Bad Combinations

What do you get when you cross Nash with the following items?
The dryer and...
crayons?
Ruined Sunday Clothes and Underwear!

The central vacuum outlet and...

Atley's Matchbox Cars...

A very angry big brother because at least 10 of his cars have now disappeared into the vacuum abyss never to be seen again!

(Atley was too angry and bitter to be photographed in his rage)

Thanks George Dub-yah

No, we didn't brave the cold or the record crowds to attend the inauguration. Instead, we stayed tucked in our warm house about 6 miles from the Capitol Building. However, we were privy to the sights and sounds of the many low-flying military helicopters and various aircraft hovering in our area and all around D.C. This was especially exciting for the boys.

I was disappointed with the "boos" and catcalls I heard when President Bush was announced on the Capitol platform. I further disapproved of the subtle digs displayed in the speeches of Senator Feinstein and President Obama. Since the battle for Obama has produced a victory for him and his supporters, I mistakenly believed that a semblance of class would be demonstrated by these individuals. However, I was impressed with the grace and dignity of the Bush family as they bid a final farewell to Washington, embracing their predecessors and appearing to have a clean conscience regarding what lay behind them.

I will be the first to admit that Bush's presidency was not perfect. There were definitely mistakes made. We are in a mess of a war and the economy is horrendous. I need look no further than to my overpriced, over mortgaged, unwanted home in southern Arizona for the evidence of a failing economy. Yet, I do feel I owe President Bush a debt of gratitude. He accomplished the three tasks that mean the most to me as an American. He kept us safe after 9/11, he upheld the sanctity of marriage, and he stood strong on his value of human life with his anti-abortion position. I appreciate his acknowledgement of God's hand in his daily life and respect the choices he made as our commander and chief. I wish President Obama well and I truly hope he can establish the utopia that so many believe he has the ability to create. I respect the office of president and pray for the safety and guidance of any human being crazy enough to aspire to such a position.

Thank you President Bush, we will miss you in Washington. Unfortunately, we might be the only ones.

3 Days Without Water

Please allow me to preface everything I am about to write by saying that I am not 100% prepared with my food storage, nothing demonstrates this more than the fact that Nash had to wear swim diapers to church yesterday because we ran out of the real thing and I had already depleted my storage supply without replenishing it. Also if you have heard the following story skip this paragraph and move to the end.

Soon after we moved to Arizona, Hurricane Katrina devastated the southeast. For the first time in our married life Scott and I felt a great need to be better prepared. We made a decision that we would create a list and buy everything our family needed for our 72 hour kits. We pulled information off of the church website, the American red cross, and various other sites and were surprised at how long our list had become. Not feeling discouraged by the long list of needed items I set out one morning with the goal to buy everything on our list. I understand that most people take their time in situations like this, buying a little here and a little there, but we really felt prompted to get this in order as soon as possible. After all the items were purchased and the cashier announced the total, my first reaction was shock at the cost and as I pushed my enormous cart to my car I next felt a little depressed. I couldn't believe I had spent that much money on stuff I would most likely never use. I spent the remainder of the car ride home thinking of all the shoes I could have bought with that money. Upon returning to the house with my bad attitude in tote I picked up the mail. There were two mysterious envelopes in our box that day. I opened them and discovered two checks for bills I had somehow overpaid. This was amazing considering I can barely remember to pay our bills let alone over-pay them somehow. But, the real miracle was when I added the sum of the two unexpected checks together their total came to almost the exact amount that I had spent on the items for our 72 hour kits. Despite my horrible attitude we were receiving a tremendous blessing for our obedience. I gained a testimony of the importance of emergency preparedness that day and that testimony has never left me. We have found ourselves using the items from our 72 hour kits more than I expected. For instance last summer tornadoes in our area caused the kids and I to retreat to the basement where we snacked on our food storage food, used the radio in our 72 hour kit, and of course the flash lights and extra batteries as we were without power for about 36 hours.

