Lots of Love

Del Osso Farms

2012-01-17T15:16:00.001-08:00

These are way too late but are mostly for Grandpa and Grandma. The kids and I spent a week at my parents in October. We spent an evening at the local pumpkin patch, Del Osso Farms, riding the train and seeing lots of scarecrows.

The kids in the homemade Halloween costumes for my parents ward party.

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Just Because

2011-12-16T23:13:00.001-08:00

It had been way too long and so I thought I would post some cute pictures from my phone from the last couple months. Porter has been learning I love you in sign language.

Loving the beautiful, not so Utah, weather.

Just because

Porter accidentally dropped his cupcake on the ground and Annie got it. Look at her beautiful eyes.

She banged her mouth like 4 times and a week and got a fat and bloody lip each time. Poor girl. From falling out of the tub to having her brother drop her, she had a fun and eventful week.

Even thou it is a little blurry, I love it.

Porter has been getting better naps lately. Here he is sleeping on the chair.

One night we got home a little late and Job got Porter out of the truck and stood him up in our room. Porter then laid down like this and fell asleep.

In the shopping cart, which he had never done until recently.

My two kids holding hands.

I love these two pictures of my adorable kids.

From our Ward Halloween Party. Coming soon ... Santa pictures. You won't want to miss those.

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Mud Run

2011-10-25T11:53:00.001-07:00

Two weeks ago I ran a mud run down in San Diego with a friend, Jenny, her brother, John and his wife Jessica. Here are the kids cheering for mommy.

Before

Almost done. I found this floaty after a mud hole.

Last obstacle, a rope swing over a mud hole.

After.

I would totally do it again.
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Just because it has been a while (readers digest version)

2011-10-10T23:06:00.001-07:00

It has been way too long since I have blogged, so here are a few things that have happened in the last month. The kids and I went on a little day trip which included lots of sandy park playing and a vanilla bean Frappaccino (thanks Kimmy for the idea).

Porter and Mommy went on a date to see Winnie the Pooh, here he is showing off the dancing we did before hand.

Porter has become a HUGE helper in the kitchen. Here he is rolling out the dough for pizza (spinach wheat).

And here he is sampling the dough.

I did a little photo shoot of the kids and learned that Annie smiles best when her brother is around and Porter won't come near her when there is a park around, or when he is outside.

Annie got the Rosiola Virus. Poor thing had a fever of over 102 and then two days later I found spots all over her, which was a Saturday. Sunday people at church were asking why she looked so terrible, which she did. Sunday evening Job and our Home Teacher gave her blessing and by Monday it was gone. What was typically a 4-8 day thing turned into a 2 day thing. I love the power of the Priesthood.

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Master Grandma

2011-09-07T14:21:00.001-07:00

Job's mom graduated on August 28 from the University of Santa Monica with her Masters in Spiritual Psychology. We are so proud of her. Our family with Grandpa and Grandma.

Porter and Annie with Grandpa and Grandma.

So cute, but wait for it ....

There goes the hair.

Job's Aunt Debbie and Uncle Steve from Washington came down for it. Here is Debbie and Annie.

The cute and happy couple.

The whole gang, minus Jeremiah's family who had to leave early. Steve, Lori, Joseph, Kelly, Jessica, Mark, Barbara, Job, Jared, Debbie, Te'a, Grandpa, Grandma, Porter, Annie and I.

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Last of the Trip

2011-09-07T14:02:00.001-07:00

I feel like I have to end my trip and so i will tell the reader's digest version of the rest. The trip from Medford to Manteca took about 6 1/2 hours and then we spent a few days playing at Grandpa and Grandma's house. We went to the Farmer's Market, made pepper jelly, played in the water, went to the park (twice), stayed up late and saw Daddy on the web cam every night. We had a blast and unfortunately (to grandpa and grandma) our trip was cut short because Daddy was being set apart on Sunday as the new Elder's Quorum President and we had to get back for him. Our trip back to Riverside took about 7 hours.

Grandma and Annie.

Porter and Mommy built a sand castle.

Two cute kids. Too cute for words.

Grandma bought this water toy and BOTH kids loved it.

We went over to my friend Shelly's house to play one morning.

Porter and Ally being goofy.

Playing with blocks.

Annie tackling the snake. She loved this thing.

On our 11 day trip, 6 were spent in the car. The kid and I traveled from Riverside, CA to Lacey, WA, and back. Over 2,100 miles were driven. Long trip, but it was so great to see my family.
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Little Annie Bananie, Bananie Annie

2011-08-15T19:40:00.009-07:00

Just a little bit of Annie. Miss your cuddles and kisses. Love you Daddy!

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A few Porterisms

2011-08-15T19:40:00.007-07:00

Just for Daddy, so you remember the cute ways of little Porter. Pictures say it all!!

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No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

2011-08-15T19:40:00.005-07:00

To burn a little stored up energy from being on the road a lot, we decided to jump on the bed in Medford.

Annie joining in on the action, except Porter kept telling us to give Annie back to Grandma. I don't think he liked her keeping mommy from really jumping.

Dog piles!!

Miss you daddy, we really do!!
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Back to Medford

2011-08-15T19:40:00.003-07:00

Sunday we headed back to Medford, the kids and my fourth day on the road. It was a 6 1/2 trip. A our only stop, Porter decided to play driver and then play in the sun roof.

Grandpa going over the alphabet with Porter. F is for ...

Fox.

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Last minute cousin fun

2011-08-15T19:40:00.001-07:00

Right before we left Washington. The cousins played and we gave lots of hugs and kisses.

This picture was taken one of the nights in Washington; 5 of the 6 grandkids.

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Not so final stop, Fort Lewis

2011-08-14T19:18:00.001-07:00

I only took two pictures on the road this time. This was when we were stuck in traffic in Portland.

And this is of the beautiful river, while stuck in traffic. This leg of the trip was over 9 hours.

We made it. We stayed in Lacey, Washington actually and saw these cute faces. My niece Isabelle

My nephew Wendell

Grandpa, Annie, baby Mary and Kimmy relaxing at the hotel

My cute sister in law Amy and their newest, Mary.

Swimming of course. I think we crashed the party when 3 adults and 3 kids climbed into the pool with the couple at the top of the picture.

Water fights

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Lovin' Lacey

2011-08-14T19:17:00.001-07:00

I love Washington. It is beautiful. These trees were everywhere. We had my parents, 3 of their 5 kids, 1 of their 3 children in law, and 5 of their 6 grandchildren. We had a blast!!

Grandpa with Annie, Porter and Wendell.

Wendell, Isabelle, Annie and Grandpa

We went to the park on Saturday. The park had these trails all over and we went exploring.

Grandpa and Wendell were drawing in the dirt with these sticks. Super cute.

Two 2 year olds fighting over the stump. Don't you love the look on Porter's face?

Isabelle as beautiful as ever.

Richard's cute family; Amy, Mary, Richard, Wendell and Isabelle.

Richard carried Wendell up this tree and then Isabelle wanted to go up too and so he told her to climb up. She wasn't so sure and so he climbed down.

Kimmy and Annie. Aren't they beautiful?

Playing at the park

Beautiful Mary.

We had to go swimming. This was right after Richard jumped into the pool.

Grandpa jumping in.

Relaxing by the hot tub.

Porter was WAY tired and on one and so I was surprised at one point during packing that he was acting calm. I found him taking all the cups out of the plastic. I left him alone because he was being quiet.

Our farewell party saying good bye.

So long Washington and the Brooksby family. We love you and hope to see you soon. Now we are on our way back to Manteca to spend some "no traveling in the car" days before heading back to daddy. We miss you daddy so much and love you even more.
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Next stop, Medford

2011-08-14T19:16:00.001-07:00

The next day, we packed up again and started our journey to Fort Lewis, Washington with Grandpa Brooksby and Aunt Kimmy. My brother Richard just graduated in May with his DVM and his family just moved there yo Washingtn from Kansas and my mom helped them move out. She has been gone for 5 weeks and so we are going to go get her. We were going to go about half way, Medford. While getting gas before we headed out, Aunt Kimmy ran over to Starbucks to get us some Vanilla Bean ( no coffee ) Frappaccinos. Can I say yummy?, because they were.

