In Over my Head

Two things I know

2012-02-01T21:00:00.000-08:00

Ba. It's Josi's new favorite word around this joint. It means bath. (That's not one of the two things I know. That's one of the things Josi knows.)

The doctor who made us this silly something of a cast said to take it off once a day to check the skin, and that she can take baths.

Consequently, my children have NEVER, and I mean NEVER, been cleaner (by a long shot)(#1).

Also, the only way I can get Josi to hold still so I can reapply the cast (after baths and/or diaper changes) is if I give her a rice krispy treat. If I don't, she bucks violently. That can't be great for the leg.

Ironically, the most abusive thing I've ever done to this baby is force this wrap on her everyday (#2).

Who she is: 18 months

2012-01-29T22:31:00.000-08:00

In the middle of all our travels and breaking of legs, Joslyn turned 18 months. And to prove it, over the last month she started doing so many fun new tricks! Most evident, she added tons of new words to her vocabulary. It seemed so sudden, but I guess that's probably normal.
Words she says:
In
ow (out)
go
owww (owww)
cacka (cracker)
cookay (cookie- seriously, these 2 were some of her first words besides mama)
yesh (yes)
nose
nigh nigh
tank ou (thank you)
ahh ou (love you- it's more of her intonation here)
hello
bye bye
Her first sentence:
Iwa ouuu (I want out. The "I" is two syllables for "I want")

On Friday she went to her 18 month appointment (at 19 months).
We couldn't weigh her because she had her cast on, but I remembered from the instacare in Utah she weighed about 28 lbs, which is 94%. Her height was 33.1 inches, 79%. And her head was 19.3 inches, 96%. Although 3 months ago it was 19.5- 100%. I doubt her head is shrinking so I guess her head is between 96 and 100%.

She's having a hard time keeping this new contraption of a cast on her leg. I can't hold her down. She wants to be crawling and walking and running. She is so adventurous and fun-loving. She has a wonderful laugh and still loves to dance anytime she hears music. She dives head first down slides. I'm sure I've said it here a million times, but she really thinks she's the 3rd twin. She isn't intimidated by her siblings and feels entitled to everything they get. When she meets people she bows her head like she's shy, but then she gives the cheesiest, hammiest, flirtest smiles from underneath her lashes.

(Although sometimes instead of bowing her head she sticks her two pointer fingers up her two nostrils.)

I had a hard time coming up with some pictures that I haven't already posted, since I always post a million pictures of her.

She wants to eat like the older kids do. This was at the desert when she insisted on having a regular bowl of cereal in milk.

We covered her top to bottom in rags since she was bound to get milk all over her, especially sitting that low.

She loves playing at the preschool while we are waiting for Kate & Owen to be done.

I really wanted to upload a video of her throwing herself down slides head first, but for some reason I can never get videos to upload on blogger! Oh well. I love you Joslyn. When your leg finally heals you get to go to nursery!!!

Owen and the mice field

2012-01-29T16:49:00.001-08:00

Owen is laying next to me in bed because he doesn't feel good. He's singing "little bunny foo foo" into his throw up bowl, and he's singing it perfectly except instead of saying "scooping up the field mice and bopping them on the head" he's singing, "scooping up the mice field." It's making me super happy. It reminded me of a few other things he says that I love. He calls candy canes "candy cans." He calls chicken nuggets "chicken nugnuts" and hamburgers "hamgerber." They are getting so old but they are still so young. I'm sure I'll miss it when they don't mispronounce things anymore.

Sad baby

2012-01-27T20:33:00.000-08:00

Today was a hard day. I took Josi to an orthopedic doctor here to follow up after seeing the doctor in Utah. I thought she was either going to get her cast off or just have to have it on for another 10 days. Instead, they took the cast off, put a splint on that goes from her ankle to half way up her back, and told me she has to wear it for 2 and a half weeks, no crawling, no putting pressure on it, nothing. Oh, and it goes right up her right bum. He told me to put the diaper on TOP of it and that I just have to clean it when she pees and poops on it... like, every time. I can take it off once a day for a bath and to check her skin. Well, she peed on it once today and I said "screw that," took the whole thing off, put the diaper on under it and rewrapped her. I guess I'll just be doing that a million times a day. And she bucks every time I do it.

Oh, and they informed me that they have to call CPS too. Did I mention that? Apparently most femur breaks for 1-4 year olds are from child abuse and when they see a femur break Oregon law says they have to report it. That part was awesome. I tried real hard to keep it together. I don't think I was entirely successful.

Josi was so sad all afternoon and couldn't get comfortable and wouldn't nap. Finally we put her in a bath (the first she's had in 2 weeks due to her cast) and she was in there for half hour just as happy as can be. I totally broke down watching her because she is just my adventurous and spirited little girl and it makes me so sad that she's had to suffer. She just doesn't understand why I can't let her crawl and walk around and I keep having to wrap this dang thing around her leg. It's so sad. Spirits around here are a little low. I feel like it might be a REALLY REALLY long 3 weeks.

They put hard fiberglass cast material on the bottom side of her leg up her back, and then ace bandaged it to keep it there. This is supposed to lend more support to the upper femur where the break is, but it seems way less stable to me. I guess we'll see. The diaper was on the outside of that big bump, so the pee didn't even hit the diaper but just ran right out of that. Unbelievable.

Utah

2012-01-23T20:26:00.000-08:00

I spent the first week in Utah at Cali's house, where I got 3 days with mom and dad.

Cali was super sick, so we were pretty low key. The kids played so well with their cousins.

Josi pre-disastrous fall.

So Friday afternoon I was over at Jason & KaeLynn's to spend some time with them and to see my parents. We were all talking upstairs when Owen came running to tell us that Joslyn had fallen off the bed. Jason ran down and brought her to me. She snuggled me for awhile, and then I put her down for a nap. When she got up from her nap, she kept whimpering and when I set her down, she wouldn't put any pressure on her right leg! It was so sad and a little scary.

We were about to leave to Brooklynn's clogging recital, but instead I sent my twins with with the group and Josi and I went to an instacare. No joke, it was the FIRST time I had to take one of my grown up kids to an instacare. She was pretty happy for having a hurt leg. She was the saddest when I had to lay her down for the xrays, and even though she bawled through the whole thing, bless her heart she held still as a mouse. Every time she saw the doctors she'd give them a scowl, and every time she thought we were leaving she would turn to them and smile so huge and wave and say "bye bye!" It was awesome. We left with an ace bandage and that's when the party was OFFICIALLY OVER for me. haha. No, I still had fun. But after this day I was toting this baby around every second, and it was hard.

Moving on...

Famous Jason & KaeLynn pancake party! I loved getting to BE there instead of just reading it about like usual.

After a week at Cali's, I went and spent 2 nights at Jason and KaeLynns. We had a lot of fun, ate delicious food, and capped off each night with yummy ice cream and Psych.

This trip I met baby Stella for the first time. She's adorable.

One of the days my dear dear friend Jasmine came and spent the afternoon with me. It was SO great. She is exactly the same and I love her and her babies.

We had to take this second picture when Josi woke up from her nap.

One night KaeLynn and I went to Target. Joslyn was loving some alone time with me.

Next I went and stayed a night at Justin and Angeliques. Even though Angelique has her own little baby, she watched my babies so Justin and I could go to the BYU basketball game. It was so much fun. Justin and I have been to so many games together. It made me so happy.

What didn't make me happy? We lost the game. But it was still fun.

This was a fun trip. But man, it was long. Four weeks to be exact. Two and a half weeks without Kyle. I was planning on leaving earlier in the week, but a huge snow system came through the northwest and left me stranded. I mean, my car was loaded to the brim with Christmas gifts! That's how long of a trip it was.

We stopped in Boise and stayed with Myca and Jared on the way home. It was so great seeing them. I love my family. Then after a long 10 hour drive on Saturday (and a near out-of-gas experience), we finally made it home; to a home where our basement had flooded the day before and we were WITHOUT WATER! We just got our water back on tonight after a long 3 days. It's making me rethink our whole "water emergency supply."

Water or no water, I was just so happy to finally be home, have a husband, have a place to lay my screaming baby, and my own bed and space. I was so happy I even cleaned all day today and was HAPPY to do so. Weird.

Follow up

2012-01-23T18:14:00.000-08:00

She has an occult fracture on her upper right femur. It's just a hairline fracture and she should only have to wear this beast for 10-20 days.

Immobile

2012-01-15T14:09:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to write about Joslyn for awhile. And today I have a sad reason to. Yesterday we were at Jason & KaeLynns and Joslyn (according to the 4 and 6 year olds present) fell off the bottom bunk of a bed (it's like a one foot drop), and "landed on a pillow that had toys underneath it." Jason brought her to me and I snuggled her and laid her down for a nap. Well, an hour later she woke up, and when I went to stand her up, she wouldn't put any pressure on her right leg.

Now, my baby Joslyn is TOUGH. She rumbles and tumbles and barely blinks an eye. We've been staying at Cali's and she has one of those tall beds, and all week Joslyn has been sliding down her bed and dropping the last few feet to run off and play. I couldn't believe she hurt herself on such a small fall.

So for the first time in my life, I took my baby to an instacare. I was suppose to go with Jason's group and my parents to their kids dance recital, so they took the twins so it was just Josi and I. She kept whimpering, but besides that she was in good spirits. When it was time for the xrays she cried the whole time but held still as mouse. Then she'd wave goodbye and smile when she thought the mean doctors were done with her.

I'm suppose to take her to a sports medicine practice on Monday for them to look at it and POSSIBLY have her leg casted from thigh to ankle!! They didn't necessarily see a break but there was something "abnormal" with the knee and they want to take pressure off of it. Unless, he said, this weekend she's back to running around and acting normal. They wrapped her up with an ace bandage and sent us home.

So Dad and Jason gave her a blessing last night and she slept great through the night. But this morning when she went to stand up, her leg kind of buckled beneath her and she kept whimpering "owww." It's made me super sad. I wish Kyle was here. Or that we were just home so we could deal with it together. We'll see what the doctor says hopefully tomorrow or the next day. In the meanwhile she's just been sitting on my lap all day. Still pretty happy, but very immobile.

She has strong opinions about what she wants to be doing so it's hard that she can't move around for herself. It's making me oh so sad.

Oh and we've skyped Kyle twice since we've been here, and both times Josi kissed the screen like 10 times.

My parents are finally home.

2012-01-14T22:57:00.000-08:00

My sister wrote the best post about us going to the airport and welcoming my parents home from their mission. It was SOSO awesome. I'm pretty sure I was the first to see them coming down the escalators. Instead of copying her post picture for picture and word for word, go HERE to read it. Cortney took all the pictures and they are pretty awesome. I was so glad I made the drive. It was totally worth it.

A change in plans

2012-01-14T21:30:00.000-08:00

We came home from the desert. And we were so exhausted from our week of constant fun that we completely fizzled out on New Years. Like, sit around the house staring at each other, is it midnight yet so I can go to sleep fizzled out. But 8 pm was pretty hip hop happening.

When we got back from the desert and after New Years, the plan was to jump in the car and drive back to Roseburg. Then, a week later, I was planning on loading up the twins, and driving solo to Utah to see my parents come home from their mission. But instead, Kyle got on a plane home, and I decided to stay an extra week, and then just drive directly from California to Utah and save myself a drive.

So we spent the week going to the pool or the beach everyday. It was tiring and awesome and my kids never slept better.

One night we even drove an hour to get to the nearest Cafe Rio.

Beach day- Joslyn playing in the mud.

Here she is loving the birds. She's always been obsessed with birds, ever since she was SUPER young.

Kate was getting buried in the sun and Joslyn was NOT about to be left out of that.

I found a little hole along the beach that had a bunch of sand dollars in them! I thought it was so lucky. I used to search for them in high school when we'd go to Mazatlan and never found a one!

I got to take Josi shopping one day. We weren't too productive but she discovered a fun place to hide in stores. And the silver manaquin straight up freaked her out.

And here are just the last few random pictures from the desert that I didn't mean to leave out.

Toni winning auntie of the year. She did this same move up this huge steep hill on the snowy mountain. Pretty impressive.

The desert: SUNFEST

2012-01-10T13:59:00.001-08:00

The rest of the week in Palm Desert was just a lot of playing in the sun. We went swimming everyday.

One night, we had our Christmas gift exchange, also known as white elephant or nasty santa. But instead of random unwantables, it was for nice gifts.

Kyle and I ended up with a hefty little vacuum, and an insulated beach bag full of fun games. Score!

(Although the gift Keri got was a little more on the white elephant side... haha. Except it turned out to be pretty fun. A floating remote control Nemo!)

This is classic Kyle funny game face.

One day we took the kids to a nice fountain park.

Poor gimpy Kathy. I mean Queen Kathy, basking in the sun.

I had to include this funny sequence of events. The fountain water was FREEZING, but we wanted to put them all in it for a picture.

Joslyn fell down right away in the freezing water.
Look at all of my kids faces. Beginning to panic.

Then all of my kids full on bawling. It was pretty sweet.

So many pictures.

I had to include these next two photos, even though they aren't great, but I love Kate & Owen's stances. Kate has her hand on Owen some way or another in all of these photos. They are best friends.

One night we got a babysitter to stay in the hotel with sleeping babies so we could all go eat at Babe's.

Another night was the local street fair. We had a fun time there. Although it was a little exhausting making sure we didn't lose any kids.

Kate's been making this face in pictures alot lately.

Also not pictured was a lot of tennis, a Hawaiian luau put on by the Bronsons, a lot of golf for the boys, ping pong, and laying out. We all had such a fun week out in the desert. It was especially nice to have a room right by the pool so we could put the babies to sleep and still get some sun! Happy babies always makes for a happy trip.

The desert: SNOWFEST

2012-01-10T12:18:00.001-08:00

Our big present from Terry this year, besides, you know, a week in the desert, was taking all of us to the snow. There is a place in Palm Desert where you can ride a tram up a mountain and then play with snow at the top. It made packing for the trip slightly complicated, but it was one of the first times Kate and Owen truly got to play in the snow.

Here's our group shot. Don't we look awesome.

On our way to the tram. This was basically a precursor for how Joslyn was going to act the entire morning. She was NOT happy.

Toni and Brooklynn. Brooklynn was wearing the fluffiest snow outfit. She looked like a strawberry marshmellow.

The kids with Kathy waiting for the tram. Once we got up to the snow, poor Kathy had to just sit in this chair, away from all the action. She was really a good sport for how sucky she had it- stuck in this chair the whole vacation .

On the tram.

Josi loved Brooklynn and was so nice and gentle with her. (Bailey, on the other hand, was her nemesis.)

We didn't take any sleds, but Ty and CJ were the MVPs because they found 2 sleds by the garbage cans, and all the kids had so much fun.

Even Josi stopped crying for a second to (kind of) enjoy a ride.

Sisters

Too many sledding pictures! I couldn't leave any out.

After sledding there were a lot of picture shoots and a lot of snowball fights.

Poppa with his grandkids, minus Josi.

Best friends

Kate & aunt Tera.

The couples that don't have kids always like to pose with Brooklynn like she's their pseudo child.

My little family.

The whole group minus the parents. Notice I'm wearing some sweet snow coveralls? I got them for 25 cents at a garage sale.

Before we left we took some pictures at the top.

The best part was when Joslyn walked outside with an entire huge slice of pizza just to herself. Kyle was determined to quit her crying and the pizza did it. All the other kids (and adults) wanted a bite too but Joslyn ate the whole thing herself, and grunted at anyone who got close!

It was such a fun morning, and it made me happy that we moved to Oregon where we might get some snow every now and then to play with. I didn't know if my kids were going to be whimpy or love it and I was just so happy that they loved it. We left the mountain and spent the rest of the week in the pool and sun.

Phases 5-7

2012-01-04T23:44:00.000-08:00

Every Christmas day the Millers drive up to Arcadia (2 hour drive) to spend the afternoon with Grandma & Grandpa Mosher and family. There is always tons of yummy food, and tons more presents under the tree.

Here are some pictures from our afternoon (also known as phase 5).

Josi has started cuddling us a little more and it's dreamy.

Owen is sure giving us the look here..

Before opening presents, Kate and Owen sang the song they learned in preschool.

Bailey made up a song on the spot. It was so awesome. My favorite line was, "And that poor baby's name was Jesus."

Gma & gpa with all their great-grand kids. Joslyn didn't want to leave her dad for the picture, so my favorite part is Kyle hiding behind Grandma and lifting Josi in. Phantom flying sad baby.

All of the Mosher grand kids.

All the Mosher kids.

The Terry Miller family.

We left after dinner, and stopped by Terry's brothers house on the way out (phase 6). They usually have tons of people over there on Christmas but we showed up too late, so we only stayed for a few minutes. Then, lastly, at the end of Christmas day, we all got back in our cars and drove another hour and a half (phase 7) out to Palm Desert, where we were going to spend a fun week in the snow, sun, and pool. It was a really great Christmas. We love our family.

Christmas Day (Phases 1-4)

2012-01-04T17:10:00.001-08:00

Christmas morning. We got up around 7, brushed our teeth, combed our hair, and got in line.

The kids were excited. Josi was tired.

We all went downstairs and watched as the kids opened their stockings, with "A Christmas Toy" movie playing in the background. All the kids got Tic Tacs and Joslyn ate her whole box.

The Bronsons came at 7:50 and we all went to the tree to open all of our presents! Joslyn didn't really love it because she was so tired and grumpy. She opened up a "Winnie the Pooh" stuffed animal from Kaci and she started crying and bucking. It's been a funny joke since then, since it seems like she HATED IT!!! But really, she was just so tired. Her favorite present was this doggy that barks and walks.

Owen was always very concerned with how many presents were left and how many were for him. (This might be a problem when we have Earl Christmases, as I'm sure he'll get way less presents.)

