Phillips Blog

We found out...

2011-11-15T16:11:00.000-08:00

We are expecting a GIRL!!! I was pretty sure it was a girl. I was sick 4 weeks longer at the beginning and one week longer at the end of morning sickness, than I was with the boys. I am so glad those days are over. I remember the boys pregnancies being rather identical, and since this one was so different I was thinking it must be a girl this time. Her due date is April 13th. I am 18 1/2 weeks along now :)

Scott and I decided it would be fun to have the boys come along for the ultrasound. We were able to point out her head, tummy, hands and feet. They even got to hear her heartbeat. I really think they enjoyed being there. With the boys being older they are so much more involved and I am enjoying that. They are constantly giving the baby (or rather my tummy) hugs and kisses. Brycen always tells her not to come out yet. And Jacen reminds me how big I have to get before she is ready to come out. I am so grateful that the boys are at such a helpful age. They are learning to clean up their toys and are great at getting them selves ready for the day (of course I put their clothes out for them...but they do the rest). I am sure they are going to be great big brothers.

Here is a (not so flattering) picture of me from Saturday. I am at the stage where people are no longer afraid to ask if I am pregnant. Of course those that know me well, have been talking about my belly for a month now...but those that didn't know I was pregnant are now starting to ask.

Halloween Part 2

2011-11-10T14:41:00.000-08:00

Of course we carved pumpkins :) I don't know that Brycen remembers much about this from last year. He took out a tiny bit of the gutts and then decided he was done. It took some convincing to keep him going.

Jacen was so excited to get started. He had been asking to carve pumpkins for days.

Here are the boys with their finished products. Bridella helped Brycen and I helped Jacen.

Jacen had a party at preschool. One of the things that they did was Pin the Nose on the Pumpkin.

We also went to the Trunk or Treat on Halloween. Some friends met us there. Here are Jacen and Brycen with Noah and Molly. The boys got tons of candy, and were so excited.

Halloween Fun

2011-11-07T07:32:00.000-08:00

We loved Halloween at Sea World last year so much that we had to be sure to go this year. We went Saturday, October 8th. This year Jacen was a Fireman and Brycen was a Dinosaur. It was so cute because Brycen would say "Trick or Treat Roar" and so Jacen had to come up with something to say for a Fireman. He asked, "Mom Firemen are serious right?" Then he started to say, "Trick or Treat, Stay out of my Firetruck". We got a kick out of this.

Jacen remembered decorating cookies last year, so we were sure to do it again. Licking his fingers like his mother does.

I got to help Brycen. I didn't know frosting tasted so good

until I licked my fingers. This pregnancy has been so interesting with that, I don't know if I am going to like something until I try it. Sweets..I love sweets but I am not even wanting them. I ate all the extra frosting :) Yumm!!

We also enjoyed all the holiday shows :)

Dress Up

2011-10-29T19:08:00.000-07:00

Here are some fun pictures of my boys :)

Jacen dressed in Scott's clothes at nap time.

Then Brycen went and got Jacen's soccer uniform and put it on :)

My favorite part is that that Brycen's feet are not all the way down

in the socks...but he was so proud that he got the uniform, including the huge socks, on all by himself.

Soccer

2011-10-27T20:52:00.000-07:00

Jacen started soccer practice in August. They had their first game on September 10th. He has 7 on his team and they play 4 vs 4 (including a goalie). When the coach asked which name they wanted (and she gave options) Jacen said, "I've got it, we are the Rockstars". Everyone agreed. So the Rockstars they are :)

Jacen is the one on the left.

Brycen is the honorary player, eats snacks with them and all :)

Preschool

2011-10-27T18:56:00.000-07:00

This is Jacen's second year of preschool. He was so excited for the first day. He started August 29th, which was a week after Scott started back to the high school. He could hardly wait. He asked all Summer how much longer until School started again.

My boys...being my boys...don't know why they both can't smile at the same time. They are such goobers! Brycen's cheesy smile makes me laugh.

Potty Training

2011-10-25T13:10:00.000-07:00

I love talking to others about potty training (and the like). I guess this is exactly why I got my degree in Child Development :) The baby and toddler ages always interest me. I enjoy hearing what has worked and not worked for all my friends.

As for me, I was so excited when I realized that it will be 8 months of no diapers in our house :) For those of you asking what worked for us, here it is :) Disclaimer: I know that every child is different and maybe I have not met my match yet. It is not like me to publicize my opinion out there where it can be offensive to others...this might end up being the first and last time that I do this :)

We kind of have an open door bathroom policy. Our boys have always seen us use the bathroom. I think it is healthy for children in diapers to see that their parents/siblings use the toilet :)

We start around 2 years old (18 months if you feel ambitious, or even later than 2 1/2 if you feel you or the child are not ready) with encouraging the child to go on the toilet, we do this randomly or after changing their diaper, find what works for you. With Brycen I would ask every time I changed his diaper, "do you want to go potty on the toilet". Some days I would even ask if he wanted underwear or a diaper and let him decide.

1st time on the toilet: Read books, sing songs, find what excites your child. It will take them awhile to learn the urges that come along with potty training (my boys held it). They might not go potty but it is getting them used to the potty/toilet that matters at this point. You can also try turning on the water or running water down their legs as they sit on the toilet.

I talk with them about being a big boy(/girl, if I had a girl). Then right around 2 1/2 I decide a time that will work for "potty training" (a time when we can be home a lot or at least no road trips for about two week, etc). I tell the child all about the day, however they understand time. (days of the week- on Thursday you get to wear big boy underwear, count down to the day- in 5 days we are going to wear big boy underwear..then count down each day, etc.) With Brycen I told him we were going to go potty on the toilet all the time when we got home from grandma and grandpas house (he had over a week of me preparing him).

We go straight to underwear (it is important that they really like the underwear they will be wearing). The reason that we do underwear is because the child knows when they are wet and can learn the process faster. We also do underwear at bed...and plan to wash sheets frequently for about a week (although our boys stay dry more than not, even at the beginning...if they were to wet every night we might have changed our opinion). We also go straight to the big toilet (with step stool and the kids seat on top). We do this really just because the idea of the little toilets disgusted Scott. I have found that the kids like to be big like us anyway.

Jacen received a book for his 2nd Birthday from a friend called, "My Very Own Potty!" by Fisher-Price. He really liked this book. The book even came with a stickers and sticker chart with Sun-Sat. For Brycen we found a potty chart online at google.com by searching "free potty charts". I let Brycen choose between a few of my favorites. We give stickers for having success on the toilet (the first few times Brycen wanted a sticker and he didn't go. I told him he could have a sticker on his hand for trying but that stickers only go on the chart when he goes potty in the toilet. I like this approach because I don't like to focus on how many times they don't go but rather that they sat on the toilet and tried.) Both my boys took awhile longer with the poop...which means poop in underwear...yuck!! I then use chocolate as a bribe, because that is just gross! Chocolate seems to do the trick after awhile.

I tried having both boys naked when potty training because I understand that they can confuse the underwear for a diaper. It didn't work for us, I became the "don't touch yourself" police. Just underwear was perfect for us. With my boys I started with a reminder every 15min. If they didn't go sit on the toilet one time then the next 15min, I would say it is time to go sit on the toilet. I found that with Brycen all I needed was to say "do you have to go potty" every so often. He would get mad at me if I suggested it too often so I quickly stepped back a bit. We still to this day go potty before we ever leave the house, and before going to nap or to bed. The boys have this routine ingrained in their heads now.

Something I also do, is wait for them to ask for the chocolate and stickers after the first few days. They will start going for the praise and not for the reward, this is key. (I would take notes of accidents and the successes that didn't get stickers on another sheet of paper.) Be sure to always praise them for their efforts. If they go on the floor let them know that you are sad that they didn't go in the toilet. I am sure to tell their dad how big they were that day when he gets home from work...or I have the child tell him that they went potty/poop on the toilet. Again we don't focus on the negative. We also call grandparents tons for the praise from them :) Good luck! Feel free to ask questions because I feel like I could go on and on..and if you know me you know this is true :)

Pregnant & Potty Training

2011-10-20T19:44:00.000-07:00

While in Spokane I was prepping Brycen on wearing BIG BOY underwear and going potty on the toilet. He was so excited. And it was that first day back from Spokane (August 15th), that first day of potty training, that I realized I was pregnant. On Wednesday, just two days later, I took a pregnancy test just to be sure. It was POSITIVE!! We are so excited.

Brycen took one week to not have accidents. He is now potty trained day and night. We are so excited for him!!

Trip to Spokane

2011-10-15T22:50:00.000-07:00

In August we were off to Spokane to visit Scott's Parents. We were able to go for 13 days. This was the first trip where we had to buy Brycen a ticket. He was so excited to have his own seat.

Jacen was excited he got to sit by his dad.

We got to help pick berries.

Go to a Baseball game.

Go to a cat park called Cat Tails.

Go visit Scott's Aunt LaRose, in Montana.

Play...

Play....

Play...

And play some more.

Scott and I even escaped to the temple. Thanks

for watching the boys so we could go :) And thanks for having us, we had a great time!!

Swim Lessons

2011-10-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

This Summer we put the boys in Swim Lessons. We signed up for a 2 week session with our friends, which was a blast.

Here Margo and I are with Tyler and Brycen. We were part of a Mommy and Me class.

Jacen and Joel were in the next class up (3 & 4yr olds). I was a little concerned that Jacen was going to want me with him. The first day I walked around the pool with his class but once we got in the water, he told us we could go with our class. He is really growing up. Every day following he would walk quickly (since there is no running) to his class as soon as he saw his teachers.

Brycen loved being in the water. He would throw the toys and then swim to get them. He is a natural.

He wanted to do everything BY HIMSELF of course. That just comes with being 2 right? He is going to love being in the big class next Summer.

Jacen was really good at following directions. He floated on his back....

and swam across the pool.

Both boys had a great time.

