Living the Good LIfe: July 2009

Dance Recital

My sweet Hollie. For the last few months she was in a dance class through the city recreation center. It was every Friday and she loved going. I was able to watch her, sometimes, through the little glass window that they had in the door, but that was it. (I was also chasing Ethan through the halls). From what I could tell she was really enjoying it and having fun. Well, today was the last day of class and at the last 10 minutes of class they put on a little recital to show us the 2 dances they had learned. Well, here is Hollie showing me her dance and what she learned.

Can you tell which one is Hollie? Yep, that's right the one covering her eyes and at the same time telling all of us mom's, "stop taking my picture". Can I say I was a little embarassed!!!!

Then she decided she was just going to take a seat where she was at and not dance...that's my GIRL!! Gotta Love It!!

During this dance she decided she was finished, took off her tutu, necklace and crown and came and sat on my lap. I was perfectly fine with that. Doing something in front of other people can be scary and I told her that it was okay if she didn't want to dance. Holding her was just as good, if not better.

High School Musical!!!

Last week I got Hollie and I tickets to go see High School Musical at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre. Hollie had LOVE High School Musical ever since I bought her the first one. Soon after the first one we had the second and then quickly came the 3rd along with the CD's to both the second and third one. I really didn't think that at age 3 Hollie would be so into it, but she is. We are constatly talking about and praying for Troy and Gabriella. She will tell you that Sharpay is not nice and is being mean, she can point to the characters and tell you who, Troy, Gabriella, Chad, Taylor, Sharpay and Ryan are, everything has to do with being a Wildcat, she LOVES all the songs and sings them around the house. When we listen to the CD it has to "be up really loud" says Hollie and she will tell you if it's not up loud enough. It is all about High School Musical!! I really can't complain because these movies are all appropriate and fun.

So, when I heard that High School Musical, the play, was here I couldn't resist not getting tickets. She was SO excited last night to see Gabriella and Troy that she couldn't sit down and eat, yet alone, sit still. She was singing some of the songs and her eyes were glued. If she lost sight of Troy I had to explain to her that he would be right back. We had a great time and I LOVED just being with my girl!

Scripture Jar

As I was preparing journal jars for the activity day girls I came across the idea of scripture jars. Scripture jars are the BEST idea ever!! Once I read about it, I couldn't help but get what I needed to make one and it was so easy.
For those that don't know what a journal jar is; they are jars (mason jars) filled with slips of paper that have questions written on them. Everyday you pull out one question and in your journal you write the question and answer. The questions can be as simple as you want or as detailed as you would like. This is just a great idea to help you write in your journal. Well, the scripture jar follows the same guidelines except you don't write anything in your journal. The scripture jar is great for those that have young kids. I know that, for us, pulling out the scriptures and reading them is not easy with 2 little kids. So, when I heard about the scripture jar, I couldn't resist.
The jar, instead of being filled with questions, is filled with scripture references (scripture mastery), quotes, 13 Articles of Faith and stories from the "Gospel Art Picture Kit". I bought a gallon glass jar from Walmart, decorated it with scrapbook paper and the voila...our Family Scripture Jar!
The first night we started was Monday night. Hollie picked out a slip of paper and there was a scripture reference on it, "Book of Mormon, Moroni 10:4-5" (we also read verse 3). And this is what it read;

Moro. 10: 3-5

3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

When we read this scripture Ryan and I just looked at eachother and knew that this is what we should be doing as a family. What are the odds that in a jar filled with MANY slips of paper, that this is the one that is pulled out first.

I have always known that reading the scriptures as a family was something that we should do, but trying to do it with 2 young kids was not an easy task. The Scipture Jar has made it easy, simple and fun! Even though not all the slips of paper have a scripture on them, they are all about our Savior and what He has done for us and the teachings throughout the scriptures.

I can't believe how excited Hollie is to read from the scriptures. The other night we read a quote and she was upset it wasn't from the scriptures, so we pulled out the scriptures and read the first verse in Nephi. I love seeing her show a love for the scriptures at 3 years old.

The long awaited Haircut

In St. George we decided to cut Ethan's hair. It was a very dramatic experience and now he looks like a little grown boy. Not that he didn't before, but cutting his hair took away his baby look. I just can't stop looking at him, he is so STINKIN' CUTE!!!

Wondering what in the world dad is going to do with that.

NOT liking the idea that dad is using the cutters on him.

This is just horrible!!!!!

He survived and looks adorable.

Wow, I love his little face!! So handsome!

Here is our family picture with Grandpa Butler/Great Grandpa Butler. Can you tell the kids are tired!???Following the reunion we stayed a couple extra days to visit our friends. It was great seeing them and we all had so much fun. Here are a few pics.

