THE BUTTERFIELDS

Happy Easter!

2011-04-30T13:40:00.000-07:00

The Saturday before Easter, we were still in Zions. We thought it would be fun to do an Easter egg hunt for the kids. It was a huge hit! I was the one who stuffed, and hid the eggs. Melanie's kids were the first ones up and their excitement totally woke up our boys and all the eggs were found before anyone else got up!

We got home Saturday evening, and boiled and colored eggs.

And then Easter Morning, the boys played with their new air-soft guns!

...and Lochlin got a bi-plane kite! He can't wait for it to stop raining and snowing so he can actually fly it!

Zions National Park

2011-04-30T09:09:00.001-07:00

A couple weekends ago, we went to Zions. I've lived in Utah for 11 years, and have never been, so I was pretty excited! It was SO fun! The house we stayed in was so beautiful and none of us wanted to go home at the end of the trip. Here are some pictures of the house:

The scenery was breathtaking!

The rest of the time was spent ATVing. This was the first time Ashton really "rode" his bike. It was scary at times because there were huge dips full of water from all the rain, and he even biffed it really hard once. The handle bars got him in the ribs. Our next gear purchase will be the under armor. But, he sure is a stud on that bike! It was so fun watching him!

What I'VE Been Up To

2011-04-30T08:03:00.000-07:00

I've made a goal recently....to go 4 weeks without eating sugar, salt, and bad carbs. Even though I've slipped up a little (especially on vacation), I'm proud of myself and about how much fat I've lost. I've been posting pictures of what I've been eating on Facebook to share with my friends. I hope to encourage others to eat healthy, but I also want them to see the changes in me. If I know people are paying attention, I am more motivated to meet my goal! Here are some of the meals I've made. And I'm just going to copy and paste the captions I posted on Facebook.

So, I'm eating super healthy for 4 weeks! And I thought I'd document the things that I eat. Maybe it will inspire others to eat healthy too! My big thing is that I love sauces. They make everything taste better! But, most sauces and marinades have lots of salt and even sugar in them. So, here's me improvising: Chicken breast with a slice of onion on each side, sprinkled with garlic powder and fresh ground pepper, grilled on a George Forman grill....Turns into grilled chicken with caramelized onion on a bed of spinach. Tasted healthy, but it was still pretty good. I noticed I have some fresh jalapenos in the fridge; I think I'll try those next. Mmm....

Made this for Brady and myself tonight: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Asparagus-Stuffed-Chicken-Breasts/Detail.aspx On my piece, I didn't add mustard because there are 120mg of sodium in a tsp of mustard. And I left off the cracker crumbs...carbs, salt, hydrogenated oil...pretty obvious. I used plain bread crumbs on Brady's. This is Brady's piece....it was much prettier! The Hollandaise sauce is chunky because I reheated it....don't do that. But this was a really easy, healthy recipe all cooked in the microwave.

For dinner, I was going to make a stir fry with some turkey breast. So, I cut it up into bite-sized pieces...then I decided I wanted roasted veggies instead of stir-fried. So, I seasoned some zucchini, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes with garlic powder, Italian Seasoning, and black pepper (NO SALT!) and roasted them in the oven on 450. I sauteed the turkey in some olive oil and the same spices. It was SOOOO yummy! The different flavors of the veggies made it fabulous. It didn't even need salt.

I went to the gym for 2 hours this morning, and just about died! I need to put a little more food in my body if I'm going to work out that hard! Anyway...when I got home I made some veggies and eggs. It was suppose to be an omelet but when I don't use butter on my pans, things stick. Oh well! It tasted the same. So, I sauteed some veggies I had (zucchini, onion, mushroom, spinach, and green chili)...threw in some tomatoes at the end. Seasoned with a little garlic powder and pepper. Scrambled 1 egg and 2 egg whites and poured on top. It was really yummy and totally hit the spot. I don't feel like I'm about to faint anymore! =)

I could seriously eat grilled chicken chef salad every day!!! I dress mine with a homemade red wine vinaigrette. Soooooo delicious!

Tuna salad with chick peas on a bed of wilted kale. This was the first time I've had kale...not a huge fan of the texture. But, that's what I get for eating so horrible last weekend.

My favorite snack. A handful of almonds and raisins. Delish! Sometimes I use Craisins...also very yummy! Follow this with a full glass of water, and you will feel full. I have this a few hours before dinner when I'm getting the munchies and wanting to snack on everything in the kitchen. Helps keep me up on my goal.

Heavenly, Healthy Parfait: fruit, low-fat yogurt, granola, fruit, low-fat yogurt, granola. YUM-MY!!!

I've been running around all day today and haven't had a second to make anything. This is the best I got: protein shake. Vanilla with yogurt, banana, and dark chocolate chips. I think it would taste better with chocolate protein powder. Oh well....I'm not starving anymore, so it served it's purpose.

I haven't posted the "boring" meals yet, so I thought I'd post one. This is what I usually eat. Lean protein (correct portion for my size)...usually chicken or turkey breast, salmon, or tuna, a sweet potato (I only eat about half of the one shown in the picture) or brown rice, and as many veggies as I like. I just steam them. No butter, no salt!

Saint George, UT

2011-04-10T17:23:00.000-07:00

Last week, for Spring Break, the boys and I drove down to St. George to visit a good friend and her family. We had a good time, even though the weather wasn't the best. We went to the Wildlife Museum, which was a total waste of money....but what else do you do in St. George in crappy weather? It's an outdoor place; lots of hiking, biking, mountain climbing, and even boating. We made the best of it, and will definitely be going back when the weather is better.
Anyway...here are some pictures of the museum:

yep...those are taxidermy-ed baby skunks.... blah!

And, lots of animals were hungry...

We also made it to the LDS Temple. What a beautiful, peaceful place!

Our friends had a pool, and the boys went swimming every night....even in the rain!

And, here are some other pictures I just took of the boys....

Make a Wish

2011-04-01T21:57:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege today to video tape a wonderful event. A little boy named Caleb had made a wish through the Make a Wish Foundation, and my friend Kim, who is a wish granter, asked me to come along and get a video of the 'declaration' for the family. It was such an awesome thing. This little boy has been in and out of the hospital since before he was born (yes, in utero) with major kidney problems. I'm so glad I had the chance to help out. He's a great little kid!

Pinewood Derby Video

2011-03-29T17:37:00.000-07:00

I've compiled all the races into one video. Don't know if they are in the actual order of how they went that day, but you get the idea....Ashton's car won EVERY race! The last little clip was the "Old School" race. Ashton raced last year's car against Grandpa Butterfield's old cars, and won that one too! It was a good day for him.

January-March Updates

2011-03-25T21:22:00.000-07:00

Still undefeated!!! It was another great year at the Pinewood Derby. There's actually a funny story behind it. Ashton's original car was AWESOME! It was a rocket. Like, literally a rocket! They took an old rocket model and mounted it on part of the wood from the pinewood kit the scouts were suppose to use. It was all ready, and beautiful....and so light it rolled right off the counter the night before the Derby! It was sad. Brady kept his cool and tried not to get mad. He dug through pieces of wood they had cut from last year, painted it white, Ashton gave it stripes, threw on some wheels, and won every single race that night. It was crazy! But a lot of fun, of course!

Tyler's 8th Birthday!
We decided to have a surprise party for Tyler this year. Won't ever do that again! He didn't like it. He said he likes to know what's going on! WHATEVER!!! But the boys all had a blast (even Tyler). We opened presents and had cupcakes at our house, and then loaded all the kids up in two cars and took them to The Wild Child and they ran, jumped, and went wild for the rest of the time. I'm pretty sure that deep down, Tyler really enjoyed it. I still will never do another surprise party for him!

Here are some pictures of Tyler opening presents from his Grandma Amodeo. He loved everything...especially the electrical snaps kit.

This other strange-looking creature is Tyler's best friend, Kody. They have a lot of fun together, in case you couldn't tell!

Tyler also really liked the magic cards from Grandpa Amodeo. He's still got a lot of practicing to do though....

The last few months have been Junior Jazz season. Ashton played this year, and had a lot of fun. Here are some action shots of him. LOL! He's so goofy! His coach said he was a great defense player.

Here's a beautiful picture of our backyard covered in snow....

It snowed a lot in February.

On to March! Those of you who have a Facebook account have seen these next pictures. Like every year, Brady burns all the dead plants, veggies, leaves, and grass in our backyard. We didn't really know it was a problem, but this year a bunch of our neighbors called the fire department. BUSTED!!! It was really lame, actually. The fire department apologized and told us to let them know if we plan on doing it again so they don't rush to us when someone else could really be in trouble. It was fun to have the firetrucks in front of our house though...

Well, that's all I have at this point. I'm in the process of editing some videos to post, and I hope to have those up by the end of the week. Thanks for reading....

I'M BACK!!!! (I think....)

