Front Runner

We took a trip on the front runner train this past Monday for FHE. It was a fun day, but literally took all day! We left at 2:30 after we picked up Jackson from School and didn't get home until about 10pm (partly because the train wouldn't let us off at our stop on the way home, so we had to figure out how to get back to our cars and get home). 

Other than that, it was a fun event. 

   

 Two things made me nervous that day 1)kids standing too close to the edge getting hurt or 2) someone getting lost. We had over 20 people in our group- so I was constantly worried that someone would get left behind...it's hard to manage so many little people in a group as large as we had. I wish I could sometimes lighten up and not worry, but I guess that's part of being a mom.

The kids had a blast though! They loved not having to wear seat belts...moving around to visit different family members, playing, looking out the window, etc. It was all such an experience for them to travel this way. I have to admit it was kind of nice to get to Salt lake and not worry about traffic or parking!

We ate dinner at the new city creek mall, gazed at the candy windows and strolled around temple square to look at lights. It was a little cold and drizzly, but cleared up just long enough for us to enjoy looking at the lights.

Poor Calvin was running a fever that night. I don't know what propelled me to drag him out in the cold rain! I guess I wanted the other kids to have an experience. I think I get a picture set in my mind the way an event is supposed to happen, but it doesn't always work that way. I'm still debating if it was a great time or if we should wait a couple years until the kids are older to do it again :)

7 months!

Seven months already?!? I can hardly believe it! Two bottom teeth, solid foods, rolling, crawling, and trying to stand with furniture pretty much sums it all up right now. He's a happy kid! This was a fun little series of photos I took a couple days ago. I love having a baby during Christmastime...it's so fun! I'm Glad I got these photos of him then, because this morning he burned his head on our fire place and has a nasty looking oozing scab on his head. Poor guy!  

25 days of Christmas has begun!

A picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll let the pictures do the talking here. Just a glimpse of what the holiday season has been like for us so far! I love this time of year! 

visit http://www.facebook.com/beutlerchristmas for updates on our family throughout the season! 

a family skit of the nativity:

Turkey Day 2012

A great Thanksgiving this year! We celebrated the day with Brian's parents and our friends Ben and Ashley Jones. I really enjoyed it.

I'd have to say we really celebrated Thanksgiving the entire week, as we spent time with the kids each morning around breakfast sharing things we were grateful for and reading scriptures from the Book of Mormon that taught Thankfulness. Some of my favorite things the kids mentioned were: Eli shared he was grateful for "Jesus Christ." That was the only thing he said, but he said it every morning, and totally unprompted! Jackson shared he was grateful for hot air balloons on the fourth of July, the mountains and God's creations and Zoey shared she was grateful for blessings and prayers and family home evening. I loved starting our day that way.

In the morning of T-day, a little football for Brian. A friend I had grown up with in Texas (Jim Bassi) was in town and played ball with Brian. It was a great game...


Mostly, these pictures some it all up! A little time with family and friends:

 And a lot of food and cooking:

(Brian cooked and carved the Turkey and made pies...it's great to have a wonderful cook in the kitchen!)

And that was that! We enjoyed our company and the food and the great weekend!

Princess Party

We celebrated Zoey's 4th Birthday today! 

She started the day by opening one gift from mom and dad...a princess computer! 

She asked to have a Princess party and so we invited her friends from church and school and her Grandma's. Since I only have one girl, it was fun to indulge in this fun stage. They all dressed up as their favorite princesses. We had a pizza party lunch, cupcakes, and princess games (pin the crown on the princess, "princess-princess-frog", musical chairs, piñata, and a twirling contest)! Thanks to Brian,  Grandma's and Aunt Whitney for help (I couldn't have managed it alone!)

 It was madness with 12 young girls squealing and giggling, but I hope they all had fun! Each got to decorate a tiara and went home with a princess cup and lots of princess goodies in their party bag (every thing from lip gloss to jewelry and mini purses)!

Like one of Zoey's shirts says: 

It's so great to be a Girl! 

We're so glad Zoey is a part of our life! 

Like a bowl full of chili...

With the snow, it's hard not to feel a bit of the holiday spirit! You might recognize the journal title taken with some liberty from "Twas the Night Before Christmas" :)

Happy to say we've got all our holiday shopping done already! I always like to get it done early so I can enjoy the spiritual aspect of the holidays... and to avoid the shoppers. While getting certain not-to-be-mentioned items, the clerk said she loved early shoppers "because they are nice" but hated working retail during the season because everyone "turns mean." Why is that?