A visit to the St. George Temple. (I was in the car with a sleeping little boy)

A little bit of backyard fun

Two cute girls. Lexi and Hollie

Zion National Park

On Sunday we took a drive into Zion. We parked our cars and took a shuttle into the canyon. To really see Zion you now have to have permits or take a shuttle. The last time I was there was when I was 8 years old and it was 2 weeks before my Mother passed away. Going back there was a great experience and brought back so many memories of being there with my mom and our family.

Here we are in front of Zion's lodge.

Just the cute couple

Our cute family in front the tree.

When I was there 22 years ago this tree was so small that we climbed on the branches and had our pictures taken. As you can see the branches are to high to do that now. I will have to scan a picture in so you can see the difference.

Hollie loved being on Papa Chris' shoulders. They had the best time together and thanks Chris for being so patient with her...she still talks about you.

The family went on a little 1/2 mile hike while I stayed back and rested in the shade.

Playing and cooling off in the little stream

Nana and Hollie

Love this picture!

Ethan found a squirrel and couldn't get enough of it. He was laughing so hard and wanted so badly to touch him, but daddy kept his safe.

Gotta LOVE the chubby dirty feet.

Playing in the river of water again. And here he was soaking wet...such a boy!!

Sunday we were trying to get a few family pictures of the cousins and this is the best we could do. Ofcourse, it was our kid that wouldn't cooperate.

Nana and Papa with the kids. We had so much fun with them and are glad we got to come.

Thanks guys!!!

Our trip to St. George...Watch out this will be long with LOTS of pics

We headed to St. George for Ryan's family reunion (his mother's side) last week. We stayed in a beautiful condo with all his siblings and their families. And then his Mother's siblings and their families were in other condos...to say the least we had a blast! Here are a few of our happenings...BEWARE LOTS of pictures!!!

We enjoyed LOTS of Pool time!

Enjoying time with their cousins

Ethan had no fear and would back into the water even if there wasn't a step.

Time with Papa Chris

I couldn't get in the water yet, so I sat on the edge with my feet in

A drive through Snow Canyon...beautiful!!

Bath Time

The girlies LOVED their bath...full of bubbles and jets.

Grandpa Butler...89 years old!!

On Saturday we went to the St. George Dinosaur Tracks Museum and I am sorry to say, but it wasn't very impressive. There were NO dinosaurs!! Just tracks and a movie and the only thing the kids liked was the gift shop and a small section where they could color and uncover dinosaur fossils. So, we as parents, thought that we needed to make up and do something fun and we all took the kids to Jumpin Jacks....SO MUCH FUN!! The kiddos were in heaven and had a blast!

Tuacahn Theater

Saturday night we all went to the Tuacahn Theater to see Footloose. This theater is all outdoors against the beautiful red mountains in St. George. The Play was fantastic and I loved how they used part of the mountain in the play. We were up close and my favorite part was all the dancing...ofcourse.

While I was in the hospital my cousin brought me the most wonderful book in the world, "A Mother's Book of Secrets'.

This book is about motherhood and enjoying the moments! I just love it! Reading it has made me see motherhood in a different way. Sometimes we get caught up in life and forget to enjoy the moment. Before we know it these moments will be behind and we will sit back and wonder what happened. The book gives ideas on how to enjoy the moment and make life memorable with our children. I highly recommend this book to all mother's. I can't wait to read it again!!

Oh, and a little something special, Hollie's baby picture is on page 123 and my cousins kids are on the page just after the table of contents.

DELICIOUS!!!

Tonight Ryan walked in the door with these.......

Can we just say YUMMY!!!!!! Strawberries are my most favorite fruit yet alone CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES!!! I have already eaten about half of what is on this plate and I think I am ready for a couple more to tuck me into bed. Thank you Christine for making them and thank you Ryan for not eating them all before you got home, Love You.

Thank you Thank you Thank you

I wanted to give a BIG "THANK YOU" to ALL those people who have been of service to us and helped us during this time. I can't even begin to tell or explain all the love, concern, prayers and help that has been given to my family. I will be forever indebted to all those that have helped. A big THANKS to all our family who took time out of their schedule to stay with us and make sure all days were covered for the first 2 weeks. We are really blessed to have family out of state and in-state to take time out of their busy schedules to help me and my family. A BIG THANKS to all those in our ward who made us FABULOUS meals for the week! THANK YOU to my close friends for all their love, support, concern and help with my children and running a few errands. I am truly blessed to be surounded by such great people and to have the bestest friends...THANK YOU! Thank you again to everyone who has helped us and continues to be of service to our family. We love and appreciate all of you. Thank You Thank You.

