Porter Month


Porter Month is underway ladies and gentlemen! Jayce's parents and youngest brother, David, got home from their three year mission in Auckland, New Zealand on June 30! One home coming, one rodeo, one trip to the cabin, two reunions, and many sleep overs in Draper later we are able to finally archive the events of the last couple of weeks.

#1: The arrival

Salt Lake City Airport was overrun by Porter/Elkins relatives alike. We caused quite a spectacle in the terminal. Kimber awarded them with gold medals after they crossed the finish line.

Grammy's first time meeting little Jayden. Mom and Dad Porter were gone for four grandchild births, two of which they weren't able to meet until they came home. It's been fun to see them around their grandchildren the last couple of weeks.

Their first time setting foot into their new home! Have you ever imagined yourself walking into a home that has all of your belongings in it that you've only ever seen pictures of? That's the leap that the Porter's took, but I think it turned out really well. They're loving their new place so far (and so are we!).


#2: July 4th, 2011

True to Porter Tradition we went to see the hot air balloons take off early in the morning, but sadly it was far too windy and none were able to get off the ground. It was fun to see the Darth Vader balloon get inflated though! We ate breakfast at McDonald's and then headed over to Uncle Mike's parade set up to wait for the parade to start. Porter's are dedicated America fans. Uncle Mike scouts this spot out every year, sets up the tent, and puts some sort of patriotic flag up next to it. The highlight of the parade was doing the YMCA with all of the cousins.

He really does love Grammy Porter, but I just had to put up a picture of his cute pouty lip!!




Cameron's first parade was a success. :-)

After lunch at Chuck-A-Rama and watching Independence Day we spent the rest of the evening in the hot tub watching the fireworks take off all over Salt Lake Valley. It was amazing! I couldn't believe how many people set off fireworks and they lasted for hours.
#3: Elkin's Reunion

Sadly I didn't get any pictures, but we had a good time visiting with Jayce's mom's side of the family. The kids loved swimming in the community pool and the life guards were the most intense I've ever seen. There were 6 or 7 of them just for a normal sized pool! Rather safe than sorry though, right? It's been fun to get to know all of Jayce's cousins in the last couple of years because I've discovered how fun having cousins can be and I'm so excited that little Cameron already has 8 of them!

#4: Cabin

You can't have all the Porter's together and not make a trip up to the cabin. It was so refreshing up there! I really do love the Rocky Mountains. I think I love them just as much, if not a little more than fireflies. It has rained a lot up there so everything was sooo green, we saw a moose, and every breath I took in was just so incredibly fresh smelling. Yes, mountain freshness does have a very distinct smell. While we were there we got hammered for almost 10 minutes by a crazy hail/rain thunder storm and it was AWESOME. Man I love nature.

All the kids were really excited to get on the Rhino. Then Jayce drove pushed the gas for a few seconds and everyone broke down. Hahaha.


#5: Rodeo!
Ever been to a rodeo?! We have. It'll definitely be enough to last me the next 30 years or so too. :-) Now I finally understand what a rodeo consists of! I feel more cultured, haha. We were a little traumatized by the calf roping and the goat riding toddlers, but other than that it was a grand old time! By far our favorite part was when they brought about 100 kids into the arena and let a calf with money plastered to it lose with them. It was hysterical!
Ja-Ja-Ja-Jayden!
Something I love about Utah- the skies. I've never seen skies like Utah skies before. Man do I love looking out over the valley.

#6: Porter Reunion
We topped things off with a reunion on the Porter side of the family and it was a mighty fine time as well. We had a talent show and socialized. From a Portuguese soap opera skit to a run down on pointe shoes, this talent show had it all. ;-)


#7: Colorado Report

We were only there for a short weekend, but as always it was great! Jayce is from such a wonderful stake in Colorado and I'm always so impressed by their family friends when we go. It was a really uplifting weekend. :-)




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