AZ Trip

Our family got tickets for the Arizona Diamondbacks Game one night we were there. We took my parents and my sister's son Brendan was staying with us as well. Here we are in front of the stadium after we got off the train and got there. Troy is taking the pic and of course Macee was throwing a tantrum! So here is the rest of us.

Here is our row of cuties!! Macee and her daddy having fun!

This is the stadium from where we sat.

The kids all got to meet and see Baxter, the Diamondbacks mascot! Macee was too afraid, since a couple of nights before in Heber, Troy scared the crap out of her with Brandon's stuffed bobcat he shot...she didnt like it, and didnt like Baxter!! Jalan getting his autograph on his jersey.

Britton getting his!

Macee was in the playland when Baxter came in and the newscaster ladies and they had all the kids up on the jumbotron during a break...it was really cool, Troy and the family all saw her up on there! The kids enjoying the ballgame...there were alot empty seats!

My mom and dad came with us, we had a great time.

Jalan, Britton and Brendan enjoying the game and their souvenir bats. Their jersey's they got signed

This was us on the way back home, we rode the train from Mesa into Phoenix to the ball field. It was alot of fun!

We got to go to Damon and Julie's son, Joshua's baptism while we were there. It was held at the same building that Disnee got baptised in over 7 years ago! So we took this pic of Disnee in the same spot she had her baptism pic took a long time ago! All the cousins sang a song for the program, here they are practicing. What a cute bunch! Only a few of the Porter's were there, mostly the other side of the family.

After the baptism, we headed back up the hill to Heber. Heber has a great celebration, one of my favorite times of year is to go to Heber and participate in it all.

Heber has a little parade each year, well its not little anymore...there were so many people there, we got there 2 hours early and there were no spots left...we arent even where the parade goes in front of us....we have to look from afar!! it is tradition, but not too fun, and hot!! We are all anxiously waiting!

The little ones dont do too good in the heat! Its so high up the sun is intense! Yes Macee's face is that dirty already..on pavement!! she cried the whole way there, and so she smeared the dirt that collected and looks so clean already!

After the parade, we usually hang out at home, and then later head down to the baseball field to get set up for the fireworks. We go and hang out and eat dinner at the booths..and have a good time until the fireworks start.

Troy enjoying his dinnerUs

The whole gang hanging out and enjoying the festivities.

Nicole and Jed -what a great looking couple huh!! Brandon teasing his mom...

Mom and Dad Porter enjoying the people watching and visiting that we all love to do while we wait for the fireworks to start!

Macee and Maddie enjoying their snowcones!! Jalan having a little trouble blowing up the ball!!

Disnee, Brooke and some friends "hanging out" with friends. They really enjoy this time of year to see all their old friends and have a good time!!

Busy CRAZY summer!

Well I have really slacked on my blogging. In June our family headed on a 2 week vacation to AZ..and we drove!! It was actually a very enjoyable trip. The kids did soooooo good!! We got to spend alot of great time with family and friends. We spent a lot of time going from Heber to the valley, to Heber to the valley to Heber...but it was worth it. Here are some of the things we did while we were there:

Went to a AZ Diamondbacks game~got Baxter's signature on the boys jerseys, Macee was on the jumbotron??
Went to Hamilton Public Pool~so fun~Macee learned to swim
Went camping at Slide Rock!alot of fun, daddylonglegs, crying by Macee, bruises and scrapes afterward..but definitely worth it...
Went to the baptism of Joshua~such a neat boy! so glad we got to be there for it!
Saw the musical Wicked !best EVER!!
Saw the best fireworks show ever~Heber has such a great show, and cool weather and grass with no tics!! yeah!!
shopped and ate, and ate and shopped, ALOT!

The kids really enjoyed being with their cousins and relatives and friends. We always miss it back home when we go out there. Especially the FOOD!! We ate out more then we ate in...we have to get all of our favorites in...like:

Abuleos
Filibertos (like 10 times)
El Cupido(new favorite)
Bahama Bucks(only 2 times)
Tia Rosa
In N Out Burger (2 times)
Golden Harvest Chinese

Yes we LOVE Mexican food and miss it so much. There are a couple of places here, but nothing compared to AZ!! We had a blast and really enjoyed spending time with friends and family. We didnt get to see everyone very much, like Damon and Julie and family, we only got to see them a bit, and that was sad! There were so many people and places that it was kind of hard to get to see everyone very much. Thanks to all of our families who opened their homes to our crew and were so willing to share this time with us. The trip home was long and tiring, but we were all eager to get back to home and relax. Of course, I slept most of the way, so Troy said it was long! haha. I have such a good hubby to drive 22 hours there and back by himself! YUK!

