Porter Turned FIVE!

Porter's b-day invites for the family party

We celebrated Porter's fifth birthday on Friday. He got two parties this year. One with friends {a first for Porter} and one with his family. I decided to hurry and get the pictures on a scrap page before I got lazy so I think the pictures tell how his day went. We're so happy to have Porter part of our family! Here's FIVE of my favorite things about Porter:
1. He's so loving and sweet to his little sister; in the mornings he will say, "Good morning, Sweetheart" in a high pitched voice that I just smile at.
2. He's my social boy; it's all about the friends to him. He looks forward to getting up each morning so he can go play with friends! {one quick story. One night it was time to come in. I yelled for Porter up the street and he didn't come--even though I knew he had heard me. I finally walked up the street to get him and told him he was grounded for the rest of the night from friends because he didn't listen to me. He cried and cried begging me not to ground him. Little did he know he couldn't have gone out to play anyway.}

3. He loves to "dress up". It's not in girly things of course but he loves dressing up as a cowboy or a  superhero.
4. He will do anything that his best friend (or cousin) is doing. This might mean he can't decide on his own or just that he loves those other people so much he wants to be like them. Whatever they're wearing that day, eating, drinking....he has to ask what they're having first and then he'll decide {usually the same thing}.
5. He talks big about his dad's boy but deep down he's a momma's boy. He always talks about hunting and fishing with his dad but when it's time to go he'd rather stay with mom {most of the time dad likes that because he gets to tired or cold when they're out together}. Of course he may only be staying to play with friends but I'm going to take it that he'd rather be with me!

No Time Like the Present

I keep thinking I will post about things...and then I never do. It's just so much easier to read about other people than it is to write about my own family. So here's what's happened lately...

Payton crashed on his bike: It was his mom's fault because she had tightened the front tire with her fingers thinking it would do the trick. NOPE! He went for a bike ride with the neigbors and did a "pop-a-wheelie" and his front tire came off. Where did Payton land? On his face, of course. He got a little bruised and his mom learned to use a tool other than her hands to fix things like that.

Payton loses a front tooth: It had been loose before the bike incident but I'm sure the face plant helped to loosen things up a bit more. His dad pulled it out Monday morning before school. Of course he was so excited about it he had to take it to school to show it off. The tooth fairy didn't show up that night because the tooth had been left in Payton's desk at school. Funny thing is his permanent tooth is already growing in and the other front tooth is barely loose. He'll look great for fall pictures.

Kelsie, Payton and Porter-ready to ride!

Turek Family Reunion: This was held over Labor Day Weekend. It got Tiff and I out of doing the Peach Days Volleyball Tourny this year. It was fun to be in the mountains and even more fun to let the kids wander and play together. They're favorites this year; 4-wheelers and the Mammoth Caves.

I have mixed emotions about the caves because we had an "incident" this year that makes me "Mother of the Year" in my book. (that was me trying to be facetious) Porter got left at the caves--on accident. I knew everyone was out of the caves and we even did a head count so I knew my kids were ready to go back to camp. When it was dinner time, we couldn't find Porter. No one had played with him. No one had seen him recently. The only place left to look was the caves. Luckily we were only a couple minutes away from the caves and a VERY nice and PATIENT family had found him and were waiting when Tiff and I flew up on the 4 wheeler. It was an emotional reunion and one that I won't forget. I kept a little better tabs on him the rest of the weekend.

Julia's finger got smashed in a big heavy door but it's turning into a tradition for her to have a hurt finger at the reunion. She sure looked like a beauty though when Aunt Kandice pulled out the "kids makeup" (that doesn't come off too easily by the way) for the girls. The boys even got in on it calling it war paint. Julia looked like she belonged on the strip in Vegas.

Kolob Retreat: This last weekend Todd took our family to Kolob to stay in one of his friends cabins. He hunted that night with Payton and early the next morning by himself. It was just nice to hang out with the kids, read my book, watch movies and then we rode the rhino almost all day Saturday. It's so pretty up there! It was fun to spend the weekend with my family!

Porter's B-day: He's going to be five this year and I'm so excited for his party (ok-so his present). I love when there's something we can get him that doesn't cost a fortune but that he will just LOVE! What is this gift? Well, you'll just have to wait until I post about the b-day. Here's a hint.... It is a SUPER HERO themed party (ok so he actually gets two parties. One with his friends {boys only he says!} and the other is with family).

Well, there you have it. More procrastinating novels yet to come!

Upgrade

Julia has moved on past her crib. I wasn't really thinking she'd be too excited to sleep in and actually stay in bed but so far, she loves it! It's fun to say prayers beside her bed and then she climbs in ready to go to sleep. It's really got me thinking it's time to fill the crib with something {or someone} else. . .

Payton's First Day of 1st Grade!

