Halloween 2009

We had such a great Halloween this year! The kids all came up with their own costume ideas and with the help of Amanda their wishes were granted. They first celebrated at school with various Halloween parties.

On Halloween Day we were spooked by Uncle Kenny and his haunted garage. The spookiness get better and better every year! This year was particularly fun because Parker and Grace went through. It was so funny to hear them screaming their bums off. Plus it's the only time that Parker will hug onto me anymore.

After we were sufficiently scared, we went trick-or-treating throughout our neighborhood. We sure missed the trunk-or-treating in Henderson. It's a one stop treating event were adults and kids hang out and enjoy each others company. This year was different and even though we got a late start on treating we still had a great time just running around as a family. Oops. Did I mention that trick-or-treating in Lehi is much colder? Well, it is!

When we got home, Grandma Diane had some nice hot chili and corn bread ready to eat. Yummy!

I also wanted to add that earlier in the week, Parker won an award for his Tooth Fairy costume at the Eaglecrest 2nd Ward's Halloween party. He won, "The Most Creative and Brave!" Way to go Parker! Only real men can wear a tu-tu.

Carving Pumpkins

Icky, slimey, gooey, gloopy, blooby and sloppy pumpkin "brains." Carving pumpkins for Halloween is so much fun! (Especially when you are old enough to design AND carve your very own pumpkin.)

The end results make the slimey "brains" inside the pumpkins worth the trouble.

Emily's Blessing Day

Emily Jane Butler was given a name and a blessing from her Grandfather on Sunday, October 25, 2009. 

We kept the day small and simple by having the blessing at our home and sharing it with family. This made the day very special and allowed us to focus on the celebration that little Emily is to each of us. Wing conducted the meeting with Parker, Grace and Kate leading the music and saying prayers. Wing and I got to each bare our testimonies of the Atonement and what Emmy means to us. She is our miracle baby! Our family has been blessed to overcome incredible odds and Emily is a symbol of those blessings. 

Emily was named after a person that is always in our hearts, Pamela Jane Hunsaker. She has Pam's zest for life and shows it through her bright smile to all who come in contact with her. Just like Pam, Emily makes friends easily and attracts everyone openly. She is a busy little bug who knows exactly what she wants, yet has a kind and pure heart that brightens the soul. Her namesake would be proud of her little Emily Jane.

Just look at all of the people who love you little Emily Jane! What a blessing it is to be close to family.

The blanket on the chair next to Mommy and Emmy was hand crocheted by Emily's Great Grandma Donna. Donna made the blanket for Parker's baby blessing and we have used that blanket at each of our children's blessings.

Talking In Sacrament Meeting

Today our whole family (minus Emily) spoke in sacrament meeting. The bishop asked us to speak on the Atonement. What a loaded subject! We decided to not philosophize, but to talk about what the Atonement means to us in our daily lives by sharing personal stories and feelings because the Atonement means something different to everyone. It's simply that personal. Hopefully, we helped others feel of Christ's love for them individually through our testimonies.

We were given the option of having a youth speaker or allow our children to speak during the first few minutes of sacrament meeting. We reluctantly choose to have our children speak not knowing how that would pan out. The kids were scared at first, but after a few days they got used to the idea.

Wing and I spent so much time working on our own talks that we didn't prepare the children's talks until Saturday evening. While I was putting the finishing touches on my own talk, the kids were outside playing with some neighbors. Kate got caught in the middle of a tug-a-war and got her arm painfully pulled out of the socket and came home in pain and tears running down her little cheeks. I ended up in the emergency room with her while Wing helped Parker and Grace plan their talks. When I returned from the ER with a happy and fixed Kate at 11:30 p.m., Parker and Grace were busy rehearsing their talks to Daddy. Can I just say that they did an awesome job!? I was so proud of them! Wing had them choose there favorite scripture about the Savior and tell their feelings about that scripture and why they liked it. The only other help they had was how to organize their talks with an opening, body, closing and testimony. Kate did an awesome job too and actually prepared her talk days in advance. She knew exactly what to say.

On Sunday morning, we put on our best faces and delivered an awesome sacrament meeting! (Am I allowed to say that?) The Durrants held Emmy for us because Wing and I were more nervous than the kids were and just couldn't deal with her little wiggles. Parker, Grace and Kate had a quiet confidence about them. I think that children feel the spirit easier than adults because those three were actually excited to deliver the talks they had prepared. The spoke with clear confidence. Their excitement really prepared the stage for their parents. We are so proud of our three little spiritual leaders!

Kate was so proud of her "written" talk and beamed with delight when she waved her paper at the Durrants while sitting on stage. Kate can't read, but holding the paper meant a lot to her. I read her the words and she repeated them in the micorphone.  Her friend, Jessica, said it just wasn't fair that Kate got to sit up there and talk. 

Page 1 of Grace's talk.

Page 2 of Grace's talk. She really captured her personality and what was important to her. She even went the extra mile to make talking in sacrament fun by adding her artistic touch. Too cute!

