24th of July Celebration

Last week was the big Pioneer Day celebrations up in St Johns, and we are sure to be there for all the excitement every year. This year we went up really early so we could be there the day Kameron's Dad got called to be the new Bishop! Thats right, Kameron is the son of a Bishop now. We had a lot of fun teasing him and calling him Bishop all week long. He will make a great Bishop though, he loves people...and people love him. Sunday after church we were all just hanging out when Anastyn starts screaming...and we find this...
Isnt that lovely?! Nothing like an egg sized lump on the forehead to spice up our celebration pictures! =) Poor girl, it was seriously HUGE, this picture doesnt even begin to do it justice!

I realized that this year I totally stunk it up in the picture department. I hardly got any. But here is the lone picture from the Ice Cream social...and I didnt even take it. Thanks Kamarie. Kyler and Porter. This kid loves his Uncles!

Grandma made Anastyn and Paxton sandwiches one day for lunch...and as you can tell from the pictures...they loved them.
P.s. Isnt Anastyn the cutest thing in this picture? Such a little poser! I love it!

Such a little pig pen this kid is. It made me laugh, and you could always tell when Paxton had eaten...or attempted to eat anything in the kitchen. He left a trail of food behind him!

At the Rodeo Paxton was givin Anastyn some sugar! Adorable. I think every kid has a "Kissin Cousins" picture. Well here is theirs!

Porter got his face painted, and I know you probably cant tell from the picture, but he was EXCITED! =)

Porter then chased the greased pig and Uncle Kyler helped. Thank goodness Porter had no clue what was going on and just kind of ran around in circles. I dont want no stinkin pig.

Mud head to toe this kid. His poor shoes were new when we went up there. What a way to break them in!

This was Missy Moo watching all the crazy kids chasing the pig.

Porter never gets soda...however he was with Daddy...and well Daddy kind of has his own set of rules for the kids. No wonder they love him. He did bring me a Diet Pepsi one day...and I have to admit, it made me love him a smidgen more! =)

The only picture I got at the campfire circle, Anastyn eating rocks. Shocking isnt it?! She is a little billy goat and eats literally...evvveerryytthhinng!

Then there was the parade, and I was so excited because my brother and his family and my parents were staying in Pinetop for the weekend and came up for the parade and festivities on Saturday.

This little Princess is so attached to me that its...we'll call it crazy (or annoying..whichever). I set her down for 2 seconds so I could get this picture...

And I couldnt even get all the boys to stand together because they were too interested in looking for candy being thrown..

Then my sweet and considerate (there is no sarcasm in that..he really is the sweetest) Porter got his baby sister a sucker, and I didnt even ask him to. He just thought it would help her to stop crying. And you know what people...he's a genius. It worked!

Then he sat next to her. Seriously...the cutest kid around.

When she finally figured out what it was...she LOVED it. She became a sucker pig after that!

Then after the parade we went back to my in law's and BBQ'd and played. My nieces and nephew had a blast running crazy, jumping on the tramp, riding the 4-wheeler & go-cart, and then they went across the street and saw a thousand pound pig. (that was not an error..really, its 1000 pounds!)
Jadie and Porter are the cutest little cousins and love playing together.

Jadie went on a Buggie ride with Uncle Kameron. This is the only picture that I got of one of us somewhat in it. I swear I WAS there...I just dont have the picture proof!

While Porter waited to ride the 4-wheeler...as Kyler did what he does best, text like a pro! =)

Saturday night was the steak fry, and Porter was the smart one and didnt attempt to cut anything...just picked up the piece of meat and chomped away.

That night after the program, Anastyn found this mask and wanted me to put it on her...and she walked around wearing it...and bumping into things along the way. She is seriously such a sweet little girl. Not a day passes that she cracks us up.

On tuesday and wednesday we played in the Volleyball tournament, which was a lot of fun. We had a misfit thrown together team of random people because a couple girls couldnt play last minute. But we stinkin tore it up. We came in second...but we did way better then I thought we would. It was a fun couple nights with fun people. I cant wait til next year. On a side note of stories...Porter disappeared and Kyler and I were running around the Gym looking for him...only to walk in the Gym to see my friend Kacy wide eyed, mouth dropped and pointing across the gym. The bleachers across the gym werent out, they were up against the wall...and my sweet Porter of course scaled them to the top and was running around 25 feet in the air. About gave me a heart attack...Kameron was oblivious to it all talking to friends, and thankfully Kyler came to help me get him down. Porter, Porter, Porter. What are we going to do with this kid. Needless to say the stands on the other side all got a great laugh out of it.

I ran the 5K. Yes I chickened out of the 10K. I probably could have done it. I was just sore from 11 hours of volleyball, and when it rains my hips hurt me. I ran 4 miles 3 of the days before the race...and I was feelin about 80 come the day of the race. (I was born with my hips out of place and had to wear braces...yes, like forest gump) So as much as I was wanting to run the 10K, I knew my hips wouldnt allow. But I finished in a little over 31 minutes, so I made ok time on rickety hips. It was fun though, and even though the hills sucked...I got a T-shirt out of it. Wahoo! Haha.

And we didnt go to any of the dances this year. We are such bums I know. But we didnt really want to go to the family dance...and well, we got all ready for the adult dance saturday night...only to drive through the parking lot and decide we were tired and went home and went to bed instead.

It was such a fun, yet very exhausting week. A lot of sleep was lost, but I cant wait til next year. The kids love all the fun things the 24th has to offer, and seeing their faces light up it makes the sleepless nights and tantrums from no sleep all worth it! Thanks to my in laws for putting up with a million people running around the house all week, wreaking havoc on every square inch. Between Porter and Paxton...lets just say that takes patience and a lot of picking up after them! =)

Makes my Heart go Pitter-Patter!

