Porter's Big 4th

For Porter's birthday this year we went to the zoo and to Pirate Island Pizza with Grammy, Grandpa and Aunt Angie. We all had so much fun! We will have a party this Sunday with most of my side and have cake and ice cream. Here are some pictures of the day:

Here is a video that isn't very high quality but if you listen carefully you can hear how excited Porter was to open his first present.

A Camping We Will Go

We went with Matt's parents, aunt and uncle camping close to Yellowstone Park this past week. The boys had a blast and it was so fun to spend time with family we don't get to see very often. We were all filthy by the end but it was worth it!

There was some sort of horse club camped next to us and Porter went over and asked to pet the horses. The people were so nice and told him he could ride one. Zac wasn't too sure about it, though...

We played paddle ball and horse shoes which Porter dubbed "horse foot". Aunt Shauna also gave the boys bubble guns and that was a HUGE hit.

Porter really wanted to go fishing which was nice since that's what Pop Pop does best. Pop Pop helped him catch a fish and he caught a Daddy all on his own.

This was the beautiful view we had.

A lot of time was spent by the river. We couldn't keep poor Aunt Shauna out of it! She just had to take a sudden swim while retrieving the boys ball that bounced across to the other side. What a dedicated aunt!

And we couldn't leave home without Porter teaching Zac how best to water the forest plants. He's got quite the green thumb. :)

24th of July and Eye Wear

We celebrated the 24th of July at my sister, Hollie's house. The kids had a ton of fun lighting and watching the fireworks. Now Porter wants to do it every night and doesn't understand why we can't.

When Porter gets really excited he clasps his hands together and shakes, as shown here:

These are Zac's cool new hat and sun glasses. He was starting to notice that brother had a hat and glasses but he didn't. We found them on clearance and now we're all happy.

These are Porter's new goggles he earned. The first day he got them he wouldn't take them off. He couldn't quite get the hang of breathing through his mouth...

And this is Zac laughing at Porter in his new goggles.

Here's a video of some of our firework fun:

Slip N Slide

Porter really wanted a pool this summer so we had him do extra things so he could earn "monies" to buy one. The cashier at Walmart thought he was so cute when he pulled the pennies from his pocket and put them on the couter to pay, she had other cashiers come over and look. So now we have the pool and decided it would be fun to put the slide in it. He has been having so much fun!


Porter's friend Megan has shown him how to hold his breath under water and he's currently earning more "monies" so he can get a pair of goggles like hers.

Not only is it fun to swim in, it doubles as a bug catcher. They like seeing all the different bugs and decide which ones are worth saving and which ones are better left to their fate.

Zac doesn't care to swim but he loves watching from the side lines, munching on Circus Peanuts.

Here's some footage of the fun he has.

The Kids

Well, apparently nobody wants to read about Matt and me because we got chewed out for not putting more pics and stories about the kiddos on here. So this is a post especially for those whiners in the peanut gallery who don't care about their siblings, just their nephews. :)

This is Porter and our 9 year old next door neighbor, Megan. She is his favorite best friend and there are days where they spend 10 hours together. They just go back and forth between houses and I have a sneaking suspicion that they get Popsicles and snacks at both places. For Mother's Day he came in with a handful of tulips from the front yard for me, convinced they would continue growing in the house. Such a sweet guy!





Porter is getting into pirates but is holding on to Mickey Mouse too. For his birthday he says he wants a pirate Mickey Mouse cake. If anyone has any ideas PLEASE let me know!


And here is Zac, our little cheeser. He doesn't know many words but "pop" is one of them. You can't open a can without his super Zac hearing picking up on it.




And for our concluding photo we have the boys "playground" in the backyard. We finally got the slide after being back ordered two months so now they've got that, the teeter totter and the "jumpoline" to play on. It's so nice just sending them out back for the afternoon!


I hope this appeases those of you who have been deprived of our children. I apologize for any inconvenience that was created.

Hawaii

Matt's parents took us to Hawaii for their 40th anniversary and it was amazing! No kids were allowed so my parents watched the boys while we went and played. We had a lot of fun and really enjoyed relaxing for a week. Here are some pics: