Dear Blog,

I know it's been awhile! You see I started working full-time and now time is such a precious commodity! It seems the ever growing pile of laundry and dirty dishes crowding the sink are constant reminders of how hectic life can be with 2 full-time employees!

So in the crazyness I now call life, I have horribly neglected you dear blog! For that I apologize! Although I wish I could promise you that this neglect will come to and end right now, I have to be honest with myself! On my long to-do list of things to get done you somehow always seems to fall in last place! Give me another month or two and maybe I'll have grown up life under control! Maybe! :)

But tonight, in these few minutes of spare time I seem to have found I guess I'll attempt some updating!



For starters I took the plunge! I chopped the hair again and I am thrilled with how easy it is to take care of now! My morning routine of getting ready has literally been cut in half! Hallelujah for short hair!



We had another successful dinner group! This time the menu consisted of a delicious chicken noodle casserole followed by some scrumptious pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! Yummy in my tummy! As always, it was a pleasure cooking with my gals! :)



We went home for Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time with family! Of course I took way too many pictures of Edwin but who could resist a happy little face like that!?! :) We loved being home for a few days!



We went with our good friends to see the National Christmas Tree! The night ended with delicious banana bread and apple cider as we listened to the First Presidency Christmas Devotional! It was quite the night!



And then we went to the Festival of Lights at the D.C. temple with Bill and Andrea! It was great to see them again and get all caught up! Maybe next time we see them they will be a family of three! Can't wait to meet you little Gideon!

Well blog...there you have it! I hope this post made up for the lapse in time! Until the next time I find a free moment!

Yours Truly,

Natalie Faye :)

Party in the House!

You know how lucky I am to have these two as my in-laws? Mom and dad Buttars are seriously the best in-laws any girl could ever wish for! So when I found out they would be coming to our neck of the woods for a visit I was thrilled! We had a blast showing mom and dad around D.C., exploring new places, taking them to our favorite restaurants, seeing shows and so much more! It was so fun having them come and I am already plotting and planning things to do and see next time they make it out! And now for some pictures to capture our awesome week!



Thursday night we went out to Ted's Montana Grill and had some delicious food! Yum! Perfect place to satisfy that big burger craving!



Friday night we went to see Les Miserables! It was Broc's birthday present and we absolutely LOVED it! Certainly one of the highlights of the trip! What a powerful show!



Madre wanted to see my school so on our way out Saturday we stopped by Catholic to do a quick tour! Even though we look like ants in this picture the Basilica is beautiful! :) It was a new experience showing off my school and I am glad I could!





We took a weekend trip to Harper's Ferry West Virginia and Gettysberg and Lancaster Pennsylvania! Harper's Ferry was absolutely gorgeous with the pretty fall colors, the joining of the Potomic and Shenandoah River's, the trains coming and going through the mountains! It was so picturesque and full of history!





We also got to learn about Gettysburg and explore the battlefields! It was amazing to learn about the battles and see some of the fields where so many fought for a free and equal nation!





We ended the the weekend with a trip to Amish-ville! Apparently there is a big population of Amish in Intercourse, PA! Mom and I laughed and laughed and laughed some more when we found this out! Oh goodness did we think that was hilarious! The laughter didn't end there though! We wanted to get a picture with a buggy so mom pretended to be pointing across the street at something and I snapped the perfect picture! Looks like she is pointing right at the buggy! :) Pretty much we were super glad that we decided to go to Lancaster after all!

The trip came to and end all too quick Wednesday night at the temple! I forgot to take my camera so we couldn't get a picture but it was the perfect end to a wonderful visit! Mom and dad please come back soon! The party ended way too soon! This little apartment just ins't the same without you! We love you both!!

Win!

Anyone can tell I am moderately...okay fine...excessively obsessed with my little nephew Edwin! (P.S. I cannot wait until Whitney and Rob have their little bundle of joy so I can be as equally obsessed with my little niece!) And so because it is no surprise to anyone that I love that little Win I will post some pictures I took this last time I was home! I went home for a week right before I started working just because I could! I am so glad I did because I got lots of quality time with Win and his mama!

I went with Carissa and Edwin to a fun Lap Sit Singalong at the Library and got this lovely little gem of a picture!


