{Insert Creative Title Here}

Summer? Is this summer? So far, crazy schedules in our little Buttars family haven't allowed much time for summer. Well ok, or the weather either. Maybe it will get warm in July...
The other day, I was struck by the thought that if we were out doing the summer sales stuff, we would have already be gone a whole month + some. That is how fast May went, and then to think it will be the MIDDLE of June next week....I'm baffled.

It all started with our move. We officially got our keys during the last week of April. So amidst finals, we began our 27th move. Or so it felt. But seriously, I lost count at five or six moves.

Painting was my first priority. For one, because I was so excited to finally be able to do it (!) pick our own colors, etc. and two, because I knew that if we didn't paint before we moved one box in, we'd just get used to it, and it wouldn't seem like a big deal. So paint we did! I would try and get as much done during the days while Nate was at work. Navi would either nap (in a well-ventelated room upstairs) or she would be rescued by one of my sisters or my very helpful sis-in-law. Then when Nate got done around 9 pm, we'd take Navi back to his parents' house (where we were still living) and put her down for the night. They would take her baby monitor and listen for her while we went back and painted until at least 1 or 2 in the morning. This fun process went on for about a week. Keep in mind, that when we bought our place, the kitchen was a deep red color, and I wanted it to be a light tan. Just 3 or 4 coats, around all the cabinents, no big deal.

But hey, as much as it might sound like I'm complaining, I'm not! It has been so awesome to have our own place. And it wouldn't have been possible without EXTREME amounts of help from my dad and other willing parties.
Speaking of dads, both of our dads have been troopers in the moving department. When I say five or six (or more) moves, both have them have been right there (mostly) willing :) to help each time. Not to mention all of our friends! We have worn out everyone of Nate's friends with every move we've made. I know that whenever they hear we're packing boxes; they probably cringe and want to disconnect their phones. But we are so appreciative of all their help and I personally sign Nate up for any upcoming moves on their behalves. I'll even help too!

So after a month and a half, we're finally feeling a bit settled, and although I'm still holding Nate to one last bathroom to paint, our house is beginning to feel like home. Navi has made the adjustment like a champ. Her sleeping schedule has even gotten better if that's possible. {knock on wood} She will go down around 9:30 or 10:00, sleep until 6:00 or 7:00 ish, take a bottle, and go back to sleep until 9:00 and sometimes even 10! The other day I let her stay in her crib until she was absolutely crying (not just the whiny babbles) and before she ever cried too hard, she fell back alseep until 11!! Love that girl. Now, that's not by any means an everyday occurance, but let's just say she appreciates a good "morning sleep-in" like her parents. :)

In other less exciting parts of life, I un-luckily ended up taking 11 credits this summer. I foolishly thought I was going to get away with 3....HA. Mostly because I had precious grant money and and didn't want it to go to waste! And well, it is enabling me to FINALLY get into the Elementary Ed program this fall (just one more group interview until I'll know for sure) and then it's 3 semesters in the program, and possibly one semester of a few random classes I need for graduation. That sounds like forever, but seeing as how time is flying by, I'm hoping these semesters will as well. Now if only I would have been doing this 3 majors ago...

Nate is also taking a few summer classes. (How old are we again? Does this ever end?) And if all goes well, he'll be getting into the MBA program this fall. The only catch will be his work schedule compared to the strict class schedule the MBA students have to be in. It's looking like he'll take the "night and weekend" route, but only time will tell. I'm so proud of him and his motivation to keep going. His goals always take our family into account, and what will benefit us most.

I'm still holding out for our schedule to normalize. I've been a slacker on a lot of things lately, including my Zumba schedule. (I'm sorry Alisha!) It's just been very hard to juggle with the move, Nate's switch in work schedule, and that we're still balancing on one car...someday I will feel normal again!

Anyways, we're still waiting on internet companies to quit standing us up for installation, and when I finally have wireless at home, I'll have more time to upload pics of the new place!

Until then...

