Matt & Nickole & clan

Easter

2011-06-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

Easter was such a fun time coloring eggs, going to a couple egg hunts but most importantly reflecting on the Savior and all he has given us.

Coloring Eggs, always a fun and MESSY activity.

Mr. Concentration

Always the perfectionist

Not sure what this was about but pretty funny, guess the coloring isn't only for the eggs.

Our friend Dave stopped by and got to see all the madness.

Just a sampling of the fun eggs they all got.

We were lucky enough to be invited to the law office egg hunt,
Shelby won a bunny but thought Ella would enjoy it more.
Luke was a lot more interested in the worm he found.

Another Wedding

2011-06-30T16:47:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to have 2 weddings this year. The 2nd happy day belonged to Annabeth and Tyler! It was such a great day and it was so nice to share it with such an amazing and deserving couple.

Just a couple fun shots from the day:

Congratulations Annabeth and Tyler!!

Balloon Release

2011-06-30T16:18:00.000-07:00

I know these posts are seeming a little random and completely past due but that's the way I roll.

To be honest this is a post I've put off because it brings tears every time I consider what it is about.

On March 28, we had a balloon release in honor of Leslie, it was such a special moment. A day doesn't go by when we don't think of her and miss her like crazy. I haven't lost a grandparent yet and so there are moments I am completely at a loss for the kids. It's interesting the effect losing a grandparent can have. Every time we say our nightly prayers, we ask Heavenly Father to keep our Grandma Leslie safe and give her a hug for us. So this was a moment for the kids to send their love straight to Heaven for her to know all of their thoughts.

We each wrote a special message to Grandma Leslie and tied it to our favorite color of balloon and sent it off to Heaven. I hope she knows how much we love and miss her every day!!

1 year can change so many things but for this day we remember you and only you.
We love you and miss you!
Until we see you again, we'll enjoy each sunset you send.

Catching Up!!

2011-06-03T13:05:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've been on again so that means LOTS of catching up on posts! First off we had a birthday.

Shelby turned 9 on the 26th of March (I told you it's been a LONG time)!

We were kind of all of over the place celebrating her birthday but not ever just 1 big party. Shelby spent an afternoon with just Matt for a daddy-daughter date and had a BLAST!! Matt was able to tell her all kinds of stories about when he was growing up, they went for ice cream, a little hike and then came back to the house to just play some arcade games on the wii. Definitely the highlight of Shelby's birthday.

As for birthday treats, the kids and I packed up and went to spend a day with our friends the Panters. We made some yummy brownies and opened presents. The next night we were able to have root beer floats with some of the Sparrow family and then spent an evening doing a balloon release with the Romriells.

What a blessing you have been in our family!

The Wedding

2011-02-18T16:23:00.000-08:00

Matt's dad Greg was married on January 7 to Anne Meyers in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. We had a fun weekend spending it with family and staying in the hotel. We told the kids we would go swimming at the hotel on Friday but it was just not soon enough for Luke so he wore his swim gear all the way there and wouldn't take it off until Matt took him. It was just TOO cute.

Now the wedding...

The wedding dinner was very nice...Luke grabbed any glass he could and drank down the last of what was in it! LOL

Christmas Excitement

2011-02-18T15:34:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's February already and I haven't posted anything about Christmas!!

It was a great time of family, holiday craziness and reflection on our Savior. We had a lot of discussions about the importance of the Savior in our lives and that through him we will be able to be with our grandma Leslie again. What an amazing gift he gave us.

Just a few pictures from our Christmas fun and, of course, the kids' gifts.

We hope everyone had great holidays and are now enjoying a wonderful 2011!!

Disney Princesses (just the girls)

2011-01-09T08:58:00.001-08:00

This should've gone with the Disneyland posts but somehow it got missed...

We missed out on the princesses last year when we went so we set aside a morning for just us girls to go see them. We were lucky enough to have Dana, Ella and Dawn join us (just a fun morning).

My 2 PRINCESSES

Lovin our morning!

Make that 3 PRINCESSES

Shelby wanted to show off her BLING she got!

Ella was bursting with EXCITEMENT

Dana, Ella and Dawn

The girls waiting for their special MOMENT

Belle was BEAUTIFUL

Ariel was so SWEET

Group photo

Cinderella was AMAZING..she remembered the girls from the night before
and commented on their hair and sweatshirts.

Now Ella's excited.

Don't forget Sea World!

2011-01-05T15:28:00.000-08:00

So our big surprise vacation wouldn't be complete without a little stop at Sea World!!

SURPRISE!!

2011-01-04T18:35:00.000-08:00

Our year started out much differently than we could've imagined...but it made us reflect on a few things we had been thinking about for awhile. Top of that list was giving our kids the chance to experience Disneyland with my grandma June. If there is anything anybody knows about my grandma, she LOVES Mickey Mouse and everything Disney. So we decided this was the year to put that trip together...you never know when you won't get another tomorrow.

