Our Busy Lives

A lot has been going on with the Romrells lately. We were lucky enough to spend an entire week in Arizona with my dad and his family. We had sooo much fun. It was definitely something that we both needed. We got to Phoenix late Monday the 29th. We did a lot of fun things while we were there, but mostly it was just nice to be around family. We have both been a little homesick lately. They took us to Toby Keith's restaurant called "I Love This Bar & Grill." It was really cool and the food was yummy. We also took a drive up the mountain to a place called Appalachian Trail. It was beautiful. I had never seen soooo many cactus. We did some fun Easter activities and did a little shopping. Oh, and my favorite part of the whole week was the time I got to spend laying in the sun. It was great to rejuvenate and relax with my family.








The week before we left for Arizona, Jase got a call from a company out of Heber City, Utah called Probst Electric. They are working on a job in Gillette, WY and they wanted Jase to join their crew. It was a very hard decision for us to make, but after many hours of prayer we decided to make the change. So, the day we got home from Arizona we picked up our U-Haul and loaded it chuck full. The next day we woke up early, cleaned the apartment, and we were on our way! It has been a very hectic, stressful week for us. We ended up having to live in Wright, Wyoming a small town just outside of Gillette. The job is closer to Wright then it is Gillette, and the rest of the crew is living in Wright. Wright has a population of 1000 people. It is TINY! There were many tears shed when we first arrived here and I realized that our choices for living quarters was a single wide trailer, that was way overpriced, or a motel that used to be an apartment complex. We ended up choosing the motel. I am sure you can imagine how hard it was for me to get used to the idea of living in a motel for four months, but once we got settled in it really hasn't been that bad. We have a kitchen, and a small dining room and there are two bedrooms and a bathroom. Everything was obviously furnished so we ended up having to put the majority of our stuff in a storage unit. I was able to put a few decorations up and I took off the comforters and put our own on. It is feeling more and more homey. I don't have an oven or a stove top, which will be interesting, but I am sure my crock pot and skillet will be put to good use. :) We have decided it's all in our attitude. We felt good about this move, so I am positive that there is a reason that Heavenly Father wants us here. The company seems great, and Jase will be making a little bit more money, which should make it all worth it.

We have become professional movers, and I am sure that we will continue to just get better. Life is good. It's times like these that makes me realize how much I love Jase, and that all we really need is each other. :)

February 2010

You would think with all the down time I have, I would be a better blogger. Here's what's been going on in our neck of the woods:

On February 4th, my studly husband turned the big 23! Funds at our house were a little tight from moving, rent, down deposits, rental trucks, etc. I had so many great ideas of what to get Jase (he never buys anything for himself) and wanted to get him something great sooo bad but we just did not have the money. Birthdays are a huge deal to me and always have been. My mom made our Birthdays so special growing up and I inherited her love. I felt so sad, really, really sad that I couldn't get Jase a present. I decided to buck it up and make do with what we had. :) I spent some time the day of his bday making him a homemade birthday banner, and scraped up enough money to buy the fixings for his favorite meal. Our apartment is too small for our kitchen table, so we took the legs off and have been storing it in the coat closet. I dug it out, and layed it on the floor (just the table top:) and decorated it as cute as I could. I even bought him a Mt. Dew and made him gift certificates for a back rub, dinner, a movie, and coveralls which he desperately needs. I think he enjoyed his little dinner and cake, and overall it was a pretty good b-day for him. :)
The Decorated table on the ground

All of his "presents" and cards from home

This is his homemade banner



We have been in Ulysses for one month already. Can you believe it? Jase works four weeks, six days a week, 12 hours a day, and then he gets a week off. I have been looking forward to his week off since the day we got here. He was definitely ready for a break. We decided to go to Denver, which is about five hours from Ulysses, and stay for a few nights. We had such a great time. We don't get to see each other very much since Jase works so much and this little vacation was very much needed. We left on Monday and checked into our hotel and then decided to try a Mexican Restaurant that we both had heard a lot about, Casa Bonita. They have live entertainment while you eat, gun shootouts, divers that jump from the top of rocks into a pool, singing, dancing, etc. It was a fun experience!






On Tuesday we walked around a few of the malls and went to see a movie. It is amazing how much we have missed being in a big city, with so much to to. We enjoyed a steak from Outback Steakhouse that we have been craving for four weeks, and Jase even took me to Olive Garden on Wednesday. We decided to go to the Temple on Wednesday, and it was a lot of fun. We had a fantastic trip.

Life In Ulysses

Well we officially live in Ulysses, Kansas! It is SO different here then anything we have experienced before. Ulysses is a very small town, literally in the middle of NOWHERE! :) It is so flat. I have a horrible time figuring my directions out (not that I was good before) because I have always used the mountains as my guide. We have been here for two weeks now and we actually like it so far. Jase is working an outrageous amount of hours, which will be good for the paycheck, but not so good for me. There are literally no jobs here. I have been around to everything. There is a dollar store, Alco, a few grocery stores, and then three or four fast food places. No one is hiring. So for now, I spend a lot of time on the phone with my family, work on my classes, and watch way too much T.V. Jase seems to really like work so far. He has been working about 12 hours a day, six days a week! He is very exhausted when he finally gets home and wants to relax and watch T.V. I, on the other hand, am so dang stir-crazy from sitting around all day, I want to go do something!

