Daniel and AnnaMarie Miller Family

Ya Big BABY!

2012-01-29T18:22:00.000-08:00

You know that constant battle/dilemma we all have as parents? The one where you need to go out- you have things to do- but your child will inevitably fall asleep 5 minutes before you get home, then wake up when you carry them into the house and totally miss the rest of their nap?

My kids stopped napping very early. My first 3 that is. I was so sad when about their 2nd birthdays, they decided they no longer needed naps. Other parents would talk about their 4 year olds napping and I had no idea what that would be like. I just wanted them to take a nap! But they outgrew themso very early.

Then along came my Jayden. He is the baby of the family in so many ways. It's as if part of him knows that, and is perfectly content not growing up. While Jaxon came out of the womb ready to attack the world all on his own, Jayden loves being babied. He will insist he is BIG but he still wants to be carried, held, spoiled, waited on and snuggled.

So remember that dilemma I was talking about? We don't have that with our Jayden. That sweet little guy can sleep any time, anywhere. Afternoon hits, his little body just decides it's ready to sleep and out he goes- no matter where we are or what we are doing.

Jayden is 3 1/2 so in January, he went into primary. My other kids were so exited about this! But poor Jayden was not so thrilled. He LOVED nursery. He loved his teachers. He looked forward to it all week. When we told him he was moving into primary, he was less than thrilled. He cried. He begged to go back to nursery. Lucky for us, they moved his 2 male nursery leaders into his Sunbeam class (not because of him), which made the adjustment so much easier. However, every week, his teachers come to tell me how he climbs up on one of their laps and falls asleep during junior primary, then they carry him to class, lay him down in the corner and he sleeps while they have their lesson :)

I find it so cute! I love that he's still my baby! I don't want him to grow up. I'll keep him sweet and little and sleepy like this for as long as possible. I just hope his primary teachers don't get tired of his loud snoring during their class :)

Parent Teacher Conference

2012-01-26T14:35:00.000-08:00

When I wrote the previous post about Mason and his teacher, I knew I was going to be attending parent teacher conference within the next couple of days. I was really hoping that there wouldn't be any surprises.

Last night was the big night. I met with Mason's teacher first. I was most anxious to meet with her because I was hoping that she had seen the same sort of progress that I had, and that our conference this time around would be much less worrisome than the last (it's not that things were SO bad last time, just concerning).

Mason's teacher said that he is doing fantastic! She said he is now the student that both she and I knew he was last trimester. His grades are all As. He is taking initiative to put processes into place for his own success. She was very impressed with his writing skills and said his last 2 papers were excellent. One of the papers he wrote was on goals. He had to identify one of his goals for this year and discuss it in detail. The goal that he chose was getting straight As :) She also invited him to test for the gifted and talented program for 7th and 8th grade. He will be doing that a week from this Saturday. It was all good news!

Next I met with Savannah's teacher. I knew exactly what to expect from this one. Savannah was nervous because she is a perfectionist, so she was terrified that her teacher would have even the smallest criticism of her. She need not have worried. Her teacher raved about her, both academically and socially. She said she is a model student who treats all the other kids kindly. Making friends has not been a challenge for her and her teacher adores her (as do we).

All in all, it couldn't have gone better. I am so proud of my children and their hard work. Nothing makes me more proud than when their teachers tell me how well they treat others. It seems my kids are following my simple motto for success in life:

Work hard

and

Be nice to people

Keep it up kids!

A Teacher's Love

2012-01-25T10:42:00.000-08:00

When it came time for us to move, one of my biggest worries was how Mason would adjust. Not only was I worried because he is older, and the older you are, the harder it is to start over- but I was also worried because he is so shy. Mason does not adjust to change well at all. He puts himself to bed, right on time, every night. He gets himself up in the morning and does his chores at the same time every day. He thrives on a constant routine. If you need to change things up for some reason, it's best with Mason if you give him as much of a heads up as possible and prepare him for what the change will entail. He's not big on surprises :) So taking all these things in to account, I was worried for him.

In Idaho, Mason had a huge bedroom, all to himself. We lived on 2 acres and there was plenty of room for him to be alone when he wanted, and to play when he wanted. And his life was predictable, just like he likes it. Then we took him out of that life, threw him into a condo where he had to share a tiny little room with his brothers and no longer had a yard he could go out and play on. He had no space of him own- nowhere he could go to unwind. This is something that Mason spends a lot of time doing.

Mason has always been a very good student. He is in 6th grade now and I've never had to worry about how he was doing in school. As this new year started, I hoped that would continue and I prayed he would get a good teacher. My worries seemed to be justified when I found out that just a few weeks into the school year, Mason's grades were already dropping. He was not turning in many assignments. Sometimes he would even complete them and then just leave them sitting on or in his desk while the rest of his classmates turned them in. He seemed lost. At his first parent teacher conference, his teacher expressed her concern as well. Together, his teacher, Dan and I, and Mason came up with some steps that we hoped would help him. His teacher had clued in to the fact that he was not adjusting well to the move. Instead of labeling him as a mediocre student (easy to do in a class of almost 40), she wanted to do everything in her power to help him adjust and succeed. As a parent, when you see a child's behavior change, and not for the better, it's scary. You can't help but wonder if it's the beginning of a long and painful road for your child. You know that you'll do whatever it takes to get them back on a successful path and to save them from any sort of a spiral downward. It doesn't matter if it's just 6th grade grades- you still worry- and you still do whatever you can to help as fast as you possibly can.

To make a long story short, we moved into our house in November and at that same time, we implemented the habits and routines in Mason's day that we felt would help him to better succeed. By the end of the trimester, his grades were once again up to As.

We are now halfway into the second trimester, and he has maintained his good grades. I have seen the efforts that his teacher is putting in, for him individually, to make sure he is successful. She has truly gone above and beyond her job description and has never treated him like "just another student".

Over the last 2 months, not only did his grades raise, but he won his school Reflection's contest in literature for a poem he wrote, he won his class spelling bee and is now going to be competing against the rest of the grade and school, and he also directed a Greek play for his class and did a tremendous job on that. He is a member of the chess club and one of their strongest players. He has started basketball season and is loving that as well. He is truly a different boy than he was just a few months ago.

Today, when I went to get the mail, I saw a note from his teacher. I didn't even read the envelope to see that it was addressed to him. I assumed it was to me since I am also his class mom. I opened the letter and inside was a Thank you Card.

Here is what it says: "Dear Mason,
Thank you for the delicious chocolates- which were quickly consumed by me and my family- and the misteltoe soap- whose fragrance reminds me daily of you and Christmas! I am so happy you moved to Utah AND to my classroom. I know it has been difficult for you, but I am so proud of the way you handled it and of your successes. You have gained the respect and friendships of your classmates. You did a fabulous job as the director of your team's Greek play, and with your Reflection's poem, and the spelling bee and I could go on and on. You are awesome!

Love,

Mrs. Cook "

This note will mean the world to Mason. He is so sensitive to the opinions of his parents, teachers and coaches. As my children have grown, I have seen that there is such a disparity between teachers. Teachers who truly love and care for each individual child are few and far between- and teachers who do so in the midst of budget cuts and overcrowding are even fewer. I know it's not an accident that Mason ended up in the class that he did. This was one of the many tender mercies we received when we took the leap of faith and made this move. I am forever grateful for those, and for this sweet teacher who has changed my son's life for the better.

The gift of Music...

2012-01-24T20:54:00.000-08:00

Growing up as the oldest daughter of a piano teacher, I was destined to learn to play. Not a day has gone by that I'm not thankful for this. My mother taught me, and my father impressed upon the importance of being willing to share this talent with those who needed it, particularly at church. My parents knew all too well that there are never enough people willing and able to play :)

I began teaching myself right after Savannah was born. She was the happiest baby and would sit in her chair and just listen. She didn't cry. She didn't squirm. In fact, she seemed to enjoy it. Imagine my surprise when at just 3 years old, my tiny little girl came up to me and told me she wanted to learn. Three year olds do not play the piano. 4 year olds do not play the piano. Most 5 and 6 year olds are still not ready to play the piano. And here was my three year old telling me she wanted to learn. I told her frankly that she was not old enough- she didn't even know her letters- how could she play the piano? Just a few days later, that sweet little 3 year old came to me and told me, "Mom, I've learned A-G and that's all I need to know to play the piano." I was amazed that she had picked that up just from listening to me teach other students, and thought I would humor her a little bit since she had put in so much effort. I told her I would teach her the finger numbers but that was it. She would have to wait until she was older to learn more.

And so I did. And it wasn't good enough for her. She took it upon herself to move along- to go ahead of what I was showing her. She had listened and learned enough just by watching me teach others, that she was able to pick up much more than she should have been. And so, my tiny little 3 year old daughter began reading music. At 4, she played in her first recital. At 4 1/2 she competed in her first piano festival where she got a 97/100. Students aren't allowed to enter unless they can read music on the grand staff and play with both hands simultaneously. You should have seen the look on the face of the judge as I walked her to the classroom to play her songs. You should have seen the smile on that judges face as she walked her back out to me.

I stopped teaching when I had my boys. It was just too hard to teach and juggle 2 babies. They didn't sit there, happy, like their sister had. They wanted my undivided attention. To everything there is a season, right?

My boys are older now. Mason is now old enough to help out with them. I also now have a room with locking double doors where I can teach, in peace, without interruption. And so, after a few years off, I decided to begin teaching again. I initially said I would just pick up 5 students. I don't have a lot of extra time but it's something I wanted to do. I was surprised when word got out that I was teaching, and I was bombarded with phone calls. I ended up taking quite a few more students than I had planned, but I still kept it manageable.

As I've begun teaching again, and loving every second of it, I found myself reflecting back on my sweet little girl and her amazing ability. If someone told me they had a child that age who could actually play the piano- I'm not sure I would believe them. So I'm sure glad I took videos of that little girl doing her thang :) Here are 2 videos of Savannah playing, right before her first recital in 2008. This wasn't the actual performance and she's kind of in her own little world- she looks around the room and makes a few mistakes, but even so, I love watching these videos :) I can't wait to see what she does in the future!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-22T21:36:00.000-08:00

Ever since we became a family, we've had basically the same traditions for our Christmas holiday. Besides a couple of Christmases when Mason was just tiny, we've lived very close to our families most of our lives. And those years when we didn't, we were a small enough family that it wasn't all that difficult to pack up and go home for the holidays.

This year, we weren't quite sure what we were going to do for Christmas. This was our first holiday season in our new home. We've been thinking about starting some new traditions, now that our family has grown and our kids are getting older. The thought of packing all 6 of us up, including all our presents, stockings etc, and driving to another state for Christmas, was not all that appealing. And yet, to our children, Idaho still felt like home. It was important to them that we be there for Christmas. So, in spite of the work involved, we decided to go ahead and make the journey. Next year, when the kids aren't missing their Idaho friends and family quite as much, we might stay here in our own home and enjoy the holiday.

A few days before Christmas- we packed up EVERYTHING you can imagine. We played vehicle Tetris and were able to fit ~~all our crap~~ everything in the car. I was thanking the heavens that we bought the Escalade before this trip, since it has so much more cargo room than our Expedition did. There is no way we could have fit it all! The kids were bursting with excitement to see their friends.

Savannah spent the first day in Idaho with the twins, Maycie and Taylie Ard (her best friends since they were babies). One of the hardest parts of our move was leaving them. They are the closest thing she has to sisters. She had a wonderful time catching up with them and exchanging presents. We love those girls!

Christmas Eve- Christmas Eve is "The Main Event" with the Miller clan. We all gathered at David and Dana's (Dan's brother) house. We have delicious food (way toooooo much of it, as my post-holiday waistline will attest) and play some of the same games each year. The kids open their presents from Grandma and Grandpa and then we eat some more food. Later on, we play some board games and eat some more food. After that, we finish up by eating some more food :) When the clock struck "too late for kids to still be awake", we packed it all up and went back to Dan's parents house and put the kids to bed. Each Christmas eve, we also let the kids open one present-their new pajamas. We did this, and then Savannah (who is clued into the whole Santa thing) and I finished up pre-Christmas duties and put everything under the tree. It was a perfect way to spend Christmas Eve.

Jaxon and Grandpa Miller

Savannah and Grandma Miller

Savannah was asked to read a sweet story to the family on Christmas Eve. She did a great job!

Playing the left/right game

Christmas Day- Usually, we open our presents in the morning and then visit my parents and spend a little time with them on Christmas. However, this year, my parents flew to Alabama to spend the holiday with my sister Rachel and her cute family. Our kids were up bright and early, ready to open thei presents ( I know this is a shocking fact). And that's just what we did! The kids were thrilled with their gifts. And then.....then we just enjoyed each other. We just chilled. We soaked in the beauty of being together as a family and enjoying the Christmas holiday.

Jaxon and Jayden in their new pajamas

Savannah with her Zebra Pillow pet and new PJs

Ooooh- it's a pink Ripstik! Do you know that even when the other colors go on sale, the pink one doesn't? What's that all about?

Mason with his brand new snowboard!

We spent a few more days in Idaho before heading back home to Utah. I did a little after Christmas shopping and picked up a new tree for next year. All in all, it was a very relaxing, enjoyable trip. I wasn't sure we would be able to get everything back in the car for the drive home, but we made it (with the exception of the tree- which I did have to leave!).

As a family, we are so blessed to have each other. Although we have moved to another state, we are still close enough to visit quite often, and see those we love. Our time together is priceless.

Must be Santa!

2012-01-22T21:35:00.000-08:00

A few days before Christmas, there was a knock on our door. We answered it and who was standing there? Santa! We invited him in and he sat down for a little chat with the "believers" (The Js). Jaxon and Jayden had plenty to tell him about what they wanted for Christmas- starting off with MORE TRAINS! They promised him they would be on their best behavior! He rewarded them with a candy cane and was shortly on his way :)

Happy 5th Birthday to Jaxon- Dec. 20th 2011

2012-01-22T19:04:00.000-08:00

It is so hard for me to believe that my Jaxon is 5! Birthdays are always a fun time for me to reflect back on the years I've shared with my children. It's a time to recognize their unique traits and the things they contribute to our family. So first a little about his birthday and then a little about him :)

Jaxon is our almost Christmas baby, so he gets a double dose of presents during the Holidays. We were heading to Idaho for Christmas just a couple of days after his birthday. We had just our own little family here to celebrate our Jaxon. He wanted a Thomas the Train cake (surprise, right?) and had asked for a Ripstik- and he got just what he wanted!

Anyone who knows Jaxon knows that the adventure level in our lives went up about 100 fold when he joined our family. Jaxon was due just after the new year. From my mid-pregnancy ultrasound on, I was told to be prepared- this was a BIG baby! I already knew that. It was as though he didn't even fit in there! Sure enough, on December 20th, 2006, exactly 2 weeks before his due date, our 9 lb whopper came into the world. He looked like a 4 month old baby. He had an afro of wild hair. By 4 months he had several teeth. By 7 months, he was cruising the furniture. When he was 18 months to the day, his little brother joined our family. By this point, Jaxon was the craziest, most mischievous toddler I had ever seen. Every day was an adventure. I never knew what was next. I just knew that each day, my goal was to keep him alive. And I succeeded :)

I have so many stories about Jaxon and his antics! It was like, in this little (although perfectly sturdy and solid) body, a giant person was waiting to get out. Jaxon has always been so very charismatic and lovable. His smile can melt the world. His laugh is so contagious. You can't help but love this one. He is life, love and laughter, all shaken up in one crazy little boy. He is coordinated and playful and fearless. He is his father's son. I look forward to every single day we get to share with our Jaxon. Our family would be so incomplete without the joy and adventure he brings to us. Jaxon, we love you with all our hearts. Thank you for being YOU!

Welcome, 2012!

2012-01-09T09:32:00.000-08:00

It's 2012. Not quite sure how this happened :) But here it is.

As we begin a new year- our first full year in our new home, I of course reflect on the last. 2011 was a good year for our family. 2010 was kind of a rough one. What a blessing it was to see things turn around for us last year.

2011 brought us a new job in a new industry, in a new state.
It brought us a new home, in a new neighborhood, in a new ward.
It brought us more new friends than we ever could have hoped.
It brought us closer as a family.
It taught us to embrace change- that you never know where it will lead, but that trusting the Lord can bring about great miracles.
It taught us that "home" can be anywhere the Lord wants you to be, if you just let it.

Some of the highlights of our 2011 were:

January: Daniel first came home with a feeling that life was about to change- that we should be heading in a different direction.

April: Daniel accepted a job as a program manager for the LDS church, in the media services department and moved to Utah.

May: The kids finished up their school year in Rigby, ID, and we packed up and moved to Saratoga Springs, UT. Saying goodbye to our loved ones wasn't such a highlight, but we knew it was right for our family.

June: We began construction on our new home in Saratoga. We also began attending the Saratoga Springs 5th ward, where our home would be, even though we were temporarily living in another stake while construction was underway.

June: Jayden turned 3!!!

August: Savannah turned 8 and was baptized. What an amazing experience for all of us.

October: Mason turned 12 and received the aaronic priesthood (it was a big year for big birthdays!). He was so excited for this opportunity.

November: Our home was finally completed and we moved in to our new house and new neighborhood.

December: Daniel was called as the Elder's Quorum president of our new ward.
Jaxon also turned 5 this month! It's so hard for me to believe!

As a family, we truly saw the windows of heaven open up with blessings this year. We embrace this new year and the chance we have to become even more at home here than we already feel. We love you all and are thankful to have you in our lives :)

Love,

The Millers

Sweet Jayden turns 3 :)

2011-11-09T11:21:00.000-08:00

On June 20th, 2011, our sweet baby boy, Jayden, turned 3. It's hard to believe that time has flown by so quickly since this beautiful spirit joined our family.

We had just relocated to Utah in the weeks prior to his birthday, and we hardly knew anyone. We were living in a tiny little condo and it was hardly the place to throw a party- so as usual, we headed to Grandma's in Idaho :) At the time of our move to Utah, Mason was the end of orthodontic treatment. It had been paid for in full and in order to complete his treatment, we had to come back to Idaho once a month until he got his braces off. So it worked out well to plan his appointment close to Jayden's birthday so that we could celebrate in Idaho with our family.

We had a little get together at Grandma Miller's, where we had cake and ice cream and Jayden opened his presents. He got a plethora of Lightning McQueen and Thomas the train stuff. In usual Jayden fashion, he had his big, shy grin on his face the entire time.

To celebrate Jayden, I want to talk about his sweet personality a little: Jayden is the baby of our family in every way. He is adored by all of us. He is shy and quiet and loves to snuggle more than any of the other kids. While Jaxon is fiercely independent and doesnt want anything done for him, Jayden wants his hand held through every task- not because he isnt capable, but because he wants someone loving him and caring for him every second of the day. And everyone in this family is happy to do that for our sweet boy.

Jayden has the most captivating smile. When someone he doesnt know talks to him, he gets that shy grin on his face, you see his darling dimples and he runs and hides, usually behind my legs. He lets Jaxon do most of the talking for him to people he doesn't know well.

Jayden spends a lot of his time following Jaxon's lead. Jaxon decides what they are playing and how, and Jayden complies. They are the best buddies. I'm either listening to them giggling or fighting all day- and which one depends on the moment :)

Jayden loves trains, Cars, wrestling with Daddy and snuggle time. If you ask him who he loves, he will tell you MASON every time. He worships Mason and cries sometimes when Mason goes to school. He waits anxiously for Mason to get home from school so they can play. At night, he would prefer to sleep with Mason than anyone else.

Not a day goes by that I am not thankful that we were blessed with this sweet little boy. He has been an angel in our family. I look forward to each and every day we get to share with him. Jayden, we love you baby boy!!

Water Babies

2011-10-26T08:39:00.000-07:00

One of the things the kids loved most about our move is that we have a swimming pool at both our new places. The condo has a smaller one, outdoors and open in the Summer. The house has a larger one, with lap lanes and a diving board, and is heated from a natural hotspring and therefore open all year. It also has 2 hot tubs, which makes me happy :)

Here are a few pictures of the kids playing in our condo pool. That's pretty much all they wanted to do all summer long. Thankfully, the weather cooperated, allowing us to swim quite often. These pics are from July 2011.

Summer Fun

2011-10-26T08:33:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of some of our first summer in Utah (well, I grew up here, but the first summer for the rest of the crew).