I shared with Porter and I think he had it most of the time because when I said "mommy's turn" he would say "one more drink". He loved his "ice cream".

I tried baby Mum Mum rice husks with Annie and I think she likes them.

About an hour and half from Medford we stopped in the City of Shasta to stretch and enjoy the beautiful Mt. Shasta.

Porter loved playing with this cart with Aunt Kimmy.

Porter is so funny. He started saying that the light was in his eyes. The sun was setting and so therefore the sun was hitting him in the face. He used this book to block it. Funny kid.

We made it to Medford in about 7 hours and then checked into the Ramada and headed over to Home Town Buffet for Dinner where Porter put half of his food in his water cup. Two cute sleeping children. They were exhausted and it was after 10:30.

Up before 7, the kids and I watched the Chipmunk sequel and then at almost 9 we went next door and woke up Grandpa and Kimmy. After a yummy breakfast we went swimming before heading on to Fort Lewis. Porter loves the pool.

We played in the 2 ft deep pool and Porter was not sure about whether he wanted to walk or not, not so much.

He found these broken goggles there and played with them the whole time. We tried them on. Do they look good?

We are now on our way to Fort Lewis, as I blog from the car. We stopped to get gas and as my dad was about to get out of the car, there was a man that asked how much gas we wanted and continued to tell us that people will look at you like you are crazy if you get out and pump your own gas. What a nice state. It makes you think about moving there so you don't have to pump your own gas.
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We Are Road Trippin'

2011-08-11T21:51:00.001-07:00

The kids and I are on a road trip. We left wednesday morning for my hometown, good old Manteca, Ca. It was a 7 1/2 hour drive. The kids were super good. This was what I saw in my rear view mirror. How cute are these two.

We needed to pull over so Annie could eat and we could stretch so since I kept seeing signs for Bravo Farms, we decided to stop. It was a cute cheese stand with a restaurant, fruit stand, gift shop and ice cream.

Porter found this horse to sit on and fell in love.

Annie being super cute.

They had all sorts of antiques around, like this old milk truck.

Ice cream, ice cream. We had to complete the stop with a scoop to share.

While waiting for our ice cream, Porter found this cute car.

He just had to sit on the horsey to eat his treat. Our choice, huckleberry. Yummy!!!

Another cute picture of Annie.

I think this should be a regular stop. Honey, I thought of you as we saw all the antiques because you like to watch all the show on history channel. We miss you and post as our trip goes on so you can see cute pics of us.

Love you lots.
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Rockin' Roxy

2011-07-27T10:20:00.001-07:00

With our friend about to have her second baby soon and in pre-term labor, Porter's friend Roxy has been coming over to play a few times. They love to jump on the bed and love sac together and be complete goof balls. Two two year olds can definitely be loud, but super cute.

Of course Annie as well.

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Uneventful treasure hunting

2011-07-27T10:15:00.001-07:00

Last night I tried to take Porter geo caching. I say try because we were very unsuccessful. Mimi and her kids came as well, which Porter loved.

We had to hike this small hill for one and could see this view.

Te'a trying to help Porter up the hill.

Porter got down and dirty during the process and ended up all dirty. Thanks to his aunt Christina, he will always love treasure hunting even if he does not find anything.

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Cindy and Lucy

2011-07-27T10:07:00.001-07:00

My dear friend Cindy and her family moved to Pasadena recently. Monday she came to visit with her cute daughter Lucy. Cindy and I have known each other for over 10 years but we have not seen each other for 4 1/2. It was so great catching up. It will be fun to be close again.

Porter and Lucy.

Thanks for playing!

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We love the Robinsons

2011-07-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

We have the sweetest missionary couple in our ward, the Robinsons. Porter has adopted them as his great grandparents. We have them over for dinner at least once a month and Porter always calls her Grape or Great Grandma Robinson.

Here is Porter with Elder Robinson on Sunday reading books before dinner. They always seem to play catch together when he comes. I wonder why. Sorry about the red eyes.

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Utah fun

2011-07-02T15:04:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we flew to Utah and spent many early mornings and late nights with lots of family and friends. Friday we went straight to my friend Emma's house, for which the trip was for. Emma and her husband Nate were being sealed together on Saturday. After Emma's we went to see the Seaman family. This picture of Annie in their swing was the only one taken that day.

Saturday morning my sister Lori and I ran a 5k with her husband's boss and his son. Lori, Kurt, Brooklyn and Christina came down to watch the kids while we went to the temple. Here is Max, Brent, Lori and I before the race.

Lori finishing the race.

Me finishing the race.

Lori and I after. We are preparing for a half marathon in august. I forgot to factor in the altitude and then there was an unexpected hill, but between the two I think I did pretty good. After the race we went to Kneaders for their yummy French toast.

Emma and I with her daughter Madison after the sealing. It was such a beautiful sealing, especially since Maddie was sealed to them as well.

Job and I with the cute family; Lon, Emma, Maddie, Nate and Isabel.

Later that day we picked up my Grandma Beth and went to Lehi to eat at Porter's Place. Porter Rockwell, a friend and bodyguard to the Prophet Joseph Smith and from which Porter got his name, created a hotel and restaurant and this is suppose to be similar to his I guess.

The whole gang before dinner; Grandma Beth, Job, Porter, Brooklyn, Christina, Kurt, Annie and I.

At dinner.

After dinner Porter and Brooklyn were being super cute on this step by the restaurant.

After dinner we had to get ice cream, especially since we had been talking about it for the few hours prior to dinner. Here is Job and Porter enjoying the yumminess.

Grandma Beth, Christina, Kurt, Lori and Brooklyn.

Two pictures of Grandma with her great grandkids.

We hung out in front of the ice cream place for a while and let the kids enjoy running around. Brooklyn with her funny run.

Kurt and Brooklyn dancing to the outside music.

Sunday we went to the Oqquirh Mountain Temple and had a picnic. I took a bunch of pictures and tried to get some of the kids with the temple. Enjoy.

Sunday we went to our good friends, the Seibachs, for dinner and games. A picture of the gang; Rebecca with Andrea on her month, Jacob with Katrina, Jaron, Job, Porter, Annie and I.

Annie and Maddie on Monday. The girls are about 3 weeks apart. We spent part of Monday with Emma and her family before heading back home.

Some pictures from the flight.

Porter had a pretty good set up.

Some cute pictures from the weekend.

Porter and Brooklyn found these buckets and loved playing with them.

And then I found this random picture of Lori and Kurt.

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Dinosaur Park

2011-06-29T13:30:00.001-07:00

A couple months ago Kelly came to the Dinosaur Park with the kids and I out in Cabazon. It was nice to get out of the house and get some sun.

Porter was a little afraid to go near the dinosaurs.

This was the only one he would touch.

They had a Dino dig where you dig in sand for big rocks with Dino names and return them for prizes. Porter just wanted to play in the sand so I ended up finding the Dino rocks.

Here is Porter with his Dino rock.

They had a mining area and Porter loved playing in the water and with thhe little toys and rocks.

Annie got the closest to the dinos. Good thing Aunt Kelly was there to keep her from getting eaten.

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Cousin Races

2011-06-21T14:00:00.001-07:00

Porter loves to play with his cousins. A few weeks ago we had most of them at our house and we were doing races on the lawn. Some of the races were crab crawling, bunny hop, frog jumping and running. As you can see by the pictures, Porter may have been last in all the races but he loves to participate with the older kids.

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Popsicles

2011-06-18T07:43:00.001-07:00

I made coconut cream pops the other day and thought I might let you enjoy the recipe and some cute pics of us enjoying them. Porter loved them but Job is not a big fan of Popsicles in general.

