Thanksgiving 2013

This year was another eventful Thanksgiving that included long board skateboards, a trip to the ER and lots of hat making.  Yep, you read that right a trip to the ER.  Most of you will be glad to know that Tom Porter makes dumb mistakes, just like the rest of us.  Many of you, even him, thought he was exempt from doing so, but this Thanksgiving has proven he is just like the rest of us. 

After some peer pressure from my brother, Tom agreed to be towed behind a car on a skateboard.  They took a turn and Tom swung out to meet head on with a parked car.  Here are the results of that collision.  

 Thankfully nothing was broken (other then his ego).  He got to spend the rest of the vacation with his leg up, watching football, while the rest of us catered to his needs.  It has been weeks now and the healing is coming along.  This is what the leg looked like as of last night.  

I think next year, we will play it a little safer with what we choose to do, at least Tom will.

Donner Lake

Going to Tahoe is becoming sort of a after Christmas tradition in our house.  This year we found an even better cabin to stay in, and it is only slightly larger then the one last year.  We still had the hot tub,  gained a bathroom, and this one was very close to Donner Lake.  Due to the pipes freezing at the error of the owner, we were gifted some free nights this summer and will for sure be back this year.  If you are looking for a fun cabin, let me know and I can send you the owners name and number.

My adorable snowboarding boys.  Can you use adorable and snowboarding in the same sentence?

Not only did we do better this year in cabin size, but we actually got snow, lot's of snow as you can tell from these picture below.

Sean really was having fun, don't let the pout fool you.

Sledding just outside our cabin.

Snow Angels

Donner Lake
I know I always say this, but this place for sure it my new favorite. 

Thanksgiving 2012

This year it was at my Brother Jeff's in Valencia, CA.  I was feeling a great deal of gratitude for my family this year.  It is never a dull moment when we all get together and the cousins never tire of just hanging out.  This years party included my brothers new fiance Jen, the hot tub, lots of Long Boarding, an overly physical soccer game, lots of food, lots of pie, a few tears from tired kids, a few movies (Twilight and James Bond), the X-Box, Capture the flag (in Jeff's house), one broken down van (poor Bailey's), and a dinner out to New Moon. 

The Dessert Table, we are always good at this one.  

The White Team stretching.  This was serious business.  Don't ask what I am doing, I am really not sure.

The soccer game mostly involved large piles of people and many fouls.  I realized early why my brother Jeff chose to ref, rather then play.  

Tom took no mercy on anyone, including me.  I will spare you of photos of my many shin bruises from the love of my life. 

The little kids soccer game that mostly ended up in tears. 

The long boards, these were a hit this year. 

The rugrat neighborhood kids.  Oh wait, that is Andrew and Connor. 

My brother entertained the kids in the hot tub with Simon Says, losers had to jump in the pool. 

The cooks.

Lots of Football.

Good and exhausting times with the Scholz's.  Sorry Jeff if we brought down the property value of your home.

Halloween 2012

Every year I find myself caring less and less about this holiday.  Perhaps next year I need to step it up and put some effort into this one.  If it wasn't for the kids I would probably forget all together.  This year we didn't carve pumpkins, didn't go to a pumpkin patch, and I didn't give it much thought at all.  

I have to admit even in my laziness towards the holiday, Andrew pulled out a great costume made up of stuff in our costume box.  I am not sure he ever decided what he was, but does it matter?  Sean did a series of costume changes through out the day and ended up as Captain America for school and a Knight for Trunk or Treat.  The kids had fun and this year Andrew brought home over 8lbs. of candy, oh joy. 

Kira had a great Halloween as well, I just didn't get one picture of her.  She was busy this year hanging out with friends.  I think she has officially outgrown her family on Halloween.  

Andrew and Luke, crazy Jr. High kids. 

Cap as Sean calls Captain America.  

Sean with his friend Makoto.

Seans favorite activity is killing Andrew.

4th of July

We spent the 4th of July this year at the beach.   Tom found a soft top surf board at Costco and we grabbed it for the kids to learn to surf.  Andrew was first up to give it a try, and after a few gnarly wipe outs and swallowing a gallon of salt water, he decided getting thrashed in the rinse cycle was not his idea of fun.  Perhaps after a few more tries he will be carving up the face, or slamming the lip.  For now, we will hold off in hopes that he will be totally amped to give it another try. 

(Like my surfer lingo I learned from Rhinos Who Surf?)

As for me... 

I spent the day on dry land with this monkey.

After the beach we did the traditional 4th of July celebration which included BBQ and fireworks with the Hanaikes.  I like to the keep the events that include fire top secret as I worry the crazyness could get us in trouble. 

My Valentine

Normally Tom and I are pretty low key when it comes to Valentines Day.  To explain it further, for the past two years we have chosen to do our taxes on Valentines Day, we care that much.   This year, if there was a tally being kept, a point or two would go to Tom.  I thought I was showing my love for Tom with a box of Twinkie's, but he showed up with a box from Tiffany's.   I LOVE that he works downtown near Tiffany's and needs to take a walk to clear his head every now and then.  At this point, Tom you keep clearing your head, it is proving to work well for both of us. 

