An Actual M&M photo

Can you believe it? An actual photo of Mark and I without one of us being cut off. Bryce took this picture at our niece's wedding. It's hard to believe that she got married. She was in our wedding almost 11 years ago. It was a beautiful wedding. She got married at Point Loma University on July 3rd (which is Annie's actual birthday). It was really sweet of them not to forget Annie. They had a birthday brownie for her and everyone at the wedding sang Happy Birthday to her.

Once again, Annie didn't have a birthday party. So, this Thursday we are having a very last minute birthday party for her at the park. I'm sure it will be fun. It's actually pretty exciting for us to be able to have an outside party for her in July. This would have never happened in the desert.

Hormones

Ever since having babies, my hormones have never been the same. I loved the fact that I would go to the doctor and wonder why I felt horrible and gained weight, and they would most always dismiss it as "as we get older....our bodies change." WHAT??????? So my punishment for getting a year older and being blessed with children was to become fat....whatever.....I wasn't buying it. It seemed that every time I got off the pill I would lose weight incredibly fast, get pregnant, gain weight, lose weight incredibly fast, then when I would go on the pill I would gain again. It's been a roller coast fat game! Then I had an emergency hysterectomy.....that pretty much has screwed me up since. I finally got some answers at an endocrinologist-my hypothalamus doesn't function properly (hormone regulator in lay terms), and my metabolic reading is that I burn 2100 calories at rest. What in the world? I should be a twig. However, my brain doesn't read that, so instead I subject myself to shots every day in my stomach no less, and I am doing and feeling much better. My ANA levels are high, which means at the time of the blood test, I am positive for lupus. I get a kick at how God only gives us what we can handle....well He obviously thinks I can handle quite a bit.

Crappy I tell ya, but I am alive, and I'm thankful for that.

Cookies with Grandma

AHHHHH! Making cookies with Grammie. We went out to the desert so Mark could work at Belk Farms for the day, so we had the opportunity to spend some time with Grammie & Grampa. Grammie of course spoiled the kids by letting them consume as much sugar as they possibily could. They were bouncing off the walls after the "cookie" day as they call it. Oh well.....that's what Grandma's are for. These are memories I'm sure they will remember for years to come.

So if you didn't already know...we went to Walt Disney World. It was fabulous! We could have stayed for 3 weeks and not run out of things to do. It was a great time. Here are the kids inside of Cinderella's Royal Table. It was by far the best suggestion given to me by my friend Joanna. If you ever go, make reservations. It's pricey but well worth it. The kids loved it.

Disney World Highlights

Oh Yes....Mark was chosen to be in the High School Musical 3 show held outside the Mickey hat at Disney's Hollywood Studios. That was hilarious! I wish I had a video of it, but sadly a video camera is on my Christmas wish list. Mark asked the kids how daddy looked and Annie answered, "you looked sharp daddy". Bryce and Cade had no comments.

The ABC's of Phillips Life.

So Annie is trying so diligently to learn her name. She can definitely spell it. We are working on writing it. She wants to spell everything. Some words she can phonetically figure out. At 3 years of age, I think she's doing a pretty good job. Cade read at an early age, so maybe she will too. I nurture her interests, and words, letters, spelling, reading, and writing are definitely her interests. Of course so are princesses, pink, bows, and pretty dresses. LOL

So we don't have dental insurance......do you think I need to take the boys? Just Kidding! Meggan and I were at the mall and the boys chose these candy teeth as their special teeth. I took a picture of them to show them that this can happen if they don't brush. I

Catching up!

Okay so first things first. Bryce turned 7. Yes 7!!! I can hardly believe it. It was such a big treat for him to go to McDonald's with some friends. We also got to see Star Wars Clone Wars. He was really excited. He really missed having his friends from the desert there, but he was excited about his "new" friends celebrating with him.



My good friend Summer came to visit us in Simi on her way to the desert for her Master's class. It was great fun for Maddy and for Annie. The 2 of them didn't miss a beat.....neither had Summer and I. We went to go see House Bunny with Meggan. It was good times. This guy even tried to pick up on Summer. Meggan and I were in hysterics about this guy. He probably would sat next to us if there was room. He was a looker!!!!



Soccer Time!
Mark is coaching the boys again. It is really great because we are part of a Christian League. The players pray before the game, and it's just nice to not be soooooo competitive, but focused on FUN. Mark is the best daddy ever! I got roped into being the Team Mom. I no longer have Jody to rely on, I'm doing it solo. But Jody was a great role model for me, so all is good.




It's also great fun, because we get to see lots of our family at the games too. Here's Bryce and Cade with cousins Caleb and Joshua. Their cousin Steven is also playing in the league and Lauren and Danny are referees.

What were you doing?

I will never forget this day 9/11. I was nursing Bryce who was only 3 weeks old, and my sister calls to tell Mark and I that the Israeli's were bombing us. Not quite knowing what to do with that statement, we turned the TV on to see the most horrific historical events ever. Bryce's birth reminds me of this day. His small innocence, and how we as Americans at that point in time were completely innocent (or naive) to the cruelness of this world. Just as he has learned the harsh reality of life, we too have learned that we are not invincible and bad things happen. May this day give you hope for tomorrow, and a new outlook on how precious life is. God bless America!!