Maher Memoirs

Keeping Busy

2012-01-27T21:21:00.000-08:00

What a crazy long month this has been already! My schedule at the gym has picked up quite a bit since Christmas. We had a BodyPump instructor who was hit and killed by a car on her way to class right before the holidays and needless to say it has been a huge loss for the gym and especially the members that she has motivated and encouraged for so many years. It has been pretty emotional, and a huge adjustment for everyone, but I am proud to say that her classes have continued to grow and work their butts off! Which is exactly what Shelly would have wanted.

I have taken over all of her classes and have enjoyed each one! I have never been so exhausted mentally, physically, etc, but I think 6 pump classes and 1 combat class a week will do that to anyone :)

Bradon has been playing on soccer for the East high school team. They have had an incredible season and are undefeated at this point. For his birthday he requested that we all go watch his game against Garces. To be honest it was a really uneventful game. In fact... this is what Bradon looked like in the whole 2nd half. I think he was playing stopper and since the ball rarely made it to a position where it needed to be stopped, he just kind of watched the game too! :)

But, Porter got to hang out with Grandma & Grandpa, and he played on the bleachers almost the entire time. Pretty sure he worked up more of a sweat than Uncle Brado. He only REALLY got upset when I wouldn't let him run onto the field. He really does just wanna be one of the boys :)

(and PS. It really wasn't that cold out there...)

(PSS. or PPS. taking pictures with my parents is almost has impossible as taking them with 3 small children... they never look at the camera at the same time... example)

(there were more, but you didn't need 12 pictures of the same attempt)

A few days later I was needing to get a few sewing projects marked off my to do list so Andi offered to come over and play with Porter so I could get it done. I have to say, the girl is GENIUS! It worked like a charm! Where was she when I was killing myself trying to get all the Christmas gifts done?? hmm.... seriously though, this 6 yr old has to be the best "baby sitter" around. At least Porter thinks so!!

Hahaha, I told her to take a picture next to porter thinking she would just put her head next to his, but nope.... this is what I got :)

Here is Porter's favorite game to play with Andi. It's actually perfect as long as he keeps his feet lifted up so he isn't drug underneath the car. Sammy doesn't tell him "no" or take things away from him, Porter doesn't play in the dog kennel or hit Sammy with anything he can pick up, and Andi & Sammy seem to get along best when the activity is pushing porter in the car, running and screaming in any general direction, and chasing the dogs around the back yard.... poor jersey.

The weather this month has been totally ridiculous to be considered "winter". Apparently Bakersfield forgot that January should be at least below the 60's..... So, we've had a lot of outside play time, which is actually perfect because Porter loves it, and he wont' be seeing grass or sunlight for much longer ;)

His new favorite thing to carry (besides his blanket) is this super long yellow bat. He just carries it around, dragging it on the ground. Weird, but whatever. He's a boy.

hahahaha...... I love all the faces he makes! Seriously, I'm not even sure what his emotions were with this one, other than gearing up for a good yell....

Oh, and I get this look more and more frequently, especially when I try to take a picture of him with the camera or my phone. He pauses for a brief moment as if to say, "k, are you done taking it yet?" But somehow I imagine he just thinks I'm embarrassing already!

Porter has started using that bat to chase KC around the back yard with. It's too long for him to actually pick up, but he thinks poking her with it or trying to jab her with it is super funny....

And THIS is what KC thinks of it...... hahahahaha.... look at that face, "are you kidding me with this dumb kid!?" this dog is so patient.

And of course, she keeps him in line.

It is that time of year again when I typically vent and rage about the stupidity of the people I have to deal with for a military move. (Fact: I have typed a previous blog ripping each idiot apart one by one, and then decided, no matter how hilarious I think I am, somehow this could come back to haunt me. .. it was pretty vicious. I was in a mood.)

However, in light of dealing with the Eielson AFB travel management office, I have to say I AM A HAPPY MILITARY WIFE! The kids I called up there sound like they are 12, and have absolutely no phone etiquette skills, and they call me "ma'am" a little too much, but they know their names and they know their job and that is all I care about! It has been a breath of fresh air to my other wise stressful and angst-ridden month! I told Cameron today that their is a huge batch of home made chocolate chip cookies hanging in the balance if these kids pull off a minimal hassel free move for me :) SO FAR SO GOOD!!

After teaching a class every day, trying to organize life and a move, talk to Cameron on the phone and plan out my next to-do list, play with porter enough so I don't feel like I'm neglecting him, feed the dogs, wash laundry (because I sweat a lot these days), and maybe shower I am pretty exhausted and the final hour before Porter goes to bed turns into the longest, most exhausting hour of my day! (my parents actually drug porter out to lowes and home depot the other night after he was bathed and in pajamas because they could sense that I was checking out and too tired to deal. haha, sad but true, and much appreciated)

So... I taught Porter this awesome game. Basically I get to lay on the floor (and take my pony tail holder out, because it's not comfortable to lay on anyway) and I shoot the band in the air and catch it as it comes down. Apparently its hilarious and totally entertaining for a 16 month old because I get away with laying like this for at least 20 minutes every time! It's brilliant!! I'm like the best mom ever.

Speaking of 16 month old. He had his check up today. He is "chunky and the tallest with the biggest brain" according to Dr. Santiago. It sounds better coming from her because of her really thick accent, but those are the terms she gives so I can "explain to dad what it means" to be in the 97th, 78th, percentile. or something like that. He weighed in at 26.15lbs, which I fully expected to be a much larger number. He is healthy and happy (mostly, apparently teething and growing tend to put a damper on that part), and exploring EVERYTHING!! Lucky for me, Cameron will be home in 2 weeks to take over some of the play time. I don't think I play rough enough for a little man Porter's size. KC and Jersey do a good job of knocking him on his butt, or send him flying through the air when they plough him over, and then he just cries and gets so upset, so I'm certain I haven't toughened him up enough yet. ;) Ah well, he's a momma's boy and I am quite happy about that..... but I'm sure once he meets daddy, that could change too.

2 week countdown starts now! :)

Happy New Year! 2012

2012-01-07T22:13:00.000-08:00

I feel as though I have been spoiled as a mom. Porter took fairly easily to his sleep schedule from day one, had very little eating or pooping problems, has had a mild temperament, and been amazingly undemanding in his short 15 months of life. Don't get me wrong, he has his days, especially since his first birthday. In fact, I was pretty convinced I had ruined my child by leaving him for 2 weeks, because he morphed into a little demon while I was gone. He would follow me around whining and crying and being angry all the time for no reason at all. We have made some changes and slowly but surely my even-tempered little boy is making an appearance that I hope is here to stay. Unfortunately, the poor kid has been “blessed” with my quick-to-anger-temper with his daddy's stubbornness, so I doubt I'll ever see the baby that would sit for hours playing with a diaper wipe wrapper being completely entertained, happy, and (best of all) quiet! But I'll take what I can get :)

With all the changes and phases Porter has been going though, I have had to change my thought process a tad. He has become more curious, and is quite a bit more capable of getting into/making messes anywhere and everywhere.

For example: My instinctive reaction when I discover my baby has carried in a pile of dog poop and put it on the kitchen floor, but not before rubbing it all over himself and probably having a taste or two, would be to: FREAK OUT, gag a little, slap his hand, wash his mouth out with peroxide (if it was safe or legal for that matter) and toss him in the chlorinated pool (if he could swim).... however, since most of my options would result in me no longer having a child, I have had to re-think my process. (No worries, in that last scenario I definitely freaked out, gagged, and slapped his hand, but everything that followed was totally safe and legal and in the end I was probably more upset about the whole thing than he was). It was after this lovely afternoon that I decided for the safety of porter and my own sanity, I need to take a chill pill... OR, just take more pictures :) So here is how Porter has spent his first week of 2012

Ringing in the new year a little fussy.... until we pull out a cape and some chop sticks and suddenly we are super hero rocker boy for the rest of the night! He used those sticks on the fridge, trash can, tile floor, dishwasher, and my face (momentarily) and had a blast until bed time. Who needs toys when you have wooden sticks!?
I let Porter play in the back yard unsupervised for a few minutes at a time (of course, AFTER I scoop the poop these days), and he has become quite independent. I walked out of the house the other day to find that he had relocated the car, AND climbed inside it all by himself! What a big boy :)
After a bath and pajamas I took Porter over to Britt's house to play with the kids for a while before bed. It helps kill the last ½ hr or so before bedtime. Anyway, We hadn't been there 5 minutes when Andi starts screaming in the bathroom. Britt, Thad, and I all run in to see what she's going crazy about and we find this.... He really loves his baths, with or without pajamas! Luckily britt only lives 4 houses down from my parents, so... porter got to enjoy his bath while I again, calmly, walked back home, picked up a new diaper and pajamas, and walked back to change him.
Sunday afternoon, Porter managed to find the one and only mud puddle in my parents back yard. I walked around the corner of the house to find him sitting IN the puddle, completely covering the lower half of his body in mud. Instead of swooping him up and tearing off his clothes like I would originally have done, I calmly walked back inside the house, found my camera, and took some pictures. It was much more enjoyable for both of us!
Of course after the mud we had to get him cleaned up. So... to the bath he goes AGAIN. If I didn't know any better, I would think he makes all these messes JUST so he can get in the bath tub!

Here are some other cute pictures of Porter lately. Because of the air quality in bakersfield, he has had to have a breathing treatment or two a while back. Well, when uncle bobby came to visit, he needed one as well, and apparently Porter thought it was a family activity.
Thats right. my kids all about the steroids... ugh. gosh.

Playing ball with the dogs. Pretty much he just holds both the thrower and the ball and then turns in a circle to try to get away from kc's over-eager attempt to swipe it from him

15 months and driving! WOOHOO

Taken with the cell phone... Happy New Years! Here's to a year full of picture taking to keep my sanity in tact. :)

Christmas.... round 2... DING!

2012-01-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

The week before Christmas, Bobby & Kelsie made it to town! We could have used them here a day earlier to help us all sing in church, but we were glad they made it anyway. Bradon was still in school all week with finals :( So that was kind of lame, but I think they managed to get enough play time in. Mostly a lot of Mario-cart was played, but I can't judge... I jumped in on it once or twice too.
We went caroling ( a few times actually), finished christmas shopping, went to a movie, I dragged Bobby, Kelsie & Bradon with me to help take all the activity day girls ice skating (which was a blast), and just had a relaxing week.

Porter took right to his Uncle Bobby, probably because he is the tallest in the house, and unfortunately Kelsie doesn't share that same talent, so porter wasn't as interested. But I think she did get a hug or something out of him at some point. haha.
We went to CALM again to see the lights, and I think the train ride was probably the most entertaining for the kids!! :)

Porter with Grandma & Grandpa

After the train ride

It wasn't too cold of a night, but I think everyone was ready for hot chocolate by the end of the evening

HAHAH.... Go brado

And THIS peach of a picture is golden!! Yes, I captured porter in the process of pooping. :) I think he makes the best faces EVER!

Christmas morning was so different this year. We went to church for an hour, and then came home to get back in pajamas. I strongly felt you can't have "christmas morning" without your pajamas, but not everyone agreed.... losers. It was madness once everyone was here, the kids were already super excited from their own present unveiling earlier that morning, and the adults were super excited about the brunch extravaganza! It was just crazy. About noon we finally all made it into the living room to open gifts and then things just got louder! Porter wasn't interested in opening up any of his stuff, but was really wanting to help all the kids open theirs. Well.... then they thought he was trying to take their stuff (which he probably was) so then there was screaming and yelling, and it was just really LOUD. So, I put porter down for a nap and that seemed to calm things down a bit. Once everyone was gone and he woke up he was in a much better mood, and really interested in all of this new toys. He even liked his rocking horse.... until he found out it makes noise and chews, now all he wants to do is play with the face of the horse instead of ride it. hmm... it's cool, he's still not able to climb on or off it by himself yet.

Mario Cart in progress....

The cute rocking horse we got Porter this year!!

Christmas morning!

My sister made all the kids capes for christmas, and yes that is my child wearing his cape with no shirt on :)

Brittany, announced her 3rd pregnancy and forgetting to tell andi about it beforehand :) haha... best moment of christmas morning!

Shirtless play time

Cameron called and we were able to video for a while. I have been spoiled every year so far and have had Cameron home for every christmas and thanksgiving, so this year was just strange. He said he had a pretty good day, but I still felt bad that he was all alone :( thats just not right. Of course, he was sneaky and outdid himself yet again, and managed to make me feel totally ridiculous in the process. I was under the impression we were getting auto car starters for Alaska this year for Christmas, but cameron had sent something to the house that my parents intercepted. I was thinking the whole time my parents got us this perfect table router (and repeatedly told Cameron how I'm some sort of mastermind at figuring gifts out, and how I know they got us a router, etc) when in reality.... Cameron had bought me the router for Christmas. Once I saw the tag was from him I felt like an idiot. :) But an idiot with a router, so I was just fine with it :) PLUS, I have now been given permission to use the saw we got a few years ago for Christmas!! WOOHOO... watch out!
Christmas day concluded with a few rounds of apples to apples, and hanging out with family. Pretty awesome day! Only one person could have made it better..... maybe next year ;)

Happy Holidays... round 1....

2011-12-21T14:54:00.000-08:00

Merry Crowley Christmas! Once again, we celebrated Christmas early with my mom's side of the family. It was a quick weekend, and people were in and out, and we were missing quite a few faces this year, but it was a nice time, no matter how brief. Grandpa & Aunt Wendy showed up Friday evening to cricut craft central! I was just finishing up some presents when Aunt Wendy looked intrigued, so I had to show off all the fun things you can do with it ;)

Saturday the rest of the family came in to town just in time for Christmas dinner at the church building, and a completely skill-less game of Volleyball. Even Porter got in on the action. . . Really though, he just wants to be wherever the dudes are.

