the boy turned 4

so if you didn't hear...the BRODSTER turned 4 on July 1st.  and just so you know, what the 4 year old wants, the 4 year old gets.  he wanted a "fishing party" and thus he got one.  

they got to fish in a murky pond.  i would like to say that they were all successful.  i mean look at those faces...success is right.

we played a little game i like to call "fish, fish, SHARK"...

we blew out the candles on the awesome fruit fish cake.  we also ate "worms in a bun" and drank ocean water.  it was real ocean water, ofcourse...but for some reason it tasted a lot like blue Kool-Aid.

weird.

we opened presents...such as water guns, robots, a fancy scooter, a swimming blow-up dolphin (complete with a dorsel fin), play-doe [my personal favorite],

and a REAL fishing pole.

we finished the party off with a huge chunk of cake, or a cupcake...or both and then a nice ride down the ol slip n' slide. 

brody & co. had a great time from what i can tell.  but what do i know?  i'm just the mom.



80's? yes, please.

so i was born in 1983 (give or take a few months). that said, i am not aware of all the true 80's stuff, but i remember a few things:
1. pegged pants
2. my favorite babysitter rocked the aqua-net hairsprayed "wings" in her hair.
3. stonewashed pants with no pockets on the butt...which made a size 0 look like a 20 when viewing from the rear.
4. bright colored hightops...actually, bright neon colored everything.
5. scrunchies and more hairsprayed big bangs.
6. shoulder pads...some belonging to the dallas cowboys...some belonging to my mom's full piece jump suit with neon paint sploches and sparkles.

however, a few nights ago we were asked to an 80's themed party. will we go? absolutely we will...and we will rock it.
HIGHLIGHT: When we walked in...an hour late...everyone stopped, jaws hit the floor and expressions on faces turned into "WTface". Apparently we had over-dressed for the party...by like 5 layers of make-up and 2 cans of hairspray. Try not to be jealous of my lacy, itchy dress, banana clipped hair, trace's slicked back hair, kelli's make-up, or spencer's hat. also, please note spencer's fannypack.
i'm sure this dress got a lot of whistles once upon a time...a long time ago. 80's prom king and queen? i think yes...we danced. we sang 80's stuff. we ate good food. it was a good party.

{Special thanks to Trace for wearing the outfit kelli and i spent all day searching and digging through thrift stores for...you looked hot, dear.}
{Other special thanks to awesome nikki hughes for inviting us to your fiesta.}

dear June Oh-11

i must say, June, you sure have been one crazy month for the trace & tara porter family. you don't believe me...let me show you. (picture style)
brody was on the Little Dragons t-ball team. trace was one of the coaches. needlesss to say there were many great time had. brody can hit the ball and run super-dooper fast. [even if he does get out and proceeds to run the bases like he slammed a homer.] He'll always be #1 in my book...dirty hands and all.This is his "game face"....I think mine is better. His will develop with time.pep talk by THE coach.total awesomeness...Goooooooo Little Dragons. our little DOT turned uno [for those of you who don't speak spanish that means 1].
Perfect family picture opp...don't you love how i randomly get a cowboy little boy? I do.And this little dolly...she has given me one of the best years of my life. i love her. i love her "man-laugh-chuckle". i love her little dimples. i love her kisses. and i loved that she has tripled weight in the past year. this is the "dot" cake that i tried to do...don't look to close. but scroll down a few pictures and you will realize that it doesn't even matter how cute the cake is. she pretty much eliminates the poor thing.her method: get a handfull, try to get as much of that handful in the mouth as possible. Making progress...if you ask me, the cake didn't have a chance. also, i am pretty sure she enjoyed it...a little. we sent her down the slip-n-slide. she had no complaints so i think she liked it. we also opened presents...she got a walker (not the old lady kind either), clothes, and a little lady bug toy.

So June- back to you- you kept this gal quite busy. thanks for the fun. PS. Tell July to take it easy on the heat...my poor trailer house is like a pepsi can (colder inside when it's cold outside and HOTTER inside when it's hot outside.)

