Swimming Lessons, 2016

The best thing this summer . . . private swimming lessons.  After two weeks of lessons last year, Noah still wouldn't put his head under water or get his face wet.  No progress.  Money wasted.  So I found a lady in Kaysville that does private lessons, and trains two girls to also teach, and enrolled both Noah and Davis.  Davis really learned the strokes well.  And Noah - well, that was a miracle.  On the first lesson, he screamed and screamed.  The teacher counted to three and dunked him anyway.  As he got out, I apologized to her (he may have been screaming that he hated swimming lessons and didn't like her) and she said, "That's ok.  He did well - by the end he was closing his mouth when I put him under."  And by the end of the week he was back floating by himself, jumping in by himself, and had no problem with his face under water!

Davis's Baptism, July 2, 2016

Davis doesn't share alot about what happens at school or in Primary or other places.  He doesn't share how he feels.  He's a typical boy.  So when we started teaching him about baptism and preparing him, I wasn't sure how much was sinking in.  But I was able to go sit out in the hall while he had his baptismal interview with Bro. Sorenson and Bro. Sorenson (with Davis's permission) shared some of the things Davis said.  And they were so thoughtful and real, said from Davis's perspective.  And now that I am typing this 2 1/2 months later, I have forgotten much of it and wish I had written it down sooner.  But I remember when asked what the prophet taught, Davis said "Not to fight with my brother" and that General Conference helped him remember this.  He had a knowledge and testimony of Joseph Smith's First vision.  He knows who his Savior is and he knows right from wrong.  I was so proud of Davis on the day of his baptism and how . . . grown-up he seemed.  I am grateful that Darren is a worthy priesthood holder and could baptise and confirm Davis

For the program:
Davis and his cousins, Michael, Ben, and James sang the Baptism Song (I Like to Look for Rainbows).  There were two other girls from our ward baptised the same day.  Steve (Bumpa) gave a wonderful talk about the Holy Ghost.  He talked about how he has to wear a hearing aid because he can't hear others talk very well.  Except Noah - he can always hear Noah.  The Holy Ghost can be very quiet and we have to really listen and turn up our hearing aids.

After the baptism, we went to the park near our house for a picnic.

Mom's Favorite Sport: Sleeping

One morning, a few days after Easter, Davis finished his reading and decided to draw.  He drew each member of the family participating in their favorite sport.  He was playing basketball, Noah was kicking a soccer ball, I think.  I don't remember what Darren and Eva were, but they had something to do with balls.  And then there was mine.

Me:  "Davis, am I laying down?"
Davis:  "Yeah."
Me:  "So, my favorite sport is . . . ?"
Davis:  "Sleeping in bed."
Pause for a bit while I let it sink in that my oldest child thinks my favorite sport is sleeping.   Granted, Darren had gotten up with the kids that morning (we sort of take turns), so I had been sleeping in bed while Davis was creating his masterpieces.  He defended himself by saying he didn't really know what to draw for me.

Conference Weekend in Ferron, April 1-3

The weekend at the end of Spring Break dawned sunny and warmer.  We had decided to spend the weekend down in Ferron to visit with Grandma June, who was staying with Mom and Dad for a week or so, and to visit some fun places with the kids.

Friday, Dad borrowed two gentle horses and saddled them up for the kids.  Davis initially said he wanted to ride, but as soon as he got up there, he freaked out and refused to do anything but get off.  So, being the brave and wise mother that I am, I pulled up my big girl pants and got myself onto that horse to show Davis it wasn't scary.  It was for a minute, until I realized that old horse was probably the slowest horse on earth.  After a few minutes Davis decided he wanted to try again, with me riding behind him.  Oh, the trust he had in his mother, thinking I knew what I was doing and could keep him safe.  Little did he know I hadn't been on a horse for over 15 years, and then only once or twice since childhood.

We walked around the field by Grandma and Grandpa's house a bit, then Davis decided he wanted to ride by himself.  So I led the horse around while Davis gathered memories of riding a horse at Grandpa's house.  Jeanette and her family arrived while we were riding and so each of her boys took a turn riding with me.  Even cute little Eva took a turn.  After awhile, the horse decided she was tired of that activity and got a little stubborn, refusing to be led or follow the reins of the rider.  But Sunday morning, Davis was back up on the horse, taking a turn along with Jesse's boys.

On Saturday, we went to Goblin Valley and met Jesse's family down there.  What a great place to let the kids roam and explore all the "goblins" and caves and trails.  It was a little breezy, and on and off chilly, but soooo fun!  On the drive home, we stopped to see the dinosaur footprints on the road to back toward Moore.  Noah thought they were so cool and wanted to know the type of dinosaur that made them, but unfortunately Grandpa's knowledge of the area didn't cover that detail.

We watched General Conference on Sunday and drove home.  Another successful trip to Ferron.  And there is just something about seeing my kids riding horses and hiking and being outside and making memories down there that compels me to take a gazillion pictures.  I curated the collection down to the following pictures.

More March Pictures

I seem to have an abundance of random pictures from March.  I really wanted to capture everyday life here at the Buttars home.  We do weird things.  We do random things.  We do fun things.  We do boring things.
-I tried my hand at something a little more fancy for Eva's hair.  Turned out well until after naptime.
-Noah playing with his good friend, Kaylee Olson, who is moving soon and we will miss their family!
-Noah and Eva "reading" in the sunlight.
-random family pics
-Davis's second grade program
-Eva fell in love with a new backpack Darren brought home from a conference.
-One day Eva only wanted to wear her new blue hat, carry her new blue purse, and wear her pink sandals.  Nothing else.  I had to talk her into a shirt and a skirt.
-Spring break turned out to be a bit of a bummer.  It rained or snowed almost every day of the week.  We went to the bounce house in the mall.  We visited Heather up in Hyrum and Amanda and baby Felicity up in Logan.  We went out for breakfast.  And the boys got to play the wii alot.