Labor Day

No exciting journaling on this one . . .just some photos from our Labor Day trip to the Natural Bridge State Park in Easern Kentucky. My mom was out visiting the week before Labor Day and overlapped a few days with a visit from my cousin Lachelle and her husband Nick and kids. The hike up to the natural stone bridge included something like 500 steps so to motivate the boys we told them they could play a minute of xbox for every step they counted. It worked pretty well and they probably still have time saved up since the following weekend we put the xbox and television in an extended time out as I felt like it was not bringing the best out in our children. They haven't played xbox since and have watched maybe a few television shows that they earned for completing certain things. They have however, learned to ride bikes without training wheels, played outside a lot, taken an even greater interest in books, used their imaginations to play, wrestled, enjoyed soccer season, etc. . . .all better activities anyway in my mind. In case you're wondering, Dallas has also returned to some bed wetting, but still can and does go dry . .so we'll continue to work on that and search perhaps for some other form of extrinsic motivation for him.

How many is that Trenton??

It's a toss up on who poses the best. GQ/puffy chest Dave or pop a squat/ride a horse Bri?

It was fun to have Grandma's company . .not to mention help. She and Lexi enjoyed the view opposite the natural bridge (it's the line of stone you see in the background.

We almost got the whole crew to look at the camera.

Butler . . party of 6.

Coming back down. This little crevice in the wall was creepily narrow. Lachelle couldn't even walk through it with the baby back pack on. I knew there was a reason we wanted Nick with us .. .who else was going to hoist Dallas down the mountain? Dallas and Keyton were fast friends after this unique experience they shared together.

I like the Fall: Halloweeen , cool weather, leaves changing color . .However there are a few things I don't care for that come with the season: plentiful spiders huge and small and snakes. Dallas found this little guy wrapped around the sensor on or garage door. Yuck!!! Apparently it was a rat snake and they can grow up to 6 feet long. I wasn't happy that Dave let him go near our house as I now have nightmares of him coming back for a visit when he's all grown up.

Xbox Talks

I was quite opposed to getting a video game system because I feel like boys become addicted to it and stop wanting to do anything else (things I consider more worthwhile like playing outside, reading books, making things with legos, spending time with their wives, etc.). Well, I gave into all the men-big and small- in my life and conceded to let Dave's parents buy the family an xbox 360 for Christmas. There was a lot of rock band played by Dave and my brother over the Holidays and the boys really began to enjoy lego star wars, but it hasn't really been an issue at all since then. In part due to the fact that after Dallas broke the LCD tv in January they were grounded from playing. That grounding stayed in place until the big move in June where Dave hooked it up to the DVD player in our car and let them play as we drove cross country.


It's been hooked up in our basement and pretty much all they ever wanted to do is play it since we moved here. It drove me crazy They would moan and whine and throw fits if I asked them to do anything that would interupt their precious xbox playing. Well, I was about ready to do my own throwing (of the xbox in the trash), but Dave helped us come up with a better plan where we use the xbox for incentive to get other things done. The boys now earn "xbox" time by doing chores, practicing reading and writing. etc. That has been working out well and I love that they are doing more constructive things in addition to playing a lot less xbox.

However, now I love the xbox (and brooklyn) and here is why:


Last week Brooklyn had a few successful day after day potty trips on her own accord so I decided it was time that I buckle down and attack the whole potty training thing. She woke up dry on her second night of no diapers and so of course we had to point out to Dallas (going on 4 1/2 and not ONCE having ever stayed dry at night) how Brooklyn had dry pants in the morning. I think he was just as shocked as I was and totally baffled by how she had done it. Anyway the combination of his two year old sister not wetting the bed and Dave's huge incentive of 2 hours of xbox time if Dallas could wake up with dry pants FINALLY motivitad the kid. Many of you know that up to this point I was convinced that I would be buying night time diapers for this kid until he moved out of the house as he has never been able to do it. We had even tried waking him up and having him go to the bathroom 2 and 3 times during the night and he would still wet the bed! Well, now that he finally decided it was worth it (little rascal), he has gone 4 nights in a row with success!! It's amazing.

