Life is Good!

Pops is home! And he doesn't travel again until January! All our married life Rich has traveled for work. It has never been too awful. I think we both secretly liked a little break. The kids and I get in a groove with our routine, and I know he loves his weekly stay at Hotel Valley Ho and other fabulous digs he gets to frequent. But as of late, it's been too much... he misses home, the kids miss Pops and I miss my late-night treat accomplice! He always says, "We are unstoppable when we're together!" He's right! When he's away, I'm tired, the house is a disaster and dinner becomes mac n' cheese or cereal... okay, when he's home I'm tired, the house is a disaster and dinner is usually mac or cereal, but he's home :)

A Saturday in St. George!

The Butler Fam took a Saturday away to enjoy some cooler, cozy weather, the Staheli Family Farm and of course, the Pizza Factory! Saturdays can be so crazy with tennis, errands, friends, yard work... It was so great having the kids all to ourselves!

The Butler's Are The Proud Owner's Of A Brand New Mercedes!

Well, only Ruby can truly fit in it... but the ruby-red Benz is all ours! Ru won this Mini-Mercedes at the local Kid Fair @ the District last weekend! All the kids are in Heaven about it! George is extremely disappointed about his not being able to fit in it, but he sure has tried! Of course, he looks completely ridiculous... adorable, but ridiculous! Lulu has tried her best as well, still a little too big for the mini convertible. But it fits Rubes like a glove, snacks and all!


Last weekend we also visited the Annual Summerlin Arts Festival. It was a beautiful day and the kids had a blast! They could hardly wait to create their masterpieces. Every year the Art's Council passes out pastels for everyone to decorate the sidewalk and the Nevada Ballet Academy even gave my future ballerina's each a pair of toe shoes! I thought you all might enjoy some pics of our little Fine Art enthusiasts!

The Summer Review

It has taken over a month to get back into the swing of things here at home! Life is so much more overwhelming when I'm cleaning our home, cooking our meals and watching our kids! In Salt Lake, everyone spoiled us! I didn't lift a finger for a whole month! It was fan-tab-u-lous! Anyway... we are back now, both physically and mentally! School is about to begin and I thought we needed to update some of our non-Salt Lake memories, so here is our late- summer review!







Big Rock Candy Mountain, a childhood fav of mine, may have been a bust! Everyone, including Rich, kept asking me, "Where is it?"







Snow Cone Sale with the Avery's at 7:00 pm - any earlier was just too hot! (George coerced Lu and Ru to be the "entertainment")










Our Bougainvilleas! Just because they are wonderful! And my daily reminder that beautiful things can survive in the desert! ;)










A stay-cation spent at Mandalay Bay Hotel! The kids (and Mom) loved sipping faux-margaritas by the pool.






The Boys of Summer - Carson, Evan, Chase, Jakob, Kyle, Greyson and Geo! George's All-Boy Birthday Bash!

We LOVE Wheeler Farm!

Okay, so it might just be me that loves Wheeler Farm... but I take my kids (and usually some cousins & friends) every time we visit Salt Lake... rain or shine. My Grandma lived off of Vine Street nearby and my mom grew up with the Wheeler kids. She even has pictures of Mr. Wheeler pulling she and my aunts and uncle on a sleigh behind a horse!

Wheeler Farm has always intrigued me. I love it! It's beautiful! The grounds surrounding are shady and green, the small creek is cool and refreshing, the animals are well taken care of and the heritage of the farm fascinates me! Bringing life back to the basics! George and I talk all the time about being able to own and live on a farm... it's one of my wildest dreams! George has always loved that idea, and I think we could easily recruit Ruby. However, Rich and Lulu, we may have a hard time convincing! I can't remember Rich ever visiting or wanting to visit the farm with us and Lulu's eyes start to itch, and she starts to complain within the first few minutes... City folk!

Seven Hours At Hogle Zoo!

My sister Sam and I decided to take the kids to the Zoo last week... we spent seven long, hot, filthy, smelly hours visiting the animals... it was a blast!

It was Ruby's first true time at a zoo (I'm sure she doesn't remember her earlier visits). She loves animals so much and truly was amazed at seeing them so up close and personal. She stood watching the monkeys with pure astonishment!

George, Allie and Morgan loved the rare, white alligator and even talked me into an extremely, squeaky souvenir version, which I regretted on the ride home :)

Miss Memphis (Muffins) kept Sam running by behaving like a wild animal... she's in that 18 month old busy stage :)

And Lu, who is not much of an animal enthusiast or one for being dirty, definitely enjoyed her cousins company and her share of frozen treats! All in all, it was a fabulous zoo trip with lots of laughs and memories!

George's Birthday Rocked!

This is what a nine year old looks like! Our dear old Georgie Boy turned nine on Friday! Nine! How is that even possible?! This was the first birthday since George turned three that we have spent back in Salt Lake. It was so fun to celebrate his special day with family!

George had a great day which started out with a cousin sleep-over, Grandma Dee Dee's chocolate chip pancakes and a treasure hunt to find his birthday gift... Rock Band! He and the cousins rocked out all morning long! That afternoon we met Aunt Sam, Morgie and Memphis (or as Ruby say's "Muffins") down at Liberty Park for the Aviary, a picnic and some splashing in the Seven Canyons! George and Morgan even got to feed fish to the pelicans at Tracy Aviary... a real birthday treat... yum!

Later that night, the Morgan's and Butlers all met over at Mill Hollow for presents, cake and ice cream, and movie in the park! It was the perfect end to his first day being nine! Happy Birthday Bud!