Happy Birthday Brayden!

Happy Birthday Bray-Bray! Brayden is now officially in the "double-digits", with his 10th birthday today. And, contrary to popular Phillips myth, he did not turn into a girl. Hahah. Brayden is definitely all boy. He likes sports and active adventure-type things like mountain biking. Grandpa Tutu got to go on a weekend trip in Zion National Park with Brayden and his Dad camping out in the wild and doing extreme mountain biking. They had lots of fun. 

Mom and Dad were happy to be involved with Brayden's baptism 2 years ago. 

 

 Like his Dad, Brayden is very interested in scientific stuff--like germs, bugs, blood, dinosaurs and especially rocks. He has a big collection of rocks on display at his Dad's office. He has also started to collect lots of different knives too. He is doing great in scouts and will probably beat his Dad to the eagle rank.

Did I mention that Brayden has awesome hair? I tease him about being "Justin Beiber".

 He likes Laser Tag and go carts and he was a master of video games when Mom and I got the chance to take him to Mulligans Theme Park a few months ago. Mom and I were very impressed at how well Brayden interacted with the server at Chili's and all of the people at Mulligans. He and I had to wait in a very long line to play laser tag, and he was so patient I couldn't believe it! He was also very patient sitting through his sisters 3 hour long dance recital--with no complaints!

 Here he is demonstrating his excellent coordination. A while ago when we were visiting Temecula, we got a chance to watch Brayden play with his basketball team, which was very fun. He did good, and he really hustled up and down the court until his cheeks were red. Way to go Brayden!

Brayden is also very gracious, he always says "thank you" right away when he is given something, which is a very nice quality to have. He is very appreciative and really has the best manners.

 Like his sisters, Brayden is growing up to be quite good-looking! Luckily, he still thinks girls are "gross", so we don't have to worry about that for awhile. :)

 Brayden is an excellent reader, and he is a big fan of Harry Potter. He told me that his birthday wish would be to go visit the new "Harry Potter" ride at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. (I'm sure your Aunt Jennifer and Uncle J.J. would love to take you).
We love you Brayden and we hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Happy Birthday Erica!

Erica turns 4 years old today! She is having a real birthday party, with 15 of her closest friends, and they are going to decorate cupcakes.

We got to spend lots of time with Erica this past summer when she visited us with her Mom and sister. Erica is super sweet to Sadie, and it is so cute when they play together. Erica acts like a little "mom" sometimes.

Erica is an excellent artist, she loves coloring and drawing. I am very impressed by how well she stays inside the lines in her My Little Pony coloring book. She also loves to read stories and have them read to her.

She has just gotten into her "asking questions" phase, and she has another question for every answer you give her. I actually think her questions are really smart, and tough to answer sometimes.

Erica has always been very girly, and that has not changed since she was a baby. She loves to wear dresses, makeup, jewelry, and heels. She loves purses, barbies, and princesses. She has also started dance and gymnastics and is doing well at both.

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

Happy Birthday Sam!

Happy 10th birthday Sam-O! Its hard to believe Sam is already in double-digits. We had the opportunity to spend some quality time with him a few weeks ago when Spencer and his family visited us.

Sam has always been exceptionally intelligent. His favorite subject is science. In fact, while he and I made divinity together while he was at our house, he told me that 2 of his favorite things are science and cooking. I thought that made pretty good sense because cooking is really just science in action. Did I mention that Sam pretty much did everything for the divinity and I just stirred it? He's an awesome helper.

Sam is also super talented. He has always been very athletically able, and he easily takes to all sports. He's especially good at soccer and snowboarding. Here he is finishing a 5K race in Pocatello.

Sam is learning to play the French Horn and he's doing really good. He is a super older brother and treats his little sisters very sweetly.

Sam is also very mature. He patiently waits for his turn, he has no problem sharing, and he understands when the answer sometimes has to be "No". I have been very impressed with how much Sam has grown up and I'm so excited to see what he does with his potential in the future.

We love you so much Sam!

Happy Birthday Lea!

Lea turns one year old today! We were lucky enough to spend some time with her last week when family was visiting.

Spencer's family dominates the August birthdays. This picture is one of my favorites ever! So sweet...

She is seriously a beautiful baby--high cheekbones and long eyelashes--she's going to be a knockout. Spencer better start taking karate or something.

She loves music--she has great rhythm and bounces along on beat with whatever song is playing. She entertains herself well, by pushing around in the walker or scooting backwards. We are hoping that she will start crawling soon.

We love you Lea and we hope we will see you again soon! Happy birthday!

Happy Birthday Knox!!

Knox turned 7 on August 1st. We can't believe he is already 7 years old! It seems like just yesterday that Knox was a little...okay, not so little...but a snuggly little baby with a raspy cry. Knox's raspy voice is so unique and so cute--we just love it!