Christmas 2009 and New Years 2010

This post is a marathon but we had a very eventful holiday season and I want to include it all!

A few days before Christmas my cousin, Dayna, got married. My dad and I were able to attend the ceremony and Allie was an awesome babysitter for Navi in the waiting room. Nate unfortunately had to work that day and I don't really remember where my sister Bekka was. Haha Bekka. :)


The newlyweds Jake and Dayna. So pretty!

Christmas Eve
Navi with Great-Grandma Judy at Christmas Eve dinner with my Mom's family. A tradition that goes back as long as I can remember.

On Christmas Eve night we stayed at my family's house and Santa found Navi there. I like to be there on Christmas morning to watch my sisters open their presents since I help my Dad buy their gifts.

Christmas Day

In our family, Santa wraps his gifts in special BROWN paper. He also spreads the presents out all over the living room. Obviously I'm biased but I think it is much more exciting to see all the gifts spread across the living room (under the light of the Christmas tree) instead of sitting them out unwrapped on the couch. Boring! :) This is one tradition Nate knows I won't budge on.


Navi in the middle of the loot.





One of Allie's highly anticipated gifts - the Twillight series! Girl screams! AHH!


Navi was very spoiled on her first Christmas and she really enjoyed ripping open her presents. Of course she was more interested with eating the paper instead of what was in inside it, but there's hope for next year.

Bekka and one of her favorite presents - a PBR (professional bull riders) playstation game. I like to tease her that if someone would have just seen her pile of gifts without knowing who's they were, they could have mistaken her for a 13 year old boy. Ha, but that's why we love you Booie.




Christmas day afternoon we all go to talk to my brother the Elder. He sounded great and had some fun mission stories to tell us. We are so proud of him and can't wait for him to get home.

After we talked to Cade, we went back to the Buttars' for Christmas dinner. It is always fun to get together with all Nate's siblings and their kids, but we missed his sister Tif and her family who live in California! Navi especially loves to watch all her cousins. Before everyone arrived for dinner we got to open the presents that his parents gave us and Navi.


As you can see, she got spoiled once again. We did too for that matter! His parents go into A LOT of work to make it a great holiday and we really appreciate them.


Since Navi couldn't make a Christmas list this year, I requested a cabbage patch doll for her. I got one my first Christmas and she, "Noni", was my favorite doll for many years. Don't you love cabbage patch babies' names? Navi's was "Concha Corrinne". I'm thinking she'll go by Corrinne...



Her favorite toy is her Lion. She can ride on it to start and it transitions into a walker later on.






On Christmas night Nate's sister, Ashley, brought her new Wii game to share with the family. Needless to say, "Just Dance" was a HUGE hit. I'm not one to get up in front of people to play a game, but I couldn't help myself with this one. Turns out I'm pretty good too! Haha, but really, if you get a chance PLAY IT!!


Here are some of the cousins.


Ashely, Darrell, Marianne and Brex showing off their moves.


Nate, his brother and two brothers-in-law. The sisters and sisters-in-laws totally beat them score wise. Better luck next time boys.



We are very lucky to be able to share our Christmas with both our families. It was a great one!



NEW YEARS 2010

We celebrated New Years with my Wallentine family at a party at my Dad's. As Nate says, when you're with Wallentines be prepared for lots of LOUD stories and LOUD laughs. But I love it!


The next night, January 1, we had a party with our friends. Andy and Mallory Hutchison are excellent hosts and we had lots of good fun and lots of fun.


Here are some of the girls that were at the party. Traci, Alisha, me and Mallory. (I stole some of your pics Alisha! Hope you don't mind)


The cute kids at the party. Navi; Alli and Baby Jane, Andy and Mallory's girls; Cache, John and Anna's little boy; and Tag, Rem and Traci's newest boy. I love that most of Nate's friends are now dads!


And of course the night wouldn't be complete without more dancing! Here are some of the guys getting their groove on to "Womanizer". Ha.


And here Mallory is kicking all their butts.

