The Porter Family

Updates

2011-10-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

I finally got some pictures from the summer and recently uploaded to my computer. Here's a little sneak peak of what been keeping me so busy lately...

Kian's at THAT age. And he's finally reached the point where he can climb everywhere! The kitchen and bathroom counter is no problem. He's figured out that the drawers act as nice steps. He can even climb on our counter height chairs and get onto the table. At least his mischievousness is balanced out that cute innocent smile :)

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T16:21:00.001-07:00

We made this video today for grandparents but I thought we'd share it with all. Happy Easter everybody!

Gardening

2011-04-19T15:07:00.000-07:00

I think the warm is finally here to stay! We've been busy expanding our garden (I really wanted some add some raspberries into the mix and they needed their own box. Soooo I convinced Cam to build me another box, and while he was at it 2 more :) I'm actually pretty proud of myself because I got to use the power tools and help put them together. Haha.

With our first box we got untreated reg wood (I wasn't into the idea of chemically treated wood leaking chemicals in the soil then being soaked up by the plants and into our food). After 3 years it's starting to rot out pretty good. So this time we were smarter and opted for cedar. But we found a really cheap source for it so I think we'll replace the bigger box too next year. I like to garden so I'm writing too much...but anyway, here's pictures.

Before

Progress

After!


Yummy strawberries are coming! If you can see in the pic we have a 16 x 4 space dedicated to strawberries because we love fruit! I can hardly wait!

Here's what we're growing this year.

Strawberries
Raspberries
Snow Peas
Snap Peas
Broccoli
Carrots
Tomatoes
Peppers
Basil
Parsley
Bush beans
Zucchini
Yellow Squash

Hooray! Hope the bugs don't eat it all before we do!

New Painting

2011-03-27T19:42:00.001-07:00

If you haven't been to my art blog lately, head on over for a visit! I finally updated it with a new painting. www.beckyporter.com

Spray Paint Magic

2011-03-03T14:35:00.000-08:00

Over the winter, our neighbors were about to throw away some of their outdoor porch chairs because they were really stained. I thought for sure I could get the stains out, so I happily took them off their hands. So one day when it was warmer, I scrubbed with everything from bleach to borax and no luck! They were still dirty looking and stained. I decided to try spray painting them. After I picked up the paint, I was so excited, I forgot to take a "before" picture. Luckily I had a few from our snow fort building, they are the green and white chairs...not really my style anyway.

So I picked up some Rustoleum spray paint in glossy black. And Ta-da!!

Not bad for $14!

Snowman Maker

2011-02-25T14:45:00.000-08:00

I was doing the dishes today and turned around to find Cruz had taken a whole thing of red yarn and wrapped it all around the house. Was I oblivious? No, I did see him doing it. But I didn't realize the extent until I told him to start cleaning it up. Ha! The whole time he kept saying, "I'm a snowman maker!"And I was thinking, what in the world is he talking about!? He's crazy! Then finally I realized we used that string to make some candy bar snowmen for Christmas. Duh. Cruz has a way better memory than I do. Anyway, I snapped a few pictures.

Cruz's Scripture for Primary

2011-02-20T17:51:00.001-08:00

Inspired by his cousin Parley, when we found out Cruz had to say a scripture for primary we decided to teach him to memorize it. So for the past few weeks, every night before bed, we practiced. He had it down about a week ago and this week we just perfected it. So today in primary, Cam came to help (I was teaching my class so I didn't get to see). They both went up to the podium and it just so happened the microphone was out. Cam discovered Cruz's way to deal with the nervousness and having lots of kids looking at him was to whisper. So he said his scripture but unfortunately Cam was the only one who could hear him. So in lieu of that and for family we are posting a video of him saying it at home. Enjoy!

Snow Fort

2011-02-10T17:20:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things to do as a kid when it snowed was to build forts. So I set out this morning determined to build one with Cruz. We got dressed in our snow gear and on the way out I mentioned to Cam that he was welcome to come out too. I started over in the corner of the house where the snow seemed pretty high already. After about 15 shovel fulls, I was getting pretty tired. [Enter Cameron, to save the day!!!] Cam helped me out a little....er uh... maybe a lot. And Cruz well, he got tired too and pretty much watched us work.

Watching all the action :)

The finished product

I laughed when I saw this one of Kian.

Every time I dress Kian in this suit it reminds me of the movie "A Christmas Story"

Nothing like Hot Cocoa and marshmallows to finish off a fun day of playing in the snow.

