Month: June 2010

(I haven’t finished up our school year posts, but our video camera needs another cord, so until we can get one to transfer it onto the computer, I’m going to keep moving forward with other posts!)

Can I first just say, HURRAY FOR SUMMER!!! I love having my children with me (most days), and having no set agendas for the day!

We started the summer off by going to the Bean Museum, it is always a fun place to go…

Some favorite parts (from Tuckers camera)

the two headed snake:

The elephant:

Hammer head shark:

Shasta the Liger:

A favorite is always the show!

Truman and Tuck got to help hold up the snake skin that was over 6 feet long!



And a favorite from the class is always petting the animals!

Elliot LOVED the turtle. He came home saying the word Turtle, and talked about the ‘ter-tail’ all day long.

Thanks to my friend and neighbor Jamie for arranging such a fun day for us (And supplying me with the pics from the show!)

I think I’ve had a taste of what it’s like to have a teenager in the house. Clementine (our chicken) has recently taken to ‘testing’ her boundaries. She previously has resided/played/hung out/eaten/slept in our backyard.

Over the weekend, she discovered how to use the doggy door that leads from the backyard to the garage. I stayed inside over the weekend, and didn’t realize until SUNDAY (2 days after she’d learned her new talent), when the garage was covered in chicken poop, what she’d learned to do. Her favorite spot? On top of the car. NIce.

Later on during the week, whilst the boys and I were downstairs cleaning their rooms, Tru came to the office to put something away. And I am sure you have a pretty good guess who he found sitting in our nice leather chair looking like she owned the place….Clementine. (Now mind you, our office is the space that is furthest from ANY door. So she had to take a jaunt through the kitchen, down the long hallway, past a bedroom and a bathroom.)

Never before has she been so rebellious! Maybe it’s the influence of the new chicks? Who knows.

I just hope it ends before she tries to get in my bed or something….sheesh.

I know there have been studies about birth order, and I am sure at some point I have read/learned about them, but fore the life of me, I can’t remember them.

Here is what I do know.

Elliot is a great third child:

He loves to play with his big brothers, but is content also to sneak away when he needs a minute by himself.
He plays well with other kids, and with kids younger than him, he is great at giving them toys.
He is a great little sleeper most of the time, and loves getting and giving ‘cuddles’ when he first wakes up in the morning, and sing Old McDonald had a farm.
He loves to say his big brothers name, and anything they are doing, he’s wanting to try too.
His big brothers just love him. They try to help him do so many things and is so fun to hear them talk to Elliot in their high pitched big brother voices.
He is good at playing alone. He likes to know that other people are around, and doesn’t really enjoy being in a room by himself, but is content to do his own thing with others around him.
He really is the perfection addition to our family.
Love this little man, and glad he’s our third little child.

The end of May, we welcome Sweet Cora Jo..

Proud Parents are Chad and JoAnna.

Everyone else in my family has now met her, I can’t wait to meet this sweetie!

Congrats Chad and Jo!
(Pictures stolen again from JoAnna’s blog)

This spring, we had college grads in the family! During the month of May we celebrated:

Uncle Eric (this is the best pic I got, right about to hand his paper to graduate…)

and Uncle Chad and Aunt JoAnna (I stole this picture from their blog!).

Congrats, We love you guys, and are proud of you!

Our son is a published Author.

Turtle on Mars is a riveting book! 🙂

And spoiler alert! There are a lot of happy endings.

We went and had cookies with him in his classroom, and listened to him read up the story.

We finished up our swimming lessons, the end of May.
Let me tell you…Tucker has NO FEAR, don’t believe me?
Here’s some video of him running off the diving board:

No Fear from Emily Phillips on Vimeo.

(Yes that is him yelling in excitement! He got to go off the diving board quite a few times, and LOVED every time of it!)
And this great shot:

Truman also loved swimming lessons, and passed his level with flying colors. He even got to go off the diving board the last day of class, and was so proud of himself!
Love these little water loving boys!

A good FHE, in fact, I am recording it, as it is one I want to remember.

Riding bikes,

scooters,

or just catching a ride to our local park.

A lesson and a picnic dinner.

Playing frisbee,

everyone got in on the action.

Then off to the playground.


To play, play, play.



Home for some popsicles.



Love a Good Monday Night like this one, if only all of them were as magical as this….

“Confidence to Take Action”

One last award for his remarkable accomplishment with Reflections.

He stood before his entire school, with the help of his principal and teacher, explaining his quilt. I think this was his favorite ‘award’ as he got to share it with his peers.

Love our school and it’s staff. What an amazing place to be where they recognize and cheer on their students.

You may or may not remember (or may not even care!) about our chickens, and then it become chicken–Clementine.

A quick update: after goose left, Clementine became really lonely. She would sit outside our kitchen sink window, and our patio doors, just wanting to be social, and for you to talk to her.

When the dog got her, she lost half of her feathers down one side, we knew before we made arrangements for her to go to a farm, she needed to grow her feathers back, which would take a few weeks. So we tried to nurture her, and love he.

While her feathers grew back, both neighbors on either side of us got chickens (they both got 10!). We began to watch Clementine, she wasn’t as lonely any more. And she seemed to want to interact with the Chicks (which we thought wouldn’t happen…)

So after seeing her behavior, we decided to get her some friends….

They don’t have names yet. (they are still hard to tell apart)


But already they are getting plenty of hugs, loves and kisses from the boys.



Clementine seems to like them just fine, soon enough they’ll be big enough to be left outside with her, but for now, they’re staying warm (and dry) in the garage. Hopefully these two will be able to fit right in with Clementine!