The mom.

Tera

Bronsons and Tyty.

Kate and Owen had made us some Christmas ornaments with their pictures on it from preschool. That was a fun little surprise.

Tera got Kate this real baking set that she LOVES. Owen also scored with a rocketship alarm clock that Tera got him.

The Rhineers with their pretend baby.

The Thomas family

All the sisters.

Cousins!

Whoa, so many pictures. Santa brought Kate & Owen a big cardboard fort rocketship and a big cardboard fort playhouse that you can color with markers. We are waiting to get home to open those. Their other main gifts they got are leapster explorers to play in the car. They love them! Okay, they got tons of other stuff too. Maybe I'll list them later.

Phase 2 of Christmas morning was a delicious breakfast, and phase 3 was going to sacrament meeting. (Terry kept walking around muttering to himself, "Okay, done with phase 2, lets move to phase 3." It was pretty funny. He has a lot more responsibility now that Kathy is recovering from surgery on her ankle.) Sacrament meeting was supposed to be an hour but it lasted an hour and 35 minutes, which was a little rough with all the kids. After church we all went home, changed clothes and drove to Arcadia for the next phases of Christmas day (I believe the 2 hour drive was phase 4). Millers like to do it marathon style. More to come.

Impromptu nativity

2012-01-04T11:17:00.001-08:00

Christmas eve was pretty funny. We haven't really started any grandkid traditions for Christmas eve on the Miller side yet. No one had babies for so long that the main tradition was always just going to the movies.

The Bronsons and Thomas's were not around (at their inlaws), so the rest of us grownups (minus Kathy & Terry) went to the movies and saw Mission Impossible 4. When we got out, it was almost 7 pm. My kids were the only grandkids around that night, and I was determined to have some sort of nativity or talking to about Christmas. On the way home from the movies, we drove through McDonalds and got them Happy Meals (which I never really get them) and I got on my phone and ordered pizza for us (which I only mention because we were all laughing so hard in the car that I had tears down my face and I had to tell the pizza guy on the phone multiple times how sorry I was because I literally couldn't get the words out of my mouth we were laughing so hard). We also got a game plan for getting home and pulling out a quick improptu nativity program.

This is what we came up with. Joseph, Mary, and an angel:

Josi kept changing characters as she saw fit, so really, throughout the program she was an angel, baby Jesus, and a second Mary.

Terry read the account from Luke, and stopped and directed us which songs to sing in between verses. Here is Owen doing the actions to Away in a Manger.

I was the donkey.

Terry improvised at one point so that we could act out the innkeeper turning them away. Kyle was the innkeeper. And please notice his senior picture framed behind him. It's hilarious. Also, Josi was baby Jesus at this point.

Tera didn't know she was in it until we told her to stand up with the crutch and pretend to be a shepard. We'll have to put more prep in next year. haha.

My angel visiting the shepards.

The 3 wise men. Ty tried hardest, CJ drapped some cloth around his arm?? and Kyle put in no effort. At least they have gifts for baby Jesus. I mentioned this was super impromptu right?! haha. I was so glad that we did though, and the kids had fun and we had some nice moments.

After the nativity, we gave them each one present to open.

The girls also got matching PJs. Sorry boys, not included. Kaci's missing here, but we got another picture the next morning.

That night, when the kids said their prayers, Owen said, "Please help Santa to bring me...(long pause) bless that Jesus can have a good birthday!" And Kate said, "Please bless that tomorrow can be SUPER EXCITING!" also after mentioning Jesus. It was cute.

Silly time with Auntie Keri

2012-01-04T09:04:00.000-08:00

With my parents still in Spain, we decided to come have Christmas again with the Millers this year. We came down only 2 days before Christmas, and instead of making the drive in 2 days, we drove through the night and got in at 4:45 am on Christmas eve's eve. I usually like to drive late, but never all the way until morning. It was actually pretty fun. Kyle drove the first leg and I drove the second while he slept, as he was going to wake up and drive from 4-6 am. But we made such good time I didn't wake him up and just drove the rest of the way!

The kids were excited for Christmas. Keri took this silly photo shoot, (probably while Kyle and I were sleeping the drive off) and they loved all the attention she gave them.

December Pre-Christmas Events

2012-01-03T20:58:00.000-08:00

Our December was so crazy and our party hasn't stopped yet, but I really need to just unload some pictures before I drive up to the next party (my parents come home from their mission a week from today!).

Okay, so, Pre Christmas events:

My kids had their school program at the local college auditorium. They were front and center and they knew all the words and actions to a song I'd never heard, "When I think of Christmas." It was fun to watch them.

Joslyn in the stands, wearing non matching clothes and chomping on an apple. She likes to eat the whole thing if I give her the time to do it...stem and seeds and all! Yeck.

Our good friends the Jones drove through and stopped for a night. It was so fun to see them. Cortney, when you send me pictures I'll post them HERE. :) (no pressure.)

We also got a visit from our dear friends the Scows! They even used 1 and a half of their vacation days to stay and play with us, which really meant a lot to us! Our kids got along super great and Julie and I dominated in Sequence (just like the old days). We also took them to the Wildlife Safari where the animals put on a good show.

The rhino was off the hill and standing so close to the car. It made me super nervous because they usually say if he's off the hill you need to stay 4 car lengths away. And we weren't.

Owen and Jane were taking pictures of each other and this is what it looked like.

Oh and my baby. I need to dedicate a whole post to her because that girl has got some gumption.

At our ward Christmas party.

Thanksgiving extras

2011-12-21T14:53:00.000-08:00

My sister sent me some pictures last night of our Thanksgiving trip to southern California. Here they are:

I love that even though Joslyn was bawling, at least she wasn't bucking.

At the park.

Dreamy baby Brooklynn.

Kaci had the kids doing crafts every day.

On my birthday we went to the beach. Joslyn is my baby that was born in California, which might explain why she was IN HER ELEMENT at the beach. She LOVED it with all of her heart.

It was 85 degrees that day, but the water was of course freezing! Joslyn didn't care at all. She kept diving in.

I LOVE this picture, because it kind of shows off how goofy Owen is. He's always doing these little dances when he's hyper or trying to be silly. I also love Joslyn in the background.

Here's the same picture but I cropped Kyle out of it. It looks like my little baby is just going out to sea by herself!

I'm packing today and getting ready for our Christmas trip. We are going down to California again and the kids are beyond excited. I'll be excited once all the hard work is done!

500

2011-12-13T22:07:00.000-08:00

Wow. This is my 500th post. Crazy.

This morning I actually took some pictures and ordered Christmas cards!! Crazy. I'm a little late and will only get them sent out just barely before Christmas, but I'm just so proud of myself. I guess it was 8 years in the making.

I just had to record some funny instances that have happened lately:

-The other day Owen came up to me and said, "Does 'H-E-L-L' spell party?" I told him no. Then asked why. He said that he made "H-E-L-L" with his legos and he really wanted it to say party. I wonder where he got the idea to put those letters in that order...?

-As we were leaving preschool the other day a little boy ran up to Owen and asked if he could hold his hand (on the way out to our cars). Owen turned to him, said "No thanks!" (in that high little voice of his) and just kept walking happily. It made me laugh.

-Joslyn lately, when she goes #2 in her diaper, comes to us and grabs her diaper and grunts. Then we walk over to the diaper bin and change her diaper. Yesterday she did that to me, and when I took off her diaper she had only peed in it. But the second I took that diaper off she grabbed her pants and put them on her legs like she wanted me to just put her pants back on without the diaper. When I started to put a new diaper on, she started bucking like crazy. She was so devastated that I made her wear a diaper!

Then later that night, she had pooped her diaper and she went to the bathroom, pulled off her pants, and got some toilet paper out trying to wipe herself (with her diaper still on). This girl wants to be a big girl!! Anytime I wipe Kate or Owen she is in there with toilet paper trying to wipe them too! I mean, she can't even talk yet. But I guess she's just about 18 months and maybe she'll just be ready early. She ALWAYS wants to do what Kate and Owen are doing. My mom said that when Kate's 16 and dating, Joslyn will be 13 and making out behind the bleachers! haha. And she brings me Kate's underwear all the time. (I usually just put it on her head.)

-Joslyn likes to sing. And she dances to her own songs. And when she does- it kind of rocks. Like I said, she can't talk yet, so it's just a high, soft, wordless melody. And then she gets her shoulders moving to it and a little twist going. I love it.

- Owen wants to know how everything works, and always asks a million questions. I guess they are just getting older. Ever since we got home from California, Kate's been saying "no" to me all the time and throwing a lot of tantrums. Today, after a crazy tandrum about TV (a whole other issue), after she finally calmed down and we were able to talk reasonably to each other, Kate said, "Mom, I think it's just because I'm really tired."

That's it for now!

Making lists and checking them twice.

2011-12-11T14:51:00.000-08:00

We are 11 days into December. So far, here are some things I have accomplished:

1.We got a tree and decorated our house. We actually went to a little tree farm, picked one out, and cut it down. We've never done it before, and it was pretty fun. We kind of picked a shorty, mostly because we didn't feel like we needed a big tree since we aren't actually here on Christmas.

Joslyn was tripping all over the place but insisted on adventuring out on her own.

Here is part of the finished project. The tree looks really pretty with all the house lights off. But it looks pretty sparse in the daylight. Mostly because the bottom 2 feet have NO ornaments on it so that Joslyn doesn't destroy them.

2. I made about 175 cookies and took them to my neighborhood, Kyle's work, and a few close friends.

3. I've been to 2 Christmas parties (a Relief Society dinner and an ugly sweater party). At the ugly sweater/white elephant party, Kyle won in the category of "Worst Girl Sweater." Which was pretty funny because he also won "Worst Boy Sweater."

4. Friday night we got a babysitter and went and finished our Christmas shopping for the kids.

We were suppose to go to the temple in Medford yesterday, but when we woke up I had to take Kate to the clinic for an ear infection.

This upcoming week we have:

1. 3 Christmas parties and the twin's school Christmas program (miraculously all on different nights!).

2. 2 families coming into town to STAY WITH US! as they drive up through Oregon to get to their own family Christmases. This makes me especially happy. We had lots of visitors when we lived in Vegas, a random few when we lived in California, and I thought the idea of people stopping on their way through Oregon was ridiculous. But TWO this week. I'm so excited!

3. Feed the missionaries, do my visiting teaching, meet about my new calling. I just got asked to be the Mia Maid advisor (14 & 15 year old girls teacher) and I am really excited about it.

4. There is a 49% chance that I might actually be sending out Christmas cards for the FIRST TIME this year. I bought matching Christmas outfits for the kids, although I don't really have anything for Kyle and I, nor do I have an appointment with someone to take our pictures. We've also been eating "with reckless abandonment" since Halloween so that part's not sweet either... BUT, if I can get someone to come over here on Tuesday morning and just physically snap a picture of us with my own non-professional camera, then I think I will actually get it done for the first time ever. I'm optimistic, as one of the reasons I passed out goodies so early was so I could have time to do this. But still, we'll see. I'll have to see if we get a picture that's worth sending out. Why don't I live by Cortney or any of my camera savvy cousins?!!

After this week we'll have a few days to pack before we load up and head back down to California. I've really enjoyed having my own house to decorate and have been able to not get too stressed out by not letting everything wait until last minute. I hope everyone is having a great December!

Part: Adult Festivies (aka my last week in my 20s)

2011-12-02T13:56:00.001-08:00

I personally had a really fun time on this past trip. My 30th birthday had kind of been looming over me the past month, and I thought that there was no way I was going to feel like I said goodbye to my 20s properly. I know that's dumb. I just love birthdays. And I'm always sad when they are over. And I felt like the 30th was such a big birthday that no matter what I'd be disappointed by it. I know that's dumb too. No pressure Kyle, right? haha.
I really wanted to do something to say goodbye to my 20s. Run jump in the ocean in the middle of the night in the winter. Or jump out of a plane.

Instead, one day Kyle and I went and played tennis with Ty and Keri. No big deal. We were gone for a few hours. Then that night, we went to the church and played volleyball. We are a big family now and I think there were 11 of us. We played for like 3 hours until about 11:30 pm. I love the feeling when my kids are asleep and everyone is in party mode. (Terry was at home with Kathy while the kids slept.) Volleyball with the Millers is so fun because, well, we are all pretty athletic (insert water squirting out of my nose here). haha. Just kidding, except we can seriously play a good game. No matter how we split the teams it was always a really close match.

On the way home we all stopped at 7 Eleven and got slurpies and between all of us we ate 2 maples bars before walking out.

I only mention all these details because we continued to do this every night that we were there. It was kind of awesome. Even on Thanksgiving night, which might've been my favorite, we were back at the church playing volleyball, playing through the soreness (we were all so sore from playing so hard). We finished at midnight, and then the girls headed to Target, stood in a black Friday line, and ran through the store in madness. (We looked like we were hardcore because we were in our "running clothes.") As we were heading home around 1:00, we drove passed the 7 Eleven and thought about calling it a night. Instead we flipped a U, got slurpies and maple bars, got in the car, toasted the last day of my 20s, and headed to Kohls for more Black Friday midnight madness. It was my favorite. (Tera, on the other hand, was doing black Friday shopping but she wasn't "farting nuts about it." I've never laughed so hard in a Kohls.) We finally headed home around 2:30 or 3 am? (Only after seriously considering stopping at IHOP for some pancakes and SAU-SAG-ES! SAU-SAG-ES!)

We were all exhausted on Friday and stayed closer to home. We ordered some things online from Kohls (the line at the store was moving at a snails pace so we ended up not getting anything the night before). I actually ordered new bedding, which I'm really excited about. Our bed has looked like a college student's for way too long now.

And then it was Saturday- my 30th birthday! And I was perfectly content and happy to be 30, and I didn't feel that pressure anymore to have an awesome day because I felt like we had played so hard all week! I felt like in a way I had done a few things I'd never done before (Thanksgiving dinner, black Friday shopping, bought adult bedding- haha), and I'd also celebrated youth with nightly long volleyball matches topped off with slushies and maple bars and staying up until at least 1 am every night. Top that off with the fact that my kids were great all week so it left me feeling footloose and fancy free.

That day I was up for a phone upgrade so we went into the store to get a new phone. I was just going to be responsible and get the free upgrade, but Kyle and my Miller siblings convinced me that I was turning 30 and I could be extravagant for a day and actually pay for a phone (also something I've never done- I don't think...Kyle?) So instead of the free upgrade I got the new iPhone! I'm not going to lie. It's pretty sweet. I've been totally loving it. I just push a button and say, "set a timer for 5 minutes" and it's done. I love it.

It was like 85 degrees that day so we took the kids to the beach. I'll post some pictures once I get them from my sisters, but it was a great afternoon. The kids ran straight into the water, and Joslyn was OBSESSED with everything. She loved the freezing water, she loved the sand. She was in pure beach heaven. I guess she is my California born baby...

That night all the family (minus the parents again. Kathy had her surgery on my birthday.) went out to eat dinner. It was a nice little fancy place. They brought me out a creme brulee with a candle.

Keri, why didn't we have the manager take a picture of our group again?!

When we got home, I opened my present from Kyle (also a little extravagant- he got me a new laptop. The laptop we have has a cracked screen and you can only really see out of the bottom left corner.). So by then I felt too spoiled. I think we might've ended the night with the movie "Crazy, Stupid, Love."

So it was a great week. I actually feel a little relieved to be 30. I don't know if it's because it's been hanging over me or because the pressure of being in my 20s is gone. I didn't even know I felt pressure until I turned 30 and felt relieved...? But I'm glad it's come and gone and I'm glad it was such a great experience. So great.

We drove home on Sunday, and about an hour into the drive we realized that we were completely dumb and had decided to drive home on the craziest traffic day imaginable. We really should've just left on Monday. We drove 11 hours and stopped for the night a little past half way home. The total drive usually takes 14 hours. Worst.

But it was worth it. Such a great week. Thanks Millers for indulging me in my 1/3 life crisis!

Part: Thanksgiving

2011-12-02T13:23:00.001-08:00

This year was not a Miller year for Thanksgiving, so Toni & Aaron and Kaci & Brian ate with their other families. With Kathy down for the count, that left myself, Tera, and Keri in charge of Thanksgiving dinner! I have never done Thanksgiving dinner before. In fact, since I was always the one coming from out of town, I've never really been responsible for any part of Thanksgiving dinner at all! I don't know how that happened. So 2 days before Thanksgiving I realized I was going to need to step up, and us girls sat down and put together a menu, got the shopping done, and in the end, we pulled it off (if I say so myself). All Thanksgiving day we were on a pretty strict schedule but everything got done and it was yummy and I kind of was on an adeneline rush when the whole thing was over. Luckily Kathy was able to talk us through some of the harder aspects (okay, the turkey).

We stopped to take a picture once the appetizers were out. I don't know why we didn't take a picture of all the finished food though.

For appetizers we had deviled eggs, spinach dip, cheeseball and crackers, shrimp coctail, and olives.

Here we are - the dinner.

The kid's table.

On the menu was brined turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cooked carrots, cranberry sauce, green beans, and rolls. For dessert we made banana cream pie, and apple struesel pie, and we bought a pumpkin pie. Am I forgetting anything? Anyway, it was a lot of food and it all turned out pretty good. I kept telling Kyle beforehand, "This can't count as my first Thanksgiving that I'm responsible for! I haven't researched any recipes or menu ideas or anything!" But I'll take it with Tera and Keri. Not bad for second string first timers.

Her big break

2011-12-02T13:03:00.001-08:00

Kathy was totally out for the first 2 days we were in town. After that she ventured out to the coach with her leg propped up, and all the kids had special instructions to be calm and not make any sudden movements around her.

