The Butler Bunch

2011-05-27T11:03:00.000-07:00

Cell Phone Video 2000' Above Launch Site

2011-04-13T10:43:00.001-07:00

Innovation: a new idea, method or device

Saturday General Conference (Hang Gliding) Session

2011-04-05T16:11:00.000-07:00

Unloading

Tracey sharing some pre-flight pointers with Dave (don't crash) and then the "Launch"

Helmet Cam View

Who is this....

2009-06-21T16:03:00.001-07:00

So I was asked to scan some pictures for the family reunion and thought we should do a who/what is this? Wendi can't play because she has the pictures and put them together on a posterboard.

Picture #1 - who are the two people in the middle and which one of the kids is our relative (what is his/her name?) . Which person bet Tracey that he couldn't eat a whole raw egg, then after Tracey did so, he told Tracey he needed to eat the shell too?

Picture #2 - Whose house is this? Is there a name it was called? Name one memory you have had here.

Picture #3 - Who are these two people and how are we related? Also, does Tracey, Brian or David look more like this gentleman?

Picture #4 - Without cheating and reading the small print, whose horse is being shoed here. Also who is doing the shoeing?

Time to get this things moving again

2009-04-11T14:09:00.000-07:00

So how does everyone like the new background and header? I am not sure what I was thinking with the last one. I looked at it the other day and though egads, that looks horrific. I think perhaps I was wanting something springy, but that looked like it sprang up from the 80's.

So a new question. If you were stuck on an uncharted island, what or who would you take with you. You are limited to 3 items or people. My family will be posting their comments by tomorrow. Just a fun curious question.

Who's in for Sharkfest 2010

2009-01-16T17:33:00.000-08:00

Mom says I need to get on our blog and make a fool of myself like everyone else -here goes. I am in for Sharkfest 2010, I have a longer 2nd toe and it doesn't bother me a bit, and I am the old man of the family at 44 (except for DAD of course.) I am not as strong as Brian, nice as Dave, well presented as Wendi, witty as Lorri, or as funny as Steff, -I am OK with it though because I fly jets. My meager attempts at scheduling a midlife crisis have mostly failed -my little red biplane is my last hold out. I have most recently noticed a propensity to increase in volume around my mid section and have therefore rescheduled my midlife crisis event 2002 -the conditioning for and ascent of Mt Rainier. I am planning on swimming Sharkfest 2010 as next years continuation of the battle of the bulge. I can't think of anything else to say right now as I am wearing my purple bracelet. It's OK though as I have rambled on sufficiently to feel foolish enough to be apart of the family -I'll switch my bracelet!

Tracey

Happy Birthday Steff!

2008-11-18T13:31:00.000-08:00

Favorite Christmas Movies

2008-11-17T15:01:00.000-08:00

So we started going through our Christmas movies and of course I then started thinking, what are my top 5 favorite Christmas movies. So here are mine (unless I decide to edit and alter because I forgot one), what are yours?

A Christmas Story
Elf
It's a Wonderful Life
National Lampoons Christmas Vacation (doesn't everyone have at least one Cousin Eddie?)
Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer

Loaded Questions Part 2

2008-11-02T13:15:00.000-08:00

So here are the people who sent an answer AND their answer (in random order). So now each person needs to post in comments who they think said what. Good Luck and Mom and Dad said whoever wins gets a new car, or at least one from Florida off ebay.

Question...
What is the first thing you notice when you meet someone?

People who entered the contest:

Wendi
Lorri
Dave
Matt
Steff

The answers:

1. The first thing I notice about someone is their imperfections. Not in a judging way.. I just can't help observing if their nose is a little pointy or if they have a double chin (he he). If this akes me a bad person, let the tomato throwing begin.

2. I notice toes. Especially peanut shaped toes. The worst is when their second toe is longer than their big toe. It looks freaky like E.T. or something.

3. My eyes can't help but be drawn to a persons ready to be popped zit. If they don't have that, then I would say teeth. Hate to say it, but teeth say a lot about a person.

4. Their body language.

5. Their face, how they do their hair and what they are wearing. So basically personal grooming habits.

Now in the comments, write each person name and the number you think their answer is. You can only use each answer and name once. We will be running a total over the next couple of months and yep you guessed it, whoever wins... gets the CAR!

Answers:

Matt-
1. steff
2. me
3. lorri
4. wendi
5. dave

Wendi-
1. Lorri
2. Matt
3. Wendi
4. Dave
5. Steff

And since I already know the answers here are they are correct (in no specific order)...

