Arizona Trip

Last week Mom, Dad and I drove to Arizona for our annual "snow-bird" trip. We always like to get out of cold Idaho and travel to warm places this time of year. In addition to getting out of the cold, we had a few other very important reasons to be in Arizona. First, to see the grandkids, of course. Second, I had a final interview with "Teach For America", an organization that places recent college grads into high-need/low-income schools as teachers, where they get experience while working toward their credential. Last, but certainly not least, we were there to watch/support Eden as she competed in her first National Tennis Championship Tournament.

Eden has been playing in an adult tennis league for about a year now, and she is dang good. Her team dominated sectionals, and then went on to play in the National tournament in Tuscon. We were there to help tend the boys so Rick could watch Eden play, and we each got to see her play one game as well. Eden is seriously DANG good. She has a killer serve, and she plays very methodically, thinking about each hit. She has good aim and can move around that court super fast. Not to mention that she was playing in 100+ degree heat (ok, it was 95, but it felt SO hot). She played both singles and doubles games, and although she was nervous about singles, those matches ended up being her best! It was fun to be able to watch her play, and the girls on her team said Eden was the best player they had. Way to go Eden!

Mom and Dad took Lincoln, Logan and Erica to the zoo for a few hours, they had fun but it was way too hot for everyone. 

Mom and Dad also took Rick's kids down to Nancee's house so they could all play together. The kids had a really fun time doing picnics, trampoline, and just playing. Mom and Nancee worked on their emails too. 

Erica had a princess birthday party to go to one afternoon, and she let Mom fix up her hair. SO cute!

We took Sadie to the mall one of the days, and she liked playing around on the equipment. 

She had so much fun, that she couldn't make it through the day. 

Lincoln had a sleepover in the hotel room with Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Natalee. We had lots of fun. Grandma captured this candid picture of Lincoln and Aunt Natalee laughing. 

Then we taught Lincoln how to use the camera....

and he thought it would be funny to take a picture of his belly button. Haha.

We had a great time with everyone, and we are so glad we got to see Eden play!

Garage

I promised to post some pictures of the crazy color Mom and Dad chose to paint the garage, so here you go. To us, it looks like the color of mint chocolate chip ice cream. What do you guys think?

Representin'

I was going to post about our trip to Arizona, but that post has now taken a backseat to this super-cute picture of Nolan that Grandma Joia (Jennifer's Mom) posted on facebook tonight. I just had to put it on the blog for those of you who don't facebook. He is getting so big so fast! Also, it is good to know that J.J. is bringing up his youngling padawan learner in the old jedi traditions. Nolan is representing Star Wars, he is a true Phillips now.

Ryan's Family Visits Idaho

Ryan, Heather, Marissa, Mallory, Nathan and Austin all drove up to Idaho for Marissa's birthday weekend. Although the visit was short, we packed in a LOT of activities and the kids seemed to have a good time. Some of the fun stuff we did included going out to eat at Elmer's and Golden Corral, going to see "Dolphin Tale" with Aunt Natalee, and decorating cupcakes that Heather made.

Marissa opened up her presents at Elmers, and she got lots of fun owl-themed stuff. 

 

Mallory is very proud of her latest lost teeth!

Nathan loves his Halloween costume--Spiderman! It is super cute and it has like built-in muscles so he looks like this mini body-builder. He likes to wear it almost everyday.

We also went to the grand opening of "Brooklyn's Playground", a brand new state-of-the-art playground designed for special needs kids that has been several million dollars in the making. It was really impressive! 

 There were lots of things for the kids to climb on!

 There was a really cool music station in the center of the playground that Nathan and Marissa played on for a long time.

We also took the kids to one of their favorite places, "Outer Limits".

 Later that night, Marissa and Mallory got to go to a special gymnasium that has "open gym" on Friday nights. Aunt Natalee was nervous because there were a lot of big kids in there playing pretty rough, but Marissa and Mallory held their own. They are both very skilled at jumps and flips and tricks.

Thanks for a fun weekend everybody!

Toddlers and Pets Don't Mix

Litter box was rearranged courtesy of Nathan when he and his family visited last week.

Happy Birthday Marissa!

 Marissa turns 10 years old today! She is special because she is the only Phillips to have a birthday in October! Of course, thats not the only reason she is special though.

 Marissa has always had a very sensitive spirit. She is able to be "in-tune" with what is going on. She cares a lot about other people and what they are going through. She tries very hard to follow the rules at school and wants to please her teachers. Of course, this isn't a challenge for Marissa because she is dang smart.

This is Marissa at our local science fair in Pocatello. She loves most subjects, but her favorites are Reading, Art, and Science. She especially loves animals. One of Marissa's favorite things to do in Idaho is play with our cats and dogs. She is not scared of them at all, and she knows how to handle them.

Her favorite animal by far is the Owl. She absolutely LOVES them, and she knows everything about them. Seriously--I talked with her for about an hour about all the different breeds and habitats and physical features of owls in the Northwest. She is very knowledgeable about them. 

Marissa is now the oldest of FOUR! Above is a picture of her with her newest little brother, Austin Jaxon. She came up with the idea to call him "A.J." and we think that is so cute! She is an excellent helper for her parents, and she does what she is asked without complaining. 

She is a good big sister to Mallory, and they spend a lot of their time playing together. She tries hard to be patient, to share and to get over things that might bug her. Its nice to have a best friend who is your sister too!

 Marissa is one of the oldest girl cousins, so all the little girls really look up to her. She does a great job of keeping them all entertained. She's going to be an awesome babysitter in a few years.

Marissa has really been growing up fast. I am so impressed by her self-control and her awareness. She loves to be involved in what the adults are talking about, she knows how to wait her turn, and she never forgets her manners to say "please" and "thank you". She is modest, has a good sense of humor, and she knows what she wants. Did I mention that she always orders a salad when we go out? I am very impressed by her healthy eating habits! 

Like her Dad, Marissa is a fan of football. We were out at dinner recently and she asked me if I vote for  BYU or UofU. I told her I vote for whoever is playing against BYU. Sometimes I like to tease with Marissa, and she knows how to take a joke pretty well. 

Marissa has lots of potential and we are excited to see what great things she will do with it! 

Like her mother, Marissa is very talented when it comes to music. Here is a video of her playing the piano for us last Christmas. She has also participated in dance and gymnastics and does well at both. 

We love you Marissa and we hope you have a wonderful birthday!