My mom and I set to getting the dream trip planned and hoped to be able to pull it off without my kids having any idea that we were going. We kept it a secret from grandma too until Halloween (thought we should give her a couple weeks to get ready) and the kids had no idea up until the moment we were boarding the airplane. That's right NOT A CLUE! You would think the idea that we were going on an airplane ride would be met with cheers and giggles but oh no, not from Shelby. The poor girl had a meltdown in the parking lot and we were a little short on time so she was just kind of rushed on. Luckily some of our friends were with us (thank you Titlow girls) and talked her into enjoying the experience and she sat next to grandpa Ken and dad for safe measure.

Once we got off the plane and headed to the condo the kids were still clueless. A quick check in and then we were off for our MAGICAL adventure. We had such a wonderful time and LOVED almost every minute of our adventure (there was the occasional meltdown but all in all a GREAT experience)! Of all the rides, parades and characters that we saw and enjoyed there was nothing as MAGICAL as seeing the smiles on everyone's faces!

This is the 1st site we saw when we entered the park. We entered on the most MAGICAL note,
they dimmed the lights and welcomed everyone to Christmas, Disney style.

I was going to use this for our Christmas card, oops totally forgot.

Totally thinking they are the LUCKIEST kids in the world right now...

Well except for Lexi and Luke, of course!

And this was the highlight of the whole trip...seriously I think she looked this happy the WHOLE time.

You would never guess from the look on his face but Luke just got over his BIGGEST meltdown..
they wouldn't let him on Splash Mountain.
The teacups were the best alternative...

It was a LONG day...Sheldon wanted to get some sleep wherever he could.

Getting ready for the roller coaster!

and how do you enjoy the roller coaster...hands in the AIR!!

Lexi LOVED every minute she got with her grandmas and grandpa.

Waiting in line for Toy Story Mania...still smiling (this was our longest wait)

I still don't know how we got a picture of mom and dad together...
they were never allowed to ride with each other!!

Luke and grandpa's favorite thing...feeding the DUCKS!

It's BUZZ

It's a good thing Lexi was there to help pull her out!

The Mad Hatter completely freaked Shelby out when he tapped on her shoulder,
"Excuse me photographer girl, I'm ready for my PHOTO!"

Can you see Luke?

He's thinking REALLY hard.

She just kept smiling and smiling.

Just us girls!

Thanksgiving in a BOX

2011-01-04T15:59:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving we thought it would be a lot of fun and something different to spend it somewhere else. We chose DISNEYLAND!!

What a fun and memorable experience. We were lucky enough to have my parents and grandma June join us. So what do you do for Thanksgiving dinner when you are living in a condo in California?? Call Knotts Berry Farm!! Quite the experience...we drove in a line directed for the turkey dinners, gave our reservation number and popped our trunk!

Just a sampling of what we enjoyed for our Thanksgiving dinner:

Time to Catch Up!!

2011-01-03T14:28:00.000-08:00

Ok so I've been slacking again and have about a million posts to catch up on but for now just a few thoughts...

We survived the holidays and all the hectic schedules and plans and now I can FINALLY breathe. This year was certainly a catch your breath kind of year and it ended on a note of serious reflection for me.

The most important thing I can say is I LOVE MY FAMILY!! My life is extremely blessed and I don't tell any of you enough what you mean to me. I have the BEST parents in the world and they are the ROCKS that hold each of us kids up during our hard times and are there with us to laugh and enjoy the happy times. The holidays were so bitter sweet without our Grandma Leslie, we each had our moments of remembering her LAUGH (truly one of the greatest laughs), remembering her hugs, remembering her smile and most of all remembering her SPIRIT. We are getting ready to add Anne to our family and have really enjoyed seeing Greg smile again, it was nice just to have some quality Grandpa Greg time as he would periodically pop in and stay a couple hours. We LOVED being able to spend time with our grandma ANNA and grandma JUNE and relish in who they are. I can't think of 2 women we admire more, so much spunk and personality from them, plus knowing it's because of them we are who we are. And we can't forget all of our BROTHERS and SISTERS, just great people and fun to be around. We have also been blessed with some of the BEST friends in the world (you know who you are). Thank you for always being there for us when we need it and for being so much fun all the other times. Hard to IMAGINE our lives without ALL of you in it.

I look at life a lot differently after this year and I think have finally learned to relax and enjoy the moment. I think daily of the missed opportunities I've had and look for new ones so I can remember to enjoy them. I love talking to my KIDS! They are some of the smartest, most entertaining people I know. I LOVE watching them grow and become just who they want to be. They are some of the GREATEST examples I have, trust me they keep me in line A LOT! I appreciate Matt so much more. His LOVE for me is unmatched, he is the GREATEST part of me and has been my biggest SUPPORT!