Last Gymnastic Class

2011-10-12T18:47:00.001-07:00

Jacen has been in Gymnastics since September 2010. He has absolutely loved it. It is a 45min drive from here. With us going out of town in August and Jacen starting Soccer in September we decided to take a little break.

Jacen's teacher let Brycen also join in at his last

session. The boys talk about going back to Gymnastics once Soccer is all over. (just wish there was one closer!!)

Visitor

2011-10-12T18:40:00.000-07:00

Scott's nephew, Mike, came and stayed with us
for 9 weeks this Summer. It was fun to have him. The boys still call the office "Mike's room". And Brycen often asks where Mike is, or includes Mike in the family prayer. We had a ton of fun while Mike was here.

We went to a Dodger Game. A first for all of us.

We went to the beach. Scott and Mike

went Boogie Boarding.

The boys jumped

waves :)

We went to Six Flags TWICE. Scott was able to sign Mike and I up as Chaperons for Grad Nite. We had a fun time. Thanks mom and dad for watching the boys. Green Lantern was supposed to be opened but since it wasn't we received Bounce Back Tickets. Scott once again scored and got a return ticket for Jacen. We went back with the boys -only costing us gas and meals- and had

a great time.

Jacen was 42" so he could ride some of the bigger rides.

His favorite was Flash.

Brycen was 36". Six Flags had a large kid section. Bigger than we expected from looking at the map online. They were in heaven.

My favorite ride was the last of the night Tatsu. No picture to show how awesome it truly was. (Mike and Scott actually rode it at Grad Nite, but I was too tired by 4am and needed to go get re-energized with our free buffet.) On Tatsu, your seat is brought forward like you are flying through the ride. Since we had the boys with us we got to take part in Parent Swap. So Mike and I stood in line for the 1 hour. Scott kept the kids busy and met us at the exit. Where him and Mike switch places, and I got to ride it a second time :) Did the same thing for Green Lantern, (and some other rides too) Scott and Mike stood in line, and we switched, wasn't really all that great if you ask me. We had a really great time if you ask us!! The only thing that could have made it better was no traffic and detours on the freeway at the wee hours of the night.

This is a video of Brycen's dance moves. A must see!! The song is MC Hammer's, Can't Touch This. It is hard to hear on this video for some reason, but is still so cute. Yes he got his moves from his daddy @ this

Also, we were able to go to the San Diego Temple. Mike got a job at KFC, and also took a trip with the Young Men to an Diamondbacks game. Thanks Mike for the fun visit!

Sea World

2011-10-09T21:17:00.000-07:00

We love Sea World. Forget the fact that it takes us 2 1/2 hours to get there. Our passes are used tons. Here are some pictures of our different trips. Once we were even able to meet up with some friends, who also have passes.

The boys enjoying the new Turtle Reef. It is really cool! All the turtles here were born at Sea World, they also have lots and lots of tropical fish.

The kids favorite Summer show is still Cirque de la Mer...heavens, their favorite show at Sea World is Cirque de la Mer. When it isn't Summer the boys are constantly asking how much longer until it will be back. The Sea Lions tonight is a close second because of the fun pre-show of Biff dancing. I guess I have him to thank that my boys are always playing Justin Bieber's song Baby. They have some fun moves too.

Preschool Promotion

2011-10-09T20:31:00.000-07:00

Jacen got to participate in graduation even though he has one more year of preschool. He has absolutely loved preschool. This is my son singing 5 Little Monkeys. I thought it was so cute, he gets his personality from Scott for sure. He said to me as we were watching the video, "look at how silly I am, look at my fingers." He would put fingers up on both hands to equal the number of monkeys jumping on the bed.

Here he is

with his achievement certificate :)

Prom 2011

2011-10-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

With Scott being the ASB/Leadership Advisor at our high school, Prom is a huge deal. This was my third year going to Prom with my husband. I love being able to support him by helping him chaperon. It also gives me an excuse to find a new dress and dress up for an evening :) Thanks dad for coming up and watching the boys for us, we appreciate it!!

Spring Break

2011-09-12T19:41:00.001-07:00

For Spring Break

we were off to Utah. We spent

Easter at Scott's sister Denise's house. We had a fun time coloring eggs, looking for eggs and enjoying our Easter Baskets :) It was a fun Easter Sunday.

Then we were off to my Sister Holly's house. She watched the boys while we went to the Temple. We returned to her with 3 boys on the counter helping make cookies. Too fun!!

We also met up with my brother Joey and his family at a yogurt shop. It was so fun. The boys were so loud that we moved outside to visit. They were so fun playing all together :)

We got to spend time with Scott's sisters Tekoa and Treana and their families, our friends the Elmers, and Scott had a guys night with some of his best buddies, but apparently we didn't get any pictures. Also on the way home we had dinner in St. George with my Aunts. Lets just say that I was pretty bad at taking pictures during this vacation. But the vacation was wonderful.

Easter at Preschool

2011-09-12T13:14:00.000-07:00

After dropping Jacen off at preschool Brycen gets
to stay and play with a couple of his friends at the playground. One of the moms, Gloria, was sticking around to take pictures of the kids Easter egg hunt. We decided we would too :) Jacen's teacher even made Molly and Brycen little baskets of their own. Here is the only picture I got before the kids were given the "okay". (Jacen is the first person in the picture and Brycen is right behind Molly at the back)

The kids were instructed to find 10 eggs and then to sit down. Jacen was the only one to follow the directions :) The teachers had to go stop kids that had overflowing baskets.

Once again playing the Catch Up Game

2011-09-12T13:11:00.000-07:00

I keep getting on here to post and then I get all caught up in looking at the pictures from the past few months. Lets just say that life has been busy and I am going to be posting a ton to catch you up on the happenings of the Phillips Clan :)

Disneyland

2011-07-15T15:38:00.000-07:00

Every child has to experience Disneyland. Our boys got to on April 9th!!

We started with Buzz Lightyear. Jacen got more points than I did...for real, what is this world coming to?!?! (to my defense Brycen was needing help)

Then to Autopia where as Jacen says, "kids get to drive"

Got to meet Mickey (and Tigger and Eeyore)

Scott and I wanted the boys to experience the rollercoster in toontown first to see how the boys liked it...well...they loved it!!

Jacen got to ride just about everything. Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, (Splash Mountain was under construction)...but the ride he had his eye on was Matterhorn. You can see it from anywhere in the park. Both boys got to ride the Matterhorn and loved every minute!! Thankfully the park wasn't too packed and most rides had fast passes!!

We also enjoyed Dumbo

The Carrousel

and It's a Small World (which I didn't think Scott would ever go on...but he "did it for the boys"). It is so wonderful watching your kids experience life and new adventures.

March

2011-07-15T14:44:00.000-07:00

Also, in March my friend Bridella took a personal day, from teaching high school, and would you believe she watched my kids during most of it?!?! I needed to go get blood work done to be sure my Thyroid was normal (3 of my 5 sisters have thyroid issues), and she didn't want me to put it off. Then she even made a chiropractor appointment for me. I was just going to wait a week until the chiropractor had an opening after 4pm, when Scott would be home to watch the kids. Anyway, the kids had a blast at Bridella's house.

They Played with the new baby chicks....

Played Frisbee...

and played in the sand (we have a ton of it in Yucca Valley)...

Pictures of the Boys

2011-07-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

We got the boys pictures taken yet again :) We love our photographer at JC Penney and you can't beat the price!!! Here are some of my favorites:

Brycen-

Jacen-

The 2 boys-

We are still alive

2011-07-14T14:35:00.001-07:00

I really enjoy the blog world but then I get so far behind I don't know where to begin...so I put it off and off again. So here is your update on the Phillips Family :) ENJOY!!

So lets begin with January. I turned the big 3-0 and that was a big deal for me. My calling at church changed. I had been the Relief Society (women's group) Secretary for 4 years. I was under 3 different Presidents during that 4 years. I now work in the Primary, as the 2nd Counselor. I love working with the kids. And it was perfect timing too. Jacen entered Primary in January and was not going to let me leave his side.

In February....Jacen turned 4. He said that he would go to class by himself when he turned 4...thank goodness his birthday is February 8th and not in December!! He began going by himself the first Sunday in February...by himself I mean: he was not sitting on my lap, hugging my leg when I conducted, and he even went to class without me. It was perfect timing because I was over the sharing time in February :)

I really wanted to do a birthday party for the boys this year. I chickened out and it was a good thing too. On Jacen's birthday he informed me that it was just going to be the 4 of us. When I told him our friend Bridella was coming over, he finally said, okay the 5 of us. He informed me that I was to make yellow cake with brown frosting. After he helped me make the batter I got out a 9x13 pan....and that wasn't right either. "No yellow cupcakes with brown frosting". Too bad the night before when we were at the store he wouldn't choose a cake and frosting. I decided to get my favorite, funfetti. That was not going to work!! Thankfully we had yellow cake in the cupboard and Scott was able to run to the store on his way home from work to grab some brown frosting. During dinner Jacen informed us that we were to jump out and say "surprise"....so we did just that. Once dinner was cleaned up we turned off the lights, hid, called Jacen in, and SURPRISE!! You should have seen the smile on that boys face! He was so happy!!

Brycen turned 2 on February 19th. Scott didn't have school on the 18th so off to Sea World we went. (We love our season passes!) Brycen got to enjoy his birthday with Grandma and Grandpa Anderson and he loved every minute. The Funfetti cake and frosting I originally bought for Jacen's birthday didn't go to waste :)

In March Scott was part of the High School Rock Off. He got some kids together, taught them the moves and if you ask me they were by far the best group. Someone posted it to youtube, and since I don't know how to post from the actual DVD, you will have to settle with this version.

Updates

2011-01-07T17:17:00.000-08:00

Here are some updates for you!! I think I must have got overwhelmed with all my desired August posts. Enjoy!! Don't forget to click to the next page!!

In November

2011-01-07T17:14:00.000-08:00

We celebrated our 6th Anniversary!! Who knew time could fly so fast!! I love being married to such a wonderful husband! Thanks Scott for all you do for me!!

