Summer Fun

 We had a lot of lazy mornings. Ty and Levi love playing his DS together.  I love this picture of them.

 Memorial Day weekend we went to my inlaws and had a cook out and swam.  Levi was still very leary of th water but Hampton got him to try out his floater.

 This is what Levi did every single day of summer. Hit golf balls. He even incorporated it into blocks!

 One Sunday after church our lil family went to eat breakfast at What A Burger. We even got shakes after!

Ty unfortunately was sick for a large part of summer. He had a respiratory problem that turned into pneumonia and had his first experience with breathing treatments every two hours for two days and was on steroids. He got well just in time to go to church camp where he spent his first week away from us in Pine Springs New Mexico.  He said some of his favorite things were the camp fire singing, fishing, and he honestly said he liked Bible class the best! He adores our preacher Dale and spent most of his time with him. They even ate together! His cabin counselor was his third cousin Ethan! The Sunday after he returned we had our Brothers Keepers group out at the Dahlstrom Ranch. Peter Dahlstrom is like a magnet for children.  He is the reason I chose our church. His children are all friends of ours and some of the best people I have ever known. They have horses and chickens and live out in Anton Texas.  The kids rode horses and we cooked hot dogs over a camp fire as well as s'mores and then sang songs of praise together. It was a oddly cool night for July and one of my favorite summer memories. We had done this a few years ago as well.

 We did not do any sports camps or lessons of any kind this summer, except for Levi who took his first ever in a toddler sports class at the community center. We were at home quite a bit. The kids were very responsible with chores which helped me SO incredibly much. They would make their beds and bring laundry of the day to the washer each morning and then we would all together do chore of the day. They also unloaded and loaded the dishwasher each day. This was their first experience at being paid. Well for Ty and Olivia anyways.  We all had down time after lunch and read books during that time. We took advantage of our city's library by checking out books and attending the programs they had available on Tuesdays.   There was definitely lots of goofing around. I was amazed this year at the lack of fighting. I really enjoyed being able to be with them.

Ty in May

Ty got sports glasses for baseball!

Ty and his friend Isaiah on the last day of school

awards closing ceremonies for Western Little League. Ty's team The Angels went to the finals!

Ty and his rather large trophy!

Olivia in May

Olivia with her friends on the day of their awards ceremony.
Olivia received an award from Social Studies. She made all A's all year.

Taking Olivia for rehearsal for her recital. Seeing her in this much make up was
very disturbing for me!

Our cousin Hampton ended up being at rehearsal with some friends!

We switched out to a tutu for her ballet performance

Friends of Olivia's since they were two! They have danced together since they were four.

Pop wanted to see Olivia in her costume since he was not able to attend the event

We had the blessing of having Aunt Mimi and Cita in the audience this year!

Olivia with her teacher Miss Hannah

First Day of School

Ty Fourth Grade   Olivia Second Grade

Levi Preschool Three's

Same backpack Ty had at three! He is going Mon- Thurs til 2:45 and til noon on Friday

Last Day of Summer

Dad Went Home

I am really too emotional still to write too much about this so I will let the pictures tell the story. The last ones are of the room and bathroom I set up before his return home.

Anniversary

Well, we celebrated with sushi and sno cones!

Here are some of my favorite dating memories with Michael Trent Phillips

My first trip home with him. I remember pulling into his parents drive way the weekend of Halloween and seeing the Christmas tree through the window :)

Fourth of July in his hometown laying down looking at the fireworks directly above us

Dancing to country music

Sushi dates at Ishin in Irving

Worshipping together at Prestoncrest

Riding in his blue chevy z71 pickup around Dallas listening to Dave Matthews and Rusted Root

Dave Concert at Starplex

swing dancing at the red door

Meeting at 5:30 to run in our neighborhood (you know thats love)

Taking him on his first trip to the Ft.Worth Zoo

The star he named after me for our one year dating anniversary

the fact that he brought my mother flowers on my birthday

Finding a brighton watch under my pillow one night after he left my apartment as I was climbing into bed

Being introduced to vanilla cream dr. peppers

His incredible ability to grill an absolutely divine steak. I have never ordered another one out!

How into clothes he is for a man

Golf tournaments and hitting  balls with him on the driving range 

My husband of 13 years

I started this blog almost 7 years ago one, for therapy, two to relay pics and info to friends far away (before facebook) and three to capture what life was really like.  I am now hoping it will be something to leave my children to refer back to.  Maybe they will understand more clearly the behind the scenes of their time growing up.  Blogging has become a job for many younger moms out there now who are mostly blogging to an audience of other women and I only WISH I could make $$ off this thing.

