Where it all began!

Last week was crazy and this week seems to be starting off the same way! That's life with 2 little boys though right;) I love it, I wouldn't trade it for anything.
It seems like when you take a big trip, it takes forever to get back to your routine and get the kids back on their schedules. Not to mention they always pick up sickness about 2 weeks after the trip, so once you think you're getting everything figured out, that hits and you go back a few steps. I think we are over the worst of all our sicknesses and Rafe is feeling better since his tongue was clipped. So it's the perfect time to take another trip, right?!
This time it's just Dan and I, and we are going back to "where it all began!" AKA Rexburg! Not the most exciting place to go, but for us it holds a lot of great memories and takes us back to being the carefree couple we used to be;) Now that we have 2 kids it's harder to feel carefree, but rexburg always brings it back out. And I love that!
Dan's best friend Matt is graduating so we are ditchin the kids at Grandma and papa's and we are flyin solo. I am so excited! I could use a little break to be quite honest. It's only 2 nights, but it's just enough to really really miss my kids and get some time to myself that I have been really needing lately. And some time with Dan which has been sparse lately as well. Here's some stuff we are planning on doing!
1. Going to our preztel place! When we dated, we always went to this cozy little pretzel place and it has been forever since we have been back. Everytime we go to Rexburg we never have time to fit it in! So we are going first thing this time! One of my favorite dating memories with Dan is in that spot. We had only been dating about a week, and I was so in love with him already I could barely see straight. (Cheesy I know, just wait) I started telling my mom and my bff Victoria if we continued to date, we would get married. I just knew he was perfect for me. So anyways, one tuesday we skipped devo and walked to this place for the first time. We got preztels and sat across this little table and talked for like 2 hours. I just remember the way he looked at me made me blush and made me so giddy. He was the only guy I ever dated who made me feel that way. I just remember after that date I could have married him the next day. I love everything about that guy;) and That is one of my all time favorite memories;) Sorry for the mush;) Next!
2. Walk around the campus! I love BYU- Idaho and the campus is so pretty. Walking around there brings back memories of me being on my own for the first time and feeling so grown up and mature. Its changed a lot since i've been there so it's fun to look at all the new stuff.
3. Book Store- I love the book store and all the cool stuff they sell. I always gotta hit that up since I'm officially now an alumni! I gotta get some gear!
4. BYUI Gardens- Dan and I took so many walks in those gardens! They are so beautiful. I remember walking there one night and we were talking about how many people get engaged there, (secretly I always thought that's where he would propose to me...then he said this) "I'll never do that. Everyone does it). I almost cried. hahah I was always waiting for it when we went there. But he did tell me he loved me for the first time in the gardens. And that is another ALL TIME favorite memory with Dan. I told him I loved him too, and that I knew we were going to get married....and he was ok with that;) And then I told him all the names of our future kids...then he got weirded out. Just kidding, that didn't happen;) I'm not THAT weird! I would never actually tell him that, even though I already had names picked out hahaha jk again. But seriously, that was one of the most romantic moments of my life. SO we are def going back there. That happened a little less than 2 months after we met. Crazy, I know.
5. Visit our old makeout spot.....no explantion needed there;) But it's gonna be fun!!
6. Go see Dark Night! I'm soooo excited for this!
7. Eat at Wingers! That's where I used to work as a server and had so much fun! That's where I met Tim, who's dan's brother. He was a little young for me, but he had a brother so I gave him my number;) Thankfully! Best decision I ever made! Even though at the time I was dating someone else, but could see it needed to be over. 3 days after that ended, Dan the Man entered and the real love story started.
Writing all this down makes me so excited to go. I love my kids but 2 nights away will be nice. And they will be in good hands so that always makes it easier to leave them. Another thing I love about going to Rexburg is the car ride with Dan. We've been married for a little over 3 years, but we always have so much to talk about! We "wax philosophical" as Dan says, the whole way there, and the whole way back. I'm so glad I'm married to my best friend.
And I'm excited to see Matty C! He and Dan are like brothers when they are together. And he brings out a different side of Dan that's hard to finds sometimes when he's in husband and daddy mode.
Well sorry this post turned out so much longer and mushier than I was planning;) I hope you all have something fun to do this weekend too! Here's some old pic's of us dating just to really finish this off right;)

A little update for now, a bigger one for later!

Well it's like 11 and I'm sort of restless, even though I was up super late last night. Like 3 A.m. late. Dan and I were putting our bedroom back together after we painted it. It's so much easier to do that kind of stuff once the kids are in bed. So anyways, I thought I'd jump on here and do a little update.
We went to Florida for Joe's wedding. The actual trip was great. The flight was hell. Actually, the flights were ok, the layovers were hell. That's for the big update. LONG story short, I will never fly into LAX again. and I don't ever want to fly united again! Delayed flight turned into cancelled flight. sleeping in airport with 2 babies. 0 sleep for mom and dad. little sleep for babies. Mice on the floor. Little accommodation on their end.
WORST.NIGHT.OF.MY.LIFE.
It was so great to see everyone. I wish so badly that we all lived closer. It was so cute to see Damon play with his cousins. They are the cutest little girls in the world! And so sweet! Damon loved them and so did Rafe. I wish we were neighbors so they could play every day!
We got home and caught up on sleep and jet lag then turned around and all got sick. Then got better for a few days, and are sick again. The fourth of July rolled around and it was a blast. We went to Melba for the parade, the kids took naps and Dan and I went on a little day date. Then we came back and watched the fireworks. That is my favorite part about the 4th. I LOVE fireworks. We watch them from my parents, which isn't quite the same as being at the school, but it's nice not to face the traffic and crazy crowds. If you've ever been to the melba 4th, you know what i'm talking about! One of Dan and I's favorite thing to do is go up on my parents balcony and look at the long line of traffic trying to make it's way out of melba. You can see all the roads from their house and it takes hours for everyone to get out of that tiny little town.
We went boating on the 3rd. It's been about 4 yrs since I've gone. and it was so amazing! I forgot how much I love to ski and wakeboard. I thought since it's been so long I wouldn't remember what I'm doing, but I snapped right back! I was pretty proud of myself, although I was so tired after skiing, wakeboarding, and wake surfing. (which is awesome by the way and super easy, if you haven't tried it, you must!) It must be the 2 kids I had during those 4 years;) Takes a toll on your body!
Rafe just got his 6 months shots. (where does the time go?!) And he just got the muscle under his tongue clipped. I had to hold his little head while they did it, and I hated that! It was super quick, I wish I would have done it sooner! IT is so dang hard to spoon feed him. I always give up and just give him a rice cereal bottle. I think I need to take him to do the physical therapy on his tongue so he can learn how to eat and suck properly. It just gets in the way of the spoon and it all gets pushed right back out. I was hoping I wouldn't need to take him for that, but I think it'd be best. He's rolling over and is starting to sit up pretty well. He loves his jumper and spends most of his time in there. He loves to stand on our legs and jump. I'm bad about tummy time and putting him on the floor, which has made him slower at learning how to roll over and scoot and sit and everything else. He's safe in his jumper. WHen he's on the floor, Damon attacks him and has to be RIGHT next to him, and the A/C is always on in our house and freezes him when he's down there. He hates tummy time and just pushes his face in the ground. So yeah, he hardly is alone on the floor to learn how to roll and army crawl. Which frankly, i like having him immobile right now;) I remember being so excited about all this stuff with Damon and trying to get him to crawl and roll and walk so fast! Then he was into everything haha! So I'm in no rush for Rafe to learn all that.
Damon has an ear infection, which has been fun..... It's his first one, so I can't really complain. He's been a trooper. He's starting to talk so much more! It's hard to understand, but he's getting there. His face expressions are the best! He always looks like whatever he's saying is so important! He'll ramble and ramble then just laugh like whatever he just told you was so funny. I just wish I could understand! He is such a sweet boy. He always is loving on Rafe and whenever Rafe cries, Damon runs to him and yells "Rafey! Rafey!" It just melts my heart to see how much he loves his little brother and cares for him. He always wants to wake him up in the morning while rafe is taking his morning nap. "Rafey sleepin?" Then I say yes, and find him trying to sneak upstairs 5 min. later. I love that kid!
We have been working in our yard alot and doing lots of projects around the house. It's so much fun to do that stuff with Dan. It makes me feel so grown up;) haha looking at OUR house and OUR yard makes me feel like an actual adult....cuz two kids doesn't make me feel like that? haha I don't know how to describe it. But I'm sure some of you know what I"m talking about!
Things are going great for us. We are staying busy. I'm excited for this sickness to go away so we can enjoy our summer! Although, I wish it wasn't so dang hot. i never want to leave the house. i hate the heat. I'd love it if it rained everyday and the high was like 75 degrees. haha I know i know! I'm weird.
Well that's all for now! Here's some cute pics of the boys;)

Is it seriously June already?

