The Porters

A day in Lienz, Austria

2010-08-16T03:29:00.001-07:00

Juliane's Aunt was in Austria for vacation, so we headed down that way for a day. The clouds broke and it stopped raining, but it sure was cold on top of the mountain.

Spring is here!

2010-04-17T07:15:00.000-07:00

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Kids playing at Lake Starnberg in the sun

2010-04-07T07:35:00.000-07:00

Nicholas the handyman

2010-03-27T06:51:00.001-07:00

Nicholas helping out setting up the new Ikea furniture for the play corner in the family room.

Nicholas Skyping with his cousins

2010-03-27T06:50:00.001-07:00

Rowan & Jonas skyping with Nicholas

My son and a piece of Provolone

2010-03-23T10:48:00.001-07:00

Nicholas first time on skis

2010-03-21T12:13:00.001-07:00

We went skiing with some friends on the last weekend of Feb.

First Ice Cream of the Season

2010-03-21T12:11:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, when there was still snow on the ground... (Nicholas trying, and liking, Peppermint)

Berlin with Lego Duplo

2010-03-06T03:04:00.001-08:00

Since I am going to Berlin on business next week, N. wanted to build
Berlin. So we built the Brandenburger Tor...

Nicholas' first time on skis

2010-03-04T05:14:00.001-08:00

Nicholas borrowed some skis and went down a few very short run - he
loved it. We'll have get him signed up for a course next year.

A visit to the Salt Mines

2010-03-02T12:22:00.001-08:00

Here we are with some friends (first car) about to head into the mountain for a 2 hour tour (a 2 hour tour)....

Christmas in Atlanta Highlights

2010-01-05T09:04:00.001-08:00

Nicholas Performance at his Christmas Party

2009-12-16T21:22:00.000-08:00

Nicholas' class performed some songs at his Kindergarten Christmas Party. He pretty much stayed in the back, although he knew every song and has been singing them at home the past few weeks.

Fun in the Snow

2009-12-16T15:22:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, the boys had fun playing in the snow in our yard, and trying to clear the snow.

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Kids play dressup

2009-12-05T00:24:00.001-08:00

Nicholas took his Spiderman costume off too soon while playing dress up with Jeremy at the Thanksgiving party. Christopher thought he was to coolest with his Incredibles suit.

In the forest near our house

2009-11-19T15:39:00.000-08:00

Here we are in the forest near our home - a few weeks ago before it
turned cold.

Christopher turns 2

2009-11-15T10:41:00.000-08:00

In the morning Christopher had brought a cake with to the preschool to
share with the kids there.

Then Christopher had a small party in the afternoon with three friends
(who came without their older brothers and sisters - all friends of
Nicholas), so Nicholas and Dad went to the hardware store after we had
cake. The boys had a great time playing and the mom's were able to
relax and talk.

Some pics from play ground visits in Oct. + Nov.

2009-11-10T04:46:00.001-08:00

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Oct. 18, Grandpa was here for his birthday and we celebrated together

2009-11-10T04:44:00.001-08:00

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Nicholas' first bike ride

2009-10-25T11:18:00.001-07:00

Today I mounted the pedals on Nicholas' bike - it is one which he can use without pedals, just with his feet on the ground until he is ready. After about 10 min. he was pedaling as fast as he could down the parking lot in front of our house, and turning at the ends. Now he needs to learn to ride slow, and use his breaks gently.

The Steam Train Ride

2009-10-04T21:46:00.000-07:00

We got to ride around Munich for 1 hour in a steam engine from 1932. It belongs to a train club from near Munich, and they also restored 5 of the original train cars. Ours even had a wood stove in it. The kids had a blast and we got covered in soot.

The Boy's Rooms

2009-10-04T21:40:00.000-07:00

One of the first things we did with the boys in the new house after the move, was to decorate their rooms with the wall tattoos we bought. Here is a picture of Christopher in Nicholas' room (cars & trucks), and Nicholas in Christopher's room (animals).

Note: Nicholas saved his Ikea "Smalland" Name Tag and put the yellow sticker on his blue chair by the window. He wanted to leave it on his shirt for days.

A ride with a Steam Engine

2009-10-03T02:12:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a train ride around Munich behind a steam engine from 1932. We were all covered with soot from leaving the windows open.

Nicholas on some rides at the Oktoberfest

2009-09-27T11:47:00.000-07:00

Nicholas was proud he got to fly in the police helicopter, but a bit
scared from the crazy bumper cars. Not at all the like the one on
vacation or at the zoo which were explicitly for small kids.

