Family Picture

Have you ever felt that no matter the angle, you always have a double chin? Lauren and Morgan were gracious enough to drive out to Bulldog and take our family picture. We decided to take tug, since he is obviously part of the family. Hope you like the belly!

Time for Thanksgiving.

We had a great Thanksgiving, just like any other family had. We made it to both houses this year, Tucson and here in the Valley. Matt drove me to school at 6:30 AM on Wed morning to pick me up and head straight down to Tucson. I usually make the drive and I get motion sick very easily and Matt likes to enjoy the ride. After a detour of I-10 gone wrong, 3 huge accidents, at least 10 photo radar police vans, and about 50 "snowbird" drivers, we pulled into my families driveway just in time to see the pit being closed up.

FYI - my family smokes our turkeys every year in a pit underground that is dug out and lined with fire brick. You have never tasted anything so delicious than a hot turkey right out from the pit. This year my dad got off easy with only 34 turkeys, 70 lbs. of pork and a big pot of beans! We didn't even stay 24 hrs., but it was sure nice to see my family. You never realize how much you love your family until you are away from them.

After we opened the pit up and d-boned our turkey, thanks babe, we made the trek back up to the Valley just in time to eat with Matt's family. What a feast and great company.

Bows and more bows

Since we are having a little girl, I guess I better take my sewing machine out of the box and get to work. Lauren and I took a bow class last night at Ribbons and Lace and here is what the results were. Not too bad I think for a first attempt!



I am for hire.

Matts Birthday

Monday was Matt's 27 birthday!! Happy birthday my love!! I don't remember the day you were born, the day you got your drivers license, the day you left on your mission, or the day you returned - but, I do remember the day I feel in love with you, the day we took made our marriage covenants and the day we found out we were going to bring a sweet baby girl into this world.

I can't imgaine all the wonderful memories we are going to make together over the next many decades, but I look forward to them.

His special day started off with some nesteggs for breakfast, followed by the opening of presents. I got him a new pair of vonzipper sunglasses, an offroad dvd, some shorts and some whipped honey. I am pretty sure I took care of all the necessities a man needs in his life. I made chicken rolls for dinner and then we had people over for cake and ice cream. It was a great night to celebrate the birthday of one of the greatest men I have ever known.

I love you babe.

It was also Eda's birthday last Saturday, so on Sunday we had cake and ice cream at the in-laws.

The yota at it's best

Matt and Brett took the Yota out for a jaunder the other day. They have so much fun and it is a huge stress reliever for them. I don't know what is more fun for them, romping it for a few hours, or spending the next few weeks fixing it back up. Matt always tells me that he is not enjoying the endless hours at his parents' house tinkering with his car, but deep down I know better. I love seeing him enjoy this so much.

One day, you will see Matt in the Baja 1000, racing away in his prerunner truck. Probably with our little girl as his copilot!

Volleyball is over...

I feel like I have been coaching non-stop for 4 years since I started teaching high school. Once vball season is over, it's soccer, then softball, then club volleyball, then summer conditioning for vball...it never ends!

This season was especially hard for me. One being pregnant, I had a hard time putting in a 12-14 hour day. Coaching after you have been teaching special ed math all day is draining. Nonetheless, I loved coaching. I love how much fun the girls have, how much fun I have seeing them play well, and you know - the stuff coaches like. However, I had to deal with more parent drama than I ever have before in my life. I got emails from parents who daughters were starting, whose daughters weren't starting, daughters who were getting too much playing time and not enough playing time. I felt like I could never win.

Needless to say, it is bittersweet that the season is over. I enjoying coming home right after school now to hang out with Matt, shop for our new anticipated arrival, and taking naps. I know that is going to end shortly. Matt and I decided that I would not coach club vball this year and to be honest, it is a relief to know that I get to spend the evenings and weekends however I please. Here is to taking some time off!!!

Halloween!

We had a great Halloween, we drove to show low! I only threw up once, which is good for me! We kind of celebrated it the Friday before. Garrett, Kathryn, Matt and I went to a cute pumpkin patch and got our pumpkins. I really like the white ones. We went back, carved them and had some great tortilla soup that Kathryn made.

The final products are below.

The count is in...

