The Phillips, Party of 4

Steve's First

2012-02-01T16:56:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know, Steve applied for a writing job online just for fun and got it!! We were so very happy for him because even though it doesn't pay anything he is getting published and it could help him get a job in the near future!! The experience will help him out when he gets into the working world! Plus what he gets to write about isn't that bad either- anything Dallas Cowboys related! Yeah!!! If you want to see his first piece here's the link so that you can see just how great Steve is!

http://thelandryhat.com/2012/01/27/tony-romo-vs-cam-newton-prom-bowl-snub-not-exactly-a-bad-thing/

The BIG 29!!!

2012-01-24T15:54:00.001-08:00

Steve just recently celebrated his birthday a few days ago. We didn't do very much on that day cause he wasn't too excited about getting older, but who is? This year he told us that he wanted to get some new suits for his birthday and that is what he got. We were able to find a great deal on two new suits and he really likes them. Now we just need him to change shifts at work so that he can put them to good use. That morning we were able to go see the baby and find out the official gender. We got a lot of 3D pictures, but they really didn't turn out very well. To find out what we're having take a look in the pictures. We didn't get a lot of pictures of Steve and his cake, but here are a few of his nice new suits.

Steve really wanted a brown suit and it looks really good on him, plus we got a great deal on it!!!

This suit came with two pairs of pants, what a great deal. If you look really close you'll be able to see the pin stripes.

....It's a GIRL!!!!
We're thinking of naming her Layla Sharie.

Merry Christmas!!!

2012-01-13T16:13:00.000-08:00

So Christmas has come and gone a while ago, we know. Here is our post for the wonderful holiday that we were able to share together as a family. A couple days before Christmas we were able to go to Temple Square and see the lights with some of our friends and really enjoyed the beauty. We were sure bless with a wonderful holiday season, we first started the day out by going to church and feeling the spirit. It was a wonderful meeting and then we came home and enjoyed out time together, just the four of us. Here are some photos that we took. We hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas and were able to feel the spirit of the season.

(Photo overload!!)

Here we are at Temple Square.

The first thing the kids saw was Daisy's kitchen we got for her.

Ethan opening a gift from Santa, that he left in Ethan's stocking.

Daddy helping Daisy open her gift from her stocking from Santa.

Ethan opening his pirate ship.

Ethan playing with his new ship.

Ethan helping Daisy open one of her presents while she plays with her doodle pad and watches him.

Ethan loves Mater and was so excited to get this toy from the Gallup family.

Daisy enjoying a little box and her doodle pad. Little ones are just so funny!

Ethan asked Santa for a new Buzz Lightyear and was so excited to get one!

Ethan and Daddy Showing off their matching Basketball jerseys.

Daisy enjoying her new chair. We had to really get her out of the little box and persuade her that the chair would be more comfortable.

Spending some time at Grandma Colleen's and Grandpa Mike's house.

Daisy getting some help from dad.

Ethan really loves his new fishing game.

The best part of the evening was jumping on Grandpa's Monkeys. Both kids enjoyed inflicting pain on the poor sock monkeys.

Our traditional tree cake for Jesus' Birthday.

Daisy taking her turn in blowing out the candle.

A few weeks before Christmas we went up to spend some time with the McClaskey side of the family and enjoyed an early Christmas. We were really spoiled and enjoyed out time with the parents/grandparents. Here are some pictures of the fun event.

Ethan loves Mario, so Grandma T and Grandpa Steve got him a little Mario. They also got him an Iron Man toy too. He loves both toys and had to get his picture taken with both of them.

Daisy teaching piano to Mario. She really loves to play the piano.

Daisy watching Ethan open his presents.

Both kids love the table that Daisy got from the McClaskeys.

Daisy helping Grandma do the dishes.

Ethan's Christmas Program

2011-12-28T19:13:00.000-08:00

so last week we were able to go see Ethan in his very first pre-school program. He had been working really hard practicing all of his songs while we were in the car. He did such a great job and it really brightened our holiday season to have him do it. We think he did really well for singing in front of so many people he didn't know. Sharifa took some videos, but we can't get them to load up. We hope these pictures will suit you all. We also hope that you have a wonderful holiday season and hope you have a very Happy New Year!!!

Thankful- by Sharifa

2011-12-21T21:45:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I can make lots of excuses but the truth is I'm just lazy and tired. It's a little late for the Thanksgiving holiday, but we can all be thankful all year long. There is so much to be thankful for and I just want to list a few. I'm so grateful to have such a wonderful husband who goes to school, goes to work, and makes time to spend with his family. He also makes sure to play with his kids, who love him more than anything in the world!!! I love my two wild firecrackers that keep me on my toes and never makes my life boring. My family's health is another blessing that I am grateful to have. Oh how I could just go on, but I won't. I'm just so grateful to have such a wonderful family and to be able to add another one into this crazy mix. Also, all the great people that I'm able to have in my life, whether it be external family or just really great friends that make my life so much brighter! Thank you all for being in my life! I love you and wish you a very happy holidays!!!

--Sharifa

BIG SURPRISE!!!

2011-11-08T12:00:00.001-08:00

So for those of you who don't know yet, yes we are adding another little firecracker to our family. The little one is due in the spring and is a BIG surprise to all of us. We had planned on having another child a year later and ended up getting our plans changed for us. Though this is not what we planned for we are excited to see what this new little baby will bring into our family.

Halloween!!!

2011-11-01T12:08:00.001-07:00

On Halloween we were able to have lots of fun. Sharifa and the kids went up to Idaho Falls to see Grandma T and Grandpa Steve. They were able to visit, have some lunch, and play for a little while. That night we went to Brigham and went Trick-O-Treating at Grandma Colleen's and Grandpa Mike's neighborhood. We came out with a lot candy and had lots of fun that night! Here are some pictures of our fun filled day!

Family costume picture!Super Mario!!!Mommy and Daisy

Sharifa and the kids.

Daisy playing the piano at the Grandparents' house!

Picture with the cute Minion Beckett. He was just so adorable!!The kids helping Grandpa pass out candy.

Pumpkin Carving and Trunk or Treat Night

2011-10-28T15:13:00.000-07:00

So for Family Home Evening, which we don't do that much (we know "naughty us"), we decided to start carving pumpkins and we all had so much fun. The next night we were able to join our ward with Trunk or Treat. It was a lot of fun. Here are some pictures of the fun we were able to have the two nights. Daisy having fun eating while everyone works on pumpkins.
Ethan showing mommy Bill's top.

"EEEEWWW!!!!"Dad showing Ethan that it's not going to kill him. Trying again.

Success!

Mommy finishing hers and Daisy's pumpkin.

Dad and Ethan with the finished Bill.

Daisy and Mommy with Beatrice.

The Pumpkin Family( Bill, Bob, and Beatrice)

Mario and our little Lady Bug.

Mario with Luigi.

A Bumble Bee and a cute Lady Bug.

Our sweet Family!!!

Meet Bob

2011-10-20T09:07:00.001-07:00

So we wanted to introduce you all to Bob the Pumpkin. One day for Pre-school Ethan got to go on a field trip to a pumpkin patch. Each student got to pick their very own pumpkins and take it back to school to decorate it. Ethan decided he wanted to name his Bob the Pumpkin. So here is the newest member ( that won't be around for long) of our family! Ethan enjoying his new buddy Bob while Daisy wants to play with Ethan's backpack.
Just Ethan and Bob.

Ethan is Now 4!!!!!

2011-09-19T20:18:00.000-07:00

Ethan is now 4 years old! We can't believe that it's been so long since our baby boy came into this world and changed our lives for the better! We were able to do lots of fun things with friend and family, both on his birthday and a few days before. Thursday night, before his birthday, Grandma Colleen and Grandpa Mike and Great Grandma Phillips came over to do dinner and present since they would not be in town for his birthday. Sharifa got some pictures, but she lost the SD card (typical Sharifa). The next day Grandma T and Grandpa Steve came down and took us to the Dinosaur Park in Ogden because they wouldn't be able to come celebrate on his actual birthday either. We did have lots of fun there. Finally Saturday came and we had a lot of fun at the bowling ally because the weather decided to be yucky!!!!! IT RAINED!!! Oh well it turned out to be so much fun for everyone. Later that night we were able to have Uncle Matt, Aunt Sierra, Cousin Beckett, Aunt Becky, Uncle Matt (Becky's husband), and Cousin Sophie come over to have cake and ice cream with us. Thanks everyone that were able to spend the time with our little family on such a great day!!! We love all our family and especially the little boy that came into our lives four years ago. WE LOVE YOU ETHAN!!!!-Mom & DadAll the fun gifts Ethan received from family that weren't able to be here on his birthday.( Thank you everyone!!)Ethan just getting going. "Birthday!!" His new bike and all the fun presents. Making sure everything is okay. Mom had to go back to the store and get a bigger helmet for his big head! Everyone trying out the new bike. Riding the bike while the rain took a little break. Ethan's very 1st strike! He beat mommy in two games!!! Mommy isn't that good! Daisy keeping score. Trying to smile for another picture while watching Dad take his turn. Everyone bowling at once. So excited to get a cool new game from Uncle Matt, Aunt Sierra, and Cousin Beckett. Along with the new puzzle he got some really nice PJs that he wore that night!(Thanks guys, he loves playing this game with us.) Ethan loves his Mario racer that he got from Aunt Becky, Uncle Matt, and Cousin Sophie. They also got him a really cool puzzle that he loves to put together!(Thanks guys, you did great!!) His birthday cake. He has been on a Winnie the Pooh kick.Make a wish and he's blowing. This boy loves to blow out candles. Look closely and you can see cute little Cousin Beckett. He reminds us of Ethan at that age. What a cute little guy! Ethan wanted to be 'Woody' while Dad could be the pretty girl. Daddy's turn to be 'Woody'. Ethan and Daisy showing their love for each other. "Yee Haw!!!" Ethan kept telling us he wanted to get a picture as 'Woody'. Daisy enjoying a nice little walk by herself. Daisy and Daddy with Dino the Dinosaur from the Flintstones. Ethan on Dino the Dinosaur. Hanging out with Fred and Wilma.Ethan on top of the red rocks having such fun. Digging for dinosaur bones. Ethan helping his new friend find dinosaur eggs.Daisy checking out the red rocks.Mommy found Ethan's hiding spot.We loved this sign. Look really close and you'll get the giggles.You can see the sign better in the picture. "World's Most Dangerous Creature".The little creatures trying to escape! ;P

