Miller Craze

12!

2011-12-06T23:22:00.001-07:00

Zac had a long drawn out birthday. At 9:00 pm we were all finally together and could celebrate.

Todd gave Zac a super warm sleeping bag for all
those upcoming scout campouts.

He also received his Mindtorms kit. Thanks to both
sets of grandparents for pitching in on this one.

A few days later he filled the house with a bunch of boys with
warped senses of humor. Of course it could be that
they were all around 12 years old. They had
a great time watching movies, playing and eating pizza.

A week later, we finally had a large family party.
Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles made the trip for
Zac's priesthood ordination. We decided to
combine that with his family party.
Thanks to all that came and made the day special.

Let the Mania Begin!

2011-12-06T23:00:00.001-07:00

We had about two saturdays off between soccer and wrestling. Max started his Little League wrestling team in November. It was a short, sweet season but he was officially bit by the wrestling bug. It's all in the Miller genes.

Even though he was one of the smallest on the team, he didn't notice. His attitude was larger than life!

He finished his short little season undefeated, and his team took first place.
He is so proud of his trophy.
Now I spend Saturdays traveling to Zac's junior high wrestling tournaments.

Birthday Wishes can Come True!

2011-12-06T22:12:00.001-07:00

How did Todd choose to spend his birthday on Nov 2nd? Laying sod. But all his dreams came true. He actually had help. I started helping in the morning and after school his crew of high school students showed up. Followed by our kids and some friends. We almost finished by dark, but the next day it was done.

Happy Birthday to my Gentleman Farmer! :)

North side

South side

After thawing out, we celebrated with birthday cheesecake
and went to bed very tired and very sore.

HALLOWEEN

2011-12-06T21:32:00.001-07:00

Halloween was a simple affair this year. YAY for me...sad for the big kids. There was some harsh punishment dealt out the week before so Kiarra and Zac lost their halloween party and even the privilege of dressing up. (I know...I AM the meanest mom in the history of the world!) Although it made it the easiest holiday ever...it did feel a little lacking.

Kiarra wasn't allowed to dress up for Halloween, but a few days before she
had to dress up for the Halloween orchestra concert.

Max and the kindergarten costume parade.

Sophie and the school costume parade.

Two tough kids. I do believe my days of cute, sparkly princess dresses are over.
Sophie KNEW 6 months ago that she wanted to be a boxer.
Thank heaven for the joy of internet shopping! One boxer costume...check.

We finished the day with the community trunk-or-treat.
Our stake put an end to the church parking lots being used for trunk-or-treats,
so the town threw one large trunk-or-treat at the park.
It was a little busy, but well organized.
Kiarra and Zac got the job of hanging out at our car handing our treats.

Happiest Place on Earth!

2011-10-27T01:45:00.004-06:00

It just so happens that our family had not been on a vacation since 2008. It was PAST time. Max had finally reached the required 42 inches, so it also meant that it was time for Disneyland. We decided to go over the UEA break...(which later while standing in line we learned stands for Utahns Entering Anaheim). We surprised the kids the week before we left. The funny thing is, it took a few hours for the idea to sink in. I expected them to be excited right away, but I don't think they really believed we were going. They've been asking for SOOOO long. My sister, Anne, took a break from her classroom and joined us on our trip. Here are several highlights of the trip.

This was Max's first time on a plane...of course he thought it was AWESOME!

Todd didn't understand that I just HAD to wait in line to take the kids picture in front of
pumpkin Mickey. But hey...it's Halloween in Disney. Can't ignore it.

I thought it was funny that out of all the fun rides, the Tea Cups was first on their must do list.

Kiarra and Zac know I love a clean house. Obviously so does Minnie.

Watch out! Sophie gave me whiplash on Autotopia...things to look forward to in 9 years.

Since it's Halloween, the Villians are out in full force.

The Haunted Mansion was fabulous! Loved, loved, loved the Halloween decorations.

Cinderella was the only princess we waited for. Sophie just isn't into the waiting or the princesses...but what a bonus to meet the Fairy Godmother!

Anne and her crew in the cage on the giant Ferris Wheel. Max did NOT like this ride. His siblings picked the swinging cages. Not a good idea for him.

Extremely happy to meet Mater and Lightening McQueen. Now we have to come back after Cars Land is finished.

Max had serious lunch to make. He created a masterpiece with his PB&J pallet.

The boys in their Dumbo.

One day we took a break from the Parks and went to Huntington Beach.
We walked out on the longest pier.

The water was a little too cold for the adults...but the kids and surfers didn't mind. The adults
just enjoyed napping on the warm sand and watching all the incredible surfers.

The last day we hurried to meet Tink in Pixie Hollow before
the line got long. So much more fun than a Princess.

Todd also got the kids going for the 4th trip down the Grizzly River Run.
One of their favorites. He was still wet when we boarded the plane.

It was tough to leave. When we were walking to the car Max asked "Why do we always have to leave the fun places?" I think that was how we all felt especially as we've tried to get back in the groove this week. Hopefully it won't take us 3 years for another family vacation.

Breaking News...

2011-10-16T01:44:00.002-06:00

Yep...now Todd's throwing his hat in the political arena. Elections are Nov. 8th. We'll keep you posted. ;)

Ahh...some R&R

2011-10-16T01:34:00.002-06:00

Well...R&R for me at least. Todd has had a few conferences on his schedule lately. Luckily I get to go with him. The first was in Park City. Thankfully, Todd's mom came to stay with the kids for a few days. We stayed at the Grand Summit Hotel at the Canyons Resort. It's a beautiful hotel and the fall colors were just beginning to take over the hillsides.

I enjoyed a lot of reading time and some sleeping in. We (yes, I said "we") did quite a lot of shopping at the outlet mall too. (I think that's the first time Todd's gone leisurely shopping with me in years!) One evening, dinner for the conference attendees was held at the Olympic Park Museum. At the museum is the training pools for the olympic ski jumpers. The Flying Aces put on an awesome show. Three or four of the athletes there are already scheduled to compete in the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Thanks again Grandma for spending so much time with the kids! Todd and I REALLY appreciate it!

The next weekend was a shorter conference at the Grand America in Salt Lake. This was my first time there. What a beautiful hotel! Because the weather was so cold and rainy...I just enjoyed the beautiful room, the cozy robe and my book. The food was fabulous too! Thanks to Liz this time for watching my kids! We owe you... again!

Our room on the 22nd floor....

The view from the balcony....

Had no idea these gardens were hidden behind in the courtyard of the hotel...can't see them from the street and I had never attended any function here so they were new to me. Beautiful even in fall. I was just a little afraid I'd drop my phone as I held my phone out to take this picture. I'm pretty sure dropping my new phone 22 floors would kill it.

A very nice, peaceful 24 hours. Thanks again to all the babysitters!

Harvest Time

2011-10-16T01:32:00.002-06:00

There hasn't been much bloggin' going on here because it seems I've been spending most of my time in the kitchen. I foolishly had Todd plant 16 tomato plants...(several of them looked a little sad when we planted and I didn't thing they'd make it.) Well not only did they make it, but Todd's green thumb has them thriving. I've canned salsa, tomato juice, chili sauce and even spagetti sauce. There was also green beans and A LOT of corn. We've turned in a regular 'ole country family. It does feel good to see the shelves and freezer full of our own efforts.

During all that canning there's been quite a bit of homework, piano, dance and soccer. I coached Max's team and we had a killer season. Zac joined a competition team and so that meant I spent a lot of Monday nights traveling with him for games. They all had fun and now we have a couple of weeks off before wrestling begins.

P.S. Just a state fair update...since I forgot to take some more pictures, but Kiarra's quilt received a nice big purple state fair rosette...WAHOO!! Her vest received a first place ribbon. Way to go Kiki!

First Day of School!

2011-08-30T00:19:00.004-06:00

I'm still in shock that the summer is over...but everyone was happy to start the new school year today. I think it's the only day out of the whole year that I don't have to yell and yell to get kids moving.

Zac was the first one out the door at 7:00 to catch his bus. He's been anxious about his move out of elementary school. The idea of new classmates, more teachers and lockers had him pretty worried. After today he's feeling a lot better. He still wishes he knew more kids in his classes but I know Zac...he'll have new friends by the end of the week.

Kiarra was the next ready to go. She's off to a new school too. She'll be in the 8th grade at the middle school which is just 8th & 9th grade. She's super excited this year because she won't be on the bus as much. Karissa will be giving her a ride most days. And who's Karissa you ask? Karissa's family lives on a ranch over an hour away from town. Kids from that area find families to stay with during the school week when they reach high school level. We met Karissa's family last spring and offered to have her stay with us this school year. She'll be going home on weekends and putting up with us Monday -Friday. Karissa is a junior and is pretty excited to be out of her tiny school and on to bigger things. My kids think it's pretty cool having another big "sister". They've been hanging on her since she moved in yesterday and hopefully don't wear her out too soon.Max was all silliness this morning. He's been ready for Kindergarten for a long time.For Sophie, it was all about style. She's got her outfits planned for the week. Input from me was NOT appreciated. Apparently you don't need mom in 2nd grade.I went down to the highway with Sophie and Max so that I could get some pictures of that new Kindergartner getting on the bus. We also discussed the "do not cross" line. Having them wait for the bus by the highway makes me pretty nervous. Well, we waited and waited. Apparently my guess for the bus time was off. We missed the bus. Max was pretty mad, but I ran them to school and promised to call the bus driver. We're all set for tomorrow now that I know what time to have them down the road.

August

2011-08-29T15:02:00.018-06:00

August was VERY busy. It all started at the end of July, when once again my friend, Liz, and I "volunteered" to be the float committee for the Miss Bear River Valley Pageant. Last year we dusted off the float and repaired some damage the best we could and got it on the road. You can't really tell from this photo, but the letters had lost their shimmer, flowers were faded and the green was thread bare. So this year as we pulled the 10 year old float out of storage, it was decided that it was time for an overall.....

We had two weeks. The first week we spent measuring and ordering supplies. Then the next week was spent sweating it out in a hot, dirty city garage getting it all together.
Husbands helped pull off the dusty old sheeting, kids helped to remove a ton of staples and we spent 12 hours one Saturday stapling until our hands were blistered.

Todd built the perfect 8' star back drop for us.

Two days before the parade, the gold sheeting showed up and thanks to the husbands we were able to get the stars covered and we were set to go. Here's the float in line and ready for the annual Wheat and Beet Days parade!

Best part of Wheat and Beet Days is the water fight with the fire department.

On the 18th, Kiarra participated in the 4-H fashion revue. She modeled the vest she made from her grandpa's old blazer. She also entered the "Decorate Your Duds" contest with this vest because of the flower embellishment she made for the vest. The modeling and interview process happened in the afternoon and we all came back that evening for the show and awards. That evening Kiarra entered a table setting in the Table Setting Contest. The theme was nursery rhymes. Kiarra chose Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater.
Kiarra did VERY well that night. She won first place in her age group for her table setting. She won Top Interview for her age group and also she took first place for her age in the Decorate Your Duds Contest. Whew! Way to Go!
Kiarra and her incredible sewing instructor, Jan.

We hadn't taken time to just go hang out at the pool all summer. So we managed to squeeze in a couple of trips in August. Sophie the Fearless spent a lot of time diving. Good thing she's become a good swimmer. I think Kiarra spent more time reading than swimming.
August in Box Elder County means County Fair! The fair kicks of with large parade. Sophie got to cheer with her dance studio in the parade Todd and I once again drove the royalty in the parade. This time the rest of the kids were thrilled to ride along and throw out candy.

Trying to keep cool and wait & wait in the 95 + degree heat for the parade to start.

Still waiting in pure organized chaos.

Kiarra's sewing projects did "sew" well at the fair. Her vest and quilt will be going on to the State Fair. Thanks Grandma Miller for the fabric for this fun quilt and thanks to our friend, Michelle, for her hours of help on the quilt. I personally can't stitch a straight seam and don't have the patience for quilting. Thanks a TON!!!!!!!!!

After the parade, I took the kids to do the rides at the fair. It's a crowded night, but the cheapest night to do rides.

Friday night we had fun at the rodeo. Grandma and Grandpa Miller joined us for the rodeo and it was nice to spend time with them this weekend. Saturday night we went back to the fair for Sophie to clog. She and Kache did a great job!

Whew! Did it! Summer 2011 in review. Now off to bed because I gotta be up in 4 hours to get kids to school. YIPPEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

July

2011-08-28T22:02:00.008-06:00

July, of course, started out with our annual 4th of July BBQ. Todd got to fire up his new grill and enjoyed the weekend with some fun friends.Kiarra and cutie, Kaitlyn.Finally got the outdoor curtains up for some much needed shade. My multi-talented husband helped to sew on all the ties.Out of all the yummy things spread out, Max keeps it all simple...burger and cheetos. Waiting for it to get dark so the "real" fireworks can start.

A few weeks later we went to Altamont for Longhorn Days over the 24th weekend. The entire family was there for the weekend.

Friday night we went up to the mountains for dutchoven, relay games and yummy smores.

Saturday morning we were off to the parade.Max and sweet cousins, Macey and Sunny

Ready and waiting for all the candy. And last...Zac used his down time in July to dig up all his instruction books and build every Lego set he owns. His room was pretty sacred territory during this construction phase.

June

2011-08-24T00:06:00.008-06:00

If I hurry, I can recap the summer before school starts. I have 5 days...it could happen....maybe.

June was cold and wet. Most of the month felt like April, but we did manage to find some sunshine towards the end of the month.

Zac had a fun visit from one of his best friends, Spencer. Spencer lived next to us in Spanish Fork. For a few weeks, Spencer's dad stayed with us while he did some work in Logan, so one week Spencer came up with his Dad and got to hang out with Zac. We didn't do much because of baseball schedules, but one day I took the kids out to Promontory to the Golden Spike Museum. Spencer had never been so we decided to brave the wind and see where East met West.Like I said, there was a lot of baseball. Kiarra played softball...somehow I forgot my camera EVERY game. Can't believe it. Sophia played Coach Pitch and was bored.

Max played T-Ball and thought it was the best thing EVER. He put 100% into every game, sliding into 1st, 2nd, 3rd and home plate all the time.

Sophie also had a blast at a one day cheerleading clinic.

Zac and his friend Wyatt attended a 4-H Robotics camp. For four days they built and programmed robots using Lego Mindstorms. It was pretty much heaven for these two boys. Zac has been begging for his own Mindstorm set ever since. Yikes!

Then there was the summer tradition of swimming lessons. The kids are all fearless in the water.

Zac even decided to work on his level 6 and get more practice at distance lap swimming.

And of course, those rainy days make for silly kids...including a little ninja action with fabric scraps! Jackie Chan ain't got nothin' on these two!

Wrapping up May

2011-07-16T00:38:00.006-06:00

Yep...still trying to catch up...too many other things to do this summer besides sitting at the computer. May finished up with A LOT of soccer games and....

