A new love for "BA-BOOS"!

A friend of mine sent me an email last week of a promition the Smithsonian magazine was running with free admission to multiple museums in the area. The Phoenix Zoo being one of them. On a normal weekend this wouldnt be something we could afford to do, so Kameron and I decided to take the opportunity and take Porter to the Zoo for the first time..since after all, it was FREE!
He loved all the animals. Here is Porter and Mom looking at the Rhinos!

Porter watching the antelope, and Kameron wishing it were hunting season and that this wasnt a Zoo!

Mr. Turtle here was trying to escape his exhibit. We got REALLY close and Porter loved it.

Porter and Daddy watching the elephants!

We took Porter on the Carolsel since all the other things he was too small to ride..for example: Camel Rides & Power Wheels ride. He had to be 2...only missed it my 6 short months! He didnt like this because it wasnt moving. So he was getting a little antsy since we were the first ones on, and had to wait for the rest of it to fill up. 18 month old boys have very little patience if you were wondering!

But once it started moving he would say "WHOA" every time it went up. It was really funny, and he loved it.

I didnt get very many other pictures because half the animals were in hiding, but he did love the "BA-BOOS!" (baboons for those who are not familiar with the Porter language) and laughed at them when they were eating off eachother's backs. YUCK! It was ALOT of walking and there were a lot of hills, and Kameron and I decided it wasnt layed out very well, but we still had fun! When it cools down a friend of ours gave us some free passes we are excited to use again and go back and enjoy the zoo for a little longer! Thanks Sarah! All in all it was a fun weekend, and it was so great to be able to hang out with Kameron and do something fun as a family.

Its raining..Its pouring...The old man is snoring!

So I have always believed in the whole when it RAINS it POURS theory..because this week..it has definately been pouring down on us! Everyone deserves a rant n'rave post...well this is going to be mine! =)

Rain Storm Numero Uno:
Sunday night my tooth started hurting..which I mentioned in my previous post. So Tuesday I had a root canal and have been in pain off and on for the rest of this week over this stupid tooth. When I got to the dentist, they were having trouble verifying my insurance...so luckily Aaron Buckmister rescued me with the number to HR to call and find out because Kameron is untouchable at the police academy! After being transfered twice I was able to figure it out. But it still ended with an all too expensive bill at the end. Seriously...why are dentists so freakin expensive?!!!!!!

Rain Storm Numero Dos:
Wednesday Porter decided it was a good idea to give himself a bath and snuck into my bathroom, plugged the tub, turned on the water, and proceeded to throw in a book, headband, cup and my CELL PHONE!!!!! Not only did it freak me out that he was able to plug the tub up because that could be SOOO dangerous, but I was really upset that my phone was now fried!! I still cant believe in two minutes time he was able to cause that much damage. He also intentionally snuck out from behind a tree at the mall playland and escaped into the mall without me noticing, and after looking for him not coming out from behind the tree I found him around the corner playing on the carosel...talk about a heart attack. When we got home that night he decided to run from me when my hands were full down the driveway and into the street right as a car went flying by. After dropping EVERYTHING in my hands, and grabbing him as he stepped foot into the street, he got a good swat for running from me. Anyone know how to break a kid from running from you?? Help me please, my kid is finding dangerous things to mess with now, and it seriously might be the death if me......solitary confinement to his room doesnt sound like too bad of an idea anymore!!

Rain Storm Numero Tres:
Wednesday night our washing machine decided not to work!! It out of the blue stopped spinning and therefore making it pretty useless. After searching through our reciepts and books, we found out that it only had a 1 year warranty...and we have had it for 1 YEAR AND 6 MONTHS!!! Give me a break people, thats rediculous! So I called Maytag the next day to complain about it breaking when we bought it BRAND NEW when we moved into a BRAND NEW house! Well I was very impressed with their customer service. I am HUGE on that. I am a firm believer that customer service goes a LONG LONG way. Well the lady simply apologized for the problem and made an appt for a maintenance man to come take care of it and that Maytag will cover all labor and parts!! WHOA! I was in shock, I was expecting a fight, or atleast having to talk to a manager. Needless to say, I would definately buy a Maytag again because even without a warranty, they were quick to apologize and make it right. What a relief!!

So anyways, these type of things typically happen in three's so we are hoping that things are looking up for us! And surprisingly, despite all that has happened this week, I have been in a oddly good mood! We learn from every trial in life, and I am glad that everything seemed to work out. My cell phone contract was up anyways, so Kameron just went to Verizon yesterday and got me a new phone...and after a little sweet talking the female sales person, he was able to surprise me with the one that I wanted for a whopping good deal! 50 bucks off!! So things have worked out, and to top it off, we checked the mail yesterday and I had a little letter in the mail from my dad. It simply said "Enjoy Dinner! Love Daddy", and it had some money for Kameron and I to get out and enjoy one another's company...not to mention that on the back of the envelope it said S.W.A.K. which means Sealed With A Kiss...how cute is he??!! He didnt even know all the events from the week when he sent it, but I am grateful to have parents who are always so thoughtful and giving! They never fall short to make sure we know how much they care about us, and are always calling to check on us and coming to visit us so they can see their little Po-Po! We cant wait til we can move to Sierra Vista to be able to spend more time with them. You have to weather the Rain Storm to be able to enjoy the Rainbow!!!