It was fun to be able to hang out with Knox last week, he is a fun-loving kid and he idolizes his older brothers. He's in a tough spot because he has two older brothers and two younger sisters--the ultimate middle child. But, he handles his position well, he's a wonderful brother!

He's the life of the party--all the kids at his school can't wait for Knox to show up--especially the girls. :) He's got a great sense of humor too!

Knox and I have always had fun together--he always hangs around when I'm reading to the little kids so he can hear me read too. I love that! We get along really well.

We love you Knox and we hope you had a wonderful birthday, and that you have an awesome year!

Happy Birthday J.J.!

Our marathon birthday month ends with J.J.'s birthday on the 28th.

JJ has always been extremely laid back, even as a baby. Mom said JJ was her easiest delivery, and beyond that she doesn't remember much, so he must have been really good. (The picture below is from the "butterball" days).

J.J. and Roo were the best of friends growing up, they loved pound puppies, Star Wars, and throwing toys off the balcony. They played volleyball in high school together too.

JJ is notorious in our family for being the most easy-going. In fact, some of our favorite JJ stories stem from his ability to achieve these extreme levels of relaxation. For example, when JJ was very young, he used to play by himself and kind of "zone out". When the older brothers would ask him what he was doing, he would say that he was "in the X-dimension".

Another good story is from when JJ was a teenager. He was working on his homework very intently. I was playing office with Mom, and we both walked into the kitchen together. We freaked out because there was a huge fire about 200 yards away in our backyard that had been going for awhile, and JJ hadn't even noticed!

JJ is more than just an easy going brother. He is known for being one of the funniest brothers as well. JJ is like Dad because he will be quiet and then just at the right moment he'll throw out the funniest comment, movie quote, or observation. This makes JJ dang fun to hang out with because you just never know what he's going to say, but you can be sure it will be hilarious.

JJ is a HUGE sports fan. He has always wanted to work for a sports team, and he still hopes that he might be able to do some kind of accounting for a sports team in the future. JJ has spent every morning since he learned how to read with his nose buried in the sports page. He knows all the players, history and statistics from every team for every sport... except baseball.

JJ loves sports, and the only thing he loves more is his family. When he found out Jennifer was pregnant, he announced it on his facebook wall by saying:

"Come this spring, it looks like only one of my top two life goals (watching the Jazz win the championship & becoming a Dad) will be fulfilled. I think it’s pretty obvious which one."

JJ is a wonderful husband and father. He is very hands-on with Nolan, and I think Jennifer is glad for that. He is so excited to be a Daddy!

He is patient, gentle and sweet. He also takes great care of the kitty cats!

We had so much fun visiting JJ a few weeks ago for Nolan's blessing. He gave his son a beautiful blessing and then he bore his testimony, which was nice to hear.

We love you JJ! We are glad that you are a part of your family and we miss you! We hope you have an awesome birthday!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Tutu!

Dads birthday was on July 24, and we celebrated by having a big America/Army themed party. There were 10 grandkids in the house, which is exactly what Dad wanted for his birthday. Here, he is being serenaded by Marissa, Nathan, Erica, Sadie, Mary and Lea.

Happy Birthday Spencer!

Spencer is actually in Idaho this week with his 5 kids, and we are excited to be able to celebrate his birthday with him.

Spencer's nickname as a kid was "smiley" because he was always cheerful and had lots of smiles to give everybody. As he grew up he earned additional nicknames like Spendo and Spendork from his siblings.

Spencer is SO dang talented! He took on a full renovation of his basement--on his own. He taught himself how to do everything--electricity, flooring, plumbing, drywall, egress window--everything by looking stuff up online or getting books from the library. Working on the basement was a long process and the entire family got involved. The finished product is beautiful and has added lots of value to their home.

Although Spencer's basement renovation is remarkable, he has always had a creative streak. When he was younger he used his talents to create skateboard ramps, crossbow targets and he even made his own surfboards as a teenager. Now, he uses his woodworking tools to create all kinds of neat things. He also made a violin bow for Kristin, which he said is one of the more difficult things to make.

Spencer is a great Dad to his 5 kids. He's very hands on and very patient. He wasn't always as patient as he is today, I believe he learned this skill while he was on his mission in Baltimore and New York City--some of the toughest cities in America!

Spencer has also had a very interesting career, working as a lawyer for big corporations and underserved populations alike. He also loved working as a Judge. I remember when I was visiting them a few years ago and Spencer was genuinely excited about his job. He is one of the few people who I know that truly loved what they do. Our conversation gave me hope that I might be able to find a career that I love one day too.

Spencer and Kristin have been married almost 13 years! They are still every bit as sweet to each other and affectionate as they were back then.

Spencer has a lot on his plate, with 5 kids, working, projects, and teaching seminary every morning at 6am. He handles every challenge with an admirable positive attitude. He is very loving and always seems to have more to give to anyone in need.

We love you Spencer and hope you have a very happy birthday!