We went for our Ultrasound last week. Not going to lie, the experience was not as great as I thought it was going to be. The tech did not turn the monitor so I could see. So, there I was, the mom of the little baby growing inside me, and I didn't even get to see the dang monitor. Oh well, the baby is safe, growing, VERY ACTIVE, healthy and a..... Little GIRL!!!!

Matt and I could not be more thrilled. The dr. called on Friday and wants us to come back in for another ultrasound. She said since the baby was so active, they did not get a great look at the heart. She reassured us nothing was wrong, so here we go again. Hopefully, I will get to see the little princess this time!

The yearly stake BBQ!!

One of my favorite times to go to Tucson is in October for the stake BBQ. It is absolutely wonderful. My dad does the meat, of course, and the stake gathers together at the church ballpark to party hard. Not only is the meat great, but the desserts are just as good. As soon as we eat, we always hit the dessert table on our way back to get all the good ones! The ballpark has changed into a very nice gathering spot, with lots of tables, green grass and a sandpit. There were about 1,500+ people there. My dad cooked roughly 1,000 lbs. of pork and beef, and three huge pots of beans. It was a feast.

After the BBQ, Matt, my mom and I went to the UofA football game. That was great fun too. We stayed for the first half, and watched the second half from home. Wish we would have stayed for the whole game! Bear down Cats, it was awesome to see them play well and pull out the big W!

It was so nice to go to Tucson to see my wonderful family. You never really realize how wonderful it is to have a great family until you are away from them. I love my family to death. I especially love my mom and dad, my sisters too. It is a double plus to have such great sister-in-laws also. I never realized how blessed I would have been to have great sisters-in-law and to be married to a wonderful man with sisters. Even though they are my sisters, it doesn't replace the homesickness I feel for my family and sisters.

Glad we went home for the weekend!!

Pictures from the BBQ.

Pictures from the game.

What to do when none of your clothes fit?

HAVE A BABY!!!! I know most of you already know, but Matt and I are pregnant!! Yay!!!! We are due March 27, and could not be more thrilled. I am almost 17 weeks now and am ready to go. Finally over most of the sick stage, I am feeling great, but less than thrilled that none of my clothes fit. I guess the happy newley wed weight didn't help either!!



Take a guess at to what the sex will be? To be announced October 27!

Where have we been...

I know, I know. It has been so long since I have updated our blog, people have probably stopped looking at it. Well, now it is time to get back and take a look to what we have been up to.

I am back in school, teaching resource math. They have blocked blogging from our computers at school, so I basically have had no time to update. Coaching volleyball, being pregnant and all the other things you do just take up too much time.

Matt trained for a mountain bike race with his brothers and brother - in - law up in Payson. They would go riding ever so often during the week. The race was a 12 hour race with 15 mile loops. Your team had to do as many loops as possible during that 12 hour period. There was a 24 hr race, but our boys decided to only do the 12 hr for their first time. It was great. We all went up, and had a great time. The boys got first in their division. We won't tell you that there were only 2 teams! YAY for Matt!!

Finally caught up

Matt and I went camping this weekend with Garrett, Kathryn, Morgan, Lauren and TUG! We have wanted to get all of our camping gear, so that we could just get it and go. With Matt going to Scout camp, and me going to Girls camp we have finally purchased all of our camping equipment and have it all stored in a tote, or two or three! We have always wanted to take Tug too, so he made the trip. We threw his kennel on the top of the truck and off we went. We went up to Beark Canyon lake. It was awesome. We got there at about 8 pm on Friday. It was so busy there, most of the camping sites were full. We finally found a place, set up and were ready to party by 9. We made foil dinners and they were b-e-a-utiful. So good to the stomach. We also make peach cobbler, just like we did at Lake Powell.

Garrett and Kathryn didn't join us until about 1, but we are still glad they came. We finally got to test out our new tent that we got as a wedding gift from my Uncle Roger and Aunt Kathy. It worked great. It especially was nice when the pack of wolves decided they were hungry and were going to let everyone know it. They definetely made tug growl. Tug was so good the whole trip. We thought he was going to be everyone, in all the other campers sites, and just a bad dog. Besides peeing on almost everything Morgan and Lauren owned, and peeing on some random man's fishing bag, he was a saint. He will always make the trips from now on!