Summer, Sun, and Swimming Lessons

2011-09-16T23:19:00.001-07:00

So this post should have come before the one that was up previously, but hey all well that ends well. The summer went by way too fast and we feel like we didn't do a lot, but going through our pictures we have a ton to show all of you. A lot of different events happened this summer and all of them made it so fun to be at. We hope you enjoy the pictures that we were able to take!!!
Daisy enjoying the BIG slide. If you look close you'll be able to see the big smile/laugh on her face! She really loved going down that slide over and over again. Sharifa would have to run to stay up with her!!!Daisy taking on the Buzz Lightyear Slip-N-Slide with Daddy. Trying on her own. She was very brave. Ethan wouldn't come close to it! Playing in the little pool of water at the end. We were in Brigham to see them put the Angel Moroni on the new temple. It got way too windy and cold so we decided to leave and then they decided to put it up. We weren't able to be there to see that once in life time experience :(! Oh well, we'll just go to the open house! Daisy just loves the water, once she gets used to it. We couldn't ever get her out without having her scream bloody murder! Daisy and Dad done swimming. Ethan wasn't feeling very well that night. He cuddled up with Grandma Colleen. Daisy loved playing in the sprinkler. She is our little water baby!! Daisy getting closer to the sprinkler, silly girl! Aunt Becky's baby shower. Spending the day at home, out back in our own swimming pool. We need to get a little bigger pool cause we can't fit all the KIDS ;D in it!! We have a fun little slide that Daisy loved to slid down into the water. Ethan making new friends at Kandice's wedding. (From left to right) Becky Reeder, Kandice Howard, Sharifa Phillips. We were all good friends growing up in Idaho Falls and were able to go to Kandice's wedding which turned out to be so great! We hope that Kandice and Chris have a very happy time together and that all will be great for them in the future! Sharifa's Birthday. Ethan helping Mommy get her wish fulfilled. We went to 7 peaks in Salt Lake with some friends of ours and we had a lot of fun with them and together!! We will have to go again when the kids are a little older cause it was a ton of fun, but there wasn't very many slides that the kids could go on, but it was a great idea to go with our friends so that there were some adults watching the kids while two adults went on a slide or two. We all had a very enjoyable time!! Thanks Jared, Michelle, and Hadley!!! Introducing Sophia Afton Reeder. She was born a day after Sharifa's birthday. It was fun to go down to see her and hold her! Mommy and Baby! How cute are these two girls!!!! Sharifa made this blanket and is so excited about how it turned out. It was supposed to be made for when Daisy was born, so it's a little late (about a year and a half). Here's the other side. Ethan starting out his Swimming lessons.We weren't going to put Daisy in swimming, but we sure are glad we changed our minds cause she really loved getting into the water. She really is our little water baby. Every day when we got to the pool she would run to the water no matter how deep it was. What a crazy little girl!!!Ethan working on his kicks. Daisy enjoying the slide! At the end and having so much fun!!! Getting ready to jump in.Mommy and daisy Enjoying the water! Ethan going down the slide for free time!

Ethan's First Day of Pre-School!!!

2011-09-06T20:28:00.000-07:00

When we were little we had a tradition in my family to always have pictures of us on the first day of school. Because of that we decided to do the same thing with our little kids when they start up school. Today was Ethan's very first first day of school. He has been wanting to go to school for months. We had to tell him that he had to wait a few months before he could go, but when it was time he wanted to go with dad to his school/"The A school". He used to go with Steve to the USU daycare for an hour a week so now he wants to go there all the time. When we told him that that was for little kids he decided that it would be ok to go to his new school. He did really great and is now loving school!!! Here a some pictures of his great day!!!

Picture time

Let's go to pre-school!

"School!" Daisy wanted to be in the picture with brother.Ethan Showing off his Buzz Lightyear backpack.

"Here I come School!!"

Daisy wanted to get her own picture.On our way to school.

Enjoying the walk.Wanting to get there fast."Here is my school!" "Bye Mom, I'm going to have lots of fun!!"

At the end of school.

Cruising for the 'F' in Fun!

2011-09-01T12:55:00.001-07:00

(Our boat that we called home for the last week)

So while the kids had lots of fun with Grandma T and Grandpa Steve we were able to go on our own vacation and celebrate so many things. We wanted to do something big for our 5 year anniversary, but we just had Daisy and we didn't have any money to do anything big. So a year later we were able to do something really BIG!!! We went to Catalina Island and Ensenada Mexico on our cruise. We were able to have a lot of fun and enjoyed our time being just the two of us. Another plus was that we were able to spend sometime with Sharifa's eldest brother, Aaron. We are so grateful that we could talk to him. He is such a great brother and we really appreciate and love him so much!!!! Thank you so much Aaron!!! Just a little warning: there was a lot to do so there are lots of pictures of all the fun we were able to have.

Just getting started!!Just hanging out at Laguna Beach waiting for the boat to depart.

Sharifa's turn for a picture with the beautiful landscape.

A nice person was willing to take a picture of the two of us for our first time cruise.

The first night, sunset.Us enjoying the sunset.

This was a fun activity that was a game show. The guy was pretty funny!"Hello Catalina!!"

What a beautiful place!!

The first stop on the island before our fun adventures started!

Go out to snorkel.

After we were done snorkeling. There were people who saw two different kinds of sharks while we were out in the water. They weren't that scary or dangerous. We really had a lot of fun and would love to go again. Of course there would be somethings that we would change.

We were able to see a lot of dolphins before we headed back to the island. Sharifa really loves dolphins and would love to swim with them sometime in her future. You have to take a really close look to see some dolphin tales.

Coming back and wanted to get a picture.

"Good bye Catalina Island!!"

That night at the back of the boat.Steve having fun golfing on the boat that night!

The first picture in Mexico.

Us in front of a Ensenada museum.

Sharifa wanted to get a picture infront of this fountain.

Enjoying our time at a resort in Ensenada! A very relaxing day!!

Shopping our hearts out. We had to get a picture with this cute Monkey!!"Oh Steve!!"

Walking back to boat and wanted to get a picture of the Mexican flag.

End of the day with the sun bright and shiny.

Every night room maintenance people made cool animals out of the towels. Sharifa took pictures of the different animals that we received and saw!

The first night was an elephant

Sharifa saw this rhinoceros at the towel stand by the pool.

Frog was from the second night.

A dog for the third night.

We got a bunny for the last night.

Our last night on the boat and enjoying comedy night.

The funny comedian, he was a lot better than the other one that they had.

"Oh how sweet!!"

We wanted to get a picture with Aaron cause we don't know when we would see him again. What a great brother Sharifa has!!! He has always been one of her best friends since she was 3. It was a great ending to a great trip!! Thanks to everyone that helped to make this fun happen for us!!

Fun With Grandparents- Just the Kids

2011-08-29T10:33:00.000-07:00

( Ethan so exhausted from all the fun he had that day. ;D)

This past week our family got to have two different vacations. We all enjoyed the things that we got to do even though it was not all together. This post is about all the fun that the kids had with Grandma T and Grandpa Steve. To start their vacation they got to ride up to Idaho with their grandparents on Sunday. They didn't come back home till that Saturday and had a week full of fun and new experiences. They spent a lot of time at the house, but in the middle of the week they were able to go camping for the first time. They really enjoyed camping in the trailer with Grandpa Steve and Grandma T. According to Ethan, "It's not camping until we have marsh mellows." Grandma T had to tell us about that and it made all of us laugh. All these pictures are thanks to the grandparents!! We hope you can see all the fun they had and all the mischief that they caused!

Ethan with his count down chart

(How many nights at Grandparents' house.)

Ethan and Daisy enjoying the nice water on a hot summer day!

Daisy getting the whole pool to her self!

Ethan smiling for the camera!

Ethan's big tower!!!

Daisy posing for the camera on Ethan's bed. Silly little girl!

Daisy is exhausted from camping and enjoying sleep on Grandma and Grandpa's bed in the trailer!

Enjoying a good sleep with grandpa!!

Ethan's bed that he slept in while camping.

Blowing bubbles outside while camping.

Daisy relaxing on the trailer step. Can you see the dirt on her pretty little face? :D

Both kids enjoying the view of nature.

Ethan playing in the dirt.

Daisy joining her brother in the dirt

Enjoying the fun.

Oh what a mess, they really enjoyed themselves!!

Testing out the COLD water.

Daisy holding on to grandpa so that she won't fall in.

Ethan playing in the water with a stick! Oh what fun!

Daisy chilling in the trailer. She loves to wear Ethan's hats!

Ethan finishing up camping by having roaster marsh mellows!!

Six Years and Counting!!

2011-08-06T10:59:00.003-07:00

So it's been six years since our wedding day! The past six years has gone by so fast and some days we can't believe it's only been six year since that happy and sunny day!! This year we decided to take a cruise to celebrate. Neither one of us has been on a cruise and we are so excited to be taking one with just the two of us. We are leaving a little later than planned because Steve still has classes until the 8th of August, but we will be gone for at least 5 days!! We also thought it would be nice to let the kids have a little vacation too, so they are going to be spending the week with the McClaskey grandparents and have lot of fun. We will post up pictures from our fun trip, both of us and of the fun the kids have (as long as the grandparents take lots of pictures)!

Independance Day!!!

2011-07-06T18:04:00.001-07:00

For the Holiday Sharifa and the kids went up to Idaho because Steve had to work and there wasn't any family around town. They went to the parade with Grandma T and Grandpa Steve and really had an enjoyable time. There were a lot of really cool floats and the kids go a lot of candy to get them on a sugar rush. Later that day they came home so that they could spend a little time with daddy at the fireworks show. It turned out to be a great show and Ethan really enjoyed it!! Daisy was a little jumpy at the big boom sounds, but she never cried! What an amazing little girl!!! We hope you had a very happy Independence Day and we are very grateful to live in such a great country!!! Thank you all that keep this country safe and free!!!
We thought this was a great float to honor all our heroes!

Ethan in his red, white, and blue gear.

Daisy loves her new flag.

This float was done by a lot of different religions together. Sharifa's parent's stake was apart of putting this together! There were a lot of other blankets made, but they wanted to use the blankets that had red, whit , and blue.

We thought it was cool to see the horses decked out for the season!

Airplane came by during the parade. Ethan thought it was great to see them fly by.

Daisy and Ethan switching places, Ethan loves to be pushed by Daisy and she loves to push him! In the back are Sharifa's parents.

Daisy dancing to the music!

The kids enjoying the beautiful day at Grandma's and Grandpa's

Daisy poured water all over her outfit at the end so we had to let her run around naked so that it could dry. Silly girl!!

Ethan enjoying riding the tricycle that mom used to ride when she was his age.

Steve waiting for the show to start.

All of mommy's kids.

Ethan is excited to see the fireworks

Daisy not sure what's happening

Playing ring-a-round the roses while waiting for the show to being.

Playing tag.

Ethan enjoying the fireworks. He really loved them and shouted every time they went boom in the sky! What a crazy kid!!Daisy is not sure what to think. She was a bit scared.

The fireworks

A Visit to the Farm

2011-07-03T18:20:00.000-07:00

On Friday we were able to have a fun filled day with both of our kids. First, we took Ethan to see Pixar Cars 2 (that's the way we have to say it or Ethan corrects us). He has been wanting to see this movie for a long time. He got all decked out with his Lighting McQueen clothes and shoes, he was ready! Daisy stayed with the grandparents cause we thought she would get scared with the loud sounds the cars make, plus she wouldn't enjoy it as much as Ethan sure did. She really enjoyed having all her grandparents attention!!! Second, we went to a friend's farm to see animals that neither one of our children have seen. Steve has a friend that he works with who works on his family's farm and has invited us to come see the new baby animals. It's been kinda cold and really crazy with everything. We finally got the time to take the kids out to the farm, but the baby animals weren't so little anymore. The kids really enjoyed spending some time with the animals, petting them, holding them, and just plain loving them! We had a little fun too, seeing the joy on their faces. We really would like to go back next spring (hopefully there will be a spring) when all the new little babies are born. Fingers crossed!!! The two cute ponies that were on the farm. Daddy trying to get Daisy to pet the puppy.