After we moved to Washington D.C. we were more than aware of the catastrophic events that could happen in this area so we got even more serious about our emergency preparedness. Almost immediately we purchased two big blue barrels that we filled with water. It was these barrels that made our weekend bearable. Thursday D.C. experienced its coldest night in more than a decade and our pipes froze. We woke up to no water and no chance of a thaw for several days. It was so comforting to know that we would be okay. There was no need to try to find a Hotel Room, plus that task would have been impossible with the Coronation of King Barack--oh, I'm sorry, I mean the inauguration of President Obama in our midst. We would be okay. Thankfully, Sunday after church the weather warmed enough to thaw our stuck pipes and we again have water. The weekend was a good trial run for the difficulties that may lie ahead for many of us. Scott is sore from hauling buckets up from the basement stairs for me to boil for baths and dishes and I am so glad that my dishwasher is now working. We are all thankful that we live in these modern times and have a renewed resolve to be even more prepared for the unexpected. I have learned more than once that emergency preparedness is not only for the calamitous events that could arise in life such as hurricanes and earthquakes but also and perhaps more importantly for the little emergencies that seem to happen in our daily life. Our Heavenly Father wants us to be safe, comfortable, and happy. This is why he has asked us to be prepared and self-sufficient. I hope you will all join me this New Year in trying to be better equipped for the unanticipated. That's all for now! I am off to buy diapers, many of them!

The Butler Bucket Brigade

My feelings today!

Take a deep breath! This may take awhile!

First, I am a little annoyed. Today while waiting in the line with the other moms at preschool, several started talking about shopping. You all know I am a confessed shop-aholic and would usually be eager to join the conversation, but not today. The ladies began to talk about how they only buy their "preschool" children name-brands. They were convinced it builds confidence in young children. Personally I don't think young children should even understand the concept of name-brands and if they do something is seriously wrong with society. Anyway, one mother got a smokin' deal at Nordstroms on Ugg boots for girls. They were marked down to $90 so she bought her three year-old four pair, each in a different color. WHAT A BARGAIN!!! Another mother found her son a NorthFace jacket for $140 so she bought two, one for this year and one for next. Hopefully, it won't be out of style for kindergarten. They then began discussing the places they would not shop. I won't list all of the forbidden stores but Old Navy was on the top of the list. Within minutes Atley came out of his classroom displaying his Old Navy T-Shirt and tons of confidence. I hope they felt stupid. Sorry, I guess I am being immature.

Second, I am confused. Can you find a library book on Facebook etiquette? Okay, so about a month ago Scott signed me up for Facebook, like I need another distraction. And while I think it is mostly pretty cool, there are some things I am finding odd. Scott assured me that if you know the person you should just allow them to be your friend. It's the nice thing to do! That advice was fine for awhile, but now I am getting strange friend requests. Granted I might know the people but they are people like your distant cousin's, ex-husband's, great-uncle. WEIRD! But, I feel totally guilty not allowing them to be my friend. Also when do you know if you should really request someone to be your friend? I mean let's say you knew each other in high-school and you bugged each other then, won't you still bug each other 12 years later. And what's the rule on old boyfriends? I mean I am perfectly unsentimental about my past relationships but I can't say the same about Scott's crazy old girlfriends. I am pretty sure I should be allowed to have old boyfriend "friends" but Scott should not be allowed old girlfriend "friends." Seems Fair! Next, what if you have allowed some friendships and then you realize that these people you once knew and even liked have morphed into something more than a little spooky. You know the type that post weird pictures of themselves and use profanity on their posts. This makes me super uncomfortable especially since my Bishop just asked to be my friend on Facebook. It's all just too much for me! I CAN'T HANDLE THE FACEBOOK DRAMA!

Third, I am feeling inspired. I am not into self-help books. They just leave me feeling like a failure. I am sure that most of these self-help book writers are in cahoots with the same people who manufacture Prozac and Zoloft. But, I just finished a relatively old book called, The Greatest Salesman in the World, by Og Mandino. I highly recommend it. It is short and well, inspiring.

Fourth, I am feeling the love for vacation again. I maintain a love/hate relationship with vacations. The hate stems from my need for a schedule in life and especially in the life of my children. Because vacations always get us out of our routine,our family always gets sick on vacation. (See blog posts for New York trip, Williamsburg trip, Colorado trip for proof) Our trip to Georgia was no exception. Although we have been home for 9 days, we are still healing from our sicknesses. Because of the sickness I was hating vacation alot last week and to make matters worse while on vacation my boys were allowed to sleep in the same bed. Upon returning home they refused to sleep in their own beds. Nash would cry, "Need Atley!" Atley would cry, "But, I love Nash so much!" So, they spent two nights on the floor in Atley's room, one night in the same bed in Nash's room, a couple of nights in a make-shift crib/bed in Nash's room, and all of those nights were sleepless nights for them and me. But now that we have worked the kinks out, the boys are sleeping again, now in the same room. I am actually grateful that they want to be together. There is something sweet about it. Therefore, I love vacations again, until the next one anyway.

New Business Venture

People pay a pretty penny to have some guy come and inspect their home. Whether they are thinking about purchasing or are concerned about the integrity of their current home, the goal of a home inspector is to ensure that this home is a good investment and/or structurally sound. But, if you want a pair of great home inspectors with real-world experience just call the Butler Brothers at 1-800-DIS-ASTER.

Their mother will promptly drop them off and it should only take about one hour for you to determine whether your prospective purchase or even your current home will last through even the worst natural disasters. Did I mention that they work cheap? Atley only requires a quarter per visit and Nash will work for food. The following are just a few of their specialities-all of which have been demonstrated with great proficiency in our own home this week.

1. The Butler Brothers are excellent at inspecting cabinetry. They do this by climbing on and in all cabinets to test their strength and quality. Their specialty is a Lazy Susan strength and speed challenge. This experiment is conducted by emptying the cabinet of all contents. Then the boys will climb in, each on a different level and spin as quickly as possible. If the cabinet, all Lazy Susan mechanisms, and both children are still in one piece, your cabinet passed with flying colors.

2. Testing the durability of door handles. The boys have super-human strength and will pull off any handle that is not installed properly.

3. The quality of your plumbing will be tested by flushing various items down your toilet including, but not limited to diapers, pencils, blocks, and matchbox cars. In addition to this plumbing test, Nash will poop in the bathtub and then proceed to push his waste down the drain.

4. Is your wood floor properly sealed? The Butler Brothers will determine this by spilling a large amount of Clorox upon it.

5. Should you really spring for the scotch guard protection on your new carpeting? They can show you if this investment is worth your hard earned dollars by spilling chocolate milk and blueberry juice upon it.

6. Should you purchase a home painted with "scrubable" paint? The Butler Brothers can easily test the quality of your paint with a number of tests or should I say disgusting experiments.

New Year's in Georgia

We traveled back to our old stompin' grounds for New Year's, that's right, back to Atlanta! This time we drove the 11 hours south. Boy, that was fun! But,we did have a great time with Scott's family. All the Butler's were present, which made for a pretty full and noisy house. We enjoyed the New Year by visiting the Georgia Aquarium, which I highly recommend to anyone traveling that direction. Scott had the chance to shoot his birthday/Christmas gift, a .357 Magnum. We felt like true "rednecks" shootin' our guns on New Year's! Check out the Sarah Palin pose! I thought of that myself. We hope all of you have a great 2009!

Highlights of our Christmas Week!

First, Atley starred as a sheep in the Church Christmas Pageant. Okay, so maybe he wasn't the "star" but he is in the picture somewhere.

No, Christmas week is complete without shopping and more shopping. Pictured above are Granny and the boys in Chinatown and Nash completely obsessing over a mannequin with no legs, just a skirt and some boots. He kept saying, "Oh, sad!"

The boys got a little bonding time while they watched TV in our bed.

Christmas Eve excitement made worse by the consumption of vast amounts of chocolate.

Despite all the threats and warnings, Santa came after all and of course, he was quite generous to Atley and Nash.

Capitol and White House Tree!

No, holiday is complete without a little bowling. However, Atley only participates for the dancing!

Finally, a quick/accidental trip to Annapolis, home of the Naval Academy.

Early Christmas

My life long dream has always been to become a ROCK STAR. But, after I turned thirty I saw that dream fading into the distant horizon. After all, thirty is over-the-hill for a ROCK STAR. I think it is a bit funny that it took this milestone to deter me from my path and not the fact that I lack the talent, skill, and the ambition required to become a ROCK STAR. I have spent some days feeling a little depressed since I realized my dream would never come into fruition. I have tried outlets like Guitar Hero to console me, but to no avail. However, one thing has assuaged my battered sole and that is my attempt to live vicariously through my favorite ROCK STARS, THE KILLERS! I have been a fan since the beginning, that's right since way back in 2002 when the band was created, but not until recently have I become obsessed. This obsession stems from my unsuccessful attempts at ROCK STARdom and of course because I never had a poster of Kirk Cameron in my bedroom as an adolescent. What tipped the scale from like and deep affection to love and obsession? I heard a cover THE KILLERS did of an old Dire Straits song, called Romeo and Juliet. In my ROCK STAR schemes and dreams, I was always going to cover that song and in my opinion any band with the good taste to cover Dire Straits should be promoted to icon status. Then to my utter astonishment I learned that the beautiful and talented lead singer, Mr. Brandon Flowers, was a Mormon. Yeah, can you believe it? Trust me this is legitimate, not like the Steve Martin rumors. I don't know if dear Brandon is a good Mormon but he helped me realize that it was possible to a be a Mormon and a ROCK STAR. So, you can scarcely imagine the flood of emotions that filled my heart this after noon when the FEDEX truck pulled into the drive and with a single envelope changed my life forever. At first I assumed this was Scott's paycheck, for this is how it arrives each week-but alas when I opened the envelope it was something far more precious than gold. It was an early Christmas Present from my dear husband. A present to top all presents, the present that will get me closer to my dreams of being a ROCK STAR than anything else-tickets to THE KILLERS sold out concert on January 28th at the Patriot Center at George Mason University. I can't help but think that just being in their presence will somehow supersede my old age and lack of talent and transform me into a rock and roll dream. I thank my husband for his selfless gesture of love and devotion. He purchased these tickets knowing full well he could lose me to the bright lights of Hollywood or a more likely scenario to the esteemed position of roadie for the greatest band in American-no make that World History-THE KILLERS!!!!!

