P- A -R - T...Y? Because I gotta!

Last Saturday was my family's annual Christmas party. As usual, there was lots of food (we had a mexican theme this year), lots of games, lots of noise and even more kids! We just keep growing. One thing missing though was my sweet Grandpa Lee. Although the party was fun and we all enjoyed each other's company, my Grandpa's absence was definitely felt by all. It's just not quite the same without him. I couldn't help but feel that somehow he was still there in spirit, watching over us.

Haylie and Mikaela had a great time. Haylie is so over the moon about Santa Claus. She thinks he's just about the greatest thing since sliced bread. Mikaela-not so much. She wasn't sure about him until he produced a present. Once she figured out that the gift was for her, she warmed up to him (see pic above).

Haylie got a little princess camera and Mikaela got a music player from Santa. They both liked their gifts so well that the minute Santa left, they were off to play with everything else that the other cousins got or dropped on the floor! I think Mikaela pilfered half a dozen other toys. I spent the majority of the night trying to figure out which toy belonged to which cousin. Silly girls!

Haylie got to be one of Santa's helpers, along with her cousins Ellyse, Emily and Jacob. They all looked so cute up there next to Santa. With those super rosy cheeks, Haylie looks like a little elf!

Now it's time to get ready for the big day! Merry Christmas!

Daddy Don't Shoot!

Haylie the Reindeer! Haylie made this little "head dress" in preschool today. She said the teacher taught them about reindeer and sleighs. They all got to make their own set of antlers and a "Rudolph nose" (her words). I thought she looked pretty darn cute and she was quite proud of her antlers. Now we just have to get her an orange jacket to wear around outside so daddy doesn't accidentally shoot her. After all, she is a ten-point with that set of antlers-and those aren't easy to find.

Quack Attack!

Sadly, the feathers are flying once again around our garage. Eric, great white hunter, has taken to the skies in an effort to control the bird population single-handedly for the great state of Utah. It's a serious job, and he's a serious hunter. You know how it goes...neither snow, nor sleet, nor rain, nor dark of night shall keep him from his self-appointed task. We can all rest a little easier knowing he's out there! He's got game, he's got skills (you know like computer skills, num chuck skills), he's got a gun!

Just kidding, Eric! All those other hunters could take a few lessons from you. Go get those ducks!

December+Birthdays+Anniversary+Christmas=What were we thinking?

My sisters-in-law Alenna (in back) & Jodi. Happy Birthday, girl!

My cute father-in-law, Ernie! Happy Birthday, Dad!

My sweet Dad with his girls, Mikaela and Haylie! Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Well, it's that time again. The end of the year. What does this mean to the Millers? BIRTHDAYS galore. Oh yeah, we've got a slug of 'em in December. Here's the breakdown:

Dec. 2nd-Papa Jim

Dec. 3rd-Jodi

Dec. 4th-Papa Ernie

Dec. 8th-Eric's and my anniversary (12th if you're keeping track-can I just say, "What the...? How did that happen?")

Dec. 12th-Nephew Carter

Dec. 16th-Niece Madison

And then there's that little thing called Christmas thrown in just because we don't already have enough packed in the month! Eric and I really planned well when we chose December to get married, huh? Oh well, it's still a great season to go and do things (especially for anniversaries).

We took my Dad to the Prairie Schooner in Ogden for his 58th this year. The girls loved eating in the "covered wagon" and as always, they were all over Grandpa Jim. He totally eats it up though.

We celebrated Ernie's and Jodi's birthdays on Sunday night with cake and ice cream at Eric's parent's house. Unfortunately, poor Eric had the flu so he had to miss out on the fun. The girls got to wish Granpa Ernie and Aunt Jodi a happy birthday and enjoyed spending time at the house with their grandparents and cousins. As always, it's a good time with Eric's family!

Next up: Anniversary! We're now in the tweens! Holy cow. Even after 12 years of marriage, I still think my husband is pretty darn amazing. Yes, he may be infatuated with all things hunting, sporting and outdoors, but he's also a very hard worker and a loving husband and father who adores his girls more than anything. I have been very blessed to be married to him and I am so grateful for all he does for us. Happy Anniversary, honey!

Ah, A "Twilight" Thanksgiving!

So, let me just say that this is the first night that I have been able to pull myself from the couch in almost an entire week! What kind of hold can a stuffed leather couch have over me? Let's break it down:

1. Scene of the crime:

I decided that Thanksgiving was the perfect time to start a book I'd heard quite a bit about in recent weeks, but hadn't given that much thought to-"Twilight". I purchased the book a little over a month before and it was serving as a wonderful dust collector in my bedside table while I finished my latest book. I began reading the book on Wednesday night around 8:30 pm with the intention of only reading until I was to the third chapter. Yeah-not so much. I ended up reading somewhere around 200 pages (or rather, until 1:30 AM-yes AM!) until I finally decided I must sleep if I was going to get my turkey in the oven anytime before noon the next day.

