F is for family!

F is for family, not "fetch" if your from Utah, or "fat" because that is how you feel after the holiday, or even "farfenoogan". I changed my post entry after writing about what we did during Christmas because judging from the response in our last blog, our "Most Noble friends" are obviously our family and hey, they were there.



So to honor our "Most Noble friends", I will tell you my most favorite thing about them during the time we were together. While playing charades, most of the focus is on the person trying to act out the clue, and little notice is given to the people who are guessing. Well, Betsy is definately my favorite guesser person to watch. I mean, who else jumps out of their seat, yelling answers out, all at the same time getting closer and closer to the person who is trying to act it out for everyone else.

I appreciate people like Russ who are grammer snobs. He may be reading this right now thinking about all of my grammer mistakes and thinking about dangling participles . My parents speak with "country grammer" and I have inherited it. My first year as a elementary school teacher a fellow colleague said to me, '"Valerie it is not "I seen", it's "I've seen" or "I saw"."' I wasn't offended, even at 22 years old, in fact, I worked really hard at correcting myself. I asked my roommate if she noticed I used "seen" incorrectly and she said "yes." I asked her why she didn't correct me and she said "I thought you were trying to be cute." Over the years, I have tried to steer away from "cute", thanks to people who are brave enough to correct me. So Russ, more power to ya!

Andy and Joe's house is decorated right out of a magazine, or, that is what you would think. Their house is filled with color and life. I love their homemade shelves and their choice of decorations. In fact, 10 years from now, or whenever we can afford a house, I am going to get some ideas from these people.




Since I am on the subject of family and favorite, I would like to share my top ten favorite things about this Christmas holiday in no specific order:

1. Doing a puppet nativity with my mom, Autumn, and the kids. The kings kept popping up at the wrong time! Ah hem, mom was that you?

2. Seeing my mom and Autumn bundle up like they were in a winter in Michigan. Did you forget you were in California?

3. Xander demanding that I hold his hand in the car.

4. CJ and her cousins making a picture slide show.

5. Finding Mia and her little cousins hidden in a small corner, giggling.

6. Watching Jim do Guitar Hero.

7. Playing games with Ben's siblings til 2:00 a.m.

8. Watching Kathy try to take a bite out of her 10 lb chocolate bar.

9. Jes' mohawk.


10.Mia, Porter, and Sam all taking a bath together.(That looks funny. Mia and Porter names together. Isn't that her name?)

Photoshop Fun!

I've decided if you read our family blog without an email reminder, you have passed the test and will hereby be addressed as "Most Noble friends of the Porters". You will also be given a lifetime supply of tuna. You may leave your name in the comment section so others may know who you are and can address you appropriately.

So I have been playing around with Photoshop and have had so much fun. Here are some of my experiments:

BEFORE


AFTER


This one I just played with the colors. Aren't little bums cute?



I just absolutely love Xander's face on this. What I did here was much harder than the first picture although I was going for the same affect.

BEFORE


So this is how I got the color in this picture. I opened a color picture and used the color from that neckless and then tried to fill it in the black and white picture. Ben informed me that this was the hard way. I have learned that if I want to isolate color in a picture it is easier to use a color picture, select what I want to stay colored and then make it black and white.

AFTER


So much fun! I would just like to thank my husband Ben for opening my eyes to the world of Photoshop, my kids for taking naps and giving me some time to play with the computer, and last but not least, chocolate, for being my constant companion this holiday season!

Hilarious!

I came home from a busy night and Ben and the kids had this for me. It's hilarious!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1377981426

Snow in California?

Yes, you heard it right! There was snow in the Bay area. In fact, Pixar was the only place to get hit with snow. The crazy thing is that there was only snow in one area on the grounds at Pixar. It was formed perfectly into a sledding hill. Man, California is full of surprises!




On Friday, we went to Ben's work party. It was so much fun. Besides the sledding hill, they had tons of crafts for the kids to do as well as yummy food to eat. The kids kept themselves entertained making candy houses, beaded necklaces, and crowns. After, we watched the Golden Compass. We had a fun night.




So we have the best news ever! Ben was given word that he would be extended at least 6 more months doing "run of show". Well when it was finally made official, he was extended 12 months and given a higher salary and benefits. I wanted to shout "Hallelujah" and climb to the highest mountain and shout praises. Luckily, there are no mountains close by, so we had to settle for little screams of happiness in our small apartment. We are so thankful and feel so blessed. Thanks to all of our family members who have been praying for us. You are the best!



Xander is showing you how we feel in our apartment. WE FEEL SO SQUISHED! We have decided to stay in our apartment ONLY because we really don't want to move at Christmas and after only 6 months. When our lease is up next summer we are hoping to find a 3 bedroom apartment. I'm sure it will cost a small fortune.

My cute mom and sister are coming to visit next week. I am so excited and even more excited for my kids to get some grandma love. My sister Autumn may just love it here with all the asians and never want to go back to school. After Christmas we will be heading to Utah and visit more family. So. . .have a very Merry Christmas,Feliz Navidad, and Happy Hanukkah!