Porter's Before and After Christmas Pics

Porter has recently lost his two front teeth. He lost one a week before Christmas and one a week after Christmas. Amazing how those teeth make such a difference in looks and speech. 

The first tooth we popped out with some floss (a technique I learned from one of the girls while working at Johnson's one day). We made the mistake of doing it while he was in the bathtub so when it few out it landed in the water and we had to fish it out.

 The other tooth would have come out Christmas Eve but mom talked him in to waiting until after Christmas so Santa and the Tooth Fairy wouldn't collide into each other that night. Then he forgot about it until almost a week later. That one we just flipped out with our fingers while he was laying in bed. There's not much room there for a couple teeth to get in so I'm going to enjoy the space while we have it. Those 2nd grade pictures of gangly teeth are going to be awesome...just like everyone else, I guess!

2012 Retirement Post

It's time to take down the old calender and replace it with something new. I thought this year I would look through the old one and see if there was anything written that I didn't blog about (I'm sure there were A LOT of things) so here goes...

January: Jess got a new tooth on the 11th! Don't ask me which tooth or how many this now makes but I did write it on the calender. Payton had his first pack meeting with the Riverbend ward. He's loved the scouting program and became a wolf six months before he turned nine. We have to attribute that to his scout leaders, Karen Evans and Nancy Wood. We'll see if we're that disciplined in this new ward.

February: Pack Meeting was on the 16th and it was the Pine Wood Derby. I'm thinking I blogged about it already. Notice how I skipped over the 14th? Must have been because I don't remember making any Valentine Day memories.

March: Spring Break was from the 12th-16th. I'm sure we did SOMETHING but nothing is coming to mind right now. The 26th was opening ceremonies for Little League Baseball. Payton loved playing and I really enjoyed his coaches this year, the Salisbury's. The 27th Jess got another new tooth. Once again, who knows which one!

April: On the 5th was the Spring Fling. Guess who didn't go? Easter break was from the 6-9th and I do know we had fun playing with cousins that weekend and finding many filled eggs!

May: Porter went on a field trip to the Staheli Farms with his Kindergarten class on the 3rd. Payton's field trip was on the 7th and I can't recall where they went or what they did. Great mom moment, huh? Jess took her first steps on the 16th. That same day Payton had his last baseball game. I probably should have kept track of the win/loss record, but I didn't. The 22nd was Porter's last day of kindergarten and his graduation. He loved his teacher, Mrs. Key. Payton ended his last day of school on the 23rd.

June: The 9th was the Huntington/Clove Family Reunion. We celebrated my Aunt Ada's 99th birthday at the Community Center in Hatch. The 25th we had our Power and water turned on at our new house. The 26th our new appliances were delivered as well as the carpets cleaned and the locks changed at our new house. The 28th was our last night spent in Fox Cove. Moving day was the 29th--which Todd did mostly all of it while I was at work that day.

July: The 3-4th was supposed to be the Esplin Family Reunion but because of fire threats we couldn't get to the property on Cedar Mountain and it was canceled. On the 19th Payton earned his Wolf and spent his last pack meeting in the Riverbend ward. On the 29th Jess turned ONE!!

August: We celebrated 11 years together on the 10th. School started on the 15th for the boys. New school, new friends, new fun! Todd's B-day was on the 31st and was spent on the mountain for the Turek Family Reunion. He's such a good sport to spend his b-day with my family.

September: Turek Reunion continued from the 31st of August through the 3rd of September. Our Family Vacation was spent in California from the 12-16th. Porter celebrated his 7th birthday on the 17th and took donuts to school for a treat. On the 29th Payton had a scout day camp at Staheli Farms. It lasted from 8am-1pm and he loved it!

October: Ryan and Nicci Reidhead blessed their twins on the 7th and Todd blessed one of them. I'm thinking it was Conner, but can't really remember. The Harvest Hop was on the 15th and the deer hunt was from the 20-27th. Todd got a good one again this year. The primary program was on the 28th and all three kids had their parts memorized this year!

November: Girls Weekend was the 2-4th in Milford. Payton went on a field trip to watch The Sound of Music at PVHS on the 6th. Porter's class was supposed to go too but ended up getting to go to the 2450 park instead (not enough room in the auditorium). Julia's 4th b-day was on the 11th. The 23rd we had a Topham/Calico/Hiatt reunion with dinner at Julie's. Todd didn't show up until way late because he went quail hunting and forgot about the party. He got a bit of grief from everyone.

ALMOST DONE. I'm starting to wonder what prompted me to write any of this down anyway, but since I'm almost done....

December: Payton's first ball game was on the 1st. They lost. We missed our ward Christmas Party on the 6th because G-pa Roy was in the hospital and we went to visit him instead. Good thing we did because he passed away on the 9th and we had a funeral on the 14th. The next day Payton celebrated his 9th Birthday. On the 19th we went to The Beehive Home with g-ma Julie and sang some songs for the R.S. sisters there. Payton did his 3rd grade play on the 20th. He did such a good job! That brings us to Christmas break from the 24-Jan. 2nd (today).

And there you have it!!

Bowling on Christmas Break 2012

While the kids were out of school they got to sleep over at Grandma Julie's house. They were soooo excited! Porter woke up that morning and instantly got his bag packed and ready to go. He asked several times throughout the day if they could go to grandma's yet. Luckily, Grandma Julie called around 4 and said they could come over anytime.

