Idaho Hills

Halloween

2011-11-06T20:26:00.000-08:00

Pilot Zombie and Army Guy

Trick-or-Treating with Mom and JA

Funny Boys

2011-11-03T15:27:00.000-07:00

Me: singing
Porter: Mom, stop singing!
Me: I don't want to stop- I like singing.
Seth: Mom has power.

Seth: Mom, it's 8:08!
Porter: You ate all the eggs?!

Busy Boys

2011-03-04T01:28:00.000-08:00

Porter is an early riser. The other day, Vance got up with him and let me sleep. I woke up to Porter, his little face about an inch from mine, telling me that he had made a mayonnaise, potato chip and cottage cheese sandwich.

(note the side of pudding and the measuring spoons used for the cottage cheese)

So independent.

He also has an aversion to clothing and enjoys climbing as high as possible. (When Vance saw this pic, he made some sacrilegious comment about Moroni)

The other day, Seth saw a show about sun spots and space storms and was convinced that we would have to leave the earth in 2012. Luckily, Vance helped resolve his concern before bedtime, or Seth might never have slept! Love that crazy boy and his missing tooth.

2011-01-15T20:36:00.000-08:00

This is a little "snow family" Seth made on our front porch.

About 99% of the pictures I have of Porter over the last year are of the back of his head. Here is a rare shot of him sitting still.

This was at a BSU football game. It was FREEZING, but we had a blast. (Seth made that sign himself)

I love the zoom on my camera.

My cutie boys all ready for church.

2010-07-12T09:11:00.000-07:00

Hi Kiz

2010-03-04T10:36:00.001-08:00

This is what I was telling you about. It is in my little front entry. I'm planning on refinishing the desk, but I haven't decided what color (I got it at a yard sale last summer). This is how it looks for now...

Seth after an incident involving Porter, a large rock and a trip to the ER (and two staples in his head).

Porter putting Vance to bed (in his crib).

I tried to get a good pic, but Porter isn't exactly cooperative these days. His hair had gotten really long and it tends to stick up, so it was plastered down for church, and it looked so cute with a bowtie, like a little nerd! And how cute is Sethie in the background?!

A little project...

2009-09-15T08:22:00.000-07:00

I took an old picture frame and painted it red, then added some 12x12 cork tiles, a metal tile that I covered with some scrapping paper and a clear plastic overlay with a calendar template that I put over some scrapping paper (that I will change out periodically). I also want to add a tile of whiteboard- they were all out. I added some fun push pins and made some cool magnets. I hope this will help keep me organized.

Dare-devil

2009-09-07T11:49:00.000-07:00

I'm OLD!

2009-09-07T11:37:00.001-07:00

I had a wonderful Birthday, planned and coordinated by Seth. These are the flowers Vance sent me- gorgeous. For breakfast we had green pancakes (green is my favorite color- it's also what we have on St. Patrick's Day- I'm pretty sure that's where he got the idea). Then we went to the YMCA to swim. They have a huge water slide, which we went on at least a million times, a lazy river and a splash area. They also have a rock wall which Seth scaled impressively (photo to come- it's on Vance's phone). Then we went out for Pizza and home for cake and ice cream. All-in-all a fun-packed day.

"Shakayo"

2009-09-07T11:32:00.001-07:00

That's how Porky says "Chapparal", which is the name of Seth's school. Seth wanted to take Porter and show him the playground, so we went one Saturday. Here they are on one of the slides. Seth was so funny- he took Porter around and showed him every piece of equipment. He's such a great big brother.

Back to School

2009-09-07T11:11:00.000-07:00

Sethy is a first-grader!

First day of school

We are on year-round school here, so Seth has been back for a few weeks now. I think recess is his favorite again this year- he loves the monkey bars and has blisters and calluses and blisters on calluses to prove it! His best friend Gus is in a different class, but they meet up in PE and sometimes at recess. It has been a big transition to full-day school- for him and for me, but I think we're getting the hang of it. Porter sure misses having someone to play with all day (I miss that, too!)

A visit from Grandma

2009-09-07T11:05:00.000-07:00

We got to see Grandma Lee for a day on her trip "out West". We had lunch in the park and fed the geese. (Sorry about the poor quality, I
desperately need a new camera.)

July

2009-08-05T12:39:00.001-07:00

Here's a quick peek at what we've been up to this month. Keeping busy!

Several trips to several parks-
We went to feed the geese at Julia Davis Park in Boise, and the geese were a little aggressive. Porter now says, "Goose. Hand. Owie." And sometimes he throws in a "Bite." whenever he remembers the trip.

