March Madness...But Not That Kind!

This month has been a blast! So many fun things to do and somehow enough time to do them all! Good stuff! It all started with this little guys baby blessing (click here for more info)!



And then a trip to Utah for Spring break which involved snow, skiing, dinners, family and sunburns!



Broc's family came up to our Park City condo one night for dinner which was delicious and fun! We had some fish and then topped it off with Marie Callender pies! Yummy!



Then we hit up the slopes! It was a blast! It was Broc's first time and although he got a little roasty his first day on the slopes he did great! See the completely covered face above? Well this little burn might explain why he felt the need to cover up!



We loved going out to Utah and spending time with both my family and Broc's family! It was a blast seeing our grandparents, meeting new cousins and just having some good quality time with our loved ones!

This past week has been a whirlwind of crazyness! We got home late Sunday night, were asked to speak in church, I had a dinner group Wednesday night, had a St. Paddy's day party with some friends, made cupcakes for a baby shower and watched the BYU game! Phew! Talk about a good week to ease our way back into things! Time for another vacation I think! :)

P.S. Next week my good friend from high school Elizabeth is coming into town and I pretty much cannot wait! Let the March Madness continue! Hooray!

Weekend from Heaven!

So I went home this weekend and it was seriously a weekend from Heaven! Minus the fact that Broc was not able to come along I had such a wonderful time at home! The weekend started with this little nugget of joy and fat rolls!



Don't ask me how I got Carissa to agree but she let me babysit the little one all by myself on Friday night! At least I was all by myself for about an hour and then my mom showed up but it was so good! I love that little nephew of mine!

The next big part of the weekend was picking this one up from the airport!



WELCOME HOME SISTER SHEILA MICHELS! It was so fun seeing Sheila after a year and a half! We went to get bagels, ate at Cosi, talked all day, ate cookie dough and went out to dinner with all our families! It was amazing to hear her stories and reminisce on the good old days!

After two nights of very little sleep I got to end the weekend with this one at her home coming talk!



WELCOME HOME SISTER ELIZABETH CLARK! It was really great to see her and her family again after a year and a half as well! Her Spanish was really good and I forgot how much I missed her happy face!

When I got on the bus to come back home I almost cried because it was just that good of a weekend! Heavenly Father has blessed me with great friends who I admire deeply and a lovely family I feel blessed to be close with! Thanks all for a great weekend! Let's do it again soon okay!? :)

Speak Up !

Like I've admitted before to the world by way of this blog I tend to have a pretty loud voice! So one would think having a loud voice means I also have a strong voice...FALSE! I happen to have a loud voice but really, not so much a strong voice! And can I just say that it is the PiTs! I love talking! I love expressing myself through words! I love blabbering on about nothing! In other words, I love being loud!

Now please explain to me how I can be loud if I cannot even talk!?! Exactly the problem I am facing! You see I always knew I had a weak voice but it didn't so much bother me until high school when I really started to notice how much not having a voice impacted me! It was a regular occurrence for me to not have a voice in high school which I subsequently blamed on the lack of sleep and freezing winters!

Fast forward 4 years and I find myself at BYU! I still lost my voice from time to time but not nearly as much! I mean you can ask my roommates! They heard my squeaky voice once or twice and even tried to record it but this was not a regular thing! Thank goodness! Fast forward again to the present and I am back on the East coast living full time (something I haven't done since 2006) and all of a sudden I am loosing my voice all the time just like in high school! What gives with my voice!?! I think I found the link! I really think it's the East coast! Anyone else agree? I love you East Coast but give my voice a break! It really comes in handy like, oh you know, pretty much every day of my life! Phew!

Bring on the cough drops and herbal tea! It's going to be another silent week in the Buttar's household! Please speak up? Sorry it just isn't going to happen until the weakling becomes strong! And yes I would appreciate any suggestions on how to fix this annoying problem! ;)

Please Pass the Beef Wellington!!!

Anyone ever heard of Beef Wellington before? Well I became very well acquainted with the delicious entree this weekend! Remember this? Well we have not given up yet and this weekend we decided to go big or go home! Since Valentines day is just around the corner, we wanted to make a special meal for the men in our lives and special it was indeed!

So apparently Beef Wellington is this really fancy and hard meal to pull off but if you ask any one of the guys they will tell you with three thumbs up that we certainly pulled this one off! Amy and Emily came over Saturday afternoon so we could shop together for the meat and other ingredients! Upon our arrival home and with the help of Emily's sister Katie all four of us gals got to work in the kitchen! We chopped and sauteed! We baked and we whisked! We experimented and we succeeded! We laughed and we cried (well Katie cried when she chopped up the onion)! All in all, my kitchen became quite the little cooking show!

Needless to say, the end result was AMAZING! I think all four of us were super proud and the boy's tummies were satisfied! You know when everyone goes back for seconds and no fast food runs are made that the attempt was a success! See for yourself!



Pretty much I am just so glad that I have girls who are willing to attempt new recipes with me because I know I could not do it alone! Thanks Emily and Amy!

