What? I'm posting???

We still dont have the internet, so my chances to blog are few and far between. We are in Tropic for Christmas- Josh took the week off so we could come and play. Lainey is so cute and is growing up so so fast. She is little miss personality and it is amazing to me how much she knows. The other day I was getting ready and I could hear her singing various Christmas songs and "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" to her dolls. Where did the time go? At times I feel like she is getting so grown up, but she still loves to be babied (sp?) and rocked and cuddled and I love that. She truly is the light and life of our lives. Here are some pics that my good friend who is amazing took of our little family. My sis in law took some great ones too, but I don't have them with me down here... so thats a download for another day :) Have a Merry Christmas!

Wake Me Up When September Ends...

We had a really fun trip to Southern Utah for Conference weekend. We stayed at Little Creek and attempted to hike the peak, but none of us knew the right trail and we got ledged up- we made it about 3/4 of the way up before we had to come back down.

On that Friday, Josh and I woke up early and headed towards Powell Point for sun rise, we missed the sunrise, but it was so beautiful and clear- Kodi really enjoyed it too :)

We were the only ones up there, so this picture is courtesy of my camera timer and a log.

Happy Halloween! Guess what we were-----

Lainey really had fun trick or treating, and has asked almost every night since if we can go again! The following pictures were taken at Gardener Village- They do some really fun stuff for the holidays! Lainey loved all the witches!

Happy Fall!

YAY! I love this time of year! The leaves, the weather, the chilly nights with something warm to drink while snuggled up on the couch watching a movie... ahhh. I do miss the daylight though. Life is good- we are staying as busy as ever with work and everything else that I try to do. Lainey is growing up so fast! I love how sweet she is, and how bossy she can be. She definitely has her own opinion! We have been working on potty training her- She is doing great! Josh is keeping busy after hours with projects around the house. He just tore out our downstairs shower because, well, it was disgusting. We are glad he did, there was a really bad leak in the drain and mold everywhere. I am excited to start another tiling project! Our house is looking pretty good if I do say so myself... I need to post some before/after pics, but I don't have my camera here at the inlaws (no, we don't have the internet yet. we need a better computer before we commit to another monthly payment!). School is...wow... moving right along! I have 30 kids in my class and let me just say that I am exhausted by the time I get home. They are cute kids though and I do enjoy my job. Yesterday, the first thing Lainey said when she woke up was "I want to go to school with you!" and it broke my heart to tell her she couldn't come and she cried. I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving break so I can have some days off with her! Happy Fall!

Love- the Porter's

p.s. I have to send a shout out to my wonderful hubby- Last Saturday, Lainey and I went shopping with my sis, and well, we are our mother's daughters and needless to say, we were gone ALL DAY! I came home to find that the house was clean, the laundry was done, the lawn was mowed, and he had finished ripping out the shower (and cleaned up the mess...thank you very much) I was totally surprised! He truly is the BEST!!!! Love ya babe!!!

One Crazy Summer!

Here is the front and back pics of our house that I was supposed to post like 3 months ago....

i have so much to post! i can't believe it has been 3 months since my last one! It really has been a crazy summer. We bought a house the end of May and as soon as school got out, I started remodeling (i.e taking down wallpaper, painting, decorating) and playing with Lainey as much as I could! There were lots of YW activities including Girls Camp... Family reunions, playdates, and our annual anniversary vacation. Oh, yeah... school is starting again, so pretty much since Aug. 1 that has been the only thing I've been able to do- We don't have internet at our house yet, so that is another reason I haven't been very consistent. hopefully we'll get it soon!

Happy Birthday Lainey!

Lainey is TWO !!! And it was her party... she could cry if she wanted! Lainey's party was so much fun! Granted, I probably went a little over the top for a 2 year old, but I was so excited to do a princess party and she was too. I was so glad that our friends and family were able to be there. Lainey loved when we sang 'Happy Birthday' and opening the presents. She has been singing "Happy Birthday" to her new doll family ever since! We love you Lainey girl!

Update

So it has been awhile! I can't believe how fast time goes by. We are all doing great, Josh is uber-busy at work, making sure all is well with his groups, both in-house and not. And me, I'm in complete survival mode while we wrap up the last few weeks of school- I'm SO excited for summer so I can feel like a mom again (well a mom of 1 as opposed to a mom of 24!) We are going to be closing on a house in our neighborhood on the 27th and we are very excited about having our own home, and I am excited for the renovations! We are planning on doing most everything on our own, so it should prove to be a busy, yet productive summer break.Lainey is growing like a weed and everyday has learned something new. She can even read (recite) some stories by herself! She goes to bed now like a big girl (much to our dismay... we miss 'rockabye'!) and can speak in sentences. Lainey spends every waking moment outside!