Nicholas' Pirates from Kindergarden

2009-09-25T10:50:00.000-07:00

Christopher's first craft project at pre-school

2009-09-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

Riding the U-Bahn

2009-09-20T13:15:00.000-07:00

Oktoberfest started yesterday so we rode the U-Bahn in to town for
church today. Nicholas has been pestering us for monthes now as to
when we finally get to ride the subway to church again. Well the 5th
season has arrived in Munich.

Christopher's first pre-school day

2009-09-08T11:19:00.001-07:00

Nicholas taking Christopher to his first day at Nicholas' old pre-
school. Christopher did great and wanted to go back the next school
day (he is starting with 3 mornings a week). They put out the special
welcome mat for the kids.

Dancing to Live Jazz

2009-08-30T22:09:00.001-07:00

We went to the Waldwirtschaft Biergarten and the kids had a blast dancing to the live Jazz - along with Jeremy and Layla.

Some shots of our new home

2009-08-27T11:42:00.001-07:00

Our master bedroom under the root, the back yard, the open living
room, and the back yard.

The two brothers

2009-08-27T11:31:00.001-07:00

Nicholas on a Rhino at the Zoo

2009-08-27T11:28:00.001-07:00

That season pass for the Zoo is sure paying off. Kids 3 and under are
still free.

Austrian Alps in East Tirol

2009-08-16T09:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took off to East Tirol in Austria to spend the day with
Juliane's Aunt & Uncle who were there on holiday.

We drove through 2 passes - Pass Thurn (1274m / 4180ft) and the
Felbertauern Pass / Tunnel 1,650m/5,415ft ( with a 5km long tunnel) to
get there. Then up the 2200m/ high Gondola where we ate lunch with a
view of the Grossglockner 3798m (12400 ft) - the highest peak in
Austria.

It was perfect weather and we had a great time!

Got Milk

2009-08-09T14:29:00.001-07:00

Christopher drinking his babychinno and being silly

Chalk drawing in front of the house

2009-08-09T14:27:00.001-07:00

We now have another Bobby Car

2009-08-08T02:47:00.000-07:00

Which means no more fighting over the one. Now there is contention
over the one trailer.

Nicholas' Lego tower

2009-07-26T00:21:00.000-07:00

Nicholas reading to Christopher

2009-07-15T01:41:00.001-07:00

Nicholas drives a go cart

2009-07-12T10:53:00.001-07:00

On vacation we decided to go to a "play center" which is mainly intended for indoor playing when the weather is bad. It was hot and humid outside which translated to worse inside the play center. Anyways, there was a go cart track for small kids, so we let Nicholas go. The other kids standing around seemed astounded that the "little guy" was allowed to drive, and that he was as good as they were.

Nicholas in the Park

2009-07-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

Here is Nicholas standing on the sledding hill at the local park.

Summer Fest at Nicholas' new Kindergarden

2009-07-12T01:20:00.001-07:00

They invited us even though he doesn't start until September

Beach - North Sea style

2009-06-30T01:15:00.001-07:00

Here we are in our tradional beach hut. The weather is humid and in
the high 80's (no wind).

A Carousel Ride

2009-06-28T08:12:00.001-07:00

Herre are the boys riding the carousel at the "French friendship
festival" in Pullach (right out front of Nicholas' preschool).

Electric Boats at Lake Starnberg

2009-06-22T13:24:00.000-07:00

Christopher did not want to sit still, so he was a handful trying to
keep him from the edge (why didn't they give us life vests? probably
didn't have any). Nicholas got to steer the boat for awhile, and we
enjoyed the view of the alps, and the sunny weather.

Christopher loves wearing Nicholas' helmet

2009-06-11T07:03:00.001-07:00

Pool Party at the Porter's

2009-05-27T15:00:00.001-07:00

We finally broke out the pool in the backyard, and the kids had a blast!

Father's Day (German) was spent at Wildpark Poing

2009-05-22T16:11:00.000-07:00

We fed the animals (Christopher wished he could, and Nicholas was more
wary), watched a show with hawks and a bald eagle, ate lunch, and
played on the playground. Everyone except dad slept on the way home.

Mother's Day 2009

2009-05-10T11:17:00.001-07:00

Despite the fact that Nicholas wanted to play soccer instead of taking
pictures, we managed to get a few anyways....

Those fast racing cars!

2009-05-03T11:02:00.001-07:00

This, the bumper cars, (and possibly the 85m long water slide) were
probably the highlight of the vacation for Nicholas. We rode on 5
different occasions, and let Nicholas steer (mostly). He had fun
going fast in circles, and ramming the others. There were only 6 cars
in a room about 10m x 15m, and never a wait. We just had to remember
to get the chips from the reception before we went to the play barn.
We also did a few "baby" rounds without bumping after we realized that
Christopher was feeling left out just watching.

