More Family Fun!

After a week of non-stop fun with Grandma and Grandpa Butler, Doug and Desiree, and Anthony, we headed off to Coeur d'Alene for more fun!

We got there just in time to celebrate Zachary and Savannah's birthdays!

They have a great backyard, it's about 5 times the size of ours which gives the kids plenty of space to run and play.

Linsey and Braydon are one year apart. I love that they have always been good friends and I hope they will be even closer as they become teenagers, the way my brother Chris and I were.



We spent one afternoon playing at a nearby beach. My kids never get tired of sand and water. It's one of our favorite things to do.

Hunter, Zach and Savannah are all the same age. I love this picture of Hunter and Savannah jumping off the dock together.

Linsey spent almost two hours digging up clay and making little pots.

Uncle Chris is super amazing and does a great job entertaining all the kids with his rockets.


I think the highlight of the entire weekend for Hunter was testing out the cousins new Go-Kart!

Hunter and Zach

Hunter behind the wheel. That's a scary sight.

Linsey and Savannah

Gavin and Emma

Grandma and Grandpa came up Friday evening and we had a big BBQ and birthday party for the twins. Seriously, non-stop fun!

Saturday, we spent the entire day at Silverwood Theme Park. We left at 9:30 a.m. and got home at 11:30 p.m. The kids were exhausted, but honestly, so were the adults. I've never felt so tired. We had a really great time. I opted to leave my camera at home so here is my only shot of the day... just about to head out.


Sunday after church, we drove by my brother's new office. Typically we get together over the summer more, but with Jared in school and Chris busy moving his practice, both our families have been tied down a bit more than usual.

Chris finished medical school and moved to Coeur d'Alene about 4 years ago where he joined another doctor and began working as a Podiatrist. Recently, they bought a new building and did a major face-lift inside and out. They are still working on some finishing touches, but here is the "almost" finished product!

Dr. Christopher Butler
... kinda weird, to me he'll always just be Chris.

the cousins

the whole crew, a.k.a. Chris's fan club.

Tally is really talented with her fancy new camera and did all of the art work throughout the office.

Each of the rooms has great pictures of local, beautiful spots. It's such a perfect idea.

I think everyone enjoyed themselves checking out all of the latest equipment,

and especially testing out the chairs.
I doubt Chris ever puts a patient up quite that high.

After a delicious Sunday dinner, we all said our goodbyes.

I love that these kids just can't get enough of each other.

We can't wait til the next time we can get together, I'm sure we'll have even more fun!

Family Fun!

This past week and a half has been non-stop Family Fun! It all started out on a Thursday afternoon when my dad and two brothers Doug and Anthony stopped by on their way to Sekiu for some Salmon fishing.

I'm still not exactly sure why this wig and sunglasses were in Anthony's suitcase, but things got a little silly when he pulled them out.

Later that day, Grandma and Aunt Desiree showed up with little cousin Aleck. They stayed all weekend while the boys were out fishing.

Austin loved having Aleck here and woke up every morning asking to play with him. I love this picture of the kids in their jammies watching the garbage truck.


Desiree and I ran a 5K Friday night. It was a lot of fun and we all enjoyed a BBQ dinner on main street afterwards, all part of the Auburn Good Ol' Days celebration.

I ran it in 22:23.
I decided that I'm done running evening races. Cool mornings are more my thing.
We missed the awards ceremony, but I took 2nd place in my division!

Desiree is a great cook and offered to make dinner one evening. She made really yummy chicken, with rice and beans. Everyone loved it!


We filled the weekend with picnics, a trip to the lake, playing at the park, swimming at the Aquatics center, and a movie in the backyard once the boys returned from their fishing trip. Doug, Des, and Aleck took off late Saturday night to visit more family, but the fun continued...

After church on Sunday, we had a yummy family dinner and had fun going on walks and playing games with Grandma and Grandpa.

They left Monday morning, but Anthony stayed with us all week. He is such a fun uncle and gives my kids all sorts of attention. They adore him. We went to Wild Waves, he helped me out with a scouting activity, and we took him to our favorite pizza buffet at the Rock.

One of my really good friends who I haven't seen for over 13 years came to visit Wednesday evening. Technically she isn't family, but close. We were best friends til I moved when I was 15, but all through High School we kept in touch. I went on family vacations with her and she flew out to Washington several times to visit. We both got married in December of '97, unfortunately, we haven't seen each other since. We had a BBQ and spent the evening talking about old times and catching up. We laughed a lot.

Mandi and I

Our kids really hit it off and by the end of the night were best of friends.

Mandi's husband Wilson and their dog (and Emma).

Thursday, we loaded up the van, picked up a few movies from the redbox, and headed off to Coeur d'alene for some more family fun.....