Porter and his aunt brittany. She lets Porter come to "play" with her kids A LOT. lol, she swears it's no big deal but I think Sammy may have a different opinion ;)

Ellie & Stef & baby #3 (girl)

Here is the awesome action shot from the volleyball game :)

I'm not sure whats going on here, but I was trying to take nice pictures of everyone... lol

Porter.... going to TOWN on his roll ;)

Ah... the whole family (minus- ashley, omar, ava, landon, jake, kurtis, and of course Cameron)

Grandpa with his girls :)

bwahahaha.... and here is Sammys third lesson of self-taken photography ;) My specialty! I even let him hold the camera! hahaha.... Brittany secretly loves it.

After dinner we headed back to the house to do a gift exchange and visit before some went home. Dad had managed to hurt himself again, and after a little medication was our entertainment for the night. Uncle Don can't be a witness because he was sleeping on the couch in his annual after-dinner-nap position, but Aunt Lisa and mom can both attest to some pretty funny stories. My favorite is that my dad is probably the only person I know who has such an extensive vocabulary, even on a little pain medicine ;)

Thad, Kyle, and Bradon... I'm not sure WHY they let me take this ridiculous picture of them, but they had to know I would post it. So.... man cards- REVOKED!

All of the "ray" grandkids. There is a series of them because I think it's funny. Why on earth do they do the things they do? PS. Ellie can't be bothered.... the tv is on ;) lol.

Merry Early Christmas! 4 days and counting!

Tis the Season

2011-12-14T12:27:00.000-08:00

I don't have anything really exciting to blog about, but I have been taking pictures of cute Porter and so I definitely wanted to get a post in this week! Mostly we have been trying to get organized from our trip again, and prep for Christmas, and somehow I have managed to spend an entire day getting NOTHING but a shower done for myself. I guess I did still mark some things off the to-do list, but not nearly the productive day I was hoping for. My room is..... well..... in the worst shape I have seen it ALL YEAR. no joke.... and yet, here I sit blogging.... i'm a loser.
So the other morning my mom was packing for her anniversary trip with my dad, when porter decided to help :)
He's LOVES sitting in anything he can find.

Sunday, I just couldn't get enough of his cute christmas outfit. Sure, I could have done his hair, or washed his face better, but he's still stinkin cute. so whatev.

Monday night for Family Home Evening we went caroling!! It was a success, and Porter totally enjoyed himself! Especially the part where he got to wear his awesome hat :)

Alright, so the kids decided to add a new routine to the playlist this year, "once there was a snowman", and of course... they choreographed.

We LOVE Christmas, and it's been a lot different this year with Cameron being gone, but with his christmas package sent off and our list of gifts getting smaller, we are getting more into the spirit!!

Merry Christmas everyone! I'm sure I'll post again soon :)

15 seconds of fame!

2011-12-08T20:56:00.000-08:00

Bradon's going to be on the news :) He entered this photo advertisement contest for the Bakersfield Police Department for their "A life interrupted" program on driving distracted through school. He won first place in 1 of 3 categories in the district! YAY! We went down to the police station for his awards presentation this afternoon. We kept joking that this was just their way to get a bunch of delinquent kids down to the station ;) but we made it out without any collars!
They talked about drinking/texting/distractions while driving, and their program with the high schools in town, presented the awards, took lots of pictures, interviewed Bradon for the evening news, and then had cookies :) I thought it was pretty awesome! Congrats kid- I can still say YOU were the only reason I had for going downtown to the police station ;)

December Weekend

2011-12-03T22:42:00.000-08:00

Friday was a recovery day for me from our travels, but my mom didn't take a day off, she is apparently super grandma and had ALL her grandkids over for a Christmas craft day! She's kinda crazy...

Sammy and Porter eating cheerios :)

Um... I kept telling Andi to smile, but.... this is all I would get.

All of the kids painting their ornaments and "Merry Christmas" blocks.

It totally stressed me out and I wasn't even helping.

THEN came the screams from outside...(see those little green spots at the top of the tree) Walter & Andi had climbed way up in the tree and got stuck. haha, all i heard was, "Sammy, get Grandma or we'll be stuck up here for the rest of our lives!!" They were pretty panicked.

So... Grandma to the rescue. She actually climbed up the tree to get both the kids down, but not before she laughed a lot and told me to get my camera. bahahah...

Bright & early this morning it was time to get our Christmas tree!! I'm really glad we did it so early this year, because I have been lacking the Christmas spirit big time. I'm usually obsessed with Christmas and have a tree and decorations and music going on way before now, but I just haven't been feeling it. However, now that the tree is up and the house smells like pine, I'm catching the bug.

Couldn't get a christmas tree without filling up on a good breakfast first.

All the kids @ the cafe! Porter (1), Andi (5), Sammy (3), Walter (5), Ellie (2)

Early risers.

Happy Grandparents

Waiting for breakfast! He seriously kept this hat on ALL morning. Good pick Cameron.

While Porter totally out-ate all the kids combined, Sammy was definitely the fastest eater! He was straight up double forking it. haaha. Love him!

To the tree lot at Home Depot we go! Sammy picked out a tree just his size... good thing we found a better option :)

Ellie with option #2! The free scrap box :) haha, all 4 of the kids got their own "trees"

Walter & Stef picking out their tree.

Porter tries so hard to keep up with the kids, he has taken up running, but is still just not quite fast enough!

Well.... The purple hoodie should be hard enough to explain, but I don't think I can justify the combo of the hoodie and the look.

A tree Andy could pick up (don't think she didn't try the ones 4 times her size!)

Me & Stef <3

"Hey, it's the fun guy!"

Again, with the sitting in/on everything on his level. He found this perfect porter-sized box.

He seirously LOVED his box. Was entertained forever!

This was the only place I could get a happy picture with him

And then sammy wanted in on the picture too :)

Thanksgiving After Party

2011-12-03T21:44:00.000-08:00

Friday night we hung out at the house, playing games, on laptops, and watching movies. I'm sure there was one or two of us crafting, because that was going on literally ALL WEEK LONG!

Me & Jenny already in our pajamas for the night :) who are we kidding?? We almost live in our pajamas.... it's a mommy thing ;)

Cute Baker Family minus Tanner. He was probably hiding out in Grandmas room watching movies :) He loves grandma and grandpas house :)

Trisha and Caleb... and NO, Caleb doesn't actually look like this :)

Saturday was an action packed fun filled day! We started out early for IKEA. Trisha and I had never been before, but we drive by it multiple times whenever we're in Utah, so we planned a day of it! I was amazed at the hugeness of the place, but I didn't get to enjoy it as much as I would have liked because Porter was ready for a nap. Translation: BIG pain in my rear-end.

If i make a really ridiculous face at the camera, Porter actually looks at the camera to figure out what I'm looking at. haha, ah well.

Porter playing with Uncle Caleb....

NOT in jammies :)

This cute thing is such a morning person :) Can't you tell?

He has figured out how to climb on things, and is very proud of himself when he does it. He'll find anything his level and sit on it and act like he just won the nobel prize!

mmm.... food.... lol.

Cafe Rio for lunch= very happy girls

Maggie Moos for Dessert.... EVEN HAPPIER!!

Saturday night, after dinner, naps, and some re-energizing we headed to Salt Lake to check out the Temple lights! It was beautiful as always and everyone had a great time! Caleb & Trisha had never been, and I wish it was a little warmer, but we bundled up and made the best of it.

I had Porter i the carrier... he's getting heavy, but he was fantastic as a portable heater!

Jenny, Trisha, & Me... Emily was camera man for the night and I LOVED getting cute pictures of everyone and actually BEING IN them :)

Just missing Cameron & Michael... but everyone else is there!

Dan & Rach... the newlyweds

The Baker fam (again tanner is missing)

Mom & Dad Maher

So beautiful every year! I love seeing it all lit up :)

See... Tanner really does exist! There he is, glued to Grandmas side!

Sportin the baby carrier... booya.

Monday night we had Dave, Callie, Evie, Ryan & Kristy over for dinner. It was so awesome having them over! As soon as they walked in they were playing, wrestling, and entertaining Porter. They really love him and you could tell! He loved every second with them too. He just couldn't get enough, especially of Dave & Ryan and being held by the dudes :)

Funny... their heads are almost the same size! bahahaha

Evie! She is a few months older than Porter, and such a cutie! they played well together all night, with minor disagreements. She pushed him over, he whacked her in the head... but mostly they got along. haha.

Uncle Ryan with the babies... Can't wait till he has one of his own for us to spoil too!! Coming soon... Feb 2012!

Porter LOVING his Aunt Kristy :)

She's the funnest!

Tuesday night the Nannies got together!! Well, the ones that were in town and available :) Which came down to Brie, Cassi, and Shaylee. All of us are married, and 3 of the 4 have a baby/toddler. It's so fun to get together and just catch up. The reminiscing of New Jersey/New York adventures become less and less, but we still love getting together, even if its just for a quick dinner.

Aunt Brie, and Rusty playing with Porter.

Rusty was adorable with Porter. They were instant friends, and he was so cuddly and gentle with him! Didn't push him over or take something from him or say "no porter" one time. I'm not sure Porter knew what to do with him.

Rusty loved me! And i coudln't have been happier. He's a total cuddle bug, and I loved it!

So... Porter apparently has some dance moves of his own these days. haha, table dancing at an early age, and trying to rip his shirt off. I'm so proud ;)

Cass & Porter

WCH just getting cuter with age :) Fun girls & great friends!

Wednesday was the day to get packed & excess shopping goods shipped home. We were finishing up some crafts and projects we had started earlier in the week (like jenny's cute pantry, I can't wait to see the finished project), and just enjoying our girl time. Emily even took a break from her finals/presentations/and meetings to come hang out for a while. I'm pretty sure I got her addicted to Pinterest, but hopefully she'll still graduate! haha. I totally loved hanging out with the family and spending the holiday with them. It will be perfect when Cameron is home to play with everyone! He was definitely missed, and there is just a different energy when he's there to play.

The flight home was not too bad. I could have done without the 3 hour layover, but the flights themselves were fine. We had alot of friendly people on both flights that helped entertain Porter.

We are glad to be home and in our own rooms & beds, but it's still been and adjustment. In fact... while we're on the topic, anyone want a 1 yr old? He comes complete with a wardrobe, baby furniture, and any singing toys we have! haha, no but really, he's definitely in a stage, but I love him anyway. We'll just leave it at that!

Now... onto December happenings :) I LOVE DECEMBER!

CONTEST

2011-11-30T15:20:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, we are trying to get enough votes on this adorable snowman for my sister in law!! Please click the link below and LIKE her snowman!!

http://www.facebook.com/CraftyWoodCutouts?sk=photos

Thanksgiving Round 2!

2011-11-25T20:27:00.000-08:00

So actually, this post will probably have a lot more stories & pictures from the week than actual thanksgiving day stuff, but that's because I'm super lame these days and didn't take any pictures of our thanksgiving evening. So... back to the beginning of this adventure:

Sunday night (after sitting in traffic on the way home from Grandpa Crowleys for 4 hours) I hurried to re-pack and get to the airport for our flight to Utah only to find out my flight was delayed an hour, which led to not even possibly making the connection so United was kind enough to bump me from my flight and give me the most inconvenient flight arrangement for Monday they could have come up with. These idiots expected me to fly (with an baby- which was noted on my ticket) leaving Bakersfield at 7:00am, have 2 lay overs, and not get into Salt Lake City until 6:00PM! ?? SERIOUSLY? I don't think so! After a few choice words and hanging up on the moronic customer "service" guy, I went into the airport to chat with the desk guy and he must have been able to smell the fury I was spewing as I stormed into the airport, and was wise enough to quickly find me a better, more convenient flight on a different airline. Perfect. So Monday morning Porter and I bored the plane only to have a crotchety old lady think she was going to yell at my child for kicking the back of her seat. I was quick to correct her train of thought, and all but chewed her up and spit fire down her throat.... but, in my defense, it was 6am, I didn't have leg room, and she was REALLY rude!

After what seemed like the longest 2 hour lay over in the history of mankind, we boarded the second plane to a delightful group of people who played and entertained Porter the whole flight! So we made it to Utah, were picked up by Caleb & Trisha, and finally made it home!

Porter was trying to be an escape artist... or a thug? He loves slouching in his chair. I'm not sure about this kid sometimes :)

Porter & his Aunt Rach

Here is Jenny & Andrew's youngest, Jackson! He has so much personality... :) haha <3

We have been so spoiled this week with having almost everyone here to play! Minus Cameron, and his brother Mike (who is in China) everyone has taken the week off of work/school/etc to play! Tuesday we started off early for Roberts craft store and well.... that was where all the happiness began. ;) we were there to just pick up a few things when we were looking at their black friday ads and saw an amazing deals on cartridges for the cricut. We (all the females of the clan, while the men entertained babies for an hour or so) decided to check out a few to see if it was worth coming back for on Friday when I noticed a lady loading up her basket with at least 30 of these things! I was nosy enough to ask her if she knew something we didn't know and... she did. Apparently if your a royal club card member (which Rach was) you could get black friday deals all of thanksgiving week, which translates into= A LOT of excited girls in our family loading up on all things crafty for a KILLER steal! We made it out of there feeling a little lightheaded and high from the amazing deals we got! Trisha and I are going to have to ship boxes home because there is not enough suit case space to take home the goods.