With Kathy down, each family was assigned a different night of the week to make a meal. It was actually pretty fun and I think it's a new tradition we'll do each time we go down so that Kathy doesn't always have to have that burden.

On Friday, after a week of resting, she went back down to the hospital to see if they could operate. While she was gone, in a fast frenzy we all took down her Thanksgiving decorations and set up all of her Christmas decorations!

Keri set out a picnic for the kids so that the rest of us could help with the surprise.

She ended up needing the surgery, and on Saturday she got a bunch of metal plates and screws put in. It was some pretty serious stuff. It was so sad not having her around to play. I know it was hard on her too. When the kids are around she just wants to be up and around and part of the party.

To California (part: kid's festivities)

2011-11-30T14:12:00.001-08:00

How can I even write about my California trip? I don't know where to start, because I like details but I feel like I'm just going to have to omit some details. I drove the kids last Saturday by myself 7 hours to a suburb of San Fransisco. Which I wouldn't mention in the first place, except that my phone was dead, my gps died, and I had to go down an unfamiliar route. With screaming kids because it was near the end of the day. The gps actually told me to "get off the freeway, then turn 'gps is shutting down.'" Literally. I got lost twice. When I finally found the hotel that Kyle was suppose to meet me at (he was in SF for a dental course and took the train to meet me), I parked far away and was toting around the kids dragging blankets through the parking lot and I couldn't find our room! When I finally found it, I knocked on the door, Kyle opened it, I put the bags and baby down, and then I just started bawling. It was slightly hilarious.

Day 2 in the car.

My mother in law Kathy broke her ankle at a service project during our drive down, so when we got to Grammy's house, she was just coming home from the hospital. Turns out it was a bad break so she was down for the count all week! It was super sad.

On Monday we decided to take Kate and Owen to Bailey's gymnastic class. It was HILARIOUS. Owen was a little nervous at first, and Kate tried so hard to do exactly what the teacher told her. It was really fun to watch. Afterwards the instructor came and talked to me and told me that she thought Kate could be in the first level class, which is usually for 7-10 year olds! And she recommended Owen be in the all boys class, and said they were both strong. It was fun for me because they haven't really been in any sport classes/teams yet so it was fun to see that they had some sort of athletic ability! haha.

Tuesday we ended up taking the kids to the mall to meet Santa. Of course, I left the picture in Vista so I don't have the actual picture of Joslyn screaming her head off on Santa's lap, but here are some we took at the mall & that day.

Josi was nicer to everyone this trip, but still prefers the boys. Turns out she had 4 teeth come in over the week.

I love this cousins picture.

All the cousins! This is after the kids saw Santa and before Josi and candy cane droll everywhere.

I love this picture of Josi with baby Brooklynn. This Brooklynn is adorable and has cheeks that go on for DAYS.

I am so bored.

2011-11-17T22:52:00.000-08:00

Kyle isn't around. I can't really watch my shows without him (I already snuck "The Office"). I'm just sitting here watching tv, and I'm bored. Tomorrow will be busy with a school feast and packing for a week in California, but tonight, I'm caught up on blogger, my kitchen is clean, and I'm not ready to go to bed yet. I don't have much to say or blog about, so I thought I'd just throw my extra pictures up. Wait, except this- I turn 30 next Saturday. I kind of wish I had some sort of list of "things to do before I turn 30," but with only one week to go, I wouldn't have time to do anything. Plus, I can't really think of anything to put on there. Maybe I just need to do something dumb this week. Any ideas?

Okay, so Joslyn does the BEST kiss face. She used to just open her mouth, but now she bunches up her lips huge for a nice juicy kiss. I'm so in love with it, I've been trying to catch it on film.

This is a crazy angle picture but it kind of makes me laugh.

When she first started eating solids, she ate everything. Then she went through a phase where she wouldn't eat anything. Then I realized she would eat anything if I sat her up with the big kids and gave her a fork. It's crazy. She wants to be one of us.

Here's the kiss face.

Here's her cheesy camera face- she always makes this face when I pull out the camera.

Lately when she's content, she'll just look at me from wherever she is and make her kiss face. I always have to run over and kiss her. She waits for me if I don't. I don't need much convincing.

I got these glasses for a quarter at a garage sale.

Now here's another thing about Josi. She is the toughest girl I know. And because she thinks she's Kate and Owen's equal, she jumps and runs around and gets bruised up. This big bump on her head really made me sad- I could barely look at her. She was walking and slid on our wood floors and hit her head on the hearth of our fireplace. We are getting a large rug and I've covered the hearth with a blanket. But poor girl. And then heaven knows where she got the scratch on her chest. I'm pretty sure she was hiding with the twins in their closet and brushed up hard against one of their dressers.

Kate and Owen were playing camping in their room but of course Joslyn wanted to play. They are so good with her.

Okay goodnight people. Don't forget- I need some suggestions of how to end my 20's with a bang...

On exercise. Or pride-swallowing.

2011-11-14T18:13:00.000-08:00

This summer, I found out that a friend of a friend from church held a free summer "bootcamp" for women a few mornings a week at 6:00 AM at a local park. One morning I got peer pressured into going for the hour workout. Although it had been AT LEAST however old Josi was, plus 9 months (and probably more) since I had last worked out, I was assured I'd be able to keep up.

Holy cow. That was the worst morning of my life. We started with an indian run around the park, where the last person in line sprints to the front of the line and continues jogging until once again you are last in line and then you sprint to the front. The problem was that the pace we started out with was basically what, in my mind, would've been the "sprinting" pace, so when it was actually my turn to sprint to the front, I was REALLY sprinting. And I just never recovered after that. We were pushing picnic tables across the park and doing all types of crazy stuff. Finally the instructor asked if I was okay and told me to sit and rest for a second.

In my head I was thinking, "How in the world can I get out of this? I still have a half hour left. I'll never survive. What do I do?!" Then I decided there was NO getting out of this and that I just had to buck up and finish. Then I decided I had better go get my water from my car if I wanted to be able to finish. As I was walking to my car, someone from the group turned around and yelled, "Okay Sam, see you next time!" I paused, turned and waved, "Okay! See you later!" got in my car, and drove away. haha They had given me an out and I took it! It was kind of hilarious. I went home, rolled back into bed, and vowed I would NEVER do that again. I'm not a morning person, or an exercise person. I don't know what I was thinking.

I was slightly humiliated, but luckily I didn't know most of the girls there. Meg, the instructor, even sent an email out later that week saying that she was always going to push everyone really hard, but you still have to listen to your body and not push yourself past what you can handle (I didn't receive the email because she didn't have my address, but my friend forwarded it to me). Horrifying right?! She was obivously writing that email about me. Horrifying.

Okay. So then I moved. And the school year began. And that meant 2 things. One, I moved into the ward that Meg, the instructor, attends. Two, the exercise class time changed to Monday and Wednesday mornings, at the church, at 9:15 am. The time was way better for me this time around, but I didn't know if I could face up to it. I thought that I had better go get in shape FIRST, and THEN I could show up to the exercise class. Which of course is just the dumbest thing ever, since obviously that wasn't ever going to happen. So I swallowed my pride and approached Meg and told her I was really going to try to go to her class. She didn't remember me as being the same person that walked out of her summer class, so when I told her we both had a super fun laugh about it.

And so now I've been going to her class for a few weeks. On Mondays, she basically kicks our behinds doing tons of cardio and circuit stuff. It's always different and it's always hard. On Wednesdays we do weights, and we always do abs at the end of both classes. It's legitamately hard- Meg is crazy. And she always has loud workout music and she really works us. And she does it for free because she loves it. The nursery is open and we take turns watching children, and there are extra weights in the library for those who don't have any. And let's just say this- for the first time in my life I own an exercise mat. And I use it. Weird.

Also, I don't know who started the rumor that working out gives you more energy. It makes me tired. And it makes me sore. But I'm really grateful that Meg provides this service because heaven knows I wouldn't be exercising without it. And it makes me feel strong. (Or gives me hope that I can become strong.)

Things I want to remember.

2011-11-08T11:28:00.000-08:00

I dropped off the kids at preschool yesterday, and when we walked in, Kate showed Mrs. Shriner the Hello kitty shirt she was wearing and they both started giggling. Then Mrs. Shriner told me that Kate was the very silliest girl she's ever met. I was like, "What?" And she said, "Oh not in a bad way!" And I said, "But are you sure you don't mean Owen? He's usually the sillier one." And she said, "What?! Oh no, Kate is way more silly." I told her it must be because Kate loves school so much, maybe it just makes her extra giddy. I went home and told Kyle and it kind of blew both of our minds.

When Kathy was in town a month ago, and she dropped the kids off at school, she asked the teacher how they interact with each other in class. She said they always get along and really look out for each other and are protective of each other. It made me happy. Having twins is kind of weird. I wonder when/if I'll want/need to separate them in school.

The day after Owen threw up in the middle of the night, I was driving the kids to preschool and as we pulled into school, I told them that I thought Owen was going to have to stay with me and Kate would have to go by herself. They both started bawling. I told Owen he could watch a movie at home and told Kate that she could still go and reminded her that she loved school! Then that sweet girl, with real tears coming down her face, said, "but mom, how can I even go to school without my BEST FRIEND?!"(Chin quivering.) I thought it was so sweet and she was so genuine that I had to just let Owen go to school. haha. He was better anyway.

Driving around town, I've had some cds I made playing on repeat. It's gotten to the point where my kids want the music on the second we are in the car, and Kate especially is singing EVERY word. Joslyn dances to the fast songs and is subdued during the slow songs (the slow songs always calm her down if she's sad too). Everytime Adele's "Someone like you" comes on, Owen asks me "what does lastsinlub mean?!" (there's a part that sings "sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead.") It's really made me realize how my kids really listen to the words...
Also, my kids are obsessed with coloring and drawing. It's been going on for months now. Anytime we are just at home and I'm not letting them watch tv, then their next choice is always drawing. Man, we are going through paper like crazy, and they aren't eager to throw their creations away. I love their confidence and creativity.

These pictures were taken in September, and it hasn't slowed down.

Here's a tray Owen made. One for each person in the family.

Then here are just some extras from the last few days.

Grammy sent the kids Halloween cards and gave each kid a dollar. They chose ice cream at Sherm's Thunderbird.

Round here

2011-11-02T17:04:00.001-07:00

We had a fun Halloween. We only went around our little neighborhood, then Joslyn and I went home to give out candy while Kyle took the kids to a few more houses. Josi didn't like that- she wanted to keep going. She loved sticking her little bag out and getting candy with her older siblings. But once I distracted her with her candy bag she was fine. I didn't take any pictures Halloween night, but here's a picture of our family at our ward's trunk or treat.

I rarely get a picture of all of us looking normal so I love this picture. Look how much tanner Kyle is than the rest of us.

Kyle and I have been painting every night after the kids have gone to bed this week. We finished a second coat on our bedroom, primed our living room, and have applied both coats of a grayish paint (it's a little taupe-ish). It looks good with our fireplace and I really like it. I don't know if it looks great with our wood floors- we'll have to see. But I'm real proud of us for just getting it done.

I had the song "We are all enlisted til the conflict is over" running through my head all day yesterday. My sister is having some complications in the final stages of her pregnancy. I don't know if complications is the right word. She's had some concerning ultrasounds and we don't really know what's going on. But I wanted to mention it because I know I have a lot of dear friends who are super righteous and who love me, which means they love my sister by default, and I'm enlisting all who are willing to pray for her and her baby. She was at the doctor today and got more encouraging news so I'm feeling better about it.

That's it. Kyle this past week finished buying into his practice, so in one month we really thrust our roots deep into Roseburg soil. Crazy. We are slowly getting things organized around here and we are really liking our new house.

Trunk or treat 2011

2011-10-28T20:35:00.000-07:00

Tonight was our first of 3 trick-or-treating plans this year. We went to a little trunk-or-treat/carnival at Kate & Owen's school. (We'll also have a ward trunk-or-treat tomorrow and then actual Halloween on Monday.) It was in the middle of a BYU game, so we were kind of in and out quickly, but all the kids had a great time and loved seeing everyone dressed up in their different costumes. This was also the first year that Kate and Owen seemed less scared by people's spooky decorated cars.

Since Kate was such a good sport last year being a banana to Owen's monkey, I told her she could be whatever she wanted to be this year. She chose Tinkerbell. (She's never gotten to be something pretty/girly like that. Anyone remember the peanut?) I almost just dropped the whole "twin" thing this year and let Owen be a dinosaur like he wanted. But then I convinced him to be Peter Pan. And after not being able to find a Peter Pan outfit anywhere in town, on Tuesday I made my own! I felt like a real mom. haha. And then to complete the trio Joslyn was a little pirate. I thought they all turned out pretty cute.

This is also Kate's first time getting to put on lipstick and blush. She LOVED that part.

Lots of pictures of the same pose but I couldn't pick my favorite of Josi.

I think Owen's favorite part is the feather in his hat.

Happy Halloween people.

There were pumpkins...

2011-10-28T20:28:00.000-07:00

That's about all I can say about trying to go to a pumpkin patch this year. We only went yesterday, since I always feel we do it too early and then our pumpkins get gross too early. Anyway, I don't know about pumpkin patches around here so we just went down the street to Kruse farms. They had a very mini hay maze for the kids, and then we drove out to the pumpkins, where every single pumpkin I picked out was totally rotted on the other side. There were hardly any good pumpkins left. Joslyn kept pointing to the rotting pumpkins and saying, "guuuuck."

Eventually we found 3 to take home.

Kate wanted a kitty pumpkin. It kind of looks like a kitty devil to me with those ears/horns.

I should've taken a picture of Kyle doing all the work.

Stay out

2011-10-25T17:59:00.000-07:00

Kyle was gone this past Sunday, and I was so proud to get the kids ready (looking good!) and there in time for a seat. Once we got there, I found out it was the Primary program day. I had no idea. I was so glad that I had showered the kids and it wasn't one of the Sundays that they looked homeless. haha. I was also relieved that we had practiced their parts all week. It was their first primary program, and it was so fun watching them go up to the microphone to say their part. Owen went up and said, "Familes are central to Heavenly Father's plan." There was a little giggle throughout the congregation because these people don't know Owen yet and he has a cute little high voice. (Plus he struggles with pronouncing the word "heavenly." He makes it 4 syllables.) I was smiling so huge because he was so brave and said it loud and didn't need help. I seriously got tears in my eyes I was so proud of him. Then Kate got up and expertly said, "I will follow God's plan by being kind and helpful." I wasn't as nervous for her because she was confident and looking forward to it and had hers AND Owen's part mesmorized the first day. But I was still so proud. It was awesome. I was sad that Kyle missed it.

(P.S. After church, however, both Owen and Joslyn were having such a huge meltdown that 3 different individuals came over to me trying to help me contain the chaos. Like, it was really crazy. Did I mention it's only our second week in this ward? We must surely be making an impression!)

I got a little flu bug yesterday. Luckily Kyle was home all day and I was able to stay in bed. Unfortunately, Kate has the bug today. Crazy as it sounds, today was the first time she's ever thrown up. I mean, she spit up as a newborn baby for a good 9 or 10 months. But she's never really thrown up before. She is pro and besides the first time when it landed on the wood floor (thankfully), she's thrown up in the bowl every time. It's a little hard on me since I'm still not feeling completely better myself. I tried to go buy Owen a halloween costume this morning but had to turn around and come back home because I was still sick. And I don't even have a good book. It's kind of torturous. Plus Josi keeps trying to drink from Kate's cups and put her hand in Kate's throwup bowl (while she's throwing up). I'm just grateful that we don't get sick very often. And that we are sick BEFORE all of the Halloween parties and hopefully not DURING them.

Extra reunion pictures

2011-10-24T11:17:00.000-07:00

All of these are from reverse charades. Hilarious. It's just like charades except instead of 1 person acting and everyone guessing, everyone acts and only one person guesses.

Myca and Lysh.

Q, Angie, and Kim.

Allie, Kylie, Courtney, and Kelsey.

I LOVE this picture. Can someone who knows anything about photoshop please photoshop KaeLynn snuggling up to Linh and then it would be my favorite picture ever!

I walked like an Egyptian.

2011-10-23T17:40:00.000-07:00

I got invited to a Halloween party thrown by some of my friends here. The theme was "Somewhere in Time" and each couple was assigned to a different couple in history. Kyle and I were assigned Cleopatra and Mark Anthony. I was so excited, and when I showed Kyle the invitation he quickly apologized and reminded me he was going to be out of town that weekend on a golf trip with his dad and the Francis's. Well, the party was this weekend. (Kyle was gone from Wednesday evening until tonight.) I decided that I didn't need a man to show up, and it turns out my really great friend Anna's husband wasn't around either, so we decided to go together. It was like we were in high school again. I went over to her house early and we got ready together. She did my makeup and it was pretty amazing. And she was the perfect Jackie Kennedy.

This picture is annoyingly fuzzy, but it's the only shot I got. Major major thanks to my cousin Angie for providing the bulk of my costume.

My toenails and fingernails were painted gold too.

Here were some of the funny costumes. But seriously, it was impressive how many awesome costumes there were.

Donald and Ivanka Trump (I thought she looked just like Ivanka. Her outfit was awesome.)

Donny and Marie Osmond. And George and Martha Washington.

Mona Lisa (Her husband was Leonardo da Vinci.) And that lady behind her is a Viking.

Adam and Eve (Faces have been blotted out to protect the not-so-innocent.)

Josephine and Napoleon

Samson and Delilah

It was a really fun night. I thought by the end of the night I'd look like a raccoon but look how well my eyes held up.

Do I look like a different person? Maybe minus the headpiece I could be on Mob Wives.

Kyle wasn't even around to see my cool makeup. It made me wish that back in my single days I had played around more with makeup.

