Humbled Again

One of my very dear friend's father passed away today. One minute he was driving his tractor in his field, the next he was gone. They think he suffered a massive heart attack. Of course, I was deeply saddened to hear this news and my heart aches for my friend and her family. It reminded me again how precious and fragile life truly is and how important it is for us to always be the very best people we can be. It is so easy to get caught up in the miniscule problems of life and forget that what really matters is who we love and how we show it. My own dad stopped by tonight for a minute and I hugged him extra tight and told him how much I loved him. I need to do that more often.

Garrett was in such a happy mood tonight and rolled all over the floor, laughing and cooing. Every time I looked at him he would just giggle and flap his little arms in the air. His smile always warms me to the deepest part of my heart, but tonight it was even more special. It's amazing to me that bundled up inside that little body is a whole person, full of potential and life. I was reminded again that the good Lord giveth and taketh away. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have that families are eternal and that this life is just a small part of a much bigger plan our Heavenly Father has for us. All we have to do is the very best we can, and He will one day bless us with more than we can possibly imagine.

Saturday

Greg stayed to help clean up deer camp on Saturday, so I headed down to Provo to catch the BYU game with Greg's siblings. It was a blast! Greg's brother Mike came to the game with us, and was definitely the highlight of the afternoon. Not only is he by far the funniest of the Phillips Family but he's also the second best looking (behind his mother of course). Just to paint a picture he is definitely the tall, dark, and handsome type; but he also has the personality which just captivates any room that he enters. Any woman lucky enough to become his eternal companion will be amazing I'm sure. (I bet you can't guess which portion of this Mike wrote himself.)

This is what we like to call the "Trilogy."

The highlight of the game was when these two guys sitting by us got in a fight. I managed to snap a quick photo before they were broken up by the guys around them. I was trying to be discreet, so it's not the best pic, but you get the idea.

We decided to wait out traffic after the game and headed to the Macaroni Grill for a little grub. Mal and I are trying our hardest to help Eric in his true QUEST at BYU to find a Mrs., so we left a little message on the table for any interested takers.

Later that night, Mike was eating some cinnamon bears and Matt asked him for some. Before Matt could grab them, Mike shoved the last half of the bag in his mouth so he wouldn't have to share. He about choked trying to get them down, which definitely served him right. Poor Matt--being the youngest of 6 kids definitely is not an easy job!

Deer Camp

Thursday night, Emily and I took the kids and headed up the canyon to the infamous DEER CAMP. The Petersen Family Deer Camp is in a league of its own when it comes to camping. Let's just say they don't exactly know the meaning of "roughing it" and there is much more emphasis on the CAMPING than the HUNTING. The camp consists of two huge canvas Outfitters tents, one for cooking and one for sleeping. The cook tent consists of a huge grill, two camp chefs, picnic tables, propane heater, and a portable pantry. The sleeping tent is lined with cots and even has a heater complete with a thermostat. Recently, the men have even added a shower to their camp and there is even a commode tent down the way. The food is always WONDERFUL and the best part of all is that the men do all the cooking and dishes! I used to LOVE going to deer camp with my dad, siblings, grandpa, uncles, and cousins when I was a kid. Of course, Grandpa Claude is greatly missed and I found myself thinking about him a lot while I was up there. I know he would have just loved having Em's gals and Garrett up there.

Friday morning I headed back up to camp with Greg's brothers, Eric and Mike. We had a great time and enjoyed riding horses, playing with Garrett and having fun. They both looked great in bright orange and we're hoping they will decide to visit deer camp again!

Humbled

So I had one of those humbling/put-life-in-perspective experiences yesterday that made me feel about two inches tall.

