HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSH!!

Yesterday was Josh's 15Th birthday, It is so hard to have my oldest turning 15! It is making me feel really old and i Just don't know where the time went! The past month Josh has been bugging us to get him a mini pocket bike for his birthday. He found one online that he wanted and Doug and I were really against him having one. He has a little electric one that is just fine, it doesn't go too fast and that is the way I like it! Well He just wouldn't let it go, we tried to convince him to get a scooter or something else that he could actually drive when he turns 16, but he had to have this stupid pocket bike. We made him think their was no way that he was getting one. Well last Thursday we decided to order one and hoped that it would come on time, Well it did, It arrived right on his birthday ( how lucky was that?) He was pretty happy! He opened the door when it arrived and the package had a picture right on the box of what it was so he knew right away. He got it out and started to put it together, I told him he couldn't ride it until Doug got home from work, cause i wanted to make sure everything was safe before he got on it. It is also a gas powered one and i didn't have any extra gas hanging around the house.Well Jim and Melissa knew we were getting him the bike so they gave Josh a gas can with gas and oil already to go for his birthday present from them! He was pretty happy about that, and Jim made sure it was all put together right and that way he could drive it without having to wait for Doug to come home. That was probably the best gift of all! It is a pretty fast Little thing, it can go up to 47 mph! That night Josh had planned to have some of his friends over for a Halo night(a xbox 360 game). Doug and I got a couple of Little Cesar's pizzas, bunch of junk food, drinks and i made a cake, and they partied all night! We finally had to tell them to go to bed around 4:30 am! They slept in, I ended up making them a pancake breakfast and having to wake them up around 10:30 that morning. He had a great birthday and it was probably one of the easiest parties i have ever put on, besides trying to sleep with all the yelling going on in the basement! The Package arrives! Putting it together! Taking it for a test drive! The gang! They had two xbox's set up, one in Josh & Haden's room One set up in the basement family room I took this picture thinking they were all asleep in the same room, then later found out that Josh and Haden slept in their own beds and just left thier friends to sleep, because it was too uncomfortable! Smart boys!! Pancake breakfast, we couldn't get a couple of the boys up!

Probably one of the scariest version of the Happy Birthday song you will ever hear!! Happy Birthday Josh!!

PHILLIPPI FAMILY REUNION!!

SATURDAY JULY 19TH-- FAMILY BBQ AND FIREWORKS!!

Saturday Jason invited everyone over to his house for a BBQ and fireworks that were going on for Steele Days in American Fork. Not everyone was here yet, Nancy and her kids were coming over to stay with us Saturday afternoon and when they arrived Quincy threw up,( The last of her kids to get sick) so she decided she better get a hotel room so that she wouldn't pass it on to our family. I was sad she had to go, but glad it worked out okay. Brent and Nancy weren't arriving until later that night. Ashley was here with her kids, along with all of the in town family except Dawn and Family. Jason and Rachael provided yummy hamburgers and hot dogs for everyone! It was a fun night, we did have to wait for a while for the fireworks to start so we broke out the glow sticks and did some fooling around, well some of us did:)

SUNDAY JULY 20TH--ROOTBEER FLOATS!!

Sunday finally everyone was here, Jim and Melissa invited everyone over for rootbeer floats to make sure we all got a chance to see Achsa, she was going to BYU for E.F.Y. for the week. Everyone was there, even Grandpa Larson and Jack! It was fun to see everyone, seems like the kids are all getting bigger and older, but us parents are just the same!! We tried to get a picture of all the grand kids together and one of all the siblings, and i am not sure which one was harder!! The people on the back row of our picture was standing on an ant hill and they were all jumping around and being silly, and we all couldn't stop talking, so there isn't that good of a picture of all of us!

MONDAY-JULY 21
Monday Nancy and her kids checked out of their hotel and came to stay with us, Tyler was so happy, he was pretty bummed when they came Saturday and had to leave! We just hung out. Monday night, Jason, Rachael, Nancy, Jeff, Ashley, Alia, Aj, Doug & I all went out to eat at the Pizza Factory, that was fun! That night Nancy, Doug and I watched a really dumb movie, The Bonneville and then went to bed.