(Sunset)

Porter (aka man cub) playing with his cousins!

Thanksgiving day was wonderful! We weren't planning on dinner until about 6 or so, so it gave us the day to lounge. We (Emily, Trisha & Jenny) took off early (9ish) to see Dan & Rach finish their Turky day 5k run! Then continued on our way to see Breaking Dawn. I am not going to lie, I enjoyed myself. Maybe it was the lack of child, the "tradition" of seeing a movie on thanksgiving day that I haven't done in years, or maybe just the fact that i loved the books so much, but I really liked it. Sure it was cheesy in parts, and sure they left plenty of ammo to mock it with, but all in all, it was a good morning activity.

We got home to the boys taking care of babies, prepping/cooking dinner, and dancing with turkeys. Nothing surprising in that last sentence. It's tradition.

They had to paper/rock/scissors to see who had to change Porter's diaper, but everyone was alive and well. Cameron called and had a chance to talk to everyone in his fam before I took over the phone and chatted his ear off since I hadn't heard from him in DAYS! I really miss him. Being here with his family really makes that more apparent, and I always feel like someone is missing when we are sitting around at night. I'm sure it was really apparent to all the guys to since they didn't manage to blow anything up this week!

We really did have a mellow day, and I had a lot of time (during Porter's nap) to think about everything I am grateful for. I think the list would require an entire post of it's own, but there aren't any pictures to go with that, so we'll see :) Mostly, I am thankful for Family- for my family taking care of me and Porter this year, Cameron's family for being so amazing and fun to visit, and especially for my cute family of Cameron & Porter. I have been blessed with amazing people in my life and am so happy to be able to spend so much time with them!

It was really cold, but the boys all wanted to play outside. So Porter finally got to sport his Germany souvenir :) Cameron picked it out!

Playing in the sandbox with Grandpa!

Caleb & Andrew cooking the turkeys.

Porter is not so cooperative yet.

Playing pounce, or something that everyone really gets into!

Porter & Grandpa!

I am convinced he will learn.... eventually :)
Attempt #1

Attempt #2

Attempt #3

All of my inlaws are a little on the insane side and started black friday about 10pm thursday night. They hit up Walmart, then came home until about 6 when they went EVERYWHERE else! I had a wonderful time sleeping in, going to breakfast with Kiley & Ryan, and then visiting with Bobby & Kelsie who happened to be in town at her brother's house for Thanksgiving! I loved it!!

I spent the majority of our visit trying to convince Kelsie to start a blog. Her excuse was something about not having anything exciting to blog about. That held up for all of about 2 seconds until I was able to pull up our blog book from Minot. :) I made them read a few of the more hysterical entries, and I am hoping I convinced her to get started! I think, if nothing else, I was able to explain the transition of Cameron from "pre-married- yukon driving- motorcycle racing- leather jacket wearing-kid" to what we now know of Cameron's " very married- over protective dad- family truck driving- camo wearing- animal slaughtering- red neck of a man" :) And I mean that with all the love in my heart! :) It was a fun afternoon, for me anyway! I hope they had fun to, but I'm ridiculous and forgot pictures of that too :( But... lucky for me, they will be in Bakersfield for Christmas this year, so I'll see them in a few weeks!!

Porter, booking it for the street... he's one of the smart ones!

The only place I wanted to go today was Cabela's (yes.... that shows there has been plenty transition on my part as well) so we hit that up after Porter's nap. It was still crazy busy, but I found a super cute fleece that now make Trisha and I twinsies :)

Me & Emily on our way to Cabela's. We made it alive!

He wasn't even entertained by all the huge animals! What the heck?

We have wild plans for the rest of the week... so i'm sure I'll have more to post... :) But like always, it's easier to post in "smaller" doses. haha.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Early Turkey Day!

2011-11-19T22:07:00.000-08:00

This may be a first for me.... posting the same day as the event. BOOYA!

K, so yesterday we (mom, dad, me, bradon & porter) drove to Rialto to have an early Crowley Thanksgiving (my mom's side of the family). We headed out as soon as porter got up and going in the morning, made it to Costco about 11ish, to the hotel to check in around noon, and just in time for Porter's nap. Everyone else was visiting with family, but porter and I spent the afternoon held up in the hotel room while he slept for 3 1/2 hours! (As the 3rd day in a row I would say he is officially a once a day napper! what a big boy) Once he was up and fed we went to my Aunts house for dinner with a good bunch of family.

This morning, Britt & Walter's families drove here and we had almost all of the family here for the holiday! It has been a long time since I've been here to visit, and so much has changed, but it was a lot of fun to be back and to visit with cousins I haven't seen in 7 years or so! We started the turkey's and cooking this morning, than Porter and I had to leave for the afternoon again so he could nap, and we made it back just in time for dinner! (The boys had been re-building my grandpa's fence all day, so we had to wait till they were done anyway, and the timing was perfect!) Unfortunately I didn't have my camera out much because I was preoccupied with feeding porter, or trying to keep him inside because it was pretty chilly once the sun went down- but here are a few i snapped this morning during prep.

haha.... could he possibly look any more annoyed with me? I know it just happened to be in the middle of a glance change, but still.... makes me laugh!

This was after I specifically told him NOT to eat the football.... Cameron, hurry home so you can start disciplining your child! lol... j/k

I love that look of "i'm about to lose my balance, think, tighten core muscles, squeeze every fiber of my being, don't fall, throw your head into it...." he has figured out if he can get his head forward he's usually off to a better start. hahah.

Sammy was crackin me up with his wind up!

I tried getting them to smile at me, but.... this is what I got.

Then this... as Porter took off after who knows what?!

Ah, Andi.... always ready and willing to pose for the camera! Thats my girl!

Seriously... look at this stud in those manly jeans! He looks SO grown up :(

Grandpa!

Aunt Lisa had the honors.... ugh. So glad Cameron always takes care of this part of dinner!

Already, at 1 year old, Porter is trying to hijack Grandpas electric chair just like the rest of the kids.... no shame.

The end! I'm really kind of sad I didn't have my camera out more. I would have loved to have gotten a group shot, i just wasn't on my A game today I guess. :( It was really great to see all of my cousins this weekend though, everyone is so "old" now and off doing their college and jobs and grown up stuff. So weird! Happy Early Thanksgiving 2011 Everyone!

What a funny little life. 5 years later...

2011-11-18T22:15:00.000-08:00

Time seems to pass at a much faster rate these days than when I was younger. While living in Albuquerque seems like quite a while ago, and living in Minot seems like a lifetime ago, I feel like it is impossible that 5 years have passed since Cameron and I were getting married in the Los Angeles Temple. Life certainly has been different than I ever could have imagined, and I am loving every unexpected twist and turn of it.

Cameron & I met his last semester fall of 2005 in Provo, thanks to my new roommate at the time, Megan. It was an interesting semester getting to know him and his friends, they were definitely different than what I was used to in Utah (to say the least). Never in my life have I taken so many trips to Walmart- and looked forward to it! I blame Cameron, Dave, & Ryan 100% for my obsession/addiction to hot chocolate, since an evening was NEVER complete without a trip to Dennys for unlimited hot chocolate!

Cameron was in the ROTC program, just graduating and jumping straight into the Air Force when we started dating. Both of my parents had grown up in the military, but life was nothing like that for us. I was practically born and raised in the same house my entire life. The idea of possibly being a military wife freaked me out a little, but seemed even more exciting than scary, so... I went for it (thanks to dave & ryan making some very convincing arguments on Cameron's behalf... haha)!

We were married November 18th (obviously) 2006, in the Los Angeles Temple. Cameron was stationed in Minot ND already, so after two great receptions and a Thanksgiving with the new In-laws, off to the North we went.

Minot was... well, there are a whole two years worth of a blog book to explain Minot, but it was the worst and best place we have lived so far! We found two awesome pups to join our "family", ate breakfast food for 2 meals a day since that was all I could cook, I graduated college with a BS in Exercise Science from Minot State University, Cameron was promoted to a 1st LT, moved 3 times (on base, off base, back on base), discovered Cameron was a closet red-neck while I was busy with the MSU dance team, survived our 1st & 2nd wedding anniversaries, and learned A LOT about communication as newly weds ;)

Albuquerque was where we celebrated our 3rd & 4th wedding anniversaries (neither one together), became a bit out doorsy, really learned how much we loved just being together- on walks, watching gilmore girls, at the gym, walking through costco, or making plans for home improvement projects.... bought our first house (so we only moved twice- on base, then off), and got our first deployment orders.

Cameron traveled so much for work, and while I used to pout about it, I am extremely grateful he had that job because it prepared me for this year with him gone. I used to dread the day he would tell me he was being sent off for a year, but after having a month or so at a time of barely seeing him, I realized I am a lot stronger than I had given myself credit for. I can keep busy and distract myself with the best of em ;) The best part of Albuquerque was having Porter. He has been such a perfect addition to our family and really stepped up and has taken care of me while Cameron has been gone. Sounds silly, because I"m the mom, but its true. He does so much in making this experience easier for me.

So 5 years later... what a funny little life we have. Surviving our year separated, traveling the world (I can say world now instead of just country! Europe was amazing), losing weight and becoming healthier than we ever have been, Porter & I living back in Bakersfield with my parents, not just in bakersfield, but back in the same house I mentioned I was born and raised in! Preparing for Cameron to re-join us in a few months, moving to Fairbanks AK, shopping for "cute" realtree camo clothes for me to wear hunting, planning the installation process of electric fences around our yard so our dogs don't become bear food, discussing what gun I will "enjoy" shooting the most up there, keeping up with a full blown toddler, looking into private pilots licences, trying to be a better organized "home-maker", still learning to cook (something besides breakfast foods), and absolutely LOVING life!

Here's to another 5, 10, 15.... (well you get the picture) years, and to a million more adventures together! Happy Anniversary Honey! I love you!!

Porter's One Yr! (again)

2011-11-17T14:31:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am aware that I'm almost a month late with this update, but I had to wait for pictures... and the other night when Porter and I were playing around the house I just HAD to pull out the camera! He is the funnest kid!

After I got back from our Europe trip, I took Porter in for his 1 yr checkup. He is now... drumroll please.... 32 inches tall, 24 ½ lbs, and well above average in every category for height/wt/head. He is wearing all 18-24 month clothes and is a total stud!! (as you can see...)

Oh.... this glare. Who does this remind you of?

Peek-a-boo

Oh, we see this face a lot more frequently these days.... :)

Porter's favorite things to do as a newly turned toddler: Walk/stumble all over the place, “run away” from anyone. He really does start his own game, he looks at you... waits, then takes off crawling or “running” to whoever he thinks will pick him up, all while squealing and laughing even if your not really chasing him. Haha. He loves being outside, especially with the dogs or playing in the dirt. Porter loves walks, being pushed in his stroller or his awesome truck. He has become quite independent while also becoming super cuddly! He is more cuddly now than he has ever been as a baby and I am really enjoying that! He loves jewelery (and managed to break 2 of my necklaces last weekend), playing the piano (mostly with uncle bradon), dancing in the kitchen (again with uncle brado... high school musical rocks!), and grooving to any music that he hears . He only likes water in his sippy, will only relax to “twinkle twinkle little star”, and has 2 favorite books (Waddle-thanks Florence! And Elmer- thanks Corky!) that he will find and bring to you when he wants to look at them. He is a great eater: fruit, pasta, sandwiches, cheese, nutrigrain bars, yogurt (his favorite while kickin back watching baby einstein), potatoes, and ANYTHING grandpa is eating. His transition to whole milk wasn't so successful, so he is a soy milk drinker and does beautifully on it! I am totally in love with this kid! He makes my days super fun, as well as makes me pull my hair out some days, but thats part of the game right? I really can't wait for Cameron to be home to play with Porter. They are going to be the best of friends (sorry KC- you're getting the back seat on this one).

I won't lie, I am completely dreading our flight to Utah this weekend with him. He was a terror on the flight to Florida and he wasn't even walking yet! Cross your fingers he is either really well behaved, or he sleeps through the whole thing... How easy do you think it would be to get from row 3B to the exit row, open the cabin door, and toss him out? (without a chute?) hmm... :) Just Kidding... sorta. Haha, I am just really stressed, but I'm sure 3 hours of flying can't last forever. We will have so many pictures to post from this weekend (thanksgiving at grandpa crowley's) and then all next week at Cameron's folks! Until then.... HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

some new obsessions!

2011-11-13T10:36:00.000-08:00

ok, so I have recently discovered a few new "loves" of mine. It's a little shameful that I spend as much time as I do preoccupied with such pointless things, but I am secretly loving it! (or not so secretly since i'm posting about it)

1. Pinterest. I know this isn't a new site or anything, but it's new to me and I have to say.... I'm in love. I find the funnest and cutest things on there! Like this random "christmas craft" Britt and I decided to do Friday morning. She called to see when we were working out, and I had to admit I forgot and took a shower, so we bailed on the idea of exercise and went straight to crafting!

2. Cameron completely spoils me! Months ago, right after I came back from New Jersey, I told cameron that eventually we need to get a macbook instead of the hp laptops we have. I had spent hours editing some pictures I took for Gary and Audra because they looked so crummy on my computer. Well, gary was impatient and loaded them onto his mac before I could finish and they looked fantastic! No editing necessary! So then it got me thinking the countless hours i have spent "fixing" pictures I had taken, to print them out and have them look orange or too bright, etc. Anyway, that was my argument. I didn't really expect we would get one anytime soon, but to my surprise, I got a package in the mail last week (which was supposed to be the replacement battery for the hp laptop since it died) but.... it wasn't. It was a brand new macbook pro. It has more bells and whistles than I know what to do with yet, but I am loving figuring it out. And as simple as it seems... the thing I love most about it is that I don't have to keep it plugged in ALL the time! :) Anyway, Cameron justifies this as saying "happy anniversary" but he and I both know that last months trip to Europe was our anniversary celebration! Either way, I love that I am so spoiled & blessed to have such a thoughtful husband!