Halloween part 2

2011-01-07T16:55:00.000-08:00

We decided to go to Sea World for Halloween. Why not right?! Season passes are so great!! And my parents have them too :) (it is 2 1/2 hours away but a good excuse to visit the parents, who live 20 minutes from the park)

Halloween shows :)

The boys got to Trick or Treat at the park

Some fun fish costumes :)

The boys got to decorate cookies

Then we headed to my parents' ward Trunk or Treat. Jacen's favorite part were all the games, Brycen's favorite was the candy and toys.

Halloween part 1

2011-01-07T16:46:00.001-08:00

THE CARVING OF PUMPKINS

The boys taking out the pumpkin guts.

Chuck joining

in on the fun :)

The final products.

In October

2011-01-07T16:43:00.001-08:00

We went to support Brennen Edwards, the boys cousin, in Football. Here are the boys with my mom and dad (also in the picture...Chuck and his girlfriend Nicole). Jacen keeps taking about his cousin's football game. He loved it!!

Padres Game

2011-01-07T16:38:00.000-08:00

In September we took Grandma Anderson along for a Padres game. Thanks for coming Grandma!!

Also in August

2011-01-07T16:24:00.000-08:00

Jacen started Gymnastics. He is loving it!! (My pictures are too dark...so here is a tiny video)

Jacen also started Preschool.

Brycen enjoys the time he gets to play with the BIG kids before school starts :)

Encinitas Beach Trip (Still August)

2011-01-07T16:11:00.001-08:00

We were able to go to the beach while Holly and family were in town.

It was a family affair :) We love playing with our cousins!!

All the California Clans came... Darcy, Crystal, Blythe, my mom, and us.

Thanks Holly for coming and giving us a reason to get together :)

Off to Texas

2011-01-07T15:31:00.000-08:00

We then got in the car and headed to Texas.

To play with Cousins of course!!

To swim with Cousins!

To keep cool with Cousins!

To watch baseball with Cousins!!

To look for Alligators with Cousins!!

Proof that we saw an alligator!

Thanks Aimee and Charles for the visit!! We love you guys!

August

2011-01-07T14:01:00.000-08:00

In August we were able to take a trip to Tennessee and Texas. We flew into Tennessee and visited with our friends the Palmers. It was really great timing too, because we got to see Zach before he left on his mission.

Zach and Jacen playing Frisbee.

The boys keeping cool in the sprinkler.

A walk to the pond.

The cool pizza/arcade place. With mini bowling :)

Thanks for having us!! We had a great time!!

Nursery

2011-01-07T13:48:00.000-08:00

Brycen turned 18 months the end of August but was able to enter Nursery a month early. Our Bishopric didn't see the need for me to have hall duty every week :) Brycen was more than happy!!

Shelf Reliance is having a great Black Friday event!!

2010-11-26T22:22:00.000-08:00

I know I have been away from the blog world once again....but I have been up to some great things. Like consulting for Shelf Reliance :)

The following are amazing prices from a consultant

(like myself):

* FD Blackberries $13.80

* FD Blueberries $24.29

* FD Strawberries $12.30

* FD Celery $10.85

* FD Green Beans $10.39

* FD Chopped Onions $9.70

* Tomato Powder $23.13

* White Rice $6.69

* Fudge Brownies $9.61

* Cansolidator Cupboard $19.00

* Mixed Berry 6 Pack $89.99

* Nalgene Bottle $14.99

* Providence Basic Two Person 72 Hour Kit $79.99

* Expedition Basic Four Person 72 Hour Kit $139.99

* ...and more!!!

These prices are good through Sunday, November 28th. All you need to do to get these prices is leave me your email address. (for those of you that might read my blog that I don't know...don't hesitate to take advantage of this great deal, too!) Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Shopping!!

Other cute pictures

2010-09-09T21:55:00.000-07:00

Here are some random pictures from the Summer.

Jacen just being Jacen!

What do you think he will be...a musician or a doctor??

Brycen just being Brycen!!

Dressing up in brothers hat and glasses :)

And giving a big "cheese" to the camera!

I love it when the boys watch shows together on Brycen's bike. Wish I had a better picture of them. One of those moments that melts a mothers heart.

The New Purchase

2010-09-09T21:47:00.001-07:00

We bought a second car, the end of June!! We love our new Honda Civic! I chose the color...and I must say, I did a great job. I love it!!

My Hair

2010-09-09T21:32:00.000-07:00

This is for you Denise :) I think all pictures of myself are cheesy....and this one is no exception. Here is the best picture I have of my haircut. Enjoy! (I had Scott take pictures, the day after I got it cut. At least it gives you an idea of what it looks like.)

Beach Trips

2010-09-03T09:41:00.000-07:00

We also got to enjoy the beach a few times. Too bad the weather was cooler this year...because we would have gone a couple more times!

Brycen playing in the sand....his favorite!

Jacen and Daddy in the waves. Jacen loves the water!

Getting ready to jump the waves with Mommy.

More from Summer to come...like our new purchase and our big trip of the Summer :)

Play Group

2010-09-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Lots and lots of playgroups. We took advantage of the "water park" (splash pad).

The boys really love picnics :) I can make their day just by bringing hotdogs or chicken nuggets to playgroup.

I love this picture of the girls observing the boys. Too fun! My boys love playgroup and look forward to it every week!

Shows at the Library

2010-09-03T07:33:00.000-07:00

We went to a few shows at the library. This first on is a balloon show. This guy puts himself in a balloon at the end of the show.

Jacen thought it was so funny!

It really was hilarious. We also went to a show called "Animal Magic" which was also really good. My pictures didn't come out very well :(

The Fair

2010-09-03T07:06:00.000-07:00

We went to the San Diego County Fair with my mom. We had fun! While there we fed the Sheep.

We watched the pig races :) (We ate snacks while we waited for the races to begin.)

Jacen loved that the pigs race for an Oreo Cookie. They are his favortite.

Summer Part 1

2010-08-30T22:54:00.000-07:00

We are still alive :) Here are some of the things that we have been up to this summer... (more to come).

Visit from Parents

2010-08-30T22:45:00.001-07:00

Scott's parents came to visit. Here is Jacen with Grandma and Grandpa Phillips.

And a picture that Grandma and Grandpa Phillips took of our family.

Sea World

2010-08-30T22:34:00.000-07:00

We went to Sea World tons :) Once even purchasing the Dine All Day

pass, totally worth it if you eat as much as we did!

Jacen's favorite show, Cirque de la Mer. He often refers to himself as the Blue guy, and does their routines. (He is very disappointed that the show is already over for the summer and keeps asking when it will be back.) Right now he is saying, "that is me, mommy" I will have to record him doing one of their routines. He is so fun to watch.

The boys with my parents at Sea World.

We got to see the dolphins playing with balls....

and the new dolphin show.

Craftsman Across America

2010-08-30T21:43:00.000-07:00

Did you hear about the man driving a Craftsman Lawn Mower across country?? Guess where he stopped?? Yucca Valley, of all places. When my friend Shaunna told me about it, we decided we had to go check it out. Plus, they had a fire truck there for the little guys. We had a blast.

The guy who stared in California on May 15th and road to New York (ending on August 24th).

Here we are enjoying hot dogs and root beer floats :)

And the boys favorite part, the fire truck!!

Hair, Hair, No More Hair

2010-08-30T21:05:00.000-07:00

I donated my hair to Locks of Love. On May 18th I got 12 inches cut off :)

I was grateful to get it done before the hot Summer made its way here.

6 ponytails

Fortune

2010-05-07T20:44:00.000-07:00

This is kind of random :) Last night we got Chinese food, it was so yummy! I love it when I don't feel like cooking and Scott comes home suggesting Chinese or pizza. Anyway, here is our conversation:

Stacia: (after reading fortune) Maybe we got each others fortune, get this, (I read my fortune out loud), "Work hard and you will become more wealthy". We must have gotten each others fortunes, maybe yours is meant for me. :)
Scott: Is that so?
Stacia: Please hurry up and open your fortune cookie. I am so curious if we got each others fortune. (Really how do you know if you got the right one or not??)
Scott: (opens his fortune) "You and your wife will be happy in your life together"
Stacia: What ever, it doesn't really say you and your wife!!?
Scott: Yep, see for yourself

So maybe my theory was wrong...I don't have a wife so I guess that one really was intended for him. At least they were fun fortunes, lately they have been really dumb. Thanks fortune cookies for the laughs!

The Catch Up

2010-04-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

So...as we have all realized, I am not the best at keeping up with my blog. The following posts are my attempt at catching you up for the month of February. I will be posting April soon (meaning next week), so stay tuned :) Thanks to all my loyal viewers...if people weren't checking my blog I would have probably quit posting by now. Love you all!!

Brycen's Bike

2010-04-27T14:12:00.000-07:00

Brycen loves his bike. It must be the best seat in the house because he chooses to sit on it all the time. We have also taken it outside, the yellow bottom of the rocker becomes a handle to push the bike. Brycen loves that he has a bike like brother.

I love that the bike was $20 cheaper than the original one. I wasn't super excited that it was Backyardagains since he doesn't know who they are...but when I put it all together I just left that silly circle off and what do we have???...the cutest bike ever! I really love the colors!

Brycen's 1st Birthday

2010-04-27T13:56:00.000-07:00

On February 19th Brycen turned 1!! My parents were able to watch the boys for us while we went to a temple sealing on February 20th and then we went to a park to Celebrate Brycen's Birthday!! We also invited our friends the Truncales to come along. We had "Papa Oranges" from Papa's trees, sub sandwiches and cupcakes :)

Brycen loves sweets, and really enjoyed his cupcake!

Well I am a silly mom and in trying to remember everything for our 1+ hour trip to the Redlands Temple and for the time the kids would be with my parents, I didn't think about the tablecloth or plates :P

San Diego Zoo and Sea World

2010-04-27T11:58:00.000-07:00

For the boy's birthdays we decided we would get Sea World year passes. Which Jacen really wanted. Honestly, he hasn't stopped talking
about it since June 2009 when our passes for Sea World expired. And since they were having an awesome deal (which is still probably going on) buy one year get a second year free we had no reason not to get them. But First we went to the San Diego Zoo one last time, on February 12th.