I did right with picking Tom, maybe not so with the Twinkies. 

Christmas Came Early

Grandma and Grandpa showed up this weekend loaded with gifts (literally).  

Sean got glasses and a Captain America

Andrew got some Books.

Kira got a fuzzy sweater

Tom got a Book.  My mom keeps his library full.

I got the greatest gift of all... planter boxes for my new garden.   Thankfully my dad is handy, and he delivers.

I have to say Tom's doubt in my gardening abilities has only made me more motivated.
Let the gardening begin. 

Oh Christmas Tree

Tom's surf racks have come in handy for many years now.   Not only do they help when transporting boards to the beach, but they also help when transporting a Christmas Tree home for Christmas.  This year was no different.  I am sure Tom would rather be putting a board on top and heading to the beach, but we are glad he is willing to give up a little surfing time to make sure we have a Christmas tree in our house.

I over estimated the height of our ceiling this year, so our Sea Star is sort of crammed on top, but beautiful none the less. 

Let the holidays begin. 

Thanksgiving

I am thankful for my family.  

Thanksgiving is always a big event with many mouths to feed, and my mother is the master at feeding a large crowd.  Even after all of us kids were out of the house, my mother continued to cook for 8 even when it was just her and my dad.  I am not sure she knows how to cook for just a few.  Regardless, that skill pays off at Thanksgiving.  Mom, the food was delicious.

I am a little embarrassed that Sean is shirtless at the Thanksgiving table.  He is always shirtless and I obviously overlooked this that day.  Next year our goal will be to have a shirt on this wild kid for dinner and to get my brother Jared a seat with the adults.

Tom still pounded the honey bombs, but this years hit was his ability to spin my nephew Miles.  This is another example why Tom is the favorite among my nieces and nephews.

We spent the day after Thanksgiving shopping and hanging out.  After that, I am not sure what went on. Andrew and Sean both caught a bug and I spent the rest of the trip in a hotel room trying the get them well.  Never fails, when we all get together, someone always gets sick.

Happy Halloween Says the Hobo, the Witch, and Captain America

Our back up plan.  This was suppose to be a zombie, but when the dress didn't fit, we threw on a cape and made her a cute witch instead.  

Sean had the Trick or Treat thing down quickly. 

Got them all three together for a brief moment. 

Tom and I went as the busy parents who felt success that all three kids had costumes.

The Sort. This year Andrew's haul weighed in at only 5lbs.  Not quite as impressive as last years 8lbs, but enough.

Mother's Day

This year my Mother's Day was spent with my 3 favorite boys.

It was a great day that included breakfast and lunch, some time at the beach, and a new set of kitchen knives. I think all the cooking they did was really an excuse to use the new knives. I am considering us all lucky no one lost a finger among all the excitement.

My only hope is the knives will bring more company in the kitchen to help on days other then Mother's Day. Chances are the newness will wear off and I will be cooking solo again soon. I guess I will just enjoy it while it lasts.

Happy Easter!

From our family to yours.

I would love to say our morning was full of thoughts about our Savior and his resurrection, but that would be a lie. It was full of rushing to get to church on time, excess amounts of candy which lead to messes all over the floor. A grumpy husband because of the messes, and a little bit of arguing.

We did manage to get a picture before we left for church and I can't help but laugh at the reflection above Tom's head that looks like a halo. Last thing we need is to boost his ego.

I am thankful we made it to church which allowed me to stop and reflect on the Savior, if only for a few moments.

Christmas is Over

All I wanted was a nice photo of my three kids in their matching PJ's by the tree. What I got was super hyper kids hamming it up, and one 2 year old refusing to wear his. It was Halloween all over again.

Needless to say, this morning I was ready to get back to normal life.

Nativity

This year our Bishop has challenged us to read the first four books of the New Testament and the Porters are up for the challenge. We have been making our way through Matthew and I have loved re-connecting with the stories of the Savior.

Along with this challenge I had bought a Fisher Price Nativity set to help teach Sean about the birth of the Savior. What I didn't expect is that we would be incorporating a dinosaur and some Hiyah's into the story.
The spirit in our house has been great but we are really just filling time until the fun begins on Christmas morning.

Finally...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

I feel like we were a little late this year and at one point I was worried we might not get to it. Last night we got our tree, and the kids and I slapped on the ornaments all in about an hour. I have always been thankful for my ability to be fast in whatever I need to do.
Now, Santa can come.
Of course he will have to come through our front door as we don't have a chimney.

I am sure I gave him a key the first year we moved into this house.

Those of you who know us well will also see that this year I won when it comes to the placement of the tree. I have always wanted it in our window but Tom has always put it on the other side of the room. Point for Jade this year.