Miller Musings

Play Me a Tune?

2011-10-15T13:44:00.000-06:00

Caleb had a Halloween recital. He was ready and rarin' to go for the 5:30 performance. Since it was close to Halloween, the performers could play their songs wearing their costumes if they wanted to. Caleb is sometimes funny about costumes so he decided that we was going to go dressed as a neatly dressed 10 year old.

At 5:25, I got a call from my friend who has three of her kids performing that night.

J: Is everything ok?

Me: Yeah, we're just getting ready to head out.

J: I was just wondering because you aren't here yet.

Me: Wait, when does the recital start?

J: 5:00

Me: Oh, snap.

Caleb and I rushed down to the church just as the last person was performing. The teacher had rearranged to order so Caleb could go after.

Literally within a minute of walking in, Caleb played his first piece:The Spinning Wheel, by Albert Ellmenreich.

Next, he played Snowflake Rag followed by The Great Wall of China, both by Faber

We weren't the only ones to get the time wrong. While we were waiting for the other performers to arrive, Caleb's piano teacher wanted Caleb to play The Great Wall of China slower because she thinks it sound prettier that way.

His final piece is The Goblin Council, and original song by Caleb Miller

Because of my mistake with the timing of the whole thing, the girls and Brad unfortunately missed the whole recital. How did Caleb act about the evening's events? He remained as cool as a cucumber.

That Boy, I sure love him.

Hanging out at the Bird

2011-10-13T16:15:00.000-06:00

Two times a year, the Millers go up to Snowbird and stay at The Cliff Lodge. In July there are always people coming and going and it is a little bit like party central. In October, it is more laid back and relaxed, due to everyone schedules. It's more difficult to make it up there when everyone is in school and there are a lot of activities going on.

This fall, we managed to go up for a couple of days. Snowbird did NOT look like the picture above. We were looking forward to enjoying the changing fall colors but we got a winter scene instead.

It was pretty but it didn't make me want to go outside and walk around the resort very much. That didn't seem to deter the kids very much. They were running around in their swimsuits like it was the middle of August.

One afternoon, I took my parents up there and we spent the evening and had dinner there. My mom and dad loved just sitting around and relaxing with the kids.

Here are Emma and Caleb making the most of the facilities. The hot tub out on our balcony was a good place to relax.

Can you see Caleb?

They had a lot of fun at the pool. What these pictures don't show is that my mom is wearing a winter coat when she was snapping these pictures.

After work Brad came up and went to the spa. I swear, if we had a steam room in our house, I would never see him. Thanks Wood and Susan for letting me share the condo with my folks, we had a nice, quiet, relaxing evening.

On Top of the World (Or at least Utah Valley)

2011-09-24T14:13:00.000-06:00

See this mountain? This is Mount Timpanogos. To me it represents home. Whenever I leave to go anywhere (whetherby car or plane), and I get a glimpse of this mountain, I take a big sigh and think to myself, "I am home."

And now when I look at it, I can say, "My whole family has been to the top of it."

I love the fall. It's my favorite time of the year. I love the smell of the air, the golden tinge of the sunlight, and the colors. Brad wanted to hike to the top of Timpanogos with his family. I hadn't been up to the top in over 20 years ( I'll save that story for another time). So our party of 12 set out for the Timpanoeke trailhead. Little did we know that the weekend of the 24th was free entrance into National Parks and Monuements, sooo....we had some company.

Fourteen miles, the hike was fourteen miles. It was a beautiful day.

It was a beautiful hike. Uphill, uphill has always been hard for me and I've never really enjoyed it. Luckily the scenery helped. We all hiked at a different pace, which meant once again, I was manning the end of the party (you know, to protect my family from predators, which go for the old and infirm). We made it up to the saddle and enjoyed a moment together before we proceeded up to the summit.

Hunter, Rachel and Emma. I guess the food was good.

Emma, Derek and Trent

Caleb and Max

Caroline and Trent

That last bit to the summit is an exercise of mind over matter. Don't worry about the heights, look where you are stepping and keep moving and don't give up!

We made it up to the top! What a view, it was the first time that Rachel, Emma and Caleb had been to the top of any mountain and they are incredible hikers.

Don't I look happy?

After spending some time at the top, we started back down. Rachel was anxious because she had another (!) homecoming dance she was asked to. She and Emma basically ran all the way down. She was still two hours late to her date but luckily, she had her phone with her so she could tell her date what was going on throughout the day so he didn't think that she was standing him up. Brad, Derek and the boys did their best to keep up with them so there would be a car for them to take Rachel back home. Oh to be young and fit again!

Trent and Caroline was somewhere in the middle of the party and I had the company of this wonderful man.

I'm so glad that he stayed with me and kept me company, my feet hurt and I had to keep encouraging myself to take one more step. We made it to the trail head 90 minutes behind Rachel and Emma. Both of my big toenails are a deep shade of purple but it was worth it.

With No Adult Supervision

2011-09-15T17:52:00.000-06:00

On the last Tuesday of August, Rachel and Emma wanted to go to Thanksgiving Point Gardens. In August, Thanksgiving Point has Two Dollar Tuesdays, which means any venue there (except the movie theater) has the admission price of only two dollars. Whatta deal! Unfortunately, the month of August flew by and we didn't have any Tuesdays available before school started.