Daisy checking out the baby goat.

Ethan checking out the baby goat, trying to get the nerve up to touch it.

Ethan petting the chickens!

The chickens were a BIG hit. Once we got to them both kids went crazy!!! They wanted to pet and chase them around. Both of them tried to get into the chicken house! The chickens Both kids enjoying watching the chickens. The sheep and goats Daisy taking a walk around the farm! Trying to get to the water to play in it! Silly girl!! Ethan made Gene (Steve's friend that was kind enough to invite us) carry him around cause he got tiered of walking. Ethan checking out the pigs. Daisy petting the nice horse. Ethan with a little puppy. We had a hard time getting him to let the puppy go back to it's mommy. A cute dog with two different colored eyes. They had really nice calm and loving dog there and we all wanted to take one home, but we don't have anywhere for the guy:( ! The BIGGEST pig on the farm (800 pounds!!) !

Time With Families

2011-06-29T17:03:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago we were able to have some of Steve's siblings come to Utah for vacation. It was fun to let the kids get together and play. We think they really enjoyed spending some time together. Ethan and Drew are so much a like it makes us laugh and wish that they lived closer together so that they could get together to play more often. It was so good to see everyone and see how much the little ones had changed. Steve's parents had a bbq for everyone to get together, updated the Phillips family pictures, celebrate a cousins birthday, and just let the kids get to know each other. The following week we went up to Idaho Falls so that Steve and Ethan could go see the opening baseball game of the Raptors vs the Chuckers (the Idaho Falls team). Grandpa Steve went with the boys and was so nice, he payed for the game and some treats. "THANKS GRANDPA STEVE!!" We stayed the night with her parents and really enjoyed the fun we were able to have with them. The kids and Sharifa are going to spend the 4th with them this weekend and are so excited to see the grandparents again.(We'll take lots of pictures and post them later.) We won't get to stay for the big fireworks show because we want to see the fireworks with our dad!! Here are some pictures of the fun time we were able to have with both our families! The older kids(and Uncle Matt, who is a kid himself) playing.
Our cousin Jackson.

Our new cousin Beckett.

(This is the first time we've seen him awake. What a cutie!!)
The boys of "adventure"! Ethan enjoying the baseball game with Grandpa Steve!
Grandpa Steve and Ethan!

Basketball finals

2011-06-04T14:04:00.000-07:00

So nothings exciting has happened to our family, so we haven't had anythings to post. With Basketball finals here we decided to watch them together and the kids love it, especially Ethan cause he gets to stay up late and hang out with dad. Here are a few pictures of the kids playing while waiting for the game to get started. We're not really routing for one team over the other. We're just happy that the Lakers are not in the finals! The boys wearing their juries! What great looking boys!
Daisy getting into the action. She really loves to play with her brother and with any kind of balls.

The kids playing ball together

Ethan with his own ball.

Daisy making a slam dunk.

(With the help of Dad)

Easter Weekend

2011-05-09T15:53:00.000-07:00

Easter weekend turned out to be a great holiday weekend for our family! The weekend before Sharifa and the kids went up to her parents house and enjoyed having a early egg hunt up there. The kids really enjoyed spending time with their McClaskey Grandparents. The Friday before Easter we spent at the Phillips' coloring eggs and going on egg hunts to find treats from the grandparents! We really enjoyed spending time with our family and are so grateful to have them in our lives! Easter season reminds us of the gift we've been given by the Savior and we are so grateful for all that he has done for us! We are so grateful for the Atonement that makes it so that we can return to live with our father again and that Christ was willing to died for us! This shows us how much he loves us and we are such so awed by all the love that he gives us!!! We hope that you all had a great holiday with you wonderful little families! Here are some pictures of our wonderful holiday season! Ethan coloring his first egg of the year!

Daisy enjoying the egg coloring time!

Ethan drinking the egg water! What a crazy little boy!!?

Ethan with the finished product

Daisy with the finished product.

Our two beautiful children!

Daisy getting started on her egg hunt!

Daisy with her first egg!

Picking up another egg

Daisy can't decide whether to keep the egg of put it in the basket!

Daisy done and enjoying the rest in the sun!

The kids enjoying some time together in the sun!

Ethan finding his first egg!

Finding another egg!! Ethan finding his last egg. I see London, I see France, I see Ethan's underpants!! HA! HA! HA! Ethan enjoying some candy from his Grandparents

("Thank you Grandma Colleen and Grandpa Mike!") Daisy watching Ethan with his basket! Ethan checking out Daisy candy basket!

Daisy Walking!!!!!

2011-04-29T13:21:00.000-07:00

So Daisy has been taking a few steps here and there, but she has just recently been walking from one area to another. This is the first video that we got of her walking around, it is a few weeks old. She is now more running around than walking, once she gets up she moves like a speed demon now. We are so happy that she is finally walking around, she loves to follow her brother around a lot! We hope that you enjoy this video as much as we do!!

Sorry you have to tilled your head a bit, but it's worth it!!

SPRING?!?!

2011-04-10T19:08:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we had a couple of sunny and warm days. We all went to Brigham to visit and help the grandparents. While Steve helped his dad with yard chores the kids and Sharifa went to the park and spent the day out in the sun. We had so much fun running around on the playground and spending sometime next to the little creek near by. Ethan loved to throw rock and sticks into the creek. Daisy just loved watching her brother have so much fun! We really would love to have more of these kind of days! After such great sunny day the next few days it decided to get gray and gloomy. IT EVEN SNOWED!!! WHAT!! Well, here's to hoping for some more sunny days in the near future!

Watching the water moving along. Daisy enjoying the scene.

Watching the stick float under the bridge.Throwing the stick on one side to find it on the other.

Looking for the stick

Sunny happy day!

Daisy having fun at the park!!

The Princess is One!!!

2011-03-15T20:19:00.000-07:00

Today was our little baby girl's first birthday!!! We can't believe that it has been a year since we brought our beautiful Daisy into the world! The time flies when your having fun with the little ones! She gets cuter every day! We decided to celebrate her birthday at home, because it was not a beautiful day outside. It was nice to spend the time together as a family. Sharifa's mom came down in the afternoon and we were able to have some fun with her. Later tonight we had a little party with some family and friends. Thanks for everyone who could make it we really appreciate spending time with you! It turned out to be such a great night and we think that Daisy really enjoyed all the attention and the fun that she had! We hope you all enjoy the pictures that we were able to get of the fun day that Daisy got to have! The birthday girl!
Daisy playing with a balloon that Grandma T gave her.
Mommy and Daisy posing for a picture!
(she is getting better with the standing all by herself!)
Grandma T brought a tent for Daisy and Ethan to play in, they both had lots of fun!!

The tent came with a tube that Daisy loved to crawl around in!

Daisy opening her present with help from Ethan!

"Are all these for me?"

"I want this one."

"I get to open this without Ethan's 'help'?!"

"What's in the big one?"

Daisy's cake that she shared with everyone.

Daisy's very own cake.

Daisy listening to everyone sing "Happy Birthday" to her.

"Yeah, my very own cake!!"

Getting started.

"YUM!"

"Here, I'll share with you."

At the end of eating (mostly playing with) her cake! What a crazy little girl. We don't remember Ethan being THIS messy!!

Taking a bath in the kitchen sink. She was WAY too messy to carry her up to the bathroom. Thanks Grandmas!!!

Christmas and a BIG Birthday!!!

2011-01-20T19:55:00.000-08:00

So we know that Christmas has come and gone a while ago, but we decided to still do a post on on it 'cause our kids were just so cute on Christmas morning!! We just love Christmas and it has been getting better with having children. They make it more fun and exciting for us each and every year. We love talking to Ethan about the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and love to ask him questions. He is getting to be a really smart boy and we just love hearing the answers that he gives us!!! This year we were able to go to Temple Square, with a few of our friends, and see the beautiful lights. Ethan had so much more fun when his friend, Cooper, came to play with him and he just hung on to Cooper like a puppy dog!!! We were able to spend Christmas Eve with Grandma Colleen and Grandpa Mike. It was fun to decorate the sugar cookies and spend some time with our fun Uncle Matt and our lovable Aunt Sierra!! Christmas morning we spent the morning at home enjoying the new things we received and spending some family time together!!! Later on in the week we went and visited our Grandma T and Grandpa Steve in Idaho! We had so much fun with them too!!!! What a great family that we have and we are so grateful for the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and for all that he does for us!!!! We hope you had a very Merry Christmas and that you New Year came in with lots of love!!!!!

A tree with some beautiful lights that was on Temple Square!
Ethan and Daddy in front a "BIG CHRISTMAS TREE!!"

Ethan with his friend Cooper! These two had lots of fun together!!

Our little family

Daisy enjoying a ride on her bike while waiting for sugar cookies!!

Enjoying a cookie with frosting and no teeth!!! Can you see the joy in her eyes?

Daisy opening her present from Uncle Matt and Aunt Sierra!!!

Ethan playing with his Toy Story 3 race car track! He loves to play with this toy all the time!! Thanks Uncle Matt and Aunt Sierra!!!

Ethan loved dressing up as Batman with his new PJs and his new cape!!!!

Side note this picture was taken on Christmas morning and so were all the others. We don't know why they say 24th.

Daisy opening up a gift from Ethan!!!

Santa got Daisy this doll 'cause it reminded him of her. She has the same personality as our sweet Daisy and laughs just like Daisy. We call her "Baby Daisy"! Daisy just loves her doll and laughs every time the doll laughs! Ethan gave her the stroller!!!

Like most little ones Daisy loved playing in the rapping paper more than playing with her presents!! What a little ham!!!!

Singing "Happy Birthday" and letting Ethan blow out the candles!!!

Ethan enjoying his new toys! Thanks all Aunts and Uncles for all the cool things you gave both our kids! They really love everything!!!

At Grandparents' house opening cool new gifts from cool grandparents!!!

He loves dressing up and loves his two new costumes.

On a side note: he found this present a little before Christmas and wanted Grandma to let him play with it. What a little snooper!!!

Daisy unwrapping her gift at Grandma T and Grandpa Steve's house!!!!

Ethan with his new Toy Story 3 Game!!!

Mommy and Ethan made this snowman up in Idaho. Ethan named him Frosty (he watched that movie a lot over the season!).

So Steve recently had his Birthday this month! We were able to spend it just relaxing and having some family over later that night! Steve really likes his new 'toys' that he got from everyone! Thank you for thinking of him on such a special day!!! Ethan helping unwrap a present!

Steve's present from his parents!

Cheesecake for his B-day cake!!! Can you see how old this man is?!!

Ethan helping Daddy blow out his candles!