Anyway, I made some vegetarian Chili yesterday. Great Recipe from a book by Scott Jurek called Eat and Run. He's a vegan ultra-marathoner and this was one of the recipes our family has really enjoyed from that book. Since I'm too lazy to retype it, I just snapped a photo of it. Hope you can read it , and if you can, give it a try! We also like to top it with fresh avocado chunks and shredded cheese, and I have to leave out the hot peppers for the kids sake, but Brian likes it hot!

Hand Turkeys

This is a favorite Family Night activity we do in our house each Thanksgiving. I just love to see what the kids are thankful for. It evolves each year as they get older. We usually just write a few things, but Jackson couldn't stop naming what he was grateful for, so we went until his Turkey was full.

 Jackson: totally unprompted! I was impressed with his list

 Zoey: toys, crafts, daddy-daughter dates and sunrises! This couldn't be more Zoey!

 Eli is grateful for each of his family members

 Brian and I participated in our own hand Turkeys. We are trying to encourage the kids to be specific in what they are grateful for as they say prayers. What a fabulous time of year!

I loved seeing the "thankful spirit" light up in the kids, where they began to realize how blessed they are and be grateful for what they enjoy in life.

Calvin is 6 months!

He's scootin' and crawlin'! Here's his famous smile with the tongue hanging out...so Calvin.

 He's seemed to grow overnight since he's started solids! He hasn't had any teeth break through yet, but we think it's getting close. He likes to eat solid foods with his hand in the air like he's riding a roller coaster. He is exploring his voice and has a lot of fun calls. He still spits up frequently, and I'm looking forward to the day when that stops happening! He's very social and loves being around people! 

We love our BOY!!

Half Marathon

I stepped out my front door Saturday, 6 months after having a baby (after having 4 babies really close together!), and with very little training, and ran a half marathon! I guess I'm not doing so bad for a 32 year old! It was a beautiful fall day. I'll always remember it! 

13.1 miles! I can't believe I did it! I ran from my front door towards Harmons on 8th North and then mostly along the Provo River Trailway until I reached Lakeshore Drive, which is 2 miles from Utah Lake! 

I couldn't have done it without a super supportive husband and family! They were my cheering crowd, my support crew for snacks and drinks, and they made the run so enjoyable!  It was a goal I set in January to do before my birthday. But I never expected it to be so hard to get back into running after having a baby. And then just as I was getting into a good running routine, I'd get sick and progress would stop (this happened 3 TIMES!!). I was discouraged that I might not get to meet my goal. Brian had more faith in me than I did in myself, and promised he'd support me. Since I was running out of time and the good-weather days are quickly leaving, I decided I'd just do it! 

The Thursday night before my run we decided to do it that Saturday! So we did it! I woke up that morning really excited for it, it was a great day, and I felt mentally charged. Plus we took it at our pace, so I could work around Calvin's nap and nursing schedule. I only had to nurse him once along the run.  

This finish sign was such a welcome sight! I had no idea they were going to do this for me! It was the first time I got to run through the finish line ribbon....it's the best one I've EVER seen! The last mile was the toughest and seemed like at least 3 miles itself.

Brian asked me at the finish if I thought I could turn around and run home...and the answer was NO! My body was spent. My lungs and leg muscles were OK but my joints were getting a beating. That, the full marathon, I'll have to train for :)

At the 7.6 mile mark, Jackson became my pacer. He was a perfect running companion and great to talk to. His little legs biked nearly 8 miles that day with me and for me (since he'd have to back-track quite a bit to not get too far ahead of me, so a lot of his riding mileage was doubled up)! He was so fun to have on the journey! He would always point out things along the path, the river, or mountains and comment on how beautiful they were. he said once, "Mom, doesn't that River sounds so peaceful?" I loved that comment from him....that he could feel and enjoy the beauty of where we were.

I'm so glad I did it. Few things feel quite as good as reaching a goal! The first 8 miles when I was running solo, the thought of my family cheering me on and waiting for me at checkpoints and the finish line brought tears to my eyes! I felt so blessed to have such a great group helping me achieve my goal!