I pulled into a convenience store yesterday and was TOTALLY ANNOYED when a car had double-parked and taken up the two parking spots right in front of the store. I think my irritability was heightened by the fact that it was FREEZING cold, but I am in my winter rebellion phase and was definitely not dressed for the weather. Anyways, I grabbed what I needed and walked up to the counter to pay. I looked over and was thrilled to see a wonderful lady I met last summer. Her hospital room was right across the hall from my grandpa's and they were both diagnosed with Stage 4, extremely aggressive cancer on the same day. I happened to be staying with my grandpa late that night and she had come over looking for a friend. Her husband died young and all of her children lived out of town, so she was totally alone to receive such a horrible diagnosis. Our two families went through a lot together over the next few days. My grandpa only lived just over a month after he was diagnosed, but she is still alive and fighting her cancer. While we were at the counter paying, she told me she has good days and bad days, but she said over and over again how grateful she is to be alive and how each day she has to spend with her children and grandchildren is such a gift. In fact, she was on her way to Salt Lake to buy a new wig to "perk her up" and had just stopped in to get a drink. I was so humbled as I walked out the door and all I could think was, "And I was worried about a front row parking spot."

My Kind of Priesthood Meeting

Check out Garrett's new trick. All the things you learn while you should be at church... (Thanks Uncle Mike!)

My Kind of Sunday School

This kind of reminded me of the time when we came home from church to find Matt, his Sunday School TEACHER, and a few members of their class playing the Wii when they should have been at Priesthood.

Doing Much Better!

This is how Garrett spent the rest of his week...



Looking out the front of a shopping cart!

After his miraculous recovery at the doctor on Wednesday, I did what any good mother would do...take him on a 3 day shopping extravaganza to Park City! Every year I go to Park City during the UEA break with my mom, sister, aunts, cousins, and some close friends. I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to go this year after Garrett had been so sick, but he was doing better Wednesday, so I decided to go. Usually I try to be a good teacher and go to the UEA Convention, but since I only have just a few weeks of school left until my "retirement," I decided to just spend my time shopping instead. (Good choice, right?) I happen to be an EXCELLENT shopper and can find a bargain like you've never seen. Thankfully, my aunt and cousins volunteered to watch Garrett most of the time, so I was really able to get some good shopping in. As always, we ate LOTS of yummy food, shopped too much, laughed a bunch, and came home exhausted!



Guilty Confession: I was going to buy this shopping cart cover/play thing at TJ Maxx, so I took it out and used it while we were shopping. When I was done, I decided it wasn't that great, so I put it back in the box and didn't buy it. I still feel guilty about it.



Poor Gracie: This is what you call SHOP TIL YOU DROP!

SICK!

Garrett is known for being a great sleeper and has definitely spoiled us, so I was surprised when he kept waking up screaming Sunday night. He started running a high fever Monday afternoon and has been pretty much miserable ever since. We took him to the doctor on Monday and he said he had a red throat, gunky nose, and fluid in his ears that wasn't infected yet, so there wasn't really anything they could do. Lovely! Needless to say, it's been a rough couple of days for our little guy. We have slept a grand total of about 5 hours in the last 3 days. Of course, he always perks up when his dad walks in the room and will smile and laugh for him, but that's been about it. Last night he would scream any time I would lay him down, so we spent most of the night sitting up and walking the floor. I took him back to the doctor today, and of course, his fever went down as soon as we went in and he smiled and cooed at the doctor the whole time. Nice! And of course, still fluid on the ear, but no infection. I was so glad I had paid $20 to hear that.


Here he is this morning after he finally fell asleep.

He has seemed much better this evening and I am so praying we are on the mend! Let's hope for a better night tonight!

The Big Game, Cousin Party, Roof Shingling, and Girls' Night!

Last weekend was a busy and fun one! It's also been a crazy week, so I'm just finally getting this posted.

