Butler reunion 2008

Butler Reunion 2008

Bear Lake

We stayed at the Hermitage in Paris, Idaho.  The lodging was spacious, although everyone with children agreed those little open windows at the tops of the doors were quite annoying.  Joy and Aaron came up with a great solution by stuffing an entire comforter in the space so Ian could sleep in relative quiet.  We loved the gathering rooms and the kids loved the toy room.  The ice cream parlor downstairs was especially fun. 

 My favorite parts of our reunion were swimming in Bear Lake, hiking and of course talking!  The water at Bear lake was surprisingly warm and the sand was soft.   As a parent I loved the fact that the water was shallow for a long way out.  I didn't worry that anyone would drown.  And what would a Butler reunion be without hiking?  Of course we left on Butler standard time, which means after breakfast dishes were done, kids were whiney and everyone was ready for lunch!  But best of all was the chance to catch up with everyone.

Joy loves her shade

Mud glorious mud!

Snuggling with Laura

Grandma with Ian and Carter

Daddies and Daughters

We hiked to this beautiful lake near Paris, Idaho.  Scott and Aaron swung on the rope into the   very frigid water.  The rest of us cheered and were glad it wasn't us...

Grandpa being the responsible citizen that he is, waded into the lake to pick up a beer can and promptly feel in...

We couldn't believe how clear and blue the water was.  And did I mention cold?

Hiking at Torrey Pines State Park

Tammy and Wes

Grammy and the Boys

The Girls

Moonlight Beach, California

Ryan showing off treasures

Best Buds (for now)

Looking  back on our vacation to Moonlight Beach last June. We stayed at Encinatas, California with the Tenney's and Grammy and Pa. We had a great time walking down the beach, playing in the waves, searching for "treasures", and building sandcastles. Most of the treasures are still being well guarded from the night-time cleanup crew although we had to leave the sandcastle/sandtubs behind. We also went to Sea World and had a great time watching the animals and riding the little kid rides. Ryan's feet began to hurt and we went home early but the Tenney's stayed late, living it up at Sea World. While the memories of the drive will prevent us from going back for a while, we cross our fingers that we'll be able to go again someday.

It's....a blog!

We've wanted to have our own site for awhile, especially since we really enjoy reading Mike and Step's and Suzy and Jared' s blog.  Thanks to our friends Melissa, Teressa and Shera we finally have one!  While six kids ran wild, they kindly taught me how to do this.  It's a little rough and will likely be for a loooooong time, but you have to start some where...