Above all I have thought so much more about our SAVIOR. What an amazing gift he gave us, because of him I get to live an eternal life with those I hold so close to my HEART. It isn't the things I can have in this life but the people I get to remain with FOREVER that is so important. I hope everyday that I am an example of our HEAVENLY FATHER'S love. I am truly grateful for the GOSPEL I have been blessed to be a part of and all that I know to be true because of it.

So there are my thoughts on 2010, now on to an AMAZING 2011!

Halloween

2010-11-14T19:49:00.001-08:00

I don't know if it was just me or not but Halloween went on for days and days!! We started with a party on Thursday and then school parties Fri followed by a trick or treat at Racine Law office (thanks Dana for inviting us) and then some trunk or treating on Sat (we hit 2)!

For school Sheldon dressed up as a cheerleader (still need to get the pictures since I didn't have my camera) and Shelby was a 50's girl (so fitting). Then Sheldon said no to dressing up again and went as a football player (big stretch for him!)

Lexi was a fairy princess, pretty cute with a little sass!

Luke was a SWAT agent on Friday and then Spiderman for the trunk or treats.

Another Birthday BOY!

2010-11-01T21:13:00.000-07:00

Luke turned 3!! This was a big day in the Romriell household...Luke has been begging and begging for his birthday to get here so he can be 4. That's right I said 4, so there was some disappointment when we had to keep telling him that he was only 3.

We started the day with a little present at breakfast, a Lightning McQueen car. He was so HAPPY! Next up was a Spiderman cake and more PRESENTS!! What a lucky kid!!

We celebrated his birthday on Sunday with his cousin Lance, such a great time. He got a special Spiderman cupcake cake that he kept leaning all the way down to get a SMELL. It was after a few times of doing this that I realized he was LICKING the tops of them.

Luke is an amazing and very busy little guy. He is on the GO from morning till night when he finally PASSES out. The only one of our children that I think is SO sweet when he is ASLEEP (it's the only moment I have to take a breath). Luke is definitely the baby of the family (even though he is sure Ella's the baby), so much fun to have around, FUN FUN FUN, Lexi's best friend, Shelby's favorite little guy and Sheldon's little buddy. We are so grateful to have you in our family, you bring excitement to every day!

Sheldon turned 10!!

2010-11-01T20:38:00.001-07:00

Hard to believe that my baby is already 10!! I can still remember the day he was born and the excitement and joy Matt and I shared knowing our little family was just beginning. From the 1st day he has wowed us (9 lbs 8ozs, 22 1/2 in.)!! Sheldon is thoughtful, caring, smart, athletic, handsome and above all a great example.

For his birthday I always ask what special dinner he wants and what kind of birthday cake he wants. This year he requested meatball sandwiches (the ones we make at home) and nothing special for his cake. Such big demands...what is a mom to do?? Because he, of course, had football practice we had an early dinner of meatball sandwiches & then he took cupcakes to his entire team. We were able to celebrate with a brownie cake and ice cream football on Sunday!

Always a boy, Sheldon eats, sleeps and dreams football. When he isn't doing that it's all about basketball, what his favorite sports teams are doing and how he can pick his Uncle Cody's brain with strategies. He has such a strong testimony of the Gospel and is always willing to share it. Sheldon loves spending time throwing a ball (any ball) around with his little brother Lucas and his Dad. He is truly an example to all of us, his little sisters' hero and BIG BROTHER!

San Diego!!

2010-09-18T12:41:00.000-07:00

So Dana on the spur of the moment thought we should make a quick down and back trip to San Diego to introduce her dad to Ella...of course I was on board, CRAZY!! So there we went, Dana, Ella, Shelby and ME!

At the very last minute, while we were getting ready to load stuff, Tyler decided he wanted to come too...

It was a quick trip but nice and enjoyable!! We met Nancy and Rodney. So appreciative of them for inviting us into their home with open arms.
They had such a fun pool that Shelby just LOVED and would have spent every minute in it if I'd let her.

It was unbelievable how much Tyler looks like his grandpa, guess we won't have to wonder what he'll look like in a few years. :)

United States & Freedom

2010-09-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

Our family has taken a few days to reflect on our life the past couple weeks. One of the biggest moments of reflection came on September 11.

On September 11, 2001, Sheldon was almost 1 year old, I was at work VERY early at Albertsons and Matt was on the road with his new business. Customers and coworkers began coming in talking about all the confusion and mass destruction that we later learned to be terrorist attacks on our great nation. What a poignant memory for our young family. We were in the beginning stages of so many aspects of our lives and right before us we were watching our world collapse.

