Phoenix Trip--Post 2

We also went to the Phoenix Zoo while we were visiting my dad. It was a lot of fun! There was a petting zoo with VERY patient goats that didn't mind getting whacked in the head numerous times. The boys are so in love with animals right now so they loved the zoo.









My dad and Cara received a gift card to an Italian Restaurant for Christmas and were kind enough to save it for Jase and I so we could go out on a date while we were visiting them. I must say, it was something I was really looking forward to. We had so much fun! Eating out without the kids was heavenly...we love the kids of course but eating out with the two of them is not always relaxing. After dinner we walked around IKEA, my new favorite store. It was so fun to just have a little time to ourselves, we rarely get that! Thanks again Dad & Cara for the gift card and for watching the boys. :)

We flew out on Sunday. Boy oh boy was it ever a circus. We got to the airport at 8:30, our flight was scheduled to leave at 11:00. When we got there we found out it was delayed until 2:00. We were not happy! That was 6 hours in the airport with two toddlers. Our flight ended up not leaving until 3:00 and our time in the airport was as miserable as one might think. I really don't know how we would have survived without Lindsay and my grandma. Linds could read me really well and could see when I was close to a break down so she would trade me off. The boys ended up screaming most of the flight. I think by the time we got to Billings at 6:00, all 6 of us could have had a mental break down. :) Once we got to the airport we realized that our luggage had been left out in the rain for the 6+ hours that we had been waiting in the airport and the car seats had at least 2 inches of water on them. It was the cherry on top of the crap! We had to lay towels down on the car seats for the boys to sit on because we had a four hour drive home. It was a very exhausting day.

We had a great time in Phoenix though and it was so nice to be around family. Hopefully next time we go we will have better luck on the trip home. :)

Phoenix Trip---Post 1

A few weeks ago we flew to Phoenix to visit my dad for the weekend. We drove to Billings, MT where my Grandma Black lives and picked up my sister Lindsay on the way. Our flight left Thursday afternoon from Billings and we arrived in Mesa, Az Thursday evening. I had so much anxiety about flying with the boys! I knew that it was either going to be a great trip or we were going to wish that we had just stayed home. :) Between the four of us (Lindsay, Jase, Grandma and I) we had three suitcases, a giant diaper bag, two carseats,three purses, and the two boys in their umbrella strollers!! We made it to the check-in counter and ditched the car seats and suitcases and made our way to security. I had literally been lying in bed for days making myself sick about going through security with the boys. I envisioned them screaming their heads off and all of us feeling flustered to keep the line moving and avoid having to be re-scanned. It actually went really well! We made it through security without a problem and only had a short time to wait to get on the plane. Once we got on the plane, Lindsay, Grandma and Jase with Stedson on his lap sat in one row and Treydon and I sat across from them. The boys fell right to sleep as soon as we took off which was an answer to my prayers! :)



Friday morning we woke up and did family pictures. It's a rare occasion that we are all together. I think they turned out really cute. The boys were not too happy about having to be held when there was so much wide open desert for them to explore. Here are a few of our favorites.





I have more pictures of the Phoenix Zoo but those will have to be in another post. My time is running short. :)

Playing catch up!

Wow! I am behind on my "journaling". What's happened since Halloween? Well a lot! In November we went to Billings, MT to spend Thanksgiving with my Grandma Black and Aunt Sindy and her family. The best part of the trip was Black Friday shopping. I woke up at 3am on Friday and shopped until I dropped! I LOVE black friday shopping and hadn't been in a long time. It was so much fun! I was able to get all of our Christmas shopping done and got some fantastic deals!

December was a busy month for us. The first of the month Kolby and Diana and their girls came to Casper for the weekend so we were able to meet them for the day on Saturday. We took all the kids to see Santa Claus in the mall and then dropped the kids off at the hotel with Jase and Kolby and Diana and I did some shopping. It was a nice break! The boys did NOT like Santa one bit. We had taken them to our ward Christmas party the weekend before and they HATED Santa!!


