Porter Reunion 2014

The end of July we met up with extended family in AZ for the Porter Family Reunion near Heber. Bailey, Aubrey, Brandon and Angela flew to Arizona from Utah (the girls had been at EFY) and Joseph, Dan, and I flew there from Washington.  First we spent a few days in the Valley eating all the Mexican food our stomachs could handle.  Tia Rosa's . . yum.  Cafe Rio . . . . double yum.

 After church on Sunday we visited the Mesa Temple Visitor's Center and the grounds of the beautiful new Gilbert Temple.

 It was so hot, but we braved a few pictures outside. Joseph borrowed my sunglasses so he could handle the brightness.

 Then we packed everything up to drive a few hours to the mountains for the reunion. We were CRAMMED into our rental minivan. Every seat was filled and we all had to hold things on our laps. We had to take many more bags than usual because we had to bring all of our own bedding: pillows, blankets, sheets, etc. That was a pain and I won't try to attempt that ever again.

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Little girl camp

For the last year Bailey and Aubrey have talked about running a camp for little girls in the summer. This year they made their dream a reality. They sent this email to some families we know with young girls:

Hi everyone! This summer we (Bailey and Aubrey Porter) are planning to host a day camp for girls ages 4 to 9.  The camp will be held from 9-11:30 a.m. August 11th - 15th. We have been working for months on fun activities for the camp and would love to have your daughter(s) participate if they are available and interested.

We will have a theme for each day and will do themed activities and games and have fun snacks.  These are our plans right now for the daily themes:

MONDAY: Scientist Day 

TUESDAY: Makeover Day

WEDNESDAY: Outdoor Day

THURSDAY: Disney Day

FRIDAY: Pajama Party

The price for each day is $8. Your girls could participate on any or all of the days.   

Let us know if you are interested in the summer camp.  Thank you so much, we are so excited!

Bailey and Aubrey Porter

The girls scheduled the camp for the only free week we had the entire summer. That week didn't work for some of the families we had contacted, but they still had a nice group of super cute girls every day. The activities they prepared were creative and fun.  Here are a few pictures from the week:  

The Fair - then and now

When I was a kid, going to the Grant County Fair was the highlight of the summer. From my childhood perspective, everyone in town went to the fair to socialize and it was a perpetual party. Our normally quiet and very small town seemed more festive and fun during Fair time.

I was very involved in the fair from an early age, entering sewing projects and participating in 4-H public speaking and cooking competitions. It was fun to earn blue ribbons and all year long as I worked on a project I would evaluate whether it was something I could enter in the fair. I loved to walk around all the exhibits and to see all the proudly displayed projects. I even tolerated looking at the animals, even though they smelled and I wasn't much of an animal lover. And nothing could be as exciting as the carnival rides at the fair. I spent my babysitting money on an all-ride-ticket but could never get myself to go on the Zipper ride.  

I could imagine myself daring to ride the crazy swinging upside down contraption someday in the future, maybe when I would attend the fair with friends as an older teenager, but what I really hoped to do someday was go to the fair with a date.

A lot happened to derail my plans and tarnish my view of fair utopia. We moved away from Washington before I was old enough to go on a date to the fair.  In fact, once we moved from Moses Lake in 1986 I never went to another fair for over 20 years. This fact would have shocked my 12-year-old mind.  Even though there were county and state fairs held every year in our communities, we weren't interested and it wouldn't have been the same. Whereas in Moses Lake the Grant County Fair was the town's claim to fame and the social event of the year, in other places I have lived the county fair is dwarfed by all the other enticing entertainment options and was not well-attended by anyone I knew.

The exception to this would be the community in which we currently live. When we moved to Vancouver 8 years ago I realized that the Clark County Fair was a sort-of-big-deal. 

Many people attended the fair every year in August and the Fairgrounds is a short drive from our home. The first August we lived in Washington I took my four kids to the fair so they could experience my childhood utopia.