Snow Days...

2011-02-09T16:34:00.000-08:00

We had our first snow day in Arkansas a week ago. While sledding with the young men, some of the guys didn't think Cameron could snowboard as good as everybody was saying. Well he had to erase their doubts...

First time on the snowboard in 3 years, he's still got it!

A picture from the first snow storm:

And then today, we woke up to a welcome surprise, 14 inches of snow!

Cruz started to walk in it then realized how deep it was and came back!

Cam helping Cruz over to the already shoveled driveway

Happy Winter!

DJ

2011-01-20T11:54:00.000-08:00

So for those who don't know, Cruz has an obsession with Disney's Cars the movie and the actual little replica cars as well. For Christmas, Santa brought him 4 shiny new Cars. The next day, he decided he wanted one more car, "DJ", from Santa (yeah right!!). After a talk about how Santa already came and only comes once a year, Cam and I decided to take advantage of this and have Cruz earn the money for DJ. Every time Cruz helped around the house he earned a quarter towards his car. To illustrate how many quarters he needed, Cam crafted up this genius paper.

I did not know how much a 3 yr old could help around the house before this. Our favorite chore to do together was unload the dishwasher. A little scary at first, considering all the breakables but he got the hang of it.

I set the silver ware tray down on the dishwasher and he actually liked separating forks, knives, and spoons.

Next he takes out the bowls and stacks them by size. Then gives them to me. Same with plates. Wow.

Needless to say, after he earned all his quarters, DJ found a new home.

Bookcase!

2011-01-07T11:52:00.000-08:00

A while ago, I asked Cameron to build me a bookshelf for my birthday. We decided if we were going to do custom we might as well go all out haha. In all actuality, the wood came in 8ft lengths and to make it easier for Cam, we just left it (actually it was a little complicated too because we built it in 2 parts so it would fit though the door... but that's another story...). So we ended up with an 8x8 ft bookcase that fits pretty good on our wall. I really liked how it turned out and it makes our living room feel a bit more home-y :) I'm still working on decorating and filling it up but here is a picture of the finished product.

And a little shout-out to my Dad and Judy who shipped me some church pictures for my birthday as well. Here they are on the wall.

A Merry Little Christmas

2011-01-04T21:36:00.000-08:00

I'm finally getting around to posting about our Christmas. As much as we love being with family, it was fun this year to start some of our own traditions.


Christmas Eve- Opening new pj's

My mom helped me make these stockings over Thanksgiving. They are like the one I had when I was little.

Santa Came!

Kian's new jumperoo

Cruz loved Christmas!!

Kian's Close-up!

2011-01-04T21:09:00.000-08:00

I had some fun earlier in December taking some pictures of Kian. Oh I just love that baby face!

Dad's Visit

2010-12-02T07:39:00.000-08:00

Time passes so quickly. My Dad came to visit us about a month ago. We had a lot of fun together. We toured the town, went on a nature hike, and visited the gentry zoo. Here are some of the pictures from his stay. Wish I had more pictures of him but he's always behind the camera lens! All the pictures except the one at Tanyard Creek were taken by him. He is a great photographer!

Dad and Cruz at Tanyard Creek

Halloween Highlights

2010-11-12T21:42:00.000-08:00

So I am about 2 weeks behind on this post but better late than never!

Cam won the family pumpkin carving contest this year. I keep telling him he's good at art and he doesn't believe me! This is a carving of Kipper (a show Cruz likes to watch on Netflix).

Kian was sporting Cruz's costume from when he was 10 months.

Cruz was a "Newsie" or 1900's news boy. Actually I just bought him this so he could be one of my painting models, and it doubled as his costume this year. I thought he looked pretty cute!

This year Cruz went trick or treating at Cam's work and during the truck or treat. He got quite a bit. And of course we had to help him eat it a bit because that is just too much for one little boy lol.

This was the Bella Vista Halloween 5k Run. These are all people from the ward. They are awesome!

Videos!

2010-10-24T20:09:00.000-07:00

Some recent videos of Kian and Cruz.

2 year old fun

2010-10-08T11:59:00.000-07:00

About a week ago, I was cleaning my bedroom and Cruz was playing in the room with me. Next thing I know he went into my bathroom and shut the door. Strange, I thought. But I kept on cleaning. A few minutes later I smelled something. The distinct scent of baby powder. Oh no! I opened the bathroom door and found the culprit, Cruz, with the bottle of baby powder in hand. All over the floor and in the air was half the bottle of baby powder (I was choking when I walked in there was so much in the air). I snapped a few shots with the camera before a punishment :)

Grandma and Grandpa Porter visit!

