December update

 Well you know Christmas is around the corner and you find your kids hiding in the cupboards.(a.k.a  from Christmas Story) Yep! Porter and Kinley's favorite place to be is in their bathroom cupboards. They love pretending they are hiding from Monsters in there and they will play in there for a good half hour sometimes.

We started this month off with Patrick's work party at Ruby River and we were allowed to order ANYTHING we wanted! I was in heaven, when my jumbo coconut shrimp came to the table! We then played a version of white elephant trading with about 100 rules, BUT it was lots of fun! We were told by others to buy something you would want to go home with cuz you might end up with it. Sure enough we ended up coming home with the very 2 items we showed up with! One by choice and one by chance! It was lots of fun and I really enjoyed getting to know Patrick's work buddies better.

Then the next morning we helped my mom make most of the grandkids gifts(which I can't say what they are until after christmas) And later that night was our ward party. I knew Santa was going to be there so I had practiced with Porter before we went how the whole sitting on Santas lap routine goes. So it was our turn for Porter to sit on his lap and before Santa could even say a word of "have you been a good little boy? or What would you like for Christmas?" Porter sat on his lap and immediately exclaimed "TRAINS!"  He then wanted his candy cane and got off. He was done! haha As for Kinley we got 3 feet from Santa and she FREAKED OUT! Now I tell you... I have NEVER..EVER...seen Kinley this scared before. She was digging nails into my shoulders and screaming with terror. She wanted nothing to do with Santa. So I took her out in the hall thinking out of sight out of mind. Right?! well after about a minute she looks at me and says "Mom! Santa Fine! I see Dad now!" So we went in and once we got over to our table by Dad, Santa was waving goodbye to everyone and yelling MERRY CHRISTMAS!  So now whenever we see santa Kinley gets scared(but not as freaked as she was that night) and she looks at me when it's all done and says "Santa Fine"
The 3rd week of this month we were gearing up for all our family parties and we were super excited for them! They were on the weekend one on saturday night and one sunday down in the Salt Lake area. But then we got called into the Stake Presidents office and he called Patrick to be the 2nd counselor in our wards new bishopric! Well that changed plans a bit, because they were making the change the same sunday as our family party. Seeing that Dad and Grandparents needed to be here to ordain Patrick a High Priest that sunday anyways we decided well we'll offer our house for the sunday party. It all worked out and we were able to do EVERYTHING that weekend. It was a little stressful and hectic that weekend, but totally worth it! We went to the temple saturday afternoon, then the williams family party that night. Drove home with 2 coughing sick kids. Woke up and went to church Sunday...that day was busy and crazy and then that night all the munson family came our way and we had a riot sharing talents and playing games.
We love this time of year and would have been super bummed if we would have missed those parties! We are now super excited for Christmas to come and hope you'll come back to hear all about it!

And here is a cute little video of Kinley. Lately she has been amazingly cute when she tells you she loves you! She says it ALL the time and she can't pronounce her "Ls" very well. And we had been wanting to catch her counting 1-2-3-Sick! And I can honestly say that this video of her doing it is the last time we have heard her count like that. It was so adorable and we miss it... but now she is a smart girl who can count 1-2-3-4-5-6-8-9-tenleven. Super cute!  Enjoy and MERRY CHRISTMAS!! P.S. she just woke up from her nap so she looks pretty rough!

November 2011

This month Patrick and I started it off perfectly! The first weekend we were blessed enough to be able to go to a stake toy exchange/swap.  We were able to get almost everything we wanted to get for our kids and more than we ever dreamed of. So we were finished with our christmas shopping! how awesome is that? Ok not completely finished. I still had to get a few more and yes exactly 3 more things for the kids for chirstmas and we were done. then all we had to worry about was our neighbor/friend  and family gifts. Not bad right?  Then on sunday we made sugar cookies and the kids LOVED frosting them and of course eating them!

The second weekend of the month it snowed. So Patrick worked on our neighbor gifts and Porter and I went outside and played in the snow, while kinley took her nap. It was Lots and lots of fun! The snow was perfect for snowman making and Porter was really involved in building the snowman.
The third weekend, my mom came up to stay with us. There was a friend of the family getting married that weekend and we enjoyed a fun night that friday driving to the reception in the snow and visiting with friends. Then saturday we enlisted help from mom to set up Christmas. We were itching for the christmas season to come. For many reasons of course but 1 being we are in a new home for chirstmas this year and I was anxious to decorate it with our christmas things. 2nd of many reasons being last year we moved 2 days before christmas so I didn't set up christmas at all last year. I was missing decorating for the holidays and that fun spirit that is brought into the home with the warm christmas tree lights and the magic of santa and the thoughts of our Savior and others in our hearts.

Then the next week followed with a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. We spent Thanksgiving with the Christensen side this year. There were only 5 of us kids and our families there though. The 2 others were very missed, but it was also nice to be able to visit with the others and play games, which seems to happen less and less everytime we get together as a family because our family is getting sooo big! We enjoyed the memory name game that we played most of all.

Also over Thanksgiving weekend we helped mom with here beautiful cross stich works of art that she donated to the festival of trees. She asked us to help with making the frames. Didn't Patrick do a great job? And that is porter next to the kids tree in our basement.