Through the past few years we have watched this great nation of ours pull together in ways we hadn't seen in my lifetime and then just as quickly return to destroying ourselves and this land we treasure so much. Our freedoms are being jeopardized every day and in the wake of it we have soldiers, loved ones and friends fighting and sacrificing for us to maintain the freedoms we take for granted every day.

Most of you know that politics and respect for our great nation are common topics around our house. In order to earn his Wolf for boy scouts Sheldon was required to write about why he thinks America is important. It brought my emotions very close to the surface to know how at such a young age he recognizes how great America is.
"America is important to me because we are FREE. We're free to go to any religion. We're able to play any sport. Black and white doesn't matter. You can live anywhere and work any job or go to any school because we have the right to choose.

You don't need to serve a king, emperor or anybody but you do need to RESPECT everybody. We're always FREE to make choices and decisions and no one can take that away. We have GREAT communities and above all we have SOLDIERS who protect us EVERY DAY.

AMERICA is GREAT because we ARE FREE."

Lexi started Preschool!

2010-09-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe she is already old enough to start preschool, hard to let her go is probably more like it. I look at her and am just so excited to see her growing up but broken-hearted that my baby girl is just all GROWN UP!
Setting goals with a 4-year old is SO different than talking about them with Sheldon and Shelby, so we just talked about what she thinks she'll be learning and doing in school. These are a few of the things she came up with:
**I'm gonna play with glue, A LOT!
**Pretty sure I'm gonna make friends, you know my best friend Taylee is coming with me.
**I'll make pretty things like Shelby brings home.
**Soon I think I'll be able to read my OWN books.
**I have a nice teacher that will help me learn LOTS and LOTS!!

Sounds to me like she's got it all figured out. We are so excited for Lexi to be starting this part of her life!! And seriously how CUTE is she??

The 1st Day of School

2010-09-15T09:18:00.001-07:00

So once again I'm not right on top of this blogging thing...what do you do.

September 2 was the 1st day of school for Sheldon and Shelby. Sheldon is so excited about starting the 4th grade and Shelby can't wait to get back to her friends and learning.

I sat down with each of them and we talked about goals and thoughts of things they want to happen this year.

This is the 1st year Sheldon actually has letter grades and his biggest goal is to earn straight A's from here through high school! How happy is his mom...Incredibly!! He followed this goal up with being on winning sports teams and knowing that his good grades and hard work on the field will help him reach his ultimate dreams of playing ball professionally. Where did he come from??

Shelby, starting the 3rd grade, says she just wants to get better at math. (She does really well in school, so I guess she just isn't worried about grades! :)) She hopes she can make good friends and keep her friends from last year. She is very excited for music class with her favorite, Mrs. Liz, and getting back to cheerleading and tumbling.

I can't hardly believe I have an almost 10 year old and 8 year old. Time really does seem to fly by. I am so lucky to have them!!
I had to work the 1st day and Matt was out of town...they were so lucky to have Dana step in to play mom for them! :)

Shelby's favorite part of her day was being able to play with Ella in the morning!

Fun in the Creek

2010-08-29T20:25:00.000-07:00

What kid can resist playing in the water and the mud and squishing that yummy stuff between their toes??

Definitely none of the Romriell grandkids...

Happy Birthday Lexi

2010-08-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

Another overdue post...

Lexi, our beautiful, energetic, dramatic, fun loving little girl celebrated her 4th birthday!! What a fun day we all had, an opportunity to show her how happy we are that she came to our family.

We wanted another baby for so long after Shelby and at times wondered if it would happen. To our great surprise and joy we were blessed with Alexis Tiffanie Romriell. From the 1st minute she was born she tugged at our heart strings and would do anything for a smile!

Now she seems all grown up! Lexi loves playing dolls, Polly Pockets and computer games. She loves playing anything she can with her older sister Shelby and enjoys getting hugs, kisses and cuddling up to mom or dad!

For her birthday she wanted a princess cake and she was lucky enough to get 2 of them!! What a lucky occassion for her to have most of her Romriell family in town, Lexi celebrated with cake and ice cream with all of them!Then she celebrated with her Sparrow family! What a loved little girl, she got dolls, clothes, makeup, a movie and lots of other fun stuff.
Lexi, your laughs, your smile, your looks and your hugs are such joy to have around. It has been so fun watching you grow into a little dancing, tumbling, music loving girl.

Happy Birthday little Princess!

12 Years Strong!!

2010-08-09T17:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary!!

So this post is a couple months overdue but while watching one of my favorite flicks the other night I was completely taken back...