1. Steff
2. Matt
3. Wendi
4. Dave
5. Lorri

Thanks for everyone who played over the last month. Maybe when I think of a new way to post answers we will do it again :)

Ryan turns 8

2008-11-01T22:45:00.001-07:00

Can you believe how fast Ryan is growing up? We celebrated by having a football tailgate party. The boys played flag football and lightning, the day was beautiful and most importantly Ryan was happy.

Isn't he great - boy do we love him!

DisneyWorld or bust

2008-11-01T22:37:00.000-07:00

We had the best time at DisneyWorld! I look at the pictures and want to go back, really, is there anything better than sun, ocean, beach and Disney? I'm only posting one picture here, I'm working on a slideshow for our blog, I'm sure you are all dying to see the pictures, haha.

This is us at the Polynesian resort, we are waiting for the bus to take us to the cruise ship,

ahhh good times.

More pumpkin Fun

2008-11-01T22:08:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to get Tanner hooked on blogging ( kind of like hooked on phonics, but funner- so you guys keep telling me:)) so I showed him how to post some pictures and encouraged him to add some funny dialog to go with it. I gave him some ideas and let him loose, hence the "Sweet Pumpkins" post. I will say one thing, he knows how to get to the point and keep it short and sweet. We did have fun carving pumpkins, everyone got involved and very creative.

The creations all lined up
Tanner and Coty got pretty precise, no jack-0-lanterns here

Rebecca and roommates stayed with us for the weekend. She didn't stay to carve pumpkins with us but we enjoyed going to lunch and visiting while some guys nobody seemed to know hung out at the house playing rock band.

Coty is getting involved, he was part of a group of students that offered to run the games at our school carnival. My Ironman liked his game the best.

(btw, notice the rug burn on Coty's forehead, I'm thinking he should think twice before wrestling his roommate again :)

Coty helping Matthew get three in a row at the Twister tic-tac-toe game. Thanks Coty, you're the best!

Sweet Pumpkins

2008-11-01T21:57:00.001-07:00

Tanner and Coty carving Pumpkins after they got images off the internet.

Coty's finished design
Tanner's finished design

Loaded Questions....

2008-10-24T13:10:00.001-07:00

Since this site is getting BBBOOOORRRRRIIINNNNGGGG! I thought I would spice it up with a game. Remember that game we played "Loaded Questions" where one person asks a questions and everyone gives their response and then one player had to guess whose answer went with what person.

So to do this online, I will post the question on Saturday (or Friday evening). Each person then emails me their answer within the week. I will post all the answers and who is participating. Everyone then has one week to give me their matchups which I will post with the answers at the bottom.

Sounds fun huh? I knew you would be excited!

Question...
What is the first thing you notice when you meet someone?

You can all email me at my skynetbb.com email. Let the games begin! You have until 10/31 to answer so I can post on Saturday.

Seriously? Sharkfest 2010?

2008-10-21T09:11:00.000-07:00

Tracey was talking (aka hasseling) me in the foyer at church the other day. He said he had a commitment from the following people to swim Sharkfest in 2010...

Steff
Wendi
Tracey
Brandon

I can't remember if he mentioned Brian and Dave because I was still hyperventaliating. Who is seriously in for Sharkfest 2010? I keep thinking that once in a lifetime is good for me. Maybe it is because I am a little older and can I add wiser? Anyways, thought we needed a post AND I am definitely curious about those who are in.

Thanks!

Yo! Can someone (Lorri) give this blog a new look because it is LAME! Thanks.

2008-09-14T19:36:00.000-07:00

I would do it but I don't know how. That should be obvious...just look at mine. :( Wah wah wah!

Our trip to Washington

2008-08-15T15:24:00.001-07:00

The Taco Lady

2008-08-15T14:42:00.000-07:00

Lorri told me that Rebecca was going to be cooking for everyone on Sunday and seeing as we will not be there I thought I would post these pictures in her honor. While we were in Washington the Butler/Erikson families crashed Taco Time to harass Rebecca at work - isn't family great? Of course being the dedicated employee all our chaos didn't even faze her. Thanks for not kicking us out - we had a great time!

Do you want fries, I mean mexi-fries with that?

Notice Tanner and David swinging Brett by his hands and feet - where are those kids parents?

Is that a future Taco Time employee?