Payton's first day of school 2010

Another school year has begun and Payton has been anxiously awaiting this moment! I can't remember how many times during the summer when we would put him in bed he would wine about not being in school. His kindergarten teacher did her job because Payton sure loves school.
His 1st grade teacher this year is Mrs. Williams. I was so sad because I had to work the day school started but I have a great boss that let me come an hour late so I could see him off for his first day. He's a little more independent that I was at his age. He kept telling me he'd just ride his bike down and he'd be fine. I really wanted to make sure he found his classroom so I insisted on taking him to school. He was so excited to eat lunch at school this year. I gave him the choice of taking a lunch or eating at school and it was not even a contest which one he wanted. He was going for the chocolate milk!! He was supposed to meet at the flag pole after school and walk home with a group of kids from our neighborhood. {I love that there are so many kids to walk home with!!}
I was still at work when Payton got home from school but I had left him a snack in the fridge to eat until his dad got there. When I called to check on him and see how his day went he said, "I didn't even get in trouble!" Well, if that doesn't say what kind of a school year we're going to have, I don't know what does!
We had a good back to school night and I'm really excited for this school year! I love his teacher and can't wait to see what big steps Payt will be taking this year!
....Now I just need to figure out how to make staying home and learning something fun for Porter. He tells everyone he's doing homeschool and cried the night before school because he was supposed to be starting school too but was being taken to Grandma's and she wouldn't know about home school. I let him know his school didn't start until next week. Any good lesson plans out there I should be using or sharing with my four year old? Let the fun begin!

Sunday Drive

The Redwood Tree

Playing on the rocks

the boys crossing logs

Porter and Julia

We took our family on a Sunday drive up through Browse. Todd had to get out of the house and it's too hot to go for a walk {at least for us Calico's} so of course we took the new truck out and off the pavement. Todd took us somewhere I had never been and the kids are ready to go back. He took us down to the ranger station they have out there and the kids loved hiking around and playing by the little stream that flows there. We took a family picture by the big red wood someone planted down there. It makes me want to go see the real redwood forest...someday.

July 24th Celebration

Catching Night Crawlers w/ Kory

Julia after her race

Payton shooting a bow at one of the booths

Porter racing!

We spent the 24th up in Hatch or if you ask my kids, "The Hatch House". It was fun to spend Pioneer Day in a small community. We went up Friday and spent the night there with Tiff's family. They loved catching night crawlers so we could fish with them the next day. Next time we will make sure there are more flash lights for everyone. The next morning we got up, had a great breakfast and caught the parade! Then there were races and games to be played at the park. My kids loved playing the games and winning prizes. After the parade and park we went fishing at Tropic Reservoir. We caught lots of fish but nothing worth bragging about. If you ask Todd, I went along so I could read. I had to finish the second book of the Hunger Games, Catching Fire {those of you who have read them understand}. We fished until we got rained/poured out of the place.

Tanner, Luke and Payton--oh, and that little fish

After fishing, we came home, cleaned up the house and hit the road for home. It was a quick trip but I think everyone had fun.

Feeling Productive

Last night Todd came home from one of his priesthood meetings and talked to me about how technology is not all that great for kids to have. They learned that missionaries (100's of them) are being sent home from their missions because they can't be "unplugged" from the internet and technology. Texting, emails, internet, facebook, iphones...you get the idea. We have a son with the same problem--although I tend to refuse to see it as a problem. Payton loves the internet and loves playing games. We don't have a nintendo, wii, playstation....NOTHING! so I thought the computer was a fine way for him to get into the gaming scene. I don't even allow them to play games where they are killing other people (aliens? fine! People? NOPE!) We don't have cable so we are only able to watch movies. I thought we were doing pretty good as a family. Apparently, I'm not doing good enough.

I know plenty of kids that have cell phones {of their own} and are constantly texting {yes, it drives me nuts but I thought maybe it's because they're faster than me so I was jealous?}. Todd and I have decided that our kids will not have their own phones until they are able to buy one for themselves. I talked Todd into getting a "family phone" for when they are old enough to go out with friends and might need a ride somewhere, but he helped me see the wisdom in not allowing it to have texts because of the picture texts that kids are sending now a days. It got me to thinking about my family and all the ways I should be planning to protect my family from all the crap that is out there...{yes mom, I said CRAP! because that's what it is}

Todd also told me we should be not just be reading the scriptures but studying them every day. He asked me how many books I have read in the last month {I have been on a reading spree lately}. After counting them up I figured I had read 9 in the last 2 months. Then he asked how many times I had picked up my scriptures. Talk about putting me in my place.

So what does this have to with "feeling productive"? This morning, while the kids were still sleeping, I opened my scriptures and read...Which in turn made me want to go to the temple this week. Then I got laundry started, beds stripped, journal written in (it had only been since MARCH! AAAHHH!! I used to try writing once a month) garden harvested and sprayed from those nasty squash bugs, kitchen cleaned and one load of laundry folded and put away {that's usually the worst part of laundry for me...folding and putting away}. Not every day is like this but it's good to know if I put first things first, there can be time to get everything done that needs to be.