ok.. really!!

Tonight when the kids were in the bath Braden and I had this conversation:


Braden- sticking little foam toys to Camiron
"mom I am sticking them to her boobs"

me- ignoring the comment- "Braden please don't put any more of those on Camiron, she doesn't like it"

Braden- sticks another one to her
"see mom they are sticking to her boobs, see them?!"

me- "Braden, what did I just say?!- do not stick any more on her"

Braden- "I can't hear you mom"
"I think my ears are broken"

-while sticking more foam toys to poor Camiron.

Really- is he 2 or 13?!!
I swear we don't teach him these things! Am I lucky or what!

Amazing Moments

For those who are members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints will know this amazing woman as Sister Bonnie Parkin. In the LDS church there are very special people who are asked to lead the members of the church. Sister Parkin was one of these chosen women. She was the acting Relief Society President of the church from 2002 - 2007. (for those non-churchgoers- this means she was in charge of all the millions of women in the church. So she was the president to the members in Korea, Brazil, Hawaii, US etc etc.... big job!)
So you can imagine my surprise when this past Sunday she was in our Ward. Just before I got up to teach the Relief Society lesson I realized she was there. I had the very scary, overwhelming and amazing opporturnity to teach the weeks Relief Society lesson to the President of the Relief Society. What a week to come without handouts, visual aids or treats. But she taught that we should focus on the lesson not the extras. And so I did.
I left my lesson and nerves to the Spirit and feel very blessed to have had this opportunity. She is an amazing woman who offered great insite into the lesson on Baptism and Confirmation into the church.
After the lesson I had a chance to chat with her about our lives, our families, her vacation- and none other than where I get my hair cut!
I hope one day I can bring the spirit into the room with me the way she does.

a few last pics

you may be thinking that i left slc a few weeks ago.. but i have really been struggling to get all my pictures up on the blog since then. so this is the last of it- and now i can move on to the present! phew!



With troy is town we managed a dinner with the bros and wives. it was so much fun to see everyone- and unfortunately the picture just doesn't show everyone very well so here we go
troy and I, jeff and monica, Marilee and Bryce, Abby and Shooter, Matt and Ashlee, Bree and Matt, and Brad and Courtnie.
We love you all and had a great time!


This is my longtime college friend Mandy. Can't believe it, but it had been about 7 years since we have seen each other. She lives in Logan so we managed to meet half way and actually get together! it was just like old times, except that instead of planning a college event we laughed about our kids. Crazy! Love you mandy


And Shan- somehow Shan and i only managed to see each other a couple of times which makes me sad. We have spent more time together here in hawaii than in slc! crazy! but thanks to shannon my kids were clothed for the 2 months we were there, and had toys to play with. I would have died without you shannon! love you- love your kids.

celebrating 60

Just before we left SLC we had a 60th birthday bash for my dad. I can't believe he is 60- ok so he has had a hip replaced, and is about to get rid of a hernia- but the guy just doesn't stop! He is still backpacking, exploring the world, hiking, canoeing, snowshoeing, skiing... etc etc... i can't even name all of his adventures. I can't wait for my kids to be old enough to go on the "good" adventures with him. We love him so much, and as you can see many others do as well. I know this post is a little late in coming- but it needed to get on here :) Happy 60


The only person missing here is my brother Kevin. These are the Butterfield kids janene, chad and eddie. we have taken countless family trips together. our parents met way back when.... who knows when..... so it was fun to be together!

cos and roo

i love my highschool friends. we have been through so much of life together- and everyone is so amazing. Thanks to brooka we had a bbq while troy was in town and had our close friend andrew join us. Making us COS and Roo! Many of us owe thanks to andrew- he was troy and my matchmaker- which introduced many of the girls to their hubbies as well. it was so fun to see andrew and made me miss getting together with the whole crew. we had a great time and feel so blessed to have these lifelong friends!

the crew

while we were in slc we managed a miracle...
our DC group of friends managed to get together!! Jeff and Tara moved to miami just after this... Wes and Ally are in Alpine... and Aryn and Nate are in Boise. We had so much fun. We were able to do a dinner/ hangout like old times- only now with a million kids running around. And a day at the park. Amazing how it is just normal and great. We sure miss the good times and loved seeing all of you!

love my family.... love my photographer

I am so picky when it comes to family pictures..... I hate getting them taken, and i usually only like a few of the shots. But I went to a girl name Mary Clarke when I was home and I think she did a fabulous job! I am a little biased because I of course think my kids are adorable- but you can decide for yourself. I just think she got some really great shots, and it was sooo much less than i pay at terrible sears here. So anyone in SLC looking for a photographer, i would highly reccomend her. She gave me a cd with all of the pics of the kids, and 3 shots of the family- how great is that! so this isn't even all the pictures that i like :)
Her blog is http://photographybydmc.blogspot.com/ if you want to check out all of her work.