July 4th and Family Pictures

For the 4th of July, we went over to my Aunt Janet's beautiful house to celebrate my Grandma Parker's 80th birthday.... and our countries independence. We decided to give Grandma a family picture gift and she was thrilled. She just loves counting all of her grandchildren and it helps her to remember how many people love her when she sees their smiling faces. I've also wanted a new family photo of my little family since Emily was born. They turned out great! Amanda was the photographer. She has a way of making the kids smile and capturing their little personalities. Kate's best smiles came when Amanda had her say, "See you later, suckers" instead of cheese. I'm not comfortable with the word suckers, but she sure thought it was funny and it made for some adorable pictures.

This time we all said, "See you later, Suckers!" Suckers sure did the trick. I just love this picture!

Grandma Donna with the great grandkids.

Donna's entire family! They turned out surprisingly well since my Uncle Ray ran back and forth between timed shots.

Amanda and "her kids." Her theme is, "Aunt: Like Mom only cooler."

Grandma and Grandpa. This is the make a funny face photo. It's my favorite of them.

Butler and Durrant family.

3 Months Old

When Emmy smiles her entire face lights up and everyone in her presence melts. The world is a better place with this grinning little bug in it. Happy three months old, sweet Emily!

Moving & Pam Hunsaker Drive, by Melissa

Well, we've moved out of Henderson and into my parents house for a month before we move into our own home in Lehi. We have mixed feelings about our big move. It's both a wonderful dream come true and a bit sad at the same time. We always knew we'd be back in Utah to follow our values and raise our children close to family, but we didn't expect to build a family in Henderson too. Our friends in Henderson have been so good to us and have shown us the true meaning of charity. They have become family and will be missed dearly. (Especially on weekend game nights.) 

Atleast we get to live on the best street in American Fork.... Pam Hunsaker Drive. On May 23rd 2009, American Fork City honored my Aunt Pammy and her family by naming the street they live on after Pam. 630 East is now Pam Hunsaker Drive! How cool is that?!

Pam's family: Wayne, Aaron, Caitlin, Micah and Keira.

Special thank you to my parents who have put up with us for one whole week already. One week down and five more to go before the Durrant's get rid of the Butler crazies!

What a guy!

Melissa: Wing has always been an awesome Dad. On his first Father's Day he received a very special gift, a baby boy! When he first saw Parker his eyes were huge with pride and his grin just about fell off his face. I knew from that time forward that Wing would dedicated himself to being a good father, provider and husband. We are so blessed to have him as our Daddy. He makes learning, playing, stories and life just plain fun! When Daddy is around life is better. Wing, thank you for being the man who I fell in love with and for raising our children with inspiration and love. I love you, Wingy. Happy Father's Day!
Grace: My dad is the best. He always cares for us and no matter what, he will love us. Fathers are so special and they help you when you need it. They are always there. My favorite thing to do with my Dad is to go on a bike ride. One time we went into 7-11 on our bikes and I saw my friend there. We said, "Hi" and then left. Some kids from school saw me too. I just said, "Cool!" My Dad is the best! Love ya, Dad! Kate: I love to go swimming with my Dad. I love to be naked with him. I love to jump on the tramp with him too. I love to go on field trips with him and I love to be his best buddy. Someday we will get married because it's my turn to marry him next. I love to drive with him at Grandmas. You are a very special Daddy!
Parker: My Daddy is my favorite pal. I love him very much because he's my dad and all of those reasons. I wish you a Happy Father's Day. I hope you enjoy playing with me cause you better play with me when you gets back. Happy Father's Day Dad. I love you!

The Big Ten!

My chubby little baby boy is TEN YEARS OLD today! Every birthday reminds of his original birthday when my water broke at 6:00 am when Wing had just got home from an Amway convention in Ogden. We were living with my parents at the time, trying to save up enough money to get our first house. When my water broke I asked Wing, "What color it that? Oh, I think my water just broke!" Wing's eyes went huge and we hustled up the stairs holding my wet garment bottoms. My Mom met me in the hallway, took my wet bottoms, (what a great Mom) and Wing and I sped off the hospital with a towel in hand. When checking the rear view mirror we noticed Dr Richards in his cherry red Porche right behind us. He was headed to the hospital to do his laundry! All three of us walked through the hospital door and the nurses jumped when they saw me with my towel because when they see a towel they know it's for real! The rest is 10 years of wonderful memories!

