Les Meserables

Two girls weekends in one year!  I guess after I had my first ever in April I had to have another...

No, I really needed a recharge.  A new school year, hormones, and who knows what else had totally drained me.  My patience was lacking a great deal.  So, this weekend couldn't have been better timing for me.

Last weekend I hopped on the Salt Lake Express to the airport in Boise to meet my lady-in-laws.  It was a fun weekend.  We shopped a bit.  But, the reason we got together was the show.  We went to see Les Meserables.  It was really good.  But, we were a bit late on getting tickets so we were on the back row.  Bummer!  It was still cool to be there.  I still think Mary Poppins on Broadway was more fun to watch.  Probably just because it wasn't such a deep, sad story and we had much better seats :).

Thanks ladies!

Oh yeah, the second highlight of the trip was the ride home...the bus broke down in Blackfoot...so it took and extra hour to get home ;)  (That's what I get for choosing to travel on Sunday) :)

I Can't Believe Brayden is 2!

Brayden turned two on the 15th.  We had Grandma and Grandpa over for a party.  Here's the before picture

 During:

This is from the grandparents.  Brayden loves bananas and stole and ate two in about two minutes at their house the day before.   

 After...it looks like he had fun

Thanks for coming and celebrating with us! 

At 2 we love how Brayden;

Gives hugs and very long kisses

Is very happy

Loves his siblings

Runs to Dad when he gets home

Is just a sweet boy

He loves:

To eat

Get into EVERYTHING

Ride his bike

Play Outdoors

Climb

Say "Ow"

Laugh

To be independant

Bathtime

Taking off his pajamas (notice his pjs are on backward in these pics)

Brayden we love you SO much.  We can't imagine life without you and can't wait to see what else you bring to the family!

First Day of School

The kids started school on September 5.  They are loving it and they are already learning a lot.  It took awhile to get back in to the routine and I was struggling with tired crazy kids (it felt like all of the time).  But now they get up, get ready and are out the door on time.  After school, they come home, have a snack, do homework, chores and play until dinner time.  It's not perfect, but it is going much smoother.

1st Grade

 2nd Grade

Labor Day Just Us

We decided to take the kids to Warm River and Mesa Falls this year for Labor Day.  It was fun to spend the day together doing something everyone likes.  

Here they are trying to catch a fish:

Here's Hailey with hers (she likes catching them, but not touching them).

Here's Con, he caught the most that day.  He's beat out Bo the last two times they've fished.

Here's Brayden throwing weeds in the water.  He was entertained for a long time just doing that.

 These pictures are at The Upper Mesa Falls

 Brayden was a mess by the end of the trip.  Of course I forgot to bring wipes...

It's so fun take the kids places now that they are a little older.  They love to explore!

Rexburg Splash Park

We went to the Splash Park in Rexburg.  The kids all finally loved it.  Usually they whine because the water is cold.  But, they played in it and had a blast!  They also rode the carousel and loved it too!

 The kids RARELY nap, but after the splash park they crashed in quiet time.  Everyone but Hailey that is.

Conrad's First Lost Tooth

We stayed the night in Boise on our way back from Seaside.  Conrad lost his tooth just before he went to bed.  So, the Tooth Fairy was able to visit him at Grandma's!  He was so excited!!

Porter Family Reunion

Mid August we drove 13 hours to Seaside Oregon for a family reunion.  It was fun to see everything and spend time together.  I have a bunch of pictures (because Bo took them).  So, I'm going to go over the highlights.


The first place we hit was the beach.  We were just planning on going for a walk, but everyone ended up soaking wet (jeans and all).  It was a bit chilly too.  But the kids loved it!

 We also went to the Tillamook Cheese factory.  It was pretty cool to see the cheese packaged and try fresh cheese.  The kids loved it.

 Grandma and Carley made a treasure box and hid it on the beach.  They found a map and then the treasure.

We also found this cool little train to ride around.  The boys loved it!

 We also went to a museum and got to walk through a boat.  ( I am terrible and can't remember what the name of it was.)

All in all, it was a cool place to see, but a bit chilly.  If we lived closer like 8 hours away I'd go back.   But 13 hours was pretty long :), I'm not sure if I'll want to go back.

Our Overnight Float Trip

The Wednesday after we got back from the reunion we were suppose to take the kids to Boise to visit Grandma for a few days while we had a getaway.  But, Brayden broke out with Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease so instead Grandma came over here so we could still have a getaway.

Bo has really wanted to float the South Fork Canyon (on Snake River) with me so he planned a trip with two of his other friends and their wives.  Us wives were a bit unsure about everything.  But we had a great time and when you're on the river it is much less intimidating.  The ladies talked and the guys fished.

We saw eagles, pelicans, moose, and many other cool animals.  It was gorgeous and made me really appreciate more the area we live.  I had no idea pelicans were around here.

We spent the night at a campground on the bank of the river and got up, packed everything up, and floated a few more miles down the river and went home.


 This is where we had lunch.  These are the falls at Fall Creek.  One of my favorite parts of the float:

 Here's a picture of Bo doing one of his favorite things :)

We are so grateful for parents who take the kids on occasion so we can have a break or time together...

Christensen Reunion 2012

Every couple of years we get together with my side of the family and rent a huge cabin.  This year we went to Heber, Utah.  It was fun to get together.  We played games, some guys went motorbiking while some went golfing.  The ladies went to Park City and went shopping and had lunch.  It is always fun to get together and get away..

