Porter Family Reunion Escalante

We went up to Escalante for the Porter Family Reunion this Memorial Day weekend. Mr. A's great-Grandparents on his dad's side were born and raised in this small town. It was a very eventful weekend: Mr. A's high school had their graduation ceremony (Friday), Bella finished up the first grade (Friday), and we drove to Escalante (Saturday morning). This reunion has been going on for 30 years, it is a favorite of Mr. A's parents. We have not attended before and Mr. A wanted to go one last time before it really ends (this was planned to be the last). Escalante is a quaint town surrounded by several national parks (West is Bryce Canyon, East is Escalante Grande Staircase, and South is Zions). We arrived shortly before 11am on Saturday, we attended the formal program with announcements, presentations, and a luncheon. All of Grandpa A's children were there, they took some group pictures after the program. We took all the little ones on a hike in the Escalante Petrified forest, went canoeing on the lake, slid down the rocks at the Slick Rocks, counted Moki marbles, climbed the rocks at Devil's Garden, cooked in the dutch oven, ate s'mores, sang songs by the campfire and slept in tents. It was a busy weekend. We even ended up going through Zion's park on our way home and spent a little time playing out there with the kids! I have lots of pictures to share but would sure like anyone who has additional pictures from the reunion to please share. I didn't get many except of my little ones (they're just so darn cute I cannot help myself).

cousinsMr. A's sisters and mom Mr. A's brothers and dad @ Moki marbles
@ campsite

Jack-Jack and Mr. A's brother @ Escalante Elementary
playing on the dinosaur
on top of the rocks @ Devil's Garden
caught red handed "collecting" Moki marbles dressed as a fugitive
Jack-Jack swimming in the Moki marbles sliding down @ Slick Rock
Jack-Jack with his latest crush
He even blew her kisses!!!
Jack-Jack & Rex @ Escalante Elementary

Rex on a real slide "posing" @ Slick Rock
Jack-Jack sliding down the rocks
Cousins playing at a fort they found
@ the bottom of Slick Rock
Bella taking a break before she split her pants on Slick Rock @ Petrified Forest
@ Petrified Forest
Jack-Jack catching some Zzzz
The babies at the bottom of Slick Rock trying to find their own way up
Sliding on Slick Rock as the journey began
Rex hiking @ Petrified Forest
Bella being a true tourist reading the pamphlets

Babies

Mr. A's 30 Today!!!

Ugh!

Plague and famine in the air
Gloom and doom and dark despair
Happy birthday - ugh!
Happy birthday - ugh!

Long ago your hair turned gray
Now it's falling out, they say
Happy birthday - ugh!
Happy birthday - ugh!

Now you've lived another year
And your death is drawing near
Happy birthday - ugh!
Happy birthday - ugh!

Now you've reached the age you are
Your demise cannot be far
Happy birthday - ugh!
Happy birthday - ugh!

The Black Death just struck your town
You yourself feel quite run-down
Happy birthday - ugh!
Happy birthday - ugh!

See the lines upon your face
Like the pattern of old lace
Happy birthday - ugh!
Happy birthday - ugh!

At your age you ought to learn
First you pillage, then you burn
Happy birthday - ugh!
Happy birthday - ugh!

May the candles on your cake
Burn like cities in your wake
Happy birthday - ugh!
Happy birthday - ugh!

Rex's 3rd Birthday

Rex is now 3!!! We celebrated his birthday (May 13th) with his uncle birthday (May 14th) who turned 10. "Birthday Season" is an explosion of birthdays and parties in our house! We have 9 birthdays within a little over one month's time. My mom and I decided that for my grandparents benefit we would throw these two parties together this year. We had the party at yet another park (Mr. A voted out any future parties at the park due to wind issues), an actual park with a splash pad. The kids loved running through the water and the birthday boys had a blast! Here is just a glimpse of the splash pad in Washington Fields

She is getting ready to runRex loves to climbTJ got a new bike for his birthday Grandpa B and Jack-Jack just "talking" Rex blowing out the birthday cake
Lightning McQueen birthday cake from the Cars Movie

Another one of my creations!
Rex enjoying all his gifts
He was spoiled rotten!
The kids enjoying all the sunshine

(Hint: Just click on the pictures to make them bigger)

Happy Mother's Day!

It's almost always that Mom has the strongest, quietest and the most caring influence on us. She balances so many roles so beautifully, yet she does it all with a smile. She gives us roots and wings and is always there to listen to our hits and misses. Often we feel thankful, but don't know how to say it. Mother's Day is the perfect time to show her your love. I got the perfect card for my mom this year. It said "Everything I am I owe to my mother. Like I'm not enough debt already!"

It was perfect now that we have been dealing with the stress of buying our first home and all. My mom, sisters and sister-in-laws on my side have decided that from now on us girls are taking the Mother's Day weekend as a Girls Only weekend and making it our annual kid and husband free time to party together. We'll get facials, manicures, pedicures, our hair done, watch girly movies, shop and just enjoy being women! We missed this mother's day weekend so we'll be taking the time away later in June and then Mother's Day weekend from here on out.

Kitchen Remodeled

We've moved into our new home! It's been a lot of hard work and we're still left with much to do, it will be a constant project for th next few years but it will pay off to have a home of our own. I thought I would upload what we have done as far as the kitchen goes to show a little bit of what we've been able to accomplish thus far.

Before

After Before
After BeforeAfter Before

After

I really like how the kitchen turned out. Now if we can tackle the back yard this summer we'll be well on our way! Wish us luck!

Backyard Bliss

Our backyard is a work in progress,

mainly dirt so the kids are loving it! Joshua & William were giving each other a dirt bath and I couldn't resist taking a picture of them in their fun!

Obi's 5th Birthday

We celebrated Obi's birthday a few days after his actual birthday due to the move and a very sick little boy. We had the party at our new home which was fun to show off. Obi had fun but was disappointed that his cousins weren't there. He picked out the Transformers for his theme so I made a cake to go along with it! My parents got home from Hawaii on Obi's birthday so they wouldn't miss a thing but he was so sick he never got out of bed that day. Obi's best picture!

Here is the dining area in birthday apparel
Transformer logo birthday style!
Jack-Jack got to the cake right after Obi blew out the candles and while he was opening presents. He's a little to quick for his own good. At least half the cake wasn't eaten by the time he was caught "RED & BLUE HANDED" literally!

Obi at his birthday party
Grandpa loving the baby boys