{two weeks}

Two words I have been so looking forward to this past year. Two Weeks.

As of tonight, Jacob has put in his two week notice at UPS!!! 

Whats that you say? 

Why are we excited for this?

 For the past year Jacob has worked EVERY SINGLE weeknight M-F 

from 5:00 PM until whenever they would be done. 

Sometimes this meant 9:00 PM, and sometimes this meant 1:30 AM. 

Especially around Christmas time the hours were CRAZY! 

He has not had ANY days off minus 

Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas/Eve, New Years Eve, Memorial Day, and the Fourth of July. 

That is only a total of SEVEN week nights that I have been able to spend with him since last August 

- and he was only home for 25 days before he started this job!

Because of this, our weekends have been CRAZY!!

If we ever wanted to do something with friends/family,

or go on a date,

be social at all,

or even just be together, 

it would have to be a Saturday. 

Which meant we would wake up at 8 am and be out playing until late that night. 

Makes for an exhausting day. 

Sometimes we would dread all the things we would have to fit into one day.

Aren't weekends supposed to be relaxing and fun? 

Now I don't want to make us sound ungrateful that he had this job. 

It really was a great job to have and it worked really well with school. 

But I am just so darn excited to have my husband back!! 

And he can't wait to have regular set hours and be able to spend more time together.

Now, once his homework is done which should be by the time I get home from work, we can go on a date on a weeknight, or have some friends over, or have family home evening on a MONDAY NIGHT!! 

Ahh! The possibilities are endless!!!

Now we just hope he gets hired on campus here pretty quickly. 

He has an interview this Wednesday for a job we think would be perfect for him! 

Prayers would be appreciated!

With more time during the week, I'm thinking there may be some more blogging here in the near future. 

We will have more time to take pictures and just relax and be ourselves again! 

Until next time!

ps Look below for a cute 15 second clip of what I do when he's at work.

Monterey Drive

As promised, welcome to our home!

THE KITCHEN

THE LAUNDRY BATHROOM

UPSTAIRS BATHROOM

MASTER BEDROOM

THE FAMILY ROOM

*Not pictured is the second bedroom that is sort of a storage room of sorts for now. 

But we are loving our new home and are so happy to be here!

{Reminiscing...}

One of my favorite things to do.

Last night as J and I were getting into bed without planning it, that is exactly what we did. 

Until two in the morning.

The best part is, I didn't even care. 
I am a sleeper and have to get up early in the morning for work, 
so sleep is very important to me. 

But last night could have gone on forever and I wouldn't have cared. 
I wanted it too. 

We reminisced about EVERYTHING.

• We remembered the first time I stupidly hugged him.
• We laughed at the funny "clever tricks" I would do in high school to spend time with him.
• We remembered seeing each other at the lowest of lows when he came home the first time.
• We remembered saying goodbye the night I went to Idaho, both of us completely in love but to afraid to tell each other.
• We got butterflies thinking about Canyon Glen. {Star gazing, holding hands for the first time, the proposal}
• I wept at remembering saying goodbye with only 8 hours notice.
• We talked about the letters that stood out the most to us.
• We talked about everything that happened during the mission.
• We laughed at how wonderfully fun the Sadie Hawkins dance was.
• We smiled at remembering the fourth of July.
• We remembered the night we decided we wanted to get married.
• We told each other how we felt when we first knew we were in love with each other. For me, 2008/2010. For him, 2010.

And we loved, 
and we grew, 
and we fell in love all over again.

I never wanted it to end!

Last night will always be one of those nights I will hold close. 
I can't believe how blessed I am to have this wonderful man in my life.

It's crazy to think about what we've been through and that it's all over! I swear some days I miss him so much with our conflicting work schedules. But then I remember those 17 months and realize that we've got it pretty easy. We have grown so much and been there for better or for worse ALL along! 

I am so grateful to have shared all of those experiences with him, and better yet to be able to remember all of them. 

Best Friends for {almost} 5 years, 
Lovers for {almost} 3, 
and Sealed for {almost} 1.

 Eternity just keeps getting better...

xoxo
-O

little ladies

"Although I'm not their mother

I care for them each day,
I cuddle, sing and read to them
And watch them as they play.

I see each new accomplishment,
I help them grow and learn.
I understand their language,
I listen with concern.

They come to me for comfort,
And I kiss away their tears.
They proudly show their work to me,
I give the loudest cheers!

I laugh when they do funny things,

And I smile from ear to ear.

I remember them when on my knees,

and know that God will hear.

No, I 'm not their mother,
But my role is just as strong.
I nurture them and keep them safe,
Though maybe not for long.

I know someday the time will come,
When we will have to part.
But I know each of them will always be,
forever in my heart!"

~ Author unknown

Growing up brings more responsibility,

and lots of change.

 Because of that,

today was my last day with the little ladies. 

It's hard to think about.

I'm so grateful they've all allowed me to be a part of their life

for the last two years.

I still remember the first day I started like it was yesterday.
Jacob had just left on his mission the day before.

Malia and Summer were getting ready for school,
I walked in and got right down on the floor,
and played play-doh with 1 year old Taya,
and 4 year old Ember.

I fell in love with them instantly!

Even though I know it's not the end,

 it will be hard not to see them every day.
I will miss their cute smiles!

This job has been such a blessing in my life.

It seems wrong to even call it a job.

This family came into my life right when I needed them.

Sounds cliche, but it's true.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love them.

But now I must grow up. 

Although I don't entirely want to,

It's what we need to do.

I'll see you soon,

 my little ladies!