Stedson & Treydon's visit with Santa in Casper

Kambria & Brielle with Santa..I love this picture of them!

This was their first visit with Santa at the Ward party.

We left for Star Valley on the 23rd and were able to stay for five days. The boys had some serious stranger danger issues, but finally warmed up when we were getting ready to leave. We had an awesome Christmas. We were surprised with an ipad on Christmas morning and I was moved to tears! :) We were soooo excited. The boys loved Christmas as well and had a lot of fun opening presents. It was nice to be home and spent time with my family.

Lindsay got the boys the cutest Broncos sweat suits for Christmas!




I stood in line on Black Friday to get this gun for Jase. He was so surprised!


SURPRISED by our ipads. :)

After spending time in Star Valley we went to Pegram for five days. The boys had warmed up a little to being around new people when we got there. We had a lot of fun. It's always refreshing to be home and be around our families and friends. The first of the trip I was so good at taking pictures and by the end I just didn't even think about it. Grandma & Grandpa Romrell got the boys some ride on four wheelers and they LOVE.



We are so grateful for Christ and his sacrifice in our behalf. We are truly blessed!

Halloween

We didn't do much for Halloween but we did dress the boys up. We took them to our ward Halloween party on the Saturday before Halloween and then took them to a few of the guys that Jase works with on Monday. They hated their costumes but they sure looked cute!

Stedson--little lion man

Treydon--monkey boy

S&T Turn One

On October 27th my precious little baby boys turned one! It was kind of an emotional day for this mommy. I can't believe that one year has already come and gone. It makes me so sad to think that they are already one! Last weekend my dad and Cara, and Grandma Pat came to visit for the weekend. We had so much fun with them! My sister Lindsay also came down from Buffalo on Saturday and we had a little mini party for the boys and let them open up some of their presents.






We had a cowboy birthday themed party for the boys. It was so much fun to plan this party! I found the cutest party package from Totfulmemories on etsy. She sent me an email with everything that she had designed, banners, invites, favor bags, choc wraps, water bottle labels, just so many things! Then I just printed everything out and put it together. It was a lot of fun, but oh so much work! :) I also got a hair brained idea to make horse cupcakes. They ended up looking a bit like dogs but they turned out ok!









True to their little personalities, Treydon immediately began digging into his cake, shoveling handfuls into his mouth. Stedson on the other hand watched Treydon for a minute, tasted a little of the frosting, looked at me to make sure it was ok, and then picked up the entire cake and started chomping! It was so adorable! It was so much fun to watch them make mess.






These two little guys are such a blessing in our lives. :)

The month of October has been a month of reflection for me. Since the first day of October I have thought about how different my life is now then it was one year ago. One year ago I was MISERABLE. One year ago, I had not yet experienced the joy of watching Stedson & Treydon giggle at each other. One year ago TODAY, our long journey of getting them here safely began. I can't help but think about where I was, one year ago today, lying in a hospital bed in Gillette, wondering if my babies were going to be ok. I have had numerous break downs this month thinking about my babies and the fact that in a few weeks they will be one. I can't believe how fast time has gone. Jase and I were talking about the day that they were born. I will never forget the events that transpired that day, and hearing their beautiful cries for the first time. From the day we got in Salt Lake, until the day we left, was one of the hardest months of my life. I remember thinking, is this ever going to end? Will I ever get to hold my baby whenever I want and snuggle with them? Looking back, it seems like such a small part of the last year. I love my boys so much. I don't know what I would do without them. They make me so happy. Sometimes I get frustrated with them, and sometimes I need 10 minutes away from them to maintain my sanity but I honestly, honestly don't know what I would do without them in my life. I am a better person because they are in my life. I don't know why Heavenly Father believed in me enough to send me not one but TWO babies, but I am so happy that he did. Some days are tough, I'm not going to lie. But when they look at me with such an insane amount of love in their eyes, it makes everything worth it.

I found this on Pinterest and I love it. I need to always remember it.