Funny side story... a few days after I told Kyle about the invitation to the party, we were laying in bed when Kyle asked, "How in the world am I suppose to dress up like Mark Anthony anyway? What, do I gel back my hair and grow a mustache?" I paused for a second, when I realized what he meant. "Uh...they don't mean Mark Anthony as in J-Lo's husband Mark Anthony. They mean Cleopatra's lover Mark Anthony!" It was hilarious. And funny that he would think for over a day that they would pair up Cleopatra and J-lo's Mark Anthony in the first place! I love that guy. And how funny if he WOULD have shown up dressed as him.

Going back...

2011-10-20T21:31:00.000-07:00

When Grammy and Poppa came to help us move, they brought with them a plethora of fun things for my kids. (Of course, my kids would be just as happy to see them without all the fun gifts to go along- they love their grandparents so much.) A few new outfits, some activity books, and a brilliant game for little Owen. When he writes, he holds his crayons and markers in a fist. So Kathy found these little utensils that have to be held correctly to work, and had Kate and Owen playing all types of sorting games with these fuzzy balls. It has really helped Owen start to hold writing utensils correctly. Is Grammy sweet or what?! Weeks later my kids still love playing with them. I'm so grateful that she brought such a thoughtful gift, because I knew I had to address it sometime, and she is just so creative and made it so much fun.

Here Grammy was teaching them how to play that game that you always used to play in church when you were little and bored...where you draw dots and then you connect the dots and try to form more squares than your opponent. Lets just say this game led to crying from both parties. Heaven forbid somebody actually gets more squares than the other and everything isn't equal.

Kate loves doing any sort of activity where she is learning or even just doing something structured. She's been pulling some pretty crazy faces for the camera lately.

Ever since Joslyn could walk, she seems to really be a sponge. She understands SO much and is learning so quickly that it kind of blows my mind watching her turn from baby to toddler. Very early on she was carrying babies around with blankets and purses and cell phones.

6 things.

2011-10-17T19:31:00.001-07:00

-Kate was listing to me everything she was going to do when she was older. It including getting married in the temple, having 4 kids (Elizabeth, Rebecca, Grammy-joking, she said- and Charlie), swimming without floaties, being a ballerina, and then she said maybe working on a farm. I asked her what kind of jobs she wanted to do on a farm, and she said, "Maybe killing the animals and putting them in the store." haha. No crying over Bambi's mom at our house I guess. Kate has always loved steak so it makes sense.

-The ceilings are finally done and we are moving into the rest of the house. Granted, walls are half painted and all the furniture isn't in but at least we aren't all still in the master bedroom. My kids don't understand why we can't go to "Old McDonald's" everyday now for lunch and to play in their play place.

-One of the nights when we were still all in the master together, Owen was sick and in the middle of the night came to me crying that his stomach hurt and he felt like he was going to "hiccup." I literally picked him up and threw him into the hallway mid dry heave and he ended up barfing on the hallway floor. Thank heavens I didn't have to clean barf off our new carpet. I felt pretty awesome about my swift moves.

-Can I just have a pity party for one second? All of my Millers live in California, except for Keri and CJ in SLC. All of my Earls live in Utah, except for Mike and Allie in Idaho and law school. (They just barely moved. It used to be that ALL of my Earl siblings were in Utah.) I'm just finding out that CJ got a job in Irvine and will be moving back to California, which makes Kyle and I the only Miller family not in California with our family. I'm really happy for them. But dang. I hate feeling left out. I literally live in the boondocks. If Mike and Allie still lived in Utah the isolation would be complete.

-On Friday night Joey, Justin, and Angelique came into town (and helped move in our couches) and Saturday we were able to get a babysitter all day and go up to the BYU vs. Oregon State football game. It was awesome. We got to go to a tailgate beforehand, and then winning the game made it an especially fun day. My favorite part really was just getting to see my family.

At the tailgate.

Right when we walked into the stadium we ran into our friend Lavell. We didn't want to bother him...well I guess we DID kind of want to bother him. I love Kyle for running ahead of us and taking our picture with him without his knowledge. Except that right when Kyle starting taking the picture the crowds cleared and it was nobody but us, walking towards Kyle who obviously was taking a picture of Lavell with his phone...

-Today, while Kyle worked on our master shower with friend Mike Speers, I tried to keep cleaning and moving in. While I was cleaning this built-in office...

I found this...

a forest of someone else's boogers, under the desk above the keyboard slot. I thought cleaning Kate and Owen's boogers were bad. But a strangers? Yuck.

Earl Girl cousins weekend

2011-10-10T17:39:00.001-07:00

I love my cousins. I grew up with most of them, and they've always been my best friends. Alysha got us a SWEET hookup in Park City this weekend and we had our second ever Earl girls weekend.

After only a few hours sleep, I was up at 3 am and off to the Eugene airport. My flight was at 6 AM and I was in Salt Lake and being picked up by Cali by 9 am! There is nothing like flying without kids. I was able to sleep a little and listen to my music. I loved it. I was so excited to see Cali and get my trip started. We ran errands all morning and by 4:00 pm Linh picked us up (and Ashley) and we made our way up to Park City. (Can I mention that I took a shower at Cali's, since my water heater had broken the day before and it had been DAYS since I was able to take a shower?!)

This first evening was my favorite part of the trip. We had delicious food, and we stayed up until around 3 am talking, laughing, crying, eating, and catching up. I love my family so much. All my sisters shared a room- Ash and Cali were on the king sized bed, Linh and Allie shared a full, and I slept on a twin mattress on the floor. (Angelique wasn't able to come down until the next night, and KaeLynn JUST had a baby and wasn't able to attend.) Once we got in bed, we all started talking and laughing and the next thing we knew it was 5 am!! I had been up 26 hours straight and Allie had been up even a little longer! We were so dumb to stay up so late, but honestly, it was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. It was so much fun for me to be able to talk with Linh and Allie and get to know them better. Living so far away from everyone keeps me out of the loop a little and I was so grateful for the chance to hang out with them. It was SO fun.

Wait, I loved day 2 just as much as day 1. Each family was assigned a meal, and everyone delivered big time. That morning we all woke up slow and got ready and just hung out and played some games and talked. (The game "what is yours like?" is REALLY fun.)

My sisters, Kim, and I.

In the afternoon once Angelique showed up, we took our group shot.

Last time we were together we had a "serious/model" shot, and because the shot was timed and we had so much time before the picture actually took, I got nervous last second and did a crazy face. My one goal this trip was to NOT be the only dud in this picture. Sure enough, it happened again. Last second I wasn't sure if this was the picture or not and I just scrunched up my face and I can't BELIEVE that I dudded it up again. haha.

Group hug

That evening a group of girls went down to the outlets. I should've stayed back because I really don't like shopping, but because I live in Roseburg I felt like I should shop when I get the opportunity. It kind of bummed me out, and then when we didn't get the byu game and I almost killed Kim in a game of reverse Charades (twice), the wind got taken out of my sails. I was so tired and we went to bed earlier, more around midnight. This night Angelique took my bed and I slept in the king between Ash & Cali. I can't believe we didn't take any pictures.

Sunday morning we left after a delicious brunch, and once we got to Cali's took a 3 hour nap! We didn't even feel groggy afterwards, that's how exhausted we were. It was a fun fast weekend. I got to visit KaeLynn, Jason, and Stella this morning before my flight, which I was really grateful for. And then Kristy came to the airport with me (my flight was 3 hours before her) and we were having so much fun chatting that even though I was sitting next to my gate, I didn't realize we were loading until my final boarding call. It was slightly hilarious.

I was happy to get home to my husband and kids. Kate and Owen were excited to see me, but man, Josi was MAD at me. She hid behind Kyle and cried when I came near her. She punished me for leaving her for 4 hours and didn't warm up to me until about bedtime. She must've given up on me that I wasn't coming back. Sweet child. My ceilings still aren't done, so hopefully we can get through this week and eventually actually MOVE into my house.

Cousins and sisters. Thanks to everyone for making such an effort to get there. I had such a great weekend. I love you with all my heart.

No place to go

2011-10-10T16:16:00.001-07:00

Thursday was my last day with Kathy here. We woke up Thursday morning after our little sleepover to Owen telling us that Kate had wet her mattress... Sure enough, I went to clean it up only to discover that she had peed through both sides of her mattress onto our NEW CARPET. That didn't last 24 hours. It was pretty sweet. Plus we don't have a dryer and our washer isn't hooked up anyway so I had just a bag full of pee-soaked sheets and cleanup towels. Since our house was still getting worked on, I called one of my friends Anna and took the kids over to her house for the morning (where she also did a load of laundry for us). In the afternoon we still needed to stay away from the house so we took the kids to the park. Where they posed for 1 million pictures.

I lifted Kate up to the monkey bars and she blew me away when she swung all the way to the end. I'd never seen her do the monkey bars before and had no idea she could that!

Next we took the kids to wildlife safari. We were trying to distract them one hour at a time.

This crazy faced duck was trying to get Joslyn and it freaked her out a little bit.

Kyle was supposed to take Kathy to the airport at 6:00 that evening, but at 5:30 we realized our water heater was leaking! Ahh! All of our clean towels that had just been cleaned got used to soak up the mess, and when 6:00 rolled around and Kyle was still on the phone with the plumber Kathy and I jumped in the car and I drove her to the airport. (Kyle later just had to drape all the towels we own on our balcony...in the rain....)

Although it was such a crazy week, Kathy and I had a lot of fun. We cleaned, organized, cleaned, moved, and ran a million errands. I NEVER would've been able to do it without her. I hope someday I can pay her back. But she made what could've been a miserable week a really fun and rewarding and crazy week. I was SO sad to see her go. I got home at 9:00 pm and packed my bag, and set my alarm clock for 3:00 AM, to head BACK to the airport for my Earl girl cousin reunion in Park City. More about that next.

"We are just doing this."

2011-10-05T20:59:00.000-07:00

That's what I've been saying all day. Man it's been CRAZY.

Last night 2 of our friends came over and we loaded up a uhaul and took almost everything over to the new house. In the POURING rain. Of course, our house is not move-in ready so everything went into the garage. They finished that at 10 pm, and since Kathy is still here, Kyle and I bucked up and went over to paint our room before the carpet installation the next morning. We finished and got home at 2:45 AM. In the morning people. Yikes. We were exhausted.

Here are the kids from yesterday. Playing in the open space of our home.

Here they are this morning. Eating on the kitchen floor since our table was gone. I was asleep during this part. Kathy took my kids to preschool and let me sleep in after our long night of painting.

The kids at preschool, allowing Kathy and I to clean ourselves out of the house this morning.

Of course, we still had Joslyn, so we put her in the bathtub with a poptart so that she wouldn't make a mess while we cleaned. She kind of loved that.

I can't even stress how crazy of a day today was. Kyle came home from work during lunch to do one last load in the uhaul. And then Kathy and I finished the move out/clean out job. Which always takes longer than you would think.

Once we got to the new house, we thought we'd be able to unpack ONE room, the master bedroom, but the carpet installation wasn't finished yet. So we really had no place to go. We unloaded our last load into the garage, and then the kids sat in the car for 2 hours watching a movie. They were so good I can't even believe it. I had to be there because phone/internet was coming between 3 and 5. Luckily he showed up at 3, he was super nice, and he didn't mind navigating through rooms of plastic. And my ceiling guy didn't mind us navigating through it either, even though he was in the middle of ripping down popcorn. It was a relief. After making sure he was okay, I took the uhaul and filled it up with gas and returned it. (It was my first time driving a uhaul. Even though it was a small one, I was pretty proud that I did it!)

Move in day- this is what it looks like when you walk through the front door.

Seriously who moves into a house, with 3 kids, while it's still in this condition?!

Kate and Owen's bedroom...

After dropping off the uhaul, we finally went and got some lunch. It was 4:15! That's how crazy our day was- the first time we could even stop to eat was 4:15. Mother of the year right here. We were starving.

Finally the master (and adjoining office) were done, Kyle got home, and we moved in all of our beds. We are basically having a sleepover. Luckily Josi's in the closet, Kate and Owen in the office, and currently Kathy, Kyle and I are all on the bed watching shows. We'll bring in Kathy's mattress before we go to bed. But man. It was a day. I just had to keep saying, "okay, we are just doing this," to keep myself moving, especially after such little sleep last night. I seriously have NO IDEA how I would've done this without Kathy. I am so grateful it makes me want to bawl my eyes out.

This picture is kind of blurry but I wanted to show you our mini party going on in here.

I don't know what we are going to do tomorrow. I'd like to move my kitchen in, since it's the only other room that isn't being worked on, but I can't have my kids here stuck in just the one room. Kathy leaves tomorrow night, and then, horrible timing but still awesome, the next morning (Friday) I have to leave here at 3 am to make my flight out of Eugene to go to Park City Utah for an EARL GIRL COUSIN REUNION. woot woot. Maybe Kyle will finish every renovation on the house while I'm gone and have everything moved in and nicely put away... haha. One day at a time I guess. Good night people. I'm exhausted.

In the process.

2011-10-02T17:46:00.001-07:00

The moving process has begun. It's a funny and tricky situation. We can only get into certain rooms in the house because the ceilings are getting de-popcorned and retextured and painted. They won't really be done until Thursday, but we have to be out of here by Wednesday, plus we need to get new carpet installed in a room, have our tv/phone/internet set up, and clean our other carpets. So I think we will all end up sleeping in our one completed room together with everything else we own in the garage. Various rooms are currently plastic wrapped (think Dexter's killing setup) and it's all a scheduling nightmare. But we are just rolling with the punches and getting done what we can when we can. Our one saving grace is that the kitchen isn't getting worked on so I can move things in there.

Here's Kyle and Terry cleaning out our garage. Terry did a lot of babysitting this weekend while Kathy and I cleaned the other house. Terry left this evening, and Kathy will be here until Thursday! I mean, I really have the best family.

Grammy playing with the kids. Harassing the hugest black and yellow spider I've ever seen.

More playing with Grammy.

Kyle took down the crib today. Josi doesn't sleep in it yet- she's still in a pack and play in my closet... I can't help it. She just sleeps so good in there. But when we move into the new house she'll finally go in the crib. I wanted to take a picture because Kathy made this beautiful bumper pad and I'm in love with it.

I love how the lacy ribbon at the top falls. So pretty. And the muted colors of the print.

Even with all the packing and trips to the house we were able to watch 3/4ths of conference. We missed the Saturday afternoon session but have it recorded. I love conference weekend, and it was wonderful as usual. And
I'm so excited about the new temple in Provo. I think it's such a wonderful idea.

Bike-a-thon

2011-10-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

It's been a great weekend. My parents in law came on Thursday night to help us with our move, and were witness to my kid's first bike-a-thon held at their preschool. We were suppose to go around and get pledges, but like I have time for that in my life right now! My kids don't have their own bikes yet-(man are we behind. They are getting them for their next birthday, or maybe christmas...) so they just used the bikes from the school. While they were waiting for their turn, Kate was really excited. Owen was quiet with worry. He had practiced at school before and wasn't confident with his abilities to turn the corners. It was so sad- he would give us smiles, but then I could tell he was just overthinking it and nervous.

Kate with her teacher Mrs. Shriner in the "cheering section."

Owen trying to stay cool while he waited his turn.

Then it was their turn and of course they did just fine. Owen would get a little distracted smiling at us that he would accidently run into the curb.

Josi was playing by the playground until Kate and Owen's turn. As soon as she saw them get on the bikes, she was furious that she didn't have one too. Luckily I found this one on the sidelines, just for little kids like her. It doesn't even have pedals. She loved it, because she was included and doing what the older kids were doing.

With their medals and water.

It was a long morning but I was happy that they enjoyed themselves. Kate made 4 laps and Owen made 3.

Oh funny side story. As we were waiting our turn, there was a girl Kate and Owen were kind of hanging out with. Then I watched as Owen went up to her, grabbed her hand, and quickly licked her finger! What?! I pulled him over to me and I think he was pretty embarrassed that I saw that. I think he was just trying to play with her, or maybe he likes her or something? It was pretty funny. He did the same thing to grammy later in the day and I talked to him about maybe kissing the hand instead of licking it...? At least it's not so gross?

KEYS.

2011-09-28T12:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a big day for us. We FINALLY closed on our house! It had been about 3 weeks of prospect mortgage telling us "we should be able to close in 2 days." It really made it hard for us to plan anything. At one point the lady we were working with admitted that a "colossal mistake" had been made while communicating with other 3rd parties. Heavens. I'm just glad we don't have to deal with them anymore. I don't look sweet but I was gearing up to work.

The second we got our keys I went straight to the master bedroom and started ripping up the carpet. It felt pretty good. The house is in good condition, but I guess the last month that the owners were in it, they locked their dogs in the master bedroom all day while they were at work everyday. And so just in that room, and an attached office (you can see the open door to the office on the left), it REEKS. And the carpets were super nasty with pee marks everywhere.

This is the master.

The attached office, with a door that leads to the deck.

Kate and Owen watched a movie in the car while Joslyn stayed by my side and tried to "help."

It wasn't the best situation to have Josi in there, but she wasn't having it any other way. She actually stepped on a rusty staple that went all the way up through her shoe- and I ripped the shoe off and it must've pushed up right between her little toesies because it didn't pierce her. I seriously felt like it was a real, real blessing.

At 6:30 our friends the Allen's stopped by to see the place, and took my 3 kids (to add to their 6) to their home to feed and to watch so we could get some primer down. We "Kilz"ed the floor of both rooms and the walls of the bedroom, which was awesome because I never would've been able to do that with Joslyn around.

I did one wall in the time it took Kyle to do the other 3. I'll get better at it.

And even better- when we went to pick the kids up at 9:30 the Allens had leftover pizza waiting for us. It was awesome. And exhausting. Phew. I feel like I haven't done a real days work in a long time! haha.