Ever since coming home from that nice break and being with family we got to work on finishing our Christmas tree. It consisted of a few nights staying up til 12 to finish projects, but we finished it within a week and WE LOVE OUR TREE. We chose to make a theme for our tree this year. The theme we chose was a "music tree" We made ornaments that look like notes and a treble cleff, music books, bells, sheet music rolled up as scrolls, piano keys and christmas music words such as noel, rejoice, hallelujah, sing, etc.. It's beautiful and we really love it. So things like that have consumed our time this month other than the normal work, kids and callings. :\
All in all we really enjoyed the month of November! Hope y'all did too.

The Month of October in a glance

 (Warning! This post is so long! I didn't proof read after I finished...and I don't want to ..so here is my apology for all of my many errors!)

Oh this month was GLORIOUS! We had many things to do, lots of fun doing them and we also have really enjoyed the B-E-A-U-tiful weather!

Of course this month was started off with a WONDERFUL General Conference. Patrick and I felt the general authorities really stepped up their game this year and spoke very clearly. Either that or we are just more in tune with what was being said. Either way we really really enjoyed conference!
Also this month we took the time as a family to go see the leaves changing in the canyon and take a few family pictures. Y'all can see in the previous post the pictures.
One of the highlights of our month was when my sister and her family of 8 came to visit us over their UEA Fall break. That saturday afternoon 2 of their daughters, Lauren and Elle, were in the Beehive Beauties Pagent. It's an all natural no make up type contest where the judges score the girls on their confidence. I'm very proud to say that both Lauren and Elle came home Queens of their age group! They both did beautifully and I think they really had a fun time. We enjoyed spending time with them especially after the young kids went to bed and we played the celestial companions game. (teams: Aaron and Jenae, Patrick and Skye, & yes... Cardon and Mirae!) It was fun to play the game with Cardon and Mirae. We made it work in relationships with siblings as well and guess who won! That's RIGHT! Cardon and Mirae!  too funny!
Porter LOVED having Josh here to play with him and Kinley really took to Aunt Nae Nae. She talks about her all the time now.

These two kids have been such and amazing JOY in our home! They interact super well together. Kinley has really taken a liking to playing trains with her brother  and Porter is doing well with sharing and letting her play with him. They love running around the house and causing mischief together these days.I hear them many times just giggling and squealing through the halls. LOVE LOVE IT!

Our dear sweet Kinley turned 21 months old this month. She is getting close to being 2! I can't believe it. We can't even begin to express in words the amount of happiness, peace and joy she gives to ALL of us in this home. She is so Sweet, Tender, Loving, Caring, very Silly, Giggly, Fiesty, and when she wants something or you make her mad... Look out she can become a fireball! Patrick and I just cannot get enough of her! Especially when it's time for bed and she gives us loves and kisses. We just want to squeeze and squish her and maul her! And she giggles through it and loves it. She says NYE-NEE, YOVE YOU DAHDDY! It's so adorable!
She loves to be outside, she loves to play with the Mickey Mouse memory game cards( she basically plays 50 card pick-up) She carries them with her wherever she goes. She still loves her binkie and blanket! She is working on cutting her very last tooth! Somethings she likes to say is "WHA-WE?" (Where are you?) "YOVE YOU" (love you)  and she is currently liking saying "Ssss-Sick" (Soo-Sick from Sarah Bareilis on the sing off) She really enjoys putting a piece of ice in her water. She always says "Peas some ICE!"  at lunch time. She is very good with saying Please and Thank Yous. She hates getting her diaper changed, yet loves to get dressed and ready to Go somewhere. Oh and how can I forget... she is our little book worm! She loves to read stories. She can walk up and down the stairs, but she wants you there to hold her hand. She likes to take you by the hand and "show you" things she wants that she can't reach. She loves emptying her dresser drawers throwing all her clothes everywhere. And she LOVES Cheetos, fruit snacks, grapes and pretzels.
She also really likes McCEAM( aka Cars Lightning McQueen) and she loves to read Scriptures and is always thrilled to remind us when it's time for prayer and the blessing on the food.  What a soft cuddly, squishy lovey little girl! 

Bottom right: he is flexing his muscles for Cardon!

As for Porter! He is growing up on us WAY TO FAST! He is in preschool and loves it! My favorite thing is when we pick him up he asks me"So Mom! What did you do today?" then he asks if he can do that with me when we get home. Preschool is really normalizing this kid. He is figuring out social skills and learning what real kids do and how they play and interact. His words are coming along and he's learning how to use them.. now we are starting to work on tone and that whining isn't the best way to get something you want. Most of the time he is super kind to his sister and plays nicely with her. Most of  his days he wants to watch a show. Polar Express, Mickey Mouse clubhouse, and cars are the most frequently asked for. He is so good at helping Kinley. She always asks for help when we are eating to get a bite of her food on her spoon or fork. Porter is always so willing to help and it's the sweetest thing. He has also learned very quickly what it means to be an older sibling and having to share your things that are yours from parties and preschool. HE is very good at this. At night he has just recently picked up the habit of wanting the door cracked and he is testing the waters of how much he can get out of bed and come see what is going on in the house.  He is also really enjoying ANY time he can get with his dad to play with him. He just loves it when his dad plays with him, building blocks, playing pass... you  name it he wants to be like his dad. I love to see that! And last but not least he absolutely loves to get the mail out of the mailbox for us! He is a true little helper.

