Gangsta Bradley

Yesterday I dropped Bradley off at school, and I was saying my usual good byes. I said, "I love you, and I will see you after school." Bradley looks at me from outside the van and pounds his chest twice and then proceeds to blow a kiss off his index and middle finger. He gave a huge grin shut the door and ran off to go into the school. I laughed all the way home, I have know idea where he picked it up. I guess that is the first of many surprises of things he will pick up at school from friends.

I am the Mom

Dancing with the Stars

Joe's Aunt Malia sent us a cd and dvd in the mail today. It is called Ralph's World. Kyle really really like it. Thanks Malia it is great!

Guess who can get in the bath tub now

I got William all bathed and ready for bed. Bradley and Kyle were still in the bath however. William and I went downstairs for a minute. William started up the stairs and towards the bathroom. As he entered the bathroom, I thought "he is going to get his sleeves all wet, I better go get him." As I entered the bathroom, I saw William just straddling the side of the tub ready to get back in. Before I could take another step he was in. All I could do was laugh and take a few pictures. I guess he got two baths tonight.

Snow Ball Launcher

Bradley and Kyle Figured out how to make a snowball launcher

Sledding

William's First Time Sledding

Snow is falling all around

We had our first good snow fall for the winter. As usual Joe built a sledding hill in the back yard. Kyle and Bradley had a lot of fun helping him, and going down the hill. This year was the first year that William got to join in on all the fun. He wasn't so sure about the sledding, but he did like walking around in the snow. We are hoping for a White Christmas this year.

Look A Like Contest

Christmas Party at the Lake House

Every year my cousin throws a fantastic Christmas party at my Aunt and Uncle's lake house. Every year Santa comes to visit and brings each of the kids a small Christmas present. Here are a few pictures of the family here in Omaha at the Christmas party. William is not so sure about Santa. Kyle told Santa he wants a parachute for Christmas, and Bradley wasn't sure what he wanted, but said he would think about it.

Setting up for Christmas

The day after Thanksgiving we decided to set up for Christmas. We got the tree all decorated. The boys loved helping. These pictures were taken as the tree was being decorated. The tree looked decent for about an hour. Within an hour William started taking off all the ornaments he could reach, and pulling the string of beads off. Bradley decided to see how big of a ball he could make with ornaments, and Kyle just constantly was moving everything around. The tree today looks terrible, but it definitely belongs in a home with three little boys. I am hoping when the novelty wheres off we will be able to get things a little better looking.

Happy Birthday Bradley

Bradley turned 6 on November 14th. I can't believe that we have a six year old. At 6 a.m. Bradley came into our room and announced that he was ready to open presents. He thinks sleeping in his underwear is great, and had done so the night before. I told him to go put on some clothes, but he was just so excited he couldn't wait. So we let him open his presents at 6 am in his underwear. Bradley decided that this year for his birthday he wanted a Star Wars birthday part, so we invited a few of his friends over and had a party. Joe made a pinata, that the kids loved breaking of course. We put glow sticks in long balloons for light sabers, and Joe dressed up as Darth Vader, they proceeded to attack him with their light sabers outside. So far having a six year old is much like having a five year old.

Merry Christmas from the Porter's

Click on the link below to hear and see the Porter kids wish you a Merry Christmas.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9530802652

We're Having a Baby

Yup it's true, we are going to have a baby. We know we are announcing early, but we are having a baby. The The babies due date is July 10, 2008. Will it be 4 boys or will it be our first girl? Only time will tell.

Meeting the Pooley's

Jeff, Elizabeth, Amanda, Blake, Tim, Janette, William, Joe,
Pooley Children, Bradley, and Kyle
Mike, Amanda, Blake, Tim, Janette, William, Joe
Bradley, and Kyle

William being cute

Had to get a shot of the pigs that they are raising. Pigs are
what Staci raised in FFA.
The boys playing in the hay maze

Rancher Kyle
Bradley, Blake, and Tim playing on the trikes.


Today is Staci's Birthday. We knew we wanted to do something that Staci would have enjoyed on her birthday, so we decided we wanted to do something with animals. Through so truly amazing events, we were brought together with the Pooley's the owners of a local working farm and pumpkin patch. I posted an add back in the beginning of October explaining about how Staci and Riley had been involved in a tragic and deadly head on collision. I also explained how much Staci loved animals and was involved with FFA in high school. I explained how this would be the first birthday that she wouldn't be with her to celebrate with us, but we still wanted to be able to do something she would have really enjoyed. Someone, Jody, read the listing, and forwarded it to her friend, Mike, who is the brother of Elizabeth Pooley, he forwarded our email on to Elizabeth and Jeff who emailed us inviting us to their farm. We found out that Jeff's birthday is also on November 3rd, the same day as Staci's. He felt a connection with Staci sharing a birthday and that is why he forwarded his sister the email that his friend had sent to him. We really had a wonderful time as we moved hay bails, pet chicks, herded sheep, and moved the runt piglet that was getting picked on by the bigger piglets. Elizabeth and Jeff are such great people and they really made us feel welcomed. We are looking forward to getting together with all of them again.

Happy Halloween

For Halloween we carved pumpkins and the boys dressed up. Bradley was Batman, Kyle was Superman, and William was a WSU football player. Michael joined us at trunk o treating, but Sammy was sick. The boys had a lot of fun trick or treating. Bradley and Kyle went full force on Halloween with Joe. They got more candy then any little boy needs. Bradley had a little more ambition then Kyle and wanted to stay out longer. He sprinted from house to house for about 30 extra minutes while Kyle helped me hand out candy. William was sleepy and was in bed before either of the boys got home.