Porter with his cousin Aubrey, she played with us yesterday while her mom was taking a final.

Coconut cream pops

Cinnamon to taste
2 tsp coconut extract
1/2 cup shredded coconut
12 oz Fat free evaporated milk
14 oz lite coconut milk
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Mix together and pour in molds

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Cheesapalooza

2011-06-18T07:34:00.001-07:00

We had the first Jones' Cheesapalooza last night. There were six couples and each couple brought a cheese and drink. Job and I added crackers, apples and brownies. It was a ton of fun.

Most of the cheeses all lined up. They were so yummy!

We gave awards out. Here is a list of some ideas. As they ate the cheeses they would write next to it what award they thought it should get.

Ashley, Jared, Joseph, and Kelly Jones. (2 of the 5 Jones' boys)

Job, Lindsey and Karson Gaskins

Brenden Gaskins, Jennie and Robby Krepps

Robby Krepps, David and Julie Hettinger

We then played a game of pictionary. We wrote words or phrases down (girls for the boys and boys for the girls) and alternated team's turns. We kept adding to each other's stacks as needed or wanted. Some of the words were hard, like Jennie here is drawing micro management.

The Hettingers playing pictionary

A few pictures of some of the cheeses and what got written by them

A list of the cheeses: buffalo wing cheddar, gouda, le gruyere, Swiss, original Swiss, reserved cheddar, easy cheese, Brie, fontina, dubliner, and missing from the list is a cheese from a tub, maybe a cheddar kind.

Cheesapalooza was tons of fun and totally on my do often list. Try it out.

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Porter's Birthday

2011-06-13T15:21:00.001-07:00

Porter was gearing up for his 2 birthday all week. Job's work was having an office party at a 66er's minor league game. We told Porter he was going to a baseball game for his birthday and that was all he talked about. During the game they displayed the company's name on the board (Bosco Legal) and said happy birthday to Porter.

As part of the office package, the kids were able to play in the kid's zone, which we were lucky to find out that they had this ball toss game. You can see the ball Porter threw. He loved this game.

Daddy and Porter hanging out at the game. Porter is wearing his Elmo shirt he got from his daddy.

Mommy, Annie and the 66er's mascot Bert. As you can tell Annie is not a fan of Bert and obviously Porter was not either because he would not even go near Bert.

Overall, I think Porter's birthday was a success because Porter is still talking about the baseball park and the cupcakes he had. FYI: Porter had 3 cupcakes and a cookie for his dinner, not my first choice but I guess a kid only turns 2 once.

Stradlings in San Diego

2011-06-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we went down to see some good friends, the Stradlings, who were vacationing in San Diego. We hadn't seen them in over two years, so it was fun to catch up and meet each other's kids (some for the first time). We talked and walked down to the beach. Porter had a BLAST playing in the sand. He even decided to try it out. It must have tasted good because he went back for seconds, and thirds, and fourths.

Jarom, Jonny, Job and Porter

all the boys: Jonny, Jarom, Travis, Job and Porter. Porter found a little kite in the sand and so we tested it out. To our amazement it flew really well. The boys took turns flying it. It stayed in San Diego so Jarom could enjoy it all week on the beach.

Our family on the beach

The whole gang: Job, Porter, Brittney, Annie, Emilee, Travis, Jonny, and Jarom

Emilee and I were playing matchmaker. As you can tell, Travis is enjoying himself and Annie is NOT. Maybe she feels like he us getting a little too frisky. What do you think?

Cute Kiddos

2011-06-13T13:59:00.000-07:00

Just a few cute pictures of my two cute kids.

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

Over Memorial weekend we went up to Job's parent's lake house in Crestline. Job's brother Joseph and his wife Kelly joined us and my sister Christina came down from Manteca as well. We enjoyed the weekend with lots of yummy food, movies, games, geo caching and playing ball. It was a very relaxing weekend, one worth needing.

Two Years Too Fast

2011-06-09T23:04:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe that two years ago my little baby boy was about to be born. I remember lying in bed with contraction pain, unsure of what was really happening, only to find out that my body was preparing itself to bring a child into this world. We had called the hospital multiple times during the 24 hours prior to Porter's birth, only to be told that if I was not at least dilated to a 4, then I would be sent home. Well, that was not in the birthing plan, so I waited and waited. I tried a bath, peppermint tea, night time Tylenol (or whatever it is called), only to be rejected by all attempts of a more relaxing night. Between contractions and bathroom visits, I waited watched the time go by until I could not take it any longer. I woke up Job at about 2:30 in the morning and with contractions 6-7 minutes apart, we headed to the hospital. During the 20 minute drive, they turned into 2-3 minute contractions and I could not walk to the delivery room. The nurses hooked me up and when they checked me I was at an 8. Whoohoo! We were not leaving the hospital. I received some pain medication through my IV and less than 5 hours later and after over an hour of pushing, little Porter entered the world. He seemed so small at 20 inches and 7 pounds 11 ounces.

That little boy is no longer. The once quiet, still boy is now a rambunctious 2 year old. Porter loves the outdoors, balls, playing catch, eating yummy food, helping mommy and daddy with anything and everything and "taking care" of his little sister. He is so grown up and talks all day long. He is so smart and remembers EVERYTHING. Some of our favorite Porterisms are flirting by batting his eyes, smiling super cute and blowing kisses; saying "hhmmm" when he is thinking really hard about something.

He loves to "find treasure" through geo caching. He learned about true geo caching from his Aunt Christina when she would take him out after Annie was born.

Porter LOVES his sister Annie. He has to kiss her ALL the time, give her blankets or toys or whatever else he has, and be next to her. He is always wanting to play catch with her, even though she doesn't catch with her hands (this we found out several times). He loves to mimic the sounds she makes and she loves to watch him be all crazy.

His days are spent mostly with Mommy and Annie, but he can't wait to hide from daddy when he gets home from work. He is so fun to watch as he learns new things. Life would not be the same without Porter in it,

Even if he can be a little on the crazy side!

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Playing with the IPad

2011-06-07T23:08:00.001-07:00

Today we took new pictures of ourselves. Tell us who has the best picture.

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Poor Little Miss Annie

2011-06-07T20:42:00.000-07:00

Dear Little Annie,

Your nose is running, your are congested, you have a cough. You are drooling, you are fussy at times and sometimes you feel like you have a slight fever. I'm sorry to tell you this, but at three and a half months, your first 2 teeth are coming in. The doctor said that they should break through by the time you are four months old.

So I will hold you, and kiss you and when the baby orajel and Tylenol doesn't
seem to work and all you can do is cry, because your little body hurts and you don't know why, I will hold you and kiss you even more and longer.

Love, Mommy

Locked Door

2011-05-31T14:40:00.000-07:00

Naptime and bedtime have been extremely off in our house in the last month and a half. Porter cannot go to sleep without someone with him in his room and at nighttime he wakes up at least once. Since he is now in a "big boy" bed, we find the little boy in our bed in the middle of the night and if we are not too exhausted, take him back to his room, only to do it all over again. As you can tell, no one in our house has had a full night's rest in over a month, even little Annie, who probably gets the most.

At naptime today little Porter would not stay in his bed and would not settle down. I would forgo the naps but I know that it is not time yet because he would fall asleep in the middle of the living room if he didn't, which he has.

Annie was crying in her swing while I was trying to get Porter down, so I told him that I would be back and that he needed to stay in his bed and that if he didn't I wouldn't come back in with him and that I would shut the door. Usually, if I needed to leave to check on Annie he would stay, but today he didn't. I found him in the living room with me.

I guided Porter back to his room and then when he was at his bed, I shut the door. I was only going to shut it so he knew I was serious and then I would open it after about 20 seconds (with yelling of course). Well ... when I went to open the door, it was locked. Now he cannot open the doors, but when he had tried to open it by climbing on his toy box, he had accidently locked it. I was able to calm him down but at my first attempt at talking him through unlocking it, I had to call his father.