These pictures are on the playground in our condo subdivision. It was a very large, open park with a playground, pavillion and acres and acres of sidewalks, winding in and out of each other, for walking and biking around. That was my kids' favorite thing to do- ride their bikes around and around. They are so used to having a large yard and being on no-traffic streets. Adjusting to being in a condo with no yard, and being on Redwood Rd where they can't ride, was a tough one for them. That made this park one of our favorite spots. We would often take picnics up there and play. These were taken in July 2011.

Jaxon

Jayden

Mason

Savannah

Ch-ch-ch-changes- Part III

2011-10-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

We started the building process in June of 2011. Candlelight homes was our builder. We initially decided upon a 2 story floorplan, but it didnt have enough square footage on the main floor for the neighborhood we were building in, so we ended up going with a 4,000 sq ft rambler (2,000 on the main, 2,000 in the basement) instead. I really wanted a 2 story but with everything we had going on, this is how the chips fell.

We enrolled the kids in the school they would be attending when the house was complete (Saratoga Shores Elementary) and started attending that ward as well (Saratoga Springs 5th ward). We didnt want them to adjust to the move, just to have to be jerked out of their new school and ward and put into another new one.

Savannah made friends quickly, although she struggled being away from the twins, Maycie and Taylie, who have been her best friends since they were 18 months old. While she had new friends, it just wasnt the same. Often she would tell me she wanted to just stay home, and not play with anyone that day. Sometimes she would cry about how much she missed the girls. I cried too. I missed my friends, and I missed the girls myself. It just wasnt the same.

Mason made a good friend, in our building, and in typical Mason fashion, one friend was enough. He seemed to have a harder time with the move since he is less outgoing than his sister. Starting over is always rough for Mason and I worried about him a lot.

The Js have each other, and they were happy as could be.

Our condos have a pool, so we spent a lot of time over the summer swimming. The weather in Utah was a nice change from Idaho. We were able to spend day after day outside with no wind and no cold. For someone like me, who is extremely sensitive to the weather, it made the summer more enjoyable than ever!

The neighbors from our house neighborhood began inviting us to neighborhood parties and get togethers and we were able to get to know them rather quickly. Our neighborhood is full of other active couples. We couldn't have picked a neighborhood more fitting for us. We immediately started biking with 2 other couples from our ward, the Fotheringhams and the Harris'. That, probably more than any one thing, made it start to feel like home here. I began riding with Mari, Jana and Amy in the mornings and we rode with the couples on Saturdays. Dan and I began running together to keep up our training, which was a lot of fun. Being away from our families and friends, and in a new place, we spent more than the usual amount of family time together, which was a surprise bonus :)

Dan and I raced all summer again. The first weekend of June, we met up with our We-Tri crew in Payson for the Salem Spring Triathlon. It was so great to see them all again after being away. We had a great race. In July, we joined them again in Idaho for the Spudman Olympic Triathlon. That is my favorite race and I did better this year than ever before. The highlight, though, was racing with my husband, and seeing all my friends again. We had such an enjoyable race. In August, we were hoping to go up for RUSH in Rexburg, but we weren't able to make the trip. Instead, at the very last minute, I decided to race the Saratoga Springs Tri with my friends Amy Hart and Ja-Ann Wolsey. It was such a fun race and I was grateful I had found friends down here to continue racing with.

A lot of other things happened over the summer. I'm hoping to put the most important ones in blogs of their own, so hopefully this is just a brief summary of what's gone down over the past 6 months or so.

Ch-ch-ch-changes- Part II

2011-10-25T19:42:00.000-07:00

In April of this year, Daniel accepted the position he was offered with the LDS church. We were so excited about this opportunity. It just felt so right. I can't even begin to describe the peace we felt about it.

Daniel moved in with our good friends, Terry and Lauri Smith, in Eagle Mountain, UT, while I stayed in Idaho with the kids while they finished up their school year. I began working on the house, getting it ready to put on the market. Dan threw himself into training at a new job, in a new state. He grew to love his new job almost overnight. The stress level was so much lower. He enjoyed the people he worked with right away. He loved the change and challenge of a different industry. And most of all, he felt privileged to be able to spend his days doing the Lord's work. The enviroment was so much more positive and uplifting than what he was used to and we could all sense a change in him right away.

Back in Idaho, we were painting and cleaning and working with a realtor. We put our house on the market, but knew that with the mortgage industry in it's current crisis, we were unlikely to sell it quickly, or for what we owed. That's just how it is. Seven years with not a single late payment and we could still end up in a mess.... But we trusted that the Lord would take care of us. If that meant things with our house went less than perfectly but we got a new, beautiful start for our family, so be it.

Daniel came home on weekends. As the school year drew to a close, we made a couple of trips to Utah to begin looking for our new home. On our first trip, we found an amazing house in Saratoga Springs. It was almost 5,000 sq feet, overlooking the lake, just a few years old, in a great neighborhood. We put in an offer and it was accepted. For some reason, ever since I knew we were moving, I thought we would end up in Saratoga.

I came home and told the kids all about it. We had pictures, and they began to get more excited about the move. Prior to that, they were so nervous about leaving their friends that it was hard for them to feel any excitement at all.

The school year ended. The kids struggled with having to say goodbye to their friends, as did I. I was so blessed to have an amazing group of friends in Idaho. My We-Tri girls were more than any mom could ask for. I always knew I had love and support, no matter what I was going through. And I always had someone to train with, to laugh with, and to eat chocolate with. I cried. A lot.

Right before we left, the We- Tri girls threw me a party. I can't begin to describe how touched I was. At the risk of sounding like I'm having a pitty party for myself, my birthday falls at a very busy time, so often my birthday gets mostly overlooked. And as a mother, it's par for the course to spend your days taking care of others, without anyone really thinking about doing anything for you. I think I forgot what it felt like to have people do nice things for you, just because they love you, not expecting anything in return. They gave me thoughtful cards and gifts, and things I will cherish forever. I cried like a baby. I knew it was unlikely that I would find such a great group of friends, to laugh with and train with, in a different place.

We drove down to Utah to let the kids see the new house. On the way down, Dan called me and told me he just didnt have a good feeling about the house. I did NOT want to hear it. I loved the house. It was exactly what I was looking for and at an amazing price. I was hoping he was wrong. But when I got to the house with the kids (who ran in the door, totally excited about the new house, and started checking out their rooms), he was standing there with our realtor, Amy, and both of them had defeated looks on their faces. Apparently the house had experienced a lot of settling issues, and there were cracks everywhere. The entire house needed to be piered, to the tune of $80,000. I sat down and cried. We rescinded our offer and started searching again. It seemed every house we saw was just not what we were looking for. I didnt want to sell my house, that I loved, in Idaho, and move into something I liked less. So after a bit of discussion, Dan and I decided we would look into building instead of buying.

After a lot of searching, we were able to find a condo to rent that wouldnt make us sign a lease. We knew the building process wouldn't take a full year, so a lease was out of the question. It was incredibly difficult to find anything without a lease, so we werent able to be picky about it. We rented a condo in Saratoga Springs. It was on Redwood Road (not ideal), but would allow us to be close enough to whatever school our kids ended up in, since we had pretty much decided we would be building in Saratoga.

We still didn't have any offers on our house in Idaho but we had faith that the Lord would make sure we were taken care of, since we knew we were doing the best thing for our family. One day my phone rang. It was my youngest brother, Paul, who was in Iraq, with the national guard, on a yearlong deployment. He asked if we might be interested in renting our house out. He said he and Kristin would love to rent it if we would be willing to. This was an answer to our prayers, and we readily agreed.

With that taken care of, as soon as school was out, we headed to Utah to be with our Daddy :) The movers werent available to move us for a few weeks, but we knew it was important to Dan to have us down here with him, so we packed up just what we could fit in a little Uhaul trailer, and drove down to the condo, where we lived for a couple of weeks, with just the basics. No beds or furniture, and minimal clothing....

While all that was going on, we were meeting with builders. We finally decided on a builder, but hadn't found just the right lot. Nothing seemed as nice as the home we had made the offer on and the location was very important to me. Our realtor, Amy, told us that she had a great lot, in a great location, that she knew we could get for an incredible price. As she drove us by the lot, Daniel and I realized it was in a neighborhood we had previously driven through, and loved, but thought we couldn't afford. The lot backs up to the Talon's Cove Golf course and overlooks Utah Lake. Dan, an avid golfer, was sold, before the car ever stopped. We put in an offer on it right away and it was accepted. We were able to get it for such a great price! Now we knew where our new home would be....

Ch-ch-ch-Changes- Part I

2011-10-25T18:48:00.001-07:00

Sooooo, what have we been up to? So very, very much! I have been updating facebook instead of my blog and I keep in contact best that way. However, I want to begin doing blog books as our family's journaling, which only works if I actually DO my blog :) So here I am. Once again, committing to doing a better job of blogging. Let's hope it sticks!

I last posted about the end of 2010. It has been almost a year, and a year of HUGE changes for our family. In January of 2011, Daniel came home from work at Docutech and dropped a bombshell on me. He had been there 7 years but said he had a strong feeling that it was time for him to start exploring other opportunities. With the economy the way that it is, this was not something I normally would have wanted to hear. But as he said it, I also got the feeling that it was time. I didnt know why or how, but I knew and he knew there was something else in store for our family.

As soon as he said it, I got the very strong feeling that we were to start searching in Salt Lake City. It wasn't a feeling I could ignore. It was clear and strong and i knew exactly what it was. I told him what I was feeling and we agreed that our search would begin there. I was also very open to living in Boise area where my darling little sis lives, so we looked around there as well. We also put some time into looking into the Idaho Falls area in the hopes that we could stay put.

Not long into our search, I came across a job posting for the LDS church, in a capacity that Dan seemed qualified for. The position was something he found interesting and the pay was in the range we were looking for. I passed the information on to him and he applied. In the meantime, we continued the search. Some time passed. Nothing was coming up. But I still felt strongly that Salt Lake was the place for us. I also felt that we were on the right track with the position for the church, but we hadn't heard anything.

Then one day the call came. They wanted to interview him. I felt confident that this was the position for him and this was the right direction for our family. In my head, it was a done deal. He did a phone interview and waited to hear back. More time passed with no word. We assumed the position had been filled, but nothing else was coming up. Weeks later, he received a call for another interview. He was a finalist for this position. I was certain he would get it as I felt so good about this being the right thing for our family.

But Daniel came home from the interview with a very different feeling. He said something just didnt feel right about it. He said it sounded like an amazing opportunity but he wasnt sure he was fully qualified for the position. It was also a 12 month contract position, which could possibly be renewed after the 12 months. But it would be a risk to leave a job of 7 years for something that could be only 12 months. I was confused since I had felt so good about it. He knew he was still in the running for this position, but he decided to look at other postings that the LDS church had available, since this seemed like such a great position.

More time, still no word....and then another phone call. This time the position was as a program manager in the media department. He didn't know much about it but agreed to do a phone interview. After the phone interview, he came home with a very different feeling. He was so excited and said this position was much more "him". He said if he could pick, this would be the one for him. He was aware that since he had no prior media experience and there were many applicants for this job, his chances were slim.

A couple of weeks later, Dan was scheduled to fly to California with his current job. He was supposed to fly out pretty early in the morning. I called him that morning, on my way back from the gym. He should have been on a flight but he answered the phone. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "laying in bed." WHAT??? He said for some reason he had been running late (he doesnt run late). He got to the airport and the kiosk to check in wasn't working. By the time he got to the desk, the lady informed him that he was 2 minutes late to check in and would not be allowed on his flight. He NEVER misses his flights. He flies all the time. He is never late, and he never misses his flights. So he came back home and worked on rebooking his flight. He was only able to find one that went out at 4pm, and it left out of Salt Lake City.

While he was home killing time, the phone rang. It was the LDS church, wanting another interview, but it had to be that day, and it was in Salt Lake City. If he wanted the job, he would need to be able to drive to Salt Lake and be there at 1pm. Because he had missed his flight and happened to rebook out of Salt Lake City, he was able to make the interview, drive to the airport and fly out on his trip as planned.

We were supposed to hear back within a few days. More weeks.... But I just had a feeling. I knew this was what we were supposed to do. And eventually the call came in. He was offered a position in the media services department, over family history and church history projects. The pay was what we needed. The benefits were amazing. And we KNEW it was right....

Christmas 2010

2011-01-07T20:25:00.000-08:00

Being blessed with such a sweet family, we can't help but have a great Christmas. As a family, we decided this year to have a smaller Christmas (I tend to go waaay overboard), and then take a fun family vacation the following week instead of spending oodles of money on toys the kids soon forget anyway. I would so much rather spend money on building memories with my children. So that's what we did.

As is our tradition, we spent Christmas eve at the Miller's. We had some yummy food, played some fun games, did gift exchanges, and then opened all the gifts to/from that side of the family. Grandma Miller is the queen of knowing just what to get every child, and as always, they were thrilled.

Christmas morning is always spent at our home. I made Egg nog french toast, eggs, fresh gapes and pineapple for breakfast. It was yummy :)

Going into Christmas, my sweet Mason, when asked what he wanted, just kept saying "I dont need anything mom. We're going on vacation and that's all I need." I did finally get him to tell us he wanted an action replay (yeah I didnt know what it was either) for his DSi XL. Apparently it's a thing you put in your DS and it gives you cheat codes to any game you can think of...He is so thoughtful and unselfish, and I am so grateful for such a wonderful boy. Savannah's list, as usual, was a mile long, but we reminded her we were having a small Christmas, so she wouldnt be getting everything she asked for, like she usually does. She was okay with that. We did get her an iTouch, which she has been enjoying, and her pillow pet was a smash hit as well. The boys wanted only Thomas the train stuff, and between Grandma and us, they got a lot of it. None of the kids seemed to mind one bit that we had less presents than usual.

Later on Christmas afternoon, we went to my older brother, Jared and his amazing wife Lyndi's (who also happens to be my Bff)house, where we had a delcious Christmas dinner and enjoyed time with my side of the family. We are so blessed to live so close to our familes. After Daniel and I both working retail hours for the years we did (he managed a jewelry store, I managed Victoria's Secret and a couple of clothing stores), we also love being able to take time off during the holidays to truly enjoy them.

We hope each of you had a fantastic Christmas as well!

Jaxon is 4!!!

2010-12-29T21:54:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it's been 4 years since our lovable hurricane joined our family? I can't either! Our almost Christmas baby turned the big 4 on the 20th of December. We had a family party for him. I made a Thomas the train cake (I dont do cakes) for him. It took me hours and it was, eh, not so pretty. But he was thrilled, so hey. Savannah said "Im just surprised mom made a cake!" I always buy them to save time ;) So before I post a few pictures, here are just a few things I want to say about my wittle boy!

- Jaxon came to us 2 weeks early, weighing in at 9 lbs, and was almost born in the car on the way to the hospital. He was so big when I was pregnant that he broke my sternum (which is still very crooked, thank you). Every ultrasound I had, they kept saying this baby was gonna be big. Thank heavens he didn't cook 2 more weeks!

-Jax was a happy little baby, until he hit about 13 months old...then he morphed into the busiest toddler you have ever seen. He could climb things that should have been impossible, and get into things I thought were safe. He still has not outgrown this.

- Jax is very outgoing and has a lot to say. He isn't shy at all, and he'll talk your ear off. He loves attention and will get it any way he can- good or bad ;) He loves to make people laugh and has an adorable sense of humor. He is so smart, and always has been. He's also very coordinated and rather aggressive, which makes his Daddy very proud. He has high hopes for this one!

-Jaxon loves trains, especially Thomas, more than just about anything. He plays with his trains day and night and gets excited when we see trains or even tracks when driving in the car.

- Jax, I am so thankful to have you in our family. You are such a light, and so full of life. We are all entertained by you. I love your amazing smile and your little laugh. Love you forever (even though you won't let me call you baby!)!!!

2010 in Review...

2010-12-21T15:37:00.000-08:00

One of my many New Years Resolutions for 2011 is to keep up on my blog :) I didnt send out Christmas cards this year, which is very unlike me, but I thought I would post here what I would have put in a Christmas letter.

2010 was another wonderful year for our family. We continue to feel so blessed to have each other, our extended families, our friends, and the gospel in our lives. We cannot overlook all the blessings we are given each and every day.

Mason: Mason turned 11 in October. He is in 5th grade and still smart as ever. He played baseball this year, enjoyed a bit of golf this summer, and can't wait to start snowboarding now that the resorts are open. He gets to do ski club for the first time this season and he can't wait. He is also starting basketball in a couple of weeks. He has continued playing the piano (although I dont teach he and Savannah anymore, I now send them to someone else) and has progressed so well. I am so proud of him. Mason is such a graet help with the younger children. He is such a loving, caring boy and his siblings think he's amazing (as do we). He loves to help Jaxon build elaborate train tracks on his Thomas train table. Mason can build them so much better than anyone else. I have a feeling he'll be good at geometry!

Savannah: Savannah (7) is still our busy little bee. On Mondays, she gets home from school and heads straight to piano lessons. She is doing fantastic in piano as well. As soon as the kids are done with piano, we head into Idaho Falls for ballroom. She made the Pee- Wee gold team this year and has loved being a part of that. She recently took 2nd in the Cha-Cha and 3rd in the American Swing, at the Christmas Classic ballroom competition she competed in. She was very excited that she did so well. On Tuesdays, it's off to gymnastics. In typical Savannah fashion, she has excelled here as well. She started off the year at the top of her beginnner's class, and quickly moved into the intermediate class. Within a couple of months, she was moved into the advanced class. She can now do her backhandsprings, her roundoff backhandsprings, and almost has has aerials down as well. She is working on her back tucks, double back handsprings etc. She loves gymnastics more than just about anything. On Fridays, she has cheerleading. This is her first year in cheer and she is loving the heck out of it.

Savannah is the little mother of our house. I'm always amazed at what a little nurturer she is. She helps me with the little boys every day, and they follow her around the house. She is such a happy, lively little thing. She is still our itsy-bitsy girl and hasn't gotten much bigger. We like her that way :)

Jaxon: is still Jaxon :) He had his 4th birthday yesterday. Jaxon is still a big bundle of energy! He keeps me on my toes every day. He is old enough to crack jokes and say funny things and enjoy getting a reaction. Jaxon loves trains. He got a Thomas the train table this year with the wooden rail sets, and he has lived in the playroom since then. He spent half the year playing with the trains, and the other half dumping ketchup, yogurt, frosting, toothpaste and other various sticky things, over them, and running the trains through it all. He collects the Thomas train cars and that's pretty much all he asks for. He sleeps with them, takes them to church etc. He still hasn't outgrown the terrible Twos but I havent given up hope yet :) He is the life of the house and we love that kid! He makes us all laugh every day.

He is so smart and knows all his letters and their sounds. He loves to count, to spell and to learn new things. He also started preschool this year (he gets to be taught by Aunt Dana) and he looks forward to it every day.

Jayden: Jayden (2 1/2) is the little angel of our house. What a joy he is! Jayden walks around with a big grin on his face, always says please, and wants to hug and snuggle everyone, all the time.

He truly is the baby of the family in every way. With his big dimples, blonde locks, and adorable grin, he has all of us wrapped around his finger!

The little boys love playing and fighting with each other. They get pretty rough and beat the heck out of each other regularly. This is a new concept for me as my other kids never tended to do that :) But each of them holds their own, so hey, I guess that's what brothers do, much to their mother's chagrin ;)

Daniel: Dan continues to work for Docutech as the Vice President of Product Engineering. He has been there for almost 7 years now. He loves his job and the people he works for and with. We feel so blessed that he gets to provide for us by doing something he loves every day and working with such great people. We were able to enjoy a few fun vacations this year thanks to his job. In September, as a thank you to their management team, Docutech flew us to San Diego for a few days of fun. We stayed in a beautiful hotel, ate some delicious food and enjoyed touring the USS Midway, taking a Harbor cruise and relaxing and enjoying time with coworkers, away from work. It was so nice of them to do that for us. We recently returned from a 3 day trip to San Francisco. Dan was invited to the year end party for a client of his, so we decided to use a few frequent flyer miles to fly me out as well and enjoy a little getaway. We flew in on Friday, and then got up early on Saturday morning to do a 10-mile run over the Golden Gate bridge and around the Crissy Field area and marina. The run was gorgeous and we both enjoyed the sea level elevation benefit ;) We attended the party that evening and then spent time just not being in a hurry! Daniel also got back to the gym this year after taking a few...err...a few few...months off. He has loved becoming active again and lost 20 lbs. You can find him at work or at the gym pretty much any time of day. He didn't race with us much this year but I think that will be different next year. He has recently found his own love for running and now understands what all my raving was about. It's been nice for us to be able to take long runs together.

