The Newest Porter Teenager

Joseph turned 13 years old and officially joins the teenage world! His birthday fell on a fast Sunday, which would definitely not work with breakfast in bed, so he started his birthday celebration on Saturday. His breakfast in bed included two types of donuts, bacon, and strawberries.

 After eating, Joseph wanted to open half of his presents, as is the tradition. This year he received some clothes (he picked out), some superhero bobbleheads (which he requested), some cool headphones, and the movie Coco.

 After church on Joseph's birthday, we made his requested treat, chocolate marshmallow cookies. 

 On Monday I took him to lunch at Mod Pizza, his favorite restaurant, for some delicious (and hot) pizza.

The next Saturday Joseph had invited 7 friends to a laser tag birthday party. 

Earlier in the day, the girls helped me make the cake that Joseph requested, a white cake (we found a great, very moist recipe) with homemade chocolate frosting.

All of Joseph's friends met at our house and then we drove two cars to Wilsonville. Bailey was in town for the weekend, so she came along! Aubrey was attending a friend's play.

 Ultrazone kept us well supplied with junk food (soda, pizza, chips, candy), which fueled us for some amazing laser tag games. In between the two games, the boys talked animatedly about their strategies for the next game.

 Then we ate the delicious cake and he opened gifts.

 We are grateful for these good friends.

 And it was so much fun to have Bailey attend the party.

We love our new teenager. He is witty, smart, loving, talented, and fun to hang out with. And he has the best smile!! Dan and I are glad that we get to hang out with him for 5 more years!

The Newest Porter Adult

Aubrey's got a birthday surprise when seminary was cancelled (due to projected snow which didn't materialize), so she was able to sleep in until her breakfast in bed was ready.

 And then she opened all her presents, since she would be going straight from school to a special birthday dinner in downtown Portland. She got journals and lots and lots of pens (her favorite),

 awesome Demarle cookwear (which also works as a hat apparently) to use when she has her own kitchen in college

 and a super fuzzy rug for her college dorm (which she says will make kneeling down to pray SO much more comfortable!)

For a birthday lunch, she and I went to Mod Pizza. It was so fun to visit with this gorgeous girl!

That night we picked her up directly from a Thespians club meeting at school and went to a special dinner at The Melting Pot (a fondue restaurant) in Portland. Her friend Seth came with us. It was a really amazing meal! Cheese fondue for appetizer, then a salad, then the main course which we cooked in the boiling vat of seasoned broth, then chocolate fondue. Delicious, all of it, and such a great experience!

I love, love, love this post Joseph put on his brand new Instagram account in honor of Aubrey's birthday.

We love our birthday girl! The years have flown by, and we can't believe that she is almost launched into the real world. We will miss her so much for so many reasons. She is insightful and intelligent, thoughtful and kind, resourceful and hard working, organized and talented, loving and courageous. She is going to love going to college, but our home won't be the same without her! 

January through March

New Year's Eve

This year we spent New Year's Eve (which was a Sunday night) at the McDonnell's house. They just finished a major renovation which created a big gathering space and a nicely updated kitchen. We played games and ate goodies and tried not talk about the ward realignments which would be announced the next week.

Sunny Winter

We went on several walks in the unseasonably warm January weather, including a nice walk on a Sunday afternoon after church. Now that church is at 9 a.m. instead of 1 p.m., that's a possibility!

 

I love this picture of the kids

I have been sorting through decades of memorabilia and pictures, preparing to scrapbook or digitize them. Here are a few fun gems I discovered recently.

In retrospect, this is really funny! (Written by Aubrey, age 9 1/2)
(My favorite part is the postscript: "Do good deeds they don't want you (to do)"

I promise that Aubrey has written so many kind and nice notes also, but this just happens to be the one that I found in my pile today!

 Bailey wrote very impassioned letters to the tooth fairy back in the day

And some other fun notes:

 

 And I love Bailey's career plans:

 Ivy League Interviews

 Aubrey went to interviews with an alumni of Stanford and Harvard. She will find out whether or not she was admitted on April 1. She thought that the interviews went very well!

Joseph and Dad

 Dan and Joseph attended the yearly Fathers/Sons campout on the coast in the rain. They stopped at Tillamook on the way for a triple scoop of ice cream.

Dan and I also attended the Awards Assembly for Joseph's excellent school performance first semester.

Dan the Man

Dan was not amused this day that we stopped after a funeral at a juice bar called Nekter and got something called the Toxin Flush (parsley, spinach, apple, lemon, ginger). I thought it was yummy!

 The night before Dan's birthday we went to dinner at B.J.'s, where Dan got his favorite avocado egg rolls.

 And Dan opened gifts at home.

 He started his birthday morning by teaching mission prep at our home. We had a breakfast - blueberry french toast casserole, bran muffins (Dan's favorites), sausages, and cinnamon pecans rolls.

Bailey's St. George adventure

Bailey joined many of the other Springer girls (Kara, Ashleyn, Lauryn, and Ali) at a house in St. George for a long weekend in mid-January. It was a nice (and very needed) break for all of them! I just wish that I could have joined them.

The oldest three

While they were visiting Utah for the Sundance Film Festival, Brandon and Angela met up with Bailey for lunch!

President Aubrey

I had to take a picture of Aubrey's presidency agenda. She developed this when she was the Laurel class secretary, and they have continued using it now that she is the president. The agenda is beautiful and very efficient and effective (just like Aubrey!)

It takes a village

When we first moved here, I saw how people gathered to help at every wedding reception or other  events, and I secretly hoped that someday I would be someone who would be asked to help at weddings of people in the community. It really feels like a "village" of friends working together to pull off big things. I am happy to report that I now frequently get to help, and it is so fun to work next to my good friends!

 What I've been doing

Lots of things, including hosting book club at our house (this is the aftermath of the yogurt bar brunch.)

I did  a lot of painting this month. More about that in another post. The color on the wall behind the piano was version one before I changed my mind and repainted. I loved seeing my two youngest playing piano together.

 Monsters at the end of the book

At Kohl's one day I saw these books on clearance and snagged them. They were our kids' favorite books growing up! Joseph had a childhood replay moment and read the books to me.

There is Beauty all Around

Views of our trail in February. Seriously, we live in a gorgeous place.

Taste of Thai

 I took Aubrey out to get Thai food one night when Dan was out of town. This was her first time tasting Thai (she tried Pad Thai, Mussaman Curry, and salad rolls), and she decided it is pretty good! She has become a pretty adventurous eater.

Snapshots of Joseph

Joseph and Aubrey working on some Algebra together, and a picture of my sweet youngest asleep.

 I took Joseph shopping for his birthday, and he was a very enthusiastic shopper and fun to hang with.

 I love what Joseph said when he looked at the stacks of color coordinated, carefully folded towels, "This is so satisfying. . ."

Snow Surprise

On February 18 we had a surprise snowstorm which canceled school and seminary one day and seminary the next day!