Before I heard Job's voice on the phone I began to laugh. Between laughs I asked him how to unlock Porter's door, only to hear "you really can't". I then told him what had happened and that Porter was locked inside his room. He told me to try using an old credit card and if that did not work, to call him. I tried my Ralph's card, CVS card and Food for Less card, which did not work. I should have known because I had never needed to use the old credit card trick. I had to call him back. Good thing he was only two minutes away from home.

While waiting for Job, I tried to get Porter to unlock the door, which failed. We then laid on the floor and touched eachother's fingers until the hero came to rescue us. Good thing the credit card trick didn't work for him either because then I really would have looked stupid. Job was able to get the door open with a screwdriver. As a payment to him, he took one of my birthday candy bars, definately worth it.

Thanks Hero Daddy. We love you

Atlantis Garden Grove Park ... blast or bust?

2011-05-20T14:24:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, my friend Anna and her boys Joshua and Nathan went with us to the Atlantis Garden Grove Park. it was filled with fun things for kids to play on. Porter would not go near this King Triton dude, or this ginormous whale slide,

Or this big ship,

Or this dragon slide,

or this octopus thing.

But he did manage to ride a seahorse,

Fly an airplane with his buddy Nathan,

Walk through a tunnel with Anna and the boys,

Feed a shark some leaves (only after Nathan started to first),

And ride a whale.

The dollar for entering was worth the ability for you to run free in a fenced in area. You seemed to enjoy it because all 3 of you boys fell asleep on our way home.

Do Dreams Come True?

2011-05-20T14:08:00.000-07:00

Plays baseball by day ...

and dreams of it by night. (if you look close he is holding a baseball)

I want to be a ball player when i grow up!

Family Pictures

2011-04-24T14:04:00.000-07:00

My sister Christina took some pictures of our little family. Porter just wanted to run around everywhere, but we seemed to get a few good ones.

Hi Annie

2011-04-06T16:06:00.000-07:00

Annie has been all smiles lately, especially when you get close to her and say "Hi Annie" over and over. Porter and I will sit by her swing and get her to smile. He loves it, she loves it and I love it.

The Perfect Porter Day

2011-04-06T14:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Aunt Kelly, Porter, Annie and I decided we were going to go to the zoo, but when we got to the zoo there was an Easter Eggstravaganza going on and we decided to join in. It became a day full of Porter fun. We went on train rides, hay rides, an egg hunt, cookie decorating, ring and bean bag toss and lots and lots of running. It was as if Porter was in heaven. He loved everything about the day.

Us on the hay ride.

Porter wanted his sticker off of his hands.

All of us taking turns being an egg.

This is how Annie was the whole time, cuddly and asleep.

Cookie decorating. We made ones for Porter, Daddy and Uncle Joseph.

Porter with his prizes from the ring/bean bag tosses. He played twice.

Trying to figure out how to throw the ring.

He threw all three bean bags on the ground at once. Luckily there was a nice guy there who let him do it again.

Showing off his stickers he found in his eggs during the egg hunt.

On a hunt for eggs.

Found one.

Train ride.

All tuckered out on the way home.

"Umpa"

2011-03-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

We love Umpa

Necklaces and Ducks

2011-03-22T13:00:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Job and I took Porter to feed some ducks, which he had previously done and loved and has talked about ever since. It was fun to relax and do something Porter likes, which is being outside and throwing food pretty much.

We have started making cereal necklaces as well and it has become a favorite for Porter, probably because he gets to eat sugary cereal. He does however say uh-oh at the crumbs and picks them up, which becomes helpful in the cleaning up process.

Little Annie

2011-02-22T18:10:00.000-08:00

Annie Maurene was born Friday, February 18 at 3:52 a.m.. She was 20 inches long and weighed 7 lbs 6 oz.

J-E-L-L-O

2011-02-03T10:44:00.000-08:00

Last night I decided to make some sugar free jello and for dessert we would make jello jigglers. We got the jello out and cookie cutters out and went at it. We even had some cool whip. It was so much fun to eat with our fingers and have a good time.

Mommy and Porter.

Porter loved to press the cookie cutters into the jello.

Daddy taught Porter how to suck the jello off the table.

Porter wondering what is all over his fingers.

Daddy showing Porter what to do.

Orange County Zoo

2011-01-27T15:23:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday we took Porter and his aunt and cousins to the Orange County Zoo. It was a small zoo but my favorite part was the petting zoo part. Porter loved brushing the goat's hair. He wanted to walk all over the zoo by himself.

Here is Mimi and her kids Marley and Te'a.

Porter and Daddy looking at some animals.

Porter pretending to be some birds. I was teaching him to flap his arms.

The mountain lion.

The black and brown bears.

The bald eagle.

The billy goat.

These next couple are from the kid's petting zoo area.

Porter walking around the zoo.

A New "Do"

2011-01-27T14:57:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of Porter getting his hair cut. We gave him a piece of chocolate to help distract him and he ended up getting hair on it but eating it anyways. With all the hair on him he ended up getting a bath, which he did not mind at all.

Cousin Ethan

2011-01-05T11:17:00.000-08:00

Last night we had Job's cousin and his family over for dinner. They have a son that is a couple months younger than Porter and the two boys had so much fun together. The followed each other around, ran up and down the hall laughing at each other, threw balls around and took turns throwing a sticky ball at the window and getting it stuck higher than they could reach. It is so cute to watch Porter grow and develop and play with other kids. He is getting to be such a little man and soon he will be a big brother 24/7.

Table Top Fun

2011-01-05T10:54:00.000-08:00

The other night we had Job's brother and his wife over to make pizza. Porter thought it was so cool when we were rolling out the dough on the kitchen table that he climbed up on the chair and started playing with the dough. Because he was having so much fun I let him play with the rolling pins after we pulled the pans and bowls off the table. He loved it, probably because he never gets to play on the table. He was dancing and rolling the pins off the table. As you can tell by the pictures, he was covered in flour.

Christmas

2011-01-05T09:22:00.000-08:00

These pictures are a little late, but they are of Christmas morning. Porter didn't really care about opening presents. Once one was opened he wanted to play with it, until the last present ... he grabbed it off the couch and sat down with it on the floor and opened it all by himself. It was a train from his Grandpa and Grandma Brooksby and once he saw it he said "choo-choo". He loves his new toys, which were only a few thank goodness because otherwise we'd be picking them up all day long. Christmas was nice and quiet and very relaxing.

"Draw"

2011-01-05T09:06:00.001-08:00

Porter loves to draw, especially when he has company. Here are a few pictures of him coloring with some of his cousins.

Downtown Riverside Christmas Lights

2010-12-07T14:53:00.000-08:00

Porter LOVES Christmas lights. I hung some up in our house and he wants them on ALL the time. As we drive around town, he points out the window and says light whenever we pass them. Last night we decided to take him downtown to see all the lights. He loved them. They all sorts of things, carriage rides, reindeers, little snack stands, and a gingerbread snack house.

Porter's Little Cuz

2010-12-07T13:53:00.000-08:00

We went to my parent's house for Thanksgiving this year and my sister and her family were there too, which meant, more play time for Porter with his little cousin Brooklyn. It was so cute to watch the two of them play together. They played outside on the back patio when it was sprinkling, played in a big box, copied eachother and shared there treats. Here are a bunch of cute pictures of the two of them together, the last one is of Porter giving Brooklyn a hug from behind.

Goin' Shootin'

2010-11-16T22:02:00.000-08:00

A week and a half ago Job went shooting with his dad, brother Jared, brother Joseph, Joseph's wife Kelly, his sister Jessica and a few other people that they know. They always have fun going shooting and they bring spray cans to shoot at and explode, except for this time it was too windy to use.