Meet Carl

2010-12-03T00:24:00.000-08:00

This is the newest member of our family. His name is Carl the Caravan. A few weeks ago we decided to get rid of our Jeep because of our wonderful children(or should we say child). Jerry (our jeep's name) just seemed a little too tight for Ethan. He would throw items at his sister all the time and would kick that back of the driver's seat. He could never get close enough to kick it while Sharifa drove, but it drove Steve mad!!! So those of you who know Steve know that he never wanted to get a mini van, but he was the one who said that we need to get a mini van. So for those of you who so know him may start laughing and mocking!!!(HA! HA! HA!) We love Carl and hope that he will stay with our family for a long time!!!!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T19:30:00.001-08:00

So this past year a lot has happened and we have been able to count so many of our blessings. The first big blessing was that we were able to bring our new little baby girl, Daisy, into our growing family. We are so blessed to all have great health and such a wonderful little family! As parents we are grateful to have two children who are vibrant, growing (in every way), and learning new things everyday. We recently were able to find a better place for our family and are enjoying the new surroundings! At this time of year we are so grateful that Steve has a good job and can also go to school. With Steve working and going to school we are able to have Sharifa stay home with the kids to enjoy they're baby years! This last year has made us think about the little things in our lives and know to enjoy every moment with everyone! We love you all and hope that you have a very happy Thanksgiving day!!!!!!

Happy Halloween!!!!

2010-11-01T21:14:00.000-07:00

We hope you all had a great weekend and that you all stayed somewhat dry! We had such a great weekend with the kids. Halloween was on Sunday so we decided to make a weekend out of it. On Friday we took Ethan to USU campus in BC and go around with his classmate trick-o-treating to all the professor/employees. He had so much fun getting lot of candy from all the nice people. For those of you who don't know, Ethan is a BIG fan of Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story movies and he made sure that we knew he wanted to be Buzz for Halloween!! Mom wanted him to be a Dallas Cowboy football player so he would match Daisy. She ended up being a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader. Thanks to Sharifa's mom, who made the tutu, and a onies that we used when Ethan was a little baby. Daisy got told how adorable she is and we think she looked pretty cute!!! On Saturday the kids and Sharifa went to Trunk-O-Treat with the ward and really enjoyed seeing all the different outfit people came in!!! Ethan got a lot more candy, but he also got some toothbrushes too!!! We use them a lot around here!!! We hope you had a very safe and fun Halloween and are excited to get to the next holiday, Thanksgiving! We have so much to be grateful for this year!!!!! Ethan and Daisy posing for the picture!!!
Ethan with all the Ladies!!!! What a Ladies man!!

Ethan walking from the different building enjoying all the cool candies he is getting!!!

The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader with a Dallas Cowboy fan!!!

It was so cold Saturday night Sharifa had to put a long-sleeved shirt on underneath Daisy's outfit!!! She still is adorable!!!

Moving time again!!!

2010-10-24T21:25:00.001-07:00

So we decided that it would be the best for our family and sanity to move to a better place. We found a cute little townhouse that his a lot like the one we owned in BC, but it has three bedroom instead of two and it is only a year old! We had enough of our neighbors and the constant bugs coming in to visit with us without an invitation!!! This new place is so great and we love being a little closer in town. Ethan was so cute helping us move boxes downstairs and into the car. We weren't able to get some good pictures of him doing that so we decided to put up some pictures of him and Daisy spending time together before we moved out. For Halloween we will put up pictures of our two wild candy receivers!!!! Hope you enjoy all that you see!!!! Ethan "Driving Miss Daisy"!!!
Ethan had a big cut on his top lip so we had to put a band-aid on it. We think he looks so funny, if you want go ahead and have a good laugh- we did!!!

Ethan and Daisy enjoying a ride together on the fire truck!

September-Our babies are growing!!!!!

2010-09-26T20:20:00.000-07:00

A few days ago our little baby boy turned 3 years old!!! We can't believe it's been three years since we became parents!!! The last three years have been a roller-coaster ride with our little guy, but we wouldn't change it for the world!!! First thing in the morning we took Ethan to the Dinosaur park and he had a blast! We were able to have a little birthday party for Ethan later on in the evening with a few members of our family. This September also brings Daisy's 6month birthday! We can't believe that the months have gone by so fast! Here are a few pictures of the fun we had!!!

Ethan at 3

Weight:31lb-50%

Height:3ft 2inches-50%

Daisy at 6months

Weight: 15lb 1ounce-under 50%

Height: 2ft 1inch- under 50%

Ethan wanted a big Buzz balloon for a long time, but the store was out of Buzz balloons so he got the next best thing; Spiderman!!!

Ethan sliding down a Dino slide!

A better picture of the slide!

Digging for bones!

Inside a Dino scull!

A present from Daisy! Woody and Bullseye!!!

Helping daddy put together his new play tent!

Trying on the new backpack that Grandma T and Papa Steve gave him!

Showing off his Bob shirt he got from Grandma Colleen and Papa Mike!

Opening his Thomas the Train toy! Letting mommy help open a gift!

Daisy helping Ethan play with his train set!

His Toy Story 3 Birthday cake for the 3year old!

Ethan with his cake!

Blowing out his candle!

Uncle Matt and Aunt Sierra enjoying time with Daisy! Ethan using his new Toy Story 3 fork and spoon to eat his cake and ice cream!!

Celebration Time!!!

2010-09-15T19:13:00.000-07:00

Last month we had a lot to celebrate! Steve had just finished his summer classes, we had been married for five years, Sharifa birthday, and Steve only had a couple of weeks before he had to get back to school work again. So we decided to take a little trip to St George and spend some family time there. We had so much fun going to the beach and getting to see the Grand Canyon. Sharifa has never got to see that before and it was something amazing!!! We want to thank our Grandma Phillips for letting us stay at her house so that we could save a little money for more fun activities! Here are a few pictures over our fun trip! The Phillips Family at the Grand Canyon

The beautiful Grand Canyon

Ethan and dad enjoying the beautiful view!

Ethan, Daisy, and mommy relaxing after walking so long!

Native Americans playing some music

Time for a trip to the pool!!!

Ethan loved the little kiddie pool, he could be by himself because the water was no higher than 2ft

Daisy enjoyed the pool too! She had so much fun splashing and relaxing in it while the weather was so hot!

Ethan enjoying the pool

Daisy relaxing with her daddy!

Daddy and Daisy enjoying the coolness of the pool!

Daisy just hangin around in her nothing! Enjoying this fun time with her family!

Ethan enjoying playing at the beach

Daisy testing out the water

Ethan getting ready to build a sand castle.

Mommy and Daisy out in the water!!!

Ethan out in the water!

Ethan swimming in the water

Ethan and daddy's sand castle!

Daisy taking a bath in the kitchen sink.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHARIFA!"

Ethan just loved looking at the candles!

Ethan helping mommy blow out her candle so that she can receive her wish!

Note: these are a lot of pictures, but we had some more.They got deleted some how, if any of you know how to retrieve pictures from an SD card please let us know! We really want to obtain those pictures!!!

THE BIG 5!!!!

2010-08-21T14:26:00.000-07:00

Just a few weeks ago we were able to celebrate our 5th anniversary and are really happy about the last five years of our lives together. Five years, one rambunctious boy, a very sweet little girl, and just a few years left of school, what can we ask for?!!! We are grateful to have each other and the health of every member of a little family. The last five years have brought a lot of joy with a little bit of sadness, but through it all we stick together and get through it with each other. Our love has grown over the years and we know that it will continue to grow some more! We weren't able to go do anything BIG for this year, but we decided to take our family out on a little vacation. (We'll post that later!) Here are some pictures, mostly for us, to see how much time has changed us and how much we do love another! August 5, 2005- Just Married!!July 2010-Five years and still strong!!!

Where has the time gone?

2010-07-25T13:41:00.001-07:00

The time flies when you are having fun. We can't believe our little princess has been in our lives for 4 months!!! Where did all those month go? We have enjoyed having her in our lives and can't think of how we lived without her! She has a great older brother who just loves to "oooh" and "aaah" over her and two parents that just think she can do nothing wrong! Last Monday we went to the doctor to make sure everything his going well for her. Here are the outcomes; she is 12pounds 5ounces and 24inches long! She is an average little 4month old. Where ever we go people keep letting us know what an adorable baby we have. We think she's one of the best looking kids in the world, but we are a little bias! Here are some pictures of her at 4months and farther down are some of her at 2months!

Enjoy!!! Mommy and Daisy during family pictures!
In her blessing dress at 4months!

On the 4th of July!!!

Spending time at Grandma's and Grandpa's! Can you see those cute little pig tails?

Here is Daisy at two months old! She was 10 pounds 6 ounces and 21 1/2 inches long! She is such a cute little girl. She turned out to be in the 50% for her weight and 25% for her height, we think she's going to turn out like her mother. Can you see the difference between two months?In her blessing dress on her blessing day, just a little over 2months!

Relaxing in her diaper with her BIG BRO!!!

"I'm 2months! I'm just enjoying my relax time!!"

Swimming Lessons

2010-07-25T13:22:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Ethan took his very first alone swimming class and did pretty well. We are so proud of his progress and have decided that we might need to get him into more swimming classes so he won't be so afraid of the water! We think he gets being afraid of the water from his mother. She likes to go swimming, but when she was little she really was afraid that she would drown all the time. Here are a few pictures that Sharifa was able to get of Ethan and his class. We did have a few off day when Ethan wouldn't get into or stay in the water, but all in all he did very well. The next time we have swimming lessons he will have to stay in level one, but we planned on him staying in the same class next year anyways! Way to go Ethan!!!! Playing motor boat!
Practicing his kicks with his classmates!

Front kicks

Deep-end with a life jacket on!

Playing motor boat in the deep end!

Family Pictures

2010-07-21T18:32:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago Sharifa got on the stick and got someone to take our family pictures. The last time we had family pictures was a year ago at Christmas time and Steve's dad took them for us. Now our family has grown a little and we thought that we should update our family pictures, so we decided to go with someone that we trust and not with the BIG commercial companies that sucker us into spending more than needed. Sharifa has a friend that takes some really great pictures and decided to see if she would be willing to do that for us. It turned out to be one heck of a day. Our photographer lives a little farther south than we do, so we had to meet in the middle. We started our session a little later 'cause of some family 'oops', the sun was a little higher in the sky and our little 2 year old did not want to be cooperative for very long. Though the day was rough we think these pictures turned out really great! (What do you think?)

THANKS LINSEY!!!
Ethan was done, but we were half way there!!!

"Daisy"

These booties used to belong to Sharifa's mother. Daisy was able to wear these on her blessing day and we decided to get some photos of her in them!

Our Mischievous little 2 1/2 year old!

So very precious!!

What a great life we have had together and we're excited for the next part of our journey together!!!!

Toy Story 3 Weekend

2010-07-15T09:30:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago we were able to take Ethan to go see Toy Story 3! He really enjoyed the movie and we decided to have some fun with the whole weekend. A few days before going to the movie Sharifa went and got Ethan this back-pack set. The back-pack came with sunglasses, a visor, and a really cool Frisbee. Later we were able to get a really cool Buzz Lightyear Slipping-slid that we thought Ethan would love to play with. the movie turned out to be a great movie that we all loved to see. Only problem is Ethan telling us he wants "Toy 3"! We try to tell him we have to wait for it to come to DVD. While we were out with Ethan, Daisy got to stay and get spoiled by her Phillips Grandparents. If you ever want to go to a good movie go to Toy Story 3 is was worth it to see! We hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed our weekendEthan in his new get-up!

