Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!!

Merry Christmas everybody!! We had a great few days here at the Butterfield house. Christine's flight Tuesday night was delayed, and thus she missed her connection, but was able to catch an early flight out of Salt Lake for Weds morning. :) Yay!!

We headed out sledding shortly after she got here- there's 1 hill on base, so we figured we'd try it out- turns out its a wee bit too steep for my little monkeys. Harry and I skidded down once on our noses and he decided he didn't want to sled anymore. Ems did pretty well, but she doesn't like to wear mittens OR have her hands cold, so obviously that didn't leave her many options!! hehe...

Ems got a cabbage patch doll- this is her saying "Hi" to her through the box... :) Giving her baby loves

Harry and Auntie ChristyEmma insisted on climbing ALL of the presents. We really didn't understand it, but it was hilarious! She wouldn't even touch, let alone open, anything that she couldn't stand on.

Ems got a car from Santa!! She absolutely LOVES it!!

Christine got the kids a super cool ball pit! Ems and Harry LOVE it!! :)

Fun times being Homebound....??

So, with our new 3 ft + of snow, everybody's homebound. We're itching to get out, but it seems that nowhere will have us. :( We tried to have a date night last week and when Jay called to make reservations, they laughed at him and said that they were closed. So, we've been trying to have some "homebound fun." That includes lots of crafts and Christmas movies and LOTS of cookies. I had to whip up a special batch of chocolate chips for Jay and Harry the other night. I know they're not Christmas-y, but they're Jay's all-time favorite, so I obliged. :)

Harry thinks its fun to make faces for my new camera. These are his "happy face" and his "angry face."

Emma fought and fought against taking a nap yesterday. She finally gave in on her own terms: sitting up.

Playing with her "snowman hat" from Amber's party.

Getting ready to go to Amber's party. Look how innocent Emma looks!! Its' a complete fake look, but she's cute anyways!

Ems 'nuggling with her Daddy.

Big blue eyes

1st Annual Ugly Sweater Party!!

We kept it really small this year, both due to the weird nature and the snow, but next year, watch out!! Jay and Harry had more fun with the sequins than is probably allowed, but they looked great! Harry even had pompoms on his booty!! :)
Ems in her "ugly dress!"

The girls! :)

Naked baby present time!

One of my children is having a VERY hard time waiting until Christmas to open presents. She doesn't even care if they're HER presents, just as long as they're open. So far, Harry's gotten a bank, Mommy got a book, and they both got pajamas, an outfit, and blankets- and that doesn't even include the things I"ve managed to snag from her before she's fully ripped them open or handed them out.

I think we all know from whom she gets this trait, but we won't embarass anybody on this nice blog. Especially since I'm the one who writes the damn blog!! :) And since all the pictures were taken on MY Christmas present.... hehe!!

In other news: we've gotten almost 3 feet of snow in the last few days. Some people seem to think this is a big deal. Apparently, in Spokane, it IS a big deal. However, to a MN girl and NH boy, its just a lot of shoveling. Which, a specific NH boy got to do this time- I swear he's been out of town for every major snowstorm since we started dating. Including the one that left a 2 ft hump at the end of my driveway last year. I kinda liked it there, it kept Harry penned in so he could play in the driveway!! It was rather hard to get the van over though....

These are the outfits my children opened. Thanks Sullivans!! Sorry they didn't make it until Christmas.... ;)

Snow Fun

We got a bunch of SNOW on Friday and Saturday, so yesterday afternoon, I bundled up the monkeys and went to roll around in it. Ems did pretty well, until she got her 2nd face plant, and then she was positively done outside. :)

Why Hockey is so Great!

I got this forwarded from my dad today, and thought I would share. It just seems appropriate.





The Family of Hockey- from a fan



In the middle of a grueling six game road trip where a very young hockey team is away from home, the third game of the trip ends late on a cold Canadian Saturday night. This is the only break on the trip and the three days between games allows them the only break to get back home and into their own beds for a couple of days before going back on the road. A scheduled commercial flight waits for them at Toronto 's International Airport for the short flight home; they could be home by midnight. This plane departs on schedule, but without a single member of the hockey team onboard. Back in the locker room, a vote was taken after the game was completed,and a unanimous decision was made by this young team to skip this flight and stay one more day.

