Porterhouse

Summer 2010

2010-08-14T17:27:00.000-07:00

We went hiking up High Creek Canyon. My cute Grandpa pulled over on the way up and showed the kids how he catches fish with his bare hands! It was pretty neat to watch.

Cute little cousins

HAPPY 4TH!
Sparklers on the front porch

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARSON! #6

Carson wanted a Phineas and Ferb birthday party. It turned out really cute and he had a great day.

THE CAKE

THE PRESENTS

THE PINATA

Trying to explode the "Bomb" that Doofenshmirtz had planted to ruin the party

We set up a "Agent P" training course in the back yard to get them ready to battle the evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz

PARTY FRIENDS

NEW BIKE

AIR SHOW
We had a great time at the Air show in Idaho!

Backyard trampoline fun

BEAR LAKE

We had a great time spending the day at the lake. The weather was perfect and the company was wonderful! Thanks Heather and Emily! And yes...that is a boobie poking out of Ellies suit. I put it on her for the first time and ~ SURPRISE~! I couldn't believe that it was cut like that! Too funny.

JENSEN HISTORICAL FARM
The kids got to milk the cow, gather the eggs, feed the chicks, ride a pony & train, pan for gold and learn to throw the tomahawk! This place was so much fun. There was hardly anyone else there so we had the place to ourselves. We got to see some adorable baby animals and had a great day. We didn't get to do this in L.A! haha!

2010-05-29T14:29:00.000-07:00

Ava Belle Porter~2 weeks

On the countdown

2010-04-09T08:49:00.000-07:00

With only a couple weeks left to go I am having such mixed emotions...
I am scared of the actual Labor, scared to think of how in the world I am going to have a 2 year old and a newborn plus 2 boys that are at each other all day long (school being out soon should bring even more action around this house)! I look at all these "supermoms" that are doing it and make it look so effortless, and I just cross my fingers that some how I'll survive the next few months, let alone be doing it "super"!!
On the other hand...
I am pretty excited to have this little one out! Laying in bed exhausted, but unable to fall asleep, at 2 am because of indigestion is getting a little old. Along with a pinched nerve that likes to keep paying a visit, a achy belly, having no clothes that fit quite right etc etc. You all know the fun things that happen at 9 months along! And then comments that make you feel extra great about how you are looking, like this:

"I feel just like you look."
"Hows that?"
"FAT!"

Oh the joys of pregnancy...........
Its a good thing these little babies are so sweet and loveable! It makes it all worth it.

Happy Birthday Ellie!

2010-04-08T14:31:00.000-07:00

My baby is 2! Where did that time go?! Ellie was born in Pasadena on Easter Sunday. We chose her name in honor of her great-grandma Eleanor. And the day she was born happened to be her Great-great grandma Ella's birthday as well. So that was really neat. Ellie has been such a little sweetheart to have in our family. She loves her big brothers and tries her very best to fit in as one of the boys. She doesn't want me to do her hair, won't play with dolls & has no idea who any of the "princesses" are. She does like to push her new stroller around the house, but only if there is no baby in it! She has a major crush on Luigi. Her favorite birthday present was her Nintendo pj's (just like Cole and Carsons). She cried and cried unless I let her wear them over her clothes during the day. I had to laugh the other day as I thought about how I was so excited to have a little girl to dress all up, do her hair cute and all that fun stuff. And there I was walking around the store with Ellie in her Mario pj's, her hair a total mess holding a Luigi toy! She is too funny. Ellie has these dark brown eyes that just melt my heart and loves to sing the "I love you" song from Barney with each other. She loves her daddy and gets so excited to see him when he comes home from work. And her brothers are her best friends. We are so blessed to have her! Happy Birthday Ellie!

2010-03-09T21:50:00.000-08:00

I am having a great time tricking Bryan that I am posting some awesome pictures of him on here. He is all wound up, and I am having a great laugh. When actually, sorry to disappoint, but all you are going to see is a couple of pics that I have actually managed to take latley. I have been terrible about remembering to take my camera with me!

The boys woke up early and went right downstairs to finish playing their Wii game. They were so excited to have beat this level, that they had to have me take their picture.

Every morning Ellie has to put some sort of "costume" on. She comes walking out looking hilarious all the time. Its either the fireman hat, the coon skin fur hat, swim goggles, the boys underwear.........