Parker's talk. He added his own jokes without any help. What a man! He definitely takes after his Daddy.

Fun With the Durrants

Grandma Diane and Amanda gave us "parents" a special treat tonight: The oldest three kids are going to sleep over at the Durrant house! They can't wait to go and have been waiting with eager anticipation. You can see the excitement on their faces while they patiently wait on the doorstep for Grandma to pick them up in her new car.

First they went to a dollar movie at the Sticky Foot movie theatre. The theatres real name is different, but it is locally known as the Sticky Foot for obvious reasons. If you drop it on the floor... You leave it on the floor.

Then they got to go shopping with Grandma for fun Halloween things.

They have also been planning their exercise routine all week. Looks like they really got into it! For Amanda's sake, I hope they wore themselves out and will be calm when it is time to sleep.

Amanda made them each a special spot to sleep in.

No sleep over is complete without Popeye Pancakes. Thanks Durrants!

First Tooth

It's official! After several days of drooling, chewing on the fireplace mantle and having nasty diapers... Emily's first tooth popped up! She was such a little trooper. She hardly cried and slept pretty good despite her discomfort. The most painful part of Emily's teething is when she would bite me. Ouch! But, who can blame her? We chew on her little goodness all the time. She's just so darn delicious!

Soccer

Grace has wanted to play soccer for the past couple of years and this year was her lucky year! She is such a little athlete with tons of speed.

Go Grace! Go! Coach played her at forward because she is the fastest one on her team. We had the strategy of kicking the ball really hard and out running her opponents. Every time she did this, she was a huge success.

Grace hustled every second she was out on the field. We loved hollering at her and cheering her on. Her parents just loved living their competitive lives through her. This girls got some serious wheels!

Grace just hated loosing! The league doesn't keep score, but everyone else does. Even when she wasn't the victor, she always smiled and was a good sport.

Grace's fan club. We could watch you hustle up and down this field all day. Go! Fight! Win!

Disneyland: Trick Or Treat On The Street

Today is the day we have looked forward to all week. It's trick or treat on the street day! We reserved special tickets to stay late in California Adventure and go trick-or-treating after hours. We dressed in our halloween outfits and had a blast. The theme was Candy Corn Acres. So cute!

My two little girls dressed up in their "wickedly adorable" halloween shirts that Grandma Diane bought them. Each morning Emmy would roll and play on the carpet with big smiles and laughs. What a great way to start the day!

We got to see a ton of characters. Even some characters that you don't see every day in Disneyland. Like villians... Yipes!

More crazy driving, but this time it was on purpose!

The Trick-or-Treat on the Street festivities were so fun! We got to play games on the board walk for free, create some pirate crafts, bag down tons of candy (or apples, carrots or crackers), dance in the parade and scream on the rides with the night lights glowing.

Happy Halloween, Mickey and Minnie! We hope to see you again very soon!

Disneyland: Today's Lesson

There's nothing like the sites, sounds and smells of the beach! Today we visited Laguna Beach and had an unexpected blast! The lesson learned today is: Trust Your Parents. The kids didn't want to go to the beach and whined and bawled driving in the car to the Newport Temple. So sneaky Wing and Melissa drove to Laguna Beach without the kids knowing where they were going and when we got there they just had to deal with a day a the beach. Torture?... NOT! Once they wiggled their little and large piggies (Parker) into the soft sand they didn't want to leave. Has anyone ever had a bad day at the beach? Not us Butlers!

Peace and relaxation. Much needed after sun up to sun down fun at Disneyland.

Covered in sand after Mama buried her. She giggled the whole time. I just love those little bum cheeks!

The day started off at the Newport Temple. Amanda and I decided to take some pics of it for our online business, My Temple Art. Isn't it beautiful?!

Disneyland: More Disney

Buffet at Big Thunder Ranch. Mmmmmm... Ribs, chicken, sausage, corn, rolls, beans! Gonna go to the Big Thunder Ranch next time we visit Disneyland too.

Watch out for scary drivers! Stay off the roads tonight.

Pumpkins and fun at Big Thunder Ranch.

Kate and I flew the Dumbo's friendly skies.

The whole day felt like Emily's smile was shining on us all day. We love Disneyland!

Disneyland: Disney Day

Gotta love the Mickey Mouse pancakes. As a kid, my parents always made sure that we got to eat the mouse. I looked forward to every year. I loved looking over the counter and watching the chief make my Mickey pancake. It was even funner to watch my kids do the same thing and enjoy each bite of the mousey goodness. Definitely a must do at Disneyland!

Sorry no Kings or Queens this trip. That darn sword wouldn't budge!

The teacups! Kate has talked about riding the teacups for weeks. One problem. No one can stand them! We all get sick! Thank goodness for Grandma Diane. She's the only adult who enjoys those whirley, twirly, hurling things! So Grandma was Kate's partner. Thanks Granny!

We just love Pooh Bear and his friends. They will always be a classic.

The Haunted Mansion was converted to Jack Skeleton's Mansion. Very cute, but I do miss when the grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize.