Sam's Club Winner

Our Sam's Club gift card winner is Pixie, who is planning to give the gift card to her starving student :) Congratulations! I guess it was pretty good odds, since only two entered the giveaway.

Rain!

Praise the Lord it's finally raining! We've been praying for rain for weeks, especially for the farmers. This is just another way that this small town is different from So. Cal., not a bad different, just different. In So. Cal. EVERYONE has sprinklers or some system of watering, other than relying on the rain. Here, the farmers, homeowners, and the whole town relies on rain. Our yard, the University's lawn, and the crops are all brown. The corn stalks are turning into spikes and the cotton plants are wilting. Hopefully these showers will bring a little life back to the plants.

It's also great to have a break from the heat, not only for us, but also for the wildlife. The birds have been spending their time on Mat's practice field in the sprinkler and Abby and I saw a big bull frog in a pipe, where there was about one cup of water. We didn't realize the frog was there, so Abby was happily dumping fist fulls dirt into the pipe, when the dirt started moving. She came up to me with a very alarmed look on her face, so cute! We got out a water bottle and rinsed the poor little fellow off and Abby learned to say "ribbit." On our drive off the field (yes we park on the field) Daddy showed us an empty turtle shell. So many learning opportunities!

Reminder: Only 2 days left to enter the Sam's Club gift card giveaway!

Updates

Want to know what's going on with the Phelps Family without checking the blog to sometimes see an update, and sometimes not? Maybe you forget to check and would like a reminder. Enter your email address in the box to the right and you'll be sent an email whenever there is an update.

I look forward to sharing more of our lives with you! Don't forget to enter the Sam's Club gift card giveaway!

Giveaway - Sam's Club

Sam's Club and General Mills have provided me with a $25 gift card and one $25 gift card to giveaway! To enter the giveaway, leave a comment letting me know why you want the card by Wednesday, July 28. I'll announce the winner on July 29.

More great news! If you're new to Sam's club, they are offering $20 Gift Cards to new Members who join by August 1. Sign up or renew a Sam's Club Collegiate Membership and receive a $15 gift card. Must present a valid student I.D. and university e-mail address at the time of sign up to qualify for Sam's Club collegiate membership.

Looking for a place to collect Box Tops? For an easy solution, head over to your local Sam´s Club from Aug. 11 through Aug. 31 and earn more cash for your school. At the Sam´s Club Back-to-School event, you can get a head start on your collection and find 6 Box Tops on participating General Mills products. With your favorite Box Tops for Education brands at a great value, Sam´s Club is your one-stop destination for all your back-to-school supplies you need to send your kids off to school with confidence!

In addition, Sam´s Club is giving you the opportunity to earn even more Box Tops when you upgrade to a "Plus Membership." From Aug. 6 - Aug. 13, or while supplies last, visit the Member Services Desk of your local Sam´s Club and upon payment for your Plus Membership, you will receive a certificate for 150 Bonus Box Tops! For more information on how you can take advantage of the Back-to-School event at Sam´s Club, visit www.samsclub.com today!


*Sam´s Club and General Mills have provided me with a Sam´s Club Plus Membership, a gift card, information, and this giveaway through MyBlogSpark.

Oregon Adventures

We had an absolutely fabulous time while in Oregon. We were away for two weeks and crammed as much in as we possibly could. We were able to go camping twice, see both sets of Abby's grandparents, among other family and friends, attend a family reunion, celebrate birthdays, hear my brother in law preach, visit a winery, go to coast, and much more!

Our first camping trip, two days after we arrived, was to "the lot" where Mat grew up camping with his family. Five of us stayed in Mat's parent's trailer, and Mat's aunt and uncle met us there and camped in their own trailer. Mat especially enjoyed this trip, even though Abby did get sick with a fever.

Camping at the lot

~Click on any image to see more photos.~

We returned from our first camping trip on the 4th of July and after showering and doing some much needed laundry, we headed over to a BBQ (not pulled pork) at Grandpa and Grandma Phelps' house. Mat's Aunt took Abby out to see and pet the horses, but Abby was much more interested in the kitty. We were originally planning on watching fireworks somewhere, but once we returned home, we were exhausted and stayed in and listened to the booms instead. Just as fun, right?

Tide Pool at the Aquarium
Mimi and Bapa arrived on Monday, the 5th with bundles of home grown fruit...yum!! I ate as much as I could before we left. We had Mexican food on Tuesday (I miss it so much!). The remainder of the week was filled with a trip to the coast for retirement house hunting, breakfast with Grandma Brown, a visit to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, a joint birthday party for Mat and Abby, and a haircut for my mother and I by Mat's cousin.

Abby loved the Aquarium, especially the tide pool where she could poke all of the sea creatures. Abby had a wonderful second birthday party, where she enjoyed sneaking finger fulls of cake before it was cut and was so excited to open her presents.