AnnaMarie: I've had another busy year as well. I continued to build my photography business and found myself busier than ever. Senior season was a blast and kept me running like crazy, August-October. Seniors are my favorite sessions though so I enjoyed every second of it. And then we went straight into families, so things never really did slow down. I am so thankful for the chance I get to meet and get to know a little about so many awesome people. I also returned to school for the fall semester. I took spanish, college algebra and consumer health. Grades have yet to be posted but going into finals, it looked like straight As. But it would be typical me to work hard all semester and then bomb a final and blow what would have been a 4.0 for the semester. Either way, I enjoyed putting my brain to work.

I continue to do triathlons and running races. I think I did 4 tris this year and maybe 6 running races. It really is a passion of mine and Im so thankful for a healthy, strong body that is capable of doing these things. In the off season, I've been enjoying some time in the gym. I am working with a trainer and focusing on strength training and body composition changes. I'm hoping it'll make me a faster triathlete. I am hoping that 2011 will be the year I complete my first half-ironman. The majority of my time, however, is spent with my amazing kids. I am so thankful to Daniel for providing for us so I can stay home with them and enjoy raising them. I can't imagine my life without that. They are each such a huge blessing to us.

As a family, we are headed to Disneyworld on the 31st. We though it would be a great way to finish off this year and start the new one. It will be the first time we have taken the whole family on a big vacation. The last 2 times, when we went to Disneyland in CA, we left the boys and took only the older 2 kids. This time, we are heading to FL and taking all of them. We can't wait.

Looking back on the year, it's just amazing how blessed we have been. We are thankful for all of you and the part you play in our lives.

Love, The Miller Family
Daniel, AnnaMarie, Mason, Savannah, Jaxon and Jayden.

Well hello strange Blogging world!

2010-05-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

I haven't seen you for so long-again. And unfortunately I dont have time to do all the pics etc that I would love to, so here is just a brief update.

Mason and Savannah are finishing up school tomorrow. Mason is in the middle of baseball season. It's his first year of Cal Ripkin and it's been fun! Dan is his coach and they have a great team. They are 6-1 so far and only lost that game by 1 point. Mason got all advanced on his ISATS this year which he was thrilled about. He is growing like a weed and wears the same size shoes as I do!

Savannah is also doing great! She had ballroom tryouts a few weeks ago and made the GOLD team! She was so excited to make the highest team for her age! She can't wait for next year. She is also loving gymnastics and has her back walkovers down and almost has her back handsprings as well. She just had her 1st grade play, in which she was a penguin named Neatly and she did a wonderful job!

Jaxon is busy as ever! He is in primary and gets along well with the other kids. He and Jayden fight and play all day long, sometimes both at the same time. He loves to have one on one time with mom and snuggle a lot. He still loves his blankey and wants to be outside all the time (in Idaho, that's not really practical!).

Jayden will be 2 in a couple of weeks. He is the snuggliest, sweetest boy around! He really is the darling of the family. He love me to sing songs to him and he loves being held and loved. He loves kisses and is all smiles, unless he's fighting with his brother. I am so thankful that we have our baby boy!

I just did my first triathlon of the season on May 15th. It was Irongirl Vegas. I will do a separate blog for that to give you the details but it went well and I had a great time. Our next one is in 10 days in Utah. We (Daniel and I) are both excited for that as well.

Dan is staying crazy busy at work. He is still at Docutech, where he has been for 6 years now. He is always moving up and is lucky to have his head above water right now with all his responsibilities, but he loves his job and we are thankful that in times like these, he has such a secure job.

That's all for now!

First pic with my new lights

2010-02-08T16:09:00.000-08:00

My new home studio setup arrived today. It's going to take some time to get used to how to use the lights and stuff, but here is the first shot I've taken and edited with my new setup. It's Mason (who doesnt really enjoy me taking his pictures, so Im glad I finally got a few of him). I'm sure there will be lots more pictures to come in the near future of all of my kids!

My New Website

2010-02-05T12:25:00.000-08:00

I just launched my website for my photography business! It's nothing fancy but it's been in the works for a while and it's finally up and running. Check it out!

www.annamillerphotography.net

Halloween 2009

2010-01-17T21:59:00.000-08:00

I do realize it's January. Better late than never right? Halloween, oh Halloween. As always, there is the neverending "What will I be.." debate. This is how it stacked up. As you can see above, Savannah chose a beautiful "ballroom princess" costume. She fell in love with it when she first saw it and I thought she looked splendid. We had a blast doing her hair and makeup and she pranced around each time she got to wear it- at school, at her ballroom party, on halloween. Mason wanted to be a soldier, but I could not find a costume his size ANYWHERE. So we settled on this Army ranger costume. It came with a hat too, but he didnt want to wear it. Nor did he want to pose for any photos, so that's why they are all of Savannah. So as for how we spent our Halloween time...

Let's start with Daniel and I, who had a crazy fun time at Hidee's halloween party. I kid you not, this was the most fun I've had in years! Hidee and Torrie put together and AMAZING, Amazing Race party. I dont know how they did it all.

We all arrived at Hidee's house, in costume. See the evidence below:

Daniel and I got some good laughs. He was (obviously) a Cheerleader, while I went as Octomom, with 8 babies strapped to my belly. Awesome ;)

After we all arrived, we were split into teams of 3 couples. Each team was given an envelope with a code on it that had to be deciphered. While we were deciphering it, one teammate was taken away. As soon as we deciphered our code, we were given a clue and headed out to our cars. The clue told us to go somwhere in Rigby with a beach (Rigby Lake). When we got there, we ran down to the beach where we found mounds of sand with glow sticks sticking out of them. We dug and dug (all the while racing the other teams) until we found a locked box. Then we noticed some twine leading into the water. We pulled the twine to find a key tied to the end. We used to key to unlock the lock box to get our next clue. We got our box and key and heard people hollaring. We headed toward the hollaring to find our missing team member, chained to the playground. We had to use the code we had deciphered to unlock our team member. Then we headed to "the mat". After all the teams were there, we headed off. We had several different challenges, clues. We got a phone number at the cemetary. When we called it, it was a local gas station, so we headed there and had to purchase something that was exactly a dollar to get our next clue. We had to tie ourselves together at the playground and go through an obstacle course. We had to find different addresses before the other teams to get a clue....so many things. At one point, we were all departing one place at the same time, racing, and Tracy backed up, right into a basketball hoop at the elementary, knocking it to about a 45 degree angle. That was funny right there. Because it wasn't me! Anyhoo...long story short, it was insanely fun! We came in 2nd place. After we got back to Hidee's, we had some food and enjoyed being kid free for a while. It was just the fun my boring self needed!

When Halloween night arrived, our kids wanted to spend it with their cousins. Mason and Savannah went trick or treating around Grandma Miller's neighborhood. Afterwards, they went roller skating with their cousins and aunts. I stayed home with the Js, who wouldn't have been much fun at that time of night. Unfortunately, Michelle, Dan's sister, blew her knee out rollerskating and had to have surgery on it! But the kids had fun ;) I wish I could have been there. I felt sad all night that I was missing it but the little boys were not in any shape to be in public that night!

Everyone had such a fun time this year. I am so thankful that we live near family. My kids get to enjoy their cousins on a daily basis. I didnt really have many cousins my age, and the ones I did have lived far out of state. So I am glad my children don't have to miss out on the joy of cousins!

SLEEPOVER with Psuedo-Sisters

2009-12-25T14:25:00.000-08:00

Savannah has no sisters. But thankfully, she has the twins :) When she was just about 18 months old, I quit my full time job to stay home with the kiddies. I started doing some daycare to help out a bit. I began watching 2 tiny little girls named Maycie and Taylie. They live just down the street from us. From that point forward, the three of them have been inseparable. I only watched them for about a year or so after that, but they stayed thick as theives! They are in primary together. They play at recess together. They take gymnastics/dance/whatever together. We carpool wherever we take them. When their mom, Carole, or I take them anywhere, we often get asked if we have triplets. They do look a lot alike! We were recently told "You can tell they are related!" Um...nope, they aren't ;) But they might as well be.

I love those girls tons and tons! I love having them over. They are so sweet and loveable! I am so thankful Savannah has them to stand in as sisters when she doesn't have any of her own!

We recently had them sleep over for the first time and I took some pictures. We baked sugar cookies and decorated them with princess glitter and frosting. Maycie, who is missing her front teeth, said, "We are having a blatht!" It was so much fun- Thanks Carole for letting us steal them for the night!

Mason's 10th Birthday- October 30th 2009

2009-12-21T09:38:00.000-08:00

10 years ago, my life became so much fuller and greater than ever before. After a long road, a few doctors, some pills, some shots, 1 miracle and a positive pregnancy test (not to mention 9 months of puking 10-15 times every single day), Mason Wade Miller made his debut, 3 weeks early. He weighed 6 lbs 15 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. He was healthy as could be and insanely beautiful!

Mason was a light in my life from the very beginning. Our lives were pretty crazy and difficult at that time and he was the thing that made each day worth whatever struggles life brought. He was a very fussy baby, but since he was my first, I could afford to sit and hold him, cuddle him and love on him for hours on end. By the time he hit about 8 or 10 months, he had outgrown that and he bacame the most good natured child you've ever seen. To this day, he still is :)

He was smart from the start- at 2 years old, he would identify, "trapezoid, hexagon, pentagon..." One day when he was 2, I went out in the dining room in our apartment and he had a stray cat. He had gone outside, caught it, brought it inside, gotten the milk out of the fridge and a bowl out of the cupboard and poured a bowl of milk for the cat without spilling a drop. I still dont know how he knew cats liked milk (we hadnt ever had a cat since he was born) or how he poured the milk by himself. I took pictures since I thought it was so cute.

Mason was painfully shy when he was little. He preferred spending time with Grandma Miller (who he called Grandma Digger at the time since she had "diggers" out in front of her house) to just about anything else. Grandma watched him while I worked and Daddy went to college. They got lots of quality time together and he loved it.

I still remember "sha-show-yos" (marshmallows), one of my favorite words he used. He loved his little blankey, his kitty kitty and his ducky and watching Barney. He will kill me someday for posting that.

In school, he has always done very well. He loves science and math. He enjoys history now too. He gets great grades and all his teachers enjoy him.

At home, Mason is such a light in our house. He loves helping with the littler kids. He thinks Jaxon is hilarious and loves to play with him. Often when I go to put Jayden down for a nap, he will say, "No! I want to see him! I havent had enough time with him!" Mason and Savannah are best friends and closer than I ever would have expected. They are pretty inseparable and do almost everything together.

Mason is a huge help to me. He is sensitive and sweet. He is funny. I love his laugh and his jokes.

He love playing chess, especially with Grandpa Scott (my dad). He loves baseball, basketball and golf and is excited to start basketball again in January.

Mason had his 10th birthday this year. It's hard for me to realize he is over halfway grown! He is amazing. I am so grateful that he was sent to our family. I couldnt ask for a better son. Here are a few pictures from his birthday party at Leo's place.

Mason, I love you with all my heart and consider you such an incredible blessing to me and this family!

Love, Mom

Carving Pumpkins- October 2009

2009-12-20T22:55:00.001-08:00

Another October post. Our family has a busy last week of October, with Mason's birthday the day before Halloween! We squeezed in time for some pumpkin carving. Mason decided he wanted to do a contest- Him and me against Daddy and Savannah. While we both did great, I have to give the prize to Dan and Savannah, who got creative and used a Pillsbury grands biscuit to paint a face on and stick in the mouth of their pumpkin (red paint added no less) to make it look like it ate someone's head. It was pretty funny. Until the next day when Jaxon went out on the porch and ate it, red paint and all :)

Times like these are priceless. We love our family time!

Carmeled Apples with my girls- Oct 2009

2009-12-20T22:35:00.000-08:00

Back in October (yes, that's how far behind I am. Shame on me.) I had a girl's day at Tammy's house. We made carmeled apples (YUM) with all kinds of goodies. Now, I myself am no domestic goddess. Nope. *gasp, really?* yeah, no one is surprised by this revelation. Anyhoo... so of course someone else's carmel recipe was required, as was much brain power from Tammy, Torrie and Erica (who we called in a panic after butchering the first batch of carmel without her there).

The apples were *voices from the heavens* glorious! I gave some to my visiting teaching families and kept a few for my own family. I had a great time (as I always do when Im with these ladies!) and ate waaayyy too much sugar!

Thanks guys for a fun time- and trying to teach me a thing or two! Let's hope it sticks!

I'm here...

2009-12-14T15:35:00.001-08:00

...with so much to report, but no time. I promise to come back soon to update! I have so much to say!

Race Report- Prison Break Half Marathon- Oct 24th, 2009

2009-10-26T09:50:00.000-07:00

About 6 weeks ago I decided that even though my season had been so tri-filled that I hadn't had time to train for a half marathon like I had planned, I would still squeeze one in late season. I didnt have much training time and the time I did have, I didn't use wisely ;)

I ran 8 miles once, about 5 weeks out. I ran 10 miles once (and started having trouble with hip bursitis or something on the 10th mile), about 4 weeks out. Then I didnt run for a week (because of the hip issue). The next week, I ran 4 miles. The week of the race, I ran 2 (because once again, my hip was killing me!!! Didnt want to push it 3 days before the race). So I was totally not properly trained, but wanted to do it anyway.

Initially, a whole group of us planned to go, but one by one, each person going had something come up that made it impossible for them to go. Except me... Dan and I and the kids drove up to Boise the night before and stayed with my sister Miriam (who works at the prison). I didnt get any sleep the night before since Jayden was on the floor in our room (I forgot the pack n play) and kept waking up crying.

That morning, I got up and got ready. Miriam took me over to the race while Daniel got the kids up and ready to come over. It was cold outside, which I was thankful for, knowing that a few miles in, I wouldn't be worried about that cold!

The race has a really fun set up. You line up out front of the prison. They have guards and cops and lots of people with guns ;) They set off the siren and have planes do a flyover.... Miriam and I chatted while I stretched and choked down some gel.

The siren went off and off I went, just praying my heart out that both my knee and my hip would cooperate and let me do this race. My goal was to finish in under 2 hours. I had never seen the course before, had never run 13.1 miles in my life, but my guess was that I would complete it in about 1:58.

As I started, emotional mom that I am, I got all choked up. Does that give you an idea of what an emotional release running is for me? It truly is how I get out my stress, my anxiety, my anger (not that I have any of that.... ). So I swallowed those silly tears and started to run with the pack.

The race had a 5K, a 10K and a half marathon. We all started together so the beginning was incredibly crowded. It was hard to find any sort of pace. You mostly just worked your way around people to try to get with those running your speed. But that only lasted about a mile and then things got less congested. The 5K athletes turned off about 2 miles in which freed up even more space, and 3 miles in, the 10K athletes turned around. By that point there was plenty of room to run.

I felt really good the while time. My hip started acting up about 2 miles in, but it wasn't bad enough to slow me down. My knee also felt good initially. The weather was ideal. I was enjoying every second of it. Throughout the whole race, it looked as though I was on target to meet my goal of under 2 hours. The course is relatively flat with just small hills until mile 12. Right at mile 12, you hit a huge hill. The hill made my hip really act up. It's a sharp, shooting pain (almost a shock) that takes your leg out from under you. I just started praying that it would hold out, that I could push through it, for that last mile. The hill itself wasn't as hard as it had looked (thank you RUSH Tri run course for your training), but by the time I reached the top, the pain in my hip was almost debilitating. I was within 2 minutes of my goal so I wasn't about to walk for a minute or slow down. I just prayed some more, closed my eyes and pushed through it. At the finish, I was even able to give it one last burst so I could "sprint" through the finish line.

I felt amazing! It was something I had wanted to do and I met my goal by finishing in 1:58 (just like I had estimated). I grabbed my sister and pulled her over to the asphalt where I laid down and made her help me stretch out the hip before I couldn't walk. I was limping. The worst part was that it didn't feel that hard! I felt great the whole time, except for that one pain. And yet when I finished, I could barely move that leg. After stretching for a while, it felt much better. I could tell my knee would also swell up but it takes a while (sure enough, by the end of the night, I couldnt bend my knee at all, but by a day later, it felt good again).

What a great experience! It was a fun, well organized race. It was fun to have my family, and my sister and her family, there to support me. I was able to finish in my goal time...

Once the final results were in, I found out I came in 15th out of 103 in my division and 35th out of 224 females overall. I was very happy with this result considering my lack of training, lack of sleep, and this being my first half. I will definitely be doing more, no question about it. I hope that next time I will have some of my crew running with me though- I missed them :)

The Prison

Me running that last 100 yards or so...owee owee owee....

Crossing the finish line.

Me with my little sister, Miriam, after the race. I swear she's running it with me next year.

My Lil' Punkins :)

2009-10-20T07:14:00.000-07:00

We took the kids for some fun family time at the pumpkin patch this weekend. I was hoping for some great photos of the kids. They (with the exception of Savannah, who is always up for posing) weren't so thrilled with that idea-they just wanted to play in the pumpkin patch!

The kids had a great time! Mason and Savannah picked out their pumpkins of carving (it was serious business to find just the right one). Jaxon and Jayden ran around, climbed the dirt hills, fell over, got back up, ran around.....

Jaxon thought the pumpkin patch was the most exciting thing of the year. He keeps telling me "we need go see da punkins again!"

It was such a fun time with the kids. Here are the pics. There are far more of Savannah than the others since she is the only one who wanted her picture taken! Sorry there are so many!!

Savannah and Mason

Jayden checking the place out

Daddy and Jayden

Jaxon being his usual tough guy self ;)

Jayder Potater

Mason found his pumpkin!

Jaxon said, "Mom! It's too hea-by!"

Mason "Mom this is not cool" Miller

Savannah again....

Baby Jayden who is very unsure of this whole thing!!

Always sleep with one eye open!

2009-10-19T08:49:00.000-07:00

When you have two toddlers...

I got up this morning ready to get a lot done, and was well on my way when Jaxon said he wanted "snuggle time". This is part of our daily routine. We get his blankey, lay on my bed and watch Super Why together. And so it was. Jayden was just playing on the floor and I laid down by Jaxon. Problem was, I was really tired and I dozed off for a minute. When I woke up...

I WAS COVERED IN SHAVING CREAM!!!! As was the dog and the bed and the dresser and the carpet and the clean laundry....

LOL

Seriously funny.

Sickies

2009-10-12T21:45:00.000-07:00

It's been a fun week or two!

It started a couple of weeks ago when Savannah started complaining about not feeling well and started coughing. She is so healthy so she didnt say much and it wasn't bad the first few days. On Friday (10 days ago), Mason started complaining of the same symptoms. By Sunday, Mason and Savannah were both running high fevers and coughing like crazy! Monday it was Jaxon's turn. By Thursday it was Jayden, and as of yesterday, Daniel. It's obviously some strain of influenza (swine flu is rampant around here it seems!) so we all stayed quarantined for most of the week. Daniel left for a business trip yesterday and he's feeling terrible. As of today, Mason and Savannah are back to school and doing well, with the exception of that nasty cough. Jaxon is no longer running a fever but he still doesn't seem 100%. And poor little Jayden is just miserable! It seems to be taking each person about a week or so to kick this. I am praying I dont get sick because I need to be able to take care of everyone else.

Savannah also broke out in a terrible rash today. I am watching it overnight to decide if it needs looked at. It's all over her entire body, even her face. She is itching but not running a fever. Im guessing it's some sort of hives, but figure I'll watch it and see.

So here's to health-wherever it may be ;)

Savannah's First Ballroom Competition of the year...

2009-10-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

.....Is blogged on her own blog at http://savannahsaysso.blogspot.com/

She wanted to write about it herself, so check it out, leave her some love and comment away.

Playing Catch up!!!!