Where has this year gone? I can't believe it's already past the first week of June. This month always flies by for me. I'm trying to figure something good for Father's day and Dan's birthday is the 26. I have so many things I want to get him, but I'm trying not to go overboard;)
We leave for Florida on Tuesday and we are so stinkin excited! I can't wait to see our family and hang out on the beach and maybe hit up Disney land and Universal. I'm excited for Damon to play with his cousins and for everyone to meet Rafe. They have no cousins on the west coast, so I'm glad that Damon will get a chance to know his cousins better! One thing I'm not looking forward to is the plane ride...with two kids. Luckily we got a red eye so we are hoping they will sleep. But that could easily blow up in our faces haha lets just hope it doesn't. And I don't do well in the heat and humidity. I've always been a fan of like maybe 80 degree weather with a little humidity. But I prefer overcast skies. THat might sound crazy to some people but I love the rain and I love grey skies. I don't know why. It's beautiful. UNLESS I'm at the beach, then I want it like 100 degrees. But walking around in the heat drives me crazy! And my hair turns into a fro.
Yesterday I took Damon to Ann Morrison park. He loved it! A little too much. He did not want to leave and he let everyone know it. Especially me....the whole 20 minute drive home. and about 10 minutes after we had been home. Thankfully he fell asleep after all that screaming so I could have a little minute to regain my sanity! But we had fun. There was a big fountain and slides and swings and we fed the ducks. It's so cute, Damon kept saying "here ducky ducky" I have a video of it, but I don't know how to upload to a blog. I posted a few of the pictures on Facebook So you can check those out;) He is such a fun little boy and Rafe loves to be outside too. We try to get out at least once a day. The only thing that holds me back is when we have to come inside and Damon looses it!
My best friend, Victoria Pieksma, just got home from her mission in Honduras. I went to the airport with her fam at midnight on wednesday. It's so good to see her and have her back! I freakin missed her. It makes me so excited for when Colby will come home. in just about 10 months. haha that seems so far away. I miss him so much but he is doing so great and has grown up so much.
Well sorry for the random scatterbrained post. I just didn't know what to do with my free time!:)

Damon turns 2!!!

Say hello to the happiest 2 year old around!

                  He really was happy on his birthday, but there also was quite a few tears too. "Terrible Two's" is no joke folks, and it doesn't miss a beat;)

           For Damon's birthday we celebrated in Melba with my family. It was so much fun to get everyone together to celebrate Damon's special day. He is such a sweet little boy and has brought more happiness into my life than I ever thought possible! Here's some pic's of the birthday boy!

Oh my gosh I love this picture.  Damon loves his dump truck!

Well, he's a little cleaner than he was last year!

LOVE this little man!

He got lots of new cars for his birthday. They are his FAVORITE thing. He lines them up like this all the time. These are only about half of his cars. He has to have at least 3 or 4 with him everywhere we go. 

My whole life I knew I wanted to be a Mom, what I didn't know was how soon it would happen for me and how quickly the time goes! It is so much fun seeing Damon grow and change and go through different phases of his life. He is so much fun, and I'm so lucky to be his Momma. He has hit a bit of a rough patch, but he has plenty of sweet moments that make up for the hard times. He absolutely adores Rafe and always wants to be next to him and hug and kiss him. When he's sad, he wants Rafe, when Rafe's sad, Damon can always make him smile. He's so sweet to him, I just hope it lasts! 

Damon is such a jabber box. He just rambles all day and he has a little lisp that is the CUTEST thing! He's learning new words every day and is getting great at communicating with me what he wants. He's starting to love books and wants us to read to him before bedtime, which I LOVE.  He loves to go outside and could seriously play out doors all day long. His favorite movies are Cars, Despicable Me, Tarzan, and Toy Story. He also loves loves loves Mickey Mouse.

Damon is such a sweet little boy and he makes us laugh so hard every day. He does the funniest things. He has a great fake laugh and hilarious face expressions to go along with it. I don't know what I would do without my boys! Here's a few pics of little Rafey too!

Rafe's Blessing Day/ Grammy Val Visits!

Rafe was blessed on February 20th, he was 6 weeks old. Dan's Mom came to visit from Florida, so we wanted to bless him while she was here. I didn't get any good pics of our little family or of a group shot of everyone that came, I'm so bummed. But I did get these! They show how cute little Rafe is in his blessing outfit. Thanks to everyone who came! It was a full house. We are so lucky to have such good friends and family!

Rafe is still pretty orangey in these pictures. He had jaundice pretty bad for a little over the first 2 weeks. We were sent home with a billi blanket and eventually had to upgrade to a little tanning bed for him. It was hard not being able to really hold and cuddle him for that first little while. It was a little depressing because he wasn't getting any better and the poor kids foot look like he walked on a rose bush! He had little scabs all over from getting his billi checked. I was so glad when we were finally done with that stinkin jaundice!