They loved the Children's Zoo area. Here we are in the petting zoo. Notice my hands tightly holding Brycen's...yeah that is because he kept yanking on the poor goats hair. Sorry Jacen we have to go brother isn't being nice to the animals. Thanks Scott for trying to get a picture of the 3 of us :P

The Monkeys are one of Jacen's favorites. If we asked him what animal he wanted to see, chances are that he would say Monkeys.

Scott and I love the Monkeys too but I would say Tigers are also among our favorites.

Then Sea World the next day :) Bycen was so excited that the dolphins kept swimming by the glass, he would turn around and talk to us about it. Jacen couldn't stop smiling!

Waiting for the Shamu Show to start.

They have this little area for the little kids to play. Brycen loved it. Jacen is just a tad too tall but he got to play in there for a little while, too.

Jacen also loves the climbing thing. Scott and Jacen are right above Brycen and I, as Brycen plays with the blocks.

Anyway, I can post so many pictures. We had a blast. I am sure there will be more Sea World pictures as we take advantage of our 2 year passes :)

Birthday Bike

2010-04-27T11:22:00.000-07:00

Jacen is loving his new bike. He caught on very quickly and I love how he says, "pedal, pedal, pedal, like Mickey". I love how he learns things from his shows.

Actually today we were outside and I told him not to go in the mud puddle and he said, "go around the puddle, like Oso". Thanks for helping me out Cartoons :)

3 Already

2010-02-09T17:41:00.000-08:00

Jacen turned 3 years old yesterday!!

He is so excited to be 3. We made a Birthday hat and he asked me to make him a paper cake.

Last night while he was praying (I suggested he say he was thankful for his birthday and) he said, "and that I got to blow three candles". He knows he is now 3 and is feeling so BIG. I truly can't believe how fast these last 3 years have past. Here is a little bit of Jacen's excitement caught on tape. I wish I would have continued taping because he said, "Yes, Jacen blow three candles, Jacen three years old, yea!!" (sorry about the quality, I used my regular camera instead of the video camera)

We had ice cream and Oreos since that is really what Jacen loves. Jacen also got a bike for his Birthday and what he is really looking forward to....this weekend when we will be going to, his favorite, SEA WORLD :)

Fill in the GAP

2010-02-09T17:15:00.000-08:00

Just as a filler for those interested in what we were up to from November through January. The highlights:

*November 2nd start of High School Soccer tryouts-which for us means a really busy life :)
*High School Play- Opening night = same as first day of Soccer Tryouts = a crazy wife!!
*We celebrated 5 years of marriage-I have such an amazing husband.
*Spent Thanksgiving in Alpine and the weekend in Encinitas.
*Scott's parents joined us for 10 days including Christmas :)
*Aimee and Charles and kids came down for Christmas (They recently moved from New Hampshire to Texas):)
*Christmas Soccer Tournament and stayed in a hotel.
*Made a Sister's Directory for church, as well as other church calling items.
*I turned 29 January 4th, Scott took me to Cheesecake Factory and out clothes shopping
*Brycen started to walk, making church just that much more difficult to sit in class
*Enjoyed the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park quite a few times
*Loved life!!

Today

2010-01-22T15:04:00.000-08:00

School was cancelled!!! Scott got to stay home with us. Too bad the snow melted quickly.

Today

2010-01-21T14:12:00.000-08:00

I know I have a ton of catching up to do... but wanted to let you know what we have been up to today first :)

Today we had SNOW in YUCCA VALLEY (once again). Brycen's first time in the snow. Jacen was so excited. He had been asking to go out and play in the snow since 6:30am. We probably only got an inch at our house but we loved it :) Too bad Dad had to work! We were listening to the radio in hopes they would say, school was closed...but no such luck!

Here is a cute video:

Giveaway

2009-11-17T13:10:00.001-08:00

I just saw this giveaway and had to spread the word. I have never entered a giveaway but this one is just perfect!!! We are looking to get Jacen a play kitchen for Christmas! Oh, how much he would love it!! The cut off is tomorrow!!

Growing Your Baby Giveaway--

Step 2 Lifestyles Kitchen

Check it out:

http://www.growingyourbaby.com/2009/11/04/step-2-lifestyle-new-traditions-kitchen-giveaway

Halloween

2009-11-06T15:19:00.001-08:00

Thought I better post Halloween pictures before Thanksgiving is here :)

Brycen as Tigger with his mommy

(He snuck his little hand in his pumpkin and found a sucker, when I wasn't looking. I took off the wrapper and before I knew it he had blue all over his costume)

Jacen the dinosaur and his daddy

(funny thing, Jacen would not say Trick or Treat. Scott would say, "Can you say Trick or Treat?" Jacen would say, "no". The person would give him candy and Jacen would say "Thank you"...and that was the routine. Not once would he say Trick or Treat. What a silly boy!!)

After the boys went around to get candy they got to sit in the trunk while we handed out some candy. They loved it. When we ran out of candy I shut the trunk (NO the boys were not in it still...who do you think I am) and Jacen was really sad. He ask me again and again to open the trunk back up.

We carved our pumpkin on Sunday...a little behind schedule but I really wanted Scott to be home and Brycen to be awake. It just happened to not work out until Sunday.

Jacen loved cleaning out the pumpkin.

Brycen was there the whole time and even tried to eat the pumpkin gutts :S

I love the traditions of Halloween--dressing up the kids, getting candy, and pumpkin carving :)

Brycen is 8 months!

2009-10-20T08:32:00.000-07:00

Brycen is officially 8 months (yesterday) :) He is hitting a bunch of milestones all at the same time. During the last week of being 7 months Brycen...

*got his first tooth on Tuesday, October 13th.

*crawled on Wednesday, October 14th.

*pulled himself to a stand also on October, 14th.

He also likes food (go figure), bath time with brother, chewing on anything, clapping his hands, laughing, emptying things such as the diaper bag, and much more. We love having Brycen in our family.

(Brycen's second tooth is coming in today! No wonder he woke up at 2:30am!)

Here are some pictures and videos of Brycen:

Brycen eating a messy Biter Biscuit. He was in heaven.

Bath with Jacen :)

The first time he crawled. He was whining the whole time. He wanted to help us water the plants (we kept passing him) and he was determined to get to us.

Then about 2 hours later...he pulled himself up at his toy. I came back into the room from the restroom and found this! Then he stood up at least 4 more times that day. I really need to keep a close eye on him as he loses his balance easily.

Here is a video of Brycen crawling. This was on day two so he is still trying to master it :)

Here he is laughing. He is a very happy child and gets even more gitty when he is tired.

Trip to Washington

2009-09-19T21:18:00.000-07:00

August 4th we flew to Spokane to visit Scott's parents. Here are some pictures from our 2 week trip.

In a nutshell we....
We visited Scott's parents in Deer Park.
Then drove to Silverdale to visit Scott's Aunt Marcia and her husband Greg.
We visited their son Chris in Everett.
Then took a ferry to visit their other son, Mike and his family in Bellingham. (I had never been on a ferry so I found this to be most exciting.)
Scott, the boys, and I took a day trip to see Olympia, Lacey, and Lakewood. (Scott was raised in this area.)
We went back to Deer Park for a day before heading to Hamilton, Montana to see Scott's Great Aunt and Uncle, LaRose and Marshall.
Then back to Deer park for more visiting. (We decided to break the traveling up would be great for the boys...didn't want to do too much driving all at once.)
Scott's Sister, Kammi, and her son, Ryan, came to Deer Park to visit us before we left. We flew into San Diego on August 17th. We had a great time!!

August...we are almost all caught up

2009-09-17T12:39:00.000-07:00

Summer school ended July 30th :) We headed down to Encinitas (San Diego) to see my parents. (It is a 2 1/2 hour drive.)

We went to the Wild Animal Park, on Saturday, August 1st. You know how I said we got those season passes for the Zoo?? Well, the Wild Animal Park is a different location with different animals and it is all included in the same season pass. We enjoyed it, even though it was soooo hot.

Here is our little family :) Jacen was hiding from the camera.

My parents (I thought it would be good to get some pictures in the shade....I wasn't thinking about the shadows)

A Cheetah at meal time. There were three of them and they each went to their cement platform to receive their meal.

Monkeys...a baby and its mother saying hi to the crowd.

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A picture of a look down into the Journey into Africa tour. We took the bus tour to see all the animals in their large living spaces. Animals such as Rhinos, Giraffes, Ostriches, Long horn Sheep, etc.

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When we went to get our stroller....I saw this and needed to snap a picture.

The large Lion on top of a Jeep. I can't believe how big he is. This has got to be my favorite picture!

On August 3rd, we enjoyed a day at the beach with my Sister Blythe and her kids (Siena came along too). It was Brycen's first time at the beach. He loved it. Unfortunately, the pictures that we thought we were capturing didn't come out. Blythe's camera is somehow broken. Jacen had a lot of fun jumping waves with his dad and cousins. The kids also had a blast playing in the large hole that Scott dug for them. We all had a great time.

End of July

2009-09-15T13:13:00.000-07:00

Scott having 3 day weekends is super nice! I was ready to spend one weekend at home doing all my "honey do list" items. This finally happened the 3rd weekend of July. However much I wanted to go to the beach I was needing a break from all our trips.

The 4th weekend of July we headed to Payson, Utah. Mike, Scott's nephew, was receiving his Eagle Scout on Saturday, July 25th. On the way we stopped in St. George and visited my Aunt Lonnie, and cousin Jen (and Uncle Don and the boy cousins too). That is where we stayed on Thursday night. Friday Jacen got to see all the animals :)

We got to make a special trip to meet Ethan Elmer. My friend Eliza had him only 2 weeks before our visit. (Brycen was just over 5 months.) I am sure their size wont be so extreme next time we visit.

Annie is only 4 months older than Jacen. They enjoyed all the visiting time, because that meant that they got to play, play, play.

We also saw Holly (my sis) and her family. We crashed at her house that night.

Then on Saturday we were off to the Court of Honor. Here is a picture of Mike and his parents.

Jacen loved the microphone. He was totally okay with being up in front of a crowd of people. Half of which he didn't even know.

Some of his cousins joined him in the fun.

It was great to see all the family. Then we were off to start the trek home. We stayed at my Aunt Betty's house in St. George on Saturday night and went to Sacrament meeting with her.

We stopped off to see my Grandpa in Vegas.

We also started a new song on all our travels to help Jacen along...it was to the tune Who Let the Dogs Out (thanks to Sea Worlds Pet's Rule). It went something like this:

Who let the dogs out, woof, woof, woof, woof.

Who let the pigs out, oink, oink,oink, oink.
Who let the pigs out, oink, oink,oink, oink.

one of my favorites is

Who let the rooster out, cock-a-doodle-do

lets just say any and everything Jacen wanted in the song, Scott made work.

Jacen would specify the animal and the song would go on and on, he just loved it. We were just thankful that it helped the last 30 min of our road trip. We have since used it tons :) All I can say is I am thankful for a creative husband!!

On the Way to Utah

2009-09-08T14:35:00.001-07:00

Okay, get ready for POST OVERLOAD. I have been wanting to post our Summer events for awhile now. I thought to just skip them...but I just couldn't because with a husband that is a teacher, our summer is when we go places and do things :) I was determined to get a ton of posts up today. I think I did rather well :)

For the Second weekend in July we headed to St. George, for a Family Reunion. On the way we met up with the Pilgrims in Las Vegas. We met at a park so Jacen could get out and stretch his legs. Then we went over to Circus Circus (where we would be staying for the night) to watch some free Circus Shows. Jacen is really into Acrobatics and Dancing lately so we thought he would enjoy it. This picture was taken at nearly Midnight.

This is a guy juggling. He had up to 9 tennis balls and he went up and down the stairs as well...of course I didn't get that on the camera.

This act was very interesting. (I have been trying to attach it for 2 days now and have no idea what the issue is.) If you have 6 1/2 min...it will really get you by the end. These people change their outfits in seconds. Justice had a theory (which I am sure he is so excited that I am sharing with all of you) that they really didn't have any clothes on and that it was just the lights that changed. Really it is crazy, especially the very last one.

I just remembered that our camera battery died on this vacation. Jacen was contently looking at all the pictures and watching all the movies on our camera as we drove. We went to charge the battery when we realized we brought the charger for the video camera on accident. We used other peoples cameras for pictures and need to get ahold of them. I guess this is a good place to stop for now. Saint George was a family reunion for my family. We also shot up to Payson, Utah as well that weekend.

San Diego Zoo

2009-09-08T14:11:00.000-07:00

Scott taught Health at Summer school again this year. He enjoys teaching health and loves that he gets students that are looking to get ahead, rather than those that have failed. Summer school is only Monday through Thursday and he was home by 12:30. How could you go wrong??

The first weekend in July we went to the San Diego Zoo. If you live in the area and have not been....you need to look into it. We were able to get both of us Season Passes for a total of $69. The kids love all the animals.

Here is a Mommy Koala holding her baby. I thought it was adorable.

There is a new home for the Elephants. It is much bigger than were they used to be.

The Bears were awake this time around. Here is a Black Bear.

Soccer Camp

2009-09-08T14:00:00.000-07:00

My Brother, Chuck came up for a week, with his dogs. Chuck and Scott put on a Soccer Camp from June 22-26. (Scott coaches the Varsity Girls Soccer team, and Chuck played College ball.)

Here Jacen is with Chuck, Spike, and Early Girl. Jacen spent a ton of time in the back yard with the dogs that week. Spike is a small dog...I am so glad we thought to put the dogs in the garage--we have coyotes here!!

We went to watch Uncle Chuck and Dad play some soccer. It was the last day of the camp, so they were scrimmaging to use the skills they had learned.

Here we are showing our support.

Annie Play

2009-09-08T13:39:00.000-07:00

My Niece, Siena, and Nephew, Lofton, were in their elementary school play Annie. We took a little trip to go see it. They live 1 hour and 15 min or so from us.

Siena is the second one from the Left. She was an orphan.

Lofton played Rooster. They both did a great job.

Their oldest sister, Kiera, graduated from high school in June, as well. Her graduation was a week before the one here....so that should have been documented before our Summer really began. Kiera is attending BYU-Provo :)

Sea World & San Diego Fair

2009-09-08T07:52:00.000-07:00

Also in June we took advantage of our season passes to Sea World (before they expired in the middle of the month).

No Sea World trip is complete without seeing Shamu!! If you enlarge the picture you will see the trainer in the air.

A picture of Brycen to document that yes he does come with us when we go. I know the last few posts of Sea World you would think that we didn't have him with us.

Pets Rule is Jacen's favorite show. We had to make sure we went to the show every time we went to Sea World. Here a trainer is jumping rope with her dog.

Jacen actually walks a ton at the amusement parks. We still bring the double stroller because he still takes naps. Here Jacen and dad are walking out of Pets Rule. He was the happiest kid.

My parents with Brycen.

This is part of the Cirque De La Mer Show. It is amazing how strong these men are.

We saw the Polar Bears.

A cute picture of Brycen sleeping.

We also went to the San Diego Fair, twice, with my parents. We parked in a free lot and took a free bus shuttle to the fair. The boys loved the bus ride!

The first time we went to the fair from 7pm-11pm. It wasn't the plan...but when we tried to go that morning we were stuck in aweful stopped traffic. The free parking was FULL. I guess everyone wanted to go on "$2 day". We decided we would go to Sea World and try the fair when it was later in the day. It worked out great. The park wasn't full at all by 7pm.

When we went the second time it was a whole day trip :)

At one point Brycen was so tired...and wanted nothing to do with being in his carrier in the stroller. My mom was walking around with him like this. It looks like she is going to drop him. He really was so comfortable.

Jacen the Tomato Man. He loved putting his face in the little hole. So many people were commenting on how cute he was with his little face in the hole while I took a bazillion pictures.

The second time we went to the fair we decided the carseat was not coming along. It was Brycen's first time sitting up in the stroller, he loved it :)

I don't know what it is about the fair that I love really....I guess it just has to do with growing up always going :) I love walking around and seeing it all.

Our Summer Part 1

2009-09-02T13:43:00.000-07:00

Now that I am getting back into my regular routine, I have no excuse for not posting. I am going to try my best to catch you up on our eventful Summer.

In June our friends the Palmers moved to Tennessee. We spent lots of time hanging out with them before they left. (Jacen asks us at least 3 times a week to go to their house...and I am not over exaggerating. When we tell him they are in Tennessee, he says "they play tennis". )

Here Jacen is dancing to Dance Dance Revaluation, at the Palmers house. He really gets into it.

Here he is playing Guitar Hero (or Rock Band). He really loves playing with these guys. He also loves their Legos and castle. Not to forget, how much he loves it when they bounce him really high on that big exercise ball, or push him in the Lego container that has wheels :)

We attended a get together for Zach's graduation. He was the Valedictorian...Way to go Zach!!

Here are Nic (above) and Jon (below) loving Brycen. These were taken at their farewell party. My boys love and miss these guys

The Palmers actually spent the night here Thursday, June 18th and started their trek to Tennessee on Friday.

A story to remember:

Nic and Jacen were playing "running" (as Jacen likes to call it) aka chase around the house, on Thursday. Jacen must have twisted his ankle when jumping into our sunken Living room. He would cry whenever he would put weight on it. We were stumped because we could twist and poke his foot all day and he wouldn't cry...but as soon as he put his weight on it, he would be all tears asking us to carry him. We carried him around most of Thursday and when it continued into Friday we decided we should take him in. The Doctor did find the one spot that was sore to the touch. It was actually really neat to watch the doctor communicate with our 28 mo old (at the time). When he asked Jacen where it hurt Jacen pointed to the opposite foot. I was thinking, it isn't that foot...but the doctor said, "right here but on this foot" (picking up the other foot). Jacen said yes, and sure enough that was the spot. He could eventually put weight on it but still wouldn't walk until Sunday or Monday. Thankfully it wasn't anything serious :)

6 Months

2009-08-28T11:42:00.000-07:00

Is it even possible that Brycen can be so old, already?? We had his 6mo appointment on Tuesday. He is 19lbs 1oz, and 27 3/4 inches. (At 6 1/2 mo. Jacen was 19 1/2 lbs and 27 inches.)

Some things about Brycen:

-Brycen is a very happy baby, even during long road trips.

-He rolled over on July 28th..of course he decided to roll over when I was in the other room. I had been watching closely for weeks :)

-Now he loves to sit. His first time was in Washington (more to come on that trip) on August 9th.

-He loves water: Pools, the beach, and of course the bath!

-Had his first Airplane ride on August 4th. His ears did much better on the flight home :)

-Very social, and interacts with anyone.

-He loves watching his brother play.

-Too bad balls roll away, because he would love to play with them a bit longer!

-For 2 months he has been teething...but thankfully no teeth yet (he is a nursing baby)

-He takes good long naps, sleeps well at night, and loves to eat :)

-He also loves to play. (note: how he folds his toungue an chews on it. He has been doing this since he was brand new :)

Haircut

2009-07-23T11:32:00.000-07:00

Brycen got his FIRST HAIRCUT yesterday! He had patches of long hair...but no more :) It looks really good!

Jacen also go his haircut. He was super AWESOME! Katy was able to get it real short :) Love it!!

Brycen's Eyes

2009-07-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

What color are Brycen's eyes

going to be?? They are still the dark gray eyes he was born with. Jacen's were the same color at birth but turned bright blue before he was 4months. Any guesses on Brycen's eye color?? I am so curious!!

Brycen is 5 months!!

2009-07-20T10:47:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby is already 5 months!! Our laptop is now fixed so I can share all the pictures I wanted to post last month :)

Brycen loves to Smile and Laugh. He does this a lot more in our own home than when we are out visiting other people.