So did it live up to my memories?  No, not really. As an adult I saw the fair through different eyes and it wasn't really magical at all. Granted, part of this might be because in Moses Lake the fair really WAS a big deal. I really think it truly was a big deal and that this wasn't just my childhood perception. But, there are (and were) evident down-sides to the Fair that I can see much more clearly now:

Aubrey's Utah Adventure

At the end of a whirlwind month (wedding, beach house, Girls Camp, visiting Mianna in Utah, EFY, Porter Reunion in AZ) Aubrey flew BACK to Utah for another week for some special time with Grandma and Grandpa Springer and two of her cousins.  Mostly she spent time with her cousin Sydney, but at the beginning of the trip Alexa was there as well. 

Grandma and Grandpa really tailored this trip to meet the needs of these two girls, who both love all things art, music, and drama-related.  Just some of the fun things they did during the week:

• Spent time at Grandma and Grandpa's beautiful cabin in Heber
• Toured Temple Square and saw a broadcast of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Music and the Spoken World (I'm sooooo jealous!)
• Visited the Springville Art Museum
• Drove to St. George and stayed in a condo
• Saw two different plays at Tuacahn (Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat and The Little Mermaid)
• Went on a super cool backstage tour at Tuacahn
• Drove the scenic route back from St. George to see lots of quaint small towns
• Ate at Cafe Rio several times, Ihop, etc.

What a great privilege this was for the girls - to get to really know their grandparents and each other better. Aubrey had a wonderful time!  

Other end of summer moments

School Shopping Fun

I'm not much of a shopper. I like to get in and out and get it over with quickly. So we did some power shopping to get the kids ready for school. We accomplished it all in just a few days! And it was always fun to hang out with my kids, who are amazing people.

Aubrey debated about whether to get a "Where's Waldo shirt" (not really) and Bailey wondered whether she should get a shirt featuring her "spirit animal" - a giraffe.

We found a LOT of things to try on at Ross. We had to keep going out to the cart to get 8 more things each. But we found just about everything they needed at a great price. Score!

 My little Joseph buddy was easy to shop for. He knows exactly what he wants (Nike shoes, Nike socks, black shorts and dark pants, and some plaid overshirts to wear with Tshirts to school.) He took time to mug for the camera because he wanted a picture so he could see how he looks in a hat. He looks dapper!

After Senior Pictures Adventure

The Wednesday before school started Bailey had a senior picture photoshoot with Chelsea Smith, the same photographer who did Brandon and Angela's wedding pictures.  We love Chelsea - she is so easy to work with and does a great job. We met at the old Kennedy School in Portland which had lots of nice backgrounds for photos. She brought 5 sets of clothes and she quickly changed her clothes in the van.  We should get the pictures back any day!

After the pictures we decided to explore the nearby neighborhood and found a delightful street/neighborhood called Alberta.  We parked and walked down the street and laughed at all the Portland idiosyncratic touches and drooled over lots of delicious food options.

 We really, really, really want to try out this bakery, called the Sugar Cube because we have heard great things about it.  However, they are only open 4 days a week for a few hours each day, so we somehow missed it even though we were on Alberta Street three times that week!

But what a cool sign on the door of the bakery, don't you think?

 We settled on a family run Mexican restaurant with delicious authentic food. We sat at a counter which was filled with pictures of their family and a box of thank you cards from customers. How cute is that?

 Then we decided we really needed to round out our Portland experience with some of the hand-made ice cream that Portland is famous for. We found a Ruby Jewel just a few blocks away. It was truly delicious.

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Lake Merwin
Bailey spent a fun day at beautiful Lake Merwin with friends, including many fellow SENIORS.

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Look at that beautiful smile!

Aubrey got her braces off and she looks even more beautiful!  She has thoroughly enjoyed flossing her teeth at least 3 times a day because now she CAN.

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It's real - summer is over

Also during the last week of summer, each of the kids went to registration at their school. Which made it all so very real that we were headed back into school and bidding summer goodbye. So sad.  Here Aubrey compares schedules with two friends.

