Kicking some Boston Butt

I woke up early this morning to being cooking a Boston Butt on my grill.  It took around 4 hours to complete.  I started off by rubbing my butt (ok, now that I got that out of the way).  I started off by covering every inch of the meat with a homemade rub.  Then I took a handful of hickory chips and wrapped what looked like a tin foil burrito (I made 5 of these).  I got the grill going at around 325 degrees, placed a hickory burrito into the flame, and placed the Boston Butt on the grill.  I had to replace the hickory burritos once every hour.  4 hours later was juicy goodness.

My favorite part of making the BBQ was all the "Butt" jokes.  
James:  "Mom, dad is outside rubbing his butt with spices
Me:  "Boys, who wants to bite my butt?
Nolan: "Dad, your butt is yummy"
Levi:  "I'm biting dad's Butt"
Heather:  "You are all ridiculous"

James and the middle finger

Tonight during dinner I asked my boys how their day was, and James decided to tell a story.

"Dad, on the bus there is a boy, and he is like this."  James holds up both his hands with each middle finger bend down.  "He only has 8 fingers.  Some of my friends are afraid of him, but I'm not.  I think he is nice.  I think that's the way all peoples hands should be.  Dad, did you know that the middle finger is a cuss word.  I think God made him like that because God loves him, and he made it easy for him to not say cuss words.

A Very Phillips/Riddle Thanksgiving

The kids table
(James, Nolan, Levi, and  cousin Josh)

This was a very special thanksgiving for me, and I was unaware how much it was going to mean to me until it had past.  For the past few months I have been working on the house in which I grew up.  My parents brought me home from the hospital in this house.  The trees I climbed as a kid are still here (Way to big for me to climb, but they are still here).  There is a piece of concrete at the entrance of the house with the hand prints of my sister and I in it with the year 1981 written with a twig (I was 8 years old).  This house has all of my childhood memories locked in it, and it is especially meaningful that the work on the house was complete enough to have thanksgiving dinner here.

A very juicy grilled turkey

I can't figure out all the words to express what the dinner meant to me.  It was the first time my parents and my in-laws sat for a meal together since the reception at my wedding.  It was the first time since I moved back to North Myrtle Beach that my Father has visited the house for a social reason rather than working on the stucco, crawling under the house to fix the plumbing, or trying to figure out some electrical issues.  It was also the first thanksgiving where I was the one who welcomed everyone to the table, thanked everyone for coming, and prayed for the food.

And then the food...

Everything was awesome.  Mom's sweet potatoes, Heather's Peanut-butter pie, and there is something nostalgic (and very tasty) about my Fathers dressing. But...my father-in-law cooked a turkey on my grill for 5 hours, and it was unbelievable.  My one mess up was that I forgot to put the cranberry sauce on the table, but now I have two cans of cranberry sauce to eat with the leftovers! Yummy!

Nolan sleeping on the roof

We recently were given a plastic playhouse for the boys and they have been loving it.  Nolan (age 5) enjoys the roof.  While James and Levi are running around and shooting each other through the windows of their "fort," Nolan spends his time climbing on top of the roof then climbing or jumping down. While James and Levi were running all over the place Heather went to speak to Nolan as he was laying on the roof,... again.

"Hey Spiderman!"

Nolan looked at Heather and said, "I think the roof of this house is my favorite place in the world.  You know Mom, Spiderman used to sit on roofs all the time.  He liked climbing buildings too.  I'm just like Spiderman because I like climbing and sitting on roofs, and I can stick to the roof and I can stick to anything."

Not a picture of my kids

James Skating

Another old blog I never posted

Dad:     James, why do we fall?
James:   (Through his tears) why?
Dad:     So that you can get back up.

A special thanks to the movie the "Batman begins" for the parenting tips.

Levi learns the facts of life

My wife is pregnant...That's right...and yes again!  Now be quiet and read the cute story about Levi.

My wife is pregnant, and she and my youngest son  Levi (3 years old) have been arguing about the baby.  Anytime we talk about the baby Levi simply says, “we are not having a baby”.  Finally Levi has conceded the fact that Heather was pregnant.

Levi:  So we are having a baby soon.

Heather:  No, not soon it will be a long time from now.

Levi:  Will we get the baby from the store?

Heather:  No! Mommy is making the baby, and it is in her stomach.

Levi:  (With a puzzled look) YOU ATE THE BABY!  That’s not very nice.

Most kids who are around their pregnant Mom have a moment like this, but my favorite part of this story is the matter-of-fact way Levi said..."That's not very nice".

The Top Ten Things I Treasure From the Dolin Wedding

I wrote this on paper a few months ago.  Not sure why I did not post it earlier, but here it is.

I was asked by Troy Dolin and Jenny Roberts (currently Jenny Dolin) to be the officiant at their wedding.  I was blessed to be apart of this.

The Top Ten Things I Treasure From the Dolin Wedding
10.  The groom and groomsmen were upfront alone for 10 minutes when Donald Stephens called out, "Troy, I don't think she is coming".
9.   I called Troy "Roy" during the vows.
8.   When Jenny, Troy, and I signed the marriage license.  From a legal standpoint that is when they were married.
7.   Some of her close friends catcalled the maid of honor, Katie Kavanaugh, as she came down the aisle.  As she past me I heard her say, "What a bunch of jerks".
6.   At the reception Katie and Troy were called forward for the first dance.  (Sorry Jenny)
5.   During the Maid of Honor's speech while Katie talked about what a great friend and accountability partner Jenny was, Jenny was talking to someone else.
4.   During the vows I told Troy to take Jenny's right hand with his right hand.  If you would have seen the level of confusion with the process, you would have thought I asked him to disarm a nuclear weapon.
3.   I got to talk about sex during the sermon.
2.   Jenny was beautiful in her dress.
1.   As the officiant I got to say "Dearly Beloved", "I pronounce you man and wife", "You may kiss the bride", and I was the last person on earth to correctly call Jenny, "Jennifer Rae Roberts".

Thanks again Troy and Jenny.  It was a huge blessing.