Rachel got her driver's license the Friday before.

That means that she can drive a vehicle without an adult sitting by her in the passenger seat.

That means that Rachel suddenly has dreams of her driving down the freeway with the music blasting, wearing impossibly stylish sunglasses and the stylish scarf she has 'round her neck flapping in the wind.

Dream on, Sistah.

Still the girls managed to talk me into letting them take my car after school to Thanksgiving Point to walk around the gardens for awhile. Thanksgiving Point is less than ten minutes away from our house but every road between home and there is under construction. Whenever I drive through the labyrinth of cones and sudden lane changes, I tightly grip the steering wheel and hold my breath. So I had to wonder how a newly licensed driver (my first born in whom I'm particularly fond of) would handle it. With my teeth clenched and my toes gripping the carpet, I looked into the expectant eyes of my only two daughters and said, "Yes." (I couldn't go because I was in charge of the Young Women's activity that night.) I told them to make it home well before the activity and watched them drive away, all while praying fervently for their safety.

Rachel and Emma love to take pictures, but if you have known them for any amount of time, you already knew that. Here are some pictures they took while wandering the gardens.

They not only look good in front of the camera but apparently, they do well behind the camera too. To tell you the truth, I was a tad jealous of them. I love walking around the gardens and it must have been so fun feel so independent and grown up. They both came home in one piece and made it in time for the YW activity that night, which was a picnic with your mom (mmm, sushi!).

Emma chillin' with our buddies the Tuttles.

What a nice day!
I wonder when they will ask me for the car again?

Homecoming

2011-09-14T14:45:00.000-06:00

Rachel went to her first Homecoming dance last weekend. She went with Colton Magnusson, a nice guy who actually asked her to homecoming the week before school started (he asked a month in advance!) Things sure have changed since I was the age to go to homecoming dances. The girls would wait in anticipation for the evening to come when their dates would come and they would go off on their dates. Nowadays, they have something called a "day date," which means that they do something during the day, they come home and get ready for the dance and then they are off again. They went with a group of 9 couples. Man, that is a lot of teenagers!

Here they are at 09:30 in the morning, they are off to Park City to play on the Zip Lines and the Alpine Slide.

She came home at about 4:30. We spent the next couple of hours curling hair, putting on makeup, and adjusting clothing.

She looks so very grown up and beautiful, don't you think? Then she and Colton drove away and had dinner and the dance.

Because Colton is on the student council, they had to clean up after the dance and they didn't get home until 12:45. I'm glad that they had fun.

I would comment more but I'm still wigging out on the fact that I have a child that is old enough to go to homecoming dances.

Lake of The Crags

2011-08-25T14:59:00.000-06:00

"You are surrounded by small perpendicular peaks that are a beautiful miniature of the giganitc peaks found in other areas of the Tetons. Around you on all sides are these perpendicular spires and peaks and the area is studded with snow fields. This area has one of the most beautiful mountain views in the Tetons, lacking the grandeur of the spectacular great peaks but in many ways surpassing them all in beauty. This is a place that has always affected me as a sort of Shan-gri-la, where I like to sit and think and contempate the solitude and beauties of nature."
~Paul Petzoldt

You said it, Paul.

One morning, our gang of seven set off for the Lake of the Crags. Brad went there in 1993 and Dan has been a couple of times as well. I do not know of any human being that can hike as well as these two. So when they suggested that we go up there, I knew that we had crossed a threshold with my children - they are now considered hard core hikers.

This is Brad in 1993. He went to Lake of the Crags with my brother, Ed.

Wood and Susan kindly offered to watch Lucy, Kate and Sadie for the day so that Abby could come too. We started out at String Lake. There will be no Jenny Lake Ferry for us; that is for wusses. The trail to Hanging Canyons isn't a maintained trail so we relied on Dan and Brad's memories as to where to get off the main trail.

Steep. Have I mentioned how steep the trail is? There is a 2800 foot elevation change in two miles. I told everyone before we went on the hike that I'm a slow hiker, especially uphill. I did not (or maybe I did, depending on how you look at it) disappoint.

It got to the point that they had to stop every once in awhile to let me catch up to them. Rachel later told me that she was glad I made it necessary for them to stop periodically, as Dan sets a pace that a mountain goat would have a hard time keeping up with. Brad stayed behind to make sure I was still moving. I figure I was lagging behind for a purpose. You see, when predators hunt, who do they go after? The weak, the sick and the old; thus culling the herd so that the group in general remain healthy. I was ony protecting my hiking buddies. You are welcome.

Rams Head Lake. Just a hop, skip and a scramble away from Lake of the Crags.

Lake of the Crags. All together now....oooh, aaaah. We took a well deserved rest and soaked in the surroundings.

The water was painfully cold, as is evidenced by the chunks of snow floating on it. But we must keep smiling, right?

We tried to take a family picture. So which one should we use for our Christmas picture this year?

This is my choice.

The hike down was a bit easier for me but I learned an important lesson, I will not wear my hiking sandals for another long hike again. Rocks kept getting in my shoes and my feet got really cold on the snowfields. Look at us, we are glissading! (That means sliding down a snowfield while trying to avoid bruising your body and your dignity.)