I have gone from having three kids in diapers at some part of the day down to one! As a mom, and financially challenged mom at that, this is really exciting. Brooklyn still isn't perfect but she's doing totally fine and definitely good enough that I don't plan on ever returning to diapers. I'm thinking we should go out and celebrate using the money that I won't have to spend on diapers. It'll be a potty party!!

The Circus at the Zoo

What's wrong with this picture?? The fact that it is just two moms with 7 1/2 children (my firend is pregnant) and not a daycare. At least it seems others think something is wrong becuase they are always staring!! I know we are entertaining and most people are just thinking "glad that's not me" as they politely comment "wow, you've got your hands full." I think I am going to continue to agree with them and then politely ask if they'd like to help.

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I don't venture out too often with all the kids because really it's hard to keep track of all of them let alone try to keep them behaving appropriately. But sometimes we just have to get out so we do and we walk around in our happy (at times anyway) little bubble and ignore the fact that everyone else is staring wondering why anyone would have that many little kids so close together.

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Last week we took a day trip to the Louisville Zoo with our new friends. We had done this once before and miraculously spent all day there without any naps, major tantrums, issues etc. I should have known our luck had worn out before expecting such wonders again. This round was sprinkled with a lot more whining, tantrums. arguments, etc, but it was still fun. The Portland Zoo is huge and great and I think I'd have to say this zoo is just as good if not better. It's similar in size but seems to have a better variety of animals to look at. It also boasts a tram, carousel, playground and splash park in addition to the traditional seasonal attractions and train.

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The lowlight of the trip is a toss up between Brooklyn's tantrum where she bailed out of the stroller and ended up with a huge bleeding goose egg on the side of her head and our time spent by all the snakes where I got to watch a cottonmouth repeatedly strike the glass anytime a person would get close (freaky aggressive snake!) or watching a rattlesnake ingest its lunch-a lovely little mouse. I HATE snakes. They absolutely creep me out and this did not help anything. The only joy I found was pointing out a California King Snake to the kids and telling them that they eat rattlesnakes.

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Otherwise I spent the weekend as a sinlge mom as Dave was out of town for a conference and I somehow managed to keep track of my friend's kid for one of those days and nightsas well as a favor to my friend who was also out of town. The kid is the same age and has a similar temperment to Dallas . .need I say more? I've decided that sometimes the more challening they are to take care of the more they make you laugh though.

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As I was nursing Lexi he says, "Is she drinking your milk?"

Yes

"I like it when my brother drinks from mommy's boobies"

Oh, why?

"Because I like boobies."

What a little man he is at the ripe age of four.

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I am finding joy in motherhood . .because I love my children while wondering if being a man is really all that bad? I've always appreciated not being a father who feels the weight and stress of being the head and provider for a family. Then weekends like this make me realize being a man also has its perks.

Weekend in review:

Mother-stay at home with 5 kids

Father-travel to an ortho conference for golf tournament, cocktail party, movie, banquets and "networking"

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Really which one would you pick?

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Okay, I've given it a lot of thought and I'd still pick mom because being here to take care of my family is my passion and I truly feel like I am doing what I was meant to do and find great satisfaction in that. (But I'd totally be okay for a weekend getaway here and there. I guess I'll cash in on those when the kids are a little older and we hopefully have a few more resources to foot the bill.) For now I'll bask in the days where I get to soak up the sun while the kids are napping, enjoy the chaotic day trips to the zoo, enjoy staying in bed when the kids decide to sleep in and treasure the moments while my babies are still babies cause I already see them slipping away too quickly.

Sundays at our new house

I like Sundays. I'm not exhausted because I've had Dave's help with the kids and our evenings allow for time for me to force family walks upon everyone. Last week we took a walk to a nearby Confederate Graveyard. I need to study up on my US history but I believe Kentucky had soldiers that fought for both sides. It was really cool to see all of the headstones for the confederate soldiers that are buried there. The kids were spent by the time we started walking back (have I mentioned Dallas is like the laziest kid ever when it comes to exerting physcial energy). As you can see I ended up with Brooklyn on my shoulders and Dallas took a ride in the pink stroller.

I also like our new house. Tons more room and brand new so we get to claim every mark, stain and dent when we move out =). But really, this is a pic of the kids on our back deck . . .I love the wooded creek that runs right through our backyard so fun to be doing dishes and look out a window at this beautiful scenery rather than stare at a wall. Also boasts an unfinished basement which in our house equals a room where the kids can play and not destroy anything but cement walls, scrap carpet and our old tv. Lovin' It!