Zion National Park

Since Leslie had a short week, I took some much needed vacation days ( I am so glad ski season is winding down) and headed to Southern Utah to spend a couple of days at Zion National Park. I won a couple of free nights at the Zion Lodge from my company holiday party so we were able to stay there. It was very rustic and quaint- the location couldn't be beat! We arrived in the park at around 10:30 PM on Thursday night, under an amazing starry sky. We didn't realize the splendor of our surroundings until the morning came. We had a blast! This was our first actual vacation as a family (just the three of us). Nothing is better than spending time with those that you love. We took some great pictures. Enjoy.

Lainey was a real trooper. Most of the time she was just on my back in the carrier, but she got out and hiked when she got tired of being strapped to my back.

She isn't as little as she looks either so a break for dad was always nice.

Leslie and Lainey on the balcony of our room. We had great views and a lot of fun!

What a Happy Family!

We had an awesome time. Too bad we have to work for a living- You'd see alot more posts like this if we didn't!

Life Keeps Going...

Today was my Grandma Evans' funeral. She left us just 4 short months after Grandpa passed away. I have many mixed feelings that I wanted to sort out- First of all, there is the obvious sense of sadness and loss. It is hard for me as a grandchild to see them gone, but most of my sadness is directed towards my mom, who has lost both parents now. The aching and homesickness that she must feel is surely overwhelming. Another feeling is 'the stretch of generations' i.e. the fact that life keeps going. I am now where my mother was when life was just beginning- My parents are the next generation to pass on, and that in itself is heartbreaking. The feeling of excitement about Grandma's passing is a little confusing and I do attribute that to my beliefs that families can be and are forever. Grandpa prepared the way and I am sure was there to greet her as she moved from this life to the next, as was her mother that she never knew, her grandparents, who so lovingly raised her as their own, her son, Doug, who died a few years ago, a few grandchildren who were only here a short time, and all those anscestors that paved the way for us. As we stood up as grands/great-grands to sing a medley of primary songs today at the funeral, i was amazed at all the empty seats. What an amazing posterity that Grandpa and Grandma left behind! Well over 100 people are alive and active in the gospel because of these two and no doubt because of their testimonies and their examples. They have impacted so many lives, including many who were not family. Cousin Frankie Lou gave this poem in her talk today that described the way my Grandma lived her life: "A bell is not a bell until you ring it, a song is not a song until you sing it, and love was not meant in our hearts to stay, love is not love until you give it away."
Grandma was such a loving, caring, wonderful woman. She always greeted us with our face in her hands and a kiss. I remember many summer days spent at her home in Parowan, and she made sure we always had anything we needed from ice cream, to freezer pizza, pop, candy bars, to a bag or two of popcorn to keep mom and dad awake on the ride home. She made good use of her aloe vera plant doctoring sunburns, and she gave 2 dollar bills to every grandchild for their birthday. When we needed to stay over, she would pull out the hide-a-beds and make sure we had more than enough pillows and blankets. She was there for every blessing, baptism, ordination, graduation, pageant, and as many sporting events she could make it to. Both her and Grandpa were very involved in their grandchildrens' lives. When Josh got a job at SUU and needed a place to live, there was never a question if it would be okay to live with Grandma and Grandpa. Anyone was welcome, and I know that Josh was loved and appreciated. She told him so when we came down for Grandpa's funeral. After Lainey was born, they came to see the new baby just days after she was born. It was so neat to see the innate mothering instincts that Grandma had, even when her mind was suffering from the effects of dementia. We were able to stop by last Sunday to say 'goodbye'. She had a stroke about 2 weeks ago and was gradually declining and in a lot of pain. As I sat next to her and held her hand, it hit me how quickly this life passes, and how much I loved that special lady. As we went to leave, she wouldn't let go of my hand, and something unspoken passed between us. I knew that she knew who I was and that she was pleased with how I was living my life. I know that she loved me. Life will be different now, but I pray that we (her posterity) can keep her and Grandpa alive in our memories and traditions and that we can pass those valuable things down to our children and grandchildren.

Pics of the cutest baby ever!!! (I'm not biased at all...)

Lainey had her first visit to Kiddie Kandids yesterday. It took her a little while to warm up, but when she did, we got some way cute photos!