Brycen appears to be a Blanket baby. We will wake up in the morning to find him cuddling his blanket, that at one point was covering him up.

Food is a favorite, if you couldn't tell by his size. He had his first rice cereal June 29th. He would grab my hand with every bite.

He loves to suck on his Thumb/Hand. He has been teething for awhile but doesn't have any teeth yet. (I am grateful since I am nursing.) He doesn't keep a pacifier in his mouth on his own...but he likes to chew on it if you will hold it there for him :)

He also loves sucking on his Toes. Man kids are flexible.

Brycen also loves to Play. He loves his play mat, bouncer, and jumperoo.

Brycen is a happy baby. I don't know his stats as of now. However, I never posted his 4 months stats. Here is how big he was last month:

Weight: 15 pounds 12 ounces
Length: 25.5 inches

We were shocked when we put him in the Jumperoo last month an we had to put the height at the third level.

He is already outgrowing some of his 6-9 mo clothing and into many 9-12 mo. It blows my mind how fast the past 5 months have just flown by!!

Bachelorette

2009-06-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

Kiptyn is from my home town!! I am so excited to see where he takes Jillian. And to think I could have been there while they were taping it!! I'm pathetic, I know :) We actually don't have cable so we will be watching it Tuesday on abc.com.

While I am confessing about the lame shows I spend my time watching, I am totally excited for the Mormon couple, Jed and Sarin Hinkins, on Here Come the Newlyweds. I don't think they will win, but it is totally fun to watch them. Did you see how well they did at the carnival last week?? Sarin did awesome!

What shows do you watch?? We like Chuck and The Office, which seasons ended recently. I would say they are our favorite. We also like Wipeout, and I Survived A Japanese Game Show. Is the Mole going to be on this year?? Anyway, back to house cleaning I go!

**PS our laptop's motherboard died. All the pictures I was going to post are on that computer. Too bad we didn't back them up more recently. I guess it will be another week until it is fixed. Don't worry I will post again before then :)

All About Jacen

2009-06-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

Jacen has many loves. Here are some of them:

Coloring -- When we go to visit Scott's classroom the first thing he does, after saying hi, is color on the whiteboard. One of Scott's students thought it was the cutest thing and bought him his very own whiteboard with dry erase markers. He loves it! He also like so color on paper with crayons.

Going to the Park -- He also loves the park. The swings are probably his favorite with the slides as a close second.

Sports -- All and any sport! Playing and watching. His favorites Baseball, Basketball, Football, and Soccer. He can even hit a baseball without a tee.

Mom's Hair -- He loves to have his hands in my hair. I saw this picture and had to add it. (not too flattering of me...but oh well)

Hanging out with Dad -- Especially loves it when Dad comes home. Loves playing and cuddling with his Dad. In this picture they are watching sports, of course!

Talking -- It's in the genes (from both sides)!

Tuna Fish -- don't waste time and put it on bread...he'll eat it right out of the bowl. He also loves Hot Dogs, Chicken Nuggets, and Meat with Cheese.

AND... Taking Pictures -- He gets so excited when there is an item in his picture, such as...his toes :)

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-29T13:16:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we went to Sea World. We have season passes that end June 19th.

It was a pretty busy day for the park but not as busy as we thought it would be. We had never seen the trainers work with the dolphins behind the Dolphin Stadium. They were doing all sorts of jumps and flips.

We put Jacen in his swim suit so he could play with the water structures but he wanted to go climbing the ropes with Daddy.

At the end of the climbing structure there is a slide. Jacen was so excited to go down the slide. (Last time they didn't let him because he was a bit too short.)

Then over to feed the dolphins...or maybe not. We really wanted Jacen to have a chance to feed the dolphins before our passes end but it didn't happen this time. The building is under construction. Bummer!!! Hopefully it is up and running at our next visit.

Even though he couldn't feed the dolphins, it was the perfect time to go because there was a group of people taking a park tour. We got to enjoy the dolphins doing all their fun tricks.

Yes, Brycen was there with us :) It is just a bit harder to take pictures when one of us is holding him. Scott and Jacen got to enjoy the Pets Rule Show while I nursed Brycen. We also went to the Cirque de la Mer show.

We were really excited for the dolphin show, Ignight. It is a summer night show that we had not seen yet. It was really good. It was a fun time at Sea World. I think we are going to miss it when our passes end. But hey...we have San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park passes to enjoy through next March :)

A Little Story

2009-05-20T19:18:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was a boy and his mother. They were doing yard work. Well, she was trying to do yard work in between him throwing her a football. The following morning (a Wednesday, to be exact) the two year old had a little green in the corner of his eye. It appeared to be a clogged tear duct. The mother questioned it for a second, "I didn't know toddlers got clogged tear ducts, huh" and then went about her day. Thursday the child woke with his eye sealed shut. Mom didn't want to over react. (They went through with planned day. Picked up friend while her house got sprayed for bugs--she said, it looked like the boy got socked in the eye.) After nap the childs eye was once again sealed shut.

The child never once complained of his eye hurting. The mom decided she would bring her son into the doctor if his eye was sealed on Friday. Sure enough it was.

The verdict: Left Eye Conjunctivitis, aka Pink Eye
The treatment: Eye drops 3 times a day, for 7 days

**

Tomorrow will be the last day of pinning my child down and prying his eye open to apply drops. I couldn't be more grateful. He is doing great and his eye is back to normal!!

Here Jacen is on Friday when he woke up. Poor thing!

And right before going into the doctor.

And then after 2 treatments of drops

Brycen or Jacen?? THE RESULTS

2009-05-16T13:01:00.000-07:00

Who is who?? Can you decide which pictures are Jacen and which ones are Brycen?? Come on give it a try. Post your guesses by clicking on the comments link on the bottom of the post. I will reveal the true answers in a few days :) Good luck!

The answers are in! Even though the pictures are close in age it was not planned to be that way. I simply thought they looked alike and took pictures of Brycen in some of the positions I remembered having pictures of Jacen...same outfits or blankets are just a coincidence! Can't believe how close you all were in your answers! (I posted a "comment" to those of you who guessed)

Answer KEY:
A= 1st picture is Brycen, 2nd is Jacen
B= 1st picture is Jacen, 2nd is Brycen

So everyone can play I thought I would give one correct answer that can help you decide the rest of the pictures.

SAMPLE:

Brycen 10 weeks; Jacen 9 weeks 5 days.

The 1st picture is Brycen and 2nd is Jacen (therefore,"A")

#1 B

Jacen Right after he was born; Brycen Right after he was born.

#2 A

Brycen same day he was born; Jacen one day old.

#3 A

Brycen 6 days old; Jacen 7 days old.

#4 A

Brycen 4 weeks; Jacen 4 weeks 5 days.

#5 B

Jacen 7 weeks; Brycen 5 weeks.

BONUS: B
Here are 3 pictures
A=Brycen, Brycen, Jacen
B=Brycen, Jacen, Brycen
C=Brycen, Jacen, Jacen
D=Jacen, Jacen, Brycen
E=Jacen, Brycen, Jacen

Brycen 2 weeks 3 days; Jacen 2 weeks 4 days; Brycen 8 weeks 4 days. (I thought I could confuse everyone with the last picture.)

*PS- Sorry a "few" days turned into 10. I should have got it up before Scott's high school (he is the advisor/director over drama) started their performances!!*

Brother comes to visit

2009-05-05T13:42:00.000-07:00

My brother, Joey (who now goes by Joe..and I can't seem to call him that for the life of me), and family came to California for a visit. We met up with them (on April 25th) at Old Town. It was really fun. Scott had never been before and I have not been for a really long, long time.

Joey bought Mexican candy for everyone to try. It brought me back to the days in the mission field. They were hard mango candies covered with chili powder. I was surprised that Scott shared it with me. The inside is so good! Yum! After Old Town we all headed to Seaport Village.

Then we all went to church with my parents on Sunday, followed by a family dinner. With a 2 1/2 hour drive back home we had to leave the festivities a bit early. But really enjoyed our weekend.

These two pictures are Joey with Scott and Jacen at Old Town and Richelle, Joey's wife, with Brycen at my parents house. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the kids.
(Richelle did you get any??)

While at my parents house, Jacen had a little incident including stairs, a porcelain dish, and his hand. Well, how to start this story... Jacen really enjoys my brother, Chuck's dogs. He was walking this porcelain water dish up the stairs to the dogs on the patio. He would try to force them to drink it. If they didn't he would just pour it out and go get more. I told him not to get wet...and well he was 100% dry, so I let him continue (BAD IDEA). After about a half hour of him doing this (us watching from inside) he screams. I find him on the last stair arms out in front of him, the dish shattered...and blood all over one of his hands. Thankfully Scott knew just what to do. The family was all at the Street Fair when it happened and well lets just say we never made it(as we were planning to meet up with them after I nursed the baby). This is a picture of Jacen's hand 5 days after the incident.

Jacen's 2 year Pictures

2009-04-30T14:25:00.000-07:00

Finally I am posting the pictures I promised from February. Here are Jacen's TWO year Pictures. I love the personality the pictures captured.

Jacen wanted to play with the balls at the studio rather than get his picture taken. Dad and the photographer had to have major energy to keep up with him and get him to look at the camera.

2 Months

2009-04-16T20:00:00.000-07:00

Bycen had his 2 mo. check up on Tuesday.

When they told me he weighed 13 pounds it about blew my mind. I knew he was big but not that big!! My response was something like "for real??" (he weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces when he was born.) So he is in the 90 percentile for weight. He is 23 1/2 inches long, which is the 75 percentile for length.

Brycen also smiled for his first time on Easter Sunday. This is the best pictures we were able to capture.

Brycen's Blessing, Easter, and Family

2009-04-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

We blessed Brycen on Easter Sunday.

Me, Brycen and Scott

Thanks to Scott's parents for the cute blessing outfit!!

