Hammers Are Cool

Thursday, May 22, 2008

my new site

I don't know if anyone checks this anymore.  But I just wanted to let ya'll know that I put up some pictures that I took of a wedding.  :)  http://kacyraejo.blogspot.com/

Arick and I will be at Grandmas on the 4th of July.  Anyone else gonna be there!?

:) Kacy Jo

Just a sample of Rachel and Will

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Jav Nationals

i finally got the video of me throwing javelin at nationals from my coach, so i took the liberty of doing some editing and putting it online for you. so here you go.

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=18274960

turn up the volume and listen to the yells. lol

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Gigi can finally rest in peace

Finally, it's happened in Chino. Gigi is no longer in the wonderful 32 oz. urn she was brought to our home in. That Burger King cup is no longer needed as she's resting beneath a wonderful new tree in our front year. She's helping the tree to grow big and tall so she can always be looking at the wonderful mountains behind our house that she loved so much. Here are a few pics of Wyn planting the new "color" beneath the tree. It's called a bottle tree and will grow big, about 20 feet...It's quite often used in parks as it's great shade, roots are not a problem and many other reasons it was our choice. We finally used those rocks/boulders we bought a few years ago as the planter.

Please note in this pic the former "urn" laying on the grass.


I think Gigi would've loved this pic of her cup in my version of a headstone shot.
We love ya Gigi! You enjoy that wonderful new tree and the mountains!

Our new home!

A few pictures of our new home! They are pretty self explanitory. :)

Things are going great here in Washington. It is beautiful here and we are really enjoying ourselves. The other day Arick said that he was sick of the perfect weather! :) It really has been perfect. Not to hot, and actually cold at night.

Church is going great. There have been a few visitors each week and Arick is doing wonderful.


I celebrated a birthday last week and we celebrated our 3 year anniversary this week. Josie is getting huge. Growing a ton!

We love you all! Now when are you going to come visit??

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

So yes its true we have had some very sad days here in the Butler house. On Tuesday, June 19 I came home to our house being broke into. The Basters kicked in our door, then proceeded to cut, yes cut the closet door that had a dead bolt on it, in half. The dead blot was there because Ryan's guns and his gun safe were behind that door. They got all of them, all 15 guns are gone. He is most upset about the gun that his grandfather gave him that was a collectors item, which cannot be replaced. They then took every child's movie we own, our portable DVD player and the Xbox. It is costing us and eventually the insurance company 2800.00 to fix the front door and closet. It was a very scary thing to have to watch the police go into my house with bullet proof vest and guns drawn. But some blessings in this mess of trouble. My neighbor came home (and possibly scared them away) and saw a black Chevy Malibu running in our drive way, with Illinois plates, so the copes have that description. My neighbor saw the car between 10 and 10:15 and I came home at 10:40, so I could have come home to them in my house with loaded weapons. Some of the DVD's that they took of Steven's we had in another case so we have the videos they have empty cases. I have seen people from our church come out of the woodwork to help us, I don't know what people without a church family do. But the biggest blessing was that Steven wasn't with me and I was able to leave the house unharmed before the police got there. All things considered My God was watching over us on Tuesday.

Love you all,
Ang

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Our new puppy!


This is our new puppy Josie! She is 6 weeks old and just adorable. She is such a playful pup and we are loving every minute of it. Well...except cleaning up after her when she messes in the house. :) She is such a cutie and you should look forward to seeing a lot more pictures of her and us. She is so tuckered out right now. We had a full day. Played a lot this morning, Mom, Bonnie and I took her to Petsmart this afternoon, she sat under our table while we ate Chipotle for dinner and then Arick, Bonnie and I went to the park this evening. This is the earliest she's been in bed since we've
had her. :) We do love her.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

So I have attached some pictures of Daniel and of Steven and his new drum set. He really wants to take lessons but the guy that I talked to thinks he's just a little to young. He needs to be able to clap back patterns to him for him to be ready to start lessons. Steven can't wait and we are thinking we were crazy for buying him a set. But it has always been a circus around here and the pictures below prove that.





This is Daniel smiling, sleeping and Steven loving on his little bro. Steven wants to lay with Daniel almost every morning. By the way this is at least a month old picture because Steven has not had his BEBE (plug) for over three weeks. We are very proud of him. He decided that it broke and he did not want it anymore so he throw it away. So we ran with that. So far so good, only a few times that he has asked for it.





For your laughing pleasure, yes this is my redneck husband flying a kite with my son. But since Ryan did not have any string he just used his fishing pole. I stood outside and laughed telling him that this was very ghetto. But I knew that you would enjoy laughing at him with me so here are the pictures. I also included new pictures of Daniel he's getting huge (almost 11 pounds) and he is smiling like crazy. I can't wait to see some of you next month and I am very sad to miss others of you. Love you all very much.
Ang, Ryan, Steven and Dan the Man or Danny as Steven calls him.lol



What you can't see is the little Mexican kids in the park that are laughing at Ryan as well.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

After Nationals

in case you haven't already heard....

i went to nationals at the end of May and threw the javelin, and did pretty good. i ended up throwing a new personal record (PR) 204'7, which tops my PR of 196'11 by nearly 8 ft. this ended up as the 5th best throw in the nation and i am now an NAIA all-american track and field athlete. as a result i convinced my coach to buy me a new javelin, because my old one is not good enough, which i will now be explaining.

javelins are 'rated' on how far in meters they can fly. there are lots of things that effect that like stiffness (LOL), aerodynamics, and type (headwind, tailwind, all-purpose). now with that in mind, the javelin i had was a 60m all-purpose. 60 meters is about 196ft... i was throwing it nearly to the end of its possible flying distance. that doesn't usually happen! of course, i didn't throw at nationals with that javelin, i used a better one, but you get the point: i nearly out threw physics.

on top of the all-american thing, i was also named the team field events MVP. i got a sweet trophy. i love track. i love you all more :)

Saturday, June 02, 2007

Justin - Krista New Place+ New Job

I returned earlier this week from helping Justin and Krista move into their wonderful new apartment in Henderson outside Las Vegas. Justin started dealing the World Series of Poker yesterday (Friday) and will be living there, returning shortly before the wedding in July when Krista will join him. I drove BJ's truck, Krista drove her dad's and Justin drove his dependable old Escort, all full of mostly Justin's stuff plus some shower gifts and various items including Red the snake. Red loves the heat and location next to a window in their apartment, but Krista would be happy if Red someone met an early death....We drove by her new school, less than 5 minutes away and still under construction. There were even workmen/women? there late at night, about 11pm, following a dinner and some fun we had at Sam's Town in Henderson, a few big blocks up the road from where they live. At right (R) is a picture of Justin in his uniform, which is his shirt and pants with a VERY expensive vest he had to get from the Rio. He has on name tag, employee ID badge, WS patch, etc. He can't wear sunglasses when dealing so this is just him looking cool, just home from his orientation Wednesday morning.

(L) Here's Krista on the couch in their new place. The stairs up are inside the apartment, with a ground level front door. Those are the stairs up behind Krista and that little wall. See the cool octagon window above their corner computer desk and snake central in the corner? Very nice desk, perfect use of the small space, very efficient, with cable & Internet hook ups in place, ready for activation.

(R) This is a not so great pic, but shows the outside, with their front door barely visible in the bottom right and Justin hardly visible on the balcony. That's "Red's Window" (the one you can barely see in the pic above from the inside) on the left, the neighbor's window on the right.

(L) Here's Justin on the balcony, small, but it's HOT out there, so big enough for the two of them the few times they might use it. Very new complex, very nice place, very quiet neighbors, the very few I saw in 24 hours or so there. I won't put all the pictures I took in here, as I have too many, but they have cathedral ceilings with those high shelves for plants, pots, decorative items high up, very cool!

(R) Here's the cute couple enjoying the few other pieces of furniture in their living room. TV using rabbit ears the will soon change to cable or satellite, depending on costs/deals available.



(L) The bedroom high ceilings, shelf and wonderful walk in closet! The fan/light had way too short pull strings to reach with no chairs/ladder to stand on....Justin had to lift Krista up so they could turn on the fan in there. One of their first purchases, chain extensions I'm sure.

(R) The cute little bathroom with shower gifts already set in place (black/red are the colors). Very nice, clean and new with lots of little shelves in the shower to hold things.

(L) This is the kitchen with dishwasher you can't see, new appliances, track lighting (dining and kitchen), lots of cabinets in the kitchen and over the dining room area that is partially seen in the foreground (no table/chairs yet).

(R) This is the laundry area that's INSIDE the apartment, the opposite wall from the kitchen picture above. You can see the end of the cabinets from the dining room in the upper right. If you were looking at the kitchen above and just turned to your left, you would see what's on the right. Very cool use of space and no need to run to another area in the heat to do your laundry!

(L) Just a fun shirt Justin says he'll never wear, they got at their "fired up" motivational meeting for the RIO and World Series. Put this in for the family members who play poker and understand all the puns in it. Will go to good use for sleep wear Krista said.
I had to redo this thing twice to get pictures the right size and to fit everything in....Sorry for the length of this, but I haven't blogged for awhile, so I consider myself caught up!

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

My awesome and wonderful Husband graduated on Saturday with two degrees. He was one of two people to graduate with a Bachelor of Theology. His BTh was in Family Life Ministries. He also graduated with a BA in Pastoral Ministries. I'm so very proud of him. Here is a few pictures. :)


Me and my awesome Husband!

Johanson Family!

Turning of the Tassels!

Monday, May 14, 2007

nationals

As most of you know, i qualified for the Outdoor National Track meet this year, and it is in Fresno, CA. i would love to see any of my dear, dear family at the meet and/or after my event because i will be there for 5 days with nothing to do.

The men Javelin is scheduled for 6:30pm on Thursday the 24th, and its going to be right in the middle of the stadium. i cant wait. i will be checking this as well as my email so i know who will be coming. lol. love you all

our hotel:
La Quinta ( 3 miles from Fresno State)
2926 Tulare Street Fresno, CA 93721

our flights:
Depart May 22nd Tuesday from Sioux City at 6:20 am
One lay over only from MN to San Jose
Arrive in San Jose at 11:09 AM

Depart San Jose May 27th Sunday at 12:10 PM
Arrive Sioux City Sunday Night at 10:29 pm

Friday, April 20, 2007





Current pics of HB with the kids. Country Care gave him the ballon for his 97 th. Also Zack, Heide and a "run of the mill" sunset.

New pictures for all to see








Hope you all enjoy the pics of beth and her new body and pics of Daniel.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Hey! Where'd everybody go?

Since the last post:

Steve turned 48.  
Brad turned 20.
Angela became a mother of two... welcome Daniel Ryan.
We had "the blizzard of a decade" or something like that.
Kyle had a "gig" with his band.
Mom and Dad had some travels.

Other stuff too, I'm sure... what else?  Fill in the gaps!

Monday, February 05, 2007

If I should die before I wake...

I want this song used at my funeral.


Mark Harris - Wish You Were Here
From the album The Line Between The Two

I wanted to tell you how closely I've kept
The memories of you in my heart
And all of the lifetimes that we had to share
Live even though we're apart
But don't cry for me
'Cause I'm finally free

(Chorus)

To run with the angels
On streets made of gold
To listen to stories of saints new and old
To worship our Maker
That's where I'll be
When you finally find me

No don't you be weary cause waiting for you
Are wonders that you've never known
Just hold on to Jesus, reach out for his hands
And one day They'll welcome you home
And that's when you'll be
Finally free
Finally free

(Chorus)

I wish you were here, I wish you were here

And all of the dreams that you treasure
Will soon come together
And that's when your sorrow will find tomorrow
And you will rise again

(Chorus)

We'll run with the angels on streets made of gold
We'll listen to stories of saints new and old
We'll worship our maker that's where we'll be
When you finally find me

I wish you were here

Label: INO Records
Lyrics may not be reproduced without permission from the publisher.


 

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Super Bowl

Okay, so the annual Big Game is over and life can go back to normal, but not before we vote for our favorite commercials!

There were some good ones. We laughed at the "mouse" commercial in the pet store window. Some of the Bud commercials were cute and Coke was appealing to the emotions for many of their commercials, however, my favorite commercial was the "Paper, rock, scissors" commercial towards the beginning of the game. I must say, that one made me laugh. We had to replay it a couple of times to watch it.

Are we the only ones who recorded the game to speed through the game, watching the important plays, of course, and watched all of the commercials? They are the best part.

Okay everyone...weigh in on your favorite commercial!

Friday, February 02, 2007

hey all, i just wanted to fill you all in on the crazy college kid.

I'm at about 80% on the ankle, and ill be doing long jump and the shot put this weekend. I cant wait. i love the LJ. At the last meet i got the longest throw(not highest score, lol) on the team in the shot. I'll try to do that again. On a side note, the qualifying marks for the national track meet just came out, and it looks like ill be headed to the national outdoor track meet this year in Fresno, CA for the javelin (and maybe the Decathlon). The automatic qualifier mark is only at 190'3, and since i threw 188' last year with little training and NO form, I'll be going. Everyone open up May 24-26th on their calendars, and I'll do my best to not let you down.

I am also in the process of gettin a new job. the campus security job is basically a joke and it doesnt pay enough. I've been talking to the new owner of Lewis Bowl (bowling alley, imagine that) who just happens to bowl on my team in my league. Its looking good. I'll be a mechanic at one of the two bowling alleys, and I'm trying to get more loans so i can buy a car off a different bowling friend so i can actually get to the job. I'm doing my best to save the money i do get, but there is way to many necessities in college that take it all away.

thank you all for the support and ill let you all know how track comes along the rest of the season. love you all

Nice Time Last Night

We had the honor and priviledge of having my wonderful mother (and father) choose OUR family to spend her birthday with. It was awesome. Too bad the other siblings weren't here to enjoy this special day with our mother. My wonderful wife, Justin/Krista and BJ all joined Mom and Dad at a rather fancy meal at the local Sizzler, complete with plenty of A1 and unlimited salad bar. Nothing left wanting for MY mother on HER Birthday you know. We were sorry to see them go after they spent more of the evening, chatting and enjoying each others' company, at which time Sweet Pea joined in the celebration and spectacular evening as it wound down. Sweet Pea tried to give Mom B-Day kisses on the mouth, but those weren't very appropriate. I'm sure the others wished Mom well, but it sure was nice to be the chosen one this special day. Now I've written another blog. I'm sure you'll want more like them all the time! Love and Hugs to those who WEREN'T at Mom's special day!

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Okay, okay, I'm posting. Now hush.

I really don't have anything to say (as if that's ever stopped me), but I'm posting so Mom will be happy.  :-)

Steve, did you figure out how to post?  I have two bookmarks for this site, one to read, and one to post.  The posting one is http://www.blogger.com/home and once you're logged in, your blogs should appear in a list.  (I'm only connected to one blog, so it's the only one in my list.)  You can either click the blog name to read it, or "new post" to write something.  Let me know if you need more help.

So... what's new here.  Brad was home over Saturday night, which was fun.  He had a track meet on Saturday in Storm Lake.  He's still not back 100% (or anywhere near it) from the ankle injury, but he did throw the shot put.  He got the highest score (not sure if that's the right terminology, but if I don't know, then neither do any of you) on his team, but it wasn't good enough for finals.  Hopefully he'll be able to compete in some of "his" events soon.  He helped his Dad fix our car on Sunday, so we like him.