We made it to String Lake to find that Grammie and Grampa had taken the kids to play in the water. It was a good day, but we all felt it the next morning.Dan told me that the kids kept up with him the entire time with Caleb jumping from boulder to boulder and the girls not even breaking a sweat. Brad calculated that the girls and I hiked about 24 miles on this trip and he and Caleb logged in 50. Yup, I guess that means we are a hiking family.

I think the difficulty of the journey made the destination that much more beautiful. Life is funny that way.

We Could Have Been Eaten By a Bear...

2011-08-22T18:05:00.000-06:00

...but we weren't. And that's good.

We made one more trip for the season to The Tetons and Yellowstone. I know what you're thinking, "What? You went there again? Don't you get tired of doing the same thing so many times?"

The answer is yes and no.

Yes, we went there again. No, we aren't doing the same thing again. There were several things that we did that we haven't done before or don't do very often:

1. We went on a few hikes that we had never been to before.
2. We got to spend quality time with Dan, Abby and their cute girls.
3. We got to hang out with Derek and Laura and family for part of the time. (Okay, we do that a lot, but we always enjoy it.)
4. We hiked with Trent and Caroline. (Which we don't do very often and we enoy it.)
5. Rachel drove in the National Parks, and did a really good job doing it.
6. Brad, Dan and the kids went for a nighttime hike to Huckleberry Hotspring and had a soak in the light of the full moon and the company of a bullfrog. I had a nice quiet time in the cabin by my own self.
7. The girls and I drove home and left Brad and Caleb there (they came home with Wood and Derek).
8. Rachel, Emma and Caleb went on their first 11 mile hike up into the Tetons.

Instead of just hiking to the lakes we usually sample, Brad found some places that we had never been to before. Here we are at the Lower Schwabacher Landing of the Snake River. It was a thoroughly pleasant walk by and through the Snake River. We even got to see a snake swimming in the Snake River. Huh, we've never seen that before.

We got to hike to Emma Matilda Lake with Trent and Caroline, Wood and Dan and Abby (and all kidlets that are usually connected to Dan or Abby).

Heh, it looks like Kate is putting something on top of that pine tree.

(Not the actual bear we encountered. This photo was taken with a telephoto lens from the safety of the car.)

We hiked to Phelps Lake with the intention of swimming and jumping off a boulder into the cold water. Instead, we got cloudy, windy weather and a bear that followed us along part of the trail. It was minding its own business, just rooting around rotten logs for tasty grubs. But we Millers have a deep respect for nature and anything that might possibly rip one to shreds so let's just say having a bear saunter within 10 yard of us made us uneasy. At one point we climbed up on the boulder we would have used to jump into the lake and just watched it. Kate and Lucy were scared of the bear until I named it StrawBEARY Shortcake. While we were on the boulder, we broke out our lunch of sushi and turkey sandwiches.

In retrospect, that probably wasn't the smartest thing to do.

But we made it out unscathed and knowing we now have a cool story to tell about a bear encounter.

We went swimming/wading in Moose Falls in Yellowstone. Lucy and I had an adventure where we were stuck out in the middle of the river because I was too wimpy to get my clothes wet.

We sat out on rocks and pondered nothing in particular.

At one point, Dan and Abby headed back to California and Wood, Susan and we hiked along the Howard Eaton Trail that follows the Yellowstone River. The adults thought it was a beautiful hike but Rach, Em and Cabes thought it was boring.

It was only because the day before, we hiked to Lake of the Crags, which is just a smidge more challenging.

But I'll save the descriptions of that hike for another day.

I love it up here.

A Whirlwind of Activities

2011-07-30T14:47:00.000-06:00

The week of July 25-30 was full of a plethora of activities. There was a little something for everyone. Valerie and her girls came up from California for a little visit. Jake stayed at home with his dad because he had football tryouts, much to the disappointment of Caleb and Jake. Although they didn't get to spend time with each other, both boys had a good week with Jake getting to spend quality time with his dad and Caleb having his days filled with other cousins.

Rachel, Emma, Sara and Sydney got to go to OYA (Outdoor Youth Adventures) in Idaho with each other. Rachel had gone two years ago and she wanted to share the experience with her sister and cousins. Those four girls have always been closer than sisters but after camp, they were even tighter. I knew they would have a good time, even if they did have to use an outhouse, sleep in a tepee and not shower the entire time they were there.

While they were in Idaho roughing it, I got to spend quality time with Valerie and Grace. Val and I were a little concerned with Caleb just being with Grace, we were afraid that they would be bored and complain, it turned out that our fears were unfounded. One afternoon, we went to Thanksgiving Point with Laura, Max and Ellie. I haven't been to the Dinosaur Museum in years and it brought back fond memories of me taking my little ones there (sigh).

Caleb and Max's weird sense of humor really suit each other. They are always making me laugh.

Valerie Triplett, best friend and good sport to excavate dinosaur bones in a sandbox with Grace.

Of course we had to go over to the Emporium and have ourselves a little treat. I think that ice cream cone is about as tall as Ellie's head. Ice cream headache!!

Thursday afternoon, Caleb, Brad and Grace went up to Lava Hot Springs with Derek's family. There they met up with Grammie, Grampa and Sam's Family. Valerie and I stayed home. Thanks to Aunt Rachel for taking the pictures (she's always been good at documenting good times, I however, often forget).