I'm still alive...barely!

It feels like forever since I have blogged, a lot has been going on...I just simply didnt feel like blogging...which usually isnt the case. So beware this might be kind of long!

Porter decided to lay down and rest on Kameron's feet while he did the dishes! I thought it was really cute how he has his little legs crossed and everything!

He has a new fetish with wearing our shoes...here he is in Kameron's work boots!

And of course Daddy left his shocks out!!

We have played with friends a lot!!!

Hudson decided to ride on Porter.......

So Porter decided to ride on Hudson!

Went to the splash pad with Ryken and played on the whale!!

He loved the slides!

Porter giving Ryken "loves"...he just lays his head on whatever we tell him to hug! haha

Porter and Carly watching Caillou while sitting on her shelves!

Porter enjoying baby Brody's swing!

Porter decided this was a good idea! But once Mommy saw him...he in fact knew it was NOT a good idea! And yes...it was a brand new roll of toilet paper!!!

And last but not least last week was my Mom's birthday...so this is what we emailed to Grammy! Isnt it so cute?? He wouldnt really cooperate with me, so we didnt get a good one of his face AND the "I love you" in one picture!!

Kamarie also had her little baby boy Paxton on monday, and both mom and baby are doing well. But sadly I didnt get any pictures at the hospital! So you will have to check her blog when she feels up to posting pictures! I also had to have a last minute root canal yesterday...and boy was I in pain! I have never had a tooth ache before, and out of the blue it just started to KILL me. I would rather have 10 more babies then ever have to go through that pain again....and I am totally not exagerating either. Never in my life did I think a stupid tooth could hurt so bad, and I felt like a total wimp whining over it. But o'well be grateful it wasnt you, haha! So after two nights of no sleep, the dentist told me root canal it was. I am feeling okay now though, because he sent me home with some good pain meds. I have definately had better weeks, but I am thinking positive and hopefully it will be looking up from here!

Bringing "Outback" home!!

I had the biggest craving for Outback Steakhouse yesterday...and more specifically the Alice Spring Chicken!! If any of you have ever eaten this...you know how fabulous it is. I worked there as a hostess and server for over 2 1/2 years in high school and college. Still, I have yet to find the day when I wouldnt eat there every night if I could. Its really expensive, so Kameron and I only go there on special occasions. Well, a while ago I got an email with a bunch of "Top Secret Recipes" and it had hundreds of recipes from all our favorite restaurants. Alice Spring Chicken being one of them! So last night since we cant afford to eat out, I decided to bring the Outback home. I had all the stuff I needed for it, so a long anticipated day brought me to this........

It all looks faily accurate. The potatoes even being rolled in butter and salt before baking...YUMMO! Although it was not 100% as good as the real thing, it definately satisfied the craving! If you're wondering, this is what the meal consists of: An 8 oz. Chicken breast marinaded and coated in the homemade honey mustard sause, topped with two strips of bacon, and smothered with monterey jack and chedder cheese!! (keep in mind, I used to work there, so I know the "lingo" if you will) Anyways, I have decided that I am pretty much the best cook in the world and was very satisfied with this fabulous meal that I just had to share. If you want the recipe...let me know. It was SOO easy! Now what shall we have tonight....Olive Garden or Chili's??

From Baby to Big Boy....Where has the time gone?

So yesterday at church I decided it was time to start introducing Porter to nursery. About a month before is when our ward allows the new nursery kids to come in and get a feel for their soon to be new class! They told me to stand in there for a few minutes to make sure he could get acclimated, and if he did okay...then I was welcome to leave him there.....WHAT?? I thought I would just take him in there for an hour to play...and then take him out. I was NOT prepared for my little boy's first day of nursery!


The minute the door opened and Porter saw toys...he was GONE! I stood by the door for a few seconds, then out in the hallway peeking in for the next few minutes, and he didnt seem to even notice....or care...that I had left. The teacher told me that if he had any problems he would be sure to come find me. Well, of course not being totally prepared, and secretly not really ready for him to be in nursery, I checked on him multiple times, and he was doing great. He sat at the table as the other kids did. Which is amazing because he cant get on a chair without getting onto the table at home. But he sat totally content and ate his snack with the biggest smile on his face. I wanted to cry I was so proud of how great he was doing. He is such a big boy with such an independant and outgoing personality, that I knew he would do well. When I picked him up, they were blowing bubbles, and I had to pry him away. I thought that when he saw me he would run towards me all happy that I came to "rescue" him from nursery....well not my kid. He was having a blast blowing bubbles and running a muck with all the other kids. Bro. Parker said he did "Perfect" and that he had milked snack time for as long as he could, and out ate any kid there...which was NO surprise to me!! The primary told me that I can take him from now on because he did so good. So Porter is officially in Primary! Can I really be old enough to have a baby in nursery...well I guess so, because he isnt much of a baby anymore!



