Five and Fabulous

 Joy had a fun time celebrating her birthday again with us.  We tried out Jenna's cake pop maker and had them as our birthday cake.  For some reason we got several "artistic" shots of our five year old!

Another Birthday

For  my actual birthday I brought bagels into work, had a special lunch supplied by my husband, and went out to dinner.  That weekend I was lucky to have some friends over to help me celebrate.

I've been wondering lately what I am and should be doing with my life.  It's weird being on a temporary detail at work, and not knowing what's coming next.  It's weird having kids around only every other weekend.  And again, wondering if most of the time it will just be me and James.  It was good to remind myself that I have done some amazing things in my life.  I had my friends pick a slip of paper describing something about me and matching it to a picture on the wall around the house.   See if you can find me at the Berlin wall, honeymooning in Prince Edward Island, performing at the Washington DC Temple Visitors Center, attending a baptism in the Mediterranean Sea, or on top of the World Trade Center in New York City.

Uncle Adam

My brother Adam was in town for a conference, and we were able to have him meet his nieces and nephews.  We went out to dinner, and were able to celebrate Joy's birthday a little early.  We had fun playing the clothespin game, and Hedbanz.

Family Time

Butikofer Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas 2013 ~ 2014 Happy New Year

 

In June, James and I celebrated our first anniversary.  I love being happily married!  Most of our trips this year featured lighthouses and/or family.  In addition to a trip to Las Vegas, we’ve visited the Gulf Coast, Virginia Beach, and Upper and Lower Michigan.  James loves the water, and is proud that he has now  seen over 100 lighthouses in the US and Canada.  (I’m at about 440 only counting lighthouses in the U.S.) 

 James is at the Department of Labor, and I am still at the Census Bureau. It’s nice to have similar schedules.  I drop James off at the Metro in the mornings, and pick him up again in the evening on my way home.  Fridays we get to work from home, or I get the day off!  As a result of budget cuts I have been reassigned.  I am no longer working to prepare for the 2020 Census, but am now in Human Resources learning how to do harrassment investigations.  I am learning a lot, but hope that this is a temporary assignment.  Early in October we both had 16 extra days off during the Government shutdown.  

Instead of just Saturday visits, we now have the children in our home every other weekend, and alternating holidays.  Joy (4) enjoys being outdoors and has learned to ride her bike.  She loves playing with dolls and looking at picture books.  She is good at making messes, but also willing to clean them up.   Jenna (7) is into pirates and Star Wars right now.   She enjoys learning and we are happy that she is willing to help around the house.  She often complains of being bored, but in reality has quite a knack for making things exciting.  Hyrum turned 8 and was baptized this year.  He enjoys cub scouts and has taken quite an interest in fishing.  He loves running and most all sports.  Jonas turned 12 this year and joined the Deacon’s quorum.  He is active in scouting, loves to read and cook, and particularly enjoys his time alone.   Joseph (14) loves basketball and is outgoing.  He is good at taking care of his siblings, enjoys creative games and activities, and watching Studio C and other funny You Tube videos.  In October we took Joy on her first ever camping trip. It was also the first camping experience that Hyrum and Jenna were old enough to remember, and a lot of fun for the whole family.  The end of the summer we had fun painting the bedrooms and making other preparations getting ready to have the kids stay overnight.

James is now the Elders Quorum President.  He often finds it awkward to have people refer to him as President, but does a good job keeping track of people and finding ways to encourage people to do their home teaching and set family goals.  I was released as building scheduler, but still serve as the Relief Society Fellowshipping Chair. 

We had a special assignment this spring and summer to help with the youth conference.  We were on the food committee for a pioneer trek, and had a lot of fun planning and preparing food.  James particularly enjoyed being able to do so much Dutch oven cooking.  It was a good experience to meet so many dedicated people from around the Stake.  It was also important to contemplate some of the hardships we have and how we can be more successful and positive in meeting those challenges. 

In life there is both times of smooth sailing and rough waters.  We’ve had two miscarriages and other disappointments this year, but much happiness and success as well.  We are so grateful for our rock and redeemer, Jesus Christ, and His light and guidance. 

We had a lot of friends move this year, and were reminded of how grateful we are for good friends and what a blessing they are.  Thank you for the positive impact you have had on our family.  We hope that you stay in touch... and if you are local that you come over to play games with us! 

Merry Christmas 2013

I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas

One of the songs that stuck in my head a lot this year was "I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas".  Although no one got a real hippo for Christmas, I think most people where pretty happy that Santa had come and brought them presents.  Joseph and Jonas got new bikes.  Hyrum got a remote control helicopter like he wanted.  Jenna was happy with her Jedi outfit, and Joy got the ballerina doll she had asked for.  Everyone got gifts from Dad and Carrie, we drew names to give gifts to other family members, and were quite blessed with gifts from extended family and friends.  The unwrapping goes so fast, but I must admit I love the chaos Christmas morning with presents and wrapping paper strewn everywhere.  We got matching shirts.  My idea for a pyramid didn't work out so well, but we still were able to get a family picture.  It was a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

We started out our day with a trip to Krispy Kreme (pajamas optional).  It was fun for the kids to see how they make doughnuts, and of course pick some out to eat!

There was a lot of excitement for Christmas at our house.  After breakfast we went swimming, in hopes of burning off some energy!  I took a break and was able to enjoy some time in the hot tub for a while. 

We had four missionaries over for our Christmas Eve party.  We watched Joy to the World by the fireplace.  We had a spread of food with cheese fondue, shrimp, lil' smokies, spinach bites, fruit, vegetables, pie, cookies, and truffles.  Joy helped prepare some goodie bags/stockings for the Elders, then proceeded to fall in love with each one of them, particularly Elder Oyler.  Joy shared how sometimes her brothers called her "Oyster" and made fun of her.  Elder Oyler made her laugh, and laugh, and laugh and said that sometimes people made fun of his name as well.  She was so wired that we had her run up and down the stairs 10 times to release some more energy.  We also had some good laughs playing Apples to Apples. 

We closed out the night watching Polar Express and setting out some cookies for Santa.

What a blessing it is for us to be with our family for Christmas.  We are so grateful for missionaries around the world who are away from family at this time, sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Christmas Cards

Every year I look forward to getting Christmas cards.  And then I worry if they will really come.  Thank you to friends and family who keep up the tradition!  It was fun this year to see that the kids were interested in opening the cards and reading about someone they had never met before!

Christmas Goodies

My attempt at making snow globes didn't work out so well.  The kids picked cute designs, but the glue kept dissolving in the water.  Instead of a cute squirrel in the snow or a magical dolphin, we ended up with dead animals.  I guess some things are just harder than they appear to be online!

I did get some help making our Christmas goodies.  Monday night we went to visit our primary teachers and a few other friends with treats and some carols.  I really enjoyed going Christmas caroling with the family!