They spent hours tubing down the river

Grampa is always checking to see if everyone is having fun and being safe. We love him.

As you can see, everyone was enjoying the therapeutic qualities of the hot springs.

On Friday, Valerie and I drove to Rexburg to pick up some tired and dirty girls who were dropped off at BYU-Idaho. On Saturday, we were going to have a memorial service in Kilgore Idaho for Pat Bennett, Susan's grandfather. So we drove to Idaho Falls and checked into a hotel.

The first things the girls did was shower.

The second was to fall asleep while watching TV.

Who knew Idaho Falls was such a nice place? After dinner, we went for a walk along the river front.

The next morning we drove to Kilgore to the little cemetery there. Parley "Pat" Bennett was a police officer in Los Angeles in the 20s. He moved there with his little family to find a better job for them because they couldn't make a decent living in Idaho at the time. He was killed in the line of duty by a robber and he left behind his wife and two small children, Kenneth and Enid (Susan's mother). He was buried in Los Angeles and his wife, Elizabeth moved back to Idaho with her 6 year old son and 3 year old daughter.

As an interesting aside, Brian (Valerie's husband) had a great grandfather that also served in the LAPD at the same time as Pat. Being such a small force, they undoubtedly knew each other. Small world, huh?

Susan and her brother and sisters have been discussing having a headstone in Kilgore next to Elizabeth. After many years of discussing, they were finally able to have a headstone made and placed in Idaho next to his wife. All of Susan's children and Susan's sisters came to have a memorial service. It is an exact replica of the headstone in Los Angeles.

As you can see, Kilgore is remote and not near anything in particular

Derek, Susan and Sam. Susan is holding a picture of Elizabeth and Sam is holding a picture of Grandpa Pat

After the service was over, we drove into the hills and had a nice picnic. Then we all went our separate ways and went home.

The memorial service was perfect. One of the many things I admire about Susan is her love of family, not only for her posterity but for her ancestry. She has passed that love to her children and her children's children. I know that it meant a lot to Susan to have all of her children come to Idaho and share this moment with her.

Lift Where You Stand

2011-07-14T10:01:00.002-06:00

When the trailer and truck were mired in the sand, we realized that the only way to move the trailer was to completely unload it and move it into a position where we could rehitch once the truck was unstuck. Darrin Poulsen, one of the dads that were there, has a knack of being able to turn anything into a spiritual learning experience. He retold the story in one of Dieter F. Uchtdorf"s conference talks. In this talk, he tells of his experience of having to move a piano with some other men. In order to move it, they needed to just lift it where they were standing. With many people doing that, they were able to move the piano with ease. The the girls all gathered around the trailer and lifted and moved the trailer. They were pretty proud of themselves.

This whole experience could have been the start of a lot of bad attitudes (heat, dust, manual labor, car troubles), but when we made it back to the freeway, one of my Beehives enthusiastically exclaimed, "Sister Miller, that was the best ever!!! I knew camp was going to be fun but not this fun!!" The other girls in the car wholeheartedly agreed.

I love this girlies.

What You Get when you Combine 50+ Girls and a Desert

2011-07-09T15:38:00.058-06:00

The last week of June we had our annual girls camp for the girls in our ward. This year we thought we would do something a little extra special and go down to Southern Utah. Have you ever been there? It's beautiful but really, REALLY hot the last week of June. We loaded up the cars, trucks and trailers and headed down to Green River.

On the way down, we thought we would take a little detour off of I-70 to check out a petroglyph named The Black Dragon. (As an aside, Brad and I took the kids to see it several years ago and we drove back and forth on that stretch of highway five or six times before we could find the turnoff.) We pulled up to a small stand of cottonwoods and had a nice lunch and the girls tried to stay cool by spraying each other off.

On this first stop, we learned a very important lesson; we learned that a full sized truck pulling a fully loaded trailer has no business driving on soft sand.

Luckily, there were plenty of helping hands.

The trailer was unhitched, emptied of all its contents. Then the work began. Girls were sent up the hillside to gather flat rocks to put under the wheels. After a quick prayer, most everyone lined up behind the truck and started the push. (I had to document the whole affair, so I didn't push.)

Half of our party was unaware of what had happened because they drove out in front of the truck. They waited a couple of miles away wondering what had happened to the rest of us. They figured out what had happened when they saw the huge dust cloud billow up into the sky. Everyone behind the truck was now the same earthy red color. We take blending into the enviroment very seriously.

Then we got the trail man(girl) handled and moved it out of the way. (I'll save that story for another post) After that was done, an assembly line was formed and we loaded up the trailer and hitched it back up to the truck. Yay! Keep in mind that it was about 102 degrees while this was happening.
By then, the rest of the party had driven back to see what was going on. Sometimes it is good to get the bad thing out of the way at the beginning of the trip, right? So I get back in my car and it won't start. Are you serious?! Michelle, our Young Women president fortuneately has a Suburban that is very much like Mary Poppins magical carpet bag- she not only produced a shovel to help dig out the truck but she also had a portable battery that comes in handy when someone's car won't start. We drove back out to the highway. Because the road was so narrow, the cars that came back to see what was going on had to drive for a couple of miles backward. Those women have some skills!

When we got to Green River State Park, we set up camp. The water was extremely high this year so the girls were told to stay away from the river, although someone forgot to tell the mosquitos.