2011-03-24T19:47:00.000-07:00

I've been in the mood to blog lately. Don't know why exactly... Maybe I feel bad for our grandparents and aunts who haven't been able to see pictures of our boys and our crazy life. Maybe it's because I don't really keep a journal and I want to be able to look back at my life and reminisce. Life is so fun! I want to remember it all.

So.....I'M BACK!!!! Hope you enjoy the pics and videos that are soon to come!

{the original post has been deleted for personal reasons...}

Family Pictures!!!

2010-09-23T22:11:00.001-07:00

My friend, Paige took our family pictures for us this year. Last year, I tried to set up my camera on a timer but I just didn't like how they turned out. These are so much cuter! Thanks, Paige!

I've Given Up!

2010-09-21T20:23:00.000-07:00

Blogging is like the last thing on my list of priorities right now. As I sit here looking through pictures from this summer, it just overwhelms me. I have too many, I don't even know where to start. As I write, I'm waiting for my 6th batch of jars in the canner to process (I am currently canning tomato soup), my house is utterly destroyed, my dog has been neglected, and my laundry is dirty and/or needs to be folded. On a positive note...my boys are all in bed, the house is quiet, and I'm counting down the days (2) till the BOYS ONLY camping trip. I can't wait! Want to hear what I plan to do? Well, I will be starting off my alone time with a very LONG, very needed nap. Then I will be DEEP DEEP DEEP cleaning my house. It has not been really done since the beginning of the summer. I plan to throw away old broken toys, puzzles, and games (shhh...), and sanitizing the boys' rooms. I will be scrubbing and organizing every cupboard and closet in my house. I will be scrubbing the fridge in and out, the bath tub, the toilet, the windows, the sinks, the floor boards, the vents, the light fixtures....hmmm... What am I leaving out? Oh, the garage! Brady usually does it, but I do it better. I'm the one who destroys it anyway. Don't ask me how; it has to do with just throwing random things I find inside the house out there. Then, eventually the pile I make on the table in the garage falls over and I usually just leave it....or Brady throws it out. Pretty lame, I know....
Anyway...when I'm done performing a much slower version of Mary Poppins magic on mi casa, I plan to do a little shopping, pampering myself, relaxing, and hanging out with some friends. Or....maybe I'll just take another nap. =0)

For my family who are dying for updated pictures of the boys, the garden, and all the crazy adventures we've been up to....well, I'm sorry....you're just going to have to wait. =0) Right now, my time has decided to fly out the window. As soon as I catch it, I'll be better about updating this thing. Also know....you will be getting a lovely video for Christmas that should keep you entertained for at least 6 months.

July Garden Update

2010-08-19T15:07:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken on July 18th. The garden has grown so much since then. I have been a little overwhelmed, actually, by it's growth. It's really hard to can veggies with 3 little boys running around. I've managed to freeze some beans, and can some beets. Other than that, we've just been eating everything straight from the vines. So, here's what we had in July:

Here's a baby pumpkin. It's so little! You should see it now! A month later and it's bigger than a beach ball!

And here's a baby watermelon. Very small too! We picked one yesterday that was almost ripe! The boys are very excited about these. Can't wait to taste them.

And here are some tomatoes:

Some corn:

Pear tomatoes:

Carrots. These were sooooo good!

Cilantro:

And yellow wax beans:

Happy Birthday, Ashton!!!

2010-08-05T05:45:00.000-07:00

On the morning of Ashton's birthday, we all went to Kennecott Copper Mine. We thought Stephanie would enjoy it because she's a geology major. They have so many neat things to see. The boys had a great time.

We went to lunch and then went home and got ready for Ashton's awesome party. He invited 20 friends, and I think 16 showed up. It was a blast! Stephanie helped the boys make tie-dye t-shirts.

The boys played a little football:

We made ice cream sundaes. I was helping make the sundaes:

We opened presents:

The boys made a "spanking machine" and Ashton got way more than 9 spankings! He's good for a couple years!

And then we watched a move on the lawn. Ashton picked "Zathura". It was a great movie, and the boys all loved it. Here's a picture of Brady setting up all the speakers. We had surround sound, even! Thanks, Hun!

Another Garden Update!

2010-07-14T14:56:00.000-07:00

I know, I know! I'm a little obsessed with my garden. You just have to remember, I've never had a garden (this big) before and I'm just like a little kid on Christmas. Seriously.....like each morning I go out there, I squeal every time a see a new flower, a new bean, or a little green tomato. Today, I saw a little baby watermelon. You should have heard me! My neighbors probably think I've gone a little coo-coo. Isn't he cute though?

Right now, we've been enjoying the peas. We had them a couple nights ago for dinner, and they were sooooooo good! Lochlin, Tyler, and his friend Kody all helped me de-pea (is that even a word) the pods.

And, here are some other pictures of our garden:

Here we have yellow wax beans:

Cucumbers:

Peppers:

Tomatoes:

Squash:

Corn:

Zucchini:

Green beans:

Our one and only sunflower:

Cabbage - not sure what it's doing, but it's pretty:

Lettuce:

Cilantro (we have basil too, I just didn't take a picture of it)

Another pepper:

And apples:

Forth of July Festivities

2010-07-12T08:09:00.000-07:00

-Movie in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard
-Jumpin' on the tramp
-Campout at Grandma and Grandpa's
-Sleeping on the tramp with Grandpa
-Breakfast before the parade
-Granite parade
-Grandpa's beautiful Econoline
-Brady's truck full of water
-Boating at Willard Bay
-Breakfast with the family up Millcreek Canyon
-Swimming at Great Grandma's
-Fun with the family
-Fireworks on our street
-Farmington Festival Days
-Brady and Loc driving Farmington All Stars in parade
-Catching candy
-Swimming at the Farmington Pool with cousins
-Entertainment at the park
-Stephanie getting a henna tatoo
-Watching fireworks on the school baseball fields

Garden Update!

2010-07-06T12:57:00.000-07:00

My garden is LOVIN' all this warm weather! Here's an updated picture of it for my family who live outta state. Wish you were here to share it with me! Check out those pumpkin plants! Whoa!!! They are really happy. You can compare them to what they looked like a month ago from this post. I love having a garden....lots of work, but totally worth it (especially if you LOVE food!).

I am LOVIN' this!!!

2010-06-22T12:34:00.000-07:00

So...I love strawberries. Love 'em, love 'em, LOVE THEM!!! We got strawberry starts a couple years ago, and last year we pulled all the flowers off so the fruit would be big this year. And so I've been waiting and waiting for the little suckers to be ripe enough to pick.

Lochlin and I went out there to pick them last week, and to our TOTAL disappointment, all the red berries had slash marks in them. I did a search online to figure out what it could be, and found out that most likely it's the birds enjoying my strawberries. MY STRAWBERRIES!!! So, we got this owl to scare off the birds. He is now my BFF. He is very good at his job...just sitting there with those huge eyes.

Every morning, Loc and I go out there and pick all the pretty red ones. It's the first thing he asks to do. And then, of course he eats them all!

This morning we picked a whole quart!

I was so excited, so I went inside and made a beautiful fresh strawberry pie. It's in the fridge chillin' till dinner. I can't wait!

And, of course I'm enjoying the rest of our garden. I seriously have so much fun taking care of it. It's a lot of work, but it's so worth it! We've been enjoying the spinach, lettuce and radishes so far. Everything else is doing really well though. I can't wait to be able to eat all the yummy veggies!

For all you animal lovers out there.....

2010-06-09T21:21:00.000-07:00

Please help little Monster!
CLICK -> Save the Tripod Monster!

PARTY!!!

2010-06-04T20:04:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm sitting here with 12 3rd and 4th graders at my house. They are watching a scary movie right now, but about an hour ago it was a little bit crazy! One of the boys even asked me, "Do you think we got a little carried away?" Ha!
Well, Ashton really wanted to have an after school party, so Brady took Tyler and Lochlin camping and I made some invites, got some food and was planning on a little party. Well, come Friday (the night of the party), no one had RSVP and I was getting a little worried. I thought Ashton would be really sad that none of his friends were going to come. He had a baseball game that ended at like 7:15 (the party was suppose to start at 7:30. Well, I thought I'd go rent a movie and the 2 of us would just have a movie night. Well, at 7:30 kids kept coming and coming! I was getting a little worried... A couple boys came and hung out with Ashton downstairs, but then 3 girls showed up! What?!?! I go, "Ashton! You were just suppose to give out the invites to the BOYS in your class." He says, "Well, I had a couple left so I invited some girls too." =)
OK...so, I got out the water balloons and the girls filled theirs up with the faucet in the front of the house, and the boys used the one in the back yard. It turned into a huge water fight, as you can imagine. When the water balloons ran out, they used the hose. It was CRAZY!!! Then a couple more neighbor girls came and joined us. There was even a time when about 8 6th grade girls walked by and joined in on the fun. Our neighbor, Ryan even threw a few balloons at the kids. It was pretty fun! Anyway...they are now watching a movie and having some pizza and treats. Here are some pictures of the fun evening! Next year (if we do this again) I will be prepared with some more activities.
Enjoy the pictures!

