A dream come true

and nightmare all at the same time. Friday was the stake father/son camp out. So we girls were going to have a night out as well. We went to chik fil a, Laura and Hannah's favorite. They played and then I decided we would go take Laura shopping for spring clothes. Something I've been meaning to do for a while. I am not a shopper. Most of Laura's clothes throughout her life have been handed down, given, or something I purchase and bring home for her to mostly not like. We did do some school shopping, but it didn't really feel like girlie girl shopping. So I took them to Burlington Coat factory. Laura was in heaven liking a lot of the things and I said we had to pick a few and decide. She liked this dress then that one, this outfit then that one. We were all holding outfits. I realized in the middle of it, it felt like girlie girl shopping.

Laura said, Mom do they have one of those places that you try the clothes on and I said yes and had a glorious picture in my mind of Laura trying on her choices and us all admiring how the outfits looked. Well, I did have a two year old with me. She was doing just fine. She had had a nap earlier so I thought we were good for a while. We enter the dressing room, a little tight but we all had moving space. Hannah had been dragging around this yellow dress that Laura picked out so it was size 5, not 2. Laura starts changing clothes and Hannah then states she wants to try on her dress. I try to explain that it's not her size, to no avail. So we get her clothes off all the while I'm trying to help Laura in and out of her clothes. I look down and Hannah has taken her diaper off, then refuses to put it back on. She is completely naked. I'm trying to let her cool down while helping Laura and she escapes out the dressing room door. My daughter is outside of the dressing room of a department store- stark naked, this is a first for me. I drag her back in and there is wailing and gnashing of teeth, possibly a head spun around. I don't know if she is clausterphobic or temporarily possessed by a demon. I do not have an explanation. We finally got her clothes back on. Laura tried on 2 out of 10 outfits, we considered ourselves lucky to have our heads and went to the checkout with our selections.

We had to wait 15 min on a price check of $2.99 gloves that Laura fell in love with while Laura chased Hannah around the watch stand. Hannah had the cutest little purse that she wanted and would go with her Easter dress so I wanted her to get it but couldn't get her to let go of it to pay for it. We finally get that purchased, go to the van, I get the kids in, Hannah's buckled. I turn go to get in the van and hear something go 'plunk'. I turn around and find the undetachable from Hannah's hands purse laying on the asphalt (it is white). I go back to pick it up and Hannah is smiling from ear to ear. I think she won this battle! I don't wish her life away, but the next two years could go swiftly and I wouldn't mind so much.

Title

So when I started the blog the first name that came into my head was Porter Pickens, not liking that puppy so much now so I'm trying some new ones out to see what really reflects our family. The first is The Porter Point of View, be we'll see. Knowing me it'll keep changing anyway, but it has stayed this name for over a year, hats off to me :)!

don't forgets

I think 'don't forgets' will be a new blog theme, cause they're always around.

Tonight I was headed off to Target for work and Laura follows me out and climbs on the hood of the car

Laura "Mom I want to go to work with you."

Me."well you have to be 16 years old to go to work with me? How old are you?"

Laura "16"

Me. "Well, you're short for 16."

Laura "Heavenly Father made all of us different. Some people are short for their age."

For the record she's really six, not short for her age :).

My three year old niece Anya who's been told she's had enough candy, approaches my sister Melissa holding a sucker that's unopened and shiny and says, "I am not eating candy". I ask her what's in her hand and she realizes she's holding a sucker and puts it behind her back and then tells her mom again she's not been eating candy (so proud of herself).

Then she puts the sucker in her mouth and Melissa tells her again she's not supposed to be eating anymore candy and Anya says "I'm not eating it, I'm holding it with my mouth!"

I'm hoping to make money off of this one with Reader's Digest:)

February in Florida

for the most part, at least these days it was warm enough to get under water, slide down the slide we need to return to Aunt Carmen :), play ball and play with pappaw and his cool convertible.


Hannah only enjoys filling the slide






such a poser


My step-dad. He is possibly Hannah's favorite person, on the morning of this particular visit we had another friend her age coming over that morning and I woke her up and said Hey Gracie's coming over and very sleepily she said not Pappaw is. We can't tell her until the day before or day of he's coming because she'll ask about it and she dances around when she knows he's coming to visit. It's so cute. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that he is wrapped around her finger :).









Cole LOVES Bball


Laura's signature, this is how she communicates with people she doesn't know very very well.

A Dream of mine

has for some time(7-8 years) been to own a DSLR and guess what? WE GOT IT!!! It's a Nikon D40, not whistles or bells, but it does make the cool clicking sound and will take pics fast. It was a tax return gift and quite honestly a splurge we may regret later, but I love to hear the sound of taking pics and the quality of the pics and fun things it does. I take the most pics, Brandon takes the better pics, between the two of us the kids' lives should be well documented. Here's some of the first shots.

don't forgets

Much still to catch up on but didn't want to forget these things that possibly only I will appreciate in the years to come, but it's my blog the kids just have to live with it.

Laura talking to my three year old niece, at my sister's in North Caroling getting ready to head back home to Fl. "Ready to go to America"?

Cole on the trip back in the van, "Mom ,you know what? you know how in cartoons they make cemetarys look ugly and creepy, and really they're beautiful." His tone was so sweet and sincere, but also saying the joke's on the cartoons.

Brace yourself

so I still need to catch up, but didn't want to forget the details on this one. Cole has extra teeth. He has two permanent teeth in and has not lost one tooth yet. So for whatever reason his dentist referred him to an orthodontist. I guess to see how necessary removal of the teeth would be. Anyways, we go there and I'm taking Hannah with our Sunday bag for entertainment and I wondered if they would have something for little kids to play with, cause really 8 year olds should not be visiting the orthodontists. We get there and the place is beautiful, very eclectic. They have a computer screen with kid's names and photos for them to touch and check themselves in. They have small chairs with disney playing at their eye level, little adirondack chairs and a sitting area with a full length beach mural on the wall. They have complimentary juices, hot choc/coffee, cookies and of course the good ole fish aquarium. That was just the beginning. The gave us color print outs of Cole's mouth and his xrays (very alienesque). After Cole got his xrays done he was hanging out in the game room (pinball machine, couple of gaming stations. She said he could have a gameboy while he waited as well. Then we saw an even bigger aquarium and then we saw they have aviaries on either side of the big room where the kids can watch the birds while they're getting the teeth done. They gave him a tshirt that advertises their office and if he wears it to his appointments he gets a token and gets more tokens for being on time, clean teeth, etc and the kids get to spend it at the ortho store. All this and no charge...until he gets braces which I'm sure will require it's on mortgage. I was very impressed. Although I kept waiting for someone to come take me away for a massage during the appointment and it didn't happen, all of my kids would have braces at the age of 8 and keep them through high school if that were added in. Of course the dr. just said yes we need to take the teeth out, huge surprise which our dentist will do and then we got back to see the ortho in eight months. I mentioned I took Hannah with me and the dr. said come back anytime and then actually looked at me and said it's okay if they come it gets them used to coming! Starting to early is not a problem I suppose. So i don't like that I'm now going to have to fight that battle or cancel all appointments but it was so nice I can't wait to get back there. Smart business I say :)!