On Saturday morning, Morgan went fishing and we all went down to watch him. Morgan then dared Matt to swim across the lake, which no one was swimming in. Matt and Garrett jumped in and started the trek across the lake. About half way there, they seemed to be getting tired. You knew they were when they both went on their back and did the rest of the way doing the back stroke. It was really funny. By the time they got back, they both could barely breathe and were so cold from the water. At least we got a free tank of gas out of it - or half a tank. Way to take one for the team babe! It was a really fun trip, hopefully with more to come.

Our first night away :(

Matt went on Scout Camp two weeks ago. It was the first time we have been apart since we have been married. He got up early in the morning, said goodbye and walked out the door. I followed him to see him talking to our next door neighbor, who also was leaving for a priest camping trip. It was too hot for me to wait in the garage, so I came back inside to go to bed - thinking Matt would come in one last time to say bye. BUT, I heard his truck start and I ran outside just to see him turn the corner. I could not help myself, but burst into tears. I called him to tell him that he left without saying goodbye. He reminded me he had already said goodbye. Needless to say, I was being ridiculous. Matt came home though, and said goodbye once more! Sweet, sweet man!

It must be fun camping and playing whiffle ball (I don't know if that is how you spell it) with a bunch of deacons!

My favorite dessert!

This is my absolute favorite thing to make for dessert. It is a fruit trifle, not to be confused with the meat trifle on friends! It is so good, and somewhat healthy since it has lots of fresh fruit.

Lots and Lots to report...

Ok, so I know we have not blogged in a long time. Since I am on my summer vacation from teaching, I don't get on the computer that often. ALL my blogging so done at school. Interesting that all my blogs are while I am teaching. Anyways, here goes the month of July so far. We went down to Tucson for the fourth of July. It was really fun. We went up to our cabin on Mt. Lemon and watched the morning parade. The weather was wonderful. We watched fireworks with the family that night at the Tucson Country Club. We somehow managed our way onto the 9th hole (I think) fairway, which happened to be really close to the fireworks. I love going to see my family and always have such a good time when we do.






My goofy husband - got to love him!

Memorial Day Weekend

This Memorial weekend was really fun, as usual. On Saturday night we went out to dinner with all of Matt's friends. I have never really hung out with them before, so it was really nice. They all have kids and are leading their own lives, so it gets hard to meet up. Well, Jason and Annie were in town, so we all met up at Texas Roadhouse for dinner. They need to come into town more often so we all can get together. I don't have a picture of the night, I will post it as soon as Annie posts it on her blog.

After dinner we headed up to ShowLow, our home away from home. It was FREEZING! There was snow on the ground and a nasty wind. Nonetheless, really fun. On Sunday, we played hooky from church and drove up to Greer. What a beautiful place. Our little drive turned into a photo shoot! It was fun. We stopped about 3-4 times and just walked around and enjoyed the beautiful, cold weather. A nice change from the valley. We then we back, had dinner with the Lewis's and off to bed. Not before one round of Rumikub though!

We left Monday mid morning to try and beat all the traffic - we did! Monday night we went over to the in-laws for a BBQ. Fun! There was a slip-n-slide for the kiddos and lots of food for everyone! You could have not asked for more perfect weather that evening!

All in all, another wonderful weekend being Mrs. Porter and being married to the love of my life!

Enjoy the funny pictures!!







I am so lucky to have this man in my life!

Indiana Jones = LAME!!!

Ok, I am not going to spoil the movie for anyone, but I was sooo disappointed in the new Indiana Jones movie. Probably not as disappointed as Matt though. We got tickets early, and went with Brett and Emily! It was going to be a great night. I should have known better. It all started off when I straightened my hair and then it started to rain! Crappy point #1. Then, as we ran into the movies, my jeans got soaked from the puddles. Crappy point #2. The movie, crappy point 3-10! Those of you who have or will see it will know what I mean. Anyways, it was a great night for Matt to wear his hot cowboy hat out again! I just love him in that hat!

Cats!

