Weekend Getaway

We just got back from a long weekend in Pennsylvania. It was an exhausting trip, but it was so much fun! We ventured out there for my brother's wedding and managed to fit in lots of other things as well.

We left Thursday night after we got off work for Salt Lake City and flew out early Friday morning. It was so exciting knowing that at the end of the day I would be seeing my family. Although, we had a lot of traveling to do before that happened. We got our tickets a little late so we weren't sure what our seats would be. Taylor and I were lucky enough to get a seat next to each other on our second flight, and I made myself nice and comfy. 11 hours of flying/driving later and we made it to my parent's house.

Saturday was the wedding day. There wasn't time for much before we started getting ready and the fun began. Her dress was absolutely stunning! They were married in Ashley's beautiful church filled with stained glass windows. The ceremony was really nice and after many pictures we headed over to the reception. The night was filled with family, food, and dancing. I loved her centerpieces. They were simple, but perfect. I'm so glad that these two finally tied the knot.

One of the best parts of being home was getting to spend Memorial Day at my family's lake house. I spent many summers there when I was younger. Hot dogs were roasted, and my dad and Taylor spent time trying out the new sailboat. There was also plenty of time spent with my sweet niece Raelyn. She is so stinkin' cute. I can't believe how much she has grown. Leaving her knowing that the next time I would see her she would be walking and starting to talk was so hard.

One thing I always seem to forget when I'm away from home is how green it is and how many trees there are. It is green everywhere you look. Everyone out here can keep their ugly brown and flat space because I would prefer trees any day. I can't even explain how different it is. 

It was a great weekend. I love being home, and being with my family. Every time I go home I miss it more and more when I leave. Coming home and adjusting back to working was not easy. I hope that one day Taylor and I might end up there, but for now I am just enjoying the ride.

1 Month

How the heck have I been married for 1 month already?! I get that isn't a long time, but man did it fly by. I feel like I have learned so much in this past month about myself and our relationship. I can't even imagine how much more I am going to learn.

The first lesson I learned is that I am NOT an easy person to live with. I am just like my mom which means that I am emotional. I cry over everything and absolutely nothing. I get mad for basically no reason. I'm trying to learn how to not let certain things bother me and to move on to a better mood faster. I don't know how Taylor has survived and I'm not sure how he is going to survive. Makes me very happy that Taylor is an easy going guy, and isn't hard to live with.

The second lesson that I have learned is that it truly is the little things that matter. I'm not here to tell you what to do, but I think that this is a great idea for couples to have. I bought this board at Target for a dollar so it isn't even an expensive thing to do. It doesn't always get changed every day, and there isn't any pressure to write on it. It is nice to see that something small you might have done mattered. Funny story, one day Taylor had written "because... you're a clean person." I'm pretty sure that he meant I don't leave my stuff laying all over or leave the kitchen a mess. I had just gotten out of the shower when I read it so I assumed he meant he loved me because I shower. It could definitely be taken either way.

A big congratulations to Taylor for getting a job! He is going to be a 'yard boy' at Pioneer farm store. He has basically had it for two weeks, but they were super slow with the hiring process. Today is his first day of work. Hooray! I am going to miss my house maid, but yayyyy for both of us working now. I'm so happy for him and us :)

Things we love:
- Thrift store shopping. $1.65 for this operation game that works perfect and is only missing one piece. (I kicked his butt at it) I got a super cute Down East dress for 6 dollars! I was way excited about it. We haven't really gone looking for anything specific, but I think it is fun to look and see what treasures you can find.

- Waffles. My Aunt Sue got us this awesome waffle make for our wedding, and we use it at least once a week. Waffles are just so delicious. Waffles give a whole new meaning to breakfast. 

- Heads up. This is an app by Ellen DeGeneres. It costs 99 cents, but it is SO worth it. It is meant to be played in teams, but being that we don't have any friends we just play it with two people. Our favorite category is 'Act It Out'. I could go on and on with hilarious stories of us playing it, but I will have to save them for another post. For real though funniest app ever.

- Bike rides. It is nice to have something to do to get us out of our apartment at night. We have a neighborhood that is nice for riding and a good park we can go to that isn't that far away. The weather is warming up nicely so we have been able to go a couple times so far, and I see many more bike rides in our future.   

Happy Mother's Day!

There isn't a better mom in the world :)

My mom is always there for me. Here we are at my junior and senior proms. She happens to be wearing the same shirt. Weird. Anyway, it meant so much to me that she was there to help me get ready. She helped me with my dresses and made sure that everything was perfect for me. 

I love the bond that she has with my sister and I. We had to stick together to survive a childhood being outnumbered by boys. My mom is the only one that kept us sane. She is always there for twirling things and made it possible that we could take baton lessons. We wouldn't have done the sport for even half as long as we did if she hadn't driven us to manyyyy lessons and given up a lot of her time. She volunteered to help out with parades and recitals and anything else our teacher needed. She was the perfect baton mom. 

My mom is the glue that keeps my family together. She is a very hard worker and a selfless person. She works at least 40 hours a week helping mentally and physically handicapped people. It is a demanding job, but she does it day after day. She would do anything for her kids. She has welcomed everyone's spouses like they are her own kids. She keeps us one big happy family.