Parker choose to go to Brick Oven for his birthday lunch. This is the huge chocolate moose lollipop pie that they gave him. He's pretty pumped about it, but couldn't finish it.

We went to Jump-On-It later. Zac Christensen stayed the weekend with us while his parents visited colleges with his sister. It was a special treat to have Parker's best friend with us.

The ballon guy at Brick Oven hooked us up with his detailed balloon art.



Happy Birthday, Parker! We are so glad that you choose to bring your sweet self to our family. You are a great example to all of us and we love you tons and tons.

Last Night

We wanted to fill the last night in our Henderson house with fun memories. We were all exhausted from loading trucks and it was late at night, but we just couldn't pass on one last game of hide-n-seek. We turned off most of the lights and played in the dark because the house was empty without furniture to hide behind. Both Wing and I have to admit that we were a bit scared when it was our turn to be the finder. Parker hid in the back shadows of the kitchen cabinets when I was it and scared my bum off when he suddenly poked his head out from the creepy shadows. Wing screamed like a girl when he found Kate and I in the pantry with our monster hands up ready to grab him. Grace thought she was a spider girl and climbed up the towel closet to the top shelf before revealing herself and freaking out the rest of us. CREEPY! Wondering how Kate did? Wing put her on the top shelf in Grace's closet and when I opened the door she giggled so hard that I almost fell over!

After our hearts were done racing from the spooky hide-n-seek game, we took one last foot bath in the backyard pool and watched the airplanes fly over our house between the twinkling stars and said our goodbyes by sharing some of our favorite Henderson stories. 

The last bit of fun was spent having a sleep over on our air mattresses downstairs. After all of the days excitement, the kids had a rock solid nights sleep. What a great way to end four wonderful years.

We will miss our house, but are grateful that Heavenly Father has blessed us with the miracle of togetherness. A house is just a box to put your most beloved things in. Our house held our most valuable possessions... Family. Who could ask for anything more?

Why Mom Can't Be A Kid & More, by Melissa

I Want To Be A Kid Again:

Kate and I went to the Mission Hills park with her preschool class after one of her field trips. It was a really hot day and the water feature was on. I expressed my desires to be a kid again and play in the water with Kate. This is what she said....

Melissa: "Kate, I want to be a kid again and play in the water. It's too hot out here."

Kate: "Mooommm! You can't be a kid again!"

Melissa: "Why not? I'd like to play with you."

Kate: "You can't be a kid because you have mommy milk in  your nippies and that makes you a Mom. That's it!"

Sprite:

Last week in sacrament meeting while the bread and water was being passed, Kate started to cry. I asked her what the matter was and she replied, "I don't want water. I want Sprite!" She then started to cry and I tried to muffle her cries by placing her favorite blanket over her mouth. When she didn't stop crying I took her out into the hallway. She started to cry for Sprite even louder and started to kick the wall. Not good. She cried off and on for the whole hour. Wing said he could hear her the whole time. She even sat in the corner during sharing time because she was still upset. That Sprite is a powerful thing!

Compliments:

While we were walking into church last week Grace said, "Hey Mom. Let's sit in front of a family with bad kids so that their parents will give us compliments because we are sooo good."

Girlfriends:

Parker finally confessed to me that girls have had crushes on him all of his life. In fact, several girls have asked him to "go out" with them since the first grade. I wasn't surprised. Parker's a handsome fellow! I asked him what he says when they ask him out. He said, "Don't worry Mom. I just say no. I'm not into girls." I tried not to laugh and asked, "So why do they keep asking you out if you always say no?" Parker rolled his eyes, let out a huge sigh and said, "Because I'm just a nice guy. I can't change that. It's just who I am." Thank heavens for nice boys.