P.S. We were pleasantly surprised with the bonding that occurred between Broc and Adam! Not only are both their parents high school sweethearts but they both are motivated to get up in the morning by Cocoa Puffs! Oh and did I mention they have the same birthday?!? I know! I told them they need to be best friends already! :)

Coupons, Long Hair and Matches!

So when we first moved to the D.C. area, not going to lie...we were a bit shocked with the grocery prices! Each week going to the grocery store was a painful experience! Well lucky for me, one of Broc's childhood babysitters and good friends lived in the area and had become a superstar couponer! And yes, you guessed it! She taught me her ways and now I have become a pretty good couponer myself! I won't go so far as to say I am a superstar but it does get exciting at times! Watching the grocery bill drop ten or fifteen bucks due to coupons is a plus! So for now I will thank my superstar couponing teacher and continue in my quest to clip, file and save big!!

Now as far as the long hair goes I guess you could say the hair is getting long again! It is a constant debate in the Buttars household! Should I cut it or should I not? I love my hair short because it is so easy to take care of! But then again I think it makes my face look fat which makes me not really like it! And I love the long hair because it's basically what I have had my whole life! But then again it takes much more time and energy! So for now I guess it will be a waiting game! How long can I put up with the longness and avoid the fat face? A question yet to be answered!

By now I am sure you are wondering why matches? Well we had a big snow storm the other week and go figure Broc was out of town for it! After a 30 minute commute turned into 3 hours I knew I was in for some fun! I made it home just in time to eat some dinner and charge up my phone battery before the power went out! Well lucky for me we had just purchased candles a few days before! Not lucky for me we had no matches! Now let me just say...lighting candles without matches doesn't really work! Thank goodness for me I have an awesome next-door-neighbor who happens to be more prepared than myself and she was able to give me a light! Needless to say matches were the number one thing on our grocery list this week! Coupons or not we got the matches and are now prepared! Good feeling! Bring on the snow D.C. we are ready for anything now! ;)

Happy blogging!

Long Time Hero!

Some say our relationship started off a bit rocky! I mean she did after all tell my parents to send me back when she found out I was a girl! You see what she really wanted was a little brother! Well good thing she changed her mind once she saw me because from that moment on we were best friends!

There are stories in our baby journals that talk about the strong relationship we formed early on in life! One time we were walking across a brick wall and she saw that I was about to take a tumble! Being the loving and caring older sister that she always has been, she took a dive to save me from the fall! One black eye and bloody knee later I was unhurt and she was crying in mommy’s arms!

I guess you could say I always knew she loved me, even when she got annoyed that I was the constant tag-a-long sister! But she got over it and good thing too because I would have been far more awkward if it weren't for her!

The night before she left on a mission for our church and I knew I wouldn't see her for 1.5 years I insisted we sleep together in the basement! She kept telling me to be quiet and go to sleep but I couldn't hold the tears back that night! I cried the whole night long because even though I knew she was doing the right thing I could not bare to think of not seeing her for that long!

When she got home from her mission we made a quick tradition to see each other every Sunday! Although we no longer live in the same state we still call each other every Sunday! She gives me some of the best advice in the world and I cherish the times we get to talk with each other!

Well this past weekend my older sister and long time hero became a mother! I am so happy for her and just want her to know how much I look up to her! She has helped me through all the hardships of life and she has supported me in all the triumphs! Basically the Lord spoiled me by giving me such a great older sister and now he has spoiled both of us by sending down a precious little boy!






Carissa you are my hero and I am so excited to see where this new phase of life takes you! Thanks for always being there for me and thanks especially for being my hero! I LOVE YOU!



P.S. They made me this shirt for Christmas and I pretty much could not wait to wear it! So excited to be an AUNT!!!!!

Loudmouth Bookworm?

So my husband told me over the Christmas break that I am a binge reader...I would have to disagree although I must admit I was entirely sucked into the Hunger Games series for the 2 weeks I was out of school and off of my internship! Now some might say that reading all three of these books in one week is boarder line binge reader but as far as I am concerned I had a deadline to meet! I knew if I didn't finish these books by the time school and internship started up again they would be a lost cause and I wouldn't have time to read them until summer! Naturally that meant I needed to cram them all in to a weeks period right!?! My thoughts exactly! (P.S. If you haven't read this series yet please do yourself a favor and get going! They are pretty great!)


As far as the loudmouth goes, I finally came to the realization this week that maybe my mother was right after all these years! She always told me growing up and I quote, "Natalie you are the only person I can ever hear when I walk into a room full of people. You have such a loud voice so please just tone it down!" Well mother, although I totally disagreed with you back in the day and could only think it was your fault because you are the one who created me, I have finally decided that maybe you are right! Having friends ask me to use my voice to quiet the crowds at girls camp, or knowing that in a group my voice could certainly travel or even being the go-to spokesperson any and every time one was needed simply wasn't enough! Well mother dear, the time has finally come and I am admitting to the world that you are right! I am a loudmouth! Who knew?!?

So here is to the loudmouth bookworm! I guess I can accept that I am overly loud and a binge reader! It could be worse right?? So next time you need a loudmouth bookworm just let me know! I'd be happy to be of assistance! ;)