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'Tis the season to be jolly

2010-01-10T21:31:00Z

December, 2009

The holidays have come and gone. The season was such a whirlwind that we didn't have a breather to update the blog. So, here in one swoop, is December 2009 for the Porterpeople.

Above: Julia models a hat I made for her. No, I won't make you one. That pattern was a major pain.

Above: Newsflash! Emma is now old enough to babysit and this opens up a whole new world of date possibilities for us. Most excellent.

Above: Julia and I went to the Idaho Botanical Gardens on an extremely cold night (6 degrees) with our friends G&J. Despite trying to dress appropriately, we still froze. On the plus side, there were no crowds.

Above: Over at Dave and Sue's house for Mike's birthday party. This photo is unremarkable, except for the fact that it caught the exact moment Tucker's tail tipped over Julia's glass.

Above: Sue and me enjoying really pretty martinis after a theater performance.

Above: Cousins Julia and Ian on Christmas Eve at Nanny and Poppa's house in Salt Lake City.

Above: Julia helping Nanny bake her famous sweet rolls. I would like to point out that I was totally ooo-ing over Nanny's Kitchenaid mixer...and Santa brought me one the next day! He's psychic.

Above: Oblivious-to-the-humor Julia models Poppa's funny apron--"Practice safe cooking. Use a condiment." I don't know why, but I find that very funny.

Above: Travis (in a really really trendsetting hat) and Julia go sledding in Sugarhouse Park.

Above: Nanny and Ian.

Above: Stacie and I make some sugar cookies.

Above: the fruits of our labor. I want one now.

Above: Me and my favorite sister in law (named Stacie).

Above: Julia and one of her most favorite presents. Thanks, ABES!

Above: Ian opens a present. That hair...those PJs...oh my goodness, what a doll.

Above: I love me my new coffee press. It's AWESOME.

Above: Julia and Ian's note to Santa. I love the naughty (no...)/nice (check!) for Julia, and then the ambiguous naughty/medium/nice for Ian. It's like Julia finally has someone smaller in her life she can flex some power over. Like when I used to lure my little cousin TJ into empty garbage carts and wheel him around with the promise of candy I didn't have.

Above: Santa's response.

Above: Poppa passes out from all the excitement.

Above: Ian, Stacie, and Julia. This is a great picture.

Above: Ian and Julia.

Above: The Porterpeople.

Above: Julia lures cousin Rob into her "Guess Who" trap. {Evil laugh}

Above: Uncle Phil holds up the laptop so that the Seattle Porters can get a look at the Salt Lake Porters through Skype.

Above: The Porterpeople with dear friends we've known for 20 years. So nice to connect with them!

Above: Travis and me in the lobby of the Peery Hotel in SLC.

Above: We attended a taping of the weekly 1/2 hour music show of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in the LSD Conference Center.

Above: Travis and Julia in the main entrance of the amazing "new" (not really) Salt Lake Public Library.

Above: the view from the floor of the Childrens' Department.

Above: Charlotte? Is that you?

Above: suspended animatronic butterflies on books that make up a human head. You have to see it in person, really.

Above: I thought this is cool.

Above: Julia poses with some perched turkeys at the Hogle Zoo. Turkeys don't look like they should even be able to perch.

Above: ...And we got a new puppy, Ruby, on New Year's Eve-eve!

The End.
Next up: 2010!

Let us introduce you to Ruby!

2009-12-31T02:55:00Z

December 30, 2009

It's...RUBY!

Well, now we've done it! We waited until our Christmas travels were over (20 hours, to be exact). Travis and I met at the Idaho Humane Society for lunch and looked at the dogs that were up for adoption. And, well, we fell in love.

This is Ruby, a 4-month-old lab mix. She is sooooo calm. It's weird. I know, I know, we have had her for only 6 hours but she seems like a very good dog. She is totally gentle, calm, snoozes in her crate, is pretty good on the leash already...pairing a good starting personality with our commitment to doggie classes and clicker training (Travis already has her sitting), I believe this is going to work out.

RIP to Brando the beagle (November 1996-July 2009). Now we have a new dog to love.
(P.S.--she has three siblings at the Idaho Humane Society in Boise right now.)