All the men that stood in the circle :)

Family who came for the blesing :)

(we took the pictures right after sacrament meeting, since not everyone was sticking around. The kids were already in class.)

A huge thank you to Scott who gathered everyone up, and made sure no one left before I got these pictures! He knew how much they meant to me :) (even though I was in the library making copies for Relief Society)

And a huge thanks to everyone (all 35 of you) who came and also for bringing something to contribute to our Easter meal. I could not have done it on my own. Everything was so yummy!!

Jacen coloring on an egg :)

Jacen threw his first egg into a color. Thankfully there was already an egg in it, or it would have made a major mess. He even called it a ball. I talked with him about it being an egg. I thought I did a good job explaining how eggs break and we have to be careful....until he threw it again...oh well there is always next year :)

Some cousins and Aunt Crystal working on their eggs.

Happy Easter! Thanks again to everyone who came over for Easter. It was so much fun having you!

Off to the Zoo

2009-04-10T08:24:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, April 7th, we went to the San Diego Zoo. It was Brycen's, Jacen's, Scott's and Scott's parents first time to the San Diego Zoo. (would that have been easier if I said I was the only one that had been before??) We really enjoyed seeing all the animals. Jacen kept wanting to see "more animals", it was really cute.

Family portrait on the Hippo Statue. Jacen wasn't so sure about sitting on the big Hippo.

I love this pictue of Scott's parents. This is what I got when I asked for a picture :)

The Tigers

This monkey was right up to the glass looking at all his fans.

Jacen and the Elephants

Jacen has really enjoyed wearing Scott's hats. When we go to buy him one of his own he never seems interested.

Brycen and Mommy. Brycen's thoughts would be something along the lines of...Why does mommy request pictures when I am so hungry??

The cute sleeping Koala.

And a tribute to the item that made the trip more enjoyable...THE DOUBLE STROLLER. Thanks mom and dad :)

What we have been up to...

2009-04-09T07:03:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, March 24th my sister, Blythe, and her kids came up to meet Brycen. It was a fun time. Jacen loved having his cousins over to play and we loved showing off our new little one.

We headed down to Encinitas Friday, March 27th, after Scott's play rehearsal. We went to Sea World on Saturday. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera.

On March 29th we celebrated my Dad (and Blythe's) birthday(s). We had "Grandma Anderson's Easter Egg Hunt" I showed Jacen how there was candy inside. (He wanted to watch the boys play ball rather than collect eggs.)

Jacen's steps to finding an egg: 1) walk around the backyard with "Money" (aka Mommy) and look for eggs. 2) When an egg is seen walk over and pick it up. 3) Open it up. 4) Put each piece of candy in the bag, one at a time. 5) Put plastic egg in bag. 6) start over again :)

Scott's Spring Break started after play rehearsals Friday, April 3rd. We went to our friends "the Yucca Valley Palmers" for Saturday morning Conference.

That evening Scott's parents came in town.

2 1/2 Weeks already?!

2009-03-09T21:42:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe that Brycen is two and a half weeks old already!! Lets see, these past weeks have been filled...

-Scott is the Girls Varsity Soccer Coach, and they made it to the Playoffs. Would you believe their game was the Thursday I had the baby?? Since we had the baby at 8:01am he was able to make it to the school by 12:30pm to catch the bus and head to the soccer game. He was excited to share our good news and photos of Brycen.
-Scott took Thursday and Friday off work so he could stay at the hospital with me.
-My Parents came up on Thursday afternoon. We had my moms help for a week :) Thanks mom!!
-Jacen went potty on the toilet once a day for 4 days. Who thought you would have a baby on Thursday and be potty training your toddler Sunday. Lets just say he really wanted a Hershey Kiss.
-Brycen got his first sponge bath at home :)
-Jacen got his hair cut.
-We got Jacen's two year old pictures taken at JC Penney's. Can't wait to share them with you, they are so dang cute!!

-Scott and I took Jacen to the park. Brycen had time with Grandma at home.
-Scott and I got to go out to eat. We wnt to a Japenese Resturant that Scott has been wanting to go to for awhile now. It didn't sound good while I was pregnant. Thanks mom for letting us have a night out :)
-I got released as the Activity Day Leader on Sunday March 1st. I am still the Relief Society Secretary.
-Scott took Monday and Tuesday (March 2nd and 3rd) off from work. And just in time too. Jacen woke up at 2am with a 101.2 temp. He took care of Jacen while I took care of Brycen, those two nights.
-Then Wednesday he went back to work. I woke up to feed the baby at 4am to find that Scott was in the guest room with Jacen. Come to find out they were in there basically the whole night. What a great husband.
-We have taken many photos...here are a couple :)

-Jacen is getting over his sickness...unfortunately I got it on Thursday!! I didn't have much of a voice Friday and Saturday, and spent most of the day speachless or wispering.
-Jacen loves sports. He is always wanting to play basketball, baseball, football, or soccer. Here is a film of our great basketball player. Enjoy!!

Brycen's Story

2009-03-09T20:48:00.000-07:00

Since my Amniotic Fluid was low my doctor was keeping a close eye on me. He had set the date of Friday, February 20th to be induced. On Thursday at 3:15am I had my first contraction, and was spotting. (I had the same experience when I was in labor with Jacen.) I gave Scott the heads up, took a shower, finished packing the bags, etc. Scott tried to get a substitute online. With him having a Playoff game that same day, he already had a substitute for 6th period. The computer wouldn't allow him to get a sub for the whole day. He tried calling the school, the district office, etc. No answering machines!! He emailed the Principal's Secretary about me being in labor and attached his lesson plans. I called our friend, Irene Palmer, at 4:30am. She came over to be with Jacen (since my parents weren't coming until that evening for the induction the following day.)

We got to the hospital at 5:30am. I was offered a wheelchair, but I thought I could make it on my own to the maternity ward. We had to stop for a contraction and our escort offered to go get me a wheelchair...we probably wouldn't have made it otherwise...so I took the offer. I was admitted at 5:58am and was dilated to a 6. At 6:58 they broke my water. The local they gave me was starting to wear off so I started pushing even though I wasn't 100% effaced. Brycen's heart rate would drop as I pushed, so on my 4th pushing contraction the doctor used the vacuum to get him out. Sure enough the cord was wrapped around his neck. He was born at 8:01am at 7 pounds 7 ounces and 20inches long.

Brycen Scott Phillips is here!!

2009-02-24T21:31:00.001-08:00

Brycen decided to come Thursday, February 19th :) No induction necessary here. He came at 8:01am. Here are some pictures.

We are so glad he is here! I could harldy wait for the nurses to hand Brycen to me! There is something about holding your new baby that makes all the pain go away.

Scott stayed in the hospital with me both nights. Here he is with Brycen taking a snooze.

Brycen all ready to go home from the hospital.

Today Brycen is 5 days old. I can't believe how fast these past few days have gone by. Here he is with his eyes open :)

Baby On FRIDAY!!

2009-02-18T14:59:00.000-08:00

I don't think it has completely set in yet...but I am getting induced on Friday morning! Yep, that is less than 2 days away! (I will be a day shy of 39 weeks.) Doc has been watching my amniotic fluid levels and is very happy that we made it these last few weeks. I am so glad that Scott had a 4 day weekend so we could get some organization/cleaning accomplished. Now if only we knew the name for this little man. :)

Here is a picture of the big belly on Tuesday, February 17th (I was 38 weeks 3 days). The last belly picture for the blog :) Will post about baby once he is here and we are settled!!

Here is a parting picture..Jacen playing the Wii drums (at a friends). He is so into music lately! He even plays a racket like it is a guitar.

Jacen's TWO!!

2009-02-11T20:36:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, February 8th, Jacen turned 2!! I can hardly believe he could be two already! We celebrated with his friends at McDonald's on Friday. He had so much fun playing that I didn't think he would ever come down to eat. He really enjoyed himself!! Thanks, to everyone who came!

Here is Jacen with two of his friends, Brookelyn and Kacie.

On Sunday, we celebrated his birthday as a family and played with Jacen's new toys. I don't think he knew why he was getting presents but he sure loved them. Happy Birthday Jacen!!

Baby Shower

2009-02-11T20:00:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, January 31st a couple of my friends threw me a BABY SHOWER!! It was so great! We played a few games, ate good food, and I got lots of very awesome gifts :)

The girls that threw the Shower also made me a diaper cake. It was so cute! There was also a plug to bring diapers...the boys closet is full :) We will only have to buy one size (for Jacen) for some time!!

My mom, 3 sisters, and some nieces took a road trip to my shower. It is so fun to have them close enough to drive up for a morning :) Thanks for coming, it wouldn't have been the same without you guys!!!

Jacen my helper

2009-01-28T14:57:00.001-08:00

I can't believe how much Jacen has grown up these last few months. He has always been my little helper but it is crazy how helpful he really is. He helps with the dishes, clean and dirty, the laundry, sweeping (okay this one he doesn't really get yet. He messes up my pile, so I try to be really quick and then we fake sweep together), and there is probably more.

I had him help me put the utensils in the correct spots. I would point to where the utensil went and he would put it there. I had only worked with him on this twice. Then there was a day when I really needed to put the dishes away without help, so I put him up on the chair and let him go to work on the utensils. Oh, I did make, sure that there was one utensil in each spot so he could match the other utensils. Here is what he did at 22 mo. old :)

He has also been helping me set the table. Wow, for real...I hope this continues once the baby comes :)

I rested my broom here and later came back to his broom right there with mine. Scott said Jacen kept trying until it stayed up. Honestly, how cute is this picture?!

Belly's getting BIG!!

2009-01-28T13:42:00.000-08:00

Okay so these are not glamor shots but I thought it would be fun to share my bellys growth with all of you.

This first one is me on November 18th. Oh there is a story here. I was really trying to donate my hair to Locks of Love. They need 8-10 inches in a ponytail. Well I was getting so annoyed with my hair and it falls out when I am prego, I really didn't know what to do. I finally talked with our friend Katy, who cuts my hair and she knocked some sense into me :) She chopped off the 5 inches and I feel much better about my pregnant self :)

This second picture is me with shorter hair, on December 20th.