 Mid-August was also a big prep time for the impending start of Seminary. We had to make two kinds of cookies for the Seminary Kick-Off Fireside (at which Bailey was the first speaker).  One type was no-bake cookies, which we packaged in bags and labeled "Buffalo Chips" for Dan to hand out to the students in his class.  This was our last minute attempt to come up with something fun for him to give to the new students he would meet that evening. He is teaching freshmen about the Doctrine and Covenants and Church History this year, and the freshman thought the Buffalo Chips were tasty. And oh, what a mess we made of the kitchen.

Joseph had an end of summer water party in the Kartchner's new huge back yard. It's so fun that now their home is bike-riding close to our home!

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Creative Cookery

I've been encouraging Joseph to find recipes he wants to help me cook and to get creative in the kitchen.  One day he decided to be really creative and he created "Bacon Nutella."  He, of course, wouldn't eat it, but he somehow talked Bailey into trying the fabulous recipe. (She said it was kind of weird).

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Education Week

The third week of August I was able to fly to Utah for Education Week at BYU. I had a really amazing experience. It was like my definition of heaven to be able to learn about something new every hour of the day. I had a hard time stopping to eat! I finished the week tired but intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually filled.

 I love the BYU - there is something really unique about the campus and the mountains which surround it.  I walked around all week with a goofy smile. And I ate two full pounds of BYU fudge during the week, which made the week complete.

 Actually, even better than fudge was the fact that on several of the evenings I was able to hang out with this cute newlywed couple.  They cooked a delicious meal for me one night and another night we went to Cafe Rio. Then on Saturday I stocked up their pantry and freezer at Costco. My favorite thing about seeing them was the hours we spent just relaxing and talking together.  And I'm not sure why my camera took such a blurry selfie.

 We ate at a cute cupcake shop (with gourmet hot chocolate too - what a perfect place).  I loved these posters:

 On Tuesday at Education Week I was on the 4th row in the Marriott Center for Elder Bednar's devotional!

While in Utah I also was incredibly lucky to be able to spend a day with my parents and also attend a neurology appointment with my Dad.

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Miscellaneous Joseph

Look at this cute 9 year old! Joseph loves to ride his bike, and lately he straps his Pikachu to his back to give him a ride around the block. Joseph has had a recent increased interest in stuffed animals, and I have to admit that I'm enjoying it.  That is ironic, considering the fact that I really don't like stuffed animals very much and have been known to give big bags of our stuffed animals to Goodwill over the years. But, I poignantly realize that this stage in Joseph's life will pass quickly, and I'm happy to savor it and indulge it a little.

In the summer Joseph and I pulled out a stack of board games and decided to not put them away until we played all of them. 

And look at one of the fun drawings he has been doing lately:

I miss the rain, 5 a.m. wakeups again, and birthday weekend

It has been a strange summer here in the Pacific Northwest. I believe they said it has been the hottest summer in history. We have seen a lot of 90 degree days, and that is not normal for us. Last Saturday Joseph had his first soccer game of the season and it was so crazy hot (almost 100 degrees) and humid that I worried about the kids running around on the field. Then, near the end of the game, the teenage referee passed out and face planted on the field.  The paramedics were called and the poor boy was treated for heatstroke.  The rest of the game was canceled (thank goodness) and we all went home to lick popsicles. I'm sure I will miss this sunshine in a few months, but for now I'm craving some partly cloudy 60 degree days.

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Last week school started, and everything is going great. Today, with the start of early morning Seminary, our truly crazy schedule begins.  Everyone but Joseph woke up before 5 a.m.  (Actually, I was awake at 3 a.m. and I spent a ridiculously unproductive two hours analyzing all the things I should have/could have done differently in teaching my Relief Society lesson yesterday. Why do I always do that? It's so annoying!)  Dan was out the door by 5:45 and the girls left shortly after. This year Dan is teaching Aubrey's Seminary class, and she seems very excited to have her dad as a teacher!

