Shelley had heard about a popular restaurant that just came to Scottsdale called Din Thai Fung. The reservation wait-list was months out so we went right when it opened on a weekday and got right in! We called it an early sister birthday date!
We love being with the Porters! And I got a kick out of Posey and Olive dressing the same unintentionally with even matching purses!
Tanner got invited to Noble's birthday party and had a great time with his neighborhood buds!
Tanner is doing dive this summer at Greenfield pool and we've been carpooling with the twins, Addie and Quin Watkins. I love these girls. Such cute personalities! They have been friends since they were toddlers.
My cousin, Trellany's daughter, Myla, is also in the class! When they discovered they were cousins, their reactions were so cute. It was a lot of fun getting to visit with Trellany those mornings.
Who doesn't love an ice cream cone for breakfast?!
I had a two week break from my school classes so I took on a new project. One I've been wanting to do for years. I asked my mom if I could go through her many, many bins of photos and pull out ones of me growing up so I could scan them and make a book of my childhood! It will take many hours and probably stretch over months if not more than a year. But I can at least start! I would generally bring Tanner with me so he could swim while I worked. This day, Della gave Tanner a new hairdo!
Time for stake girls camp at Camp Lomia!
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They just built this "Walk with Christ" experience that we heard was really moving and powerful.
Girls camp is basically a weekend. They left on a Thursday and really just had all day Friday for activities then drove home Saturday morning. Travis and I drove up Friday night and played some games, participated in the skit night and then had testimony meeting with the girls. I had been asked to head up our ward's skit so I've been working with the girls over the past couple months during mutual. They decided they wanted to do the idea where girls continuously run out on stage and show funny dance moves. There is an Instagram account where these guys showcase unusual/silly dance moves you can bust out at weddings. We were basically copying them. I tell you what. Wrangling 30+ girls is like herding cats. It was chaos. I don't think the end result was all that good, but oh well. I tried. The testimony meeting was nice. Minus one girl who said she has tried to kill herself and another girl who rambled on and on saying really weird things trying to be funny, and killing the Spirit.
Tanner is 9!! His birthday was on a Saturday which was perfect. He started out at Home Depot with Dad doing the monthly craft/project. We went swimming at Grandma's with cousins, then he had his party! He only wanted Landon, Noble and Ace. We took them to a Virtual Reality place and they LOVED it. Then we got dinner at Osaka. Watching the teppanaki chefs is of course, peak entertainment. Then, instead of a cake, he wanted to make dirt cups (pudding, crushed Oreos, gummy worms). He opened his presents and was thrilled with Squishies (all the rage right now) and a pinball machine. Landon had given him a new swimsuit already. He had the best day! I love this boy soooo much!
All about Tanner
- What is your favorite color? Blue
- What is your favorite food? Shrimp, sushi, potstickers, corn, lettuce wraps
- What is your least favorite food? "Toe-food" (Tofu) and lasagna
- What is your favorite thing to do for fun? Golf
- What is your favorite book or story? Book of Mormon
- What is your favorite song? Ordinary by Alex Warren
- What do you want to be when you grow up? Police officer
- What is your favorite thing to do with your family? Play games
- How would you describe yourself in three words? Funny, kind, fun
- What is your favorite subject in school? Science
- What is something you’re really good at? Flag football
- What makes you happy or brings you the most joy? My family
- Who are your best friends? Ace and Noble and Landon (Also Hudson)
- What are your favorite shows? Ninjago, Grizzly and the Lemmings, Nick Giovanni, Dude Perfect.
