The Phillips Family

After another set of x-rays and doctor's visit, I have decided to run the marathon still. I don't have any fractures, just a bruised bone and severe shin splint, so I can still run. It'll just hurt like heck. I've been spoiling my leg all week with menthol massages, ice packs, heat, ibuprofren, and lots of rest so it can heal as much as possible for this Saturday. After making the decision to run, I was SUPER excited and giddy about it. Now, however, as it is 4am on the eve of our traveling day to St. George and I can't sleep, I am getting SUPER nervous. What if after all this work I injure myself during the race and can't finish? Running this marathon is more of a bucket list kind of thing for me, not the start of an addictive habit, so I don't want to have to go through all the training and anticipation again. It's been a growing experience and I am so excited about how healthy and strong my heart and lungs are now, but running more than 15 m...

On Friday we were getting ready to go on a long car ride to the farm again. After packing a lunch and feeding the boys their second bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, I went upstairs to grab a pair of socks and brush my teeth. That probably took three minutes tops. When I came downstairs, I found a whole bag of chocolate chips strewn across the living room floor and the remnants of THREE PB&J sandwiches devoured and smothered into our (light colored) couches. Sam's face was covered in chocolate and Aiden had a jam smile. Sheesh, who's your mother and doesn't she feed you??

I finally captured Sam's "daaaaaark" face and actions. He's so cute. We got Aiden allergy tested to see if there was anything else triggering his frequent asthma attacks. Turns out he's very allergic to cats and dogs (the 2 big welts on the right). The upper right welt is a reaction to a dry mold that grows on everything here and there's not much we can do for that... Aiden regressed a bit in his potty training so we had to up the ante. Turns out a system comprising of pom-poms and video game privileges was the ticket to motivating him again. He really likes the Wii and frequently asks to play the "wee-wee". hehehe. Rex and I had a very romantic date to Wal-Mart where I spontaneously decided to let Rex pick out the New Me in hair dye form. We went for platinum blonde. Not a good idea, it turns out, to let a bald guy color your hair. ;-) We had fun though and I have since had it fixed by a professional. Monica and Mason came for Labor Day - wai...

For Labor Day weekend, Monica and her hubby Mason (a.k.a. "Jack" according to Aiden) came to visit us. On Saturday we took the boys and went with my neighbor friend to visit the most fun farm around. At the front of the farm there's a huge area for kids to play. It had so many fun things - old firetrucks, haystacks, dirt piles, giant trampoline, tractor go-carts, playground, big tires to climb in, and all sorts of other fun things. Aiden and Sam LOVED playing peek-a-boo with Aunti Mo in the firetruck. Then when we were ready to go out to the fields, we climbed onto the back of a tractor and made stops along the way to pick whatever and how ever much we wanted. Here's my neighbor friend Stacy and her two kids. What would I do without good friends here?? The kids loved it and helped us pick green beans, beets, potatoes, cabbage, corn, carrots, celery, honey dew, butternut squash, and onions. They got good and dirty - the way kids should get! We made off with...