Sophia's final dance revue. She had a great time perfoming...I got plenty of exercise running down the hall to help with quick costume changes...and I very much appreciated Grandpa and Grandma Miller driving so far to watch Sophie and keep me company.

Kiarra had a great year in school and finished up 7th grade with an award at the Breakfast of Champions for being in the top 15% all year as well as Honors in citizenship all year. We grabbed a quick photo with the guest speakers, Brooke Walker of KSL-TV and the student body president of the high school, Jacob Rees. I think her proudest moment of the year was getting 100% on her math core test! It was pretty amazing and I know she got her math brains from her dad.

Then there was preschool graduation for both Max and myself. I had been working at the preschool all year and gosh dang it...I miss those cute kids. For the second year in a row, Max was 1 of 3 valedictorians. He was pretty happy to get his award.Max with his Miss Marci. She's a fabulous teacher and good friend. Thanks for great year!

Zac also had a wonderful last year in elementary. At the fifth grade graduation he received awards for the honor roll in Math, Science and Reading, the President's Award for Academic Excellence, and Citzenship. His friend Wyatt got the same awards, so we decided to take a picture in front of the sign at the school. It's the last elementary graduation in this building. The new school for Sophie and Max will be ready in August.

And finally our last big event in May was Kiarra's Orchestra concert. She enjoys playing the violin and looks forward to learning more. Afterwards, the kids wanted breakfast for dinner so we hit Denny's (not too many options here) for an end-of-year feast. We celebrated all the kids' accomplishments (and Todd and I celebrated the end of all the May events).

May - Part 1

2011-06-11T22:37:00.009-06:00

May started off with a couple of dance competitions for Sophia. One of them she had been waiting for ALL year. We went down to Lagoon for a clogging competition. Todd and I haven't gone to Lagoon since Zac was a baby.

Sophia and her partner, Kache, are pretty cute together and have learned a lot this first year. Their team received a first place prize and a large trophy for an overall award. After she was done clogging, we rode as many rides as we could that afternoon. I took Sophie and Max and did all the kiddie rides. Todd took the older kids and waited in HUGE lines for the big kid rides. (They waited two hours for the log ride.) Hence, I mostly have photos of the little kids. Being the first sunny day of spring, opening day for the park, and dance competitons...it was so crazy packed. We didn't get a lot of rides in because all the lines took too long. Todd and I were done by 7:00. We've never been too fond of Lagoon...now we remember why. WAY over-priced! Oh well, the kids had fun and they're already begging to go again. Maybe in another 10 years.

Sophia and KacheWe met up with Ty, Max's friend from preschool, to do some rides together. Ty's on Sophie's clogging team.

This was probably a preview of how Sophie's gonna look at 16. YIKES!

Sophie and Max insisted on playing in the slash fountain. I warned them that the sun had disappeared behind the clouds for the day and that they would freeze after. But nope, they continued to argue. "Fine", I said, "Go ahead...you'll be sorry!"

Yep...they were sorry. Here they are trying to warm up on the wall that was still warm from the sun. Will they listen to me next time? Probably not.

Like I said, long day. Max fell asleep in the few minutes that it took to look at the dance competition results. Todd and I wished we could join him.

Whew....time to catch up!

2011-06-08T21:30:00.008-06:00

Life is finally slowing down... just a little bit. Over the next few days I hope to post all the crazy times we had in April and May...minus the photos I lost. I'll try to make it short and sweet, but I think it's in my job description to brag up the accomplishments of my children. Every mom should.

In April Sophia sported an EXCELLENT shiner! (I'm soooo proud!) She learned a very important lesson about running in the hall at school. (She finally gave me permission to post some pictures.) Her friend had a super great goose egg on her forehead.

DAY 1

DAY 3

DAY 6 or 7

Kiarra had the opportunity in April to star in our ward's production for the stake road show. Our ward did a spoof on Phineas and Ferb in which Phineas and Ferb make a time machine and go back in time to make sure ancestors fill our their census forms. This in turn helps their mom complete some family history work in the present day. Kiarra had the role of the always helpful, Isabella.

She did a great job and it was a fun, creative night.

Well, that's it for tonight since I'd rather be scrappin' than bloggin'. See you tomorrow with more updating.

Take my word for it...

2011-05-09T23:20:00.005-06:00

You're just going to have to trust me. We've had some crazy, fun-filled weeks here. SOOOOO sadly though, I lost most of my pictures. While sitting at yet another soccer game, I accidently erased all my Easter pics and Kiarra's 13th birthday and more rainy/snowy soccer games.

ARRRGGHHH!

I have since come to term with it, but came unglued at the moment. I mean, heck, there were adorable pictures of Max at his preschool easter egg hunt...and all my kids racing around the house looking for eggs Easter afternoon. I had some really fun pictures of the kids in their new Easter Sunday outfits (thanks Grandma Miller)...which we recreated the following Sunday but it just wasn't the same. (Those are posted at the top and on the right of this blog...because I guess it's time to ditch the Christmas photo.)

Kiarra had a great birthday. She got to spend a Saturday at the mall with a friend and chose to have me make an English Pound cake for her birthday cake. Simple request, easy peasy. It's not much different having a true teenager in the house because she's had the attitude to go with it for some time now. But she does look a little more "official" with her new cell phone. We usually only see part of her face because she's been constantly texting from the minute we got it charged. We do enforce a rule that she turns it in to us every night about 9:00 and she's slowly coming to terms with that.

Over the next day or two I'll get some photos up....after all it's May and every other day there's some competition, game, recital, program or concert. Just gotta hang in there for three more weeks.

AHHHH...Spring?!

2011-04-20T01:00:00.004-06:00

Well, we've been busy as usual. This month we've been pretending it's spring. Max and I went to his fieldtrip at the American West Heritage Center for Baby Animal Days. It was raining which then turned to snow as we were leaving. Nothing like tramping around the mud puddles and freezing in 34 degrees. Most of the baby animals were hiding.

The very next day we had soccer. Tremonton City has no desire to reschedule games...so we play no matter what. Zac was smart and ditched his game...like most of the kids. But Sophia loves soccer and begged to go. I watched from the car. Yep...it was snowing and we had a hard time seeing the lines painted on the grass. Crazy!

So...that's been our "spring" so far. Cold, rainy and snowy. I have to say I get pretty jealous when I read posts from friends and family in sunny Texas, Vegas and Hawaii. I'm just so done with cold!

Party Weekend!

2011-03-22T22:33:00.004-06:00

Last Friday, March 18th, was Sophie's 7th birthday...but we partied all weekend. After Todd and I got home from Salt Lake (see previous post) we had great family party at home. Luckily, this time no one was sick. Grandpa and Grandma Campbell came over, Aunt Anne was still there, and Grandpa & Grandma Miller were able to come for the weekend with the cousins. Sophia was dying to open presents by the time Grandpa & Grandma Miller came, so we jumped right in.

After the cake and ice cream, she and Lauren treated us to a concert with Sophie's new Karoke machine. She's been singing ever since. (For those of you that haven't heard, she's in training to move to Hollywood, Vegas, or New York someday. She's possibly considering Pocatello, too. Yeah, I know...fits well with her other choices.) Zac and Maleke contributed to the party by adding a disco ball quickly constructed out of sparkle tissue paper.

It was a fun, loud party. (My parents made a quick escape. )

On Saturday, Grandma helped me take nine kids to a matinee...all part of the birthday fun. After we dropped the boys and friends home, we took the girls and did some Easter dress shopping. Sophia loves to go shopping when she can spend all her time in the dressing room trying on dress after dress. She was in heaven!

Another favorite this weekend was the chess board Grandma & Grandpa Miller brought. Chess is Max current favorite game. He challenges anyone to a game...quess I'm gonna have to learn.

Thanks again to Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins for the fun birthday gifts and visits.

A Nice Break!

2011-03-22T22:25:00.002-06:00

Last Friday Todd had a conference in Salt Lake. We got to go down Thursday to a delicious dinner at the Little America Hotel and spent the night there. Then on Friday while Todd attended his meetings, I left with some of the wives of other hospital board members and we went out to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. We were able to do a session and then have lunch before we had to head back. It's a beautiful temple and it's fun to add that to my list of temples attended. Also, sending out ANOTHER heartfelt thanks to my sister who came and stayed with the kids.

Grandpa's Birthday

2011-03-22T22:16:00.002-06:00

March 16th was my Dad's 83rd birthday. We ran over that evening to celebrate with some quick cake and ice cream with family. He still loves teasing all the grandkids even if he can't get on the floor to wrestle them anymore. I think he is an amazing man that has taught us all about working hard and working honestly. Even though I'm a week late, I still wanted to pay tribute to a fabulous father, grandpa and great grandpa! Happy Birthday, DAD!

History Fair

2011-03-22T22:08:00.002-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, Kiarra and her friend, Krystal, competed in a history fair contest at USU. They chose the Alamo. Todd made the board and I spent one FULL Saturday helping them arrange the information on the board. We came up with the idea to burn the edges of the signs to give it an "old west" feel. A first they loved the unrestricted use of lighters (although supervised), but they had a nice headache from smoke fumes by the time we were done. They did well in the competition, but didn't make it to state. It was a learning experience for all of us.

Out with the Old in with the New

2011-03-08T23:38:00.003-07:00

It may come to a shock to most, but the time finally came for Todd to say goodbye to Old Reliable. Old Reliable had suffered through freezing temperatures in Cache Valley as Todd completed his undergrad studies, then went on to see him faithfully to class each day throughout med school. After 4 tedious years of wearing out I-15 between Layton and Salt Lake, he struggled to keep pace with Todd in Provo for residency. He managed to truck through heavy traffic in Provo and to far distant Utah rural communities for three years. The last year and a half was a struggle here in Tremonton...the questions remained..."Just how long would Old Reliable be reliable?" "Just how many times can he be brought back from the dead?" Those may be answers we'll never have. It was decided that it was no long respectable for Dr. Miller to be driving the biggest rust-bucket in the hospital parking lot and which night would it leave him stranded on a frantic run to the hospital? So, Old Reliable was not sent to the junk yard, but passed on to someone else to love. Thanks, Old Reliable, for 13 years of service!

As you can imagine, Todd is throughly enjoying Old Reliable's replacement...yet to be named. I was tad jealous because it's got a lot of great upgrades that my car doesn't, but I got over it when Todd let me drive it ONCE. It's a blast to drive for me because the gas and brake petal adjust to my stumpy legs...yippee! Small things make me happy! But seriously, I did get over the jealously because Todd deserves it. He works very hard and I'm happy that he now has a comfortable and safe way to get there. Happy Truckin', Todd!

Music To My Ears!

2011-03-08T23:06:00.004-07:00

Last Tuesday...(March 1st), Kiarra performed in her first orchestra concert. Last year she let me convince her to give the violin a try. She wasn't too sure, but I had always wished that I had picked up a string instrument... so once again I live vicariously through my children. I told her she could quit after this year if she didn't like it...but yay!, she likes it and plans to continue with the orchestra next year.

Back to the concert. She was nervous and excited, but she did a great job and it was fun to listen to this beginning orchestra. Thanks for the fun evening Kiarra!

Happy Birthday Max!

2011-02-15T22:37:00.006-07:00

What a day! I was a little sad because my baby is now 5 and Max was a little sad because he was sick. But we made the best of it.

Max woke up about 7:30 with a nice cough and a fever. The rest of the kids were already gone to school so he got to open his traditional breakfast present on mom's bed. Being the spoiled baby in the family, he got to do whatever he wanted for the rest of the day. He spent HOURS on the computer, watched some Disney Channel and had permission to stay in his jammies all day. (I joined him and didn't get dressed until 3:00) Awesome! This year is on "odd" year, so Max doesn't get a friend/themed party. He's planning on having a special play date when he gets feeling better. So, our lack of theme really showed in our birthday celebration...but it did show all of Max's favorites. Max chose...

Ice Age Cake

Toy Story Balloons

Handy Manny banner and plates

Cars wrapping paper

Around noon when his fever was up again, we decided we better call Grandpa & Grandma Campbell and Aunt Anne to cancel the birthday party. He was pretty sad...so I caved and let him open 1 present. Like I keep saying, he's my baby and he has me wrapped around his little finger.

Finally, Finally...it was time for Dad to come home so we could have our LITTLE family party. Todd made it for dinner...Max's choice of mini-cheeseburgers and fries.

We were just about to start the "party" when Todd got a call and had to RUN off to catch a baby. Poor Max...he still had to wait to open the gifts....once again, I felt bad for the kid and let him open 1 more present! (such a sucker)

Kiarra had to leave for Young Women so she missed the rest of the party that finally got under way about 8:00 that night when Todd got home. We opened gifts quickly, played a little bit and had cake and ice cream. Max loved all his gifts and a big thanks to all the family that sent packages!

It takes A LOT of concentration to come up with the perfect birthday wish!

Max had to wait around a lot today, and I was VERY impressed with his patience. He is a VERY competitive and busy little guy. Today, Max was pretty flexible and understanding. I think he just enjoyed being King of the House today. Happy Birthday to a fabulous five year old!

Holiday Happenings

2011-01-06T01:11:00.010-07:00

We hope your holidays were fun and safe. We had a great holiday season filled with family and friends.

The fun started a couple of weeks before Christmas when both Sophia and Max found out they had won prizes in the community coloring contest. Sophia received some pet shops from a local title company and Max got an awesome John Deere hoodie from Greenline.
Next on the list was Max's preschool fieldtrip. We went down to the Christmas Village in Ogden and had a personal tour by Mrs. Claus of all the cute displays.

Let's not forget the serious business of gingerbread houses the Saturday before Christmas. Building four houses and decorating four "yards" did a number on my Carpal Tunnel.

A couple days later, we were back in Ogden at the Christmas Village for Max's preschool concert. We joined with the Ogden preschool and the kids sang about 5 songs. It was a pain to travel so far for just a few songs, but I was asked to help lead the kids...which was nice to get up close. They did a cute job. Afterwards the kids and I grabbed some hot chocolate and enjoyed all the displays (much cuter at night) in the pouring rain.

The next evening was a quick Christmas piano recital for Kiarra and Zac. They both performed two Christmas songs they had worked very hard on. Great job, kids!

After the recital we got down to the business of Christmas cookies.

Finally, it was Christmas Eve. We headed over to Providence for the annual Christmas Eve party at my parents' house. I don't want to call Todd a baby hog...but he was. These two cuties belong to my nephews. Elizabeth and Ezra were born only days apart.

Santa and Mrs. Claus dropped in for a quick visit. Mrs. Claus read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and each kid got a turn on Santa's lap to put in one last request.Max and Joe bonded over dinner. After dinner, we read the scriptures and then exchanged presents. Zac found a fellow Lego enthusiast. He and Will were in their own world and started building right away.

Arriving home around 9:30, the kids went to work getting Santa's (and the reindeers') plate of goodies ready.

Christmas morning was almost perfect. The kids didn't get up until about 6:30 and following the rules...enjoyed their stockings until they got mom and dad out of bed at 7:00. Sadly though, Kiarra had started throwing up during the night and was still very sick. She managed to make it through opening all the gifts. She quickly disappeared after to soak in the tub and go back to bed. She slept for a couple hours... got up...then fell asleep on the couch. Poor girl. Luckily no one else got sick. I was worried we'd pass it around all through the holidays.

The next morning, we got up early...very early...and headed to Altamont to see Todd's parents. We managed to get there in time for church. After Sunday dinner we opened gifts and Max finally received "Cootie" from Grandpa and Grandma. Whew!

Watch out for these chefs on a mission!

We cut our trip a little shorter than planned so that we could stop by Grandpa and Grandma's condo in Park City to swim. They always have the condo during Christmas break...pretty pathetic that none of us ski. Oh well...we put the pool to good use. We then raced home to meet up with friends that were in Utah from Vegas. Thanks Drew and Melissa for taking time out of family plans to come see us.

We took a couple of days off to play, visit with friends and then clean up the house to party on New Year's Eve...and make more messes! We filled the house with friends and kids. Most of our guests were from out of town, so we had one huge slumber party. (No one had to hit the roads late.) We played games until 2:30 am.

We were very happy to have the Basheins back. They've been living in Kansas that last few years and recently moved back to Utah. Waymans were also here from Georgia.

The only one who didn't make it to midnight was baby Kaitlyn and Zac. Zac has a good reason though. The day before...while helping me...he tripped over the vaccum, landed bad on his wrist and broke it. Todd didn't a chance to look at it until Friday afternoon. So just hours before the party started, he received a custom cast from his dad. His wrist was hurting pretty bad... and he was just plain worn out.

Zac's a trooper though. He's still playing basketball and has promised to not use it as a weapon. Anyway...after New Year's Eve, Todd made a fabulous breakfast feast for the masses and then we continued to play games until 7:00 that evening.

This is why I need another vacation!

I'm Back

2010-12-05T20:55:00.014-07:00

Well, I think my blog vacation is over. I didn't intend to take one, but it seems like after school started, things just went CRAZY. My computer died as well and that took a month to get a solution. I had access to Todd's laptop, but he didn't want photos and stuff filling up his computer. Anyway...I don't want to re-live everything that happened in last 2 1/2 months...but here's a quick (I hope) recap.

September and October were full of soccer, soccer and soccer. Three kids playing, four schedules...which means Sunday was our only day off. I also decided to work part-time at Max's preschool. I go every MWF morning and help in his class. It's been fun and preschoolers are just a crack up...(most days). I was also wrangled in to serving on the PTA board...so there went a few more hours. I have become officially a Stay-at-Home mom that is never home. My kids and I have a few favorite pictures we want to share with the world.

Kiarra Zac

Sophia

Landscaping began in ernest in October. Todd and crew worked every spare minute.

AlsoIn October, I went on a field trip with the preschool to the American West Heritage Center. They had a lot of fun Fall activities for the kids. Max and I almost went crazy in the Corn Maze...yes, we conquered the big maze...just the two of us.Happy Halloween!November started with Todd's 38th birthday. Dinner with friends and a small birthday cheescake with the kids.There was more landscaping and ...Zac's 11th birthday! Can't believe he's that old!....The delivery of our spiral staircase for the back deck. So cool to watch them fit this in place in only minutes.November was packed with amazing sunsets.

November was also full of wrestling. Zac had a great season and his team finished 1st!

Then of course there's Thanksgiving. This year we were the hosts for the Miller family. We packed the house and the kids were in heaven with their cousins!

There was a family photo shoot too. The best part was watching everyone try to get little Sunny to smile.

Friday, cabin fever took over and we took all the cousins bowling. It was a fun weekend and we enjoyed staying home. We appreciate all the family that braved the scary roads and freezing temperatures!

Wow...that was just the short update...and this took forever. Hopefully I'm back on track! Enjoy your holiday season!

Miller Animal Shelter?

2010-09-13T01:05:00.005-06:00

Over Labor Day weekend, our household grew by one more. No...no new babies here. Instead we have added yet another animal to the "farm". Meet "Major", a pure bred German Shepherd. Major came to us from our friends that were looking for a new home for this dog. I never thought we'd own a dog, let alone a big dog. However, he's been to obedience school and is very managable. He's really patient with the kids and so far Zac has rushed home every day to play with him. He is STRICTLY an outdoor dog and right now we have to be pretty careful that he doesn't turn one of the cats into a chew toy. He actually proved himself to be a pretty good cattle dog and chased some of the calves into a new pasture. So far we're all getting along great...(4 kids, 7 calves, 1 dog, 2 cats, 1 turtle and countless fish. GEEZ!)

First Day!

2010-08-31T01:38:00.006-06:00

Yee Haw! Yesterday was the first day of school. I know most of you have already started back...but like I said, the Fair is a big deal here so school waits for the fair. Everyone was excited to get going and was up bright and early at 5:30 am. (Including Max who had no reason to be up.)

Off to 7th Grade! Very excited and she admits it too! She came home saying she had the "best" teachers. Especially for pre-algebra. Yay..maybe she'll be better at math than I am.

In fifth grade...a "senior" at our elementary. He's likes his teacher and is happy that he finally has a male teacher. Zac only wishes that he had more friends in his class. I'm not worried though, he'll make new ones.

Miss Social was extremely happy to be headed back. Sophie's really at school for the fun...learning is second. Hopefully we'll all survive another year. The best part of 1st grade is lunch at school. The best part for mom....Sophia's energy is funneled for a few more hours in the day! Waiting to go to the bus stop! It was pouring, but they were determined to ride the bus.

Another first today...our first sighting of the deer that everyone says we'll see plenty of. I'd been searching since January but never spotted a single deer. Today Max spotted two in the back yard when he was eating his breakfast.

Busy Summer Days

2010-08-29T21:32:00.018-06:00

Over the last couple of weeks it felt like I didn't even have time for a potty break, let alone blog...so here we are again...catching up. A few weeks ago we met up with our friends, the Bowdens, for a camping trip. It'd been about 3 years since we had seen them, so it was a lot of fun to visit and catch up.

Yum...the main reason we go camping...smores!Rylee Bowden taught us a new camping treat...roasted starbursts! Something she learned at girls camp this year. I was doubtful, but they were very yummy especially when you get a nice crispy outer layer going. On our last day, we detoured over to an afternoon at Downata Hot Springs to swim. It had rained on and off the whole day before, so we weren't sure if we'd get the chance. However summer weather returned and we had a great, warm day for swimming.

Just after this camping trip, we also picked up the newest addition to the "farm" . Another kitty to replace the one we lost. Meet "Nugget". After a rough beginning he seems to be getting along with Toby quite well.

We spent the 2nd and 3rd weeks of August trying to squeeze in 2-3 hours per night...yes folks...that's PER NIGHT...doing this and ........

this so that we could be ready for the fair.Max found other things to do while we worked with calves. And we did manage to do some back to school shopping along with PTA meetings for me. Because days were tight, I ended up taking all four kids shopping on the same day...something I try to avoid. Whew...they survived and I did not commit child abuse. It was a good trip.And then there was the FAIR! (A very, huge, big deal in this county).

A week before Kiarra had to model her skirt that she entered in the "Decorate Your Duds" contest. She had made roses and bows to add to this skirt.

The opening of the Box Elder County Fair starts with a huge parade. We were once again driving the Bear River Valley Royalty Float, so this was our view. We were number 60 out of 80 which meant we sat in the heat for about an hour after the start of the parade before we got to move.

We had strategically placed our two vehicles at different positions along the route because Todd had a patient in labor. I was a little worried I'd get stuck driving this long float through town.

After the parade, it seems the whole county heads up to the fairgrounds. I took the kids up as well and an hour later, after the baby was delivered, Todd joined us for Family Night on the rides. The lines are long, but the rides are much cheaper on opening night. The older kids were thrilled that they had permission to almost run wild with their friends. (We were there and they had to keep checking in.)

Kiarra with her first place ribon on her skirt.

Zac with his first place ribbon on his poetry book.First place on Kiarra's embroidered pin cushion/storage jar.

Thursday was the day we'd been waiting for. Time to show the calves. They were thoroughly scrubbed in the afternoon and hair styled.

Remember I said "thorough"!

The four kids on the left are our group...Kiarra, Wyatt, Morgan and Zac. They're getting them set up for the judge.

Bummer... I only got the back of Sophie's head. She's got the white flower in her pony tail. The dang Holstein behind her kept nudging hers making it hard for her to get her calf set up. She was a little frustrated but kept a smile on her face the whole time and did very well. All the calves lead well and set up well. The kids had control the whole time. We were very proud of them.

They all got first place ribbons (Kiarra didn't hang up her ribbon.) By the way...the sign was thanks to my second love...my Cricut Expression. Thanks Liz for all your glueing help.

We then had the job of taking care of the animals the rest of the week at the fair. Luckily we could split that with the Johnsons.Friday night was the rodeo. That blurr is Sophia! I did the best I could with the time I had. She had the fun opportunity to Mutton Bust. For those that don't know, she had to hang on to this sheep as long as she could. The kid to hold on the longest, wins. She didn't win, but she gave it her best shot in front of a huge crowd. Way to go!

And finally, no fair is complete without cotton candy. Kisses anyone?

Wheat and Beet Days!

2010-08-16T00:08:00.005-06:00

Last weekend was Garland's annual Wheat and Beet Days. We participated fully! I had been wrangled into helping prepare the float for the Bear River Valley Royalty. So...Todd volunteered as well and drove the float for me on Saturday morning. It probably helped that he got to drive a new truck with great scenery in the rear view mirror. Sophia and Max rode with us. Kiarra and Zac were invited to ride on the fire truck with their friends. It was a fun parade and because everyone was busy in the parade, I didn't have to pick up candy wrappers around the house for the next week.
Later at the park, the kids entered Speedy, the turtle, in the pet show. The same royalty judged this show. Speedy won the "Ninja Turtle" award because he showed off for the judges. He rolled over from his back to his feet. Sweet!

The kids had fun playing at the park for a couple of hours.

In the nice full heat of the afternoon, the Tremonton and Garland fire trucks pulled up to the stake center ball field for the best water fight ever. There was water EVERY WHERE! (hence, the distant photo) The fire department even let the foam fly. Tons of fun! That night we sat out on our deck and watched the fireworks. Ahhhhh.... nice summer day!

More July Fun

2010-08-07T00:44:00.007-06:00

Once again I'm throwing together a quick update. We're starting a busy August and if I don't catch up now...it just might not happen.

A few weeks ago, Zac earned his Arrow of Light. This is his last big Cub Scout award. He's earned all the pins he can in WEBELOS and now he's just assisting his den leader and waiting to turn 11 in November so he can move on. Zac has loved cub scouts and is always thrilled to do more and earn more. We're proud of you Zac!
Kiarra also went to girls camp in July and had a great time. Of course she came home grumpy and tired. Her friend, Morgan, came home with her because her family was still out of town. Both girls claimed to be "just fine". I think this picture proves differently. Kiarra was snoring away even with Morgan's arm flung across her face. They didn't even stir when the fash went off in the room. Both girls slept 'til about 10:00 the next morning.
Then, following tradition, we headed to Altamont for the weekend of the 24th. Only this time Todd flew down to Panguitch to cover the ER for a long weekend. The bumpy plane ride was an adventure and he stayed very busy all four days.

I drove the kids out to Altamont. We participated in some of the Longhorn Days festivities including the fun parade on Saturday. (Yes, for those of you that have heard about it before, this is the famous parade that goes down main street then turns around and comes back. Twice the fun...twice the candy!) Grandpa and Grandma had offered to take the kids for a few days. I left the kids there and came home for four very quiet days. I spent time working in the garden, helping my sister move to a new classroom, scrapbooking, reading and reading. Todd and I also took advantage of the quiet and went on a date too. So very nice! Thanks Grandpa and Grandma!! The kids came home with all sorts of stories about how much fun they had.

Waiting for the parade to start!Voted by our family and the parade commitee as the favorite! Max's face really lit up when he saw Mater coming down the street!One tired kid! Max slept for about 4 hours on Saturday afternoon. He'd been playing hard all morning.Max had a lot of fun with "Sammy"...Uncle Kenny's dog. He couldn't get enough of playing tug-o'-war with him.Grandpa also decided the kids needed the experience of making ice cream the old-fashioned way. Max, being the youngest there, got to go first.One enthused pre-teen!Sophia worked for a long time. As you can tell, she's really concentrating hard on her task...the tongue is proof.

Maleke and Zac tag-teamed the last of it. The going got tough, but these boys got it done! Thanks to the kids, (ok, and Grandma), we adults enjoyed some good ice cream!

CHAMPS!

2010-07-19T00:44:00.003-06:00

Last week we finally finished the baseball/softball season with Zac's tournament. His team finished the season undefeated and won the championship. The opposing team gave them quite the fight! Zac made some fun new friends and I really appreciate the coaches he had. This was Zac's first season with boys (instead of coaches) pitching and he learned a lot. He's already talking about next year. Way to go Zac! Also, thanks to Grandpa and Grandma Miller who drove over 3 hours to watch the game and then turned around and made the drive home that same night. We REALLY appreciate your support!

Final Score

The first place team with their trophies!

Swim Lessons!

2010-07-16T00:10:00.005-06:00

My kids look forward to swim lessons EVERY summer and it was not different this year. We hit the Brigham City Pool in July for two weeks of lessons. Kiarra and Zac decided to take diving lessons. I think Zac only took lessons so he could enjoy the 5-10 minutes of free time at end of each lesson.

Sophia trying the diving boardYep, Free Time!

This time I actually caught both Zac and Kiarra at the same time.Zac was working on his pike dive and Kiarra almost nailed her one and a half dive.

4th of July

2010-07-15T23:24:00.004-06:00

We celebrated the 4th of July here at home surrounded by friends. Again our friends the Routsons stayed at our house and the Stays came up to their vacation home next door. Johnson's joined us as well. Saturday night we had a BBQ and did fireworks with the kids.

Desperate for a little shade, we partied on the driveway.

I decided to go festive and even made a flag cake. I love the 4th of July almost as much as Christmas!I'm obsessed with this baby. Kaitlyn is such a cute, petite little doll. We keep trying to convince her parents to let us keep her...but so far, they always remember to take her with them when they leave. Dang!

Spirited out!

"Patiently" waiting to start fireworks.

We fired off several parachute fireworks. The kids chased them all over the fields. I think it was more entertaining for the adults than the kids.

By Monday the kids were getting a little more worn out from their late nights. Who knew corn could be so much fun? They all jumped to help and I let them get the work done. It kept them very happy for about 20 minutes.