2009-10-04T20:20:00.000-07:00

Have I seriously not blogged since August??? What is wrong with me? I guess I will just sum it all up then...

August- Rush Tri- I dont have pics because everyone I know was racing :) But here is how it went. Me, Daniel, Tammy, Torrie, Hidee, Heidi, Debbie, Tracy (tammy's husband), and Lyndi all raced. Lyndi (my SIL) raced as a team and did the swim portion (her first) while the rest of us did the whole thing. Great race. I took 3rd in my division. Had an awesome run on that difficult course. Hidee took 2nd in our division. Tammy took 1st in her division. Lyndi's team took 1st in their division also. It was a blast. Sorry I don't have any pictures.

August- Savannah's birthday- My baby girl turned 6!!! We had family over for a party for her and then had a friend party at Leo's place. She had so much fun! I can't believe my baby girl is getting so big! I'm trying my best to stop it. But in honor of her...

Savannah babe- You are my BFF. I love spending so much time with you. I love our girlie-ness. I love getting Mommy/daughter mani-pedis and shopping our little hearts out. I love doing our hair and accessorizing and watching you dance and flip around the house. You are amazing. You treat everyone else so kindly and are always taking care of someone. You are a light in the lives of everyone who knows you! I love you girl!!!!

September- Bear Lake Brawl- Awesome race! Once again we all raced and almost all of us placed in our divisions, which was amazing. Tammy took 2nd overall (Go CHICKA!). Hidee took 1st in our division, 5th overall. I took 2nd in our division, 6th overall. Daniel took 1st in Clydesdale. Lyndi took 3rd in Athena. Heidi took 1st in Athena. Probably our best standings as a group ever. Good times!

And..I've been crazy busy with my photography business. New blogs and pics up at http://annamariemillerphotography.blogspot.com/. Seriously check it out and leave me some love. No one reads it and comments and I'm feeling somewhat loser-ish ;) I am no longer teaching piano this year but as you can tell, I haven't slowed down. Mason is taking piano from my friend Erica and he is doing very well. I continue to teach Savannah. She is also doing amazing this year. Savannah is also busy with gymnastics and ballroom. She has has first ballroom competition next weekend.

That's the short of it. I'm gonna try to keep up better this month!!!

It's my Berfday :)

2009-08-21T07:49:00.000-07:00

Daniel is hiking. The older 2 are in school. Me and the babes are home.

So what am I gonna do on my berfday:

I'm gonna start off by going to the bathroom-alone.
Im going to tickle the baby's toes and listen to him giggle without rushing onto the next task.
I'm going to have lunch with the best group of friend's I could ask for.
I'm going to pretend Im not in my 30's yet.
I'm going to eat something I shouldn't-bag that- Im gonna eat EVERYTHING I shouldn't- and not feel guilty at all.
I'm going to walk a little slower, because I can.
I'm going to thank my Heavenly Father for a million blessings- big and small- mostly wrapped up in the packages I call friends, family and home.

First day of School!!!

2009-08-20T15:35:00.001-07:00

Today was the first day of school for Mason and Savannah, and a few things have changed since last year. Mason has added a set of spectacles and a tin grin, while Savannah has much less hair :) Mason began fourth grade. I can't believe he only has 2 years left of elementary school! Savannah got her first school lunch today since it was her first day of first grade. She hasn't even turned 6 yet, and she is so small that it's hard to believe she's a big first grader!

They both had a great day and are excited about this new year. Here are a few pictures of the kids on their first day!

Dear Jaxon

2009-08-20T07:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Jax,

Today I was mowing the lawn. You hopped on the riding lawn mower and sat right in front of me, snuggled up close. You helped me turn the wheel, and every so often, turned around to look at me. After a while, you tired of it and asked to "gee opp" "(get off). I lifted you off and you darted across the grass with your cute little run. And then you stopped, turned around again, gave me a million watt smile and waved. It occured to me that you won't remember this day, or this seemingly ordinary moment- but I will.

Love,

Mom

Kids Tri Harder Triathlon 2009

2009-08-14T12:00:00.001-07:00

For the 2nd year in a row, my kids got to participate in the Kids Tri Harder Triathlon. They have such a great time and look forward to it all year. Mason has a pretty laid back attitude about it, just wanting to have a good time, while Savannah is cut-throat and swears she has to train and she has to win. This is typical of their personalities :)

For the kids 7 and under, they swim once across the pool (and can wear life jackets), bike around the block and run through a U shaped course in the parking lot. All is said and done in under 10 minutes. For the kids 8 and older, they do twice that, and no life jackets.

Mason and Savannah getting ready to start

Savannah flexing her muscles. While we were in the locker room getting ready, she said, "I sure hope these people trained!" LOL

Savannah swimming. She was first out of the water. She was booking it for a tiny thing in a life jacket!

On the bike, with her too large helmet falling over her eyes.

And running her little heart out.

Savannah came in very fast and was pretty sure she took first. Indeed, she did and she said, "I won 2 years in a row!" She was thrilled. She is a very competitive spirit.

Mason forgot his goggles so he had to use Savannah's pink ones :) He said pink goggles were better than none!

Here he is in the pool getting ready to start!

And riding his bike.

Running away....

Here is Savannah with her first place ribbon and medal. Mason came in 7th in his category. They both said it was a blast and can't wait to do it again. I am so proud of them for their hard work and great attitudes! You kids rock!

Annual GIRL'S WEEKEND- HOLLA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-08-12T11:58:00.000-07:00

My. Family. Rocks ;) Last year we started a tradition of taking a girl's weekend once a year. We have my G-to-the-Ma, my great Aunt Larry (Hot-Mo), my Mother the...no mom, I'm not gonna put the acronym you googled on your work computer here- my short sister, myself (who may or may not have been called a slightly crazy driver once or twice on the trip), my SIL's Lyndi Lou and the Tash-Meister, along with my daughter Savannah and my nieces Janna, Hannah and Kiana (who said her name had to be pronounced Ki-ANNA just to fit in with the rest of the girls ;). 4 generations of Towanda-filled FUN!

My beautiful niece Janna

And my amazing daughter Savannah

We headed down on Friday morning and hit the Oquirrh (or however you spell that) Mountain Temple open house. It was beautiful! Then we headed straight for the nourishment we all live and die for- Tucano's! Hold on, I feel a short ode to Tucano's coming on....

Tucano's- Oh how I love thy protein-filled gluttony. Muahhh

Back to the blog: Really the rest was all about shopping and swimming...and shopping. Oh and eating, and shopping.

We hit the Shade Warehouse Sale. Nuff said. We spent some time at Gateway mall. We went to Gardner Village. We went to the Children's Place, JC Penney etc and did a lot of school shopping. We went to Salt Lake Running Co (seriously you cannot go to SLC and not go there)....it was fabulous. We taught my little sister how to swim (and I am not ashamed to say she will be outswimming me speed-wise any day now, even though I have years more practice). I became Mt. Vesuvius for a moment in time (and no I will not explain it nor post pictures of what the heck that means...let's just say I apparently have a hidden talent when it comes to jacuzzis- I'm quite entertaining really). And we laughed :) Isn't that the best part? We painted our nails (even G-ma and Great Aunt Hot-Mo) flourescent orange and green. On Sunday we went to Music and the Spoken Word at Temple Square (with our flourescent nails on display for all the world to see), and then we headed home.

This is always so much fun. I love spending time with all the girls (well we were missing a couple and I wish they could have been there!!!! Maybe next year). It makes me so thankful for my fantastic family- for these people who love me for who I am (which is not always so great), who can have a good, juvenile laugh every once in a while, who can smile for a million and one pictures and paint their nails odd colors. Im thankful for my daughter, my partner in shopping crime, for being my BFF. Thanks girls for a fantastic time! I love you!

Spudman 2009

2009-08-04T06:40:00.001-07:00

I am so excited to blog about this :) What an amazing time it was. On July 25th, me and the girls were able to race in SPUDMAN 2009, in Burley, ID. This race is such a popular one that last year, registration (in January no less) filled up in 17 minutes (over 2,000 athletes), so this year, they decided to make it a lottery. Athletes had until April 15th to sign up and then were informed a week or so after that if they had been selected or not. When I got the email, I started jumping up and down and hollaring. My daughter thought it was hilarious. This is the race I most wanted to do the last couple of years but wasn't able to (since I was doing more important, better things, like having beautiful babies!).

Daniel was also selected, as was my friend Debbie. Torrie had an auto entry since she wasnt able to swim last year because of the tragic drowning. However, Tammy and Hidee did not get in, so we were discouraged. We had wanted to race it as a group.

A few weeks after we got our results however, Tammy and Hidee got an email saying there were more spots available and they had been selected! We were so excited that all of us would be able to race!

Daniel decided to sit this one out since he hadn't been training, so us girls headed up on Friday morning. We took Hidee's trailer and parked right on the course with all the other trailers. This was the way to do it, I tell you! We will never drive clear from Twin because that's the only place we could find a hotel-again!

We had a great time on Friday. Ate, got checked in, set up transition one.....

Saturday arrived and we were ready to go! We were all in the same wave except Tammy, who was in the wave starting 10 minutes after us.
Debbie and I heading down to the water.....

And...off we went....

The swim is current aided so it's fast and fun! It went rather smoothly except that I thought my timing chip was coming off, so I stopped moving my legs, trying desperately to keep it on. However, in a wetsuit, I dont feel like it slowed me down all that much. I did the 1 mile swim in 19:43. When I got out of the water (I always expect to be last out of the water of our group since I am the slowest swimmer), I was surprised to see everyone else still in transition, meaning I wasn't as far behind them as usual :) I had a relatively smooth transition and off I went....

Coming out of T1 and heading into the bike....

About mile 4 of the bike, I caught Torrie (I could see her thanks to our matching shirts. I just looked for the pink circle on the back and knew it was my girls!). About mile 14 I caught Debbie. The bike was going well and I think we all felt good about how well we did. It was a 25 mile bike. I finished the bike in 1:15. I got into transition and Debbie and Torrie were right behind me. I handed off some chewies to Debbie, changed out of my clips and into my running shoes and took off....

Me going into the run.....

By the time we hit the run. IT. WAS. HOT. We don't usually train in the heat since we have to go early morning. I have also been dealing with the knee injury and had not been able to run really in 5 weeks or so. The times I had attemtped to run, it had been really painful and I hadnt made it very far. I had (and still have been) doing physical therapy 3 times a week for it. I was still hoping to do a really good time on the run. But with the heat, my exhaustion by the time I got to the run, and the knee, I wasn't moving as fast as I would have liked. That's the bad news. The good news is apparently everyone else was in the same boat, and as usual the run is where I really made some progress and started passing so many people. About 2 miles into the run, I spotted Hidee's back. I didnt actually think I would even see her. She is a much faster swimmer and a faster biker than I am, so I figured she would be so far ahead of me that I wouldn't even see her. She was the only one I hadn't caught up to yet. It's always so fun to race with your friends and it was awesome to be able to spot them-loved those shirts! I caught up with Hidee about mile 4. That's about the same time I wanted to die ;) It was so hot. And I was so slow-or so it felt! But I kept on movin' along for all 6.2 miles. My goal was to finish the race in under 2:40 and when I crossed the finish line, I came in at 2:34:30! I was thrilled with that time. My knee held up surprisingly well! I'm not sure what did the trick but it was better than it had been for a couple of months!

Me crossing the finish line.... I was in wave 5 so that time is off by 40 minutes.

It was just 2 minutes before Hidee came through and finished in about 2:36.

Here we are sweaty and dying of heat. Then we waited for everyone else to finish. Tammy actually came through just 10 minutes after I did (and she started 10 minutes later) meaning her time and my time were almost identical, even though we didnt race together. When all was said and done, she came in just 2 seconds after I did! Crazy that we were that close and didnt even know it since we didnt start together!

Debbie came in just after that, and Torrie just a few minutes later. We all beat our goal times by quite a bit.

The husbands (except Daniel) had come up late the night before to cheer everyone on and they were kind enough to take lots of pictures.

Here we are in the outdoor shower. I seriously cannot explain just how good this felt. We were totally overheated, sweaty, stinky and covered in all sorts of bodily fluids. I don't think anything has ever felt this good- ever.

And here we are showing off our....matching circles on our backs :)

The whole crew- Torrie, Debbie, Hidee, Me, and Tammy

I had an incredible time! I am so thankful for my girls! Training with them every day is a blast! Racing with them is even more fun! They are a light in my life and I feel so grateful to have this group of women as friends and training buddies! Don't know what I would do without them!

I honestly can't wait for Spudman next year. It's an amazing race! I hope we all get in once again so we can do this at least one more time!!!! Thanks Team We Tri! I love ya!

Jayden's cake smash

2009-07-08T14:06:00.000-07:00

These photos are from Jayden's first birthday. We did a cake smash. He had no qualms (unlike Savannah when she turned 1) about getting in there and getting dirty. The trickiest part was getting Jaxon to stay out of the photos, and the cake. He kept saying, "Jayden steal my cake!" It really was a fun thing to shoot. I can't believe my baby is already 1!

San Rafael Classic Triathlon- June 20th 2009

2009-06-30T11:23:00.001-07:00

First of all, I would like to apologize for the idiocy that is Blogger. I cannot scroll my photos or reorder them (although I used to be able to, it no longer works for me). My photos also randomly disappear after I spent all the time uploading them. So these photos are not in order and make no sense. However, I have spent the better part of 2 days trying to get it to work the way is always has in the past, to no avail. I give up.

Me at the finish line (as you can see, this photo should go at the end...)

Getting on my bike (and this photo should go with the part of the blog that talks about that)

After the race...

Shopping at Gateway.

I have been a busy little racing bee as of late.... On June 20th, I had another triathlon. This one was in Huntington, UT, the town I grew up in. I lived there until I was 16 and that's when my family moved to Idaho. I have only been back a handful of times and this seemed like a good opportunity.

None of my training buddies could make it but lucky for me, a couple of awesome friends agreed to go with me and make a girl's weekend of it. Thanks Sandi and Lisa! You guys were a blast.

We headed out on Friday morning. We stopped to potty 100 times or so (thank you hydration), and made our way to SLC. The only thing I could think about the whole way was getting a pair of tri shorts that I desperately needed. I bought a pair, fell hopelessly in love with them, and lost them in one fell swoop. The truth is, I knew I couldn't live without them, so deep was my affection.... So we went to the Salt Lake Running Company and thankfully they had some left. I checked the hangers and found the 2nd pair to be mediums. I was thrilled and all was right with the world.

Then we went to eat at Tucanos. Tucano's is my faaavorite place. We had fun. See below.

Then we did a little shopping. Well, we didn't actually shop. We just walked through stores and let our jaws hit the floor that acid washed jeans in teal and purple, with bows and zippers are on the shelves once again. Wow for realizing I'm old.

After that, we headed to Huntington and got checked into the race and into our hotel. Right before bed, I tried on my new shorts and *GASP* they were the wrong size! I was soooo mad! I had checked the hanger several times but not the tag! After I stopped fuming I decided nothing could be done about it so just go to sleep and relax.

I had a much better race this time around. My swim went as it always does. Slowly but surely ;) I came in just above the middle of the pack. My T1 went much better than last time and I took 2.5 minutes (still not great but much better than Salem Spring!). The bike portion went well. It was a 7.5 mile climb and then turnaround and descend for a total of 15 miles. I came in 3rd on the bike portion at 55:01. T2 took me 53 seconds which was close to the top. The run is where I always know I can make up some time from being such a slow swimmer :) I gave it everything I had and came in 1st on the run with a time of 22:47. My overall time was 1:43:56.

Overall, I took 2nd place by 6 seconds (argh!) and first in my division. I would have loved to take that title but I know I gave it all I had and I can't be too upset with that. It was a very small race (hence my doing so well ;) but I enjoyed it and hope I can squeeze it in again next year.

On the way back, we ate at Cafe Rio, and stopped at the Salt Lake Running Company again, where the nice man happily exchanged my worn shorts for the right size. And once again, all was right with the world.

I had a wonderful time with the girls and a great race. Couldn't have been better! Except if blogger would let me type a cohesive blog with pictures and all, that is...

A few more family pics

2009-06-30T07:49:00.001-07:00

So I was having serious uploading issues yesterday when I posted the first blog and couldn't get all the pics on there. And when I try to edit, half of what I have uploaded disappears. So rather than fix the original blog- over and over- I figured I would just add these babies to a new one.

Thanks to April Farnsworth of April F Photography who took these for us.

Family pics May 2009

2009-06-29T17:10:00.000-07:00

This Week's Fave's- Kiddie Style

2009-06-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

As I was cleaning my house, I was thinking about each of my kids and how seriously awesome they are. I decided to do a blog about my favorite thing this week about each of them.

Mason- This week I have noticed so much how Mason loves his little brother Jaxon and how good he is to him. Sometimes when I go to put Jax down for a nap, Mason will say, "Nooo! I want him to stay up!" It warms my heart that he loves spending time with Jaxon so much. He thinks Jaxon is the funniest person in our family (he's right).

Savannah- This week, Savannah has been the most incredible helper! She is volunteering to do all sorts of work, and doing such a great job! When someone else complains, "I dont want to...", I keep hearing her say, "I'll do it!" and jump right in. From wiping off counters to folding laundry to helping with the babies, she has been such a great help. She also told me this week that she loves organizing! She has been helping my organize my scrapbook room and has been going through her own drawers and closet and organizing them just right. Such a sweet little girl!

Jaxon- Jaxon has been learning all sorts of new words and phrases this week. His favorites right now are "couple times" and "few minutes" although he says, "Cupa tibes" and "Bew minutes". He puts those on the end of almost every other phrase. "I take out Murphy cupa tibes!", "I eat dinner bew minutes." It's so cute. He also yells out the names of letters as he watches Super Why. So cute! He is such a fun little boy!

Jayden- Jayden has learned several new tricks this week. He shakes his head, blows raspberries, and claps his hands. Clapping is his favorite and if you try to get him to do one of the others, he will usually clap instead :) If you say, "YAY!" he will start clapping and he is so proud of himself! I love watching all the things he is learning.

I feel so blessed to have my 4 amazing children. Every day I get to spend with them is wonderful. While I have many enjoyable things in my life, nothing compares to the joy of being a mommy!

Salem Spring Triathlon- May 30th 2009

2009-06-03T08:16:00.000-07:00

Finally, it is that time of year again- race season- YAY!

We had our first triathlon of the season this past weekend, and it was a blast! Daniel, myself, Tammy, Hidee and Torrie all traveled to Payson, UT for the Salem Spring Triathlon. This was my first time doing the race (although my friends have done it before) because prior to this year, I kept gettin' pregnant before it ;)

Last year, I vividly remember when all the girls headed out for this race. I was 8 months pregnant and I dreamed that I decided I was doing to do the race anyway. I was out there running in all my pregnant glory, thinking it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be! lol...

Anyway, so back to this year...we got down there the night before and decided to brave the water. We didn't have open water up here yet. The week before, we took our wetsuits to our gym and swam in the outdoor, unheated pool. Oh. My. HECK!!! It was sooo cold and miserable! That's what we were expecting when we got to Salem, but lucky for us, the water was beautiful! We swam justa bit the night before to get used to it.

The next morning, it was race time. The weather was perfect! It was warm, but not too hot and not windy. Storm clouds were threatening but they held off until after the race.

Now to the race- the swim portion was about like I thought it would be. I'm pretty slow. I got stuck behind someone frog leggin' it and couldn't get around her. I don't know what was more pathetic- that she was frog leggin' it the whole time or that me, freestylin', was behind her ;) But anyway, it went fine and I finished in about 18 minutes, which is pretty much what I expected to do it in.

On to T1. This is where my problems began. You don't care to hear what the heck I was doing spending 4 1/2 minutes in T1 when most people were out in 2. All that matters is that I was doing a whole bunch of things I should know better than by now! I wasted a bunch of time I needed since I came out of the water already behind. Phooey.

On to the bike. The bike was a really fun course (minus the potholes). Lots of ups and downs. My only problem was since I came out of the water slow, I was behind some slow people. It's a narrow course which makes passing difficult. But all that aside, I really did like the course and rode it in about 46 minutes, which is a respectable time, although nothing amazing.