YCLs.

The next day we drove to Moab to raft the Mighty, Mighty Colorado.

Everyone had a great time, even the people on our raft. We had a girl for a river guide and because she was the only female guide, she felt like she had something to prove. She pushed us hard. It also didn't help that 2/3 of the raft had the average weight of 80 pounds. Combine those two things and let's just say it was a little intense.

After rafting, we went to a park in Moab and just hung out and had dinner and waited for things to cool down before we went on our hike. In the evening, we headed out to Corona Arch. Underneath the Arch, we had a short devotional. It was a visual, and spiritual feast!

This was Rachel's first year as a Youth Camp Leader. This means that she was responsible for 6 girls and she was the "mom" for their tent. The theme this year was Winnie the Pooh and each tent was assigned a character. Rachel's tent was Kanga an Roo. She stayed up until 2:00am the night before making cute pockets for them and making a map of the 100 acre Wood. I'm not sure where the I heart JB comes in the Winnie the Pooh story, though. I've read the Winnie the Pooh stories many times and I have not a single recollection of Justin Bieber being in any of the stories.

Emma after several days of roughing it. She forgot her razor.

One of the priesthood leaders brought water balloons and there were many welcome, wet games.

I was soaked by some of my girls. They "lured" me out of the pavillion by saying, "Sister Miller! Theres a --spider--yeah, a spider here that we want you to see!" I thought I would play the good sport and let them douse me. I did manage to dump half a cooler full of water on a couple of them though.

Emma is here in her tent writing some notes to the other girls in the camp.

During free time there were crafts and other things that were organized. I noticed that Emma was missing. I found her in her tent. The poor thing was wiped out.

I never went to girls camp when I was a girl but I can tell you that as an adult leader, I love it.

That Was Some Trip!

2011-06-25T17:23:00.008-06:00

We made it home from our trip to Yellowstone safe and sound. We were beat and glad to be home. Some of us sat down and watched TV. Some of us immediately started to unpack and put away their things. Some of us took a shower. Some of us just burrowed into a down comforter that needed to be put away for the season and fell asleep.

On to Yellowstone

2011-06-24T19:57:00.080-06:00

We drove into Yellowstone where our first stop was Lewis Lake. As you can see, it was a little tricky to get to the water. The road was closed but did that stop us?n One of the many nice things about doing sanctioned scientific research for the parks is that we can go where most people can't. Wood calls the ranger station and before you know it, gates are unlocked and open. It's like magic! Our first stop was Lewis Lake, as you can see, it was still snowed in.

But did that stop us? No way, Jose! As long as there is water to be found amongst the ice, we will collect it.

(and maybe take the time to make your mark in the snow.)

We had a little picnic by lower Falls.

Rachel and Emma having a sit by Upper Falls. They said that the bench was a little lumpy and it made weird noises when they sat down on it.

Because of the unseasonably cool weather, many of the wildlife was still in the low country. On this trip, we saw a total of 11 grizzly and brown bears with and without their cubs. We saw more bears on this trip than all the previous trips the past 15 years combined.

We were all happy, honest.

One night, we stayed at the cabins at Canyon Lodge. We had a pond right outside of our room.

The kids enjoyed running around it at night and howling at the moon.

After our hike to Lost Lake, we hung out at Roosevelt Lodge to wait for Wood and Susan. We found many things to keep us entertained. There was some journal writing and listening to music...

reading...

and knitting. This project is my first foray into cables.

We pulled over and enjoyed the new viewpoint at Gibbon Falls

We found a new hike; The Specimen Ridge Trail. Officially it is called the Yellowstone River Picnic Trail, but I think that name is a little lame. Lame name or not, it was a beautiful hike with great view of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. I love hiking in Yellowstone because no matter how crowded the park is (and it is often very crowded) you just have to get on a trail that is longer than a mile and you see nary a soul.

...and of course we made the time to hang out in Old Faithful Lodge and have a yummy dinner there.

Lewis Falls on the way out of the park.

Will we come back soon? You can bet on it.

Wait, It's Not Over Yet (or Testing the Waters in the Tetons)

2011-06-23T21:32:00.000-06:00

So do you remember last year when we had that mega-huge family reunion in The Tetons and Yellowstone? It's something that I will not forget anytime soon. Well part of the reason we had such a big shindig was because Wood thought that it would be his last year to sample the lakes. Through some slight of hand and some maneuvering (that man can do anything!), he still has funding for his research. So that means the Millers are out in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem with water bottles and taking samples of various lakes. Yay!

It rained on the drive to Jackson Hole. Rachel looking through the sunroof.

We arrived a couple of days later than Wood and Susan, Derek and Laura, and Trent and Caroline(who left the morning we arrived). I guess that it was really cold and it was rainy in Jackson Hole and The Tetons but they managed to get a few hikes in. By the time that we arrived Sunday evening, the weather had cleared up a little bit. Sunday was the last game of the NBA finals between the Heat and the Mavs so most were content with getting some pizzas and watching the game in our hotel room. Susan took Laura and me to a nice restaurant in town called Sweetwater. The food was delicious and the company even better! After dinner, Brad, Derek, Laura and I walked to the town square where the kids played some night games while the adults discussed various episodes of The X Files. All in all, it was a good evening in Jackson Hole.