Playing in the backyard

A little backyard football with some buddies

So I can't get these 2 little guys to be friends during the day. They argue and constantly fight. And then bedtime comes around.... and suddenly they can't get enough of each other. They are in their room laughing and talking, having a great old time. So the other night, I walk in to see Carson sitting up on Coles bunk and he looks and me innocently and says,"What mom? We're just having fun!?" I think these are two smart little cookies who have figured out how to get away with staying up late! I am just so happy to see them being friends and playing together that they know that it melts my heart and I can't be mad! Now if I could only get them to play like this during the day......

Cruise Pics...

2009-12-06T22:28:00.001-08:00

We went on a cruise for our 10 year anniversary. We had a blast! It was a long overdue getaway. Here are a couple pics...
Thanks Dad, for letting Bryan borrow this "cool" cruise shirt that he kept trying to wear! I will get even somehow...

We snorkled right out here (Lovers Beach in Cabo). It was so amazing!

Ultrasound

2009-12-06T22:27:00.001-08:00

ITS A GIRL!!! YAY!

Summertime '09

2009-10-20T11:03:00.000-07:00

A bunch of random pics from over the summer...

Minnetonka Cave

Idaho State Fair

Boating/Jet skiing in Idaho with my cute cousins

Carsons first day of Kindergarten

What! Seriously, how does a girl wake up with this bad of bed head?

We made a big mud pit in the backyard under the deck. What a fun MESS!

Coles first day of 1st grade

Backyard water fun

Demolition Derby in Preston. The boys LOVED it. They even went down on the field and joined in on the dance contest.

We spent the day checking out some of the Waterfalls in the area

Ellie finally has a spot for her crib! She had been in a pac-n-play in our room in Cali. And now she has her own room and slept in a crib for the first time. I think I'm alot more excited than she is!

Cole lost his 2 front teeth. He was really happy until he realized he couldn't eat corn on the cob.

Pocatello Museum

Baby #4

2009-09-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

Surprise, Surprise! The word is out that we are expecting another baby in April! We had so much fun telling the boys. They were so excited. I am feeling pretty nervous about adding another to the brood and wondering how I am going to keep up with one more! Moms should have been born with 4 hands. I think my excitement level will go up quite a bit as soon as the nausea passes! Right now, I'm just tired of feeling sick!

"Country Boy"

2009-08-04T22:42:00.000-07:00

Cole and I went hiking with my sisters and their families. We rode the 4-wheeler up to the base of High Creek Canyon and hiked from there. Cole loved it. He turned around and said,"Mom, now I'm a country boy instead of a city kid huh!" He was hitting the side of the 4-wheeler and saying "Cmon Texas!", like he was on a horse or something. It was hilarious! We hiked all the way up to the waterfall at the top. It was long, hot, and absolutely BEAUTIFUL! The water comes from a spring where you can fill up your canteen with icy, cold, water straight out of the ground and drink it up! It was a great day. Cole was such a trooper about the long hike and never complained. He practically skipped up that mountain. We made some fun memories.

Happy Birthday Carson!

2009-07-29T21:32:00.000-07:00

Carson turned 5! I can't believe it. He will be starting Kindergarten this year! Whenever I asked him what he wanted for his birthday the only thing he would say was he wanted me to make him a "majora's mask" cake. It is something off of the game Zelda for those of you, who like me said, what in the world is majoras mask! I tried my best to sway this idea to something else, but he was adamant! So I gave it my best shot. (Hold the chuckling please when you view the photo.) I think he had a great day. Grandma Jill, Kellen, Heidi & Wyatt, Becky, Grandpa & Grandma Porter, Kia, and Grandma Nor all came up for the Party. Happy Birthday Carson Bug! We love you!

2009-07-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

I am feeling very "homesick" today for our life in California! I guess it probably takes awhile to adjust to a new place. There are so many things I love about our new home, but so much I am missing from the past. Here are a few pics of friends & places that I miss and of fun days gone by...

Santa Monica Beach

California Adventures

Football field nights

Manhattan Beach Days

Long Beach

San Diego Zoo

Dodger Game

What a cute group of kids!

Best Buddies

Love these girls!

Graduation!