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Last week was my birthday weekend and it was a good one. The day before my birthday Dan and I drove to my new favorite neighborhood in NE Portland - Alberta Street. I like the quirky Portland vibe there, and we have found some fantastic food. There are at least 15 more restaurants I want to eventually try in the Alberta neighborhood.  A few days before my birthday Bailey and I discovered the neighborhood after her senior pictures concluded, and we ate some delicious and authentic Mexican food. When Dan and I returned on Friday we walked up and down the street and then settled on Thai food and dessert at the famous Waffle Window. The Bananaruma was really decadent - a waffle topped with bananas, homemade caramel sauce and homemade granola, and whipped cream.

Then the day of my birthday my family enthusiastically said they would do whatever I wanted. What I really wanted was for us to be at Disneyland, but I settled for the next best thing . . . we went on a hike in the beautiful Columbia  River Gorge. I love hiking, and I especially loved the fact that no one was allowed to whine at me while hiking on my birthday.  That is just a win-win-win situation!

The day was a little rainy and very humid (the only measurable rain we have had in months), but we enjoyed a beautiful hike anyway.

When we got to the first waterfall, everyone wanted a picture with the "birthday girl."

It's hard to tell from the pictures, but Elowah Falls is like an outdoor wonderland, with a hundred different shades of green. The rocky basalt cliffs are covered in moss and lichen and form a "bowl" into which the water falls. Just stunning.

 Next, we planned to visit another nearby waterfall and misunderstood the directions in our guidebook. We took off the wrong way and didn't realize it until we had hiked about half an hour. However, along the way we had beautiful views of Beacon Rock across the Columbia River!

We finally realized our mistake and re-traced our steps. When we reached the correct turnoff to McCord Falls, however, Joseph (who had been very patient with our meandering) was just DONE with hiking. So we decided to save that hike for another day and we walked back to the car.  Just in time, it turned out.  There was a brief but intense thunderstorm which began as soon as we got in the car!

We drove to Sweet Tomatoes and, despite being muddy and windswept, enjoyed stuffing ourselves with good food.  It was a really fun day with the family and I appreciate their willingness to do whatever I asked them to do for the day.

One more thing about the hike:  at the very beginning we were walking up the trail and I suddenly felt a sharp sting in my thigh. I looked down and saw a bee attached to my leg. I yelped and did an ungraceful dance while I pulled the bee and the stinger out. At the same time, Bailey saw that a bee had tried to attack Joseph and had "stung" the hood of his jacket.  We removed that bee and marveled at the aggression of the bees. I thought bees weren't supposed to bother you if you don't bother them??

It hurt a little to keep hiking on my sore leg, but there was no way I was quitting at the beginning.  By the time we got to the car I was amazed at the way my leg had swelled up from the sting. It actually looked worse in real life. Within a few days the redness had spread and deepened to an itchy reddish/purple blob. It has taken over a week for the redness to fade. I would love to avoid bee stings in the future, but I'm not sure what we did wrong to provoke the attack!

The rest of my birthday was spent preparing a talk for the next day. Yes, I agree that is unfair and cruel. I tried to explain to the bishopric member that asking me to speak the day after my birthday guaranteed that I would spend my birthday stewing over the talk, but he didn't care. And that is exactly what I did for the rest of the afternoon and evening!

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But wait, the fun wasn't over yet. The next Monday was Labor Day, and we decided to go on another family adventure. We found our way back on Alberta Street in Portland, this time trying out the very famous and ridiculously busy Pine State Biscuits (as seen on Food Network, etc), the home of some of the best biscuits and gravy on earth. And they have a famous biscuit concoction called the "Reggie" which Dan had to sample.

We waited in line for at least an hour to order but then had to wait another 20 minutes for a table and to get our food. But it was worth it. Buttery, delectable, mmmmm. And Aubrey sampled the fresh apple cider and Joseph got some fresh squeezed lemonade, both which were delish.

 On the way back to the car we took pictures next to a few of the cool murals on the sides of the buildings on Alberta.

And then, the summer party was officially over (sigh) and it was time to dive into school.