Merry Christmas!!!

It's hard to believe 2011 is almost over. We've had a great year and almost too much fun. 

I had plans of sending out a Christmas card with the picture above, but due to circumstance beyond my control it just didn't happen, so I took a deep breath and will try again next year.

I'm a bit behind with my posts and since it's Christmas letter time I'll just share a bit about our year.

In January Kyle was seal in the Las Vegas temple to Megan Schiess. I was a little worried for Megan; joining a Porterfield family is hard enough, but one with so many sisters seemed it might be a little overwhelming. Megan didn't miss a beat and fits in the family perfect. We love her and are very happy for them.

Sweet baby Augustus, or Gus-Gus as his sisters lovingly call him, was born to Kassey and Will's family in February.

Gus is our 7th grand baby. He is all boy and very patience with all the love his big sisters give him. 

Swimming is an all year sport, and happily in March attending Kloe's swim meets was one of the main things we did. She swam on both the school team with took district and a club team. Photo's seem to be my main problem as of late so this will have to do for now.

In April we enjoyed spending Easter with Kaira Fern and Tyler's family here at home. I love living close enough to grand kids to be able to see them on a regular basis.

You could say that we spent the month of May in one big party. We started the month with both Mack and I celebrating birthdays that had a 5 in them and ended the month with a big welcome home party for Kody.

Kody returned from serving a 2 year full time mission for our church. He had a wonderful experience and loved the time he was able to serve.

He came  home a little skinny, but I went right to work getting meat back on his bones.

June was as pack as we could get it, but the 2 main highlights were Kloe's graduation from middle school and a visit to California to play on the beach and visit with family and friends, but mostly grand babies.

In July we had a visit from Kerin and Cory's family. We enjoyed spending time out on the boat, camping and seeing the sights of the Seattle area.  

Life didn't slow down in August, I think it only sped up faster. Kloe and I enjoyed a week at girls camp that was only top by me sneaking out of camp to make a visit to our newest grand baby.

Florance Elizabeth was a welcome addition to Kaira Fern and Tyler's house of all brothers.

We also managed to fit in a relaxing week on Lake Shasta. There is nothing like warm sunshine, big trees, a beautiful lake and almost no cell reception.

 We ended the moth by celebrating Kloe's 14th birthday, which means she is now off to church dances as often as she hears of one.

September was a high light of the year for me. Early in the month we used the excuse of our sweet niece, Mackenzie's wedding to gather as a family in Utah.   

It was the first time in 4 years we had all of our children, in-laws and grandchildren together in one place in person. 

I had hopes of having professional pictures done, but time together was more important than the stress of pictures, besides my brain was too mush with the joy of the moment to schedule anyone. 

We gathered at Kassey's home, watched Kassey, Kaira Fern, Tyler and Will put together a play set, visited, barbecued and enjoyed the cousins play. For Kim and I it was an evening that was near perfect.

 

September was also a big month for Kloe as she started high school and joined the schools swim and dive team. I'm not sure how I feel about my baby being a freshmen in high school, but I know Kloe loves it, maybe even a little too much.

October was at fast trip back to Utah for General Conference,

visits to the pumpkin patch and Halloween fun.

We had another visit from Karly, Kody, Kerin, Cory and little Junie,  for Thanksgiving in November. 

 It was a short visit for Cory Karly and Kody, but Kerin and Junie stayed around

for the first weekend in December attend the Teddy Bear Breakfast with us. This is a special day for us with our grand kids and a fun way to start off the Christmas holiday.

We have had a wonderful month of December and have enjoyed seeing all of our kids and their families. Even though we are living a little farther apart from each other than we would like we still manage to see each other as often as we can, especial this time of year.

We hope that you had enjoyed this wonderul time of year and been able to spend some time with you family and loved ones.

We are grateful for opportunity to take time out with family and friends, to ponder the blessings of our Savior and the gift of the atonement. May this new year be full of great memories and joyful moments for you and yours.