The Spirit of the Lousiville Slugger

I feared the boys being bored out of their minds moving here in the middle of summer-being at home all day everyday and not having any friends-so I was very quick to find the YMCA and sign them up for tee-ball. This is one of those times where it paid off to have our kids so close together as they got to be on the same team in the 4/5 year old division. This is their first exposure to baseball so it's been fun to watch how they respond. We also visited the Louisville Slugger Factory/Museum per Trenton's birthday request and posed for a photo in front of the huge bat. They've now had two games and we've decided that Trenton can hit pretty well although he seems to like to send line drives right to the first baseman (luckily none of these little kids can even stop the ball and if they do, it takes them a few minutes to remember to then go and tag the base. Dallas complains a lot about being hot and tired and I think the only reason he gets excited about games is for the snacks and drinks that follow, but he's still fun to watch and although he's by far the shortest on the team at least has the left-handed thing going for him.

Long, lost and in Kentucky

I know most have probably stopped following our blog as I have stopped posting, but now that we have moved, are somewhat settled and I am currently not working-I am making a goal to be a little more diligent in my blogging so as to keep connected to all of our friends and family that are no longer living near. Quick catch up (pictures to follow on another day as I just went through photos on 4 different memory cards and these were really the only ones I could find . . . now I just have to find more of our memory cards which could be interesting).

Dave graduated from Dental School and passed boards so now I get to mock him and call him Dr. Butler anytime I feel he is being ostentatious Well, if you know us, you know I may have already used that title a few times as we love a little friendly banter. But all joking aside, I am really proud of all that he's accomplished. Moving on from dental school is bitter-sweet as I can already look back and recall the fond memories more than the long hours and hard work it took as a family to get through the last four years. We were happy to leave the rain, sad to leave the scenery, friends and family. Change is hard but good and so far we really are loving our new surroundings.

We had a nice long and pleasantly less painful than anticipated drive across the country in the odyssey. Dave's parents took Dallas back to Salt Lake after Dave's graduation so we didn't have him for the first leg of the trip which worked out wonderfully. We spent four days with Dave's family in Utah and then drove to Colorado where we stayed with one of my roomates from college for a night. They were so nice to open up there home to us and feed us dinner and how did we thank them? Dallas took a leak on their deck in plain view of all the neighbors and Lexi decided to projectile vomit with 3 of 4 large heaves all over their living room carpet. Needless to say we were horribly embarassed and won't be returning with the kids anytime in soon. So sorry Tracie and Troy . .we figure the best thank you is going to be to not come again =). We got up early the next morning and took off and drove for 15 1/2 hours before crashing at a hotel. That left us with just 3 or 4 hours on the road the next day to Louisville. Unfortunately, they still had to unload some other things off the trailer so we didn't get our stuff until the following day. We slept on the floor tried to acclimate ourselves to the humid air and the kids and I got to see fireflies or lightning bugs for the first time. I've decided I would take humidity and a/c anyday over our place in Portland where it would get in the high 90s inside our condo.

Our new ward is huge, active and friendly. Fourth of July ward barbecue shot:

Lexi's new favorite place to scoot/roll is under our bed. The first time she did it we were laying on our bed hearing her babble but she was nowhere in sight . .we were laughing hysterically when we found her underneath us happy as a clam.

Schedules have pretty much been thrown out the window so I'll find Lexi asleep under our bed, in her highchair, on the floor. etc.

There's always time for this, ha! ha!

Not officially crawling yet, but she'll hold poses like this forever which I personally find even more challenging than crawling. She's going to have some great looking abs and shoulders once she gets rid of all those rolls if she keeps this up.

Dave still finds time to shoot random photos and these are two that I like as they represent the kids' personalities: Brooklyn who thinks she is pretty pretty princess and Trenton who is desitned to be some kind of geeky science loving guy.

Recent Photographs

Lexington and I took a day trip to San Francisco to visit my sister and meet her new boyfriend before we move away. The weather was gorgeous, loved my sister's new beau and had a blast!

Lexi turned 6 months old and got her first taste of something other than breastmilk . .rice cereal.