TUESDAY--JULY 22ND--RAGING WATERS, DINNER @ JEFF'S

Tuesday we headed up to Raging Waters, we thought it was better than Seven Peaks! We got two cabana's which came in handy when it decided to pour rain for about two hours. Even with the rain we had a really good time! After we all headed home to get cleaned up and have dinner at Jeff and Kelly's house. We had Del Taco ( it was taco tuesday, So we loaded up on Taco's and Burritos and i think we only spent around 40.00!) After we ate we played with all of Jeff and Kelly's toys, The highlight being the Jump, the kids (and some of the adults) rode bikes, scooters and whatever else they could think of off this ramp, we made it without any broken bones, but there was some wipe-outs, but nothing too serious! When it got dark we broke out the fire pit and roasted marshmellows for smores. Jeff and Jim set up tents and had a sleep over in the back yard with the boys. They woke up early the next morning and went fishing. What nice uncles!!

WED. 23RD--DINNER@ JASON'S AND INDOOR SOCCER GAME

Wednsday we all just did our own thing, I was pretty sore from the water park, and pretty tired from all of the late nights, so we slept in. Nancy woke up and did laundry and packed her kids up and left to go pick up Peter at the airport and then head over to Jason and Rachael's for Dinner and stay a couple of nights with them. Tyler was sad they didnt stay longer at our house, i told him maybe next time. So we had a great dinner at Jason and Rachaels and hung out and talked about old time, the highlight for everyone there was that Nancy brought from Arizona our favorite ice-cream, Thriftys Chocolate Malted Crunch!! She rocks!! I would have never of thought to pack it in dry ice, it made it just fine, and it tasted sooo good! Now she has to do that everytime you know!! Jeff, Jason and Jim all had a indoor soccer game at 9:55 that night, so we all loaded up and headed over to watch thier game, it was a really close game which made it really fun for us!

THURSDAY JULY 24TH--SHOOTING AND OWLZ GAME!

Thursday was the last day of our family reunion activities, we all met at Jason's house at 9:30am to go shooting. We drove somewhere way out west, It was really hot, but a lot of fun! The last time we all got together to go shooting it was freezing, this time too hot, Maybe we can plan a spring or fall shoot? After shooting we all went home to get ourselves ready for the Owlz game that night. It was pioneer day, so there was a firework show right after it. It was a good thing they had fireworks, cause the game wasnt all that exciting, but i always love to go to the ball game. We said goodbye to Nancy and Peter and family in the parking lot that night. Tyler came into our bedroom when we got home just bawling, I said what is the matter? He says, I am going to miss Abbey and Quincy so much, i dont want them to go! It was sad, but i know how he feels i am going to miss seeing Nancy, Brent, Ashley and families too! We had a really fun week with everyone, Thanks to everyone for putting it all together and making it so much fun, now i need to get some serious rest!!

BRACEFACE!!

Today Josh and Haden got braces. Josh has wanted braces ever since i can remember, but Haden wasn't too happy to learn that he needed them too, I was pretty lucky that they said that they wouldn't put braces on Tyler, his bite is OK, but if his front teeth don't get pushed together when all his teeth come in then, maybe he will need them later on. That was a relief, cause having two in braces at the same time costs some serious $$$$!! I don't know how my parents did it! I am just very grateful that they did, otherwise I would be looking pretty darn scary!! Doug didn't really think they needed them, but I wanted to give to my boys what my parents gave me, a nice smile! Thank You Mom and Dad!! I know that my boys will thank me one day too!

