Blake turns 3!

Happy Birthday Blake! Blake turned 3 this July and he had a great birthday!Blake's birthday started the day before. We all met down at Union Station to ride the Front Runner down to the Gateway. The kids were excited because they only know one store at the Gateway... Build-A-Bear. Jed and Kate have been saving money and they were excited to use it. Blake was excited because he was going to get his very FIRST build-a-bear for his birthday.

My sisters and their kids, my mom, my aunt Susie, and my cousin Kristen and her kids made the journey with us to Salt Lake.
After we arrived in Salt Lake we got on the Trax train and headed to the Gateway. We were all a little grouchy and hungry so we headed straight to Jason's Deli for a fun and yummy lunch! After lunch we all felt better and now the festivities could begin. Yea! Build-A-Bear here we come!
Our first order of business was to pick out his stuffed animal, but Blake had other ideas. He ran in and followed Charlie right to the Batman outfit. He was so excited. He grabbed it and wouldn't put it down. I think he thought that's what he came for. I told him to find a stuffed animal and we could put the outfit on the animal. Blake decided to get a panda bear. It's so cute. His favorite movie is Kung Fu Panda and he also loves Batman so this was perfect! :)

Next, they stuff your animal. Blake got to push the foot pedal. He thought that was great!

Then you make a wish on a little fabric heart and put it right inside your animal.

After his panda was complete he headed over to the bathing station. This was his favorite part. He spent a long time washing (with air) and brushing his panda.

When I finally got him away from the bathing station we put panda's batman costume on. It was so cute!

After he was dressed we went to the computer and gave him a name. Blake chose the name Batman. Shocking I know.

Jed and Kate had fun too. Jed got a new horse named Spirit and Kate got a new bear named Sparkles. They all had a great time!

After Build-A-Bear we headed to the splash park at the Gateway. The kids had fun and got cooled off. It was a great end to a fun day.

Then we headed back to the train and the LONG ride home!

That night my family came over for pizza and cake and ice cream. Blake got a lot of fun presents and we had a great time.

The only thing Blake wanted for his birthday was a Batman cake so he could blow out the candles. I thought that wouldn't be that big of a deal so I frosted it when we got home from Salt Lake. It turned out really cute. The problem came while we were eating dinner. Kate lifted Olivia up to see it and Olivia pulled it down onto the floor. Face down. I gasped and tried not to cry. Shannon calmed me down and we scraped the cake up off the floor. I couldn't believe it! I was getting ready to go to Winegars and get a cake when she said "it's ok we'll fix it." She scraped all the frosting off while I made more. Then we hurried and decorated it again. I can't believe we saved the cake! I also can't believe my family ate it! Thanks guys! I don't think Blake even knew the difference. He got his Batman cake and it only took 2 tries to make the cake and 3 tries to blow out the candles! :)

The next morning was Saturday. We all slept in late then got up and Blake opened his presents. He was so cute. He loved ripping each package open and then wanted to immediately play with what was inside.

Dad made us waffles for breakfast and then we got ready and went to see Ice Age 3. We ate 2 buckets of popcorn for lunch! It was so much fun. Everybody had a great time. When we got home Blake helped me make cupcakes. He had frosting EVERYWHERE. He was so funny. He was eating more than he was getting on the cupcakes!

On Sunday we headed to Papa's house for cake and ice cream. Jake's birthday was on Monday so we celebrated both together. We had a great time.

Papa gave Blake a new baseball T. He loved it!

More candles! Hooray!

What a fun birthday weekend. Thanks to everyone who helped make it special! We love you Blake! :)

Last Week of School

The last week of school was great. The kids had fun activities every day. On Tuesday Jed got an award for having outstanding handwritting. Way to go Jed! On Wednesday he recieved several awards in his classroom. He got awards in spelling, math, writing, reading, and an athletic award. He took 3rd place in running and even got a white ribbon. We're glad that he takes after his dad in speed and not his mom! :) We are so proud of him!

On Thursday the whole school went swimming. They walked from Midland to the Roy Pool. It was so much fun. Too bad I had to work because I'm sure that 600 kids walking 3 blocks with a police escort would have been something to see. Kimi said it was awesome!

Friday was the last day of school. Jed had fun signing yearbooks and spending one more day as a first grader. He's excited for summer and looking forward to the 2nd grade!

Kate had a great last week of school too. On Wednesday her class performed for their parents. She did such a good job! They sang a whole bunch of songs and Kate knew every one. She also had a speaking part and she did a terrific job on that too. Way to go Katie! :)

On Thursday Kate was able to go swimming with the school. Kindergarten didn't get to walk with the school, but still got to go swimming. She was way excited to get to go and had a great time.

