LOVE IT!

I wanted to show everyone my new phone.... THANKS SKIN IT AND DIGI SCRAP DOWNLOADS! Isn't this just the cutest phone... or should I say ADORABLE! I got this for my birthday about a month ago, but wanted to show it off to those who may not have seen it. I have to say, I didn't think I was such a "techy" - I don't even know if that is how you spell that. In any case, being able to look up things online on my phone - - - let's just say, I ROCK AT SCRIPTURE CHASE!

It's about DARN time!!

So here I sit surrounded by girlfriends, taking one BIG deep breath. Grateful for the birds, creek, and wind through the leaves of the trees that have answered my SERENITY NOW cry; I am ready to blog. I'd like to take a second to catch up everyone (or anyone for that matter) of the adventures that we as a family have been experiencing.
FIRST: I AM EXTREMELY PROUD OF MY HUBBY! He completed 18 credits this semester, is 6cr. shy of his degree, and is now accepted into the Education Certification Program. It's been three years that he started this school thing; filled with ups, downs, and an extremely overbearing wife but he was patient, worked hard, and has accomplished an amazing goal.
SECOND:  Easter/Spring BLISS!

 THIRD: BIRTHDAYS!! Both Kenidy and I completed another year. I had been looking back over the year and my "34 Dreams" post seems like it was just yesterday. And yet, I have had some of the most amazing experiences; well above 34 - so I feel completely blessed. I am not very excited about the fact that I am getting older, but I am trying to do it gracefully... fighting every gray hair that pops up. My cute new phone though is really making life fun!  I'd post a picture, but BLOGGER is buggin' out right now. In any case it's the Droid Aris, and I custom made a skin that's all cute 'n stuff - hehe ;D

Now that we are all caught up (well enough to get a move on) I'd like to showcase my latest endeavor: crochet and knitting! I don't have my knitting done, but look how DARN TOOTIN' CUTE the blankets are that I did for my soon to come niece Reagan.

I know they're pretty cute. I think my mom would be completely surprised that I did this, but all in good time. Which makes me think... I better not get angry with Kenidy when she doesn't want to learn or do things when I want her to learn or do things.  

ALL IN GOOD TIME! 

 Right Keni!

To be or not to be FOOLS!

To be or not to be... yes this week has been a week of ups and downs and still has not ended.
FOR CRIMANY SAKES HERE'S THE BREAKDOWN!

Sunday was an up - a great afternoon with family as we sent one of our own out to serve his Lord on a mission to Florida. We are so excited for him and can't wait to hear all the stories. GOOD LUCK JAKE! His mom (and supporters) did an amazing job of having the most delicious (IN ABUNDANCE) food available to easily 100 (and most likely more) people. We are going to miss those Maddox rolls! I guess we can go buy them - whatever!

Now Monday my sister had to go into surgery, which came with some slight downs and fortunately is at this point an UP - I watched her kids on Monday, and had a great time working on my knitting skills and laughing at her son be the cutest thing in the book. KEEP GETTING BETTER SWEETIE, and let us know what we can do to help!

Tuesday was SCARY I guess is a better word than down - with February a shorter month you can imagine that me being a couple days (almost a week) "late" was not a........ let say - WELCOMING feeling. Emotions got crazy, plans started being hatched, and then I got fed up with guessing and took a test - NEGATIVO!! Which was - Gracias al Senor - a relief. Now I know some of my family would say - "You should have more kids" - I KNOW:  1) my kids are beautiful...I know, ;) 2) I'm a good mom and Aar's a good dad.... debatable at times but we do try hard which says a lot, 3) how fun for Keni to have a sis. - WELL - as all of those things may be true - IT'S JUST NOT IN THE CARDS! So an appointment is getting made for Aar as soon as we know whether the insurance we have now is better than the one we will have come July.

So Wednesday WE ARE UP AGAIN... and really the UP just kept getting higher as last night I spent an amazing night with two of my most favorite men - Aar (of coarse) and MICHAEL BUBLE!!! What a great concert - if you get the chance (especially Tag and Thesha - I'll explain in a sec) GO!!! His opening act was NATURALLY 7 from America's Got Talent (I think) - THEY WERE FABULOUS - and ACAPELLA - see them in action:



and then came HIM!



