Well, we're a little behind with the blogging. I've been a little crazy trying to get things under my belt with my new church calling (2nd counselor in the young women's program) and with birthdays and the holidays. But I've finally made time to get these pictures on here.

Porter is starting to earn a little cash when he does a big job for me. As soon as he gets it we're off to the store to buy a 97 cent Hot Wheels car.

Little Zac is now a big one hear old! He is still only crawling but he's started to take on the stairs and is anxious to get his point across by pointing and grunting.

Matt also had a birthday and is now a decrepit 30 year old. :) I threw a dinky surprise party for him but didn't get any pictures.

And here are our two little apple snatchers. Porter sneaks them from the fridge all the time and sometimes he'll even share with Zac.

Family Pics 2009

We had our friend, Mindy Black, take our family pictures again this year. We had a heck of a time getting Porter to be still and smile so in a lot of them you can see the strain in our faces but we got a few good ones that will make it to our walls and that's all we needed! Any grandma's or aunts that would like me to print you off any of these for your home viewing pleasure just let me know... Enjoy!

Mommy's Day

The day after my birthday, since he was working the day of, Matt dedicated the day to me and I was able to do whatever I felt like. I look forward to this every year...

I opted to get pumpkins from a pumpkin patch, go to Gardner Village and eat fudge, and do the traditional lunch at Arctic Circle, which I've been doing since I can remember. Later Matt took me to dinner and to Curtains at Hale Center Theater. Here are some pics from the day. And for those of you who don't check the blog very often, don't miss Porter's birthday post after this one.

I also have to thank my wonderful sister, Angie, for making my actual birthday feel like an actual birthday with cake, dinner and everything. She's amazing! My favorite part of that day was blowing out pretend candles with Porter.

Happy Birthday Porter!

Porter just turned 3 and we were able to celebrate his birthday with both our families this year. We took a trip to California and went to Disney Land and saw Mickey Mouse, then we went to a family reunion where we played games and had a blow up slide, and finally we ended by having a joint birthday party with a pinata! Needless to say by the time we got home we were exhausted!Both of his birthday parties were shared with cousins so we figure 2 half parties make a whole... For the birthday in Utah I made a train cake since both boys are into trains.

Porter and Zac love taking baths together now and Mommy loves cleaning the floor and walls after they're done.

Sunny California

We went to California a couple of weeks ago to visit my parents. We went to the beach, saw some seals, and had a nice relaxing trip. It was a great break from packing/moving and was good to see my family. The best part by far was when Umpa (my grandpa) got his finger pinched by a crab he was messing with and it caught him by surprise. It was hilarious! Here are a few pictures from our trip.

A Featherville Fourth

We went to Featherville, Idaho for the 4th of July. I went last year without Matt but luckily Matt was able to come up a little late and spend a couple of days at the cabin with us. Porter had a blast playing with his cousins and Matt enjoyed holing up with the guys and playing Xbox. Porter also learned how to put out a fire...a picture of that is to come...

Featherville is a tiny town in the Sawtooth mountains and they celebrate the fourth drinking and having their own hick parade. It's a lot of fun and the kids make off with a ton of candy!

It took us 7 hours to drive up there but the boys did pretty well. Porter took naps (notice the half eaten sucker in his hand) and Zac only cried the last 30 minutes or so.

Here's Zac being a nice guy and trying to share his bottle with cousin Brittney.

There's a lot more pictures to come but I haven't gotten them downloaded yet and since I don't know when we'll have internet again I decided I better get these on here while I can. We should be in the new house within the week and I'll get some pictures of that too.

Fun in the Sun!

Today we went to our local rec center for a day of swimming. Actually, it was only an hour because Porter got cold and Zac was tired but it was a fun hour! This place has a ton of fun slides and toys to play on but Porter doesn't like to do much more than sit in the water. He hates getting splashed and yells at kids that run past and get him.



Zac and I stayed on the sidelines and watched while the other two played. Matt says, "I decided my love handles needed a little sun."





As we were leaving Porter said "Bye bye, water! Good morning! Merry Christmas, water!"

On a side note, we sold our house and as long as nothing goes wrong at the last minute we'll be moving in a week or so. We found a house that's technically in Riverton City but it borders Herriman. It's on .33 acres and has a finished basement and 6 bedrooms to grow into. Lots of room for two boys and a dog to run around and we're very excited!

5 Years Already?

Michelle and I just celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary this weekend. We spent it down in "Happy Valley" where we first met. The photo of us on the bridge over the Provo River is the spot where I so cheesily proposed to Michelle. To stay true to the theme we also went to a dollar movie and got pizza for dinner. We did stay at a really nice bed and breakfast called The Hines Mansion. We got the penthouse suite and had a great time. Michelle's sister Angie was nice enough to watch the kids for us overnight so we could have some time alone. It has been a quick yet enjoyable five years and we look forward to many many more years together.

Porter is trying hard to walk in his daddy's footsteps...
and Zac is learning to sit up on his own but he still prefers to be held by his mommy.

Fish, Food and Flowers

Well, in addition to his spiders we got Porter a couple of goldfish when we went to Petsmart for some free dog food. He just loves them to death (Literally? He keeps saying he wants to cook them...) and enjoys feeding them. He has named them in honor of his cousins, Ali and Ty Ty.

Zac is now eating cereal once a day and is getting really good at it. His favorite is to blow bubbles in it when I'm first spooning it in and then immediately shove both hands in his mouth to wash it down. You can't get the full effect of the messiness in the picture but I'm sure most of you have had similar experiences and can imagine.

Matt did a wonderful job of sprucing up our backyard. We did it in hopes of making the house a little more appealing to potential buyers. Why we didn't do it a long time ago is beyond us both. Matt especially has always been unhappy with the way our yard looked and now that we're going to be out of it soon (we hope) it looks nice. But I'm so proud of Matt's visionary skills and the work he did to get it this way. Good job, Honey!

Here's Jack taking a load off...
And our two silly boys.