Playing Frisbee with daddy!

Take a look at his cool new back pack! He wouldn't take that off for a while!

Photo opt!

Taking a tubby, look at our little Buzz Lightyear!

Enjoying the slipping-slide!

Ethan taking a ride with daddy!

Trying the slide by himself!

Getting a drink

Making sure the little pool was getting filled with water!

"Ahhh!" The water was nice and cool.

Watching dad go under the bridge!

Getting sprayed by Uncle Matt!

Getting the boys, Daddy and Uncle Matt, back for spraying him!

All done. Time to get cleaned up!

Daddy and Ethan posing for mama!

The 4th of July Weekend!!!!

2010-07-08T13:30:00.000-07:00

We hope that you all had a great 4Th of July!!! We don't like it when the 4Th comes on a Sunday because then we don't get to go to parades, fireworks, and all the other fun things that come a long with it! We decided that it's not so bad because we get to celebrate the holiday all the weekend long!!! So on Saturday we went swimming at the pool and enjoyed getting cooled down. Sunday we all were dresses up in red, white, and blue so we would look patriotic on such a wonderful day! We are so blessed live in such a great country and have people that are willing to fight to keep it free! "THANK YOU!!" On Monday we went to a parade and enjoyed all the different floats there was to see. We also went to the park and enjoyed playing there for a little while. We weren't able to see the fireworks this year, but we will be seeing some soon enough! We hope you all enjoyed such a wonder holiday and remember to thank the good men and women who help to make our country so special and wonderful!!!!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!

Our 4Th of July jello Flag. It was the first time sharifa has made this special treat!
Daisy ready for church on Sunday! What a bright star!!
Ethan waiting for the parade to begin! He sure enjoyed his slushy!

Mommy and Daisy waiting for the parade to start! What cute girls they are!

Steve and Ethan ending the day off with a great chase on the playground!

Daisy hangin out by the pool while the boys cool down!

Ethan enjoying the cold water and taking sometime to say "Cheese"!Daisy sitting around and enjoying the warm sun!Daddy and Ethan just coming out of the slide! What a blast!!

After jumping into the pool, mom had to get a picture so here are the boys cooling down from a hot summers day!!!!

Daddy's Day!!!-by Sharifa

2010-06-24T10:41:00.000-07:00

So this post is going to be written by me, Sharifa! I just want all of you to know what a super great dad we have. He goes to work for about ten hours a day, comes home to work on homework for school, goes to school in the evenings, and always finds time to spend with both of his crazy kids! I just love him and think he is one of the world's greatest dads, Ethan and Daisy also think he is great! So for Father's day we decided to go all out and make sure he got everything that he wanted/needed. We also thought that he could use some breakfast-in-bed that morning since he works so hard every day out of bed! This year was great 'cause Ethan could help me out with making the breakfast! Here are some pictures of our very eventful day!!

WE LOVE YOU DADDY!!!! Ethan Getting the eggs ready to be cooked!
Ethan getting the sausages ready to be cooked!!
Ethan cooking the sausages in the microwave!

Ethan stirring the orange juice!

What a great little helper!!!

Ethan helping daddy open his first gift from Ethan!

Daddy got a new daddy shirt from Ethan!

Daddy and Ethan with Daddy wearing his new cool shirt!!

Ethan and Daisy helping Daddy open up his gift from Daisy!

Dad got Fast and Furious from Daisy, what a great daughter!!! She also got Daddy some Adias Move for men , I think she was giving him a little hint ;P!!

I got him a cool grill cover! Of course it was Dallas Cowboys

Daisy and Daddy enjoying a good game on TV!

Blessing, Bob, and Buzz weekend!!

2010-06-09T13:01:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was full of fun and excitement! We were able to have Daisy's baby blessing on Sunday and were happy that so many Friends and family members were able to come. We saw a Sponge Bob puzzle and Ethan just loves Sponge Bob so we had to get it and he had a fun time putting together. Ethan made Steve play with him and the puzzle for hours on end. Next Ethan has such great Aunts and Uncles that think of him and give him great little gifts. He got a new Buzz Lightyear towel and just had to play like he was Buzz, he really loves it! Thank Aunt Sierra and Uncle Matt it will last for a very long time and we just love it, even if we haven't used it for swimming just yet! HA! HA! HA!Daisy in her blessing dress!
Family picture after church!

Daddy and Daisy!

Mommy and Daisy! Can you see her cute piggy tails? She looked so beautiful!!!

Ethan and dad working on the puzzle together!

The finished product!

Ethan pretending to be Buzz Lightyear!Ethan flying 'to infinity and beyond'!!!

Our Cousins!!

2010-05-20T17:24:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Sharifa, Ethan, and Daisy went up to Idaho Falls to spend sometime with her family. Joy, her sister, was going to be around with her kids for the weekend and Sharifa wanted to see her and let the kids play! It turned out to be such a great weekend and Ethan loved playing with his cousins. Daisy got to meet them and enjoyed being around a girl closer to her age. Daisy's cousin Harley was just so great with her! Here are some pictures of the fun they had together!

Princess Daisy! Playing the piano with Grandma!!! All the kids listening to a story! All the cousins looking decent for a picture! Maverick, who is now 1!!! Oakley and Ethan playing together with the microphone! Princess Harley with Little Miss Daisy! Both boys love the car mountain! Looking over the couch for a picture!
Ethan feeding the ducks
Ethan and Harley enjoying their time with each other and the ducks!
All of the older kids together
Ethan loved chasing the goose around the grass!Mommy and Ethan taking a picture with the I.F. Temple!
Time for good byes!!! We love our cousins and spending time with them!

All about 'E'!!

2010-04-28T16:36:00.000-07:00

The last post was just about our little Daisy so we decided to tell you all that's going on with our little Ethan. He has been growing and learning a lot of new things the past few weeks and just seems to be getting smarter everyday!!! We're so excited to see what new thing he has learned and what little thing he is going to do to make us smile/laugh! Last week Sharifa had to go to her postpardum appointment and had to leave Ethan with a friend since Steve wasn't home to watch Ethan. When Steve went to pick Ethan up from his friend's house Ethan was playing with Thomas', Ethan's friend, Buzz Light-year. So Steve decided to go to Brigham and get Ethan his own Buzz because Ethan is starting to be kinder and nicer to his parents! Ethan just loves his Buzz and we just can't seem to hide Buzz well enough that Ethan won't find him. He is starting to say his letters and knows 1-10 (he can say 5 and 9, but he knows all the numbers!!). His laugh is getting to be contagious and we just love to hear him laugh 'cause it gets us laughing with him! Well, here are a few pictures of the little man himself! We hope you enjoy!

Here is Ethan with all his pine cones!

Ethan with his two favorite things; Uncle Matt and a Popsicle!

Ethan being a cowboy while Matt gets to be a horse!Ethan with his favorite new toy; Buzz!!!

This last weekend we were able to go up to Idaho Falls and see Grandma & Grandpa McClaskey!! We were very spoiled and got to do lots of fun activities!!! On Saturday we went to the park and played on all the different toys. Sunday we went to church and spent the day at home (grandparents'). Monday, before we left for Utah, Grandma took us to lunch at a very cool and fun place called Leo's!!! We had such a great time with them and are grateful to have such great grandparents!!
Ethan at the top of the big toy!
Ethan on the swing! He really did enjoy the swing!Grandpa helping Ethan hit the ball! Thanks Grandpa!!
Ethan with his cool city he made!
Let's play "Where in the Doll house is Ethan Micheal Phillips?"! If you look very closely you will be able to find him (hint: look in the lower right window)!! He loved climbing in the house through the front door!!!!
A Bob the Builder puzzle he made with Grandma!A Monsters' Inc. puzzle he made with Grandma too!!! He would always call "Boo" Baby D, which is what he calls his little sis!

Playing with Grandma and having lots of fun!Testing the toys at Leo's and loving every minute!Taking a little break to have some food and sodas!!

Get back to the playing. We had a hard time getting him out of there so that we could travel all the way home!!

ONE MONTH OLD!!!!!

2010-04-15T19:11:00.000-07:00

Can you guys believe that it's been a month since our little Daisy was born? Well, it has been a whole month and today we took Daisy to the doctor and found out that she is doing so very great!! She is 8pounds 3 ounces, which puts her in the 25%, she is also 20inches long, also puts her in the 25%!! The last time we were in to see the doctor she was only in the 5% and 10%, so she is growing really well and eating good too!! We can't believe how the time has past so quickly! Here's an up to date pic!

Easter 2010!!!

2010-04-08T11:58:00.000-07:00

We hope that you all were able to have a very happy Easter Sunday this past Sunday. We were able to have a very happy and enjoyable Easter with our little family and our extended family. Ethan was able to color eggs and really enjoyed coloring them! Daisy didn't color any eggs, but she was involved with the activities. We were able to get lots of pictures of Ethan enjoying the holiday season. One thing we want you all to know is that we are very grateful for the Savior and we know it's because of him we are able to live again. We are grateful to be able to make mistakes and be forgiven of them because of the atoning sacrifice of our Savior! We hope that you all remember the reason for the season and we are grateful for all of your friendships! Here are some pics.!

Getting started on egg coloring!

The first egg getting colored by Ethan and some help from Dad!

"Look at this egg!"

Ethan showing Mommy how he can balance an egg!

Our precious angel on her first Easter!

Some of the colored eggs1

Our two cute kids! Can you see a color difference?! We think that Daisy has a little more color than Ethan and this picture shows it!!

Some eggs that Ethan put some stickers!

Grandma and Grandpa M came by the day before and gave Ethan lots of cool things. The microphone is one of his favorite items! Thanks Grandparents!

Ethan starting out a fun Easter Hunt!

He got some cool coloring books to keep him busy!

He found some body paint/body cleaner!

All of the fun items Ethan got from Grandma and Grandpa P! Thanks Grandparents!

Ethan trying out his new basketball hoop!

Ethan and Daisy looking just so cute!!

New Furniture!!!!

2010-03-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

So we just got our tax return back and decided that we NEED new furniture. So we were going to look online to get good and cheap used furniture. Then we decided that it was time to get some brand new couches that will last us forever. We really enjoy our new couches and they are very comfortable. They match a recliner that belonged to Sharifa's grandma and now our furniture match better than before! We are very proud and hereare some pictures of our new couches! We love them!!!!Steve making sure that we bought the right kind of couches! We did, he could sleep soundly on them and enjoy a little nap!

Daisy trying out the new love seat and really enjoys her nap!

Happy Birthday Daisy Rae!!!!

2010-03-16T13:44:00.000-07:00

For all of you who don't know, we were able to celebrate a very special day in our lives on the 15th of March. At 1:59 p.m. our little princess, Daisy Rae, came out into this world to brace us with her presence. She was 6lb 4oz and was only 18 1/2inches long! She seems to be really tiny to us, our little Ethan was 7lb 2oz and was 19 inches long when he was born over 2 1/2 years ago. She is a great spirit to have in our lives and we are very grateful to have her! Here are some pictures that we were able to take on such a great day!

