Randy's Birthday

So this past week, Randy celebrated his 36th birthday! I asked him a couple weeks ago what he wanted to do for his birthday this year and he answered with, "I'd like to go snowshoeing with YOU". So we dropped the kids off with Grandma Arlene on Friday night, went to dinner at Tahoe Joe's Steakhouse, and headed up the 168 to a friend's cabin at Shaver Lake! We woke up Saturday morning, packed up for the hike, and headed out into the meadow behind the cabin for a nearly 4 mile hike in knee-high powder! I doubt we would have gotten very far if not for the snowmobile tracks that we followed most of the time. When we got to the back of the meadow, we stopped for lunch and attempted to build a snowman. The snow was so powdery, it wouldn't stick, and it ended up looking like a sculpture of the Matterhorn, or a giant Hershey kiss (basically, a big pile of snow with a pointy top). I wouldn't even let Randy take a picture of it, it was so sorry. But we had fun trying anyways. I posted a few of my favorite pics of the day. Also, click on Randy's blog to read his snowshoeing entry and see his fave pics of the day! A sunny, warm day...way different than last weekend at KCNP. Tracks in the snow from...a coyote? A deer? A view from the back of the meadow. A great day!

Isaac's prayer for breakfast

"Thank you for this day. And thank you for the love we have and for Daddy could beat Daddy Bergen at tennis ball this morning. Amen."

Snow Day!

Yesterday, since Audrey was out of school for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Randy took the day off so we could head up the mountains to the snow. Now, there hasn't been a good storm since Randy and Aaron went up 3 weeks ago, so the snow was pretty icy and packed (as you can see from the huge chunk Isaac is carrying)...not real good for snow play or making a snowman, but good for trying out snowshoeing as a family! Violet was obviously too small to walk with snowshoes, so she got to ride on Daddy's back. But Audrey and Isaac both had a great time! After playing a little and having a picnic lunch, we geared up to take a hike. Although walking 1 mile in 1 hour could hardly be called hiking, the kids had a great time testing out their snowshoes (rented from REI for only $5), feeling them on different types of snow, uphill, over rocks, running, backing up, and falling too! After returning to the car to de-gear, we spent some time exploring in the Ranger Station. And, of course, we had to stop at the store for a snack before heading home. A big thank you to the Alveys and the Schlesselmans for helping us get appropriate snow clothes and boots for our kiddos! And thanks, Bob, for letting me borrow your snowshoes and poles! The whole family. Audrey loves the snow! Violet and Mommy. Audrey and Isaac in front of the "big rock" down in the tent loop of Azalea campground.

Violet

I have a confession, every once in a while I freak out that I'm not taking enough pictures of Violet. I can just hear my friend Jill saying, "Oh, poor Violet, those third kids get forgotten so often." Well, of course, most of it is not intentional...that's just the way the birth order process goes. But sometimes I freak out that one of my kids will say something like that later in life, which I'm sure they will no matter what I do. But I'm still going to try my best. So this week I took a bunch of pictures of Violet...here's some of the best.The kids figured out that if you take all the shelves out of the play kitchen, Violet can fit in there! Playing peek-a-boo in the fridge is now one of Violet's favorite things to do. Vi with some of her favorite stuffed toys. "I un hol jou" is Violet's way of saying "I want you to hold me". Most mornings, after walking Audrey to school, the kids like to watch a show or 2 on PBS while I drink my coffee, check my email, and read my Bible. But most mornings, I get Violet wandering in from the other room, wanting to sit in my lap. This particular morning I decided to try to get a picture of this regular occurance...sorry it's not quite in focus.Violet with her big brother!

Snowshoeing

Click HERE to see what Randy was up to yesterday!

My Green Idea of the Year

So I don't expect anyone to do this with me, and I guess you could call this my New Year's resolution as well, but I still wanted to share the idea. I have decided to not buy anything new for myself or my kids this year. Now, I'm not talking about food, medicine, toiletries, etc. I'm talking about all the "stuff"...clothes, games, decorations around the house, etc. I'm sure I will be surprised by (1) how much I can get along without, (2) how much I can find second-hand that will work perfectly fine (in cases where I do find I need to purchase something at all), and (3) how much money I'll be able to save by not buying all that new "stuff".