Forgot to mention those ponies

2009-05-03T10:56:00.001-07:00

We got to ride the ponies around in the riding hall. I think
Christopher was more excited about it than Nicholas. At first we were
not planning on him riding, but after he watched a few kids ride from
his stroller, he started crying and pointing. He was so proud to be
riding.

The kids are having fun

2009-04-30T04:22:00.001-07:00

There is sooo much fun things to do at the hotel ( http://www.ulrichshof.de
)! These are some of the things we have done:
- trampolines
- petted the goats, rabbits, ponies and horses
- rode cars in the lobby
- played at the large outdoor playground
- played at the indoor playground
- played in the LARGE indoor play barn
- bumper cars
- trampolines
- jumped into the hay in the barn
- 85m long INDOOR waterslide at the indoor pool
- played in the kindergarden
- danced in the saloon (kids dancing)
- rode in a Unimog (truck)
- rode on a flying fox
- controlled the digger arm

Going for an Unimog ride

2009-04-30T04:15:00.000-07:00

Afternoon fun for the whole family - going on an Unimog ride. He got
up to 85 km downhill trough the forest on a road no wider than the
truck! The Adams went right before we did.

Heading out on Vacation

2009-04-26T23:23:00.000-07:00

Exciting - just discoverd that a German Magazine has ranked the Hotel
we are going to ( http://www.ulrichshof.de ) the top Family hotel in
Europe! Even the Lobby has stuff for kids (30 red cars to ride on
according to their website). And, to top it off, I also just read
that the German Magazine "Feinschmecker" (a Culinary Magazine), has
also ranked them in the top 50 for Hotels "where you can feel good
at" (for lack of a better translation).

Visit to the Fire Station

2009-04-25T11:28:00.001-07:00

The local volunteer Fire Department in Pullach where Nicholas' pre
school is was having a Fest to celebrate their new Fire Engine. In
Germany almost every village has a volunteer Fire Department, and it
is a prestigious club to belong to. The kids got to climb in and on
all the trucks. We even stayed for lunch.

Fun in the Hammock

2009-04-19T09:07:00.000-07:00

More Nicholas Soccer Man

2009-04-19T09:04:00.000-07:00

A bike ride to the playground

2009-04-13T09:24:00.001-07:00

We took a quick ride to the closest park to our house before dinner so
Nicholas could ride his bike again. He got it for his birthday, but
this was the first week he really was able to try it out.

Nicholas's BMW next to a larger one

2009-04-13T09:21:00.001-07:00

Now that Nicholas has a BMW Bike he keeps noticing BMW logos... he
wanted me to take a picture of him next to our neighbor's.

Easter morning at the Porter's

2009-04-12T03:38:00.000-07:00

Easter morning we had an Easter Egg hunt before we went to church. I
think Christopher just had fun being in the yard, but Nicholas found
all the eggs.

Nicholas and Christopher get their email adresses

2009-03-19T08:13:00.001-07:00

Nicholas pretending to Play Guitar

2009-03-17T14:56:00.001-07:00

He doesn't know what the Wii is for, or what Guitar Hero is, but this
past weekend he asked to play the Guitar which was on top of the
cupboard. So I put on the Hillsong DVD, and let him play. He also
sung along "... ONE WAY!...WOA! ..."

Fun in the Fort

2009-03-17T14:53:00.000-07:00

A Snowman

2009-02-21T15:11:00.001-08:00

Today we finally got to make a snow man - the snow last week was not
sticky enough. Nicholas played in the back yard 3 times today! He
even played on the ground in the snow with his cars for awhile....

Bowling for Juliane's Birthday

2009-02-21T15:08:00.001-08:00

We finally went bowling to celebrate Juliane's birthday, after having
to postpone it because we all had the flu back in January. We had fun
- it was disco night....

Portaits for Juliane

2009-02-15T06:59:00.001-08:00

Juliane was at a first aid course last weekend, so I took the kids to
take some portraits for her.

Nicholas Shoveling Snow

2009-02-14T09:44:00.001-08:00

Before the big snow came, Nicholas got to help Mom clear in front of
the house.

Sledding in the Park

2009-02-14T09:36:00.001-08:00

Today we finally got to go sledding in the park near our house (there
was never enough snow this year). The Adams came and Jeremy and Layla
went sledding, too. Normal sledding was too boring for Jeremy, so by
the end he wanted to slide down the big hill, on the ice patch, on his
but, by himself. Nicholas enjoyed going fast, and being pulled there
(there was enough snow on the sidewalks). Christopher did not enjoy
walking in the snow ;-).

Christopher Posing for the Camera

2009-02-09T16:01:00.001-08:00

The Porters ca. 1973

2009-02-09T16:00:00.001-08:00

Bonnie, Brian and Scott with Harold & Jean Porter - at LAX on the way
to Finland ca. 1973 (or was this on the way home in 1975?)

