family is all that matters

TRICK OR TREAT

2009-10-31T21:37:00.003-06:00

This year Dakota was with her mom. Kayla and Aurie were with their dad, but he brought them to see me so I could take pictures. Grizz and I took Dustin to a trunk or treat, and I took him to the mall. I don't think he cared too much about any of it. He looked so cute in his costume, but he just wanted it off. Needless to say he was pretty happy when we were done and took it off.

cArViNg PuMpKiNs

2009-10-31T18:38:00.003-06:00

Every year we get together at my parents house to carve pumpkins, it's always tons of fun. This year between all of us we carved 15 pumpkins, and there were still some left that didn't get carved. The older the kids get the more they do themselves, it's fun to see what they come up with. And we did it, here's the finished product. Aren't they cute?? We think so.

Backyard Campout

2009-10-30T17:25:00.003-06:00

One night about half way through September Dakota and Aurie were feeling brave and decided they were going to sleep out in the backyard. They wanted to put the tent up but it's huge so I wouldn't let them (mean mom). I did let them use the air mattress though. They were so cute, and set everything up themselves. They also went to bed and weren't scared at all.

And then the sprinklers. About 3 a.m. the sprinklers came on, I had been up about a half an hour earlier with Dustin and hadn't been able to go back to sleep. I heard them come on and jumped out of bed and got them inside before they got too wet. Aurie said she thought it was raining so she covered her head with the covers, Dakota said she thought Aurie wet the bed so she was trying to scoot away. It was pretty funny they even laughed. So anyway here's where they ended up.

The next morning 4 wet sleeping bags, 5 wet blakets, and wet pillows wasn't so fun, but they were troopers and cleaned almost all of it up themselves.

Wheeler Crash

2009-10-30T17:10:00.005-06:00

A lot of the family has 4-wheelers so they load up and go on long rides. The Sunday of the reunion everyone loaded up and took off. During their ride they were going up a hill and Dave's wheeler went over backwards, landed on him and Kayla, barely missed Martin and Cheyenne, hit Dennis' rhino, and kept on going down the hill. A tree finally stopped it. Luckily no one got hurt just a few bumps and bruises, and scared pretty good. The 4-wheeler was another story it was totaled, the guys had to bend it back into shape as much as they could to get it off the mountain.

Labor Day 2009

2009-10-30T16:37:00.002-06:00

Our family reunion was Labor Day weekend. My Aunt Darla rented a lodge in Idaho for us to stay in. We had a really good weekend. It's always fun to get together with the whole family. We spent time visiting, playing games, 4-wheeling and just having fun.

There was a big open room upstairs with cots, that got the nickname the orphanage. The older kids spent most of their time up there, playing, dancing, and just being silly. I'm not sure where Kayla learned to dress, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't from me, this is her new way of dressing. I'm just glad that she doesn't try to go to school like that. Aurie was pretty proud of her candy corn teeth for some reason and begged me to take a picture, so here it is.

Even the little kids had fun playing, and Grizz, well he was right there with them. It's pretty cute watching them play together, it'll be better when they learn the concept of sharing though

Almost every year we have a skeet shoot. Thayne and Aurie couldn't shoot but they wanted to get in on the action, so they got to pull the pigeons for the ones shooting. They thought that was pretty cool. We weren't sure what Dustin and Zakk would do but they just sat and watched,(Zakk fell asleep, I have no idea how) and they even left their earplugs in.

Vegas

2009-09-07T02:26:00.004-06:00

So Vegas is a really long drive when you've been at school and work all day, but we survived. Kayla slept while the rest of us played guess the artist.

None of us had been to Vegas before except Grizz. We got there around midnight seeing all the lights was pretty cool. The traffic was not fun, I'm glad Grizz was driving when we got there.

I loved the Stratosphere, so did the kids til we got to the top. I wanted to go on the rides but the girls freaked out and told me I couldn't. They were pretty happy when we got back to the ground. I don't think they realized how far off the ground we'd be.

Random pics, doggie pile on pam. Aurie sleeping under the night stand (for some reason she thought that it was a cool place to sleep, that's where she slept both nights). Buddy trying to get comfy on the way home, didn't work too well.