Ethan

Ethan just makes me smile. How can this kid not make you smile when you look at him. As my aunt Kathy says, "he has the look like he knows a REALLY big secret and he won't tell you."
If anything has been difficult during this "recovery" time it has been not being able to hold and cuddle with Ethan. He has always been such a momma's boy and lately it has not been that way. There is only so much I can do for him and it's really hard.
The other day he had a breakdown, yes a breakdown. It was Sunday and Ryan and Hollie were at church. Ryan put Ethan down before he left for church and we were hoping he would sleep till they got home. Well, that didn't happen. I had our neighbor come over to get Ethan out of his crib and for 45 minutes Ethan threw the biggest fit I have ever seen. I was doing all I could to comfort him and console him, but nothing was working. I sat on the floor to try and have him come to me and he didn't want ANYTHING to do with me. I sang him songs, talked to him and he just threw himself on the floor, cried, screamed, would walk around and then throw himself back down on the floor. To be honest I think he has just HAD IT and WANTS his MOMMA BACK!! Yes, during this breakdown I was crying too because it was breaking my heart. I was completely helpless and my son didn't want anything to do with me. Finally, after trying everything I gave him a popsicle and it took a few minutes but he calmed down. I held him for about .2 seconds told him I loved him and I am sorry and then he was on his way up the stairs. I still cannot pick him up for another 3 weeks, but he is now starting to come to me if I sit on the floor and hold him. He has yet to give me a kiss...maybe soon...I hope.
Sunday evening before we headed out to my aunt and uncles for dinner I couldn't help but take a few pictures of this little man. First of all LOOK AT THAT HAIR!! It is out of control and we don't know what to do with it. Well, I would trim it, but Ryan likes it long, you know, that "messy surfer" hair. It is getting to the point that when you brush it, put a little gel in it within 5 minutes it looks like this. It is cute, but I think it needs to be tamed. Here is my adorable little boy who I just can't get enough of.

Nana Time

Ryan's mom was also able to come out during my recovery. It was great having her here with us and I know that Hollie LOVED having Nana here! It was all about painting nails, necklaces, anklets, and being all girl! Thanks Gayl!! Hollie loved getting her toes and nails done and she still talks about it. We have painted them a few times since and she just wants to have all the colors on her toes...too cute!!

Mommy Hollie Time

While I have been down and out, my sweet princess has been my best friend! She is always concerned about me and how my tummy is. She will randomly come up to me and say, "Mommy how's your tummy?" She was so concerned and really wanted to know how I was doing. She would come up and give me kisses, hugs or just cuddle. My favorite part was when she would come up and lay down right next to me and watch a movie or just talk. I LOVE hearing her voice. There is nothing better than hearing my little girl talk. I can have a conversation with her and I just LOVE it!! She is adorable and those moments of cuddling with her or just talking with her are priceless.

She also would come in my room when she woke up in the morning and crawl into bed with me. She wanted to be right by my side. We would talk, read books, cuddle, watch cartoons and she even helped me do sudoku (well, she liked telling me all the numbers). The time with her was PRICELESS. I love her so much and am so grateful to have her as my daughter, my princess. This surgery has taught us all a lot and although Hollie is young she understands. She knows that mommy's tummy has always been broken and that surgery was going to help me feel better. My tummy being broken will always be something that we talk about because that is why she came to us the way she did. We truly are so lucky and SO blessed. I am so glad that Hollie is young and I hope that these cuddling moments will continue.

Camping

A year ago we planned to go camping over the Fourth of July with the Hough family. Unfortunately my surgery interupted the plans and it turned out that Ryan and his brother Austin ended up going for just one night. I have to say I was really sad to not be able to go, I missed ya Shanen...maybe next year.

So, Ryan's brother flew in for a week and Ryan was very excited to spend some "one on one" time with Austin. Watching them pack for their little camping trip was cute. Ryan got everything they needed and he even went to the grocery store, picked out some food and from what I hear made delicious foil dinners. They both enjoyed their time together as brother's and loved being with the Hough family!

You may think he was crazy to leave me, but I was okay with him going. I knew it was already in the plans and if I would have told him I didn't want him to leave I know he would have stayed. Renee (she is like my second mom) was here and we just watched girl movies and chatted, it was great! I am glad Ryan had a good time and enjoyed being with his brother.

Brother's proud of their last name (Nope, no relation to Larson Waste from what we know of)

Fun with Papa and Janene

When I was going in for surgery my dad and Janene were here with the kiddos. It was evident that my dad and Janene were very excited because they seemed to have all sorts of stuff to do along with driving our little princess to all her activities. During their "watch" time, they had their running shoes on and ran from morning (5:30am with Ethan) till night. My dad and Janene did a great job and I am so grateful for them. Here are a few pictures I found on my camera of all the fun they had.