Then today, while the kids were at preschool, Joslyn and I deep cleaned the insides and outsides of 3/4ths of my kitchen cabinets. The guy who is de-popcorning our ceilings was there too starting his work downstairs.

Here's our funny kitchen- not the best angle probably.

Here it faces out to the great room/dining room and deck doors.

It has 2 skylights, and we are going to take out the 3 boxes of florescent lighting and put some can lighting up in that hole.

These cupboards are going to be trouble.

And it has this old range that my Moses Lake home had! Those trays come down and there are heating lamps. Funny right?

I was happy when I went in the house this morning and it no longer reeked like the dogs, but now it reeks of Kilz. I hope once that smell dies down the dog smell is gone too.

My parents and family have been asking for more pictures, so here are just a random few. Here's the laundry room. The door has a doggy door and it's kind of broken so we are getting a new one, but it goes out to the garage.

Downstairs off of the little family room, there is this room. No window, and then just a little under the stairs closet with it. We'll probably have this be the toy room.

Here's our deck from the dining room. There is also a door off the office that you can't really see from here because that little wall's in the way right here.

Looking down into our back yard.

One more picture- here we are on one of the many trips to the hardware store. We put Joslyn up in the seat in the cart, but when she saw Kate and Owen sitting below her she insisted on being included, and then rode happily the rest of the way.

Joslyn

2011-09-22T09:53:00.000-07:00

I just want to spend a second to write about my baby Joslyn. I forgot about this stage. The stage where your baby can get into anything she wants. I put something away and she's always just 2 feet behind me taking it back out again and strewing it across the house. She's currently obsessed with the dishwasher tablets and the cans in the pantry. They are everywhere. And I have baby bowls hidden throughout the house as well. It's nearly impossible to keep the house completely straightened.

She expects to be given WHATEVER Kate and Owen are given. She follows them around like she's the 3rd twin. She climbs whatever they climb and jumps from whatever they jump from. Kate and Owen love playing hide and go seek with her or tag.

She loves purses and cell phones and babies. She never wants to eat in her high chair. She wants to sit on my lap to eat or be fed while I'm sitting on the couch.

She's crazy. And she feels entitled to whatever she wants. haha. Anytime she wants to be included in whatever is happening, she comes on over and throws her leg over whoever is in her way and then sits down, usually landing on my lap or on the laptop, or on one of the kids laps. It's pretty funny.

She's possessive. Yesterday I was giving Kate a hug and she ran over and tried to push Kate away. She's kind of obsessed with me and always wants to be by me or on me. haha.

She says "go!" (followed by a run), "amen," calls both Kyle and I "mama" or "moooom." She says "more," and something that sounds like "all gone."

If she's been awake for a long time and desperately wants to go to sleep, she'll start biting me. haha. She can get agressive when she's mad. And she's strong. A lot of time she'll be taking a toy out of Kate or Owen's hand and they will cry to me that she's taking their toy. I try to tell them that they are stronger than her, but a lot of time they can't get the toy back from her. She runs her own show.

I love her confidence. She knows what she wants. She dances whenever she hears music, and she's really quick to smile. When she's real mad she'll slowly lower herself to the ground and then kind of kick her body around. I always say she's obsessed with me, but I'm basically obsessed with her too. We all love her madly.

Oh man I almost forgot her most stubborn trait. Anytime she reaches for something and we tell her no, she LUNGES for it, and uses every single ounce of energy in her small body to get that one thing. At that point she usually is going for ALL of whatever that thing is, or she's attacking it full force. She is determined to get whatever she was going for, or destroy it.

game time.

2011-09-17T18:10:00.000-07:00

I was originally planning on painting all day today, but since that isn't happening, I spent my day doing this:

My sis Ash makes these all the time, and since I live states away, I just copy her and pretend I'm included. haha.

Today's our big rival game against Utah. Good luck family and friends.

AND PLEASE STILL COMMENT ON MY LAST POST.

Opinion poll

2011-09-16T20:12:00.000-07:00

WHAT BRAND OF PAINT DO YOU LIKE TO USE? I'm basically looking at Behr, Benjamin Moore, or Pittsburg paint. There is also a Sherwin Williams here although I haven't been to their store. I am totally clueless and would really like some input from my people. Thanks.

Just call me Debbie

2011-09-14T20:07:00.000-07:00

Today was slightly frustrating. Today was the original closing date for us to close on our house, although we were actually suppose to close LAST Friday. Dang. But then we got an email from the girl we've been working with and she thinks we won't be able to close until NEXT WEEK! We have to be out of here by the first, and if we don't close until next week we'll only have a week and half to AT LEAST remove the popcorn ceilings, install and/or clean carpets, deep clean the whole house, and move everything over. That doesn't even include getting the master shower redone (there was mold found in it and behind it) or painting. It's depressing because originally we were going to have 3 weeks to do all this stuff and we've even scheduled the parts that we need help with, which we'll have to reschedule. Grr. So now instead of a nice easy move it's going to be total chaos.

The people who are buying OUR house asked to come over today to measure the bathroom. Sure, no problem. But then they got here, they woke up my sleeping SICK baby, and then they stayed for 2 hours and 45 minutes! I even had to go pick up my kids from preschool and they were still at my house when I got home. They had called an interior decorator. It just kind of held me up all morning. Plus my bathroom wasn't the cleanest. Gees louise.

Joslyn after her nap was cut short. She was still so tired.

Then at 4:00 I get an email with another long list of things to send our lender, and I was running around like a chicken with it's head cut off writing letters of explanations and scanning taxes and running to meet Kyle somewhere so he could sign the papers. Add a sick Josi in there trying with every fiber in her being to get those papers and rip them up. It was nuts.

Anyway, I'm mostly just getting nervous about my shrinking timeline because of this dumb closing and wanted to let this day go out to the universe- you know what I mean? I know everything is going to work out just fine. My Miller parents are coming at the end of the month to help with the move and that's going to make things a lot better.

My life in pictures

2011-09-12T21:40:00.000-07:00

For family home evening tonight we started to clean out our garage and get boxes ready to be packed. So far I've really only packed up my books, games, and a few things in the kitchen. So it was about time. The kids loved playing with all of the extra boxes, whilst eating brownie bites.

On the right side of Josi's cheek is the biggest black bruise. I don't know how she hurt herself, but it looks pretty gnarly. Or it just looks like she's dirty all the time.

I had to take this picture while we were cleaning the garage because it shows a few things. 1) I bought this microwave for $5 from a friend for our new house. I cleaned it really well and it's just been sitting on our counter. Kyle moved it to the garage. 2) That diet coke was delicious. I've never really been a pop girl. As a young girl I liked Safeway's grape pop (and always rootbeer with pizza), and in high school my pop of choice was Mountain Dew (I might've had a small addiction during my junior year). But when I became a Miller, I had no choice. It was part of the deal. I had to become a DC drinker if I wanted to be accepted as a true Miller. (just kidding...okay mostly. haha) 3) I had a picture frame that broke tonight that held these pictures from my engagement in it. I have to laugh at these pictures because dang. I was so clueless back then. It was such a hard and stressful time for me, plus I didn't want to put anyone out, but I was also in need of some HELP. I needed some girly girl friends who thought it was okay to primp yourself for your wedding. So instead of going out and spending a few bucks to look cute for these pictures, I basically put on a few outfits that I had had for YEARS (one of them was just an old tshirt!) and took some pictures. I needed my Miller sisters to help glam me up a bit.

After playing in the garage I knew I had to clean this dirty girl. Look at her feet. So I started cleaning out the sink and looked up to find her even dirtier than when we started. Also, if you look up in my cupboard you can see I have plastic cups. My glasses are all packed up.

After she spilled the coke, she kept rubbing her hands in it and licking her hands.

Let it be documented that this is her first exposure to DC.

Kyle and I are also obsessed with this:

We were suppose to close on Friday but now it looks like it will be about midweek this week. All we talk about are paint colors, ceiling fans, door handles... ect. As soon as we close we are getting rid of the popcorn ceilings, those random funny spotlight lights, and are doing a few other projects. It's just slightly hilarious because Kyle and I have never been super handy or fixed up a house before. It gives us something to think about so it's been kind of fun.

Spent

2011-09-10T21:00:00.001-07:00

An hour and a half south of us in Medford, the church owns a pear farm. We were asked by our stake presidency to go pick pears from 6 am to 12 pm today, and that's what we did. Unfortunately, we forgot to go to bed early last night, and after having to wake up with Kate in the night, 3:45 am came REALLY early. (I think the last time I woke up that early for the day was back when I would drive to Moses Lake or Utah by myself before I got married.) Another family that was driving down dropped off their 15 year old daughter at 4 am to babysit for us and we were out the door to meet our carpool.

We got to the pear farm at 6 am, and it was STILL DARK. We signed in, and immediately started picking pears. It was pretty fun for the first 3 or 4 hours, but then the pears just started getting really heavy and it was hot and we were hungry and sore. I had had a dream that short night before that I was a senior in high school, so with that dream still lingering, plus being out of the house without my kids, it was kind of a funny morning. I kept feeling like I was in high school and how fun it would be if my people were there! (haha I totally know I'm old now and I'm not trying to "relive the glory days" or anything...If you really know me, you just know I've always been a vivid dreamer.) When I told Kyle that this must be a fun activity for the youth he said, "Yeah basically any activity was fun back then as long as there were cute girls around." True I guess.

(If the pears didn't fit through these rings they were good to pick.)

When we finally got home, we took a quick nap and headed over to our friends house to watch the second BYU game of the season. This is our first year going independent, and the best part about it as far as I am concerned is that we finally have access to watch all the games. They are all being played on ESPN or BYUtv (while before most games were only aired on "the mountain," which was never available where we lived). I'm loving it. We won our first game last week 14-13 against Ole Miss. Unfortunately tonight we lost 16-17 to Texas. We had a great first half but it went downhill after that. Lame.

So it was a long and tiring day, but a good day (obviously it would've been a better day if we had won the game). Between little sleep, pear picking, and a byu game, we are physically and emotionally spent.

Can we brainstorm for a moment?

2011-09-05T17:46:00.000-07:00

Right now my every thought is consumed by paint colors. I don't know if you know this about me, but I am indicisive. And my husband usually doesn't have strong opinions. We are hopefully closing on a house within the next week and a half, and if all goes well, I'll be repainting a great room. And the master bedroom with adjoining office. Here's a fun game...let's hear from those who have any, ANY opinion on the matter. Just for funsies. (I reserve the right to paint all my walls white. haha)

This is a horrible picture, but when you walk in the house, this is the room that you see:

(To the left of the fireplace is a sliding door out onto the deck, and space for a dining area all also painted that dark brown.)

We think the dark brown wall really makes the room dark, and we want to lighten it up. Honestly, we aren't super adventurous. We are thinking of a light gray(ish) for our neutral and then a darker shade of that for the brown wall. haha. So boring I know. All I know is that the room needs to be lighter, and I like cooler tones better than warm tones. I want to have the far wall painted an accent color, but we've mostly always had pretty white walls so we need a color that isn't going to scare us. any ideas? any favorite neutrals in general? I'm open to any ideas. I'm counting on you ladies (or brother justin). Help a sister out.

I'm so excited for you!

2011-09-02T09:04:00.001-07:00

We've been having some sleeping issues at my house. My kids sleep great through the night, but Owen started waking up earlier and earlier. We even had to buy a little clock for their room and bribe the kids to stay in their room until 7 am. (After 7 days of this they get an ice cream cone.)The biggest problem with Owen's early rising is that he usually ends up waking up Kate. Kate could use the sleep. If not for Owen, she would probably wake up between 7:30 and 8:30.

Consequently, the past week has been slightly brutal with Kate. Everyday she's been talking mean to me all day, never satisfied with what we are doing, even after we do something fun. At the end of each day I've been trying to sit down and talk with her about trying to be more nice. Well, last night she told me that today she was going to be nice to me ALL day. I said that that was great, and kind of forgot about it. Then this morning we were driving to school, listening to music, and Kate yells at me from the back, "MOM!! ARE YOU SO EXCITED?!" And I asked her about what. She said, "That I'm going to be so nice to you today even whatever we do?!!!" and I told her that yes, I was so excited. She proceeded to tell me that SHE was so excited for ME. How thoughtful. (Owen yelling "me too! me too!" from the back.)

In the meanwhile, we are hoping to close on our house in another week or week and a half. We've been busy getting quotes for a few things that need to be fixed up, looking at paint and carpet samples, and all that kind of stuff. I also haven't packed a single thing, but instead have read 7.5 books in the past few weeks... Kyle thinks we can just pack one room at a time and move it, since the new house is only 5 minutes from here. I think I better start packing. Because whether we actually get the house or not, we still are getting kicked out of this place. It's the calm before the storm.

New picture.

2011-08-30T16:58:00.000-07:00

What can I say? I'm getting pumped for the weekend. Go cougars!

Preschool

2011-08-29T15:38:00.000-07:00

My kids started preschool today. It's 3 days a week for 3 hours a day, and everyone here is really excited about it, kids and parents alike. My kids have been pretty bored this summer and in need of some "friends" time, so I'm really excited for them. Here they are before school this morning.

New backpacks provided by Grammy. New school shoes provided by auntie toni and uncle aaron. (my bro-in-law designs shoes for DC. Cool right?)

Joslyn didn't want to be left out.

Their preschool is really cute. As we dropped them off this morning they were pretty brave. Kate was a little nervous and kept telling us she loved us. Afterwards when I picked them up, Kate said her favorite part was when they got to play on the playground, and Owen's favorite part was when they made a volcano.

After naps: Proof that I did end up dressing Joslyn today.

I didn't realize until later there was baby goop on my camera lens. Sorry they are all a little blurry.

small town date night

2011-08-23T18:07:00.000-07:00

Kyle goes golfing every Monday morning with a bunch of guys. We were invited to a dinner party on Friday night by one of the guys, Dude. As I was getting ready that night, unsure how nice I was suppose to dress up, he told me, "You know that Dude is 82 right?" No, no I didn't.

So we showed up, and there were about 12 of us. Kyle and I were the youngest by at least 20 years, but probably 30. Not that I was complaining. I've always gotten along pretty well with people older than me. But it was pretty funny to meet all of Kyle's golf buddies- Dude, Bob, Dick... Kyle had played in a golf tournament that day and won a bottle of wine in the raffle. Since we don't drink, we took the wine with us to give to our hosts. It was pretty funny.

The best part was that Dude and his wife have taught square dancing all their lives, and have a little dance studio separate from their house. We ate in the dance studio, and after dinner, Dude went up to his little stage where he had a keyboard. He put on one of those pre-recorded beats, started playing some chords and sang us a song into his mic about goin' out golfing, that I'm pretty sure he wrote. He'd mess up some words and then talk to us a little and then keep singing. It was slightly awesome. Then he sang 2 more songs, Rambling rose and one I've never heard.

Kyle leaned over and said, "Your dad would be loving this." I said, "This IS my dad in 20 years."

It was a funny night. The only way it could have been better is if they would've gotten up and actually done some dancing. Imagine the awesomeness.
(And I had decided not to dress up. I was still slightly overdressed.)

Old news

2011-08-21T22:38:00.000-07:00

I found my OLD camera's computer cord, and I realized I have a few pictures that I never was able to post. You can skip this if you want, but when I make my book, I want to be able to put these in where they actually go. Without further ado:

Extra easter 2010 pictures:

This one Josi's doing a Tyra Bank's secret: inhale during the photo.

And I never blogged about Kyle's birthday! So here we are- Kyle turns 31. This was back in May.

This is one of Joslyn's classic stances. She's always at our legs wanting to be picked up.

I can't even remember what we did for Kyle's birthday. Apparently not clean the kitchen. We got him a few cutco knives.

Kyle's traditional strawberry shortcake. With 4 candles. 3 on one side and 1 on the other for 31. That looks pretty sad. But I'm sure it was a great time. haha.

LASTLY. I must've taken this mid-cut when I gave Owen his summer buzz. Maybe this is what he'll look like as an old man.

And here are some I took today just to take inventory.

My kids are doing some funny smiles here. It makes them look old. Weird.

Now that I have access to a camera I should be posting more.

16 random things on the 16th.

2011-08-15T17:38:00.001-07:00

1. Happy birthday to my dear sister tera yesterday and Isaac in a few more days.

2. I made 6 batches of freezer strawberry jam the other day. I think we are going to go pick some raspberries today and make some raspberry jam.
*Correction** Instead of picking raspberries we picked blackberries. Look at how huge these guys were.

3. I really really don't like the phrase "man-cave." I've never been into this type of thing, but when we moved to California we started watching "house hunters" and now we watch a lot of HGTV. There are some really annoying key things that people say when they are looking at a house (i.e. "great for entertaining," "I don't know...it isn't stainless steel/granite..." or "I can really see myself drinking my morning coffee out here") but the one that might drive me the most crazy is the term "man-cave." I mean, I don't care if they want to have a room with a ping pong table and drums and a huge tv, but does it have to have that name??!! Can't it just be like the "rec room" or something? I think it's the small feminist inside me, but it drives me bonks.

4. I met a guy the other day who has a twin sister. He said he hated being a twin and hasn't gotten along with his sister since they were 8. It made me sad. I really hope Kate and Owen will always love each other.

5. Josi carries around a baby doll and purse all day. She is always following kate and owen around, well, when she's not trying to climb up me. I NEVER held the twins as much as I hold this girl. It just wasn't an option.

6. She finally also gives me kisses. She was a tough nut to crack. Right now she's into pulling your shirt up and pinching your skin. She's not trying to be mean. It's just her new trick!