Kacy and Arick have started the process of looking for a job.  Dave Erickson is helping out, so that's a plus.  They're getting a lot of calls and emails in response to their resume.  They've got a phone interview with a church in Ellensburg, Washington this week.  Another one that calls a lot is Geneva, Ohio.  There's one in Clear Lake, Iowa, which Dave and Jerry (associate dude) are pretty positive about.  I like that one, too, seeing as how it's only about 3 hours from here.  :-)

Kyle is coming home this weekend, and probably bringing his friend/roommate Aaron.  That's all I know about him, really.  After all, it's Kyle.

Bonnie is good, and very busy.  No surprise there.  She's had two show choir competitions in the last two weeks.  Took sixth place at the most recent one.  I thought they should have been third, but no one asked me.  This Saturday she goes to "state" in speech.  Did you know that "speech" has nothing to do with giving speeches?  This is something I learned this year, since this is Bonnie's first time participating.  It's more like "drama."  Either way, her group is really awesome.  She does two events, "Musical theater" and "Reader's theater."  Both qualified for the State competition, which is at West Des Moines Valley High, Gigi's alma mater.

Dennis is fine.  He's busy with club volleyball, coaching the 14-year-olds.  I think that's it... anyway, they're in 8th grade, mostly.  He likes to get them before they come into his high school program.  Besides, he's not allowed to coach any of his own girls.  Weird Iowa rule.

I'm fine-ish.  Off my thyroid meds for one week now.  So far, I don't feel too bad unless I try to do something.

With our gift from Mom and Dad, we bought a totally awesome Big-A flat panel TV.  I can't remember how many inches it is (tee hee), because I suck at number stuff.  It's high definition, so we also upgraded our Dish Network box to the hi-def one.  Apparently not every channel runs in hi-def, but a lot do.  TNT is one of them, so we can watch Law & Order and all that fun stuff.  Lenny Brisco in hi-def... life is GOOD.  Thank you, Mom and Dad!!

Okay, that's all, folks.  

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Date is set

Okay, there is officially a date and a venue for the upcoming nuptials. Justing and Krista are getting married July 6 in Yorba Linda. They will be using the same facilities that Adam and Melody used. As you probably know, we are looking forward to this wondrous event!

Friday, January 26, 2007

WHATS THE USE

So because I go here every day, which is useless, I think now I will quit !!! Because there is never anything posted on the family blog....HELLO.....I am wasting my time going there.....What is up with you FAMILY.....Post something so poor pitiful Grandma, Mama, NON....whatever....has something of interest to read....I have no life you know....

Sunday, January 14, 2007

This would be the saddest thing.

http://us.video.aol.com/video.index.adp?pmmsid=1814603

I watched this clip and thought "How sad for our family!" Imagine any ofour redheads a different color. It just wouldn't be the same. Hope it never comes to be.....

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Hardly seems like yesterday but a year ago today we were witnessing the marriage of Adam and Melody....that started our year of travels.....from which I am still tired...hehehe.....

I really miss not having new things to read on this blog so all of you need to get busy so that you can keep me informed of what is going on....otherwise....I have NO LIFE.....

I am almost finished washing....still have some sheets to do but I am almost done....yeah....I love you all the mostus and bestus MOM

Thursday, December 21, 2006

A wonderful night!



I wanted to tell everyone about my night, while my heart is still so full.

Kacy and her girls had planned a Christmas party, and had asked us more than a month ago to save tonight. The guest list was "the girls" (also known as "the singing Bridesmaids"), Kahla's sister-in-law Tenille (whom we've known since grade school), and all of their mothers and sisters. Well, it turned out to be much more than just a Christmas party.