Emma having a confab with Mark.

Although the weather was a bit unsettled, we did manage to get in some hikes and sampling in a couple of days.

At the Rockefeller Preserve.

Sampling Two Ocean Lake

Watching Grampa sample the inlet at Two Ocean Lake

String Lake

Of course, there was plenty of time to goof around.

We spent much more time than usual in the Great Room at Jackson Lake Lodge. It was relaxing reading, listening to music and playing with various electronic gadgets. We also had our traditional pizza at Leeks Marina. We usually really like the food there but this time, the pizza was good but the Teton Bread (which is there version of cheese and garlic bread) was a little much.

See those lumpy white things? No, it's not mozzarella cheese, it is chopped cloves of garlic. That piece that Laura is holding had probably the equivalent of 5 or six cloves of garlic on it. When she took it up to show the person behind, the counter, she wouldn't even look at the bread. Laura's theory is that she didn't want to look at it because it was so horrible. My theory is that she probably was a vampire.

The next day, Derek and his family went home and we stayed on in the Tetons and hiked around Jenny Lake. The good thing about the weather being so cool and rainy is that there were minimal mosquitoes. Someone please tell me of any good or useful thing a mosquito can do, I dare you.

Along with the beautiful hikes in the park, driving around is just as relaxing and beautiful.

Okay, I admit it, this drive wasn't all that relaxing for me.

Good thing Grampa was there to take over if things got out of control. He was much more calm with Caleb driving than I was when Rachel first started driving (and she has a permit).

That evening, we drove to Yellowstone and stayed in the cabins at Canyon.

Youth Conference 2011

2011-06-21T10:10:00.002-06:00

On June 10 and 11th, our stake had our annual Youth Conference. It is a get together for the youth ages 14-17 where there are many activities, fun and games. Many times there is an overnight stay somewhere. This year, the activities were close to home so everyone could stay at their own homes.

Friday morning, everyone gathered at our Stake Center and had a hot breakfast. There were about 300 youth in attendance. The activity for the day was modeled after The Amazing Race. All the youth were separated into groups different colored tee shirts and then into smaller groups of four or five. There were 13 stations situated all over the north end of Utah Valley. At each station, the team was required to complete a task before they got the clue to the next location. (The drivers had received a 27 page packet beforehand with a list of the locations, maps, etc..) So let's see, let's just say that there were 320 kids, divided that by 4 and we have 80 cars driving around with people excited and hurrying to the next location and that sounds like scary times, right? Actually, we all were relatively unharmed.

I was assigned to be a driver of four girls I did not previously know. Cute, cute girls. It did make me feel pretty good that Rachel and Emma both wanted me to drive them. I would have thought that they would want me to be as far away from them as possible :)

Here are some of the activities:

Humanitarian project: making baby rattles to send overseas.

I was lucky enough to be at the same stations as Emma's group so I got to see her several times that day.

Another challenge that we did was that each one of the girls were given a laminated card with a number and "Pay It Forward" on the front. We were to perform a random act of kindness for each card and then head to a local restaurant where there were computer's set up to record the service that we did (Pay it Forward). With each act of service, we were to give the recipient the card and challenge them to perform an act of kindness themselves. It think this was my favorite activity.

The most difficult challenge was when we went to the local dinosaur museum and looked for clues hidden in a mural. We had to solve these clues and plug them into a crazy formula like: green clues + grey clues/ blue clues = the combination to open the lock that had the next clue. Good thing there were other teams there, we all helped each other out. Math never was my best subject.

We just pulled over when we saw someone working in her garden and offered to help.

Helping someone load their groceries in the car.

Our last activity before dinner. Yoga. Aaaaah.

After dinner the stake patriarch spoke and a couple of the youth about making good choices, and having integrity. Then we all went home and rested up for the next day.

Saturday morning, everyone went to the mouth of Grove Creek Canyon and went on a hike. Throughout the hike, they had to stop at 13 different stations to pass of The Articles of Faith. The final destination was the park by the Timpanogos Temple. I didn't attend this portion of the activity because I had to pack for a week long trip that we were leaving for the next morning.

After lunch (I think there were over 100 boxes of pizza!) Every grabbed a raked and cleaned up the park. When that was done, there were fun and games.

Rachel trying to master the four legged race.

Emma enjoying the company of her friends.

After the games, we had the treat of listening to Kris Belcher speak to us. She had tumors in her eyes when she was 7 months old and the radiation that cured the cancer disfigured her face. Seven years ago, she developed cancer in her eye from the radiation she had received when she was a baby. Not only did it completely blind her, but it left her without an eye. She is truly an inspiration.

After Sister Belcher spoke, we all headed home. At 8:00 the youth went back to the church for a dance. This is the activity that Rachel and Emma definitely did NOT want me to be present. Which was okay with me.

You may wonder why the number 13 was so prevalent throughout this activity (and no, it wasn't because the tee shirt company had a discount on the number 13). This year's theme for the Youth, is the 13th Article of Faith, which is:

"We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent and in doing good to all men. Indeed we may follow the admonition of Paul--We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, we hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."

The time, money and logistics involved in this event just proves to me how much The Church values its youth. I am glad to have spent two days in the company of such outstanding people.