Then came T2, where all the problems I left at T1 picked right back up and took off. I had it in my head that I wanted to run with my MP3 player, but my MP3 player was having issues and I spent an eternity messing with it, to no avail. So off I went without it only to have the best run I've ever had in a triathlon, without it! Note to self: Don't waste the time in transtion fussing with an MP3 player you don't need anyway.

I completed the run in just over 25 minutes, which was a really great time. I was beyond thrilled with that time, coming after jello legs from the bike.

All in all, I came in just above the middle of the pack, and I can see that had I been smarter about my transitions, I actually would have had a really good race. So lessons learned. But I had a blast and can't wait to do this race again next year.

Dan raced also. He chose to race Clydesdale which is with the men over 200 lbs, instead of with his age group. Dan had a really good swim, coming in just under 15 minutes. Dan biked the course in about 48 minutes and rain it in just over 28. His transtions were far better than mine. We finished in close to the same time. Dan swam faster, I biked and ran faster, but since he had better transitions, he came in a minute or so faster than I did and came in 15th in the Clydesdale division.

All my friends had a good race also and we had a realy enjoyable weekend. What race would be complete without a little shopping and some really horrifically unhealthy food? ;)

Next up I have a 10K race on the 20th of June and then an Olympic distance triathlon- SPUDMAN- July 25th!

Torrie Miller, Hidee Beddes, me and Tammy Mobley before the race.

Daniel and I before the race.

Me running, waving to Jason, Torrie's husband, who was kind enough to take pics for all of us.

Stinky, sweaty me and the beefcake after the race ;)

Ode to a little sister

2009-05-17T16:58:00.000-07:00

I recently had the chance to take my little sister, Miriam's family pics. I was editing them and ready to post a few to my photography blog when I decided I had other plans (you can see the pics of my beautiful sis and her beautiful family at http://annamariemillerphotography.blogspot.com/).

Miriam was born when I was 23 months old. I dont remember that ;) What I do remember however, is cutting off the hair of her brand new Barbie, and telling her it had cancer. My mom made me give her my new Barbie.

I remember being such a smart cookie. No really. I decided I wanted to carve something, as all children do, into the dresser. And as any smart child knows, you DO NOT carve your own name. So I carved Miriam's name into the dresser. My parent's came a yellin' soon enough. She insisted she didn't do it. Of course, they didn't believe her. I remember them saying, "Oh really? I'm sure it was Anna who carved YOUR name into the dresser" And she received her punishment.

I remember (in spite of what I have told you thus far) being a timid child, while Miriam, was....not. And thus began the pattern of me daring Miriam to do anything I didn't dare do. That way, if it turned out badly, I would know before I was the one in over my head.

Case in point: One day we went out to the Huntington Lake. We went in the back side where there was a rope swing. I was not the rope swing, type. Miriam, on the other hand....so like any chicken big sister who wished she were a little more daring, I said, "You go first, you're the brave one!" Never one to turn down a dare, off she went flying through the air and into the...barely inches deep water. One or two hollars later, we were carrying her out of the water and out of the park. Yup, foot was broken.

I remember many fights about her taking and wearing my clothes. I clearly remember the day my father told me, "Someday she will be your best friend." I just as clearly remember rolling my eyes thinking my dad was a complete idiot if he thought she and I would be friends.

I remember teasing her ceaselessly about how the boob fairy skipped over her and visited me twice. Oh wait, I still tease her about that. The height fairy did the same thing.

I remember one small bathroom and 3 teenage girls. And I vivdly remember 1 small bathroom and three teenage girls - with PMS!

Don't let me make it sound like I was a trouble maker and poor Miriam was the victim. I assure you, Miriam could hold her own! One birthday, I got given a *songs from heaven* Tetherball! I was so excited. We headed up to the park with the whole family to play. Somehow Miriam got hold of it and was holding it over her head, threatening to throw it as hard as she could, just because she wanted to (it wasn't attached to the pole at the time). I very calmly said to her, "If you throw that, I will hit you as hard as I can." She threw it. I hit her has hard as I could. My parents watched the whole thing play out and told her, "She told you...." The only time I ever hit anyone.... And Miriam did get her hands on a knife or two in her day. You'll have to ask Rachel about that one....

I remember when one day my dad was right. All of the sudden, she was my best friend. All of the sudden, I didnt care if she borrowed my clothes. In fact, we readily enjoyed sharing each other's wardrobes (as much as the 6 inche height difference would allow that is!), talking late into the night about boys, kissing, clothes and girlfriends.

So here is my ode to my little sister. Miriam, I love you! I am so thankful I have you as my little sister. I cherish every memory we made growing up, even the ones that caused you broken bones and trips to the ER :) Stay beautiful, inside and out, as you always have. You are amazing.

Love, your big sis.

P.S. Rachel, I haven't forgotten you babe...that's for another day ;)

A week of Dancing...

2009-05-04T07:58:00.000-07:00

Wow. We survived last week! Amazing. Oh, and for those of you who don't remember me, I am AnnaMarie and I used to blog ;)

Anyway, last week was insane. Monday, Savannah had gymnastics, as well as rehearsal for her ballet/jazz finale. Tuesday at noon, I had my rehearsal at the Civic Auditorium for my ballroom performance. Tuesday at 4, Savannah, Mason and I all had our dress rehearsal for the year end ballroom concert. We finished up with that about 10:00pm. Wednesday evening was our performance. First of all, let me just say that Staci puts on an awesome program and it was amazing!

Savannah performed first. Her mini's class did 2 numbers. The first one was "Wishin' and Hopin'" and was so cute. Then they did their "Who let the Frogs out?" cha cha, which she loves. They were adorable! Sorry for the upcoming photos that are so small. My FTP is down and I can't get to the full size files (I will replace them when my FTP is back up) so this is all I have!

Mason performed a little later on. They did their "Lollipop" cha cha and their "Shake your Groove Thing" disco. That one is so hilarious!

I performed later on....eek. Anyway, we did a cha cha/samba/jive medley to Mama Mia and had a great time. We started off wearing robes and each doing some sort of household chore. I was sweeping. Then we moved to the side of the stage and took off our robes (yeah, I stripped on stage, for the record ;) and dropped our props. Then we did our dance. At the end, we all fell on the stage in exhaustion as the lights went down. When the lights came back up, we were still laying there. The announcer said, 'Ladies? Ladies?" and then they made the boys come pull us off the stage ;) Aren't we funny hehe...

The entire program was so great! My kids have both loved being a part of it this year and they cant' wait for tryouts next week to see which team they will be on next year.

Thursday night was Savannah's dress rehearsal for her ballet/jazz recital for Dance Unlimited. Friday night, Mason had a performance at the church for a ward party. He did both of his dances and did a great job.

Saturday night was Savannah's year end recital for Dance Unlimited. She performed "I'll be there" ballet number, and "Popsicle" jazz number, as well as a little cha cha number at the end with the boys hip hop class. She did so great! Afterwards, after she chastized me for not buying her flowers (telling me, "fine, I'll just get made fun of then"), we went out to eat with her best friends, Maycie and Taylie, and their family. We had a great time together!

I am so proud of both of them for the job they did! While it was exhausting, it was a fun week and they did amazing!

Entertainment by Mason

2009-03-31T18:34:00.000-07:00

We are making cupcakes. Mason is in charge, Im just helping out where needed. He gets out the cup for the 1/3 cup oil and I fill it.

Mason: "This looks like important stuff. Oh yeah, it is because oil, gas and coal are non-renewable!"

Project Remodel: The Half-way Point

2009-03-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

I finally have some updated pictures to show of the progress on our remodel project! We still have a ways to go but this is where things stand:

The Kitchen and Dining Room

Before:

In the process:

Now:

What's been Done:

Tore out vinyl flooring in kitchen and carpet in dining room and replaced with hand-scraped walnut, sand and finish flooring.

Replaced white appliances (except the oven-still working on that one) with stainless steel appliances. Went from my tiny 16 cu.ft fridge to a 25 cu.ft side by side.

What's left: Not much. Some cosmetic updates to the cabinets, but everything else is pretty well staying for now. Can't do it all....

The Master Bathroom

Before:

Now:

What's been done:

Tore out vinyl flooring and replaced with travertine.

Built out and framed in larger tub.

Covered tub with travertine.

Installed backsplash of tumbled travertine stone and glass insets.

Replaced formica countertops with black granite.

Replaced old white sink with new biscuit colored sink.

Replaced old silver faucet with oil-rubbed bronze Moen faucet.

What's Still left: Refinishing cabinets and repainting, replacing tub faucet, replacing all silver/gold hardware with oil rubbed bronze (towel racks, toilet paper holder, light fixture, hand towel holder....)

Okay people, I'm out of time so I will put the other updates on tomorrow or so. I have pictures of the other bathroom, the entryway, and Savannah's new room as well! At least I got something posted ;)

So much....

2009-02-26T09:00:00.000-08:00

yeah I swear I have a million blogs I need to do but Im too busy. So I will get to the fun ones as soon as I can, and in the meantime, here is life in a nutshell.

- Mason and Savannah had another ballroom performance of which I have video, as soon as the hubbs rips it off the CD. Mason has a ballroom competition this weekend so you can watch for that one too.

-I am all registered for my first triathlon of the season- Salem Springs, on May 30th. Better get busy.

- Back has healed well and I am once again able to run, and have started running outdoors when I can.

-Loving my ballroom class but I kid not when I say I look like I'm doing the pee pee dance when I do the samba. It's sad really.

- The remodel is moving along. The hardwood has been done for a while. The tile in the entryway and both bathrooms starts on Monday. Savannah's new room had the window cut in and trimmed out, the closet framed, drywalled, taped and textured etc. The trim/wainscoting starts on that today. Carpet can go in as soon as the tile is done. Except that I haven't ordered it yet. And much painting has yet to be done.

-Jaxon is talking up a storm and keeps the whole family laughing. He was making the baby laugh today on purpose, which was endless entertainment for me.

-Jayden is 8 months and trying to crawl, although he moves backwards more than forward. He's getting it. He is growing so much so he's sleeping and eating a ton.

- We did another FHE with a fun project that I need to blog about as well. I'll try, I'll try.

- Kids did another ski lesson and they love it. We've been wanting to take them again but have had other commitments, so maybe next week? maybe? I dunno.

That's about it I think. I'll try to catch up on the other things. I promise.

What have I done?

2009-02-20T07:43:00.001-08:00

What too much mom time will do to even the boy-est little boys:

I am taking a ballroom class (that's a whole 'nother blog I tell ya!) and this morning I was googling latin shoes.

Jaxon walks up, looks at the screen and says, "Cooooot soooooos mom! (cute shoes mom!)"

Headline: Sneaking, conniving mother plans FHE with ulterior motives

2009-02-11T15:21:00.000-08:00

Okay I admit it. I am always trying to figure out how in the heck to get my kids to do what I want-namely, PICK UP AFTER THEMSELVES! I swear I have tried everything! There are 6 people in this house and 1 who knows that things really do have a home ;)

So I've been stressing it a little. It seems like no matter how hard I work, I'm barely treading water. It gets old. I feel like with as hard as I work, I should be more organized, but things just weren't falling together.

So I picked up a book about organization at Deseret Book the other day. I decided I would go through 1 idea at a time and implement it and see if it could help me figure out how to work smarter since I'm working plenty hard already (not that you would know it).

One of the first ideas was how to help kids get in the habit of picking things up as they walk by them, without being asked. So I took the idea and planned a family home evening around it.

First I went to Broulim's and bought some Mason jars (which Mason thought was awesome). I pulled out scrapbook paper, Elmer's glue, ribbon, scissors etc. I also bought the brightly colored straws from the store. The kids and I cut strips out of the scrapbook papers, glued them around the mason jars, and decorated them up. I made name strips for the jars and tied them around the tops. Then I made a third jar. I took all the straws and cut them off just before the bendy part, and filled the jar with them. After all the deco was done, I explained to the kids what they were for and how it works.

In the middle jar are the straws. On either side is one of the kids jars (empty). Each time they pick up something that is NOT their own, without being asked, they come tell me. I let them pick a straw to take out of the middle jar and put into their jar. We set up a cupboard top in the kitchen where they sit, along with a sign that says Mommy's Helping Hands, some handprints, and the prize list. The kids are able to trade in their straws for prizes off the prize list. For example, 5 straws buys a treat, 50 straws and you can get your nails painted, 100 straws gets you a Webkinz, while 200 straws gets you a night out with mom or dad.

The kids think this is the BEST THING EVER! They are running around my house, still, looking for anything that is out of place and putting it away! We also told them that if I pick up anything of theirs, I get to take a straw away. If Mason picks up something of Savannah's, he can take a straw from her jar and put it in his and vice versa. This helped them to not just leave everything out and let the other person pick it up (since they don't get straws for putting away their own stuff-they should do that anyway!).

Mason rushes home from school asking if he can earn straws. They count them up and see how many more they need for the prize they want. Yesterday he came home and said, "Mom, I was telling ____ about the straw thing and he said, 'No fair! You have a fun mom!" The kids think I came up with the best game ever, and I get a cleaner house with less effort on my part (read some help for once ;)! It's a win win. I would call this one a success.

Each week, I plan to do some sort of organizational/motivational idea with them at FHE. But for this week at least, there are no longer all sorts of random items laying around my house at any given time.

Ski/Snowboard Lessons

2009-02-09T20:15:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, Daniel and I went skiing with some of his coworkers. It was the first time either of us had been in years, and yes, we do live 20 minutes away from a ski resort. What a shame. Anyhoo...we had so much fun that I decided it was time to sign the kids up for lessons. We are an active family and we love to be outdoors in the summer, but winter comes around and we just don't get out as much as we ought to. You just can't live in Idaho and not learn to enjoy winter. Winter is 9 months long ;)

Mason decided he wanted to snowboard and Savannah wanted to ski. Neither Dan or I had boarded before but Dan decided to rent a board so he could snowboard with Mason and I would ski with Savannah after her lessons.

We all had so much fun! I was slightly worried about Mason because I know snowboarding can be kind of difficult and he tends to get easily discouraged. I stayed with Savannah as she skiied with her instructor and didn't see Mason until after his lesson. He did fantastic! And he loved it!

We spent the rest of the evening there after their lessons ended. Dan and Mason went up and down the mountain all night. Savannah wasn't ready to do the hill without her instructor (although she did go up twice with him) so she and I stayed on the bunny hill where I helped her get used to the tow rope and work on her turns.

The kids fell in love and begged to go back again soon, so we plan to go up again this weekend. It was well worth the cost to put them in lessons rather than trying to teach them ourselves.

And I, for one, am thrilled to have another outdoor activity that we can do together as family.

Aaaaawesome erk- out

2009-02-08T17:50:00.000-08:00

You never know what your kids are going to pick up when they are watching you!

It's no secret that we like to live a pretty active lifestyle around here :) This weekend, I wasn't able to make it to the gym, so I got out Jillian Michael's 30 day shred, the hand weights, my pink yoga mat, and got to work. Mason decided to do the workout with me which was fun.

After we finished, my equipment was not yet put away, and Jaxon came downstairs. He laid on his back, picked up the 3 lb hand weights that Mason was using, started to lift them and said, "I erk-out! I erk-out!" It was so cute. And then, as if imitating my complaints as I followed Jillian's commands, Jaxon said, "Oooooouuuuuch!!!! Oooouuuuch!" as he lifted the weights above his head. He did that a few times and then put the weights down and said, 'Awesome erk-out!!!"

Jayden- 7 month pics and stats

2009-02-05T08:33:00.001-08:00

Jayden had his 6 months visit a month late :) Here is the rundown.

Jayden weighs 19 lbs 11 oz.
He is 28 3/4 inches long.
His head is 18 1/2 inches

He is in the 61% in weight
He is in the 91% in height (that's a Miller for you)

He had an ear infection, a cold, 2 teeth breaking through and a fever of 101.7 when I took him in. No immunizations for him that day! They called in some antibiotics and I have to take him back in a week to get his shots.

There you have it, Jayden in a nutshell :)

The easiest pop quiz ever

2009-02-03T08:01:00.000-08:00

Question #1- Which Miller family member brought home a dog without clearing it with another Miller family member (who will end up being the one that takes care of said dog all the time) beforehand?

Question #2- Which other Miller family member, in typical fashion, just went with it instead of setting a very uncharacteristic boundary?

Question #3- Which family member carries the dog around like a baby, wants to sleep with the dog and won't leave the house without first giving the dog a hug, a kiss, and telling him he is loved? Hint: It's the same family member that wants to take him on a shopping spree.

Question #4- Which Miller family member is currently having a power struggle with the dog because he keeps stealing the dog's toys, and laughing as the dog barks at him. After this, the dog chases this family member around the house for a good 10 minutes or so just barking at him to let him know he's still mad, even though the aforementioned Miller is no longer doing anything (but still finds it funny)? Hint: They also chase each other in circles, over and over again, with one laughing an evil laugh while the other barks up a storm.

Cross your fingers that he is as well behaved as I'm told he is. I swore, never again.....

Sometimes my kids are funny. Sometimes they are just plain weird.

2009-01-29T15:28:00.000-08:00

Jaxon wakes up from his nap, and has a poopy diaper.

Savannah: "Mom, can I change Jaxon's diaper?"
Mom: "Sure."
Savannah: " I can't wait to see his poop!"
Mom: "WHAT? You want to see his poop?"
Savannah: "Yeah, it's COOL!"
Mom: "You like to look at poop? Okay. "
Savannah: "Pew! That is stinky. It's exciting but stinky."

How bad does Savannah want a little sister?

2009-01-25T20:10:00.000-08:00

This bad.

January

2009-01-24T14:39:00.000-08:00

California Vacay- Part Deux- Day 1 of fun

2009-01-22T09:59:00.001-08:00

We arrived in California and checked into the Portofino Inn and Suites (for anyone looking at a Cali vacation, we were able to get the large suite, with 2 beds, as well as bunk beds, for $78 a night and it's right next to Disneyland). The kids were excited that there were bunk beds. Remember when that's all it took to make your day?

The next morning we headed to Magic Mountain. So. Dang. Fun! I know you really don't care to hear all the details of each ride, but basically, Mason was the only child tall enough to go on all the rides (but there were some the first day he didn't dare go on, but the second day, that boy took 'em ALL!), so when we headed for rides to big for the little ones, one of the 4 adults (or 2) would take the kids for a while and let the others ride away while they took the kids to the kiddie rides. It worked out so well. And thanks to the time of year, there were NO- read that again- NO lines! Quite often they would just let us re-ride. Kiana, my niece, was the bravest of all! She is 8, and this tiny little thing but she loooooved all the roller coasters. She was furious about the ones she couldn't go on! It was amazing :) The weather was in the high 60's, so we did wear coats most of the time but with jackets on, we weren't cold at all. In the afternoon, we really didnt even need jackets.

Mason's Exciting Night

2009-01-21T20:26:00.001-08:00

I will let him tell the story. Check out his blog at http://theworldofmason.blogspot.com/. He loves getting comments, or new followers, of course *shameless plug* so go find out what he is so excited about and leave him some luv!

California Vacay- Getting there

2009-01-19T09:29:00.001-08:00

I'm sorry I haven't yet blogged about our trip. I have been sorting through the photos and it's taking me a while :) So I thought I would blog it a little bit at a time.

Day 1: Everything was packed and ready to go. We dropped the baby boys off at my Mom's house and drove to Pocatello where we met up with my sister, Miriam and her family. We moved everything over into their van and headed to Vegas baby!The kids were great on the long, 10 hr (ish) drive. We had 3 laptops, a DVD player, and webkinz for them to play. They were so happy to see each other that we had no issues with them at all.

We got into Vegas very late, checked into the Stratosphere, and wandered around town a bit. We went to the Bellagio and let the kids see the fountains, and hit a few other places while we were out and about. The next morning, we got up, took the kids to see several more places. They thought it was very neat, and learned quickly about "don't look!" at just about everything on the strip :) Savannah would say, "Don't look at that huh mommy? Don't look at the naked bum" Eek! I'm from Rigby. When we see buses passing by, it's school children, not something you wouldn't even want your school children to know exists.

Savannah, Dan, Me, Mason, Jeremy, Kiana, Miriam and Keegan

I was so happy that I was able to meet up with my friend Heather for lunch while we were there. We ate at the Rainforest Cafe. The kids loved it, and I loved getting some time with Heather!

