Princess for a night

On January 25th our Stake held the annual "Yule Ball," an elaborate dinner/dance event for all youth 16 and up. Dan has been the deejay/emcee for the event since it began 5 years ago, and Bailey has attended as his "helper" for several years. This year, however, she had a chance to go with a date!

The dates were assigned. After a temporary snafu in which the shortest guy in the stake was matched up with Bailey (the tallest girl in the stake) she was assigned a really nice (and tall) guy named Jack.

But, I need to rewind a bit. Bailey reports that the dance was even more fun than she had imagined. But Bailey and her friends had almost as much fun getting ready! They spent all day beautifying together. Our friends the McDonnells graciously turned their home over to the girls, and they set up shop in the master bathroom.

Mid-winter fun

Winter is just zipping along here in Vancouver. Along with our snow day fun/craziness, these are some things we have been up to:

The beginning of January it was our turn to host family book club. Aubrey chose the book that month - Wonder by R. J. Palacio. 

If you haven't read this book, run straight to your library and check it out. It was interesting for the teenagers and the adults.  Because the dinner for book club is supposed to mirror the food in the movie, we had middle school cafeteria food. Yum, right? Dan was our "cafeteria man", serving up the artery clogging goodness with a hairnet on his head to catch his hair (what hair?).

Snow Days

Last Thursday we began what the local news called the "most dramatic snow event in over a decade." Basically this means that we received a large amount of snow for this area (between 14-16 inches near our house) in a few days, followed by an ice storm and freezing rain. We had been dealing with very cold temperatures for over a week, and the continuation of the unusual cold meant the snow and ice stuck around for about five days.

What this meant was an extreme disruption of our normal winter weather and activities. Everything shut down. No one went to school, work, the store, church, or anywhere else unless it was an emergency.  Which, for the most part, was actually a fun chance to hang out together at home. 

This is what our weekend was supposed to look like: basketball games, two performances of Aubrey's play, extra church meetings and song practices, and the ACT for Bailey, as well as regular Saturday/weekend chores and duties.

This is what our weekend actually entailed, day by day . . . .

Trip to Ohio and Upstate New York with Brandon

After Brandon returned from his mission we enjoyed 7 wonderful (and busy) weeks with him. Dan and I really wanted to take Brandon on a special vacation before he headed back to BYU. We creatively sandwiched a 5 day trip between multiple play performances, end of school events, and Bailey's 16th birthday.

In the months prior to Brandon's return we debated at length about where to go on his post-mission vacation.  We changed our mind at least 5 times.  Hawaii?  No, Mexico. No, what about Boston?  Or maybe Florida?  We finally settled on a mini-repeat of a church history the rest of our family took in August 2011 (when Brandon was on his mission) to church history sites in Ohio and New York.  We were so impacted by our visit to these sites which are sacred to us that we really wanted Brandon to have the same opportunity to visit.
So, the end of May we flew Ohio and began a whirlwind 3 1/2 day trip through church sites and other points of interest.

A potpourri of random Joseph moments from spring 2013

I am almost caught up on all the months I missed on our family blog last spring/early summer. I think I have just two more posts.  I know that this recital of year-old events has to be mind-numbingly boring for even the most intrepid grandparent to sift through, and I do apologize. But recording these events on my blog is the only thing that makes me feel less guilty about not keeping better records of our day to day events.  So . . . marching on . . . . .

This kid was the cutest gap toothed boy around. Around February he lost both his front teeth!

A sporting good time

Historically, we Porters have not been outstanding athletes, at least not in competitive sports. The older kids and I have all tried different sports but haven't found a lot of success or a great love for them so we have moved on to other pursuits.  Joseph, however, has enjoyed playing sports since he was little. He has been willing to learn many different sports, and he works very hard to master the skills being taught by the coaches. His coaches often point out how well he listens to and follows instructions. Way to go, Joseph! We have enjoyed watching him learn and practice new skills. As long as he enjoys it, we will enjoy watching him play.

The Cutest Cub Scout on the Block

I have somewhat complicated feelings about Scouting, which I will not be clearly delineating here since my blog is read by my descendants.  

Let me instead tell you some things I love about Scouting. I love that the boys learn goal setting and so many great skills. I love the camaraderie, respect, and attention to detail that are learned in the Scouting program. Mostly, I love this super cute and enthusiastic Scouter. 

Bailey - Spring 2013

And, a roundup of miscellaneous pictures of Bailey from Spring 2013 . . .

Th end of January Bailey was the official "Yule Ball deejay helper."  Dan did the music for our stake's Yule Ball again, and Bailey was excited to be there as a helper.  Mostly she advised Dan on song choices and drooled over the beautiful dresses, dreaming of the dress she would wear the next year!

16th Birthday Bash at Cannon Beach

We had a crazy fun girls weekend for Bailey's 16th birthday. We loaded up five of her friends into our van and drove two hours to the ocean where I had booked a suite at a little hotel in Cannon Beach. We enjoyed a fun Friday night/Saturday in charming Cannon Beach (first time I had been there). 

The car was positively rockin' with teenage tunes the entire way there and back. There was definitely a preponderance of Taylor Swift and One Direction songs. It was really fun!

Aubrey - Spring 2013

Still catching up, but getting much closer . . . .

Theater

Last January Aubrey tried out for the play Little Women and was cast as Clarissa. She attended many rehearsals and classes for the next several months, and then the play was performed at the Brunish Theater in Portland on two weekends in mid-May.  She loved the experience of being in the play. She finds a lot of joy being involved in theater and doesn't mind at all the many hours required for practice.

Here are a few pictures from the play. We were never able to get a picture of her in her beautiful costume because they were required to change out of it before they came out to greet family. Take our word for it - she looked beautiful and very grown up.

This was her jewelry.

After the play, with her bestest friend Kate.