I got tagged... about Aaron

What is his name? Aaron Dwight Butikofer

How long have you been married? 13 years on May 13th!

How long did you date? Almost a year

How old is he? 36

Who eats more? Aaron has a hallow leg. When we got married, he would eat a casserole that would feed my whole family of six. It nearly made me ill!

Who said I love you first? I'm sure he did or I'd feel like a hussy :)

Who is taller? Aaron, thank heaven

Who can sing better? We both love to sing, but he doesn't get nervous in front of people and I am terrified.

Who is smarter? Definitely Aaron

Who does the laundry? Yours truly

Who pays the bills? Again, yours truly but he makes the sweet moolah so I can :)

Who sleeps on the right side? I do

Who mows the lawn? Haha! When it's sunny outside we race to see who can get to it first and the one who misses out gets to mope around all evening. Did you know I am obsessed with the weed eater??

Who cooks dinner? Mmmm... that's 13 year sore subject. He loves fish, veggies, and everything good for you. I on the other hand love pizza, Wendy's, donuts, and everything bad. I have found ONE salmon recipe that I can stomach, but I draw the line there!

Who drives? Usually me. Aaron drives ALL the time and could use a little help in the defensive driving area. I get car sick and have to hold on when he's driving.

Who is more stubborn? Depends on the day :)

Who kissed who first? Aaron kissed me. He was a fast mover on the look-out for a wife. Apparently I passed that test. haha!

Who asked who out first? He asked me out. He picked me up on his motorcycle and we drove out to a waterfall and jumped off. Apparently I passed this test as well, though this happened several dates BEFORE the first kiss.

Who proposed? Cute Aaron. He had the ring for a week and it was burning a hole in his pocket. I received a call at work (Key Bank) and he asked if I could go to lunch with him. I couldn't because the other gal that covered for me had an appointment and I had to be there. He told me he REALLY needed to eat lunch with me and could I come over for just a few minutes. I met him at Taco Time and we just chatted for a few minutes. I had to get back so I stood up, put my coat on, and was ready to leave when he said "Wait! Will you be my wife!?!" and he pulled out the ring. I was late back to work. He told me that he sold two of his cows to buy me the ring so I am truly proud to be a "two-cow wife."

Who has more friends? Aaron would be happy in a cave without running water.

Who is more sensitive? Definately Aaron.

Who has more siblings? I suppose I do. We have nine with "his, hers, and theirs." We didn't all live in the same house though. Aaron's from a family of five brothers.

Who puts the kids to bed? Both of us.

Who wears the pants? Hmmmm.... this answer might start a fight. haha!

I am curious to know about some of your husbands so I now TAG: Kimby & Lindsey

Am I a good mom??

So I suppose I need a little reassurance here. I came home the other day and my children had moved our trampoline to a new location. Here is what I came home to. Even my 4 year old has nerves of steel!






So I suppose my thoughts are that I probably should've stopped them, but instead ran in and got my camara and the trampoline is still there. For those of you who are wondering though... I do have boundaries. I would have nixed the whole activity if my Cherry was participating. :)

Turning 25

I can't believe it's my 25th birthday. Okay, no one will believe that because it would mean I had my first child when I was 14. Yikes! Okay, so I'm 29 :)

Below is my birthday picture holding my sweet moolah and the new basket for my vintage 6-speed I got for Christmas. Also you will see the potato head which was holding the little ponies that Emily gave me. She also parted with her "Barbie, I love you" book. She always loves to give away her things. So cute!

Katrina made my cake for me... a poppy seed cake with an orange glaze. It was fabulous!! I want it for my birthday every year. She even fresh-squeezed the orange juice for the glaze. Mmmm, mmm, good!! It was a great birthday!

Our new addition... or additions :)

Little did you all know that we were expecting... bees that is. haha! My husband decided to raise bees this year and it is really quite fascinating! They work so hard and they are too busy to want to sting anyone. That knowledge has completely cured my fear of bees. I can be out on the back deck oblivious to the swarm above my head.


Here's Aaron in all of his glory!

The making of bean bags

I got this hair-brained idea that we needed some practical application of the math the children have been learning. What better way than sewing!?! The children decided that they would like to have bean bags in the schoolroom so we dug through my endless supply of fabric and each of them found fabric that suited their fancy. We dove in and the results were amazing as you'll see below. I was very proud of all of their efforts. The older two made theirs from start to finish!

Here's Jed showing off his sewing skills on the treadle sewing machine. Go Jed!

And Katrina is becoming quite the expert on the treadle!


Helping little sister iron her seam in preparation for the zipper.


The outer shells are finished exept they are full of kids instead of beans!


After the completion of the inner bags, they were filled with beans and VIOLA!!

Why we love Alaska

Just when we thought we were fully into spring... rhubarb growing, snow melting, sandals on the feet.... we get nearly THREE feet of snow!! Suddenly we are thrust back into winter and on the radio is playing "Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland." The snow burried my van overnight as you see below. It was fun to dig out of, take pictures of, watch the dog try to maneuver around, and the children had a blast. Now we wish it away and it is almost gone now. A few more warm days like today and we will be rid of it for good.... I hope!!


Katrina knocked over by Shasta who was happily bounding through the snow

The snow was nearly gone in this yard the day before... now look at it!!

Which one of these kids is doing their own thing?

Do any of you remember from, I think, Sesame Street when they had the segment of "Which one of these kids is doing their own thing?" There were squares of children and one would look completely different from the others. When I downloaded this pictures, guess what came to mind? Can you guess which one of these children doesn't belong in the snowball fight?? Haha! Yes, that is a pink swimming suit covered by a Princess robe. And to complete the outfit, we have white Sunday shoes.