The joys of swinging while your mom is pushing you! He loved when she would catch his feet!


Caught in the act of chewing the lemon skin! Those gorgeous eyes and chubby little legs! He is just too much!

Crock Pot Crazyness!

And we did it again! The cooking ladies and I pulled off a crock pot crazy fest this weekend and I am thrilled to say it was a success! What was on the menu you might ask? Well, we made a delicious spinach and artichoke cheese dip as an appetizer to go along with our scrumptious Spanish paella! Both of these dishes were cooked in crock pots and might I just add that my house smelled amazing for the 4 plus hours these gourmet meals were cooking!?!



Look at these gorgeous colors! Certainly the paella dish was a good pick!



And then to top it all off, while the boys went to Priesthood we had a girls night which included lots of talking, laughter and chocolate fondue of course! Perfect end to a delicious and entertaining evening!

Exciting Endeavors!

Tomorrow my life will change forever! After 3 long months of waiting I have finally been cleared to start working as a Social Worker for a foster care agency in D.C.! I will be working for Family Matters and cannot wait to start doing what I love! I must admit I am both overly excited and quite anxious all at once but I know tomorrow will bring the beginning of a new adventure and I am thrilled to get started!

In the meantime, as I was waiting to start work, I was able to accomplish another exhilarating feat! My dad and I signed up to run a half marathon about 6 months ago and finally last weekend we were able to put our bodies to the test! My mom surprised us all about half-way through training and decided to run the race as well! It was quite the experience training with my parents and ultimately finishing the race with them! All in all, it was an experience I will not soon forget and hope to do again in the future! A special thanks to all those that cheered me on and kept me going! You know who you are! ;)

The whole group right before the race started! This is when my adrenaline was on fire!


Crossing the finish line! My official time was 2 hours and 24 mins! I was shouting praises as I crossed! (Broc was an awesome camera man!)



And the whole groups afterward with our champion medals! What a fun race and what a great group to be running with!



Certainly there have been some exciting endeavors in the Buttars home recently and as tomorrow gets ever closer I look forward to the exciting endeavors yet to come!

Soul Mates or Ball Mates?

As the story goes...this idea of having a soul mate comes from Greek mythology!Once upon a time humans supposedly had 2 heads and 4 arms! When humans did something to anger the Gods, the Gods gave a punishment and split all humans down the middle! Hence this idea of finding your soul mate, literally your other half, arose!



Well I think Broc found his ball mate this weekend (if those exist)! Pretty much in all things sports it appears these two are aligned! So glad you found your other half Broc because I guarantee you would never snatch a picture of me up at the TV screen like that! Even if it was an intense play in the BYU football game! Thank you Nick for completing my husband in a way I never will be able to! So glad he has found his ball mate! :)

Broc's Idea of a SUPER Saturday!

If you could squeeze three things into one Saturday to make it Broc's perfect day what would your guesses be? Well since we had a 4 day weekend (thank you Deloitte for giving my husband Friday and Monday off!) we decided to go home for some family fun! Let's just say for Broc, fun was an understatement when it came to Saturday!

The day started with a boys outing to a nearby golf course! You got it! Number one for a perfect Broc day: GOLF! The boys in the family had yet to get out together this summer! Glad they finally were able to squeeze it in!

After some golfing the boys returned and the TV went on for some football watching! Number two for a perfect Broc day: FOOTBALL! And not just any football but BYU Cougars football!

And then to top it all off...number three to make it an absolutely perfect Broc day: US OPEN WITH THE WHOLE FAMILY! Not to mention we got to see Novak Djokovic, the number one tennis player in the world right now, spank it on the courts! That certainly helped make the whole experience a million times more super!



So there you have it! Golf, BYU Football and the US Open all in one day clearly is Broc's idea of a SUPER Saturday! Thank you dad and Josh for hitting up the golf course with Broc! Thank you BYU cougars for making us stressed before pulling things together in the last few minutes! Thank you Novak for delivering a beat down! And most importantly, thank you mom and dad for making it all happen! We sure love you!

Oh and just for good measure...he still is the CUTEST nephew in the world! Just to prove it, an adorable picture of him at the beach chowing down on a carrot! Love those chubby cheeks and precious smile!