Happy 2010 all!

Shower Power

Last Saturday was my (our? mine and Baby's?) first baby shower. My good friend Bobbie threw a great diaper shower and I was so excited to see lots of my high school and other close friends. It was suggested that everyone bring a package of diapers/wipes as their gift and lots of people even added something else like a cute outfit or bows. Nate and I were actually very excited, as weird as it might sound, to stock up on some necessities, such as diapers, and we definitely scored big time!

This is only a pic of half the diapers, the rest are in Baby's room ready to be pooped on!

I wish I were more dedicated at taking pictures, probably because I hate seeing myself in them after, therefore I didn't take near as many photos as I would have liked. So if you by chance got some pictures you'd like to send my way (Mallory) feel free to do so. :)
Thanks again to everyone who made it, especially if you traveled from far away lands - Ann ! - and also for all the gifts. We really APPRECIATE it! Also to Bobbie - Thanks for all the work in putting it together. I know you had a crazy week but we are so THANKFUL to you as well!

Also...

We've had some trouble in the name department. But we've narrowed it down to 2 choices (we think). I've added a poll to the side...let us know what you think. We're leaning towards one a little more lately but I don't want to say which. I want to hear what people think. Just curious. I'll admit, I'm the type that if 80% are saying one thing, I might just pick the other 20% to be different. Don't go stealing our names either, chances are the un-used name will be first choice for the next girl. (had to throw that in there to be safe...just in case) :)

Navi
or
Presli
???

"Today is such a special one..."

January 8th happens to be the day of birth - day for a couple of my most favorite people. So I just want to take a little time to wish them HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Kimi! Happy 23rd!!

Once upon a time in 3rd grade I met a girl with flowing brown hair and an impeccable sense of style. (Tweety Bird shirts were quite the rage) It took us a little while to realize we were best friends in the making, but sooner or later we figured it out.

I had lofty goals of digging out some sweet elementary pictures and possibly even sharing the Tweety Bird fashion, but those pics are in a far away land known as my dad's basement. In lieu of T Bird, here's a more recent photo of my good pal.


Since you're currently living across the country in Pittsburgh, and I won't be seeing you - I really hope you have a great day Kimberly!

And my other favorite person, who is sadly no longer with us, is none other than...

The King
My love affair with E.P. started 7 or so years back during a summer break when I watched "Elvis and Me" (Priscilla's take on her life with Elvis). For whatever reason I was hooked!

Two summers ago I got the birthday present of my then 21 year life, when Nate took me to Memphis. In case you're a bit Elvis-ignorant, Memphis is only the birthplace of rock-and-roll, The King's hometown, and his final resting place.



So Happy Birthday to Kimi and The King. I love you both. (I won't say which I love more...haha jk Kim!)

In honor of your big day Kimi, here's a special treat from me to you. It doesn't get much better than this. ;)

The Last...Dinner

Since we are gearing up to leave in 5 days (!) we've been having lots of fun with all our friends. Watching Jazz games, golfing, and eating out way too much. Finally by the last dinner I remembered to snap a couple photos before we head off to VIRGINIA! That's right, it changed. We got a pretty good upgrade from Michigan to Virginia Beach. Nate's manager decided to join another smaller office in a proven awesome market out there on the east coast.
Despite the drive, which actually doesn't bother me too bad, we are happy to get a taste of Virginia life. We're hoping to jaunt up to Washington D.C. a weekend or two and probably a few other places of the like.
So, back to the original topic of the post...we're grateful for all our friends and they're invitations to meet up before we leave. (Dave and Alisha, Andy and Mallory, Jon and Anna, and Bob I had fun at lunch with you and Brooke - since I was lame and forgot my camera.) Not to mention both our families - Brandon and Peggy for making a trip up...whether it was for us or not, we can just say it was. ;)
Bryan, Stacey, Kimi, Jeff, myself and Nate at Firehouse.

My cute friends make it more obvious how un-photogenic I am.