And....done!

It finally happened.

I got a message saying that I filled up all the storage space on this blog for pictures.  So, I can pay for more storage space or start a new blog.  Here's my new blog address:

slporter05.blogspot.com

It's not private right now.  Might be in the future....not sure right now.  We'll see how things go.  

Come visit me at my new blog!  And if you have a private blog, please send me a new invite to porterloretta05 (at) gmail (dot) com.  Thanks!

New car!

I know I'm still a couple of weeks behind on blogging, but I'm going to skip ahead and tell you that, guess what, we got a new-to-us car yesterday!  We've been shopping around for a while and finally decided that if we're going to get rid of our trusty Honda, it better be for a bigger car that will hold all of us with extra room.

That's right - I'm officially a soccer minivan driving mom!

After going to several dealerships (since we wanted to trade in our Honda), we were finally able to buy one for the price that we wanted that wasn't 20 years old.  I'm pretty sure that the manager hated Shane by the end of our FOUR hours there....Shane's really, really good at negotiating.  Anyway, the kids were so excited to say goodbye to the Honda and try out the minivan.

Kaden and Lexi are in the back (with a seat between them, so we're hoping that will lessen the fighting on longer trips) and Ari is in the middle so that we can reach her easier.  So, yeah.  It's a 2005 Saturn Relay with 87k miles.  We got the carfax report that the previous owners were the first owners and they took such good care of it.  It was a little bit bittersweet for me - getting rid of the Honda.  We got it a week before Kaden was born in 2007 and it's the first car Shane and I ever bought together.  *sniff*  But I'm glad to have a car with so much more room now.

The best part?

Shane said, "I am NOT driving a minivan to work!"

Which means that within the next week we're going to buy a beater car for him to get to and from work in.  After seven very long years of being stuck at home all day every day, we're going to have TWO cars!!!

Ice skating (a.k.a.: torture for parents)

Kaden has been begging for months to go ice skating, so I decided Saturday (the 7th) would be perfect for his first time since it was FREE!  I'm so, so, SO glad that I didn't pay for this, since it was my worst nightmare.

It started out well enough, besides the fact that the ice rink was low on skates, so Lexi was wearing skates three sizes two big and there were none for Ari.

Just happy to be out of the house.

By the time we got the kids all laced up, they kicked everyone off the ice and had the Zamboni come out.  Kaden and Lexi loved watching it pour "new ice" on.

Then, finally, finally, it was time to get on the ice!  I took lessons as a kid, so this was a big moment for me to see them ice skate.

They did awesome...

 They were both glued to the wall (understandably), but since Shane had to stay on the sidelines with Ari, I didn't have enough hands to help them both.  I took Kaden to sit with Shane and decided we'd take turns taking them on the ice.  Shane apparently misunderstood and took Kaden's skates off and returned them, so this above picture was all the ice time Kaden got.  :(  While Shane was with the other kids, I took Lexi back on the ice.  

Biggest mistake EVER.

She wouldn't listen to my coaching and literally just HUNG THERE with her feet as wide apart as humanly possible.  I had to try to skate while carrying 35 lbs AND her skates kept running into mine and tripping me up, so I had to try to NOT fall on top of her (I didn't!).  It was SO exhausting.  I was only able to do one lap and then was just done.  Shane wanted a turn on the ice before we left, so he took off while I watched the kids.

 

Ari did this THE. WHOLE. TIME.

It was during Ari's naptime, so she screamed the whole time (especially since she couldn't skate and she really wanted to).  All in all, it was the worst experience I've ever had on an outing with the kids.  I want to take Kaden back, just the two of us, so he can get some real skating time in.  I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

Fireworks

Our friends invited us over to their house to watch them blow stuff up for fun.

Kanyon, Lexi, and Kaden

Wow... (sarcasm: the box said that these were much bigger than this)

The gang

Ari stood and cheered after every single firework.  :)

Cute Kallie

Lexi and Kallie doing her pirate smile.

Cutie patootie

Kaden and Kanyon

Jess, Graysen, and Jess's niece whose name I can't remember

Lovebirds

A little bigger...