2009-06-23T22:40:00.001-07:00

What a crazy, exciting week for our family! Bryan graduated Dental school! It was a fun, but very busy, week. Tues. night Bryan and I got to attend a banquet where Bryan got inducted into the Honor Society. Thurs. night was a nice awards banquet at the downtown Marriott where Bryan received the Removable Prosthodontics Award. Bryan's parents and Cole were able to attend so that was extra special. And then Friday was the big day where he got his diploma. Bryan was a hard working student and still always made time for our family. I am just so happy for him on his big accomplishment. It was a lot of good and also hard times for our family, with lots of blessings and also lots of sacrificing.
Somehow in the middle of all of the celebration & saying good-byes we had to find the time to pack up our apartment to move the next day. We ended up sending the moving trailer home with all of our belongings except for a couple airbeds and a suitcase. (Thanks Dad for all your help!!) Which we lived out of for the next 10 days until we came. It is so wonderful to be done, but so hard to believe our time in California is over. We were blessed with amazing friends while we were there that were such a great support network for us. It made it hard to leave.

Dancing with the Stars

2009-05-07T20:13:00.000-07:00

Alyssa, Kim and I had tickets to go to Dancing with the Stars! Woo-hoo! We were so excited! So we get our husbands to commit to staying with the kids and head down to Hollywood. Then waited in line (in 100 degree weather) for 3 and a half hours only to make it right up to the entrance and be told that they had just filled the last seats!! I couldn't believe it! It was so disappointing! They did tell us that we could have guaranteed tickets to another taping later. But being able to have a whole day open and line up someone for the kids doe'st happen to often! So I wasn't holding my breath that I'd make it back down again. The picture above is us in the car heading home feeling totally let down...

Fast forward to the following week...On my way to Dancing with the Stars with Dori! I've got my GUARENTEED ticket in hand. So I am feeling pretty good. We wait in line again for another 3 hours, BUT, we get in so it was all worth it. And then once we got inside the studio, they move us to the front row right behind the judges! It was awesome. We had so much fun.

2009-05-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

With our move just right around the corner I think my feelings about it would be best summed up with one word. Bittersweet. I am so sad to leave our wonderful little "bubble" that we live in here in So. Cal. It is going to be so hard to say goodbye to amazing friends, warm sunshine all year, the sandy beach, Disneyland trips, Sunday "Fremont Football field" walks, the list goes on and on! So I decided I better focus on the "sweet" things ahead so I don't have to think of the "bitterness" of good-byes! And here is my top 3...
1. I am ECSTATIC to be the proud owner (in the near future) of a WASHER and DRYER!! With 3 kids I am doing my share of laundry these days. And I have had my days of carrying my laundry hamper on one hip, a baby on the other, and 2 fighting boys in tow only to get to the coin machine and realize it is already being used! ARGG!
2. A little patch of grass. I'm not asking much, I'll even settle for just a little. The idea of having a backyard seems HEAVENLY! It will be so nice to have some space for these kids of mine to play! Our apartment can seem pretty small sometimes with no backdoor to send them out...
(However, I do have to admit we have had some awesome memories down there on our little patch of pavement! Sidewalk chalk, splashing in the inflatable mini pool/turtle sprinkler, scooter riding around and around in the same little circle, and us moms sitting in the back of the mini van.)
3. And last, but not least, I get to quit my job!! Scrubbing flights of steps by hand with a little scrub brush is fun and all, but....

So off to new adventures we go. But taking with us some wonderful memories. And you know, I think probably no matter what stage of life you are in, the grass can always seem greener on the other side. I just might get that washer and dryer and still not be thrilled about the pile of dirty laundry callling my name!

People I love!

2009-04-20T23:50:00.000-07:00

I feel so blessed to have been born into such a wonderful family. I learn so much from each one of them and their awesome examples to me. I never cease to be amazed at the gifts each one of them has been blessed with. Each one of them is an inspiration to me in their own way. They show me by the way that they live what it means to rely and trust in our Savior as we learn and grow throughout lifes experiances.

My sister Heather

Grandma & Grandpa (aren't they so cute!)

My sister Heidi (in one of her modeling shoots. Hottie Hottie!)

My sis Katy & her hubby Jeff

My 3 favorite, awesome, amazing Bro's-Steve, Shane & Kellen.

Shane and cute nephew Wyatt

Our cute Grandma "Nor"

The two most unselfish people I know...my Mom & Dad!

Our Baby is One!!