We attended the USU-BYU game on Friday. As some of you may have noticed (and even participated in), deciding who to cheer for was a big choice for us. I was born and raised a die-hard Aggie fan, but betrayed my family by attending and graduating from BYU. The Aggie/Cougar rivalry has always been a fun one for me and I didn't realize until my freshman year of college how funny this "rivalry" really is. The last time these two teams matched up was during my freshman year. I remember being so excited for the big game and proudly wearing my USU hoodie to class that day, but I was surprised when I heard nothing but good things about Utah State. People would say things like. "Utah State is an awesome school," or "I have lots of friends at USU and they love it," or "My relatives live in Logan...It's so beautiful up there," or "I go to The Howl every year. USU is so much fun." I was like, "What the heck???" Definitely not what I was expecting! I did manage to survive my four years at "The College" and even managed to graduate while still a "Miss," so I guess you could say it's all good.



The game was a blast! Garrett ended up cheering for both teams. (When in Rome...) He wore his Aggie shirt and Cougar hat. The highights of the game were:

1. Seeing all the signs/posters/t-shirts. My favorites were "BYU--Keeping ugly girls out of Utah State since 18-something." (Pictured above) I also loved the "Win or lose--you still live in Provo" t-shirt.

2. After hearing the infamous Cougar fight song twice in the first two minutes of the game, my brother Brian said, "How many times do you think we're going to have to hear this tonight? I'm hoping it isn't more than 8. I don't think I can take it."

3. The kid decked out in red Utah gear from head to toe. Uhhhh...wrong game, buddy!!! (I tried unsuccessfully to get a picture.)

After the game, Garrett and I headed over to my cousin Kami's place for a little fiesta. She is renting out my grandma's old house and it was so wonderful to be there again with my cousins. Some of my best memories come from that house, and I'm so glad it's been able to stay in the family so we can keep making new ones! My cousin Ashleigh was visiting from North Carolina and Tara from Boise, so of course we had to get together and catch up! Tara's little Guimo just turned 1 a few weeks ago and Ashleigh had little Willa just 11 days after I had Garrett.

Here's Ash and I doing a little baby swap. (Garrett and Willa could be twins!)



Cousin photo--Tyler just happened to be the only boy in the room at the moment and got suckered in. (Apparently he got his photo quota in for the weekend, because when his family took family pictures on Sunday he wouldn't participate. They have a whole bunch of lovely pictures--with no Tyler.) We're just glad he hopped in this one with us!



Cute Kids!



Saturday, the Phillips men (and Mallory) shingled the roof of the shed/garage/mancave while I stayed home and found "joy in being a homemaker." (Refer to previous post!) It was raining and both my sister-in-law Cathy and I had made it very clear to our husbands they were not be roofing in the rain. You can see by these pictures how well they listened to us!



It is coming along nicely and we so appreciate everyone who has helped us!

Saturday night, we sent the menfolk off to the Priesthood session and the girls hit the town! OH YEAH! I introduced the gals to Fredrico's Pizza and Aggie Ice Cream. Garrett had no trouble convincing his grandma and aunts to share the goodness with him--so he is also a fan! I always love our semi-annual Ladies' Night Out!



YEEHAW! Check out these studs...I'm kind of partial to the second one in from the right.



The gal in the black hoodie and headband (making the funny face) is available--let me know if you're interested! I have connections...

Happy Birthday Mike!

This handsome little horse rider is one year older and wiser today! We wish we could be there to celebrate Mike's big day with him, but the best we can do is send our love and wishes via the blog. Happy Birthday Mike. We can't wait to see you in two weeks!

A Rainy General Conference

Today I worked on a Christmas quilt. I joy in being a homemaker. The men folk are out shingling the roof. Not to mention Greg's little sister Mallory is also out there working her tail off on the roof, in shorts and flipflops. She sacrifices a whole lot for our little family and we just love her to death. I'd also like to refer you to the top right corner of the blog to see that Garrett cheered for the Cougars and not the loser Aggies. Also this is Mallory and I learned how to blog hack from Greg. Just kidding, Nat left herself signed in. But you should see Nat cooking soup and sewing blankets. What a lady. xoxo