{I totally forgot to add pictures from the rest of the evening; after the movie}

It was so funny! The girls wanted me to paint their nails, and the boys played a video game. Then, like all at once, the girls decided to "capture" the boys and paint their nails. It was pretty funny. Then the boys just gave in and let the girls paint their nails. So, at least 3 of the boys went home with pink fingers and toes.

The next day Ashton had another baseball game so I had to run to the store to get some more nail polish remover. We took off all the polish and went to the game. He actually had two games because it was the tournament but he had 3 hours before the later game. We decided to go to the pool. We got there and he came out of the dressing room bright red! He walked up to me, "Mom....look down....." Awwww.....he still had polish on his toes!!! So we ran home and took care of that. It was a very interesting weekend. I think I had more fun than Ashton did.
It's Tyler's turn next. When the weather decides to be nice, we'll have a late night party for him too. No girls this time!!!

Our Beautiful Yard

2010-06-01T10:02:00.000-07:00

Each Spring, I take pictures of our yard and all the pretty flowers. I love our yard! We are so blessed to live in such a beautiful area. Here are some pictures from this year:

And then.....here's the fun part; the NEW ADDITION! We have a garden! We've had tomatoes and peppers and zucchinis in previous years, but this year we have it all (well, everything we wanted). We purchased this piece of land from our neighbor a couple years ago, but we've never done anything with it. This year, we decided to use it for a garden.

We've started most everything from seed, and it's so exciting to go out there and see little baby plants. The boys and I get a kick out of it. Brady just laughs at me...He keeps saying that we should have just gotten all starts. What's the fun in that? I love seeing the little baby seedlings pop up through the soil. Check out my cute little guys:

Baby carrots....

Baby peas....

Baby spinach (We've been eating it and it's so yummy!)....

Baby lettuce....

Baby green beans....

Baby yellow wax beans....

Baby beets....

Baby radishes....

Baby squash and zucchini....

Baby pumpkins....

Baby cantaloupe....

Baby tomatoes (we have 21 plants this year!)....

Baby peppers....

Baby cucumbers....

Baby watermelon....

Baby corn....

Baby basil, cilantro, and oregano (just planted them; it's been too cold)....

Baby walnuts....

Baby cherries....

and baby golden delicious apples....

We Have a Bedroom Now!!!

2010-04-20T12:39:00.002-07:00

So....while the boys were all camping a couple weeks ago, this is what I did:

I made a headboard!

For the nine years we've been married, we have never had a bedroom set. Which is fine, because we've moved so much and it would have just been a pain. Well, our room now is pretty small, and we have a king sized bed and that takes up lots of room. One wall is all log, one wall is log with a huge window, one is mostly closet, and the other wall is painted cream. So, really we only have two walls to work with. I don't like the dresser on the log wall because it's the same color as the logs. And there's just too much wood when the bed is up against that wall. So, I made an upholstered headboard. I'm pretty happy with it. In a few years I might get bored and change the fabric, but for now it looks good, I think. I've wanted to make our room look like a room for a while now, I just wasn't sure how I wanted to do that....and....I wanted to be cheap. I also bought sheets and a quilt set on sale. We haven't had a quilt for a year or two, so we've been using a Christmas one. I got pretty sick of it. Anyway, Brady was surprised and really liked it. It's nice to now have a "room" to relax in.

Here are the before and after pics:

BEFORE

AFTER

Take Me Out to the Ball Game...

2010-04-18T21:06:00.001-07:00

This year, Ashton was signed up for soccer and baseball. Soccer, I thought, was played before baseball. But it turned out that all the soccer games were the same days AND times as the baseball games. So, I had Ashton choose which game he'd rather play. He said baseball. So...here we are. I think he made a very wise choice. This kid's got skills!

Isn't he adorable?!

Every time he was up to bat, he hit the ball, and never got out. He even caught a pop-fly. He dropped it...but, he still caught it =). With a little more practice, there's a possibility we may have a future baseball player. I'm not complaining, that's for sure! I use to play soft ball, and it is my favorite sport to play. I was pretty good, too.

Happy Birthday, Jordan!

2010-04-18T20:57:00.000-07:00

It was Uncle Jordan's 22nd birthday on April 17th. We all gathered at his grave site, wrote notes and attached them to balloons. Then we let them go. It was fun....and a little sad of course. We sure miss him a ton.

Kitties!!!

2010-04-18T20:39:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa Butterfield's kitty had kittens two weeks ago. Lucy, the momma was a wild kitty out at the office. They fed her, and her and her two kittens at the time slowly got use to people. Well, Grandpa fell in love with Lucy and brought her home. She was such a scaredy-cat at first and it took her awhile to get use to everything. So, they planned on waiting a while to get her fixed. Well, this big black cat started hanging around and was caught spending the night in Lucy's box. And sure enough, Lucy started getting fatter and fatter. She's the sweetest cat now, and such a good momma. She even lets MY BOYS pet her kittens while she's feeding them. She just purrs and purrs. Here are some recent pictures of the cuties. There are 5 total; 2 orange tabbies, and 3 black and white ones.

Boys Will Be Boys

2010-04-18T20:13:00.000-07:00

Brady and a bunch of guys from work go on these manly camp outs at least twice a year....BOYS ONLY!!! They bring their kids and go out to the desert and do "boy things"; play with fire, dirt bikes, four wheelers, guns, fireworks, bombs, RC planes and helicopters, cannons....you name it! Here's a fun video of the boys and some of the crazy stuff they did:

What did I do while my boys were all gone for the weekend, you ask? Well, nothing nearly as fun as blowing up Sobe bottles, that's for sure! I made an upholstered headboard for our bed, re-decorated our bedroom, and.....cleaned the house. Yep! It was spotless until the boys walked in from their camp out. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother. I will post pictures of my project soon. Brady still needs to hang the headboard. That's our Monday-night activity.

The Best Dog in the World

2010-04-08T12:28:00.000-07:00

I was just playing around with my camera today, and got some cute pictures of Zoltan. He is definitely my favorite dog ever! He is so loyal and (usually) obedient. He's great with the kids and just has a fun, kick-back personality. We love him!

My Boys!

2010-04-08T12:25:00.000-07:00

This was taken on Easter.

Spring Break 2010

2010-04-08T08:51:00.000-07:00

More like Winter break!

We had fun though!

Disgusting!!!!

2010-04-05T10:07:00.000-07:00

Do you know what a weevil is? I didn't until today. I have come to find out that I have weevils in my grains. The other day I was making wheat bread. There were weevil larvae in my dough enhancer. A week ago, I found a 50+ pound container of raw wheat in my basement from previous owners. I called a granary and asked how long raw wheat stays good. She told me to put a 1/4 a cup in water and if it starts to sprout in a few days, it's still good. As I was scooping some out, there were hatched larvae throughout the whole thing! Sick!!! And today I was making deviled eggs and there were weevils floating around in the vinegar. How the heck did weevils get in vinegar? It doesn't even make sense. So, I'm going through my cupboards and getting rid of anything I haven't used in 6 months. I'm wondering if there's a chance that there are weevil eggs in the flour, rice or other grains we buy, and then they hatch while they just sit in our pantry. I've been reading some stuff online and there are a couple deterrents you can try. After opening your containers of grains, drop in a couple cloves or bay leaves. You can even spread them around your pantry. Another one to try are matchbooks. Take a plain old matchbook, open it up, and set it in with your grains or pastas. Apparently the sulfur smell from the matches acts as a weevil deterrent.
This is a rice weevil. I've never seen them as an actual beetle:

This is what I usually find in my grains if I find them:

I check every time I open up my grains, so it's not very often cuz I use them so much, but when I found them in my vinegar, I started getting a little concerned. I still have no idea how they got in my vinegar. Weird....

This is something I found about weevils:
The two most common types of pantry weevils are the granary weevil (Sitophilus granarius) and the rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae). They are often referred to as snout weevils. These little pantry pests are actually beetles; very small beetles that rarely get any larger than ¼ of an inch. Female weevils use their little snouts to drill holes in the casings of grains, such as wheat, oats, rye, rice, corn, barley, and various seeds and beans. Once the hole is drilled, she deposits an egg and seals the hole back up with a gelatinous glue-like substance that she creates all by her little self. The egg hatches after a few days, and the larvae uses its surroundings as a lunch box for about the next month. For this reason, it can be difficult to detect an infestation. Not only is it slow to start but the larvae are in hiding. Once grain weevils (a.k.a. flour weevils) or rice weevils present themselves, you've got a problem. A single female can lay up to 400 eggs, which means up to 400 more hungry bugs lookin' for a snack.
Can you say D-I-S-G-U-S-T-I-N-G!?!?!?