Just before going into surgery! Last picture of Daisy in the tummy!

Mommy, Daddy, and Daisy!

Grandma Phillips with Daisy!

Grandpa Phillips and Daisy!

Grandma McClaskey and Daisy!

Grandpa McClaskey and Daisy!

Daddy and Daisy!The boys with Daisy!Our new family!Big Brother with little sister!Ethan giving his sister, Daisy, a big "Welcome to the Family" kiss! Oh how cute!!!Uncle Matt and Daisy!Aunt Sierra and Daisy!

Daisy gave Ethan this cool White Sox hat!Mommy's Twin Boys!!

A party for Daisy!!!

2010-02-24T17:11:00.000-08:00

For the past few weeks sharifa has been feeling more and more tired, or other words a little lazy! (Ha Ha Ha!!!) Nothing really new has happened recently and so we haven't blogged lately. But just this past weekend one of sharifa's college friends (she's one of the best!!!) was so kind enough to throw her a little shower/sparkle for Daisy. We had lots of fun, just the women, and sharifa got lots of cute girly things from such great people! We are way excited for the birth of our little baby Daisy and can't wait to try out all the new clothes and items that people were so nice enough to give us! Daisy seems excited to come out too, but who knows she's probably like her older brother who had to be taken out kicking and screaming!!! We go to the doctor's on Friday and will set a date to go to the hospital and get Daisy out! In other words we have decided to do a repeat c-section. Why you might ask? Well, we both feel that a c-section will have the best outcome for both mommy and little Daisy. Also the hospital, where the doctor will deliver, is a long ways away from our house and we don't want to get stuck on the freeway trying to have a baby when there might be some difficulties with the delivery! So now you know. Here are some pictures of the great items we will be using for Daisy when she comes. Thank you Nikki for taking the time to put together such a wonderful party! You are one of these best friends that I(sharifa) could ever have!! Thanks also to all that participated whether by being there or taking the time to send something so very cute!!! What great friends and family we are so blessed to have and we're very grateful for each and everyone!!!!

The beautiful decor that Nikki brought to make our house so spring like!! Thanks Nikki we really love the flowers.Lots of cute outfits that people gave us to use for Daisy! Thanks everyone!!

We got some gift cards for this past Christmas and decided to use them on somethings for Daisy. We saw these cute outfits and just had to buy them, plus we were able to get her a cute bumper pad for her crib!

These are one of sharifa's favorite items. Hair items, she is so excited to be able to put Daisy's hair up in cute little does! Thank you all for these too!!!

Cute blankets and burp rags that lots of women made! They are so cute!!! Thanks!

Some fun items for Daisy to play with or use! Can you believe that someone could crochet that pig? Our Grandma Rector has such great talent and made the cute little pig for Daisy! We love all the other little items and think Daisy is going to love them too! Thank everyone!!

Lots of diapers! We can always use lot of these! Thanks!!

One Sad Day... One 'Appy' Day!!!

2010-01-23T19:11:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know, our family are big time Dallas Cowboys Fans!!!! We were sad to hear that they lost a divisional game to the Vikings!!!! It turned out to be a sad day for our family. Even though Sunday turned out to be sad, Monday was a much better day for the family!!!! One reason and one reason only... it was Steve's birthday so Sharifa and Ethan went crazy with the great gifts!!!! Here are some pictures of our eventful day!!!!Sharifa got Steve a cool shirt with Jason Witten on it!Sharifa also got Steve a Miles Austin Jersey!Steve wanted cheese cake for his birthday cake; this is a picture of the boys licking the bowl after Sharifa was done making the cake!Ethan got Steve the license plate for his birthday! What a great son!!!Ethan got Steve this car sticker!Sharifa saw this and thought it would good in Steve study/room!!Ethan really loves to open presents and thought that the presents were for him to open! He was such a great helper for his dad!Steve's Birthday Cake!!!

Ethan helped Steve blow out the candles. That's one things that Ethan loves to do, blowing out candles!

Lights and Camera!!!

2010-01-12T12:36:00.000-08:00

So we know it's a little late, but one of the traditions we decided to start doing was going down to Temple Square and looking at the beautiful lights. Here are just a few pictures of us enjoying our time there with each other and some friends of ours!!! We hope you all enjoyed your holiday season and have so much more happiness in this new year!!!

Daddy and Ethan posing in front of some beautiful lights!!! Aren't they just the cutest boys ever!!!

Daddy, Ethan, Dan, and Will all having fun play fighting out in the cold!

Stopping just to take a nice picture for Sharifa!

Our family picture in front of the Salt Lake City Temple Reflection Pond!

"Appy Yay!!"

2010-01-04T15:51:00.001-08:00

So every year, since we've been married, we have always had a little/big New Years party with all of our friends and family that live close around us and always seem to have lots of fun. This year Steve had to get up WAY too early on New Years (because he had to work) that we couldn't have a party and that made Sharifa a little bit sad. So instead of having lots of people over playing games and watching the ball drop in Time Square it ended up just being Sharifa and Ethan who stayed up 'till midnight. Surprisingly, Ethan stayed up the entire time and didn't fall asleep once. When it was midnight Sharifa told Ethan "Happy New Year!" His response was, "Appy Yay!" Which in English means... Happy Yay! or Happy Day! We can't figure out which one! It's just so much fun to hear him say new words. Here are some pictures of our fun night with just the two of us (Sharifa and Ethan)!!!!

Picture taken at the beginning of the night!Getting into later part of the night! New Years Kiss! Just before bedtime!!! It's time to go to sleep!

This video is of Ethan hiding his toys in his PJs. It's really funny that we wanted to share it with all of you! Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-26T10:40:00.000-08:00

We hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas!!! We sure had a great time with our little family, but we also went to see our parents throughout the week and enjoyed spending some time with them. We really enjoyed every moment that we had together and are grateful for our friends and family that sent us really nice cards, gifts, or texts letting us know how they are enjoying their wonderful holidays! Ethan really enjoyed Christmas and when anyone would say "presents" he would drop everything and run over to open the gift!! It was really great to watch the little twinkle in his eyes! We hope that you all enjoyed the 2009 year and hope that you all have a great New Year full of excitement and adventures!!! Here are some pictures of our different family Christmases!

As a little girl, Sharifa's family always made a sugar cookie cake for Jesus' birthday and would always sing "Happy Birthday"!!! So we decided to start doing this for our little family Christmas traditions! As a little boy, Steve's family would always make sugar cookies and would use the rest of the dough and make logs for all the boys in the family. We decided to do this also as part of our own little family Christmas traditions!Ethan blowing out the candle for Jesus!! We let Ethan eat his log while reading the Christmas story from the bible.

Christmas morning, Santa came and stuffed Ethan's stocking with treats and lots of different cars!!!!

Santa didn't just give Ethan cars he also got him a way cool car track!!!!
While daddy was putting the track together mommy helped Ethan open another present from us!
He got a really cool guitar!!! He loves this present so much we have all the songs memorized!!
Now that the track is put together Ethan and daddy try it out!! Thank you Santa!!
Ethan got daddy a new calender for the new year!
Aunt Ash got Daisy new PJs! Thanks Aunt Ash!Aunt Ash made this really cool quilt for Daisy, if you look close you can see Daisy written in the blanket!! That's so cool!!! Thanks!!
Aunt Ash and Uncle Dave got Ethan this really cool book that he loves to play with!!! Thank you guys!!!Steve got this shirt from his brother Brad, he also got NFL cards too! Thanks Brad!!!
Ethan got mini Handy Manny and tools from his Phillips cousins, Uncle Brad, and Aunt Claire. Thanks guys. He loves them!! Just a little note-- Uncle Matt and Aunt Sierra gave Ethan a bigger toy of Handy Manny and his tools, Ethan loves to use the tools to fix everything!! Thanks for the cool toys guys!!!

Mommy and Daddy got Ethan his very favorite show; Phineas and Ferb!!!
Sharifa got Steve this really cool new Cowboys hat!
Steve got the new Madden football game from Sharifa!!!
Sharifa got the earrings from Ethan, the book from Steve, and the movie also is from Steve. Even though Steve got the movie for Sharifa Ethan loves to watch this movie over and over again!!!Thanks to everyone!!!!!

Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Phillips
Grandma and Grandpa got Ethan a really cool car track to go along with the others that Santa got him!
Ethan loves to read so Grandma and Grandpa got him some Pixar books that he just really adores!!!

Ethan got some really cool new clothes too! What great Grandparents!!!
Ethan and daddy trying out the new car track that Grandma and Grandpa got him!

Ethan hanging out with Lenard while watching a basketball game! They really enjoyed each others company!!

Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa McClaskey

We went to Sharifa's parents' Christmas party and saw Santa!! Ethan thinks he's great as long as he doesn't have to sit on Santa's lap!!!

Mommy helping Ethan open a gift from his stocking that Grandma and Grandpa M stuffed for him!

Ethan playing his flute that he got from Grandma and Grandpa M in his stocking!!

Ethan calling his Uncle Matt on his new fancy new cell phone!!

Ethan opening a present from Grandma and Grandpa M!!!Ethan trying out his pad that Grandma and Grandpa gave him!!Daddy helping Ethan open a gift from grandma and grandpa!Steve showing off his new PJ pants that mom and dad got him! Sharifa got a pair too and we love them!!! Thanks mom and dad!!!Ethan trying out his new flute while enjoying a little ride in the doll stroller!!Daddy reading Ethan a Christmas story!

Holidays are here!!!

2009-12-16T13:36:00.000-08:00

So this past Saturday we (Steve and Sharifa) were able to have our first date in a long time!!! We went on a day trip to do some Christmas shopping and decided that we could go see a movie, so we went and saw a Christmas Carol in 3D! It was so nice not to have to chase the little man around the mall and scream "Ethan! Ethan! Come here!!" We were able to watch a movie and not have to worry about the two year old turning off the TV 'cause he was done watching. It turned out to be a really good movie, but we both decided that it was a good idea we didn't let Ethan come see it. There were some jumpy scenes, but all in all it was a good movie to go see in the theaters. Later that evening we picked up Ethan from the Grandparents' house and went to see Santa and his little villages. Ethan really loved to see the villages, but seeing Santa was a different story. It was a nice day and we really enjoyed spending time together without the little man. We know that he had lots of fun with his Grandparents because he gets spoiled whenever he's around them. We are grateful to have parents around that would be willing to help us out by taking care of him so that we could have one peaceful shopping day!!

Thanks !!!! Ethan checking out Santa's different building that are placed in BC!!
Checking out what the Elves are doing!!!
Ethan loves walking in the snow, so he had to grab daddy and take him across the new fallen snow!!
Ethan taking daddy to see ALL of the different lights on the city square!!!! Ethan having fun in the snow while daddy is starting to freeze!

*We did go see Santa, but Sharifa has to find away to post the picture of Ethan and Santa! We are planning on seeing Santa again this weekend, so we'll have both pictures up asap!!

Christmas Extcitement!!!!