Always remember...

you are very, very, loved.

xoxo 

-O

"You is smart, you is kind, you is important."

Our First Humble Abode

THE KITCHEN

our fish and frog. no the tank is not THAT dirty. it's the counter behind it that makes it that color through the lens.

window sill decorations

I'm going to miss having this shelf, I may have to put one up in our next kitchen. I have loved it.

THE FAMILY ROOM

disregard the valentines decorations that are still up.

our 10 dollar rocking chair, awesome pillow we got from a sister in my ward, and the BEAUTIFUL afghan my Granny MADE for us!

I'm also going to miss having a mantel to decorate. 

and our red couch...

I made this try, and the chevron pillows (pictured above) to add a little more color.

THE BATHROOM

i love love LOVE our shower curtain!

THE BEDROOM

the mirror was my grandmother's.

gotta find a place for all those reception pictures somewhere! have you spotted them all? There were also 4 un-pictured.

I love decorating and cannot wait to decorate our new apartment. There will definitely be some things that I will miss about how I decorated it here, but considering we will be living there a LOT longer than we have been living here, I'm going to find plenty to do!

xoxo

-O

eight.four.zero.FIVE.seven.

That's right! We're changing zip codes. 
     But don't worry, we aren't going TOO far!

Come May 1, 2013,

We'll be out on our own.

So excuse me if I don't make an appearance for a while... 

I'll be 
     painting, 
          garage sale-ing, 
               Ikea-ing, 
                    painting, 
                         Packing, 
                              Cleaning, 
                                   Shoping,
                                        painting, 
                                             crafting, 
                                                  decorating, 
                                                       starting another job,
                                                       painting, 
                                                            and 
                                                       moving. 

Whew! Here's to a busy, new, hectic, changing, exciting month!

Just thirty six days, until we'll be all nestled in on Monterey Drive.

Pictures to come :)

xoxo

-O

ps I just realized I never posted any pictures of our place right now. 

I'll make sure to do that. I have loved the way we set it up! :)

"Parent Camp 101" part uno

So this week we have been taking part of this...

When we pulled up at 5 am Saturday morning so Jason and Karen could go to the airport, we saw this sign on the door that Summer made for us. "Welcome 2 Parent Camp! 101" "May the force be with you, and the pranks be little!" "This better go on Insta". Right then and there we knew it would be a great week! And it sure has been!

This week has been full of....

1)Winning 1000 tickets, and many Merry-Go-Round rides at nickel city. 

(We won the jackpot 4 times on separate games)

2) Jacob and the girls making a HUGE fort that all of us could fit under 

to watch a movie before bed.

(it looked super cool with the lights off and the TV on)

3) Yummy treats.

(NOT pictured: mini doughnuts, red velvet cake cookies, and scotcheroo's)

4) LOTS of dishes, laundry, and bath time. 

Which surprisingly I have really enjoyed doing.

5)Easter crafts, Summer came up with the Bunny made out of eggs, 

I came up with the decorated Egg idea.

6) Grocery Shopping with the 2 little ones.

 (I let them get in the "car" cart, which was kinda hard to push around)

While we were at the store this really cute old man walked by and asked if I could help. He needed to use his cell phone to call home, and couldn't figure out how to call someone from his contacts. 

 It was pretty cute.

7) LOTS of Dora, and playing outside. (It's been beautiful weather this week!)

8) Yummy lunches and dinners.

9) Lots of fun, pretty hairstyles. (I love their hair, it is so long and pretty!)

I wish I had taken more pictures of the styles we've done. It's been so fun!

10) Tumbling, Soccer Practice, and Soccer games.

This is Taya and the cutest little boy she found to play with while we were at the other three's 

tumbling lesson.

11) And lots and lots of laughs from this little one, and the rest of the girls.

There have been so many funny moments that we have had, but most of them you kind of had to be there. Like Taya singing "Girl on Fire" at the top of her lungs, or mostly anything Taya's done. 

But this week especially I have seen my husband in a whole different way. He LOVES kids! It is so cute to watch. There was a day that he watched them for me while I went to BYU Nationals, and I came back to find him cuddling with them watching Tangled/listening to Taya quote the entire show, instead of doing homework. He also played twister with them, and had them tidy up the house a bit. What a good boy!

Sunday night as we were going to bed he said. "I won't be here to tuck the girls in this week." (He works until about 10 or later every night) Thinking he was saying that as a relief, I said, "You're probably happy about that". Then in the saddest voice he said, "No, I love telling them stories and acting like a Dad". 

Melted my heart. These girls LOVE his stories. (He makes them up, he's awesome like that) The last two days he's been home just after nine and been able to go in and tell Ember and Summer a story before they fall asleep. Last night he came home exhausted because they just switched him to the busiest trailer. He loaded more packages than he ever has, even more than Christmas time. When he walked in Malia and I could just see how burnt out he was. BUT without fail, he walked right into Summer and Ember's room and told them a story. It's been so cute to see him interact with these girls. I think they even like him more than me. Ha ha.

One night as I was tucking Taya in, she said, "Where's Jacob?" "He's at work." "Oh, when will he be home?" "Later tonight, I'll have him come say good night if you're still awake when he gets back". "Okay, cause I need him to come home and tickle me, and then I will be SOOOO happy."

It has been SUCH a fun week, and it's not over yet! We've still got 2 more days! We have absolutely LOVED watching and taking care of them this week. It has been a blast.

We love these super silly girls.

xoxo

-O & a little bit from J

Oh, and of course I've been driving this. 

And... maybe I've secretly been loving it. 

Shhh... it's a secret. 

Don't tell, Okay?

Thanks.