Happy Birthday Babe (aka Shawn or Dad!)

Semi-uneventful, but special to us nonetheless. We had dinner at Claim Jumper in honor of Shawn's 44th birthday. No gifts (what do you buy the man who has everything? Seriously ... any ideas??), but we did do store-bought cards. And I must say ... I really don't like them. They're so cookie-cutter and predictable. And stupidly expensive, especially for what you're getting. Anyway, we wrote nice things to the man who means the most to us. And we had a delicious meal as a family. Fun. Shawn ordered steak and lobster. I think mainly to let the kids try lobster for the first time. Kale and Bailey passed, but Austen loved it. He may have just found his new favorite food (uh-oh!) What was Shawn thinking? Kale, Austen and I all had Cashew Chicken Salad sandwiches and Bailey had Chicken Broccoli Alfredo, hold the Chicken. So what would that be called? Broccoli Alfredo? Then dessert ... oh wow! Claim Jumper desserts are just obscene! Most items would easily feed 3 people! But of course we each wanted something different. Except for Kale and Shawn (they both chose Original Cheesecake and they do not share, no matter what). I chose deep-dish berry pie ala mode, Bailey picked a mini ice cream sundae (which is the silliest thing they could call it) and Austen picked a brownie sundae that was gigantic! Most of us were not able to even put a dent into our servings. :) I'll just leave it at that.

We headed home after and we've been home ever since. Austen is over at Mae's house visiting her and Kale is at the movies with Lorenzo.
I love these four so much!
Shawn LOVES to goof around while taking pictures! He almost always refuses to be serious, but we end up with some good/funny pictures that I love because they show his personality!
So I thought I'd be silly too. I'm sure the kids were mortified that we were doing this right in front of Claim Jumper. haha.
And one more. Okay ... now we're gettin' creepy.

Dad's Day 2010

We had an all-around great day on Father's Day. We drove up to Roy and Joan's. Tiff and Buzz were there (sans kids, as they are all at Hume Lake for camp). Mom made an amazing lunch (I know ... I sound like a broken record when it comes to Mom and the food she makes, but hey ... it's the truth. The lady can cook!) She (well, Shawn) BBQ'd these enormous steaks (maybe rib-eye?). They were mammoth size. She says she buys them at Safeway, but I never see steaks that large there. She also did corn on the cob, a pasta/squash dish, gorgeous salad, and bread. I feel like I'm forgetting something. It was just tasty. I do remember that! It was so nice to spend a relaxing day with everyone. I played with my new camera. I love it by the way!! We (I) had made both Grandpa and Grandma a kind of mini-album/card for Father's Day and late Mother's Day. I think they were both deeply touched by what each one of us wrote to them. That makes us happy! Later the kids and I also gave Shawn one that we had made and I think he was just as touched. :)

Almost caught up ... Stinson Beach, June 19th

Austen and Kale spent a fun day at Stinson Beach last Saturday. They had been invited by Marissa (Mae). Sloan also went, along with Mae's mom and two sisters (Miranda and Kayla) and Kayla's boyfriend Robby. They said it was chilly and windy, but still a great day!
Kale, Sloan, Mae and Austen

Austen doesn't love this one. Haha. He says he's laughing too hard. I like it! It looks like they're having FUN!

Being silly like usual ... love them for that.

Austen, Robby and Kale. Looks like Kale is laying on Robby's lap. haha.

Great group shot: Kale, Sloan, Mae, Austen, Miranda, her friend, Robby and Kayla

Love this shot, of course. Mae edited it afterwards, and it looks so pretty. Kind of has a 70's feel.

Year-End 5th Grade Pool Party

Not a whole lot to show you from Bailey's 5th grade pool party (June 7th). She made it known early on that she really wasn't wanting her crazy momma hanging around the pool snapping photos, making a spectacle of herself. What?? Who?? Me?? I would never do that. Hasn't she learned that she just has to act like I'm not there. And I'll just go about my merry way and snap the pictures I want? No harm, no foul.

Anyway, I ended up not signing up to chaperone, but I did tell her I would run by and take some pictures, and all I got were these four. Pretty pitiful, don't you think?

She ended up getting sunburned pretty badly. (All I'm sayin' is that had I been there longer than 20 minutes, that most definitely would not have happened.) She was so badly burned that she missed the last 3 days of 5th grade. That annoyed me quite a bit, but I've since moved on.

Lauren, Bailey and Emily

A Carcerys Vale Show and Last Minute Guests!

CV had a show on Saturday, June 5th and low and behold ... Darcy and Michael came up for his nephew's graduation, which was Friday so they were able to see the show too. Awesome. They also stayed with us, which gave us some nice one-on-one time with them. So glad they could make it up, even if it was a short visit.
At the show ... Sloan, Jessica and Marissa.

Uncle Michael, Aunt Darcy (looking great after some weight-loss, by the way!), Shawn (making goofy faces, as always) and Bailey.

During sound check I got a chuckle out of Marissa. She seemed quite intrigued with watching Austen get ready (I loved that, of course). You can see here that Sloan, Kale and Jessica really aren't interested at all. :)

Mother's Day ... a little late!

Mother's Day was very, very nice. We had Mom and Dad Butler here, along with all the Bamerts. We BBQ'd hamburgers and hotdogs and did it potluck style for the rest. Always good stuff! I ended up being pretty busy (yes, even on Mother's Day) and didn't get my camera out until after everyone was gone (sorry, guys!) I'm glad I was able to get a few pictures with my kids and Shawn, though.

These ones with Shawn make me laugh! It's so typical of him to make faces during photo taking! Little stinker! So we kept trying, and he kept messing around. Finally we got a decent one (the one at the top of the post). Haha.

Playing catch-up ... Jr Prom Edition

Saturday, April 17, 2010 was the Junior Prom at Roseville High School. Austen asked Marissa and Kale asked Sloan (of course). We first met at Sloan's to take pictures, then headed to the park near the school where the bridge is. They then came back to Sloan's and ate Mikuni's that Tanya had picked up for them. They then headed to the prom, and after to Makaela's for a little after-party. They were home by 11pm, and had an amazing time (so I'm told). Here's a bunch of the photos (hard to pick which ones to put here!)

Me and my boys.

Super cute, adorable couples ... don't you think??

The gals on the bridge.

The guys on the bridge.

The family, minus Bailey (who was at Lauren's).

Gorgeous girls.

Sweet friends.