2009-12-02T20:41:00.000-08:00

So we are totally excited for Christmas and didn't get the chance to set up all our decor the day after Thanksgiving. So we did it on the last day of November and we think we still look pretty festive!!! Ethan is loving all the decorations this year; even though every year he loves to see all the light, this year is more special! We have a sing and dancing Santa that he loves to push the button and watch Santa move. This year we are letting him put the stars up to count down the days 'till Christmas is here. The past few days we have been able to get all of our little Christmas movies out for him to watch and he just loves to watch them over and over again!!! Some that he really loves to watch are our Charlie Brown collection ( Charlie Brown's Christmas and I want a dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown). Steve and Sharifa had never before sat down to watch the second movie and just recently did. We think it's so funny!!!! If you haven't seen it you should 'cause it has Rerun (a more newer character) on it. This year we have decided to have our own little family Christmas and stay at home to start up our own little traditions. We will be going to Grandparents' houses during the season to spend some time with them, of course!!! We are so excited to be able to make this year a memorable moment for our Ethan!!! It's going to be the last one with just him as our only child!! We hope that you all have a wonderful holiday season and please remember what it's all about!!!!! Here are some pictures of us getting ready for the season! We love you all and just want to wish everyone a very

Merry Christmas!!!

Ethan watching Santa shake his thing!!!
Our family advent calendar (start counting!!!)!

Ethan getting some help from daddy to put up an ornament!

Ethan hanging up an ornament by himself!!

Our finished Christmas tree!!!

Sharifa's Grandma Jordan made this tree when she was alive!!!! She's grateful to be able to have something of her grandmother's. Also these are a few Nativities Sharifa has gotten from others throughout the years!!

This is the very first Nativity Sharifa got when she was only 3 years old!!! If you can't tell the angels did not come with the set (ha! ha! ha!)!!! It is one of her favorite items that she owns and it brings back fond memories of Christmases pastes!!!

These bear Nativities are part of Sharifa's mother's collection which she was willing to give to Sharifa!!!! (Thanks Mom!!!)

Ethan is putting up his/the family Nativity. We are grateful that Grandma M was willing to get our family a fun and playful set!!!

The finished product!!!

Grateful!!!

2009-11-24T21:58:00.000-08:00

So for the past few weeks we have been going through a lot of ups and downs with our life. We have also been able to see all the many blessing that we have been given. At this time of year there are so many things to be thankful for! Our family is really grateful that Steve has a job that is able to provide a roof over our heads and be able to give us food on our table; especially when a lot of families are having a hard time finding or keeping a job! Also we are very grateful for both sets of families that we come from. We are grateful that we have such great parents and siblings that seem so willing to help us out when we need it or when we don't even ask! We have learned this year that our families are very important to us and want to let you all know that we are grateful for you, our parents and siblings!!! There are some people that are not related to us by name, but we do consider you family because of the close bond that we share with you. And for that we are truly grateful!!!! We are also grateful to be married to one another and have each other as life-time (and eternal) companions with such a great little boy to help us through every day!!!! The health of everyone including the little Daisy is also another blessing that we feel very grateful for!!!! For all that read this post thank you for your friendship and kindness we are very blessed to have you in our lives, even if we don't see you every day we are truly grateful for you!!! Your support also means a lot to our little family!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

Our little family! We're grateful for each member!!!

The McClaskeys

(Maverick is missing-sorry this was taken before he was born)

The Phillips

Daisy Rae

2009-11-09T17:02:00.001-08:00

We went to have the targeted ultrasound today and got some really great pictures of little Miss Daisy!!! She is doing very well, she is at 13 ounces and growing. She's got a great heartbeat and great lungs. Just for those who want to know, she is still a girl, she hasn't shown us anything that would make us think any differently! She is just so cute and it's funny how little babies have their own personality even before they come out into the world. We really love her and can't wait for when she comes, which shouldn't be anytime before March!!!! Here is our very favorite picture that we decided to use. We hope you all like it as much as we do!!!

We call this picture "The Thinking Girl". The funny thing is, when she came up on the screen like this, Steve had his hand/arm in the same position! The tech. said that she was being just like here dad!!! What a "daddy's girl" this little one is!!! Ha! Ha! Ha!

Halloween

2009-11-02T13:56:00.000-08:00

So this year we went up to I.F. for the weekend to see Sharifa's parents and really enjoyed our weekend. Ethan really loved going to the different houses and getting candy from everyone that we went and saw. He made us stop at every house on his grandparent's street so that he could get more candy!! A few houses didn't have anyone home and it made Ethan not too happy 'cause he didn't get any candy. We had to watch him very closely because he would knock on people's door and would try to walk into their houses!!! This year Sharifa thought that Ethan should dress up for something that truly fits him, so he was a little devil!!!( Ha!Ha!Ha!) We really enjoyed going out with him and seeing his reactions every time someone would give him or let him choose a piece of candy, it was like a little boy at Disneyland!! He really did get a lot of candy that night so we thought maybe we should help him out with the eating of the treats, 'cause we don't want him to get a stomach ache!!! We think that he will love Halloween next year too!!! Sharifa's parents grew pumpkins in their garden this year and had a special one picked out for Ethan to help design. Ethan and Grandpa pulled the guts out while daddy helped by putting a face to the Jack-O-Lantern. Here are some pictures of our fun afternoon/evening!!!!

Ethan and his first pumpkin before it's carved!

Ethan helping Grandpa cut the top off of the pumpkin!Ethan helping daddy get all the guts out of the pumpkin!

Ethan checking out the pumpkin's guts!

Grandpa showing Ethan where to put the guts!

Daddy carving the pumpkin!The finished Jack-O-Lantern

The boys with their finished master piece!!!

Ethan as a cute little devil! Doesn't this just fit him so well?Ethan and Grandpa were tried of waiting so they started on their way!Ethan checking out another person's pumpkin!

On sunday, Ethan tried out his new suit! Doesn't he look just so handsome?! A devil one day and an angel the next!(Ha! Ha! Ha!)

It's a...

2009-10-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

So, for those of you who don't know the exciting news, we went to the doctor's yesterday and were able to see that are baby is doing just fine. She is now up to 10 ounces, has a strong heart beat, nice size head, and a very nice size tummy. If you didn't catch that we told you that are baby is a girl!!!! Yes, we have decided to name her Daisy Rae (pronounced like Ray- except female version) Phillips! She was being a lot like her mother and sleeping really crazy. She had her little legs tucked over her head, silly girl!!! So we didn't get a picture to post on the blog, in about two weeks we'll be going back to have our 3D pictures and we'll be sure to show them to you all! For the mean time we'll post a few fun pics. of Ethan that have been taken over the past few days/months/.

Ethan thinks he is going to go on a trip with Grandma if he just fits himself into her suitcase. She had just returned from a trip though! By-the-way he really did fit in the suitcase, and you could zip it up!! Ha! Ha!

Ethan decides he is ready for a big-boy-bed!! He is trying out Grandma's bed just to make sure he likes it!This is our cat, Hobbes, that we had to give away to a nice family because we couldn't find a place that would allow pets live in the place for little or no money! We sure do miss the friendly little feller!!

Our new Home

2009-10-25T12:34:00.000-07:00

So it's been so crazy the past few weeks. We have been living with Steve's parents and it has been nice to have a place to stay, but we really wanted to have a place of our own. It's been kinda hard with Ethan being all crazy and having to stay on his tail. A few weeks ago we thought we found a great little house for our little family, but it turned out that it wasn't so great at all! There was some sewage problems with the house and we had to find that out on our own with out being informed about it by our landlords. We had moved everything in and Sharifa had unpacked a lot of boxes and we had to get out of the house fast so that Ethan, Sharifa, and the baby to be would be safe. Luckily Steve's parents let us come back to their house to stay for a few days. Also, later we were able to find a great condo in a different city. The condo has three bedrooms and two and a half bathes, it 's great!!!!We love it and can't wait to meet all the new people around us and in our new ward! One thing that we like about living here is that there seems to be more young families than older people, so that means that there are little kids for Ethan to play with!!!Our new home!!!

Ethan exploring our new area!!Time spent with Grandma while leaving with our Grandparents!!Ethan spending time with Grandpa while leaving with them!

Ethan borrowing one of the monkey's Army hat (oops, Marine Cover)!! Doesn't he look just so cute?!!!!

The BIG 2!!!!

2009-09-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

Things have been very crazy the past few weeks. With selling the house, moving out, and of course the little man's birthday. A lot of family told us to just celebrate Ethan's big day some other day 'cause he wouldn't know. The only problem Sharifa has with that is that Ethan's birthday is on the 17th and she wants to let Ethan know that that day was a very important day 'cause he came into our lives!!! So we had his birthday and spent the day together just the three of us and later that night we were able to have an Aunt and Uncle come over for dinner with cake and ice cream. It turned out to be a great day, but the party wasn't over just yet; Sharifa's parents came down, with Ethan's cousins, the next day and took them to Layton to Chuck E Cheese! Ethan really enjoyed the day with his grandma and grandpa M and was so happy to spend time with his cousins that he rode both ways with them. Later that night grandma and grandpa P came home from St George and brought back some nice birthday gifts for Ethan, which he really enjoyed and so did mom and dad! Plus thank you to all that remembered our little man's birthday, we really do appreciate all that like to spoil him rotten!!! Here are some pictures that were taken of the two days!

Ethan is 2!!!

Playing at the park! Having fun down the slide!
Ethan loves to climb in the tubes!
Ethan loves to make music, here at McDonald!!!
Ethan trying out his new basketball hoop!
Enjoying his new Looney Tunes DVD!
Cute clothes from Aunt Sierra and Uncle Matt!
Ethan likes to watch Handy Manny and now he has a cute sweat suit to match the show! "Thank you Aunt Sierra and Uncle Matt!!"
Uncle Matt and Aunt Sierra got a Mr Potato Head too!!!
A new book from Uncle Matt and Aunt Sierra!
Ethan making Uncle Matt read him his new book!Now it's Aunt Sierra's turn to read Ethan his new book!Ethan's Birthday cake!!! Yeah Lighting and Mater!He's now 2!!! "Blow Ethan, blow!!" Opening gift that Grandma and Grandpa P got him!!!

CHUCK E CHEESE

Ethan driving with Chuck E!! "Watch where you're going, Ethan!!"Cousin Harley driving Ethan in the big zebra jeep!Ethan's turn to drive, what a crazy driver!Daddy helping Ethan feed the hungry dog!Ethan loves to play basket ball, we couldn't get him away from this game!!Cousin Harley and cousin Oakley playing air hockey!

Ethan playing air hockey with cousin Oakley while getting some help from Daddy & Grandpa M!

Playing air hockey with Grandpa M with a little help from mom!The Three Amigos!!

"All done, let's go!"

Oakley, Harley, and Ethan opening up gifts. What great cousin, they are willing to help out when needed!!!Ethan checking out his tractor, one of the many things he got from Grandma & Grandpa M!!!

Good-Bye Condo!!!!

2009-09-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

So for the past few months we have had our condo on the market, but we haven't been able to get it sold. Just recently though we lowered our price and were able to get some great offers and we accepted one and now we have to get out and find a new place for our growing family. We really want to get a house that will be a little bit bigger for our family. When we find one we'll let you guys know!!!