S'mores, and do I detect a little attitude?!

Ready for Church. This was his first Sunday after his Birthday. He was very excited to have them sing to him in Primary.

Nothing like ice cream in the 100+ weather we've been having!

They took turns trying on the hat and sunglasses Vance got to take on his raft trip with the scouts. (He had a great time, by the way, and we missed him like crazy. Glad he made it home safe.)

And a quick visit from Rachel and the girls-

(Settlers Park in Meridian)

Sethy's (belated) Birthday- He's 6!

2009-07-24T09:17:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's already been SIX years!

Seth's Birthday is on the 4th of July, so it's a pretty big day. Here's his Birthday french toast. (Porter learned to say "Happy Doetday" just for the occasion)

He opened presents randomly throughout the whole day- for a couple of days, actually!

The last couple of years he has chosen pineapple upside-down cake, I think because he likes to help make it. He's such a great helper in the kitchen.

He spent most of the day helping Vance change out the motor in his Harley, he got sooo dirty. What great kid! He loves making goofy faces-

Then of course we lit fireworks, but the pictures all came out dark and blurry. Now Porter is obsessed with "wiowopes". All-in-all a pretty fun day. I sure do love you, Sethy!

Bowling with the McEntires

2009-07-21T10:34:00.000-07:00

Seth wanted to go bowling with his buddy Gus for his Birthday. We all had a great time. The pics are pretty blurry, and everyone was having too much fun to stop and pose, but here's the report.

Riggins, Idaho

2009-07-09T10:11:00.000-07:00

Vance is going on a high adventure raft trip with the scouts this summer, and he had some training in Riggins last week, so we all tagged along. The Salmon River is famous for its whitewater rafting, and it was a fun change of scenery. While Vance was in training (rafting on the river- poor guy), we went to visit the Rapid River fish hatchery, and on the way out the door Seth said, "When we're done hatchering we're going swimming."

We saw some little fish...(over two million in this pond)

and some big fish...(There were 972! Chinook Salmon between two- and three-feet long in this pool the day we were there)

and even a big "fish slide"

After the fish hatchery (which was extremely interesting, but I'll spare you the Salmon 101) we had a picnic at a park by the river, then hiked down and threw in some rocks, a favorite family pastime.
Sorry about Porter's mouth-full, he wasn't exactly cooperating, still very cute.

Seth looks so grown-up in this one:

Then we went swimming- Seth has become quite the little fish- I swam with him for, I don't know, maybe two hours. Then Vance got back from training and Seth convinced him to go for a couple more hours. Porter didn't complain either.

Then more hiking by the river with Vance. We even got to see where he got dumped out of the kayak- nothing like whitewater in a life vest- wish I had pictures of that!

Swimming Lessons

2009-07-09T10:01:00.000-07:00

This is the first year we've put Seth in swimming lessons, and he LOVES it! He has already learned how to jump in by himself and go right to floating on his back. He just started his second session, and I think we'll do one more this summer. Vance is a member at the Idaho Athletic Club, so that's where we go. We've had a lot of rain so far this summer, so I've been glad that it's an indoor pool, also, I don't have to worry about him getting a sunburn.

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-23T21:22:00.001-07:00

This is what Vance got for Father's Day-

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

We sure do love you!!!

The Tricycle

2009-06-23T21:08:00.001-07:00

When we were in Malad, Aunt Tricia gave us a John Deere tricycle and I can't get the boys off of it- all they want to do is go out front and give each other rides. It's too funny to watch them- thanks Tricia!

Meridian Speedway

2009-06-23T20:50:00.001-07:00

I forgot to post when we went to the sprint car races. It was pretty fun, but I think the blue cotton candy was as big a hit as the cars. Do you like their summer haircuts?

Family Camp-out

2009-06-23T09:37:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went camping with Vance's family. It rained a lot of the time, and we didn't get many pictures, but the boys had a great time. Seth even caught his first fish! He stuck it out in the rain for about two hours- what a trooper. He told everyone that the first fish they hooked got away because Vance got too excited (Vance admits that this is true) and of course it was a lot bigger than the one they ended up catching (which may or may not be true).

Porter in the tent

Hiking near the river. Actually, Seth rode his bike up the mountain, which is why he has his helmet on in all the pictures. They loved the waterfalls, and they even saw two moose (but didn't get any pictures of them).

Last Day of School!