April Fools!

2010-04-02T17:21:00.000-07:00

Last night for April Fools, I made cupcakes for dinner. Not really, of course. They were meatloaf cakes with colored mashed potatoes spread on top for icing. My boys fell for it though. Ashton even got mad at me and wouldn't eat them. He rushed home from a friend's house when Tyler told him we were having cupcakes. Lochlin wouldn't eat cuz Ashton kept saying they were gross, but Tyler, Brady, and I really enjoyed them.

I found the idea online, but of course used my own recipe. I even got creative and dyed some coarse salt with food coloring to sprinkle on top.

Here are some pictures of the boys' first tastes. They don't look happy, do they? Tyler even spit out his first bite!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

2010-04-02T07:26:00.000-07:00

Tyler is in a creative arts and dance class that he really loves. The teacher doesn't just teach singing and dancing; Tyler has learned all about baseball, and trains, and a little bit about break dancing. Here's a video of their little performance the other night. You'll have to excuse the unprofessional-ism of the video. My videographer was definitely NOT a professional. No, it wasn't me...I was helping up on the stage. Enjoy!

OUCH!

2010-03-15T12:56:00.000-07:00

This is Lochlin's first major accident. Here I am, trying to be a good mom, and my kiddo STILL gets hurt. It could have been worse though, thank goodness for that!
This is what happened:

We have a wood burning stove with a removable screen that just sits on the front on a little ledge.

Lochlin is constantly playing with it, which usually I don't mind. Today, he had it laying flat and was driving his little Thomas train on it. He was fine until he started getting really frustrated and screaming really loud. I gave him three warnings not to scream again and to just ask me to help him. He didn't of course, so I told him I was going to put the screen away. I chose to put it up high...on the fridge....cuz I knew he couldn't reach it.

The phone rang and it was Brady. As we were talking, I saw that Lochlin had my exercise ball against the fridge, trying to climb up to get the screen.

My intuition totally knew what was going to happen. Even though I was on the other side of the counter, I tried getting to the fridge before the inevitable happened. I saw the screen wobble.....and then....it fell. I told Brady, "I'll call you back!" I knew he heard the bang and then Lochlin crying, and he was probably wondering what the heck was going on. Anyway, Loc was just to the left of it so it just clipped the right side of his head. I was thinking, 'that could have been way worse'. I'm glad he wasn't right under it; it's kinda heavy. I ran over to comfort him, as he held his head. I was just thinking he had a little bonk, but as I was holding him, I felt something wet. Now I was thinking, 'Oh CRAP!' and I moved his hand, and he was totally covered in blood. I started freaking out a little bit, but I remained pretty calm. I grabbed some tissue and held it tight to his head for a little while. I removed it, and I could see that it was a little slice about an inch long. It started gushing a little more, but I could see it wasn't very deep.

This was the second tissue I used. The first was covered....

I had him lay down on his side and hold the tissue to his head. I hurried and called Brady back to tell him what happened and ask him if I should take Loc to the hospital. He said to just watch it. It finally stopped bleeding, so I made him a little gauze headband so he didn't have to hold the tissue anymore.

This was taken later that night:

Poor kid! Lesson learned: Don't put something that heavy up high where it can fall. Next time, I'll lock it in a room somewhere or put it in the garage. I'm glad he's ok, and I'm glad it WASN'T any worse. Count my blessings, right?

Happy Birthday to the Most Awesome MIL

2010-03-07T15:14:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday we threw a huge surprise party for my mother-in-law's 50th birthday. I'm so surprised we actually pulled it off. She had NO idea! There were at least 100 people there! It was crazy!! But, it was a lot of fun to plan, set up, and.....of course, take pictures! Here are some fun pictures from that night:

Silly silly.....

2010-03-05T10:53:00.000-08:00

I just have to post these silly quotes from my boys. I never notice when my kids say funny/cute things so I've tried to be better about paying more attention to the things they say.

So I was kissing Lochlin in the forhead a bunch while he was sitting on the couch. He goes "Mommmm! Stop kissing me. You're getting your germs on me!"

We were in the car yesterday on our way to my mother-in-law's birthday party. I was a little flustered cuz I was running late and it was raining and everyone was going sooooo slow. I go, "Uhhhh! I am going to have a cow!" And Ashton goes, "Is it a boy or girl?" We all started laughing.

Another one from Ashton: He wants to start collecting Lego minifigures (the little men) and we were checking them out online and there was this creature thing from Star Wars that was $79. I go, "Holy Cow! That's a lot for that little guy." And Ashton says, "It's because he's so precious, Mom." LOL!!! When did my 8 year old start saying words liks 'precious'?

Silly kids.....

Sleepover!

2010-02-24T12:00:00.001-08:00

Last weekend, Ashton and Tyler had a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's house, so we decided to let Lochlin have a sleepover too, so he wouldn't be lonely. So, Roc came over and we had so much fun! I love that Loc has a cousin so close in age to him. They are best buds! Here are some fun pictures of them hanging out:

Hanging out with Cousins

2010-02-13T08:10:00.000-08:00

Last week, Brady's cousins invited Mel and me to spend a day with them. We all met at the Aquarium with all our kids and had a blast! Thanks Becky and Bonnie! It was so nice to hang out with you guys. Here are some pictures of the kids checking out all the fish.

I can do it by myself

2010-02-13T07:41:00.001-08:00

First of all, I have to explain all the dog hair on Lochlin's shirt in these pictures. It's discusting, I know. We have been watching our friends' lab for a little longer than we expected and he was THE hairiest dog ever. I had to vacuum every other day and the vacuum would get totally full of hair. It was crazy. We had found him a new home, but that week was so busy that it was four days before I was able to vacuum. Lochlin had been rolling around on the floor with our dog, Zoli, and...well, that explains the hair. Our house is not usually that gross, I promise. Our dog doesn't even shed.
Ok, so anyway....Lately, I've been having a hard time getting Lochlin to eat. He has become so picky and just really frustrating. He'll say he wants something....I make it for him, and he says "I don't want it". So, I decided I'd let him make his own food. It totally worked! He made this bologna and cheese sandwich by himself and ate the entire thing! I couldn't believe it! So, we've learned that if we let him either make it, stir it, pepper it, cheese it, cut it, spread it, or just be a part of making the meal, he'll usually eat it.

Happy Birthday Tyler!

2010-02-13T06:53:00.001-08:00

Tyler had a wonderful birthday week. On Tuesday we went to the Classic Fun Center. We had never been to the one in Sandy before, and it was soooo much fun. The boys brought their scooters and road them on the skating rink. They also played in the "Jungle", the bounce houses, and they played laser tag with Brady and Grandpa. I didn't get too many pictures of Tyler because I could never find him. He was having too much fun. We also had pizza and cake and opened up presents. Tyler got a rock tumbler, an RC car, some Bakugan Battle Brawlers, and a towel with his name on it.
It was a fun night.

Wednesday was his actual birthday. He got his birthday breakfast in bed and of course had to go to school. I brought donuts for his class, and he had a great day. His class made a little book for him and everyone wrote nice things about him. He felt so special.

Later that week, Grandma Amodeo's package came. Great job, Grandma! She always gets such fun stuff.

Tyler also had a friend party at Chuck E. Cheese's on Saturday. I brought my camera, but it didn't have the camera card in it. Imagine that! I'm such an air-head. Anyway....he had lots of fun. Six of his good friends came and they just played on the games the whole time. We had pizza and cupcakes, and he got even more great gifts. His friends all know how much he loves Bakugan so he got more Battle Brawlers. He also got a tin box to carry them in. He was very happy.

JANUARY UPDATE

2010-02-05T12:01:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've updated this thing. I'm sure you're all dieing to know what we've been up to the last 2 months. Honestly....when are we NOT up to something? We're always doing something interesting, right? Well, first off... I've decided to quit school to be with the family. Brady has been having a bit of a hard time with his brother's passing and I just want to be there for him and the boys any way they need. The boys have also been getting into trouble at school, so I'd like to be able to volunteer at the school and be able to keep an eye on them. Ashton even got beat up (not bad) by a bully last week. The kid got suspended, but Ashton was a little scared. He shouldn't have to deal with stuff like that in 3rd grade. If I had been going to school myself, I wouldn't have been able to pick him up from school. So, I feel like I'm justified in my decision to take a break from school for a while. Who knows....I may go back later on down the road, but right now, my family is the most important thing to focus on.

January was a tough month trying to go on with life without our fun uncle/brother. We carried on with our normal activities though. We started out January with our traditional New Years Eve party at Uncle Brad's house. This year the white elephant gift exchange got a little outta control. We had a few family members fighting over gifts.

Which left some people a bit unhappy....