Well  I realized that I may have not included the pre-story for my kids. The one of how and why they exisit! This month on the 12th, likely the day after my dad will be released and I will not be with my husband) is when I married Michael Trent Phllips 13 years ago.  So here is my side of our story:

Once upon  time in a land far far away.... called Dallas, I was 24 sitting in the singles class on a wednesday night and  new friend introduced me to Trent. That next Sunday I brought some friends with me to church and we came in a little late and I ended up sitting on the back row next to that same guy, Trent.  My roomate had invited me and the girls to a popular golf tournament, The Byron Nelson. Over conversation in church we found out Trent was too so we ended up going all together, Four girls and Trent in my 98 rust colored Ford Explorer. It was the start of a friendship that would grow more over the next several weeks.  One night I ended up riding with Trent to a swing dance(The Red Door)  place and my roomate ended up staying behind. Trent drove me home that nigh, first time we had ever been alone, and he shared he would like to date me. He asked me to go to dinner the following day and then mentioned that his entire family would be in town and there as well.  :)

Wow.  I was honestly shocked. I had no idea that he had the slightest bit interested in me because he would always call and talk to my roomate AND then the fact that I would meet his parents and family on our first date! It went wonderfully. It was his parents and his dad's siblings and their families and then Trent's grandparents. They were all very warm and welcoming.  There was a lot of comic relief to say the least.

Dating recap? To be continued...............

Fourth of July

We enjoyed the 4th on Broad parade again this year with Pop and Cita and Trent even joined in the fun this year. We took the kids to swim afterward and then to the fireworks out at LCC. Levi fell asleep during them! We had Trent's jeep all day with the doors and top off- it was a pefect day all around. Beautiful weather and a nice time with family :)

Stinkiest Summer EVER

So aside from the awfulness of my dad's injury, we have had quite a bit of illness around here. THREE WEEKS to be exact! It wasnt too long after the fourth that it started with my oldest from fever turned breathing problem to be dealt with by steroids and our first experiences with many breathing treatments, only to be passed on to his sister as of last Sunday and still having horrific cough and fever til today, and now to the youngest who seems thus far to have the mildest form.

Ty gets back from camp tomorrow and will immediately go to the safety of my mother from all this YUCK. I am so sad! I want to hear all about it but it will have to be over the phone I guess! Thankfully one of the couselors has been putting up pictures on the facebook page all week. The bad news, I have seen my son in the same shirt that he left on Sunday in EVERY SINGLE DAY.  I guess the packing clothes for the appropriate day (favorite team, camo day, hawaiian day, etc) in a ziplock with the day across the front (Monday, Tuesday,etc,) was a complete waste of my time!!  I mean I think its weird nobody has noticed and taken control of that 9 year old situation and I am just crossing my fingers that he has not also slept in these clothes each night!!! It doesn't matter right???!! I need to cut the cord.

Well I have now been in my house except a trip to the doctor with the girl on Tuesday, for FIVE days.  I was ranting to my husband that I am caught up on laundry and housework and if I had to be here I wanted to be productive, so he was kind enough to deliver some paint to me on his lunch hour today :) I knocked out the guestroom/soon to be my office today and will start on my daughter's room tomorrow. She picked her favorite color turquoise! Maybe Ill have some fun pics to post soon of my progress! I am in love with a Better Homes and Gardens color from walmart Called Creamed Coffee.... yes there is also the fact that I am in fact have quite an addiction to coffee, but the color is actually a very warm gray.  I painted my master the last week of May and decided it would be perfect in our guest/office as well! Not that we ever have a ton of guests but the time occassionally arises and its turned to be quite a snuggy little room that I am blogging in this very moment. 

Guess my burst of energy from painting earlier has not warn off because even with two melatonin here I am just a typin away! Faint sounds of coughing from two rooms :(  We have been swimming a total of five times in two months.  If I hear another thing about back to school I am going to throw up. We have not even had a summer yet!!  No trip for us this year until October. We are tagging along on a business trip to Utah then. There have been popsicles and even a blow up pool, as well as trips to the library and bike riding, so its not a total loss I guess.  I am definately not a woman that would make a good homeschool mom, and would ruin my children... but I sure enjoy having them here with me all day. I wish this particular summer could last forever. Their ages are so great.  I want to freeze time and soak up these moments that I know will fade in a year even.  I am so incredibly in love with these kids that I can't hardly stand it. 

I don't want to go back to real life of the hustle and bustle of activities and juggling homework and dinner and stuffing too much into the four hours I have with them before its time for baths and bed and starting it all over again to be at school by 7:40, which makes me mad all over again every morning that our district starts so early! Its ridiculous.  I like this fantasy land of my job being on hold, lazy mornings, no schedule, lots of snuggles and a rest time each day.  Don't know that I will ever be ready to give it back up again. Sigh.......