When we got there, we sat around visiting and eating the yummy stuff they'd made. (The girls had met several times to plan, and had done all the cleaning, planning, baking, etc.) They had us decorate some ornaments... I was determined to recreate the entire nativity in glue and glitter. They didn't believe I could. They were right. While we were busy, the girls left for a minute, and then Kacy came in and told us that even though they'd told us it was just a Christmas party, that wasn't really true. They wanted to honor their mothers. They had decided to do this last summer at one of Jessica's bridal showers. They decided that their own mothers deserved a shower. (All of us but one have married off a daughter or son in the last two years, and the one remaining will be doing it soon.)

Then the other girls came down the stairs, each carrying a vase of flowers. The flowers were the same (or as close as they could get) to the flowers that were in our weddings. We moved into the living room, and they brought out our wedding albums. (Those thieves!) They gave each of us someone else's album, and, at their request, we took turns asking each other questions about the wedding, and what we remembered. We were all married within a span of about five years, so it was really fun to look at the pictures and talk about it. The girls just drank it all in.

Then they had us draw questions out of a bag, and answer them... it was things like "What is the best part of being a mother?" "What has been your greatest challenge as a mother?" "What one thing could you not live without?" "What was your best vacation?" Some were "light" and some were thought-provoking. Between each thing, they gave us each little door prizes... candles, nail polish, bath stuff... just sweet gifts.

Then they went and got some other boxes, and made us all open them together. I could tell they were excited about it, because they all had their cameras out, haha. Each daughter (or sister group) bought their mother some lingerie! It was so fun and sweet. (Mine RAWKS, btw. My girls know me.) There were several other gifts... my girls gave me Bath and Body Works "Vanilla Bean Noel" lotion and shower gel... I love that stuff! We took a ton of pictures, did a lot of laughing and hugging, and just had a great time.

Jessica, one of the girls, lives in Arizona now... she's only here in town for 3 nights. I know that those girls would have rather spent time with just them, catching up, laughing, spending time together with their best friends. I was already moved that they'd included their moms and sisters, and then it turns out that they instead turned the whole focus onto us, and let us know in a very special way how much they love us.

I'll share some pictures of the night, although they really don't do it justice.


Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Pretty Nativity

So, while we were decorating for Christmas, Kacy got out her beautiful Willow Tree Nativity set. Bonnie and I kept adding random "worshippers" to the set, and she kept removing them. I caught this picture while Weird Indian Guy and Cactus Santa were worshipping the Baby Jesus.


A Byte Christmas in Iowa

Well, everyone is home, which means that the family room is once again a computer lab. Seven people, six computers. It's like musical chairs, only with computers. Plus, Brad has two monitors. He's using the couch as his chair, and may never switch back. And even while in the same room, we STILL use AIM to talk to each other. A true family of the new millennium.

Monday, December 18, 2006

A White Christmas in Chino?


Wow, is it cold here! It's been soooo cold in Chino I know you all are feeling so bad for us. We had to get out jackets and we even had a hazing of the white stuff yesterday and this morning to wake up. I'm starting to relate to Suz and family out there in the midwest, though I know it's probably a couple of degrees cooler. Who knows, we may even have a California White Christmas! Here are a couple of pics just to let you feel our pain.

Both of these pics are of houses across the street. The first one shows BJ's new (used) Toyota Tundra truck he got to replace his lemon Impala that GM has paid him off on, or will soon as the "check" is being processed now. You'll have to hear that story at Christmas, but basically, he found a lawyer, who sent letters and promised to sue, after a few months GM is paying back everything he's paid in, down payment, all monthly payments, etc. and will be getting their car back at very little loss to BJ of out-of-pocket money invested in that lemon.

The glare from the misleading sun slightly masks the cold and pic of the other house across the street and their roof covered white stuff... Brrrrrrr

Friday, December 08, 2006

Poor little Brad




well I had my first track meet thursday night, it was only a 'practice meet' but i love to go to win. well as i was warming up for the pole vault, the first event i was doing, i twisted my ankle pretty bad. i just went to the doctor and got it x-rayed and there are no breaks but the crutches are giving me bruises on the huge muscles under my arms.

I miss this kid!