It has been forever I know, and I have no excuses. I am just not great at the blogging thing. I can't seem to keep up. The problem is I just end up getting so far behind, and then I get so overwhelmed and don't know where to start. I am just going to do the best I can to give you a glimpse of our lives the past few months.
Addy started first grade, and she is loving it! She has grown up so much! She has been helping out so much around the house, and the best part about it is she does it without being asked. It makes me so happy! The first couple of days she talked about how long it was, but it only took a few days for her to get used to it. By the way she looks when she gets home I think she plays really hard at recess. She is starting to read so well! I can't believe she is in first grade and is gone all day, but it is also good to see her growing and learning! She is still working really hard on the violin, and is doing really well with it. We are so proud of her! She also played soccer this year and she loved it. She decided she did not want to dance this year, but wanted to try soccer. So of course I was okay with that(less running around for me). Gracie also decided she did not want to dance, and she was so broken hearted that she was not old enough to play soccer. Next year she will be good and ready after watching sis. Her and Faith played on the side lines every game.
Gracie started preschool, and she is feeling pretty big. It was really hard for her when Addy started and she expected to be doing the same thing. So when she started preschool she was upset that she was not there all day, and she didn't get to do school lunch. She is learning how to write her name, the letters, and the numbers, and much more. It is so fun to see her eyes light up when something just clicks! She is planning on starting violin in a month or so. She has been asking for a long time, so I decided I would get her going too.
Faith is doing pretty good now. She has been really sick for the past couple of weeks, but she is finally smiling again. She has always been our child that is always getting the sicknesses going around, and I have decided I am going to have to get a little paranoid. This has by far been the sickest she has been, and as always went to her lungs. It is so hard as a parent to watch your kids suffer with sickness and not know what to do for them. When they are young and can't tell you, you worry a lot more.
She is always finding any pen, pencil, crayon (you name it), and then she colors on anything and everything. She is our little terror. Mark my words she will be the one to cut her hair along with everyone elses. I have been pretty lucky up until this point(knock on wood)! She wants to be just like her sisters, and follows their every move. I love to just watch her try to imitate them! She is starting to talk a lot more and that is always fun when they start to try to say things!
I have been busy playing mom, and running kids here there and everywhere. Once school starts things get a lot crazier. I just ran the St. George marathon, and I couldn't have asked to have done better. I felt really good, and had a great day! It was so much fun! I really liked that course, and plan on doing it again in the near future. Boston is next! My goal was to qualify, and I reached my goal. So I will work towards that after a little break(or a long one). For now I am going to do a little more strength training and only run a couple of days a week.
As for Ryan he is busy working and supporting everyone else. He is such a great dad and husband. He works so hard for our family, and he is so supportive of the things that I enjoy doing. He is also very busy in his church calling. I kind of like when fall comes around because he doesn't work in the yard as much which means I see a lot more of him.
We recently took the two older girls to Disneyland for their birthdays and left Faith home with Grandma and Grandpa. We had such a great time, and I think it was good for the older two to get some one on one time with mom and dad. We also did not do much this summer so it was fun to get away.
Then the day we came back we needed a vacation from our vacation so we took of to Lake Powell for the anual Butler family trip. It is always so fun to go down there. Lake Powell is my favorite because it truly is a break from everything (well most everything) It is always so relaxing and it is fun to spend a week with the family. We always have some good laughs and fun times. I also have to mention that I finally figured out the wakeboard thing for the first time since I have had kids.It was a lot of fun, but I forgot how many crashes it takes before you figure out something. Ryan also did awesome on the wakeboard!
So here are some pictures of the girls first day of school, soccer, the marathon, and our trips. Hopefully I can do a little better at keeping up on the blogging.
This was the second Island we stopped at on our Cruise. St. Martin is the smallest Island in the world to be controlled by two powers. Half of the Island is owned by the Dutch and the other half is owned by the French. It was cool to be able to see the 2 different cultures on one Island. When we got to the island we decided to rent a Jeep so we could travel around the island at our own pace. Ryan loved driving the Jeep... I think he misses his Jeep. We drove around to the French side of the island and spent most of the day at Orient Beach. It was BEAUTIFUL! We love white sandy beaches and the water was so clear and blue. We had to be careful what parts of the beach we frequented as you know the French.... clothing optional beaches are common. This island was one of our favorite stops as we were able to para sail. It was awesome to be floating that high over the ocean and take it all in. The water was so clear that from up there we were able to a sea turtle swimming below us. Para sailing is a definite must do if you ever get the chance. Later that day we did some shopping downtown before boarding the ship. What a day!