Unfortunately the long weekend wasn't all good. On Sunday Kevin's mother fell and shattered her leg. The Stays spent the next few days making her as comfortable as possible until she had her surgery on Thursday. They've reported that surgery went well and she is now recovering and trying to keep off her leg for the next 3 MONTHS! We hope she has a smooth recovery!

Thanks everyone that joined us! And thanks for the yummy food...(i.e. Kim's sweet rolls and Kevin's deep dish pizza)!

In Memory

2010-07-09T01:04:00.007-06:00

On June 20th we received word that Todd's grandma had passed away. Verla was an incredible woman that spent most of her life serving others. Even at 92 she had an amazing memory. She kept us all up to date on family news and she NEVER forgot the birthdays of her 20 grandchildren, 37 great-grandchildren and 23 great-great-grandchildren. My kids have a lot of great memories of stopping to visit her. When we first lived in Layton we could count on weekly visits every Tuesday. Verla also came to the hospital to visit each of my babies when they were born.

Verla with Max and Sophia just after Max came home from the hospital.In deep discussion with Todd's brother, Brad, last summer at the reunion.

Verla's in pink in the center surrounded by a lot of her posterity at the reunion in '09.

We drove up to Baggs, WY, where Verla spent most of her life, for the funeral. (Check the map...it's halfway across the state on the Colorado border...a very small town.) The kids enjoyed the adventure and were pretty happy to be on a "road trip". Todd's brother, Brad, had flown in from Houston and drove home with us. (Anyone that can survive 5 1/2 hours in a car with my kids is pretty amazing. Thanks, Brad for entertaining the kids and keeping Max in a car seat.)

Lookin down on Baggs from the cemetary on the hill.

Todd, Brad and their dad. As you can see, it was a very windy day.

Verla Lowe Miller will be missed. However, we are all comforted knowing that she is now pain-free and enjoying a different reunion...one with her eternal companion and many of the family members that have gone on before her.

Family Reunion

2010-07-08T23:40:00.008-06:00

Once again I'm trying to play catch up with our blog. In June we went to the Kerr family reunion. This is my mother's family. We have it every year in June near my late grandfather's birthday. Usually it take place right here in the Tremonton area, which as been great for us the last couple of years. It's just a five minute drive to the park! Easy Peasy! A Kerr reunion wouldn't be the same without a water fight. Some one alway ends up starting an innocent water game..(in this case it was a water balloon toss). The next minute it's mad chaos. The kids got wetter filling their water balloons then being hit by them. I decided those two little girl cousins were pretty smart. They stayed on higher ground.These were just a small samply of my grandparents belongings. The house dress was my grandmother's. She was always wearing one and in her slippers. Looks comfy to me..smart woman.

Happy Anniversary!

2010-07-03T13:45:00.003-06:00

Today marks 14 years since I snagged Todd. Lucky me!

Since we've survived medical school and building a house... I think this marriage just might work.

I love you Todd! Thanks for being an incredible husband and father. Happy Anniversary!

Batter up!

2010-06-23T01:01:00.005-06:00

Some people ...(cough, cough...my father-in-law) have made it a point to comment on my lousy blogging. It's been a couple of weeks and the only excuse it that I just haven't felt like it. Maybe it's the kids being home and the constant messes left in their wake. I seem to only have the energy to maintain...not get ahead.

June has been pretty busy so far. We were lazy the first couple of weeks because it was just so cold and rainy. We just stayed in the house, except for almost nightly baseball and softball games. 3 kids are playing and Monday thru Thursday you can find us at the ballpark. Sometimes games overlap and Kiarra is also playing with her Young Women team.

Kiarra's playing her favorite position this year.

Don't tell Sophie's it's only T-ball. She does everything full-steam ahead.

Zac has a powerful swing!

The all the thunderstorms in June have made for some gorgeous evening skies.

One evening a beautiful sunset with amazing clouds...then the very next night there was a huge rainbow to the East. The kids and I oohed and ahhed for quite some time.

I'm also sad to say that one of our little kittens has disappeared as well. We've searched and searched with no luck. I think in that short time I was more attached than the kids. I keep hoping she'll wander back...but it's been a little too long now. I hope someone took her in and gave her home.

The "Farm"

2010-06-07T01:44:00.007-06:00

I have been asked several times how the "farm" project is going. As you can tell by the quotes, I'm still trying to deny that Todd is turning my home into a farm. The calves are all doing well now. Todd had a few that were sick for a while, but having a doctor for a farmer is a good thing. They all received excellent care and most made a comeback. We lost one a few weeks ago...taking the numbers back down to 9. Luckily the one that died didn't belong to any of the kids. It was Liz's calf. (Because the moms haven't really appreciated this project, the last two calves purchased were "given" to us. "My calf" is still healthy. I don't know why they call it mine. I don't do ANYTHING to take care of them.)

Todd and Rob just finished fencing in this pasture area for the calves. Zac and Todd built this trough.
My kind of farm animals. I know a lot of people don't like cats, but I've always loved 'em. On Memorial Day we picked up these cute kittens from my aunt. Hopefully they'll help with the field mice. Stormy on the left, Toby on the right. The kids are thrilled to have soft pets to play with...the turtle really isn't great to cuddle with.

Memorial Day

2010-06-07T00:20:00.004-06:00

Memorial Day weekend was a good beginning to the summer. I say only "good" because it wasn't sunny or warm enough to be great. The sun only peeked out for a little while on Monday. Our friends, the Stay family, moved into their "vacation home" next to us. (This will be a second home for them until they are ready to move here permanently in several years.) We enjoyed a rainy weeked of firing up the grill and heating the dutch ovens. YUM, YUM! We also got a lot of game time in. Our other friends, the Routsons, came Sunday night and stayed until Monday evening. All the kids had a great time together and the adults had fun too.

Todd built a quick fire pit in the back yard for the weekend.
Catherine survived some rough ground to be able to join us in the back yard! Glad you were there Catherine!Happy kids! Dirt doesn't bother thems at all. I personally can't wait until this patio is set in a nice green back yard.

On Memorial Day, we left the friends for a while and went over to Cache Valley to hang out with the Campbell family. We did our annual trip to the Providence cemetary and then back to my parent's house for lunch. Again...more fabulous food.

My mom with Kiarra and Zac.

I love this picture. Even though we can't get a four generation photo, we came close. In order; my dad, my brother, Joe (well, his grave site), my nephew, Lance, and his cutie son, Joe.

My dad and some of my uncles and aunts were checking the plot list to see if the plots they had purchased were listed. Then we all realized that you have to be deceased to be on the list. They all decided it was good thing they couldn't find their names. Ahh...the love!

Anyway, it was a good weekend. Too bad the kids still had four more days of school, but all the playing and BBQ got us excited for summer.

Our Valedictorian!

2010-05-28T01:16:00.006-06:00

As I said it would be, this week has been busy too. Tuesday night I wish I'd had a clone. One of our fun events that night was Max's Preschool Graduation Program. His teacher, Miss Marci, had all three classes there and they sang several songs. After that they were awarded their diplomas along with a cute bullentin board to hang in their rooms.

Then Miss Marci gave her special awards. There were two Valedictorians this year and one of them was Max! I was so surprised. The list of things that these kids had to pass off was very long...it included knowing and writing their letters, days of the week, months of the year, writing and recognizing numbers, counting by 1's and 10's, telling time on the hour and 1/2 hour, address, phone number, color words, shapes, etc, etc, etc. I mean it was a LONG list. I knew he had done well on his testing, but man, I didn't even know that he knew all that stuff. There are 60 kids in that preschool and for Max to be one of the two that got it done just amazes me. Heck, he's only 4 and we have another year before Kindergarten.

Max getting his Valedictorian award. He was a little fast for me, but I love the look on that face. He was so happy. He received a t-shirt and a game.

Max with Miss Marci. She's great and he loves being at school.

It's a little big for him, so it's his newest "night shirt".

Okay, yes, I'm rambling on like a proud mom...but...well, I am. We have since nick-named Max, "Smartie Pants"! As a side note, this same, bright, intelligent child chewed on my new bar stool yesterday and scraped off a lot of the finish with his teeth...WHAT THE HECK?!! Good thing he's cute.

Whew...What a Week!

2010-05-24T00:29:00.010-06:00

I think Kiarra was in 3rd grade when May became a dreaded month. It hasn't gotten better, only more hectic as the years go by. From what I gather from mothers of older children than mine, it's only going to get worse. May becomes pure survivial to get from one event to another. I consider May to be actually more stressful than all the holiday craze of December.

Last week was one of the busiest...with the coming week not looking much better. Monday was fairly calm with one chaotic dance rehearsal for Sophia. Tuesday was her first dance revue. She was so excited. She's wanted to perform since her first dance class. She did very well and performed three times...ballet, tap and jazz.

Wednesday was more madness. I got to go on a fishing fieldtrip with Max. We went to a trout farm in North Ogden. It was so much fun to just spend this one-on-one time with Max. He was SOOO anxious to go. And even though I had to take all the fish off the hook, at least the staff at the farm cleaned them for us. Whew! Max caught 8 before I made him stop. We grilled the trout for dinner and Max was very proud that he had provided dinner.

After our trout dinner, Zac was dropped at baseball practice and the rest of us went to see Sophia's Kindergarten program. She sang loud and clear and again, was happy to be performing.

Sophia and her excellent, patient teacher, Mrs. Anderson.

Thursday--(no pictures) Kiarra and Sophia were my guests at the Garland Civic Club Mother/Daughter dinner. I joined the club in December. They are great group of ladies that do a lot for our small community. The girls and I had a fun time and a yummy dinner.

And finally, on Friday was Kiarra's Breakfast of Champions. This is a special treat for the kids at Kiarra's school that showed academic excellence. Breakfast was at 6:15 am at the school for both the student and their parents. (and yes, I managed to drag myself out the door to be there... Kiarra doubted I could do it.) Anyway, there was breakfast, speakers and awards. Kiarra got a large medal because she had shown excellence for all three trimesters. Way to go Kiarra!

Maybe all this craziness is just a plot to get parents excited about summer break. Although there'll still be a lot going on... at least it will be at a somewhat relaxing pace.

"Spring" Soccer

2010-05-24T00:19:00.005-06:00

Soccer ended a couple of weeks ago...but I had to post this picture of Zac's last game. We FROZE watching that last game. Yes, that's snow...and that was before it turned into a blizzard that we just kept on playing through. The whole week was frosty and I couldn't believe I was sitting there through three games watching the kids finish their season. Are we crazy?!

Dads & Donuts

2010-05-06T23:20:00.002-06:00

So a thoughtful friend (thanks Melissa) took this photo at the school and sent it to me. It was Dads & Donuts at the school this morning. They were supposed to read books with their dads, but Sophia and Zac forgot to take some books. But what was hidden in those backpacks? Zac's Spanish to English Dictionary and Sophia's standard dictionary. So here they are reading their dictionaries...and LOVIN' it!

Finally 12!

2010-05-03T00:05:00.008-06:00

I would have gotten this up earlier, but it was a crazy week. Kiarra celebrated her 12th birthday on the 27th of April. She's been waiting for this for a long time. Most of her friends had moved on from Primary to Young Women months ago and she's been impatiently waiting to join them.

The Saturday before her birthday, she had a "late night" with several friends. These girls were lot of fun and a lot of noise...but, it was great entertainment for me just listening to them. They had pizza, played games, made sundaes and watched a movie. They had a great time. I got a great lesson in rural life though. I said I would bring the girls home. I started at 10:00, and due to the great distances between the houses, I didn't finish until 11:20. I felt so bad and hopefully I didn't make too many parents angry.

The girls were a little wired by this time... a serious pose just wasn't going to happen.Then on Monday (26th) we decided to have our family party. Grandpa and Grandma Campbell came with Aunt Anne. We opened presents, had cake and had more fun.

Tuesday morning, Kiarra got a traditional breakfast gift. This year it was the 5th Fablehaven...Yeah!

I know many of you have already had children reach this milestone, but I'm seriously in disbelief. Just when did my little girl grow into this beautiful, young woman. She is so smart and beautiful. Kiarra puts a lot of effort in her school work and does a great job. She is also a huge help around the house. I probably dump too much on her but she is a great babysitter and is learning to cook and do some laundry. Yay for me ... not so much fun for her. We are very proud of her and I'm so excited for her. She will have a great time in the Young Women's program and will create some fun memories. Love you, Kiarra! Happy Birthday... again!

Spring Break

2010-04-26T00:10:00.006-06:00

I thought it was time to recap our Spring Break adventures. (I think our school district's Spring Break was the last one scheduled in the state.) We had from the 16th to the 20th to relax a little...and we did...just a bit. On Friday we waited for Todd to get calves settled then we went on down to Chuck E. Cheese. Sophia had been working hard for this reward and it was her choice. We weren't too sure we'd have to pay up...but oh well. We spent 3 hours there and all the kids had a blast. Have to say that the Layton restaurant is much cleaner and in better shape than the Orem location. Sorry no pics, but I was in such a hurry to hit the road that I forgot the camera. A pretty big sin in my book.

Saturday and Sunday were spent cleaning house, going to church and having some late game nights.

Monday, with the dads being busy, my friend, Liz, and I bravely decided to pack our kids up and go to temple square. We took the kids to the Church History museum and then on a tour of the Conference Center.

Tour guides received a lot questions.Zac and Wyatt relaxing in a replica of bunks from the hold of ship. They said it was pretty comfortable. We tried to convince them that those wood planks wouldn't feel so good if they slept with the whole family in that bunk for weeks on rough waters.The children's section of the museum was a favorite spot. We spent a lot of time there. Zac made his attempt to build a temple.Morgan spent some time coaching Zac on how to hold on to the rod of iron and stay on the straight and narrow path.

A great corner of the children's section had a nursery. Complete with pretend sinks, layettes, scales, birth certificates, doll blankets and clothing. Perfect for a 6 year old girl.

Plenty of biblical dress-ups. Even though I only ended up with a shot of these four, all the kids spent time dressing up and putting on a little play.

Max making his stained glass window for the Nauvoo temple.Here we are in the massive auditorium of the Conference Center. The kids and moms loved this building. We loved the fountain in the lobby. Our tour guide wore the kids out though, because he was pretty intent on discussing each of the paintings in the building.Tired, hungry kids taking a break in the elevator.On the roof of the Conference Center. It was so warm and beautiful up there. It was hard to remember we were on a roof instead of taking a walk in the park. All the trees and plants have gotten so big that it just amazes me that it's all on the roof! After the Conference Center we had a late lunch and then headed home.

Tuesday we went over to Grandpa and Grandma Campbell's to have lunch and help Grandpa with some spring yard work. We hurried home for scouts and dance lessons which was the first sign that spring break was over. Bummer. It was a good break and gave us a taste of summer. (And then there was rain, lightening, hail and wind the rest of the week. Gotta love it!)

