Chandler is 'Two-rific'!

Well it's hard to believe but my baby turned 2 yesterday! After all the celebrating we did over the last few days for pioneer day, a 2 year old birthday was the perfect way to end it all. Too bad the weather didn't cooperate! Of course all week and then all day long while we were trying to get ready it was hot hot hot! But as soon as we brought the food out the clouds and wind came and eventually we had to rush and move everything and everyone inside before it all blew away. We got to cook hot dogs in the new fire-pit but weren't able to do s'mores this time. After a rough start thanks to the wind I think everyone still had a good time. I know Chandler did!

Chandler has become such a big girl just in the last month or so. She talks a lot and is putting lots of new words together. She loves to talk on the phone even though you can't understand most of what she says, she'll carry on and on. She has become very independent lately. "My do it" is something she says all the time. She has always been such a momma's girl and always been really attached to me even more so than her sisters. At times this has been very challenging for me but most of the time I enjoy it and remind myself that not too far down the road I will be wishing I could get a little of her attention. She is so happy most of the time and has such a cute personality and brings soooo much joy to our family. We are so blessed to have her. We love you Chandler! Happy Birthday! Here are some more pics of the party! Thanks everyone for coming!

Now that the birthday is over with I'll have to post about all the excitement from the Fiesta Day's celebration next time. There's way too much to fit into one post!

Dinner and a show.

Over the weekend Greg and a couple of his friends finished the fire pit that he has been working on. Things always go so much faster when you have help (and heavy equipment). It only took them about a half an hour to finish it and it turned out great! So we had to try it out and invited the neighbors over for hot dogs and s'mores.

The kids all loved it and the parents too when we (me) weren't freaked out about someone tripping and falling in the fire or getting impaled by a hot dog stick. It didn't last long though because all the girls (the Butikofers have 3 girls also) had a talent show all planned out for an after dinner show.

Billie Jo and Tim have a back patio that makes a perfect stage and the girls put on quite the performance. They sang songs from high school musical and camp rock. There were a couple of solos, mostly from Hayden. She really gets into it and I'm thinking she might be the next Hannah Montana. 3 yr old Mia did a solo and soon to be 2yr old Chandler also got in on the action. Of course there were no really discernible words in her song but she sang it like a pro. I'll have to see if I can figure out how to include the video. I'm not that advanced with my computer skills yet. It was a very entertaining evening and everyone had a great time.

Does she have talent or what!

4th recap-

The entire month of July is always so much fun when you live in Kamas valley. Between all the celebrations in Oakley, Kamas and then Francis over labor day, we manage to stay pretty busy and the summer just seems to fly by. I can't believe we're already into the second week of July! Over the weekend Greg and I went to the Oakley rodeo, the girls were in the parade for their dance class, we watched my nephew play baseball, went to a couple different barbeque's and I have very few pictures to show for it all. The parade is always a big deal for the girls. They practice all the time and I feel like the worst mother. I didn't get one picture! I hate to admit it but I couldn't even find Gracie on her float and I didn't even find Hayden till after she was past me and it was too late to get a good photo. I'm hoping if someone got a picture they will e-mail one to me. I did get one of them when we picked them up.

After we went to the parade we went to the Crandall's for our annual 4th party and spent most the rest of the day there. Erica is always gracious enough to let us party at her house because she has a great view of the fireworks after the rodeo. We had lunch and dinner there and the kids played in the water then did a few "legal" fireworks of their own. Chandler loved the sparklers and I was a nervous wreck the whole time she was doing them. Thank goodness she was done after 3.

Then Saturday we slept in and hung out at home then went to another barbecue at Greg's friend Kimmies. We were all exhausted from all the fun. Hayden got the chance for her vacation in Salem. Of course she had a ball and didn't want to come home because they always get spoiled by grandma and Aunt Jamie and she ended up staying 4 nights instead of the 2 were originally planning on. Both her sisters missed her terribly and gave lots of 'huggies' and big kisses when she got home! Now we're just gearing up for the next round of partying. The 24 is the Fiesta Days in Kamas and Spanish Fork and my baby's 2nd birthday is on the same weekend so it will be non-stop I am sure! This time I plan on getting better pictures!

Isn't it a little early?

A few days ago the girls and I were in the car and Hayden started asking me how to spell different things. She and Gracie often bring books and paper and crayons with them when we have to go somewhere, so I didn't really think too much about it when she was writing away in the back seat. Until she asked how to spell 'girlfriend, boyfriend, do you want to go to a movie, and I love you'! So being the typical curious mom I started questioning her about who the letter was for and how long this crush had been going on. She said it was for Tanner from her preschool class and they loved each other. I asked her why she liked him so much and she said because he has a light sabre (you know, from star wars). All of this was news to me and came pretty much right out of the blue. She's never really mentioned anything like this before. She is after all only 4 but she was quite matter of fact about the whole thing. When I told Greg about it he was amused and asked Hayden about Tanner and she is dead serious when she talks about him. She doesn't giggle or smile shyly when someone mentions her letter or her love for him, she's very serious. I couldn't help but include her cute little letter. If she sees me writing about it she'll probably get mad at me but the gist of it is "Tanner Do you promise to be girlfriend boyfriend. Do you Want to go to a movie. I love you Hayden" She also included lots of hearts and a flower then her little sister got a hold of it and made a few scribbles. She's still learning about sentences and spacing but of course she wont listen to me when I try to teach her because I am after all only a mom! Anyway I thought it was cute so I had to blog about it but I will be keeping a close eye on this Tanner fellow. We did promptly pull out the preschool pictures to see him and he is a cutey and she promised not to give him the letter till she was 15. She obviously doesn't realize how far away that is but it's still cute.

Summer time!

What could be more fun than running through the sprinkler on a hot summer day? We've already spent a couple days playing out in the water. The girls love it but the water is pretty cold so they get wet then lay in the sun for a minute, then get wet then lay in the sun for a minute. I haven't dare drag out the inflatable pool yet because it's a little big for Chandler so she and Hayden improvised over the weekend with our little sand box. They filled it with water and had a blast. Gracie got to go spend the weekend in Salem at my parent's house by herself which was a huge treat for her. Hayden says " she's having a vacation from me" and in a couple of weeks it will be her turn

Greg and I spent most of the weekend working outside on the yard. I'm not sure if we'll ever be finished. We worked on a rock wall in the front and started a fire pit in the back. One of the perks of working for a construction company is getting to borrow the big equipment once in a while. With Greg having only one arm still and the amount of rocks we had to move we would be there till the cows come home without the big machines. We'll see what other projects I can come up with for next weekend.