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!)