More this and that

Things we have been doing:

Sewing on Cub Scout patches 

Not my favorite thing to do. Not even close. But watching my cute Cub Scout wearing his uniform does rank as one of my favorites.

Joseph with his buddies at Pack Meeting last week

Attending Curriculum Nights

No picture available here, but I just had to note that for the 17th straight year I attended Curriculum Nights. The elementary curriculum nights are short, but the middle school and high school nights last from 6 p.m. until at least 9 p.m.  It's always well worth it to meet the teachers and get a feeling for the classroom expectations and challenges, but it makes for a very long day. Make that three long days this year. Because none of our kids have ever attended the same school at the same time. I have always attended curriculum nights at three or four different schools. I did a happy dance on the way to the car when I finished the final curriculum night for this school year.

Applauding when the portapotty 
finally left our driveway.

Our neighbors started a huge home addition last March and the builder put a portapotty basically in our driveway to leave room for all the worktrucks in the neighbor's driveway. Grrrrr. We crossed our fingers in the spring that it would be gone by the time of the wedding. Nope. The portapotty was a decoration for our home until last week!  We have thought about requisitioning it as the third bathroom that we desperately need in our home.  I think I creeped out the portapotty truck driver when I took pictures of him loading up and driving away. 

Sleeping in very awkward positions

Poor guy - he runs on overdrive all week, starting his day at 4:30 a.m. and teaching seminary, going to Crossfit to work out, working until at least 6 p.m. and then heading home to prepare a seminary lesson for the next day. Saturday usually isn't any more restful. For example, this last Saturday we started the day with a 9 a.m. soccer game, followed by football pictures and a flag football game, seminary prep, errands, service to neighbors, rides to and from theater practice, unplugging a slow drain in the bathroom, and attending a wedding reception (the fourth one this month). In mid-afternoon Dan, Bailey and I were talking about ideas for Bailey's college essays and we noticed that Dan had fallen asleep with a basketball cradled next to his head. Now that is exhausted!

Dressing up for Spirit Week

Bailey sported a new awesome outfit for Skyview Spirit Week every day.  
Comfy Monday, Hawaiian Tuesday, Would-you-still-be-my-friend-if-I-wore-this-to-school Wednesday, Rocker Thursday, and Color War Friday.

Apparently Bailey and her friend were so relaxed on Comfy Monday that they fell asleep on the way into the school?

 Fun story that shows that our little girl has a little bit of senioritis spunk in her:
She wore a rolled up red bandana in her hair for Rocker Day. There was an announcement at the beginning of the day saying that bandanas weren't allowed because they are afflilated with gang clothing (which is pretty dumb, I think). She begrudgingly took it off in her 1st period class and then put it right back on afterward, removing it only when she knew she was passing a security guard. But then at lunch she forgot to remove it and was busted.  The security guards told her she had to take it off. She tried to reason with them and talk her way out of it, arguing that she thought it would be okay because it was used as a headband and didn't really support gangs in any way.  No dice. The security guards were not at all amused. So she took it off very reluctantly in the lunchroom but then put it back on during every one of her classes. What a rebel (Hee hee)!

One final picture, from the Homecoming football game. Aubrey also attended with friends, and I need to get ahold of her ipod to see if she took any pictures. It was a rainy and cold night for football, but most of the kids stuck it out through the rainstorms!

The latest

A rundown of the last few weeks . . .

Bring on the rain. I am prepared.

Yep, I have stocked up on plenty of Starbucks dark hot chocolate to get me through winter. 
I call it my sanity insurance.

End of Summer/Beginning of Fall Hike

Dan went on a beautiful hike in the Columbia River Gorge last month with a friend. It was a nice break before a particularly grueling month at work and the daily task of preparing a seminary lesson. By the way, he is really loving teaching Aubrey's seminary class this year. He feels like this, his third year teaching, has been his easiest and best so far. 

Beautiful tunes ahead

Joseph told us last year that he really wants to play the cello. He was, I'm sure, influenced by his favorite cello player from The Piano Guys but he has always loved the sound of string instruments. Just to be sure, we took him to a big music store where they let him "audition" a huge variety of instruments. After trying them all, he decided that the cello is his instrument. He started group lessons/orchestra through the school district, taught at VSAA, the Arts and Academics middle school/high school. (And Bailey and Aubrey's alma mater).