Here's the cabin:

Here was the main room:

  We also watched the kids play, play, and play some more with their cousins.  It is always fun to see what they come up with when they are together.  They put on an air hockey tournament for all of the adults.

We were able to celebrate Mom's 60th birthday while we were there.  It was a lot of fun.  Jeanie put together a book for her with letters from each of us.  It was nice to read and see how much Mom has influenced our life.  Love you mom!  

All in all it was fun reunion!

And Then There were Seven!

Many people know this, but we haven't really announced to our friends we keep in touch with online.  

We are EXCITED to announce another baby on the WAY!  

I'll be 19 weeks on Tuesday and Im due February 12.  We find out what we are having on October third.  As you can guess we are very excited to see what it wil be.  

I copied the following post from http://www.imperfecthomemaking.com.  It's a fun blog I follow.  It totally fits our life (not every scenario fits us, but many do) :)

With five kids so far, I don't feel like we have a big family.  My mother has four, my mother-in-law has five, and I know a number of people with 8, 9, or 10 kids.  So the fact that we all fit in a standard mini-van convinces me that we are just at the high end of normal. Until, that is, we go out in public.  People's leers and comments quickly remind me that, to some people, we are a travelling circus show of cuteness and snot.

This post is called 12 things mom's of big families may want you to know because they didn't hold some big convention and elect me spokesperson. But from speaking with other mom's of many, there are definitely some points that come up again and again.

1) Please don't ask my kids if we're going to have more. We don't consult them!

2)Yes, we know what causes this.  No, we don't want to hear your thoughts on family planning.

3)Please don't stop me in the grocery store to tell me how busy I am.  I know I'm busy.  You know I'm busy.  So can I please get out of the cereal aisle before my 2 year old spots the fruity-o's? 

4)Having a large litter of children doesn't mean I am particularly patient, or organized, or rich.  What I can tell you for sure is that I am far more patient and organized (and slightly less rich) than I was when I started having kids.

5)We don't look down on you for having less kids. You really don't need to preface every comment about how tired/frustrated/stretched to your limit you are with words like "well, I only have 2, but..."   I remember having  2 kids....I was exhausted and it was hard.  No matter how many kids you have, they require everything you know you can give and then some.  
6) Please please PLEASE don't make my children feel like freaks. 

7) Don't compare us to the Duggars.  (Although from what I can tell, it would be a compliment.) Or some crazy hippy family you once knew with eleven kids who liked to dance naked in the woods or some such oddity.  You don't go around comparing families with 2 kids to one another, do you?  Of course you don't!
8) I would like to reiterate: Yes, we know what causes this.  Every time I leave the house I hear this question AT LEAST 3 times. It stopped being funny a long time ago.

9) People like to say "kids are such a blessing" in one breath and "but you're done, right?" in the next.  Don't.
10) Friends: I know you don't have enough chairs to invite us over for dinner.  Invite us anyways.  Please. 

11)For goodness sakes, don't pity me.  This is by far the most mind boggling reaction we receive.  I am wandering contentedly through the grocery store with 5 healthy happy kids and people tell me that they feel sorry for me?  From where I stand, we are pretty stinkin' blessed. 

12)Oh, and Yes....we know what causes this.  See, it starts to lose it's humour pretty quick, doesn't it?

Swim Lessons

This summer I was dreading swim lessons for many reasons.  First, it is at least a 20 to 30 minute drive anywhere to get to them.  Second, the kids are such wimps and cry for the first few days because they don't like to get their faces wet.  And finally, because of this I feel like it is a huge waste of money because they don't learn a thing.

So, this year I had an idea.  I bought a 3 foot pool and some goggles from the business and decided I'd get the kids used to the water and then put them in to swim lessons.  We were in the pool at least once a day and up to three times because they loved it so much (even though it was not very warm).

It totally worked!  Hailey learned how to swim, Conrad was pretty close, and Jack loved going under the water just before we started lessons.  By the end (8 lessons) they could all at least swim a bit and I had a clearer conscience because I know our kids need to learn how to swim!

Forth of July!!!

The weekend before the fourth of July we got a babysitter for Brayden and the rest of us went up to Celebrate America at Huntsman Springs in Driggs.  That was such a great celebration and our first time going.  They had bouncy houses, face painting, a car show, fireworks, an air show, and other things.  Everything was free and we wished that we had gotten there earlier so the kids could have had more fun on the bouncy houses. 

The air show was a lot of fun, but I think the kids favorite part was getting their faces painted.  After we spent some time there we went with the kids and some friends (Kris and Kendra) and floated the Teton River.  Bo fished and we relaxed and played.  It was a lot of fun taking the kids.  I love this river because it is very shallow and small.  We could walk through it.

For the Fourth we went to Menan Day's.  It is a usual tradition for us.  We love it!  The have fun booths, great food, a fun parade, and a great fireworks show.  Bo played in a softball tournament and they they won first place.  Our favorite part was the parade, but it was so hot we sat in the back of the van trying to cool of with cold water from the cooler.  

This picture is Hailey with one of her best friends, Ilzay:

This is Jack with a mouse he picked out from a game:

 This is Conrad and Shane (a friend):

Here they are waiting for the parade to get to us:

Here is a very tired Brayden eating a sucker and waiting for the fireworks to start:

This was a fun day!