Happy New Year!

So I know that we rang in the new year a week ago, but I'm still catching up. New Years' Eve was the first day since Christmas Eve that we truly had nothing planned during the day...so we stayed in our pajamas until almost noon, relaxing with coffees in hand and letting the kids watch some videos too. My dad was starting to feel a tinge of a cold coming on as well, so we made sure that everyone took a nap that day. That evening, the seven of us went to dinner together at Cheesecake Factory and then back home to get the kids back in their pajamas so they could have some popcorn and watch some TV (Muppet Show, Season 2, that Grandpa got for Christmas) with Grandma and Grandpa while Randy and I went out. Randy and I had a great time welcoming the new year with our friends Jason and Jane Isaac, Aaron and Christa Wiens, and Adam and Jill Lee. Jill made her fabulous New Years' fritters, and was gracious enough to make 2 kinds...one with apples and one with raisins. We also had two different "toppings"...some we coated with granulated sugar, the others we dipped in icing. You see, I grew up with apple fritters rolled in sugar; Jill's family did them with raisins (like at the MCC Sale) and had them glazed. The first time we got together for New Years', Jill and I each made a complete batch of fritters the way we liked them, and we had about 40 fritters left over (and they're just never the same reheated). So this year, Jill made one batch of dough and then put apples in half, raisins in half. THANKS Jill! We had a great time eating, playing games, and just enjoying each others' company! New Years' Day was my parents' last day in Fresno, and it was a full one! After breakfast we went across the street to the fields behind Hoover High School to test out the kids' new airplanes they got from my Aunt Jane. We had a blast! They're just these little foam planes that you hook up to a charger "gun" for 10 seconds and then shoot into the air. The little motor inside makes the propeller go and they fly around and go all over the place...sometimes pretty far. But they're unpredictable. You have to watch out 'cause they can come back and fly right into you (Audrey got one right in the stomach)! But they're just foam, so it doesn't really hurt. So after some good time in the "park", we did a little shopping (REI and SurLaTable aren't out in Kansas), and then ate lunch at In-N-Out Burger (nope, they don't have any of those in Kansas either). Then we came home and Grandma Arlene joined us to make tamales for dinner! The last three times I have made tamales, I have been out in Easton with Mike's mom, Rachel Alaniz, an amazing cook who has made great tamales for at least forty years! But Arlene and my mom wanted to learn, so I attempted to pass on my learnings. We had a lot of fun doing it together (which is really how tamales should be made...as a family)! It was a wonderful finish to a great eight days with my parents!Arlene, Audrey, and Janice shredding the pork.Isaac was in charge of soaking and separating the husks.Audrey and I mixing the masa.Yummy! Ready for dinner!Grandma Janice and AudreyViolet likes them too!

More catching up

The week with my parents here just flew by! On the day after Christmas (Wed) we celebrated our Porter Christmas... Randy and I and the kids, my parents, and Ben & Alli. We cooked (for most of the afternoon) a yummy turkey dinner with all the fixings, and mincemeat pie and chocolate cupcakes for dessert. It was a great day to just hang out as a family...the WHOLE day! Thursday we drove to Visalia to see my dad's side of the family. Both of my dad's parents are still alive, so it is always a special trip for the kids to see their great-grandparents! Below is a picture of three generations of Porters...my brother, Ben, my dad, Bruce, and his dad, Vernon.My dad's sister, Yvette, is always such a gracious hostess when we come to Visalia, and doesn't mind the crowd at all. My kids just love her, and she showers them with lots of gifts, hugs, and kisses when we come! Here's a cute picture of Violet sitting with my Aunt Yvette reading, and Audrey next to Uncle Russ with her new Princess drawing pad. We were lucky to have a morning and evening with no fog, so the traveling back and forth was no problem. Friday, during the day, we had one last chance to hang out with Ben & Alli. We spent most of the day relaxing, and my parents got to take them to lunch by themselves (no Mack kids to distract from the conversations). We managed to say goodbye that afternoon with no tears (we hope to make it up to Portland to visit some time this July), and then packed up to head back to Visalia for dinner with my mom's side of the family. Here's a picture with four generations of women...my daughters, Violet and Audrey, me, my mom, Janice Porter, and her mom, Verle Meredith. Just like my dad's side, both of my mom's parents are still alive. So, once again, I say that it is always special for my kids to visit with their great-grandparents. My Grandpa Bud turned 90 this year, so we certainly thank God for all those wonderful years! My parents stayed the night in Visalia while we headed home to Fresno. We had a nice, relaxing weekend, with all of the formal celebrations over and done with. We got a nice break before the New Year began...but I'll have to post about that later.