It was 12 years ago on June 19th that Matt and I took an eternal drive to the Idaho Falls temple. There before our closest friends and family we were sealed together for time and all eternity...no it hasn't been an eternity yet but some days we both wonder!! Just Kidding

Most of you know the story behind Matt and I, how we met, when we got engaged (the 1st time & 2nd time) and when we got married. So for those of you who know bear with me...

Matt had just returned from his mission and attended an institute dance. It just so happened that I gave in to peer pressure that same night and attended (yes you guessed it) the same institute dance. I remember going home that night and telling my mom all about seeing him and dancing with him a couple times. That was that. I didn't see or hear from him. Then just before Thanksgiving (about 2 months later) I got a phone call. He thought it would be fun to have a date. I remember going to hang out at his parents house with Susan and Paul and I'm sure there were a few friends there but really no one else mattered outside Matt and his family.

From there it was pretty much dating exclusively and then he just couldn't hold back and asked me to marry him at the end of January. I was in a fender bender earlier that day and I think he was just trying to make me feel better. We were sitting on the couch and he gave me a vase full of flowers and then just said, "Will you marry me?"

Really I thought he was just joking and replied, "Sure." Then I realized he was serious and we were engaged.

For a lot of reasons I don't need to go into we ended up calling off the engagement but I had already planned our entire reception so I just left all of it in place. For the next month we continued dating and figuring some things out. Matt sent my ring off to be sized, not sure that he was ever going to propose again. After a few on again, off again moments I could see that Matt wasn't going to take the chance again. That was it...it was up to me...I was going to have to propose myself!

Although I'm sure it didn't come off quite as eloquent and not nearly as staged, I can give you a little glimpse into what our moment was like...I knew if I didn't I would regret it for the rest of my life!

So here's to the best decision of my life! Although we have had our struggles and certainly wonder what we are doing sometimes, I cannot imagine going through this journey of life without you! I love you Matt and hope everyday that you know you are my whole world!! Thank you for 12 wonderful years!!

Activities, Activities, Activities

2010-07-31T10:32:00.000-07:00

Along with summer at the Romriell house comes lots and lots of activities! So much fun and such a great time seeing each of the kids growing in their various interests. So to share a few of them I am posting some of our favorite videos thus far.

Family Fun Day

2010-07-17T11:19:00.000-07:00

At the ZOO
Another Saturday without Matt around...what should we do with our time...the zoo is having a family fun day, we should go!

My mom and I ended up being all on our own for the day so we decided to take the kids to the zoo. It was a lot of fun just walking around and being together to see fun things. The kids were able to jump in a bounce house, see a HUGE snake and a couple of them even wanted to get their faces painted. Luke became Spiderman and Shelby turned into a dog.

After the walking and checking things out we got to go on a trolley ride with Uncle Cody. It was so fun to see him in his element, driving a bus (or trolley in this case). So funny to see him all grown up acting like an adult! SMILE

HORSE RACES

2010-07-17T10:10:00.000-07:00

OFF TO THE RACES!!

When I was younger my family spent oodles of time back and forth between horse races. We traveled to the Sandy Downs track in Idaho Falls regularly and spent many weekends camped out here at the Pocatello race track. Of course as I got older and got busier with my own life it just seemed I didn't get back very often. It was such a fun experience and one my own family hasn't been able to be a part of. You can only guess how much fun it was to take all of the kids to the track to see their grandpa Shappart's horse race. I'm pretty sure Luke has the racing blood or at least the absolute love of horses running through him. Definitely a childhood memory that was fun to share with my own kids. I think Matt even had a good time! :)

You can only guess how much fun it was to take all of the kids to the track to see their grandpa Shappart's horse race. I'm pretty sure Luke has the racing blood or at least the absolute love of horses running through him. Definitely a childhood memory that was fun to share with my own kids. I think Matt even had a good time! :)

Time Flies!!

2010-07-17T09:29:00.000-07:00

It only feels like a week ago I posted Shelby's baptism but as life goes it has been much much longer than that! We have had so many things since then that I thought maybe I should get this little blog updated at least a tiny bit.

The week after Shelby's baptism we celebrated Easter. What a wonderful time for all of us. It gave us some much needed time for reflection and a chance to be so thankful for the knowledge our Heavenly Father has given us. It was a very full weekend with Leslie's funeral and enjoying all the family that was in town. So grateful for the time we got to spend with everyone, especially Paul! Matt seems like a more complete person whenever he has his little brother around to talk to and hang out with.

Given the circumstances we didn't miss the chance to have to kids do an Easter egg hunt, Grandma Leslie wouldn't have wanted it any other way!! They were all so cute and fun to watch as they searched through the little patches of snow for some brightly colored surprise.

Then Aunt Annabeth planned some fun games for the kids complete with some awesome prizes!! Just a wonderful experience and a fun time.

Shelby got Baptized!!