The people in Ulysses seem very nice. We went to our ward for the first time last week and we honestly felt like celebrities. EVERYONE came and introduced themselves and made us feel very welcome. We have already ate dinner at two different families houses. It's truly amazing to me that no matter where you go, the Church is still true and a ward family still exists. It honestly has been a great experience so far.

It's amazing how everything has seemed to work out for us. We have had a few setbacks, and have felt very stressed at times, but The Lord has definitely had a hand in our lives the past month. We ended up renting a Penske truck to bring some of our stuff out here with us, and I am SO glad that we did. For a while we considered packing the car full and calling it good, but I would really be crazy if I didn't have a bed! We had to take the truck back to Amarillo, Texas because that was the closest location to Ulysses. We ended up driving through six states in two days, and let me tell ya, it was enough driving for the next six months! We drove from Idaho, to Wyoming, through Colorado, down to Kansas, to Oklahoma, and then to Texas! It was really a fun experience though. It has been so much fun experiencing new things, especially together.


This is the sun setting on the way into Ulysses. Beautiful.



Enjoying the loud, bumpy Penske ride!


Driving through Oklahoma!


TEXAS!

Kansas

We are very excited to announce that we are moving to Kansas in the next few weeks! :) Jase got a job with a contracting company out of Boise that has a four month long job in Ulysses, Kansas. It is a small town, I think it has a population of 6,000 but we are sure excited. It will be a great opportunity for Jase to get some of his Apprenticeship hours done and get some experience. It is a little further away from home then we were hoping for, but a job at this point is a GREAT blessing. The company will pay for living expenses and he will get a lot of overtime so I think it will be worth our time to go. We are now just busy wrapping everything up in Boise. They are taking two different crews, one leaving on the 25th of January and one will be leaving on the first of February so we are just waiting on the phone call to let us know when we will be leaving. YIPPPPEEE!

Graduation/Christmas

I am turning into a bad blogger. So much has happened since Thanksgiving. Where do I start? Well, first of all.....JASE GRADUATED!!!!! I am so proud of him. The graduation was so fun. Jase's parents and his brother Kolby and his wife Diana came to support him. It was nice of them. Graduation started at ten in the morning with a Lineman Rodeo where the graduates were able to show off some of the skills that they have mastered while attending the school. All of the students were split into crews and then competed against each other in various activities. Jase was in a crew with some of his friends from Montpelier and they ended up being the Rodeo Champions and were acknowledged at the graduation.  Yes, that's right, my husband was the champ! :) Here are few of the pictures from the Rodeo...It was freezing. 

Notice the little kitty above Jase's head? That was part of his challenge, to climb the pole and save the cat!

Once again, I was so proud of him. He did great! It was a lot of fun to watch him show off everything that he has learned at the school. 

Jase, Kade, Silva, & Chase receiving their award for being Rodeo Champs!

Kade, Chase, Jase

Official Northwest Lineman College Graduate! :) Yes, I cried like a baby. 

Kolby & Diana took us to Chilli's after Graduation as their Graduation present to Jase. It was nice of them!

We now have a few decisions to make about where we are headed in the next few months. It's nice that Jase is done with school and we can concentrate on finding a job that will help him with his future career. 

This is turning into a LONG post. Christmas was great for us. We were in Pegram and Star Valley for two whole weeks! We decided to spend as much time at home that we could, because we don't know when we will be able to go back. We were very blessed this Christmas, and enjoyed the time we spent with our families. It is so nice to go home, and relax and put the real world on hold for a little while. It was nice to get back home to Boise and put the suit case away though. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and we wish you all a happy new year!!!

Baby It's Cold Outside

I can't believe that December is here. Time is sure flying by! We had a great Thanksgiving break. It is so nice that our families live so close together and we are able to see them both in one trip. It was a little colder in Afton & Pegram then it is in Boise but we had a fantastic time. :)

Here are a few of our Thanksgiving highlights:

-Watching BSU stomp on the Aggies

-Eating at Einstein's Bagels & Andy's in Logan

-Getting my hair done (Lindsay dyed my hair brown & I love it)

-Aggie Basketball

- Romrell Thanksgiving Party

- Armatage Thanksgiving Dinner

- Card games with the Romrell Fam

- Bar J Wranglers

- Gingerbread house creations and Monopoly with my sisters

Shonnee & Kolby at the football game

Jase & I watching BSU

Designing our beautiful gingerbread houses!

Jase & I with Raeg & Tal 

Jase has 7 days of school left. Can you believe that? We have been applying for jobs like crazy and will hopefully have something soon.  I am so dang proud of him. He has worked so hard and has done such a great job.  The time has literally flown by since we got here in Boise. It is a little nerve racking not knowing where we will end up but I am sure it will all work out. He has a few finals coming up that may be hard but other than that he is pretty much done with everything. Here are a few of his recent pictures. 

Pumpkin Carving

And the carving begins.....

This is our final product. Mine is the cowboy hat with the "W" & "J" and Jase's is the awesome bucking horse. We sure are proud! :)