3. Holday Season: especially Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies, hot chocolate, and apple cider!
Easiest pumpkin cookie recipe you will ever find (thanks to my amazing friend Alisa)
1 can of Pumpkin Puree (14.5 oz)
1 box of spice cake mix (just the dry mix)
1 bag of semi sweet chocolate chips
TADA!!! Bake for 18-20min @ 325.... YUM!

hmm.... I know there are other obsessions I have discovered lately, but none are coming to mind. And since Porter is napping, I think it is time I follow suit and get some shut eye.
I have a whole update on Porter's 1 yr checkup and stats to come soon.... like I said, I have been preoccupied. I'm a wreck.

Sprechen Sie Englisch?

2011-11-05T11:50:00.000-07:00

We had spent our Sunday afternoon in Italy scouting out the train station and car rental return for Monday morning. We didn’t want to have any hold ups, and since everything else is closed on Sunday it seemed like a good outing-which it proved to be a VERY good idea! There was construction and roads closed everywhere and our gps couldn’t figure out why we wouldn’t just “turn around at the next available spot”. Hahaha, We finally made it, and then had even more fun trying to get out of the town we were in. Apparently there was a big marathon being run so even MORE roads were closed for our return route…. Ugh. It’s a good thing Cameron likes driving or else this would have seemed like a waste of an afternoon, but it was great! We had nothing else planned, and nowhere else to be, so when Cameron found a long stretch of deserted road we pulled over so he could teach me to drive a manual! I must say, I’m pro. I only killed the engine a few times, and barely missed killing a cat by centimeters. I actually think the cat ran into me, but there was nothing flopping in the road, so I think everything worked out for the thing.

Monday morning we checked out of our lovely hotel, returned the rental car, and made it to our train without any hitches. We rode the train to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany where we would be staying for the next 8 days!

I must admit, we booked the reservations off of someone’s recommendation, and I just figured it was a nice hotel and the town provided a lot of touristy adventures….. hahah, boy was I wrong! We had a taxi take us to said hotel, and we pulled up to a great surprise! We had actually booked ourselves at a the Edelweiss military Resort & Lodge nestled right into the Bavarian Alps - we’re talking full spa services, 3 restaurants, pool, hot tub, tours, etc. It was gorgeous! It was dark when we showed up so we didn’t know what views to expect, but we loved the place already! Giant fireplace, huge rocking chairs & couches, FOOD (because we were pretty starving by the end of our train ride), moosen décor (perfect), hot chocolate anytime we wanted it (starbucks-sweet), and of course Cameron’s favorite part- “just put it on my room” for EVERYTHING! haha.

This is "our couch" that had an amazing view upstairs!

The next morning we woke up and walked out onto our balcony to this….. ah…..

Tuesday we decided to walk into town to pick up the rental car. It wasn’t a long walk at all, and it was beautiful outside! I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE fall! Fall everything; colors, smells, trees, baking, weather, etc. So as far as I was concerned, I was in heaven! The town of Garmisch was a decent size, but the part of town with all the shops and restaurants was pretty small. We spent parts of multiple days roaming the shops, but really it was just to people watch, and to walk around on the cobblestone streets. I love that!

This was one of the store windows :) Everything in Germany had antlers or animal rugs or the like on it, and I think Cameron was in heaven :) I'm not gonna lie, this was a pretty cool display (if you like that sorta stuff)

I took a MILLION pictures of every place we went… but really it’s just a bunch of trees and mountains and FALL- I’m in love J

Cameron had been to a small town called Oberammergau, Germany for work in Abq. It was only a 20 minute drive from where we were so we ventured up there to look at some shops and do some souvenir shopping! There were amazing wood carvings, wood statues, wood ornaments, etc. you name it (hand wood carvings that is)- Oberammergau makes it. They also had A TON of Christmas shops! YEAH! It was amazing….

Cameron pulled over on the drive so I could take some pictures :) I was more excited than a little kid at christmas!

We found humpty dumpty. Word on the street is he DID get put back together and spends most of his time in Germany.

after we pulled over.... it was pretty chilly this afternoon.

The next day was clear and sunny and beautiful so we drove up to Neuschwanstein Castle (this is the Castle that Disney’s Castle is modeled after). It was an awesome drive up through small towns, and all I could think was “the hills are alive…. With the sound of music”. I totally get what she was singing about now! Haha. We parked at the bottom of the road that leads up to the castle and started walking. It was a short 30 minute walk/hike up and the tour around the castle was only another 30 minutes. The Castle was built for King Ludwig II in 1886, but wasn’t finished before he was found dead in the lake. Don’t you worry though, apparently these Germans really have an eye for business and set the castle up as a museum only 6 or 7 weeks after his death! Talk about a quick mourning period. We were there in the “off season” for tourists and it was still pretty packed, I can’t imagine how busy it gets during the summer months!

the view from the castle!

We hiked around a little further to a bridge that gave us this shot!

Cameron was loving this just as much as I was :)

The only tour we signed up for with the lodge was to see the gorge. It was just a guided hike, but it was pretty fun (well I thought so anyway). Garmisch held the 1936 winter Olympics, so the hike starts in the parking lot of one of the stadiums. Apparently Hitler gave the opening ceremonies here and had it designed to his taste as well as had the gorge built for tourists. I’m not sure how you have something like this built…. But it was beautiful none the less.

Here is the jump for the flying skiers ?

The balcony (now restaurant) where Hitler gave his speech.... hmm. (salt lake olympics were so much cooler! lol)

He's such a good sport!

My hands were completely numb by the end of the hike because i was holding the camera the whole time.

The last “adventure” we went on was a hike around the Lake Eibsee. Cameron and I couldn’t get over how crystal clear the water was in the gorge and the lake. You could literally see the fish swimming in the water from a distance. I say “hike” but really it was more of a nature walk. Even with all the families on the trail taking family photos and the dogs on walks, it was still a perfectly peaceful place!

how much clearer could it get? really!

Cameron's thoughtful pose.... ;)

Queen of the Mountatin!

A small town just off the lake= more wood shops to look through :)

The 8 days at the lodge were our favorite part of the vacation! We completely switched from “tourist” mode to “vacation” mode and I think we did it pretty dang well! We had massages, I had a scrub/wrap which was phenomenal, we got to relax with our hot chocolate on “our couch” in our favorite window with a view, enjoy the hot tub, went to the gym, and we really just lounged all week long! We honestly felt like we had been on vacation for over a month by the end of the week. Sunday rolled around and we still had 2 days of NOTHING but relaxing planned. It gave us more time to miss Porter, but I don’t think we could have enjoyed ourselves anymore than we did! It was such a perfect vacation/5 yr anniversary!

Now... only 3 1/2 months to go until Cameron is HOME FOR GOOD!!! :) <3

the Italian Job

2011-10-30T07:40:00.000-07:00

Here we go!
After 4 fun filled days in Rome, being laughed at for being silly American's twice, and witnessing the most colorful pants I have ever seen in my life (shhh... Cameron is getting some bright purple ones for christmas... don't tell) - we hauled our luggage to the Termini station Friday morning. From there we rode a train back to the airport so we could pick up a rental car for our drive to Venice. In the past, Cameron has always stepped off the plane and dealt with this car rental reservations then. Apparently having military orders saying you need a car holds a lot more weight than just showing up as silly americans on vacation :) So... after a brief pause in the party plans, we were able to get a rental car, set up the navigation system we brought (yes, we brought our own... we definitely were not risking THAT fiasco) and were on our way!

We had a route plotted to drive through Tuscany to Venice, and I have to say that was pretty brilliant of us ;) It was a BEAUTIFUL drive! Plus, Cameron just really enjoys driving, and he doesn't get to do much of it where he is, so it was just a relaxing day. We did fail to plan for food on the way, but that must have been the most successful "failure" we have had thus far! We stopped at the Esso station (just some rest stop/gas stations that popped up every 15-20 miles or so) and figured we would just get snacks or whatever. Boy... were we wrong!

There were definitely a lack of english speaking italians at the rest stop in the middle of nowhere, so we got to the counter and pointed at the sandwiches behind the counter we recognized as some sort of turky or ham sandwich. They threw those bad boys on the grill and when we got them they were warm, toasted, little peices of heaven! We couldn't stop laughing at how amazingly delicious Italy's GAS STATION food is! Seriously, we have tested this theory in Germany as well, and it is still a solid 10 in our books! Gas station panini's ROCK.... way more than any subway/sub sandwich/gourmet sandwich place in the states!

Here's Cameron with his happy tummy.... and yes, that was the rental car we squeezed into ;)

Oh... Can you say AMAZING.... a giant Kinder Chocolate bar! Perfect Road Trippin food!

Tuscany <3

The GPS system worked like a charm..... until about 10 miles before we were supposed to get off the autobahn. Then, it conveniently SPAZZED out on us and said we were driving in the middle of the flipping ocean. So... we had an adventure peiceing together what we could understand of the road signs and towns to try to orient ourselves on the map that we hadn't even used until then. By some miracle, and about 27 round-abouts, we made it to our cute hotel in a town I still can't pronounce. It was recommended to us by someone Cameron works with. The hotel had its own restraunt with amazing food (the BEST food we had in Italy, and THE ABSOLUTE BEST pork chop we have had E-V-E-R!) and it was about a 40 min drive into Venice! Perfect!

Here she is! Beautiful weather that day, perfectly clear and sunny, a bit windy, but not very cold at all!

I was so excited about being here, I just couldn't get over the fact that Venice REALLY does look like this! It's not just hollywood that makes it look so great.

We didn't bother to look at or use a map of Venice, because it seems like complete chaos anyway. I decided to take the advice of the Rick Steve's book and just get lost in venice. "Remember, your on an island and you can't get off!"

Venice has shops and stores and stands every corner you turn! We found a million little shops, which all had the same themed things, but that didn't stop me from going in to almost every one of them :)

S Marco Square

We searched high and low in Rome for hot chocolate and was totally disappointed, but venice didn't let me down! We found hot chocolate at a random cafe, and it was awesome.... more like a melted chocolate candy bar soup than an actualy beverage, but sooooo good and warm!

After I got warmed up, we went for a gondola ride! Our guide was pretty great, gave us some history of venice, sang a little, chatted it up with the other gondoliers, and told us that Venice is actually sinking about a foot every 96 years. Well, he gave it to us in cm/year ratio, but it's more impressive the bigger you make it sound, so I'm sticking with it sinking a foot every lifetime :)

You can't really tell from this picture, but these two buildings have literally crashed into eachother. At first we were confused why the building on the right would have bothered putting windows in when they were smack up against the other building, until we realized they coudln't have been that stupid, and this has been a more recent happening. Way cool..

I'm pretty sure the gondola ride was our most favorite part of Venice, and just for bradon.... Cameron wanted me to let you know, "the gondola ride was boss".

Our hotel manager had mentioned this road around italy so you could get a great view of venice. We took his advice, and after we were worn out from walking in Venice, we took a drive around to the other side just in time to watch the sun set. Cameron has impeccable timing with things like this, and with finding parking spots... somehow, they always save him front row parking wherever we go. It's almost embarrassing! :)

Italy was a great adventure! We were definitely in tourist mode from the time we touched down. I took a million pictures of everything, believe it or not, and have enjoyed every second of being on our vacation/anniversary/adventure together. Cameron's favorite things about Italy: the Colosseum, Pizza, and ME! Kelsie's favorite things about Italy: The Night Walk, the always available stuffed pastas, and Venice (gondola ride included)!

Next up.... Germany!

Rome-ing Rome!

2011-10-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

Alright, I have been MIA for a week now, so lets rewind.Last Sunday started super duper early with a drive to the airport (bakersfield airport, NOT LAX, thank goodness) with my dad. I had a 6:00am flight which meant getting up at 4:40. Travel day was not as rough as I thought, and really I didn't have any extensive lay overs or stop ups. I DID get screwed on my seat selection which was a total bummer, but on the flight that counted the most (from Dulles to Rome) I didn't have anyone sitting next to me, so that helped some. I also was prepared for the worst, as far as food was concerned on the flight, but was pleasantly surprised with mannicotti and a pretty delicious fudge brownie for dinner.

Cameron had arrived in Rome the afternoon before me, and was waiting at our designated rendevouz spot! I arrived at 8am Rome time, which made it 11pm Bakersfield time. I figured I wouldn’t have much problem with jet lag because I would just be SO excited to be in Europe and with Cameron. . . but even those two amazing things couldn’t keep me from feeling like I got hit by a large semi truck! Thankfully Cameron stayed at the hotel connected to the airport, so I had a place to brush my teeth and get the plane funk off of me as soon as I arrived.