2009-03-24T21:28:00.000-07:00

Wow. Time sure does fly. I think that has been the fastest year of my life! Ellie turned one year old. She was born on Easter last year so we made her a bunny cake. She absolutley LOVED it. It was so fun to watch her. She has been such a blessing in our family. I can't imagine our life without her. We love you Ellie!

Little peice of heaven

2009-03-19T23:06:00.000-07:00

I had one of those moments in time yesterday where I was just overcome with gratitude for the blessings in my life. Bryan and I had taken the kids to the park. The temperature was PERFECT. The trees are in bloom here and covered in beautiful pink flowers. There was a little breeze and it was blowing some of the blossoms off of the tree. It made the air smell so sweet with perfume. I had Ellie on my shoulders and the boys were running around laughing. I had to take a step back and just soak it all in. I just wanted to pause that moment. It just hit me how blessed I am. Riding home we had the windows down feeling the warm air on our skin, and looking at a gorgeous sun setting behind the palm trees. And I just felt so grateful to be alive! To be here with my family that I love so much. Sometimes I get so busy living life with all the hustle and stress of trying to get everything done, that I forget how wonderful it is just to be here! And how important it is to have those great moments together as a family as much as possible. Needless to say...today I made sure to find the time to just lay on the grass with my boys and watch the clouds go by.

Pocatello, here we come!

2009-03-16T22:31:00.000-07:00

We are so excited that Bryan has been accepted into the AEGD program at Idaho State!

From the big city...
to wide open spaces!

Good Times

2009-02-01T00:06:00.000-08:00

Grandma Jill, Heather, Anli and Sadie came and stayed with us. It was so much fun to have them here. Now if only the sun would have come out for them! It was overcast the whole time! We went to the beach, Disneyland, Arboratum, Aquarium and the Flea Market. One of my favorite things was watching these two babies crawl around in the sand together. It was adorable! Thanks for coming guys! Love you!

Santa Anita Horse Races

2009-01-31T23:52:00.000-08:00

This is the first horse races I have ever been to. It was so much fun. We live so close to this and drive by it all the time. I can't believe it took us this long to go! The boys loved it. It is the racetrack where the famous Seabiscut raced.

Long Beach Aquarium

2009-01-31T23:29:00.001-08:00

It was a perfect day at the Aquarium. The weather was gorgeous, 82 degrees. We had gone the week before with Grandma Jill and Heather and it was pouring rain (sorry guys). So it felt nice to have the sunshine this time. We spent the whole day there looking around and enjoying the day.

Feeding the Lorikeet birds

Ellie loved the fish

Queen Mary. (What a bunch of cute boys)

Happy 2009!

2009-01-01T23:16:00.000-08:00

We went down to the Rose Bowl on New Years Eve with our good friends the Bates. We got to take a sneak peek at some of the floats for the Tournament of Roses Parade. It is amazing to see these floats up close like this! They are gorgeous covered in all those flowers! (The picture below is of the Asimo robot float.)

Christmas Vacation!

2008-12-30T21:43:00.000-08:00

We are having so much fun on Christmas break. We went to Utah to visit our families but unfortunatley, I forgot to pack the camera so I have no pics to document the good times! Cole had a blast sledding down the huge hills behind Grandmas house. There was SO much snow! It was beautiful seeing everything covered in white. The day after we got home we packed a lunch and spent the day at the Arboratum. After the cold Utah weather, the sun felt so good! It was the perfect day. Cole said, "Mom, this is one of the best days of my life." So sweet. Playing in the leaves
"Catawampus"

We hiked to the top of this little waterfall

The leaves were Gorgeous!

Feeding the ducks

There is the most amazing plants there

Climbing trees

2008-12-15T23:25:00.000-08:00

I have posted a few of the hair bows I make on a blog. You can take a peek at http://www.tickledpinkbowtique.blogspot.com/