2. After another fabulous Thanksgiving dinner hosted by my in-laws (delicious, as always, Mom M.) and the usual Thanksgiving day routine, ie: watching Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, cooking a turkey so Eric wouldn't have to worry about leftovers from his mom's house, playing card games with his grandparents and my brothers-in law (my sisters-in-law don't really get into the whole "card" thing, dang it!) and lounging around most of the evening, I decided that I would give myself just a few minutes more reading time before bed. Ha! Fool that I am, I was up again until 2:00AM this time. I swear these books have an addictive chemical mixed in with ink. I finished the book in record time. SO freakin' good.

3. On Sunday, with the exception of my 3 hours at church, my day was almost fully devoted to starting and finishing "New Moon", the second book in the series. Good thing there were a lot of leftovers from Thanksgiving or my family might have starved. My poor family!

4. On Monday, I started "Eclipse" the third book in the series so far. The biggest book yet, and I finished it last night! Holy Cow-I'm usually not a speed reader, I can usually get through a 500+ page book in less than five days, so the fact that I've just finished well over 1500+ pages in a matter of 7 days is pretty darn good in my mind.

It's a very good thing that the author's next book in the series isn't due out until August of 2008 (well, good in Eric's mind, for me it's absolute TORTURE!) so that I can get some freakin' sleep and get caught up on the all laundry I've totally neglected. Sigh! If anyone out there knows of a good book they've just finished, please call me-I've got a good eight months until my obsession with this series flares back up! :)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.

Room Service!

Eric and I packed a bag, grabbed the girls and headed downtown to the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake for an overnight stay on Sunday night. It was so much fun. Eric's mom and dad gave us a gift certificate last year for Christmas and we hadn't even thought about using it until she reminded us that there was an expiration date on them! Luckily, she warned us in time and we ended up giving the girls a fun, swim-filled mini-weekend. The rooms in the tower are awesome and HUGE! If you've never gone-make plans to go and be sure to stay in the tower, they're the best!

We let the girls swim around in the indoor/outdoor pool and then warmed them up in the hot tub for a minute. Both of our girls are little water dogs and once they're in the water it's like pulling teeth to get them out again. I'm glad they like to swim, but it's a little scary too because they think they can just jump right in and we'll be right there to catch them. I think some swimming lessons will be included in next year's summer plans for Haylie. I know Grandpa Jim enjoys swimming and would be an excellent teacher (hint, hint Dad!).

Of course, Eric and I didn't think about asking for a room with two beds so we ended up in a room with one king-size bed. My brilliant thought was just to do a makeshift bed on the floor for the girls (yeah, right). We ended up in a tangled mess of arms and legs on the huge bed. But it was still fun and luckily, the bed was big enough for all of us so we got to do some major snuggling with our girls. Not a bad alternative. :)

It was good to just get away overnight and spend every minute with our girls. Nothing is better to me than just being with my girls and my funny hubby. That's all I need to make my day.

Fun Old Fashioned Family Christmas!

"I'm gonna burn some dust here. Eat my rubber!"

"Dad, it's burn some rubber, eat my dust."

"Whatever, Russ, whatever."

Eric got our Christmas lights up on the new house last week and I must say they look awesome! I am a big fan of the Christmas lights. I used to love asking my Dad to put the "colorful lights" on the house when I was little and then when they were up I would lay in bed at night and look at them through my bedroom window. When I think about that I really miss being a kid. Christmas has changed so much since I was young and it doesn't feel the same anymore. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy being around my family and the traditions we have continued through the years (especially my Mom's awesome Christmas breakfast). Before Eric and I had our girls, and believe me, eight years is a LONG time, Christmas was just kind of a "family get-together" kind of holiday. It has been so much more entertaining and rewarding for us since our children have come. We actually get more of a gift out of giving them presents than we could ever get out of buying each other gifts. I think Eric and I could honestly say we wouldn't mind if we never received another gift-so long as we could just be with our families and be able to give our children a good Christmas. For me especially, as I've gotten older, I truly enjoy giving a whole lot more than receiving. It's funny how your perspective changes over the years and you really do find that the material things don't really matter much. After all, as they say, "You can't take it with you." If only that weren't true where Disneyland is concerned! :)

Well, I think I've waxed nostalgic long enough for one blog! If nothing else, you can enjoy looking at my pic's of Clark Griswald-if I were clever enough, I would've found a way to insert Eric's face. He always reminds me of Clark during the holidays (Love you lots, honey!) and I get a big kick out of him walking around the house tormenting the girls with his "ho ho hos" from back bedrooms or asking if they heard footprints on the roof. So fun!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Love To Eat Turkey!