Here is Kelly. Job said that she was the funniest one to watch because of her reactions to the strength of the gun after shooting.

Job's dad

sister Jessica

Kelly

Job

Joseph

one of the targets

For his birthday present, Job put the money he got towards a 1851 Colt Navy Revolver Replica. It is similar to a gun that Porter Rockwell used. He ordered a kit too that comes with the powder and stuff to fire it.

Princess "Rylee"

2010-11-16T21:53:00.000-08:00

A week and a half ago our neighbor had her 4th birthday party, a princess party. I made her this princess cake, with a purple dress because purple is her favorite color. Job helped me for the first time and I am impressed by his mad skills in baking. He put some of the "dots" on her dress and made extra frosting from scratch.

Happy Birthday

2010-11-15T15:09:00.000-08:00

Today is Job's birthday and I just wanted to wish him a very special birthday. He is a wonderful husband and an amazing father. Porter looks up to you so much and loves you. I love you more than there are stars in the sky, I love you more than infinity plus one.

2010-11-12T12:32:00.000-08:00

I LOVE sending out Christmas cards, partly because I LOVE the Christmas season. Christmas cards are a way of expressing our love and gratitude for all of our blessings at such a beautiful time of year. It is a time to remember Christ and express our love to Him ... so I use our Christmas cards to share that love with those in our life.

To help with this year's Christmas card, I am taking advantage of Shutterfly's 50 free Holiday card promo. You can take a part in this blessing as well by going to:

http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Some of their products include:

photo cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery

Christmas cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards

holiday cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards

Play Group

2010-11-04T15:26:00.000-07:00

Today Porter had his first official play group. We decided it could be a good thing so he could learn to play with other kids, share and be nice to others. We had a good turn out with 6 ladies and 9 kids. My neighbor Sarah came with her two kids (Rylee and Levi), Sarah's sister-in-law Melanie came with her two boys (Marek and Presley?), my friend Anna came with her two boys (Joshua and Nathan), my friend Julie came with her son Noah and a new girl from our ward, Brittany, came with her daughter Roxanne.

Porter, Noah and Roxanne

Porter, Nathan and Roxanne

Levi, Porter and Nathan

Marek and Porter

Roxanne

Roxanne, Rylee and Porter

Nathan

Roxanne, Porter, Levi and Rylee

Noah, Julie, Joshua, Marek, Melanie and Presley

I love play dates. I'm sure these will be happening a lot more around here.

Porter's "Doon"

2010-11-01T21:59:00.000-07:00

Porter loves to eat with silverware now. He almost can't eat any meal without a "doon" (spoon). Here he is using it to eat spaghetti and pumpkin bread.

The Little Lion

2010-11-01T10:50:00.000-07:00

We borrowed this cute little costume from some friends of ours. Porter even goes "grr" like a lion. Here he is waiting to go to our trunk or treat with his little pumpkin basket that he got from another ward's trunk or treat while waiting for us at the temple with his babysitter.

Porter's New Adventure

2010-10-26T08:40:00.000-07:00

First, Porter got his hairs cut. We did not get before pictures so you will have to see what his hair looked like before throughout the pictures before. The first two pictures are of his "new do".

Porter has discovered playing in our backyard an adventure. The last couple of days we have been letting him play back there by himself with us doing the dishes or doing dinner. Our yard is small and you can see the whole thing from our kitchen window. We leave the sliding door open so he can go in and out of the house as he pleases. He loves it outdoors and has found new adventures in our yard. Who knew there was so much to play with back there?

Free Pumpkin

2010-10-25T14:14:00.000-07:00

I found a coupon for a free pumpkin on craigslist so on saturday we went and picked one out. Porter loved running around and we came home with a a rather large pumpkin.

Investigating a New Park

2010-10-19T17:42:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I took Porter to play at a new park in town. We met some friends there and Porter loved running around. He even figured out how to go down the slide backwards on his belly. Here are a few pictures from his grand adventure.

Random Fun with Porter

2010-09-24T20:48:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to Job's cousin's wedding and they had these little fans that Porter figured out how to use. He also was able to play with one of Job's cousin's son. It was so cute to watch the two together. They are 5 days apart and have identical personalities. We also took Porter to the cemetary where Job's grandparents are and he tried pulling the flags out of the ground.

Some things about Porter:
He is almost 16 months
Loves the outdoors (thinks if he has shoes on he gets to go outside or thinks if the door gets open he gets to go outside)
Loves balls and hats
Know the number 2. If he has 2 things in his hands than he holds them out and says 2.
Loves his daddy and hates when he leaves.
Knows how to say dada, mama, baby, hat, ball, dog, spoon, car, grandpa, out, plus more
He has 8 teeth but is getting at least 5 more
He loves to laugh
He can blow on his food,
Kiss his baby sister (say sister when he feels like it)
Climbs on everything
Plays peek-a-boo
Throws a ball like a champ

Lake Isabella Camping

2010-09-13T21:20:00.000-07:00

Over Labor Day weekend we met my parents and sister Christina at Lake Isabella to do some camping. It was so much fun. We bought a bigger tent and Porter loved running around, throwing his ball down the little hill and playing in the water. I realized that I don't have a picture of myself on here because those are on my mom's camera. We played in the lake one day and took my parent's rafts out on the water and we went on the river the other days. Christina, Porter and I went geo caching. My dad took Job fishing and taught him the skills to catch his first fish, which we ate.

Christing and Porter playing in the lake.

Porter loved carrying the oars around and would not put them down, no matter what.

Porter completely dirty, carrying Grandpa's campfire gloves around.

My mom and I were sitting on the chairs talking and Porter walked around to the other side. We could here some noises but were not sure what was going on. He would look at us like this every now and then and continue what he was doing.

We decided to check it out and saw that he had found the water bucket and was loving it.

One night for dinner we made dutch oven pizza. It was so delicious. Definately a camping favorite of mine.

Porter loves phones and while my mom and I were getting dinner ready, Christina and Porter sat looking at her phone.

A sunrise one morning outside our tent.

There were some bad fires on the mountain within the last year and a whole campground got wiped out. This picture was taken from our car when driving by.

Job learning how to gut and clean a fish.

Job with his fish he caught.

His fish. Good Job honey.

Cooked fish.

Porter with Grandpa's hat on carrying the small shovel. He loved carrying the shovel everywhere.

Porter loved throwing his ball down the hill. Here he is at the bottom of the hill with the ball that he got from a cache.

Porter and Grandpa throwing rocks at the bottom of the hill. He loved throwing rocks, especially in the water.

Grandma and Porter walking back up the hill.

Porter helping Grandpa clean out his tent.

sorry about the poll, but ...

2010-09-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

we are not having a boy but a little ANNIE

It's voting time again

2010-08-23T13:43:00.000-07:00

We find out in just over 2 weeks if we are having a girl or a boy. With a girl's name picked out already, we need a little help with picking a boy's name. Take a vote on our poll on the side of our blog. The blog will stay open until the 7th at mid-night.

Mama called the doctor and the doctor said ...

2010-08-04T09:21:00.001-07:00

Reunion_5872cl.jpg

2010-07-12T17:04:00.001-07:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

Fun on the Water

2010-07-08T08:56:00.000-07:00

For the 4th of July weekend we went up to Crestline and Lake Arrowhead. Saturday night we went on a little boat ride and on Monday we took Porter out on peddle boats.

This was Shirley Temple's house.

This was the founder of In n Out's house

This was Doris Day's house.

This was just a 6 story house with an elevator

Porter's Birthday Party

2010-06-18T10:21:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we had a little birthday party for Porter filled with Watermelon, water toys and cupcakes with ice cream. Porter did not want to take a nap before hand so he was a little moody during the whole thing and he did not want to eat his cake, which I made him a beach ball cake. My mom tried putting ice cream with it and that did the trick for a few minutes. We tried feeding it to him and that kind of worked. He loved the watermelon. Did not care for opening his presents, but all the other kids wanted to help and so I finally had to stop the madness. He got pajamas, balls, bath toys, sandals, sunglasses, and some singing stuffed animals. He ended up getting a little burnt.

