Thursday, July 30, 2009

BURNIN' up, climbing rocks & bless the baby

Ok, so i've totally been neglecting this blog because i'm having WAY too much fun with my new cooking blog (http://www.getinthekitch.blogspot.com/)! But we have been doing some extremely exciting things that i don't want our friends, family, or the rest of the world to miss out on! haha, but really. i'm mostly going to write little blurbs with the pics so this isn't the LONGEST post ever. trust me, you want to look at them all...especially the ones from (imagine me singing this) "Stadium of FIRE!" haha probably the best night of the summer so far! the Porter-Smiths love the Jonas Brothers (aka the Jo Bros)!!!


4th of July
here we are at the West Point parade

saw this guy last year - he's our new fave part of the parade...
ever since Naked Guy decided to stop standing in his window across the street from our spot along the parade route (true story!!!)


i got to play some volleyball with my best friends Jackie & Ceara
all morning - we're all still at the top of our game, of course! haha

stadium of FIRE

i don't know why Sarah was mad, but this picture cracks
me UP! please note Sarah's large button of Joe Jonas.


and they all wonder why we pull faces in pictures...just
look at my dad in the back!



we passed the time waiting by eating LOTS of rollo's.



this was my dad's face when Glenn Beck (who my dad is
"morally opposed to") paraded into the stadium. haha, but
we were all thinking the same thing!


where are the Jo Bro's?! I think doing this will help us see
better to find them!





we (Chelsea, Sarah, & myself) were already excited to see the Jonas Brothers, but after seeing this INCREDIBLE video on youtube, Richard was excited, too! We watched it so many times he actually knew the words to the song when they played it at the concert! haha we seriously probably watched it 25 or more times because this kid makes us laugh so hard - and we find ourselves singing it all the time. Don't worry, this kid has lots of videos & he's trying to be funny - we're not making fun of him...but kind of we are haha...you know you love it! red dress!!!


oh my heck - so excited when they came out on stage!



so was Richard...don't let him fool you haha (notice Chelsea's
large button of Nick Jonas?)



yes, I too had a large Jonas Brothers button! we
danced and sang the night away - I love my family!



cute mom & dad! we have the coolest and most fun parents
you could ever ask for! love you guys!




haha ok, Rich is really singing to 'burning up'!!! it was the very last song they played - and i'm so glad they did because it was the high point of the night, for sure!


here we are, both singing...well, Richard is obviously doing
an interpretive dance.


Rock Climbing
Rich got really into climbing last summer, and he took a class at the beginning of this summer. now, he's gotten his younger brothers and ME into it...it's turned into quite the family hobby!
this was the morning of the 4th of July. Rich met his buddy Kevin
at the top of 9th st. in Ogden. i think this one is called the 'overhang'.



there is Kevin, belaying Richard (who is swinging
off of the overhang.



Megan and Scott also came up with their trusty dogs,
Bella & Duke. here's Meg belaying Scott on 'midnight cowboy'



Rich at Weber Rocks on campus.


his bro Tyson, bouldering



this was my very first time climbing EVER! i'm just
scoping things out.



here we are with the whole fam at the top of 9th st. again.



Meg is pretty much a pro...here she is at the top
of one of the climbs, i think its called 'boy scout'



Scott, Bella & Duke watching their girl!



here i am climbing up the crack on 'boy scout' with
Richard belaying me...i totally made it to the top!



Heidi, Richard's very flexible youngest sister,
also made it to the top...we did it, Heid!!!


Arraya's blessing in Bozeman
Richard's older sister Eryanna had her baby last Christmas, and we all made the trip up to Bozeman, MT last weekend for her blessing. It was great having Richard's whole family together - it doesn't happen often since Eryanna lives in Montana & his parents live in St. George. On the drive up, Richard, Tyson, and i listened to 'New Moon' (or 'Twilight 2' as I like to call it) on the ipod - it was awesome, but we're still not finished!
here's grandpa Dale meeting Arraya for the very first time!



Richard's grandpa holding his great-granddaughter...
he was the only one she went to without crying that first night!



granny Liz, playing with the baby.



my fave night up there was when Rich & his cousin Eric played the guitar and we sang songs around the firepit while we ate s'mores - so fun!



Heidi & Megan the morning we went climbing up Hyalite Canyon.
montana is so dang beautiful!!!

we celebrated Liz's birthday while we were all together - we
love you, Liz!!!

family photo shoot after the blessing

i almost got away with never once holding the baby the entire weekend, but they made me hold her as we were saying our goodbyes to everyone. i made them take a picture for proof. babies make me nervous!!!
this was Richard's face when he found out that Jacob Black is a werewolf haha i love my husband - such a good sport!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

~The ORIGINAL Idol~

It was one of those CRAZY rainy days last month...June 11th to be exact. I was in no mood for pleasant things because I had to wade through a parking lot with no drains at work and was drenched up to my knees, and I just wanted to fester over that for awhile, but the grump in me quickly disappeared when one of my best girls, Rachel Jenkins, picked me up to go to the KELLY CLARKSON concert! I was still a little hesitant because it was an outdoor show, but it turned out to be a rockin' good time hahaha Yes it did rain a little bit, but that just meant we were singing and dancing in the rain! I still remember the days of the first season of American Idol, when Kelly took my breath away singing 'Natural woman' and 'Respect,' and can I just tell you that she's only gotten better?! - the pipes on Ms. Clarkson absolutely blew my mind! She was out of this world - I never wanted it to end! But it did. That's not where the fun ended, though. haha Rach and I made a trip to Krispy Kreme's for delicious donuts, and we belted Kelly and Celine all the way home. Top night! Top night!

Walking in to the park...very excited.



Miss Independent belting it out in front of a rainbow


LOVE HER!


I know what you're thinking, and no...the sign is talking about the donuts, not us.

Just be glad you can't HEAR this picture...you'd
never be able to listen to Celine again haha