2010-09-21T12:54:00.000-07:00

Cam's Mom and Dad came to visit us over Labor Day weekend. We had a great time while they were here. Friday, Cam took off work and we went to the Gentry Zoo. The weather was awesome! We couldn't have asked for a better day. It was sunny but cool. It was also nice because only a few people were there. On Saturday, the ward had a 5k run and thanks to Grandma and Grandpa, Cam and I were both able to run in it! Sunday, we blessed Kian in church. And on Monday, we went to a Labor Day party at the Peterson's house where we enjoyed swimming and boating. Cruz loved all the extra attention and fun and so did we! Here are a few photos of their stay:

Looking at animals while we drove through the zoo.

Petting Zoo

Mom to the Rescue!

2010-08-11T17:55:00.001-07:00

A big thanks to my Mommy for saving the day! I called her at 3:30am to tell her I was at the hospital and she left that morning on a 12 hr drive from Texas to come help with the Kian and Cruz. It was just what we needed! Cruz (actually all of us) enjoyed a week of being spoiled by Grandma! It definitely eased the transition from one to two kids. And I got extra sleeping time which I miss already! We miss you Grandma!

Home sweet home

2010-08-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

We got to go back home today. What a relief. The hospital stay was great, but nothing is better than the home for a family. We snapped this picture so we could have one of all of us together. Cruz was excited to hold his little brother, and he did so with such love and care. It was a tender moment for us all, to see this loving action by Cruz for his new little brother. We are doing a good job of still giving Cruz enough attention that he doesn't feel abandoned. In turn, he is giving us the time we need to care for Kian, and make necessary adjustments for this new lovely addition to the family.

?...Family Resemblances...?

2010-08-01T22:15:00.001-07:00

So, Becky and I were asking each other if Kian looked like Cruz and if so, how much, what features, etc...children change so much from when they are born, so I went back to some of Cruz's "Day One" pictures for a better comparison. Take a look for yourselves:

Kian is on the right. At 5 oz heavier and half an inch shorter than Cruz, it's quite fitting that he looks a little chubbier, right?

One eyed bandits

Kian Porter!!!

2010-08-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

Kian Porter was quickly welcomed in this world at 4:12 AM, August 1st. Kian, like his older brother Cruz, came three weeks early. Becky woke me up at 3:00, saying, "It's time, let's go to the hospital now!" We loaded everything in the car, and arrived at the hospital by 3:45. I checked us in and signed all the forms, all the while Becky's water broke while painfully waiting in the car. We rushed up to our room, and by 4:12 AM, Kian was born! We are very happy to have him here, healthy and safe. We are very fortunate to be blessed with another precious child of our Heavenly Father.

Kian Porter. 7lbs 6oz. 18 1/2 inches long.

Blueberry Picking

2010-07-25T12:14:00.000-07:00

Through some friends we were able to find out about a local blueberry patch. We weren't expecting many people when we arrived at 7 am on Saturday but it was packed! Luckily the place was well organized and pretty big so it was not overpicked at all. In fact, we were pleasantly surprised to find tons of huge blueberries! They were even better than the ones we picked in Oregon. We all of course ate ourselves sick. Even after that we managed to pick 2 gallons of blueberries in about an hour. It was awesome. Once we got home, I made a bunch blueberry jam, froze some, and a had a few leftovers to spare and enjoy fresh.

My little artist

2010-07-25T12:05:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist posting these pictures. I paint a lot during Cruz's naps and he always wakes up and sees me and says "Mommy are you painting?" Then he says, "I want to paint too!" Since painting with my oils is a bit messy we got him some of his own paints. He loves painting and I happily encourage him.

Belly

2010-07-25T11:49:00.000-07:00

By request...

Not the best photo... but one of the few pictures of me this whole pregnancy (I've been avoiding the camera). This is me at 35 weeks and counting!

Success!

2010-07-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

Well we're officially switching our blog from wordpress to the more user friendly blogger. Hopefully this will motivate us to post more!!
Anyhow, this summer has been a fun and hot one. One of our favorite things about summer is fresh food from the garden. This was my first time trying to grow watermelon (one of Cameron's favorite summertime fruits!) and we were successful! I even have a picture to prove it :)

Cam, Cruz, Me, and baby ....? Still no name for our next boy!