Spiritually and Literally Feasting

LDS General Conference was a few weeks ago, and we feasted in every way. We loved the messages, with many of our favorites during the Saturday sessions. As we watched that day the girls kept pausing the session so they could take better notes and so we could talk about the concepts being presented. That was a happy moment for me, to see how much they love to hear the words of the Lord's servants. I thought it was funny that they "shushed" Dan and I if we ever talked because they didn't want to miss anything!

Creative use of the DVR allowed everyone to watch all the sessions despite a Saturday filled with a flag football game, a soccer game, and 5 hours of theater practice. 

Joseph made a huge fort and we set up blankets and chairs everywhere.  (Can you see Joseph poking out of his fort?)  His favorite part of Conference has to be the endless supply of Skittles and peanut butter M&Ms.

We had planned an overly ambitious and incredibly delicious menu for our weekend. We made and thoroughly enjoyed:

• A close approximation of Zupa's cauliflower soup
• Apple Crisp
• Cinnamon Rolls
• Overnight pumpkin pie steel-cut oatmeal
• Roasted tomatillo salsa
• Homemade "not" refried beans (Ali's recipe - we loved it!)

We bought ingredients for and planned to make even more food, but were too stuffed to make and eat everything. So we have been making the remainder of our Conference recipes in the weeks since Conference:

• Peanut Butter Cup Brownies with Oreo Crust
• Pumpkin Spice White Hot Chocolate
• Italian Potato-Sausage Soup (knock-off Zupa Toscana)

And more feasting . . . 

The week before Conference the girls and I attended and enjoyed the General Women's Broadcast. Afterward there was a light dinner served at the church, but the girls and their friend Ashley talked me and Ashley's mom into taking them to dinner at Olive Garden instead. This is a re-creation of their shocked face when we said yes. I guess I'm kind of cheap and I say no to Olive Garden most of the time. In all fairness, Aubrey does ask me if we can go to Olive Garden at least once a week. 

Oh look, a mermaid!

Bailey walked into our room one day and noticed that Dan had turned into a mermaid through apparently unintentional tucking of a blanket!

Football, soccer, baby holding, and sunsets

Joseph is a . . .  right linebacker (I think) on his flag football team.  He very effectively blocks players on the other team, allowing our quarterback to run plays. The games are fun to watch. 

And when he is on the sidelines he gets to help hold the coach's cute baby. 

Soccer - not his favorite team this year, but a sport he has always liked.  

Beautiful sunset during a recent game. Joseph said he thinks he saw heaven. 

And, just because.

A super  huge bear at  Costco. Who buys these things?  

 My baby sleeping with a more appropriately sized teddy bear.  Love it.

And, my latest food adventure was Iraqi food in Portland with my friend Rachel. It was interesting and delicious! 

Reunion Thoughts

Dan and I flew to Arizona last weekend for his 30 year Mesa High Reunion. He was excited to see friends he had known from elementary through high school.  Not all of the people he hoped to see attended the reunion, but we still enjoyed visiting with the people who were there.

We also just loved taking a mini "vacation" together. We have a lot of fun hanging out together, especially without the incredibly pressing demands of our normal life schedules. We felt very relaxed over the weekend because we knew that Bailey was expertly handling everything at home. It was such a fun thing to do exactly what we wanted to do for a few days. A few of the things we did (other that official reunion activities):

• We ate as much Mexican food as we could fit into a day and a half.  Dan's parents joined us for some meals and we met Rich and Lindsey for breakfast!
• We had a strong need for liquid in the dry and hot Arizona desert. Sonic slushies - mmmm.  Bahama Bucks shaved ice.  Deeelicious.

• We spent a few blissful hours browsing through two bookstores!
• We saw the new "Meet the Mormons" movie
• We attended the Friday night Mesa High football game along with some of Dan's classmates. His team got obliterated by their opponents, but we mostly talked instead of watching the painful scene.

• My blood provided sustenance for about a hundred Arizona insects. Arizona is experiencing an unusual infestation of insects because of the incredible amount of rainfall they have received lately. Our first night we chose to eat outside at Rosa's.  WRONG DECISION.  Some hungry bugs feasted on me throughout the meal. We think they were "noseeums". True to their name, we didn't see 'em.  My legs were feeling itchy throughout the meal, and by the time we left for the football game the skin between my capri pants and shoes looked like this:

When I researched noseeums I learned that they are "voracious feeders. One noseeum may bite up to 12 times in succession, and the bugs generally travel in swarms."  Ouch. The bites were unusually itchy. We ran to Walgreens to get bug spray to ward off further feasting and learned that the ENTIRE city of Mesa was out of bug spray because the bugs had been so bad. Shouldn't there have been a traveler advisory issued or something??