- Favorite dessert: Chocolate cake
Tanner is a sweet boy. He loves his siblings SO MUCH and just wants to be accepted by them. He is so forgiving. He has a habit of getting distracted. Keeping him on task in the morning before school and after school is difficult. Why put on your shoes and fill up your water bottle when you can start fiddling with whatever knick knack was left on the stairs? He is supposed to walk Winnie, read for 20 min and practice piano after school. He delays and distracts as much as he can. His room is just like you would expect a little boys' room to be like. Random do-dads everywhere... a pile of rocks, candy, Lego creations, fidgets, his Crunch Labs creations, squishes. It's so cluttered it makes me twitch. He leaves his dirty clothes on the floor of the bathroom every night and his wet towel on his bed. Travis and I still have a bedtime routine with him, but it is usually me who does it. I will read a few books with him then end with the kids version of the Book of Mormon and a page from "How Great is Our God". We say prayers and then I sing 3 songs to him. For a long time he always wanted Amazing Grace to be one of those songs. He has always had a side part, slicked over with gel. So handsome. But starting 4th grade he begged to change hairstyles. He was getting made fun of at school. So it pained me but now he just has no real hairstyle. He is an eater. The boy loves to eat and can out-eat Travis and the older boys. He has ordered off the adult menu at restaurants for years. He loves flag football and golf. He has a more introverted personality and is content being with just Landon. He seems to like being at home more than asking to play with friends. He has terrible hearing. He passes the hearing tests at school and the doctor but I swear something is off with his hearing. He asks a question then always says, "What?". He's so used to not hearing the answer he doesn't even wait to ask "what". It's pretty frustrating... for all parties. He is obedient at school and church and has a very kind heart. If he gets teased he takes it hard. He prefers clothes that are neutral, quiet colors. Black, white, grey. Nothing bright or loud. No designs. If it's Spirit week at school, he wants nothing to do with it. I think blending in is his goal.
Continuing to go through my mom's bins of pictures, I came across this 9th ward announcement.
Who is the most like you? Collin
Who is the most like mom? Olive
Who is the most opinionated? Olive
Who is most likely to get off a deserted island? Weston
Who has the cleanest room? Olive
Who spends the most? Collin
Who saves the most? Weston
Who has been the easiest to raise? Tanner
Who has been the hardest to raise? Collin
Who has the messiest room? Collin, Weston and Tanner
Who would you have to bail out of jail? (We laughed HARD) Collin
Who's the most gullible? Tanner
Who is most likely to throw a party while the parents are out of town? Weston
Who makes you question your parenting choices? Olive
Who would you call first in a crises? Weston
Who is the funniest? Collin, then all of them
Who is the most expensive? Olive
Who is the loudest? Tanner
Who is the smartest? Olive
Who will be the richest? Weston
Who is the most dramatic? Olive
Who is the best eater? Tanner
Who is the most athletic? Collin and Weston
Who is the favorite? (everyone gasped) everyone
Next game. I taped candy all over Dad and to make him a moving pinata of sorts and the kids chased him to get the candy. Tanner and Olive went first. When it was Collin and Weston's turn they went after him like hound dogs! It was so funny and then I was a little worried because he's still not 100% from his back issues! They had a good time.
He requested fruit pizza for dessert. Why does this feel like a 90's food to me?
The morning light as I was walking into my temple shift was too pretty to not document!
I had the Figs over and Jane took her nap on me again. She stirred a bit and ended up curled on my lap. I love her so much.
Tanner made a friend at school named Hudson and his FUNNY. Think, Dennis the Menace in the best way. Never stops talking. I got a kick out of their matching jerseys walking into the new Elevate.
Paige wanted to go to Build-a-Bear with Collin because they were having some sort of promotion. I remember doing this with a boy. Literally can't remember which one, but I thought it was cute.
Collin had a follow up appt. at the neurology office. We met with a resident first. Collin is still having flashes of pain in his head. They last a few seconds. It seems random. Happens anytime of day, regardless of activity. They decided to put him on a blood pressure medication and redo his MRI/MRA in a couple months. It felt a little disheartening leaving. I wonder how he'd ever be able to serve a mission out of the states with unanswered health problems. I wondered if he should go to Brazil for HXP next month. I tried not to cry on the drive home.
This note is a treasure. Not having a date makes it timeless.
LaRee is going through such a hard year after her divorce in December. We decided to go hot tubbing at my mom's house and catch up. At one point, Backstreet Boys started blaring on the sound system and we were dying. It was my dad! Trying to help with the nostalgia.
Yeah Tanner! He improved so much this summer. He even learned how to do an inward!
Playing PopDarts!
Awww. More treasures from the picture bins.
Collin just happened to be going to the temple when his buddies were taking their mission pictures! The photographer got this picture. It made my heart so happy He's hugging Grant. It wasn't easy watching all his friends graduate when he still has a year left.
While I was in Wyoming with Olive and Tanner, Travis flew to Texas with Collin for AAU West Coast Nationals. They go-kart racing as a team building activity and Collin got first. He didn't place at the comp but we were proud of him for qualifying to go!
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