Then me on January 5th and January 22nd. Keep in mind that I don't ever take these pictures when I am wide awake but rather when I am falling asleep. Oh well, who cares, its about the belly :)

I can hardly believe how little time is left!! I am nesting like crazy!!

Our Christmas Letter--

2008-12-24T19:47:00.001-08:00

If you didn't receive our Christmas letter either by mail or email it is because we need your contact info :) Please leave a comment with your email address and I will get it to you. Merry Christmas!!

A White Christmas... in Southern California

2008-12-19T19:17:00.000-08:00

We got snow once again in Yucca Valley :) On Monday, we had a bit stick on the ground. A friend and I were out driving and the roads were getting really slick, just west of our home. All after school events were cancelled, Scott was home shortly after 2pm (I loved it!!).

Tuesday was beautiful. It didn't snow. Here is a picture of the mountains (or hills for those of you who have been to Utah).

We woke up on Wednesday to a ton of snow. Okay, it was about 6 inches...but still. School was cancelled. When you live somewhere like here, no one has snow shovels, or snow plows.

School was also cancelled on Thursday. We ended up getting 1 1/2 - 2 feet of snow. I could only find one of Jacen's mittens (from last year when we went to Utah) so he had so wear some of my cotton gloves. He didn't mind one bit. Here is a picture of our back yard (with the house on the hill in the background) and a shot of me and Jacen.

Jacen playing in the snow :) He was loving it!

The walkway to our front door. Just past that second window is our front door. The snow came off the roof and landed directly on our walkway. (we got a package delivered today and the Mail Lady somehow found our front door.)

A shot from the street, of our house :)

The 3-4 foot pile of snow right out our front door, and all along our walkway. (Honestly how did the Mail Lady find us?)

Jacen eating some snow.

Scott shoveling our driveway on

Thursday with a regular round headed shovel, and a short sleeve shirt. It was warming up fast. He actually came in and got shorts on (only in sunny California can you shovel snow and not freeze while wearing a short sleeve shirt and shorts.) We were able to get to my doctor's appointment and pick up our babysitter without our street being plowed.

Today (Friday) the district tried to have school. Yucca Valley's roads were not plowed enough for the buses to pick up the kids. Only the main roads got plowed and a bus stop is at the end of our non-plowed road. Scott got to school to find that the parking lots were not plowed. Once the first bell rang, school was cancelled. Scott had a whole 7 people in his class (and that was a lot compared to some of the other classes).

Jacen just loved having his Daddy home....now if only he didn't have to make up the days!!

Our Halloween (a little late)

2008-11-17T11:44:00.000-08:00

We were finally able to carve our pumpkin on Halloween afternoon. Jacen loved helping me get out all the guts.

Jacen with the finished product...Playing with us...he was probably wondering why I kept taking more and more pictures!!

No one really goes door to door here. There are no sidewalks or

streetlights. So we have a Trunk or Treat at the church on Halloween night.

Jacen was Scooby Doo. He wanted nothing to do with the "dog hat". I was able to get this picture in the one second he wore it for me.

Jacen was the happiest kid after he got his first handful of candy. There was a sucker in the mix and he was so happy. All he wanted was that sucker opened. He ate his sucker while walking around to all the cars. He would have been content playing with everyones dogs, instead of trick or treating.

I think our friend Becky is actually telling me to wait to take the picture...oh well we never got a better one. This is Jacen with Becky Truncale, Suzy Dick and their dogs.

Here is Jacen with his friend Kacie. (there are pictures of the two of them here from last year.) Next year we will have to get all his friends together for a picture.

Our Little Driver

2008-10-29T20:16:00.001-07:00

The other day all Jacen wanted to do was sit in the car and "drive it". He asked for the keys, and knew where to put them.

He would have played out there all day if I would have let him :) What a cutie!

My Belly

2008-10-29T19:42:00.001-07:00

Well, I had Scott take a few pictures of me on Friday :) Too bad they are not cute. It was late! Hello, cheesy smile. And it doesn't even look like that..oh well!!

When I was pregnant with Jacen I took a picture the day I had each doctors appointment. I decided I will follow that same pattern, starting now. So, here I am the day of this months appointment, I was 21 weeks, 5 days. I am in that weird stage when regular clothes don't fit but neither do maternity clothes. Pants now have to be maternity, no choice there :) I am enjoying pregnancy so far.

Oh and if you are wanting to run after a child while pregnant...ummm don't if you can avoid it!! Jacen got hurt and I ran from one side of our house to the other. Once I saved him I couldn't move...it took 3 days for me to feel normal (well pregnant normal) again.

What we have been up to...

2008-10-15T08:11:00.000-07:00

Lets start with Jacen:

Jacen is now 20 months and growing up really fast. He has been going to Nursery at church and loves every minute of it. Actually, about a month before he was old enough he would cry to go in there. Let's just say, Jacen didn't need us to stick around his first time to Nursery.

Jacen is also in a toddler bed. When we returned from Hawaii, he was wanting to sleep in our bed at night. Thankfully a toddler bed was handed down to us from my sisters and was already in our garage. It was so wonderful to have it already. Then every night it was his choice, his crib or his bed. He is now a full time toddler bed sleeper :) And we are so excited our bed is not an option :)

He also loves to put on any and all of his dad's shoes. If you ever come to our house and there are shoes everywhere it isn't because we don't put them away.

Jacen also loves Blues Clues! We bought ourselves a new bed and put our old bed in the office. Jacen loves watching Blues Clues on the bed and just lounging around.

Scott:

Where to start with Scott....ummm lets start with our new car. Yep, that is a Mustang Convertible in our garage. It is silver and very nice. I always wanted a Mustang and Scott said it was a gas guzzler....so I never thought that I would get a Mustang. (My mom is all about Mustangs, so I guess I was raised loving them.) Red would have been my choice but hey I guess I will take what I can get :)

Okay so the truth is....it was only ours.....well it was only in our possession for 24 hours. Scott picked it up from the dealer with only 25 miles on the odometer Friday, October 3rd. Then he got to drive it around the track at the Homecoming Football Game...and we returned it after General Conference Saturday. We should have gotten a picture of me in the car...duhhh!!! Oh well maybe next time!

Scott is still over the Drama Club at the high school. Right now they are rehearsing for their up coming play, A Few Good Men. The show dates are November 3&4, and 7&8 :)

Scott also took on the Yearbook this year. He is loving it. And, coming up in November...Soccer. Scott is going to be the Varsity Soccer Coach. He is so excited for the season to start.

and for Me:

Well, I have made it past my half way mark!! Sunday, I was officially 20 weeks along in my pregnancy. Our baby BOY is due March 1st. We are so excited to bring another boy into our family. Jacen turns two February 8th, so they will be just over 2 years apart. Pictures of my prego belly to come...I have to take one first :)

Oh and at our ultrasound the doctor pointed out that the Baby had his ankles crossed. As you can tell from the picture above of Jacen on the bed...he is always sitting with his ankles crossed. Too cute!!

The mattress was also for me...it will make nights so much better especially once I hit the third trimester. I love that we now have a guest bed. Now we just need guests!! So come on over!!

I have been feeling really good since week 13. I had so much energy that all I have been wanting to do is clean and organize. I really want to start Jacen's scrapbook. Hopefully that gets started soon...he is already 20 months for crying out loud. I have been getting photos from Arts Cow. It is so great (thanks Laura for passing it on). Free photos and shipping is only $10. Check it out.

And one post of Maui

2008-10-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

We were in love with Maui. We have no idea why we left the beauty of Maui for Yucca Valley. Anyway, here are some last pictures of our trip.

We went on The Road to Hana. It was so extremely beautiful. Here are some of the pictures we took as we spent the day on this long road of beauty.

The road to Hana is 52 miles of undeveloped road, 56 one-lane bridges and 617 curves. Not to mention all the beautiful waterfalls...how come I can't find a count of the waterfalls online??

Scott and I were able to leave Jacen with his Grandma and Grandpa while we took a hike down to a black sand beach. The water was warm.

We also went on a glass bottom boat. The one we booked was with the Four Winds II. Scott had his eye on it from the first day we started thinking about going to Hawaii. This adventure was so fun, another high on the list. Jacen loved it, too.

Scott and I were most excited about the opportunity to snorkel from the boat. Jacen would have more time with Grandma and Grandpa Phillips. Right when they anchored the boat Jacen fell asleep. This was the best thing ever. We didn't have to worry about him tiring out Grandma and Grandpa and getting into mischief.

I had never snorkeled before so I had the time of my life. I was so tired and hungry when we returned to the ship. Good thing we had lunch waiting for us :)

We took pictures underwater as we snorkeled. I don't think they really captured it well enough. Just believe me, it was pretty. If you really want to see some fish, I will post them later. From the ship we saw some Sea Turtles. They were so cool. The ship stopped so everyone could get pictures :)

Our Condo was really nice. Scott had his mind set on this condo from the beginning. At one point we thought it was all booked and you would have thought our trip was completely canceled :) Good thing when we called them directly they hooked us up with a room, and not just any room, but one close to the ocean. Here are some pictures of The Maui Sunset, the condo we stayed at.

Here we are having family time at the pool. Grandma snuck some pictures from our Lanai, or balcony as we call it on the mainland.

We really enjoyed being so close to the beach. We were often entertained by the people riding the ocean. Here are some pictures that try to capture how cool Kite Surfing is (we learned what it was called while watching the show Wanna Bet of all places). They would get such air that it was hard to catch them on the camera.

It was truly beautiful in Hawaii!! Well, there you have it!! You are probably grateful I am done sharing our trip to Hawaii :) It was the time of our lives. And, the best part was that Jacen was under 2 so we didn't have to buy him a plane ticket. Would you believe we got 3 seats on 2 of our 3 flights? (The plane from Oahu to Maui was a small plane anyway so we would have had to sit seperate to get 3 seats.) They fed us too :) I love Hawaiian Air :)