love letters...

So a couple of months ago I had a bit of a meltdown. I was feeling worn out and unloved and probably a bit overwhelmed. And my poor husband got the brunt of it. This man of mine, he has NEVER EVER spoken an unkind word to me. He has never been anything but supportive anyway he could figure out. So a few days after my little  big meltdown I received a letter from him in the mail. It was a little love letter to me. And it could not have been more perfect for what I needed at the time. Then the next week I got another, then another. So that he didn't feel to much pressure to do them every week, I told him he didn't have to send them every week. So now I get them about every other week. And I so look forward to them. It is one of the most thoughtful, loving things he has done for me. I adore this man of mine. And I am so grateful I get to spend eternity with him.

Getaway...

So I was totally lame and didn't take very many pictures. I took four on the whole trip, my bad!

Anyway...

A while ago, Hubs knew he would be attending a work related conference in Park City, Utah. He suggested I go with him as a little getaway. I have been looking forward to this for months. So for six whole days we left our kiddos in good hands (with my parents) and drove to Utah for a getaway with my cute man. I had been anxious for many weeks leading up to this vacation. I just don't like the idea of leaving my kids. At first I worried about them, then it turned into worrying about if something happened to us and our kids would be left without their parents. I just was finding alot to worry about. It was stressful, but once on the road I made myself stop worrying.

We left at 5:45 am Monday morning. We woke the kids up to say goodbye and give them a little goodbye gift as well as tell them that they had a little gift and note to open everyday while we were gone.

On the drive to Utah we stopped in Le Grande, Oregon where Hubs lived for 5 years as a child. We stopped by the house he lived in and I MADE him get out and stand in front of the house for a picture. 

We drove the whole freaking day and didn't get to Park City until 10:30pm. It was a long day, yikes!

We were lucky enough to stay at the Stein Erickson Lodge where the conference was at. Boy was it fancy! We drove up to Valet parking and they insisted on getting all our luggage out of the car and taking it to our room. We stayed in a nice, little room with a personal hot tub on our patio which we did take advantage of. It was so relaxing! 

When we woke up in the morning we went to find some breakfast and found this beautiful view at the lodge. The picture obviously does not due any justice to what we actually saw. It was breathtaking!!

When we found the lodge restaurant they sat us outside and this was the view from our table while we ate a delicious breakfast. Pretty sure you couldn't wipe the smile off my face at this moment. 

Just to the left out of the picture was the ski lifts taking mountain bikers to the top of the mountain. And we watched mountain bikers go down the trails which you can barely see in the middle of the picture.

This is what the balcony looked like where we were eating breakfast.

This place was so amazing. The only downfall was the altitude and dry air. Both Hubs and I were getting over head colds and add altitude and dry air, we both could hardly breath. 

But we really enjoyed our stay!

The rest of the trip included visiting one of my best friends in Layton and then staying with my brother and his family and getting to play with my adorable twin nephews who are just four months younger than Oak. We also went out to eat with my other brother and his family (the ones who were just in Oregon the week before) for my niece MaKenna's 14th birthday. And also we went to Provo to visit Hub's sister and her husband and had a nice visit with them. We ended up coming home a day earlier than originally planned, which we are so glad we did. Although we woke up at 3am (Utah time) to make it so we would get home at a decent time. 

I am so glad I went with Hubs and we got talk each other's head off and just enjoy each other's company. It was much needed and so worth every penny spent to make it happen.

Our kids were so happy to see us when we got home and they haven't punished us too much for being gone for so long. My favorite was Mac's never ending hugs and Oak telling me, "I so happy to see you Mama!"

I am so grateful to my awesome parents who sacrificed a whole week to take care of my kids at our house. They did an amazing job and I really didn't worry about them at all. Mac even got to go with his other grandparents to the lake house for a night and he had a blast.

away...

 ...he is all mine!

Hubs and I went on a little get away to the coast/lake, to celebrate our anniversary and the end of busy season. We stayed at the family lake house that is near the coast, the weather was beautiful. We left Mac with my parents, left him for the first time. We had a great time, and Mac was very well taken care of.

We poked around downtown Florence. We went to our favorite beach, Sunset Bay. We looked at tide pools. We went to a beautiful garden near by. We ate at the Mill Casino. We watched movies. We went to a Historical Museum for the Coos Bay area. We went on a walk. We ate chips and salsa. We took naps and slept in. And called to check on Mac at least 5 times a day, it was only to help keep my sanity.

It was delightful and relaxing!

EIGHT years...

This picture looks like it was taken 50 years ago, but really it was just eight.

(sorry for the bad picture, it is a picture of a picture and the only one I could find.)

Ode to Eight Years...

two people, one wedding.

5 years of school: one bachelors in finance and one masters in accounting.

lived in 4 cities and two states: 6 moves, 3 apartments, 3 duplexes, zero houses.

12 different jobs between the two of us: Hubs-8, Me-4

6 Wards, 1 Branch

14 months living away from our family and friends.

4 cars, still have two.

lost two family members very tragically.

7 months of foster-respite care to a sweet, beautiful ,little girl.

6.66 years childless, with millions of tears.

8 months of fertility treatments: one surgery, 2 failed IUIs, thousands of dollars spent.

3 months of paperwork for Adoption: 5 months to be "chosen", 5 months of waiting.

one amazing selfless women, one beautiful miracle baby boy, OUR SON.

16 months of parenthood: one sweet baby that is now one sweet toddler.

millions of tears, smiles, laughs, hugs, kisses and blessings.

one very amazing husband!

...and ETERNITY to go!

MY Hubs...

Since our anniversary is coming up, I thought that I would do this husband tag. So here goes...

What is his name? "Hubs".

How long have you been married? 7 years on April 14th

How long did you date? 1.5 months before we were engaged, then 5 months before we were married.

How old is he? Just turned 29 in January

Who eats more sweets? For sure me, but Hubs has his days.

Who said I love you first? I don't remember at all.

Who is taller? Hubs, I sometimes have to stand on my tippy toes to kiss him so my back won't hurt.

Who can sing better? Hubs, although neither of us would sound good in a solo.

Who is smarter? Hubs is very book smart and I have better common sense.

Who does the laundry? Me, Me and Me

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do.

Who mows the lawn? It would be Hubs if we had to mow the lawn, but our really nice landlord does it for us.

Who cooks dinner? Mostly me, but Hubs is always a good help.

Who drives? We argue about who has to drive because we both hate it.

Who is more stubborn? Hubs for sure, but I think I learned a little from him since we have been married.

Who kissed who first? I had to kiss Hubs first, because he was only off his mission for about 2 weeks and he was too chicken. And then he asked me if I was a player, I showed him.

Who asked who out first? Our first date kinda fell into both of our laps. We were going to go to a dance as a group and then everyone bailed on us, and we decided to still go.

Who proposed? When we were first engaged, it was a mutual agreement. But then a couple of months later when he went and picked up the ring I picked out he decided to do a little more formal proposal.

Who has more siblings? We both have 5 siblings.

Who wears the pants? Depends on the day and the subject. But I will say me!