20 YEAR HIGH SCHOOL REUNION!!

This past weekend was my 20 year High School reunion, I know, hard to believe!! Well originally i was going to go with Annemarie, and kind of have a girls trip, well last minute she couldn't make it and kind of left me in a bind, I was pretty upset, but my awesome family Jim and Melissa and Jason and Rachael, stepped in and helped with the kids, and rides to the airport and Doug dropped all his plans and paid triple the price to fly with me and take me to my reunion! Besides all the extra costs, We had a really good time, and i was so glad Doug came with me!! We got there Thursday afternoon and Checked into our room at the Cadillac Hotel in Venice Beach. The hotel was newly renovated which was good, (it used to be a hostel) But it was in a scary part of town so it was really good to have Doug with me, although i never really felt scared, there was just some drunken bums hanging out by the hotel, but they don't scare me! I choose to stay in Venice cause i have always loved walking that boardwalk and checking out all the weirdos and people watching, it is one of my favorite things to do!! I also love the beach, so it was the best of both, although we never really went to the beach, (it just didn't seem hot enough). So Thursday we just walked up and down the boardwalk, had an early dinner at the sidewalk cafe and headed back to hotel, Doug was extremely tired, he had just flown back from Florida Wed. so we went to bed really early!




Friday Doug wanted to go see the Hollywood walk of fame, I wasn't too sure where it was, so we found the Beverly Center mall and had lunch( Tommie's Burger) It was soooo good!! then we thought we would buy a map and see how far away the Walk of Fame was, well the map we got made it look like only a few blocks away so we decided to walk there, about three miles later we got there, we were very tired and hot by that time, but the only saving grace was we ran into a Rite Aide and they had a Thrifty's ice-cream in it, so i was SO HAPPY!! Made the whole walk worth it!
When we got to the Walk of Fame it was pretty lame so we were kind of bummed, but we decided to go into the Wax Museum,That was pretty fun, we also went into the Guinness book of world records museum, That was pretty cool too.


Then we decided to take a Taxi back to the Mall, although expensive, it was worth it! That night we went back to the hotel and ask the front desk clerk where a good place to eat was, he suggested a few places and we headed out to walk again, we kept walking and walking and couldn't find the place we were looking for and just went into this little Grill place ( wish i can remember the name of it) And it was the best dinner we had the whole trip!! Food always makes me really happy when it is that good!! Then we headed back to our hotel and went to bed. The next morning i was meeting my good high school friend Diane, we had lost touch since graduation, and just barley found each other threw emails. She wasn't planning on going to the reunion, so we made plans to see each other for Breakfast Saturday morning. We met at a restaurant called the Firehouse, we didn't know anything about it, but When we got there Diane pointed out that Hot Lips Hullahan (Sp??) from Mash was there, so it had to be alright! We had a really nice visit, I was so glad we got to see her and her two cute boys and hubby! Seeing her just brought back all these memories of some really fun good times!

After breakfast we checked out of our hotel and headed to the Sheraton where the reunion was going to be at. It was a really nice hotel, we got there around noon, so we hung out at the pool and then got ready for the Reunion. I of course started to get really nervous, I haven't seen most of those people in 20 years! Well once i got there i realized that not much has changed, of course some people were fatter, skinnier, older, but they all were the same, it was so weird! I had a really good time and i am so glad i went, If any of you are tyring to decide whether or not to go, just do it, you will be glad you did! Well Sorry for the long post, but that was my weekend. It was really fun, although it did make me realize i am getting older and i am not liking that, but oh well!

Life Lessons Learned SO FAR...

So it is late and I cant sleep cause Doug isn't here to tell me it's time to go to bed, and it is just plain hard for me to go to sleep without him. So I was thinking about all the stupid things i have done over the past couple of years because of a little stupid thing i did today, I was coloring my hair like I have done many, many times before and somehow i didn't notice some dye on my pinkie finger, so now i have a pinkie fingernail that is stained brown, It seriously looks like i have some sort of disease!! And it wouldn't be that bad, but i have my 20Th high school reunion on Saturday and if this isn't faded by then, there maybe rumors that i am going to die of cancer or something! So I got mad at myself because I always manage to do such stupid things, so i will share some of them with you and hopefully help someone out there avoid some of the mistakes I have made.