April Happenings...

2010-04-18T19:09:00.010-06:00

It seems like every April and May life gets crazy busy and just stays that way until school gets out. And so it begins again... my calendar is getting very crowded with kid activities. Having three kids playing spring soccer, (each of them involving 2 nights/week and Saturday morning), hasn't helped. But they all asked to play and love playing, so I freeze in the wind and watch each one.

KiarraSophia

Zac

Kiarra has been working on growing her hair long for 3 years. She wanted to donate to Locks of Love for the second time. Finally her hair was long enough to donate 10 inches and still have some hair left. She was very excited Thursday to get a new do!BEFORE...

AFTER! Very cute!

Then there's "The Farm". On Wednesday, Todd took Zac to pick up another calf for him. Meet "Vader". Well...two days later, two became....

EIGHT!!! Yes, folks, EIGHT! Todd says that's because I'm an eight cow wife. Actually, four belong to the Miller kids and the other four belong to the Johnson kids. Together these friends, with the help of their dads, plan on forming a 4-H club to show their bucket calves at the fair. Only Max and Kache (the Johnson's youngest) will be too young to show theirs, but we couldn't leave them out because they're just as anxious to learn how to do the whole thing. No, I'm not loving this, but I'm trying to get on board. Todd is threatening to bring home a pig next to take care of the table scraps and if he does, I'll be selling it cheap to anyone who offers.

Not exactly farm attire...but, then again Sophie's always done things her way!

Easter Fun

2010-04-07T23:16:00.004-06:00

So, since it's been a few days, I thought it was time to post some of our Easter celebrations.

A few days before Easter, Max had a preschool Easter Party/Egg Hunt. His teacher had asked that all the kids come dressed as a bunny. Needless to say it was a cold, windy event and it was hard to even convince the kids that it was fun. He got some great prizes, but I spent the rest of the day wrapped in a blanket to get rid of the chills in my body. I guess it's good that he had this hunt because I refused to take the kids out in the snow for Garland's Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday.

On Saturday, we cleaned the house, watched conference and colored Easter eggs.

What's with the scribbles? Well, Zac carefully wrote the entire opening lines to Star Wars on these eggs... from memory. Yeah, I know, his obsessive traits are showing again.

On Easter morning, the kids got up VERY early to try and find their Easter baskets. That tricky bunny always hides the baskets. Some years it takes over an hour for all the baskets to be located. This year it only took 20 minutes. The bunny needs to step up his game. Kiarra's was in this little cupboard in the back of the theatre room closet.Zac's was on this shelf in the storage room.Sophie's was hidden by the beach towels in the linen closet.And Max's was in the washing machine.

Due to the snow, the Easter Bunny left his small Easter egg hunt in the family room instead of the yard this year. Tip: have the camera out of your case before you say "GO"!

And finally, thanks Grandma Miller for the cute Easter outfits. I finally let the kids wear them the week before Easter. Everyone looked great!

Gentleman Farmer

2010-03-26T23:46:00.003-06:00

We've had a lot of fun teasing Todd after we received our new insurance policy. The occupation listed is Gentleman Farmer because of the new acreage, tractor and intent to farm part of the land. Anyway, my Gentleman Farmer has had a lot of fun on his new toy. On any given Wednesday, you can find Todd outside moving dirt or construction garbage. It's been essential to have though because we are responsible for plowing our own road and we have a lot of landscaping to do.

And today, Todd added the newest addition to the "farm".No...not a large dog or a sheep. It's a little Angus calf just a day old. It was the rejected half of twins and Todd was more than excited to adopt him. He took Sophie and Max with him to pick the calf up and kept it a surprise until they got to the ranch. Sophie said that she had been wishing for a horse. Anyway, since they drove past ATK to get the calf, the kids have named him Rocket. My Dad, who had a Hereford ranch will be a little upset that we have an Angus calf. Me? I didn't know we were building a farmhouse and for some reason I thought I was married to a doctor...not a farmer.

Crackin' me Up!

2010-03-26T12:34:00.004-06:00

Life with kids is never dull, right? Well today, Sophie had me rolling my eyes again. At lunch she told me she has just a couple of big dreams for her life. Ok...I'll bite, what are those dreams? And I quote:

"To be an artist, be in beauty pageants and" ...she said with a dramatic sigh, " meet the Jonas Brothers."

Oh brother!

Sophia's Soiree

2010-03-20T22:14:00.009-06:00

Today was Sophie's birthday soiree (fancy word for party). We had a lot of fun planning her Fancy Nancy party and spent the morning cleaning and decorating. All her guests dressed "fancy" for the occassion. As they came in, Kiarra and Zac greeted everyone with a top hat or feather boa.

The only quiet moment. I had some coloring activities for the quests to do while we waited for everyone to get there.All the fancy party goers!Trevon having a go at "Pin the Tiara on Fancy Nancy"Pinata time! We ended up with a faulty pull-string pinata. But I don't think too many kids cared. They all ended up getting sugar. We also played a game called "Fancy or Plain" where the kids had examine several items and tell me which things are plain and which things are Fancy. We played Fancy Bingo and also made door knob signs. It 's just a little hard to run the show and get photos too.After all the games and activities, we made parfaits (fancy word for ice cream sundaes).Todd and his fan club!Sophia has such sweet friends. They all spoiled her with "Tres Magnifique" gifts! Thank You!

Just after Sophie's friends went home, Grandpa and Grandma Campbell and Aunt Anne came for dinner. The kids even got Grandpa and Grandma to go a little fancy!

She got some more fun gifts including some fun dress-ups and plenty of art supplies to keep her creating for a long time.

We had a quick dinner before Todd headed back to the ER. And yay, Sophia finally had a chance to make her wishes on a full-sized cake. She had blast running around the house with all her friends and said she had one of the best days ever. Me? I had fun even though that feather boa got a little itchy. (If you've read the books, it was my intent to be Ms. DeVine.) All is well now that the kids are in bed, I have my Dt. Mtn. Dew at hand with a Vitamin I (ie. Ibuprofen) in my system.

Love Birds

2010-03-20T00:19:00.004-06:00

I've been watching these geese out my back window all week. They crack me up. I'm not sure what their plan is, but they fly around the frozen pond, land on the ice and either walk around or just rest on the ice. Maybe they're just determined to make this their home, and they have a great deal of patience to wait for that ice to melt. I like to think that it's a male and a female (I have no idea) and they're working on making the perfect nest. Ah...a love story.

Speaking of love...I just want to wish my parents a "Happy Anniversary!". They are celebrating 57 years of wedded bliss. Oh alright, I'm sure not every year has been bliss, but they are an excellent example of what it takes to hang on through the tough years. Thanks Mom and Dad and I love you!

Happy Happy Birthday!

2010-03-19T00:39:00.008-06:00

Today... (it's still today in my world) March 18th, was Sophia's 6th birthday. Thank goodness she has a big bash planned on Saturday, because as far as birthdays go, it pretty much bombed. Todd and I knew the evening would be crazy, so we surprised her with lunch at McDonald's. I know that doesn't seem like a big deal to most, but I really have come to hate hanging out in fast food playplaces. They always feel so gross to me. I hardly take them there to play (I think it'd been 8 or 9 months). So Sophie and Max were super excited today. Here's sorta what took place today:I always give the kids a small gift at breakfast. Notice the happy faces. Yep, those are my girls! What's to smile at when it's 6:00 am?

A quick cupcake at dinner. I had to rush out the door for a couple of other commitments and Todd was still stuck at the hospital.
Finally, Todd got home at 8:45 (I barely beat him). Sophia had been waiting patiently all day and was ready to open a couple of gifts. She got a new game for her cyber-pocket and...

this fun foam house. The kids had a great time piecing together this playhouse. By the time we had it together, it was so late that everyone was rushed off to bed. Sophia is anxious to have time to play with her new things tomorrow.
I always ponder the day each kid was born on their birthdays. Of course it always amazes me how quickly the years have passed. It's hard to believe that 6 years ago, Sophia was lying in the NICU scaring us to death. Some things don't change. Even though she's healthy, she still scares us. Someone that full of life and spunk is bound to get into trouble. The parenthood ride has already been rougher with Sophia than with Kiarra and Zac. Who knows what the next 6 years will bring? Oh well, all that spunk is one of the things I love most about Sophia. (Something I have to remind myself often.) Happy Birthday, Curly Sue!

Catchin' Up

2010-03-18T23:31:00.008-06:00

After posting so many pictures of the house and spending hours on the blog, I lost the desire to mess with it for a while. Not to mention I've been putting my scrapbook room to some good use. So just to catch up....

SCHOOL TIME

Zac put a lot of work into his biography report. The kids in his class each read a biography that had the cover concealed so that during class time others couldn't see who they were reading about. Then they had to dress like the person they read about , draw 4-5 pictures and read their report without saying who they were. The class had a game of hangman to guess who the report was about. Zac worked hard to keep his secret. The kids first guessed George Washington. Zac was actually Paul Revere and yes, Todd and I made his awesome tricorn hat out of posterboard.

Cool huh?

MIXED UP MONDAY

In celebration of Dr. Seuss's Birthday, Max got to dress a little crazy for preschool.

MILLER FAMILY SPRING BIRTHDAY PARTY

With distance and scheduling making it hard to be together for birthdays, the extended Miller family now holds a Spring Birthday bash and a Fall birthday bash. It seems to work for now... and the kids seem to think it's a great idea. This year we held the "Spring" Party on the last weekend of February.

Everyone loved having a sleepover. All the boys slept in Zac's room. Max even couldn't be persuaded to go to his own room.

Ethan catching some air, sledding in our back yard. Just below the "cliff" is the Malad River. Safe? Sure Kiarra was there to stop the sledders. Grandpa did take the kids to the much safer Jack Rabbit Hill later in the day.

Zac did a little flying too.

Grandpa and Grandma ran the bingo table.

So Todd and the kids found 82 candles in the bag of supplies Grandma brought. They decided to add all the candles to the cake. It was quite the fire hazard. Some of the decorations on the cake caught fire and when the kids had finally (much later) blew out the last trick candle...I was pretty sure it was dangerous to take a piece. There was a layer of ash, wax and some spit (most likely why I came down with the stomach flu after the weekend). Even though I scraped off that layer of icing...I shoulda passed.

All the gang lined up for dinner.

Otto, the prophet!?

2010-03-10T23:32:00.003-07:00

Ok...so I thought this conversation I had with Max was just too cute. I had to share. It happen Sunday afternoon as we were getting dinner on the table.

I hear him and Sophie having a little argument. You know the type; "Yes, he is ." "No, he isn't."

I interrupted them to ask what they were fighting about.

Sophia: "Max says that Otto was the first prophet."

Me: "What?"

Sophia: "Max says that Otto was the first prophet!"

Me: "Who?"

Max: "Otto." (I think I asked them this about 5 times just to make sure my hearing was working. Also this gave me time to try and figure out where the confusion began.)

Me: "Max, where did you hear about Otto?"

Max: "In primary." (Hmmm, that's new.)

Me: "Did your teacher tell you about Otto?" (He has a great teacher, just still trying to trace his thinking.)

Max: "No, we sang about him."

He then proceeds to sing, "Otto was a prophet, first one that we know..."

Ah Ha! Got it!

Me: "No, Max. The song is 'Adam was a prophet, first one that we know...' "

Sophie: "Told you"

Another Miller mystery solved...thank you very much! (And apparently our primary needs to annunciate a little better when we're singing.) Poor little Max was a bit sad that he'd been singing about the wrong prophet.

New Home Gallery...Finally!

2010-03-02T22:21:00.025-07:00

Ok...I know I've procrastinated, mostly because I knew how long it would take me to load all these photos. But after spending the whole day in bed yesterday thanks to a fun little 24-hour stomach bug, I'm determined to get this done. I took a small poll and found out that most people (cough, cough, Emily) prefer a long scroll of pictures instead of a slide show, so I have now created a very long post. I wish I could wait until I have everything decorated, but I'm limited on cash and ideas and better not wait that long to get these up. I know there are many creative minds out there, so if you have great decorating ideas, let's hear them. Especially for the entry way, including the plant shelf above the door. On our "virtual tour" we'll start on the main floor, then upstairs to the kids' rooms and then finally down to the basement.

View just inside the front door

Just to the right of the entry is Todd's office.The piano/formal living room

Master bedroom

On each side of the hall to the masterbath, there is a his or hers closet

My closet...Todd had the finish carpenters build great shelves in every closet in the house.MasterbathHis vanity....matching vanity directly across from this one. Best feature are outlets built into the cupboards for flat irons, dryers, etc. I can just keep things plugged in and shove them back in teh cupboard. (Thanks Emily's mom for the idea.)

Todd's luxury shower. I say Todd's because the body jets are built for his height. My luxury is the tub. The shower also has a rain shower head above and a handheld on the side.

Small hallway from the kitchen to the inner sanctum...aka...my scrapbook room.

Kitchen

Desk for kids computer and schedule hub.Finally...a real, full-sized pantry! The following pics are some of my favorite features of the kitchen.Pull out trays for pans below cook top.Pull-out garbage cans.Kick plate for the central vac. Just sweep crumbs to the end of the island, push switch with my big toe, and watch crumbs disappear. Todd says it's my dream of sweeping it under the rug. Whatever, I just know that's it's fun to sweep again. Pull out spice racks.

Great room. Should have got a better shot of Todd's TV. He worked very hard to get the frame for it built correctly. My photo can't do it justice, but it's pretty dang awesome.

Half-bath between great room and garage. Will be great when the kids are outside. No more running through the whole house to go potty.

Laundry room. Each family member has a locker.

Going upstairs... view from the top of the stairs.

Playroom at the top of stairs.

Bridge/hallway leading to the rest of the rooms upstairs.

Zac's Star Wars room

Boys bathroom

Max's room

Laundry chute and balcony that looks over into the Great Room.Girls bathroom. Double vanity is in an alcove of sorts. Pocket door seperates the toilet and tub from the vanity area.

Sophia's room

Kiarra's room...the color was a little hard for the painters to take. They weren't sure we knew what we were doing.

All the way to the basement...this is the view from the bottom of the basement stairs.

Future exercise room. I say future, because I haven't actually put it to use, yet. (I will, I will, I will)

Cold storage room underneath front porch.

Storage room Hallway...which has the official.... game closet...yipee! Finally all in one location. Yes, all the games have their pieces. My kids have learned over the years that I'm a little bit obsessive...play them, put them away neatly. Crazy, I know. Guest bedroom #1...with "Harry Potter Closet" . The kids love playing in there.

Guest bedroom #2... since this photo was taken, Grandpa and Grandma Miller have supplied some beautiful bedding for "their" bedroom. Thanks!

Downstairs bathroom

Family room/future game room

Kitchenette

Future home theater. Todd designed the platforms to model the shape of our sectional. It will go on one level, and theater chairs on the other level...when we get it finished.