P.S. Do they make those Fathead giant wall sticker things of ROCK STARS? And if so could someone please buy me one with Brandon Flowers? And finally, if I really get my Fathead of Brandon Flowers is it inappropriate to hang it in our room or should it go in the basement or garage or someplace more discreet? Oh, come one girls don't judge me with your Edward/Twilight Fantasies! At least Brandon is real!

Nash's 2nd Birthday

Happy Birthday Baby Nash!

Okay, so he is not really a baby he is TWO now! How did that happen! I am still using the "I just gave birth" excuse for my chubby belly. We are so thankful to have Nash! He had a rough start but he is a growing, healthy, strong, funny, and crazy little boy now. He is the light of our life. And although he isn't really a pudgy little guy even his nursery teachers agree with us when we say that Nash just has that squeezable quality that makes everyone want to hug and kiss him all the time. You know the kind of baby you just want to gobble up-that's our Nash. Happy Birthday Baby Nash! We love you so much!

Happy Birthday Scooter!

Yes, today is Scott's birthday but I can't tell you how old he is because he is WAAAY past the age that you can still talk about it. We all love you Scott and I am very lucky to have such a great husband! It has been ten years since the first time that we celebrated Scott's birthday together. I remember being so nervous and self-conscious about the present I picked out, and while I was pretty twitter-patted back then, I love him even more now!

Gotta Love Him

I have been meaning to post some funny things about Atley for awhile but I keep forgetting. Anyway, here goes. The first picture you will see is us eating out with Scott's boss. He encouraged us to take the kids, but I think he probably thought better of it when Atley lit his top lip on fire while making S'mores at the restaurant.

Second, picture is Atley at a Ginger Bread House Decorating Party at the home of one of his classmates. Of course Atley is the only LDS child in his class so I was pleasantly surprised when we arrived at the party,the pizza was served and Atley recommended to the group that they should say a prayer before eating. In my pride, I said, "Oh, great idea honey! Will you say the prayer?" But, instead of exposing them to the good old Mormon prayer I was expecting he burst into an impromptu song that went something like this, "Oh, the Lord is good to me! He gives me food and the apple tree! Oh, the Lord is good to me! Thank you Lord." While the entire group was quite impressed, I was mortified and too embarrassed to tell everyone that we don't actually pray like that at home.

And while I have no pictures I have one more Atley story. Last week for family home evening we discussed the canned food drive our primary is involved in during the holiday season. The children have been encouraged to earn their own money and use it to purchase food for families in need. So, we spent last Monday working around the house and then for Family Home Evening Atley was given the money that he earned from his work and we went to the grocery store. On the way he could hardly contain his excitement. I was sure he thought we were going to buy him something really cool, but he knew exactly what we were doing and he carefully selected his favorite non-perishable food items-such as Macaroni and Cheese, Pears, Spaghettios, etc. We took them up to the register and paid and once again I was so proud of how excited he was to serve others. Well, I was humbled yet again when on the following morning I saw him sneaking into the kitchen and replacing the yummy food he bought with cans from our own pantry filled with things he disliked-such as green beans, corn, and rice. Gotta love him!

HO! Ho! HO!

Fort Butler

About a week before Thanksgiving our neighbor knocked on the front door. "Hey, I have something I want to give to your boys." Not having a clue what it was he wanted to give to my boys I just replied with an, "Okay!" Art, our neighbor says, "It is kinda big. I am going to need some help getting it over here." My reply, "Oh, let me get Scott." A few minutes later Scott and Art the neighbor come across the street with the playhouse of my little girl dreams. Art actually built it for the boys. Of course my boys don't call it a playhouse. It is usually a fort or a shed. However, recently they have gotten creative. Nash will drive his car to the window and Atley will pass him a pretend Happy Meal. I assume it might be a sign that we eat too much fast food when my children want to play McDonald's in their playhouse. Anyway, the boys love their fort and we feel very fortunate to have such a good neighbor. Thanks Art!