HALLOWEEN TIME!

 For Halloween this year I figured this really would probably be the last year Porter let me pick his costume. Last year He and Kinley were an adorable pair of Elmo and Zoe. This year I decided to go with Mickey and Minnie Mouse.My favorite thing was when you would ask the kids who they were, they would both say Miska-Mousska-Mickey-Mouse! Patrick and I dressed up for our ward Party as G.I. Joe and G.I. Jane.Although many people thought I was Warrior Barbie. We had a wonderful ward party and Porter loved doing all the activities and seeing his friends. But most of all for all the halloween festivities that went on this month. His favorite was his preschool halloween party. Preschool fell on halloween day for him so it was great! He walked into school and saw that his teacher was dressed up as Minnie! He was THRILLED! Because that made him extra special of course! They taught them how to trick-or-treat and they decorated cookies and ate a spider cake for snack, they played halloween games, read halloween stories and sang halloween songs. He LOVED IT! Then that night we had family home evening about when you go out and knock on doors you say Trick or Treat, but really all you want is the treat and we likened that to how satan deceives us and likes to trick us and Jesus is our savior and holds the treats of life for us. It was a little over the kids head, but still worked. Then off we went to go trick or treating. Kinley got to one house and immediately wanted the candy. She didn't learn this year that you should wait to eat your candy when you get home. So we spent a lot of the time getting her candy while we walked. Porter enjoyed it and was so funny, because he would go and Knock on a door and while knocking shout TRICK OR TREAT! hilarious! All in all our halloween was fun, but as a mom I am very excited for it to be over with so we can get on to thanksgiving and then the really good holiday..CHRISTMAS!

Family Pictures

Finally! some sort of family picture taken. Honestly everyone, Our last family picture where we planned it and coordinated clothes was in May of 2009.  LOONG time ago! I've been wanting family pictures since beginning of summer 2010. Yet, things came up and it never happened. This summer try as we might... it still did not happen. Then one day I said hey patrick what do we have going on tonight? He said "Nothing" Then I proposed the idea to go look at the pretty changing leaves. He said "Yeah! Sounds great!" He got home from work and found all of us dressed in our family picture attire and said..."Do I need to go get changed?" I said "Yes, we are going to use the tripod and TRY to take some pictures of our family." I could tell in his face he wasn't too enthusiastic about the idea, but he knew how important this was to me and how badly I really wanted them done. So he put on a happy face and worked his magic up in the canyon!
Considering there was nobody behind the camera during our pictures...we got some ok shots of the kids and all of us. We got cold after 15 minutes and the kids were done. So that was our photo shoot. I really wanted some done of the kids together in their outfits and some of them individually as well as some of me with them and some of patrick with them and then finally I wanted some of just patrick and I. But what can you do when it's just you doing the pictures  and you have little time left for daylight and your hungry and cold?
At least I got my whole family picture! I'm IN LOVE with it! PERFECT! the leaves, the grass, and the beautiful people in them! SO GREAT!

We got home and put the pictures on the computer to find that we didn't have the camera set on the highest quality setting...:( WAAHH! bummer, but it's all A.O.K! Check out all of those where kinley is'nt really happy or even looking. Also the funny ones of where OH YEAH Kinley is looking AND smiling, but Porter blinks! hahaha Obviously by the picture at the top of our blog we got a good one that we love!

Sewing Projects

Well I've been very into sewing and making things lately. So in my spare time, that is if I ever find any I've been sewing these things.

The pillow ideas I got from Make it and Love it blog found here. It took some time and some of my own tweaking to make it work for me. And Yes! the fabric didn't come like that. I sewed every single  pleat in those pillows. Patrick thought the fabric came that way.

The capes were  a genius idea of mine. The past month or so Porter has been walking around the house saying "That was INCREDIBLE!" I found it adorable of course that a 3 year old was using that word. Then one night he said "Mom, I like you!" Then I said " I like you too! I think you are amazing.. NO! I think you are INCREDIBLE!" If only you could have seen his face when I told him I thought he was incredible. His eyes and mouth got wide with excitement! Then a couple of days ago we had the same conversation and the thought came to my mind.. OH! I could make him a cape like an INCREDI-BOY cape. I told him my idea and he loved it. He said "Let's make it right NOW!" of course it took me about a week to get around to it. And now that I've made them... he's not so interested in wearing it. He just enjoys looking at it and talking about is Incredible Porter Boy Cape! Too funny.  And as for Kinley's hers is the "Special K" cape and  she just does whatever Porter does, when they wear them and whatever he is doing while they wear them.
Anyways I'm pretty proud of myself. I'm getting to the point where if I see something that needs mending I think "I can fix that!" then I'm ready and excited to tackle the project. When I used to think.. I don't know if I could fix that.. maybe I'll try someday.