Monday, April 28, 2008

Happy Birthday Rick!

Let me begin by apologizing for the picture. I really wanted to find a good picture of just my darling hubby, but not having my own computer with all of our past pictures made that impossible. I did pull out the camera to take some pictures of his birthday party tonight, but the battery was dead! So while it may seem a little self-indulgent, for Rick's birthday post you get us both!

Happy 33rd birthday to my wonderful husband! I wish I could've done more for him than dinner, cake, and presents. He deserves much more. Rick is such a good match for me. I think that he perfectly complements me and helps me be a better person. Sometimes I think that it would've been helpful to marry someone that was not equal to me in stubbornness and argumentativeness, but I really don't know that anyone else would put up with me if they didn't have some of the same tendencies. Rick is such a great dad to the boys, and someday when we have a girl I know she will have her daddy wrapped around her little finger. I love that when he gets home from work every evening the boys want to spend their time with him and he it totally willing to accommodate them. Without getting too gushy, I am thankful that he is mine and that I get to be with him today and everyday. Happy birthday!

Monday, April 21, 2008

Spring Break Pictures

Spring Break?

What was I thinking? Spring break in Mexico sounds good, right? Not exactly the way I did it. Let me back up. About a month ago Luke said his tooth was hurting, so I looked at it and saw a very large cavity. I was so upset because it was only 8 months ago that we took Luke to Mexico to get 9 cavities taken care of. Now just 8 short months later he had another one, and it was big! My mom told me that my dad was going to Algodones (Mexico) over spring break to finish up his dental work, so I decided just to send Luke with him. Over the next couple of weeks I started feeling bad that I was just going to ship Luke off with my dad alone, and it did sound nice to get out of the Woodland weather, so I decided to go with them. Again, what was I thinking? The drive to Algodones from here is about 12 hours. I am 7 months pregnant and sitting for that long isn't great, plus the road from Las Vegas to Blythe, CA (where my aunt and uncle live) is torture for anyone that gets the slightest bit of motion sickness; and I get more than the "slightest bit".

Well, the drive was bad, but we got to break it up with fun stops and visits with friends and family. We left Sunday night and drove to Las Vegas to stay with Allen and Patrice. Monday morning we went to Floyd Lamb State park and spent time looking at the water foul and enjoying the warm weather. We drove that evening to Blythe and Tuesday was spent in Algodones at the dentist. My aunt was nice enough to keep Noah so I didn't have to deal with him all day in Mexico at the dentist. Luke had to have a root canal and crown on his cavity, again. The dentist only speaks a little English and after Luke was finished she said to me in her best English, "It berrry important to brrrush him teeth, okay." I didn't go into detail with her about how we brush, floss, and rinse with flouride every night. After the dentist we did a little Mexican shopping (got to love those prices), and ate some delicious fish tacos. We stayed two more days in Blythe because my dad had more dental appointments. The boys and I enjoyed the warm, but windy, weather and went swimming and played outside. Just for Noah's sake we took one morning to visit my uncle on the headquarters of the church farm. We saw all the big farm equiptment and Noah was in Heaven! He climbed in all the big tractors and looked at the hitches. He is totally fascinated with big equiptment. Thursday night we went back to Vegas and Friday I got to spend time with my friends. Cassondra was so nice to come and get me in her new minivan. It was pretty sweet. We went to the park for a few hours and then the boys and I went to the Kelsey's to visit some more. It was great to see everyone again. Luke was especially excited because he got to see ALL of his friends. Thanks so much to Whitney and Stephanie for bring the boys to the park! Luke even got to go to his old school to say hello to his teacher and his old classmates. It was a great day. Saturday morning we drove to La Verkin and met up with the Johnsons and Butikofers for a little hiking at Red Cliffs. It was a lot of fun. The kids totally loved to climb the rocks and explore the little caves. On the road again for the last leg home. We finally arrived home on Saturday evening and I was exhausted! Six days, 1500 miles, and visits with friends and family had worn me out. I let Rick get the boys in bed while I gave myself a manicure, pedicure, soak in the tub, and had Rick give me a back massage. Whew, spring break had it's good times and bad, and I am glad it is over!

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Happy Birthday Luke

What a special day we had celebrating Luke's 6th birthday! During the break in conference sessions we had a birthday lunch and opened all of his presents. The Butikofer girls wanted to do "heavy, heavy hang over" and so everyone ended up doing it with their presents. Luke is so analytical that he has a hard time coming up with wishes for people. After thinking quite some time about what to wish for Ellie Jo we suggested $1000. He just kind of looked at us like, why would I wish Ellie had $1000. Other wishes included a wish for Tess to get bigger for Kindergarten, Noah would be not so naughty, and my mom and dad that their dogs would stay home during the day.


For his birthday Luke got a Book of Mormon, kite, Lightning McQueen car, piano book, soccer shoes and shin guards, a soccer outfit and socks, books, and a telescope. He wanted to set the telescope up immediately but we told him we would have to wait until night. He is incredibly disappointed that it is so cloudy today because we will probably not be able to see any stars tonight.




I know that all parents see their children through rose colored glasses, and I am no different. That being said, I must say that Luke is a parent's dream come true. He didn't start out that way, in fact I thought I might lose my mind the first couple of months with Luke because he was so fussy and was such a terrible sleeper. He was a difficult little infant, but since then he has become a wonderful little boy. Luke is smart, thoughtful, obedient, talented, sensitive, loving, and has a real desire to do what is right. I am so proud to be his mom.


I will always remember that conference weekend 6 years ago when I had my first little boy. I loved him so much that day and I love him even more this day he turns 6 years old.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Rick's Handiwork



Early Monday morning while Rick was driving to the gym, the icy road got the best of him. He was rounding a bend by the elementary school when the car started sliding and he hit into a pole. Yes, he is fine. The car, unfortunately did not survive the crash. I told Rick that he couldn't have done a worse job of crashing if he was trying. He hit the driver's side right between the doors where the frame is. So instead of replacing a door or panel, there are two doors, a bottom panel, and a bent frame. We paid off this car during Law School at which time we dropped insurance coverage to liability in order to save some money every month. So, needless to say the car is a total loss. I tried to convince Rick to put a little plastic on the broken out windows and keep driving it until we could afford to buy a new one (because beside the major body damage, the car runs fine!). He wasn't so keen on the idea.