Grandpa Butterfield did his best to keep things under control:

Not everyone was unhappy. Here's Melanie happy about who knows what....she's always got this look on her face:

(just kidding, Mel!)

And here's Brady having a "special moment" with his gift. It WAS one of the cooler ones.

Poor Brooke got a ceramic Santa in a bathtub:

And Aunt Amy got a broken mirror off a car:

Uncle Brad is in a band and has all his stuff set up in his basement. The boys love to go down there and wail on the drums. Here are some pictures of that:

It was a good time. We love being with our family.

Before Brady had to go back to work, he wanted to fly his P-40 Mustang. The day we found out about Jordan was when he was planning on flying it for the first time. Jordan was suppose to go with him. Anyway, we put it off a couple weeks, and finally went out to the middle of no where in the freezing cold and witnessed its first (and last) flight. One of the extra parts Brady bought for it malfunctioned, and it crashed. It was very sad. He spent so much time on this plane. The nice thing is, he told the company who made the part what happened, and they are giving him a credit to buy another plane. Hopefully the next one makes more than one flight. Here are some pictures from the fateful day.

Before the crash:

After the crash:

Our last activity in January was the Pinewood Derby. This was Ashton's first derby.

Check out this car:

Now, do you really think something that looks like that would lose?

No way!!!

Brady, of course, helped Ashton a lot. He knows all the little secrets to make it go fast. Ashton did designed the shape of the body. He thought that the flatter it was the faster it would go. So, Brady used his grandfather's tools and cut it out to look like Ashton's drawings. Then, as we were trying to figure out what color to paint it, there was some aluminum tape just sitting on the counter from one of Brady's airplanes. He pulled some off and stuck it on the car. It look totally neat, so we just covered the entire car with it and used a pencil to poke holes on it to look like metal panels. It has a very unique looking body.
And then Ashton and Brady polished the axels and used graphite to make the wheels roll smoothly. When they put the car down on a flat surface, it wouldn't stay in one spot. It WANTED to go forward!

Anyway, here are some pictures from the race. Enjoy!

The next post will be Tyler's birthday. Even though he's already had his family party, his party with his friends is tomorrow at Chuck E. Cheese's. So, I'll have those pictures up by next week.

A Few of MY Favorite Things!

2010-01-20T16:53:00.001-08:00

Christmas and a Funeral

2009-12-29T07:05:00.000-08:00

You may think our Christmas this year was full of sadness and grief, but it honestly was the best Christmas the family has ever had. Through the passing of Brady's little brother, we have learned so much about the Savior's love and the atonement, which is what Christmas is all about. We know Jordan's in a wonderful place with the Lord and we have had confirmation that he's with us in spirit. It's amazing how we went from devastation to feeling peace and comfort in that short week. We sure are going to miss him though. He was the best brother and uncle anyone could ask for.
We did have a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed being with the entire family so much. Here are some pictures from Christmas. Notice how everyone is happy, despite what we have all gone through.

Jordan's funeral was the day after Christmas. There were so many people there- Probably a total of 800. Jordan was known by so many and it was fun to see all the people who loved him and supported the Butterfields. Here are some pictures from the funeral.

It was a beautiful day outside....not a cloud in the sky.

Notice the beautiful blue of his casket; that is the same color as his car. We're all sure he is very pleased with it. There is even and STI sticker on it.

I just loved the sprays. They were so beautiful, and looked really good with the blue of the casket.

Jordan's friends loved the STI sticker. I saw many kids taking pictures of it.

Mel's toes were freezing...and Brady, being the wonderful brother he is, took care of her.

In Loving Memory

2009-12-21T06:58:00.000-08:00

Big Bro

2009-12-16T19:26:00.000-08:00

I just thought this was so cute. Tyler has never tried to read to Lochlin before. He had a hard day at school, but he was so sweet to his little brother when he got home. The funny thing is, he was making up the story the whole time. He never actually "read" the book. I figured that out as I was trying to snap this picture:

I have a quote!!!

2009-12-15T07:16:00.000-08:00

I envy my friends who keep track of the cute things their kids say. They are great to have forever to remember the funny things that come out of their kids mouths. I have never kept track of my boys' silly sayings, and they say some pretty funny things. Well, I have one today, and I'm going to write it down. I really want to be better about this..... Here's one from Ashton. This one was in the WAY he said it. "I feel bad for Zoli (our dog). He can't ever enjoy the goodness of chocolate." I've never heard him talk like that before, so it was pretty funny. Keep tuned....I'll be posting more. You'll be surprised at what these guys say!

Happy Birthday, Lochlin!

2009-12-14T13:53:00.000-08:00

Lochlin is 3!!! I can't believe it! We had a fun little lunch party today at our house with all his little friends from the neighborhood. And cousins, of course. He had a ton of fun.
Here are the guests. I love Loc's face!

First, we ate some lunch. I just made finger foods, and gave them some juice boxes. It was nice and easy, but a big hit.

Time for cake! Lochlin wanted a "helicopter cake", and I was not about to create a helicopter cake, so this was what he got. He loved it though. It was a helipad and we put a little Matchbox helicopter on top. He got the helicopter, of course!

Then we opened presents. I didn't take pictures of Lochlin opening gifts because I was busy helping him, but I did get this cute picture of Belle helping open presents. She's such a doll.

This is the present we got Lochlin. He LOVES it! It's an Imaginext Rescue Helicopter, and it is so cool.

This is what it's all about (Thanks Chanelle)

2009-12-13T18:17:00.001-08:00

A young girl with true Christmas spirit quietly teaches her preoccupied family the true meaning of Christmas.

Potty Training

2009-12-12T12:49:00.000-08:00

So, we've started potty training today. So far, Lochlin's doing well. He has been wearing underwear all day and has only had one accident. Yesterday he wanted nothing to do with underwear. This is what he did with it:

And, today he has been putting in on all by himself. He is still a little confused, but at least we're getting a little closer:

Baby, it's cold outside......

2009-12-10T13:44:00.000-08:00

It has snowed a bunch in the last week. We still have about 5-6 inches outside. And it's been 14 degrees out there! Brrrrrr....it's cold!

December

2009-12-02T21:17:00.001-08:00

I love this time of year! This year especially! We usually procrastinate on our shopping, but I'M FINISHED!!! YAY!!! Well....for the most part. I'm sure I'll buy some more little things here and there, but the main items have been purchased. I love decorating. LOVE IT!!! I love all the pretty lights, the up-lifting music, the giving, the happy people (no, I didn't do Black Friday), the yummy food, and being with family. While Brady's parent's had the boys over the weekend, they took them to find a tree. We've made it a tradition to go up to Heber and cut down our trees. I'm actually pretty bumbed we didn't go this year. I think it's a great tradition. The boys love it. Tyler (supposidly) picked out our tree. I'm sure he had help, but we love it! it makes our house smell.....well, Christmasy! Here are some fun pictures of the boys decorating. The pictures aren't the best. I didn't want to use the flash so we could see the sparkly lights. This is as good as my lens got.

I love snowmen! Here's my little collection.

Catch-Up

2009-12-02T20:46:00.001-08:00

I think I'm just going to update this thing monthly. I have NO time and I don't really think anyone looks at my blog. Except family, of course....but that's why started it anyway.... =)
So, this post is for last month. Here are some things we did in November:

It seemed like the prettiest part of fall held on longer than usual. I'm definitely NOT complaining. That's my favorite time of year. My favorite colors are the bright yellows and reds. We have 3 maple trees on the side of our house and they turn the prettiest colors. Here are some pics of Lochlin and me playing around in the fall leaves:

We also have 2 golden delicious apple trees in our back yard. Last year I canned apple sauce, but since I canned so many tomatoes this year, I decided to try something new. I've made and conquered the apple pie! I have found an amazing recipe online that I played around with a bit and have made THE PERFECT apple pie. I never really liked fruit pies growing up, but HOLY COW!!! This one is soooooo yummy. Just looking at this picture makes my mouth water!

Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera to Thanksgiving dinner. It's too hard to worry about pictures when I have 3 monsters running around an UN-childproofed house. We go to Great Grandma and Grandpa's house every Thanksgiving and have THE BIGGEST feast ever! There is so much food and it's all served on the most beautiful platters. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green been casserole, yams, fruit salad, cinnamon rolls, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and of course my apple pie. I'll make sure to bring my camera next year. Thanksgiving memories are ones I'd love to have in an album.

I think we did the Christmas lights before Thanksgiving, but I don't remember. Here are Tyler and Brady making our house look beautiful.