Front of the house...no, the door is not staying white. We have to wait for warmer weather before we can paint it black. It's a small issue...but it really bothers me.

View of the back. Again, some projects that are waiting for warmer weather....the chimney cap, deck railing and stairs for the deck.Have plans to build an outdoor kitchen underneath the deck in the future...hopefully not too far off. View from front porchView from the back deck - ponds are stil frozen over.

Whew...it's been hours since I started this post. Hopefully this satisfies the curious and I can be left in peace. As I sit here thinking about it, maybe I shouldn't have posted all this because we would really love to have you stop by for a personal tour. It seems some family and friends are due for a visit and we'd love to see you.

Max is 4!

2010-02-19T01:15:00.006-07:00

I should have posted this a while ago, but Happy Birthday Max! Max celebrated his 4th birthday on Monday, February 15th. It was a great day for a birthday. Because it was President's Day it made it easy to do his friend and family parties on the same day. It was the first year that he got to have a friend party and he was sooooo excited. For the past year, he's been saying he wanted to have a "Cars" birthday. But a few weeks ago, he was helping me shop for supplies, saw the Super Mario partyware, and it was all over. He loves playing Mario Kart, so we had a Mario party. Kiarra, her friend, Morgan, and Zac were great helpers.

Kiarra leads the kids through the obstacle course that she and Zac created.

Another game: "Save Yoshi's Egg"An exciting game of "Mario, Mario, Bowser" (a.k.a Duck, Duck, Goose)Worried for the sake of my new walls, we had a pull-string pinata.I know I said we weren't doing a "Cars" party. But I wasn't going to attempt to make my own Mario cake...and the store didn't have one...so "Cars" it was. If I had planned better, I would have had my friend, Kim, (a.k.a. Martha Stewart) make my cake for me. Sorry Kim, next time.Later that night we had a family party. Grandpa and Grandma Campbell came. So did Aunt Anne, Aunt Emily, Macey and Sunny. Max got some new construction vehicles, his own snuggie, and also a new fire truck. Thank You!Todd and I broke down and got Max a "boy" riding toy. The shame of driving Sophia's pink Barbie jeep was almost too much for his pride. He was so excited to get his new "four-wheeler". Thanks Grandpa and Grandma Miller for pitching in and making it possible. Because of the nasty mud outside, he's been allowed to drive it in the basement family room all week. Todd arranged the boxes so he has a circle track. He hasn't put a dent in a wall...yet. We ended the party with Max's favorite, pizza, and another cake. He was so stinking cute with his cakes. Both times, he put a lot of thought in his wishes. He has kept his secrets though, and I still don't know what he wished for. It was a fun day, and I'm so thankful that we have such a sweet boy in our home. He's always ready for kisses and hugs and stories. He was tested at preschool the next day and it just amazed me that he knew all his stuff. (Too bad the kid has to wait another year for Kindergarten. He's ready now.) He loves playing trucks, Mario Kart, and doing preschool worksheets. Dang, he's just plain fun. Guess what Max? I love you!!

Kid Stuff

2010-02-19T00:12:00.008-07:00

While I've been busy trying to find a place for all our junk, the kids have been busy too.There was the Pinewood Derby in January. Zac's car had "wheel" issues (as evidenced by the graphite he rubbed into his eyes), so it wasn't our best year. But his car design and paint job were great. Kiarra had the 6th grade World Fair as well in January. She did a great job on her report and had an impressive display of items from Japan. Not only did she have a lot of Todd's stuff, but she also managed to find more things from other people. It was a crazy, crowded night at the school, but Kiarra loved every minute.Zac (#26) is busy with basketball. He plays a couple of days a week and is doing great. After a slow start, he has really surprised me. He had some great shots last week and has found his aggressive side. And last, but not least, was our annual Superbowl Party. This year we kept it small and the Johnson's came over to eat, play games, watch commercials...oh, and watch a little football. The highlight for the kids was the chocolate fountain. They enjoyed every last drip!

Todd has also been crazy busy. The poor guy just doesn't have enough hours in his day. He has a lot of projects here at the house he wants to do and he is constantly on the phone getting contractors to finish up this or that around the house. Lately it seems like every time he gets a day off, someone goes into labor and he's headed back to the hospital. He now has over 60 OB patients for the short 8 months we've been here. He's seeing about 25 patients a day and it just gets busier. A new OB/GYN is coming to town in March and it will help Todd to have someone else in town that delievers babies. He's looking forward to sharing call.

Phew...that's the last month in a nutshell.

Still Alive

2010-02-18T23:58:00.004-07:00

Okay...I know, I know...it's about time I did some blogging. It's been a CRAZY time for us and to tell you the truth, I just didn't feel like sitting down to the computer. I haven't even been checking everyone else's blogs. That's what happens when you move.
We moved on January 16th and I've been trying to get things put away so that maybe I can start decorating this new home. It was a big push to get the house done in time and it was a lot of late, late nights the week of our move. Thankfully we are blessed to have great friends and family that helped me pack and helped us with the finishing touches to the house.

(Awesome sister-in-law, Emily, helping glaze walls until late at night. Our little crew of 7 glazed massive walls for four nights straight. Love 'em, but I don't think we'll do it again.)

I have to say again that we live in the best ward ever! (no offense to past wards) But I was in total complete shock the day of our move. Things were flying so fast that I didn't even get a chance to pull out my camera for pictures...so mad about that. We had over 20 Elders and High Priests show up on moving day and there 6-7 ladies helping me clean and then unpack. In four hours we had the rental house cleared out, the storage unit emptied and everything we own unloaded in the new house. By early that evening, most of my kitchen was unpacked and thanks to Brad, all the beds were back together and in place. It was our smoothest move EVER! I want to post some pictures of the house, but I have a thing about posting pics with boxes in the way. I'm almost ready to put some up. To see it fully decorated and furnished check back sometime next year! :)

Holiday Fun - Part 2

2010-01-04T00:24:00.005-07:00

For the second half of our Christmas fun, we went out to Altamont to spend time with Grandpa and Grandma Miller. We got there just a few hours before Brad & Emily and their girls went home. The kids loved the second round of gifts and Grandma had saved some for the other cousins...making it like Christmas morning all over again. We had a great time visiting, playing games, and sledding.

Sophia in her new fairy costume.Once again Grandma added to Kiarra's porcelin doll collection. This beautiful, large doll will go great in Kiarra's new room.Ok..so I'll admit it. My kids spent way to much time on their DSi's this Christmas. But, with big kids like Uncle Brad supporting their habit... what do you expect?

Kiarra and Zac with their cousins, Maleke and Ethan. Mario Kart challenge was on!

Todd had the right idea. He escaped with Sunny for a nap. Since we don't have babies, I think he misses the excuse that he "needs" to go put the "baby" down for a nap.Baby it's cold outside!

And of course, the best thing after sledding, ... a cup of hot chocolate!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Miller for a great visit! Also, thanks for mailing the DSi chargers that were left behind (you'd have thought we left behind a kidney or liver). Kiarra and Zac owe you $2.92!

Todd spent the rest of the holidays working on things at the new house and we were able to spend time with a few friends. We are putting in a lot of time at the house now, trying to speed things along. Todd is counting on moving in two weeks... and I'm having a hard time believing that it will happen that soon. But we spent hours glazing walls on Saturday and will be doing a lot more of it this week. My arms are getting the best workout. I'll be plenty busy glazing and/or packing so I'm not sure how much blogging will get done for awhile, but all of us here in the Miller household wish all of you a Happy New Year and hope that your 2010 is off to a great start!

Holiday Fun - Part 1

2009-12-25T22:46:00.009-07:00

Even though things are crazy as we try to spend time working on the new house, we just couldn't leave out some of our holiday traditions. I tried to convince the kids that it would be a good year to skip a couple of things... but it didn't work. Last weekend we made "gingerbread houses". A messy tradition I wouldn't miss, but they're pretty creative. Here's the Miller subdivision (yes, some have garages).

Sophie found out that she won in a coloring contest that the local paper runs. Here is her AWESOME prize. She also got to have her picture in the paper with all the other kids that won. Thank goodness she won because she colored a lot of pictures. It was quite the chore delivering her entries to over twenty businesses.

Monday was Max's Christmas preschool program. They sang several songs and Santa made a surprise visit... so cute!

On Tuesday, Santa made another surprise visit to the elementary school. Unfortunately, he caught Sophia in a "time out " chair in the hall. But she was sure that everything would be ok, because it was just Santa's helper. She knew this because "he didn't have a belly like a bowl full of jelly, he didn't have rosy cheeks or a nose like a cherry"...geez! We told her she wasn't safe because he'd be reporting what he saw to the real Santa. Didn't phase her. Tuesday was also cookie day. So very messy...but yummy.

Christmas Eve we went over to Providence for a family party at Grandpa and Grandma Campbell's house. The REAL Santa stopped by...this was obvious because he had a REAL beard. Then we had a great dinner and exchanged gifts. You might wonder what's up with the crowns. About 10 years ago, my mom started a tradition to tie into our English heritage. She passes out English crackers. No, not food. They're little cardboard tubes that you pull apart and inside is a little trinket, a joke and a paper crown. We all wear our crowns during a dinner and it's an essential part to Christmas Eve dinner for us now.

For Christmas we just enjoyed a day at home. Since we live closer now, Grandma and Grandpa Campbell and my sister, Anne, came over to see what Santa brought the kids and we had lunch together. It was fun playing in our jammies all day. Unfortunately, Todd had to go to work at 6:00 pm for a 24-hour ER shift, so the evening was really quiet. He'll be able to spend the rest of the weekend with us and we'll be headed to Altamont to visit the Miller family...so check back for Part II.

Happy Holidays!

Be Honest...maybe not!

2009-12-18T12:04:00.004-07:00

Does anyone remember the episode of Friends where the bank mistakenly deposits $500.00 in Phoebe's account? She's honest and tries to correct the issue, but they send her a letter apologizing and refund her another $500.00 plus give her a football phone. She ends up giving the cash to a homeless woman.

Anyway the reason I brought this up is my current struggle with Toys R Us. I'm thinking that it doesn't pay to be honest. They recently sent me duplicate items (of which I won't name because my kids read this.) I was only charged for my original order of 1 item. So, being an honest person, I called the company to tell them about the mistake. After being on hold a long time while they sorted it out, they thanked me for my honesty and said that UPS would contact me for a pick-up time. I then played phone tag with UPS and waited all day for them to pick it up...which they did at 7:00 pm. Well, today I get an e-mail saying that Toys R Us has credited my account for $25.00 for the returned item. Geez! Now, I basically stole the first toy I kept. So... do I try to explain the situation to another customer service rep that doesn't have a clue how to record this transaction in the system....or... do I charge Toys R Us $25.00 for pain and suffering and keep my toy for free? Who thought honesty could be so difficult!

Construction Continues...

2009-11-30T00:04:00.005-07:00

There's been several changes at the house since the the last pics I posted, so I thought it was time again for another look at "The Project". Especially since I've promised some friends & family members that I would get an update posted.

They're still working on the exterior roof, soffits, shutters...etc. This was taken a day after they finished pouring half the driveway and the sidewalk. In the back, they're working on the deck, getting ready for stucco.One of Todd's projects. He was been working on building this shed (with the help of our friend, Rob) so that it'll be ready when they do the stucco on the house.Through the scaffolding, you can see the mantle is in place as is most of the rock. The rest of the interior is moving along too. Todd, his brother, Brad, and Rob have been laying tile in the bathrooms and laundry. The drywall is complete and they've starting doing the molding and other trim. Friday the wood floors starting going down. I'm not sure if we'll make it by Christmas...but it'll be close. After receiving an outrageous bid for painting, we decided to take on that nasty task ourselves. We'll have help...from the same above-mentioned individuals...but, it's still the biggest painting project we've ever taken on. Good thing Todd was a professional painter at one point in his life. Paint in the hair is a good look for holiday parties, right?

Family Feast!

2009-11-29T23:40:00.004-07:00

We alternate our Thanksgivings between Todd's parents' and my parents' houses. This year it was Grandma and Grandpa Campbell's (a.ka. my parents) turn. For the first time, we convinced my mom to give up control and let all us kids do all cooking. It was a hard thing for her to do and we all felt A LOT of pressure to live up to her standards. I was assigned turkey and stuffing. No pressure...ha! It was easier than trying to reproduce Mom's pies or rolls. NO WAY was I going to attempt that with witnesses. I think the turkey turned out fine...the dressing (yes, from scratch, not a box) still needs some tweeking...I'll get it right next time. Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us run amuck around the house. It was fun getting a chance to hang out with all the family.

My kids at the Kids' Table with cousins, Hannah and Will.

The Adult's Table (two small toddlers included)... the first year we were in a separate room...nice and quiet.

Max with another cousin, Matthew.

Way to Go!

2009-11-21T21:41:00.005-07:00

Zac had his season-ending wrestling tournament today. He did great and we're so proud of him. He worked hard today and kept a positive attitude. Zac ended up winning all three matches. The first match he won 10-8, the second was 7-0 and on his last match he pinned the kid in 24 seconds. His team took second place and so he got a small trophy. Way to Go! The following video clip is part of his second match...Zac's the one in red shorts. (By the way, Kiarra was the photographer. We have no idea who the guy is that she filmed toward the end. We think she was trying to get a shot of the score.)

Holy Cow....10 !!!!!!

2009-11-08T22:07:00.004-07:00

When did it happen? When did my little boy get so big? It doesn't feel like it's been ten years since we held a fuzzy-headed Zac in the hospital for the first time. But it's true, today Zac reached the double digits. He celebrated yesterday with a Star Wars themed party with several friends. He helped me plan the party and was so excited Saturday morning that he couldn't wait for wrestling to get over so we could go home and get everything ready. We played "Pass the Death Star" and "Star Wars Bingo". Then the boys had a session of "Blaster Training" where they used our large supply of Nerf guns to take shots of the villian targets. That got them wound up, so we went outside for an "Asteroid Hunt". Much like an Easter egg hunt, but the prizes were wrapped in foil and scattered around the yard. They were pretty hard to spot. We had cupcakes, Yoda Soda and opened presents. They finished up by watching a Star Wars movie until it was time to go.

Zac had a great time and enjoyed the day dedicated to one of his obsessions... Star Wars. Other current obsessions include Legos, Wii and chess. I try to keep the geek teasing to a minimum, but I love my little "nerd". He's so smart, thoughful, witty and creative. He can build just about anything and school is a breeze for him. Watch out Bill Gates, Zac will be taking over some day.

Opening their "astroids"

Use your imagination and you can tell this line of cupcakes forms a light saber. I can't take credit for this idea... hours of blog surfing provided this easy solution for a Star Wars cake.

Yoda Soda... lime sherbet in Sprite.