August 29, 2009

2009-09-07T02:03:00.003-06:00

Well, Grizz and I finally got married, in Vegas and had tons of fun. We took the girls, Pam, and Buddy with us. I tried to convince Pam and Buddy to get married too, but it didn't work, oh well. While we were gone Grizz's family decorated his truck, he didn't think it was very nice. I loved it!!

Dustin Turns 1

2009-08-22T16:25:00.003-06:00

So I'm a little late posting this, but better late than never right?? Well Dustin turned 1 on August 12th. We had a party for him, and he was spoiled rotten. He got lots of fun toys that he loves. Thank you to everyone that celebrated with us.

Camping

2009-08-09T21:00:00.003-06:00

Gotta love marshmallows!!

Hanging out around the fire.

Dustin loves the 4 wheeler, but when I finally took him for a ride he fell asleep. He is also amazed with the fire.

Dustin is HUGE now!!

Family Pictures

2009-08-09T20:49:00.003-06:00

It's been over a year since we've done pictures so I decided it was about time. We thought it would be fun to try doing them on our own, so we went up the canyon and Tif was our photographer. It was fun and they turned out pretty good. Here's a few random ones. Thanks Tif.

St George

2009-08-09T20:36:00.002-06:00

I had to take Dustin to St George to visit his mom the weekend of July 24. It was so hot down there so it's a good thing there was A/C and a pool. Kayla was a good sport and came along for the ride, she had tons of fun playing in the pool (so did Dustin). She also thought it was pretty cool that she could get away with jumping on the bed.

How Cute

2009-07-21T22:55:00.003-06:00

One night I couldn't sleep, so I got up around 1 to check on the kids. I don't know why I found this so funny (maybe it was the lack of sleep).

I just had to get pictures. Then I laughed hard enough I woke Kayla up.

Here's my stink bug. Don't know why but this is his favorite sleeping position.

Meeting Alli

2009-07-21T22:40:00.006-06:00

Yea, I'm a proud aunt. I'm so glad she's here. I forgot how little newborns are, I felt like I was going to break her after packing Dustin around.

Kayla was very excited to finally hold Alli since she had to wait til Pam was home.

So was Aurie. They love their new little cousin.

Logan Canyon

2009-07-21T22:32:00.003-06:00

I don't remember ever seeing Logan Canyon this green in mid July so I just had to take pictures.

I'm so lucky to live so close to places this beautiful.

Bear Lake

2009-07-21T22:22:00.002-06:00

Bear Lake from the look out at the mouth of Logan Canyon.

North beach view.

Dustin loved the water.

Once he discovered it he wanted to stay.

Welcome Miss Alli

2009-07-21T22:11:00.003-06:00

She is finally here!

Alli Joe Laird

July 11

7lbs 11oz

19 in.

What a cute family.

Getting Ready For Baby (part 3)

2009-07-21T21:48:00.002-06:00

Putting the bassinett together.

Putting the dresser together. Who says girls can't use tools.

New paint and carpet.

The finished product.

Fireworks

2009-07-21T21:23:00.003-06:00

Ok so I know the pictures are not as good as the real thing, but this is the first time I've taken pictures of fireworks, I was amazed that they worked.

So this was Dustin's first firework show, I thought I'd see some kind of expression but this was all I got.

And it didn't change.

One more.

First Camping Trip of the Year

2009-07-21T21:11:00.002-06:00

Our first camping trip this year was up Logan Canyon. It was so much fun, we can't wait to go again.

Dustin is such a boy. He loves the 4-wheelers.

And playing in the dirt.

Gotta love the view from the top of a mountain.

Getting Ready For Baby (part 2)

2009-07-21T20:56:00.002-06:00

Dave tearing up the old carpet.

Aurie helping clean up after the carpet was gone.

Painting.

More painting.

Pam's Belly

2009-06-20T22:40:00.002-06:00

Only 5 more weeks til due date.

Think her belly can get any bigger?

Getting Ready For Baby (part 1)

2009-06-20T22:01:00.005-06:00

Not long after Pam found out that she was pregnant she decided that the new baby needed a new room. For the last few months we've been planning on and talking about re-doing the computer room for baby's room. Well when Pam went to her last doctor visit she was told she'd most likely have the baby early. After she told me and mom we decided we should quit talking and start working. We may not have long. So. . . . here's the begining.Here's mom patching holes.