The weekend after Thanksgiving was Brady and my 9th anniversary. We were going to go to Vegas on a free trip (from one of those time-share things we sat through) but we decided we didn't want to spend the money, so we stayed home and enjoyed a peaceful weekend together. Grandma and Grandpa had Ashton and Tyler spend the night, and Melanie had Loc. We did get a lot done though. Brady installed a garage door opener for me. =) I LOVE IT!!! We've lived in this house for 3 years and got so use to opening the door ourselves, but now that I have it, I don't know how I lived without it. Just another simple luxury we take for granted. Here's my stud of a husband, the garage door technichian. I think it took longer than he expected, but he did an awesome job. Thanks Babe!!! I love it!!!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T21:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of all our costumes this year. We took these while I had some studio lighting. Pretty sweet, huh?

Lochlin started out as a skeleton. But then he tore the bones off this costume, so he wore it for the family party...

....but this is what I made him for Halloween night. I ended up using my white backdrop that I use for my studio photography.

Here's Tyler as Frankenstein. This is a costume his Uncle Jordan wore when he was Tyler's age.

Ashton was also two different things this year. He went to the family party and our church party in this costume. The chest had fake blood that you pumped through by squeezing a little heart. Well, during the costume show at church, he pumped it just a little too much and it exploded all over him. Everyone thought it was so cool though. He won "scariest costume" at the family party. But, for Halloween night he was a zombie.

I was a basket of dirty laundry for the family party. I won "most original costume". It was awesome cuz it didn't cost me a cent!

Yes, that's lingerie hanging from my ears.....

Brady was an executioner. He and his father made his ax thing. And I made his hood.

And here are some pictures of a really neat house we went to Halloween night. They had it decorated so awesome! This spider was the best! It crawled in a circle around the yard.

And this skull rose out of a well. Spoooooky!

Best Buds

2009-10-29T21:17:00.000-07:00

I'm still trying to convince myself that it's okay to keep this dog. He's really very easy to take care of. Brady says he's just like a stuffed animal you can take everywhere. And it's true! The boys put his little coat on and (literally) take him everywhere! Anyway, I didn't want anyone thinking poor Zoli is devastated. He's not... The two dogs are the best of friends. See for yourself:

Poor Zoli....

2009-10-28T19:59:00.001-07:00

that's all I have to say.....

Paco

2009-10-25T22:37:00.001-07:00

This is Paco (we think....his name keeps changing). He's a pure bred Chihuahua that a friend found at the pound, but decided he wasn't good for her family. So, I told her we'd keep him till Monday and then return him to the pound. Well....I don't think that's gonna happen. I think we are all falling in love with this little guy. I don't even want to think what may happen to him if he goes back.....
So, right now he's ours, but he may go to Brady's bother. The problem is Paco loves me so much, he may have a hard time being with someone else. We'll see....
Right now.....he's just another animal (#5) to love. Isn't he a cutie?

And here's a picture of Paco and Zoli together.

Ashton's Art Project

2009-10-22T12:22:00.000-07:00

The boys' school does the "Reflections Art Contest" each year. They've both entered something every year. This year Tyler's class did thier own thing, so I wasn't able to get pictures of it. Ashton chose to enter the photography contest. I was so excited! I gave him my old little digital camera that I found at a playground 2 years ago, and told him to go take pictures of pretty things (the theme this year is "Beauty Is...."). He came back with tons of pictures of plants and trees. He picked these three trees because they were all different colors and they were so pretty. All I have to say is, he's a natural!!! I love them! We mounted them in this order (horizontal) on a black foam board, and they look sooooo good! I kinda hope he doesn't win, cuz I want it back so I can frame it and put it up in our house.

Viva Las Vegas!!!

2009-10-19T21:19:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had a girls trip to St. George and Vegas. I had so much fun! We went for Melanie(my sister-in-law)'s birthday. I've never been to either place, so I was like a kid in a candy store. I wanted to do, and see, EVERYTHING! Of course we didn't have time for that, but I WILL be going back. I loved all the neat buildings and all the people. To me it was like NYC, only warmer, and closer. It was 90 degrees on Sunday! I couldn't believe it! Here's a little slide show of our trip.

My Busy Life (Maria, this is for you)

2009-10-19T20:45:00.000-07:00

So, most of you know I'm going to school. I'm in the graphic design program at Salt Lake Community College. I have about 2 semesters left, which is probably going to take lots longer cuz I'm a mom. But, I really love going to school. I love stimulating my brain and learning new things. This semester is easy. I'm only taking 2 classes, but one was only offered in the evening, so it interferes with family time, and that hasn't been fun. Just tonight, I was in class and Brady was home with the boys and making dinner. Lochlin decided to paint the family room. There were about 10 different colors all over the family room. The rug, the carpet, the couch, the dvd player, the wall....and all over his body. Brady didn't take any pictures, but I'm sure it would have been a perfect Kodak moment. Thank goodness it was only acrylic paint!
Anyway, I'm halfway throught the semester, and it's going really well. I'm taking a figure drawing class, which is really challenging, and a printing class. I think I have A's in both. My sister wanted to see some of my drawings, and they are of the "un-draped" model, so if you find them offensive, please don't look. However, these are only 10-20 minute drawings with very little detail.

I have a couple profiles that, as soon as I get them back from my instructor, I will add them as well...
.
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...and here they are:

(yes, I know her head is way too small. I drew it in when she was finished posing.)

In addition to school, I've gotten extremely busy with photography. This is something that started out as a hobby, and has turned into a very busy little business. I love taking pictures, and it's really fun to have people call me and ask me to take their family pictures. I've recently done a large family, engagements, business pictures, and I will be doing maternity pictures next week. I love it! I'm learning so much. I don't post any of those pictures on here, but if you wanna check them out (and I will be adding tons more soon) here's the link.

Last Tuesday a did pictures for a growing company called ProPay. I set up professional lighting and everything! It was a huge success. I never get the chance to dress professionally, and my sister wanted to see what I looked like. This is a terrible picture of me, but at least you can see my outfit. It was so fun!

CHOO!!! CHOO!!!

2009-10-09T12:20:00.000-07:00

Just some cute pictures of Lochlin playing with his train. He could do this forever!

Grandpa Amodeo

2009-10-09T11:04:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Amodeo came to visit last weekend. We had a lot of fun! We went to Kangaroo Zoo: We went swimming too, but Grandpa has all those pictures. We went on a hike up the canyon just east of our house. I was so sore the next few days, but it is so pretty up there! We also went out to Grantsville, to the desert, to fly Brady's RC plane and heli. It was a lot of fun. Grandpa wants to get one now!
And here's a little video of Grandpa teaching Ashton how to throw a football. He's now my future quarterback:

We also went to this awesome, 5 star Italian restaurant in Holladay called Lugano. It's my new favorite! I love not being able to figure out the ingredients in the sauces. That just means it was totally worth the $20, cuz I can't duplicated it at home. If you have a chance to go, it's totally worth it. The best gourmet dining I've experienced yet!

And....this is how we all felt by the end of the weekend. Thanks, Grandpa!!! We had a great time.

One Eventful Weekend

2009-09-07T07:26:00.000-07:00

We had such a great weekend! Ashton was baptized on Saturday. It was such a special day and it was so fun to watch him take it all in. He's a smart little cookie. That morning, we talked a little about baptism and answered any questions he had. Then, I asked him why he decided to be baptized. His response made me tear up. "Cuz I want to be just like Jesus...."

Here's my handsome little guy. We are so blessed to have him in our family. He brings so much joy to our home, and he has such a sweet spirit. We love you, Ashton!

It was fun (as always) to be with the family. I love how much they all love our boys. I know that's normal...but it is such a good feeling. I'm so blessed to be part of such a great family. Thank you Jordan and Mel for those wonderful talks. You did such a great job making Ashton feel so special.

Saturday was also Brady's 30th birthday. I can't believe how old we're getting! Time goes by too fast. The boys and I made him this sign and hung it up for the whole neigborhood to see. I don't think Brady thought that was too cool.... =) And then, after Ashton's baptism, we went out to eat with the family at the Texas Road House. It was so good! I love that place!

Brady had to ride on the saddle as the waiters and waitresses announced to the entire resturaunt that Brady was turning 30. Yee Haaa!!!

Monday, Labor Day, was the last day for Great Grandma to have her pool open. So the family got together and had one last swimming party for the summer. The boys and I had fun. Brady....on the other hand, got really sick and passed out on the couch. I actually should be taking care of him right now. I think I'll add some fun shots of everyone in the pool first. Enjoy....

Here's a fun one of uncle Brad kickin' some major butt at volleyball.

And Lochlin just chillin' on his little raft.

It was a great day at the pool. Until next year.....adios!

Zucchini Out the Wazoo

2009-09-03T18:07:00.000-07:00

I am SO SICK OF ZUCCHINI!!! Why can't my cucumber plant grow 20 cucumbers a week? Or even my green pepper plant? What else is there to make with the stinkin green monsters? I've made zucchini bread, zucchini cookies, zucchini omelets, fried zucchini, sauted zucchini, steamed zucchini, baked zucchini, zucchini soups.....Oh, and I have no more room in my freezer to freeze any more. Anyway, tonight I needed something to do with my Lochlin sized zucchini. I got creative and made stuffed zucchini. It doesn't look like much, but it was really tasty. I have 5 more that same size. Seriously!!! I have zucchini coming out the wazoo!