Rafe has been a very chill baby since day one. He cries very little, eats great, and even sleeps wonderfully! I was so glad. Damon was a hard newborn, so I was gearing up for the same with Rafe, but no two babies are alike that's for sure! He sleeps from about 10p.m. to 6 a.m. pretty consistently. He only sleeps well if he is swaddled and can't get his arms free. if they get free, he wakes up because he hits himself in the face haha. I actually feel bad putting him in that little sleep sack and strapping his arms down. But I know if we all want a good nights sleep, I have to do it!

Rafe turns 4 months on Sunday, and that's when Damon turns 2! I cannot believe that he is already 2! I just had him! Where does the time go? And when can it slow down?! I'll be sure to put up a post about Damon's birthday and do a little update on that little guy. 

A Busy 2012!

Hello friends! I just got on here and realized that Christmas was the last time since I have blogged! What the heck?! I'll give you a quick run down and maybe some pics too;)
Christmas was amazing! We loved watching Damon open his presents and stop to play with each one before moving on to the next. He got so spoiled between us and both sets of grandparents! He got lots of new toys and clothes. He got alot of new cars. He LOVES cars. That's all he plays with anymore. He's a boy through and through.

Oh and before Christmas, I graduated! Heck yes! So glad to be done for a while!

I was in my last month of pregnancy here, so don't judge me for that sweet chubby pregnancy face!

So the holidays were a blast! We spent a lot of time together as a family, enjoying our last little bit before baby came! I told myself that I would wait until new years and then I could start trying some stuff to get things going. Luckily, I didn't have to try too hard. I had my mom buy some castor oil and she came over and I was debating taking it. She took it with 3 or 4 of us and it worked like a charm every time. (If you're a hippie and are mumbling things under your breath about me even thinking about that.....you must have never been pregnant.) I'll keep this short and write the whole story on my other blog, www.mommybrigade.blogspot.com. So I just had to think about taking castor oil and my water broke. I went to the hospital. My contractions didn't really pick up so they started pitocin. and around 9 the next morning I had a sweet little baby boy in my arms!

Meet Rafe William Morley

7lb 11oz 21"

So for those who can't read that well or sound out letters, it's Rafe....pronounced like safe....(sorry if that seems harsh, you just wouldn't believe the way some people say his name. Really? Do I look like someone who would name my kid RAFAE? I don't even know a spelling for the way people say it!)

Rafe is the sweetest baby. We are so blessed to have two awesome little boys! Damon loves Rafe so much! He can't get enough of him and is always hugging and kissing on him. Rafe sometimes gets a little annoyed by it, but I love it! Damon has adjusted great! I really couldn't ask for it to be any different. It's not easy by any means, but it's easier than I was anticipating. 

So the last few months have flown by! Between Dr. apts and trips and just being a mother of 2 has kept be super busy. I enjoy days that I can stay home in my sweats and watch mickey mouse clubhouse with Damon and cuddle Rafe. Being a Mom is the best job ever!

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the year!!!

Except for when you have to go face the crowds! Ugh, nothing brings out my inner grinchness faster than the crowds and inconsiderate people!
ANYWAYS!
Tomorrow morning, we get to talk to Colby! I'm so excited. I've really been missing him lately. We've always been close and it just won't feel the same without him here. But he is loving his mission and he is grown up so much! It's so great to see that amazing transformation. I look up to him so much!
Damon is getting spoiled for Christmas! Not just by Dan and I, but by the Grandparents. We got a whole box of gifts from Dan's family, and I know there's something waiting for him at my parents house. It's so hard not to want to give him cool toys and clothes because he is just such a sweet kid! He has been so great lately! He's always been great, but lately he has just been awesome. No fits, no melt downs, he sleeps great, eats great, and is happy 99% of the time. I love it. It makes it so much easier on me during the day when he's happy and takes long naps. It makes me think I can actually handle having 2 little boys. Some days I doubt that I can, but I really couldn't ask for a better little boy to set the example.
I'm so excited for Dan to open my presents that I got him. He spoils me rotten all the time and I always feel like I need to spoil him more. So I got him some pretty cool stuff and I really hope he likes it! He is great to me, and I have a feeling that he's still going to win in this spoiling game;) I figure next year it will be about the boys, so we might as well take advantage while we can right?!
I love the Christmas season so much. I wish it would snow on Christmas sooooo bad. That would just be the cherry on top. The forecast says it won't, so that kinda sucks. But its Idaho....and who really knows how the weather will be.
I hope you are all having lots of family time this weekend and getting in the Christmas spirit!