Kayla and Aurie are patching too. Pam's washing spots, and looking for more holes.

Time to sand. Dustin just had to help.

After he was done helping me, he thought he'd try sanding on his own.

Mowing The Lawn

2009-06-20T21:47:00.004-06:00

"I love hanging out with Buddy!"

"Look I'm helpin Buddy drive."

Buddy took a break from mowing the lawn and came in the house, when he went back out Dustin started crying. Buddy feels bad when Dustin cries so it was Buddy to the rescue. Dustin had lots of fun mowing and hanging out with Buddy.

Fishin' In The Rain

2009-06-20T21:15:00.003-06:00

"I don't care how wet I get I'm gonna catch a fish."

"I need more bait."

"I want to catch one too."

"Maybe Grandma will get one."

Grandma and Grandpa Andrew took the kids fishing for free fishing day. They got rained on, and no one caught anything, but they all had lots of fun.

Popcicles and Bath Time

2009-06-10T17:04:00.004-06:00

"This end doesn't tast very good."

"This side tastes better, but I think I gave myself a brain freeze."

"This is better than the popcicle."

"I love my bath."

Dustin's Play Day With Aurie

2009-06-10T16:55:00.004-06:00

Kayla was at Buddy and Pam's house, and Aurie needed someone to play with so she recruited Dustin. I'm sure it wasn't his idea of playing but he was just happy to be playing with Aurie. When they were done playing dress up, she gave him a nap. . . yes that's a clothes basket.

Hey Tif. . . I think Miss Dustin beats Miss Bo. LOL

Memorial Weekend 2009

2009-05-25T21:25:00.002-06:00

Usually on Memorial weekend we go camping with my parents. This year my mom decided no kids. Instead of just sitting home I decided to take the kids and spend the weekend with my cousin Desiray and her daughter Ember in Salt Lake. We got there Friday night and came home Monday. It was a very busy weekend and I'm drained now, but it was well worth it. My grandparents are serving a mission at Temple Square, so we spent the day with them on Saturday. We walked around Temple Square, went to lunch, and saw the Joseph Smith movie. It was great spending time with them. Sunday was the zoo day. When we got up it was cloudy but we were determined to go, so we bought umbrellas and off to the zoo we went. When we got there we got rain ponchos too, it ended up being a good thing because the umbrellas kinda got in the way. It rained pretty much the whole time, but it was still fun. It wasn't cold just a little wet. The animals were more active because it was cooler, there were animals out that I don't think I've seen out before. When we got home from the zoo it was nice and sunny (go figure), and the kids had been begging to get in the hot tub. Des and I gave in, since that was one of our favorite things when we were little. It only lasted about 45 minutes, it was too hot for them. Monday was Aquarium day. It was pretty cool, they had things we had only seen on t.v. They had jelly fish, an octopus, a giant lobster, sting rays that we could pet, sharks, eels, and all sorts of other sea creatures. There were tons of people there and we had to wait in line but it was well worth it. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from each adventure, the rest are in a slide show at the bottom.

Temple Square

2009-05-25T20:41:00.007-06:00

Grandpa & Grandma Buttars and kids. Kids left to right: Ember, Dustin, Aurie, Dakota, and Kayla.
Isn't this beautiful?

This too...
...and this?

We thought so.

Hogle Zoo

2009-05-25T20:32:00.005-06:00

Here we are at the zoo!

Do you really have to take pictures???

We won't get wet.

Do you mind?.......I'm eating.

Hot Tub

2009-05-25T20:29:00.003-06:00

Kayla and Dakota thought they could get under the water before I took the picture but I was faster.

Maybe it's a little too hot.

Aquarium

2009-05-25T20:19:00.002-06:00

Check it out we're in the ocean!!

Jelly Fish are pretty cool.

Petting the Sting Rays.

Little Sting Ray's.

Gotta Love Licorice

2009-05-16T23:31:00.007-06:00

Pam was eating Red Vines, Dustin was staring, and yelling at her. He wasn't going to stop until she gave in and let him have one of his own. Needless to say, she gave in (how can you say no to those big brown eyes?). He loved it so much he didn't even care when she cleaned him up.