Baking the Cake with Grandma

On Saturday, Abby and I both attended our first family reunion. We had breakfast with the family and saw some relatives. Abby tried to play with the big girls, but I don't think they understood that she was trying to play with them by giving them leaves and dirt. Mimi and Bapa had to leave for home on Saturday after the reunion. It was a very sad departure full of tears, but we were so blessed to have their company for five days. The only way it could've been better was if Danny and Elody had made it up. Boo hoo.

Crater Lake
Sunday we headed south to hear our brother in law preach, then on to Crater Lake. On our way down, we were able to make a last minute stop to see some dear friends staying in Eugene. It was so nice to spend several days in a row with Mat's sister's family and for Abby to play with her cousins. Crater lake was amazing, most likely the deepest blue body of water that I have ever laid eyes on. We stayed at a lake outside of the park and the mosquitoes were terrible! Mat took Abby swimming in the lake, later to find out that it had blue algae. Whatever that means! Don't worry, they weren't infected.

We returned to Mat's parents on Tuesday, packed, and flew home on Wednesday. We also had the pleasure of seeing one of Mat's high school buddies and his family on our last night.

As much as I LOVE the west coast and our families, it was great to return to our home and pets. Ahh, it's always nice to sleep in my own bed after a time away.

New Baby, New House, New Doggies!

It's been a super exciting and busy time for us these past few months, as we have purchased and moved into our first home, adopted two new dogs, and are expecting a little one in December.

I am just past my first trimester and the baby is due December 27...please not Christmas! We would really like to have another girl and boy, so any healthy baby would be a blessing. We have not decided on a name yet, except that the middle name of a boy would be "Dean." Abby has decided that she, Mat, and myself all have babies in our tummies, she is so precious. The morning sickness and total exhaustion have let up quite a bit, and I am looking forward to setting up the nursery again. I have placed the ultrasound photos someplace safe, which I have yet to find.

We moved sometime in late May/ early June, that time of my life is a bit of a blur. We are finally getting settled into our house, and still have quite a bit of work to do on it, but it will have to wait until we get the new heat pump paid off. My dear friend Melissa was visiting during the moving process and was a huge help in cleaning the old place, moving, cleaning the new, and watching Abby. When we moved into our house, it smelled a great deal like a wet dog, most of which is gone, but I fear it will not fully leave until we throw out the carpet. Shortly after we moved it began to get very hot outside and it took two weeks to have our heat pump installed. Needless to say, Melissa was an angel, and babysat Abby for Mat and I in our smelly, hot house, while Mat whisked me away to the beach to celebrate our 6th anniversary.

Our New House

Backyard

After seeing photos every week of the dogs up for adoption at our local coffee shop, we decided to go "look" at the dogs. We wanted Abby to grow up with a dog that she could play with and not think it normal for a toothless pom pom to growl at her on a regular basis. For some reason we thought getting another dog would also take some of the Abby pressure off of squirt. We ended up with a yellow lab/boxer mix named Brooklyn who came with the offer of her shepherd mix pen mate for free. We decided just to go with Brooklyn and a few days later adopted Dodger as well (see if you can figure that one out). Dodger was a little rough around the edges and needed more training, but is wonderful with Abby, the cats, and squirt. Brooklyn was incredibly easy to train and is wonderful with Abby. The cats and Squirt don't like her, as she thinks they're toys.

Brooklyn

Dodger

We are headed to Oregon for Mat to officiate one of his high school friend's wedding and to see both sets of grandparents. We'll be with Mat's family and extended family for two weeks and my parents will be visiting for 5 days. While away, Abby and I will both have the honor of attending our first family reunion. Abby will also go camping for the first time, see her first fireworks show, and celebrate her second birthday. Mat will also celebrate his 28th birthday, I know, just as exciting. Abby is now calling Joy's parents: Mimi and Bapa, and Mat's parents: Banana (formerly Nana) and Grandpa. Don't worry Nana, Abby is very fond of Bananas.

Click Here to see Abby's 22 - 23 month photos

There is not a doubt in my mind that our little Abigail has entered her wonderful and sometimes terrible twos. Abigail has sometimes begun throwing herself onto the ground in "tragic heaps", as Aunt Jolynn likes to say, when something goes wrong in her little mind. She says around 97 words and often uses two word sentences. She loves her babies, purses, stomping around the house in her dress shoes, and she adores "The Little Mermaid" and "moomies" (movies). From what I can gather, Abigail would prefer to be a dog, as she has attempted to eat grass, chew on a chew toy, drink the dog's inside and outside water, eat dog food and treats, scratch herself with her back foot, and lick her "paw".

For all who may see her in the future, we are no longer giving Abby candy.

I thank God for our many blessings daily and would covet your prayers, as we have decided to begin volunteering with the youth at our church upon our return from Oregon.

Love and blessings to all!

We have a winner!

Our dear friend Jessica is going to school and Mat found that to be a noble cause, so she is the winner of the Jiffy Lube gift card.