Merry Christmas

We want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and hope that with your families that you will take the time to remember the real reason for the holiday....the birth of

our Savior, Jesus Christ.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....

It is not quite Thanksgiving but at the Phillips house it is looking and feeling a little like Christmas. It is very cold here but not much snow. Michael, the boys and I put the outside decorations up last weekend. We also put his Star Trek tree up this year in the basement. I am hoping this weekend to get the upstairs tree up and the rest of the Christmas decorations. I am working towards a calm, enjoyable holiday season. Hopefully, we will get it.

Will it fit???

Well, the boat (the butt) has been winterized and put away for the winter. We chose the coldest, windiest night so far this year to do the winterizing. And of course, we did it in the dark. We were all very wet but 4 gallons of anti-freeze later it was done. It only took Michael, myself, Brandon and Justin to do it. Tyler missed out on the fun this year, he was working. On Halloween after moving Brandon and Kirsten into their new house Michael and Brandon wanted to put the boat in the garage so that they could work on it this winter. I was convinced that it would not fit but I was wrong, It fit but only by about an inch. Now the cars and trailer are in the driveway, the boat is in the garage and the boys can work on it. I have to scrape my windows at 5:30 am in the morning but the boat is out of the elements. I guess it is all about your priorities.

The last weekend of the season on "the butt"

It was the last boat trip of the year this weekend. Michael, myself, Tyler and Justin got up early about 5:30 am and picked Brandon up and we took the boat out for one last trip of the season. We went up to Deer Creek Reservior to do some fishing, well Michael, Brandon and Justin fished, Tyler and I slept. It wouldn't be a boat trip without a few small issues and a meltdown from Mom. We had a dead battery on the boat to begin with so we pulled out of the lake, unhooked everything and charged the boat with the Durango and then of course we are still new at the launching and loading of the boat. It looks so nice on the trailer and on the water but I will admit that getting it either place makes me a little anxious. Brandon is becoming quite good at backing the Durango and trailer in though. It was 33 degrees when we got on the lake and as you can see from one of the pictures we took, there is snow on the mountains. Tyler was so cold that he just burrowed under a blanket and we checked on him to make sure that he wasn't frostbitten. It shaped up to be a beautiful day. My favorite place to sit in the boat is in the bow of it but after today I have decided that sitting in the bow of the boat in August is a lot more fun than in the middle of October. Brrrr!! It was a lot of fun though. It is going to be a long winter. I think Michael and Brandon got a little teary eyed when we parked it for the season. (Just kidding)

Homecoming

It was homecoming for Justin last weekend. He had his wisdom teeth pulled the first weekend in October and was afraid that he was going to be swollen and bruised from them but he was good. He went with Amanda Martinez. I can't believe that he is a senior and that soon he will be getting ready to graduate.

Happy Autumn!!

It is hard to believe that it is October already. When your summer doesn't start until July it seems shortened in some ways. It has really cooled off now. There are some things that I love about autumn....candy corns, football games, apple cider (although it is not Michigan apple cider), caramel apples, warm days and cool nights, cuddling under a blanket with my hubby and the changing of the leaves. I miss Michigan in the fall, all the beautiful colors. You just don't get that here. I have been home from work for the last few days because Justin had his wisdom teeth out. He has been pretty swollen and the antibiotics have been making him sick to his stomach. He is going to back to school tomorrow and I am going back to work.

Fun Filled Weekend!

We have had a great weekend. To start with Michael and I were able attend my 25 year class reunion Saturday night. It was great to see people that I haven't seen in 25 years and see how well they have or have not aged. I would have to say that I am probably middle of the road. It was so fun to see my best friend, Lisa S. and to catch up with her. It was a little sad also. They had put together a DVD and there was a picture of my best friend, Doug who is not with us anymore. It was great to relive all the stupid and fun things we used to do. On Sunday after we attended the dedication of the newest temple we decided to take the boat out on her maiden voyage. I know, it was the Sabbath but we wanted Tyler to be part of the fun and he only has Sundays and Mondays off. We took Brandon, Kirsten, Tyler, Justin and Tyler's friend Hudson out on Utah Lake. What a blast! The day turned out to be perfect. We let the kids tube behind the boat and just wanted to see what "The Butt" would do. We had a little difficulty getting the boat back on the trailer at the end of the day but I am sure with practice it will get easier.

A New Addition....

We have a new addition to our family tonight and no it isn't a baby. It is a 1987, 21 foot Sea Ray boat. Michael has wanted a boat for a while and finally he got one. I don't know who was more excited Michael or Brandon. According to Kirsten, Brandon's wife, he didn't sleep a wink last night he was so excited. Brandon wanted to sleep in the boat tonight but Kirsten said, "No." I find it a little amazing since Brandon when he was little was terrified of boats. He loved to watch them be put in the water at Brower Park in Michigan but he didn't like being on them. Michael is like a kid in a candy store checking everything out. We are looking forward to lots of great family fun with the new boat. We are planning on taking it out on its maiden voyage this weekend.

Phillips Summer Resort

I have been telling my friend, Eric at work for months now that I post some pictures of the backyard. I have been such a slacker lately with my blog but I am going to try and be better. So finally....here my pictures of what we call "The Phillips Summer Resort." When we put the pool in we decided that it just wasn't worth it to try and grow grass so we brought in sand and created our own resort. It has a fire pit, tiki lamps, boardwalk, horseshoe pits, hammock and of course the pool. We absolutely love it!! The best part is probably no lawn mowing or watering. The only drawback is the dogs love to race around the pool, so we really have dog racing too, and they kick up the sand into the pool.

Sawyer Brown Concert

What a great night! My sister, Angie and I went and saw Sawyer Brown, my all time favorite band ever in concert tonight. We had so much fun. It is great to go out and not have to act our ages. We yelled, screamed and we basically crazy. We are both in agreement that the lead singer, Mark Miller is very sexy and man can he dance!! I think I have been to almost every concert that they have put on here since the early 90's and it never gets old. Just like my brother, Jason when he would see one of his favorite shows when he was a kid and for weeks after that is all he would play, I will spend the next week listening to all my Sawyer Brown CD's and waiting anxiously for their new album that will be out late this year. I can't wait!!

What happened???

As I got up this morning at 4:30 am that was my first question...what happened? It was snowing....again! For some reason after the beautiful, warm weekend that we had I was under the impression that it was going to be spring/summer. It was almost 70 degrees on Saturday. What a downer when you look over the window today. We have about 2-3 inches of the white stuff. And it is back to being cold, about 35 this morning. Sigh. :( I am beginning to wonder if spring will ever come.

Then and Now

24 years ago....we were both were a lot younger, probably a little naive, a few pounds lighter, one of us had more hair and we both know that we were marrying our best friend. We are celebrating 24 years of wedded bliss today, okay so maybe not all 24 years

were blissful but I would not trade them for anything. I still feel like I am married to my best friend. We have weathered the good times and the bad times and have come out stronger. We have survived the ups and downs that come with married life and grown closer despite our trials. We have raised three amazing boys (okay so we are a little bias.) The passion, love and commitment that we had for each other then has only increased today. I love Michael more today than I did 24 years ago. If someone asked me if I would do it all again knowing what I know, would I? The answer is "Yes!" Here's to 24 more years!