Happy Birthday Mr. Idaho

I thought this looked like a model pose!

Another year has come and still I wonder who this young strong hot guy is that I wake up next to. With each passing year my love for him deepens. (I usually am not a fan of the list, but this post would go on and on so I had to LIMIT it to 35 things I love about Tim!)

1. Just watching him with the girls, especially when he smells their clean hair. He loves it and he truely loves them!
2. His desire to give me whatever I want. (except the TV in the bedroom)
3. His STRONG work ethic.
4. His desire for clean things and his ability to clean.
5. His dedication to any calling he has.
6. His bowed legs!
7. The way he loves my cooking and tells me what a good cook I am.
8. How he walks into our bedroom or runs up the stairs not to flatten the carpet.
9. The way he eats HUGE scoops of peanut butter out of the jar. (and still stays trim)
10. The way he takes a drink and gives a refreshing AAAHHH at the end.
11. His bright smile.
12. His singing, even though he doesn't do it publicly.
13. The way he can spend hours fixing something til it is fixed the right way.
14. How he smells when he kisses me good-bye in the morning. The smell lingers for a while and I LOVE it. I smell that on his pillow on the nights he is gone.
15. His support to endless hours of dancing!
16. His trust in me. (Like leaving the new boat in my care for a week while he was gone!)
17. His priesthood abilities anytime we need them.
18. The way he plays with the girls when they want some attention.
19. His sensitive side when we watch movies or hear a cute story.
20. How he worries about his mommy.
21. How he is willing to incorporate some of my silly traditions in our family.
22. Filling up my car when I have let it drop below a quarter tank.
23. How he loves Lady GaGa songs!
24. His ability to make everything perfect!
25. Calling me ten times a day while he is gone to check on me.
26. How he takes care of others. (even a pregnant waitress)
27. The image I still have of his Wrangler back side.
28. His thick hair. Thanks heavens he has passed on those great genes to my girls!
29. Which leads me to the tolerance he has, or has to have, with the amount of hair on the couch, floor, bathroom cupboard, clothes, etc.
30. The crepes he make for his girls!
31. His passion about things he believes in.
32. The way he loves smelly things. (Must be a Butikofer trait)
33. How hard he works to provide for our family.
34. Snuggling with me (even though it is forced!)
35. Just trying to be my everything!

Again I could go on and on. Happy Birthday Tim, you are the best husband, father, partner I could ask for. You complete me!

This is how we do it......

I hope you are all singing that tune right now. (I know you are Chelsea)

Valentine's this year was perfect. I had a huge week (surprise) and it all came to a conclusion with the thing I love most... time with my family. Tim surprised me Saturday when he called to tell me "get ready and be in Park City by 3:00 for a massage at Massage Envy!" (Trumpets, playing dadadadah!!!!!) He got me a 3 month membership. Best present EVER! He then brought the girls over and we all headed to Olive Garden. This seems to be the girls favorite place to eat. We came back home and stopped at Cold Stone in Park City for dessert.

Sunday morning I made heart shaped pancakes and eggs. (I promised myself I would use the molds if I bought them!!!) It seemed to make the pancakes more delicious. I wouldn't normally blog about silly heart shaped food but the end of the day brought a funny little event which I thought was blog worthy.

The girls had called their Grandma Butikofer to wish her lots of LOVE. She and I were talking after and Tim brought a chair right next to me on the couch. (Background story: Tim has been asking me for a week if I thought I could stand on his shoulders and change a light bulb on the vaulted ceiling) Next thing I know he had Ellie on his shoulders. While I explained to Janis what was going on she QUICKLY prompts me to get off the phone and get them down. What do I do... Grab the camera! They still weren't tall enough so Tim found my old antique shipping crate and boosted them up enough to get the job done. Maybe Tim will be getting a ladder for his birthday this week??????

Winter Fun

Despite most people's dismay with the snow, we found there are many ways to beat the white stuff. This Christmas and winter gave us many reasons to celebrate. Between tubing, skating, Ellie and Tim's ice fishing trip, and feeding cows with Grandpa Mac and the McNeil cousins; we find our winter fun is only part of what we are up to!




Our kids are really loving life and learning new things. We have quite the routine around here. The girls are up to their necks in all kinds of lessons: DANCE, school, DANCE, violin, ACRO, guitar, and even a little more DANCE. Since Ellie got her guitar for Christmas we had to take the next step and get her in guitar lessons. Tim and I both love the violin and have wanted to have a child who could play it. So with that in mind we found a teacher that could instruct Ellie in guitar and Tess in violin. It is really exciting to see the girls learn new things and find new talents. The routine for us however is a little grueling.>
With all the girls taking every dance class available to them (and why NOT) our after school schedule is jammed. So we do piano, guitar, and violin before school! They do not complain at all and even beat me out of bed on some mornings. As long as I have Tess' clothes laid out for her the night before we are all good to go. So what about Mia you might ask??? Well this little socialite has a pretty full schedule herself. She attends two different preschools. She does jazz and acro and shops at Kamas Food Town! She also gets playdates every Wednesday with Reece.

Even if it is freezing cold outside and we are longing for the days to pull out the boat, the weeks pass quickly with this kind of crazy schedule! Here is a peek at some other things we have been doing!

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