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.

Happy Easter! We had a great time with my family and got plenty of candy from the Easter Bunny. Porter learned how to play "duck duck goose" with his cousins and ran around screaming every time someone said "goose." The boys also got some new Easter clothes and looked so handsome!

We've had a fun time with animals lately. We went to the zoo and had a great time there. I also trapped a spider under a cup because I was too scared to squish it and was waiting for Matt to get home to do the job but Porter was sooo intrigued with it I bought a bug box so he could enjoy it a little more. He thought it was so cool seeing the spider crawl around and he was sure it was a girl.
Matt was afraid it was a hobo spider so he got rid of it after Porter went to bed and now we're trying to find a new bug to keep.

Zac is starting to adore his older brother. He gets a huge smile on his face whenever Porter talks to him. So far Porter still really likes Zac too and we hope that doesn't change.

Well there have been two major updates in our family over the past week or so. First, my dad just got his liver transplant last night and everything went well. Thanks to God and everyone's prayers. The surgery went very well due to the fact that, like my brother, he's not normal. The other big update is that our house is for sale. We are looking to take advantage of the low mortgage rates and get something a little roomier with a bigger yard. Porter takes it pretty serious when I take his nose and eat it. Enjoy the new photos- one of these days we'll actually post some pictures of Michelle and I and not just the kids.

Finally got some nice pictures of Zac taken, compliments of our friend, Mindy Black. Aren't they so cute?

We took an unexpected trip to California in January. Matt had 6 days in a row off just by chance so we decided to make the drive and get some sun. It's crazy how much Zac has grown in so little time. He's even chubbier now than what these pictures show.

Thanksgiving

Happy late Thanksgiving! Porter loves being a big brother and has had no trouble adjusting to any lack of attention. Whenever Zac cries he goes up and comforts him by saying, "It's ok, it's ok. I know, I know."

We went to a dinosaur museum the day after Thanksgiving. Porter had a lot of fun and Zac enjoyed napping. We also put up our Christmas stuff including a new train around the tree which Porter loves to watch for hours and hours.