99 Things

99 things
99 ThingsHere are the rules: Bold the things you’ve done and post on your blog!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you are not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold girl scout cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Baseball

Jalan got his wish come true for baseball this year. He gets to be pitcher! wow is he elated and on cloud 9!! Here he is on his first game. He definitely has to work on his arm, and keep trying to get better, but he is pretty good! There is another pitcher who is the main pitcher, but they only let the boys pitch 3 innings a day. So...that gives other boys opportunities to pitch. Jalan is so cute!! Does this look like a Porter or what?

And there it goes!! He can pitch strikes pretty good, but needs to work on his speed...great job jalan, we are so proud of you!

Here is Jalan at bat. The boys are on American Legion team again this year. Nice orange uniforms!! Jalan and Britton had a hard time hitting off this team's pitcher, he was really fast!! Go Jalan!

Here is Britton at bat...unfortunately, he missed the ball this time. He is getting alot better and is liking being in little league this year. Its a lot different than the coach pitch he has been in the last 2 years. He is one of the littlest guys on the team again, but not the littlest! That big guy in the back is one of the boys dad and is so funny..he loves to cheer on the boys and give them five and stuff...so fun! Britton in his good baseball stance! Ready to hit!

T Ball!!

Macee got to play Tball this year for the Foreman and Kessler Team!! She is such a cutie out there! Troys dream is to have a daughter play softball..he watches it on TV all the time and loves it....he see's it in Macee's future! She is totally a natural athlete. ITs so fun to watch her out there seeming to know what to do! Here she is playing 1st base...what a cutie!! She is saying, "hey" to us...what a girl.

Of course, backwards..here she is running the base. Look at her arms, she is so funny..looks like an old lady walking..haha...she does have great form though!

She is ready to run...its amazing to see how she just knows to do that off the base!

Here she is up to bat! Go PINK POWER!! They yell that from their huddle each time! SOOO FUN AND CUTE! Like her coach there in the pink shirt!! Go Macee!!

8th grade graduation

Well, due to the craziness that has been going on in our home, I have slacked and havent gotten Brooke's graduation post up yet. SO....On June 1, Brooke had her 8th graduation!! Can you believe it! It was quite the day for us! We had a to take the boys to their baseball practice at 6:00, go to a Tball game for Macee at 6:15, which was late and didnt start until 6:45-so we waited for almost an hour and then left before it started!! Then I ran Brooke to the school and went to save seats..it started at 7:30. Troy ran and got the boys from practice and met us at the school. There were 9 million people there, in a gym with no AC, in June...and we were practically on the top row of the bleachers. WOW was it hot and fun!! Then we had to sit with the 3 little kids who kept saying how hot they were and when is this going to be over!! haha. It was quite the experience. But, it was great to see our "Kalee" Brooke graduate with honors with her class of over 200 kids. She is so gorgeous and growing so fast. We are so proud of her accomplishments and its on to high school! Here she is sitting in her row, having fun as usual!

Here she is after recieving the Presidential Academic Fitness Award. We are so proud of her hard work and great grades!! And such a beauty! Here she is recieving her diploma. Wow where does the time go?? Now we have 2 high schoolers! no way!!!

This was at home after, since before the graduation was too crazy...so not such a great pic...but here is the graduate!

Wow What a weekend!

I would be very ungrateful if I didnt say how grateful I am, and our whole family is, of the great events that have happened this weekend. To start this off, I guess I should explain that the last few weeks have been pretty crazy and stress filled at our home, and we found out the reason why. After church, Troy, Brooke and I were able to drive to O'Fallon to the stake center, and be there as Troy was set apart by President Holt to be the new Elders Quorum President for our ward! Wow was that an amazing blessing and setting apart to be able to witness. Pres Holt is such an amazing man, and is so soft spoken and it was so beautiful. Troy was, is, of course, so excited, but so nervous at this new experience ahead of him. I know he is such an amazing man, and will do AWESOME!! This ward has a lot of challenges, and it will definitely be a growing experience for him! I am so proud of Troy, and the fact that he is a worthy priesthood holder and is worthy of this calling. I know it will bless our family in so many ways. I know he will be able to touch so many people and do such a great work here in this area. So after this, we were able to go with Brooke to talk to Patriarch Shepherd to recieve her patriarchal blessing. WOW! Another amazing experience for us. The spirit was soooo strong, and it was a very memorable day. Brooke was promised such beautiful things in her blessing. We have always known she is a natural born missionary, and has been her whole life...and to hear this brought out in her blessing was so wonderful! In fact, I dont know if this is appropriate, but after the blessing, the patriarch felt necessary to clarfiy some things to us and reiterate parts, as if it was so important and he wasnt sure he got it across as well as it needed to be!!! WOW!!! Brooke was very excited and in awe after this. She said she had never felt the spirit so strong as then and will always remember this day. I am so grateful for such a wonderful family. I have been so blessed!! Our family has grown so much and is continuing to grow and prosper and we know it is from our father in heaven.