Porter Post

Our front yard somehow turned into a Pokemon card trading post for the neighborhood kids about a week ago. I'm really going to miss this. This is one of those magical childhood neighborhoods where kids play outside all the time, they explore, they socialize, everybody knows everybody else, and parents can be at peace letting their kids wander the neighborhood. Sophia came to the park with us one evening and wanted to see if she could fit into one of the baby swings. When he saw her Cameron rushed over and said, "Oh Sophia, I can push you!" We spent a good portion of this park visit trying to figure out who's lost bunny was roaming around. The people across the street saw us failing miserably to catch the bunny and came out to tell us that it was theirs and his name was Cinnamon and he wandered around all the time and that it was okay. We talked a bit and then when we were parting ways Jack desperately wanted to follow the bunny again so I explained that the...

We went to Young Living's Draft Horse Show just south of us in Mona two Saturday's ago with the Astle's. It was great, I don't know how more people don't know about it! The horse show part reminded me a lot of the dog show that comes on every Thanksgiving after the Macy's parade and although we had fun watching the beautiful horses and carriages go in and out of the arena, we never actually sat down in there to watch it. I don't think the boys would have lasted long for that part. Some of the horses we saw going into the arena. They really were beautiful. Besides the 4 1/2 hour horse show, there were plenty of other things to keep the boys entertained. Bounce houses, pony rides, knights, jousting, a western shoot out, hay rides, there was a lot of fun stuff there. We did the pony rides twice. Both times Jack went on and on about wanting to ride pony's up until I was trying to get him to mount one and then he held onto me with a death grip ...

We hiked to the Grotto last week and weren't disappointed. The boys loved it, I loved it, and we got to see the first of the Autumn leaves. No complaints here. The boys made me nervous on some of these walkways, but they were defiant enough (especially Benson) that I just trusted they would make it across without falling in and getting cold and wet. Annie and Jody. The boys booked it back to the car. They were "bear hunting" and I was constantly trying to keep them in sight.

This talk was referenced in a book I just read (I Didn't Plan To Be A Witch). I looked it up yesterday and fell in love with it. So many things resonated with me as a Latter-day Saint woman. I think that everyone should read the part about the keys that open the different boxes of our soul. It's a wonderful analogy. Here are some of the highlights that stood out to me personally: " But one of the most unfortunate side effects we have faced in this matter of agency is that, because of the increasing diversity of life-styles for women of today, we seem even more uncertain and less secure with each other. We are not getting closer, but further away from that sense of community and sisterhood that has sustained us and given us strength for generations. There seems to be an increase in our competitiveness and a decrease in our generosity with one another.... The point is, we simply cannot call ourselves Christian and continue to judge one another—or ourselves—so harshly....

I recently just finished a book I started on my trip to Virginia called I Didn't Plan To Be A Witch by Linda Eyre. It hit the Mommy spot. She's very good at being real. Every time I read this passage I can't help laughing because it hits so close to home: "I have known and admired a certain friend for years, but just the other day I heard a story about her that made me like her even more. Apparently, when she was a young mother with several children close together and came to her wit's end, she would retire to a closet and scream. She screamed and screamed and maybe even beat on the wall a little until it was all out of her system and then would come out, ready to try again. One day her husband came home while she was 'screaming in the closet' and panicked when he heard the commotion. Darting about the house frantically to find the source, he found his oldest daughter and blurted urgently, 'What's wrong. What's happened?' 'Oh, i...

Jayce and I camped out for a night on Mt. Timpanogos on Friday. Jayce signed up to volunteer with a group called T.E.R.T. that sends people up to the top of Timp every weekend of the summer to help out in emergencies. This is Jayce's fifth time in the last seven years and my third time going with him and it's a great experience every time. I just love the beauty of the mountains. Our pictures definitely don't even do it justice. An iPhone can only capture so much. We hiked up the Timpooneke Trail this time to switch it up, which means we hiked up the opposite side of the mountain than we normally do. It was beautiful and we were really glad we gave it a shot even though it's supposed to be a little bit longer. It's also apparently supposed to be less steep of a trail but there were plenty of times when I turned to Jayce and said, "Really? Less steep??" I mean, you're climbing a mountain either trail you take, so it's quite a feat eithe...