2010-04-04T09:49:00.000-07:00

We were so blessed to have Shelby baptised on March 27!

It was such a wonderful day for our family. Shelby looked beautiful and was so full of excitement knowing the new commitment she was entering into. The Spirit of the event was just amazing and her grandma Leslie's spirit was very strong throughout the day. We know she was so happy for the choices Shelby has made and the beautiful girl she is growing into.
We talked a lot about what the choice to be baptised meant and it was a very touching moment for Matt and I when she told us that she only wanted to know that she was taking all the steps she needed to help our family become an eternal family.

Shelby was lucky to have both her Romriell and Sparrow family's support. She also had Houghton's, Jorgensen's, Nielsen's, Merlyn Sorensen and Kathi Wright present. Afterwards we celebrated with root beer float cake and pina colada cake. Just a spirit filled day all around to celebrate Shelby's choice to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ.

Shelby we are so grateful for you, for your love and for the person you are becoming!!

We LOVE you!!

We will miss you!!

2010-03-29T22:16:00.000-07:00

It is our Heavenly Father's turn to watch over our grandma and mom, Leslie. She passed away peacefully on Sunday morning with the love of her life at her side. Throughout the past week our family has been blessed with such a strong spirit knowing that our time with her on this earth was coming to an end.

In Lexi's words, "Grandma Leslie is walking with our Heavenly Father today, holding Jesus' hand. I think she's all better now."

Although we miss her deeply we know that she is at peace now and no longer in pain. Leslie can now watch over us and take care of us in ways she couldn't here on this earth. Such a blessing to know she can now hold her youngest daughter, Amelia, and rejoin her dad and many other loved ones who have been waiting for her with open arms.

Goodbye for now, we love you and miss you but know our Heavenly Father must have some very important work for you to do to be taking you home now.

Colbie Callait Concert

2010-03-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

In the wake of all that has been going on in our family we are very lucky to be celebrating Shelby's 8th birthday. A couple of things she asked for: a toe ring, mentos, a calculator and the chance to go watch one of her favorite singers, Colbie Callait. Well lucky for her Colbie was making a stop right here in Pocatello!! So what did we do...honor her wish!

Shelby, Matt and I had such a blast!! We were able to go with a few of her aunts on Matt's side of the family and even an uncle. Susan, Annabeth, Joanne and Jeff went along for the ride. Jeff even gave her a couple of dance move lessons.

Leslie, Greatest Grandma and Beloved Mom

2010-02-06T23:19:00.000-08:00

Leslie

Many of you know the hurt our family is feeling knowing that we will soon be losing our GRANDMA, MOM and FRIEND. So what do you say when you know such a loss in pending and in the very NEAR future?

The only words that come to mind are THANK YOU!
Thank you for your KINDNESS.
Thank you for NUTURING us.
Thank you for always being there.
Thank you for your SMILES,
your LAUGHS,
your MOMENTS.
Thank you for being OUR GREATEST example.
Thank you for showing us how to SERVE.
Thank you for being YOU,
for never compromising your beliefs,
for ALWAYS voicing your thoughts.
THANK YOU for raising SIX amazing children and
loving 19 grandchildren with all your HEART.
Thank you for being the BEST grandma I could have
ever wanted for my CHILDREN.
most of all THANK YOU for LOVING ME!

We LOVE you more than our HEARTS and WORDS can express. We couldn't be more grateful to have LOVED you and been LOVED by you for the time that we have had.

THANK YOU!

2009 IS OVER!!

2010-01-15T18:57:00.000-08:00

So it's already the middle of January and I have not caught up this BLOG!! Guess we'll just go with a few of my favorite pictures of 2009...

Saying goodbye to 2009 is very bitter sweet! So many fun memories and some sadness as each of the kids gets bigger and older than I am ready for! Here's to hoping 2010 will be another great year for the Romriells!

Trying to catch up this blog in 1 post!

2009-10-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

I decided it would be better to just sum up our summer and get on with life so I can feel caught up with blogging life. So here is our summer in a shortened condensed version...at least some of the highlights...

Lexi and Luke thought they were pretty big stuff driving Lexi's bug around the yard.

Shelby LOVES slides!
Some fun at the park waiting to pick Sheldon up from baseball practice!Summer Bike Rides
All the kids love going on bike rides...

CAMP OUTS

L & L just crack me up. This is what they did when I asked them to look at me,
HID BEHIND A TREE!

Parades

During one of the parade's we went to Lexi had no desire to watch floats so she just found herself a little spot to call her own. She sat back here and ate chips and candy and drank pop and was completely content to just be.

4th of JULY

Panters
On 1 of our trips to the Panters, ok probably our only trip, I got these cute pictures of Lexi and Luke.

Heidi and I...what a couple of wierdos! She just smiled so funny every time I took a picture!
The girls did a little dress up thing for us. How cute are they?!!