Dearest Amy

2010-06-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

My Dear Sister-in-Law you are on my mind and I love you so much!
Happy Anniversary.

P.S. your cute little daughter took this picture at Chrismas.

The Dog Park

2010-05-25T11:11:00.001-07:00

Last night we went to the dog park with some of our friends. I guess to go to the dog park you kind of need to have a dog, well good thing we got one on friday. Her name is Henna. She's a cute little thing. She is 6 years old. We think she is in heat because while we were there a bunch of dogs were following her and sniffing her and trying to get in her business. She snipped at them to try to get them off of her. Dog park in heat, not a good idea. We ended up going to this training section with just our friends and their dogs.

Here is most of the gang: Tyler and Shawnie with their dog bolt (in the foreground) and Jason and Alex in the background with their two big dogs.

Porter being a doggie with bolt. Bolt liked being close to Porter and licking him.

Job trying to teach Henna to jump and climb on the things.

Porter wanted to play like the rest of them.

Henna on our way to the park.

Long Trip

2010-04-28T17:30:00.000-07:00

These were from the first two weeks of April. Porter and I went on a road trip to my parents and then up to Idaho. The pictures ended up being backwards so the beginning of the trip is last and the last of the trip is first.

I bought these little tablets that grow into animals when you put them in water and Porter wasn't sure what was going on. Once we took them out he just wanted to eat them.

One of the foods I grew up on were scones. My sister Kimberly and I decided to cut out the dough into shapes. We had never had flower scones before but it was so cute.

Since Porter has become mobile I have always been careful about shutting doors, especially to the bathrooms. While at my parents house one was left open by accident and Porter found his way into and did this:

My sister Kimberly graduated from BYU Idaho. These next few pictures were of the blessed event. Porter was so tired during the commencement that I ended up dancing him to sleep in the hall. I love when he is asleep while I am holding him and I love that I put him to sleep.

Porter and I with the Rexburg Temple in the background.

Porter met my Grandma Beth for the first time. I think she liked him and I think Porter liked her too.

Here is some of the bunch acting crazy. Brooklyn loved her crazy dancing dad. It was hilarious to hear her cute laughter.

Us girls were able to be together. It is nice to be with sisters.

The gang.

Porter with Grandpa.

Porter and I with the graduate.

The graduate.

After a long day I took these two pictures. Porter was exhausted.

Kurt fell asleep with his head in Brooklyn's car seat.

We had a graduation party for Kimmy and Porter found a new friend while we were there.

Porter and Brooklyn in the van together. These two are so adorable.

Since all of us girls were together and since it was my Grandma Palmer's birthday recently, we decided to do a girl's brunch. It was fun to get together and eat yummy food. It is so cute to watch Porter and Brooklyn play together.

We brought my parent's wii with us to Idaho and here is Porter and Grandpa trying the ski slalom.

Porter and I went to dinner with some friends, Kevin and Jennifer. Job met them on his mission and they loved seeing Porter. He wasn't sure of them at first but quickly warmed up to Kevin.

These next pictures were taken on our way to Idaho. The day before we left Porter was teething really bad and was running a temperature over 102. We thought it would be easier to travel at night with him but he was hurting so bad and didn't feel good. He didn't want to sleep or eat, he just wanted to get out of his car seat and be held. He was like that for a couple of days, which means NO SLEEP for mommy.

These first two pictures were taken in the car when he was feeling a little better. He loved to play in the driver's seat of the van. I just had to take pictures of him in this cute beanie.

We stopped at a look out in Twin Falls. You could see the Twin Falls Temple and the gorgeous bridge with the river under it.

Job took us up to my parents' house for Easter and Conference weekend. My mom had got Porter these cute little toys but his favorite things to play with were the plastic eggs. He chased them all over the place and could even fit them into his mouth.

Missing Link

2010-04-20T16:03:00.000-07:00

I have come across these two pieces of jewelry. This bracelet I believe was from Young Womens', but I cannot remember from what or what it means. This other piece I found when getting ready for church. I wore it, but cannot remember who has the other half. Does anyone know anything about either of these pieces?

We've got BABIES

2010-04-16T13:10:00.000-07:00

NO

NOT

THOSE

KINDS

OF

BABIES

...

THESE

KINDS

OF

BABIES

...

our little garden is starting to have littles of their own

March Madness

2010-03-31T10:17:00.000-07:00

March seemed to be a VERY busy month for us, so I decided to post pictures from the major events (some have already been posted from recent posts, but most are new).
Porter had his first experience with blood being drawn. See his two owies :(

It was our anniversary, and so we decided to spend a night away from Porter. We rode the gondola (sort of: the bigger boats are called the gondola, we rode in a smaller boat)

Joseph and Kelly took care of Porter for us.

We hosted a How to Host a Murder Party. That was a blast. I recommend it to everyone.

It has been so nice here down in southern California that we have spent alot of time outside playing in the grass. We have great neighbors who have a daughter who is 3 and a son who is a month older than Porter and they watch their nephew who is 3 days older than Porter so we play with the kids a lot. This picture is of Porter being "gentle" with Marek.

Marek, Levi and Porter enjoying the grass together.

The boys with Rylee.

Porter enjoying the sun.

We had friends from St. George stop by when they were visiting Disneyland. Here Porter is with Koufax.

Porter, Koufax and Reagan

I have been watching the beautiful roses bloom by our front windows. I just had to take pictures of this rose after it opened up.

We had our ward Easter Party. Porter enjoyed chasing the balloons around and discovering eggs.

Porter got to meet the Easter Bunny.

Discovering more eggs I put in front of him.

He can practically fit the whole egg in his mouth

Here is a recent video of Porter. He is learning to shake is head no

The Last Train From Paris

2010-03-22T14:53:00.000-07:00

THE SCENE

You are aboard the private Pullman Car Desire attached to a military train headed from Paris towards the south of France. You and the other guests arrived at Gare d' Austerlitz Station between 2:30 and 5:00 pm, boarding the train car by passing through military sentry station at which your identification and transit authorization were demanded. No one but authorized guests were admitted to the private car.

Aboard the train guests were greeted by the conductor, Jean-Pierre, who showed each to his or her cabin and arranged for luggage to be brought on board by the soldiers. Many of the guests asked pointedly if 'Number 9' had arrived and who he or she was. Jean-Pierre had no reluctance in disclosing that Number 9 was the notorious Fiona Fae Tahlle, and whispered that it was rumored that she was an international spy. He informed each guest that their hostess was not to be disturbed.

The train departed promptly at 5:00 p.m. and passed quickly out of the beleagured city. Seven hours later, a few moments after midnight, German troops marched into Paris.

REPORT OF INVESTIGATION

Pursuant to orders, an investigation was undertaken of the following circumstances:
1. Body of a nude woman found in large canvas sack, hanging from railway bridge. Woman of medium build, blonde hair, approximately 25 years of age. Died of a knife wound to the heart. Identification papers with sack in name of Fiona Fae Tahlle, resident of Paris.
2. Message received by Generalle de Rearre at about 6:30: "Look in Pullman cabin 9. There's been a murder."
3. Examination of cabin 9:
a. cabin in disarray. luggage and clothing strewn about. cabin window shattered and glass lying on carpet. table and chairs upset. bottle of napoleon brandy broken. closet doors flung open. blood stains on carpet and berth.
b. narrow hole sliced by sharp blade in wall between cabin 8 and 9 over berth.
c. newly drilled hole in wall between cabin 9 and conductor's station. open umbrella stuck through hole. knife blade protruding from tip of umbrella into cabin.
4. Soldiers on platforms at each end of Pullman Car report: no one entered or left car since leaving station other than Jean-Pierre, Pullman conductor, who left at 5:10 p.m. and did not return.
5. Conclusion: 1 of the 8 other occupants of the Pullman Car murdered the occupant of cabin 9 by stabbing her with a thin bladed weapon after a vicious fight. The body was placed in a large canvas sack and thrown from the train at 6:00 p.m. as the train passed over a railway bridge. The sack, caught on the bridge, was discovered by passing troops.