Friday night fun

2009-02-06T11:11:00.001-08:00

Dancing to a new Children's CD before going to bed.

The Porters in 1970

2009-01-27T12:17:00.000-08:00

Brian is almost 1 at his Dad's college graduation!

Pictures of Christopher

2009-01-24T02:37:00.001-08:00

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Pictures of Nicholas

2009-01-24T02:36:00.001-08:00

Nicholas' Polizei Auto Birthday Cake

2009-01-06T14:30:00.001-08:00

Here is the birthday cake - the night before....

Nicholas' (early) birthday gift

2009-01-06T01:30:00.001-08:00

Here he is riding his new bike - it has pedals for later.

Christopher riding a bike

2009-01-01T09:24:00.001-08:00

Christopher discovers static electricity

2008-12-31T04:17:00.001-08:00

Boy was it fun to keep brushing his head against the top of the
shopping "car"

Christopher having fun at the mall

2008-12-31T04:15:00.001-08:00

Got Milk?

2008-12-27T05:55:00.001-08:00

Nicholas drinking his "Kinder-Cappuccino"

Blue Bath

2008-12-27T05:54:00.003-08:00

Christmas with Edith & Michael

2008-12-27T05:54:00.001-08:00

This year Edith & Michael (Juliane's parents) came over again. We had
a low-key Christmas, and invited Juliane's half-aunt and her family
who live in Munich over for Dinner on the day after Christmas.

Sledding for the first time

2008-12-13T04:09:00.001-08:00

It snowed, so we took our new sled over to Jeremy & Layla's to go
sledding. Christopher watched from his cozy "foot bag"..

More Silliness - Nicholas' Animal Sounds

2008-12-08T12:37:00.001-08:00

Adams Family Silent Scream

2008-12-08T12:31:00.001-08:00

as performed by Nicholas:

Nicholas the Handyman

2008-12-06T09:05:00.001-08:00

Nicholas loves to help dad fix things. He didn't want to stop - we had to tighten all the chairs, and then he started making up things that were broken. (I think we got him the perfect Christmas gift - a Workbench with 100+ tools/parts)

Nicholas Opening Door 1

2008-12-06T08:57:00.000-08:00

Join Our Social Network

2008-12-04T15:49:00.001-08:00

It doesn't matter wether you are already in Facebook, or have a Gmail account. You can join our social network and keep your existing account. Just press "Join" to Join us, and stay tuned for more features in the coming weeks.

Christopher's first birthday

2008-11-30T11:29:00.000-08:00

We are finally getting around to updating the homepage with pictures from Christopher's first birthday party. Click on the picture or here to get there. Poor Christopher was soooo sick. He had bronchitis, the 3-day fever (which we didn't know until the next day), an eye infection and he was teething. It's a good thing he won't remember it.

Nicholas the repairman

2008-11-30T11:07:00.000-08:00

Nicholas just found a new place to repair his car. In the "Cars" Tent
that has been stowed away in the basement for over a year. Here he is
during a marathon repair session.

Christopher's second most favorite place...

2008-11-30T11:06:00.001-08:00

Christopher's second most favorite place to get into trouble is behind
the door in the office. He love pulling books off the shelf and
shredding any paper that falls out. Here he is caught in the act...

Nicholas' first Advent Calendar

2008-11-30T09:34:00.001-08:00

Juliane made a cool advent calendar for Nicholas filled with lots of
goodies. We'll see how much of the concept Nicholas grasps.

Nicholas decorates Christmas cookies

2008-11-30T09:32:00.001-08:00

Juliane made some of the Porter family butter cookies for Christmas
(Great Grandma's recipe). The special red ones were done with a car
cookie cutter, and Nicholas helped decorate them.

Checking out Dad's trumpet

2008-11-30T09:29:00.000-08:00

Setting up the Christmas Tree

2008-11-30T09:12:00.001-08:00

Here is the big tree Munich has set up at Marienplatz downtown next to
the Rathaus. Juliane captured this while shopping downtown with
Christopher.

Christopher the Soldier

2008-11-30T09:10:00.001-08:00

Christopher playing at some friends house at a thanksgiving party.

Nicholas Comic Life 1

2008-11-29T02:00:00.001-08:00

Daddy's creative activity with Nicholas -> make a "collage" on the
computer. Finally he said "enough, enough Daddy!"

Dinner with the boys

2008-11-18T11:23:00.000-08:00

Juliane got to go out to dinner with some friends. This is what it
felt like at dinner with the boys.

Its almost Christmas!

2008-11-18T06:17:00.001-08:00

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