7. Remember the new camera I got for mother's day? I can't find the battery charger, which is why I haven't been blogging. I haven't looked too hard because I think I'll find it while I'm moving. I can never really mention it because I know Kyle will just laugh at me and wonder why he bothered buying me something nice.

8. I'm kind of obsessed with the song "Someone like you" by Adele, since my friend posted this on her blog. I can't stop singing it.

9. Kyle and I found a house that we like last week. It's older and kind of quirky, but it has the most square footage we've seen for the cheapest price. And it has a basement, which is a rare find around here. And we both felt really good about it. We put an offer on it, the bank countered yesterday and we accepted their offer! More on this later. We'll have to see how the inspection goes. But my fingers are crossed.

10. Kate's newest phrase is "mom can i tell(/ask) you 2 things??"

11. There are wild blackberry bushes EVERYWHERE here. I pulled over as we were leaving the park yesterday to pick a few. They are quite delicious.

12. If we do get this house, I'll be in a new ward. Which makes me sad because I finally feel settled and have friends in my ward. On the bright side, we'll be in a good school district and I already have some friends in the new ward.

13. In church right now Kyle and I teach the 11 year olds. It is such a great class with really nice kids. Have I mentioned that Joslyn has a nemesis? There is a nice little boy in our class who has down syndrome. He brings a beautiful spirit to our class and all the kids are really good with him. Except Josi. Two of the first weeks we were teaching, the boy came up to her and pushed her down really hard and it scared her. Since then, we'd had to really keep a close eye on the two of them. Some days they'll just both have a scowl on their face and wag their fingers at each other or do a hitting motion at each other from across the room. It definitely keeps us on our toes.

14. Kyle and I have always been night owls, but now that Kyle doesn't work a few days at the beginning of the week, we keep going to bed even later. We always were pretty consistently going to bed between 11 and 12. Now it's between 12 and 1. We need to start going to bed earlier.

15. We checked out some BOB books, which are some beginning reading books, from the library. It's making me rethink this whole twin thing. I'm going to either have to grow a bushel of patience from nothing, or my kids may never learn to read. Plus the dynamics are a little tricky. Like Owen gets distracted right away but when Kate struggles with one Owen comes in and says it. I think he doesn't like to really TRY until he knows he can do things. You know? It's difficult for me to sit through it twice, and it's also difficult to decipher how much each individual is picking up. It's early and I'm not going to feel pressure that they need to already know how to read. We are just trying things out.

16. No matter what Josi does, or how dramatic she's being, Kyle and I laugh and talk about how she is just irresistible. She's almost done cutting her 4th molar, and I'm hoping she'll go back to her original sweet self. But even if not, we are obsessed with her. haha. At church I have ladies coming up to me and saying things like, "Wow! that girl is ALL personality." (Which basically means "your baby sure is loud during sacrament meeting.")

Relief

2011-08-08T13:04:00.001-07:00

So, yesterday came and went. Kyle and I fasted and prayed and really spent a lot of time trying to make a decision about the house. We were kind of sick about it all day. I kind of felt like we weren't going to buy the house, but when I said that outloud it made me want to bawl my eyes out for 5 hours. So then I thought maybe we should. haha. We just kept going back and forth, and neither of us could really come up with the right answer.

In the evening we got a call from the owner and Kyle called her back. Turns out they've come to an agreement with the couple that made an offer, and that we can make an offer but we'd be the secondary offer and would only get the house if some contingency wasn't met with the first offer. It was a positive conversation, and when Kyle got off the phone, we both felt actually pretty relieved. Whether we were relieved the decision was out of our hands, or just relieved because we weren't supposed to buy the house, I'm not sure. But relief. Thank heavens.

We had some friends over for dinner and drove out to their new property and talked and picked/ate blackberries until the sun started to set. It was a nice ending to kind of a stressful few days. Now we just need to find a rental and move on. Literally. Hopefully we can find something that won't disrupt our lives too drastically. It's slightly nerve wracking but I'm hopeful.

You have one day to think about it.

2011-08-06T20:57:00.000-07:00

I've been really wanting to blog lately, but we haven't had much going on. Until all of the sudden we do.

On the bright side:
-Toni! I french braided Kate's hair for the first time (exciting right?). I've always understood the concept but anytime I've tried my fingers just couldn't do it. But here's my first try and I was feeling really proud of myself.

-I've been really enjoying my garden. I've never loved cherry tomatoes but they are ripening up and every night I go out and grab some and throw them in our dinner and they make everything way more delicious! I'm loving them! Also, we had chicken and broccoli for dinner and the broccoli was straight out of the garden. It's awesome and so yummy.

On the downer side...
We've been renting this house for the 4 months we've been here, and it's for sale by owner. We've only had one couple walk through the entire time we've lived here, but last weekend we had another couple stop by. Turns out, they are making on offer on this house. So we have to decide whether we want to put on offer in, more than we'd like to pay, or find another rental. Problem is there aren't a lot of good rentals here. Plus, Kyle's buying into the practice next month, so we either have to buy before then, or wait a year or two to buy a house in order to get financing (since he'll be self employed).

Plus we only have a few days to decide. I think we have to make an offer tomorrow if we want to do it. I still don't know what we are going to do. It's pretty stressful. Gaa! I guess we'll have to see what happens.

Ems- You wanted an Austin update. The transplant surgery went really well without any major complications. you can go to "cortney & ben j" link on the side of my blog to read about it! love you.

Austin

2011-08-02T14:50:00.000-07:00

I was friends with Ben in High School and when we both realized we lived in the same small town in California, I became really great friends with his wife Cortney. Austin and Emma would come over and play 3 or 4 times a week, while I lay on the couch, too sick pregnant with Joslyn to move, and Cortney and I would talk the morning away. It was such a fun time. I love someone who is willing to come over and keep me company, especially when I'm too sick to get off the couch or shower. Plus our kids played so nice together we were able to ignore them while they played.

The same weekend that Joslyn was born, Austin got sick. Cortney called me in the hospital and cried to me about her baby in the hospital with a serious mystery illness, while I cried to her about Joslyn in the nicu and her necessary platelet transplant. Today, more than 13 months later, their sweet son Austin, whom we all love so much, is getting a kidney transplant from his uncle Jacob. We are all sporting our Austin t-shirts ("a kidney, a miracle, a life"), and we've all been sending special prayers their way all week. I'm so touched by Jacob's sacrifice for such a loving and happy little boy. And my heart has been with Ben and Cortney as they've had to hike to the moon and back to get this to happen.

We love you Jones family. Our prayers are with you.

Beauty shots

2011-07-26T12:30:00.000-07:00

While we were down at the Millers in June, we decided to get Joslyn's 1 year photos done at JC Pennys. Here's what we got.

I think these 2 turned out the cutest.

I loved these next two as well, but when I got them in the mail, they were out of focus. Tsk tsk JC Pennys.

This girl grunts SO loud all day. She walks everywhere now, she folds her arms and says a little "blah blah blah" when we say prayer. She is a little diva and with good reason. What this baby wants, this baby gets. How can I say no?

Potterwatch: My Deathly Hallows 2 movie review

2011-07-19T19:39:00.001-07:00

(No spoilers really. Just feelings. I put any spoilers in the comment section.)

I went and saw the last Harry potter today. I'd been gearing up for it all week. I watched a million youtube videos of interviews with the cast, and cried real tears through most of them. I was SOOOO excited. I mean, we went out to lunch before the movie today, and I could barely eat my stomach was so nervous and SO EXCITED to see this movie. I might've even said to Kyle before the movie started, "These are going to be the best 2 hours of my life so far." haha. Okay, maybe I was setting myself up for disappointment.

Because I loved it. But I also kind of hated it. I think I was mostly just confused because all of the reviews RAVED about it. Raved. So even though one of the previews concerned me a little (the part where harry said to voldemort something like, "let's finished this where we started it- TOGETHER!!" as he grabbed Voldemort and jumped off the building, which never happened), because the reviews were so good, I assumed they had gotten the movie right.

And they did some things really right. I loved all of it up until they got to Hogwarts. And I loved the part about Snape's memories through Harry's showdown with Voldemort in the forbidden forest, and even King's Crossing. I had tears running down my cheeks.

But then they did some things really wrong I thought. Most of the time I forget books after I read them. But I loved this book SO much and it ended SO perfectly and I've read it so many times it's basically ingrained in me. So the final FINAL battle was a total let down for me. (In fact, the real word that kept running through my mind had to do with a certain farm animal's excrements. haha. REALLY sorry to have to say that.)

I loved it because I love Harry Potter and the cast and all of my experiences with them over the years, and I hated it because it didn't do the book justice during it's finest (and final) part. Honestly throughout the movie, I had tears running down my face. Happy tears, sad-that-it-was-over tears, snape tears, and once, tears of disappointment. It's just that the ending in my head was so much better. Dang it. I'm really sorry to have to say that. I just love Harry Potter with all my heart. I guess I just have to separate the movie and the book so I can enjoy the movie better.

In my comments section I'm going to write what, in my opinion, they got wrong. I think once I get it off my chest I'll feel better and will be able to just let it go. I feel better already.

(P.S. 20 minutes after writing this and I felt like I got it off my chest, and NOW I'm feeling bad about my upsetting review. Kyle said it's all part of the healing process. So Harry potter movie- I'm sorry I let your bad qualities overshadow your good qualities. I love you still and forgive you. Can you forgive me? I guess nobody's perfect. Let's just love each other again. It's all of the review's that I read fault really. I was just taken off-guard.)

The end

2011-07-16T16:06:00.000-07:00

The next morning we woke up and the boys went golfing (Kyle, Jeff, David, Jon, Cortney). Kelsey and I were walking out the door to go to the farmers market when the boys walked in, having finished early. So Kyle and Jon came with us. I don't know why, but I love our farmer's market. We bought some raspberries, strawberry bread, donuts, and beef jerky. I was hoping to get some banana bread from the Hutterite stand but they weren't there that weekend.

Next we drove to Franks so I could introduce Kyle, Kelsey, and Jon to the yummiest pizza pockets around. They had some SERIOUS doubts about it but once they tasted it they had to agree with me. Mike and Allie met up with us there and then we all headed back to Jeff and Beckys.

A bunch of family came over for a lunch potluck and we mostly swam with the kids the rest of the day. As the day wore on, I could almost physically feel my Moses Lake minutes slipping away from me, and it made me oh so sad. It made me wonder if Moses Lake would ever release the grip it has on my heart. haha. Dramatic right? I don't know if it ever will. When I asked Kyle, he responded, "Why does it ever need to?"

I took my family over to meet up with Erin Turner for about 45 minutes in the late afternoon and that evening, after putting the kids to bed, met up with Ash & Cort and Amber & Shawn Jenks for Sushi. Jeff and Becky were so nice and watched my kids. They told me I didn't have a curfew so we ended up talking at the Jenks house until late! It was so much fun. Then on Sunday we went to 1st ward with Jeff's family and after a yummy lunch, packed up and drove back home to Roseburg.

And that was that. Now we are just home, waiting for swimming lessons to start again next week. My sugar snap peas did not fare well with me gone, my zucchinis have what I think is called rot-bottom, and my tomatoes are coming in nicely. I'm really excited for them. Did I mention that the week that Justin & Ash were here I harvested my first broccoli. Check out these kittens:

I should've had my hand in the picture for a reference point. But they were big! And delicious.

I've been working on my food storage and 72 emergency kits this week, and Kyle and I both wonder where the summer has gone. Oh, and tonight I got invited to a "girl's night in." It was nice to have some girl time with other ladies. The funny part though? It was a "gluten and dairy free potluck." So...yeah. I live in Oregon now. haha.

(And I took a veggie platter. Although it had ranch dressing which I realized as I pulled in was NOT dairy free! I couldn't even get that right! Heavens help me.)

Reception #2

2011-07-16T15:33:00.001-07:00

Friday morning we woke up, got ready, jumped in the car and headed for beautiful Moses Lake! It's a pretty drive from Portland to there, and easy too. I'm really looking forward to when my parents finally move back home and I'll be able to visit them more often. From my new hometown it's only about 7 hours away, which is the closest I've ever lived!

We got into town around 1 or 2, and went straight to Grandma Earl's house. All of our people met over there, including family, the Hardys, Merrells, Nelsons, Lybberts, Lunas, and Jones. It was a really great time. We had 20 pizzas delivered, and besides having to keep my kids out of the pool the whole time, it was so fun to catch up with everyone.

Later that evening, we headed over to Jeff and Becky's to unpack our stuff and to get ready for the reception, which was at their house anyway. We got ready and help decorate the tables, and then the party was in full swing. They served hot fudge sundaes and cookies, which was basically heaven. It was so much fun to catch up with my younger cousins and see more old friends from church. I didn't take any pictures that night, but I know my aunt Peggy did and I'm hoping to one day steal some from her!

I had planned it perfectly because I was able to but Joslyn down to bed and still get to be a part of the party and watch the gifts being opened. Kate and Owen were flirting with Allie all night. They are so excited to get a new auntie.

It was kind of strange because I hardly saw my parents this day. And the next thing I knew, they were leaving. They had to get up the next morning and leave by like 3:30 am or so. It made me really sad to have to say goodbye to them, and to the rest of my siblings.

One thing I learned during this whole trip (and my siblings coming to Roseburg) is that I am maybe a little bitter! about living so far away from all of my family. I mean- what in the world?! All of my siblings have each other in Orem, and most of the Miller's all live super close right now too. And then we moved out to the boondocks! I know, I know. It's a good thing. And we feel really blessed that Kyle has a job that he likes and that is working well for him. But I grew up with all my cousins and it really kind of breaks my heart to know my kids won't get that. And just selfishly for me- I want to have my people around.

So anyway, it was sad for me to say goodbye to them. But it was also nice to be in Moses Lake, and we decided to stay until Sunday afternoon. More on that to come. Riveting stuff right?

The Wedding

2011-07-16T14:51:00.001-07:00

We slept in downtown Portland that night, and for those of you who remember, we DIDN'T pay the $31 a night to park. Kyle parked on the street but he had to move the car by 8 am and we also had to circle round a few times to find a spot. So Kyle made it happen for us and everything turned out okay, just like you said it would.

When he went to move the car, he stopped by Voodoo Donuts to get us breakfast. I didn't know if this was the best idea for my kids, expecting them to hold up for a full day of wedding and reception. But oh well. After the old fashioned and blueberry donut, I liked the captain crunch one. Surprised?

The wedding was at noon, and it was really nice to see Michael and Allie so happy together. It was the shortest wedding I've ever been to! But considering we had Allie's siblings outside watching all of our kids, I guess that was a good thing.

Here they are coming out. They came out a door that we weren't expecting, so they had to come out twice! haha.

I love how they just went with the flow. Don't they look super happy?

Then I looked over and saw Owen smelling the flowers. My little boy is really quite sweet.

Once Kate saw that I was taking a picture of Owen, she wanted to be sweet and sensitive too.

Joslyn really loved my brother Isaac. He was such a help to me, anytime she was throwing a fit he'd just take her. It was awesome. (and hi Jon Edwards.)

I love my Grandma Earl.

Then I took this time to grab pictures with my parents.

This part is seriously the best. After the wedding we headed over to Happy Valley and had a luncheon at the church. Then we had about 3 hours to waste before the reception started that night at 7 pm. Kyle and Joey were joking about getting a local babysitter for our kids, and the next thing I knew, Kyle was back inside talking to people and walked out with an 11 year old girl! We drove her to her house, and there we left Kate, Owen, and Josi with the 11 year old and her older (14ish?) sister. haha Turns out they were really close friends with the Ellison's. And although I was nervous for a second, as soon as I realized they had a pack & play and Josi could sleep the whole time, I was so happy that she was going to get a nap. She was so exhausted!

So Kyle TOTALLY made it happen for us and then we were able to meet up with everyone else at the local mall and walk around kidless! It was hilarious and super awesome.

THEN! When we went to pick up the kids right before the reception, we learned that Joslyn had woken up for 20 minutes with a POOPY diaper! And we hadn't left them anything! So the mom had gone down to the store and bought her diapers and a sippy cup, changed her, and then put her back to bed! Horrifying right?! They were so super nice, tried to not even take any money, AND Joslyn got a great nap in. Plus Kate and Owen got to jump on a trampoline, pet some horses, and play with an 11 year old girl, which is like their favorite.

The reception was beautiful and really fun. We had some crepes and italian sodas.

Isaac pushing my kids on swings.

It was a great night. After the reception we decided on another late dinner with Ash, Cort, Cali, and Joey at Claim Jumper. I'd never been. This night we all slept better in the hotel too. Kyle smashed the pack & play into the hotel bathroom so that Joslyn couldn't see us and she slept really great. This was another time that Kyle "made it happen" that day. Seriously, he was like a knight in shining armor, with the parking situation, getting us a stranger babysitter, getting Joslyn to sleep better at night. What can I say? I married good. Okay... to be continued.

Reunion in a costco

2011-07-16T13:37:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning. By now my parents had flown into the Seattle airport and were making their way to Portland. Allie was going to go through the temple that evening, so Justin and Angelique and Ash and Cort were getting ready to drive the 3 hours up to Portland, meet up with my parents, and that evening go to the temple. Kyle had to work until 6 pm, so we were going to go up afterwards.

Well, halfway through the morning, I decided to try to get a babysitter (from 12-6!)so I could go up with my siblings. I found one right away, and ended up running around my house in a frenzy trying to pack and clean.

We left at noon and drove to a Costco in Portland to meet up with my parents (classic, by the way). It was actually really exciting because we had been waiting for them for like 15 minutes, and decided to get some food in the food court. Ash and I happened to look over to customer service and saw a bald, white head, and we both just started running! It was so fun to run up on my dad and kind of tackle him before he even noticed we were there. It was so fun.