THE MURDER SUSPECTS
(Justin and Anna White) Mal and Mary

(Job and Brittney Jones) The Duke and (Princess) Idelle

(Nick and Sarah Dockett) Wey and Belinda

(Joseph and Kelly Jones) Khover and Barbra

THE CONCLUSION
Idelle is the murderer, but she isn't really Idelle and it wasn't Fiona that she murdered. She is Fiona Fae Tahlle, disguised as Idelle, and she murdered the Princess.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA

2010-03-22T08:44:00.001-07:00

I Love You. Love Porter

2010-03-13T08:19:00.001-08:00

2010-03-13T08:14:00.001-08:00

Dear Porter

2010-03-11T13:13:00.000-08:00

Dear Porter-

I took you to the doctors' today. It was awful. Besides the fact that you are a big, healthy boy, you had to have a shot. On top of that shot you had to have your blood drawn to see if you were anemic.

I thought I could handle it because after your first set of shots I was okay with you getting shots. You would cry and tears would come and I thought it was so sad, but I would pick you up in my arms and hold you and you would settle down and become happy again.

This was not the case today when they drew your blood. We walked into that room and I sat you in my lap was the "mean" lady got things prepped. She told me I would have to hold you tight so you would not move. You are a strong, determined little boy. You wanted to hold onto everything until she poked you.

I watched as she moved the needle in your arm trying to get it into your vein. I just held you tighter, kissing your head and feeling the tears well up in my eyes. You were not the only one crying in that room today, mommy was crying with you.

It seemed to take forever until it was done. At one point I just wanted to tell the "mean" nurse to stop it and take the needle out. Before she was done you got a hold of the tubing and almost pulled it out of your arm. They had to tape a cotton swab to your arm.

I think you are going to have a bruise.

I am sorry. Mommy loves you very much. I will hold your cute self a little bit longer today.

Love Mommy

Dear Love

2010-03-11T08:35:00.001-08:00

3 Wonderful Years of Marriage to the Most Wonderful Man Ever. Wonderful Husband. Amazing Father. Best Provider. It really would be A Long Trip Alone if I didn't have you in my life. Happy Anniversary Honey

"It's a long trip alone"

2010-03-08T08:31:00.000-08:00

It will be Job's and my anniversary this wednesday so we decided to getaway on friday night. Thanks to Job's brother and sister-in-law, we were able to go alone for one night. Job tried to make things a surprise, but he is not good with surprises. We drove out to Long Beach and enjoyed a dinner at Joe's Crab Shack and a lovely ride on a Gondola.

These first two pictures were taken from our Hotel room. We had a room with a balcony and a gorgeous view.

This was taken on the Gondola with our gondoleer. The gondola ride was at night and it was beautiful with all the lights from the homes and the bridges. We went through the canal and under 5 bridges. It is tradition to kiss under each bridge and under the fourth bridge our gondoleer sang to us. This picture was of him singing his first song and then he sang one other song during the last few minutes of the ride. The ride was about an hour long and definately worth it. If you want to enjoy a ride
go to www.gondo.net

This picture is of the cool lantern and one of the bridges that we went under.

We brought a bottle of sparkling cider and they put it in ice for us.

At Joe's Crab Shack they made us walk around the tables dressed like this while everyone sang "Happy Anniversary" to us.

Here we are with our bibs. We didn't need them, but I thought they were so cool. I watched on older man with one on trying to crack his lobster legs.

This was the view we had from our table in the restaurant.

Like Mother like Son

2010-02-24T12:05:00.000-08:00

For my 10th birthday, all I wanted was a big box to play in ... I got one. I use to drag the box around the neighborhood to play with my friends and we camped out in it and filled it up with pillow and blankets. We jumped in it and pushed eachother over in it. We wore that box out. Because of this, when my parents got a new recliner, they saved the box, knowing that Porter and I would be coming. Here are several pictures of us enjoying the big box. My dad had to cut it down so Porter could pull himself up and see over the top of it.

Mickey Grove

2010-02-24T10:03:00.001-08:00

Porter and I spent a week at my parents and one of the days we went to Mickey Grove Zoo. It was a small zoo, with some birds, monkeys, lemurs and a few other things. Here are pictures of the animals and of us enjoying the small but good enough with an 8 month old.

Here is the bunch of us on the big tortoise.

"Daddy can I keep it?" "I promise I'll take care of it and i'll water it once a month." "I'm a tortoise lovin' Porter."

One of the many birds that were everywhere.

Grandpa loved to carry Porter around the zoo and showing him all the animals.

Here are two lemurs with their gorgeous long tails. One squirrel got into the cage and was eating the lemur's food, but when he wanted to get away from the lemurs, he could not remember how to get out.

Grandpa and Porter watching the tortoises.

Some more monkeys.

The mountain lion.

This is everyone through the glass of the tortoise home.

You were not suppose to look at this monkey straight in the eyes because it intimitates them. OOPS... he raised his eyebrows and just glared.

Porter is watching the birds fly overhead.

Great and Grand

2010-02-04T10:08:00.000-08:00

My mom and grandma came to visit for a few days. This was Porter's first time meeting my grandma, but I think he enjoyed it.

Saying good-bye to grandma.

Dancing with grandma.

Playing with great-grandma.

100 Things for 2010

2010-01-30T07:58:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago I made a list of 100 things to do in 30 days. Of course I didn't complete my list, but it gave me something to fill my empty time with and to make the summer go faster. It was also my list that I thought of for myself to do. I decided to do it again. I actually made this list shortly after Porter was born, but because of life happenings, I lost the paper and life got busy. I recently found it and so I am starting all over. I am now doing my 100 things for the year of 2010. I will take pictures of the ones I can and post when I do it so that all of you can enjoy my list with me. I encourage all of you to make a list for yourself, whether it is just one thing or 100 things it is up to you.

1. run a 1/2 marathon
2. wear my "skinny" jeans again
3. workout 3x a week
4. plant a small garden
5. take a nap
6. make a blanket
7. paint something
8. make a birthday cake
9. paint my toenails
10. take a bath
11. create a "home"
12. make cookies
13. say "i love you" everyday
14. read the Book of Mormon
15. teach Porter to walk
16. go to the Temple once a month
17. get a massage
18. make a friend
19. "go to lunch"
20. try a new food
21. go on a date 3x a month
22. go to the movies
23. learn a new game
24. go to the beach
25. go camping
26. go on a picnic
27. freeze 2 meals a month
28. see an old friend
29. see all my siblings
30. make baby food
31. indulge in something
32. go for a walk everyday
33. pick flowers
34. create a new pizza
35. cry during a movie
36. play the flute
37. get my haircut
38. go to the zoo
39. sew something
40. make bread
41. try a new recipe
42. wash my car
43. have a water fight
44. play racquetball
45. play tennis
46. go rollerblading
47. geo cache
48. plan ahead
49. be crafty
50. make bisquick mix
51. organize something
52. laugh until it hurts
53. read a book a month
54. make fun cupcakes
55. play games every week
56. make doughnuts
57. send a card to someone
58. play frisbee golf
59. go on a hike
60. don't drink soda
61. go to the park
62. read to my son
63. set some kind of schedule
64. take pictures
65. read the Ensign monthly
66. take time for my self
67. kiss my husband every day
68. work on food storage
69. have FHE weekly
70. go ice skating
71. make freezer muffins
72. color in coloring books
73. go swimming
74. go somewhere new
75. make smores
76. pick fruit
77. make Porter's stool
78. participate in a service project
79. make something for someone
80. find a new hobby
81. find a bargain
82. go on a double date
83. make jam
84. learn to can food
85. make ice cream
86. organize my cookbook
87. have a potluck
88. try a new food
90. have a theme night
91. make breakfast
92. find easy snacks
93. go to a new restaurant
94. save money
95. take family pictures
96. make crackers
97. run through sprinklers
98. play baseball
99. swing on swings
100. curl my hair

Porter's Friends

2010-01-26T09:14:00.000-08:00

Porter met some new friends in 2009. I guess he was just destined to meet them because their parents are our friends. The funny thing is, they are all cute older women.