SO - Now I'm on cloud 9 and can start my Easter/General Conference weekend with a smile, A BIG SMILE on my face. I LOVE MAKING EVERYDAY THE PRESENT! Thanks Mom - and Happy Birthday - it's not 'til the 11th - but April Fools is a day that always reminds me of her - she was always having fun on this day - SO TAKE HER ADVISE AND HAVE SOME FOOLISH FUN TODAY!. :D

Friday Night Concert

How do you like these rock and roll kids! We have been having so much fun the past couple of weeks playing with our kids on Friday nights. For Valentines I got Beatles Rock Band and absolutely LOVE IT! Kenidy and I sing our favorites Dear Prudence, Here Comes the Sun, and so many others (including from the other games) while the boys, including Aaron play the guitar and sweet rowdy Roman plays the "Elmo drums" - It is a ton of fun, and we end up just smiling from ear to ear as our kids TOTALLY GET INTO IT (as you can see from the photos). This Friday I decided to take some pictures and video. SO - if you have a couple of minutes please enjoy the Miller Family Friday Night Concert! Believe me it gets better as it goes. I'm also posting this picture of Keni - because well,  

SHE IS FABULOUS DARLING!

 

My turn...

So now that you have experienced the exciting Christmas of my family, I should tell you that I TOO recieved a surprise to beat ALL surprises! I awoke that morning excited to see the kids do their thing, and to get on my way - however, there like a sidenote to an amazing day was an envelope. As the saying goes, big things really do come in small packages; and so I ripped open the side of the envelope and pulled out two tickets to...

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT~ I know, it's kinda a present for Aaron too because even though Aaron said I could take any one I'd like (which WILL BE HIM) he knows that I will come home VERY HAPPY and as they say in Mama Mia " dot dot dot"! Just in case I don't remember my camera for that evening I wanted to show you what I will be doing that night... wait for it... while at the concert.

AHHHH... how fabulous!

Bipidy, Bopidy, Boo...

Songs can be found on a Disney Princess Karaoke CD, and one of the songs is titled "A Family United" from the movie Meet the Robinsons. Needless to say, it was a great vacation!

Christmas Morning

So this Christmas - as those who have been reading know - Santa surprised the kids with a trip to Disneyland... and yes, we left on CHRISTMAS DAY! It was so much fun to see the kids read the letter from Santa, open their clue box, and come to the realization that we were going on vacation. To be honest, the boys didn't quite get it until their sister YELLED - "WE'RE GOING TO DISNEYLAND!" It was so much fun for me and really fulfilled one my dreams. We were also lucky to be able to share the experience with my sister Holly and her family. I am working on my Christmas slideshow so that will be coming real soon - I hope.

Sassys Retreat Fall 09

It's time to be jealous, cuz I have the best friends in the world! We are having a lot of fun at this year's Sassy Retreat. We have been shopping, eating, and scrapping. This year we took our photos up in Midway. I have been a having a blast with our photos. Here are a few that I've been working on...

practice with photoshop...

So as some of you know I have been having fun with photoshop and photography. Now I am still waiting to get a really good camera, not just my point and shoot. But I don't have the money right now, and really it is just for fun with my scrap booking. None the less, I thought I'd share some of the pictures I've been taking and doodling around with -

Ten Years & Counting - to what I don't know!

Aug. 3rd 1999

was a beautiful summer day when Aaron and I were sealed for
Time & All Eternity in the Bountiful, Utah Temple.
We had a beautiful reception with a lot of family and friends. How exciting it is for us to have made it this far with many of those family and friends still a part of our lives. We have since made new friends... and new family ;) that have made our lives richer in every way - - - except for financially.... huh?! But as those who love us know - finance, shminance! What you can't take with you in the end isn't that important anyway! This is definitely a dream come true - gorgeous husband, who thinks I'm gorgeous no matter what, and can do pretty much anything I ask, and still make me feel like he's the king of my castle! I love you Aaron.
HERE'S TO 50+ more!

I am just having so much fun with my new photography passion!! Do you love this OR WHAT! Thanks to all those who give me such inspiration. A lot of the sites that I go to for ideas are listed below in my 'Let's browse - FABULOUS' section. This was taken at the 'OAKS' up the canyon. I love these photos and am excited to continue with this photography/publisher stuff! I am holding my breath for when I can purchase Photoshop!