Next we went to my parents hotel and met up with Cali and Joey and grandmas and aunts and uncles and Kaelynn and Jason. I love our family. After a while I went to Cali and Joey's room to catch up with them. The temple session was at 7:00 pm and we knew we were going to leave at 6:30 (we were only about 5 minutes from the temple).

We were talking for awhile in Cali's room when we noticed it was 6:30. We knocked on our parents door, then hurried down to the lobby, only to realize that my parents had left us!! HELLO!! They were our ride, since none of us had a car, and we started to panic as time ticked down and we realized we were going to miss the session!! Then we saw Jeff and Becky start to pull out of the parking lot. They gave us a friendly wave and we basically THREW OURSELVES onto their car. We told them we were left behind and Jeff told us he'd drop off his kids and then come get us. We couldn't even believe it. It was such a relief because otherwise we would've missed the session. We got there JUST in time. It was slightly crazy.

It was a nice evening. The only people we were missing were Kyle and Angelique (she had stayed behind at the hotel to watch her and Ash's kids). I'm so glad I had gotten a babysiter because this day was really the most time I got to spend with my parents. And it was so nice to be at the temple with them.

And one of the funnest parts! Afterwards I went out to the lobby to try to call Kyle to see if he was nearby, and when I walked outside, there he was with all the kids. It was a fun surprise, and even though it was 9:30, we ended up going to Appleby's with Cali, Joey, Ash, Cort, Henry, Jason, and KaeLynn.

4th of July

2011-07-16T13:04:00.001-07:00

Okay, back to the beginning of the month. Last we left off Justin & Angelique were visiting. Then late Sunday night, Ashley and Cortney rolled in with their 3 kids. We had a full house with 6 adults and 8 kids.

I was excited to have family in town for the 4th of July, but pretty disappointed to find out that my small town I live in doesn't really do a big 4th of July celebration! They had fireworks at 10 pm, but no parade, no fried food booths, no rodeo. Nothing. So we were determined to make our own fun.

We ended up taking the kids to the River Forks Park (kind of reminiscent of ML's state park). There were tons of people there and long lines for food in the main pavilion. Kyle went to check it out and came back with a plate of meat and fudgsicles! It was slightly hilarious because when he went to check it out, he just got in line with everyone else, and when it was time to pay, there was nobody to pay. It was just free food. Which means, it obviously must've been some huge church function or club function of some sort, because I did lots of research and it definitely wasn't put on by the city. We kept making jokes about strangers coming up to us at the Earl reunion and getting in line for pizza. Justin and Cort went and got plates too, and we never figured out what new "community" we were apart of. It was a 4th of July miracle I guess.

That night we had a bbq with delicious burgers and treats. We lit up our fireworks before it was even dark so that we could still put the kids to bed on time.

Obviously it was a rocking time. haha

Late that night, my siblings humored me and we all grabbed blankets and laid outside under the stars as we talked. We all saw a few shooting stars and it was super fun.

I had lost my camera over this last few days so I borrowed a few pictures from Angelique, but I'm really sad about the lack of documentation! Especially since after the 14 hour drive up here Cortney said he was never doing that again!! haha

Tuesday Kyle had to go back to work, which was a little sad! We went to a little fish viewing area where you can see fish going upstream. It's pretty cool. Kyle and I had taken the kids a week earlier and it was FULL of fish, but when we all went together there was only 1 or 2, which was slightly disappointing. But I knew at least Cort would want to see it.

Dougie and Kate

Me and Joslyn

We went and got icecream at Sherm's Thunderbird, went to another park where we got to listen to a band warm up for a concert later that evening and the kids got to jump in the river. We ate pizza that night and roasted marshmellows before bed. Another fun day. Wait, did I mention it was mine and Kyle's 8th anniversary?!! that's right. We made it. haha. This was the first time we didn't do something special for our anniversary, but it was a busy week.

Baby steps

2011-07-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

A few weeks before Justin and Angelique came, Joslyn started taking little baby steps, just one or two at a time. Then, a day or 2 before they came (so right about at 1 year), she started taking like 5 or 6 steps. Then everybody came, and we went to the wedding, and Joslyn REFUSED to even TRY to walk. I don't think she liked the pressure. haha. So of course the first day we are back home she stands up and is walking all over the place. I got a little video of it last night. (It's not her best effort, but my best effort and recording it.)

She is going to take off any minute. It's pretty exciting and happy and sad.

Visitors

2011-07-12T20:46:00.000-07:00

Since Michael was getting married in the Portland Temple last weekend, Justin and Angelique decided to take a detour to Roseburg. I was so excited to have family come and visit. They rolled in Friday evening (July 1st) and were here until Wednesday.

When they rolled in, this is what Josi and I were doing:

This is her normally. But as soon as she sees the camera, I get her cheesy grin that I love so much.

The kids had so much fun playing with Dougie. It was slightly hilarious because Dougie, who is 2 years younger than Owen, kept trying to push Owen around all weekend, and Owen would just kind of watch him as he tried to hurt him. I was so proud of him for not hitting back or getting too offended. One time Owen kind of threw Dougie to the ground, just to kind of show him that he could rock him if he wanted to. It was pretty funny. Overall I thought they all got along REALLY well.

On Saturday, we loaded up and went to the Wildlife Safari. The kids got to feed some goats and we saw a lot of cool animals.

At one point, Kate came up to me pretty distressed and showed me her arm and said, "MOM!! I don't even know what this is!!"

Once I told her that a bird pooped on her arm she got a pretty good laugh and thought it was pretty cool. haha. I thought it was pretty awesome myself.

Joslyn

2011-06-30T12:50:00.000-07:00

I wrote this about Josi about 2 weeks ago. It seems a lot has changed.

Joslyn is so juicy. I'm in love with her. She is like a little puppy right now. Always happy and excited and pulling funny faces and wanting to be crazy in your lap. And completely lovable.

On the 21st she started clapping, and also took 2 steps by herself for the first time! She blows kisses, gives high fives, and waves goodbye (all just learned in the past month). She loves snacks and she loves to follow kate and owen around. If they walk outside she freaks out and tries to follow them.

Here are her one year stats:
Weight: 23 lbs 4 oz. (82%)
Height: 30 inches (78%)
Head: 19 inches (99%)

On her actual birthday we just opened her one present from Grandma A-ha (toy cell-phone) and had some strawberry shortcake, as we had already celebrated with the Miller's earlier in the month.

Summer days

2011-06-29T21:35:00.000-07:00

Kate and Owen had swim lessons for the first time these past 2 weeks. Some kids from our church were teaching them from their house and it was a really positive experience. My kids definitely started out nervous (especially Owen), and it was so much fun to watch each day as they became more confident. Josi screamed through each lesson as she tried to escape from me and dive into the pool. She doesn't like feeling left out.

After swim lessons each day we'd go to a local pool and get our swim on. I'm usually not so adventurous on my own with 3 kids that can't really swim, but once my kids got floaties on it became more manageable.

Josi looks sunburnt here, but my kids get red-faced in the hot sun.

This past weekend there was an art festival with art stands, performances, live bands, and fried food. Kyle was at a golf tournament so I took the kids in the morning, but we decided to go back for dessert after dinner.

My brother Michael is getting married next week. I'm so excited that Justin's family and Ash's family are coming to visit before the wedding, then we're off to Portland, then to Moses Lake for like 36 hours. Plus, did I mention that I get to see my parents? I love having something to look forward to.

A little about Owen

2011-06-27T11:53:00.000-07:00

Owen had his appointment yesterday. As we were pulling out he started a slow small cry and said he was going to miss Kate. So we turned some music on and after a few minutes he said, "Mom, can this song be about Kate? Because I miss her." I think I might have a romantic on my hands.

He weighed 35.6 lbs (34%) and was 40.25 inches tall (36%). Which means this is the first time since he was a baby that he weighed more than Kate. And they are the exact height, which means he must be growing because she used to be visually taller than him.

When it was time to get his shots he looked at me and told me that he wasn't going to cry, because Kate cried, and he wanted to go home and tell her he didn't cry. He was so brave. But he had to get tons of shots and after his first he started quietly crying. He is so cute.

He completely has a nervous giggle that turns into a laugh or cry. He says, "That's too long!" anytime he has to wait for anything. Anytime Kate or Owen are eating they both freak out if the other one has eaten more than him or her. Owen will say, "Kate only has 2 bites left and I have 8 bites!" and they cry because they don't want to be left in the kitchen by themselves. It's kind of the strangest thing, especially since our kitchen opens up to the living room and so they technically aren't alone. I wonder if it's a twin thing or a sibling thing. Either way it's pretty strange and often drives me crazy! Because if they'd stop whining and keep eating then they wouldn't be so behind!

Sometimes Owen asks me if he can have a little brother. I tell him that maybe we'll have one, but we have to wait and see what Heavenly Father gives us. One time I told him, "We might have a little brother and we might only have little sisters." He started to cry when I said that and ran to his room. (This is future referencing only. I am NOT pregnant.)

He is my early riser- sometimes getting up as early as 6:30 (we send him back to bed), but usually 7 or 7:15 and on a REALLY great rare day he'll sleep in until 8 or 8:30. I think Kate would wake up every day at 8 or 8:30 if Owen wasn't waking her up all the time. He is sweet and cuddly and can say the cutest things. He wants to have doggies when he's a dad and only 2 kids. (Kate wants kitties and 5 kids.) It's been fun to watch his confidence grow and I especially love watching him with Joslyn.

A little about Kate

2011-06-22T21:22:00.000-07:00

In her prayers, Kate always prays that she "can have a good time."
After her prayers she always asks me if I liked her prayer.

Anything I teach her she comes back later and tries to teach it back to me (mainly to show me how knowledgable she is). I was trying to teach her about feeling the holy ghost. After the lesson, I used an example how maybe if she's playing with some big kids and they want to play something that makes her feel bad inside, she should come tell me, and we can think of a different game. Then she came and told me later that they were playing with her doll and she had a bad feeling inside about her doll. haha. Not quite the point, but I guess concepts like this take time.

But some don't. They ask me a lot about life's great questions. What happens when we die? Where is heaven? What is sin? What is "savior"?So we had been having a lot of these conversations. It makes me so grateful that I know about the plan of salvation and can answer a lot of these questions.

Then a few weeks ago I was driving in the car and over my music I heard Kate ask me if I was going to miss her when she died. I wish I would've written it down directly afterwards. I turned off the music and I asked her why she said that. And she said if she gets hit by a car. I told her we were always going to look both ways and we would be careful not to get hit by a car. Then I told her that I would miss her very much but that we'd be together again someday.

The conversation after that was pretty awesome. Kate piped right in and said that we get to be a family forever because mom and dad got married in the temple! And was it Owen? that said next "because Jesus saves us from being dead forever!" The conversation went on for a few minutes but it was so awesome to listen to my kids explain to me things that we had talked about over the few weeks before that. (Also coming back to what I said earlier. She likes to show me what she's learned.)

The other day in the car (again) Owen asked me if I had an "O" in my name like he does. I told him no, spelled out S-A-M and he started crying. Then Kate, eager to make him happy and happy to know a right answer shouted, "Yes you do mom! M-O-M!" It made me laugh, and I was grateful because Owen cheered right up after that.

I took Kate to the doctor for her 4 yr wcc on Friday (a few months late). It's the first time I've taken Kate and Owen separately. Owen goes on Monday. After we dropped him off at the sitter, Kate kept saying, "Mom...I just really miss Owen."

She weighed 35.2 lbs. Her height was 40.25 inches. She got a lot of shots. The whole way home she kept saying, "oh man... Owen just really isn't going to like getting those shots."

She loves to dance. She loves learning. She loves to sing. She makes some pretty sweet facial expressions. She can't wait until she's big. She doesn't like getting in trouble and likes to end an argument with a hug. Just like her momma.

I wish my videos would download. I'll continue to try but it's not looking good.

BOOOOO Priceline

2011-06-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

Can I just say how annoyed I am at Priceline right now?! In a few weeks, we'll be up in Portand for 2 nights, along with most of my family (for Michael's wedding). We are all kind of staying at different hotels, so Kyle and I decided to try priceline to see if we could spend the same amount and stay at a nicer place. We picked an area in the middle of Portland so that we could be 15 minutes from the temple, and also 15 minutes from Happy Valley, where Michael's reception is going to be. We put a bid in and we got booked to stay at a nice Marriott in downtown Portland for $75. From what I've heard from my family, it's about the same price everyone else is paying. We were happy.

EXCEPT. When we took a closer look at it, they booked us at a place that doesn't have free parking... it's going to cost us $31 a NIGHT (we are staying 2 nights) to park there. I mean, who doesn't offer free parking to their guests??!!! And at $62 extra, we might as well have booked a 3rd night!!

I was (am) so distraught about the whole thing. Of course a few emails to Priceline did no good. "There's nothing they can do." I can't get out of it. They told me that parking was an optional fee, in the same group as phone calls, room service, and minibar charges. (It's not like I'm complaining about overcharging for a king sized butterfinger! Unbelievable!) I guess Kyle's going to have to drop us off, park and hike a few miles back to the hotel because there is no way in h-e-double hockey sticks that I'm paying those fees. There's also no way that I'm using "Name your own price" again. Boooo priceline. Boo.

(I'm trying not to let it make me bitter about the whole thing, but it really stresses me out. I hate the trickiness of hidden fees!)

On the upside, Josi is being totally cute and happy and cuddly tonight. She's so awesome. She even climbed up on my lap and put her head on my shoulder for like 5 minutes, which she seriously hasn't done since she's been able to lift her head. haha I'm totally in love with her.

From the mouth of babes

2011-06-19T20:08:00.000-07:00

Well, it's Father's day. Which means when we got to sacrament meeting today there was another little pamplet with quotes from all the primary kids. I thought Owen had some of the funniest answers. Click on them to see a close up.

My favorite is Owen's favorite thing that his dad has taught him. and the car one.

As long as I'm scanning, look at this funny little ad that's running in the county paper. We had to go down to the newspaper and they took this picture of us.

Happy father's day to all the men in my life.

The party's over.

2011-06-15T14:04:00.000-07:00

Monday morning a few of us went shopping. I'm from a small town and have to get clothes any chance I get now-a-days. The boys went golfing, and we took Josi down to JC Penny's to get her 1 year pictures taken. I'm excited I'll have them in time for Mike's wedding so I can give them to my grandmas. I'll post those when I get them.

We were at the mall a long time, and I left feeling a little defeated (Josi was sad and was heavy to lug around that place) and SUPER sad that we had to leave the Millers. I can't believe we have to live so far away from them now. This trip had been so awesome. I don't know ANYONE who would do what they did, putting my kids to bed every night and getting them ready for the beach every morning and bringing them to me. Everyone was just so generous with their time and attention. And time share. haha. I seriously have the best family. I know everyone says that.

And the kids must be getting older because there was a minimal amount of fighting this time around. The twins and Bailey got along so much better than they used to. And my kids did a better job sleeping in a little and not waking grammy up at 6:30 am every day.

It was a dream vacation.

And I can't believe I didn't get a picture of Ty with Josi. I mean, she was obsessed with him. He must've gotten a lot more buff by the end of the week because she wanted him to carry her everywhere.

By 7 pm we loaded up the van and the kids were asleep in 5 minutes. We drove until 1:30 am, stopping in Stockton. We meant to stop earlier, but we called 8 hotels in one small town and they were all booked. It was crazy.

The night was the worst we'd had in a long time. The hotel we stayed at didn't have a crib or pack & play. We made a little bed for Josi on the ground and she almost fell asleep immediately. But then she didn't. Instead, she was SUPER hyper and then super sad. Laughing, screaming. The people in the room next to us banged on the wall. oops. Finally at 3 AM, I made a little corral that she'd be safe in and let her roam around. I'm sure once I wasn't bugging her she fell asleep in a few minutes.

Then Owen sat up in bed at 6:30 and cried that he was hungry. Josi stood up, and game was over. Kyle tried to get everyone to be quiet so we could have 20 more minutes to sleep, but I don't know who he was kidding. We got up, ate breakfast, and hit the road again on 3.5 hours of sleep. We got home at about 3 and that is that.

Wait! One more thing. It had been raining in Roseburg before we left, but the week we were gone it was in the 80's all week. I was so nervous that my garden would be scorched, but it had DOUBLED in size!! It was thriving! My cilantro even recovered. And the pole beans were even winding up the pole. It was my favorite part of the whole day! And what I thought were wild blackberry bushes turned out to be raspberry bushes. Delicious. I had a bite of my first successfully grown strawberry too, and I'm hooked!

Also, my sis Kaci posted about our trip and I'm linking to that here so that I can later add it to my blog book. She has some really great pictures. Including this one:

The big event

2011-06-15T13:41:00.001-07:00

So Sunday was the big event- our newest mini niece Brooklynn Kay Bronson got blessed in church. Kyle and I checked out of the Carlsbad Inn and ran over to the Miller's to get our kids ready for the 9:00 church. Josi acted like she was on crazy juice the entire time but besides that, everything went well and Brian did a great job on the blessing.

Here's the group. Grandma & Grandpa Mosher drove down and Brian's parents were there as well. Also, Toni had been here all week and finally Aaron was able to join us Saturday evening. We only had to miss Keri & CJ.

Baby and mama.

The fam.

Earlier in the week Tera and Ty bought "Just Dance 2" for the Wii. I'd never played before and we played it all afternoon. It was SOO much fun. We even peer pressured Terry to perform 2 songs. My favorite part (besides getting down) was watching Kate dance in the corner, also trying to mime the people on screen. I'm going to post a video of it.

Also discovered during this time that when you point a camera at Josi, she stops what she's doing and does this huge cheesy smile. Before this picture she was concentrating hard on drinking through this straw, and she saw me whip out the camera, and this is the face I got.

again

and again.

Josi finally was loving Toni by the end. Heaven knows she earned it.