2009-06-14T22:23:00.000-07:00

They had a little kindergarten graduation- here are a few pics of the celebration. It was really cute-they even sang for us. I think that Mrs. Atkinson has been quite a trooper this year. It was her first year teaching kindergarten. These kids had a lot of energy and imagination and she always kept her cool.

Thank you so much Mrs. Atkinson!

My friend Tamera watched Porter for me every week so I could volunteer in Sethie's class- it was so great to be able to be a little bit involved in his schooling. Big thanks to you, Tamera.
Seth had been dying to ride his bike to school, so I told him that he could on the last day. Vance had taken the morning off, so we all rode our bikes.

Father and Son's Outing

2009-06-14T20:51:00.000-07:00

Vance and Seth went this year, and they had a great time. It was at the hot springs campground in Garden Valley. They hiked the mountain at least four times and out-stayed everyone. When they unpacked the tent it was moldy, so they had to rough it with a tarp-tent. Seth said they were "expert campers" and I don't doubt it- he has a great teacher.

T-ball

2009-06-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

Seth played t-ball this year, and I think he was a little bored, but he stuck with it. He did a great job. Here's an action shot and his team pic.

Isn't he just too cute?

Porky's 2!

2009-06-08T19:28:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe it's already been two years!

We took a spontaneous trip to Chuck E Cheese and had a great time. This is one of the few pictures where I actually got a shot of his face- he was very busy- I got a lot of shots of the top of his head.

Seth made sure he got Porter an Elmo balloon- Porter's very into Elmo right now. They played with it for a week.
We had presents and cake and ice cream- overall a pretty good day I think. We sure do love our Porky Baby.

More Easter

2009-06-03T23:34:00.001-07:00

We had an Easter egg hunt in the back yard:

Seth wanted his Easter eggs to dry faster, so he used his bubble-blower!

Eating the Easter eggs-

Easter

2009-06-03T23:17:00.000-07:00

Our great friends the Barksdales invited us to a cookout/Easter egg hunt- we had such a great time. Thanks so much!

Vance's Birthday

2009-06-03T23:08:00.001-07:00

Seth insisted on having all 38 candles, and I don't know how many times they re-lit them and helped blow them out. Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Bruneau Sand Dunes

2009-06-03T22:57:00.001-07:00

Over spring break we went to the sand dunes with some friends. We had a blast climbing and sliding and getting very dirty.

Valentine's Day

2009-06-03T22:50:00.001-07:00

Valentine Cookies

Quick photo update...

2009-06-03T22:23:00.000-07:00

I've been such a slacker. I'll do a little catching up, then I vow to do better!

Porter is naughty-

Fixing the Harley

I think I did cry over spilled milk!

Sitting in the bathroom sink with mascara all over his nose.

2009-01-09T18:18:00.000-08:00

I'm sure some of you may be jealous, but we don't have

much snow here. We went to Malad for New Years, and

Seth got to build a long-awaited snowman

A quilt from Grandma Hill...

Guess where we found Porker-

2009-01-09T17:49:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Introducing...Rufus

2008-12-27T22:56:00.000-08:00

2008-12-27T22:00:00.000-08:00

"Movin' cattle" with Uncle Danny and Grampa Hill

2008-12-27T21:57:00.000-08:00

2008-12-27T21:47:00.000-08:00

Seth and Gus

2008-12-27T21:28:00.000-08:00

I don't want to "air my dirty pantry to the world", but did I mention he's a climber?! And, yes, I have cleaned my pantry since.

In a nutshell

2008-12-27T21:11:00.000-08:00

We have had a wonderful year! We are looking forward to the new year, in which I plan on keeping a blog. But to sum up a little... We live in Meridian, Idaho (near Boise) and we have two beautiful, albeit rambunctious boys. Seth turned five and started kindergarten this year. He says he's bored but likes PE and recess. He asked for a pogo stick for Christmas. He loves waterslides and his best friend, Gus. Porter is 20 months old and has been a climber from the get-go. He could climb up way before he learned to climb down. He enjoys wrestling his brother and tormenting the family pets, or tormenting his brother and wrestling the family pets. Vance and I are just holding on for dear life.

A year later...

2008-12-27T21:05:00.000-08:00

As I signed on, I noticed that I've been a member since November 2007. It is now December 2008, and to date I have posted one picture- that's it. So.....here goes. I feel a little obligated since I'm the one who requested that everyone send their blog address for the Burnham Directory. Lisa was the only one who caught that I didn't post one myself.