Monday, April 11, 2011

We Made It... And We Are Alive

Our road trip went very very well :)
Surprising? 
Very much so.

This is how it went...

DAY 1:
13 1/2 hours of driving. We drove through Utah and Wyoming, and part of Nebraska. We were going to try to make it to Omaha, but the kids were getting really antsy and I didn't want to push them to their limit so we stopped in Lincoln, Nebraska. We stayed in a Super 8. It wasn't too bad actually... Not nice by any means but it was fine. Since we were all in the same room, we didn't get much sleep. Brek was in his crib but since he could see us he screamed... And screamed. And screamed. For over an hour. 

I didn't take any pictures that day because my camera was packed. 
DAY 2:
Woke up, got ready and then hit the road. 12 hours driving. The kids were AMAZING. We had gone to the dollar store and bought lots of toys for the kids to play with so that made it so nice. Our neighbor and good friend Sister Echols came over a couple days before we left to say goodbye and brought a goodie bag for both kids. It had some treats, a coloring book, sticker book, and some other cute little toys in it. Thanks Jenala!!
We drove through Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. We stopped in Columbus, Ohio and stayed the night.

I don't remember what state this is in... Iowa maybe?


This is when we stopped for gas... We weren't driving. He stayed in his seat the whole time the car was moving :)

We drove out with one of our sales guys, Todd. He is awesome. He is a trooper... We all shared a hotel room so he had to hear the screaming... Sorry Todd!

Wyatt, another sales guy met up with us in Omaha and he followed (sped past us) until we hit Ohio. He did this to be funny... He did not really fall asleep







For most babies it takes skill to smile and flip off the camera. For my Brek, not so much. It comes naturally




That night we stayed in a really bad motel. It was really dirty and gross... and it smelled horrible. There was yelling outside all night. Brek screamed and screamed... Finally after some tears (from Brek and me) and an hour of listening to him, I got him out and put him next to me. He fell asleep right away... He slept the rest of the night. He was OUT. He stayed asleep while the rest of us got ready, the boys packed the car up, all of us talking in our normal voices, and Deveren sneezing super loud. He didn't even flinch.


DAY 3:
 Deveren's brother Nate and his family live in Columbus so we got to have breakfast with them. I'm sad we didn't take any pictures, but it was great to catch up and see them. After breakfast we were back on the road. 

Because Brek spent most of the night screaming, you can imagine how tired he was.... He slept quite a bit in the car.

Bailie was SO SO SO good! She had a ball playing with her new toys and coloring.





We were lucky enough to go through West Virginia twice! Don't be jealous
 

 Our new home!!!

As we were driving into Washington DC, we hit some BAD traffic.... but luckily we had this to calm down the road rage :) The temple!! I can't wait to see it at night!!
 I think that the hardest part so far has been adjusting to the time change and our sleeping routines. We have a 2 bedroom apartment and Bailie and Brek have to share a room, so that has been a major adjustment...They didn't sleep well the first 2 nights, but last night was AWESOME. Both of them slept all night which is really big!

We are so grateful that we have this opportunity to live in our nation's capitol. We are going to have so many adventures... It has only just begun! 
Thanks to all who had us in your prayers... We made it safe and sound. 
More posts to come... and LOTS of pictures. Stay Tuned.

Monday, April 4, 2011

And We're Off....

We are starting our VERY long road trip to Washington DC on Wednesday! I'm excited it's finally here... But on the other hand, totally stressing out. I have SO much to do in less than 2 days! 

Anyway, Bailie had her last day of preschool on Friday and it happened to be April Fools Day so they got to dress crazy.... Deveren put together her awesome outfit and I did her hair... This is what she looked like :)



Talyn stopped by one day last week and we took some pictures... Aren't we attractive?


I probably won't blog for awhile seeing as how we'll be on the road until Saturday and I don't know when I'll have internet so... Wish me luck!!

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Bree and Tal

Here are some favorites from my shoot with Bree and Talyn.
These girls are so gorgeous.

The photo shoot was a blast! This was my first time shooting Bree and it will not be my last :) She is a born model. (I don't think she knows it yet)

I love these pictures. And I love you Miss Bree. Thanks again girly!















Saturday, March 26, 2011

Thursday, March 24, 2011

I'm Old

It's true. I'm old. I have a 4 year old!
 What the???
Oh how time flies.

We celebrated on Sunday with a few friends and family. 

I asked Bailie what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday and she wanted strawberry cake with a barbie on it... 

I thought it would be cute to make her cake this year. So with the help of Talyn and LOTS of help from Deveren, we made a barbie cake.

It took WAY too long and at one point I almost threw it away and bought one, but Talyn and Dev convinced me to put lots of frosting on it and it would be great :) 

Deveren did all of the yellow detailing and basically made it look sweet! Thanks baby.
 

Bailie LOVED it!




She was in heaven all day long



Every present she opened was so exciting!




Happy Birthday Bailie Girl! I love you more than you will ever know. You bring so much joy and laughter into our home. I'm so lucky to be your Mommy!

A Few Things We Love About You:

When you sneeze I have to say 'bless you' or you say 'bless me Mom'

Your amazing laugh

How sensitive and sweet you are

Your creative imagination

 That your favorite word these days is 'freakin'

That you ask me every day if your hair is 'long like Tangled'
Your concern for everyone around you

How much you love your brother

When I get to hear your prayers

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Finale

13. honeymoon
We went up to Salt Lake and stayed at the Anniversary Inn for 4 nights. If you've never been there it's very cool. They have themed rooms. We stayed in a different room each night. We stayed in the Jungle Safari, Mountain Hideaway, Sultan's Palace, and Treasure Island rooms. 
If you haven't gone, you need to go. They have a ton to choose from.

14. thoughts on marriage: what is the easiest/hardest part? if you could change anything, what would it be?
Marriage is amazing. It is hard. It is a roller coaster of emotions... but I wouldn't have it any other way.
I wouldn't change anything. We live and learn. We argue sometimes. We communicate. We have fun. We love each other. 
The most important part of our marriage is communication and compromise. It can be very hard sometimes, but we work on it every day.
I love Deveren more and more every day and CAN NOT imagine my life without him. He makes me a better. He knows how to handle my ups and downs. He is the best husband in the world.
15. first place that you lived together
 We lived in a basement apartment in Orem. It was so cute. We lived there about 5 months before we bought our home that we are in now. 
 
16. kids: do you have any yet? if not, when do you plan on it? how many do you want? any tips on good/bad birth control?
Yes we have 2 kiddos. Bailie just turned 4 and Brek is 18 months. They are great kids. They keep us on our toes that's for sure, but we love them so so much!


17. most recent picture of you and your significant other and what you love most about them 
 
I love everything about Deveren... Ok maybe not EVERYTHING but just about :) 
A Few Things I Do Love...
He loves his family and friends
He is the nicest guy you will ever meet
He still tells me 'I look hot' and tries to get the kids to tell me I look good
He is such a good example to me and our kids
He works SO HARD for us
I love that he makes mistakes like me
He makes it hard not to love him