8 Things

Yeah yeah, I know Danielle is probably thrilled about this, but I have been tagged. So here it goes. If you are here to look at picture of the kiddos go down further and skip this.

8 Things

8 Things I (Janette) am passionate about
1. My husband
2. My kids
3. The Gospel
4. Books
5. Laughing
6. Cooking
7. Playing with my kids
8. Getting even with people who tag me

8 Things I want to do before I die
1. Serve a mission
2. Go on a Cruise
3. Visit Church Sites
4. See my children get baptized
5. See my children get married in the temple
6. Run a Marathon, or maybe just a half
7. Learn how to crochet a blanket
8. Go to Africa

8 Books I have read recently
1. Harry Potter
2. Garlic and Sapphires
3. The Monster at the End of This Book (most of the books I read are kids books so I had to throw one in.)
4. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
5. Peter and the Starcatcher
6. First Aid and CPR
7. Forever Odd
8. The Collectors

8 Things I often say
1. We've got to go
2. Get your shoes on
3. Bradley, Kyle, William - but never the right name for the right kid
4. Go to bed
5. Did you wash your hands?
6. I love you, or did I tell you I love you today
7. Give me a minute
8. Stop teasing

8 Things that attract me to friends
1. People who like to have fun
2. People who have the same priorities
3. People who set an example for me in some way
4. People who make me laugh
5. People that can carry on a conversation and listen to what I say too
6. People that are generally happy
7. People who take the time to see how I am really doing
8. People who call just to say hi


8 Songs and Albums I could listen to over and over again
1. I am lost on this one, mostly I listen to Children's hymns.
2. Rascal Flatts
3. I can't think of anything else, I am lost when it comes to this now
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

8 Things I learned this year
1. I miss Bradley when he is at school
2. I am much more sensitive then I thought
3. I can be the strong one in our marriage too
4. I like board games
5. It's ok to say no when you are asked to do something, although I still rarely do this
6. I am not anything special anymore, not a newly wed, not a new mom, I'm just me.
7. Kids really say the funniest things when they are in primary
8. How to grind wheat and make whole wheat bread .

8 Random things about me
1. I work one night a week at the YMCA
2. I don't like marshmallows.
3. Joe was my first kiss.
4. I love country music, call me crazy, but I do
5. My favorite show right now is Heroes.
6. Sometimes I hide in the bathroom from my kids for a break.
7. I grew up in Colorado
8. As a stay at home mom, I still take an hour lunch break

8 People I tag
1. Teri
2. Glen and/or Jamie
3. Anita
4. Jordan
5. Amanda
6. Angie
7. Pam
8. Jacque

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch with Tim, Amanda, and Blake, as well as our friend from Washington, the Mathison's We had a lot of fun finding pumpkins and hanging out with everyone. Here are a few pictures of our experience.

Grandpa Hansen Comes to Visit

We had a fun time with my Grandpa Hansen when he came to visit Omaha. The boys really love to see him, and it was so wonderful to spend time with him. He now has, I believe, 53 great grandchildren.

Cookie Monster ? ? ?

So three or four days ago, I gave William a cookie with frosting on it. It was originally decorated as a pumpkin, hence all the orange frosting. He had a lot of fun with it, but I am not sure how much of the frosting he got in his mouth. As you can tell from the picture, he got it everywhere else, but not so much the mouth. He got a bath and got a ll cleaned up. Tonight, Bradley wanted a cookie so I gave him one. William saw me give him a cookie and reached up so I could give him one too. I picked one that didn't have very much frosting on it and broke off a small piece. He was very happy with it and toddled around the kitchen. This time the mess wasn't nearly as bad, probably because the frosting was a few days old.

Bradley - The Star of the Week

Look who was the star of the week. He got to put the Wildcat of the week sign in our front yard and was able to pick a few pictures to share with his class. We traced around his body and he decorated it. He had a lot of fun being the star of the week. He was so proud of himself all week.

What happens when you eat Skittles.

Here is Bradley's explanation about what happened today. He is in bed ready to go to sleep so the tooth fairy will come.

Look Who Lost a Tooth

We were watching General Conference today and Bradley came running downstairs. "I lost a tooth." We had no idea he even had a loose tooth. Sure enough in his hand was his tooth. When we looked in his mouth, we could see the little hole. His mouth was full of skittles that he had been sorting and "graphing" upstairs. He went and spit out his skittles and went to the bathroom to admire his new hole in his face. He is so excited.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Kyle singing a song for us.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

I have noticed lately that I enjoy the wedding pictures on the website. Yeah they may be really old pictures, but I still really enjoy seeing them, and having a little drive down memory lane. So here are a few pictures of our wedding, before we finished college, before we had kids, you know before when it use to be about only us. We got married in the Denver Temple on May 13, 2000. To me it seems just like yesterday, but then I realize all the things that have happened since that beautiful day. These are a few of my favorite memories of our wedding right now. Of course us standing in front of the temple is a classic, but, I also remember how much fun we had. My brother's I am not sure were quite ready to give up their sister, but in the end Joe won. I love the memory of Joe standing their with his sister's at the temple, so I wanted to make sure to include that one too. All the wonderful people who came to join us for our wedding, and who could forget the cake. Oh wait, I could that picture is deceiving, it's the only bite of food we had at the reception. I hope you had fun going down with me as I relived this memory!