Thanksgiving at the Lake

We had a fantastic time at the lake with the Gairs, Lisa, the Anderson Family and the Toma's!

The four oldest, Kylie, Sommer, Calvin and Braden spent most of the day wandering around the lake with camera in hand. They did a lovely job taking in their goings on...but out of the 100's of pictures they took, no young children, turkey, Ann, Garth, Bruce, Lisa were to be found.

But I think they had a lot of fun!

We had a blast playing our tennis tournament. And although the rules changed often, we had a "ball." Go Steve!

I hadn't played tennis in years. I think my running helped me chase after all of the balls.

Devin and Jen were pretty amazing.

And Donna and Bruce were top notch (the do play three or four times a week)...

The lake was absolutely beautiful!

Cal and Som love hanging out.

My thought exactly, Sommer...truly grateful for the beautiful lake.

...and even more thankful for the family and friends we were able to share it with...

Ashton Enjoys His Dental Visit

Ashton's baby teeth are very close together...and no I don't dental floss them...call me a bad mom (or lazy), I don't mind. Anyway, he ended up getting 4 cavities (kissing they call them) between two tight teeth. So off to the dentist we went...wish we had cousin Wayne close by :)

We decided to go with laughing gas to keep things "happy." And sure enough, Ashton was happy the whole time.

Ahhh...Danmark!

Our friends from Danmark, The Andersen family, came by for a few days as they traveled through the USA!

The first few days were pretty sad when I realized I couldn't speak a lick of Danish anymore or understand much they were saying either.


But tears came to my eyes, when after a few days, I could understand it again and could actually speak (and be understood, or at least I would like to think I could). Man I miss DANISH!

I was thrilled when Lise agreed to teach me how to make AEBLESKIVER. They are similar to donut holes and totally delish. Here are some pictures of our cooking class:



The oldest daughters, Julie and Catrina were a big help, teaching me the Danish "slang," since most of the language was "missionary" related. I was amazed at how well they all spoke English.

Here in this picture, I realize that my aebleskiver skills are lacking. Lise was the master!

We took everyone to the ward Halloween trunk-r-treat. We all had fun dressing up in costume. I think the Andersen kids were pretty amazed at the amount of candy they received that night. Here they are doing the Porter tradition of pouring out candy and doing some trading.

Little Pernilla (their youngest), was able to go to my neighbors (since our costume stash consists of pretty much skeletons and bloody masks) and try on every princess costume imaginable. She went with the snow princess. And man oh man did she look adorable.

We visited the Arlington Cemetery too. Here is Ashton and Pernilla posing. They couldn't really speak to one another but that didn't seem to bother them at all.

A friend of ours, set up a personal tour of the Capitol too. Senator Hatch's office were wonderful as they showed us every nook and cranny of our Nation's Capitol. I was pretty amazed.

Here I am posing with my gift from the Andersen's. I love this totally "Danish" vase.

I had a blast when Ashton, Tate and I took the two youngest, Pernilla and Karen to Chuck-E-Cheeses. It was so much fun watching everyone play. In the end, while chosing their prizes, both girls were CRAZY about the candy.

I think all children, 'round the world, love good old candy.

One evening we had taco night and all 14 of us enjoyed feasting on staples such as guacamole and chips!

We were sad to see them go (especially me)! We hope to visit them one day in Danmark!

Fabulous Football

We had three football players this season.

Calvin played for Middle School (as a starter) and for the Gainesville Grizzlies. His Middle School team won the championship. He is number 22.

Ethan played for the Grizzlies too...it was his first year. He loved it. His team is going to the championships next week with a undefeated season!

Tate also played. His team is playing in the championship too!

(As much as we love football, we are kind of glad it's almost over!)

Beautiful Girl...

Sommer is one beautiful girl...inside and out.

She has a bunch of great friends. They all decided to dress up as the "seasons" for Halloween.

Sommer was Summer of course.

This girl has taken High School by storm:

1. Ran for Freshman class Vice -President

2. Made Homecoming Court

3. Made all-county Treble Choir (ranked 3 in the whole county)

4. Made All-District Treble Choir (while coughing...she ranked 6th)

5. Made the Field Hockey team and LOVED it.

6. Wakes herself up each morning at 4:15 to get ready for seminary...then she wakes up Garth to drive her to the church (she hasn't missed once).

7. Helps with Brittany

8. Is the YW Chorister

Love ya Sommer!

Raising Money For Brittany

This is my good friend Brittany. I have written about her before on earlier posts. I get to be with her every Tuesday...and I love it.

Brittany has a rare genetic disorder called NBIA or Neuro-degeneration with brain iron accumulation. Did you know that there are only about 200 people in the U.S. with this disease? Yikes! And there is only one small research center devoted to NBIA in California...but they require $250,000 each year to keep it running.

I want to help.

I decided to run the 2011 Boston Marathon in honor of Brittany this year. Not only that, I want to raise money for research.

Check out my Boston for Brittany Blog to see how you can help me raise money for Brittany!

www.bostonforbrittany.blogspot.com

Simply donate:

$2.62

$26.20

$262.20

and receive 1, 6 or 26 guesses for my Boston Finish Time. The person that predicts my finish time the closest, will receive 5% of the money raised!

I will listing the guesses as they come in!