The Sutherland Family

Christmas

2011-12-25T22:11:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas this year. This was our first year doing Christmas on our own. Chris had Friday off and we had lots of fun preparing for Christmas as a family. We looked at Christmas lights and had hot cocoa and finished wrapping gifts on Friday. On Saturday we tracked Santa on the internet all day so we knew where he was at all times. I made cinnamon rolls as per tradition, we had tamales for dinner, and had a Christmas program. We sprinkled reindeer food that Burton made at preschool and left goodies for Santa. Burton came in our room at eight and we went to see what Santa had brought. He was happy there was no coal, because sometimes he can be a little bad (those are his words). After he checked out his stocking we decided to wake up sister. She squeaked and blew kisses when she saw her gifts, exactly the reaction we were hoping for. We had a fun time opening gifts and playing with toys. I think we were a little spoiled this year. I don't want to name names but I believe two of the culprits go by the name grandma. We are very blessed to have so much and to have such a loving family.
Chris was a huge help with Christmas dinner. This was our first time cooking a turkey and he took care of all the gross, and I mean gross parts for me. I just held open the cooking bag and slid the bird in the oven. We had a nice dinner together and apparently Burton likes egg nog unless you tell him it's called egg nog. He also likes pecan pie, but not the pecans. He's four. Burton sang with the primary today at church and really melted our hearts. They sang and signed a Christmas song and it was just about the most precious thing I've ever seen. He looked so cute up there doing every sign and singing every word. That was a great Christmas present. We are so lucky to have such great kids. And also so greatful to be able to celebrate the birth of our Savior and have the opportunity to teach what Christmas is really all about to our children.

Brooke will steal any ornament she can get her hands on. As the days went by, the ornaments got higher and higher.

Thanks aunt Megan for the Agent P slippers. Brookie with all the babies and stuffed animals she got for Christmas. She has officially kissed all of them.

Brookie was just checking to see if Santa left her any goodies. I realized it was probably time for some breakfast.

My parents were able to talk to Camille today on the phone. She is serving in the Philippines, they said she sounded really good and were able to have a good chat. We are so glad she is doing well and very proud of the work she is doing there.

Christmas Pagent

2011-12-24T18:33:00.000-08:00

Mom and Dad we wanted Burton to participate in your Christmas pagent. So, here he is singing a song. Merry Christmas!!

Love,

Chris, Amelia, Burton & Brooke

St. Louis

2011-12-04T18:19:00.000-08:00

This last week Chris was at a conference in St. Louis, Missouri, for the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors. It was a good experience to learn and network. There were a couple classes he really enjoyed. I asked him to take some pics for me so I could see where he was and what he was doing. He came back with quite a few for me. We missed him so much and are so glad that he is home safe. I thought mom and dad might like to see some of these pics too, a little trip down memory lane.

Some gooey butter cake from Park Avenue Coffee, which was featured on the Food network. Chris tried to sample some of the local signature food from the area. He also tried the toasted ravioli and St. Louis style thin crust pizza.

A picture of the hotel and conference center.

I thought this was an awesome shot of the arch.

Busch Stadium home of the Cardinals.

Chris and I on our seven year anniversary. We were actually at my parent's house for Thanksgiving. Of course I have zero pictures, but I think Kath took some. We had a good visit and were able to spend lots of time with our families.

Halloween and SUU fun!

2011-11-04T20:45:00.000-07:00

Burton really wanted to be a pirate this year for Halloween. He's been really into Jake and the Neverland Pirates on the Disney channel. We searched everywhere for a pirate costume and just couldn't find anything that we liked, so we finally decided to make one of our own. Burton got to wear his costume to school and they went trick or treating across the street on campus to a few departments. I was sursprised at all the candy he got. That night we went to a Halloween carnival and then to SUU for Thunderkids trick or treating. After that we went to the women's basketball opener. Burton won the costume contest during half-time. He got a Pizza Hut gift card. Thank you Burton for being awesome.

Burton got picked to be the tip off kid. He got to take the ball out to the ref before the game started.

SUU has a huge Halloween party they do every year and this year's theme was Dead men tell no tales. Chris had us come down before it started to show us around and Burton got to take pics with the pirate ship. He was pretty excited, he thought they built the ship just for him.

Burton designed his pumpkin all by himself and Chris cut the face out for him. I was pretty impressed.

Seriously Burton is making the wierdest face. Melissa and Greg came down a few weeks ago for the weekend. They brought Burton lots of Halloween goodies. We had lots of fun having them here, especially the kids!! They got lots of attention.

The kiddos before the basketball game. Brooke was so obsessed with Burton's bucket of candy. She just wanted to play with it so bad.

Brooke trying to escape the stroller. She made the cutest duck.

So I don't know if I've mentioned this but Burton absolutely loves Thor. Part of Chris's new job is going to the tailgates and other activities on campus. We've been able to do lots of fun things as a family. Burton talks to Thor every chance he gets. One of the neat things they do at SUU is let all the Thunder kids run out onto the field with the cheerleaders before the football team runs out. Burton has done it a few times and everytime I get so proud and excited for him.

The kids sporting their SUU shirts at the Homecoming parade. Everytime they threw candy Burton would take a piece and give it to the lady sitting next to us.

Burton hanging out at the tailgate with a cool thunderbolt on his cheek. It's cute to see Burton hanging out with all the college kids. All of the students Chris works with are super nice and they are always excited to see Burton and Brooke.

Burton's Growing Up

2011-08-29T14:14:00.001-07:00

Today was Burton's first day of preschool. He's going four days a week this year. The best part is that it's across the street from daddy's work. Chris was able to pick him up with me today. I'm looking forward to days like this. We asked Burton what he did at school when we picked him up, but he said he'd tell us at bed time. Of course we were able to find out what he had for snack. Brooke and I will be having lots of girl time from now on.

I seriously asked for a regular pose and a regular smile like 10 times, but this is the best I could do. He's such a fuuny kid.

They have free time at the beginning of the day, I was just hoping he wouldn't ruin his clothes before school even began.

Each kid decorated a shirt for the first day of school. This week they get to talk about themselves, their families, and things they like. Burton picked an orange shirt, of course.

On Saturday Burton got to meet some of the SUU football players. Burton loves SUU. We signed him up to be a Thunder Kid. He got a t-shirt and a basketball and wants to wear his new shirt everyday.

Happy Birthday Brookie!!

2011-07-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

Our baby girl turned one today! It's hard to believe that a year has passed by so quickly. We are so in love with our little girl. She is just the most beautiful girl in the world and has the biggest smile. She absolutely loves her daddy and loves to kiss him. I'm always jealous of all the kisses daddy gets. We're so thankful to have such a sweet baby girl.
On Friday my parents, Megan, Melissa and Greg came into town. We had cake and ice cream that night and then because it was so late opened presents the next morning. It was nice to have everyone here, even though it was a quick visit. Brookie got lots of super cute outfits and some fun new toys. She's so spoiled- it's not her fault that she's so cute. Today we went to the park and had some fun outside. She opened the rest of her presents tonight with help from Burton.

I gave Brookie chocolate cake and she totally loved it. She was trying to eat every last crumb on her tray. I almost wanted to give her more because of how well she was eating.

Opening more presents. Then she tried to eat the tissue paper.

Having fun at the park, you can tell by Burton's red cheeks.

Oh Brooke, why is this your new favorite place to be? This girl loves to get into everything she should not be getting into. I guess that's what you can expect from a one year old.

Summer highlights

2011-07-19T06:37:00.000-07:00

So I'm a little behind on the blog. We've had some neat family events this summer. My sister Melissa got married in June in the Salt Lake Temple. Our whole family and lots of extended family were able to be there. She had a reception that night and then that weekend we had an open house back in California at my parent's house. Everything turned out really nice. It was fun to be all together and the driving really wasn't that bad. I'm always thankful for how well my kids travel. I always tell myself- it could have been a lot worse.
So right after the wedding it seemed, my other little sister Camille entered the MTC. She's been there for almost two weeks. We've heard from her a few times, and she seems to be doing very well. She'll be serving in the Manila, Philippines Mission and speaking Tagalog. We're so happy with her decision to serve a mission.
Here are a bunch of pictures, in no particular order.

Burton and Halle playing at the reception. They are so cute together. A few days after we got home, all of a sudden he said, "I'm never going to see Halle again!" I had to assure him that we will still see her even though she lives far away.

Melissa and her husband Greg. She looks so beautiful!!

I thought this picture was so sweet. Melissa and Greg are so great with all the nieces and nephews. They tried to get a few pictures with all six of the kids, but let's just say it didn't work out that well.

Another Burton and Halle shot. This is at the reception also. Melissa had a great photographer, she got so many great candid shots.

This is the entire family. The last time we were all together was when Melissa came home from her mission. The next time will probably be when Camille gets home from hers.

I love my cute family.

Our sister pic- Katherine, Camille, Melissa, Megan, Melanie, and Amelia. Four down only two more to marry off.

My little cuties.

Grandma stayed with us last week while Megan was at EFY at BYU. She took Burton and us to see Cars 2. It was Burton's first movie. He was pretty excited about the popcorn. I think we'll wait a little longer before we go back again.

Sister Camille Engstrom, this is the night that she got set apart as a missionary.

Daddy and Brookie at the reception. She loves her daddy.

Burton's 4!!

2011-02-24T14:36:00.001-08:00

Our little boy turned four last week. There is definitely a difference between three and four. I feel like he's just growing up so fast. It makes me feel old too. He got to take cupcakes into preschool for snack time and he got to wear a birthday boy crown. Orange, of course. It's been his favorite color for months. Last Thursday Chris took the day off of work so we could have a whole day of celebrating. What a great daddy!! We went to the new aquatic center in town. It was fun, we actually went first thing in the morning and then went back in the afternoon after the water slide opened. Brookie was so good. She loved the water. I should have gotten a picture of her in her swim suit. She's a little chubby.
Once again Burton was spoiled by everyone and got lots of presents. He opened Toy Story 3 after we went swimming and we watched it before we went back to the pool. This is the first movie he's ever really been "into". He'll say stuff like, "You be Woody, I'll be Buzz." It's pretty cute. That night we went out for dinner and ice cream. I think he had a fun birthday.

Burton before we went to preschool. I kept trying to get a picture of him and he kept trying to lick the cupcake.

None of the pictures I took inside really turned out, but Burton went down this water slide five times!!. Seriously, it's a little scary. It's completely dark inside and it shoots you out pretty fast at the end. Chris would go down and then wait at the bottom of the slide to scoop Burton out of the water. He is a daredevil.

Burton opening some gifts, of course the boring stuff is from mom and dad.

Here's a recent pic of our baby girl. She's getting bigger everyday. She has her two bottom teeth now. The second one just cut through the other day. I'm pretending that's the reason she's been so cranky and doesn't like to sleep anymore. I'm mostly hoping it's just a phase. Oh well, at least she's cute.

I seriously can not take a picture of Brooke with out Burton trying to jump in. It's cute because you really can tell that they like each other. If you look close you can see Brooke's tooth.

My little cuties

2011-01-24T13:38:00.000-08:00

My kids are getting so big. Brooke will be six months old tomorrow. I can't believe six months have passed so quickly. She is finally starting to sleep through the night. I almost don't want to say it out loud because I'm afraid I'll jinx myself. We started her on cereal around Christmas and she is doing so well. As you can tell she is a big girl and likes to eat. She is just the prettiest girl in the world. Chris and I are so in love with this girl.
Burton will be turning four in a few weeks. He just made the transition from nursery to sunbeams and he totally loves it. He is such a big boy. He still loves preschool. He learned about whales and penguins last week. I love all of the neat projects he brings home.

I stick Brooke in Burton's bed while we read him stories at bedtime. I think she actually likes to look at the books. Burton loves his little sister. I think at least once a day I find myself yelling, "Leave your poor sister alone."

2010-11-23T09:41:00.001-08:00

We took Burton bowling for the first time on Saturday. He and I tied. I'm not sure if I should be really proud of him or really embarrassed for myself. Anyway I thought I'd put up a couple of recent pictures. My kids are getting so big. Brooke will be four months old this week. She is such a big girl. Burton is having his Thanksgiving feast at preschool today. He really likes going to school. When he wakes up in the morning, he'll ask "Is it preschool day?" I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving Holiday!

Living The Dream

2010-08-02T11:37:00.000-07:00

So a lot has happened these past few weeks in our family. Chris was offered a job at Southern Utah University in Cedar City. We were more than excited to be given this opportunity. He is the Academic Advisor for pre-business and associate degree seeking students. This was him on his first day of work wearing his SUU Thunderbird shirt for orientation. Things moved pretty quickly after he was offered the job. We drove out and found a place to live, drove back, packed up the house and moved back, all in less than a week. We wanted to get out here and settled before the baby arrived. Chris is really enjoying his job. We like living in Cedar, and were so happy to find a job in Utah. SUU has such a beautiful campus and everyone is super nice here. It's really been great so far.

So this is the three of us on the 24th of July. Chris said why don't we go drive around and see some of the area. He had heard about a lot of these places from people at work. So we took a drive up to Cedar Breaks and Brian Head and had a picnic. We were driving around and enjoying all of the beautiful scenery and discussing how this was a good time to go because the baby would be coming soon and we probably wouldn't be able to go for quite some time after that.

THE NEXT DAY......

Sunday July 25th at 8:12pm, we welcomed BROOKE HOLLADAY SUTHERLAND into the world. She was 7lbs 1oz, 19 1/2 inches long and 10 days early. She is just so beautiful.

We were both slightly surprised that she decided to come so early. The whole process went really smoothly. Our doctor and all of the nurses were great.

Our new family of four. This was about half an hour after she was born. Burton came back to the hospital to see his sister. He didn't touch her until the next day. I think he was a little unsure about her at first. He's been doing pretty well. Now he'll say, I want to touch her, or I want to tickle her, or Mom, where's baby Brooke?

Here's the proud daddy. He could not be more in love with his kids. He takes such good care of all of us.

My little angel baby. She is just so precious. I couldn't get over how small she was.

Another family shot, this time Burton's holding her.

This right after we got home from the hospital. Chris had to run out and buy more newborn outfits. We had a bunch of 0-3months and 3month outfits. I did not expect that I would have a small baby.

I think these were at about four days old. She just gets prettier every day. She has been sleeping well and we couldn't be happier that she is here and healthy and well.

This is a long one

2010-06-13T15:40:00.001-07:00

Ok so we have had a lot of exciting things happening in our family recently. First of all my little sister Melissa came home from her mission. She was serving in the Billings Montana Mission. We were all so excited for her to come home. She came home to a packed house and had to wait another two weeks to get her room back. All but one sister was able to be at the airport when she got back. We were all there to hear her speak in church that Sunday. She was a great missionary and we are so proud of all her hardwork.

The family welcoming home our sister missionary. I'm pretty sure all the girls started crying when we saw her.

Daddy and Burton doing their thing out at the farm.

Chris's birthday was May 31st, we were at my parent's house. We had lots of family over and had a barbeque. I mentioned to him a few times how old he was, I think he appreciated it.

This is Megan and B right after her 8th grade graduation. She looked so glamorous in her dress. She was also a valedictorian. Way to go Megan!

The whole family went down to San Diego for a vacation. We went to Seaworld and saw lots of shows. It was really fun. We decided to let Burton go on the Atlantis ride. Well, he really wanted to go and we were both a little worried that he might be slightly terrified, but the boy is a freaking champ. Megan and Melissa were more scared than my Burton.

We went to the Mormon Batallion museum while we were there. Burton had fun running around and panning for gold.

Chris and Burton at Legoland. Burton loves going on rides, the faster the better.

Last night was Chris's graduation from Calpoly. He graduated with his Masters in Higher Education. I forced him into getting a cake. Lots of our family was able to come over. We were so happy they were all able to come and support Chris. I am so proud of him. He has worked so hard in school while working and taking care of us. He graduated with distinguished honors. Burton yelled, "Dad love your hat!" when he walked across the stage.

Chris being hooded after they announced his name.

Chris looking super smart in his cap, gown, and hood. So that is what we've been up to the last few weeks. It's been great to spend time together as a family. We've been super blessed.

Disneyland

2010-05-18T11:03:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Burton and I went to Disneyland with my parents and little sister Megan. My dad went to the Dental convention and the rest of us got to play at Disneyland for two days. It was so nice of them to take us. Burton had such a great time. My mom and Megan helped me out so much with Burton. Chris had to stay home because of school. We really missed him. Kath, Jeff and Halle met us down there. Thank goodness for Megan, she took Burton on all the kid rides that I couldn't, or didn't want to ride. Burton was so cute after most rides he'd say, "Let's do it again." And quite possibly the biggest accomplishment was that he wasn't afraid of the characters. No crying or asking for mom or anything. He loved them all and wanted to hug them and give them high fives.

Halle and Burton hanging out at Goofy's house. Burton was always on the look out for Goofy.

They were so excited to see Pooh and Tigger. In line they were yelling for them and blowing them kisses. Afterward Burton kept asking me where Darby was.

We literally got to walk right in to see Mickey, when does that ever happen? The lines were so fast both days. It was great.

Burton and mommy with Minnie.

Burton on Casey Jr. in the monkey cage.

Happy Mother's Day (to me)

2010-05-09T23:11:00.000-07:00

This is the best Mother's Day present you can get. Burton was sitting in the living room with Chris and I and was looking pretty sleepy, so Chris said if you're tired you should go lay down in your bed. So he got up and went down the hall. A few minutes later I went to go see what he was up to. He was all snuggled up on daddy's side of the bed with the Disney channel on. He looked so precious that I had to take his picture. (If only he would have done this two hours earlier when mom wanted to take a nap.)

A few weeks ago we took Burton over to Avila Beach. He had the best time. We played in the sand and he and Chris went out in the water. It was so cold my feet were cramping when I tried to follow them into the waves. I could hear Burton squealing out in the water, it was so cute. So Chris had a brilliant idea that hey the water is 51 degrees, I should rent a boogie board. That sounds fun. So Chris spent about 20 freezing minutes in the ocean until he just couldn't breath anymore. Burton thought it was pretty cool and we told him when it gets a little warmer that we could get him a boogie board too. So ever since, everytime we say a prayer Burton wants us to bless that he can go boogie boarding. If we forget to say it he'll remind us during the prayer, or after we have to say another to include his request.

P.S. I haven't taken any pregnant pics yet, pretty much on purpose, but I'll try and get on it before I get too big and don't allow photos. ;) Some things you just don't want to remember.

GLEE

2010-04-29T20:00:00.000-07:00

So a little while ago our computer broke and we had to get a new one. Apparently our camera card is not compatible with our new computer so I haven't been able to upload any of our pictures. Basically, I'm cheap and don't want to spend the money on the memory card converter. So instead of giving everyone a Burton update with adorable pictures, I'll give you the Chris and Amelia update. Our new borderline obsession is the TV show GLEE. We watched the first season and anxiously awaited the second season. It just keeps getting better and better. We compiled our new playlist of some of the GLEE songs we really like. I don't know if anyone else is into the show but we totally love it.

In other news, Burton is doing good and I'm pretty sure he has grown an inch since his birthday. Chris is finishing up his last quarter and getting close to graduation. He is up to his ears in job applications and we are excited to see where we will end up. The baby and I are doing good. Burton is coming around to the idea of a sister, he likes to yell "HI BABY" directly at my belly. He thinks it's really nice. He also puts toys away in his closet so that the baby won't get them. We are really looking forward to this next phase of our lives.

2010-03-27T16:59:00.000-07:00

Today was our primary activity day where the kids got to do an Easter egg hunt. Burton was super excited to collect his eggs. He really likes candy!

Aren't my boys super cute? It was hard to convince Burton to keep looking for eggs after he found out what was inside. Oh and surprise, we are having a baby in August. We are very excited. We found out last week that we are having a girl. I'm excited for all the girly stuff. Burton will be jealous I'm sure, but we still get to tell him that he's our favorite boy in the whole world, so I think we'll be ok. Everything has gone really smoothly so far and we are anxiously awaiting our new baby. (Sorry we didn't post this sooner, we just wanted to make sure everything was ok.)

Burton is Three

2010-02-26T09:47:00.000-08:00

So I started this post like 10 days ago on Burton's actual birthday, but then I got kind of busy so here I go again. So I was having trouble figuring out how my little baby got to be three years old, but I am slowly coming to grips with it. We really wanted Burton to have a super fun birthday because day to day life with mom is kind of boring. The weekend before his birthday we went to my parent's house. Kath, Jeff, and Halle came down to celebrate with us too. On Saturday we took him to Storyland and Playland. He had so much fun on the rides. Megan rode with him on some of the bigger rides, especially the ones that go in circles. Thanks Meg, I would have thrown up. After that we had lunch, opened presents, and had cake and ice cream. Chris and I made Burton a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cake. I had the idea for the cake about two months before his birthday but for some reason at one thrity in the morning the day before the party we were still working on it. Every year we tell eachother that we are going to buy a cake the next year and then we get this idea that we just can't let go of. All that matters is that Burton really liked it, he is so in love with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It's his favorite playhouse disney show. Every morning when he wakes up he says, Mom let's watch TV.
So back to his birthday, on Monday we took him to an indoor bounce house. He had so much fun. He was so awesome at going down the jumbo slides. Tuesday was his actual birthday, we were back at our house and took him out to dinner and then for an ice cream cone. He pretty much had a four day birthday celebration, but it's okay because he is just that cute. He is such a sweet boy and has the coolest personality. He also LOVES to hug and kiss everybody. I love watching my family try and give him the cheek when he is going in for the lips. These are some pics from Burton's third birthday.

When you turn the magic key you get to hear nursery rhymes.

Burton was so crazy on the rides, he would say "one more time" and " go faster" and then spot me and yell, "Mom, juice".

Here we are in the three bear's house.

I'm pretty sure Burton thought I was playing with play-doh and not fondant. It's not perfect, but it turned out pretty well for our first attempt with fondant.

Burton had the most fun shooting down these slides. I was surprised that it didn't scare him a bit. He's definitely turning into a little boy.

Sacramento

2009-11-15T22:31:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we went up to Sacramento to my uncle David's sealing. It was fun to see lots of my family. I told Burton for days that we were going to see Halle. Then when he was being bad I would say, you better listen to mom or we can't go see Halle. I know, I'm so nice. We had a really good time visiting with everyone. Burton was so good in the car and did not have one potty accident. He did yell poop for about 10 minutes until we could find a place to pull off.

Megan, me, Katherine, and Camille. We were still two sisters short.

Jeff, Ray(uncle), David(cousin), David(his wedding), Chris, Bert(my dad). Can you tell my dad and David are twins?

Burton and Halle at the temple doors. They had so much fun playing together again.

This picture is so sweet. I love when they hold hands. They were running all over the place.

Halloween Fun

2009-11-02T09:38:00.000-08:00

This year we let Burton decide what he would like to dress up as for Halloween. We kept asking him what he wanted to be for Halloween and everytime he would answer monkey. So we went with monkey. I don't know where he got monkey from but he was pretty positive that he wanted to be one and he especially wanted to have a tail. I think he might have got on the tail idea from a Tigger and Pooh episode. Anyway, Chris and I just got put on the activities committee in our ward so we got to help decorate for the Trunk or Treat. Burton had so much fun playing at the church. By the time we were done half of the toys from the nursery were spread throughout the entire church. We went home and carved our pumpkin and went back to the church to decorate our trunk. Chris and I took turns taking Burton around to all the cars while the other passed out the candy. Afterwards we went inside for the costume parade and the games. Burton is such a big boy, he wanted to play everything and everytime I turned around he had another piece of candy in his hand. I kept saying, Where is this coming from? The whole way home (after I had confiscated his candy) he said, "Candy please, candy please, CANDY PLEASE!!!!" He basically said that the rest of the night. On Thursday we drove over to my parents house for the weekend. Burton loves being at grandpa and grandma's house. Aunt Camille taught him a few new catch phrases this weekend, one of which was Eileenie Weenie, my mom's name is Eileen. Funny, but she didn't really seem to like the new nickname. We all took Burton trick or treating to a few houses of people in my home ward. At the first house I told Burton that ours friends lived there so he needed to say trick or treat really loud. He interpreted that as knock on the door and then walk right in. I should have been more specific. We had a great weekend and decided to prolong the fun even longer when last night when we were about 4o minutes down the road we got a flat tire and had my dad come and pick us up. My dad, Burton, and I followed Chris back with the donut on our car. He made it back to my parent's and this morning we are waiting on a tire and we'll try it again. Burton was asleep the entire time, I think he was a little confused when he woke up back at grandpa's. Well here are some pics of our Halloween fun.

I'm not sure if you can tell, but Burton was pretty excited to be at the pumkin patch. He held our pumpkin on his lap on the way home and would sit by it at the house while he watched TV. I'm not sure if it was really cute or really sad that he doesn't have any real friends.

Daddy and his little monkey at the ward Halloween party.

Burton was ready to go. Half of the candy in his pumpkin he stole from grandma's candy bowl. He loved handing the candy out to the trick or treaters. I had him in the bath and the door bell rang again and he was inches away from trying to hand out the candy as a streaker. I had to tackle him with his bath towel.

Burton and aunt Megan. Megs was a flight attendant, she looked so grown up. Burton is her shadow, he loves to be where ever she is. He cried when she went out with her friends.

Playing Catch Up

2009-10-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

I thought it was about time to get back up to speed on the blog. So life has pretty much gotten back to normal. Chris is back to school for his last year at Calpoly and has two internships on campus. He is working as an access specialist in the Disability Resource Center and is also working in the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities (it's like the honor code office). We've been in San Luis for about two weeks now and are still missing Utah. The one upside is the nice coastal weather. Our move went pretty smoothly. My mom and sister Camille drove out to help us get all of our stuff back. Camille also got to spend some time on campus and have Chris show her some ways she can get involved on campus. She is transferring up their in January. We were also all able to go to Halle's second birthday party. I gave Burton a little heart to heart before we went and told him that it was Halle's happy birthday and that he wasn't allowed to open any of her presents. I think it might of worked. He did so well. I think I left out don't play with all of her new presents, because that was another story. What can you do? These are a few pics of the rest of our summer in Utah. Best Summer Ever.

Burton is going to be the cutest missionary ever. We sent one of these to Aunt Melissa on her mission. She loves her mission so much and all of the people in Montana.

This was a few days before we were moving back. This box was originally filled with toys, but they were just so cute. Burton and I miss playing with Kath and Halle everyday.

Chris created a program for the Women's Services Center called Voices of Courage and they kicked it off at their 5K run. Chris gave a short speech before the race to pump everyone up and remind them why they where there supporting the cause. It was a really cool experience and I was so proud of Chris. I was also proud that we actually ran it. I mean, I am lazy!

Chris is so handsome!! This was right after his final presentation that he gave in front of all the administrators that he worked with this summer. He did an amazing job. The can he is holding is a time capsule of projects and events that he was involved with this summer. After the presentation he was able to put some memento's in the can and then they had him seal it. He is supposed to open it in five years. I thought that was the coolest thing. He really loved working at BYU. There are so many amazing people working there that really love what they do and love the students they work with. It was really a privilege for us to be there.

This is us cruising back to CA. Burton is rocking out with Rusty, Turner, and Squeeze to his Handy Manny CD. It was basically the best/worst idea I've had. It kept him happy forever, oh except when we tried to turn it off and had to listen to him yell, "PAT SING!!" over and over.

My b-day was yesterday. I can't believe I'm 27. At least I don't look it (I'm pretending you are all completely agreeing with that statement). It was great- we watched conference, I got to talk to my family, Burton got to open my gifts, and Chris made me brownies. What more can you ask for? I have such a great family, my boys made my birthday really special. Well I feel like I've sufficiently caught everyone up, I just apologize that this post was so long.

Summer Fun

2009-08-29T16:43:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago we went up to Temple Square. Burton loves temples. He had such a good time walking around and playing with all the fountains. We took him up to the observation deck, he also loves elevators, and also took a tour of the Conference center. I had no idea how many pieces of art were hanging in the Conference center. It was awesome to just walk around and learn new things. We had such a fun day together.

My little sister Melissa is serving her mission in Montana and sent Burton and Halle cowboy hats. She wanted them to represent the country style of Montana in Provo. Burton thinks his hat is so cool. The only problem is his enormous head- his hat barely fits. It was so nice of Melissa to send them a fun surprise.

Chris and Burton hanging out at Trafalga. The first time Chris took Burton on the go-carts he had so much fun they went three times in a row. It was so cute, he waved at me everytime they went around the track. Thank goodness for daddy, fifteen minutes of going in circles would have done me in. This has been such a fun summer for us. We are so sad that it is almost over. Chris has loved every minute working at BYU. We showed Burton the Y on the mountain a few times before leaving campus and now when we drive around he'll find it out the window, point to it , and say B Y U......YEAH!

2009-07-23T23:00:00.000-07:00

A family shot, all of these pictures are courtesy of Camille's camera. I'm really crappy at remembering to take my camera anywhere. Camille stayed with us on her way home from BYU-Idaho. Her first year of college is officially over.

Burton and Halle LOVE their sippy cups! Aren't they the cutest little cousins?

Look at these handsome dads.

Camille is the only one with enough patience to get a picture of Burton smiling.

Halle loves cheez-its, but she won't eat cheese. I don't understand it.

Burton trying to take a picture of aunt Camille on her cell phone. He's always trying to call someone.

Burton watching the fireworks on the MTC lawn. We got him a glow necklace so we could find him in the dark because he kept trying to run away. I've never seen that many people before. There were people sitting out everywhere. It took us 45 minutes to get home. That was a lot of Mormons. I just wish we could have gone to Stadium of Fire. Yeah for the Jo Bros (nobody make fun of me).

Baseball Night

2009-07-04T10:50:00.000-07:00

On Thursday night we went to an Orem Owls game with my sister, other sister, her husband and their daughter. I am happy(embarrassed) to announce that Burton is still afraid of all Mascots, basically anyone dressed up like an enormous animal. Chris tried to take Burton over to the Owl with all of the other children that were hugging and handing out the high-fives, but the closer Burton got to the Owl the louder he yelled NO! Seriously he's almost two and a half. Other than that it was pretty fun. We did get rained on for a little while, but I made Burton a sweet dew rag out of a long sleeve shirt I had brought for him so he just kept on playing.

Giant otter pops are a great way to keep your kids in one spot for more than a minute. We actually got him two. I know we're good parents. Grandpa's a dentist so it's all good.

These kids are sooooo freaking cute. Burton is so girly, he sat there forever pulling all of Camille's soap, lotion, gum, etc. out of her purse. As long as I'm not chasing him across the field, he can do whatever he wants.

Burton and Halle held hands while we walked into the game. It was so sweet.

2009-06-22T13:44:00.000-07:00

We are officially living in Provo. Chris just started his third week of work and things are going really well. He is loving what he is doing so far and has met a lot of great people at BYU. We are so lucky to have this opportunity. I've been having lots of fun hanging out with my sister and her daughter. Burton finally has a friend! They are always so excited to see each other. They still struggle a little with sharing.

Chris, my Dad, and my brother-in-law Jeff on Father's day. These are three great dads right here. They all have such beautiful children.

My dad is in SLC visiting with his mom. Burton and Halle love Grandpa, and Burton loves opening presents.

Look at my cutie boys.

Burton loves going to the park. He likes to go down the slide and then try and climb back up it. Whenever he sees a slide he says, "Wheeeee!"

On our way up to Provo we spent the night in St. George. We havn't been able to go back to the temple there since we got married. It was really cool to be able to take Burton. We got a few pictures of him on the steps and in front of the temple, some of the places where we took wedding pictures. It was so fun.

Handy Manny

2009-05-18T09:20:00.000-07:00

A few days ago Burton got a package in the mail from his Grandma Sharion, it was these super cool Handy Manny pajamas. Burton loves Manny and has lots and lots of Handy Manny toys, thanks to Christmas and Birthdays. He has worn them everyday since he got them, and not just for bed either. Yesterday when we got home from church, Burton saw his jammies and immediately starting kicking off his shoes and took off his pants. The cutest is when he tries to put them on himself. He hasn't quite mastered one leg per hole yet.

This is Burton singing "One fell off and bumped his head"

Burton loves to talk on the phone, he always wants to talk to Pa(grandpa) or Meg(aunt

2009-05-09T23:36:00.000-07:00

Ok so finally a new post, which can only mean one thing, we went to my parents house for the weekend and have the internet. My sister is calling home from her mission for Mother's day and I wanted to be able to talk to her. By the way Happy Mother's Day to all of you awesome moms, you know you're doing a good job considering how freaking cute all of your kids are.
Let me put this out there and see if anyone knows what I'm talking about. Does your child ever do anything so cute that it makes your heart smile and you just want to die at the same time? I am by far not the nicest or most sensitive mom out there but Burton was killing me earlier tonight doing the motions to a bunch of kiddie songs. I think he was trying to redeem himself because he lost my retainer earlier today and I just had my ortho appt. yesterday. I swear you don't watch them for a second. I'm sure everyone can relate.

We will be leaving for Utah in just under a month and we are still trying to work out the details. We're having a little trouble finding an apartment that will allow us to stay into September, because BYU starts in August and so do most of the housing contracts, which all want a year lease. I have my little sister helping us out (Thank goodness for Katherine), I'm sure things will work out soon enough. Other than that Chris is working hard and plowing through his last semester. I'm getting antsy to just start packing things away but I don't want my house in shambles quite yet. These are a few random pics of Burton over the last couple of months.

This was at the Primary activity day Easter egg hunt. Burton had so much fun and I let him eat quite a few jelly beans.

Burton and daddy were having some pudding for a snack and things got a little out of hand.

We went to my parent's ward party for Cinco de Mayo on Friday night. It looks like Burton should be saying ole'.

Burton got a little carried away with the drinking fountain at the church. Some genius actually left a step stool under the drinking fountain. You can see the stream of water/slobber running off his cheek. The entire front of his shirt was soaked after he was finally done playing and he didn't ever seem to notice.

Burton at the beach

2009-03-25T13:56:00.000-07:00

Burton had first official day at the beach last week. He started out with tennis shoes and long sleeves, but you can see how quickly that changed. He's our little white trash boy, but he just looks so good without a shirt on. He actually was running away from the water and fell and got his sleeves dirty. He looked up at me like - Mom, you let me get dirty?!? He had so much fun picking up rocks and throwing them in the water. We found a Hannah Montana kite buried in the sand and let him fly it. He was actually pretty good at it. I'm sure we'll be going back to the beach often.

Watch Out Utah, Here We Come!!!

2009-02-28T19:17:00.000-08:00

For the past few months I have been in the process of applying for an internship with BYU in their Dean of Students office. Well...... on Friday afternoon about 4:00pm I recieved a call extending me a job offer for this summer. So, The Sutherland's are comin' to Utah!!! We accepted their offer and are totally excited. I(Amelia) am also totally excited to be coming to Utah for the summer. We should be there from about mid June to mid Sept. We'll be finding out the specifics soon. We justed wanted to warn everybody that we're ready to party and take a break from Cali. Watch out Rexburg too, because you know we miss all you guys too. The best part is that I have a sister that lives in Provo and one in Rexburg. I'm excited to be able to spend time with them. Oh and the whole, this will be a great experience for Chris and look good on his resume are also some pluses.

Last blog we recieved a special request to see the smiles of the beautiful Sutherland Family, per your request......TA DAH!!! (P.S. I was able to take this picture because I just got my braces off)

This is Burton on his actual Birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. He basically just wanted to put money in all of the game slots...he thought they were all giant piggy banks.

Burton is Two (almost)

2009-02-15T14:29:00.000-08:00

This weekend we came over to my parents to have a birthday party for Burton. His actual birthday is on Monday. We can not believe our little baby is two already. He's definitely turned into a little boy. He loves to run and dance and jump off everything. He also loves the Wiggles, like really really loves them. Everyday he says "nummy nummy" which means his Yummy Yummy movie. We have three DVD's that I rotate so that I don't go completely insane. I can't count how many times a day those songs are running through my head, even when he's sleeping. We need to get some friends, and get out more. Anyway, I tried to make his cake resemble the Wiggles and we got him a Wiggles guitar too. He had a lot of fun with his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Chris and I made fondant for the yellow part and his name, it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. It took forever to decorate though, one day when I'm not such a cheapskate maybe I'll just buy one.Burton blew his candles out all by himself!! He did drool on the cake though because it took a couple tries.

Burton got a little anxious while we were lighting the candles.

He loves the drum that he got from Grandma and Grandpa.

I made the mistake of letting him open the guitar first, so he wasn't interested in opening anything else. I had Megan go and hide it so that he would open his other gifts. He is a very lucky and spoiled little boy.

Grandma Caved!!!

2008-12-18T15:35:00.000-08:00

A few years ago my parents decided to get a fake tree, we were all very sad because one of our family traditions was to pick out a tree together every year. I guess they were feeling like it was too much of a hassle or something. This year got even worse, my mom decided to put the tree in the front/piano room that no one ever goes into. She thought it would be easier to keep the grand kids away. So for the last few days my little sisters have been complaining that it doesn't feel like Christmas yet and they feel like the tree is hidden. Last night after my sis and dad went to mutual, my mom told Chris and I she had a confession. She said that she missed having a real tree and having it smell like Christmas in the house. You know Chris and I jumped all over that. We were like we could go get one, I mean we could leave right this minute and get one. So we grabbed Burton and ran all over town trying to find a good tree, get it home, and decorated to surprise my dad and sister. It took us about an hour to get home, I ran inside and took the fake one down while Chris sawed away at the new one in the garage. We brought it in and my mom decided to let us put it in its proper place. We hurried and blew out the garage, vacuumed the floor, redecorated the tree and moved the presents. We were literally running around the house. We lit up the tree, turned down the lights, and turned on the Christmas music just in time for them to come home. My sister Megan was so excited. It was a lot of fun and now it is officially Christmas in the Engstrom house.

Home for the Holidays

2008-12-17T12:13:00.000-08:00

We went to my parents house for Thanksgiving and some where in the midst of decorating for Christmas someone (Burton) lost our camera. The only place I could think of after looking around the bookshelves and under the couches was that it had to be in one of the tubs in the attic mixed in with all the leftover decorations. This morning Chris and I searched the attic and found it. Thank goodness!!

So here's a little update. We are officially done with Chris's first semester of Higher Ed. Student Affairs. He did such a great job this semester, he got a 4.0. We went to the Christmas social for his program and after Burton warmed up to everyone he even flashed a few people. He even flashed grandpa during sacrament meeting on Sunday. It's even better because grandpa's on the stand in the bishopric. We're almost all done with our Christmas shopping, only one person left to buy for. Chris and I did two marathon shopping sprees this week and were very successful. Burton hasn't seen Santa yet this year, but now that we've got our camera back we can go hunt one down. Basically we're hanging out at my parent's house enjoying the holidays. We hope everyone else is too!

Burton's a Dinosaur!!!

Burton like to brush his teeth

Burton had his own way of decorating the tree. He would throw the ornaments at the tree until they would stick... He thought he did a very good job

Burton had a lot of fun this year with the tree, he's getting so big!

A little late

2008-11-07T15:51:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late on the Halloween update but I loved all of the Halloween posts from everyone else. Burton was a bat for Halloween. We took him trick or treating around Chris's office so all the ladies could tell us how cute he was. He'll get to go real trick or treating next year, when he can actually say trick or treat. We did give him a bite of a kit kat and he really liked it. The weekend before Halloween we went to my parents house. All of the sisters came home for Melissa's mission farewell. We went to a pumpkin patch and let the babies walk around with pumpkins. My mom wanted a grandkid photo, so right after we all got into town we went to the photogrphers. The kids were terrible, they never all smiled in one picture and pretty much one of them was always crying. We had even gotten them two sets of matching outfits. Oh well, what do you expect with three kids ages two and under.

This week I came back to my parents house again to stay with my little sister Megan while they took Melissa to the MTC. I got to be there when she got set a part. It was so cool, Burton was so good the whole blessing, he didn't make a peep.

Before we took this picture Chris said- We all know that mommy's going to be the witch. How sweet.

Grandma sent us home with some treats for Burton. Isn't he a cute little bat?

2008-10-18T22:39:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends ago we went over to the pier in Pismo. Burton was so awesome, he would chase the birds all over the place. One of these days he's going to get pooped on. My little sis Melissa came to visit us and we went back over to the pier. She wanted to see the ocean again before she left on her mission. Today we went to the Fresno Temple with Melissa for her first time. It was awesome to be there with her. We left Burton home for a record four hours with Megan. We've never left him for that long before, but Megan is the ultimate baby sitter.

My parents, Melissa, Me, and Chris outside the Fresno Temple.

2008-09-27T22:49:00.000-07:00

Ok so I have been absent on blogging for a couple of weeks now and I'm going to be honest, I missed looking at everyone's pictures and seeing what everyone is up to. But I have a good reason. A few weeks ago Chris and I moved to a new aparment in San Luis Obispo. We really love our place. It's way too expensive but it's newer and cleaner than all the other crappy apartments we had looked at. It is also steps away from Costco and Old Navy. Chris started his new master's program on Monday. His classes are at night and he works on campus in the mornings. I have high hopes that Burton and I will still be able to see a lot of him at least for his first quarter. It feels like the right fit for us.

Burton was having fun running around our empty apartment and hiding in all the closets.

Chris on his first day of school- hot stuff!

We had a little computer trouble a few days after we moved in, basically it completely broke, and wouldn't even turn on. Two hundred and sixty dollars later and a few days at Circuit City and it seems to be running fine. The only problem that remains is we don't have the internet at our new apatment. If I want to go get online we have to go up to campus to catch a signal. Then someone has to run around after Burton. Which brings me to an interesting observation, so last week we were on campus quite a bit. We went to the bookstore a few times and ran around to fill out Chris's employment paperwork and the entire time we did NOT see another child on that campus. We started to feel like we were the couple that had the accidental kid in high school or something. Oh well they can think what they want because they are all a bunch of bike riding tree huggers- or at least that's my observation.

I put my apron on Burton, he is our little Eagles fan in training. He also likes to mess up my kitchen. Little boys are crazy.

This weekend my dad threw my mom a surprise 50th birthday party so we came home to help surprise her. He took her to dinner up in Fresno, meanwhile Chris and I rolled into town and helped my other two sisters decorate and get the food ready. A lot of ward members came and when the garage door went up we turned out all the lights and yelled surprise. She had no idea, but she was extra excited to see Burton. It was a lot of fun.

Burton and I are waiting to scare grandma.

They were both very excited to see one another.

Weekend Trip to San Francisco

2008-08-25T13:36:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went up to San Francisco with my family and met up with my little sister who was visiting her in-laws. We went to Pier 39 and took a ferry ride around the Golden Gate bridge and Alcatraz. That night most of the fam went to a Giants game. The next day we went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.

Burton just hanging out, taking a road trip.

Just hanging out in the hotel lobby, busy being a guy.

We went out to the bridge and turned around underneath it, it was cool. The water was choppy and it got pretty windy. I was on the verge of getting sea sick, but it was still cool.

Burton was trying to share snacks with his cousin Halle, actually he was stealing all of her snacks from Katherine and then sharing them with Halle.

Alcatraz Island- I tried to throw Chris overboard, no such luck.

Daddy and Mommy taking turns on rides with Burton.

We saw Shouka the whale and a dolphin show too.

Just a couple of sexy family photos outside the park.

Burton is in Nursery!!

2008-08-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Burton's first day in nursery. It's weird to think he is that old already, but it was definitely time. The last few weeks it has been harder and harder to try and keep him in one place, especially during Relief Society. We took him into the nursery and put him down in front of the toy cabinet and told him he could play. He stood there for a minute just staring at all the toys and then he went for them. He did such a good job playing with the other kids considering he's never been around that many kids before. He just couldn't sit still during the lesson though. Oh well he's 18 months what do you expect?

Burton loves music. He always wants to listen to Camille and Megan's ipods. He also loves to dance. When ever he hears music he starts rocking out. He likes the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus alot (thanks to Megan).

Hot Potato

2008-07-28T18:41:00.000-07:00

Lately Burton has been getting into the pantry and playing with potatoes. He licks them and carries them around the house and leaves them places. Last night we had baked potatoes so I thought Burton would have fun eating/playing with one. I sang him the "Hot Potato" song and we threw it around and smashed it, he really liked stabbing it with his fork. Sometimes he really thinks he is hilarious.

My kid is so weird

2008-07-23T15:43:00.000-07:00

Today Burton was playing with a toothbrush holder, he would try to close it and get mad until I helped him, then he would pull it apart and be so proud of himself. It was so funny, we sat there and did it over and over for like 15 minutes.

His face is so funny when he gets mad.

Burton goes into Camille's room everyday and riffles through her stuff and makes a big mess. He likes to steal her life guarding whistle, the only problem is when he blows in it he kind of slobbers a lot. Lately things have been disappearing or ending up in really strange places. I guess that is the just the stage we're in. Chris and I had to search for our phone the other day, we found it on the floor in the laundry room. Burton also likes to play with the kitchen utensils. I encourage him to smack Camille and Megan with spatulas. I probably shouldn't but it's funny.

Here's What We've Been Doing Latley...

2008-07-02T20:23:00.000-07:00

This was Burton's first trip to the zoo. At first he was a little nervous looking at the animals but he soon warmed up a little. I think he really liked petting the goat. Otherwise I'm not sure he cared either way.

Burton is really into bubbles lately. He kept stealing Luke's when he was here. Burton can't quite blow them yet, he kind of eats them.

This was Burton's first whole popsicle. I literally opened it and handed it to him and it was gone. He sat on the counter and sucked on it until it was gone. It was so cute and he seriously didn't even get messy. Everyone one says I'm going to create a monster when I give him sugar. And I don't know who those two guys are, but they were pretty attractive.

Sac Town Wedding

2008-06-22T14:44:00.001-07:00

These are a couple of pictures of our family back in March at my uncle's wedding. I just got them from my dad's camera. It seems like we never have a picture of all three of us so I thought I would post these. It was our first time seeing the Sacramento Temple, it was so beautiful. We told my sisters that one of them should get married there so we could go back.

Chuck E Cheese

2008-06-13T21:04:00.000-07:00

Today we took Burton to Chuck E Cheese for the first time. We let him ride on all the kiddy rides and bang on all the ones we wanted to play. I think he ate a whole piece of pizza too. He has the cutest smile. He was slightly terrified of Chuck E Cheese though. I think he's just afraid of life size animals. He was afraid of Mickey Mouse at Disneyland and also of Curious George and Spiderman at Costco. Oh well, give him a few years and he'll be beating the crap out of all of them.

Boating

2008-06-13T20:46:00.000-07:00

All the family came down for Camille's High School Graduation, so we decided to go boating. I personally felt Burton was too young to go out on the tube and was having slight paranoia that he would fall into the lake. However Chris decided they were going in the tube. Turns out he ended up falling asleep out on the tube. I think he had a good time, atleast when he was awake!!

HELP!!!

2008-06-13T20:44:00.000-07:00

We have no idea how to set up a blog, Please help!!!