Yes, we were pigs! Rebecca had to clean up after everyone - but she did it with a smile on her face, I'm thinking "Employee of the Month"

Wendi and Chad come to visit

2008-08-01T16:32:00.000-07:00

We had fun while Wendi, Chad and family came to visit. It was pretty low key. We didn't try and do anything big or time consuming, but just tried to spend time together. We had several weenie roasts, went swimming at Dave Morin's swim pool, played a game of baseball and of course made fun of each other all week. Here are some of the pictures I took, I thought I had more but they must be on Wendi's camera. So Wendi, you HAVE to post the ones at the pool and any you have of the weenie roast.

Bored?

2008-07-21T14:01:00.001-07:00

This could be entertaining?

2008-07-11T18:23:00.000-07:00

This is compliments of Courtney. And the beauty of it is, you guys are all the way in Idaho and there is nothing you can do about it ah hah hah ha!

Edit: the piece of paper says "least favorites" in case your eyes are all wrinkled around the edges like mine and hinders your eyesight.

Yea! Uncle Jerry and Counsin Christopher Visit

2008-07-11T18:07:00.000-07:00

How much fun did we have. Uncle Jerry and our Cousin Christopher, which obviously one of Jerry's sons, came to visit. They were stopping through to pick up some more family members on their way up to the airshow, a tradition I have been informed.

Don't Uncle Jerry and our Dad look a lot a like. They are both funny, something that runs in the family, except the rest of us just think we are funny or laugh hysterically at absurdly stupid things. But we are amused, so who cares.

The evening began with a yummy dinner Grandma fixed. She did the oven baked boneless ribs, "Lion House" rolls that she got from this site, which were divine. We also had baked potatoes, salad and watermelon. Thanks Grandma for some good cookin'.

We were sitting around the kitchen bar when every flashlight that never worked and was now tucked away in a no-man's land cupboard were brought out to find out if there was a possibility that any of them would ever work again. And the game was on, who could fix what flashlight the fastest.

Here is Grandma's "Mad" face when she discovered that some of her batteries that were in her storage expired in 2001 and maybe that was why some of the flashlights weren't working.

Here is Rachael with a bright idea! We aren't sure what it was but as you can
see by the light above her head, it was obviously a charged battery and working flashlight kind of great idea!

It was a fun impromtu evening with a much laughter and teasing. Now if we could only get some of those other pesky relatives to visit!

SHARKFEST 2010?

2008-07-08T17:48:00.001-07:00

WHO'S IN?

San Fran

2008-07-06T18:47:00.001-07:00

Shark Fest

2008-07-03T21:28:00.001-07:00

Here are some of the pictures we took of Shark Fest. We sure did have a lot of fun.

Slideshow of the swim

2008-06-30T20:18:00.000-07:00

Well I don't know about everyone else but I am glad it is over. I have thought about this every day/week for a year. Here is a slide show of the pictures I got of the swim. There will be a future post about the rest of the trip.

Sharkfest pictures on photobucket

2008-06-29T23:53:00.000-07:00

Yeah! I got the pictures from our trip uploaded to photobucket for anyone that wants to take a peeksie.

The sign in is thebutlerbunch
and the password is butler

I think there is around 100 pictures. I will either put together a slideshow or something for a future post (soon) but wanted to give you the opportunity for you to get a copy of any pictures you wanted or just to see what we ended up with.

For those who knew I was missing my camera, we found it behind the dresser. It must have fallen there with all the junk I kept piling on top of the dresser. Thank goodness Mark had the piece of mind to look 1 more time (after checking twice). I mean the camera would have been devastating enough, but to lose all those pictures would have been heartbreaking.

Shark fest update...

2008-06-28T11:14:00.000-07:00

For those who are sitting on the edge of your see to know....

THEY MADE IT!!! THE BUTLER FAMILY HAS DONE SHARK FEST!! AND NO ONE GOT EATEN BY THE SHARK!!

Enough Said

2008-06-23T23:09:00.000-07:00

Need I say more.....

Fathers Day...

2008-06-16T23:08:00.000-07:00

For those of you who weren't able to be here in Washington during fathers day. Here are some pictures from it...Enjoy!

♥Becca

Some presents for G-pa
It came with Grandmas present...Grandpa thinks it is ping pong for old people...

Grandma

Grandpa with an "old person" wheel barrel haha

Everyone outside

Have you checked it lately?

2008-06-16T23:01:00.000-07:00

Well I was informed by Courtney to check the sidewalk at grandma and grandpas house, well anyways I have something for you..."Have you checked the sidewalk lately Courtney?"

♥Becca (#1 Grandchild!!)

Check out our new blog song...

2008-06-16T16:30:00.000-07:00

It's just to get in the spirit of SHARK FEST!!! haha

What do you think?

