PORTER"S

Jackson Received his Arrow of Light

This kid has worked hard the last year and finished in June. But, they didn't have pack meeting until September. He waited quite a while for this award. Good job, Jackson! We're happy to see you were able to do all the work it takes to get this award!

Bo and Jack made this arrow together. Pretty cool!

They had fun playing with his arrow.

We're Getting Old!!!

Hailey turned 15 last Friday. I asked her if she wanted to have some friends over. She said no, she wanted to go watch Maleficent 2 and get Thai food with Bo and I. That sounded fun, so we had a date night for her birthday.

We had Grandma and Grandpa Christensen over on Saturday for cake and ice cream. It was a fun afternoon. It's always fun watching the kids open presents. It's even better when the kids say their birthday was perfect. Thanks for that, Hailey!

Here are the highlights!

This girl is beautiful inside and out. She is such a help around the house and a great example to her younger brothers. It's crazy to see how quickly she is maturing and everything she's learning. It's so fun to watch!

Hailey is so positive and just loves life.
She loves:
reading
writing fictional stories with narration
math (when she got her schedule this year and realized she didn't have math 1st tri she was so disappointed)
Broadway music
Singing
TV
School
Treats and especially chocolate
Babysitting

We love;
The great young lady she is becoming
The great older sister she is
How helpful she is around the house
Spending time with her
Watching movies together
Watching her grow
Her smile and happy disposition

Happy 15th birthday, Hailey! We had a great time on our date with you. You're so fun to be around and are a great example to me. Just last night, she told me not to be so judgy when I made a rude comment about someone on TV. I need to do better. Thanks for keeping me on the straight and narrow Hailey! We love you!!!

Right now, she plans on studying social work at BYU-I. I like those plans. :)

Cross Country: A Great New Experience

Look at all those middle school boys running in one race! It was really cool to see a group that big running together.

Jackson has always wanted to run cross country. He even got Conrad to do it with him. They enjoyed being a part of the team and seeing their times improve. I had so much fun going to their meets, watching them, and being in that environment. They grew so much by the end. It really helped build their confidence, and they learned that they can run way further than they ever thought they could. Now if they say something is too hard, I can say right back, I know you can do it you can run way further than you ever thought you could As they are reminded of that, it helps them work harder in other areas.

This past spring, when the boys played baseball and the environment wasn't very positive in one of the leagues, the kids played in. It ruined all the fun and makes the kids anxious and play worse. Cross country is an amazingly positive environment with great coaches and everyone encouraging everybody else. It's my new favorite sport.

I'm so proud of you, boys!!! It takes a great deal of effort and endurance to do what you've done. Way to go!!!

Brayden is Nine!

This kid is awesome!!! He has a very inquisitive mind and is always wondering how things work. When he was younger, we couldn't leave any keys around, or he'd take them and try every keyhole he could find and then drop them wherever he felt the need. Now he just wants to see how things tick. Thankfully he hasn't tried to take anything apart yet.

We didn't take a lot of pictures, but there is a lot of video of him opening his gifts.

Brayden picked out his topping for the cake. It turned out quite tasty.

At 9 Brayden loves:

Pocket knives

Camping

Baseball

Pocket knives

Hatchets

Axes

Reading

Investigating things (he wants a spy kit for Christmas)

Riding his bike

Fishing

Rzr Riding

Whittling

Minecraft

We love:

His vast imagination (which can be a problem at times because fears can be more real.)
He's so happy
He's so positive
He is kind to his family
He watches people and helps where he can
He does really well in school
He's responsible and makes sure things are done on time
He just helps keep our home happy

We love you so much, Brayden! We are so blessed to have you in our family. Keep growing into the kind gentleman you are. We cant wait to see what the next year brings.