We jumped on the hotel shuttle, and headed for the heart of Rome about noon (not before getting trapped in an elevator with a random Italian though…. I seriously didn’t think we were gonna make it out, the little voice on the intercom didn’t even understand him! Imagine if I was stuck in there by myself… )

With our luggage in tow, we were dropped off in what they called “rome center”. Unfortunately for us, we had no idea what direction was NSEW, so it took about 15 minutes, a hill, a few street crossings, some stairs, and finally an english speaking tourist couple for us to get our bearings straight. Our final plan: take a taxi! And it worked out beautifully! Our hotel was nowhere near where the airport shuttle dropped us off. Our hotel, however, was situated in the most convenient location; close to the main train/metro/bus station, tons of restaurants & sights, and in a semi quiet part of town. The afternoon after we checked in, we headed to the station to get our Roma Passes and check out the area. We hadn’t even consulted a map, so we were LOVING the fact that we ran into all of this amazing art/architect/history/etc without even trying! Rome is an unbelievable place! PLUS- EVERYONE wears scarves and boots all the time, and I was totally in love!

We found the missionaries! :) They were the most fun to talk to the first day, because they spoke english and I didn't feel so lost! haha, we asked about going to see the grounds for the new Temple that is being built in Rome and they told us it was pretty far away, but they had pictures from when they were there last week! I'm glad we didn't try to make our way to the sight because it was just dirt and construction prep. I know, soon, it will be amazing to see, but I would have gotten lost and cranky, so it was a blessing to run in to the missionaries :)

Baths of Diocletian

Cameron being pretty suave next to a GIANT light post. lol.... He's pretty cute :)

Across the street from the fountain.

I was blown away at the detail in all of these scultpures.

Ah.... more of the fountain/bath

Art inside the church

hmm.....

K, and this STILL has be baffled.... the sculpture is coming out of the door, but its a sold piece, or so it seems....

On our first non-travel day in Rome, we had planned to hit up “Ancient Rome”: the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Capitol Hill, etc. Cameron’s main interest was in the Colosseum, so we headed there first. He had taken care of his homework and watched the appropriate Roman movies that applied, to prepare him for his walk through history J We jumped on the Metro, and took the colosseum exit, assuming it would put us close enough, but as we walked out we realized it practically dumped us INSIDE! It was such an unexpected and a fantastic sight to see, and got us really excited for the rest of the day.

Seriously.... RIGHT as we walked out of the metro station.. BAM!

The Colosseum

Inside

The Arch of Constantine

The view from the top of the colosseum

Heading up Palatine Hill

This was the view from the top of the hill, and where we had our picnic snack. Inside the Forum and on the Hill we covered: Basiica of Constantine, The Forum's main square, Temple of Julius Ceasar, Temple of Antoninus Pius, Basilica Aemilia, Caligula's palace, Arch of Septimius Severus, Temple of Saturn, The Curia, House of the Vestal Virgins, and the Temple of VEsta... or at least what was left of all of these places.

Arch of Titus

In the Forum, the Column of Phocas

Once we left the forum, we walked around to Capitol Hill. This is the Victor Emmanuel Monument & Capitol Square.

One of the things I was MOST excited about in Rome was taking a night walk through the piazza’s to see the statue’s/fountains/monuments/etc lit up. The book I got before going (Rick Steve’s Italy) gave us a phenomenal walk & map. We had a taxi drop us at our first location and found that Rome’s nigh life was pretty fantastic! We ate at a cute restaurant outside with about 600 of our closest friends, music, lights, just really soaking up the culture and the fact that we were in Rome! Haha.

Campo de Fiori

Piazza Navona 4 rivers fountain

Piazza Rotunda Pantheon

Trevi Fountatin

& A really bad picture of the spanish steps. I wish I had a better one, but I was so sick of the guys trying to shove roses in my face so Cameron would have to pay them, we just made a quick pass!

On Day 2 we took our sweet time getting up and going for the day. We had Vatican City on our schedule and then some off the map roaming. We took the bus down to the city and I was seriously surprised by HOW MANY PEOPLE were there! I figured we were going during the off season, so it wouldn’t be very busy, but all I can say is… I would hate to experience Rome during the Summer season. More than enough people and crowds for my liking. When we arrived the Pope was giving his weekly blessing in the square. I’m not going to lie, we were completely oblivious to it until some guy asked us for information on the tour group and he mentioned what luck we all had arriving when the Pope was “doing his thing”. (direct quote). Lol… who knew?! (Side note: the neighborhood around our hotel was completely blocked off for driving later that day because the Pope decided to venture out and meet some newcomers or something, so he was at the little church across the street from us.)
The Vatican Museum was huge! I’m not going to lie, the art was beautiful, and the detail they created had me in awe, but all in all, the Vatican was our least favorite day. From a tourist aspect, it was another box to check off, but from any other aspect, I really felt a void and absence of the spirit. It was great to get some fresh air, eat, and head back to the hotel for our siesta! (PS. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the siesta schedule! Hahah…. Big surprise? I think not!)

Top of the Vatican- better picture at the bottom (thanks blogger)

Waiting..... soaking up the words of the Pope.... or not understanding a word of it. ;)

Seriously.... they had some real talent to get all this detail in! crazy! (and no, I don't know who this is)

I was totally impressed by the detail in this peice.... because it is a carpet! they sewed this detail into a rug? wow

That evening for dinner, we found the BEST food we had experienced yet! Cameron has been converted to crème sauces, and we were finally brave enough to try their meat plate, which really looks like thin slices of raw random meat…. But whatever it actually is…. It’s delicious!

Every night we would walk up and down the cobblestone streets and find a new gelato place or two to try out! It was perfection! I don’t know where America screwed up, but they definitely missed the boat on the gelato front.

We made it back before the weather hit. All night long we heard thunder, lightning (yes I heard it… j/k) and rain, rain, and more rain! When we went to breakfast the next morning the hotel staff was pretty frantic trying to de-flood the entry way! Haha…. We decided to wait a while before heading out for the day, but luckily (actually, not luck at all… I’m just THAT good of a planner) Thursday was to be our Museum Day!

hahaha... Ryan, I think this picture was taken just for you buddy!

Ah. Cameron actually knows who this is! Thank you hollywood!

eeeekkkk!

Um...... so who puts this amount of work, energy, and artistic ability into something somone is going to be burried in? I mean, awesome battle scene going on, but this AMAZES (and exhausts) ME!

What this tells us: Hunting deer in the primitive world was done with giant red hydrants!

Beautiful!

National Museum..... check

We went to the National Museum, had lunch, took a siesta, then headed for a stroll through the Borghese Gardens before going inside the museum. This museum was our FAVORITE! And of course, they didn’t allow cameras inside. BOO….. but it was still the best by far! We headed through the gardens again to Piazza del Popolo for dinner and some shopping and of course some gelato! We made our way from the piazza to the Spanish steps one last time. Eating dinner on the streets was probably one of the most fun things to do in Rome! It is just fun to people watch.

Borghese Museum- our favorite!

Roman Sunset :)

Piazza where we had dinner on our last night in town ;)

Another view of the city

One of the prettiest sunsets outside of North Dakota I have seen!

And Cameron.... humoring me, like always :)

Next up... a drive through Tuscany to Venice! Stay tuned....

OnE yEaR oLd!

2011-10-15T22:29:00.000-07:00

Fast Forward 16 years…..Porter: “Mom can I have a car for my birthday?”
Me: “No”
Porter: “But you missed my first birthday! What kind of parent misses their child’s first birthday? You hate me and your ruining my life!” etc. etc. etc.

Now I realize in the above scenario Porter sounds more like an emotional wreck of a teenage girl, but I’m pretty certain whatever conversation we have in the future will be something to that affect.

I know this is a choice I may never live down the rest of my life, but after a lot of thought and consideration I decided to have Porter’s Family Birthday celebrations a wee bit early this year. With Cameron being deployed, and trying to coordinate schedules and trips around holidays and when he is able to take leave, some sacrifices had to be made. Porter’s first birthday isn’t until October 18^th, but we had his party last night and I’m pretty sure he won’t know the difference (unless he happens to take an interest in reading the blog books, then I’ll have provided my son with one more piece of ammunition to use against me. ) Tuesday morning, when he wakes up, will be just like any other Tuesday: He’ll eat, play for a few hours, take a nap, wake up, get a new diaper, eat, play , probably eat again (because lets be honest, you don’t get those cheeks by chance), take another nap, wake up, eat dinner, play, get a bath (because he LOVEs baths- and after all, it IS his birthday! And then he’ll be down for the count. So…. Friday night just seemed to make more sense for a family gathering, and that way I could catch my plane early tomorrow (Sunday) morning for Rome.

Enough about me and my overly guilty conscience- I think we have established that I am the worst mother in the world, now I feel I can move on.

I decided to throw my overbearing nutrition obsession out the window for the night and we got some papa murphy’s pizzas (Porter LOVED his pizza!).

I had plans to make this delicious fudge flourless cake that I had in Jersey over Passover, but as I started the process I was completely freaked out and decided a one year old would enjoy cup cakes much better…. Plus, I didn’t want to burn down the kitchen right before I fled the country for a few weeks. Leaving the house in tact was the least I could do. As I started making the cupcakes, Porter was watching Einstein and that little caterpillar thing came on the screen, and I got the idea to make THAT! The kids loved their cup cakes, and the adults loved their cold stone ice-cream cake! YUM….

When everyone sang happy birthday to Porter, it was a total first for him, but he got really shy! He tried hiding his face and everything. We got it on the video camera, but lets be honest, it’s after 10:00 and I really should be in bed, so a picture will have to suffice for now.

He got some amazing (and loud) gifts from all of his grandparents and aunts and uncles! I think the hit for the evening was his gift from Grandma and Grandpa Maher…. It was a hit among ALL the kids, but we managed to talk them into letting Porter ride in it, since it was his birthday. They all seemed to understand that concept. J

Yup.... the horn works!

Such an Excited little boy!

Of course the clothes all had Moosen on them J And we wouldn’t’ have it any other way! Thanks to my really awesome family for coming over and partying with me and Porter on a Friday night! It totally beats what we usually do on a Friday night (refer above to the “eat, play, sleep” routine) This year has been challenging to be separated as a little family, but we are well supported and loved here and are so grateful for this family!!

Happy Birthday Porter, I love you, Your Dad loves you, (and now we are going to Party in Europe without you! Bahahaha)…. No really, You are the perfect addition to our family, and I am going to miss you terribly while we are gone!

We have a one year old….. WATCH OUT!

Fall at the Farm!

2011-10-15T21:53:00.000-07:00

Never mind the 90 degree weather we had today, I am still happy to say it feels like Fall! I realized earlier in the week that I was going to be back from Europe after Halloween, and I was afraid the pumpkin patch would be closed, so we decided to take the kids Friday. It was the perfect morning!
Porter joined right in with all of his cousins in the fun! He seems to know exactly who he is supposed to fit in with at this age. He is content with us boring adults, but as soon as the kids come over, he crawls at lightning speed to keep up with their fiasco's. I took a million pictures, because I love fall and porter both very much ;) So here we go!

Welcome to Murray Family Farms!

All of the kids ready for the party to begin. We went first thing in the morning, so the sun is glaring directly in their little faces. Porter was definitely not thrilled by that.

hahah, Andi's death grip on Porter :)

So, the farm has a giant corn pit (it's like a ball pit, but minus the balls, and substitute it with A LOT of corn!) The kids loved this part of it most of all.... I think they would have played in their for another2 hours at least. lol, my favorite part, was the amount of corn we brought home with us. You would expect to find it in their shoes, just like sand at the park, however..... all the corn we discovered was in their pants. I don't know how Porter slept for 2 hours with it there, but he managed just fine and I didn't even discover it until I went to change his diaper. What an awesome kid! hahah

Andi & Walter in the Corn.... very festive.

"Anything you can do, I can do better" or.... at least he tries :)

BAHAHAHA..... it was great to see him try to figure this one out.

Oh yes... we did.

Now we enter.... The Petting Zoo. K, this really was probably one of the smallest petting zoo's I have ever seen. Seriously, Minot put them to shame, but the kids didn't seem to notice a bit, and the birds were the biggest hit of all... or at least their feathers were. Sammy wanted to show me the feather..... and thats pretty much all I got of him :)

Luckily these birds aren't anything like the geese at Hart Park (you know what I'm talking about). Porter was taking his life into his own hands with this stunt, but the bird was smart enough to keep it's distance.

Oh my, these have to be the funnest (yes i just used it) picture spots ever! It doesn't matter where you are, a picture must be taken.

Here we go into Porter's own private photo session. haha, I would venture to say this kid's life is documented more than any other child on the planet. I used to say taking pictures was a hobby, but I'm pretty sure it has morphed into a ridiculous obsession. But who can really blame me? This kid is a total stud!

Porter has mastered this whole standing up thing. He takes a step here and there by himself, but it never lasts long. Due to balance/stability issues (and the weight of that mass we call a head) he tends to plop down pretty quickly after a couple steps. I bet (only a dollar) by the time I am back from Europe he will be walking steadily!

I LOVE this kid!

YAY.... I'm finally IN a picture! Thanks britt for snapping these!

Happy Fall Friday everyone!

Our Big Boy!

2011-10-07T12:52:00.000-07:00

Porter is only a few weeks away (days at this point) from being a full grown one year old! Yikes, where has the year gone? When I think in terms of Cameron being gone, this last 7 months seems to be moving at a snails pace, however, when I look at videos or pictures of Porter I am blown away at how many changes have occurred and how big he is getting. I can't say I'm sad, because I absolutely LOVE all the new phases, and I think he is more and more fun every day, but he definitely isn't a baby anymore! Cameron is going to have a blast with him when he gets home. Porter has come into a new cuddly phase, and i am loving it! He has never been a cuddly baby. He typically squirms out of a tight hug, and has never layed his head on your shoulder or anything, but now he will be playing, crawl over and lay his had on your lap, or just climb up because he wants to be held. It's exhausting on my back, but I think it is probably my favorite of his phases so far!