Becca

A Quick Shark Fest Update...

2008-06-16T16:11:00.000-07:00

So we just came back from deep lake...we being Tracey, Lorri, and family. In the beginning Lorri was saying how she was going to drowned but they still proceeded. Lorri and Brandon started by inching themselves into the water, later being threatened by my dad if they wouldn't just get in. So they went...in the beginning they were going on and on how cold it was, Brandon being the worst haha, but later they returned feeling great. GO SHARK FEST SWIMMERS!! So how is everyone else's swimming going?

Happy Father's Day from Dad's "little squirt'

2008-06-11T09:22:00.001-07:00

Don't send a lame Father's Day eCard.
Try JibJab Sendables!

Sharkfest is looming in the near future!

2008-06-05T23:30:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that sharkfest is soooo close. I will be glad when it is all over. In fact I spend a lot of my time envisioning myself getting out of the water, or is it crawling, after I am done and knowing that I did it. But I will have to say, the whole shark thing is still haunting me. So I thought I would try and make light of it. So here are a few photos to keep us all in good spirits.

This is the information that Dave posted in his email link about the odds of being attacked by a shark.

What are the odds of being attacked by a shark?

0.000000015%

Scared to go swimming? Jaws getting to you?
Don't fret, the odds of being attacked by a shark are pretty slim, about 1 in 65,000,000.
In you live in America your chances do increase, not because sharks prefer American food, but because American have good access to the Oceans.
The odds of being involved in a shark in America attack go up to 1 in 10,000,000.

Happy swimming, but watch out for the flying piranhas.

But I beg to differ. If you are swimming in shark infested waters, doesn't your odds increase by A LOT? And what about his photo? What are the odds of this happening?

And here is the thing I don't get...
You would think Tracey would take this more seriously after already having one run in with a shark.

And last but not least, some helpful information in case "one" of us gets attacked by a shark...

Well enough freaking myself out about sharks tonight. Hope everyone is "excited" as I am.

Lorri

More Butlers...

2008-05-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

I found the the Blaine Butler family blog. Hope they don't mind me sharing. Thought you guys might have fun checking it out. I left a comment on their site with the address to our blog so we better actually start posting stuff. Here's their site... http://utahbutlers.blogspot.com/

Cousins!

2008-05-25T12:38:00.000-07:00

These are some of my favorite pictures. Where has the time gone?
Our boys are seriously cute!

I know it's hard to believe but your boys will grow up so fast Steff! Try to enjoy them!

Happy 13th Birthday Courtney!

2008-03-30T23:55:00.000-07:00

March 29th was a special day, Courtney turned 13! We did a little shopping on Saturday (since we have agreed that we have different tastes, but that is OKAY!). We then went out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Sunday we had a cake and sang happy birthday and opened presents. We just want Courtney to know how much we love her and are proud of the beautiful person is is becoming.

Sadies 2008

2008-03-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the pictures from sadies last night. It was fun, we went bowling, went on a detour from kent, and went to the dance.

Sr. Pictures

2008-03-13T17:45:00.000-07:00

I know I got them done a long time ago...but I forgot to put them on here. Oh and by the way I started a blog for our family too! so here they are. ♥Becca

Rest In Peace

2008-03-09T22:18:00.000-07:00

While Dave was here visiting us in Enumclaw my dad started getting Dave into Kayaking. In tribute to this, my dad decided to draw a picture of Dave...which soon was edited by Dave and given back. So here it is...lol

The Big Picture...lol (Looks better bigger)

After the editing job (notice Dave going up stream)

Again after Editing job (Tracey not doing so good at the bottom)

Just thought that you guys would have a good laugh at this one...cuz I know we certainly did!

I'll go where You want me to go....

2008-03-06T22:26:00.000-08:00

Patiently waiting for family - notice the unopened envelope under his elbow

Blain trying to contact his Mom and Dad on speakerphone - notice the envelope, still unopened

Still waiting

Lorri is trying to conference in Grandma and Grandpa Thomas, Blain is still waiting - boy does he have patience! (:

(sorry I didn't get the picture rotated)

Tanner dialing Grandma and Grandpa Butler.

Finally, the envelope is being opened

The excitement is building.
The boys were on the edge of their seats

Blain reading his mission call - Tucson, Arizona!

Unfortunately no one won the $1000 dollar prize from Grandpa Butler.

Blain was thrilled to be learning Spanish, notice the cell phone on the couch and in his hand, we couldn't hear them but the Grandparents and parents heard the announcement.

