{NINE} years

(Yeah, I know, it's an old picture but a good one of both of us is hard to find!)

It's been 9 years. I can't even believe it. I feel so much gratitude that I get to spend the rest of my life with my handsome, kind, funny, spiritual, and manly husband. He is the world to me and I am so so so so incredibly lucky that he chose me. He is an amazing husband, father, and best friend. How wonderful these years have been and it is so great that we have so many more ahead.

Most of our pictures together look a little something like this....typical Brandt fashion. What a clown. I L.O.V.E. him!

Cute things the twins did today

Today the boys needed to be woken up from their naps. I went into their room and Charlie popped right up. Dylan kept laying down and he was laying on his side so I snuggled up next to him in his bed. I layed my arm over him and started to fake snore. He followed suite so we were both fake snoring. Charlie couldn't resist us so he jumped in and we all were busy "sleeping".

This afternoon we were sitting in their room playing with the toys in their closet. We were playing with the Jack-in-the-box and having fun making it sing, pop up and push the clown back down. One time, the clown popped up and instead of putting him back into the box, Charlie proceeded to pat the clown on his back. He was "burping the baby".

Love them...

Picture to go with last post

I found the picture I wanted to include in my Ba-ba-ba-bite post. Both boys were being naughty one day and got sent to the corner at the same time. It was so cute that I had to sneak out and get the camara to capture the moment. Man, I love those boys...even when they're being naughty!

Ba-ba-ba-bite

Yesterday I had a day. My visiting teachers came and while they were here, Dylan pooped. They left so I layed Dylan down to change his poopy and he was screaming and yelling and squirming because he had a bad bum rash and it was hurting him. Oliver was laying on the couch and was fussing just a little so Charlie went over and was trying to put his binkie back in. Next thing I know, Oliver is screaming bloody murder so I rushed over to hold him and see what was the matter. I was asking Charlie "What did you do? What's wrong?" and next thing I hear is "Bite, bite". I looked at Oliver's onesie and there was a wet spot next to his belly button so I undid the snaps and sure enough...teeth marks. Not just teeth marks but a bit of red from scraping the first layer of skin off, too. I slapped Charlie's mouth and sent him to the corner for 3 time outs. Dylan is scraming, Oliver is screaming, and now Charlie is screaming, too. Fun fun.

The title of the post is ba-ba-ba-bite because if you're eating something, that is how Charlie asks for a bite. Dylan's is a little shorter, just ba-bite. It really is cute. I need to catch it on video so I'll remember their sweet voices.

Here's a picture. Has nothing to do with the post but I think it is cute. My boys in the tree house.

YELLOWSTONE!!!

(The theme for our trip) A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to go to Yellowstone with my family. We had a great time and lots of fun with lots of exciting stories. Lets start out with the best story of them all. Brandt and I decided to carpool up with Craig and Tree's family and my parents and Brenda would drive up separately. We were getting a head start since Brenda couldn't get off work until noon. I figured we would get up their a little early and look around before the parents and Brenda arrived. Craig and Tree got to our house about 9:30am. We loaded everyone up and on our way we went. Craig & Tree wanted to go through Logan to see my cousin's house that was being built and we figured, why not, it's beautiful up that way this time of year. Everything was just as we expected and once we got to Logan, it was suggested we then go through Bear Lake. Ok, a little out of the way, but ok, we're always up for an adventure. Got to Bear Lake. A little futher along Charlie did a little "hack" of a cough. It startled us so we looked back at him and the next thing we know, he is throwing up. Brandt quickly pulled over and I ran around the truck and he threw up again. All over himself, all over the car seat, poor kid. I pulled him out and he was crying and shaking cause he didn't know what had just happened to him. So there we are on the side of the road in some random po-dunk town cleaning up the puke. It was aweful. I never, ever, thought I would be able to take on such a situation but I think when you become a mommy, you become someone you couldn't imagine before. Anyway, we got him cleaned up and then I had to feed O. Luckily, we pulled over next to an old school house and there was a playground so everyone went over and played for awhile while I took care of business. An hour later we were on our way again. Once we thought we were cruising, we smelled the most awful smell ever. One of the boys had pooped and it was a poop. It was the worst smell and we HAD to stop to take care of it for the sake of our noses and whomever's bum had to suffer. We pulled over again and found out it was poor little Charlie. I started to pull down his pants and oh, my hannah, he had pooped out his diaper down both legs. After that nasty undertaking I decided to just keep him in his diaper since he had already gone through two outfits. Then, back on the road. I didn't realize that the scenic route we had chosen would take so long. We drove, and drove, and drove. I had only packed enough food for lunch and so the last part of our trip I was just feeding the boys snacky foods. Perfect for their upset tummys. My parents, who left 3 hours after us, arrived 2 hours before us. With all the driving we did, we could have been in Disneyland. Note to self: You have children. You cannot "fly by the seat of your pants" anymore. Must get from Point A to Point B in the shortest amount of time possible.

We finally arrived and had dinner and went to bed! What a day it was. The rest of the time we were there we drove, and drove some more. My boys were so good considering we kept them in the car so long. Poor Dylan has never been strapped down and besides a few exercist episodes, he was quite the trooper. After our eventful drive in, Charlie was great, and Oliver was very content (unless his feeding was nearing). Here are some pictures: Old Faithful: We were walking up and it went off...perfect timing.

A few pictures of the whole crew Oliver officially turned 2 months on the trip

Any time the boys went up or down the stairs or in the hallway, they had to roar at the bear on the wall.

Home Sweet Home

Deep Thoughts by Drea

This morning was one of those morning where I just didn't want to go through the motions with my kids. I wanted a day off. I wanted to sleep in. I didn't want to make breakfast for anybody. I didn't want to bathe anyone. It was just one of those days. Later on this afternoon I was sitting on the couch feeding Oliver and the boys were running a-muck as always. I had just given a piano lesson and my student's mom picked her up. I was thinking about her mom. She is an incredible lady whom I would love to be like. I was thinking how great it is for her that her kids are now grown, she is home-maker and does all those home-maker type things (bread from scratch, tortillas from scratch, canning, etc.). She can come and go as she pleases, her kids are old enough to talk like an adult to, she gets to travel quite a bit, from the outside looking in, she is just amazing. Then the light bulb went on. I look to her and am envious of what she has now but I know that 3 years ago, I looked to a new mother that way as well. Now that I am in those shoes I am not enjoying where I'm at and want the older child. How is it that we forget those things and do not enjoy the moment. I am so grateful to be able to be a mother. I love my little boys. I love that I get to stay home and make sure they are taken care of and taught good principles. I am so blessed. I need to remember that. I need to relish in these crazy times of no sleep and constant yelling! This is just a moment in time that will be gone before I know it and I will miss it like crazy. I cannot forget that. That is my thought.

Oliver's Blessing

We blessed little Oliver on Sunday. What a special day. We love him oh so much. The day turned out great. We seem to always have a weather catastrophy when we have parties at our house so it was great that we could be out in the backyard for once. The blessing was beautiful. I was told that Oliver laid out on all the men's arms and sprawled out his arms and legs and just slept. That's my guy. We came back home after sacrament and had ranch-burgers (made courtesy of my mom) and yummy salads and treats. What a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Our family of FIVELittle (or should I say BIG) Oliver

Notice the blanket he is on. My mother knitted it for him. Also, notice the outfit, that is the outfit that Brandt was blessed in.

My heart is full...I am so lucky.