This is Porter and Jill. They were in an older post also. Jill is the daughter of Job's best friend growing up. They live in Ohio.

Here is Porter and Zuki. Zuki is the daughter of one of Job's mission companions. They live in Idaho.

This is Porter and Bella. Bella is the daughter of some friends of ours from Cedar City.

If I missed some new friends, i apologize. These were the pictures I could find.

Porter Playing

2010-01-26T08:25:00.000-08:00

Porter likes to play with all sorts of things. He is getting so big now; he pulls himself up and scoots everywhere (getting ready to crawl). The first two pictures are of Porter and his box of toys. You lay the box on its side and then Porter crawls in and throws everything inside. One night I stuck him inside of the box to see what he would do. He just and played with the box and his toys.

Here he is playing with a shelf box. He loves boxes. I guess he guess he got that trait from his mommy because all I wanted for my 10th birthday was a big box.

Here he is crawling under his saucer and under the chair by the computer. He likes going under things, the only problem, he can go under but he can't get back out.

Baby Talk

2010-01-15T09:29:00.000-08:00

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Porter Jones was born in June of 2009 to Job and Brittney Jones. He started his blogging career at a young age of 7 months. He loves his daddy and mommy, eating, laughing, long walks and older women. When he grows up he wants to be just like his daddy.

New Blog

2010-01-14T13:45:00.000-08:00

I have made another blog. In this one I will be putting new recipes I try and like along with pictures I will take of how it looks and changes I make to the recipe. I will include what I think of the recipe. The link is www.brittsfinedining.blogspot.com It will also be apart of my list of blogs, titled My food.

Christmas in Manteca

2010-01-01T16:15:00.000-08:00

The whole family were able to be together for about a day and a half. We decided to take some family pictures while we were together because it seems we won't get back together for a couple of years. Here are the grandparents and their grandkids.
Christmas morning. We tried so hard to have everyone awake for presents but Porter and his cousin Brooklyn decided to fall asleep right before. It was okay though because the older grandkids were awake and happy.
We got together with some friends and Grandpa Dahle surprised us with a clown. It was so cute to watch the kids interact with her.

Cute pictures of all the grandkids.

Cousins

2009-12-20T18:23:00.001-08:00

Porter and I are at my parents' house and are able to visit with all my siblings and their kids. Here are some cute pictures of all the kids.

Enjoy Daddy. Can't wait to see you in a couple of days. I miss you.

Lots of Fun

2009-12-12T21:33:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving my parents and two of my sisters came to Riverside and we went up to the mountains to stay. One night there was this really big storm: thunder, lightening, and hail. It was right over us and the only person that slept through it was little Porter. We woke up to a few inches of snow and so I just had to get a picture of Porter in it. Thanks Christina for our great family pictures. They turned out wonderful.

This is Porter and Jill. Jill is the daughter of Job's best friend growing up and they came down for the thanksgiving holiday. While they were in town they came over for dinner and to play. It was so cute watching the two of them together. She is 14 months old.

This is Porter's new favorite thing: the army crawl. He is so good at it. He does it every where and is starting to get into everything. It is pretty amazing to see my 6 month old scooting all over. He went to his doctor's appointment and weighs 17 pounds 6 oz and is 27 3/4 inches tall. He is getting his first tooth as well. It's sharp so beware.

Here is Porter with his cousin Marley. Porter and Marley love each other so much. Marley makes silly faces (like the one in the picture) and sounds and Porter just starts to laugh. The try and "box it out" as well. They are so cute together. Marley will get on the floor and play with him as well.

On the 6th Job's brothers and the families went to the Newport Beach temple. It is a new monthly tradition to teach the grandkids the importance of the temple. While we were there we sang Christmas songs. One of Job's nieces wanted to sing her favorite Christmas song (a song she learned in primary) but no one knew what the words were. Instead of singing a different song, little Jordyn stood up from where she was sitting and started to sing her song out loud, for all to hear. When she finished her song she then said "does everybody know it now". This first picture is of Job's brother and his youngest daughter looking at the nativity. The next is of our little family.

We went to our ward Christmas party tonight and Porter was able to sit on Santa's lap. Surprisingly Porter didn't cry. I think it was the big white beard and the fact that we kept saying his name to get him to look at the camera.

Getting so big

2009-11-29T18:47:00.000-08:00

Grandma and Grandpa "North" (Brooksby) and Porter
Porter reading his book

Porter trying to sit up

Smilin' for the camera

Park Day

2009-11-15T20:28:00.000-08:00

Saturday we went on a picnic as a little family and took Porter on the slides and swings. It was fun. The first picture was pretty much his face the whole time, but at least he did not cry.

Jones' Temple trip

2009-11-15T20:17:00.000-08:00

Friday night the whole Jones' family went to the Redlands Temple. We are going to go every month to teach all the kids about the importance of it. Job's brother had a lesson for the kids. We went to John's Incredible pizza afterwards. Here are some pictures of the bunch of us.

Stinky-Pumpkins

2009-11-01T17:27:00.000-08:00

Porter was a cute little skunk for halloween. These pictures don't have his booties but he is sure darn cute. He even had gas. Not the best on our behalf but it was funny.

We went over to Grandma and Grandpa Jones' house to carve pumpkins. Here is a picture of the crew going at their pumpkins.

Here is Job helping is nephew Marley with his pumpkin. We did not take a picture of our pumpkin because it was not worth taking. We watched a food network challenge on carving pumpkins. They shaved the outer portion so fine that you were able to see the light through it. We decided we wanted to try. We only had one pumpkin so we did half each. Geewh. It was not pretty.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-27T20:00:00.000-07:00

Last monday night we went to the pumpkin patch with Job's niece and nephew and their cute mom. Here are some pictures. We took pictures of everyone (even Porter) in the scarecrow cut out but they turned out bad so I didn't put any on. When we got there they were handing out free dodger dogs and we jumped at that idea. Here is Marley eating his huge hot dog. You can see the dog hanging out at the end. It was just as big on the other end.Porter and daddy. Porter with his very first pumpkin. Little pumpkin for a little Porter. He is actually holding it by himself. If you let him hold it long enough it goes straight to his mouth.

Porter and mommy enjoying the pumpkin patch.

Porter with his cousins Marley and Te'a.

The whole family.

Porter Laughing

2009-09-24T22:13:00.000-07:00

So Porter didn't get great responses from his last video (see below), so he refused to let himself been seen in this one. However, if you turn up your speakers, you can hear him laughing. About a minute long.

Porter's Video Debut

2009-09-17T20:35:00.000-07:00

Porter wanted to make his first Video appearance. Here he is jabbering for about 2 minutes. No contracts have come yet, but we anticipate them flooding in any day now!

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-07T21:28:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went up to Job's parent's lake house. For most of the time it was just the three of us. This first picture was Sunday night and Porter was fussy so Job sang to him for over a half an hour. Here is Porter going on a big boy ride in his stoller. One of the first times in it without his carseat.

Job's parents came up on Saturday and we went for a hike. Here is our cute family.

Here we are at Lake Arrowhead.

Porter with his daddy.

Porter's play toys

2009-08-29T17:11:00.001-07:00

These first two pictures aren't with anything, I just think he is so darn cute.

Here he is with his hippopotamus.

and his oven mitts.