A Month in Review

I've been so bad at posting that the entire month of September has passed without giving any updates. So here is our month in review. Hopefully October will go a little better:

I bought a year pass to the Wonderlab Children's museum in town so we try to go at least once a week. This is her favorite thing to play with...then she will carry around a golf ball in each hand for the rest of the visit. If I try to pry them out of her hands, she screams. Finally I got some golf balls out at home since she is obsessed with them.

Since she is running now, she has lots of tumbles. She seems to always have a bump or scratch on her forhead. This one was pretty funny. She slipped on the mat at the Wonderlab and it had a pattern of a large circle surrounded by smaller circles on her head and cheek for two days.

We went raspberry and apple picking with the Kelley Kids group. I picked 2 pounds of raspberrries. I made a delicious frozen raspberrry pie with them. Yum!

Ella and Ainsley at the raspberry picking

Ainsley insisted on carrying the bucket around like a purse and kept sticking her hand in it to take a few bites.

She is getting so big that she is already fitting into 2T clothes....they make her look so grown up. Where did my little baby go?

We went swimming one last time with Ainsley's friends Westin and Ella

Ainsley is into pretending now. She will put on our shoes, clothes, hats, etc. She loves to put blankets and towels on as shawls, kerchiefs, etc. It's pretty cute, except now she loves to pull all of the clothes out of her drawers to try them on. (Currently, all of her shorts and pants are on the floor because she pulled them all out right before her nap and I don't want to wake her up to put them away yet)

She finally wore the second dress I made for her. Unfortunately, I think she looks like a little polygamist child because of the puffy sleeves and plain, pleated style of the dress....I guess that's what I get for making it using an 80's dress pattern. Maybe she'll wear it again...we'll see.

We've played at the parks as much as we can, she's finally old enough to walk around and entertain herself. We have to do it as much as we can before it gets bitter cold!

She can now climb up the stairs and go down the slide by herself

Utah, Week 3

**This will be the last Utah post, sorry it has taken so long. I dread blogging lately.


For our last week in Utah, we decided to go visit Tom's family cabin up in the Uintahs. Tom's grandfather was a lobbyist and he and some buddies bought the property and ran a Dude Ranch, bringing clients and legislators on pack trips and campouts. Now that they are all retired, the families just use it. It is unlike anything I've ever seen. It is beautiful up there. There is tons of land to run horses, fish, and enjoy the scenery. It is nestled in the Ashley National Forest and so besides a few campers, it is totally secluded. It is Tom's favorite place on earth. If he could convince me to "live off the land" I think he would move up there permanently.We went up for three days and Tom's dad joined us on the third day. It was a lot of fun to be up in the mountains again. It was gorgeous!

It is a tradition at the cabin to "walk the pipeline." There is a giant pipeline that runs from a resevoir, through the property and down to an electrical plant. We walk on top of the pipeline down to the resevoir.

Grandpa held Ainsley's hand to make sure she didn't fall off the pipeline

Ainsley walking the pipeline

The reservoir. You can see Tom's dad with Ainsley

Tom and Ainsley at the resevoir

Ainsley got a little bored while Tom was fishing, so I let her listen to the ipod, she would try to walk around and then get so frustrated when the earpeices would fall out.

We didn't have a high chair so we improvised with a stool and chair. This is how she ate all her meals
Grandpa Reese, Tom and Ainsley in front of the cabin

The last few days we spent time with each family. On Thursday, I went to Discovery Gateway with my mom, sister, and her two boys. The kids had a blast. That night we went back to my sister's house to celebrate her husband's birthday and eat dinner as a family one last time. The last night in Utah, we ate dinner with the Reese's, played games, and said our goodbyes. Then we were off to Indiana to start our second year of MBA school. The trip was 3 weeks, but we were so busy. I didn't even get to see friends that I had wanted to visit. So I apologize, hopefully I'll get to see everyone at Christmas!!!
Ainsley and Caden at Discovery Gateway
Playing a grocery checker

A driving the helicopter

Cute little Caden, all smiles all the time

Mom and Caden

Ainsley and Caden having a tea partyPlaying games with Aunt Annie on the last night in Utah
Tom with his sisters Anne and Susan

Deer Valley, Utah Week 2

We spent our second week in Utah in Deer Valley with my family. We went to a family friend's condo which was located right at the base of the Deer Valley Resort. Growing up near Park City, we've both been there a couple times every year. But this trip was fun because we tried some things that we've never done before. Besides just shopping at the outlets and walking Main Street, we also spent a lot of time at the Olympic Park. We watched the aerial ski jumpers practice in the giant pool. Then Tom and I went on a tour of the facility which took us to the top of the Bobsled run as well as the long vertical jumps. It was so steep...I am amazed anyone dares jump down it! We rode the zipline which paralleled the ski jump. I was a bit nervous (you know me, I'm no daredevil) but it was amazing! Two days later, Tom and my two younger siblings Cami and Jon rode the bobsled ride. The track is a little over a mile long and they finished in 1 min. 6 seconds. They said it was awesome, that it didn't feel like a minute because they were going so fast.
One morning Tom and I rode the ski lift up to the top of Deer Valley. It had a gorgeous view of Park City as well as Deer Creek and Jordanelle Reservoirs. Then we hiked down...it was my way of hiking! Later that night we went to Park City Mountain Resort for more fun action. My siblings rode the Alpine Coaster and Tom and I rode another zipline. We had so much fun on the first we wanted to do another one!
The next day, the whole family went to Jordanelle Reservoir to ride jetskis. We had a blast. We set up camp at the beach and took turns riding the machines. It was fun to have the whole family together. Tom and I even took Ainsley on a slow ride on the jetski. She loved the water though and kept splashing everyone. It was so fun. It was the great end to a fabulous week!

Tom and Ainsley at the condo

The view of Deer Valley Resort from the balcony

While we were at the Park City Resort, they had to shut down the rides while this mother moose and her two babies wandered around the ski runs

Ainsley and I riding the carousel at Park City Resort

Andrea, Mom, Ainsley, Jon, AJ, and Caden

Ainsley playing at the park

Ainsley and Caden

The boys played Chicken at the playground

This was the steepest slide ever!

3 Butler grandbabies

Grandpa Butler reading to Will and Ainsley

Tom at the top of the ski jumps

Tom and I in the bobsled

Cami and Andrea ready to ride the zipline

Watching the aerial ski jumpers
Tom went fly fishing on the Provo River one morning

Tom and Ains hanging out at the beachPlaying games with the fam

Base Camp

Riding the jetski

Will

Andrea and AJ

AJ and Caden
Enjoying the sun together

Cami

Ainsley in her cute little life jacket

Will had a blast playing at the beach

Beach babe

Thanks so much Mom and Dad for a great week! We had a great time! Thanks for making it possible!!! We love you!