FYI!

In case any of you were wondering about this, FYI we got it taken care of! I know Father's Day was a long time ago but I thought you all might want a little update! Since my parents have become such good regifters, we thought we would return the favor! This was the very end of a three part scavenger hunt to find his Father's Day gifts!



Happy Father's Day Dad! We sure love you! ;)

(Oh and Mom tells me Arnold is doing just great for any who might be concerned with his extensive travel in the first year of his life! Seems like that little swimmer was born to be a traveling fish! Way to go Arnie!)

Story Time!

Time for a story! Rewind about a year! Broc and I were preparing to move down to D.C.! We had loaded my parents Expedition up with all our prized possessions and were ready to make the trek down! My mom, being the loving mother that she is, packed us a lunch for our journey down! One of the things my dear mother sent with us was Pub Mix! Now for those of you who do not know what Pub Mix is...let your life be changed right now (see photo below)! It is a scrumptious mixture of crunchy little goodies that relieve that certain salty craving we all get from time to time! Broc had never before experienced Pub Mix so this was quite the discovery for him! He fell in love! Well, Broc and I made a deal right then and there! We shook hands on it and decided that the first time he got a raise we would splurge and buy ourselves a container of Pub Mix!



Well all, I am proud to say that my hard working husband has done it again! YES! He has blown me away with his ability to go above and beyond in all that he does! That is right, he got a raise! And not just a mediocre raise, I'm talking a really, really outstanding raise! Pretty much he was told that he is doing an awesome job and to keep up the good work because it will take him far! How can I not sing his praises right now and brag a little right?!?



So tonight in attempts to let that wonderful man of mine know just how proud I am of him, I went for the splurge! I got the Pub Mix! And let me just say, his beaming face upon receipt of the beloved Pub Mix was totally worth it in so many ways! I love that husband of mine and I am so proud of all his hard work! Here's to a year of hard work and a lot of fun too! Can't wait to shake again on something else to treat ourselves to next raise! ;) Any suggestions?

Oh and P.S. In case any were worried...we did survive the earthquake and the hurricane without major damage! Phew! Who knew Northern Virginia would be so exciting!? :)

My Four Leaf Clover!

You know those times in life when you just feel blessed to be alive and well? I guess you could say now is one of those times! Life is happy and I am content with all the excitement and joy life brings me!

One such excitement came this weekend as one of my best friends, Aubrey Potter, came to visit! Even more exciting, her freshmen roommate and let's face it, pretty much my freshman roommate too was also in town! Well, clearly a reunion of sorts was in need! Aubs arrived Friday night and we hurried over to one of our favorite restaurants to meet up with Bean! Dinner Friday night was so awesome! We laughed and laughed and laughed some more! It was so great to just remember the good old days, the crazyness of freshmen year and the strong bonds we three created! I feel like Broc got a good glimpse into what my first year of college was all about thanks to this little rendezvous!



The weekend excitement did not end there! After enjoying dinner, we got to bring Bean and Aubs home with us! I've found it to be one of my favorite things to bring good friends into our home! Although we only had an air mattress to offer my wonderful friends, it seemed quite fitting and appropriate considering the freshmen year set up! ;) All three of us piled into the bed to reminisce of Chipman Hall funness!



Saturday morning we started the day right with some yummy waffles and then hit it hard in the city with some touring! Broc and I had never been to the Old Post Office so it seemed only fitting that we start the day with a beautiful view of the city! It was an awesome view from the top of the bell tower and certainly a new favorite! After the bell towers, milkduds, 133 steps, meeting Obama and more we set out to see the Constitution and other important documents at the National Archives! Although the Archives were busy we were able to get in to see the documents relatively quickly which was nice!



Post archives, right as Bean was getting ready to leave us it started to downpour! We deemed it as divine intervention because it meant we got to spend more time with Bean! We hung out in the cafeteria at the Archives complete with cold, leftover pasta (whoops...sorry I forgot the granola bars and apples!)plus cell phone games, girl talk and of course more laughter! When the rain finally dried up we said our goodbyes to Beanie and continued our touring ways!



