Family Vacation

Each summer I make a list of things around the house I would like to accomplish before the summer is out. The usual, cleaning out closets, organizing drawers, etc... The month of June was dedicated to checking off my list. I told my sister that I would be blogging my brain out this summer and that is the one thing on my list that I have failed to do. With our vacation last week I am now working on keeping my promise.

Each summer we head out with my husband's family to a destination for a week and plan on just chillin'. At least as much as we can with the three boys. Our destination this year was Panama City, Florida. So with everyone in tow we headed out to the cabin we rented right off of Tyndall Air Force Base. With my father-in-law being retired military we get a great rate at the many military vacation spots all over the country.
We got settled in our cabin and stepped out onto the beach just in time for the thunder and lightening to start. Which was just fine with Jackson because he was not enjoying the sand or the surf!



So for the first day it was movies and the mall. Just what the boys had hoped for. The rest of the week however was perfect vacation weather.

We first hit the water park, Shipwreck Island. I am sad to say that the camera was left behind that day but I can assure you we had a fun-filled day in the sun. We even survived Trent losing his tube on the Ragin' River Rapids and vowing never to go on that ride again! We did enjoy the family water slide and Jackson even overcame his uncertainty of the water and loved stomping around and making eyes at the ladies!


The rest of the week we enjoyed the beach and the pool. But we mostly enjoyed not having anywhere to be or anything to do. It was exactly what a vacation should be about.





I do always enjoy being on a military base and seeing the life these men and women and their families lead. We enjoyed free bowling, swimming, hot dogs and hamburgers on the Fourth of July. It was great and it was neat to laugh with some of men and women of the Air Force and their families at the bowling alley that day. There were some wives there that were with only their children and you had to wonder if their husbands were overseas. It makes their sacrifice seem so real and opens my heart to the service that they provide so that we can enjoy a weekend like we had.



Finally we enjoyed a great fireworks show at Mexico Beach. It is a quaint little town with a wonderful beach and a family atmosphere. We sat right under the fireworks and actually were hit by a couple pieces of ash! Awesome!!


I say "we" enjoyed it but I really mean everyone but Jackson. He didn't make it through the families shooting off their own fireworks before the big show. So we settled down and slept through the whole thing! Oh the life!!





Well, the fourth always reminds me that the summer is halfway over and another school year is on its way. But, as Scarlett said, "I'll think about that tomorrow!"

Just plain cute!

Nothing really to blog...just thought these were adorable pictures of Jackson. Since he wasn't really in the previous blog just wanted to include him!

I'm Back! (Month in Review)

OK, I know it has been about a month since my last post. It has been very busy and I have just let it go. So I am going to squeeze a month of Phillips' happenings into one blog.

First of all, one of my favorite things has to be our "grown up" table. Tom and I have had the same table since we first got married and it's country style just has gotten to be a little...well...1994-ish. It does have sentimental value with Trent's name indented on it. So with an unexpected stipend from my elementary drama we were able to get the table of my dreams. So with a flourish it's goodbye to the past...
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and hello to the table we will be passing onto our children one day.
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Don't worry our old table is still in the family. Tom's dad took it with him to Knoxville, so we will be seeing it again!

Next came Brayden's birthday. My sweet Brayden turned 5 years old! Five has always seemed so old to me. He is getting so big so quickly but is very much like me when he says that he doesn't want to grow up. That's perfectly fine, baby, you can stay with mama forever!! When asked what he wanted to do for his birthday, Brayden's answer was simple - Zoinks, McDonalds, and Dairy Queen! A boy after my own heart! So we invited 2 friends (yes, they are both girls but what the heck! And when asked about it Brayden's response was a quick "I don't cay-r!") We spent an evening at Zoinks! A fun, filled bouncy place that is exactly up Brayden's alley!





After that it was off to McDonald's for nuggets and fries!



Then we topped the evening off at Dairy Queen with Slushies and Dilly Bars!


What a night to remember!

Two weeks later of course it was Trent's birthday number 8! Again, is it possible that 8 years ago this tiny little guy is the same one that fills up my entire lap today?


He is still the sweetest, tender hearted little guy I know! Trent also chose two friends to celebrate with. Since they were both boys they were able to come and spend the night. The boys spent the night playing video games and watching movies.

Again the chosen places of celebration -- McDonalds and Dairy Queen. We should really enjoy these days before they hear about Outback and Olive Garden!! Since all of the boys had early baseball games it was a short party but they made the most of it staying up until 2am!

Grandpa and Aunt Caroline came down this weekend to celebrate both boys birthdays! We surprised them both by giving them a Wii.


They were thrilled and we spent most of the weekend figuring out the games and Tom and I realized how many muscles we hadn't used in many, many years!! I know my sister is right now saying to herself that she wishes I would go ahead and hook it up to the internet...slow down sister...I'm blogging aren't I?

We also just finished up our baseball season. Both boys had their last games Saturday and Brayden had his end of the season party tonight. They both had a great season and we could definitely tell how much they learned by the end of the season. We had two great coaches and look forward to next year(but more so we look forward to sleeping in on Saturdays!!




Now we are pressing on to the end of another school year. I can't believe that Trent will be moving on to third grade and Brayden will be in kindergarten. Time is moving so fast! But for now I am blogged up and looking forward to the summer. I plan to enjoy every minute of it!!

Tag I'm It!

Okay, I have been notified that I have been "blogger tagged" by my lovely sister Tammy. I had no idea what that meant and never knew that such a game existed. I have never been one to run away from a challenge (except when my life might be in danger!) but since this seems harmless enough I have gotten all the rules and I am ready to go.