Meal Time with Porter. I have found that he sits in his chair much better if I just let him make a mess from the get go. So before I even put food in his mouth, I have to dump a spoonful of food on his tray for him to play in. It's pretty disgusting, I admit, but he's a boy..... so whatev.

Playing outside. hahah.... he LOVES playing with the pups, and apparently imitating them too :)

This look on his face cracks me up. I was calling his name, and he finally turned around seeming very annoyed.

Porter has decided he needs to get into EVERYTHING lately, so in these pictures he is reaching for his Baby Einstein box set of DVD's to ravage through again, but it's kinda like an animal trap, he could grab the box set, but couldn't pull it out. haha, i shouldn't laugh but he was getting so upset and frustrated that he could see the dvd's but couldn't mess them up.

Everything goes in the mouth.... duh.

Porter is officially standing on his own! I have actually seen his offical "first steps"- he took two in the backyard and then gently sat down on the grass. He hasnt' done it since, but he definitely took them, and I'm counting it!! (I was afraid he would take his first steps when I was in Europe)

He even claps for himself every now and then :)

This cute kid really does love his dogs. Every time we let him out to play he heads straight for the kennel. He shakes it back and forth like he's the hulk. It's a little ridiculous

AH...... and this is the ONLY picture I could see all of his teeth in! lol... Porter absolutely hates having his teeth brushed, but he has a whopping 8 teeth in now! I'm secretly hoping the rest come in while I'm in Europe (hehe, sorry mom.) He's not horribly cranky by any means, but still- I prefer my nice sweet boy, not the whiny screaming impatient little turd that appears during teething.

Well, There is the update on Porter. I will be taking him in for his 12 month shots when I get home from the trip with Cameron, so I will have more pictures and updates then :) I really do love this kid!

Century Ride 2011

2011-09-28T11:19:00.000-07:00

I have labeled this post as "Century Ride 2011" because I definitely plan on doing one again, probably not before the end of the year. So lets go back- Friday afternoon Dad, Mom, Ernie & Jami Larsen, and their friends from UT piled in the 2 cars and headed to SLO. Like I said in a previous post I didn't feel as prepared as I wish I would have been, but we were out of time and my thought was, "all I can do is pedal". haha.... and that is pretty much what happened.

We started our breakfast with oatmeal and fruit and tripling my dosage of juice plus for the day @6am Saturday morning. We were all surprisingly awake for having "slept" so well the night before :) We got to Cuesta College and started the ride about 7:30. I was still completely full of nerves, but oh well. (Mom did give me permission to turn around and come back if i needed to. Luckily that wasn't necessary) It was cold, and very moist/rainy the entire day so we were completely soaked from the get go! I found though, as long as we kept pedaling I was plenty warm.
Overall the ride was really awesome! It was challenging, exhausting, but so empowering at the same time! I'm not sure what the point is in riding 100 miles in a day, other than to just say "I have done a century ride". I think our goal was to do 6 hours of riding time, and we actually did it in about 5 1/2 which is faster than we expected, and I think we were all pleasantly surprised when we finished and figured that out!
Here we are AFTER the 100miles, exhausted, excited, and all hopped up on our Juice Plus & spiz! :) I really had such a GREAT time!!

I wish I had more pictures to share, but my giant camera is not conducive to being carried around on a bike, but there are plenty of pictures to document it, I just have to get the pictures from Jami! I WILL post, mostly for when I print off my book, but if you want to see, you'll have a chance to see it :)

one week closer!

2011-09-17T20:02:00.000-07:00

We are one week away from the SLOB Lighthouse Century ride. I have not been as diligent as I would have liked to be over the last few months, but sleepless nights, trips out of town, and LIFE has happened, so we do what we can. I trailed behind my parents and the Larsens, all on their tandems, today as we rode 64 miles through the vineyards/orchards of Bakersfield. I only had one issue besides my throbbing knees, and that was my very first fall off the bike. and YES, my dad was kind enough to document it before helping me get untangled from the bike!

For anyone who hasn't ever ridden before.. . APPARENTLY all the serious athletes get these stupid shoes with clips on the bottom so you can clip into your pedal. Basically this allows you to use ALL the muscles instead of just your quads to pump. Well, what they don't tell you is, it also LOCKS you into the bike and at a moments notice you could be on your butt because you couldn't get your foot out fast enough, or in my case: I got my left foot unlocked, but the road was leaning too far to the right. hmm... in either case, I didn't get a bruise, or scratch anything, so I am counting it a win!

Reception #2

2011-09-11T20:23:00.000-07:00

(Saved the best for last.... all the way at the bottom of the post)

After a long.... long.... long week of our regular schedule, plus decorating for Bobby & Kelsie's second reception here in town, we can finally sleep! haha, the shin-dig went down last night at the church bldg, and I would dare to say it was a success. We had originally started planning an outdoor reception because they wanted to do something different, but luckily bobby tends to sweat a lot..... so we made it in doors- and good thing we did! Thunder and lightning galore, with a few scattered down pours is what we had Friday and Saturday nights. Thank goodness, or overactive sweat glands, or we would have been in a world of trouble :)

Everyone helped get things set up Thursday, with a few touch ups Friday and Saturday we finally had a completed project. Aunt Lisa, Uncle Don, & Kyle made it in friday evening after Bobby & Kelsie had arrived. The rest of the family (Crowley clan and Kelsie's parents) made it in Saturday morning-ish.

Saturday started off with a bike ride with the folks, since the century is only 2 weeks away, and then a soccer game for Bradon, since I am currently assistant coach for his team. Would have been an awesome game had we not lost it the last quarter :( ah, well.... Bradon worked hard, regardless of his bruised ribs.

I don't have much to say about this reception, it went by so fast, but it was a really good time. I, of course, took a ton of pictures.... so here we go.....

Ray Family (minus Cameron).... but dont' worry, you'll all be receiving a fabulous copy of this picture with your Christmas card this year. :)

All the nieces and nephews actually looking at the camera :)

Parental Units for these two love birds

Grandma & Grandpa Ray, and Grandpa Crowley!

Dead Se.... or something

The whole food table looked amazing, but Seriously?? I mean who has time to make a melon look THIS good? ;)

My mom's sisters and dad

Porter and I from probably the most unflattering angle you could possibly find, however, it's the only picture of the two of us all night and he was on his way to bed (hence the diaper bag on my shoulder)

RAR.......

K, I have multiple pictures like this of me and bobby, but my favorite part of this picture happens to be Kelsie who was trying to put her shoes on at the moment.... at least i think that's what she's doing :)

I'm so the favorite sister-in-law ;)

And again..... we were starting the cleanup process- I wasn't just being a hick with no shoes.

Look at that smile! BAM

Mom's snazzy clean up outfit! I love the look personally

Oh britt...... all I hear is "Up on your toes....."

It was a long evening .... but those aprons were pretty awesome!

Cameron's most favorite Uncle..... JUST FOR YOU CAMERON :)

OH..... and as promised....... Fantastic dance moves from Walter and his wife Stef ( k I was actually sad there weren't more of these moves to go around, but the night was long, people were tired, and apparently there is something inappropriate about playing fergalicious in a church building? lol...

Road Trip! & Wedding!

2011-09-07T22:36:00.000-07:00

And that is what it truly was! Monday morning Mom, Dad, Bradon, Porter, and I loaded up in the van and started our trek to Washington. We had a pretty sweet set up, and for once in my life I appreciated the functionality of the mini van. We drove as far as Redding CA the first night, and ate at this amazing country restaurant that had GINORMOUS bears, "wolves", and MOOSEN on the wall! Seriously though... it was great! Then, to work off the 10 lb onion blossom we ate, we went for a walk/jog to target. Dad thought we were pretty lame for that activity planning, but it was totally necessary.... mom was out of dark chocolate!

Tuesday we started for Eugene OR, but took a detour to a glass bridge and then Shasta Lake and Caverns.

These pictures are all mixed up, but it's all from the same day! They had an awesome set up, and the scenery was gorgeous. We rode the ferry across the lake to a bus that took us up to the cavern entrance. We climbed 600+ steps throughout the tour, but it was pretty interesting to see all the amazing sights underground.

Porter on the Ferry

Blurry, but one of the only happy picture of porter in the cavern. He was ready for a nap long before we were done.

A LOT of rooms.

BRADON PLANKING IN THE CAVERN! lol.....

Climbing..... climbing.... and climbing some more

hahaha, this bear was definitely not real, but it entertained porter all the same

PLANKING THE FERRY

Below the glass bridge, and worlds largest sun dial

Attempt of a plank on the sun dial ;) Bradon-0, Cable- 1

The water was really cold and porter was NOT impressed.

PLANKING the sun dial

Is it just me or does this look like the star trek symbol?

hahah.... moments after mom told bradon to catch a lizard that ran into the grass.

Hop... or something ;)

Wednesday we had a quick drive to Lacey Washington, but needed to see the waterfalls somewhere around
Portland, so we took another scenic route (historic Route 30). We found a nice overlook of the Columbia River, and one waterfall and called it quits :)

We met Kelsie's family Wednesday afternoon, and first thing Thursday morning went to the Seattle, WA temple for her endowment session. It was a beautiful temple, of course, I just couldn't get over how green everything is up there.

After the Temple, her entire family took us on a tour around Seattle. It was quite the place! My favorite part was Pike's Market. The produce was excellent, and I wish I could do my grocery shopping their every day!

Fish n Chips for lunch :)

What a champ!

This picture was taken for you Kiley dear ;) I know how you love your flowers!

AH..... REAL FOOD :)

Friday was prep day full of moving church tables/chairs, sewing wedding dresses, and dipping pretzels in chocolate! Saturday was the wedding and it was PERFECT! Britt and Walter had flown in Friday night and met us there, so our whole family (minus the spouses & kids) were there! It was great to be in the temple together, and Kelsie's Grandpa (who performed the sealing) had a sweet spirit. These two are so happy & so am I :)

haha, Bradon insists this looks like they are at a funeral, but I just thought it was a precious moment.

Britt & Porter- great hair day!

The Happy Couple

hahahaha......

Um..... Don't worry, the rest of the photoshoot is at the bottom :)

oh brother.... haha

cute cute centerpieces

these next two pictures were taken pretty much at the same time. I promise they were making the face at each other. Porter doesn't typically look so deranged! lol....

Somehow, the three biggest people got stuck in the back seat of the van.... hmm....

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FUNNY!

WORK IT!

Porter will one day be able to compete with his Uncle Walter, but for now he is just stinking cute. These were the many faces (and outfits) for the day!

We had an absolutely fabulous time at the wedding & reception, and look forward to the second reception this saturday here in town. Mostly because we never want to have to make that 16 hr drive straight through again, but also, because Walter promised some famous dance performance at this reception! Stay tuned... :) Videos will be uploaded!

Rest of the week

2011-08-17T21:25:00.000-07:00

Yeah, Porters nap time quickly became my own nap time during the rest of the week, so here is what happened during the last half of our trip :)

We went to dinner every night when Cameron got home, Wednesday night we tried PF Changs but it was PACKED! So, we tried to find somewhere new and cool to eat, but instead, ran out of time because Porter was super fussy and just ended up eating at Chilis :0/ It had started raining on our way out and MY GOSH, Florida sure knows how to have a storm! There was a break in the clouds momentarily, so we went to Barnes and Noble to browse around, and not 5 minutes in the store the power started flickering and we were pretty much stuck for the next 45 minutes. Porter and Cameron played with the trains in the kids corner while I looked for something to grab my attention, but then I realized I still have a ton of books Brittany has let me borrow that I haven't even cracked open. The rain/thunder/lightning didn't let up one bit so we finally just made a break for it to the car to head back to the hotel.

His dad makes the best jungle gym ever!!

Again, with eating the camera.

Look, even his pockets are cool! (or so it seems)

Thursday was totally stressful (so needless to say, but there are no pictures)! Porter and I started our morning in the pool, then Cameron came and picked us up so we could have the car for the afternoon while he was in class. We WERE going to go to the airplane park on base, but again, it was POURING rain, so we hit up the Commissary, BX, and Target! Of course straightening my hair was a complete waste of time because just running from the car to the store I looked like a homeless person (plus, Porter throwing his peas & carrots on my shirt/hair/face didn't help matters). I thought if I killed enough time either Porter would take his nap in the car, or the rain would stop and we could actually get out of the car to play. . . well, let me tell you..... Neither happened! :( I had a crying kid in the car with no where to go because by the time we would have driven back to the hotel, it was time to turn around to pick up Cameron who was supposedly done at 4:40, but in reality didn't make it to the car until after 5! Those were the longest 20 minutes of my life! lol... ok just kidding, child birth was WAY worse, but still, my patience and nerves were shot for the day. We had planned to try pf changs again, but I was so grumpy we just got pizza and called it a night. Luckily, Cameron was in a much better mood than I was, so we ended the day in the swimming pool (of course it had finally stopped raining).

Friday! Oh Friday! I was so looking forward to Cameron having the rest of the weekend to spend with us! He got out of class semi-early so after we made sure Porter had 2 REALLY solid naps, we went to an outdoor mall to walk and look for a new watch for Cameron, and then FINALLY made it to PF Changs for the delicious lettuce wraps and our usual ;) Yes, Cameron told the waitress we were pretty much regulars and they gave us our lettuce wraps "on the house", which was awesome, except really.... I think the last time we ate at Pf Changs was probably a year and a half ago!

This kid knows how to work the camera! He is the best at humoring me :)

And a great shopper too

We finally got Porter in bed, and decided to watch "Baptists at our BBQ" which, by the way, is totally dorky and we acknowledge that, but it was pretty funny- so don't judge.