Catching up

Well, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Our family certainly did! I am sorry for not posting for so long...let me try to catch you up. Randy had Christmas Eve (Mon) off from work, so we had a very relaxing three days leading up to Christmas. We took one last trip to the grocery store, made a batch of cookies, read lots of books and played some board games as a family, made zwiebach and borscht on Christmas Eve afternoon, went to Christmas Eve service at our church that night, and got to bed on time most nights! Christmas morning was spent at our house. This was the first year that I encouraged Audrey and Isaac to exchange gifts. Allow me to explain why I made this decision. A couple days before Violet's second birthday (7 weeks ago), Audrey came up to me and told me she wanted to get something for Violet for her birthday. Before I could even answer her, she explained that she knew just what she wanted to give her...she just needed a bag to put it in. So I gave her a gift bag and she wrapped up one of her own Barbies in some tissue paper and put it inside (one she said Violet loves to play with the most). I have always been amazed by Audrey's giving and sensitive spirit, and this time was no different. Although we don't give our kids allowances, I knew that I wanted to allow the kids to enjoy the fun of giving a gift to their sibling. I just had to figure out how to do that with little to no money. So I asked other moms for ideas, and read through a couple parenting magazines, and came up with a good idea. A couple nights before Christmas, when Randy and I were able to get out on a date (thanks Grandma Arlene!), we went to Target and scoured the store for little items (all of them under $5) that we thought would be good gifts for either Audrey or Isaac. Then, the next day, I set up a "store" in my bedroom for Audrey to come shop for Isaac, laying out all the items Randy and I had picked out, complete with price tags. Then Audrey got to come in the room and I "gave" her $5 to pick a gift for Isaac. Since the items ranged in price she could pick one or two gifts, depending on what she chose. After she studied each item, she chose one (a 100-piece Spiderman puzzle), and then we wrapped it up for Christmas morning. Then Audrey went out, I put all those items away and re-did the store for Isaac to come pick out something for Audrey. He chose an appaloosa horse figurine. We wrapped it and then I cleaned up the rest of the items, putting them aside to return to the store later. The kids loved it!!! On Christmas morning, after reading the Christmas stories out of the Bible (the accounts of Jesus being born, the angel appearing to the shepherds, and the wise men visiting) we took some time to talk about why we give gifts and prayed together, thanking God for our family and for his provision in our lives. THEN we went to the living room to exchange gifts. After that we headed to Randy's mom's house for the rest of the day. We enjoyed the day, relaxing with each other, ate some great food, opened gifts, and played the Wii late into the night. At about 9 p.m. we were joined by my brother, Ben, and his wife, Alli, with my parents in tow, straight from the airport! Well, that at least caught you up to Christmas Day. I'll post again soon with more pictures and a "recap" of our week leading up to 2008!

The Mack Family's Top Ten Events of 2007

Since our Christmas season seemed to come faster than we anticipated, we didn't get Christmas cards out to all our friends...so here it is!

10. Audrey & Isaac played “Bitty Soccer” this fall.
9. Isaac learned to swim this past summer.
8. Violet learned to walk this past February.
7. We visited the beach 3 times this year.
6. We took our first trip to see the Big Trees (at Kings’ Canyon National Park) in the snow.
5. The Wiens family came “home” to Fresno, and moved in right around the corner from us.
4. Violet begins to talk…now we have a trio!
3. We took a 17-day road trip to Kansas to visit Grandma Janice and Grandpa Bruce.
2. We celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary.
1. Our family trip to Disneyland after Thanksgiving (the picture below is by the Matterhorn). We hope everyone had a great holiday season...and wish everyone a Happy New Year! See you in 2008!