I was lucky enough to have Clint around to help me so Lexi and Luke could both go down the water slide!
Luke became Clint's little buddy and anytime he could, he took off for the water slide!

Fair Time

Always wonder where where they get the KKK sheep!

The kids were totally mesmerized by the baby goats!

Okay I think that's enough for 1 post...maybe I'll get the rest wrapped up in the next one!

DISNEYLAND!!!

2009-09-22T20:28:00.001-07:00

Man I am sure slow at this blogging stuff...guess I'll let the pictures do most of the talking on this one!

A little background for the Disneyland fun we had. Sheldon LOVED every ride they had, especially California Screaming and was lucky enough to go on each ride back to back most of the time.

Shelby was completely distraught about riding any of the rides and made a deal with me that she would only go on 5 rides but they had to be rides I picked. So the 1st day we were at Disneyland she screamed every time I led her on a ride. What a pain, really not any fun for anyone. So trying to be a good mom I backed completely off and let her decide for herself what she wanted to go on. We had a break between day 1 and day 2 at Disneyland and when we went back Shelby went on EVERY SINGLE ride, except California Screaming due to it "being shut down".

Lexi and Luke loved being there for all the adventure and were such good sports to sit out so many rides...they actually rode the Winnie the Pooh ride for a record 12 times in a row and loved it every time!

We had such a blast!!

Shelby Not enjoying that her mom keeps dragging her on rides

Shelby finally thinking the rides are AWESOME!

San Diego Temple

2009-09-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

This is what Eternal Families Are Made Of!!

Although we weren't able to fit in a session at the temple we did get the chance to go walk around the beautiful grounds and enjoy all the serenity there. What a beautiful and peaceful place to be! The kids even got their own personal walk through by an incredible couple that works there.

Sea World

2009-09-04T13:42:00.000-07:00

Okay so I know that this is like months late but I really need to get this thing caught up so back to the beginning of summer...

The next stop on our trip came at Sea World. What a blast we all had just going from show to show and watching the kids look on in awe at all the amazing sea life. Of course one of the most exciting shows came with Shamu but I don't think there was a show they didn't love.

I think this is my dad's favorite place to visit. He was like a little kid in a candy store as we rushed from show to show and couldn't wait for the kids' reaction at each one.

I decided that my mom is one of my favorite people to go with us on vacation...she plans it all out for us and makes sure we get every possible show and attraction in that we possibly can. Absolutely no pressure on me!! She is amazing at working out schedules!! Thanks mom for making every step of this trip as enjoyable as possible!!

Here's a few shots from our fun day at Sea World.

Matt thought it would be fun to let the kids feed the sea lions. I got a little clip of Lexi doing that. It was funny because at least 1 of her other sardines got ripped off by a bird. She is definitely a little adventurer and just loved watching them eat practically out of her hand.
,.

So there's our Sea World adventure in a nut shell.
After all the excitement of the day this is how it looked at the end of the day:

Next Stop San Diego Zoo

2009-06-22T15:24:00.000-07:00

San Diego Zoo

The first real stop on our trip was to the San Diego Zoo. It was such a fun tiring day. Again we walked and walked and walked. We looked at animal after animal after animal!! Just a few pictures from the journey.

Our California Adventure

2009-06-18T15:56:00.000-07:00

Alright it's been too long since I've posted and A LOT has happened, most importantly we kicked off summer vacation with a fun-filled trip to California!!

Up first we stopped in Las Vegas for the night. What started out as a trip to get some dinner turned into a very long hike around all of the hotels. Fortunately for all of us adults the kids were up for the journey. We hiked and we hiked and we hiked. I've always thought that if I been born in pioneer times I wouldn't have been a very good pioneer. I think the kids, however, would have been incredible!!

Lexi's Helicopter Ride

2009-04-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

So if any of you know Matt, you know he loves anything that flies!! He has started to incorporate the flying into his work and last year did a roof scan for a company that called for him to go up in a helicopter.

We were on vacation with our extended family, the Jorgensen's and Houghton's, and so he was able to take a couple of us with him since they were willing to keep our other kids. Lexi was the lucky one that got to go and I was pretty nervous about how my little 2 year old was gonna do up that high in a helicopter.

Lucky for us Lexi is more like her dad than I would've guessed...she LOVED IT!! For the 1st part of the trip she just looked out the window and admired the amazing view. There is nothing better than the view of the canyon in the middle of fall! The colors were amazing and certainly a sight I hope to see again. For the 2nd part of the trip, Lexi was so comfortable flying that she just laid back and took a nap! It was such a great experience and I can't wait to share more of them with my amazing little girl!!

I was able to get a couple of shots of her. I hope you enjoy!!