We took Aubrey to see the National Museum of American History, the Washington Monument, the White House, the WWII monument and the Lincoln monument! Although we could have kept on going, we all decided that this should only be the first of many visits from Aubrey! Therefore, in order to save some sights for her next visit, we called it a day and returned home!



Let's just say it was such a perfect night! We ate some Maggiano's leftovers and then took a little drive around our parts of town! We gave Aubrey the grand tour complete with a drive by the tennis courts, down 23rd street, past Fort Scott Park and last but certainly not least we made a quick stop at Giant to grab a redbox! We then returned home for a quick nap, a pool dip (Broc got all the way in while Aubs and I just dipped in our feet), cake making in honor of my father and Betsy's birthdays as well as movie watching! Can I just say I love miss Aubrey Potter! It was just like having another family member along for the weekend! Love it!



Sunday after church and yet another round of Maggiano's leftovers we had to drive Aubrey back to Union Station to catch her bus home! :( I've always known that I love Aubrey but this weekend reminded me just how special our friendship is to me! I guess you could say... "A best friend is like a four leaf clover, hard to find and lucky to have"! Thanks for being my four leaf clover Aubrey! Please come back soon! We miss you loads already!

Roses, Pizza and Carillon Bells!

Since I have been slacking in the blogging world these past few weeks, I am going to try hard to stay on top of things! Hence the mismatched post that follows! Let it be known....my dear, caring husband loves me! For absolutely no reason at all he surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of roses one night after work last week! This was quite the pleasant surprise! Sometimes I am still amazed that I somehow wooed that man into marrying me! He is just something else! And of course, the lovely roses became the perfect centerpiece for my dinner group!



And this month for dinner group with the wonderful ladies we made homemade pizza! We attempted a barbecue chicken pizza which wasn't all that bad as well as a yummy summer salad with strawberries, feta cheese and pecans! YUM! I wish I could say we mastered pizza dough tossing but that skill may take a little time to perfect! Talk about an easy month but a delicious month! And I must admit, we have lots of good plans for cooking in the next few months that I am so excited about!



And last but certainly not least, we went with our good friends Amy and Billy to hear the Netherlands Carillon Bells this past weekend! It turned out to be quite the little adventure! Of course it was perfectly beautiful all day Saturday until 10 minutes before we planned to leave for the concert! When I called, the park ranger said the show would go on as long as there was no lightning! Long story short, even with a few claps of lightning, the show went on for us! We were the only true blue Carilloning fans who stuck out the entire 2 hour performance in the rain! We even became best friends with the Carillonneur who let us take a picture with him after! We love our Dutch heritage and of course loved the performance as well! As the saying goes, "You ain't much if you ain't Dutch!" Certainly a great memory made! Thanks Amy and Billy for sticking out the stormy weather with us! :)



The whole gang with our new best friend! Haha! We are seriously thinking about showing up at his next performance on Labor Day just to see if he remembers us! Maybe Broc will sport the Netherlands shirt again to see if we can get special treatment next time too!

Celebrate!

As you all know my birthday is in the wonderful month of July! It happened to be the longest birthday celebration of my life this year mostly due to the fact that I got to celebrate my birthday multiple times over a 2 week period!



The celebrating started off right on my actual day of birth! I got to spend my entire birthday with my dear mother! We spent the day in Brooklyn and made the most of the time we had to be together! It was such a nice day, full of relaxing, talking, eating, walking, appreciating and more! It was so great to have some quality time with my mom seeing as we don't get time like that too often anymore!



Then over the weekend I got to celebrate with yummy cake and ice cream! This time the whole family was there including Uncle Dave's family! It was even Edwin's 6 month birthday! How appropriate! Of course my mother made my favorite chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting! It was divine, as always!



Not only was it great having so much family around to celebrate, but Broc even got to be there! He was my favorite birthday gift the whole week! :) His project at work took on an assignment that kept him traveling the whole month of July! After 2 longs weeks of traveling, he got to be there when we had cake and ice cream! Talk about a great treat!



