{Nanna and Grampa}

My M&D came up over Memorial Weekend.
Drove all night to get here...then were up with Brody at the butt crack of dawn.
They sure do love that little boy. He knows it.
He had fun jumping, playing ring around the rosies, reading books, and playing outside, going to the Dinosaur Museum, and playing with the pups.
I had fun shopping, eating good food, and taking a drive...and getting spoiled.
I love it because they make me feel like I'm the "favorite" when they are here. (and I know they make all their kids feel like that when they are around.)
We had a very lovely time.
(My mom put up a TON of pictures on her blog...check it out- lots of good times were had.)
This is us WAY up ontop of Payson Canyon. It was so pretty up there and we could see for FOREVER! We will definately be camping up there this summer!
I love his red hair (which he got from his Nanna). Nanny tried pushing him in the river and I caught it on film. (Not really- she's just helping him feed the ducks.) Do "Goldfish" kill ducks? I hope not- cause these particular ducks got enough Goldfish to last them a lifetime. Brody loved it though.

We really did have such a fun time with Nanna and Grampa. Maybe next time they won't wait a whole entire year to come visit us!

Thanks for everything mom and dad. I sure love you guys!

{Family Pictures}

My mom and dad came up.
We hung out.
It was fantastic....no, BETTER than fantastic.
Rainy weather...then bright sunshine.
We *took some new family pictures. Not too shabby, ay?

*Note: We are not photographers...nor aspiring to be one. Just cheap.

More pictures of M&D visit soon to come. (Well, hopefully sooner than later!)

Ball + Bat + Boy = Happiness

Brody is our little sport buddy. If we aren't outside kicking a ball, soaring down the slides, hanging on the monkey bars, screaming from the fear of under-doggies, or playing catch...we are inside...doing this... Hat....check.
Glove...check.
Cute chubby little boy...check.
What's missing?
Oh....of course...THE BAT!

I just love him.

Oh another note:

Summer School is kicking my butt. Whatever happened to the days when summer school meant playing computer games and reading the Sweet Valley Twins or the Box Car Kids books? As of now my teachers are cramming 15 weeks worth of work and tests into 7 weeks. Sounds impossible, right? Nope...it's not...just ask them.

My mom and dad and their pup are coming up this weekend. I'm excited. However- I'm not going to let them steal Brody from me...no matter how much they beg!! Brody keeps saying, "Nanna's toming." I think he's excited to see them too.

The pools open up this weekend. I can't wait to see if Brody likes the water this year. He wasn't a big fan last year.

Brody will be 2 in a couple months. Crazy. I was always sure I would have my first TWO back to back....too bad stinkin school gets in the way. A 3 year gap isn't bad right?

Child hood joke that I just remembered:

Q: How do you TOP a car?

A: TEP on the brake, TUPID!! (laugh- you know it's funny!)

{fun with chalk}

I got Brody and I some sidewalk chalk. We had a grand time "tolorin". I drew him a retarded looking dinosaur and he thought it was the coolest. When Trace got home he informed me that it needed a tail...and just looked like a giant green long-necked dog.

Brody liked it though....
The remains of the "dinosaur kiss"...
This just made me even more excited for summer...One day I'm going to graffitti up the entire sidewalk, stairs, handrails, and everything else with my collection of crayolla chalk.

for my momma...

Dear momma,

I just wanted to tell you I love you for letting me sneak into your and poppa's bed at 5:30 in the morning. I love it that you let me wiggle my husky little body in between the sheets and comfortor and kick you off your favorite pillow. I'm so glad you don't mind my fuzzy bed head tickling your face or how when I lay on your arm it goes completely numb. I also love how you let me double time jump on your stomach like Billy Blanks (Tae-Bo man) while you are trying to get some much needed sleep. I am so glad that when you finally open your droopy eyes and see my cute little redhead you grab me and give me tons of tickles and smooches.
Momma, thank you for taking me downstairs and sharing your cereal with me. For some reason yours tastes so much better than mine. Thank you for singing songs and reading an endless stack of books to me. I especially like it when you take me out to the park and race me down the double slide and help me walk across the balance beam. Oh and just to let you know, even though I already know you know, I DO NOT like under-doggies! They scare the crap out of me. I don't know why you think it is so funny.
Momma, I hope you have as much fun with me as I do with you. I love you.

Love,
Your Brody Boy

Things on my mind...

I took my last final at 11 am today. YAHOO! (fireworks exploding) I get a break from school for approximately 5 days. It is time to P-A-R-T-Y.

Brody is getting so big. It's hard for me to hold him in my arms. He's not my little baby anymore.

I love hearing him talk and put sentences and phrases together. He loves saying "momma, momma, momma, momma..." until I look at him and give him my undivided attention.

I'm so excited that Danica is having a baby BOY!!

I hope Trace gets the manager job at UPS. He deserves it.

I may quit my job in the Fall. I can't imagine working, taking 22 credits, being a mom, wife, maid, Sunbeam's teacher, and visiting teacher (although I suck at going) ALL while keeping my sanity. I'm not sure it's possible....although I can usually handle extreme multi-tasking when it is required. I just don't prefer it.

I need to make some baby quilts. Time to design. Maybe on my 5 day break I can get busy. I still need to finish a quilt I started about 6 months ago (I promise I'll finish it Jaime- it's for Adalaide).

I'm playing on a slow pitch softball team. It's fun.

I can't wait for summer. I want to sit by the pool, soke up some much needed rays, wear flip flops, and watch Brody splash around.

I want to go camping A LOT. I practically want to become a mountain woman. (scary)

My lips hurt real bad.

I'll be graduating a year from RIGHT now. Seriously. I'm going to make my students call me Dr. PHD Porter...I have enough credits for it. Too bad my annual salory will be 1/18 of what a real doctor makes (IF THAT).