[blocks & brody]

Brody is a builder.
He LOVES to build things:
1. castles.
2. houses.
3. barns.
4. temples.
5. elephant cages.
6. house-trailers.
7. pirate ships.
8. and stuff, and stuff.
We busted out the blocks the other day and let our creative juices flow...
This is HIS masterpiece...a castle for his elephant. (killed 2 birds with that stone.) Like I said before, he LOVES to build.I like to build stuff too...but not so much a castle or anything cool like that.
I built this baby blanket for a dear friend.

and that's all...

head-band model.

I make headbands.
Nothing fancy or anything.
But if you ask me...it looks super cute on a super cute baby.
I meant to just take ONE picture. (ya, like that was going to happen.)
This is her "stink" face in which she does ALL the time.

She would only smile if she had the flashlight in her hand.

the family doctor...dentist.

Dear (all-most) Dr. Rustin.
 
Remember that one time you rescued me from drowning?  Remember when we climbed the tallest peak?  Remember when we rode the elevator all the way to the top floor and pushed all the buttons before we got out? Remember when we rode our bikes to the store on a daily basis so you could get a Reese's and I a Twix?  Remember when you jumped me so high that I flew off the trampoline?  Remember when we wrecked the 4-wheeler?  Remember that one time when we built the biggest snowman ever to exist? Remember when we used to have rollerblading wars?  Remember when we'd play monopoly hours upon hours and I'd always win?  Remember when you rescued a cat from a burning building?  Remember when I jumped over a fence with my clarinet and I fell on my face and all you did was laugh at me?  Remember you took an underwater basket weaving class and you made me a bowl? Rememeber when we used to go running at the park and then play racquetball and hit Danica in the face/arm/body?  Remember that one time when you used to take me to lunch with you in High School?  Remember when we were clogging partners and I was WAY better than you?  Remember when we solicitated ourselves for money...clogging?  Remember that one time we worked together and did our best to make fun of each one of our co-workers?  Remember how you went to school in NEW YORK CITY for 4 years and I never came to visit?  Ya- I hope to make up for that one. 
I am so proud of you and all your work and accomplishments.  You are pretty much amazing.  CONGRATULATIONS Brother!  I love you.
 
Love,
Taralee


PS.  If you only remember about half of those things your memory is still working pretty good.

house trailer kitchen

What's more lovely than waking up to a fabulous "stretch-mark" kitchen paint job?
And I know what you're thinking..."STRETCH-MARK paint job? What the face? Never heard of it. There is no such thing."
Well, intro-seducing the stretch-mark paint job in all it's glory...

BLEH.
No thank you. I choose life....and color. And just to let you know, I am pretty much amazing at using painter's tape. I even bought the blue scotch good kind...cause professionals use it. (If you take a look at the light fixture above the stove you can see proof that I am a professional...and therefore classified in the painter's category that uses the good blue scotch painters professional tape.)Wah-lah. Purdy fancy, right? This is after about 1,000,001 coats of paint and a good scrub with using the old scotch bright pad and my bulging, relief-society arms and biceps. Whoot woo. Fancy. (Editor's Note: If it's super fancy then your allowed to say fancy more than one time per post.) I would also like to point out:
1. the super cute owl cookie jar.
2. the blendtec (registered) blender.
3. the granite counter tops (a nice surprise for a house trailer...upgrade.)
4. Dotti's high chair that folds up.
5. the sink has a sprayer (upgrade).
6. the recipe holder/cork board.
7. AND the new "Paradise Lime" paint job....which is at least 5% better than the stretch mark custom paint job. I also finished the table and chairs, which if you look to the right adds a nice, classy touch to the delightfully decorated kitchen. And what better things to have at the table...
1. cute vintage jar.
2. [Gratitude].
3. and [Celebrate family, friends, and traditions].
4. AND a bar stool for Brody so his grubby little 3 year old, peanut butter covered hands don't get my newly upolstered chairs "kid stained".

