Happy Anniversary!

Sorry to post over Ben's birthday. I think it'll be an annual collision. Abe and Desiree celebrate their fourth anniversary today -- and their first as parents. Just a few more days until their parenthood hits full bloom. Love you two and hope you've been having a great day!

Happy 31st Birthday, Benjamin James!

 

Benjamin James is 31 years old today!  The weekend that Ben was born was opening day of hunting season.  His grandpa Leo and a bunch of friends stopped in Bozeman on their way to their hunting camp.  Grandpa did his best to get Jim to join them...it is really a good thing he didn't go because there might not have been Jake, Nick, Sam or Maddie!

 

So this is Ben's life right now...living in Hawaii, working at a hospital on Maui and seeing sunsets like this~it's tough for sure! 
Enjoy your day Jamin!  I wish I could be there to help you celebrate.  We will have a good glass of wine next time I see you.

Love you tons!
MOM

Christmas Exchange

Hi all!!  I was going to put this up last night but couldn't post over Hannah's beautiful post!  Meg drove me crazy and did the drawing a while ago, and I forgot to post on the blog.  It is done and here is how it goes (Giver is first - receiver is second):

Rika & Family - Maddie
Abe, Des & Bitty - Jake
Hannah & Family - Nick
Bri & Family - Shannon & Birch
Mike - Randa & Family
Matt & Family - Ben
Joey - Hannah and Family
Meg & Family - Rika and Family
Jen - Sam
Molly - Bri and Family
Nate - Mike
Shannon & Birch - Jen
Randa & Family - Matt & Family
Ben - Molly
Jake - Meg and Family
Nick - Joey
Sam - Abe, Des and Bitty
Maddie - Nate


Connie  -  Tom
Bill  -  Jeanine
Jan  -  Mary
Marc  -  Jim W
Johnny  -  Connie
Annie  -  Jimmy
Tommy  -  Johnny
Jeanine  -  Jan
Mary  -  Billy Boy
Jim W.  -  Annie Belle
Jimmy  -  Marc

So there you have it!!  Now everyone needs to get lists, wants, etc. on the blog.  Let's get this Christmas 2012 going!!!

Just a Philpot update

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Was nice to see those of you that I did for that brief trip up for Grampa O's funeral. While there, Tom mentioned that the blog is getting a little bit slow in recent days. So to motivate people to start doing some posts, I think we should do our "Blog Christmas Cards" with updates and pictures of everyone. I know it is early but maybe we can actually get it done if we start in October. To be a good example of this great idea, here ya go! :) Let's see, Kayla won student body officer with John's great slogan,"Mikayla Philpot; Hard to spell, Easy to vote for!" Was a tight race with all the drama and mudslinging of the presidential one going on (I am barely kidding). But it was a great experience for her - middle school is proving to be pretty fun. Carter's football team made it to the playoffs!! They are currently undefeated and playing the other undefeated team this Saturday. You wouldn't believe how stressful a ten year old football game can be. Well, maybe you sporty families actually can - or maybe you just never let it stress you out. (I could use some tips.) By the way, that picture above of Happy Carter and crying Kaitlyn was because he had just thrown her stick and yet pulls this innocent picture smile as she bawls. Just a funny true to life moment caught on camera. :) Kesiah is loving third grade, she has the best teacher in the school. I am her room mom so we are planning out her lavish Halloween party, it is going to be the best!! She is taking some time off before volleyball to just chill, which is a nice break after 6 months of softball! :) Kaitlyn is doing fabulous in Kindergarten. She is a prompt gal who hates to be late and is tidy and efficient - very unlike her mother. She is also in a great ballet class and they are practicing for their Christmas Carol Ballet in December. Oh, and last week the kids had a couple days off school so I took them to a sports clinic where they take x-rays of your hand and they can predict (quite accurately) the height you will be when you are full grown. It said Mikayla was going to be six feet tall and Carter should be 6'5" or 6'6"!! Crazy tall!! You cousins out there, how tall are you? Does this run in my family and I just never realized? Katie and Kesiah were technically too young to have an accurate assessment, I guess ten years old is the most accurate age to start. No, but really, how tall are ya'll? And Jerry and I are just trucking along. Jerry and Carter just got home from the deer hunt today Buck-less and kinda' bummed but at least they got a cool hike up in the misty mountains. I have been taking lots of pictures lately - pictures for families and school pictures and the like. It is my favorite hobby, if only I had more time. But overall, life is really good. Super busy but good. I don't know how you six kid families managed to get it all done! Again, perhaps you could post some tips! :) Love ya'll!!

City of Trees Marathon-Boise

Well, I wasn't sure if I would run another marathon after Boston.  After my surgery (a month and half ago) I could barely run 4 miles.  But as Tom mentioned it will come back.  I was in Chicago three weeks ago and did a long run and ran the stairs in their condo unit and Desiree asked me what I was training for.  I said "nothing", little did I know.  Found about this race on Friday, registered Saturday and ran a 3:46 Sunday.  I'll take it!

Iceland!

Well, I'm finally getting around to posting some photos from our trip to Iceland. You'll notice a lot of waterfalls, 'cause there's a bunch of 'em. You can often see people in the pics to give you a sense of scale. We really enjoyed the trip and hope you enjoy this small slice of it.