A Utah Christmas!

This year for Christmas we were able to go home to Utah for 8 whole days! Now I know to some this does not seem like that long but for us, it was the longest we have been back to Utah since we left! The time we got to spend with family and friends just catching up was priceless and we are already plotting and planning for how and when we will be able to make it out next! So get ready for some fun pictures documenting an amazing trip!



We started our Utah funness off right! We went on an awesome group date with a few of our favorite people our first night in Utah! We had such a good time talking, laughing, eating treats and playing games with this wonderful bunch! Certainly something we will have to do more often! :)



Then after much anticipation I finally got to see lil' bit! Whitney is the most adorable little pregnant lady! Even though this pregnancy was super hard for her, Whitney had a glow about her! She is amazing!



We had multiple Christmas gift swaps while we were home! Our first was with Whitney and Robbie on Christmas Eve! Obviously we all got the good stuff! ;)



Our next gift swap was Christmas morning with the family! Please excuse all the sleepy faces! We were all too excited to sleep! Boy was Christmas day wonderful! We got to be with family the whole day and even got to enjoy a musical Christmas program at church! What a perfect way to spend the day!



Our final gift swap was at Grandma and Grandpa Buttars house! We all got comfy, cozy slippers! Perfect for cold winter nights! We even got to meet Tyson's girlfriend Jessica which was awesome! We certainly think she is a keeper!



Part of mom and dad's Christmas gifts to the grandparents was dinner out with the family! We enjoyed an Olive Garden treat with Grandma VandeMerwe and loved the company!



The following evening we went to Lonestar with Grandma and Grandpa Buttars and enjoyed their company as well! Plus they had an amazing deal for 1 appetizer, 2 entrees and 1 dessert for just $25! Clearly we were sold!



And then as if we didn't eat out enough we met up with these good friends for lunch! It was quite the let down when our coupon for half off didn't even work! Garrett is going to use his lawyering skills to see if he can help us out on that one! Haha! We are trying hard to get these guys out to the East so we will see! Good times!



And then this little man stopped by with his parents for a night! I can't imagine what it must be like showing off your own children because I love showing off Edwin! :) He is just the cutest little nephew in the whole world! And yes I am allowed to say that still since Sohpiee is the cutest little niece in the whole world! Once we have more nieces and nephews things might get dicey! He was a good boy for mom and dad Buttars and helped them get prepped for their own grandbaby!



And then Liz came to visit which was so great! We went for a run, ate tons of delicious crepes and played phase 10! So low key but so perfect! I miss that girlfriend of mine!



And then we went to the dentist to get our teeth cleaned! Keith, Uncle Adrian's hygienist, totally fooled Broc! They told him they had new helmets for the patients to wear as they got their teeth x-rayed! Well since Broc hates the x-rays he totally fell for it! Hahaha! I love that goofball of mine!



And then Abby showed me the ways in Zumba! I had never done Zumba before but Abby helped me survive! We had a blast shaking our hips and strutting our moves! :)



And then we had an awesome VandeMerwe Family Christmas Party! We had almost every single member of the family there except Aunt Liz and cousin Josh! Wow! It was amazing! We even did a white elephant gift exchange and got some awesome gifts! I love family!



And then we threw a shower for Whitney and had so much fun! We were worried she may not make it to the shower but Sophiee decided to cooperate for another week! We had so much fun celebrating this little baby girl! So happy for Whitney and Robbie! Special thanks to everyone who helped out with all the preparations!



And then on our last night in Utah we brought in the New Year with some sparkling cider! Only way to drink the bubbly...pinkies up of course! 2012 be good to us and we promise we will be good back!

Pretty much words cannot express how much fun we had being home with the family! The trip was over all too fast but we made some awesome memories and look forward to our next rendezvous in Utah! Love you family!

Baby Girl Kohler!

So much to say and yet I know I will not be able to give the Christmas break any type of justice over the blog! So in the meantime, I'll just post about the newest obsession of mine!



You guessed it! We now have a niece! She is beautiful and wonderful and perfect...at least that's what they tell me! Sophiee Audrey Kohler was born January 6, 2012 at 2:50 pm in Utah! She weighed only 4 pounds and 13 ounces but is in perfect health! What a blessing and miracle she is already! We love her and we don't even know her!

Whitney is a trooper and endured the longest pregnancy ever! And now we are all happy to report that the pregnancy is over and little Sophiee is here! I wish we were in Utah right now to hold that little girl and tell her how much we love her!

What more could Broc and I ask for?! We already have an adorable nephew (who as of yesterday is walking!!!) and now we have an equally adorable niece! We are so blessed! Robbie and Whitney you did good! She is gorgeous and we cannot wait to get out there and give her lots and lots of love! Until then, Sophiee you be good to your mommy and daddy and feel free to put on a pound or two! :) We love you!

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!