They make arrangements to check back into the hotel and on a frozen Sunday morning, charter two buses that have no heat and begin a journey two hours straight north into a sparsely inhabited part of Canada, but where hockey is its passion. They arrive at their destination to the surprise of the team's general manager, who is there attending his fathers wake.

After a few emotional hours, this team boards the buses and heads back for a two-hour trip back to Toronto. On the way, they ask the drivers to stop in a tiny Canadian town because they are hungry. To the shock of the patrons and workers at this small hockey town McDonald's, a professional team walks outof two rickety buses and into the restaurant, which just happens to have pictures of two members of this team on its wall. The patrons know every single one of these players by sight being Fanatic fans of hockey in these parts. One can only imagine the amazement of the locals seeing the entire professional hockey team sit down and have a meal in their tiny little town in the middle of a hockey season. After awhile they board the buses and catch their same flight 24 hours later, giving one day to their general manager.

Have I made this up, is this an excerpt from some fictional book? No. This a true story of the Chicago Blackhawks last Saturday night as they decided to attend Dale Tallon's father's calling hours. It's amazing that such a good story can be found nowhere on the internet, and not even mentioned in the Chicago papers. Had one of the Blackhawks got into a fight and punched some drunken loser in a Toronto bar, it would be plastered all over papers and the television. This being said, its hard to imagine any professional football, basketball, or baseball team doing this, but the members of the Blackhawks claim any "hockey" team would have done this. This is one reason I continue to be a big hockey fan, and another reason Iam excited about this Chicago team. I thought I would share this with you, as this story appears to have gone unnoticed.


My friend Michelle found this further link to the story:
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/hockey/blackhawks/1327646,CST-SPT-hside12.article

Thanks Michelle!! :)

12.2 Megapixels Rock my WORLD!

ITS HERE! ITS HERE! ITS FINALLY HERE!!!

I have been saving my nickels and dimes for almost a year, plus my birthday money and some early Christmas money, and I finally saved up enough to buy my NEW CAMERA!! It finally got here today- is it just me or should Fed-Ex show up earlier than 5 pm when someone is extremely impatient??? After 2 excruciating hours of watching the battery charge, I was able to get some pictures of the kiddos before they headed off to bed. Enjoy- I AM!!

*In other news- Emma can climb Harry's bunk bed ladder and has a double ear infection. ARGH!

3 years old and some outside time

Yesterday my baby boy turned 3. I'm still a little emotional, so I'll save the baby pictures for another day. I remember my mom saying when I was little that SHE felt lots older on each of my birthdays, and now I know exactly what she meant. :) I can't believe its been 3 years since we brought our little blue bundle home from the hospital. He was such a good little thing, even though he didn't cuddle as much as I would've liked. Now he's a beautiful 3 year old boy, and so sweet and kind (when he wants to be!). Obviously, he has his "moments," but I still wouldn't trade him for anything or anyone in the world. :) He got a "fix-it box" from his Auntie Katie. He tells me every morning, "Mom, I"m gonna fix sumpin today." Today it was my bed... tomorrow?

This is his 3 year old picture. And yes, this is a smile. I had to bribe him with m&m's to get this much!!

Happy fellow!

Emma LOVES to swing!!

But she's not such a big fan of the snowpants...hehe... poor Lumpy!

Butterfield Elves!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy Birthday Ga-ga!!!

My dad's birthday is today. This was "supposed" to be Harry's birthday too- they induced me at 6am exactly 3 years ago today; however, my sweet little boy decided that he wanted his OWN special day and waited until 12:50 am tomorrow to be born, despite all of my hard work. :) Anyways, Happy Birthday Dad!! I thought I would share some of my favorite pictures of you and the kids and whatnot....

Harry and Grandpa- 1st bike ride- August 06

Harry's 1st Birthday- December 06

Harry's 2nd Birthday- December '07First pair of hockey skates- December 07

First Granddaughter :)

4th of July 08

July 08

Harry and Grandpa at the Airshow, August 08