I have a very large fear of sparklers ever since I was burnt as a kid (probably around 6 or 7 years old) and refuse to touch them.  Since I do the shopping for our fireworks, my kids have never even seen sparklers.  This was their first time...

Kanyon showed them how it's done.

Kim helping Kanyon NOT set her hair on fire.

Lexi was, of course, raring to go.

Ari was eager, too, but Shane had to hold her other hand back because she kept trying to grab the flame.

Jess helping Graysen.

I was surprised that Kaden was really wanting to try the sparklers, too.  I didn't press him AT ALL, but he chose to all on his own.  He was a little nervous, but loved it by the end.

It was a really fun night and, BONUS, no one got burnt!

(I kept a very safe distance and used my zoom on the camera a lot.)

More randomness

I'm not 100% sure that "randomness" is a word, but we'll pretend.

Just some super cute pictures of my kids 'cause they're so stinkin' cute.

I can't imagine my life without any of these little munchkins.  Love them to pieces!

Independence Day!

We had a really, really fun 4th, so I'll just get it started with the pictures!

We started out at our ward's pancake breakfast.

This cute group of kids sang songs for us.

We left the breakfast a little early so that we could hopefully find a spot to watch the Kaysville parade.  It didn't work - that place was PACKED!  We finally found a kind of spot behind some other chairs and called it good.  Then we had some time to kill before the parade started.

 

Lexi stole my sunglasses.

Kaden was "hiding" and was convinced that I couldn't see him.  HAHAHA  He was just sitting behind that chair giggling so hard about how clever he is.

Ari was teasing daddy.

Shane was blowing on her forehead and she LOVED it.  She kept putting her head back on his mouth for more.

Cheese!

He picked out his own 4th of July shirt.  The red guitar sold him.

He's growing up way, way too fast for me.

Cute kids!

Shane taught Ari how to bowl on his smartphone.  She LOVES it!

 After a while, my sister, Suzanna, showed up with her two kids, and then Kelly and her family, and then Jessica and her family.  :)

Almost all the kiddos.

Killing some more time with the popper things.

Where's the candy?!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Kelly for letting us steal your umbrella!!  It was a lifesaver!

 Seriously, people, it was so, so hot that day.

Kaden loved the "toy" trombones.  His grandma plays the trombone, so he knows that's not how "real" trombones look and now he's asking for a toy trombone for his birthday.  ;)  Ya hear that, Mom?

Lexi waving to the princesses (beauty pageant winners).

Sam made some comment and this is Jess's upset face.  She looks ferocious, doesn't she?  ;)

Cute little family!

 Instead of staying after the parade for the fair booths and stuff, we decided to go to RC Willey.  They had free pie and ice cream.  I'm really glad we didn't stay because my kids were all so sick from the heat they probably would have ended up in the hospital (no joke) if we'd been out in the sun for much longer.  Jess and Sam joined us at RC Willey and then everyone went home to nap!  After naps, it was time for fireworks!  We went with Kim and her family to the Layton ones.  My friend, Kelly, is a GENIUS and said that Macey's has a pack of 50 glow sticks for $3, so Kim and I both bought one.  They were PERFECT to keep the kids entertained!

Kevin, Kallie, and Kim

I just love how Ari is cheesing it in this one.  She always knows where the camera is and when it's on.

All the kids

Us

 I told Shane to smile with his teeth after I saw that last pic, and this is what he did:

Cute

 I prefer the first picture, thankyouverymuch.

Kaden and Kanyon cuddling during fireworks.

Right in the middle of the fireworks show, Lexi started puking ALL OVER.  When that girl throws up (and it happens a lot), she gets everything out that she's eaten in the last month.  Luckily it was on the grass.  On the way home we had her hold an empty sippy cup, which was good because she threw up again.  Heat exhaustion AGAIN.  Ari was sick the next morning (unfortunately, she doesn't tell us ahead of time, so it's a lot harder to get it in the bucket every time).  :(  But they were both better by the evening and ready to eat their weight in anything and everything they laid their eyes on.  :)