L'Artiste

2011-06-16T09:00:00.005-06:00

Emma took a 3D art class this year. She's always been artistic. When she was 9, she entered in an art contest where they had to make a picture of a duck for the Duck Stamp for hunting licenses. Emma's depiction of the Hooded Merganser won first place for the state of Utah.

The last day of school this year, she came home with these works of art.

Behold, the minimalist giraffe. This project caused her some amount of stress because she had to use sticks, wire, string and hot glue to make it work. She originally had a bulkier head make from more sticks but it wouldn't hold up. I think the end result turned out great.

I don't know what it is, but it looks really cool. She made it it with wire, nylon stockings, plaster, wood and paint.

Exhibit #3 is the modeled by the lovely Rachel to show the scale. When Caleb first saw it, he said, "Whoa, that is the largest pack of gum in the world."

That Emma, she has skills.

Chinese Waves Dishcloth

2011-06-14T09:00:00.003-06:00

Chinese Waves, a sturdier, more attractive cousin to the simple garter stitch. It not only lends itself well for a dishcloth I can imagine many other possibilities for this stitch.

Materials: 1 ball 100% cotton yarn
No 7 needles

Directions:
K=Knit stitch
S= Slip stitch
Cast on 45 stitches (or any odd number of stitches)

Row 1: Knit (this is the right side)
Row 2: *K1, S1* repeat between * across, ending K1
Row 3: K
Row 4: Knit 2, *S1, K1* Repeat between * across ending 1

Keep working in pattern until your piece is square, fininishing with wrong side row. Bind off in knitting on the right side.

Note: You can slip either knitwise or purlwise, as long as you keep the yarn behind the fabric while you are working. Slipping knitwise will make a slightly denser fabric.

Ballband Dishcloth

2011-06-10T10:00:00.005-06:00

I've decided that I like knitting dishcloths. They are great little projects to have in between the big ones and they are so straightforward. They knit up so quickly that I'm done before I get bored of knitting one. Plus I think that these homemade dishcloths work better than the terry cloth ones that you can get at a store.

Ballband dishcloth

I love the little brick pattern, and the colors? Oh so many possibilities!

Materials needed:
Size 7 needles
Peaches and Creme (or any 100% cotton yarn): One ball of each color A (brown) color B (eggplant)
Finished size: Approx. 9 1/4" x 9 3/4"

YF=Yarn Front
YB- Yarn Back

Directions:
Cast on 45 stitches with color A (When asked to slipstitch, do so purlwise)
Row 1: (Color A) Knit
Row 2: (Color A) Purl
Row 3: (Color B) K4 Slip1 *K5 Slip1* continue between * across to last 4 stitches, K5
Row 4: (Color B) K4 YF Slip 1 YB *K5 YF Slip1 YB *Continue between * across to last 4 stitches, K4
Row 5: (Color B) P4 YB Slip 1 YF *P5 YB Slip ! YF* Continue between * across to last 4 sts, P4
Row 6: (Color B) Repeat Row 4
Row 7: (Color A) Knit
Row 8: (Color A) Purl
Row 9: (Color B) K1 Slip 1 *K5 Slip 1* Continue between * across to 1 sts, K1
Row 10: (Color B) K1 YF Slip 1 YB *K5 YF Slip 1 YB* Continue between * across to 1 sts, K1
Row 11: (Color B) P1 YB Slip 1 YF *P5 YB Slip1 YF* Continue between* across to 1 sts, P1
Row 12: (Color B) Repeat Row 10

Repeat 12 rows until desired length is reached finishing with rows 12. For a more varied effect, switch colors when desired.

Bind off loosely.

Oh So Sweet

2011-06-08T21:28:00.015-06:00

On June 3, 1995 Rachel was born bright-eyed and ready to take on the world.

7 days old

She was always on the go. Always.

1 year old. This is the Place Monument

She was fearless.

2 years old. Little Wild Horse Canyon

3 years old. Great Falls of the Potomac.

She loves the great outdoors (just like her dad).

4 years old. Jackson Hole

She was sassy. Very sassy (and very skinny, look at how tight her belt is cinched up).

5 years old. Disney World

She like to be dressed up and looking pretty.

6 years old. With Emma, Sara and Sydney. Sam and Rachel's wedding reception

She loves her brother and sister dearly.

7 years old. Buffalo Peak

8 years old. Capitol Reef

She is creative

9 years old. Princess Leia ( with enough layers underneath to keep her warm.)

She stood out. She wasn't concerned with being like everyone else.

10 years old. Captain Jack Sparrow

She was concientious and always tried to do her best.

11 years old. Hope of America award.

12 years old. Rachel and Emma best friends/sisters.

She has enjoyed playing dress ups as soon as she could get dressed by herself.

13 years old. Messing around with crazy clothes and makeup with friends.

She has a flair for the dramatic

14 years old. Midsummer's Night Dream

She's always up for trying something new. Did I mention that she is fearless?

15 years old. Getting ready to walk the tightrope.

She is absolutely beautiful inside and out. She turned 16 on Friday and she had a date the next day. She also doesn't waste any time.

16 years old and sporting a new 'do.

Rachel Arwen Miller, we are so lucky you're around.

Looking Ahead to the Future

2011-05-27T09:00:00.000-06:00

I'm getting old.

An inevitable part that goes along with that is that my children are getting older as well. Along with growing up comes the part of thinking and preparing for the future.