New do's

2009-05-16T23:07:00.008-06:00

On Thursday Dustin got his first hair cut. We barely cut it but it looks so much different, he looks so grown up. His big brown eyes stand out so much more now, I love it.

"Wait a minute, what do you think you are doing to me?"

"I don't think I like this."

"Okay, fine just hurry up!"

Kayla also decided that she needed her hair cut. I thought she just wanted it trimmed, but I thought wrong. She got 6 or 7 inches cut off. It's okay though, it's very cute on her, she loves it, and we don't have to be able to pull it up for dance anymore. Thank you Kristi, you did an awesome job!!!

Saturday May 9

2009-05-13T22:38:00.005-06:00

It was a beautiful warm day on Saturday so we decided to go to the park. Dustin got so excited watching the girls play that we thought we should let him play too. It was a lot of fun.

Dustin loved the swing, I think he would have stayed in it all day if we would have let him.

He didn't really care about the slide, we didn't even get a smile out of him.

All of the playing tired him out.

Gymnastics Meet

2009-05-01T23:31:00.006-06:00

Aurie had her first gymnastics meet, and she did awesome. I think I should have put her in gym instead of dance 3 years ago. She didn't even care that there were people watching she just got up and did her thing.

Here she is on the bars, doing a flip. I think it would scare me, but she just did it like it was nothing.

Here is the beam. Once again she made it look easy.

Awards!!

She got first in 3 events, beam, floor, and vault. She got third in bars. Good job Aurie, we're proud of you!!

Grizz's baby

2009-04-20T12:44:00.005-06:00

Here's Grizz's new baby. He was born on Thursday April, 16. Isn't he cute?!

Dakota's puppy

2009-04-20T12:39:00.004-06:00

This is Dakota and her cute little puppy Asia.

Asia is very playful, and she likes biting ears.

Dustin thinks she's pretty fun.

Welcome to our Family!

2009-04-18T19:49:00.003-06:00

This is my neice's little boy Dutsin, he is going to be living with us for a few months. He is a very good baby and happy almost all the time. We are happy to have him here with us.

Coloring Eggs

2009-04-18T17:15:00.002-06:00

Every year for easter my mom gets mini eggs for the kids to color. This year I think they colored over 50 eggs. After the kids are done coloring the eggs we hide them and the kids have their own little easter egg hunt.

This year Aunt Darla made a pinata. I was surprised how hard the kids could hit it with the stick. But since there was candy inside I guess I shouldn't have been, kids love candy.

Easter 09

2009-04-18T16:30:00.003-06:00

We had a very early morning Kayla set her alarm for 6:15, then woke the rest of us up, she couldn't wait to see if the easter bunny came. The easter bunny made it to our house, and spoiled the kids. They all got clothes, toys, and way too much candy. Dakota was at her mom's this year, and she got a puppy. The kids spent the morning playing with their new stuff, and eating candy.

We went to Jarod and Jodi's house for dinner. The kids had a lot of fun playing. Kade gave Dustin a ride on his 4-wheeler. At first Dustin didn't know what to think but he ended up thinking it was pretty fun.

It Could Be Worse

2009-04-04T18:30:00.005-06:00

I don't think I've ever seen snow this deep!

This is a house, the snow is up to the roof. Crazy!!

Since January I've been complaining about our weather and the snow. This weekend I went to Montana on the truck with Grizz, and I think I'll stop now. In the last couple days I've realized, it could be much worse!! At least our snow has melted.

Grizz hard at work

2009-04-04T18:08:00.005-06:00

Spelling bee

2009-03-31T18:25:00.002-06:00

Dakota was in her school spelling bee on Friday, March, 27th, and she won!! We are very proud of her. I was practicing with her the night before and she was spelling words I didn't even know, she had me pretty impressed. Good job Kota you're awesome!

Kayla's big day

2009-03-31T18:13:00.004-06:00

Kayla was baptized March 14th at the Logan Tabernacle, by Grizz's brother-in-law Jarod. Tons of family and friends came, it was great. The missionaries and her 2 best friends (Dakota and Bailey) all gave very good talks. We are all very proud of Kayla for making this decision. Kayla wants to say thank you to everyone that came and showed their love and support.