(I took these pictures last week, but because I didnt take any pictures of him yesterday, these are what you get...which are freakin cute if I may say so myself!! haha)

SpLisH SplaSH & PiZzA

Last week we went with Porter's friends Hudson, Tate, Jameson, & Alex to play at the Splash Pad by Tempe Town Lake. It was such a great place, and the boys just had a blast!
Porter loved the whales, they were his favorite part!

Probably because he could climb on them, he is such a boy!

Hudson, Porter, and Tate playing with the squirting water!

Porter would walk right through it, hate it, but then turn around and do it again. It was hilarious.

Snack time was the only moment we could get all 5 boys in one spot long enough for a picture, I know they arent all looking at the camera, but hey...they are 5 boys ages 2 and under! We're grateful they are all sitting and not fighting over snacks!

Porter would chase the pigeons around saying "Bach Bach Bach", while Hudson was doing the same thing. We had to explain that pigeons and chickens are different and pigeons dont go BACH!

Then after playing in the sun for two hours, Meagan and I decided to cool off and take the boys to eat some pizza and play at Peter Piper!

Porter for some reason found it acceptable to put and keep his foot on the table for the entire meal. It was hilarious. ~Note the pizza sause on his toes...haha

Porter LOVED the tube slide. He would crawl up and slide down over and over again.

Then he walked over and climbed onto the Merry-Go-Round, so we decided to let them ride. Porter loved it, but it took Hudson a few minutes of watching Porter liking it to get on and enjoy it himself.

They loved the ski-ball game, although they were not playing according to the rules, they still had fun!

And then there was the HULK! This picture was taken right before Hudson looked behind him. He is in the process of looking into the eyes of what seemed to be a VERY scary Hulk head! After this moment, he literally freaked and started screaming to get off.

So we decided to put Porter on to see if he liked it...and apparently he felt the fear as well. This was as close as Porter would get to him, haha. Whoever made this ride must not have had children because seriously...look at him, the thing could have given a grown man nightmares.

Anyways, it was a VERY long day of playing, but we all had such a blast and so did the boys! =) I'm glad to have such fun friends that have boys the same age as Porter. Sure makes it more enjoyable for the moms!!

We are mean & horrible parents....

...because we think THIS is HILARIOUS!! You dont have to watch the whole thing, you'll know what we laughed at!

What a tough kid!

**Disclaimer: No child was hurt during filming!**

We have Blogging in the Blood!!

I wouldnt think that blogging was genetic, but after this I am starting to think other wise!! This is where I found Porter the other day, acting just like his Mommy!

My little sponge soaking up everything!! YIKES...time to start watching what we say and do!!

Popcorn Popping...

Yesterday afternoon when we got home with just the 3 of us after a long weekend of babysitting, Daddy and Porter decided to relax and have a little snack! Kameron LOVES popcorn, and now so does Porter.


How to Eat Popcorn:
Step One -

Take as much Popcorn as possible and shove it all in your mouth!!

Step 2 Two -

Try to chew it all up...

And when you are all finished......

Step Three -

Why wear the bowl on your head of course!! I cant blog without a picture of my crazy child wearing something on his head!!

Manual-Labor Day Weekend!

This past Labor Day weekend was a very busy one for us. Since we have no life, we agreed to watch a couple friends of ours kids. Friday morning the Phipps dropped off their 3 kids, and the Tidwell's dropped of their 3 year old, while their older son would be there to join us after school. So if you do the math, and include my own child, I had 6 kids in my care. 5 of which were under the age of 4. It was a very busy day full of playing, screaming, crying, and me playing referee between all the kids. There was a span of about 15 minutes where I managed to get all 5 kids napping at the same time. Oh what a peaceful 15 minutes it was too!


Here was dinner with all the kids by myself because Kameron had to go pick up our 6th child and feed the Tidwell's animals. It was really cute though because Ryan and Bryson kept sayiing that this was their "most favorite dinner EVER"!! It was just macaroni noodles and spagetti, but hey if simple makes them happy I am all for it. haha. They all were big eaters and were all SOO tired when bedtime rolled around.

The next morning the Buckmister's picked up the Phipps kids and took them to their house for the last 24 hours til their parents got home. Going from 6 to 3 was a big change. We spent the rest of the day playing and hanging out before Kameron and Brendon went to the ASU football game. Bryson, Porter, and I just hung out and went to bed. The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out and playing the Wii!
The boys watching "Ne-Ne's"...anyone who knows Bryson, knows what this video is!!

Porter, Brendon, and Bryson goofing off after church!

Porter loved this chair while we were at the Tidwell's! I think he felt like a Big Boy sitting in it.

And he found a pair of boots to wear around the house. He loves shoes, and couldnt get enough stomping around like a cowboy!

So I am down to only Porter today and I am not quite sure what to do with myself. But I have come to realize that 6 kids are a little much for me. I think I will just have one at a time and see how many I get before I call it quits, and pray that I never have twins!