The sauce I created was pretty tasty too. I pureed a few of our fresh tomatoes with a little ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, and salt and pepper. It went very well with the meat.

Tomatoes, Tomatoes, Tomatoes...Oh My!!!

2009-08-31T06:22:00.000-07:00

This weekend, we picked lots and lots of tomatoes, and we still had about 30 sitting on our counter, so I decided to can all of them. The boys helped me pick them, and Brady helped me can them. He said his hands still smelled like tomatoes this morning! I had a few left over, so I made some homemade V8 juice. Brady likes spicy stuff, so I added a few slices of a salsa pepper. It was pretty tasty!

First Day of School 2009

2009-08-24T14:06:00.000-07:00

I was SO excited for this school year to start. I needed some "me" time. This summer was just so hectic, and the boys started getting sick of each other. That's when the fighting starts, and then the tattle-taling, whining, and complaining. I was going insain!
But then I walked them to their classes this morning and I could feel tears forming in my eyes. Wait! I don't want you to go. Not yet...I started feeling sad. Of course I got over it, but the beginning of each school year always seems hard. They just seem to grow up so fast, and part of me wants them to stay this age forever. The other part wonders 'how much longer?!' I love my boys! They have so much fun, and they love life. They both had a really good first day. So, here's to a great year {*clank*}!

Hiking with Grandma

2009-08-20T20:24:00.000-07:00

We went on a hike today with Grandma Butterfield up to Cecret Lake. It was so beautiful up there. I expected the temperature to be a little chilly, but it was about 80-85. Really nice! We hiked up to the top and had lunch by the lake. The boys did OK. They had a hard time on the way up, mainly cuz they were hungry. But going down was a little easier.

Look! Snow in August!

We made some little buddies up there. The boys were chasing this little bird around everywhere, and it stayed about 2 feet away...Probably use to all the visitors.

There were chipmunks everywhere! They were so cute. This one held still long enough for me to snap a pic.

And here are some shots of the beautiful wild flowers.

Relay for Life

2009-08-20T19:47:00.000-07:00

I was on the committee for the Relay for Life this year. I have a good friend who lost her 4 year old to cancer, and I told her I would help her out. We had a lot of fun helping raise money for a cure. My family sold pizza at night and breakfast burritos in the early morning hours (Relay for Life is an all night event). We raised about $250. It's not much, but even the smallest amount helps. There were so many fun things to do there. They had bounce houses and slides, bands, dance groups, karaoke, and 'Relay's Got Talent' talent show. I was in charge of the survivors dinner, which went really well. It was fun to talk to all the cancer survivors and hear their stories. I met this sweet little 8 month old girl, Ellie, who has brain cancer. She's too little for treatments now, so she has to wait till she's 1. She was so beautiful, though. I wish I had a picture of her. Anyway...here are some pictures from the event:

This was my friend, Christa's booth.

Here's Brady selling pizza.

View of the event grounds

Some pics of the boys playing

The Most Beautiful Place on Earth

2009-08-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

We went to Lake Powell last week and had the BEST time. Here are some beautiful pictures of the lake. I could seriously live here.

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and here are some pictures of the family. Enjoy!

and here are some pictures Brady took at night. Can you believe all those stars?! It was beautiful!

Our Dragonfly

2009-08-01T18:23:00.001-07:00

This is a big dragonfly that landed on Brady while he was watering the flowers. He says that she looks like she had just laid her eggs cuz you could see her loose, empty abdomen where the eggs were. They don't live much longer after they lay eggs, so she wasn't doing very well.

Holy Cow!!!! What a Weekend!

2009-07-25T07:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Pioneer Day!!!
Every 24th, the family gets together for a fun day at the pool. This weekend was SOOOO fun!!! We love being with the family. Here are some fun pictures of us at Great Grandma's pool.

I couple pictures of my boys by the pool:

Lochlin with his favorite cousin, Roc:

My father-in-law doing......who knows what:

My brother-in-law, Josh with my sweet little niece, Bree:

Brady took this picture of the tower at Great Grandma's house. His dad helped build it a long time ago. I just thought it was a great picture with great colors, so I thought I'd add it.

And here are a couple pictures of me doing flips and stuff off the diving board. See....I've still got it. I'm not old....right? RIGHT?!

After swimming, we went to a dollar show. Grandma and Grandpa took the boys to see "Monsters vs. Aliens", and Brady and I saw "17 Again". I LOVED it!!! It was so cute! After the movie, the boys all fell asleep in the car on the way home. That rarely happens. Ashton can usually fight it. That just shows you how crazy our day was!

Then....on Saturday, we went to a baseball game with the family. The Bees lost by 5 but there were fireworks at the end, and that's the best part!

Ashton's Birthday

2009-07-17T06:51:00.000-07:00

Ashton's day started with breakfast in bed. This is a tradition we started a few years ago. Now, we all get breakfast in bed on our birthdays. I had to wake him up this morning though. He's such a handsom little guy....even when he's sleepy!

(LOL!!! I never post the silly things my kids say, but I have to post this: Ashton just came upstairs and saw me posting these pictures. He goes, "Mom!!! my armpit and my little nibble is showing!" Yep...he said nibble, not nipple! Too funny!)

For lunch, we met at the Training Table with Grandma and Grandpa Butterfield and Mel and her kids. Ashton got a Transformer mask and gun that he's been wanting. He loves them!

This is my beautiful neice. She's so adorable!

And here's my nephew, Roc, munchin' on a fry.

The real party started at 4 at the Farmington Pool. We had 6 boys show up, and they had a blast swimming and being boys . I hung out with Lochlin, Mel, Roc, and Bree in the shallow end. It was a great day for swimming. Then, we went back to our house, had pizza, and watched a little Spongebob while I finished dressing Spongebob(the cake).

Isn't he handsome? Too bad he had to get eaten....

Then, Ashton opened up his presents. He loved EVERYTHING! He's got great friends. His favorite gifts were a nerf gun he's been wanting for a while and an Indiana Jones LEGO plane. The boys were up late building LEGO's.

After that, we played a few games. For the first game, we blew up balloons and released them. Whoever's balloon was the closest to the target (Spongebob's face) was the winner. Josh won that one. He only put a couple puffs of air in his balloon....clever kid!

This next game was kinda like hot potato, but we used a jellyfish(balloon). I played some music and the boys tossed the balloon around. Whoever was last to touch the jellyfish when the music stopped got stung and was "out". That game was a big hit.

Then we had a sponge relay. There were two teams and they had to soak their sponges, run to a cup, and wring out the sponge. The team who filled thier cup first won.

They eventually got sick of playing games and decided to have a nerf gun war. I was the target of choice. I did get a group shot of them before they all shot me.
I think they had a good time. I love birthday parties!

Happy Birthday Monkey Boy!!!

2009-07-16T17:56:00.001-07:00

Our oldest, Ashton is 8 tomorrow! Where the hey does the time go? I swear!!! We are so blessed to be his parents. He brings so much happiness to our family, and it's been fun to watch him grow into a fun, loving, creative, silly, rambunctious, little man. He definately keeps us busy, but life would seriously be so boring without him.
We love you, Monkey!!! Happy Birthday!

Relaxing in the Backyard

2009-07-12T17:13:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been so beautiful. The temperature has been perfect, and it's been fun to just hang out with the family. Here are some pictures I got of Lochlin hanging out with Daddy and the dog in the backyard.

The bird wanted her picture taken too:

More July Fun

2009-07-11T19:01:00.000-07:00

I love our little community here in Farmington. I love the small town feel, the wonderful people, and the great yearly events. Today was Farmington Festival Days. It's a fun day that starts off with a couple races, breakfast, a parade, and a little small town carnival with entertainment, food, pony rides, bounce houses, booths where people sell their stuff, and....helicopter rides. WOW!!! So much to do. We didn't make it to the whole thing, but we did have a great time. The highlight, of course, was the helicopter ride. Brady took Lochlin cuz he just LOVES helicopters! Ashton and Tyler got to go flying with Brady last year for Father's Day, so it was Loc's turn. He had SO much fun! Neither of them could stop talking about it all day. Enjoy the pics!

Lochlin couldn't wait for his turn. At one point he started crying cuz it wasn't his turn yet. He was so excited!

Finally....

And off they go!

Here's a fun picture Brady took of Lagoon from the cockpit:

There's me and the boys waving at them from the ground.

And the pony ride....

Boating and the 4th

2009-07-08T15:33:00.000-07:00

We spend a lot of time boating with the family in the summer. Our first trip out this year was to Willard Bay. The weather was great and we had a ton of fun wake-boarding and tubing. I didn't take too many pictures, but here are a few.