Ready for another summer Tuesday -

This summer I have my work set up so that I can spend all day Tuesday with my kids. I usually try to get to bed early so I can wake up and make them a fabulous breakfast, get the chores started and some of them done, and then plan for a fun activity for the afternoon. Aaron has a full day of classes and work so we don't see him until dinner time, which is usually around 7:30 during the summer. So it's me and the kids. I will admit that sometimes I have to talk myself into that day being special, but usually if I plan well it goes great!

A couple of weeks ago My kids and I were able to spend an afternoon reading, listening to music, and swimming. We also did a little Karaoke, and Rock band. Below is Kenidy singing one of her favorite songs - love you sis! I love having these special days with my kids. I hope they will remember them as much as I will cherish them. I am listing this post as one of my 34 dreams because it has always been a dream to have fabulous kids and be able to spend time with them having fun! They are each others best friends and I am a very lucky mom.

How much fun can four girls have...

Well we definitely had a blast at the concerts. And I don't have any pictures of Aaron and I at No Doubt, but we were awefully close and had the times of our lives.
I am barely getting my voice back.
As for Kenidy, Skyler, Katie and I - well, really it was one of the most memorable moments as a mom of the cutest girl in the world!
I would HIGHLY recommend attendingTaylor Swift with your daughters... especially after I saw the interview Gayle King did of her on Sunday (see below).

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Taylor Swift No Doubt... or is it the other way around?

In just one week I will be experiencing an amazing couple of nights!! I have been so fortunate to have tickets to both the Taylor Swift and No Doubt concerts. I didn't realize until after I purchased one set and Aaron gave me the other that they were just a day apart! SOOOO... I'm pretty sure that come next Wednesday I will be dead (that's funny if you remember that Monday is Memorial Day) - k, not that funny, at the very least - I will truly be feeling my age. BUT COME ON - who wouldn't love to just go to concert after concert.... sing, dance, scream, and pretend that you are between the ages of 12 and 21! I said this was going to be the year of dreams... and so it shall!

Now, to plan my outfits... any suggestions? I have two very different looks that I'll be going for - so cowgirl it up and punk rock it out - give me some thoughts!

Dream #1 & 2....

Photography and Digital Scrap.... I'm on my way! I just signed up for a photography course with...





and last night I went with Deanna to a digital scrapbooking class! I AM SOO EXCITED! If you want to join me at the photo class click the icon and sign up - I believe I did the AM session from 9-1 on Aug 8th - just in time for Rhett's BD!

34.... really!??!!

Today I turn 34 and I find myself really scared. I am normally a happy person when it comes to birthdays and if you follow this blog at all you can see I spend quite a bit of time, energy, and sometimes money on celebrating the births of my kids. I am not worried so much about getting old, in fact it is just the opposite. I am praying to see past.... well, I'm a little superstitious so I won't say a specific number. With that said, 34 is a year that scares me.

Why 34?

Well, you see this was the last year my mother lived without cancer; the last year I saw my mother do everything she wanted and not care about what time had left for her to accomplish. If you never knew my mother - well, you missed out. And if you lived in the Ogden/Clearfield/Sunset area most likely you know someone who knew her - and they would tell you of her beauty, strength, talents, and amazing accomplishments. She never said specifically she regreted any of her choices, but I know she had dreams she never got to accomplish.

As her oldest, and as a yellow (for definition of 'yellow' read The Color Code, by my family's friend Dr. Taylor Hartman), I was very frustrated with my mom's success - uh hello I wanted to be the center of attention and she inevitably outwitted, outplayed, and outlasted anyone at any event. Of coarse at the time I didn't understand my frustrations, and I did anything I could to not be like her. After her death I learned a lot about her and mostly about myself, I was 19. I changed from not wanting to be like her to wanting to be exactly like her... which changed too. For the past month or so I have been fixated on 'my time to go'. I know that sounds morbid, and I know that I "shouldn't" think this way. But I have - and now I want to have it all. Is that so wrong? I want to have the beauty, strength, talents, and amazing accomplishments -

AND LIVE OUT MY DREAMS!

So this, my 34th year, I will be spending every second making choices that may not make sense to everyone but will be me being me! I hope those who are a part of this ride will understand, and be patient with my decisions, actions, and craziness. I am sure to journal all the ups and downs, and those moments I feel I can share with the world I will write here. I had a lot of dreams growing up that I didn't pursue because.... well- there are too many reasons that don't matter anymore.

SO HERE I COME DREAMS!!