Friday, September 23, 2011

Packing

Packing and more packing....
I hate packing. I sit here in this apartment wondering how in the world I packed our old house all by myself (Chad was already in Richmond)?
We move tomorrow and the entire apartment needs to be packed.
If I have my way, we are never moving again. Although, it was a great way to get rid of things.
I feel sorry for these three children of mine. Because the next time we move, their daddy and I will be in our 90s and won't be able to do it. And we will have 60 years worth of stuff (including their old stuff, they didn't want to take with them) to go through, get rid of and throw away!!
Guess, I should get to packing!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Weekend with the Family

The first weekend in August our family (4 generations!)made our way to Bath County, VA.
We all converged on Ft. Lewis Lodge on Friday. It took a good 3 hours to get there from Richmond, but was so worth it. It was a tricky drive for us because we left after Chad got off work. It was very dark, we had no idea where we were going, and it was in the middle of no where. But Google maps did us right and sent us the correct way the entire trip!

We spent the weekend eating, drinking, swimming, walking, hiking, reading, biking, talking, catching up, fishing, playing ping pong, footsball, and eating. (Yup, we did enough of that to mention it twice!)

There aren't too many details to share so I will get to the pictures. Let's be honest that's why you are here anyway!









The whole gang

The Phillips 5

Here's the 4 generations!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

One Word Wednesday!

Q

First

Day

Preschool

2011

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Welcoming Walter

I'll go back to the baby shower I co-hosted for a cousin.

Our cousin Andy is married to a great girl, Olga. They've been married a few years now (3) and live "up the road" in Maryland. This family (as well as hers) doesn't really have patience when it comes to waiting for babies. Our family is large and we like it that way.

My mom, cousin Michelle and I drove up to Northern VA to an aunts house. It's kind of in the middle and this shower, was supposed to be a surprise. We needed a believable excuse to get her there. There were lots of laughs and some good stories. Mostly from my mom, who knows all the secrets! Although, I was holding back a big secret of my own. Or so I was thinking.

At the grocery store that night, I spilled the beans to my cousin. I was pretty sure I was pregnant, but hadn't confirmed it yet. I didn't really want to find out before the shower. I wanted to focus on Olga (& Walter)and I didn't want to slip up in front of all my aunts. Espcially at a party in someones elses honor!!

When we got back to the house, I got a phone call from my friend Jennifer that she was engaged. Now, I couldn't tell one of my best friends!! This secret was getting harder and harder to keep!

Saturday morning we got up early to prepare. Our theme was Pickles and Ice Cream.

My cousin and I with 2 of my lovely great aunts (one on left her mom, one on the right our hostess!).

My mom and I skipped out for a few minutes and took a walked around the corner to the house she grew up in. She said it looks exactly the same as she remembers it. Pretty wild when I think about my own children and their antics and can picture my mom and her sisters. It was fun to hear her stories (sometimes for the second or third time) but now I could picture that friend and their house. The owners watching us from the windows didn't invite us in, so we just hung out outside and took pictures. We wondered if any of the neighbors were the same, but neither of us were brave enough to ask.


Q and I had fun making some decorations during B's naptime. He's my design partner, assistant party planner and my right hand man.

First up: the decorations!
Whats a party these days with out a bunting?! They are a fun and easy way to add some color. Granted these aren't the nursery colors or the shower colors. But Andy & Olga are FSU alumni and Walters room is a sports theme. I coudn't resist doing this for him. It was the one thing I did off the theme. I didn't mind because, I can kill a theme. I mean kill it. Once I get the theme in my head, my brain just goes wild with ideas.

And what's a baby shower without a game? Our game was baby songs. All different genres. Songs with the word "baby" in the title. You get a point for knowing the song title and a point for knowing the artist. We played this at B's shower and I loved it. Had to do it again. Picking the songs is almost as fun as playing the game! Every guest gets to take home a cd.

Spoil me table...an understatement!

The cake!

Flowers


And the favors. Yankee Candles in pink, white and brown (of course!)

Now we can get on with the party. Olga was very surprised! Always a plus when you've worked so hard not to spill the beans.

She was even more surprised when she saw her mom.

Yes, she is jumping and yes, her feet actually came off the ground. We were scared. Very scared. We thought we'd be delivering a baby!
And her dad.

And her aunt.

And her uncle!!

Showers and parties are hard work, but so worth it! A great time was had by all and Baby Walter ("baby dubs" as I like to call him) made out like the prince that he is.

A big shout out to Carli at Dimpleprints on Etsy for the invites and the CD labels. She was great to work with and very patient! She was willing to work with me on any and all changes!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Summertime

As suspected I took a nice long summer break. Well, that is my excuse anyway. We were busy. I seem to start a lot of projects and don't complete them. I'll file this blog under that long list.

I'm not even sure where to start. Do I go back and fill you in or just start fresh? But we did so many fun things this summer I hate to not post about them. Afterall, I did start this blog as a way for me to keep the boys informed of all the fun we had as a family.

Here is a brief run down of things to come.
After the strawberry picking journey, I co hosted a surprise baby shower for a cousin! It was a fun weekend with my lady family members celebrating family, babies, and making memories.
After a quick drive to Arlington and a long grocery store visit I got a phone call from one of my best friends that she just got engaged! (This will be the begininng of many crafty post!)
That Monday (May 2nd) we learned we would also be welcoming a new baby!! After some quick calculations, we also calculated I was 5 weeks. The bean was the size of a sesame seed.
I watched the final episode of Oprah. Hey! It really was a momment, in my book!
We went to the Beach for Memorial day. Chad and I celebrated 6 years of wedded bliss!
The boys and I took a trip to Pittsburgh PA for a quick visit with our friends, (they used to be our neighbors)
June 23rd & 25th my new cousin Walter arrived and one of my favorite roomates announced the arrival of her son Finn.
June 30th brought another man into my life. Another great friend got engaged! More crafty post on the way! Not to mention a trip to Denver, CO in June 2012!!
We went back to Nags Head for the 4th of July holiday! More family, more food, more good memories made!
Q went to camp at the church where he (now attendds) preschool. We thought it would be a good introduction to the teachers and space.
We spent a weekend in Bath County VA with more family. Lots more great memories made!
We then found out the gender of the bean!! I went right to Asheville for a girls weekend/bachelorette party. And the boys hung out with the grammy & granddaddy.
We experienced our families first earthquake (5.9)!!
Hurricane Irene came and threw Richmond for a loop! Lots of damage (none for us)
We closed on a new house! Talk about some project post! There will be lots!
We spent Labor Day and Bradleys 2nd birthday in Nags Head.
Then we came back in time to start school and soccer!
There were also many trips to Raleigh and Lake Gaston for some family time.

So with a boring timeline of a post I will leave you with a picture to hold you over until the next post. Hopefully, it won't be so long.