the Cousins!

So we have had a VERY busy month of July! The majority of which was having a great time with Noah's Uncle/Aunt and cousins from France! They were able to take their vacation this year to the USA, and spend several weeks with us! We did tons of fun things, and enjoyed spending time with the fam! Porter especially had a BLAST, and has really been missing his cousins!






my uploading keeps getting messed up, so that's all the photos you get! sorry:)

4 Year Photo Shoot and Brothers Pics

So we took the boys out for Porter's 4 year Photo Shoot the other day! We had a lot of fun, and got some really cute pics:) It was a bit tricky, as I'd heard to take your own kiddos pictures. They don't seem to listen quite as well as they would to a different photographer. But that is ok. It just took some persistence! Also, still dealing with the issues we have always had at getting a good picture of the two brothers together:) One day maybe they will both pay attention, listen to directions, and smile at the same time right? Anyway, we got some great ones anyway I thought- just maybe not quite as traditional! Hope you enjoy them:)








Porter kept trying to "pose" by picking his nose-thought he was so funny by saying "is this how you want me to do it mommy?" if only- this picture would be awesome!



That's What Brothers Are For.... I LOVE THIS ONE! going to frame it in their room

Porter is 4!!!

Holy Moly! My baby boy is growing up so fast! So Porter turned 4, and the order of the day was a ZOO party! Porter has always had a thing for animals, and knowing about his other obsession of horses, it is natural to see where he has now evolved into loving Zebras as a special favorite as well! He requested a Zebra cake, and then we just did the whole zoo shebang! Everyone had a great time, especially Porter. We were lucky enough to have Noah's aunt and uncle/cousins in from France for their vacation too, so that made it really special. Especially because Porter's b-day is on Bastille Day ( French Independence Day)! He got to pick out all the decorations and we did a throw back (for all you Michiganders) to his birth place of the "Porter Park Zoo". The Potter Park Zoo was right down the street from where we lived when he was born:) Good Times! He got some super great presents, Thank you Thank you to everyone. The best part of the party was the cake though! I'd been inspired recently by my sister and my friend Lindy who told me of an easy marshmallow fondant recipe!! I thought it was the perfect occasion to give it a shot! I must say that it turned out even better than I could have imagined!! I think we all loved it! I've definitely decided this is the way I'm going to go from now on. If anyone wants to try it, I would DEFINITELY recommend it:) Fondant cakes look so good, and this really was much easier than I thought! So anyway, Happy 4th B-day buddy!! We love you so much, and our life would not be complete without you!!!

Wings of Freedom

B-24 Bomber -nicknamed the B-24 Liberator by the British
"the Flying Fortress" ( the only flying one in the world )


B-17 Bomber


I have always loved the Fourth of July. It is a time of year to really reflect on the amazing freedoms that we as Americans enjoy. We have SOOOOOOO many more blessings than most of the rest of the world. There are so many "rights" that we take for granted, and after such a trying year in the rest of the world, it really can hit home what we need to be grateful for. I was able to take the boys to the "Wings of Freedom" exhibit out at the airport the other day. It had 6 different airplanes on display from WWII. The boys absolutely loved seeing all of the planes up close, but also we were able to be there when two P-51 Mustangs did a fly-by then landed in front of us! These older planes definitely don't run quite like the new ones:) Seeing these planes, (which types were largely responsible for the victories in WWII) was a really cool moment. It really makes you think. This year has been a tough one for many people in the USA and worldwide, but something like this makes you remember that it really has been so much worse. People have handled things far tougher, literally life and death, with amazing amounts of honor and courage. On the sides of both of the big restored airplanes were listed all of the fallen and distinguished crew. There were also little bombs painted for every successful bomb /mission dropped. There were a lot, of both names and bombs. I think about how much courage and bravery these missions must have taken. I am in awe, and I want to say THANK YOU to all the service men and women who have both fought and died for our country. I have seen firsthand some of the horrifying effects of WWII, and I am extremely proud that we as Americans came to their aid. I am proud, that we as Americans are willing to fight for the greater good, and to lay down our lives when needed to protect the cause of Freedom. It was an emotional experience the other day. There were many veterans there. I was able to observe them standing there staring at those planes. They just stood there thinking to themselves. I can only imagine the memories they were thinking of. There were also several little booths set up by veterans as well. The picture of Porter at the bottom was at one of these, looking at the type of gun and bullets that was used by British Commandos to rescue this gentleman's father, who had been shot down behind German lines. His crew had all been presumed dead, and he had the "letter" there to show people. Amazingly his father was rescued. The bullets were half as big as Porter's arm. It was amazing. What a good experience for both me and the boys.

Cute Porter-isms

So no pics for this post, but I did want to do a quick shout out to Porter. Such a funny kid!! I love him to pieces, he can be a handful sometimes, but is so stinking cute the rest. He is so creative, and very persuaded by infomercials! I just had to document his latest thing. So if he ever sees one of these great commercials, he drags me over and insists we need whatever new thing it might be. Lately though he saw one of those "cash for gold" envelope things. He has been talking about it ever since. We have told him on different occasions that he hasn't earned enough money, or mommy didn't bring money for that toy today, etc. Things like that when we go to the store and he always wants a new toy. So he told me yesterday, " hey mom, I know what I can do to get some cash! we'll just get an envelope, and put some gold "juwry" in it that you don't need, and then we can get some money!" I laughed, and said, yup people do do that. So then tonight, I found him going through our unopened junk mail searching for a good envelope to use. He said " I need an envelope for some gold juwry". He then proceeded downstairs to my jewelry box and found everything gold looking- luckily I don't have much, then came up and said with some earrings held out, "are these the gold you don't need anymore?" I laughed and said sure. He filled up the envelope, but wouldn't be satisfied. He then insisted that it needed to go to the mailbox, it is nighttime mind you- he went and got his coat on, and well.... that is where we are now. Trying to convince us to take the envelope out to the mailbox. What a silly kid:) We love him!

Also, earlier today we asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up and he said "I just want to be mommy's baby still." Melts my heart! I told him he could always be my baby!

Fun Pics

So this morning I did a fun photo shoot for my friend who is having a baby in July. She wanted some cute belly pictures, and we had a great time. I got a nice camera a little while ago, and I've really wanted to ramp up my efforts at taking some great pictures. I'm sick of spending tons of money to get the kiddos portraits done, as well as not be totally thrilled with them! So anyway, in an effort to get better at all kinds of portraits I decided now was the time to just make it happen. I'm loving to practice with anyone who wants it! This morning's shoot turned out really cute, and I just had to post some of them. I have created a different blog a while ago, just to kind of make a little portfolio for myself, and have added the link if anyone wants to check out some more. I hope to be adding to it more and more. Up next for us is Porter's 4 year portraits, so I'll be sure and let you know how those go!

Madagascar Exhibit

We took the boys to the Madagascar exhibit at the zoo the other day! It was a fun time, and great to see a shout out to Noah's mission:) Both of the boys absolutely love the zoo, so we make frequent trips! The Fossa was unfortunately hiding, but we did get to see most of the other cool things! As always, we loved the Lemurs, and got some great pics. We did enjoy the larger assortment of Lemur toys than a normal zoo would carry, so the boys both got a new fun momento from the experience. It was almost like really being there! Well, not quite actually, the picture in front of the "Madagascar Market" was cute, but I must say-was NOTHING like a real Madagascar Market! A good time anyway though:)