Everything I Learned....

I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN!

We cannot believe Brady is done with Kindergarten!! It seems like he was barely walking and talking! He had such a great teacher and had such a fun year! For an end of the year field trip they went to the zoo and Jake chaperoned. I still can't believe in the Fall he'll be a 1st grader!!

Here's Brady...oh wait just kidding! However, here is my caption for this little monkey:

Monkey discovers opposable thumb...plots to rule the world.

Here is my cute little monkey in the middle! They all had a blast and Jake said he slept almost the whole bus ride home!

And here is one last one. This was Brady's end of year assessment with his teacher Mrs. Hansen. She was a delight and was a fabulous teacher! Jake actually works with her husband so all the time he would tell Jake stories Mrs. Hansen would tell him about Brady. We are pretty sure Brady was one of her favorites!

Double the Trouble!!

Happy Father's Day to Jake and our Dads, and Happy Birthday to Gwynie! For the first time in 10 years, Gwynie's birthday fell on Father's Day! It was super fun celebrating the special occasion because we had so much to celebrate!

We went out to Jake's Mom and Dad's for a BBQ, and we took the cake that my friend Sharon had made for Gwynie.

Now, you all know how sarcastic I can be, yes? No?! Gee, you must not know me at all!! Well I really am, and I'm quite the smart ass. Yep, shocker I know. So here's a fun little story for ya about how I can actually be NICE sometimes! Yeah, I heard that...you just fell out of your chair. Its ok, just pick you and your jaw up off the floor now....

My Father-in-law Wayne has a certain way to put a hamburger together. Something about how the mayo goes on the top bun and the ketchup goes on the bottom bun, or...I don't know something along those lines. Everything has to be in a certain order and if its not in that order he says it doesn't taste right. He calls it the "Perfect Burger". So here was the convo as me, Jake, Dustin (Jake's older brother) and Wayne were putting our burgers together.

Wayne: (to us) You're doin it wrong! That's not the way it goes!

Dustin: Its ok Dad. At least one of your kids knows how to make a burger the right way. I know perfection when I see it.

ME: Well then I must know perfection when I see it too, because I married JAKE!!

*Kandi and Jake high five*

Score bonus points for me on Father's Day!! Wooo! :)

Alright, enough of the chitty chat for now, here are my favorite pics from the day! :) How I managed to not get any of Jake and both kids is beyond me...

Gwynie is modeling her new jewelery my Mom made for her! The necklace, bracelet and earrings are so cute!

Gwynie and her froggy cake!

Gwynie Turns 10!!

Gwynie "officially" turns 10 tomorrow, and we feel sooooo OLD!!! Today she got to have a party with her friends and celebrate the day! Unfortunately it rained, which was a total bummer because we had reserved a pavilion at the outdoor pool! Never has this ever been a problem, but of course with all the weird weather going on...

We moved the party to the indoors pool and the girls had a blast swimmin around! Brady got to bring his best friend Taylor, and our friends Sharon, Dru and their kids all come as well. It was so much fun!

Here are a few pics from the day!

This was a card her friend Autumn made for her. It says, Happy 10th Birthday, with a 10 dollar bill! What a cool idea!

Also, just something really random. We have snails in our flowers beds like crazy! Later that night this little guy showed up, and was just making his slow way across the steps back to the flower beds. Gwynie thought it was really cool!

Dear Blog

Dear Blog,

Yes, yes, I know. You are feeling neglected. However, Blog, you need to realize that so many things are going on and making REAL LIFE busy for our little family. Yes, I know you understand, and that you are all for us having a great time making memories and taking fun pictures so that I can then upload them here for you, Blog.

What is that you ask? What have we been so busy doing that I've been neglecting you so harshly? Well, let me tell you.....

First, there have been the day to day things.

Gardening:

(and earning $$ for allowance!)

Catching up with friends:

(George's going away party)

BBQ at the neighbor's house:

Work:

(no pictures, sorry Blog)

Kandi was promoted at work and now works in the Finance Dept. processing the Accounts Payables. Its a very busy and a bit stressful of a job, but she loves the work and the company she's called home for 2 years now.

And then there are always the funny random things that make us laugh each day and appreciate our funny kids.

This, dear Blog, is what happens when a train goes over a "cliff". Just ask Brady! ;) His track went from his bedroom, down the hall, and then down the stairs...to the demise of all the trains you see here.

Then there have been a few road trips we've taken.

First was to Colorado Springs for Lauren's graduation. Unfortunately we were having too much fun just hanging out so there weren't many pictures. Mainly just the scenery, and a visit to Garden of the Gods for a few prime pictures before it was a massive downpour on us! But, I do have some funny hotel pictures! The kids love hotels, and think hotels are the coolest things ever. Guess we know we'll never have a problem traveling with them!

And this quite possibly (according to the kids) was the COOLEST SHOWER EVER! It was just very cool looking so they kept talking about the shower so much that I took a picture of them with it.

Then it was off to Cedar City so Jake could wrestle in the Summer Games. This was during his warm up, when he didn't know I was snapping pics!

Also, there's been a fair amount of hard work going on at the Phillips house. Jake has lost 34 pounds so far this year, and Kandi has lost 15. Both are committed to healthier eating, better focus on staying fit, and staying active and busy with the kids. However, neither is quite done yet and will continue down this road!

Gwynie has worked very hard on her grades all year long and ALMOST has straight A's. Math is the only grade at a B! We couldn't be more proud of her and her hard work, and dilligence to homework and classwork.

Brady's also been working VERY hard on lecturing to all of us about all the different animals that inhabit this planet. Brady has become quite the Animal Planet buff and can recall endless (and I mean ENDLESS!) facts about all sorts of animals.

The other hard work has been on Kandi's part and can hardly be classified as work, but more of working the creative juices! Kandi will have her very first published card appear in the CARDS Magazine in November! Its very exciting and such a sweet sense of accomplishment for a hobby she's passionate about. But, you can't see the card until December, a month after the book has been out....so there Blog!

So Blog, are you happy now? Of course there are other things that will need to be posted later, like Brady's Kindergarten Program (no pics but video - too dark in the gym!), funny stories and things the kids have said recently, and Gwynie's birthday this weekend! But Blog, I will definately try not to leave a month gap again! Hopefully by that next time I post, you can expect more frequent updates like you've enjoyed in the past.

The Phillips Family