The last day of school was fun for Kate too. She got a pillow case with her class picture on it and the whole class signed it. She also got a CD with the songs she learned this year. She loves it and has listened to it at least 50 times already. She loves music and makes sure we all get to enjoy it with her. :) Kate had fun in Kindergarten this year. She loved her teacher Mrs. Winter. She also made a lot of new friends. She is going to do great in first grade next year!

We had a great school year and everyone is EXCITED FOR SUMMER!!!!! Happy summer everyone! :)

P.S. I'd like to thank Kelly Burnett for jumping into Kate's picture with Mrs. Winter. It wouldn't be the same without her! :) jk

New Hoop!

We just got a hoop in our driveway. It is so much fun! The kids love it! We've been having a great time touching up our b-ball skills. Jed is doing awesome. He's hitting 10 footers like there's no problem. Kate loves her pink ball, but will only shoot when the basket is all the way down. Blake loves anything outside and anything to do with sports. He has a ball just his size and Dad even brought out the hoop from his room so he can reach it. What fun!

Happy Easter

We had a great Easter this year. Jed woke up really early and decided it was time for everyone to get up. He was ready to see if the Easter Bunny had left him a basket. After a lot of searching and finding Kate and Blake's baskets Jed found his basket under the kitchen sink. That EB is sure tricky! :)

Dad was a little bit sleepy, but he caught most of the festivities. Kate found her basket full of fun things. She loved her new Webkins and DS game. She also got a caboodle full of nail polish, press on nails, and lipgloss! She's really growing up! :)

Blake's basket had fun suprises too. He found a laser gun, a Fur Real Panda, and a Batman costume. Thanks to his BFF Charlie, he LOVES Batman, so he wore his mask the rest of the day! So Cute!

Jed found that the EB loves Bakugan's as much as him! He got some new Bakugan balls, a shooter, and a game to play them all on! He was so excited that he squeeled in delight. It's pretty awesome to see your 7 year old that excited!

After things settled down and the Easter Egg hunt was over, we got ready and headed to church. The kids all looked so cute. The problem was trying to get a picture of them. Blake did not want to cooperate! He was way too busy to pose for us, so this is the best shot I got.

After church my family came over for dinner and an Easter egg hunt. We had a great time. Mar Mar brought everyone a fun gift and also a bunch of eggs full of money!! What a fun suprise for the kids!

We had a great day! We just wish there would have been time to go see Papa! We sure missed him! Hope everyone had a great Easter!

Family Picture Day!

My sister Kim is now taking pictures of people. I am so excited to have a photographer in the family! She did such a great job. These pictures aren't edited yet, but I love them! Here are some of my favorites!

Blake is such a funny kid. I get a kick out of everything he says!

Jed is a great big brother. He's such a good example to his sister and brother.

Kate is our little sweetheart! She add's all the drama any family needs!

We love Mar Mar!!!

Thanks Kim for some great shots in Park City! We love them!

Merry Christmas!

We had a great Christmas at the Porter house this year. The kids are at such fun ages. I loved watching each of them enjoy Christmas morning.

Jed loved his presents this year. He was really excited for Christmas morning. He is still way into Star Wars and as you can see, he's turned into a clone trooper. He takes his costume off to sleep and sometimes to play the Wii, but mostly he just runs around with his buddies playing Star Wars.
Katie had a great suprise from Santa this year. She got an American Girl doll. She was so excited when she saw her. She immediately said, "Mom, I think Annie is a good name. What do you think?" I of course loved it. So Annie became the newest member of the family. She shows up at every meal and is always buckled in a seat belt in the car. She also hasn't missed a night sleeping in Kate's bed. They have become best friends!

Blake was so cute this year. He said the funniest things. The first present he opened was a toy vacuum. He opened the gift and saw what was inside and said... "Holy Moly!" It was so cute! We all laughed about it. He loved his Elmo Chair and his "bike" as well.

We had a wonderful time visiting family and spending the holiday with those we love most! Merry Christmas everyone!

So I've pretty much been neglecting my blog!!! I have recently started Facebook. Wow! I can't believe how much fun I've been having! It's crazy how many people I've caught up with. I am seriously spending WAY too much time on the computer! Steve even asked me if I've been looking at porn! Ha Ha! Now I just have to convince him to get started on FB. The only problem is that we only have 1 computer and I don't want to have to compete to use it!

Well, the big news of the week is... NO MORE BINKI!!!!! YEAH! The weirdest thing happened. The Binki Man came to our house and took all the binki's. Then he gave them away to all the little baby's who needed them. Blake had no idea that this man existed and I'm pretty sure that he would like to punch him out, but he's learning how to go to sleep without his binki! He's been pretty edgy and not napping well, but all in all he's doing great! We're on day 3 and I haven't caved yet! Now I just wish the Potty Training Man would come and take care of that issue!