Seriously, this picture makes me melt!! Anastyn is a tough cookie to make smile on cue! I never am able to capture her hilarious faces. Porter was easy as pie to capture. But this my friends...is how adorable my sweet baby girl is when she wants to be!! I just love having a little girl. Its makes life so sweet! I love her more then I can even express.

Happy 4th of July

The Friday before the 4th of July I was complaining to Kameron about how his job always ruins Holidays. (boohoo, I know. I can be a baby sometimes) But I was really bummed we were not going to be able to go to Pinetop until AFTER the 4th of July because he had to work...and because its a holiday he couldnt get it off. Well lucky for us (but not so much for Kameron, haha) Kameron had been having a lot of back trouble, and so his Sargent told him to just take the weekend off, so that would give his back 5 days to recoup. I was thrilled, so I threw everything...and everyone into the car Saturday morning and headed to cooler weather. My parents as well as my Uncle and Aunt from Utah were all at the cabin, so we were able to spend the 4th with them.

Here we are watching the fireworks Saturday night, Porter LOOOVED them. Every time one popped (which equaled out to be like every 2 seconds) he would say "Ooo, Mom you see dat?" "Whoa, cool!!" As well as tell us all the colors of the firecrackers as well.

Here is his face excited as can be!! And you will never guess which color was his favorite. It would crack us up, and we still ask him what his favorite color was because it makes me laugh. BROWN! Thats right. He loved the brown (golden) ones the best. He is such a doll!

Mommy and Anastyn decked out in our Red and white! It was really dark, so the flash made her blink...in every picture...o'well, you can still see her adorableness!

We hung out in the mornings and made Anastyn look like a little bookworm. She loved it and would walk around and bump into things because...well, my mom is basically blind and the prescription on those bad boys magnifies the world!

Whats a trip to Pinetop without ridding the 4-wheeler. Funny story, Porter was sitting on it by himself before this, and my mom was all worried about it. And I was like "Its not even on Mom!" I had tried to start it earlier...and it was SOO hard I couldnt even do it. My sister flipped it a couple years back, so its a little jacked. So basically I wasnt worried. Not two seconds later, we hear "VROOOOOOOM" He had started the engine. Beautiful. I'm pretty sure I was a blur of color because I ran and jumped the deck quicker then lightning. I took the key, and then had to hear the "I told you so!" from my Mother. Never underestimate this child...lesson learned!

We relaxed on the deck.....

In our favorite hammock chairs! (pardon my hideousness...Kameron doesnt tell me, "fix your hair you look like an idiot" he just takes the picture instead!)

My parents have this little wagon up there and Porter wanted to go for a ride. I told him to hold onto his sister so she wouldnt fall out, and this is what he did. Melts me heart!

Then we added Rex to the mix and went for a walk! They loved it.

This is how we do it on vacation. Hand over fist!! This dainty little girl can out eat any one I know. Including me some days!!

It was such a fun trip, and as always I was so sad to come home. The weather was beautiful, and when I went running in the evenings, it was COLD! Imagine that. Halle-freakin-luia!! Even though Kameron was basically crippled and didnt lift a finger the entire weekend (pretty much literally) it was a great and relaxing trip. I cant wait to go back up there in September for Kameron's hunt. I'll be hanging out at the cabin with great company, while the men...well do what men do. Happy Birthday America!!

Why Porter is NOT Potty Trained!!

Here we are again. Another post that puts me one step closer to therapy! As the "3" stage is proving to be the most difficult, something that I have come to find out is harder then dealing with the screaming fits of defiance...is the "PT" phrase. I see friends all around me with success on dry and clean days with their kids...most of which are all younger then Porter. When I start to tell people that he is so hard because he DOESNT really even CARE about potty training, and DOESNT even WANT to! This usually leads to motherly advise..."Have you tried this?" "Maybe this will work?" "This worked like a charm for me!" I sometimes felt like people thought it was me, and my lack of encouragement and that was the reason he isnt potty trained, because of ME! It was all my fault. Could I push it more? Absolutely!! But I hear thats the worst thing to do when they arent ready. And ladies and gentlemen...Porter is NOT ready.

Across the board, Porter has always broken the mold. Or formed a new one, I sometimes like to think of it. No matter what, this child is stubborn. Worse then a mule. Trying to get him to do something he doesnt want to do....is like shoveling snow while its still snowing. Potty training is no exception.

I know what you are thinking. If I would only buckle down, I could MAKE it happen. He's a boy, boys are hard, but with enough patience and long suffering it WILL happen. And if you are in fact thinking this...Let me prove you WRONG. Very wrong!

This is a PRIME Example!! Example Numero Uno..Porter doesnt even like to sit on the toilet, and actually refuses all the time. Example Numero Dos...He doesnt care if he is poopy. He will sit in it, play in it, sleep in it, and soak in it for however long...it doesnt matter. He never tells me he is poopy...even if its leaking out of his diaper. Example Numero TRES...When I say poop doesnt bother him...I'm not kidding!! Last Sunday while he was supposed to be taking a nap...he was making artwork. With you guess it..........

POOP from his diaper!! Thats right people. So when you hear me say, he is a tough kid to potty train, just smile and say "You're right, I'm sorry!"

Maybe I will just outsource Sunday naps in general...lately they just seem to end up in more stress then its worth!

**And the answer is Yes!! It smelt rancid!! For like a DAY!!