Kari and Jared's Family

Mom and Jenny drove us half way to Utah and then we switched cars and Kari drove the rest of the way.  Thanks again for driving us around!  Once we were close to Kari's house we met up with Jared at Winger's.  We ate some yummy food and then Nels bought a whole Asphalt Pie to eat later.  

We enjoyed talking and playing with the kids that afternoon.  Kari made delicious Monterey chicken.  Then we went outside and ate the pie.

Here's a few pictures:

Nels, Brynlee and Isak

Danika and Sadie in the background.

Mason,Danika and Sadie

Kari and Kira...Their names have the same letters so there was an instant connection.:)

Mason did not want his picture taken. So he would close his eyes.  So cute.

Adorable Sadie.  She is a year older than the twins.  She has been so nice to share her clothes with Kira.

Sadie loved Kira and always wanted to give her a hug and kiss.

Finally got a picture of Mason with his eyes open. :)

This is Brynlee.  She was so good with the babies.

Jared.  Dentist extraordinaire.  He replaced my crown while I was there.  He did an excellent job.  Thanks Jared!!!

Nels making faces at Isak.

Isak loved this blue bat.  Pure boy!

My sister Kari with each of the babies.

Thanks for the wonderful visit Kari!  We love your family!

Idaho Visit Continued

Here's a few pictures from the rest of our trip.  

I love this one of grandma and Kira.  My mom was just making her laugh.  It was so cute.

Isak loved to have grandma feed him.  Kira just sat on the floor and watched.

There's a little step going from the family room to the kitchen and the kids LOVED it.  They practiced going up and down, up and down.

I think they are so cute in just their diaper.

They loved exploring the house.

One of the days, we ate lunch at a park and then went for a walk along the Henry's Fork River.

They have a statue along the trail that we imitated.

Kissy, kissy. :)

It was hot...the weather.  Dry and hot.  But there was a small breeze.  

Isak cuddling with grandma.  He just loves grandma.

The last night we were at my parents house, Nels and I lived on the edge and stayed up late.  Crazy, I know.  haha.  We all played Settlers and it was a blast!  We ate Dad's delicious popcorn and apples.  Nels won and he was SUPER happy!

He was so excited it was hard to get a picture of him being good.

This is the best one.  He had that huge grin on his face for a long time.

All together.

Oh family.  I love you!  Thanks for a wonderful visit to Idaho.
The next day we packed up and drove to Utah to visit all of my sisters and brother and Nels's family.

Visits to the Grandparents

We got to spend time with the babies great grandparents.  

This is Great Grandma Stewart.  She makes the best applesauce chocolate chip cookies.  The babies were so cute and just sat on her lap.  

At church on Sunday, Kira fell asleep in Great Grandma's arms.  I think that made her day.

This is my Uncle Jim.  He made cute knit hats for the babies.

Loved talking with them.

Aunt Wylette popped over for a minute while we were there.  Both babies quickly crawled to her and jumped into her arms.  It was hilarious.

Isak felt right at home with another red head. :)

We visited Great Grandpa and Grandma Swensen (my dad's parents).

 The kids were so good and sat on their laps.

 Grandpa showed his restored Chevrolet pick up from the 1940's.  He's won a lot of prizes for it.

 Nels loved seeing it.

He showed us how air conditioning worked.  You literally roll the front windshield open!

 4 Generations of boys.  Pretty cool!

 4 Generations of girls.  Yah!  I didn't realize how tall I am until I saw this.  hehee. :)

 Sunday after church we took pictures with the babies.  Here's beautiful Aunt Jenny.

Wonderful Grandma.  Isak and grandma showing off their red hair.  Kira's hair looks a little red in this picture, but it's probably because of her red dress.

 And Nels wanted his picture with the babies too.  :)

I love my grandparents.  I'm so glad we got to see them and spend time with them.

Our Wild West Adventure!

August 15 - August 26 we flew home to see our families.  Here's a few stats about our trip:

• 12 days
• 4 plane rides
• 3 checked bags, 3 carry ons, 2 car seats, 1 stroller

The babies met and saw:

• 2 great grandma's, 1 great grandpa
• 2 grandma's, 2 grandpa's
• 14 Aunts and Uncles
• 18 Nieces and Nephews

We slept in:

• 5 different houses

Babies Received Tons of Hugs and Kisses

and No one got sick!

August 15 we were at the airport and ready for our flight that left at 8 a.m.  Babies were in their pj's and wondering what was going on!  We parked the van at the airport, took the shuttle, made it through security, bought water (for the bottles) and boarded the plane.  I was a little nervous when the pilot announced that the flight was 3 hours and 47 minutes from Charlotte to Salt Lake City.  But all went well. 

 I held Kira and Nels held Isak.  They took two naps and ate once.  We sat by a couple who had twin boys and the husband was a twin also.  And we were across the aisle from sister twins that were in their 50's.  Crazy, huh!?  

Luckily we didn't have to change diapers on the plane.  The babies didn't cry at all.  They were perfect.

We landed in SLC and only had time to change the babies diapers before we boarded a small plane to go to Idaho Falls, Idaho.  

I love this picture of Kira looking out the window while we wait for the plane to take off.

We landed in Idaho about 1 p.m or so.  My mom and dad were there just smiling and waving.  I love that moment of when we first saw them.  We hugged, took pictures and got our luggage.

My parents took us to Gator Jacks to eat lunch.  It's a pretty cool place with yummy food.  We tried the Gator Bites appetizer which is baby potatoes with cheese and bacon on top.  Mmmmm good.

My mom took some photos with her iPhone.  This is how we feed the babies when we are out and about.

Nels feeding Kira.  

The babies got to ride their first Gator. :)

I love being home.  There is just a wonderful feeling there and I have so many happy memories. For dinner my mom totally catered to me and fixed my Grandpa Stewart's Enchiladas and my Dad's favorite chocolate cake.  She even put a Happy Birthday banner in the cake.  :)

We bathed the babies and got them ready for bed.  Kira fell right to sleep.  She slept in the crib that my parents had with all of us kids and I think every grandchild has slept in it.  But Isak...could not fall asleep in the pack and play.  So Nels held him in the bed and slept with him that night.  I slept in another room.  I checked the monitor to make sure everyone was okay before I fell asleep.  This is what I saw.  Nels being a sweet daddy.

That's the end of the first day.  More to come.

Remembering

My sister Jenny had these pictures on her iPhone.  It brought back some memories.

So tiny and perfect. 

 Nels's sister Kierstin gave us these cute monkey sleepers.

I came across these journal entries from January 2013.

"Are all Mom's sleep deprived? Because if they are; they sure hide it better than me!"

"Being a parent has helped me realize what it means to sacrifice.  We've sacrificed financially, physically, mentally, socially, emotionally, etc.  But we've gained two beautiful children."

"I'm glad messes can eventually be cleaned up.  I try to remember that when I get spit up on."

 I remember how exhausted I felt those first few months and how completely clueless I felt.

The exhausting part has improved, but I still feel pretty clueless.

The picture below reminds me of how demanding Isak was and how laid back Kira was.  They are still similar in that way.  Isak loves for his opinion to be heard and Kira generally goes with the flow.

Isak's hair is so brown in this picture.  They are both so tiny and their skin is rosier than it is now.  Just little babies.

It's fun to look back and remember.  We've come along way.