Later that day, Grandpa and Grandma Campbell and Aunt Anne came over for a small family party. Zac finally got a couple of Star Wars Lego sets. Todd and I gave him a DSi. He and Kiarra immediately started "chatting" with each other and laughing. Gee, why can't they play that nice without a screen between them.

I had mentioned that Zac had wrestling yesterday morning. Here's a shot (not the best) of his match. He won and that made his day even better. Anyway...Happy Birthday Zac! We love you!

Happy Birthday, BABE!

2009-11-02T15:27:00.005-07:00

Of course I have to make a quick post to tell my awesome husband Happy Birthday today! He works so hard and seems to have more ambition than is humanly possible. All that work and sacrifice is for his family and we love him! Thanks honey for always being my "knight in shining armor"! (Corny, but true.)

Halloween Fun

2009-11-01T22:58:00.007-07:00

It was a crazy week here at our house. Todd is still trying to figure out how such a small holiday gets so out of hand with school parties, costumes parades...etc. Our school district also threw in Red Ribbon week (anti-drug campaign) ... so every day was a dress-up day. Due to my new calling in the primary presidency I was also busy running around town getting things ready for a Daddy/Daughter dinner. I am so glad to have the week done. I think the kids had fun, but mom went crazy and should have dressed up in a straight jacket for Halloween. Here's our highlights:

The kids look forward to being "hit" by the Halloween phantom every year. Someone leaves a goodie for you and the next night you have to leave a goodie for two other neighbors. What a great excuse to doorbell ditch! Kiarra and Zac take it seriously and here they are all ready for their covert mission.

Pumpkin carving went a little quicker this year. Usually the kids try to do intricate patterns but the pumpkins were way too thick. For the first time in about five years, we just had cute simple jack o'lanterns.

Kiarra and Todd at the Daddy/Daughter party for Activity Day girls. They had a mystery dinner where they had no idea what they would get to eat. We also had a pumpkin painting contest. Kiarra had a great time... I think Todd did too.

Halloween night and ready for treats... a storm trooper, an Hawaiian dancer complete with the "coconut bra" Sophia requested we find for her in Hawaii, a race car driver (don't tell Max it's actuallly a pit crew costume) and a mad scientist. Everyone picked their own costumes and there was no changing anyone's mind.

At the ward trunk-or-treat. I love trunk-or-treating... after 40 minutes we're finished and home where it's warm with enough candy for all.

Zac with his friend, Wyatt. Today the kids are still trying to wind down from the extra sugar and late nights. Hope they can stay awake in school tomorrow.

What's Up?!?

2009-10-18T21:14:00.007-06:00

So it's come to my attention, by some "followers" that I've neglected the blog lately. But ya know... you're busy, I'm busy... it's gonna happen. The last few weeks seem to have flown by. Between school schedules and extra-curricular activites, including three kids' soccer schedules, we've been busy meeting with sub-contractors and trying to make more decisions. I seriously didn't think building a house was going to be this time consumming. I guess I thought I'd just sit back and watch it go up. Anyway, back to the kids. They're having a great time at school and making some fun friends. Kiarra, Sophia and Zac played soccer this fall so that filled in 4 weeknights and all Saturday morning. Kiarra gave competitive soccer a try this year and made some great friends on the team. The away games were harder to juggle in the schedule, but we managed.

This was Sophie's first year... she loved every minute. Especially being goalie. I love watching "bunch ball" They're just so dang cute!

Zac had a fantastic season... defending is his favorite, but he scored some amazing goals too!
That's Kiarra with the ref beside her. I think her favorite part of the season was doing all the crazy cheers with her teammates.Other big news this month was that Sophia lost her first tooth last week! I promised I would post a picture for Grandpa and Grandma to see. Then lastly... are some current photos of our project.

The front...notice the brick stacked and ready to go for the coming week! Yeah!
The back... they got the beginning of the deck on last week.

Yep... our first casualty. Contractors left this window in a bad location when a gust of wind swept through the house. The kids love coming over to the house, but it's turning into a death trap. We have stairs and decks without railings, open windows without screens (with piles of rocks below) and now jagged glass. Couldn't ask for a better playground. (Max has personally given me 20 heart attacks.)
The fireplace in the Great Room is framed now too. I still have hopes of moving in by Christmas and maybe finding the stockings in time to hang by the chimney with care.

A Good Week!

2009-09-29T00:24:00.002-06:00

Last week was a very good week for our "little" project. Running around to three kids' soccer games leaves little time for blogging, but if I don't get these pictures up tonight, Todd will be bugging me again. (Soccer pics, of course, will someday be posted.)

Anyway...the roof trusses went up last Friday and our "lane" is finally under way. We have been negotiating with UDOT (Utah Department of Transportation) since March for permission to have a driveway that is accessed from a state highway. Some weeks it felt like we'd have a house with no way to get to it. In these economic times, with new construction at an all-time low, it's amazing how long it took UDOT to do their job. Our tax dollars hard at work, I guess...ughh!! I knew we were facing a mountain of red tape when we started this house, but JEEZ!, it's been crazy. Thankfully Todd handles it all and I just nag him. Soooo...here's the photos he wanted up....

The front of the house on Monday evening. The front door and some windows have not been cut out, but you get the general idea.

The back of the house... as you can see from the children in the second and third story windows, they have no fear of heights, but enjoy giving me frequent heart attacks.

Continuing Construction

2009-09-21T00:16:00.002-06:00

Since we're asked frequently by friends and family about our construction project, we'll be posting pics of the new house pretty often...hope this doesn't bore too many "followers". This past week was very productive. The framing on the main floor is pretty much done and the basement framing will be done by Monday. We're looking forward to the third floor framing which should begin by Tuesday or Wednesday.

A shot from the front of the house. Not too impressive as the windows are covered and the equipment is in the way...but there it is.

The back of the house. It was a blast watching the two large walls of windows go up this week. Our framer noticed a problem with the size of the windows and we ending up enlarging them. Glad we did...it'll be some great sunset views. I'm sure Todd will be have me post more photos in the coming week, but for now that's about it.

Max's Turn!

2009-09-17T23:31:00.003-06:00

I meant to post this last week...but oh well, better late than never. Max has been waiting all summer to go to preschool. He watched sadly as Kiarra, Zac and Sophia went off to school. But last Wednesday he finally got his turn. He was so excited and got dressed super early and wanted me to comb his hair "spiky" like Zac's.

I will love the system for picking up and dropping off kids in the winter. (The line's a little long to totally love it.) I get to pull through the alley to the side door. Max's fun teacher, Miss Marci, helps them in or out of the car and then I drive on through. Curb-side service with a smile!

First preschool craft- A yummy pig cookie, going along with the month's theme, "Welcome to the Barnyard".

House Update

2009-09-08T22:34:00.007-06:00

I know there's a few of you out there that are interested, so we're keeping you updated on our construction process. Two weeks ago the foundation was poured and underground plumbing was finished. Last week basement & garage floors were poured. Today the framing began! Yeah!

view from the back

view from the front corner

Too Sweet

2009-09-08T22:29:00.003-06:00

Last week my mom, with Dad tagging along behind, came over to help me can some peaches. We did a few batches and Dad and Max were pretty worn out. So Grandpa took Max in for a nap on my bed. This is what I found..too cute!

Also, thanks Emily for coming up on Friday to help me can even more. 84 quarts total...jeez!

Tin Grin!

2009-09-08T22:20:00.003-06:00

Kiarra's been waiting all summer to get her braces. (And I procastinated.) She went in last Thursday and had her upper braces put on. After her slight over-bite is corrected, then she'll get the full package. She was so excited...that lasted until late afternoon. We got to hear moaning and groaning for the next 24 hours. It brought back a lot of memories of my own torture. Kiarra's been after me to get a photo up... and once again I procrastinated...so here she is complete with neon orange and pink bands.

Back To School! FINALLY!!

2009-09-01T00:04:00.005-06:00

You make think that I'm a little late posting this, but you're wrong. Today (31st) was the kids' first day of school. I think we're the last district in the state to start. As I've said, NOTHING happens in this county until after the fair. That includes school. Having the early out of our previous district and the late start date here, it made one long summer. The kids were more than ready to start.

Kiarra left first today at 7:00 to catch her bus. Her school is just for 6th-7th graders. She loved having a locker and went a few days ago to decorate her locker with some friends. She had no trouble jumping out of bed at 6 this morning...very rare. She had a great day and enjoys having a little more independence.

Zac and Sophie had to wait until 7:30. It just about killed them. They were literally bouncing off the wall for half an hour.

For now we live in walking range to the elementary, which is about a mile. They have decided to ride bikes as long as the weather permits. Zac has promised to be patient and get Sophia safely to class. Max and I get to join Sophia for a bike ride home mid-morning...dang, I wish we had all day kindergarten. :)

Mower Extrodinare

2009-08-31T19:32:00.003-06:00

Another post...I quess we'll call today "Catch Up Day". I just wanted to praise Zac for all his hard work this summer. Every Friday we've gone over to Grandma and Grandpa Campbell's house to mow his two yards. It's A LOT of yard and Grandpa's health isn't the best anymore (it usually takes him about 3 days to get it done). My sister, Anne comes to help too. She and I take care of the weed whacker and riding mower. Zac has done all the other mowing, which is quite a bit. Grandma paid him well, but I think he enjoyed the responsibility too. Grandpa gave him his hat to help keep him cool. Way to go Zac and thanks for all your help this summer.

Even Kiarra can be bribed into doing a little weeding....(love ya, Kiki)

The Fair

2009-08-31T08:48:00.003-06:00

When I was growing up, I always looked forward to the County Fair. I loved spending all day, every day (if Mom would let me) hanging out in the cattle barn with my dad, uncles and cousins. It was one of the best things about summer. After moving to Garland we learned that the Box Elder County Fair is a HUGE deal. It begins with a large evening parade where locals know to save their spot 2 days in advance. Then it was off to the carnival for Family Night. Rides are only a $1 that night, but we had to face long lines and a massive crowd. The kids had a great time and wanted to go every night. Saturday afternoon we checked out more of the exhibits with Todd's parents and went to the rodeo. (I forgot to take my camera on Saturday... completely bummed about that.) Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Miller for coming to visit. It was fun to see you again.

Kiarra and cousin, Sunny

Todd and his brother, Brad...enjoying the parade?

Kiarra and her friends, Morgan and Kassidy

PEACHES

2009-08-22T16:08:00.003-06:00

Just a quick note... Kiarra is selling peaches for her Uncle Brad (Todd's brother) who has an orchard in Perry. Currently they have Glohavens, Canadian Harmony, and Golden Jubilee. There will be other varieties as the season goes. If you are interested in buying some just let me know and we'll figure out a way to get them to you.

Blog Plug!

2009-08-21T22:36:00.002-06:00

I hope Christina doesn't mind, but I'm posting a link to her blog. I just finished reading her lastest post and I'm still laughing. I'm waiting for her to get her own newspaper column (move aside Dave Barry). Anyway check it out: http://homespothome.blogspot.com/

Finally!!!

2009-08-15T01:28:00.006-06:00

I know I said back in April that construction on our new house would begin anytime. Well, "anytime" turned out to be months later. After a lot of legal entanglements the seller had to wade through, we were able to finalize the land purchase in July. Wednesday we started digging...and digging....and digging. FINALLY! YEAH!

"The House"

The backyard... or at least the start of one.

And of course the kids think the dirt piles make the best sandbox around.

The Great Outdoors

2009-08-15T00:45:00.005-06:00

We've been waiting all summer to go camping and managed to go this last week. We spent three nights at Tony Grove Campground in Logan Canyon. The first day we took a hike around Tony Grove Lake and the next day we went over to Bear Lake and spent the day playing on the beach. The rest of the time we just enjoyed doing nothing!

Sophia was head chef making dutchoven pizza for lunch.

Camp Motto: "If you ain't dirty, you ain't havin' fun!"

King of the Mountain!

Kiarra's creation for our sandcastle contest

Wheat and Beet Days

2009-08-07T01:40:00.004-06:00

I love rural Utah! Over the 24th it was Longhorn Days and last weekend it was Wheat and Beet Days here in Garland. Now I know some of you are wondering why Wheat and Beet. Well, I think the Wheat part is obvious. The area is surrounded by gorgeous wheat fields. Now for the Beets. Just down the street from us are the ruins of a sugar beet factory. For decades it was the heart beat of Garland where beets were processed into sugar. Anyway...last weekend Garland celebrated their heritage with their 70th celebration and it was our first. We had a great time at the parade Saturday morning and I was really surprised with how big the parade was. Then we enjoyed some of the activities at the park in the afternoon.

The kids participated in the Garland Library's summer reading program. As a reward for finishing their goals they got the chance to ride on the library's float. The boys were anxious to enjoy the ride and throw candy. (That's Max and Zac sitting on the flatbed.) The girls, however, decided they'd rather catch the candy.

At dark we had front row seats in our yard for the fireworks....(we live right across the street from the park). It was a fun day and will hopefully be a new tradition for our family.

Longhorn Days

2009-07-30T00:19:00.007-06:00

Early in our marriage, as I was making a scrapbook page about Pioneer Day in Altamont (an annual tradition), my husband admonished me for the title. "It's Longhorn Days in Altamont... get it right". I always thought Pioneer Day was a statewide holiday and apparently I was wrong. I've never made that mistake again. Sooo...last weekend we enjoyed Longhorn Days in Altamont. We got into town late Thursday night and stayed until Saturday night. We really had a fun weekend. The kids stayed up too late every night and got up earlier than usual, so by Saturday night they were all a little cranky and easily offended (how much longer 'til school starts???!!!). Friday the kids helped Grandpa clean up his workshop and made a dog house for good 'ole Josie. Todd, his brother Brad and a few friends from his high school days got to spend the morning golfing.

Max is ready to get to work!

Cute cousin, Sunny!

Grandma taught Kiarra to crochet!

Josie's new house!

Friday night we started the First Annual Miller Family Olympics (Brad and Emily's idea). We started the olympics with a Wii Bowling Tournament. I was feeling good when the night was over...I was in third place! (That ended quickly on Saturday.)

Nice form, Brad!

Then on Saturday we rushed to the parade! The kids look forward to this parade every year. It's extra special because you get to see it twice. It goes to one end of Main Street, turns around and comes back. (And you get candy in both directions if the participants saved some for the return trip.)

After the parade, all the cousins get to ride back to Grandpa and Grandma's house in the Gator!

Saturday afternoon we headed to the mountains to finish the Miller Family Olympics. There were several more events, and a yummy dutch oven dinner. Todd ended up taking 1st place, which is great with me because I know who he'll take to spend his $25.00 gift card to Chili's.

Max got a chance for some one on one catch with Grandma.

No, this is not a contest to hang kids from the trees (although that's an idea for next year), but it is how you get lasso golf balls out of a pine tree.