The End.
Or, really...The Beginning?

Christmas season begins! Gingerbread and Festival of Trees

2009-11-29T16:54:00Z

Now that Thanksgiving is out of the way, we now have the green (and red) light to
OBSESS ABOUT CHRISTMAS FOR THE NEXT 8% OF THE CALENDAR YEAR!!!

(...Not counting the 5 months I worked on Christmas stockings...)

I've been known to design and bake gingerbread houses, making my own royal icing and decorating the 25-pound structures painstakingly (even tried to make "stained glass" windows with crushed Life Savers--yeah, it was the thought that counts on that one). I even made the people to resemble family members. (Travis "fell off" the roof once. Really, there is no hidden meaning in that.)

Anyway...this is not one of those gingerbread houses. But Julia had fun nonetheless.

Above: Julia with her first gingerbread house.

Above: Julia acts out what every kid is really thinking when they decorate a gingerbread house.

Sophie and Julia's dance class performed at the Festival of Trees in Boise. Here are some highlights of what we saw.

Above: Julia (in pink skirt and white hair bow) and Sophie (blue skirt and ponytail) go onstage.

Above: Julia gets her dance-face on.

Note: if you'd like to see these wonderful tap and jazz performances and get a sappy teen starlet Christmas song stuck in your head, visit earlier posts on our blog...)

Above: Sophie, Julia, and Emma pose in front of the teddy bear wedding tree (illegal in most states, but we're making progress...)

Above: the beer tree. Note the lit Pabst Blue Ribbon tree toppers. Say it with me now, in your best Homer Simpson voice..."Mmmmm...beeeeer."

Above: one amazing tree was decorated with hundreds of small bud vases filled with fresh orchids and roses. They refresh the flowers and water each day. Points for effort, there!

Above: a "Recycle"-themed tree made entirely of green (as in the color) 2-liter plastic soda bottles and other items turned into ornaments and decorations. I hope they collected each one of these bottles and didn't BUY them!

Above: a Michael Jackson tribute tree. Sophie was thrilled!!! Julia, not so much, as she "doesn't really care for him, thanks".

Above: the Barbie tree! Again, Sophie was thrilled!!! Julia, not so much. I think Julia is missing the Barbie gene.

Above: super-cool tumbleweed snowman.

Above: Sophie and Julia make something crafty.

The End.

Stockings 2009

2009-11-29T16:43:00Z

Stockings for family, 2009~

Here are photos of the stockings I managed to finish before this holiday season. Each one takes about a month of my spare time, if I stay focused. So, they take a while. I have at least six more either started or planned for 2010!

Above: My mom's "Florida Santa" stocking.

Above: Travis' mom's "Partridge in a Pear Tree" stocking.

Above: Emma's "Snow Queen" stocking.

Above: Sophie's "Sugar Plum Fairy" stocking.

Above: Ian's "Bears Roasting Marshmallows" stocking.

Above: Nancy and Ian with their stockings.

Above: Sophie and Emma (with Julia) and their stockings.

The End.

Thanksgiving in Boise 2009

2009-11-29T16:21:00Z

Thanksgiving with the Raths!

There was something extra yummy about this year's meal. Was it because Mom's turkey was really moist? Maybe it was Breesha's addition of gourmet au gratin potatoes along with the mashed and the yams? Or Dad's foofy beer? Or apple pie AND pumpkin? Nope...must have been the extra salt in the stuffing.

Above: Sophie, Emma, and Julia

Above: Zac waits patiently for dinner cleanup and golden morsels of Thanksgiving-ness.

Above: Travis carves the turkey while Breesha and Emma look on.

Above: the kids' table.

Above: Travis, Breesha, and Dad

Above: Dad and me

Above: Mom and Andrew

Above: Julia and me

Above: Julia and me, Part II.

Above: Julia and Sophie

Above: Food coma/late night drive home.

The end.

Julia and Sophie's Jazz Dance

2009-11-29T01:29:00Z

Performance at the 2009 Boise Festival of Trees. This is the jazz performance - not the tap performance - as Julia pointed out quite emphatically.