On the way out of town, we stopped at the Silverton where they have the Mermaid Aquarium. The girls thought it was the most amazing thing ever! I think they liked that more than anything else in Vegas.

I am a Nine

2009-01-18T21:16:00.000-08:00

My friend Carrie posted this on her blog, so I gave it a shot. Hit the nail on the head. This is me to a T.

You Are 9: The Peacemaker

You are emotionally stable and willing to find common ground with others.

Your friends and family often look to you to be the mediator when there is conflict.

You are easy going and accepting. You take things as they come.

Avoiding conflict at all costs, you're content when things are calm.

At Your Best: You feel connected, trusting, and fulfilled. You feel at peace with your place in the world.

At Your Worst: You compromise your values to make sure peace is maintained. You give in to bullies.

Your Fixation: Harmony

Your Primary Fear: Causing conflict

Your Primary Desire: To preserve things as they are

Other Number 9's: Marge Simpson, Ronald Reagan, Audrey Hepburn, Jerry Seinfeld, and Abraham Lincoln.

What Number Are You?

And another deal for ya...

2009-01-16T12:41:00.000-08:00

After finishing up the aforementioned girl shopping *HOLLA*, I was wishing I could do the same for my boys. Turns out, I can :) Some of you know this (Tatiana, I finished my purchase and came on here to blog about it and saw your comment, so you and I are on the same page today!), but Old Navy also has a coupon code for an additional 50% off. The code is EXTRA50. I got $259 of stuff for $66. So check that one out as well, if you wish. I'm feeling goooood that it's January and Im nearly done with next Fall's school shopping! Heads up that the site is running VERY slow due to the traffic, so be patient.

AWESOME deal on little girl's clothes

2009-01-15T22:54:00.000-08:00

For those of you with girls sizes 6-18.

Limited Too (which is now Justice) is having a great sale, and there is also a 50% off coupon code. You can use the code on clearance merchandise, including clothes, accessories and even Webkinz. I just did a lot of Savannah's school shopping for next year this way. I love their stuff but it's usually so expensive that we don't buy much there.

I got- brace yourselves.....

$857.46 retail price of merchandise for.....

wait for it......

$153!!!!!! YAAAAAAYYYY!

Here are a few of the things I got, and then you get the code :)

Retail price: $99.50

Sale Price: $39.99

After Code: $19.99

Retail Price: $24.50

Sale Price: $8.99

After Code: $4.50

Retail Price: $39.50

Sale Price: $19.99

After Code: $9.99

Retail Price: $46.50

Sale Price: $19.99

After Code: $9.99

Retail Price: $29.50

Sale Price: $12.99

After Code: $6.50

Retail Price: $59.50

Sale Price: $29.99

After Code: $14.99

Retail Price: $29.50

Sale Price: $11.99

After Code: $5.99

Retail Price: $36.50

Sale Price: $19.99

After Code: $9.99

Retail Price: $28.50

Sale Price: $13.99

After Code: $6.99

Retail Price: $22.50

Sale Price: $13.99

After Code: $6.99

Retail Price: $28.50

Sale Price: $14.99

After Code: $7.50

Retail Price: $46.50

Sale Price: $19.99

After Code: $9.99

I also got a some basic shirts, henleys, a dress, a headband, a couple of Webkinz.... Anyway, very good deals, lots of selection, and such cute clothes! A lot of them only have a few sizes left, so I would hurry. I wasn't able to get some of the things I wanted since they were out of Savannah's size.

So here is what you do:

Go to http://www.shopjustice.com/

Click on sale/clearance

Click on the left hand side on clearance (the sale stuff is listed first, clearance under that)

Select the category you want, buy whatever you want. At the end, enter coupon code 649, and it will take 50% off your purchase. That's it! So go ahead and get a head start on your school shopping and save yourself some moolah!

When you're own voice comes out of your children's mouths

2009-01-01T07:43:00.000-08:00

How often do your kids say something and you swear it was you speaking? My daughter probably does it the most, but Mason does it often as well. Usually I get a good chuckle. And occasionally, I get a glimpse into how it must sound to listen to me all day :)

Yesterday, I was getting gas at the gas station, and Savannah was with me. We were sitting the car waiting for it to fill up when a guy started to back up and he got kinda close to the front of my car. I mumbled something under my breath, and Savannah looks at the guy backing up and says, "DUDE! SERIOUSLY!" I guess I've said that a time or two ;)

The last time we did this....

2008-12-30T11:58:00.001-08:00

Daniel and I are taking the older 2 kids to Disneyland etc for 10 days. We are leaving on Friday and we are all so excited. We took them just over a year ago, in October, for the first time, and since we are going again, I couldn't help but be reminded of something unusual that happened the last time we went, so I figured, "Hey, why not blog about it?"

So October of 2006 rolled around. We decided to take the kids to Disneyland as a surprise for Mason's 8th birthday. We had our airline tickets, the secret was still intact, and I was packing our suitcases to leave.

As a female, I am so lucky as to have to think, when packing, about what time of the month it is, and whether I will need certain female items while on said trip (there is a point to this, I'm not just throwing that wicked mental picture out there for my health). I got to thinking about it, trying to remember when the last one was.....hmmmmm...let's see, it was when my brother Paul and Kristin got married...that was.......calendar.....5 weeks ago. WHAT???? Wait a second. 5 weeks? For me, that's like 6 years. 5 weeks is unheard of. Hmmmm....for most people, that would be a pretty sure sign that something was up, right? But for me, not so much. Most people who know me know that Mason, Savannah, and Jaxon were all fertility babies. So wondering if I am pregnant was not something I had ever had to do. I know when I'm pregnant. It happens after a lot of doctor visits, a lot of pill taking, a lot of shots, a lot of worrying and hoping, a lot of disappointment and expense. What it doesn't do is just happen. Weird. Well, I knew I didnt want to take a trip to the coast, wondering what was going on. So I decided it would be best to buy a test. I didn't tell Dan anything about it. I knew from past experience that it would be a complete miracle if I was. I also knew that with Jaxon being only 9 months old, Daniel would be more than a bit freaked out. So there was no reason to worry him over nothing.

I went to the store and bought 2 tests. I took one the morning before we left. Negative, just like I thought. No reason to even mention that scare to Dan at all. I was strangely disappointed, but I wasn't sure why. I told myself I knew before I ever took the test that it would be negative. I can't tell you how many times in 10 years I had a negative pregnancy test. So I went ahead and packed my female items, and off we went on our trip.

The flight went rather smoothly. Except for one thing. For some reason, my stomach felt very unsettled. Flying doesn't usually affect me that way. But I was nauseated not only on the flight, but right after we landed as well. Reaaaaallly nauseated. Odd.

A couple of days into our vacation, we decided to go swimming. I put on my swimsuit and immediately started complaining to Daniel. "Look at me! I must be retaining 10 pounds of water! I know I haven't gained any weight but look at my stomach! It's huge!" Since I was over a week late, I figured I was just having major PMS. I didnt even want to go out in my swimsuit looking like that, but I bit the bullet and just hoped that extreme bloating would go away soon.

That night, as Daniel and I hopped into bed, I snuggled up close to him and he said, "What is wrong with you? Are you sick? You are burning up!!!" I felt fine, and told him he must just be cold. "No" he said, "You are hot to the touch. You must have a fever." Mason had been sick the day we arrived, and I could have caught that, but I didnt feel hot at all. I felt fine. Weird. Again.

The next night, the same thing happened. There are only 2 times when my body feels hot to the touch- when I have a fever, and the first 10 weeks-ish of a pregnancy. But I knew I wasn't pregnant since I had just taken that test. But here it was another 3 days or so after that and still no period.....And yet I was totally convinced I could chalk it all up to an extreme case of PMS. Dan made a joke with me, saying, "Maybe you're incubating HAHAHA" Big Joke. I decided to reassure him, and told him about the fact that I actually had thought I might be before we left, but he could rest easy, it was negative. His response, "You BETTER NOT BE PREGNANT!" I kept reassuring him that duh, it wasn't possible for me to be pregnant, chill out.

Throughout the rest of the trip, I continued to feel sick to my stomach from rides, food, the car etc. But not badly enough that it ruined any of my fun.

It was a short trip so 4 days or so later, we headed home. Daniel and I got in a silly argument over something ridiculous on the drive home from the airport so we weren't speaking when we arrived home. By this point, I was almost 2 weeks late and I did not feel right, so I decided to take the remaining test the next morning.

I shouldn't have been surprised. I mean, all the signs were there. But after 10 years, and never being able to get pregnant on our own, I was shocked. I kept going back in there and looking at the test again and again. The strangest part was that even though I had just had a baby, and even though this was in no way planned, I couldn't help but see the miracle in front of me and be grateful, and happy, about this incredible surprise.

Now for telling Dan :) We still weren't speaking, and I wasn't about to drop that on him when he was already pouting. So I sat on it for a few days until the right time seemed to present itself. Let's just say he was far more shocked than I was.

It's ony been 14 months but how life has changed since then! Jayden is the best surprise we have ever been given. He is an amazing addition to our family. He is the sweetest, snuggliest little guy. I can't imagine our family without him. I am so grateful for the blessing he is. It is such a neat experience for me to see the dynamic between him and Jaxon, being so close in age. My other children are all close to 4 years apart, and my boys are over 7 years apart. I am so excited to see how their relationship develops as they grow up.

As we head to Disneyland this time, we are leaving 2 babies home with family, instead of 1 like we did last time. And I expect my tummy will feel much better this time around. But I think every time we take a Disney vacation, I will recall the big surprise we got the first time around.

Still my Baby Girl

2008-12-27T16:44:00.000-08:00

Trouble Turns Two

2008-12-22T10:17:00.000-08:00

My sweet little guy turned two this past week! I know, you thought by his actions he was already 2 right? Naw, he's just ambitious :)

For Jaxon's birthday, we went to Grandma Miller's house, had cake and Ice Cream, and opened presents. He was so funny. He did help a little when it came to opening the presents, but when it was time to blow out the candles, he was so cute! We lit them, and then told him to blow them out (he does know how). He just stared at them, so Savannah showed him by blowing one out. He said, "Uh oh, Bi-yure! (fire)" And then pointed to the lighter because he wanted the candles lit. Thinking he wanted to blow them out himself, we relit them, but he just wanted to watch them burn. He did not want to blow them out, and didn't want anyone else to either. We finally had to blow them out for him.

My little birthday boy has been such a wonderful blessing to our family. Jaxon is the life of the Miller house. We refer to him as stealthy :) He doesnt SEEM like he's mischevious, he is so quiet, but turn your back for one second.... You will see from his pics that his usual demeanor is pretty somber. He keeps a straight face most of the time, as if he is always concentrating on something (I know those wheels are a turnin in there). But then, every so often, he breaks out into our little entertainer. He will do anything to get a laugh. He loves to be the center of attention. He love people to laugh at him. He has the sweetest smile I've ever seen. He actually talks up a storm, but only to people he knows. If strangers are here, he acts like he doesnt know how to talk yet, and acts like he doesnt understand what you are saying. Trust me, he does :)

Jaxon loves his brothers and sister. All day long, he takes inventory of where everyone is. It goes something like this, "Where Dada? Dada erkin? (working)", then "Where Bason (Mason)? Ooks (school)?" "Where Nanna (Savannah), ooks?" , "Where Deeden (Jayden), "seepin (sleeping)?"Sometimes we even get Grandma (Bumm-ah), Grandpa (Bumpa), and Danna (which he actually says right) in there as well. He loves kisses. He loves cars (which he calls Brrrrrrroooomies,while he makes the brrrrooom sound that imitates a car). He loves his blankey. He teases the cat ceaselessly and has scratched up hands to prove it (but he never flinches when the cat cratches the heck out of him, he just laughs and evil little belly laugh). He loves to watch Super Why over and over and over. He is quite a daddy's boy at times. He loves to take a bath (blapth) or a shower (show) every time I change his diaper. He even tries to mother Jayden. He hates nursery, or anything that takes him away from mom for even a minute or two. He loves climbing, messing, breaking, throwing and screaming :) And I love him!

So Happy Birthday my sweet little boy! I love you to pieces!

Oh and for the record, yes, he did do with his cake the same thing he did with Savannah's cake (turn it upside down and break it up into pieces all over the kitchen when Mom wasn't looking), so we had to throw it out also.

Brrrr....

2008-12-19T14:52:00.000-08:00

Taco TV Tuesday

2008-12-18T07:54:00.000-08:00

WHAT? Yeah, that's what I'm going to explain.

First I want to thank my kids for being such a great example to me. They LOVE family time (I know, give it a few years) and because of that, they are always coming up with new, creative things we can do together as a family.

It all started a couple of months ago. We enjoy watching the Biggest Loser together (my kids are really into being healthy, don't know where they come by that.... ;) Anyway, we DVR it since we can't always watch it at that time. However, Dan had 2 of his own programs that he insisted we could not override. So we started recording Biggest Loser on the kids TVs. That meant when we wanted to watch them, we had to head into one of the kids bedrooms to do it.

It just so happened that the first week we were doing this, I made Taco Soup for dinner, and my kids love taco soup. We loaded up our taco soup and headed down to Mason's room on Tuesday night and watched Biggest Loser (I know I know, shouldn't we have been eating grilled chicken and steamed broccoli instead?). We had such a good time that Mason said, "Mom, we should do this every week!" And so a new tradition was born- Taco TV Tuesday (how's that for alliteration-who says a SAHM doesn't use her college education?).

Each week, the kids help (yes, they really do) me cook the taco soup. They now know how to brown hamburger and tell when it's done, how to cook onions etc.... and when it's all ready, our fun begins.

Now that Biggest Loser is over (and thankfully turned out the way I wanted it to), we get to pick a new show to watch on Tuesday nights (like I said, thanks to DVR, it doesnt actually have to be ON on Tuesday nights, so that opens it up a bit) that we all will enjoy.

Invisible Mother

2008-12-16T07:23:00.000-08:00

My dear friend Carrie sent me this in an email, and I loved it so much I thought I better blog it to share it with all of you. Thanks Carrie!

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously, not.

No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated sum a cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going; she's going; she is gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England .. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe .. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To My Dear Friend, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything. A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees' I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.' At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life.. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're going to love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Nothing Sweeter...

2008-12-03T20:32:00.001-08:00

...to a mother, than when her baby looks up at her face, lights the room with his beautiful smile, and all is right with the world simply because she is there.

shakes head...oh Jaxon

2008-12-01T17:22:00.000-08:00

You could have guessed that I was due for an installment of Jaxon's latest disaster right? The last couple of weeks have been filled with them, but they have been uncharacteristically mild. 5 or 6 boxes of cereal dumped all over the house, the boxes ripped to pieces (at once), French Vanilla hot chocolate dumped all over the place (the best kind to be dumped, since it's white, not brown), the usual emptying of drawers, spilling of food etc.... but nothing to write home about- these are just part of our daily routine. Until today....

Today started off REALLY well. In fact, I almost blogged about how some days just come together. I got up, got the kids off to school, got everyone dressed and ready, washed 3 loads of laundry, baked cookies, had the whole house clean at once *shock*, good mood....

There we are. I am feeling safe since Jaxon is in the same room with me, in fact, I am facing him. I am teaching piano lessons and he is hanging around our 72 gallon salt water fish tank. He loves to watch the "shishies" so that's normal for him. Sometimes he likes to sit on the bottom of the table that holds the fish tank, and that's what he was doing. A few minutes later, he had moved and I noticed, about 5 feet away or so, a small wet spot, that I was sure was a spilled bottled water (Im not dumb enough to keep anything other than milk or water readily available in this house. It would all be on the carpet in a nanosecond). So I wander around looking for the bottle and grab a towel to soak it up. I can't see a bottle anywhere, but as I look back at the fish tank, I notice it is about 1/3 empty now. I just did a water change 2 days ago so I know it was not low on water. So I start to investigate, and then I see what the problem is, and it's a big one!

Jaxon apparently decided to play around with the fish tank filter. I do not know what he did, but I know that it was now working as a vacuum and sucking the water out , into itsself, and spitting it all over the carpet. Since it was a 72 gallon tank, and is now 1/3 empty, you can guess just how much water was now on the carpet. Let's just say the carpet was now functioning as an overfilled sponge. That small spot I saw was just what he tracked. The majority of it was covering about 100 sq feet of carpet, including behind the table which holds the fish tank (and cannot be moved due to it's weight).

What to do, what to do. Thankfully, I long ago decided for my own peace of mind and sanity, I would purchase a carpet cleaner for these sort of occasions. I put it on "spill pick up" and after soaking up what I could with towels, started sucking up water. I filled that tank in just a few minutes. I wasn't cleaning the carpet so I wasnt putting any water into it, just pulling it out. I dumped out the water, and filled it up again, and again, and again. About 20 gallons later, it felt just wet, no longer underwater. It took me a good 30 minutes the first round to suck it up. I went back a half hour or so later and sucked up another tank of disgusting, gross, brown fish water.

What fun.

Another day in the life.....

The 2 silver linings to this story:

#1- No one ended up in the hospital on this one

#2- It happened before we put in the new carpet. Phew.

Of course Dan is out of town also, and I have no idea how to fix the filter so that it works as a filter and not a sprinkler system. It's such a good thing that Jaxon is the most charming, cutest, most loveable child alive because if he were not, things would be ugly around here ;) Even when he does crazy stuff like this (which is pretty much always), you can't help but want to squeeze those adorable chubby cheeks, and fall in love with his amazing smile. My older 2 kids think he is the most entertaining thing to ever grace the earth. My husband loves to come home and wrestle with his burly little boy. And truth be told, I think he's extremely smart and wonderful. I just know that mischeif is part of the package with Jax. Blame his Dad for that. Dan carries the mischief gene. I carry the boring gene.

Anyhoo, he's still alive, and as far as I can tell, so are the fish. The carpet, well, let's just say it's probably good that it's on it's way out some day soon. But for now, I think it's okay..

And in other Jaxon news, he has peed on the potty several times over the last few days. In fact, just a few minutes ago he went in all by himself and sat on the potty and peed, without me putting him there or asking him if he wanted to go. See, told you that kid is smart ;)

What will the next installment bring? Only Jaxon's diabolical mind knows....

He did WHAT?

2008-11-27T23:23:00.000-08:00

Jaxon peed on the potty!

Jax is 22 months old and for the last month or so, he makes us let him sit on the potty when we change his diaper. He would not actually do anything, but he had to sit there. Then he would rip off a piece of toilet paper (not wipe, just rip it off), drop it in the toilet, flush and wash his hands. It was actually a time consuming activity since he had to do it 3 or 4 times over and over before you could put his diaper back on.

I knew he was too young to worry about potty training, so I just let him do it to get in the habit, or entertain himself. Well, last week, I went in the bathroom, and wouldn't you know it, there was a yellow wet spot in the middle of the bath tub. WHAT? He will pee in the tub but not on the potty? Then a couple days later, same thing in the shower.

Today, we were having our thanksgiving festivities, and he pooped 3- count them- 3 times, in an hour. So the third time I was changing him, he once again wanted to sit on the potty. So I let him, as I gathered up the diaper bag. All of the sudden, I hear the most beautiful sound! The sound of a toddler peeing where he is supposed to pee! It was glorious. It was music to my ears. I looked over and sho nuff, boy is peein' on the potty! I was ecstatic! I cheered and hugged and smooshed him, telling him how proud I was...

that's all. Probably won't happen again for a long time. But it was cool.

Ashlee and Pete- really?

2008-11-21T17:42:00.000-08:00

Bronx Mowgli Wentz?

Seriously people, have mercy on the poor child.

Beyond Blessed

2008-11-20T07:24:00.001-08:00

I felt the need to write this blog. I talk all the time about the happenings in our lives, particularly those of our children. But the last year has brought some different stresses on us.

Daniel works in the mortgage industry. Need I say more? Well, I will anyway. He actually works for a Mortgage software company. Suffice it to say that his company has not been immune to the impact of the mortgage crisis. As the past year has gone on, and we have seen the outlook for the industry getting more and more grim, and as we have seen so many companies close their doors, and others who can barely leave them open, we have seen without a doubt how blessed we truly are.

