D.A.R.E. Graduation!

Today was D.A.R.E. Graduation for the Fifth Graders... George is soo excited about this program! Define Assess Respond Evaluate is a decision making model program to help kids resist drugs and violence. D.A.R.E was taught by Officer Sam and George was required to write an essay about his learning experience.
George... being Student Body President and all... lead the assembly with the Pledge of Allegiance. He did awesome! I was honestly biting my lip from cheering, "GREAT JOB BUDDY!", but I would have totally ruined his rep!
D.A.R.E. has made for some awesome dinner-time conversation! George and his friends have taken this very seriously. Officer Sam even said George had at least one question every day for him! George's only complaint: "I can't believe they made us boys wear the girly "peace" shirts!"

George with friends Nick, Gio, Harish, Connor and Carson!

Thanksgiving - Vegas Style!

The "Other Butlers" and Judds visited for Thanksgiving Weekend! We enjoyed a yummy dinner, baked, talked, shopped, swam, did our charity outreach, saw a cirque show on the strip, watched the BYU/UTAH game (we were robbed!), went to a movie, played DS (a lot!), ran, went to the LV Temple and of course...

...we saw the big guy in red!

Santa & Cousins: We'll see you in a couple of weeks!

Mr. President!

Election Day 2009!

"Nervous" George next to one of his best friends, Carson who also ran for Bartlett Student Body President!
George giving his Presidential Speech to
third, fourth and fifth graders!
I am still in awe of his confidence and cool demeanor!

Here is George giving his speech today!
Oh, and by the way....He won!

We Officially Have A Missionary Among Us!

Connor James Judd, the oldest cousin in our family, has been asked to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Bacolod, Philippines Mission! He will leave for the MTC on January 27th, 2010! We are soo excited for him! We wish we could have been there to see him open his mission call letter....but this picture is the next best thing!
I LOVE the look on Connor's face!
Congrats Connor!
Can't wait to see you all in a couple of weeks for Thanksgiving!

Steve, Romney, Dee, Allie, Connor and Tracy... no Hunter? Did he have a "hot date"?

Vote GEORGE For President!

I've always said George would end up in politics one day... and he is officially campaigning this week for

Bartlett Student Body President!

We worked very hard this past weekend on his posters (thank you, thank you Mrs. Thompson for your awesome connections and effort - his posters are Swwweeet!), and on his stickers (thank you, Mrs. Boyce for your creative, computer genius and endearing patience!) and on his speech...

Thank you George for knowing
exactly what you stand for!
You Bet Your Bottom Dollar - George Is The One For President!

Good Luck Georgie ol' Boy - We love you!

The Never-Ending Week of Halloween!

Will this week ever end?

Tuesday =
Second Grade Spider & Bat Fair

I needed to include Jackson Bateman's habitat so you could understand the idea...Lulu's Bat Habitat was awesome! She used a flashlight to illuminate her bat-cave! Jackson's wasn't too shabby either!
Wednesday = Trunk or Treat!Butler Girls with Pops and Thompson Girls with Dad!
Ruby refused to wear her costume and decided on a dirty, old recital dress
Thursday =
School Halloween Parties & ParadeLu and her darling friends Jackie, Grace and Kate!
Have you ever seen such boo-tiful girls!
George and his buddies Nolan, Skylar, Connor and Gio!
Aren't they spook-tacular?!
Lulu's very, first Halloween Parade!
Thank you Bartlett
for making a new tradition this year!
Ruby refuses to wear her costume to her pre-school Halloween Party and carries a "Chef" costume in her bag to school!
Friday =
Ballet Costume Party & Pumpkin Carving
Ruby refused to wear her costume to Ballet...
at this point, I've given up on any possibility of her in a costume!
Saturday =
Thompson Halloween Party & Trick or Treating!
The girls had a blast at Abbie and Daisy's Halloween Party on Saturday morning! Ruby still refuses to wear any costume and at the party wins the
"Costume Most Like Yourself" award!
*thanks for the pics Lindsay!
Rubes decides to surprise us all and dresses up in a
"last minute, six dollar, Wal-Mart Pop's purchase"!
We figured she just wanted to be like her sis!
She even wore face paint!
For Halloween evening, The Dawahare's, The Thompson's and The Rich's joined us for chili & breadsticks and then,
Trick or Treating in the neighborhood!

A fun and exhausting week!

This Really Is The Place!

Okay, so I found a new favorite spot in SLC!

This is the Place Monument

So much fun! We did a full Cousin/Dee/Aunt/Grandma day! Everyone showed up in shifts! All lightweights! Of course, Sam and I are die-hards and spent the whole, dusty, 100 degree day there! The kids had a blast! Activities mixed with a picnic, mixed with history, mixed with ice cream, mixed with a gift shop, mixed with a farm... these are a few of my favorite things! In talking to a pioneer volunteer, I found out you can dress like a pioneer and volunteer with your kids all day! The kids just get to run free throughout the little town streets and farm! The kids agreed it would be crazy-fun! Next summer we are so doing this... I just need to break the news to Rich!

Lu and George playing "pioneer kid games"!
Don't they look like naturals?

Rubes, George and Memphis (the only ones without aversions or allergies) rode ponies and fed the baby sheep with bottles of milk!
Rubes, of course made fast friends and wanted to take one home!

George, Allie, Morgan and Lu
in front of the first BYU building!

Another fun summer day!

Every Tuesday & Thursday!

Anyone who knows me even a little, knows I LOVE Wheeler Farm! So just imagine my excitement when my sister Sam, not necessarily a "Farm Girl", agreed to meet me and the kids after work for a picnic! Wait, it get's better! This turned into a s u m m e r - l o n g tradition! Every Tuesday and Thursday evening, after Sam finished work, we would all meet at The Farm for dinner. Some nights Grandma & Grandpa would stop by as well. The kids were in heaven! They created a game call "Apple Races" where they would pick crab-apples from the trees and float them down the stream. We fed the ducks and Geese. Some nights we wouldn't even visit the animals, we would just play under the big oaks on the grass or swim in the stream. Sam and I would sit in the shade and catch up on the week. The only thing better than the Farm, is...

Family at the Farm!

Morgan, Lulu, Ruby and Memphis

Wondering about Mem's huge goose-egg?
Yes, it's from Ruby! Our first week in SLC, Ruby accidentally hit her in the forehead with a golf club!

Apple Races!

A Bit of Summer Reading!

I made Lu and George a deal at the beginning of the summer... read a full book series over the course of summer vacation... choose your reward! George choose the Lightening Thief Series of three good sized books. He finished the series @ 10:00 pm the night before school. Just squeaking by! He loves this series and is now reading the fourth book, Battle of the Labyrinth. His reward?

Well Lulu's passion is reading and she finished her Romona Series (Beasus and Romona,Romona the Pest, Romona the Brave and Romona and her Father) by the end of June! She then went on to read the second series (Romona and her Mother, Romona Forever, Ramona Quimby Age Eight, Romona's World) all by the end of July! Her well deserved reward was...drum roll please....

A salon manicure & pedicure!

Whatever Lulu does, Rubes wants to do too! The best thing about sisters is getting to share everything! The girls had soo much fun being pampered!