Hi Ho, Hi Ho, to Disneyland We Go! (Well, went...)

For the Porter Family Vacation this year, we went to the 'place of a million dreams' (Which is a little bit exaggerated if you ask me. I only realized 3 dreams: go to Disneyland with my little family, meet the princesses, and look Johnny Depp in the eyes- well a figure of him as Jack Sparrow anyway... and one nightmare: my wedding ring was stolen out of our hotel room by the maid...) We were there for 5 days and loved every minute of it!

Lainey was way excited for her first plane ride:

Here she's reading up on the emergency directions:We met some fun characters (these are just a few):

She loved the princesses, I think we met every one. She would take her autograph book right up to them and practically sit on their lap. It was so cute! We ate breakfast in Goofy's Kitchen- That killed all resolve I had to stick to my weightwatchers plan on our trip...
Lainey loved all the rides that she went on. The teacups and carousels were her favorite I think:


Josh's dream store (second to the Jeep Dealership:)

She got 5 whole days with mom and dad,And we played every minute of it!

But I think she had a good time......don't you?

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Giving Thanks

Being the time of year that it is, I can't help thinking of all of our blessings, reminiscing, and getting a little too excited for Christmas. It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is next week, but I am all too ready for a good long break from school. Teaching has really helped me see just how blessed I was to be born into the family I was, to be raised the way I was, and yes... even grow up in Tropic. The church has played such a huge part in my life and I don't know where I would be without it. The blessing of a Temple Marriage is one that I hope I never take for granted. Today in class, a couple of boys started singing primary songs during 'workshop' and I didn't stop them, even though I should have. It was so sweet to hear those tender messages in the middle of my crazy day, I just let them sing on since no one else complained.
I am convinced of the power of prayer. I know that the Lord gives us what we need. I overheard a talk the other day about praying for what we need. The Lord doesn't give us scorpions when we ask for eggs, he doesn't give us a stone when we ask for bread, so why do we complain when our 'eggs' aren't cooked the way we like? The Lord gives us what we need, not necessarily what we want. We should be praying in a way that aligns our will with his. Only then will we be truly at peace and on the right path. Anyways... I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving, fun with family, and that we all can realize and give thanks for our blessings.

Trick-or-Treat!

Halloween was fun this year! We were a fairy-tale family- The kids at school loved my costume, it was fun to be dressed up the whole day- except for the glass slippers!

My Prince Charming...

I had a lot of fun making our costumes! I used my prom dress, but I made Lainey's and Josh's costume.

The 'Charming' family

The girly girls...

Lainey loved Trick-or-Treating! She would take her bucket, knock on the door, and everyone gave her tons of candy because she was so cute! It was a lot of fun and the weather was awesome!

We've done a lot since the last post, and we wanted to share at least a little of what our life is in pictures. Grandpa Evans Passed away on October 18. He left a big hole in our family that will be hard to fill. Ever since I can remember, I have wanted Grandpa to know who I married and my kids. Josh had the opportunity to get to know Grandpa first hand while he lived with them for the 3 months before we were married. He learned how to get hay, ride up to 'Little' and open gates, and he also learned that "that which does not kill us makes us stronger" Grandpa always had a comment about the size of Josh's feet, calling them skis, or saying "Well, it takes a bigger foundation to build a Temple than an outhouse!" Grandpa Evans worked in the Temple with Josh's grandpa Max, so they had a special connection there. When Lainey was born, Grandpa insisted on coming to visit and bring us dinner (It had to be on a Tuesday because that was the day you could get a chicken fried steak meal for $2.99 from KFC) It was so sweet to see how tender Grandpa was with Lainey. I am so grateful that he was as much a part of our lives as he was. He was a great man and will be greatly missed... So if you live in Southern Utah and you see the big bull... think of my Grandpa- The original cowboy "On Top of Ol' Brian Head...."

Getting wood by Tropic Resevoir... Josh was happy to be reunited with his old jeep for a day...

A trip to the Zoo (sometime in September...)

Bling Time!

So, because I didn't think I had enough on my plate, I started making interchangeable watch bands that are way cute and really fun. I have set up a blog that has all the info and pictures and everything. Check it out and let me know what you think! Its http://bling-time.blogspot.com Oh, and remember Christmas is coming ;)

She's Perfect!

Today was Lainey's 15 month appointment so I took the day off. I was just going to take the afternoon off, but I was feeling pretty gross. Anyways, despite her picky eating habits, she is still 60% in weight and 97% in height. Dr. Ralston said she's just perfect! I didn't need to take her to the doctor to find that out :) Sorry, I'm not really braging, she's just so stinkin CUTE!!!

School is going well, I have a cute class, only 20 students so far. I started with 22. I'm sure I'll get any new little second grader that moves in. I really do enjoy teaching while I'm doing it, but it is so hard to be away from Lainey and know what I'm missing out on. She is my sunshine and it is still an adjustment everyday.

Tag!

Four Random Things I Love About My Husband: His Jeep obsession, His love of stupid 80's movies, His silly inside and totally inappropriate jokes, His conversations that start with "People are so dumb! or So I was listening to KSL radio today...." Sorry one more thing... I love how I can ask him any actors name and he can tell me... It usually goes like this: "So you know that one guy that plays on that one movie with that one blond lady?" "John C. Riley" "Oh yeah... thanks babe!"

Four Jobs I Have Had: Waitress at the Pizza Place, Library worker, Visitor Center Clerk, Teacher

Four Movies I Have Watched More Than Once: Anchorman, Zoolander, P.S. I love you, Better Off Dead (Awesome!)

Four Places I Have Lived: Tropic, Cedar, Tropic, Cedar, Tropic, Cedar, Cedar, Cedar,

Taylorsville.... And Mexico... For a Week!

Four TV Shows I Have Watched: The Office, What Not to Wear, Scrubs, CSI New York

Four Places I Have Been Most Recently: My classroom, Walmart, South Towne Mall, Olive Garden... Yum!

Four People Who E-mail Me Regularly: Josh, Ellen, Shellie, and Jillian Michaels...everyday...

Four Favorite Foods: Costa Vida/Cafe Rio pork salad, pizza, chocolate anything, Reeses'

Four Places I'd Like To Visit: Italy, Paris, London, New York

Four Things I Am Looking Forward To This Year: UEA break, Thanksgiving break, Christmas break... and possibly a trip to either Disneyland or the Carribbean!

Four (five) People I Tag: Lindsey, Jen, Brynn, Kathy, .....and Esther...

Summer Vacation Part III: Southern Utah

During any vacation, this is probably the hardest thing. Driving. We did it a lot. In fact, we put over 1000 miles on our brand new Jeep Patriot in a 10 day period of time.

We had a lot to keep us busy in the car, though. We had our CDs, but more importantly we had snacks. You can't go on a road trip without necessities, such as easy cheese and crakers, chips, sodas, and various candy conglomerates.

We drove through Zion National Park on our way back to Tropic. We missed Lainey so bad that we didn't even stop to do any hikes. We promised ourselves that we would go back through on our way back home, but we never did. We were too tired. we got some nice pics though!

Here we are stopped waiting for our turn to go through the long tunnel. Great photo op for us to stand in front of our newly broken in 2008 Jeep Patriot.

Doesn't Leslie look HOTT? Notice the other Jeep in the background. There must have been 4 or 5 cars behind us and another in front. We were all out of our vehicles because it was a ten minute wait to allow for a large tour bus to come through the narrow tunnel.

Before settling down in Tropic for the next couple of days we decided to take a random trail in Red Canyon (right before Bryce Canyon National Park) It was great fun!