other so there's not too much walking and the animals are close so the kids can actually see them. The kids were able to feed the giraffes and they were the most amazed that their tongues are a purplish color. As I was standing there waiting to take Emmy's picture feeding the giraffe Macey said "which one should I feed?" and I then realized that there was a giraffes face right next to me and Macey swears it was about to eat my shirt-it startled me quite a bit! We almost lost a couple of kids in the Flamingo exhibit since the fence is not really that restricting and you can just walk right through it (no it was actually not Tate for once). Emmy's favorite animal is the Flamingo (who knew?) and Macey's is the monkeys (just like her mom!). I also proved the kids and Scott wrong that Rhinocerous only have 2 horns, not 3, ha! I feel like I live in a zoo most of the time so we had quite an enjoyable time today! Zoo...check!

Emmy's Ants

Emmy got an Ant Farm for Christmas (this was one of Scott's childhood memories he wanted to relive) and we had to order the ants and they finally came! Apparently they can not send the ants if it is too cold at night so Emmy had to wait all of this time for them to come. They came in a little tube with a carrot to nibble on. Of course, leave it to Scott (men actually) to skip over the directions even though there were only 3 sentences to read. You were supposed to put the ants to "sleep" by putting them in the fridge for 15 minutes, but Scott did not, and I am sure you could guess, we had some escapees and casualties during the process of getting them out of the tube and into the farm. They seem to always be working and doing something (they do not realize it is pointless to move all of the sand around). As we speek Scott has them on his desk so he can "keep an eye on them".

Catch Up

Excuse the long journal like entry,but it is catch up time.

Scott took the kids, friends and family sledding to a great sledding place several weeks ago and I did not go so I finally got the pictures from Scott's sister who was there. Here they are.






This last week had some things going on and it all started on Wednesday...



Wednesday....

• I gave Tate his breakfast which usually consists of a bowl of cereal and I gave him a fork to eat it. I walked away and he was actually using it. I just thought it was funny!
  

• Claire went to the Dr. and was given the Diflucan to get rid of her thrush!:-)
• Nice night of Bunco-ahh it's good to have a good clean night of competition!

Thursday....

• Kids had a 1/2 day and then we had parent teacher conferences. Both kids are doing great!
• I got my hair done and Tate got a haircut.

Friday...

• We attended an honor roll assembly for Macey. We are so proud of her!







• Then we went straight to the park for Card Club. The food was yummy, the kids played and the cards were so great this month!
• Then we ordered out for a dinner at home-pizza, wings and breadsticks from R&R.

Saturday...

• Phillips family pictures bright and early 9am in a custom neighborhood with all of those oddly beautiful dormant pecan trees. I am so excited to see what shots the photographer got, but here are some I snapped of us at the park in the neighborhood.




• Then we had the Dirtbag BBQ which warranted it's own post.
  

Sunday...the day of rest?

• CHURCH. We are so glad to be in our new building which is so close, but Sundays can be a mad house. We are now at 3 hours and overlap with 4 wards in the building. This leaves us barely 15 minutes of time which is congested with the previous ward still clearing out just in time for our sacrament meeting to end. So, yesterday just macey, Emmy and I went to church since Claire and Tate have been sick. So first of all I leave sacrament early to set up and I realize I do not have my keys to the toys-which we all know is a must have for nursery. And then in all of the craziness my assistant came in and said " I thought you were going to be gone today". WHAT?!?!?! I never forget somewhere I am supposed to be and for both of us to forget is crazy! I realized that we had completely forgotten that we were supposed to go to Scotts brothers baby blessing in Maricopa and was mortified. At this point I am about to cry and it is definately to late to make it there. Scott will have to explain and hopefully be forgiven.
• Then it was our usual relaxing Sunday night of TV Extreme Makeover Home Edition, Oprah's Big Give and then Here Come the Newleyweds. Must see TV!

Next comes Spring Break and nothing planned! That's what I like hopefully it will be a fun yet relaxed week! Some ideas are the Tucson Zoo, Hobby Lobby and possibly some painting. We will see!

What's a dirtbag?

Dirtbag is a general term for a filthy or dirty person.

We are so used to this term, but people always cringe when I refer to the "dirtbags" and then I have to explain. Scott has this group of friends from high school and they affectionately call themselves the "dirtbags" which came from one of them actually being a dirtbag. They are a great group of people that are really good at keeping in touch and getting together on a regular basis. Although we see eachother on a regular basis it is usually without kids so we decided to get together with all of the kids for a BBQ on Saturday. Everyone has grown up so much and I did not even recognize most of them. It was amazing how all of the kids just got along like they were long time friends. The bet was made that atleast one couple would come out of all of the "dirtbag" kids.

Lance and Marcee have the best backyard for parties. Here is everyone (minus the Browns and Cameron) chatting around the fire pit what you can't see is the trampoline in the ground, the grill, playhouse, swingset, water fall you play in, basketball court, and endless gardens all on an acre of plush grass with a sidewalk around the edge.

The kids played so well, jumping, racing wiggle cars and relay races, everyone of course except Tate. As all of the kids were playing together so well Tate was off in the side yard playing with the basketball. Of course this is inherited from his father who would still rather be playing basketball than hanging with the crowd. We love the dirtbags!