Talking to his Mom and Dad as he reads through the information book

The Call! ( sorry I didn't rotate this one either)

Elder Blain C. Thomas

Thought I would give you fellas a few ideas haha

2008-02-26T20:06:00.001-08:00

Just watch and learn....

Thanks Uncle Dave

2008-02-15T12:08:00.000-08:00

We decided to try Dave's suggestion of putting leg weights on Charlie to slow him down

Dad putting on the weights...

Charlie immediately ripped them off, so we resorted to taping them on...

Charlie trying to take them off again without success, thanks to the tape!

He resorted to trying to bite them off...

The look of distress when he realized he couldn't get them off...

More distress and big brother trying to come to the rescue...

Not a happy camper.

So, Dave, it was a pretty good idea. He didn't get into anything because he spent all his time trying to get the weights off. (Disclaimer: For any random readers on here, please don't turn us into CPS. We only left the weights on for about 5 minutes and it was all in good fun. No harm was done to the child in the picture.)

Found these...

2008-02-11T22:06:00.000-08:00

Thought you might like these...lol good times?!?

Coty as waldo...

Coty and blain

Coty and Blain

Coty

Blain

Blain and Coty

Birthday Fun

2008-02-11T13:47:00.000-08:00

Tanner and 10 of his "closest" friends celebrated the big 13th birthday at the cabin
Fun in the snow
That was a wild night- Rock Band all night, tons of food, and crazy boys

Just having fun - will delete soon :)

2008-02-11T00:26:00.000-08:00

Tribute to President Gordon B. Hinckley

2008-02-09T20:26:00.000-08:00

Thought this was fitting to reflect on our prophet Gordon B. Hinckley. I am very glad that he is with his wife again. I am sure he had a very warm reception from many people. But he will be missed here.

My new haircut...

2008-02-09T13:02:00.001-08:00

I posted pictures on my blog. You can check it out if you want...

http://mcghie.blogspot.com/

For Steff...

2008-02-03T21:17:00.000-08:00

You like?!?!

2008-02-03T13:21:00.000-08:00

I want to see a picture of Becca's new perm!

What the McGhies (or should I say McGhie) have been up to lately...

2008-02-01T11:47:00.000-08:00

Dumping macaroni all over the floor

Scaling the pantry shelves

Learning the new skill of unzipping the crib tent and escaping from the crib

Grabbing the flour off the counter while Mom isn't looking

Opening the oven and climbing up to grab some knives

Opening the child lock on the cupboard and pulling out the Comet

Salt, anyone?

Taking shoes off in the car and biting holes in both socks

Toys make great stools to reach the water dispenser on the fridge

So, what has everyone else been up to? :)

Tolo

2008-01-23T15:45:00.000-08:00

Rachael and I before the dance.

Everyone at Maria's before the dance.

All the seniors in our group.

Eating at Zoopa's
We went to the Cheese Cake Factory before but the wait was to long and we would have missed the dance. We ended up going to Zoopa's buffet and were a little over dressed. lol

The whole group.

Overall it was really fun. The actual dance was quite the experience and I decided that it wasn't worth the 9 1/2 hours decorating the night before, but we all still had fun! ♥

I thought this was funny!

2008-01-12T10:18:00.000-08:00

More Pictures up at Lake Kachess!!

2008-01-07T21:13:00.000-08:00

Coty tried to go through the "big marshmallow" and ended up getting really stuck! His favorite thing to do!

Brandon dug himself a snow cave while Coty and I (Becca) were showin' off our skills! Can't wait to show you up in Idaho!

Tracey showing Blain how to ride like a real man.

Mark figuring out how to ride...

Blain trying to keep up to Tracey and ended up stuck...

Overall we all had fun! We all slept very well every night from having to dig out the snowmobiles every 2 minutes. We are also ready for the wii off in February. Just warning you...you better practice up because we are ready to dominate!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE!

2008-01-07T00:02:00.000-08:00

HOPE YOU HAVE A HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Hey! How come I wasn't invited?

2008-01-06T23:57:00.000-08:00

Looks like you guys had a lot of fun in the snow. Save some for February eh?

http://www.jibjab.com/sendables/preview/OlE6Mg62tuhcNzyEtpJJG4TR

ODE TO OUR BROTHER!

2008-01-06T18:06:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to Dave. Happy Birthday to Dave. Happy Birthday dear Dave.

Happy Birthday to you!

Just wanted to give a shout out to Dave for his 29th birthday tomorrow. (We're all 29 for the rest of our lives, right?) We miss you and hope you have a great day!!