Thanks Sue (Grandma) for putting up with the chaos, the mess and all the meal preparation. Also thanks Brad, Emily and Kiarra for all your work planning the olympics. Even with the scoring disputes and rigged spelling bee it was a lot of fun!

Summer Update

2009-07-21T22:20:00.005-06:00

I feel like it's been awhile since I posted, so I thought I'd do a little run down of what we've been up to lately. Sophia and Max finished up their swimming lessons this month. It was the first year for Max and he had a great time. Both kids are little fish. Max's teachers had a hard time getting him to keep his face out of the water so that he could listen to instructions.

My little charmer was at his best though because he had his teacher wrapped around his little finger. Every day she would take him down the big slide several times. Sophia loved her class just as much...but I don't think having three teenage boys as teachers was a great idea for my little flirt. Her favorite thing was the diving board. She was like a little cartoon character running in air.

We also had a fun surprise in July. Todd sent a text one day letting us know that he had gotten 6 passes from work for a special showing of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The showing was at 7:00 pm the day BEFORE it was released. When we came out of the movie the line for the midnight showing was just forming. Kiarra was on a Harry Potter high all day... (she's read the books about 3 times now). Todd, Max and Sophia were not as happy. They got VERY bored. Of course Todd has never read the books and this was the first Harry Potter movie he had ever seen...next time we'll leave him home with the little kids....
There's been other summer activites, just like everyone else...family reunions, playing in the pool, some yardwork, etc, etc. Basically we've just enjoyed having more time as a family (usually around a board game or two). We're finding our new rythmn in our new town and we love having Todd home almost every night!

ALOHA!

2009-07-06T23:12:00.011-06:00

Whew! My brain still hasn't caught up with my body after our red-eye flight home on Saturday, but I wanted to share some photos of our great trip to Kauai. Todd and I had a wonderful time...it was just what we needed after 7 VERY stressful years. We realized while we were there that the last time we were alone on a vacation was our honeymoon...thirteen years ago. We considered this trip our second honeymoon. Kauai exceeded our expectations. It had everything...beautiful beaches and lush jungle mountains. We never found a crowded beach or restaurant. It was SOOOO relaxing!

I tried to pick out a few favorite photos...I did go a little photo crazy until a giant wave surprised us and soaked my camera. Yep, my new and best camera, barely a year old, is no match for salty sea water...it's toast! Good thing I was so relaxed that I didn't fall apart over it (we were able to hurry and download the memory card to the laptop, thank goodness)...Todd has it all torn apart now hoping to shake more water and sand out of it, but I doubt it'll make it. Anyway, here's some favorites....

The Mustang convertible we rented to cruise the island...absolutely the best way to go!Looking up from Ke'e Beach where the snorkling was great. The chickens on Ke'e Beach. Chickens are more than plentiful on Kauai. They roam ALL over the island. It's the craziest thing. I thought it was funny...Todd did not appreciate the roosters' wake up call EVERY morning (noon & night, too).Kilauea PointThe gardens where we went to a luau.At the luau. Best food EVER! (I wish I had a picture of the spread.) Actually we hit some great restaurants too and I ate nothing but fresh seafood for 3 days. I was in heaven.

Tunnel of TreesMy favorite shore.

Todd's favorite shore.Waimea Canyon (The Grand Canyon)

As it so happened, we were in Hawaii on our anniversary, July 3rd. This is the restaurant where we had dinner that night, then we followed dinner with a moonlight walk on the beach...sigh. It could not have been more romantic. Hands down, the best anniversary date. I can't believe it's been 13 years and we're more in love than ever. (I know, you wouldn't think so considering the time we've spent apart over the last few years...but it's true.) Todd is still my Prince Charming and I feel so lucky that he continues to love me in spite of all my mood swings and shopping sprees.

Well, I could go on, but I'll save the rest for the scrapbooks. We came home exhausted and quite sunburned (afterall I think we were the whitest folks on the beach and it's been a few years since Todd's body's been in direct sunlight), but we'll remember this trip for the rest of our lives. Thanks again to Todd's parents and mine for the plane tickets and condo. Also, thanks to Todd's brother, Brad, and his wife, Emily, and my sister, Anne, for babysitting 4 crazy kids. Emily, thanks for hauling Sophia and Max to swim lessons, and Anne, thanks for providing tons of 4th of July fun. Without everyone's help, this trip would not have happened. We love you all...thank you, thank you, thank you!

WAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-06-28T23:59:00.008-06:00

Well, folks, 9 1/2 years ago Todd and I decided it was time for a major career change. That decision led to 2 1/2 years of undergrad, 4 years of medical school and 3 years of residency. All of that was celebrated Friday night with Todd's residency graduation. It's hard to believe that we are FINALLY finished. (And yes, I say "we" because it's been a family journey.)

Todd won a scholarship award for "outstanding practice in early childhood immunizations" and gave a nice speech that evening.

After the program, my parents and Todd's parents surprised him with a fabulous gift. They are sending us to Kauai, Hawaii for few days NEXT WEEK! Todd's mom put together a really cute book and presented it to Todd. It was fun watching the reaction on his face...he had no idea and was completely surprised. (I already knew because I'd been consulted for schedule approval.) We appreciate all the family and friends that made the trip for the banquet and endured a long program. It meant a lot that you were there and it really made the night even more memorable. There are no words to express how proud I am of Todd. He has worked so hard to accomplish his dream. Through all of his hard work (usually 80+ hours/week), he still managed to help with the kids activities, rushing to soccer, wrestling, baseball, softball or tumbling when he could. Todd, you are an amazing husband, father and doctor! We love you!!

Tweet Tweet

2009-06-12T22:57:00.003-06:00

The kids were so excited last week when they discovered this nest in a tree in our back yard. We think, from the quick glances at the mother, that they are Robins. The mother doesn't exactly have the sharpest beak in the sky and built this nest only 4 feet off the ground. The kids would not leave it alone and checked on the "chicks" almost every hour. Sophia was even trying to feed them leaves, which the blind little birds would clamp onto in anticipation.
Sadly though, all the rainstorms last week destroyed the nest. The mud it was built with fell apart, and it looks like they fell during the night. From evidence left behind, it we think a neighborhood cat (or two) had a feast that night. It's been pretty sad because we were all getting attached to the naked little things.

Getting Settled

2009-06-12T22:21:00.007-06:00

Finally I feel like I can take the time out to post. If I haven't mentioned it before, I HATE moving. I can't stand clutter and confusion. I admire you military wives that move all the time across the country. Todd and I have only moved around the state of Utah, but moving every 2-3 years is a pain. This move is our final town...but not the last move. I'm looking forward to the last move which should be in 6-7 months (if I'm lucky). Here's a few pics of the move...

What was a nice beautiful sunny day for a move, turned into...

A huge down pour in Garland. Complete with nickel-sized hail that would not let up. Everything got soaked and mud was everywhere!

Home Sweet Home...for a few months. It was a basement house that they removed the roof and added the top floor. It's all new and pretty nice. It's smaller than what we were in and the kids are sharing rooms, but it's perfect for now.

We moved a bunch of stuff to a storage unit and in the hopes that our new home will be done sooner than later, I'm not decorating a single room. The kids are quickly making new friends in the ward. It's a little different for them because we're not in subdivision loaded with kids...everyone is spread out a little bit, but they're adjusting and enjoying all the extra space. The ward has been very friendly and even offered to help us put in a late garden. We passed on the garden this year because we doubt we could get anything out of it before the first frost. Thanks again to my sister, Anne and to Michelle for once again helping me clean and pack. You guys are the best! Also, thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Miller for taking the kids for a few days so we could pack and unpack without interruptions! I didn't have to stop and feed kids for 5 days! I only have about 6 more boxes to unpack and then we can enjoy summer. Maybe by then it'll be done raining. Yeah!!

Good Bye Spanish Fork

2009-05-26T22:55:00.007-06:00

Well, since this is our last week living in Spanish Fork, the kids and I thought it would be fun to put together a little photo gallery of what we think is special about Spanish Fork or what we'll miss about living here. (Of course I'm already planning the scrapbook pages for each kids' book.) Here's just a little bit of what we love about this town:

The mountains we can view from the front porch.

We love driving by the monument for the Icelandic Pioneers that settled Spanish Fork. President Hinkley dedicated this monument shortly before we moved here.

We've spent A LOT of time at the library. We also love the park behind it in the summer time.The windmills...the kids have loved driving by these at the mouth of the canyon.The pond at Canyon View Park that is stocked with trout all summer. The kids learned to fish here and the city allows kids under 12 to fish without a permit all year.Krishna Hindu Temple. We think it's a beautiful building and we love the llamas grazing around the temple. The reservoir above Spanish Fork. A little man-made beach on one end and fishing on the other (like the pond, stocked with trout and free for the kids).East Meadows Elementary! Great teachers and a fabulous school!Hawaiian Style Shaved Ice (ok..Kathy, not sure if it's true Hawaiian style). Anyway, we love the best shaved ice around and look forward to this little stand opening every summer. Usually there's a line...but worth the wait.

The mega Sports Park with it's 8 baseball diamonds, grass areas for soccer, pavillions, playgrounds and tennis courts. (And they're still expanding.) In a town obsessed with baseball and softball, it's a must. We've spent MANY hours here.

If you squint, you might see the kids waving good-bye. They've loved living here and although they're excited for the future, we're a little sad to leave all the good places and good people behind. (Alright...I'll quit procrastinating and go pack some more boxes.)

Good News/Bad News

2009-05-21T21:40:00.004-06:00

Poor Zac! That's all we can say about Zac's spring. It's been a rough one for him. First of all after having a cold virus in March, he developed a vascular condition called HSP (Henoch-Schonlein purpura ). It's pretty uncommon and it usually affects children in the spring. Todd and the faculty at the clinic had to do some research before diagnosing Zac. You can Google it to read the details. Basically, it left a horrible rash all over his legs and arms. He also had a lot of joint pain with it similiar to arthritis. There's really not anything you can do for it and he has spent all spring trying to keep it hidden. Zac did not want me to take any pictures and absolutely did not want any on the blog. Finally, two months later, the rash is starting to fade. Thank goodness, because he's very ready to start wearing shorts. Then a couple of weeks ago, he was blessed with some kind of stomach flu. The last blow to his spring was a blow to the face on Monday. He was standing too close to a friend with a metal bat and got clobbered. He broke his upper tooth off at the gumline and his bottom tooth in half...not to mention swollen and bruised lips. Here's the gruesome photo just before we went into the dentist's office...

Four hours, a lot of pain, and $500.00 later.....

However there was some good news for Zac. He has been working so hard on his Bear requirements for cub scouts. He wanted to earn his Bear and his Religious Knot before we moved. He got both badges (and his Bear Claw ice cream) on Tuesday...right after he finished at the dentist. CONGRATULATIONS ZAC!!!!!!!

Sophia's Graduation

2009-05-14T00:00:00.003-06:00

Tonight was Sophie's preschool graduation. She's been talking about it for a month and was so excited to go. She keeps telling me that now she can go to kindergarten...and I keep reminding her that she has to wait for September. I want to share her little questionaire that was in her yearbook. It's so funny:

Describe what your parents look like:

"My mommy looks like brown and black hair and she really has dark hair. She likes to play with me a lot...we play barbies and we play dress-up. She likes to wash the dishes. She is 65.

My daddy looks like he has a head like a oval and he has black hair and a beard. And...um...he likes to go out and fertilize the grass and I like to help him fertilize the grass because there is a big fertilizer that you have to push and one that you have to wheel...he has 2 of them so we can both do it. He is 65."

What is you favorite food and how do you make it?

"Pizza- Um..you have..um..you put pepperonis on it, tomato sauce and then you cook it in the stove for 60 minutes...my sister made 'em before..one chesse..with a part cheese and part pepperoni and it was all on one thing."

If I had a magic wand I would...

"Um..turn my baby brother into a prince..my daddy into a prince and turn my mommy into a princess and my brother into a guitar hero and I would be a fairy."

What do you want to be when you get big?

"a Doctor with my daddy"

Sophia with her teacher, Miss Tiffany. Congratulations Sophia!

Weekend Adventure

2009-05-11T23:59:00.008-06:00

Mother's Day weekend we followed Todd to another rural ER. This weekend it was Fillmore. For those of you that don't know, Fillmore is in the middle of the state of Utah. We did a lot of fun activities and Zac claimed that is was "one of the best weekends ever"! It's always family time that makes Zac the happiest. The kids started the weekend by swimming in the Bering Sea (ok...it was just the hotel indoor swimming pool, but the heater was broken). They didn't seem to mind the teeth chattering fun. We were a little worried about how much time we'd have with Todd when we found out the there were motorcross races going on all weekend in Fillmore. Saturday started with the first injury at 9:15, the races started at 9:00. After that though, the day was relatively quiet. We had a pinic lunch at the park and then toured the Territorial State House. Fillmore was intended to be the state capital. Only a small wing of the capitol building was ever built and now houses a museum.

We found the perfect jail cell, but decided to let the kids out. There was more cold swimming in the afternoon and then that evening one of the nurses at the hospital, Troy, invited to his house to see the new horse and took the kids on a mule ride. The mule, Lucy, was enormous and Max was pretty scared at first. But they all got a turn and loved the ride. Troy's house was built in 1871 and is a kids' paradise with tire swings, horses, mature fruit trees... (perfect for climbing) and plenty of running room. I didn't think we'd ever get the kids to leave.
Sunday the motorcross track must have been packed because Todd was very busy fixing injured limbs. The kids & Todd delivered my hotel breakfast to me so I still got my traditional breakfast in bed. Later, I loaded up the kids and headed about 1/2 hour south to Cove Fort. Cove Fort was built by Pres. Hinkley's ancestors under the direction of Brigham Young in 1867. Not only was it a safe haven for travelers, it served as a stagecoach station, a telegraph office and a pony express stop. We were escorted around the fort by Elder and Sister Gammon. They were great hosts and the kids pelted them with questions. We also toured the outbuildings, including the barn, blacksmith shop and bunkhouse. The fort has been restored and the bedrooms and kitchen and offices were filled with period items. We quizzed the kids on the way home and I was very impressed with how much they learned. It was a fun weekend and a great Mother's Day!

Another Fieldtrip

2009-04-28T00:58:00.003-06:00

I know...wow...two posts in one day....shocker! This one's shorter though. Sophia's preschool teacher had one more fieldtrip for the year and Max and I tagged along again. This time we went to the Monte L. Bean Museum at BYU. Unfortunately, I got a little lost on my way there (heck...to me BYU's campus is just a maze). My car load of 4-5 year-olds thought it was funny and by the time I got my brain screwed on right, we were only about 5 minutes behind the rest of the gang. The kids had a great time and for those of you outside of Utah County that have never heard of it, it's a fun place to visit. It's full wild animals, it's huge, and it's free! (Don't ask me for directions though...check Mapquest.)