...

Julia's First Tap Performance

2009-11-29T00:42:00Z

Julia (wearing pink skirt with white ribbons in her hair) and Sophie (blue skirt and glasses - behind and right of Julia) performing a Christmas jazz dance at the 2009 Boise Festival of Trees. This was one of two dances the troupe performed this morning.

They might be a really good band

2009-11-14T17:43:00Z

http://the.porter-reporter.com

November 8, 2009

Happy as clams in Porter World to be able to see They Might Be Giants live in Boise on a lovely fall afternoon, in a lovely restored theater, with our lovely niece Sophie.

Above: Travis, Julia, and Sophie pose under the marquise.

TMBG have had a long 20+ year career, totally entertaining my own Generation X during high school and college, but more recently they have been donating their quirk and talent to children's music. Intelligent children's music, no less. Yahoo!

Check it! It's them! I know it sounds weird, but I was...surprised? amused?... that John and John actually sound like themselves in real life while talking. They have very distinct nerdy voices. Viva nerds!

Above: there were not one, but TWO confetti cannon moments. Oooooooooo!

Above: Julia and Sophie having fun.

Above: "The Avatars of They" sing don't cross the street in the middle in the middle
in the middle in the middle in the middle of the block...

The concert lasted for a bit over an hour and was almost exclusively songs from their children's albums, except for the generous offerings of "Particle Man" and "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" for the parents. I would have liked more of their old stuff...because, really. Couldn't most of TMBG music pass as kids' music?

Above: the full band, consisting of two Johns, two Dans, one Marty, and another guy I can't remember. Sorry, other guy.

How can you not love a band who's latest album is called "Here Comes Science" which has lyrics such as the following along with the most joyful catchy tunes:

The sun is a mass of incandescent gas, a gigantic nuclear furnace
Where hydrogen is built into helium, at a temperature of millions of degrees
(From "Why Does the Sun Shine?")

or...

Hey, who let in all these elephants?
Did you know that elephants are made of elements?
Elephants are mostly made of four elements
And every living thing is mostly made of four elements
Plants, bugs, birds, fish, bacteria and men
Are mostly carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen
(From "Meet the Elements")

or...

Could it be an herbivore, crushing plants with rounded teeth
Or perhaps she's carnivore, moves so quickly on its feet
It's like pieces of a puzzle, that I love to try and solve
It's so fun to think about how a species has evolved
(From "I Am a Paleontologist")

Above: Sophie and Julia at the after-show pizza joint.

The End.

Busy Fall Weekend

2009-10-25T15:30:00Z

October 24-25, 2009

This weekend was fun and busy.

Julia had her last game of the Fall 2009 season. The Blah Blah Blahs did great!

Above: A cold windy fall morning in Boise. A cloud bank looms not far away.

Above: Julia bundled up for the game.

Above: Julia runs to the goal.

Above: Action shot of Julia almost getting beaned in the noggin from the sideline kick.

Above: Julia's Halloween nails.

Above: This time of year, the Porter house color scheme really works with the season!

Saturday evening, we went to the Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge for a Halloween event...crafts, nature education, owl hooting and coyote calling.

Above: Julia decorates a treat bag.

Above: Julia checks out the predator pelt station.

Above: Julia and her buddy Elyse make masks.

Above: I thought the mounting of this raccoon was odd. Do they really drape themselves on logs and just hang out?

Above: Travis likes badgers.

Above: Our trio of pumpkins about to be dismembered.

Above: Pumpkin carving 2009 commences.

Above: Almost done.

Above: The pumpkin trio's makeover.

The End.

Fall Soccer

2009-10-12T15:11:00Z

Behold: The Blah-Blah-Blahs!*

Above: The Blah-Blah-Blahs with their coaches Travis and Rob. September 2009.

Above: Julia poses for her fall 2009 soccer photo. Love the crinkle nose and freckle action.

*The girls picked the name. Not a sign of apathy, just a sign of 7-year-old humor. And you have to admit, "Rah-rah-rah, Blah-Blah-Blahs!" has a nice ring to it.

The end.