What I was doing 10 years ago:
*teaching 4th grade (still!)
*coaching cheerleading (I have since retired)
*thinking about having children
*sleeping in on the weekends as long as I wanted
*going to movies and out to eat whenever we felt like it

5 things on my to-do-list tomorrow:
*go to church
*finish my laundry
*get my housecleaning under control
*Uh...it's Sunday, I don't want to do too much!!

5 snacks I enjoy:
*Twizzler Bites (never travel without them)
*Oreos
*Grapes
*Graham Crackers
*Twix

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire:
*pay off everything I owe!!
*pay for my children's education
*buy a vacation home in the mountains
*buy a vacation home at the beach
*help out anyone I felt had a need

5 bad habits:
*cracking my knuckles (thanks, mom!)
*not eating healthy
*not exercising
*procrastinating
*not studying the Bible

5 places I've lived before:
*Mobile, Alabama (born there)
*Birmingham, Alabama (age 6-12)
*Decatur, Alabama (age 12-15)
*Baton Rouge, Louisiana (age 15-21)
*Chattanooga, Tennessee (college)

5 jobs I've had:
*worked in a daycare (this got me through high school summers)
*worked at a jewelry store (college summers and breaks)
*cheerleading coach (10 years and coach of the year 2006!)
*preschool teacher (found out it wasn't quite my calling!)
*best one ever -- MOM!

Okay, I think that fulfills my obligation for Blogger Tag. I have been told to tag another friend who blogs. The only one I have who blogs is my friend Cynthia Cullen. So if she reads this, lets go Cyn!!

Play Ball

Well,it's a new season for the Phillips family. The days of sleeping in on Saturday mornings are gone and the smell of the ol' baseball field takes its place. Trent is starting his coach pitch baseball season and Brayden is enjoying the trial and error game of T-ball. Trent is on the Reds and Brayden loves being a Blue Jay.
They both have really been enjoying the game...or maybe it's the snack afterward. That seems to bring on a faster run to the benches than the run to first base! It's a lot of fun to watch Brayden figure things out - like the fact that you actually have to have the ball to get someone out at the plate! Trent is starting to actually understand what needs to be done and where to throw the ball at the right time. He really enjoys second base and is quite the hitter. Jackson on the other hand enjoys roaming the sidelines and finding nice holes to sit in.
All in all, I'd say that it's been a great trade off for our Saturday mornings. It's a good thing because it looks like it will be this way for a very long time!!

In This Moment Tour

For those of you that know me well you know that my all time favorite performer is Steven Curtis Chapman. I still have the copied cassette of his first two albums I copied from my sister. My husband well knows that had Steven Curtis Chapman not been married in 1994 things would have turned out differently!! Well, my loving and understanding husband bought me a ticket to see Steven in concert April 17 in Ocala, Florida. Another good friend of mine (and adoring Steven fan!) had her husband do the same thing. So yesterday as soon as school was out we headed for Ocala. We were so excited to have a "girls night with Steven". We got there and headed down to our special section the "artist circle" that we paid $5 extra for. We were so excited to find a seat on the 9th row. When we sat down we saw that one part of the front row was empty. I sent Holly down to check availability while I kept our seats. She nodded and waved me over much to my delight and surprise. As I tried to walk,not run, to her, I got there only to point out the signs hanging on the back of the pews "Reserved for Front Row Winners!". Well, we tried!
Our 9th row seats turned out to be great! We had a blast. Steven is still as fantastic as ever (and as handsome as ever I might add!). We sang with every song (a little too loud probably) and clapped and "woohooed" as much as we possibly could. As we got in the car and drove home we sang and laughed some more. Even our being out until 1:30 in the morning on a school night didn't bother us. I can't quite see straight this morning and I've had double the caffeine but my night was definitely worth it. Thanks Tom for a great gift!! Steven has nothing on you!!

Life on the Trampoline

I don't get a whole lot of time to post and I hear it from my family, but I had this moment that I wanted to share. We had quite a week last week in our church family. While I was suffering from laryngitis I had a friend of mine in Atlanta for colon cancer surgery and then one of the great men of our church and a parent of one of my former cheerleaders passed awayat age 57 from liver melanoma. I was unable to sing at the funeral because of my voice but I think the Lord wanted me just to sit back and soak in what He wanted me to hear. It was definitely a week that makes you realize what is important. As I watched the video Mr. Walker's family made of the moments in their short lives together and listened as his children stood and talked about the legacy of Jesus CHrist that their father had left them I just sat and wept praying that I was laying that type of legacy for my boys. Our lives are just way too busy and I discovered that life isn't in the appointments or comings and goings but it's in the pictures that we take, the memories we put away, and the legacy we leave for our children. I was reminded of this on Saturday when we decided to let Jackson on the trampoline for the first time. He loved it and although Brayden about jumped him into the neighbor's yard, he was thrilled to be a "Big boy" now. But as I was sitting there laughing at them all I was suddenly made aware...this is one of those moments. I didn't want to get off. Just to sit there and reflect on the simplicity of that moment. When just bouncing up and down with those you love is the best thing that could ever happen to you. As most of you know though, it's impossible to have a reflective moment like that for long with three kids. So, as short lived as it was it will stay with me for a long time. And even now as this is the second day I've had to stay home with feverish children this week, I've tried as much as I can to put off the mopping (don't I always put that off?) and the laundry and use this as a time to spend with my boys. These days will be gone all too soon and I want to make the most of each of them. So when things get overwhelming and too busy, don't be too busy to just take a little time to sit on the trampoline.