Well, it's been a while since I've been on to blog so I thought I'd better get started again! I love November for the following reasons:

1. Turkey! So yummy and good for you-an awesome combination! Thank goodness for Thanksgiving.

2. Thanksgiving-I know this should probably be at the top, but for me it's just a holiday that gives me an excuse to eat turkey! :)

3. Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade-I like parades and this is by far the best one of the year!

4. Family Get-togethers-when the weather turns bad, it's fun to go indoors and play games with my family. Eric's dad and grandparents can always be counted on for a fun game of Rummy or Hearts, but they're not too big on many other games which is just fine (Ernie and I like to try and trick everyone else during the card games). My family is just the opposite-we love all sorts of different games and on Thanksgiving there is usually more than one game going on at once with different family members.

5. The "Official" start of the Christmas Season-I like Christmas well enough, and I enjoy the parties and the special programs at church during this time of year.

My only wish would be for Thanksgiving and Christmas to come and be fun and then have spring return instantly! I never really look forward to the long, cold winter months. No fun! Oh well, the sooner winter gets here the sooner it will be over! :)

I hope everyone has wonderful plans for Thanksgiving and that you all enjoy the holiday season!

Happy Halloween!

Here are a few of the pumpkins we carved for Halloween. I tried to take some others, but they would not turn out and even these are still a little fuzzy. Oh well, they'll have to do. As you can see, Haylie was a princess (shocker!), Sleeping Beauty to be exact, and little Mikaela was a Bumble bee. They both looked so cute. They made a pretty good haul too considering being in a new neighborhood. This was a good Halloween because it was warm and we were able to actually visit with some of our new neighbors. I ended up doing my visiting teaching the night before and so I was able to get a feel for how the neighborhood was. My partner told me that I should prepare for 200-300 kids! Holy cow, I thought my old neighborhood had a ton of kids. Yeah, I was at the store this afternoon getting more ammo (er, candy).

My family came over for "Dinner in a Pumpkin" and apple juice. It was good having them come and visit with the girls. Eric's parents also got in some quality time as well, although unfortunately, it wasn't as long as any of us would have liked. I'm still glad we got to visit with them though.

I know my blog template is a little premature and believe me, I'm not in any rush for Christmas to get here, but I want to make this one last a little longer and it's also a cute background! I hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween. Now, bring on the turkey!

Happy Birthday, Grandma Lois!

Saturday Eric's entire family gathered at the Marriott in Provo to celebrate his grandmother's birthday. It was a fun day and it's always nice to see family members who live farther away. Eric's family is quite spread out and we don't get to see each other very often, mostly just during holidays and birthdays, etc. All of the little cousins really have a good time playing with each other and chasing all around the room. Eric's uncles, Bill and Rick, can always be counted on to have a new joke (this year's was pretty good), and this year we welcomed two new additions. The arrivals of little Weston Hildebrandt, the baby of Eric's cousin Jaylene and her husband, Teddy, and Vance Miller, baby of BJ & Alenna Miller (Eric's brother). They are both so cute.

Eric's family is a lot of fun and they truly do enjoy each other's company. It was great to see everybody and hope there are many more birthdays to come! Happy birthday Grandma!

Oh Deer! The Great White Hunter Strikes Again!

Well, Eric is one happy man. He got his buck on Tuesday-all is right with the world. Way to go Eric! As you can see, it's a pretty good sized deer. Haylie and Mikaela weren't sure what to think when they saw Daddy come home with such a big animal in the back of his truck. They did stay out there with him though to watch everything he did. Maybe Dad will get his way in a few years and the girls will want to go hunting with him. And now, the duck hunting begins.

My Favorite Things

I am the CTR 6 teacher in my ward and I have such a cute little class. Four boys and only one girl. They keep me pretty entertained with their observations about people and church. Last week, after our primary program in Sacrement Meeting, I asked my class what they did during the week and what their favorite thing was. I got some very random answers (what did you expect-they're six!): "eating dinner", "playing video games", "going to school", "getting dressed" (?), yada yada yada. So funny!
It made me start thinking of some of my favorite things and I thought I would share them with you!
1. Family, my husband and my girls-nothing tops them. I love my family and Eric's family very much. I have always considered myself a very fortunate girl to have such an awesome family and sisters and to have married into such an awesome family as well. That's not too common and it's nice to have support and love on both sides.

2. The Temple-There is nowhere else on this earth that brings more peace and clarity to my life than within the walls of those sacred buildings. I don't get there as often as I would like, but it makes me all the more grateful for the times that I do go.

3.Disneyland-if you know me at all, this will come as no surprise. I have been in love with all things Disney since I was little and it just increases as I get older and share it with my girls.

4. Cruises-I totally love them. I have my in-laws to thank for that. They gave us a cruise as a Christmas gift one year and ever since then Eric and I have been completely hooked. Woo hoo.

5.Drawing/Singing-these two are a definite tie. I love them both equally and they are often done at the same time (ask my parents if you don't believe me-they endured countless hours of listening to my voice from the confines of my bedroom as I drew).

6. Makeup-I think I was born with a mascara wand in my hand. I love it. It's never a bad day when your makeup is rockin'! My favorite part of makeup is doing it on others. Luckily, I get the opportunity to do that more and more lately as a side business and it's awesome!

7. Musicals-bring on the theater! This would also include dance, plays, etc. They're so much fun to watch and it is so entertaining. Now, Eric does not share my affinity for this, but he has been known to enjoy himself at several of these kinds of outings and I'm glad he's willing to go with me once in a while (he even admits he enjoyed Phantom of the Opera).

8. Books-I love to read. I don't get as many opportunities to read since I've had my girls, as they keep me running, but when I do get to enjoy a book it makes me happy. I am reading "The Peacegiver" right now-totally recommend it!

9.Camping-Eric and I both love this. I have to thank my parents for instilling this love in me. Some of my favorite memories growing up are from the trips we took to Yellowstone National Park with all of my Dad's family. All the cousins used to have a great time making up plays, visiting the "hot pots", singing "Annie" show tunes for countless hours and going to the General Store. I miss my cousin Natalie singing some random song about fried ham (I don't remember how it goes, but it's pretty funny). I hope to take my girls and Eric up there someday soon. Eric hasn't been there yet and there is so much to see and do that I think he'll fall instantly in love with it.

10. Holidays-Especially Halloween. I enjoy any excuse to spend time with Eric's or my family (holiday or not). I truly enjoy being around both families and so I never look at it as a burden to go and socialize. Holidays just give me one more reason to do so. I don't particularly care so much for the holiday itself (unless it's Halloween), it's just the vehicle I use to be able to see family.

So, in the end I guess I've come full circle. The most precious things in my life begin and end with family. Love you all!

It's Thriller-ific!

Saturday was so much fun! My sister, Darby, bought tickets for me, Erin, Tara, Mom, Marilynn, Grandma Grace and Erin's friend, Cher, to Odyssey Dance Theater's Thriller! It totally rocked.

This was my first year going to it and I was so excited. My family went to ODT's Shut Up and Dance earlier this year (which was awesome) and so I had high expectations for this particular show. I am happy to report that they far exceeded them. I love theater and dance and this was a lot of fun. For anyone looking to do something interesting and different during October, I definitely recommend this. Even if you're not a dance fan, there's a little something to entertain everyone.

I can't wait until March when ODT starts their new Shut Up and Dance show. I'm also counting down the days for the arrival of Wicked to come to Salt Lake City. Several of my family members have already seen it and said it is terrific.

Thank you, Darby for the fun evening. It was a blast! This is definitely a new Halloween tradition for me.

I smile because you're my sister, I laugh because there's nothing you can do about it!

This month has been a pretty crazy one so far and there has been a lot of drama going on as well. It makes me realize how lucky I am to have such terrifc sisters and family and how much I appreciate their endless supply of love and support.

Erin is so funny and so positive and I always appreciate her sense of humor about life. She is an awesome Relief Society President and I admire her determination to keep at it. She is so good to my little girls and they adore her.

Darby has the best one-liners. She has such a dry sense of humor and I get the biggest kick out of her comments. She has such a fun personality and so much drive. She truly makes my day with her observations about life and the stupidity of the human race in general. I totally love that!

Dallin is one of the best examples I have ever seen of how to live the gospel. She is an example in action. I'm sure the people of Argentina are loving her and her sweet personality. I really miss her random laughs at the dinner table about the silly conversations we have. She can find the humor in the weirdest places or the dullest conversations. I can't wait until she's home.

Eric, my sweet husband, is, as always, supportive and loving. He always tries to keep me upbeat when I'm feeling a little low or worried about my latest real eastate venture. He helps me see the glass is half full and that I don't really have too much to complain about. I really appreciate his generosity and support in all things. Plus, he does a darn good toenail polish job!