By the next morning my ankles and legs had swollen terribly, which made standing on them for hours at the reunion party that night especially fun. 

I was more than happy to attend the reunion activities with Dan, and I had a reasonably good time there, but in no way did it ignite in me a desire to attend my 30th reunion in a few years. I actually haven't attended any of my reunions.  Just because it's on my mind, here are some of my thoughts about reunions.

1. There are some people for whom high school was the high point. I am not one of those people. (Either is Dan).  I am grateful for the experiences I had in high school, but I was glad to move on to better things. I don't feel any need to relive high school moments.
2. I attended three different high schools, so the people I graduated with I only knew for one year. I realized again this weekend that it would be really painful and embarrassing when I couldn't remember anyone and they couldn't remember me, so I will avoid that experience.
3. I have pretty much stayed in contact with the people I care about. In fact, I think that facebook is the reason that lots of people didn't come to this Mesa High reunion. People feel more connected these days.
4. While most of the people at Dan's 30th reunion were very down to earth, there were some who were very painfully trying to pretend like they aren't almost 50 years old. They were dressing and acting like out of control 18 year olds. It's not pretty to see or witness. I'm still trying to get certain images out of my head!  Hee hee.
5. I have to admit that one of the thoughts I had when I looked around at Dan's classmates was that many seemed so old.  In my mind, he and I are still pretty darn young, so it's a shocker to confront proof that middle age is upon us. So maybe I'm not that different than the people I just made fun of in the bullet point above? Hmmm.  Am I in denial about aging? I'm not sure. But I really don't feel that old. I feel active and happy and energetic, despite the encroaching truth of wrinkles, grey hair, and stiffer joints.
6. I would have to say that there was a distinct discrepancy at this reunion between those who have lived healthy and happy lives and those who have been unkind to their bodies and dealt with a lot of trauma and sadness.  All those things are hard to hide in middle age.
7. At this 30 year reunion it was abundantly clear that relationships are what make people happy. At this stage of life, those who have invested in relationships seemed to be more likely to have full, rich lives.

For the record, final roundup of summer

I have a long list of current things I want to blog about, but I promised myself I would catch up first.  So, this is a smattering of the rest of our summer happenings.

Day In Portland with the Springers

Brandon and Angela's wedding was on Tuesday, July 1st. The next day we spent with Scott & Ann's family and Mom and Dad in Portland. I have to admit that we were pretty wiped out when we woke up the day after the wedding. It was a bit of a hard sell to get everyone up and out the door early, but we all really enjoyed the day with our much-loved family.

We ate at the famous Portland food carts and then walked over to Powell's Books, where most of our family could have happily spent the day!

 But, we eventually dragged ourselves away from the bookstore and visited an arcade that Scott and Ann had researched. The arcade was sort of dingy and grungy, which means that it was really "authentic." Afterward we walked to one of Portland's wonderful homemade ice cream shops, Ruby Jewel. It was so delicious!

Mom and Dad left to drive to the beach house that night. The rest of us found a local yummy pizza shop for some dinner. Next we drove away from quirky, unique downtown Portland to experience another side of Oregon/Washington . . . stunning outdoor beauty.  

We drove to/walked to see several waterfalls along the old Columbia River Highway.

 Finally, we drove to Crown Pointe for an amazing view of the Gorge just before sunset.

 Very limber Alexa showed us her skills!

I tried in vain to get Cam and Joseph to be serious for a picture. One of the other was doing a silly face every time.They have similar ebullient personalities!

This is the best I got from them!

Finally, we loaded up Scott and Ann's girls and took them back to our house for a big sleepover in the bonus room.

I hope they had fun. We Porters were all barely keeping our eyes open at this point, but we put on a movie for the few kids who had energy to watch it. It had been a long, long week!

Cameron was completely attached to Bailey and Aubrey and did NOT want to leave the next day.

We are so glad that Scott and Ann and family were able to come for the wedding and then spend an extra day with us. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with them.

Click below if you want to read more summer updates.