Me Three Igauna...

2008-01-06T17:49:00.000-08:00

We have fun too! These are some pictures of Matt pulling some of the kids on a sled behind the Jeep when Wendi and Chad came to visit. Yeah, we had a great time. Lots of laughing. Lots of joy. I forgot to get a picture of the $50K Mom and Dad gave to each of us as well. All I remember is rolling around in money and hearing Dad saying something about giving money to his favorite kids.

Me, Mom and Wendi after cooking a spectacular Sunday feast

2008-01-05T22:10:00.001-08:00

First picture is the "Incredible Hulk" rollercoast. Those who went on it had a great time. Those of us who didn't also has a great time.
The next picture is of us at Epcot. Mark got roped into helping out with an impromtu program which again, I will have to find the video of. He was a mime. The ending line...a mime is a terrible thing to waste!
The next is of us at Jurassic park. We had to keep telling Sidney that the things on the rides weren't real. She had a hard time with that concept and began refusing to ride on certain rides. S T U B B O R N!
We went to the NBA restaurant were we had to pay extra after we got through eating because Coty drooled on all the clothes. We both were shocked and disgusted that they didn't have a Steve Nash jersey! Madness! Outside they had cement looking basketballs with handprints of different players. It was pretty neat.
And finally a parting shot of a fake tower of terror. Sidney went on the tower of terror while her mom waited for her at the safe place at the bottom. Okay, maybe it was about this time she started refusing to go on certain rides. If she grows up to be a delinquent, I blame her father.

Disney World - happiest place on earth!

2008-01-05T21:58:00.001-08:00

We had the BEST time in Florida. I truely think it was one of my favorite vacations. Here are some pictures. The first one is from Everest. Coty even shot a video while riding it. I will see if I can find it and upload it. The next was at Adventure Island. I thought it was funny and made the kids pose. Boy did they love that!
We took a ton of pictures with Sidney and different characters (I won't bore you with those) when she got their autograph. But when Blain saw "wolverine" he really wanted a picture with him but had to take Sidney with him so he didn't look so silly. Blain is a wolverine wannabe.
The last picture is us waiting for the "fantasmic" show at Animal Kingdom. Poor Sidney. All the other kids were getting twirly, glowing, sparkly toys for the night show. But being the clever and thrifty mother that I am, I brought a glow stick that I had at home. Just before the show was to start, I break out my glow stick to Sid's delight. We open the package and bend it in half and tada..... it was to old and didn't to anything. So here is a poor 5 year old with a broken glow stick at the happiest place on earth. Welcome to real life huh?

Hawadii, as Sidney calls it.

2008-01-05T21:38:00.001-08:00

I think I am getting the hang of this. I am now going to post my comment before my long list of pictures. The below picture is a weird maze we found when we hiked down to the dragons teeth (weird formations made by the lava when it hit the ocean). When you finally get through the maze and to the center there is a bowl that has money in it. I don't know if people put money in it or what it was for. Of course we left it so the Hawadii spirits didn't follow us when we left.

We had a great time in Hawaii. We spent a lot of time on the beaches boogie boarding or in my case soaking up the sun. One beach we went to was Big Beach. I had read in one of the tourist books that to the left of Big Beach was Little Beach. You have to climb over a rock wall (there is a path) to get to it. The boogie boarding wasn't that great on Big Beach so I told Mark to go over and check out the other beach. I had read that at times there might be a few nude sunbathers over there. After 3 1/2 hours (just kidding it was only about 10 minutes haha) Mark returns and tells me after climbing down the path you come around the rock wall and what did his wondering (or was it wandering) eyes see? An older naked guy putting sunscreen "all over" and another guy ridding commando on a surfboard. He took one last gander and said there had to have been almost 100 people, all naked and mostly guys, hanging (literally) out on the beach. He decided maybe that wasn't a family beach and came right back. He also was wondering how come the people who you really don't want to see naked are the ones who are nudists. Hmmm things that make you go hmmmm.

2008-01-05T21:31:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures of Coty's cross country season. He was voted captain of the cross country and track team. He is now starting to train for track. When getting ready for cross country they will run 6-8 miles each day. I am not sure I could run a mile, even if there was a lava flow behind me (much less swim 1.5 miles - sharkfest yikes).