Daniel loves his job. He truly has a passion for what he does and has no desire to do anything else. I think he would be happy if he never worked anywhere else the rest of his life. I addition to that, he has been able to make a suitable living for us, where our bills are paid and our children are taken care of each month. In an economy like this one, that's more than many families can say. While it has certainly been a stressful time for him, we are both so grateful that he has been blessed with continued employment. With a new baby to pay for, a toddler who spent some time in the PICU recently, and all of life's other expenses, I know how tough it would be if he were one of the many people in his industry who lost their jobs.

So first of all, I want to thank the Lord for blessing us so generously. Even though I'm sure there are so many others who deserve those blessings far more than we do. And secondly, I want to thank Daniel for working so hard to provide for this family, for dealing with these new stresses the best he can, and for being willing to do whatever it takes to weather this storm.

This situation has certainly opened my eyes to the importance of being prepared (which I will add, we really aren't), and to living within our means. To be honest, it's scared the crap out of me (can you use the word crap in a blog about blessings?). I've become more committed to finishing building our years supply, to cutting costs where we can, to paying off bills as quickly as possible, and to putting money away in case of hard times. We certainly are not anywhere near as prepared as we ought to be, but I can say that at this point, we can say we are making progress, and that we are committed to getting there.

Jaxon's bum

2008-11-13T07:41:00.000-08:00

Jaxon calls spoons "bums" for some reason. And like a bad mom, I mimic him when I say it back. Here was our conversation this morning. It wasn't until I had said it all that I realized what I was really saying.

Me: "Jaxon, do you want a bum? No, that bum is too big. Hey- that's MY bum! Your bum is the little one. Mine is the big one. You want my bum? It's too big. I dont think that's going to work.
I would take the little one but I dont think you can make the big one work for you."

Project: Remodel- The Beginning

2008-11-11T08:13:00.000-08:00

Daniel and I are about to undertake a very slow, very time consuming, very frustrating and stressful project :) We are doing a bit of remodeling to our home. It's only 9 years old but it's just time for some updating. We will be replacing all the flooring (tile in the entryway and bathrooms, hardwood in the kitchen and dining room, carpet throughout the rest of the house). We are repainting. We will be finishing 2 or 3 more rooms, including a bedroom (which has to have a window cut in, a closet framed in, and then can be finished), a bathroom, and the laundry room. And then some smaller cosmetic things throughout the house.

Tomorrow, the first big thing happens. The window is getting cut into the bedroom downstairs. When we moved into the house, there were 2 really large rooms downstairs in addition to the family room. One was made to be a bedroom. The other, well, Im not sure what it was going to be, but it didnt have a window or closet. Daniel and I had decided to make it our home gym, so we went ahead and had it drywalled, taped and textured. But then Baby Jayden made a surprise entrance into the world, leaving us one bedroom short. Since we like him a bit and want to keep him, we figured another bedroom would be more important than our gym. So now, after all the taping and texturing is already done, we have to go back and have the window cut in, the closet framed in, and re-drywall, tape and texture parts of that room.

So I plan on taking many before and after photos as the project moves along.

Please, wish us luck with this one :)

8 Things Tag

2008-11-10T10:03:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by Carrie for this one. I love tag, but Im kind of slow at getting to them sometimes.

Eight things I'm passionate about:
1. My family and everything they do.
2. The Gospel
3. Triathlons
4. Photography
5. Taking time out for just me and the hubby
6. And on a related note....lol
7. Health and Fitness
8. Improving who I am and what I do

Eight words or phrases I use all the time:
1. I love you more the most, more than toast
2. JAXON WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
3. Oh no Jaxon!!!
4. Will you two stop fighting?
5. Jaxon get down from there.
6. Can you please put your shoes away?
7. Jaxon how did you get that?
8. What is that on the carpet?

Eight things I want to do before I die.
1. See every moment of my children's lives (well, almost every one. Im sure there are a few I will prefer to skip)
2. Lots and lots of traveling
3. Get my degree
4. Have a 6 pack
5. Get both babies to nap at the same time
6. Be a missionary mommy
7. Be great at something- anything :)
8. Do a half ironman triathlon

Eight things I currently want or need:
1. To get the hardwood sample from the floor guy so I can make my final decision
2. More time in the day
3. To eat something
4. Our remodel project to be done (and we aren't even started yet)
5. Warm weather year round
6. My back to heal up
7. A good run
8. Alone time

Eight places I want to visit:
1. Cancun (again)
2. Japan (again)
3. Europe
4. Hawaii
5. Puerto Vallarta
6. New York
7. The Bahamas
8. Any place warm and with a beach

Eight favorite restaurants:
1. Tucanos
2.Taco Johns :)
3. Outback
4. Wendy's
5. Johnny Carinos
6. Jaliscos
7. Garcias
8.Wasabi

8 TV shows I watch:
1. 24
2. The Office
3. CSI
4. Wife Swap
5. The Unit
6. Supernanny
7. The Mentalist
8. Criminal Minds

Eight People I tag:
1. Alida
2. Tiffany M.
3. Mason
4. Savannah
5. Tiffini
6. Sally
7. Brittany B.
8. Loots

Mason funny

2008-11-04T16:44:00.000-08:00

Jaxon is standing there, diaperless, playing with himself. He thinks it's fun to flick it with his hand and watch it bob up and down :)

Me: "Nice. Is that a fun toy?"
Mason: "We should get you another one of those Jaxon!"

Halloween, Halloween, Trick-Or- Treat

2008-11-02T21:46:00.000-08:00

We had a great Halloween- amazing weather, which is rare here. We usually trudge through snow, sleet, ice and hail on Halloween ;) Thought I'd throw up some pics.

My wonderful neighborhood did a fun thing. We had a dinner party at Betsy's house at 4:30, and then loaded the kids on a hay-filled trailer. We took them up our road (about 30-40-kids were on it) and stopped at each house. They would come out to the trailer and give each child their candy. The kids didn't have to get off. The neighbors only had to answer the door once. And everyone could go visit grandma, or family, later in the evening. It was so much fun.

Did I mention that I looked hot? Check us all out. Try not to drool too much ;)

Here I am with my blue eye shadow, my dark blush, my side pony tail, huge, belted shirt over leggings, layered sock and high tops, as well as radical earrings :)

Baby Jayden in his Kangaroo costume.
Savannah was a kitty. And yes, this is the same costume I wore to Hidee's party. Except I didnt wear her leotard or leggings :)

Jaxon was a lion. The hood stayed on just long enough for me to snap this. You can see his hands are already on it, and off it came about 1/3 second later.

Mason was a skeleton. He's trying to hold Jayden but pooe Jayden wasn't loving it.

Here is a pic of all the neighborhood kids on the hayride, going from house to house. Why didnt our parents think of this all those years ago? What an efficient way to get some snackage!

Jaxon got tired and was dragging around his blankey, sucking on the fringe, as he does when he is tired. So cute.

Jaxon's Distaster of the Week

2008-10-31T08:01:00.000-07:00

When you have a child like Jaxon, you have 2 choices:

#1 Become frustrated and bitter about the fact that nothing in your house will last longer than a week or so, everything will be drawn on, broken into pieces, and thrown at someone's head, and someone will likely be hospitalized on a regular basis as a result of his antics

or

#2 See that Jaxon has just given you a perfect weekly column for your blog :)

I choose #2.

So, you will now get a weekly installment of "Jaxon's disaster of the week".

When I tell people about things he does, they say, "Oh Im sorry he was so bad today. I'm sorry you had a rough day." I want to say, "No, you dont understand, today was just another day. This was nothing out of the ordinary." So I thought it would be fun, as the week goes on and I clean up mess after mess, as I throw away another box full of cereal that was dumped all over 3 rooms, as I soak up 10 gallons of water that made it onto the carpet, etc...to pick which one of his little tricks was the best.

Well, the week isn't over yet, but Im gonna post the one that takes the cake *pun* here and if he tops it again this week, you might get an extra installment.

Okay, actually the cake wasn't the best one, but here is a picture of Mason's birthday cake- Jaxon style-, just for kicks,

But that was nothing, I assure you. I didnt even flinch at that one.

So far this week, here is the best one, which you wont get until I tell the story.

What is this, you might ask? Well, with Jax, we know that everything must be locked, or things will be either dangerous or expensive. So I put a lock on the oven. Jaxon was opening the oven and using the racks to climb up on the cupboards. I was terrified that he would do that when it was on and burn himself badly. So we locked the oven.

Yesterday morning, I was bathing Jayden when I smelled smoke coming from the kitchen. I went in to find that Jaxon had pulled the bottom of the plastic lock off of the front of the oven door, opened the door, and placed it inside the oven. Then he climbed up onto the stove and turned the oven on. As the oven heated up, the plastic lock melted onto the inside of the oven and eventually started dripping onto the inside of the oven door and smoking up my entire house.

I have no idea how to get this melted plastic off the inside of the oven and cannot use my oven at all until I do :)

In keeping with my resolve to put a positive spin on these things (I should so be a politician), I will kindly thank Jaxon for making it so I dont have to cook for a while.

See you next week with our next installment. Please pray for me that it won't be too expensive.

is it ME?

2008-10-30T10:38:00.000-07:00

The past week, I've been spending my life on the phone, trying to get other people's stupid mistakes figured out. It must be me because I swear, it's not normal for this many things to be "processed incorrectly".

Last week, I got a statement from my insurance saying that Jaxon's hospitalization was denied because he was not eligible for benefits at the time of service. So I called them to find out what was up. You would think that if you pay $500 a month for insurance that you rarely use anyway, they would be willing to pay when it is actually needed. They said it was their error and they would indeed pay all the claims that they denied (which was the hospital, the surgeon, the anesthesiologist, the radiologist etc...).

Then, I got a statement in the mail saying our house payment was late. So I called because we recently refinanced and our old mortgage was supposed to be paid off weeks ago. When I called, I was told they couldn't access that information since they were undergoing system maintenance. I would have to call back another time to find out whether it had indeed been paid off. Here it is the end of the month and Im panicking because if for any reason, they haven't received the funds, they could report it to the credit bureau. I tried to access it online as well but had no luck their either.

Then today I took Mason's lunch money up to the school. I took it straight to the lunch room and paid cash. A couple hours later, he called me to say they wouldn't let him eat lunch because he didnt have lunch money. Apparently they didnt get it put into the computer or something....

After that, I ran to Target to get some birthday stuff for Mason. I wrote a check. He told me my check was not approved. I was confused since I have never had a returned check. I asked for a number to call to find out why it was not approved. He didnt have one, but called the front desk, who didn't know either, and gave me their guest relations number. So I called and explained, and was told, "We're sorry. Our system is having issues and we cannot accept any checks right now. It has nothing to do with your account, we are just asking all guests to pay with another tender until we get it fixed." Would have been nice if the store had known that so I hadn't felt like an idiot when they told me they wouldn't take my check!

Then I got the mail, and sure enough, there is a bill from the hospital saying the insurance has failed to pay and I now have to pay thousands of dollars right away. So I get to call the insurance back, and I get to call the hospital, to see if I can get that resolved before we have anything showing as delinquent.

I also had a battery for my camera go bad. So several weeks ago I called and since it is warranteed, they said they would be sending me a new one and it would be here in 2-3 buisness days. That was 3 weeks ago, and it has not arrived. So I get to call them as well to find out where it is.

Is this normal? I give my money to all of these people and you'd think that would make things go smoothly, but no, apparently it's very common for people to not realize that you are or have given them money. I would have lots more free time if I didnt have to spend so much of it on the phone taking care of these issues. Seems like I need to keep my schedule completely free so that I can spend the day doing nothing except straightening out whatever messes have been made with my accounts :)

Phew...there is my rant for the day!

And of cooooouuuurrrse

2008-10-29T19:44:00.000-07:00

Mason found out that Savannah had a blog, so he had to have one too!

His is

http://www.theworldofmason.blogspot.com/

Savannah Says so

2008-10-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

My mini me has decided she needs a blog. So of course, it's pretty much what Savannah wants, Savannah gets, so I made her a blog. Not much on it yet, but we'll get there!

http://savannahsaysso.blogspot.com/

Paaaar-TAY like a Rockstar

2008-10-27T08:03:00.001-07:00

Or like a bunch of Mormon married people who are easily amused :)

Sadie (poor girl), Chad, Daniel, Me, Lane, Loni

Can I just say how thankful I am for friends? I have so many long distance friends who say they have the hardest time finding people they can go out with and enjoy themselves- a group of friends to belong to- and I am so thankful to have a group of friends who share common interests, have the same values, and remind me to make time for fun!

Jason (Napoleon- DUH!), and Torrie (Debbie, with glamour shot)

Saturday morning, Hidee called me and sais she was having a costume party for couples that night. I had a crazy/busy day scheduled (typical) but thought it would be fun. Dan wasn't as thrilled about the idea but he knew I wanted to go so he agreed.

Neither of us had costumes, so I decided to use Savannah's borrowed cat costume (no laughing, yes I used my 5 year old's costume). Dan, in typical Dan fashion, asked me at 6:55 (party at 7) what he should be. I gave him a bunch of ideas, and in typical Dan fashion, he rejected them all and called his mom :) Truth be told, she had much better ideas anyway, so looks like he made the right call. He borrowed his Dad's old letterman Jacket from 1963 and had this mask...well, you'll have to see the pics.

Anyway, we had such a great time. We ate lots of food that I had no business eating. And we played games that most of us have probably not played since High School :) Everyone's costumes were hilarious! We finished the night off by playing a very rowdy version of "Have you Ever" (is that what it's called??). I have a few bruises and a couple broken toenails, but hey, it was fun. And Dan, who didn't want to go, had a great time. Here are some fun pics:

Torrie, you hot mama- I love the fanny pac with floral motif and I'd like to schedule a booking for one of those sessions, if you don't mind ;)

Seth (who ditched the costume early on it seems), Debbie (who must have been sweating by the end of the night) and Hidee (Hannah Montana)

Daniel sitting on Sadie's lap.

Me- Meow.

Cassie, Hidee, Ryan, Levi, Dananda, Daniel, Lane, and Chad

There was a lot of lap sitting going on. Seth, Debbie, Hidee and Ryan.

Thanks Hidee, we had a great time. I still need your caramel brownie recipe. And while Im making requests, Torrie, the salsa? Thanks :)

A year's Supply of Soap for...you guessed it- Free.

2008-10-27T07:53:00.001-07:00

Here are all my free soaps from last week :) Not just any soap- these are really fun! They have a mesh covering on them that does 2 things- it helps the kids grip it so it doesn't slip and it last longer since it doesnt wash away. It's also very sudsy and smells fruity, so the kids think it's great.

Anyway, I got 30 bars for free. I could have gotten more but I bought them out. Here is how this one worked:

Smith's had/has a catalina coupon (printed at the register when you make a purchase) that you receive when you buy 3 Johnson and Johnson products at once. I bought 3 of these soaps, which are $0.99 each. The coupon is for $3 off of any 3 Johnson and Johnson products. So after I made the initial purchase of 3 of them, I took the coupon back, loaded up on the Buddies soaps, and had them ring them through 3 at a time, each time using the coupon that printed from the previous 3. Since they are $3 off 3 and 3 of them cost only $2.98, they were free :) I still have the coupon from the last purchase, so I can go back when I'm in town again and use those to get more.

That's all :)

I'm not a Cheapskate, I prefer to be called extremely greedy

2008-10-23T10:55:00.000-07:00

Let me preface this by saying one of my biggest weaknesses has been that I am NOT frugal. I have never liked to take the time to search for deals, comparison shop or any of that stuff.

However, when I had another baby (so 2 in diapers) and noticed I was spending $700 a month on groceries, and gas prices were through the roof, I decided that maybe, juuuuuust maybe, it would be worth my time to try and save a litte.

So I started getting the paper, clipping coupons, watching the ads, and picking Kimber's brain, and was amazed at how much I have cut back our grocery bill, without cutting back our groceries. In fact, I've been able to buy much more for storage than I ever did before.

Yesterday I got:

10 liters of A&W and 7up- Retail price 23.90 total- for FREE
40 bags of Green Giant Fresh Steamers Veggies- Retail 99.60 total- for FREE
Two 24 packs of bottled water- Retail $15.58- for FREE

A slew of other stuff for very cheap....

3 Jumbo size bags of Huggies Diapers- Retail $40 total, for $15.50

I was spending $350 every 2 weeks on groceries. Yesterday I spent $163 and saved $257. And I was able to get 8 bags of stuff for my storage, that I usually wouldnt have squeezed into our monthly grocery budget.

Kudo's to Kimber for all her advice, emails, and tips, and Brittany for all her forwards. You're helping me a ton! If anyone is interested, I have a link to Kimber's blog, where she tells a lot of her secrets. It's on my list and it's Kimber LOVES a deal! (Hope you don't mind Kimber!).

The thing is, I am more likely to be referred to as a shopaholic than a cheapskate, really. I LOVE to spend money! I just have a lot of other things I would rather spend it on than groceries :)

I also found out about a Caregiver's Cash back program. If you buy items to care for an individual (including children under 5) you qualify. The link is http://www.caregiversmarketplace.com/. You just buy 5 items that are on the list and send the form in and you get cash back. For example, I get $1 cash back for each package of Huggies I buy (with my 2 boys, that is A LOT of huggies!). This is part of how I got the Huggies so cheap. Rite Aid had them on sale for 3/$33 ($11 a pack). Then they had their own single check rebate on them for $10 for the three, making them $3/$23. Then I had coupons for $1.50 off each pack, making them 3/$18.50. Then there is the caregiver's rebate of $1 off each package, making it 3/$15.50.

So just because I can, I will probably come on here each time I do this to brag about what I got for free/cheap. And I'll pat myself on the back for finally getting around to building up my food storage to more than the 3 months-ish I had beforehand.

Which brings me to my next project, which is cleaning out my storage room and adding shelving so I can FIT all this food and stuff!

Really Daniel? Really???

2008-10-14T08:10:00.000-07:00

WARNING: If you have a husband like mine- impulsive, admittedly self-indulgent, and when he wants something, nothing will stop him from making it happen), and you have a crazy dream about him doing something completely ridiculous (but that, were it possible, he would love to do), DO NOT TELL HIM ABOUT THIS DREAM!!!

Case in Point.

Daniel and computers. It's ridiculous really. I dont think I really need to explain because the pictures and story will speak for themselves.

A few months ago I had this silly dream. I dreamed that Daniel came home and told me he was hooking up our big screen HD TV and using it as a computer monitor. While he was doing it, I was rolling my eyes and saying, "Daniel, you are crazy. You are NOT using a $3000 television as a computer monitor!"), all the while, he was doing just that.

Now, why, you may ask, would I have such a dream? Here is a clue:

THIS is the computer in our room. Yes, what you see is 4 monitors. And yes, he can scroll across them all as if they were one. But that's not the end of it. We have another computer downstairs and the other day, ANOTHER monitor, that looks exactly like one of these, showed up at my door. WTH?? He said he wanted to move one of these to the downstairs computer (I mean, heaven forbid we have a monitor down there on a computer we rarely use, that is NOT a flat screen. Unacceptable!). So of course, it made sense that we must buy another monitor (otherwise, this computer would only have 3 and how could we live with that??) So another monitor it was.

Does the craziness end there. No, but here we go.

Yes, what you see is our 52 inch flat sceen now serving as a computer monitor. That is indeed Yahoo messenger there. And yes, he was giggling with giddiness over this. Should have kept the dang dream to myself :) LOL.

Only Daniel, I tell you. Gotta love him.

For Old Times Sake

2008-10-10T13:49:00.000-07:00

I was cleaning out my computer, getting rid of any pics I no longer need when I came across this beauty!!!

Some of you that read this are in this photo :) Remember back in the day hehe...

Okay, so this photo is from my 9th grade graduation. In this photo are some people who I still consider some of the best friends I have ever had- whether I've seen them recently or not. There are some people who you will always love, always feel lucky to know- and this photo reminds me of some of those people.

Anyway, so I was cleaning out the photos on my computer and I came across this, so I thought it would be fun to blog about it and tell some of the story to go along with it. In fact, I think I will periodically post on old pic from my childhood and do just that. So we'll start with this one. Forgive me for making fun of myself, please.

I know you are all LOVING the dress. Oh, in case you didnt know, I am the one in the front row, middle right. I know, what's up with the brown hair? I'll get to that.