Upon my return to D.C., despite the fact that I was coming home to an empty apartment, there was still reason to celebrate! My wonderful neighbor and dear friend Emily surprised me with a little birthday gift as well! We have become quite the running pair and as a little boost to my running abilities she got me some intense, but oh-so-comfortable running socks! Even though she insisted it was a small gift, she doesn't even know just how much this gift meant to me! (P.S. Notice the little L and R indicating left and right foot! That's my favorite part of these socks by far!)



As mentioned before since Broc was a traveling man, he wasn't home to give me my presents until the very last weekend in July! So to finally wrap up the 2 week celebration, I got to open some of the bests gifts a gal like me could ask for! He got me a mini tripod for my camera so when I want to take pictures we don't have to constantly ask people to take them or balance the camera in precarious spots with the hope that a perfect picture will be the end result! He also got me a running pack for my up-and-coming running escapades and a garlic press! But the real celebrating started when Broc informed me that since my mom had already gotten me a garlic press for my bday, we were going to exchange it for a full length mirror! Talk about the best way to end my 2 week birthday celebrations!



And did I mention that all throughout this 2 week period of celebrating my birthday, my dear, sweet mother-in-law, who knows me all too well, sent numerous cards? I got a card a day for at least a solid week if not more! Each card was thoughtful and caring and made my day! Anyone who knows anything about me knows I love mail, so getting it for 2 weeks straight was seriously the best birthday gift to keep me celebrating each and every day!

So in the end, I guess what I am really trying to say here is thank you to all the wonderful people in my life who make it worth celebrating! I'm not the type to make a big hullabaloo about my birthday but one thing I do know...the celebration wouldn't be half as fun without each and every one of you! Love to you all!

July 4th Weekend!

Although there is so much to say about our 4th of July weekend, it is now the end of July! So I have decided to post this little video just as a highlight of the weekend! Thank you Deise for catching this one on film!:)



P.S. Yes, that is me in the brown shirt! Yes, that crazy little break dancer in the middle of Central Park did a back flip over 5 people! Yes, I know it was insane! Hence the fact that I have decided it was the highlight of 4th of July weekend!

Peek-a-boo

Just because I love this little man and he totally took peek-a-boo to a whole new level I am posting this video! Enjoy!



P.S. If you think this is cute you have no idea just how adorable it was in real life! Thank you, little Edwin, for bringing joy into our lives through small and simple things! We love you little man! :)

Summer Happenings!

Lots of summer happenings thus far! It's been a blast so brace yourself for a picture frenzy to get all caught up with the summer crazyness!



Summer started with a ward party at church right before our ward split! Although it was sad to say goodbye to half our ward family it was an awesome way to jump start the summer right! They even had a photo booth with dress ups! Hence the silly picture above! :)



With Saturday's free at last, no homework or studying to be done, Broc and I have started actually seeing some of the city that we live in! One Saturday we went to Arlington Cemetery, the Iwo Jima Statute and the Netherlands Carillon Bells!



So then Broc has been a traveling man as of late but the best part is I've gone with him a few times this summer since I have the time! It has been heavenly! So a few weeks back I went with Broc to Fredrick, Maryland for a night or two! We enjoyed the quaint little town and even found a beautiful little park for an evening stroll! This bridge was a pretty find we couldn't pass up without a picture!



Another Saturday allotted a trip to the Torpedo Factory! We enjoyed walking along and seeing the different artists and their styles! Certainly a place we will need to go again soon!



And yet another Saturday allowed us to go to Eastern Market! This was a recommendation from some neighbors and we totally fell in love! We can't wait for the next set of visitors to come so we can take them to this awesome little market! Delicious fruit, pretty homemade crafts and beautiful art! All a perfect way to spend a Saturday morning!



So then Broc went on another business trip and this time I was certainly pleased to go along! We were in Virginia beach a whole week and I soaked up all the sun I could get! Not only did we have a nice long boardwalk to explore complete with giant statutes of Neptune, but we also ended each day with a walk along the beach! It was seriously the most relaxing week of the summer so far! I must admit that getting a job offer on Monday set the week off on a high note! :)

So there you have it folks! A run down of the summer thus far! Stay tuned for a Fourth of July weekend update! We went home with some friends and let's just say it was a weekend to remember! Toodles my noodles as I used to always say! Until next time! Happy blogging!