Super cute momma and I on my wedding day. What is better than having your mom there for you on one of the most important day of your life? Nothing. I am so happy that everyone was able to come out for it. My mom made the day so much easier for me by helping out with everything she could and being there when I needed her. She helped me with planning as much as her indecisive mind could, and she can now help Rebekah a lot when she gets married because we learned a ton.

My mom is also a spectacular grandmother. She loves little Raelyn like her very own daughter. I can't wait to watch her love my kids the same way. Another reason why she is so great is that she puts up with my crazy father. They have been married for almost forever. She teaches me to forgive faults, and as annoyed as I may get you still have to love them anyway.

My mom is my best friend. We have so many laughs together, and I can talk to her about anything. She shares my Grey's Anatomy obsession. We're both super indecisive, and according to everyone we look alike. I have so much more appreciation for her after watching the boys for the past few months. I don't know how she handled my brothers and Rebekah and I. She is one heck of a mom, and she deserves to have an entire day dedicated to her awesomeness.

Home Sweet Home

Now that we have gotten moved in and have somewhat decorated I think that it is time for a tour of our apartment. It isn't anything super special, but for now it's home :)

Being that the living room is the first room you walk into, it seems like a good room to start with. 

Turns out that our bookshelf doesn't have many books.. Good thing that I have more that can be unpacked. Taylor insisted that he wanted our keys hung up (something about it being "messy") so he went to Walmart and picked up this cute little thing. At least it was fun to paint, and it made me feel crafty. Side note, I made that calendar. Super cute right!? Thanks Pinterest.

Now onto the kitchen!

It really isn't anything special, but I didn't want it to feel left out. I really have nothing to say about the kitchen.. Except check out that kitchen aid! I am in love with it.

Finally the bedroom

I loveeee the comforter set. (thanks Grandma Thomas!) I might get yelled at for jumping on the bed, and the pillows are often used as literal throw pillows. I think Taylor is just jealous that he is too tall to jump on the bed. We're definitely not a serious couple. The dresser is all thanks to his Grandparents. We are so lucky to have received such nice things! The other side of the room is just three closet doors so don't feel like you are missing out.

I didn't take any pictures of the bathroom, but there is a shower, sink, and a toilet. Cool. The only awesome thing in the bathroom is our shower curtain Its blue and ombre, and it is a wedding gift from my great-aunt. She also got us some towels that match. Love it!

Having this apartment filled with everything we need/wanted makes me feel so blessed. We would have next to no furniture if it wasn't for our family and friends. We are pretty sure that we will be moving back to Rexburg in about four months, but this is our first place together. OUR place. How crazy is that? It will always be special to us, and it is home.

The Best Job

I thought that I would introduce you to my kids. So they might not be my kids exactly, but I spend 10 hours a day with them 4 days a week. Soon to be 5 days a week.. I might not know what it is like to be a mom, but I have to be pretty darn close.

I chose to have a job like this because I didn't want to work in a gas station again and I love kids. Most days I don't know what  the heck I was ever thinking. A gas station would have been so much easier. For most of the day I have the three boys Hunter, Ruger, and Bridger. Emily gets home a little after three and things seem to get twice as crazy. Our days usually include playing Avengers, attempting the Wii, LDS Bingo, Ninja Turtlefrogs, Cartoon Network, Disney channel, cars, trains, monster trucks, cuddling, and playing outside.

 This is Bridger. He's 2 and a half. He's the cutest little boy. I love his snuggles right after he wakes up from his nap. It is probably my favorite time of the day. Second to when he is napping of course. He says "My Rachel(Hachel)!" a million times a day and will always say love you back at anyone and give kisses. He is the Hulk. We started potty training on Wednesday and oh my goodness am I in over my head. The first day was the best and I feel like it has been down hill since then... Any potty training tips?! I would gladly except them.

Hunter(left) is 4. Ruger(right) is also 4. They're twins! I love their very different personalities. Hunter is hilarious, and a show off. He is always asking me if I want a knuckle sandwich like the punk he can be. Ruger is shy and a bit moody. Hunter is Captain America and Ruger is Thor. They usually wear their costumes at least once a week. Hunter's color is green, which they only call it Luigi, and Ruger's color is either orange or red depending on what is available. This matters because they have to have the right colored bowls/plates/cups. We do preschool worksheets, and the twins are finally starting to be able to remember and identify some letters. Surprisingly enough, they actually love to do their homework, and get upset if we forget to do it.

And this is Miss Emily. Apparently she is never around when we get into a picture taking mood. She is 7, the only girl, and the oldest so that should begin to explain her personality. I only have her for two and a half hours after school, but most days that is plenty. I love when her and the boys play well together. It makes things so much easier. She is one emotional little girl. Simply asking her to do her homework will make her cry. 

Sometimes Taylor visits us and the boys LOVE it when he is here. He can give them shoulder rides and throw them up in the air which they never get from me since I am weak. If they ever fight or anything he just sends them to me so I get to yell at them, and he looks like the nice guy. I'm pretty sure they just love to torture him, but he is usually a good sport about it.


On a completely different subject, I bought a new bike with money I received for my birthday. The last bike I rode was one of my brothers and it was all old and boy like. I made sure that my new bike was plenty girly and definitely all mine! The best part is Taylor has a bike and loves to ride it so it is something we can enjoy together now. We went on a bike ride Friday night which was the first time I rode my bike. It was some super cute bonding time.

Super windy bike ride today, but look!