Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Leave of Absence

I will be taking a leave of absence for the following reasons--

Reason #1:

I am in...

*google images: William Henry Jackson*

...Twin Falls!

I have had quite the family milestones this month.

Two sisters have had their daughters on the 15th, and the 16th, and my younger sister got married on the 24th after becoming engaged only 20 days earlier.

Don't worry, she dated the guy for 2 years.

That's why I'm where I am.

She got married in the Twin Falls temple and I will post pictures as soon as...

Reason #2:

I have decided I do not like iPhoto.

My mom has a Mac, and I'm not used to it.

I don't like how iPhoto makes the file size super small when I import my pictures.

Any tips?

I will post if I can figure it out.

Reason #3:

I am tired of blogging.

Actually, I just made that up because I wanted a third reason.

...meh...

I'll have to play catch up when I go back home in August.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

The Motorcycle

Seth's bike was in the shop for about two months.
He and I weren't happy about that.
It limited both of our freedom drastically.
Weeeellllllll....
...now it's fixed!
Yay!

Porter's on his 'motorcycle' to celebrate.
PS: Seth had to fix it on his own, but the guy at Iron Horse was super nice and let him use his shop to work after he couldn't figure out what was wrong.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Our Neighbor

About a month or so ago, Seth showed me a picture on his phone of our scaly neighbor, and I thought it was pretty awesome.
Turns out it's more than just a neighbor.
It's living in what might be considered our "basement".


I, actually, really like snakes...
...as long as they aren't ones that will kill me.
But, even if they can kill me, I still find them fascinating...
...behind glass.
Anyway...
Porter says greetings to it whenever he sees it, and seems to have a fascination like I do.

I just hope it kills all the spiders and bugs for me.

5th of July Barbeque

To keep up with tradtion, we had a barbeque!
There was quite a turnout!

I actually brought my camera's batteries inside the camera this time, too!
Success...
Anywho...I was actually too busy holding the new babies that were there and didn't really take a whole lot of pictures in the first place.
The kids had plenty to do!
Mostly water games...and I apparently didn't get the memo because:

No swimsuit.
Oh, he has one.
Best part was when we were about to go home and he was waddling all over the place with his full diaper-bum.
Guess what was Porter's favorite part of the slip-n-slide.


He's looking right at it.







Yep.

It was a great day!



Lots of food, friends, and competitive four square.



Seth didn't participate this time.
He preferred to "chill".
Thanks Nelsons!

Our Independence Day

I love the Fourth of July!

I love everything about it--the history, dressing up, the barbecues, the concerts, the fireworks--everything!

For the Primary kids that day, I put together a special presentation for Singing Time.

I told stories about the history of the signers of the Declaration of Independence coming to President Woodruff to have their temple work done for them, the making of the flag (including what the colors symbolize), and the history behind our national anthem.

They loved it, and I'm so glad!

I actually ran across a poem on Sugardoodle that I added to the presentation because it was so good:

Listen
by Teresa Bateman

Listen -
Can you hear it?
That soft whisper in the trees?
The sound of honest cotton
Reaching out to catch the breeze?
Unfurling in the gentle winds
Red, White, and Blue it flies-
The flag of our great nation
Standing crisp in freedom's skies.
Listen-
Can you hear it?
That soft flutter in the wind?
A touch of martial music,
A soft-sung distant hymn.
The weeping of a war-bride,
A wounded soldier's moan,
The sound of distant cannon,
A bugle's lonely tone.
Listen-
Can you hear them?
Those who struggled valiantly
Through years of war and hardship
That their children might be free?
The winds of change are blowing.
Can we stand before the test?
Have you noticed it's the strongest winds
That make the flag show best?
Listen-
Can you hear it?
That soft whisper in the trees?
The sound of honest cotton
Reaching out to catch the breeze?
Unfurling in the gentle wind,
Red, White, and Blue it flies-
The flag of our great nation
Standing crisp in freedom's skies.
Remember what it represents-
The cost behind the vision.
Look up-
Can't you see the way it beckons to you?
Listen.

I hope everyone had an amazing time watching fireworks and having fun with family and friends, but I mostly hope you remembered what the day was about.

I'm so grateful for the men who risked their lives to found this great nation, and for the men who are currently risking their lives, money, and their reputations to keep this nation free.

We went to the fireworks show in Banks that night.

There was quite an impressive group there!

But...I forgot my camera's batteries that were charging, so I didn't get any pictures.

Porter loved the fireworks, and even narrated them for all of us..."That's blue...green...red...yellow...Daddy's favorite!...pretty!...my favorite!...fireworks!...Big one!"

Happy Independence Day!

PS: I couldn't keep from crying while in the process of making the presentation.

The two times I gave it that day--for Junior Primary and Senior Primary--I also couldn't keep the tears from coming.

I became a mom and now I'm becoming my mom :)

PPS: I may make this presentation a tradition in our family to give every year...we'll see.

Night Energy



If you didn't know, Porter has a lot of energy at night.

It's even been said that it's then that "he's at his best".

Well, I'm not sure I'd say it was his best.

More his most fun.

Maybe because he gets loopy when he is starting to become tired.



**rash around his mouth is from teething...getting some last molars in there that have been growing in for about a month now**

Then he becomes playful...





...a little strange...



...and really cute.







He kept noticing me taking the pictures, and wanted to "see" and take pictures with me.





But then, he decided he wanted to take his own pictures...



**my very first digital camera...will upload his pics soon if he ever lets me touch it**

Porter is a very serious photographer.



But, he enjoys his work.





He carries it around in a slightly odd way, though...





...and gets pretty upset if it doesn't stay put.



Usually when the tears start, it's time to put it away and go to bed.