All Hail the Pinewood Derby!!

2009-04-03T08:48:00.000-07:00

Well we just keep going and going and going. This week was the pinewood derby for Sheldon, his 1st ever!! He was so excited to work on his car with Matt. I'm not sure who did more work though...

Sheldon worked hard to come up with a fun design for his car and our good friend Dan helped get it cut out. Matt then took it to make sure the wheels were all balanced and then Sheldon and he painted it. Sheldon wanted to have USA and BSA all over it with some flags and the #21. He had to make a few compromises but I think it turned out pretty good. You'll have to see what you think.

The first run down the track the poor car didn't even move. The look on Sheldon's face was one of complete devastation but it was Dad to the rescue. A couple of minor alterations and back to the races...

At 1st the car still didn't seem to want to go very fast but quickly built up some speed after a couple runs down the track. I'm still not sure how but Sheldon was able to come up through the loser bracket and managed to take 3rd overall. What a great experience for his 1st derby. He is lucky enough to get to compete in the district tournament that will be held at PineRidge Mall. We'll keep you all posted on how the car does there.

Congratulations Sheldon!! We're so proud of you and Dad for building a great car!!

Shelby's birthday parties

2009-04-03T08:19:00.000-07:00

Well the grand day arrived...Shelby turned 7!! What a fun week of parties and adventures we had. It all started Monday night when we celebrated with family. Shelby had grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. She was also able to share the night with her cousin Taylee who was turning 3.

I decided to make the cake myself. Always an adventure...it gets more fun each time I make a cake though. Especially when the kids love the way it turned out!! The cake was fashioned after one we found in a book and I combined a fun little house with some of Shelby's favorite toys, Littlest Pet Shops!! She really liked it and has had fun playing with all the little toys that came with it.Now for the presents...the girl is seriously spoiled. Shelby got money, toys and a fun guitar book from everyone. Our family gave her a Nintendo DS, I told you she was spoiled!! Really it's just a gift for travel since we're heading to California in May and she's gonna need a good distraction!!

Next was a friend party she was able to enjoy with 2 of her favorite girlfriends from school, Katie and Cammy and her cousin Shantae. We started at McDonald's for lunch and some playtime on the toys. Along the way we gathered a few extra friends that just added to the excitement and fun!! (You'll have to ask Matt how much fun he thought it was!!)

Then off to ISU for some bowling. We planned on bowling just one game and scheduled 2 lanes with bumpers, we adults need all the help we can get!! I think the boys bowled the majority of a game but the girls got bored after only 5 frames. What a hoot to see them all roll a ball down the lane. Even Luke got in on the action.

Have any of you been at a bowling alley with 11 kids under the age of 8 trying to be monitored by 3 adults??? Let me tell you it's quite an adventure!! Each of them had their own money and they all found the change machine!! Pretty soon I had quarters falling out of all my pockets!!

Then there's always our adventurous 2 year olds, Taylee and Lexi. You guessed it, they just wanted to go for a little walk...clear to the bookstore and completely by theirselves. The bookstore manager was nice enough to return them to us without a word to security and just laughs to us about what a handful they must be. Gotta love the independent little ones!! haha

All I can say is Happy Birthday to my favorite 7 year old!! We love you Shelby!!

David Archuleta Concert

2009-03-31T19:49:00.001-07:00

OK so I started this blog forever ago now and haven't posted a single thing so I'm finally ready to get some things up and going!! To start things off let me show off some pictures from our trip to the David Archuleta concert...

Shelby's birthday was the 26th of March and I thought a good way to kick it off would be to take her to a fun filled concert, just the girls (Shelby, Dana and me)!! We started the night by going to dinner at Garcia's in IF and then went for a little shopping. Then off to wait in line and we waited and waited and waited some more. Once we got inside, you guessed it, some more waiting. While waiting Shelby and I had fun taking some goofy pictures...one of Shelby's favorite past times!!Finally things got started. The opening act was a singer by the name of Lesley Roy. She was very energetic and Shelby actually got to meet her and get an autograph. What a fun and exciting thing for her. Shelby just started guitar lessons so it was extra exciting to see a girl up on stage playing a guitar. She even got some great tips from Lesley

And then some more waiting and waiting and waiting!!

David finally made his grand entrance!! To the shrill screams of thousands of young girls and their moms...what a laugh!! He really performed well and at one point looked right at Shelby!! (at least that's what I told her...)

1st Blog EVER

2009-02-16T10:23:00.000-08:00

So this is the first blog I've ever officially done. Just to start things off I would like to let everyone know how blessed we feel as a family to have so many wonderful people around us. Hopefully as time goes on we'll be able to bless each of your lives with our great stories and adventures. Until then I hope you each have a fabulous week full of happiness, joy and lots of laughter!!