2008-01-05T21:14:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures of Coty being crowned homecoming king. Who would have imagined that two high school losers could marry, have a child and he would grow up and be homecoming king. Must be the "new math" they are teaching in school. Two negatives equal a positive. It was a bit stressful for all involved. They got a list of 10 questions that they might be asked. Thankfully Uncle Matt sent in a list of witty answers. Coty got the lamest question "how would you describe Enumclaw High School to a visitor from out of town". His answer contained something about how warm and welcoming it is and how all the teachers are so great and you don't ever get swirly's, well most of the time. The judges took a lot of time trying to decide. And after 3 songs by the same guy, the girl that was hosting the show looked around desperately trying to find something to entertain us. Then she looked at Coty and asked him to do his flexibility test. Coty hesitated for a minute but went up with his white tux on, someone from the audience handed up an umbrella, and Coty did the flexibility test for the whole audience. So thank you to whoever taught us that (Steff was that you?).

2008-01-05T21:11:00.001-08:00

This is Blain going to Homecoming as a Senior. This is the group he went with. There is also a picture of them in a limo.

2008-01-05T21:06:00.001-08:00

Here is Blain and Coty going to Senior Prom. Coty is a sophomore and Blain is a junior. They went with a group of kids (mostly LDS) and had a pretty good time (even though they both have decided they aren't sure they "love" dances).

First grandchild to graduate!

2008-01-05T20:58:00.001-08:00

Who would have believed it! Blain's graduation pictures for proof. All those papers I wrote that got him A's finally paid off. I seriously think that I have done better the second time through high school. Shoot I hope Blain doesn't read this, he might contest this and say he did his own work. Really though, we were very proud of Blain. He also graduated from 4 years of seminary, received his Eagle and Duty to God. Okay the rest of you grandsons... the bar has been set.

Wii are having fun!

2008-01-05T20:39:00.000-08:00

I edited this so I could make a slideshow of the pictures up at the cabin (partly to conserve room but mostly to show off my mad skills)

So both the Butler and Thomas family got a Wii for Christmas. Now as everyone knows, we have to make fun out of nothing... so with Tracey's brilliant leadership we had a bowling Wii off. Everyone participated including Sidney and Brett (Brett is a force to be reckoned with). The top scorers in order were...
1. Coty
2. Brandon
3. Tracey
4. Rachael

Here are some of my sledding pictures from up at the cabin also. I don't want to brag, but I think my camera is better than Rachael's. Not that we were comparing or anything, I just wanted to share that with everyone.

We had a grand time shoveling and making banks for the perfect sledding hill. Tracey even road his snowmobile up and down to pack it down (it is still being determined if this was necessary or if he just wanted to show off his skills, you know he is training to be a cage fighter). Even Lucky got into the action (as you can see by her action shots). Wish everyone could have been here but this is just our motivation for February yipee!

Snowmobiling up at the cabin!!

2008-01-05T16:27:00.000-08:00

Blain stuck in the fluffy white snow...

Tracey showin' off his skills

Brandon gettin' some big air

Courtney, Brandon, Rachael, Becca, and Sid all sledding on the awesome sledding run!

Blain's last wrestling match

2005-12-20T11:26:00.000-08:00

Talk about David and Goliath. But Blain wasn't intimidated by his last challenger. After a few fancy moves that he learned from his father, the other guy cried "uncle" and the match was called because of tears.
Not Blain's either.

The Thomas Boys

2005-12-18T17:58:00.001-08:00

WOW. Its amazing the things that you can find when you start looking through old boxes. Why just the other day I was looking under Grandma's bed and sure enough, there were Blain and Coty's 5th grade school pictures. They were so handsome back then. I just thought I'd share them because they used to be soo cute.... what happened?

Blain

Coty

Matt is King

2005-12-18T17:58:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure what you all think, but I'm considering going back to an old hairdo. I was considering something along the lines of this. What do you think???

By the way, if this doesn't look a lot like us, don't worry... it was taken a while ago.

Matt

Just hanging out...

2005-12-18T17:51:00.000-08:00

Matt snapped a picture of me just hanging around the house. Just thought I would post it so everyone could remember what I looked like. I haven't seen you all for so long!

-Steff

GUESS WHAT

2005-12-10T23:54:00.000-08:00

GRANDMA LOVES BECCA AND DOES NOT LOVE DAVE!!!
COAL 4 DAVE!!! HAHAHA
Love,
becca

Is that James Bond? No it is Blain getting ready to leave for homecoming.

2005-11-20T13:42:00.000-08:00

I know it was a bit of a stretch, but our dapper Blain found himself a swell girl to take to homecoming. They rented a limo and went with about 4 or 5 other couples. They ate at Benihanas, then came back to the dance, got pictures then went to a girls house for a movie. All in all it was a fun an successful evening.