The rest of the weekend we spent puttering around. We didn't have anything pressing we HAD to do, so it was perfect. We went down to breakfast every morning, where Porter was practically a celebrity! I think he hit a record of 6 people telling us he looked like "one of those gerber babies" in one day. He had such a fan club of guests/employees at the hotel by the end of the week it was almost embarrassing! In fact, the ladies at the desk were sad that Cameron didn't bring Porter to say good-bye when he checked out (I already had him in the car, and for once he wasn't crying about being in his car seat- i wasn't jinxing that!)

Cameron living it up on the beach! (he really hates sand) lol...

Cameron had a friend from Minot in his course for the week, and another friend about a 3 hour drive from where we were, so Saturday we all met up for dinner and the Bass ProShop. hahah, yes, kind of redneck, but if they had a Cabellas we would have picked that (as if it's any better)! We had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, where once again, Porter was the star of everybody's show, and then we went back to the boardwalk we had gone to earlier in the week to take these guys to "our" ice cream shop ;) We walked way more than we did before, and checked out all the boats down in the docks. Besides the overwhelming stink of fish, it was a pretty great/relaxing night, and I only felt a little sticky as opposed to drenched by the end of the evening. :)

Cameron and his homies "boys night out"

me and porter <3

Ignore the blurriness of the photo... we had a blind kid taking the picture. ;)

The rest of the weekend we attempted what looked to be a really cool indian museum.... total disappointment! But fun pictures ;)

Shooting Porter out of the cannon. . . duh. What else is it good for? I LOVE the expression on his face!

We relaxed and hit up another pier, closer to the hotel in the evening. I was totally loving every second of being with my family! These are the two most handsome dudes I know ;) And the most fun too!

Porter has officially figured out how to climb on things! Watch out!!

Cameron & Porter getting loaded up at the souvenir shop :)

My FAVORITE group of pictures! Porter is way too grabby these days..... (yes he did pull my hair out in the last couple)

Monday we went to lunch at Cameron's favorite BBQ place "Nick & Jims", and then drove to Pensacola. The plan was to hit up the "Gulfarium" before leaving the island, but Porter fell asleep in the car, so we just kept on driving. :( We again, had time on our hands with nothing pressing, so we found a mall (indoor this time) and wondered around Bed Bath & Beyond, World Market, and the entire interior of the mall before hitting up Dairy Queen as a last "activity" before Cameron dropped us off at the airport.

That was much harder this time around. But we had such a great time just being together for a week, and life as always, Cameron makes life so much more entertaining!

Monday was the official 6 month mark, so we are HALF way there! :) And in this last half of the year we have a Wedding, a century ride, a mud run, a Juice Plus conference, a Europe trip (which Porter is not coming on, jury decided), Thanksgiving in Utah, Christmas, and somewhere in there I need to squeeze in a cycling certification, a half marathon, a chicago trip, a minot trip, and PCSing to Alaska..... whew!

(now, can you imagine if I would have saved the entire WEEKs worth of blogging for one post?!)

Portable's Night Out

2011-08-10T08:44:00.000-07:00

K, so Bradon came up with that awesome nickname for Porter, and it has stuck pretty well this week. Probably because he is just SO stinking portable, and he just goes with the flow.

Yesterday Porter and I played on the beach most of the day he wasn't sleeping for 4 hours! That's right, I was able to blog, do laundry, wash bottles AND take a nap! Woohoo... talk about a vacation :)

That definitely looks like they are up to no good..... :)

When Cameron got home we headed out to dinner. Some guy in the class Cameron is in right now recommended this place called "the Shed". It is a pretty good bbq place down here, (and no walter, I didn't order the ribs) But the atmosphere definitely lived up to its name. haha, the only way to describe it was when cameron asked me, "Gary and Audra would have never brought Lexi into a place like this huh?!" :) hmm... it was a "family" joint though, it even said so on the sign :)

Cameron & Porter in front of the Shed

Porter was a total dude and zoned out watching the big tv on the wall... it was probably a football game or whatever season we are in right now.

I LOVE how happy this little man is.

Of course, daddy can't get him to smile the way I can ;)

After dinner we walked around the boardwalk/pier shopping area. We were actually looking for a new shad hat for porter's fat head, because he threw his away yesterday :( And yes, eventually we found one, but it wasn't NEARLY as cute as the one he had before. I am very saddened by this. There may possibly be way fewer pictures taken of porter swimming now, mostly because his hat is just not that fun. ;)

He did, however, try on lots of hats. As you can see.... he wasn't thrilled.

We found this cute little walkway where no one was hanging out so we let porter get out and move around. He totally loves crawling around and investigating things these days. Oh, and I also made Cameron and Porter sit for some pictures ;) too bad I didn't realize Cameron's sunglasses were still on! :( I was too focused on Portable looking at the camera. Oh well :) I still think these are two very handsome dudes!

This has to be my favorite picture! LOL... they are so fun!

Of course, the Maher glare that Porter comes by righfully ;) Seriously, they look like I posed them this way, but I definitely did not. It just happens!! haha.

We couldn't leave the pier before stopping at "Sugarland", this cute and totally awesome ice cream shop/Candy shop! Both Cameron and I have been super healthy lately and haven't indulged in a lot of junk food, so whatever possessed us into thinking we could each eat a double scoop of ice cream with a waffel cone is beyond me, but I think we definitely got our fill. Which was so worth it by the way! Their birthday cake icecream was A-MA-ZING! Even Porter enjoyed some of Cameron's chocolate chip cookie dough :)

We accomplished the task of finding a hat, and I had just finished saying to Cameron "the weather predicted scattered T-storms today and NOTHING"... when boom! In comes this beauty of a storm. Thunder, Lightning, and super amounts of rain! Good thing Beauty and the Beast was playing on the Disney channel, or we would have been stuck :)

I'm so glad when daddy comes home... (or Florida)

2011-08-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

And we ARE!! Cameron is "home" temporarily on a TDY in Florida at Eglin AFB, So Porter and I decided to hop a plane and come visit. We packed and flew in to Pensacola Saturday evening and stayed in a hotel right across from the water. I have never been to Florida and it was MUCH more humid and sticky and hotter than I thought it would be. I don't know, I kind of always imagined Florida being more like California, not New Jersey (but I am LOVING the greenery, so I won't complain).

Porter did so-so on the flight.... ok really, this was the worst flight of any that we have been on and he may be uninvited to Europe... jury is still out! Now that he is mobile, he is not down for just sitting on your lap, even if you have hours of baby Einstein for him to watch. It just doesn't cut it. I tried to not get my feelings hurt when he started LUNGING for the flight attendant, just because she was walking around and he wanted to get up too. hahaha, I guess I'll have to try extra hard to teach him the whole "don't talk to strangers" bit. Because at this point, he'll take them over me any day!

I'll give him credit though, he did fabulously on our layover and in the car, even though I had to stop for food and formula before we even got to the hotel. Once we were there I let him wreak havoc on the place until he wore himself out, and went right to sleep!

Sunday we drove from Pensacola to Okaloosa Island (or something like that) in Fort Walton Beach where our next hotel is. We made it to the hotel, unpacked, drove to the airport, returned the car rental, and made it inside minutes before Cameron's flight arrived. He text as soon as he landed, and about 20 minutes later we were STILL waiting to see him. After 31 hours of traveling, and i don't know how many countries he crossed, he was stuck sitting on the plane because the ramp was jammed or something 2 ft from the door of the plane! LOL, are you KIDDING ME?! Eventually they made it off the plane, and it was so great to see him! I think I enjoyed watching Porter and Cameron meet again more than anything. Cameron can't believe how big porter is, and porter (of course) was all smiles, and so excited to have a new friend! He has constantly been following Cameron around the hotel room, and is happier to play with daddy than me, but it's a welcomed break :) I think I would be bored with having to see me all the time too, so I don't blame him.

He literally sat and stared the whole time cameron was shaving and brushing his teeth

The only thing cooler than daddy is the camera.... he is so hard to take pictures of because he always tries to eat the lens now.

So like I said before, Cameron is on a TDY which means he is still working while we are here. He has class from 7:30 until about 4 or 4:30 every day, so luckily our hotel is RIGHT on the beach and if we decide to not let porter eat the sand, there is also a pool. Yesterday we walked down to the beach for a bit before Porter's nap, then after sleeping for 3 hours, we got dressed and headed down for some pool time when a thunder and lighting storm set in so we couldn't get in the water. I thought "no big deal, we'll just wait till it passes".... well that took until about 10 minutes before his next nap, so.... I showered and finally got ready for the day. lol, oh well, there's always the rest of the week to try again!

Cameron got home and we went to dinner and just hung out as a family the rest of the night. My FAVORITE part of the night was our trip to Target. I put porter in the basket (because he's big enough to sit up on his own now and has been for a while, lol) and Cameron wanted to push the cart. I thought we were NEVER going to make it out of the store. He was SO careful of every little turn and bump, and seriously.... I think a snail lapped us because he didn't want to push the cart too fast. hahaha, We are going to be in some serious trouble when Cameron gets home and sees how layed back life with Porter really is. hahaha. He's one super (over-protective) daddy. Although, It sure is nice to have two people/jungle gyms for porter to crawl all over. :)

Ignore Porter's mess of a face, he was in such a good mood, I couldn't bother to upset him by wiping his face, for some reason he is really dramatic these days.... ;)

This morning Porter and I went out first thing to make sure we didn't get stuck inside again all day, and sadly, this is the last we will ever see of this adorable hat..... I swear, the first chance he got, Porter ripped it off his head and launched it into the ocean :(

Ah well.... we'll have to go find a new one, hopefully just as cute :) hahaha.... K so really Cameron HATES this hat and thinks i'm ruining our child by making him wear it. But I think he's adorable in it, and thats that!

K, well I figured I would post during nap times, so I don't have a 5 page long post with 200 pictures when I get back. We get Cameron all to ourselves Saturday, Sunday and Monday, so hopefully there will be alot more family shots throughout the week :)

Rafting Down the Kern

2011-07-31T14:18:00.000-07:00

So for years now, I have heard people talk about going rafting down the Kern River. I haven't ever had a particular interest in it, but it sounds fun, so this week while Bobby & Kelsie (his fiance) were here visiting we took a family trip! It was LOADS of fun! I was nervous at first, the speech they give before you get in the raft makes it sound like a really big deal. They teach you how to float/swim in the water so you don't slam your head into something, then they talk about how to get out of a whirly hole or something to that effect. All i remember was feet front to float, and tucking into a ball so the whirly thing could suck you in and spit you out. Trust me, I practiced before we got in the water.

Britt and I modeling our hott (no really, i was sweating way too much) life jackets

Here we all are ready to load up :)

Thad and I floating down the river..... man, that is alot of teeth!

Anyway, the biggest rapids are right at the very beginning and then most of the time you get to float along with a few bumps. Not too bad. We had alot of water this year, so I didn't have to worry about hitting my bum on anything or getting scraped up because I couldn't even feel the bottom in the swim sections.

We all got to take turns jumping from a tree out in the middle of the water, walter jumped from the tip top, the rest of us down lower, but bradon definitely had the most style :)

It was a friend of ours who took us down the river and gave us the option of going to the normal drop off point, or down further. We were having so much fun we decided to go longer. The best part of the whole trip was about 1 1/2 into it when our guide says, "um, I don't really know where I'm going now so....." haha, we made it out alive, so I guess all is well.

The soundtrack for the night switched back and forth between "yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me" and my very own version of "rocking down the highways" clashed with "rolling down the river" ... they are like one in the same for me!

This might be my favorite picture of the day... Britt owning the raft!

Another Milestone

2011-07-30T21:42:00.000-07:00

Thats right, we have a 9 month old! Porter turned 9 months old the day after my birthday, and happened to start crawling the same day!! :)

He probably would have crawled the day of, but the video camera wasn't charged so I had to "stall" him. Some say "tackled", others may say "shoved", but really.... I gently pulled his legs out from under him so he wouldn't successfully crawl without me catching it on camera for Cameron.

We had his check up and he is 31 inches long, 21.5 lbs, and healthy as a horse :) (whatever that means) and almost as big as one too! He is still the happiest boy I know, except when he's teething and we have had a TON of that lately. He has 2 bottom teeth, very visible, and I think the top ones are about to pop through any day now. It seems it would be a very painful process, but he still tries so hard to be happy.

Like I said before, he is officially crawling, and makes his way wherever his little heart pleases. Because of his new found freedom of sitting up by himself and being so mobile, bedtime has become MUCH more difficult. I know he doesn't do it intentionally, but he really does think he should be his own boss. It takes three times as long to get him to sleep at night, and it just breaks my heart to hear him cry so much. He has gotten to the point where he starts crying every time I walk down the hallway towards his bedroom. It's truly pathetic.

Porter is eating almost constantly these days, and has made it into a lot of his new 12 month clothes. I do feel better knowing how baggy they are on him, but I think its probably more comfortable than the skin tight 9 month clothes I keep trying to squeeze him into for a just a day longer.

He really is the best baby I can imagine. He makes me laugh multiple times a day with his fun smile, and hilarious head nods. Today he was sitting in the bean bag chair just singing his little heart out, and every now and then he would look up just to make sure I was watching, give me a huge smile, and continue his song. It was the funniest thing. Other things Porter LOVES: rocking (on his own), playing with his reflection in the mirror, hanging upside down, KC's bark, being held and carried everywhere, baby Einstein, peek-a-boo, cheerios, yogurt, screeching (or yelling), singing, being tickled, chewing on EV-ER-Y-THING, he loves uncle brado the most, and of course grandpa aka "the fun guy".