Ethan's BIG NEWS

2009-08-23T18:11:00.000-07:00

Ethan is going to.....be turning two in a few weeks and wanted you all to know that!!! HA! HA! HA! Okay, so most of you already know, but Ethan is going to become an older brother. We are very excited about it! We hope that all of you are having as many blessings as we have every day! Here is a picture of Ethan practicing to become a good older brother!

Doesn't he make a great older brother?!!!

One Year Older

2009-08-17T11:40:00.000-07:00

So it was Sharifa's birthday a few days ago. We were able to have a little bit of fun, but our day plans were ruined because of the weather. We wanted to go to the pool with the little man, but it was way too cold for us to go. So instead we went that evening with Aunt Sierra and Uncle Matt to her parents' stake's pool party! Ethan loved it and wanted to be left a lond floating in the pool like a big boy!! We were in the pool for about a half an hour, that's a lot for the little man at night when it's not that warm! Well, here are some things that Steve and Ethan got Sharifa for her big day! Also, thank you to all that sent messages (by texting or emailing) and/or called to wish Sharifa a happy day! She really appreciates the love and kindness that all of you have for our family!!!!

Steve baked Sharifa a nice cake for her birthday!!!

Steve and Ethan got Sharifa a video of her favorite country singer 'cause she didn't get to go to his concert two years ago and won't be able to go this year. They also got her Keith Urban's new CD and she really loves it!!!

4 Years and Counting!!!!

2009-08-08T11:46:00.000-07:00

So I know that it has been a while since we posted anything before. Let us explain, our computer went kinda crazy and had to go in to get some fixing up. On Wednesday August 5, 2009 it was our fourth anniversary. Can you believe that we've made it to four year, have a wild almost 2 year old, and are still together? Well, you better keep counting 'cause we'll be together F-O-R-E-V-E-R!!!!! But a good time. Here are some pictures that were taken of us when we first started our family journey together. We hope that you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed one of the happiest days of our lives!!!!

Fourth of July Weekend!!!

2009-07-07T13:15:00.000-07:00

We were able to go back up to see Sharifa's parents. Luckily Ethan's cousins were also there too and we were able to have lots of fun with them. In the morning we went to the Idaho Falls parade and the children loved the parade!!! Even Ethan sat still for the hour. He really enjoyed the fun parade and they gave out some great treats to the little kids!!! We hope that all of you had an enjoyable fourth! We are greatful to live in a country that gives us so many freedoms and are able to choose for our selves!!!!

Grandpa's birthday was a few days earlier and we weren't able to be there so we gave Grandpa M his gift when we came up for the weekend! Ethan tries on Dad's sunglasses!!
Waiting for the parade to get started, Ethan is eating a snack
The parade people through out creamies and Ethan gobbled his up fast and loved every bit!! He even tried to finish up his cousins' also!
We went to a park close by after the parade and the kids had lots of fun. Oakley is waiting for Ethan to take his turn, what a patient little boy!!
Ethan coming down a twisted slide!!Dad got this cute picture of Ethan!!! After nap Ethan decided to go into grandma and grandpa M's pool!
Ethan having fun in the pool with his cousins!In between swimming seasons the kids and Steve played a little bit of tee-ball! Cousin Harley is waiting patiently for her turn!!!Ethan loves to play sports with his father!!!We're waiting for the fireworks to get started!!Ethan having fun still waiting for the show to start!!!

Ethan really enjoyed the firework show!!!!!The big show!!!!

Weekend with the Cousins!!!!

2009-06-30T12:33:00.000-07:00

So we're sorry that we haven't done more blogs lately, but Steve has started his new job and it keeps him very busy during the week and he chases Ethan around on the weekend. Sharifa is keeping the house clean for showing so that we can sell our house. She also keeps Ethan inline twenty-four seven!!! This past weekend we went upto Idaho to see Sharifa's family and Ethan's cousins. He really had lots of fun with his cousin Harley and his cousin Oakley! Grandma M through a little family birthday party for Oakley 'cause he didn't get a party on his actual birthday because the Gallups were on the road! Here are some pictures that we took while we were out with the family! We hope that you-all will enjoy the pictures as much as we do! Also, we'll have more blogs coming up 'cause of the holiday coming up and we plan on having lots of fun this 4th!!!!

Our newest cousin Maverick

Steve and cousin Harley

Steve with cousin Oakley

Ethan being our little monkey

After Ethan was done climbing the fence

Ethan hatching out of an egg"Look twins!!" Cousin Oakley sitting in the nest, what a cute baby bird!
Cousin Harley in the nest, what a cute baby bird also!!!! "Yes girls, I am Single" is what Ethan's shirt sayes. He really enjoyes being around the older women!! Ha! Ha!
We got to see new-born baby ducks at the zoo!!!

Fashion Boy!!!!!

2009-05-31T19:49:00.000-07:00

So we wanted to put up a little post that's not very long. We've been trying to sell our place and really haven't done anything too exciting with our lives. We're really hoping that this place sells and that we can find a bigger place for our family. We were going through some pictures, saw these, and then started to laugh. Our little man has an eye for fashion, what do you think?

So for Mother's day we took some pictures for our grandmas and here is one of them. This is a new suit that Ethan got for early Easter!

Here's Ethan with one of daddy's old basketball jerseys. Doesn't he just bring "Cutie Back"!!!

Ethan's just showing off his backside so that everyone can see that he has the goods!!!!

Sorry this one is side-ways, but it is Mommies' boys bring the house down with their basketball talents!!!

"Let's try PJs with a tie, shall we?"

This is our very favorite fashion style created by the E-man himself and he's the only one, out of the three of us, that can pull it off!

Uh-Oh!!!

2009-05-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

So in the last post we said that we were going to be moving to the hot state of Arizona, but we got some information that tells us that we aren't going to be able to move there!!! We're really upset about not being able to go on this new experience at this time. We'll be staying here in Utah for a little while long until Steve is done with school and then we'll see where the future might take us after graduation!!! But we guess it's for the best right now and hope that we can get out of here in the future. At least we'll be near family and friends. We're still going to sell our Townhouse and try to find a bigger place to live!!!

Arizona--Here we come!!!!

2009-05-16T21:49:00.000-07:00

So by now everyone knows that we're moving to the hot state of Arizona and we're soooo very excited. Well, some of us are excited and others of us are really nervous about moving so far away from lots of family and close friends that we have here. In the end it will be the best thing for us to move and get a closer relationship with our little family, plus we both love the sun so much more than the different weather changing every day!!! We'll have to grow up and be on our own; start becoming a closer knit family and maybe make some new friends that we can be close to. This last week we were able to go to AZ to check out the site and nieghborhood that we might be living in and get some ideas of what places would be the best for us. Ethan loved being with his cousins in AZ. While there we were able to spend some time with Steve's brother, his sister-in-law, and their children. Thank you guys for letting us stay at your place and making life kinda crazy for you!!!! Once we move to AZ Ethan will be able to play with his cousins a lot more and we think that he'll enjoy spending time with them, he really had a ball just being around kids closer to his ages than spending his time with boring ' OLD PEOPLE '. Here are some pictures of our fun time.

Here is Ethan with his cousins playing ring-around-the rosies.

Ethan with his cousins and a little neighbor friend.

Just before naptime!!!
Drew riding on Steve and having lots of fun!!!!

Sadie and Drew wore Steve out!!!Swimming time!!!!!

Ethan really enjoyed spending time with his cousin Sadie!!!

Momie caught this picture while walking home from swimming!!!!Relaxing with Sadie after house hunting and having a long rough day!!!!!

Easter 2009

2009-04-18T13:10:00.000-07:00

Okay so, this Easter was a lot more fun than last year. Ethan is year older, more spirited, and enjoyed a lot more this year. Sharifa's mom came on Saturday and we enjoyed a picnic in the colder weather. Later that night we were able to color eggs, Ethan really loved to do color the eggs and tried very hard to color the eggs by himself. Grandma M left on sunday after we enjoyed church. After she left we went over to Grandma and Grandpa Phillips' house to have sunday dinner/Easter dinner. We were suprised when we saw Ethan's aunts, uncles, and Grandma Great Rector was also there. Ethan really love to search for his eggs in the yard, it was so much fun just to watch him find the eggs.

Grandma M was nice to bring items for Ethan's Easter basket, He loved is punching balloon. Ethan loves it when he gets books and when others read to him!
Ethan's first egg before he colored it! Ethan is reaching for the color to dip his egg into

Ethan checking out his egg with the green coloring!Easter Egg family picture!!!
Ethan and all of the colored eggs!!!

We took a picture after church and before Grandma left and Ethan really needed to straight to nappie land!! (if you can't tell)On our way to Garndma and Grandpa's house!!!
Let's get this thing started!!!! Continuing on looking for the eggs.
He loved looking for all the easter eggs!

Ethan got some help from mommy!He got some help from daddy too!
Grandpa helped Ethan find some more eggs!
Ethan got a easter basket last year and then he got another one from Grandma and Grandpa P he loved caring both of the baskets around with him when he found the other basket!!Ethan really loved looking for eggs that some of us had to sneak eggs out of his basket and rehide them so that he could find some "more' eggs. We spent at least a half an hour egg hunting and we had fun just watching the enjoyment in his eyes!!!

Ethan just relaxing from egg hunting and letting others finds thier own eggs, later he decided to help mommy find her two eggs. What a little helper!!!!

It was finally a nice warm day that Grandpa decided to bring out the tricycle so that Ethan could ride it and he had lots of fun!!!!

At the end of the night it was time to have strawberry short cake. Ethan loved having is desert, but he ate more cream than berries or cake!!!!(That's Ethan for ya)

Update

2009-03-31T12:33:00.000-07:00

So we know that we're a little behind on things, but it's getting crazy with Ethan, school, and work. It's hard to find the time to get these posts done. We're trying to make a post at least once a month. Soon we'll do a post once a week. Right now we're going to get you all updated on what's happening with our little family! Lot's have happened with us and we hope that you enjoy what you see!!!

Time with the Grandparents (Mcclaskey)

Ethan enjoying grandma's toy-a-box!

Ethan is wrestling with grandpa!!!Ethan trying to get away from grandpa!

Sewing time
Here is the first piece of clothing that Sharifa has ever made with the sewing machine

Playing with the best toy ever

Ethan enjoying the box that mommy brought home.
He spent a lot of time playing with this box.
Just chillin and using his imagination.
All done playing with the box!

Spring break (March16-March20)

We got to spend a lot of time together during Steve's spring break! We went to Larry H Miller's car museum. Then we went out to dinner and enjoyed our evening with Aunt Ashley and Uncle Dave!Here is Steve at the museum with some cool cars!!
Steve and ethan looking at the car racing track!
We got to see the water fountain in SLC at the gate-way mall!
Steve after running through the water! Ethan played in it too and got really wet, so we had to get him some new clothes 'cause he got really wet!!
Ethan at dinner on his half birthday! He was being pretty good while waiting for his dinner to come!!!
Ethan playing with blowing with Aunt Ashley and her water bottles!!! He was having lots of fun with her!