I hope as my girls get older that they'll realize how great it is to have each other and to be sisters. I am so happy and grateful that I have mine around me and that we have such an awesome, loving relationship. I pray every night that my girls grow up to love each other and help and support each other as much as me and my sisters do.

Thanks Sisters, for being such great examples of love and support! You're loved beyond measure!

Boo To You!

Saturday was a bunch of fun! Eric and I went to Haunted Hollow in Ogden with my sister, Darby, and her friends, Tara and Mike. Darby and I were sick of eating out so we decided to just eat at my house and then go the haunted house. It was good times. Anyone who knows me at all knows that I LOVE going to haunted houses. Halloween is definitely one of my favorite holidays and I have so much fun planning parties for family and friends.

Eric and I have been to this particular haunted house several times over the years and we have a lot of fun seeing what's changed and what they add. Eric tried several times to break away from the group so he could try and scare poor Darby and Tara, but they were on to him and he didn't get the desired reaction he was looking for. It did backfire on him though, at one point after trying to scare us for the tenth time that night, he walked right into the path of one of the spooks and got quite a scare himself. It was pretty funny to watch him jump and bolt. He was a good sport about it though, and he still got us a couple of times that night. Thanks for keeping us entertained Eric!

If you're looking for something fun to do, I would totally recommend a good old fashioned scare at the Haunted Hollow! Next up-the pumpkin patch! Woo hoo.

Is it funny?

So, little Haylie has this new phrase that seems to come after everything she says. She said to me today, "Hey, Mom," as she's drawing something undeciferable, "this is my crazy dress and this is my little crown." Holding up her scribbles to help me see more clearly what she's talking about. "Is it funny?"

Then, later on, "Hey, Mom, can I have a peanut butter cookie for a minute again? Can I, Mommy? Is it funny?"

See a pattern here? Apparently, she thinks everything should be funny and is sure to check with me to see if it is. At least she isn't calling Mikaela "baby sitter" anymore. She has now advanced to: "baby sistoh-is it funny?" Oy!

Picture time!

Here are some fun new pictures of the girls. We had so much fun shooting these and they really had a good time mugging for the photographer. Just thought I'd share a few of my favorites with you all. I sure wish they could stay this small forever, but then tomorrow when they're screaming and crying I have no doubt my mind will change! :)

What's a boy?

Eric and I have been in a somewhat controversial debate of late about whether or not to add to our little family. I say yes, we have one more child waiting up there. Eric seems to think we're just fine and don't need anymore. I think he secretly would like to have another little one if there were some way to ensure that the next one would be a boy. I would love a boy since the whole idea of having one would be completely new not only for me, but for my side of the family as well. Boys are completely foreign territory to my family so I think it would be an adventure. I love our little girls so much, and could not imagine life without them, but it would be so fun to have a little boy.

Even though it takes a lot of work (and let's not forget that pesky little inconvenience-big money) and tons of doctor visits, drugs, needles, ultrasounds, yada, yada, yada...whew-it is still the best thing we've ever gone through. I have a feeling I'll win this one though. I have my ways of convincing him! Besides, when they're this cute, who can argue with wanting more? :)

Alone again!

Eric left for Reno yesterday and so it's just the girls at the Miller house. We always seem to have a lot of fun when Dad has to go somewhere. Yesterday we went to lunch and then Haylie decided she just had to have a new Disney movie. I told her if she helped clean up her toys, and did a few chores she could use some of her allowance money to buy a new movie. Looks like I've got a great motivator for her now! She was only too happy to do anything I asked just so she could have her movie. Hmmm, this could be useful in years to come. :)

Well, I've posted a few pic's of the family at Disneyland and Eric as "The Great White Hunter". I've noticed in going through our photos that it's about time to get a new family photo done. Yikes, we need to keep up on that a little better.

So long Summer-Hello Fall

So, I'm sad to see summer coming to an end. I love everything about the summer season-being outdoors, warm weather, baseball games, BBQ's, all the plants are in bloom and smell great. Fall is all right in the beginning when the colors are just beginning to change and it's still pleasant enough to be outdoors. Winter-not so much. I really don't enjoy winter at all. I love warmth and sunlight. You don't see too much of either in the winter. I can definitely see myself living in a place like San Diego in a few years. Eric and I both enjoy California and the beach and I would love to move there and retire someday. Maybe someday....

Miller Family Fun

Welcome to the Miller Family Fun website. Since my husband can barely type (hen peck is a better description) I'll be the one doing the majority of the blogging.

Hopefully, you'll enjoy reading our stories and looking at our photos. Please feel free to comment and give suggestions. This is all new to us and it feels a little silly, but then again-silly is kind of a nice change. :)

See you on the web. Happy blogging y'all.