So this was such a big day :) LOL. My mom took me to get my hair done. My boyfriend at the time, Doug (yes, you all remember that one, dont you- we totally "went" together- for like a week- which just so happened to be THIS week) was going to meet me and my friends at the dance (since I wasn't 16 it was he and his friends, who I also "went" with for like a week- just a different week), so I was all excited to get dressed up with my new dress that I drove 3 hours to find (no, I couldnt drive- my MOM drove me 3 hours). Im drifting here....so anyway, my mom said I could get my hair done at the- warning here- beauty school (this is your first hint of trouble in case you didnt pick that up). I had been there before and gotten what they called "clear" something or other that was just meant to make your hair shinier. So when we got there, we told them I wanted the same thing I always got. The girl who usually did my hair was on maternity leave. So her substitute pulled "my" card and got to work. To shorten this up a bit, a supervisor was called over somewhere during the process, at which time she asked me what color my hair was when I came in (to which I responded "blonde") and was told it was now brown with green streaks. The dear lady had pulled the wrong card and colored my hair a nice color called "Moroccan Sand". I stayed for several hours while they bleached the heck out of my hair and by the time I left, it was a reddish brown, but at least the green was gone. Oh well, I still had that FABULOUS dress :) So we had graduation. I met up with my BF at the dance and his first question was "wasn't your hair blonde when I saw you earlier today?" Ummm, yeah it was. But anyone who knows my luck could have seen that one coming a mile away.

So then I got this pic, which makes me smile all these years later.

To April, Melanie, Stephanie, Melisa and Jessica -and Karen (why weren't you in this pic?)- this goes out to you guys. Thanks for such great memories and for being incredible friends. For the love of LA Gear, splatter painted jeans, Girbaud, FHA, Cougarettes, the Dungeon, Vanilla Ice, greased lockers, red gym shorts, the ramp, Mr. Fehlberg and Coach Fielder. To Mr. Auva'a kicking over Aaron Mecham's desk. To Kathy Cowley getting mad at me for hanging out with a boy on our FHA trip. To growing up in a town that was 1 square mile. Here's to the times we had at Canyon View Jr. High :)

Girls Gone Wild (or as close as it gets in our family :)

2008-10-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

L to R (ish): Natasha (SIL), Brigham (newphew, Lyndi (SIL), Hannah (niece), Savannah (daughter), Janna (niece), Grandma Janet, Miriam (sister), Kiana (niece), Donna (mom), Me, Jayden in cognito.

What do you get when you send a mother of 4 on the road with 2 of her children, a group of her friends, her mother, her grandmother, her sister, 2 of her sister in laws, 3 of her nieces and 1 of her baby nephews?

Well, what I got was a break, and a lot of shopping done.

Way back in the day, in like, August or so, all the girls in my fam decided it was about dang time we went for a girl's trip. My mom had a seminar in Salt Lake the first weekend in Oct so we thought that would be the perfect time and place. And that's where the craziness all began.

Then, more recently we (we being my friends and I) realized that it was Tammy's 40th (I mean 29th) birthday, which meant a girl's trip was in order there too. Lucky for me (and if you know me, you know luck doesn't come my way often), they decided to go down on Thursday, when my plan with my fam was for Friday through Sunday, so I was able to do both in one trip.

So Thursday morn I headed down with myself, my daughter, my Gma and my baby. I dropped my grandma and Savannah off at the hotel and met up with the girls at Taipan. Heaven, I tell you, that place. After that, we went to eat at Cafe Rio and hit the mall for some more spendage. I got some fun things at Taipan and some great clothes at the other stores. Ahhh..retail therapy.

Around 4ish, the crew headed home and I drove to meet up with my mom and company. Most of the group wasn't coming in until Friday, so my grandma, my mom, myself, my daughter, and my baby, hung out and ordered in :)

Everyone else arrived on Friday, later in the day. And that is when the craziness all started (it was all Miriam's fault for sure. She WAS always the brave one!) We were getting settled that night. Miriam, me, my kids, my mom and Gma Janet were in one room. Somehow we got on the discussion about the Hilary Clinton/Sarah Palin SNL video (if you have been living under a rock, you can watch it at NBC.com). In the vidoe, Sarah Palin uses the word MILF. My dear, sweet, at times naive mother didn't know what it was when she watched the video, so (prior to the trip) she did what any reasonable, completely insane person would do- she googled it. Poor mom. She is no longer naive. Shortly after, my grandma said she needed to take a shower and put curlers in her hair so she could look all purty. I said, "You mean so you can be a MILF? A GILF?" Silly girls.

Anyhoo...after we stopped laughing about my mom's little google misstep, I realized that my sister Miriam had my mom's phone so I whispered to her to change mom's banner to say "MILF". So sho nuff, soon it read "Donna is a MILF" and my mom had no idea. We got settled into bed, but like a 12 year old at a slumber party, I couldn't stop giggling.

The next morning, we got up and got ready to go shopping. Oh, let me not forget, I did get up and run 4 miels on the treadmill downstairs. We went to the Gateway Mall where I was able to FINALLY buy my jeans at Express (it's the only place I buy jeans, the only place that carries my size in longs, and we dont have any in Idaho). I bought 3 pair, including some skinny jeans (that my daughter thinks are totally "in"). After that, we ate at my fave restaurant in the world, Tucano's, where I tried my darndest to make sure I never fit in those skinny jeans.

After we were done shopping there, we went to Taipan where I went NUTS and got so much fun stuff for my house. When we had blown all our money, we headed back to the hotel once again. The kids swam in the pool off and on the whole time we were there. It was a blast. Oh, and my MILF of a mom finally saw what we did to her phone around Saturday evening sometime.

Sunday morning, we turned on conference and then checked out of the hotel to head home. But since the rain had finally let up, Miriam and I decided to stay and go visit temple square before heading home. I took a few pictures, we talked and let our girls play together, and then we headed home.

I wont tell you what my house looked like when I got home. Im still trying to block that image from my brain. Anyway, here are just a few snapshots from temple square.

Savannah-isms

2008-10-03T22:42:00.000-07:00

Savannah: "Mom, I think I know why Grandma Janet and Grandpa Gary are still alive."
Me: "What? Why?"
Savannah: "They must eat a LOT of healthy food. Because they should be dead by now!"

Later on....

Savannah: "Mom, I don't like your shirt" (a new one I just bought)
Me: "Too bad. I like it."
Savannah: "You look like a dude."

a bit later....

Savannah: " Mom, I think I know something you can do to look less Dude-ish"....

and lastly (and do NOT ask me where this came from)

Savannah: "Mom, you are useless!"
Me: "What? Why am I useless?"
Savannah: "Oh, no, no...I just meant for shooting people and stuff..."

A night in the Emergency Room

2008-09-22T09:56:00.001-07:00

Turns out that Jaxon's permanent marker escapades were not the worst thing he would put us through last week. Not even close.

My sister Miriam's daughter, Kiana, was getting baptized this weekend in Boise, so Daniel and I planned our trip up. We were really excited to spend time with Miriam and her family, and I was excited to spend time with my childhood best friend April, and her family as well. I have only seen her once in the last 3-4 years! So we drove up uneventfully (although we did end up leaving the morning after we planned because I am still no good at getting all of us ready and out the door in a timely fashion) and attended the Saturday afternoon baptism. Now, the only reason I am not spending more time on that important event is because that will be a separate blog in itself, once the pictures are ready.

Anyway, after the baptism, we went back to Miriam's house for dinner.

For brevity' sake, I will give you the reader's digest version. We were all staying up late talking, and when we decided to go to bed, I went to pick Jaxon up off the couch, where he was sleeping next to Dan. He was making weird noises, but I thought it was just because he was tired and mad that he wasn't in his own bed. He was crying and coughing, but it sounded off. My mom and sister both noticed and and asked if he had asthma, which he doesnt. After I had been watching him for a while (he was sleeping off and on, and would wake up and cry and cough again and again, with that weird sound), my mom came into the room and said she found her purse and that Jaxon had gotten into her chewing gum. We figured that must be stuck in his throat. We continued to watch him for a while, but since he seemed to be getting worse and worse, we decided we better get him in to the hospital before he could no longer breathe. We arrived at the hospital about 3am.

We ended up waiting in the ER, back in the room, for 3 hours, which at any time during, he could have stopped breathing, just to be told that the xray showed nothing (which they had told us it wouldnt since it was chewing gum) and that we had to go to their other campus, where he would need surgery.

When we arrived there about 7:00am, the doctor was ready and waiting, not wanting to wait any longer than necessary since it could dislodge at any moment and cut off his airway completely. The nurses tried pretty frantically to get an IV in, but couldnt get it for some reason. Jaxon was hysterical and I was crying, seeing him in pain from the IV issues and hearing the horrible noises he was making as he struggled to breathe. Finally, after a long while, they got an IV in and took us down the hall to prep him for surgery. He was crying and calling, "MOMMY! MOMMY!" as they took him away from me on the gurney, and it was so hard for me to let him go.

Daniel and I waited in the waiting room, but thankfully, it was a very short procedure. The doctor came in later on and told us that indeed, the gum had been stuck in his airway, and that she was able to locate it and remove it, and he was in the PICU, still asleep from the anesthesia.

Daniel and I went up to see him and called Miriam to bring over some clothes for him (he was just in a diaper when we rushed him out the door and to the hospital). He woke up not too long later, but had to stay for a while so they could monitor his oxygen sats and make sure his airway was not too traumatized to be able to breathe effectively. Thankfully, by about 11am, they told us he was getting better and we would be able to take him home.

After all of us being up all night, that sounded like a great idea. We went back to Miriam's house, thankful that we were blessed enough to have a positive outcome from something that could easily have been much, much worse.

I fell asleep on the couch, and woke up to Jaxon laying on top of me (I didnt even know he had climbed onto me) and a few pictures of that were on my camera :)

After getting something to eat and taking it easy for a few, we drove home.

I grabbed my camera this morning to take a few pictures of my sweet, happy, healthy little boy, but instead I got pictures of Jaxon back to his usual self

Climbing cupboards

Throwing a fit when he couldn't get up them

And begging for food

Today everything is pretty much back to normal, except I am a little tired, and a lot more appreciative of my little boy, mischief and all. Today I skipped making the bed and instead, got on the floor with my tough guy and wrestled around. And those little, big, and most often unfixable messes of his didn't seem so life altering. Today at least, they are just reminders that he is here, that he is okay, and that all too soon, he won't be little any more.

Blue Permanent Marker

2008-09-19T09:35:00.000-07:00

Do I really need to say more?

What happens when a toddler gets ahold of a dark blue permanent marker? Somethin's about to go down. And in our case, it was

The tile
The carpet
The wall
The rug
A picture of Christ
Toddler's arms and legs
A pair of Guess shorts
A Guess Shirt
a stool
the kitchen counter
a Barbie
the kitchen table

Not to mention the bottle of hairspray used to clean it up, and the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser that pitched in as well. And of course, Jaxon couldn't be more proud. Good morning to Mom :)

Tagged- Twice

2008-09-12T09:12:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't you know it. Carrie tagged me and I took so long getting to it that before I had it done, Alida tagged me too :) Lucky for me, they wanted pics of almost the same things, so that made it easy. Here they are, in no particular order.

So the rules are this- you must take pictures of the following things, as is, no straightening up etc.

My fridge (yes I know, a million gallons of protein on top. I think we have a disorder).

My toilet, in all its glory.

My kitchen sink

My favorite room in the house

My closet

What my kids were doing right then. Mason was at school and Jax was sleeping, so here are the other 2.

Dream vacation - Daniel and I went to Cancun in 2007 and it was amazing. Can't wait to go back.

And lastly, a self portrait.

I am tagging Torrie, Heather W, Morgan, Pam, Melanie and Marnie. So hop to it (faster than I did lol).

Oh yeah, I am coming back later on and adding this. I forgot that I was supposed to add 6 quirky things about myself (from Carrie's tag) so here goes:

1- When I walk, one of my feet points out at a 45 degree angle (because of a spinal deformity) so I look ridiculous.

2- When I eat M&Ms, skittles etc, I have to have the exact same number of each color. So if I have 8 brown, 5 red, 3 yellow and 2 orange, I eat 3 brown first, then I eat 2 brown and 2 red, then I eat 1 brown, 1 red and 1 yellow, then one of each until Im done.

3- If music is playing, I cannot stop myself from singing along, even if Im running with an MP3 player on (well, I try not to do this if there are a lot of other people running with me. I wait until I think they can't hear me). Those around me do not appreciate this quirk.

4- When I decided to do a triathlon, I could not swim. At all. I couldnt put my face in the water. Mind over matter I guess.

5- I always dream that I am being chased by bad guys. Im never faster or stronger than they are, but I'm always smarter so I think of creative ways to get away. One time I locked myself and my friend in the bathroom and shrunk us so we could escape down the drain. Hey, it was a dream and I knew it. Told you I was smart ;)

6- When I was in 2nd grade, I wanted to be an olpympic gymnast. Im 5'9', so you can see how that worked out. Then I wanted to be a singer. I can't sing, so you see how that worked out...the list goes on.....

A Race, A getaway, and a Grasshopper

2008-09-09T08:44:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was Bear Lake Brawl, a first in a few ways. It was my first full triathlon since having baby Jayden over 2 months ago, it was Daniel's first triathlon, and it was our first one together as well.

My grandparents were unbelievably kind in letting us use their fifth wheel and truck so that we could take the whole family down and camp for the weekend. Daniel's niece, Alyssa, and her friend Alyssa (yes, we called them Alyssa 1 and Alyssa 2) came with us to babysit while we raced and then to enjoy the weekend with us.

I will spare you all the details of the "amost didn't make it down there"s since Im sure this blog will be long enough. Ill just skip right to the race stuff, and eventually, you will find out what the heck a grasshopper has to do with any of this.

So Saturday morning was the race. The swim was- well, different. Im not familiar with Bear Lake so I didnt realize that it stays shallow for, say 7 miles or so ;) Which does 2 things during a triathlon swim. First, it means that it's very, very choppy and wavey since the water is shallow, which makes it very hard to spot. Second, it means you can stand up at any time and look around to see where you are since you can't tell when you are swimming. So yup that's what everyone did. Trust me, it was the only option. I was laughing at those who went before me, stopping and taking their goggles off. What was wrong with them? I found out soon enough as I had no idea where I was going, couldnt see a thing..so there I was, in the middle of the swim, standing on my 2 feet with my goggles on my head, looking around...not my proudest moment...

And then, it gets too shallow to swim and you have to wade through the water forever to get to the shore. But all went relatively smoothly, craziness aside.

Onto the bike... My transition took what felt like forever. Im not sure why, but it did. Once I actually started riding, it went great and I felt like I rode very well. But alas, this is where the grasshopper comes in.

About half way through the bike, I was riding past some fields, when I started getting dive bombed by grasshoppers. Not that unusual of an experience, to be honest. Bugs and your face meet quite often when riding. But there was oooonnnneeee grasshopper---- it hit me right on the side of my nose as I was riding about 21 mph. I shook it off and kept going, but then I could feel wetness on my face. My thought was "Stupid grasshopper splatted his guts all over my face. Gross!" So I reached up to wipe his guts off my face with my arm (yeah, triathlon isn't the most glamorous of sports, and this isn't the worst of it, trust me...) When I looked at my arm, it wasn't grasshopper guts but my own blood that was running down my face! WTH??? So I assumed he gave me a bloody nose. I kept wiping it as I rode, since I could feel it continue to bleed. I would later find out that no, he didnt give me a bloody nose at all, he actually split my face open (no worries, it was a very shallow, very boring flesh wound people). I am sure this is the dumbest race injury to ever occur in the history of mankind. Dumb. Duuuuumb.

Anyway, so the bike went smooth as could be, grasshopper wound and all. And onto the run....

My MP3 player (that isn't allowed anyway but I was going to be a wild woman and break the rules- I am a maniac, I tell ya- crazy to the core) wasn't working, but the run was very uneventful most of the way. About 20 feet from the finish line, the volunteers that went with us (who just so happened to be stationed right before the finish) shouted at me, cheering me on, and then I heard them yell, "AnnaMarie, she's gaining on you!" So I took off into a full on sprint, and I felt her come up behind me. I ended up beating her to the finish by 0.9 seconds. Phew. Thank goodness they were standing there because I had no idea she was that close!

So I was done and I waited for Daniel. Dan started 15 minutes after me (but of course, he is faster so I only had to wait 5 minutes for him to finish). And his finish was even more intense than mine (not that this was a very intense race in any sense of the word). He had the same sort of a thing happen in that he thought he was in the clear, when just before the finish, he felt someone coming up on him. He started sprinting and the guy was shoulder to shoulder with him. At the end, you could not tell who was ahead, but according to the timing chips (well, that's another story altogether...), er...according to the times, the other guy beat him by 0.10 seconds. Imagine that. Daniel took 5th in the Clydesdale category (over 200 lbs, and yes, he is over 200 lbs, he is around 200.4 I believe). And then we waited for Tammy, who was in his wave as well. Hidee, my other friend who did it with us, finished before I did (of course, Im no speed demon at this point).

So there you have it. That was our race. It was a blast and we want to make it an annual thing and take the kids down each year to enjoy it with us. Perhaps next year, since I wont have just given birth, I can be more competitive. I hate losing. I really, really do.

After the race, we camped the weekend and had a blast playing on the beach, sitting in the hot tub, playing cards in the camper etc.. Here are some pictures of our fun.

The Alyssas- Thank you to both of you for taking care of my babies. You were wonderful and it was fun having you there with us!!

Jaxon in the cupboards. It's not the first or the last time for that one Im sure.

This is our whole race gang (those that went that is), including the girls who volunteered and got Tammy and Hidee into the race after registration was closed. L to R: Andrea, Bethany, Mackenzie, Tammy, Hidee, Torrie (with baby Ellie), Daniel and Me.

our bikes and a guy who was doing his first race who had a lot of questions, and kept making me laugh with his comments.

I think the rest are self explanatory....

Daniel and AnnaMarie Miller Family

Ya Big BABY!

Parent Teacher Conference

A Teacher's Love

The gift of Music...

Christmas 2011

Must be Santa!

Happy 5th Birthday to Jaxon- Dec. 20th 2011

Welcome, 2012!

Sweet Jayden turns 3 :)

Water Babies

Summer Fun

Ch-ch-ch-changes- Part III

Ch-ch-ch-changes- Part II

Ch-ch-ch-Changes- Part I

Christmas 2010

Jaxon is 4!!!

2010 in Review...

Well hello strange Blogging world!

First pic with my new lights

My New Website

Halloween 2009

SLEEPOVER with Psuedo-Sisters

Mason's 10th Birthday- October 30th 2009

Carving Pumpkins- October 2009

Carmeled Apples with my girls- Oct 2009

I'm here...

Race Report- Prison Break Half Marathon- Oct 24th, 2009

My Lil' Punkins :)

Always sleep with one eye open!

Sickies

Savannah's First Ballroom Competition of the year...

Playing Catch up!!!!

It's my Berfday :)

First day of School!!!

Dear Jaxon

Kids Tri Harder Triathlon 2009

Annual GIRL'S WEEKEND- HOLLA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spudman 2009

Jayden's cake smash

San Rafael Classic Triathlon- June 20th 2009

A few more family pics

Family pics May 2009

This Week's Fave's- Kiddie Style

Salem Spring Triathlon- May 30th 2009

Ode to a little sister

A week of Dancing...

Entertainment by Mason

Project Remodel: The Half-way Point

So much....

What have I done?

Headline: Sneaking, conniving mother plans FHE with ulterior motives

Ski/Snowboard Lessons

Aaaaawesome erk- out

Jayden- 7 month pics and stats

The easiest pop quiz ever

Sometimes my kids are funny. Sometimes they are just plain weird.

How bad does Savannah want a little sister?

January

California Vacay- Part Deux- Day 1 of fun

Mason's Exciting Night

California Vacay- Getting there

I am a Nine

And another deal for ya...

AWESOME deal on little girl's clothes

When you're own voice comes out of your children's mouths

The last time we did this....

Still my Baby Girl

Trouble Turns Two

Brrrr....

Taco TV Tuesday

Invisible Mother

Nothing Sweeter...

*shakes head*...oh Jaxon

He did WHAT?

Ashlee and Pete- really?

Beyond Blessed

Jaxon's bum

Project: Remodel- The Beginning

8 Things Tag

shakes head...oh Jaxon