Matt and I decided we needed a weekend away to have some fun together, like we don't already have enough fun! I always remember going to see Broadway plays as a child and even into my adult years. Cats came to Tucson, so Matt and I decided to buy tickets and go. We had great seats, at least I thought we had great seats! We drove down to T-Town last Friday night and met Chris and Aubry for dinner at Anthony's. Talk about a nice restaurant. This was the type of place where you always feel under dressed, not matter what you are wearing. We got there first, and I decided to go and freshen up in the ladies room. Most awesome bathroom ever! They had real, soft towels! We are talking throw in a washing machine and bleach towels! They were folded all nice and neat. They had a cute little basket for your tissues, not a trash can. The soap was an actual nice dispenser, probably imported from Italy or somewhere! Great experience to start the night! As I was walking back to my table, a man wearing a suit followed me. I felt like weaving in and out of the tables like on, "As Good As It Gets" to see if he would follow me. He followed me to the table and pushed my chair in. Then, we ordered. We ordered a Cesear salad to start off. A guy came with a cart and made the salad right there. I mean, he chopped up the anchovies, and made the dressing. It was great to watch him toss that salad like he had gone to special salad tossing school! Anyways, to make a long story longer - it was a very nice restaurant and the food was awesome. The play was great too! Matt enjoyed it, I hope! Great date with the bro and his beautiful wife!







PS... I hope I am not the only person in the world that has gotten the newly married 15 lbs diet going on! We are working on that! Ha!!

More Pictures!

Show Low

This past weekend, Matt and I, Matt's parents and grandma took a get-a-way to The Lewis Lounge. It was fantastic. We did what we usually do there, eat, take a long nap, play some fun games and hang out - great weekend!

It was Annie's birthday so we went out to eat on Friday night and saw their whole ward there, pratically anyways! We went and did a session at the Snowflake temple EARLY saturday morning. We are talking 7:00 session here people. Anyone who gets up at 5:30 am on a Saturday deserves some serious blessings! It was amazing and fun to be there. I have never been inside that temple and it is breathtaking, really!

We then went to Lowes and got some flowers to plant for Annie's bday tradition. I must admit that I did a great job with my whiskey barrel. After a two hour nap, I was ready to eat! I think the only times I moved from the couch Sat. afternoon was to get a thirstbuster from circle K or to eat!

Thanks Trever, Annie and cute boys for a wonderful weekend!

I have more pictures to post, but yet once again the work computer is being a little on the snooty side and won't let me. So...to be continued...

INDIANA MATT --- So hot right now!

Indiana Matt

There is no better way to spend a Spring Holiday, a Friday off from work, than to go to the Pima County Fair. I grew up going to the fair, walking around the exhibits, feeding the animals, riding the rides, and eating until we were full and then some. It's wonderful. Matt took the day off since I had the day off, and to Tucson we head. I got my hair done in the early afternoon, and then we met the family for a night of chaos. 3 strollers, 6 cars and about 22 people later, we were at the fair grounds. First stop, Piggly Wiggley's for some onion rings, a footlong corndog, a funnel cake and a fried twinkie! Sounds like a receipe for massive heartburn, right? That was only the beginning!! After we all ate, we stopped to see the white lion who was just sitting there, boring. Next stop, the Clydesdales. You know you are at the fair when the Clydesdales have their own area of the fair grounds to show off their massive bodies, massive feet and Budwiser aroma. After taking some pictures we were off to the barn, where we saw goats, sheet and babies. We also saw the act of making babies between two goats, don't they know people are watching. Good thing my nephews were drawn to the baby goats sucking on their fingers, they didn't notice the other "event" going on! Now, finally, we can go on some rides. Matt and I went on a ferris wheel, one that was way too high for my liking. Matt decided he wanted me to have a heart attack, so he was swaying the seat back and forth, I about lost my corndog! We got some ice cream on a stick and then were off to the big slide. I went down with Parker and Matt and Jared had a race, Matt won! Only because he took off before Jarred did - nice job sweetie! The event ended with a nice diet coke and watching Matt and Jarred go on a roller coaster. I love being with my family, and seeing all of our little families grow! I especially love going to the fair, seeing all the interesting people, eating all the food that the next day does undescribable things to your stomach, and coming home only to jump into the shower. Thanks for a great weekend mom and dad. We hope everyone else enjoyed their "Spring Holiday" as much as we did! Oh, by the way, Matt got a sweet cowboy hat - I think he looks sooo HOT in it! When my school computer isn't being dumb, I will post some more pictures of his new, way hot hat!