The little princess Brooklyn turned two on May 4th. Grandpa and Grandma came over for cake, ice cream and presents. She loved singing happy birthday to herself, opening presents and eating sherbert.

Although a little short and chubby and generally pretty dirty, maybe he's got a future in dancing. I took the boys to a fundraiser dance at Trenton's Elementary school on Friday night. These shots totally capture the true goofy, loveable and out of control little guy.

I even got the one in a lifetime experience of teaching him the chicken dance!

Trenton had a blast being torn by his friends in 5 different directions. He told me how nervous he was walking into the dance, but left beaming, proudly declaring that he actually wasn't nervous at all. We'll miss his wonderful little school and he'll surely miss his first real set of friends.

More commentary from Dallas

I know every child is different, but Dallas is truly one of a kind. Some kids make women proud to be mothers and other kids perhaps just embarass their mothers. I haven't blogged in quite a while. We've been busy trying to get the condo we're living in sold (a total nightmare trying to keep this place clean with all the kids and then disappear when it needs to be shown . .an offer has been accpeted though so cross your fingers that everything works out as planned). We're also preparing for the upcoming changes, moving (although exactly when and where is still TBD) and then right near the top of list of things that have been keeping me busy is Dallas. His latest tricks, embarassments, blunders, call them whatever you want include:

1. A new found passion for peeing in the garbage cans that are next to the toilets in our house.
2. Eating half a mini meatloaf yesterday before I put them in the oven (yes totally raw . .gross!)
3. Somehow managing to wear a diaper to bed and still completely fill the dipaer and either take it off in the middle of the night and wet the bed or just completely leak through the diaper so that I get to wash his sheets daily.
4. Great reviews every time I pick the kid up from preschool. great= "you, me and dallas need to sit down and have a little talk", "he had a really rough day today", "today was really bad", etc, etc., etc. They're very nice about it, but I have a feeling his preschool teachers aren't mourning too much the fact that we're moving and he won't be returning next year.
5.Underage drinking. Dallas has already done something in life that I've never done=taste alcohol. At a talent show at the dental school sneaky little Dallas always looking for something more to eat or drink regardless of what it is or who it belongs to grabbed a nearly empty glass of beer off of a table and gulped it down.. As I turned around I see him spitting all over the floor, shaking his head and saying matter of factly "That is so yucky!"

I'm going to ramble off a few recent experiences with Dallas for journal purposes. Feel free to read on if you're bored.

Sunday we had just gotten home from church and the kids are playing outside in our courtyard with the front door open. Suddenly I hear a male voice (not Dave's at the front door so I peak my head around from the kitchen and there is one of our neighbors, "I just wanted to let you know your son is out here with no pants on. That may fly in Europe but not so much here. I hurry out the door to see the kid totally popping a squat next to the community mailboxes. Embarassed, I run after him as my neighbor calls out, "Oh, and Happy Mothers Day" Yeah thanks buddy.

We get to the grocery store, Dallas jumps out of the car and darts across the parking lot. I chase after him, drag him back to the car to get the girls and explain to him that he can't just run in the street like because he's going to get hit by a car, die and never see Daddy, Mommy, Trenton, Brooklyn or Lexi again. (I purposefully left out the whole gospel perspective just trying to scare some sense into the kid). His response . . .. yes huh . .I can get to see them on Easter. Good job primary teachers . . .he kind of gets the whole concept of resurrection, but now I don't know how to keep him from running out in the street.

Dallas was fascinated by a recent visit from a plumber fixing a pipe leak under our place. I couldn't get the kid to come inside and he was pestering the poor plumber with 101 questions and some advice on his work as well. I finally bring Dallas inside and explain to him that he needs to leave the man alone so he can do his work or he's going to get in trouble from his boss. "What's a boss?" he asks. It's the person in charge of you at work . .like at the gym I have a boss. He thought on this and the next time I turned around he was back outside announcing to the plumber that daddy was his boss and mommy was daddy's boss. The plumber chuckled and told Dallas that's usually the way it is.

Several days after Dallas's hours spent with the plumber the boys and daddy were outside searching for cool rocks (Trenton's latest obsession). Trenton decides he wants to be a guy that studies rocks so Dave tells him that's called a geologist and Dallas follows it up with "And I want to be the guy that sucks water from under the house."