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-28T22:57:00.000-08:00

This is our fourth Thanksgiving being here and away from our family. I can't believe how quickly time goes. We had our Thanksgiving dinner here at our apartment together. Bryan is quite the chef when it comes to cooking his famous Turkey. I thought I might die from holding in my laughter while watching him baby that thing. I seriously think he took it out and basted it at least 10 times. But sure enough it did turn out super moist and awesome like always. After dinner we went and played a little golf together. Then we came home, popped a little popcorn, and watched Space Chimps with the kids. It turned out to be a really fun day. I love Thanksgiving for the opportunity it gives me to focus on everything I have to be Thankful for. Here is a small list of a few blessings I've had on my mind.
-I feel so blessed to have such wonderful parents. I can't imagine them parenting any better than the way they did. I had a great childhood because of them. They are a never ending example to me.
-The Gospel. I am so grateful to belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. I am grateful for the knowledge that it gives me that we have a Savior who loves us and died for us. The opportunity it gave me to enter the temple to be sealed for time and all eternity to my family. And for a prophet here on the earth to guide us.
-My family. I don't think I ever realized how much a heart could love someone until I had kids. I am so grateful for my 3 little sweethearts and a wonderful husband.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Bryan cooked this mini turkey and set it in front of Ellie just to be funny. She was ready to dig in!

Cole lost his first tooth!

2008-11-22T21:46:00.000-08:00

Cole lost his first tooth a couple of weeks ago and was so excited. It came out the same day as his best friends that lives downstairs so they thought that was pretty neat. It was kind of an emotional moment for me! Just realizing that my little boy is growing up and isn't going to be little forever. I just want to push the pause button on life sometimes and enjoy this phase a little longer. Where my boys still love to give me hugs and snuggle. And wake up in the morning and hear Cole say, "Did you have a good sleep and good dreams Mom?" And then hug my leg. Or Carsons "I wuv you mom" in his gruff little way. It's just a blink away before they'll be a teenagers and probably be telling me to get out of their room and stop bothering them! So sad! But there are those days (all to often) when Cole and Carson are fighting so bad that I'm going NUTS! So I guess the point of it all is just to realize that each season of life has it's own set of challenges. So I better just enjoy the one I'm in. Both the Hugs AND the fighting.

2 weeks later... Tooth #2 came out! That tooth fairy is keeping busy.

Ellie is getting so big!

2008-11-22T21:29:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how fast time is going! Ellie is already 8 months. She is getting all around the house with her own little unique version of crawling. She says "dada", and I can't leave the room without her starting to cry and say "MOM" over and over. She still isn't sleeping through the night. I get up with her on average 4 times still. I am at wits end on what to do! It's so hard to let her "cry it out" when we are living in a small apartment because then the whole house is up! Not to mention worrying about it keeping up the neighbors. And ok, I admit it, I am a softie. It breaks my heart to hear her cry. All I can say is it's a good thing she is such a cutie to make up for my lack of sleep! So if I seem a little crazy,dazed or downright grouchy sometimes...please blow it off as lack of sleep! Hopefully soon I'll be back to my old self sometime soon!

Family night

2008-11-18T23:14:00.000-08:00

Cole and Carson wanted to play Yahtzee for Family night. They LOVE to play this together. I think half of the fun is shaking the dice in the cup. They get really into it and shake and shake and shake...get the picture? It is so cute to watch how serious they get on trying for the perfect roll of the dice. Nothing like those Monday night board games!

Beach Bonfire

2008-11-18T22:51:00.000-08:00

We went to a bonfire down at the beach over the weekend and had so much fun. The boys roasted marshmellows and played in the sand and watched the airplanes taking off. (We were at Manhattan beach which is right by LAX). As much as I love a good campfire up in the mountains, I have to say a fire at the beach takes the cake. All the fun without the worry of bats, bears, mountain lions ect. Okay, I know I'm exaggerating. But I did like the idea of being able to see all around and know nothing was lurking in the forest around me. We had a great time.

2008-11-06T21:44:00.000-08:00

Here is a few snapshots of Ellie to keep the Grandmas happy!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-05T23:37:00.000-08:00

Cole and Carson decided that they wanted to dress up as mummies this year. Ellie was a little ladybug. We went trick or treating with a group of our friends from our building. The houses here go all out with the decorations, it is AMAZING. I've never seen anything like it. We had so much fun going from house to house just to see what cool thing the next one would have! (The skeleton in the picture above was walking around in the yard. It was as tall as the first peak on the roof of the house!) The weather was perfect outside, which is so nice considering the memories I have of freezing in the snow in Utah on halloween!

Our new little additon

2008-10-31T16:20:00.000-07:00

Ellie was born in March. She weighed 7 pds. 13 oz. She has been such a blessing to our home. She was named after our Grandma Eleanor (Love you grandma!). She has such a happy personality. The boys absolutely love her and are so sweet to her. And it has been so much fun for me to have some pink in our house!