5. AND Brody's artwork on the fridgidare.The kitchen is still small and cramped but at least it is aesthetically pleasing...for the most part (minus the weird stove florescent light, the fact that the ceiling is pulling away from the walls, and the "buttons" on the ceiling, the overhead light fixture, AND the $5.99 blinds in the windows...I'll stop now while I'm thinking my kitchen is looking pretty FANCY.)

* Special thanks to Trace for helping me fix my wobbley chairs, falling apart table, AND doing the dishes!

ready. aim. fire

I'm all about cheap entertainment. It's easy. Less hectic. and MORE fun. All it takes is...

1 snazzy pool
3 easily entertained boys (although, I'm not going to lie, Trace and I both proceeded with the events.)
3 water guns
1 [X] target on the tree (made out of scrap fabric)
PLUS...
ONE day in Heber without any wind...PRICELESS

Ready, AIM....FIRE...Also, we randomly drove to Utah last weekend...cause planning things is NOT us. I woke up on Sunday and said, "Hey Trace. Hi. Let's drive to Utah and buy a boy-friend dog for Fergie." He said "When?" I said, "Like 5 minutes ago." He said, "Ok." And that was that. We packed and left. Done and done.
MEET King TYTON...we call him Ty. We [Brody] love him.
I quote the Brody by saying, "I love the heck out of this dog, mom."
(camera shy dog) I kind of like him. I was trying to take a picture of him and me. However, I DO NOT like dog kisses...at all. {GAG} This little sucker tried to pull a fast one on me and that is why the look of discust (diss-cust, dis-ca-st, disgust?- none of those even look right.) Anyway, he is cute and will hopefully get busy making me some $$$...I mean puppies soon.

the house trailer and stuff and such

So I have a problem.
I see the beauty in ugly things.
My husband does not.
Let me explain. Trace builds things: custom closets, entertainment stands, shelving, tables, beds, dressers...custom stuff. He hates IKEA "junk". He HATES Wal-Mart "POS's" even worse. It's almost embarrassing to walk down the furniture isle anywhere because he grabs, let's say a chair, and wiggles it till the poor things nearly falls apart. Then he exclaims, "See, Tara, peice of crap." (Which in my mind I'm thinking, "well, dear, if we lived in Kansas where tornadoes occur, then it might be a problem...but we don't...and I don't really do any shaking while I'm sitting. Do you?)
Anyway....long story short- I inherited some fancy old stuff. An old round table from my parents and some 70's style chairs from my S.I.L., Lena.
Needless to say when I so PROUDLY brought them home, Trace gave me the "I married a crazy lady" look. He looked at the chairs and said, "You know...paint can't fix everything." Then he looks at our house-trailer and says, "Even if you painted that thing the prettiest color you can think of the siding would still be falling off, the metal and wood siding would clash, the roof would still be odd, the windows would still leak, and the floor would still shake when you walk. You can't always fix ugly." Well, now I am bound a determined to fix this set up to be cute. I'm painting the table WHITE and the chairs yellow. I got my inspiration from this (CLICK). Meanwhile my kids play on the porch while I work to create my masterpiece.Dot sits in the swing that we hung in the door frame...very classy.This is the table that took me like 35 days to sand down. Holy COW...sanding sucks. That is why I invested in some stripper (not the Las Vegas kind). It works wonders. I got rid of that yucky varnish stuff in 15 minutes...with the help of my large muscles.

Then I had to rip the chairs apart cause the fabric on the chairs is not my style. I'm thinking about doing white fabric with some different kinds of textures or patterns...to be honest I'm not even sure what I'm talking about. I have a lot of sanding and painting so I think I'll just cross that fabric bridge when I get there. It's a good thing Dotti loves this....Cause I have a feeling she is going to be spending some time in there in the next few days....just so I can prove Trace wrong. (Which NEVER happens. To be quite honest, I'm right like 5% of the time...which leaves him with the glory and bragging rights 95% of the time [for those of you who aren't good at math, mom, I helped you out] And I'm not guaranteeing that the chairs will be sturdy or last through a hurricane, all I'm saying they will be dang cute when I'm done.

If that doesn't work...at least I make cute kids, right?