Each year, on the 4th, the Butterfield's have a tradition of going up Millcreek Canyon for breakfast. We then head over to Grandma and Grandpa's neighborhood to participate in the parade. The boys love to ride in the back of Grandpa's old truck and throw candy to all the kids. This was my first year in the back of the truck...I'm usually on the sidelines. I'm glad it wasn't too hot!

After the parade, we go to Great Grandma and Grandpa's house for a BBQ and swimming. We LOVE the 4th! We have lots of great times in this pool.

Random Events from June

2009-07-08T15:03:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the boys making Rice Crispy treats. They were so cute cuz they were working so well together. I love moments like that.....

This year, we decided not to spray our cherry tree cuz last year we spent the money, and they were FILLED with worms. I wasn't even going to waste time with the cherries this year. Well, we were all out there one day and I decided to check them out. I opened one....no worms....another.... no worms! I was so excited! I picked a bucket of them, took them inside and pitted them. NO WORMS!!! Yay!!! They were so delicious! Cherries are one of my favorite fruits. We shared them with friends and family and then ate all the others raw. I think the rainy weather this year had an effect on them. I guess the worms got all rained out!

And here's our yard buddy. He hangs out in the front yard and eats all the spiders. Brady's sure he's the one from last year. Every time he sees him, he brings him in to show everyone. This time, he almost took a bath with Lochlin. He wasn't too fond of the bubbles! We love garter snakes. They're great if you have a garden or lots of pretty flowers you don't want ruined by crickets and caterpillars.

And here's Brady's new toy. We're going to Lake Powell in August, and he thought it'd be fun to be able to land a plane on the lake. So, he got the plane, and bought floats for it. Pretty sweet, eh?

More From Our Trip

2009-06-24T18:53:00.000-07:00

These pictures are all backwards, but this is what we did in Tennessee. So, on the last day we went to this really neat mall called the Opryland Mall. There was a fun resturant there called The Aquarium, and we got to sit and watch sharks and rays swim around while we ate REALLY good food. They also had a little place where you can pet and feed the manta rays. These guys would jump almost all the way out of the water to get the food! It was hilarious!!!

This was the Opryland Hotel. It's a really famous resort in Nashville. And it is SO beautiful!

This is my cute sister, Stephanie. I REALLY wish she lived closer. I love hanging out with her. I miss you, Steph!!!

My mom and sister with the boys.

We also went boating.

This is an old civil war plantation that had been restored. The boys went on a tour of the house, which was used as a hospital for the soldiers during the war. It was a beautiful house. I stayed outside, though, while Lochlin took a nap. I got to watch a beautiful bride and her bridesmaids get their pictures taken. I wish I was the photographer....those girls were beautiful!!!

This was just a little area in the town where the plantation was. There where designer shops and really good little resturants. I was told lots of the country stars hang out there. I didn't see any though. I was hoping to meet Tim McGraw and Faith, but they were nowhere to be seen. Oh well....

Our Trip Down South

2009-06-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, the boys and I went to visit family in Kentucky and Tennessee. We flew out on a red eye. The boys actually did really well. They sure were exhausted the next day, though!
Anyway, we had a ton of fun! Here are some pictures from our trip:

This is Granpma and Grandpa Brown:

Everything in Grandma and Grandpa Brown's house was at least 40 years old! They are SO good at keeping things forever and taking really good care of their stuff. They obviously didn't have 3 boys! There are toys in the basement from when my mom was a little girl. Grandpa Brown made this sign for us with 40+ year old magnetic letters. Cute, huh?

Grandpa Brown hung up a tire swing and a bar swing, and the boys were in heaven!

The second day we were there, we went to a farm and picked strawberries. Well...Grandpa and I did. The boys fell asleep in the car and wouldn't wake up for anything! Aren't these strawberries beautiful?!

And here's the beautiful country:

And, the chickens of course!

Here's a picture of Lochlin playing with some (40 year old) toy trucks. Notice the strawberry juice on his mouth. He loved the fresh strawberries! They were so yummy!

We went to a beautiful park and had a picnic. It was SOOOOO humid. I couldn't believe how humid it was. And there were lots and lots of bugs! Especially daddy long legs. It was fun though. These pictures don't really show it, but this place was so green! It was beautiful.

And this was our FAVORITE activity. Making homemade ice cream. MmmmmMMMM!!! We made a flavor called straw-ba-nut, and it was so good. Fresh strawberries, bananas, and pecans. Uuuhhhhh! I wish I had an ice cream machine. Someday....

The boys loved eating the fresh ice cream off the paddle. They thought that was the best part!

And here's Loc licking every last drop off the table. Yes....it was THAT good!

Grandma read to the boys every night. Tyler says he likes the way she tells stories. She has a thick southern accent, and they think it's so cool.

Eating more ice cream:

Cutting branches that fell outta Grandpa's tree:

Lochlin totally wiped out:

We also played a lot of badminton:

And ran through the sprinkler:

And, Grandpa let the boys drive his 40 year old lawnmower. Actually....I don't think it's that old! Maybe 20 years.

....TO BE CONTINUED. This was just Kentucky. We also went to Six Flags, Nashville, the Opryland Hotel, and to an awesome aquarium resturant. Oh, and the National Corvette Museum. I think I'll wait till they hook up our Comcast on Tuesday to update cuz it takes FOREVER to upload pictures. I need a faster connection. So, check back!

End of the Year Program and a Talent Show

2009-05-29T12:05:00.001-07:00

Tyler's class had an end of the year program. It was SO cute! Here are some pics. Tyler is on the far right:

And the second graders put on a talent show. Ashton played the piano, and did SOOO WELL! He's only been playing for about 6 months and he sounded like he's been playing for years! I am very proud of him, of course.
And yes....he has a mohawk. He begged me to let him have one for his last day of school. Silly kid!

Soccer, Cows, and Fun!

2009-05-29T11:10:00.001-07:00

Ashton had his last soccer game this week. The family came up to watch him. He did pretty well. Here are some action shots for ya:

On the way to the soccer fields, there's a baby cow. We HAVE to say hi to the baby cow before EVERY game. He's a cute little cow, and I think he and Lochlin really hit it off:

And...this is what the rest of us were doing while Ashton was playing:

The coaches gave the boys little metals at the end, and had a little ceremony:

My Blue-Eyed Angel

2009-05-27T10:19:00.000-07:00

I love this kid!!! He is so happy and fun to be with all the time. He's really the only one who actually enjoys me always taking pictures of him. He says "CHEESE!" right on command and doesn't moan and groan whenever I say "Let's go take pictures".
He's got his daddy's laid back personality, and he's (usually) really sweet.

The Boys

2009-05-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent pictures of the boys. I don't have any of Tyler by himself. That's my next project.

More Pics of Lochlin

2009-05-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

Lochlin sings "Row Row Row Your Boat" but he does the motions for "The Wheels on the Bus". It's really cute. I need to get it on video.

Hangin' Out with Cousins

2009-05-01T19:09:00.001-07:00

Brady took Ashton and Tyler camping this weekend. So, it's just Loc and me for a few days. Today, we spent the afternoon with our favorite cousins, Roc and Bree. Our second cousins came over too. We had lots of fun!

Another Cute Pic of Loc

2009-05-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

He's finally gotten over his cheesy smile thing he use to do. Now I get normal Lochlin smiles. Isn't he adorable?

New Lens

2009-04-30T15:39:00.000-07:00

I got a new lens for my camera, and it is SO fun! Here is a picture I took of Loc at the camera store. He's got such a cute smile. It's not the greatest pic, but it's got a fun depth of field, where everything behind him is blurry. I love it!

Sunsets and Scenery

2009-04-13T21:58:00.000-07:00

Most of you know I love taking pictures. I mostly take pictures of children. They are so fun to photograph, I just can't help it! Well, lately I've been taking my camera EVERYWHERE with me. It never leaves my side! So, I get some pretty neat pictures of some pretty neat things. We live it such a beautiful place and it's easy to find pretty things to shoot. Sunsets....ahhhh... There is just something about capturing a beautiful sunset. It's exciting! Hope you enjoy looking at these as much as I did shooting them...

Good Times

2009-03-28T21:25:00.001-07:00

Well....for everyone except poor Ashton. Last night, Brady wiped peanut butter all over Ashton's face and held him down so Zoli could lick it off. I thought these pictures were funny. You can see Zoli's long tongue. Poor kid!

Photography Blog

2009-03-28T11:01:00.000-07:00

So, many of you know that I LOVE photography. Well, I've wanted to start a blog for it so I can document my progress as I learn new things. Here's the link Nikki B. Photography
Just remember, I'm not a pro (YET!) so don't get too excited....but I'd like to think I'm getting better. If anyone is interested, I would love to take pictures of your kiddos (as they are my subject of choice). I will be charging a small fee just for my time, but if you are interested, please let me know.