I need a mini vacation...friends and family welcome.

My little family needs some FAMILY pictures taken. I don't want "studio" ones though- I want ones out in the wild outdoors.

Alright- well that's all for right now from this gal.
Hope YOU have a great day.

Sundays are the best.

A few reasons why I love Sundays:
1. Only objective is to go to church.
2. A nice Sunday dinner.
3. Naps.
4. Homemade cookies or some treat.
(today involved No-Bake cookies)
5. Getting to dress my Brody boy OH so handsome...He loves his dinosaur tie and loves it that he looks like his daddy.

6. Spending time with my family.

Enjoy your day.

Love, the Porters.

Peanut Butter Brownies

Trace is the BEST at making them. But here is the recipe via Momma Toni:

PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIES: oven @ 350

Cream:
3 cubes softened butter
3 cups brown sugar
3 eggs

Add:
3 cups *sifted flour
3 cups oats

Mix really well.
Spread evenly into a cookie sheet pan.
Cook for 22-25 minutes.
When done, the top will be a golden brown.

3-4 big scoops of Peanut Butter
about 1/2 cup chocolate chips

When you take them out of the oven, scoop about 3 BIG spoonfuls of Peanut Butter and put them on top of the brownies. Let it melt and little and then spread it.
Once the PB is all spread out, sprinkle about 1/2 cup of chocolate chips on top. Wait for them to melt a little and then spread it over the PB.

COOL and EAT. (I like to eat them hot though.)

* Trace sifts the flour because he says that it gives it better "texture." He also wanted me to inform you that "yours will never be as good as his."

Easter...

We did the whole "easter-egg hunting/candy finding/basket" thing after church and after the little man's nap. That darn Easter bunny hooked him up. I told him the Easter bunny came and he went and got his wooden rubber band gun and said, "BANG, bang!" SOMEONE taught him that we shoot rabbits and birds.

Also, notice he got a magic coloring book with markers that only work on that special paper...and not on my couch, walls, pillows, and clothes. Good idea, right? He also got a lifesize Elmo book.He loved finding the eggs and putting them in his basket. He really would get so excited. He even spotted the hard to find eggs.Flash back to before church/pre nap: Look how handsome in his cute little Sunday vest. He also has a dinosaur tie...which he loves and says "dinosaur" all through church.The Easter Bunny also hide some eggs outside. The weather was actually really nice and we played out there with the bubble gun and eggs for forever. I can't wait for summer and nice weather 24/7. This was Brody asking for "MORE"...I just couldn't hide the eggs fast enough.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. I know we sure did.

Holy wow...Arizona.

Spring Break 2009 (a little late)
So for SB Pappa Lon decided that he would take a little journey in his fancy airplane and come and pick us up. Hmmmm....11 hours of driving vs. 2 hours of flying. I'll take flying ANY day. It was awesome. Brody was not a big fan but I couldn't really hear him anyway because it was noisy with all the air and whatnot and engine noise and whatnot whipping around us. About 1/2 way through the flight Trace handed me some head phone things. That was sure nice of him.
Oh and I ended up giving Brody a sucker which = he was HAPPY! Then he fell asleep and got sucker slobber all over me. Loved it.
Let's see...the first day in AZ we just chilled in Heber. I got to see a lot of the family. I hung out with Amanda and Madden for a little while. (I love that girl...and miss her mucho.) Brody and Madden are the best of buds. Why didn't I get a picture of Amanda and her beautiful self? I know not...next time for sure.I also got to hang out with Kelli, my sil. We always have some great laughs when we are together. After playing the kiddos in a basketball game I headed over to Show Low to surprise my M&D. (They didn't know I was coming....they under estimate my sneekiness.) My mom was of course THRILLED to see Brody bear. Plus I taught Brody how to say "SURPRISE" on our way over there and he did it right on Q. It was perfect and she was excited. AND she had a whole drawer full of suckers! Oh HEAVEN.My mom had to stay at work for a while longer so Ryan, Brody, and I went to surprise my dad. Brody about flew out of his car seat when he saw his "Grampa"...it was so cute. My dad then showed Brody all of the chickens....he just LOVES baby chickens. This is Brody and his Uncle "WYan"...can't say his R's very well...but neither can I. This was right before the "karate-chop of the baby chick" incident.When my mom got home we hung out for a while and then we went to Bobbi Jo's baby shower. It was great to see a lot of old friends there. We took about one million of these pictures...
The next day we went to the City Park. Brody is a little dare devil (just like his mama) and climbs ALL the way to the very top...pulls himself up with a loud GRUNT...Stands on the very edge of the slide...And then....WHOOSH...takes of with a "WEEE" or "YEAH".Yep, he pretty much loved the slides. However, I am a little sad that they took out the HUGE metal, super fast, burn your toosh, slide...all you Show Lowites, Show Lowians, Show Lowuns know what I'm talking about.
That was pretty much it for our trip. We drove back. The windstorms/snowstorms/rainstorm/tornadoe was CRAZY. I hope I never have to drive in anything like that again.
On a side note: Brody is learning SO many more words and will copy anything that you say. (Yes, I know...I got to watch it!)
He is very "Dennis the Mennis"-ish. He can cause TROUBLE faster than I can spell it.
He loves being outside.
He stands by the door and says "Knock, knock...PLAY" "OUTSIDE"
He can juggle.....uh nope.
He loves dinosaurs.
Loves to "tolor" with markers.
And he loves to "tolor" my couches and pillows even though it's "Naughty, Naughty".
He calls his shoes "NIKE"
and he keeps me busy 24/7.
I sure do love him.And his little mischievous self.