Also, we opened up a few presents for Josi Sunday afternoon. Kate was begging me to open Josi's present that Grandma Mosher had brought down, so I finally relented. Next thing I knew, there were tons of presents to open! I only thought there was one so I didn't even get my camera out. Josi got some adorable outfits from her aunties and grammy and great-grandma Mosher (5 I think in all!!). She also got some bath toys, a stuffed little animal, and 3 new books. The Millers are good gift givers and constantly have gifts for my kids. It's so loving and kind. I wish I was a better gift giver. I'm going to work on it. The outfit above was given to Josi from Grandma Mosher.

That night we watched the Mavericks beat the Heat and then watched the LeBron James documentary.

Living the good life (aka more beaches & bbqs)

2011-06-15T12:55:00.000-07:00

Friday was a cold beach day. The boys golfed in the morning and then met up with us for some fish and chips on the beach.

Josi was loving it.

I think Kyle dug a hole every day he was at the beach. The kids love it. (And the older boys too I guess.)

That evening after a dip in the pool, Grammy stayed down by the pool with the kids and there was a clown making balloon animals and doing face painting.

Kathy had Kate hand the girl $2, and later I saw a sign that said $5 per kid. Slightly hilarious. (Although the kids didn't eat down there and their face paintings were small, so I'm sure it was no big deal.) Later that night we went and saw the movie "Super 8."

On Saturday morning Kyle left early to get fitted for new golf clubs, so I hung out by myself at the beach. It would have been PERFECT if it wasn't such a cold day. I ended up just reading in bed, and then bundling up with a jacket and reading outside on a beach chair on the grass for 1/2 hour. I wish I'd gone outside sooner.

That afternoon we had a huge bbq at the Miller's. Brian was able to borrow this huge blowup waterslide from work, and the kids played out there forever on it.

Josi warmed up a little to everyone by the end of the trip. She LOVED it when someone would take her outside to see Hershey or ride on this swing.

Josi turns 1 at the end of this month, so we decided that since we were all together, we'd make her a birthday cake and sing to her.

She LOVED being sung to, and then she slowly but surely ate almost this entire cake (not the cake pictured above. We had a one layer mini cake for her). It was awesome. It was like what you always WANT the kid to do, but they never do.

After a few bites she was pretty dirty and got comfortable enough to try explore with her foot.

More great days. I wish I was still there!

Beach days

2011-06-10T10:06:00.001-07:00

Wednesday and Thursday we had more beach days.

Josi has had a spout of separation anxiety lately. Sweet Toni has been trying since day 1 to become best friends with Josi, but this girl is stubborn. She'll give you smiles and flirt a little, but try to pick her up and she starts crying. It's made me a little sad because she is such a funny and happy girl and I want my Millers to know her. She's warmed up a little as the week as gone by. The funniest part is that everyone was trying so hard to befriend her, but when she met Ty, she loved him instantly. Sometimes when he walks in a room she cries and dives out of my arms to get to him. I wonder if this will continue throughout her life, if she'll always go for the aloof boy.

But! Wednesday Toni took advantage of a sleepy baby and held her tight (she resisting) until she fell asleep on her shoulder. She slept for like an hour and it was awesome.

Kate & Bailey in matching swimsuits.

I love Josi's chunky legs when you look at this picture close up.

Last night we actually HIRED a babysitter so we could all go to a Padres game (Terry had a golf tourney). It was a really fun game. We had a dance off, a group of drunk teens from Ireland behind us (wearing american flag BOOTIE shorts), and a high scoring game. Plus, Brian scored us free tickets which made it EXTRA fun.

Oh yeah and we were right on the field. Another great day.

Legoland

2011-06-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

Kathy is a school teacher and on Tuesday her school, along with tons of other title 1 schools in the area, took a field trip to Legoland. Kathy was able to get all of us $5 tickets and free parking, so we loaded up the kids for a long day of lego fun.

This was Kate's favorite ride. Owen was pretty solemn about all the rides but we got him giggling on this one.

Thankfully Josi got one nap in in the morning.

The first rides the kids went on themselves.

This water ride was pretty funny. Ty and Kate were next to each other, and people off of the ride can aim water at the riders. Of course, some junior high boys positioned themselves there and were totally soaking all of the riders. Ty yelled, "Ahhh I hate that kid!" Meaning "that kid"- a nonspecific kid- just a junior high kid who likes to soak strangers. So when they got off the ride Kate came up to me and said, "Mom! That kid was the worst!" haha It made me laugh because she was probably just repeating everything Ty said.

The lego little mini world was pretty amazing too.

It was a long day at legoland and we were all pretty exhausted. We ended the night at the Millers playing bananagrams and eating icecream.

The first few days.

2011-06-08T09:38:00.000-07:00

Friday afternoon we loaded up the van and drove 8 hours to who knows where in northern CA. Saturday morning we woke up and drove 6 more hours and landed ourselves here.

The Carlsbad Inn in southern California. This is the view from our room.

Which happens to be only about 15 minutes away from my Miller family home.

Which means it's vacation time. Here we are Sunday morning before church. Kathy bought my kids these adorable matching outfits.

I LOVE this picture.

So Kyle and I have been staying at the Carlsbad Inn. We've been playing with all the Millers all day (miss you Keri & cj & aaron), and get this- at night, the Miller's have been taking my kids back to the house and letting them sleep there. Which means Kyle and I have been able to walk around the town at night and actually sleep in in the mornings. Seriously, how great is my family?

Monday was a beach day.

This is classic Josi stance. She LOVED the beach and the sand.

Kyle dug her a hole and when the water came in she had a nice little bath.

One time the water came in high and it took longer than I liked for Kyle to grab the baby!

For lunch we met up at our favorite sushi spot. Brian is here too. Just not in the picture.

Sometimes I have a hard time deciding which pictures to leave out... so I'm not. This is happy Josi.

Crazy Josi.

Subdued Josi.

All the kids.

Cousins. These kids love each other.

Horrible lighting but I love these pictures.

We ended the night at the movies. We saw the new X-men movie. Some punks were talking through the beginning and the guy behind us got out of his seat, went up to their row, and I'm pretty sure threatened their lives. There wasn't a peep from anyone after that, which means that guy was my own personal x-man hero. I can't stand it when people talk through movies.

Days at home & a haircut

2011-06-01T21:09:00.001-07:00

I just had some random pictures on my camera I wanted to document.

There was a full blown rainbow the other day. It was still way brighter than it shows in the picture, and Kyle ran inside and grabbed the kids. Then he tried to take these pictures, and it was still raining and my kids were SO excited (mainly because it was bedtime).

I love their hyper faces.

Kate looks like me in this picture. I swear I have a picture of me doing this exact face.

P.S. Rainbows always remind me of my dear friend Jasmine. One day, back during our BYU days, we were driving down a busy side street in Salt Lake City. She was driving and she saw a rainbow, and she was so excited she leaned over me (in the passenger seat) and started banging on my window trying to tell the people in the car next to us (random strangers) to LOOK AT THE RAINBOW!!! Almost swerving into them in the meanwhile. I love that Jasmine.

A few random pictures of my crazy baby.

A DAY IN THE SUN

I got a haircut today. My hair was getting just WAY too long it was driving me crazy. Honestly (don't get grossed out) I hadn't cut it in like a year. So here is my "before." It actually didn't look too bad today. haha

I like the cut, although I really wanted more layers in the front. I just wanted a shorter version of what I currently have. It still looks fine, it looks like most of the haircuts I've had all my life.(After Kyle told me it looked good I tried to explain this to him. He said, "Ohhh. I see. It's samantha circa 2005 when you wanted samantha 2011." haha. Yeah kind of I guess.) We'll see how it looks after I shower tomorrow. If it's too blunt in the front I'll run in and see if she can cut off a little more.
Afters:

Heard at my house

2011-05-30T23:30:00.000-07:00

"Cee-lo looks like someone who would smell good, you know? And have exceptionally soft hands." Kyle (while watching "the voice." I thought it was so hilarious when he said it that I typed it on my computer notepad so i could tell my sisters. If you know Kyle you'll think it's funny... if not, well...I don't know what you'll think. Trust me, he's funny.)

"Owen used up all the blocks and there are no more left for me so Owen has ruined my life!" Kate (My kids have been saying funny things for a long time now, but all the sudden at age 4, it's a different type of "funny" things. All of the sudden they are little people who understand and I can communicate with them differently and explain real things. So they are saying more emotionally complex things. It's funny. I put a quick stop though to the "ruined my life" dramatics.)

"Mom you look beautiful!" Owen (Over the last few days this has become his "filler"-anytime he wants to say something but doesn't have something to say. He says it like 15 times a day. He says it when I'm just out of bed, hair crazy, glasses on, mascara under my eyes. I think it's good practice for his wife someday if he thinks I look beautiful at those unflattering times.)

I'm super excited because in a few days we are loading up the car and driving down to Oceanside for a week to stay at a time share on the beach and play with the Millers! I'm so excited I started making a list of things to do and buy. We already have some fun plans in the works: legoland (kathy got $5 tickets), sushi, beach days, maybe a padres game, Josi's one year pictures. I'm excited for the call of the open road too and have made a few cds tonight. I love having such a fun trip to look forward too. Plus with Mike's wedding in July the fun won't stop. Thank heavens for families and vacations and plans to look forward to.

Email

2011-05-25T18:25:00.000-07:00

Today I got an email from my sister Toni. This is what she said:

"Okok so this is random but this commercial always reminds me of you. I feel like you would totally do this. haha. "

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuqBxvwYYUM

I hadn't seen this commercial before. I thought it was totally hilarious and I've been kind of laughing at it all day. It's also got me thinking...what does this say about me??? haha

Offended babies

2011-05-20T17:52:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week the strangest thing happened. Wednesday evening Josi woke up from her nap SCARED to death of her dad! Well, she was fine with him for a second, and then when she saw me she started bawling and anytime he went close to her she'd hide her head on the floor or in her hands. Kyle would take her and she'd cry so hard with the chin twitch and everything. She'd dive out of his arms to get back to me. It was the weirdest thing. Like she had a bad dream about him or something. She's totally fine now, but for 2 days she was hyper sensitive and had to be right by me.

Kyle tried to snap her out of it by having some "no mommy" time. He tried taking her on a walk and playing with her outside.

Two days later she has 2 new teeth and she's happy to see him again. Maybe she was mad at him because her teeth hurt and she blamed him for being in the tooth business.

The other day I was cleaning the house and vacuuming. I told the kids they could play outside or they could come in and help me clean. I made them a picnic to prolong their playing and they thought I was the coolest mom in the world. They are pretty easy to please. They kept saying, "This is the best surprise EVER!"

Kate and Owen want to be big and strong. Every time I feed them they ask me if that food is going to make them big and strong. (Sometimes they say healthy and strong. But it's usually big and strong.) We had pizza for dinner last night, and Kate and Owen weren't eating much. Josi, on the other hand, had 2 slices. She loves grown up food. Kyle told Kate and Owen that Josi out-ate them and that she was going to get bigger than them because she eats her food all gone and Owen flopped on the ground and started crying and Kate ran to her room crying. It's like the most offensive thing we could ever say to them.

Today was our ward temple day. The closest temple around these parts is about an hour and a half away in Medford. It's a mini temple that shares a parking lot with a stake center. What they do in my ward is everyone drives down to Medford WITH their kids, and then one or two couples watch all the kids in the stake center's nursery room for free. Great right? That way, afterwards people can go eat or shop and not have to worry about running back home to relieve their babysitters.

We woke up early and made it down in time and we had a real nice morning. I'm sure next time it will be our turn to watch kids.

The everyday

2011-05-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

On Saturday morning I went garage sale-ing with one of my new girlfrinds Michelle. Even though it was on the verge of raining all morning, there were tons of garage sales out and we had a really fun time. Michelle likes to barter so I usually gave her my money and she'd barter for me! Dreamy.

My favorite find of the day is this pasta maker. My dad had one exactly like this growing up. It was $10, Michelle offered $4, and they settled on $6! Perfect. I made my dad's bacon fettucini alfredo on Sunday night and my kids (and I) loved it! They even helped me make the pasta and it was a fun night.

I also found 2 mini baseball gloves and a kid's bat for $4, a 10 cent nice shirt for Kate, and Michelle laughed at how nerdy I am after I purchased a few 1000 piece puzzles... There were some yummy treats along the way too and that always makes garage sale-ing more fun.

I started a garden. I'm really skeptical that anything will live. I have no idea what I'm doing and it's really intimidating but I'm just going for it. More on that later.

I have to give a talk on Sunday. It's been a long time. Maybe 3 and half years. I really dread talking in church (sorry to say). I feel like my whole week revolves around it, which in a way is a good thing, but it's hard for me to justify doing anything else until my talk is all the way ready. And it's never ALL the way ready until Saturday night. Sunday morning? Oh man.

Kyle and I taught our new primary class on Sunday. It's the 11 year old class, and they were all SUCH great kids. It made me happy to see how kind and smart and cool they all were. They've had the same teachers for the past 7 years because there is a boy in the class who has downs syndrome. The boy was really enamored with Josi; I'm not really sure how it's going to work out in the future with her in there. We're going to wait and see on that.

Josi has started biting.

My kids have started to use the term, "I'm sorry to say this but..." and it's usually how they are still hungry 30 minutes after lunch is over and I've cleaned the kitchen or something like that. It's kind of funny. I think I've been using the phrase a lot. It's funny what kids pick up.

I took some random pictures today just so I could have some pictures to add to my post. Here are the kids in a 20 minute downpour.

We also worked on one of the new puzzles today. (I accidently got a 500 piece one.) My kids are getting better. They really liked to help. It was fun just kind of hanging out with them. Eventually I had to give them every piece I found and let them snap it in. After awhile I remembered that I like puzzles because it usually means peace and quiet so I bribed the kids to go play with Josi a little to help me out.

That's it. Not much going on.

Three's a crowd.

2011-05-09T22:11:00.000-07:00

We are getting a Monday routine down, since Kyle doesn't work on Mondays. We kind of sleep in and ignore the kids in the early morning. Around 10 we meet up with a guy named Denny and we go look at houses. (We aren't buying a house right now, but eventually we will, and we're just looking at what's out there.) If the kids are good, we go to Costo for lunch.

Joslyn was wearing little booty shorts today. Look at her luscious legs. (And don't notice that both of the twins have their shoes on the wrong feet...) This sitting position didn't last long.

Basically we don't just do family night around here. We do family day. Combine that with singing "Scripture Power" 10 times and family prayer and we can call it good, right?

Mom's day

2011-05-08T19:39:00.000-07:00

I had such a wonderful Mother's Day today. It was just such a nice day. Kyle got up with Josi in the night (she usually doesn't get up in the night but did last night). This morning the kids and Kyle brought me breakfast in bed- fried eggs on an English muffin with bacon. The kids were so excited that it was Mother's day. We told them about it last night and Kyle took them to the store with him to pick out a present from them for me.

So after breakfast they handed me a few little presents wrapped up in pages from a coloring book they had colored. First I got a little bag of peanut m&m's. Perfect. Then I got a new camera cord. Kyle told me he had looked for mine and it was gone. I told him I was sure to find it SOMEWHERE but I loved the gift. Lastly, I opened a little coloring page and it was a NEW CAMERA! Oh I'm so excited. My other camera is 4 years old and really pretty junky since I've used it so much. So I'll be able to start posting real pictures again!

The kids took a bath and we were actually on time to church today. Then, as we walked into sacrament meeting, a little boy handed us a pamplet made up by the primary children (ages 3-11). It was super hilarious to read.

I was laughing so hard. Kate's comment- about puppets?? I'm thinking she was trying to say "prophets" and they didn't understand her, because we talk about prophets a lot. And I don't even know where the popcorn comment came from. I can count on one hand the amount of times I've eaten popcorn since they've been born. Funny kids. (I also like the one about dieting.)

Kate was really nervous about going up to the front in sacrament meeting with the rest of the kids to sing a Mother's day song. She always wants to go up front, but she said she was nervous she didn't know the song. I told her that if she didn't know it, she just had to smile really big. Then she wasn't so scared and they were both happy to go up front and smile.

Kyle and I got called to team teach the 11 year old class in Primary. We start next week. I think it will be good.

So when we got home I had Kyle take a few pictures of me with my kids. I always want a picture of me and my kids on Mother's day, mostly because I rarely have pictures with my kids.

I really love being a mom. It's all I've ever wanted to be. I'm so grateful to Kyle and to my kids for making me a mom.

Now, my husband watches a lot of shows on the Food Network. He decided he was going to make me dinner, and when I asked him what he was making, he said, "Oh, probably some grilled halibut in a butter cilantro lobster sauce with some roasted asparagus." Yeah, he was at the store and without a recipe, just grabbed some sale priced lobster tail and halibut and figured out he could just improvise a meal. And I'm telling you- it was GOOD. Like delicious, $30 a plate at a restaurant meal. That boy. And then for dessert he got those little strawberry shortcakes from the store because he knows I love those with strawberries, sugar, and milk. Yummy.

Kate & Owen playing with my shoes...

I don't know if this will look yummy or yucky to people. But it was the bomb.com.

I took a picture of this because Kyle was so carefully placing the strawberries on my dessert- trying to make it look so pretty for me.

I mean seriously, this was a good day. I got to talk to my mother in law this evening as well. I can't even explain how blessed I feel to have such a loving mother in Kathy. She accepted me into her family 8 years ago and has never once made me feel like I wasn't loved like her own daughter. I'm so grateful for that and for the way she raised my husband.

I wasn't able to talk to my mom today because all of their missionaries are using their computers, but I know she'll read this when she wakes up. I'm calling you tomorrow mom. Happy Mother's Day!

Kyle thanks for the great day. It was so lovely. I love you.