I'm Melting . . .Melting!!!

When I first found out I was pregnant and started calculating my due date, I realized I would be living large through the summer and began dreading those days where temps linger around 100 and I would be stuck with small children in a home without a/c. Well, this week those days arrived and it was miserable just as I anticipated. We tried to find refuge in our kiddie pool, sprinklers, fountains at the park, the mall, the gym and we were able to cool off occasionally. The nights were uncomfortable and I fear the kids are always going to want to sleep in nothing but underwear or diapers (or completely nude as we found Dallas in the middle of the night once this week) from now on. It has cooled off to the mid 90s today and is suprizingly pleasant comparatively speaking.

A little bit of SoCal does a Relationship Good

Dave and I took advantage of the chance to visit San Diego last weekend without the kids and witness my good friend Bret tie the knot. We laugh because he and his now wife Courtney actually met for the first time the same weekend that Dave and I hung out for the first time. Here we are close to seven years later and we are about to have our fourth child and they are just getting married. Maybe it's the difference between being LDS and not or more likely... ....Dave and I just learn really slowly. Either way, we had a fabulous weekend! We have come to the realization that we are different people when it is just the two of us. We are both much more fun to be around and it's amazing how much we actually get to enjoy each other's company when it isn't just for the seconds in between changing dirty diapers, wiping faces, refereeing fights, cleaning up messes and falling asleep at night. We joke (but this goes along with the whole 99% of sarcasm is truth) that we are already so embarassed by our lack of control over three kids and we're about to have another one. Wish us luck and hopefully a few more weekend get aways over the next several years! Anyway, back to our trip:

We did what we rarely get to do: laid out on the beach and by the pool, swam in the ocean and in the pool, took long leisurely walks, went out to eat, went shopping (aka RELAXED). It was the first trip away from the kids where I actually didn't "miss" them . . I think I could have stayed several more days before that sentiment kicked in. The wedding was absolutely beautiful, just what one would expect on a beach in San Diego at a resort called Paradise Point. Gorgeous flowers, delicious food, amazing decor, long lost friends, a stunning bride and groom and lots of fun!

Happy Fourth

We spent the Fourth with Dave's family in Salt Lake. It is always nice to get everyone together. The kids especially love the rare opportunities they get to play with their cousins.

Trenton shows off his glow stick skills while waiting for the fireworks to begin.

Dallas and Kate hamming it up.

Brooklyn taking after her mama by eating lots of brownies.

Trenton, Austin, Luke and Kate.

Visit to Colorado

Dave had a two week break from school beginning the last week of June and we filled it with a camping adventure, a kid-free trip to Colorado and a family excursion to Salt Lake. The trip to Colorado was great. . . . 3 full days with just the two of us and lots of reunions with long lost college roommates and friends. We stayed with one of my old roommates, Tracie, who is just weeks away from having her first baby. Watching her did not make me excited to reach those end stages of pregnancy, but she looks great and I can't wait for her to experience the joys of motherhood. Thank you Troy and Tracie for the fantastic weekend.
What do people do on planes

when there not just trying to

keep kids quiet anyway?
After dinner in downtown Denver, we walked to a nearby outdoor concert where we stayed rather briefly to hear Gnarles Barkley rock out. Dave just wanted to make himself look awkward as the 5th wheel while I took the picture.


We posed in front of Union Station for a quick "deer in headlights" photo.

Tracie, Robin and I taking a break from the concert.

Photo Morphing

As I was browsing some old photos I came across a fun hobby of mine I haven't done in a long time: Photo Morphing. Man was it entertaining.

For example:
What my brother, sister, and I willlook like when we get old...
Dad + Mom

=

Little Miss (Insert Random City Name) Butler

So it's fitting that following a post about us expecting our next child that there is a serious lag in posting. We do have a lot to post about and will catch up sometime. I did notice that we forgot to mention that the next addition to the family will be another girl (hooray for keeping the teams even). Now the challenge is what her name is going to be. Shall we make it a blogger contest? The rules are simple: If you didn't already notice (Trenton NJ, Dallas Tx, Brooklyn NY) we've got a theme going on so we might as well keep it going. Happy name guessing!

*cue attempts at humor with names like Pocatello Butler*
(I guess we could call her Pokey for short)



Don't even think about it!

Oops we did it again

The Real Zoo

Since we pretty much already live in a zoo at our house (in addition to the combination of good weather and Trenton's day off school last Friday) the kids and I headed to the real zoo where at least my children's behavior is a bit more acceptable. Brooklyn sat there and looked cute in the stroller. The boys plugged their ears to block the load roars of the tyrannosaurus rex at the dinosaur exhibit and I wasted yet more money on another trip on the zoo train to culminate the day. Only daddy could have made the day more complete, but we're holding out for the future days when hopefully Fridays will mean a day off of work for him.