The Phillips

I can't believe I have neglected the blog for 2 months!! I am so sorry!!! So much has been going on, and I love this time of year because there is so much to do with the kids! Nathan has been home a lot since we moved to Washington, and we are thrilled!!! The kids are growing fast and we are loving our new town, Gig Harbor!!! There are several pictures below of all the happenings of the last few months! Enjoy!

This was a picture we got as a family at our friend's house for Thanksgiving!!

We had a few days of some very crazy weather that dumped a lot of snow in the Northwest! It was so beautiful and fun for the girls to play in for a little while. But, I was glad to see it go after a few days! :)

14 months!

We went to visit a local winery here in Gig Harbor with my parents, called Trillium Creek Winery.

It was a very beautiful place and I am very glad we found this little winery so close to home :)

Congratulations to MAJOR Nathan Phillips and the whole family! It has been a great 10 years, and are very proud!!!

We had a wonderful Halloween weekend! My parents came to visit, and the girls were in heaven! We did so many fun things while they were in town, and ate lots of seafood!! :)

Trick-or-treating in the neighborhood!

the Ladybug and Belle!

Trick-or-Treating downtown Gig Harbor!

on our way to go trick-or-treating

Grammie and Grandpa with Elizabeth and Carley on the harbor!

One of Elizabeth's many costumes the week of Halloween! This was her costume to her ballet class!

Elizabeth's preschool class took a field trip to a pumpkin patch! It was so fun for the girls to have friends to run around with and play!

Elizabeth's preschool class!!! These are some great kids!!

Carley picked out her pumpkin!

These three girls are the best of friends!!! Emilie, Madison and Elizabeth love to be together!

Elizabeth, Carley, and I took a trip to California to see some good friends in October! It was nice to see our friends and enjoy some warm weather!!

Elizabeth and Molly playing...

...while Elizabeth and Samantha get to swim!!

The girls cuddled while watching Tinker Bell.

Carley playing outside with the big girls.

Elizabeth and Samantha playing doctor.

Carley getting some exercise :)

We took the girls to a pumpkin patch in the beginning of October!!! The weather was perfect and the girls loved running around in all the pumpkins!! It was a perfect fall day!

Carley loved all the little pumpkins :)

Elizabeth loved doing the sling shot with Daddy! They got pretty close too!

Family photo at the pumpkin patch!

We love living in Gig Harbor!!! It has been such a beautiful place to explore, and the fall was very colorful! Here are a few pictures of Gig Harbor and the view!

This is the picture of the harbor in the fall!

And, this is a picture of Mt. Rainier from the drive to our house...breathtaking!!!

Look who got a new Dora car!!

Elizabeth helped Carley open the presents!

Big smiles for Mickey Mouse!!

Elizabeth was so excited for Carley's birthday! She actually woke up early and came running into our room saying it was Carley's birthday. It was the cutest thing!! Such loving sisters!!!

BIRTHDAY GIRL!!!!

Here comes the birthday cake!

Carley loved the cake!!! Can you tell?

Sharing cake with her little friend Selah!

We took a weekend trip to Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands of Washington. It was so amazing!!! We took a boat from Port Townsend to the harbor. It was actually the last weekend of the whale watching season, so unfortunately the whales had already traveled north into Canada...I guess we will just have to do it again next year!! But, the whole trip was so awesome and we got to see so many beautiful things. On the way to the harbor we stopped to see some Harbor Seals and Stellar Sea Lions!! And then on the way back the next day we got to see Deception Pass!! It was a great trip and we really LOVED Friday Harbor! Can't wait to go back!

Deception Pass!

Walking around the marina...sooo many beautiful boats!

Elizabeth loves to throw pennies in fountains and make a wish!!! I think she wished for it to stop raining....and it did!! :)

The harbor...it was a beautiful day!!!

This was the little hotel we stayed at in Friday Harbor, it was more of a B&B and it was amazing!!!

I am really liking the fog in the Pacific Northwest...it seems so mysterious!!!!

Stellar Sea Lions...they are huge!! They can weigh like 2000 lbs...they were so neat to see!!!

Harbor seals laying on the beach!

Elizabeth started her first day of preschool on September 15th!! She LOVES it!

We decided on a whim to go to Mt. Rainier when we knew it was going to be a nice day! Unfortunately, we headed that way right after Elizabeth got her 4 year shots (5 of them!!!)! Probably not the best idea, but she was an amazing trooper...never complained about the shots and did the whole hike on her own! It was a great day!

We stopped for a picnic at this beautiful lake on our way!!

This is Mt. Rainier from the road! She is so beautiful that Nathan has actually been told at work to not stare at the mountain because it can cause wrecks! I totally believe that, because on a clear day when you see her it is AMAZING!!!

Dad was such a sport carrying Carley for the hike...yay!

Family picture...I think I can get used to the beautiful scenery!!

This is a picture of the glaciers that form at the top!

the hike and scenery were so amazing!!!

stopping at a bench for a little break

This was a Saturday morning around the house...they are so funny together!

Carley loves to sit in the Dora chair and eat Cherrios!

We finally had Elizabeth's little party to celebrate her 4th birthday!!! We had a few close friends over for dinner and birthday festivities! Elizabeth had a wonderful birthday!!

This is the view from our backyard...I LOVE it!

birthday cake

These sisters LOVE each other!!!

Birthday Girl!!!!