It didn't take much persuading for them to get their stuff and get into the car to go. The next morning they got to eat rolled up pancakes and I got to sleep in--a great treat for everyone! Then we got to go bowling with Grandma, Tressa, Tav, Amie, Tara and Riley. They loved it and it's a good thing there were that many adults there to help with Jess. I didn't even bowl and felt like it was a little crazy keeping those four bowlers on the bumper lanes rotating in the right order and then trying to find them after they had wandered away waiting for their next turn.

Porter got 100 and beat all the kids! Jul's did better than I expected and might have some real potential in the future. Payton did good too and he came away from the bowling alley with a new hat some teenage kid had given to him in the bathroom. That story is a little involved, weird and frightening and a great way to help Payton see why we don't talk to strangers...especially in the bathroom when no one is around.

Christmas Eve

Maybe next year those stockings will have names sewn on instead of masking tape...maybe

We spent the day together as a family the day before Christmas. THE WHOLE DAY! We decided we were going to go play in the snow on Pine Valley. We found as many snow clothes as we could and then started our trek toward Pine Valley...after making a quick stop at ACE for some snow gloves for the boys and myself. When we got on the mountain and all got out to put our clothes on we discovered Porter hadn't brought his coat. Minor detail. I guess mom failed in the area of checking to make sure everyone really prepared themselves the way they needed to.

Luckily I had grabbed two coats for Julia so we bundled Porter up on one of Julia's pink coats (which he DID NOT want to put on because it was PINK!). We put it under one of my jackets that I parted with so he could stay warm. We saw plenty of people playing in the snow that day but wanted to find somewhere that we didn't have to be with all of them so we drove toward the reservoir. The road was blocked so our thoughts of sledding down the dam were off. We could see some hills that weren't too far away in the distance and decided we could haul our stuff through the unknown to spend some time in a secluded area.

Todd plowed the way for our trail with his ice fishing sled filled with Julia and Porter. This was Jess's first time in the snow and she was fine with it unless she fell over and her hands got cold.

The kids had fun playing for a little while. Julia was having fun until I took her down one of the hills and sprayed her with snow almost the whole way down while I was trying to prevent us from tipping over. After that she was done and ready to go back to the truck. Todd was a good sport and took the girls back to the truck while the boys and I played a little longer. We made a snowman and then they had a snowball fight with another family that had made their way over to us.

It took some convincing that it was time to go back and see what dad and the girls were doing because they were having so much fun. We all piled in the truck and drank hot chocolate and ate goldfish crackers. Then we drove back toward home.

We stopped on our way so we could build a snowman together as a family. We got all three parts on and then a huge storm blew in and chased us back to the truck again. It was crazy how fast it came in and how hard we were getting pelted with ice and snow. It all made for memories at least.

That night we had dinner at home--steak and eggs--and then had a FHE where Payton played Silent Night on the piano and we read stories about the true meaning of Christmas. Then PJ Elf stopped and the kids all put on their new PJ's before we jumped in the van and drove around looking at Christmas lights. Why would I think they might, MIGHT fall asleep while we were driving? Lesson learned.

It didn't take long for them to fall asleep but they did come in a few times in the early morning asking if they could go see what Santa had brought and were disappointed when they were sent back to bed each time. What would Christmas be without kids? Not as much magic, that's for sure.

Naked Dinner Guest

Jess loves to be naked. She loves to be a big girl and sit on a stool at the dinner table. She loves to play peek-a-boo. What do you get when she wants to do all three at the same time? The cutest naked dinner guest that has ever sat around our kitchen table. Luckily I had my camera close by to capture the moment. She's getting too big too fast but I sure love all the cute things she is doing!

Two Too Funny's This Morning

I've been slacking on posting (I will catch up and back date someday) but this morning I needed to write a couple things that happened or they will forever be gone from my memory.

Todd left for work this morning at 4:30 am. I heard Payton's alarm go off at 5:16 am. I don't recall hearing it any other morning and thought it was a fluke. Well, soon after I hear Jess wake up. Then I hear someone come from the boys room into the girls room and get Jess out of her crib. Of course my room is the next place of entry. Payton carries Jess into bed with me and then leaves for a minute into the rest of the house. Then he comes back into my room. I asked why his alarm went off this morning so early. He said he set it for that time so he could get up early to look for Scout.

Ahhh. Scout. Our cute little Elf on the Shelf. He arrived last night and the kids have been awesome! They cleaned their rooms (not because I said anything, but because Scout would tell Santa how clean their room was!) and read their books without any trouble. They even brushed their teeth the FIRST time I asked! Why does Scout not stay all year long? Oh yeah. Because he would run out of hiding places and might forget to hide way too often throughout the year. 

Sadly, Payton was unable to find Scout this morning and came back to bed until it was really time to get up. But with a little help from Porter, Scout was spotted at breakfast!

The second funny thing this morning was Payton sniffing his arm pits. He said, "I wonder why my pitts smell like dad's after he's hunted all day?" Ha! He's growing up too fast! He's almost nine but he's such a big kid that I'm sure deodorant on a daily basis will not be uncalled for. I guess he's going to have to start taking showers in the mornings instead of at night so his pitts will be fresh! I love this kid!!

Turek Family Turkey Trot 2012

 Pictures now. Details later.