PICTURES OF THE GRANDKIDS

2005-11-09T13:07:00.000-08:00

Coty, Logan and Blain riding

the big waterslide at 7 Peaks

2005-11-09T13:05:00.000-08:00

Brandon (?), Brett and Becca

2005-11-09T13:00:00.000-08:00

Rachael (?) and Brandon

2005-11-09T12:59:00.000-08:00

Ryan asleep on a Teddy Bear

2005-11-09T12:55:00.000-08:00

Sidney's Birthday

2005-11-09T12:53:00.000-08:00

Grandma Smith with some of the Grandkids

2005-11-09T12:52:00.000-08:00

Courtney and Winston

Memories

2005-11-05T10:15:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be nice if we each shared a memory or two of growing up in the Butler Family.

I'll start... We all know Dad has a funny sense of humor. Well, growing up, we didn't do stockings for Christmas that I remember. For some reason, I would always put one out anyway (it was a gift from a friend) hoping that I would find something in it on Christmas morning. One year, I came up and saw it sitting on the fireplace bulging with CD's. I couldn't believe it! I was so excited. Mom and Dad had really surprised me with a special treat that year. I went to look through them and try to decide which one to listen to first. As I started looking, the realization sunk in. They were all my own CD's that I already owned. It was all a funny joke on me. Mom and Dad still get big laughs from that experience to this day. I have to admit, looking back, it is pretty funny. That wasn't the end of it, though. One year I found a "roller ruler" that Dad had gotten suckered into buying at the Puyallup Fair. One year I found some cans of S&W Vegetables and Fruit because I always complained about how annoying their commercials were. It actually became funny waiting to see what "fun" thing Dad was going to dig up to put in the stocking each year. I can already see that I have inherited this sense of humor. I'm pretty sure some of the other kids have, too. I seem to remember something about Lorri and Tracey putting together a big, long treasure hunt for the grandkids with promises of a big reward at the end. I don't know if the Book of Mormon they found was what the kids had in mind.

Another fond memory I have is of my 12th birthday. It was the first year I opened my birthday card to find a 100 dollar bill! I was so excited to get that money on top of all the presents and everything! I still look forward to that money each year. It was even better when I turned 20 and they upped it to $500. That, along with the $1000 they give me at Christmas each year has really been great for me get some fun things. I'm sure you all feel the same. So, as the favorite child, I just want to thank Mom and Dad for all their generosity.

Okay, I got us started. Everyone else needs to share their memories now....

WOMEN'S CONFERENCE

2005-11-05T09:19:00.000-08:00

Mom working hard on a quilt at the

humanitarian project at Women's Conference.

She's good with a needle!

2005-11-05T07:53:00.000-08:00

Lorri, also hard at work on the quilt. Check out those fancy fingers!

2005-11-05T07:52:00.000-08:00

Gayle's "cutting it up" at the humanitarium project!

2005-11-05T07:50:00.000-08:00

Is that Martha Stewart?

No, it's Wendi...sewing like the wind!

2005-11-05T07:45:00.000-08:00

Eating at Cafe Rio. Yummy!

THE LATEST TREND IN BEAUTY?

2005-11-05T07:44:00.000-08:00

Wendi convinced everyone (except Steff) that putting

duct tape on your face will keep you looking young and beautiful.

2005-11-05T07:40:00.000-08:00

Even Mom decided to give it a try.

2005-11-05T07:39:00.000-08:00

Sometimes being beautiful requires a little pain

Our Dad the Pilot

2005-11-04T20:55:00.000-08:00

Dad flying over the house in the Colt

2005-11-04T20:50:00.000-08:00

The family watching Dad fly over

Notice Grandma in the background taking a picture

YOUNG AT HEART

2005-11-04T20:46:00.000-08:00

Mom Swinging on the old tire swing at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

2005-11-04T20:45:00.000-08:00

I think she could out do any of her kids or grandkids!

Charlie's Baby Blessing

2005-11-04T17:37:00.000-08:00

Dave, Winston, Tanner and Logan

2005-11-04T17:36:00.000-08:00

Tanner holding Charlie

2005-11-04T17:33:00.000-08:00

Brian and Winston

FAMILY VACATION IN IDAHO

2005-11-04T17:00:00.000-08:00

Some of the family taking a little break

from snowmobiling to get a picture.

2005-11-04T16:50:00.000-08:00

Tracey jumping on his snowmobile