Lizzie hits Double DiGiTs!!!

Lizzie turned 10 on September 8!

Nana and Papa came up and we celebrated at Oreganos.  It was a fun dinner and Ben and Aunt Kim surprised her and stopped by.  She got a new phone for her birthday with a full keyboard, so she was busy with that phone most of the afternoon, we made her put it away for dinner.  She is becoming quite the texter.  Lizzie loves pasta and Oreganos is her favorite restaurant.

Things about Lizzie:

Lizzie loves mac n cheese, Kraft preferably.

Lizzie loves Cherry Coke Zero.

Lizzie loves ice cream, anything with chocolate.

Lizzie excels at school and loves 5th grade so far.

Lizzie's favorite day of the week is the day she goes to ELP.

Lizzie joined the band and plays the clarinet.

Lizzie does gymnastics 4 days a week and is a level 5 gymnast.

Lizzie's ultimate favorite b-day party is a slumber party.

Lizzie can be very loud at times, which is odd because she used to be so quiet.

Lizzie's preferred spelling of her name is with an ie.

Lizzie still loves her mommie to lay down with her to help her go to sleep.

Lizzie sleeps with a minimum of 5 stuffed animals surrounding her, her favorites are Pinky, Mr. Puppy, Mr. Monkey, Claire, and Buckeye.

Lizzie's favorite store to shop in is Justice.

Lizzie is now a tween, watch out world!

Visit to Kansas City

We took the whole family and headed to Kansas City to visit the Masons for Labor Day Weekend.  It was a lot of fun.  It was also a great way to have a little get away before I went back to work, as I was scheduled for my first trip on Sept. 9.  We had not been to visit for 3 years.  Wendi and Buddy are in a new beautiful home and they were great hosts. 

The plane ride went surprisingly smooth.  We had to change planes in Denver on the way there and the pic of Markie in his tanktop is from the airport.  He insisted on wearing that with a button up shirt over it, however the button up came off and he was left in his funky tank top.  We have a name for the tank top but we won't put it in this blog.  Anyways, even the baby was a great traveler on his first plane ride. 

Once we arrived, the kids spent a lot of time on their new trampoline, playing video games, and just havin fun!  The guys got to golf twice.  Wendi and I got away too to our favorite shopping area, Zona Rosa, and discovered our favorite new store, Charming Charlies,  AND I just found out they have one of those stores that just opened in the San Tan Shoppping area in Chandler.  I am soo excited.  They have tons of cheap fun jewelry.  So much stuff it'll make your head spin!

We had a great trip and stayed the whole weekend and came home Monday afternoon with no problems non revving.  Wendi is scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan in January for 9 months, so it was good for our families to be able to spend time together before she goes.

Back to School

The kids started school on September 13, a Wednesday this year.  Why a Wednesday?  Can the teachers only handle three days with the kids to ease back into the school year?  Personally, as a mom I was ready for a 5 day week the first week, to ease back into MY schedule.   The mommies went to lunch at Macayos, which is becoming a tradition for the first day back to school.  We do this to mourn, or celebrate, or a little of both, the beginning of another school year. 

Markie started 2nd grade with Mrs. Moser and Lizzie started 5th grade with Mrs. , of course I forgot the name of her teacher.  Anyways, they were excited to go back with their new lunchboxes and backpacks.  Off on the bus they went, happy to start their school year.  Even Tater saw them off!  And so we ended a summer of lots of changes for our family!  Even though it was only August 13, and still felt like the surface of the sun outside, summer was officially over for the Phipps Family!  I hope Marike and Lizzie have the best school years so far!

Bella turns 4

Bella had a great birthday.  We went to her favorite place the day before her "actual" birthday, Chuckee Cheese with our family and her cousins.  She had a great time.  Then on her "actual" birthday we had a cake at the house and Jayna came over to play and have cake.  She is thrilled to be 4!

Things about Bella:
She loves chocolate milk.
She loves all dairy, yogurt, cheese, etc.
She rules her older brother and sister.
She was pottytrained completely a few weeks before she turned 4.
She loves Dora and Sponge Bob.
She loves to swim.
She can't wait to go to kindergarten.
She loves being a big sister to her brother Michael.
Her best friend is Alex.
She loves soccer.
She smiles this adorable closed mouth smile when she wants to convince you of something.
She is very, very smart.
She shares a room with Markie.
AND she is the Best Dancer EVER. 
Bella's got the moves!