1. never put Nair on your upper lip, you will have a huge red mustache burn for a couple of days that no amount of make-up will cover!
2. never use one of those personal trimmer thingy's to trim up your eyebrows, you may just cut off all of your eye lashes on your left eye before you realize what you have done!!
3. on the subject of eyebrows, check out my post back in March about my eyebrow waxing story, never let anyone put toner on your freshly waxed brows!! puffy, scabby, eyebrows are never in style!!
4. Never buy a box of hair color cause it is on clearance, there is probably a reason they are clearing it out, unless you want to roll the dice and find out what mystery color your hair will turn.( in my case jet black!!)
5. Leave the waxing of your very delicate parts to the professionals, It is hard for me to even expand on that one, lets just say that is an area where you don't want a flesh wound!!
6. never use mayonnaise as a mask for your face, no matter what that beauty at home book says, you may have some sort of allergic reaction to it and burn your entire face, and have to walk around with a beet red face for a week, and as mentioned above , no amount of make-up will cover that!
7. Don't assume because it says hot-oil treatment for hair, that you need to put it in the microwave to make it steaming hot before you scald your scalp off!
8.And Finally don't run with wet feet on a tile floor, you may just slip and break your fall with your nose on a coffee table because your hands are too busy trying to get a towel wrapped around your naked body!

So those are just a few of my many life lessons so far I am sure there will be more to come, but with each one, i learn a lesson i will never forget and hopefully never repeat ( although i am embarrassed to say that i have done that Nair one more than once, in my defense, the second time it was Nair for sensitive skin, lets face it, it is acid that eats your hair off, of course it is gonna burn!!)Live and Learn!

ODD JOBS!

A couple of weeks ago Haden and his little friend Jonah wanted to make a flyer to send around the neighborhood so that they could start a business this summer. I helped them make a little flyer, they wanted to call it Haden & Jonah's Odd Jobs. I was kind of like, OK, good luck with that one. Well they printed out 50 flyer's and passed them out around our neighborhood. I am amazed how much work they have been getting. They have Babysat, washed windows, weeded, watered peoples lawns while they went on vacation, taken in the mail for people on vacation, feed a family's pets which include chickens, bird, cat and dog and a guinea pig! So far i think all together they have made around $120!! I am pretty impressed with Haden, he takes it very seriously, he put his cell phone number on the flyer and there has been days where he has said to me, i have an appointment at 7 to find out what i need to do for a job. He puts all of his appointments and schedule on his phone so he wont forget. It is about time i start to feel like him having a cell phone is justified! He is a really good kid, and i am very proud of him! Maybe he will be rich someday and share the love with me!!! Or maybe i should start a little business of my own???

4TH OF JULY!!

This 4Th of July we were invited to a huge private party out in Tooele hosted by a family friend Karl Smith.We went two years ago and the boys loved it, so we decided to go again. He owns a museum out there with all these WWII jeeps, trucks, motorcycles, etc... It is pretty awesome! He probably invites around 1000 people, you have to have a invite and your name on a list to get in.Scott and Kim, Lynn and Jeannie, Rachiele and Corey, and Carlson and Elle were all there. He has it catered by Goodwood BBQ, ribs, chicken, beans, potato salad, brownies, cookies, drinks and it is all free!! This year he had a guy who rides a buffalo come who has trained it to sit, and lay down. He also has it run threw a ring of fire. That was pretty cool, the kids weren't too impressed they thought it would jump threw the ring of fire, i was like this thing weighs 3000 pounds!! Apparently this is the buffalo that is on the new nickel that just came out, so that was cool. Then we had to wait around for a couple of hours until it got dark enough for the fire work show. He puts on an awesome show, this year it was supposed to go 71 minutes! we timed it it only went about an hour, i am sure whoever was in charge of the remote just got trigger happy!! We were so close to where they set them off, i was really worried we would get hit by one, a couple of those huge ones set off on the ground, if they had fallen over we would have been the target, so that part was scary to me! It was a nice night, and fun not having to worry about anything, everything was taken care of for us, so we just sat there and relaxed and enjoyed ourselves! HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!! /by the way, the extra boy in all the pictures is a friend of Josh's.