Here he is, in all his glory, lounging and living the life with baby einstein :)

I walked in one day and found him (after crying for an hour), and he had fallen asleep like this:

Oh, and here he is BEFORE his most recent haircut.... I'm sorry, but it was just too much scraggly, thin, whispy hair for me to handle..... it was like the ultimate bad comb-over (when it wasn't in this ridiculous looking mo-hawk).

In other news, Porter and I are counting down the 7 days left until we get to fly to Florida to spend a week with Cameron! K, really, I'm counting, and porter has no idea, but "we" sounds better than "me me me" all the time. lol. We have a hotel on the beach, and hopefully the course Cameron is taking won't keep him very late so we can still hang out every night! Ideally Porter and I will stay on a CA schedule, which gives us more evening time to spend with Cameron, and then we can sleep while he is in class :) (ideally). Either way, it will be fantastic to see him!

Well, there you have it.... Porter at 9 months is total amazing!!! I just LOVE this kid.

Birthday Weekend!

2011-07-28T21:22:00.000-07:00

Alright, so I'm over half way up the hill now, but still... 26? Is that possible? Why do I still feel 17? hmm...
At any rate, my birthday weekend was fantastic! I actually got to spend a lot of it with family and my super close friends! Thursday night britt was awesome and had a Mexican food night at her house. I invited Corky and Kiley over and then we stayed up (way past my bedtime) just chatting and catching up. The three of us have been so far apart for so long now it is a rare occasion we are in one place at the same time. It was perfect! (plus, I can finally say I understand what Kiley does for a living now... lol)
Friday mom and I went to this fantastic Prevention Plus (juice plus) seminar with some friends here in town. It was the second time I had heard this lecture, and I learned even more the second time around. Saturday morning my mom was great and watched Porter while I went to a Juice Plus business training which was so much fun. I love the education I get at any of these events! Then by noon I was home and we hung out and relaxed the rest of the day. Porter is so much fun to spend time with, I feel so unproductive most of the time, but I also feel extremely blessed that I can spend hours rolling around on the ground just playing with him or watching him try to crawl, play, talk, etc.
Saturday night Corky and I drove across town to Matthew Hunts missionary homecoming party. He served for 2 years in SLC, UT and while his family isn't living here anymore, they have tons of family and friends here that wanted to see them all :) Which meant more time with the three musketeers! (i'm not sure when we decided on that name, but we must have been young, and I'm sure considered ourselves really clever).

These girls have been my longest friends, in fact, every year at Christmas we try (with Malcolm) to get as many of us together as possible for our gift exchange still. Next year it will probably be Kiley, Malcolm, and me in Utah for Christmas. Luckily Kiley and I are on the same rotation with our in laws so we are always in Utah at the same time.
Sunday was my birthday! Cameron called WAY earlier than he typically gets to, so we talked for about an hour and a half, and planned our fun trip to Florida in august and our Europe trip in October. He also let me open the gifts he sent me with him on the phone. He got me a beautiful locket (which i asked for, but he picked out and it is perfect!), and then some scarves from Kuwait! He knows how I love me some scarves, especially in the winter- and lets face it, I have alot of winter to look forward to! He is the best! We went to the Hunt's old ward for sacrament meeting to hear Matthew speak. He has grown up so much since I saw him last, I didn't even recognize his voice when I would look down.

We had family dinner and of course Corky came! I don't think she has missed a birthday dinner that I have been in town for. Usually we are at the beach for family vacation on my birthday, but we always do a Sunday dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Ray.... and Cork! She's awesome that way.
I really just enjoy my family so much. I know they probably don't realize it because I'm not good at expressing it, but Sunday dinners are the best. ESPECIALLY when I get TWO cakes!! Walter made me a carrot cake (YUM), and Grandma made me a chocolate cake with 7 minute icing (double YUM)!
Even though Cameron was gone for my birthday (again), I still think this is the best birthday I have had in a while. I loved being able to talk to him for so long, and my gifts are beautiful, and Porter just makes everything more enjoyable, and I just really enjoyed being with family. Thanks to all the birthday wishes (via text, facebook, or call) I had a fabulous day!!

Who knew.....

2011-07-15T16:31:00.000-07:00

That Visalia is an AWESOME place!

I don’t have any pictures of this, and it makes me very sad.

Last Saturday the girls (Mom, Britt, Stef, and Me) and Porter took a trip to Visalia, CA. What is in Visalia? You ask. . . Well, I discovered a Hobby Lobby and it is only an hour drive from here! Living in ND & NM I took having an amazing craft store for granted. It wasn’t until I moved back home and went to visit the local Michaels, that I realized the tragedy of NOT having a Hobby Lobby. You know that saying “the grass is always greener on the other side”, Well… I was the only one who knew just how green it was. So, I felt it my duty to introduce my sisters and mom to the fabulous world of Hobby Lobby, and they LOVED IT! We probably could have spent a few more hours in the store than we did, but everyone was getting pretty famished, so we went to find lunch. And do you know what we found? A Panera Bread! Once again, I KNOW how good it is, but no one else did (stef went with me before, so she had an idea) and again… they LOVED IT! I think Brittany almost cried because the bread was so good. ;0) For anyone who has not been to Panera bread I have three words for you- Bacon Turky Bravo- Go now. Stockdale hwy, past CSUB. Enjoy!

After Lunch, we went to the Tulare outlets to, (I guess) find outfits for the wedding (PS. Bobby is getting married September 3rd). I think we all found something definitely NOT wedding material, but we definitely are more stylishly dressed this week

Well there you have it. Those are the two big things we have done in the last few weeks. I do have a porter update to post once I take some cute pictures to go with it, but I have to find a time he’s not yelling at me for putting him down to do it.

(PS. That now brings us to the present, well a week ago anyway)

Independance Day 2011!

2011-07-15T16:26:00.000-07:00

I think Cameron is trying to set a record for being out of the country on the 4th of July the most years in a row! This now makes 3, but unlike years past, I was determined to not let Porter's 1st 4th of July celebration go unnoticed. The last 2 years I have spent a long quiet weekend inside reading whatever series I happened to be on... and lets face it. That is NOT how the 4th of July should be spent.

I had to sub a class monday morning at the gym, and Porter had a date with my mom and brother to hit up the pancake breakfast. dad was making the rest of us feel bad because he went on a killer ride and burned a bazillion calories so he didn't have to feel bad for anyhting he ate that day ;)

I decided I wanted to have some friends over for a traditional bbq/swimming/hangout/firework show party. My dad was being a pretty big scrooge about the idea, but I convinced him he wouldn’t have to do a single thing. He could sit on the couch and watch TV the whole time if he wanted to….. well, now I know WHY he was so anti-party. It’s flipping EXHAUSTING!

We ended up having: Brittany, Thad (and their two kids), Walter, Stefanie (and their two kids), Marc Tarin (and their 4 kids), Michael, Carrie (and their two kids), Spencer, Corky, Me (and Porter), Bradon, the parentals, grandparents, and the Villanueva clan.

SOOOO many kids! But they had a total blast all night! We went swimming, I grilled up some hamburgers and hot dogs (what could be more American?) and we had WAY too much food-even for the amount of people we had! Everyone was able to sit around a visit for a while before it was dark enough to light fireworks.

Every year growing up Bakersfield College would do a HUGE fireworks show right at the end of our street. Sadly, this is the second year they didn’t have the budget to do one. BUT…. We do have a few pyromaniacs in our family, so Walter & Bradon took care of the show this year. The kids totally loved it! Porter really enjoyed chewing on his glow stick, and didn’t mind the firework show when they were only lighting one off at a time, however, that lasted for about 2 seconds before they decided to do 5 at a time, and THAT…. Porter did not feel like dealing with. So, we said our goodnights, and went to bed. It took a lot longer to get him to sleep that night because of all the noise outside his window, he seemed pretty traumatized by it, but I think he’ll eventually enjoy them- its in his blood.

It was so nice to hang out with family and friends regaurdless of how exhausting the whole shin dig was, Im really glad we did it! and hopefully this is the last year Cameron decides to ditch out of the festivities. Next year, 4th of July in Alaska- EVERYONE is Welcome!! :)

Whirlwind visit to ABQ

2011-07-05T17:29:00.000-07:00

K, time to play catch up.

After our adventures in Utah back in May, we were on a flight to Albuquerque Saturday afternoon. We stayed at a 4star hotel, complete with toiletries and ALMOST a mint on the pillow ;) haha, actually we stayed with our friends, Katy, Micah, and Porter's homie Emmett :) but katy is an unbelievable hostess. We stayed up way past mine and porter's bedtime chatting but it's so worth it! It was great to be back in our ward on Sunday and see all the confused looks of "but i thought you moved... or are you just inactive?" haha, oh well. Either way, Porter was not enjoying being there one bit. Mostly because it's about 30 minutes into nap time and so he falls asleep in the car on the way and then thinks he should be awake for all 3 hours but is fussy and miserable the entire time!

Anyway, Monday was a different story. I went for a quick run, picked up the rental car, and then had a really fun bbq with couples/families from the ward for Memorial Day! I didn't know half of them, but it was still so fun. It's amazing how much easier you fit in with different groups when you have a kid.
The whole point of the trip (besides visiting katy & micah because i missed them terribly) was to take care of a few things with the house. I met with 3 realtors and a rental agency on tuesday morning, as well as took care of the GIANT weeds, and piles of garbage in our backyard. It made me so sad to see how trashy the yard looked, especailly after all the hard work Cameron put into it last year. It WAS so pretty! It was also a lot harder to see the house so empty. I just miss my cute house. Anyway, long story short: we decided to rent it out because we can't afford to take such a huge hit on it by selling it. Hopefully we'll get a great military family in there so we know we have renters for at least 3 years :) Fingers crossed! (and as of an hour ago, we DO have a military- well retired military family as renters! YAY)

I was able to be done with all those meetings by 1:30 and went to lunch with Chris, Jody, &Tracy from defined fitness. I really miss all the girls from work. Then, Katy was super sweet and watched Porter for me so I could go teach body pump at 4:30 with Chris. It was so much fun, but kinda sad because hardly any of my regulars were there, so I didn't know alot of the class, but team teaching with chris is a party no matter who is there :)
Wednesday (I think) Katy and I took the boys to the zoo! It was pretty warm, but the boys did great, and we even got to watch the polar bear feeding. They would jump in the water after the fish, and one jumped really close to the window we were watching from and really surprised poor little porter. haha, i couldn't help but laugh, but he didn't seemed too pleased.

Thursday morning Porter and I met up with Chris and Wilton for bagels (yum) and an early lunch. It was so much fun to see old friends and I hadn't talked to wilton in months, so it was really great! Everyone is doing so well with their classes, personal training, etc that it just made me miss it. I loved teaching in abq and having a regular class, and luckily, by the end of thursday the group x coordinator from bakersfield 24 hr fitness called to give me a class! So I was feeling much better about things.
Before we left bakersfield, the weather wasn't warm enough to take Porter swimming, so Katy & I took the boys to the pool to hang out with Tracy for a bit. I think Emmett probably enjoyed it more, but mostly Porter was just not amused at all, especially when the kids started splashing. Oh heavens, that was the end of the pool for porter. So... we took them home and put them in the bath tub. They still got to keep their swimsuits on, so it was just like the pool, but warm... with no splashing.... and not windy..... or cold.

This was attempt number 1 at the real pool :)

Saturday was the LesMills Quarterly in abq. (basically a day packed with all things les mills :) classes, education sessions, etc) It was SO MUCH FUN! We started the morning off bright and early with bodycombat! I'm not sure which kicked my butt more, the class or the education hour. Then I took a break with my awesome friend jen while bodyflow was going on (yoga is not my cup of tea). The next hour was RPM (spin) and I thought I might actually fall off the bike and die! It was AMAZING!!!! I have seen for years the people that walk out of a spin class completely drenched in their own sweat, but I haven't ever been brave enough to do it. I finally did, and I loved it.... not in the middle of it, but the feeling of pure exhaustion afterwards was so sweet, and it was a blast to take the class with all my instructor friends who were making fun of me almost the whole time :) I'm glad someone got some enjoyment out of my pain ;)
(Katy was way too nice and watched porter for me all day while I took my classes, so i rushed home to try to relieve some of the stress, but it happened to be porters nap time, so I don't think I was much help. lol, sorry!) I ran back to the gym to take the new release of bodypump and education course, and I am pretty sure I have never felt so out of shape. There is something about the energy in the room that mentally makes you want to push harder and keep going, but your body is saying "hey fatty, you haven't REALLY worked out in 9 months, give it a rest already!" but.... who listens to that?? ;)

Sunday-Tuesday, WAY more relaxed!! I was happy to be able to take a breather and just hang out with katy and emmett for a while. You would be amazed at the action that takes place in the Lillrose household ;) We had a funny surprise almost every night! Some nights we got two! hahaha, their neighborhood is great!!
I had a wonderful trip, and Porter did really great! He took some notes and lessons from Emmett and decided to learn how to roll over!! FINALLY! We got it on video, but it was kinda sad because he was whining alot. Anyway, we got to work on a fathers day gift for Cameron while we were there, thanks to hobby lobby we got alot of cute fun pictures!

Well we made it home Tuesday night and ready to be home. 3 1/2 weeks was long, fun, exhausting, and left me with ALOT of mail to open. But we definitely had a great time and miss our friends dearly! Hopefully I can convince them to come to visit us in Alaska.