Rachel, Emma and I went to a workshop at BYU last weekend. Foundations is a day-long activity that is hosted by the Multicultural Student Services. It is for 8th through 10th graders and their parents who are interested in learning about ways to prepare for college. Both the girls were slightly wary about giving up a whole Saturday to learn about preparing for college, but when I told them that lunch was provided and that it would be on BYU's campus, they agreed.

One thing the girls didn't realize was that there would be so many different ethnicities there (even though I showed them the flyer that had "Multicultural Student Services" printed on the front). They thought that was a nice surprise.

It is a great program! The kids were separated into the different grades and then broken up into small groups of 8-10. The parents went into an auditorium where a panel of high school counselors and academic advisors answered questions and showed the many different ways to get financial aid and scholarships.

The kids had workshops on how to make goals and prepare for college interspersed with service activities and lots of games.

When we came home that afternoon, Rachel and Emma had a list of goals they wanted to accomplish, and a bunch of new friends. I had a notebook of useful information that will put me in the right direction of finding a way to pay for my girls' education.

This was on the back of Emma's worksheet.

This is the front of the worksheet. I liked how the worksheets were different for each age group.
Some of the things on Em's worksheet that make me smile are:

1. How she wants to always be in good shape but she doesn't like to excercise.
2. How she tells herself to get over it.
3.Her doodle
She has a good head on her shoulders.

Rachel's goal sheet was a little more specific. I'm pretty impressed with it. Rach has always like to plan and map out her life so this excercise was right up her alley.

Pretty good girls, if you ask me. Maybe when they graduate from college, they'll be able to spring for a trip for their beloved parents to an exotic locale.

Looking Back to Okayama

2011-05-26T09:00:00.004-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, one of Brad's old companions, Kelly Atkin, from his mission requested me as a friend on facebook. I'm not sure if Brad will ever be on facebook and I've had a couple of his friends contact me so they could contact him.

Imagine my surprise when I came home Tuesday night and he was sitting on my couch!

Let me paint a picture for you on what my Tuesday evenings are like:
1. I am rushing around trying to get dinner served for everyone.
2. Caleb has to be dressed and ready for scouts by 6:30.
3. The girls and I go to Young Women at 7:00.
4. Tuesday is also laundry day so I usually have piles of folded laundry lying around in the family room waiting for kids to put away.

Tuesdays are really hectic for me. To top that off, I had a presidency meeting after the Young Women activity until 9:30. So to say the least, I was a little mortified that Kelly had dropped by unannounced right in the middle of my laundry-strewn, dirty dish filled counters, and homework on every flat surface home. Having said that however, Brad and Kelly looked like they were having the time of their lives and they sat and talked for about four hours.

Look at him! He is so young and excited about cherry blossoms! (He's pretty cute, too.)

The missionaries meet Kent Derricott. Apparently he is a really big deal in Japan.

Zone Conference, 1987. Brad is on the back row on the end on the right. He has a huge bandage on his chin. Why, you ask?

Look at his bike. He had an unpleasant and rather forceful encounter with a curb. They stitched his chin up at the hospital without any anesthesia. He strongly recommends that no one try that at home.

As I said earlier, Brad and Kelly talked for hours reminiscing about the good times they had together on their mission. They both said it was one of the funnest times that they had. I listened to some stories that I was familiar with and I heard some that were new to me. There were a couple that Brad had completely forgotten about.

During their mission, they went to get a haircut from this woman on a regular basis. One time, Brad challenged themselves to ask her if she was willing to take the discussions. She was friendly and she said yes. Because she was a single woman, the missionaries aren't allowed to visit them by themselves. So they brought along a woman from the ward to accompany them.

When they knocked on the door, the woman opened the door and spoke to them, they saw another woman standing behind her. She was kind of wild looking woman with big hair and she looked at them like she was a little frightened and wary. Brad and Kelly noticed her but didn't think much of it thinking that she was nervous about the missionaries. They gave the discussion and it went really well, with the hairdresser being very interested in what they had to say and the wild haired woman sitting quietly in the corner and out of the way.

After the discussion was over, the woman from the ward that accompanied them talked to the big-haired woman for awhile and then they left. While she was driving Elders Miller and Atkin back to their house, she asked them if they noticed that other woman. They said that they did and they figured she was just nervous because they were proselytizing. Not so, said the woman from the ward, the wild-haired woman said that she was a psychic and that her hobby was fortune telling. (Brad told me the word but I can't remember it, it sounded like umeboshi. Which I know isn't right because that is the word for a pickled plum. I KNOW her hobby wasn't being a pickled plum.) She said that she was so surprised and a little frightened when her friend opened the door because she saw three people standing there, the woman from the ward and the two missionaries. The woman looked normal but the missionaries were surrounded by a bright aura, a glow that encircled the two missionaries. She was a little freaked out. I probably would be too.

I had never heard that story before but it sure is a good missionary story, isn't it?

I'm glad that Kelly stopped by and got to visit with Brad, it makes me happy to see Brad so happily reminiscing; in spite of the fact that Rachel and Emma's underwear was lying in a pile by their feet.

Webelos

2011-05-25T10:40:00.018-06:00

Caleb earned his Webelos rank last week. Scouting is still a little bit like a foreign country to me. Webelos?!? What the heck does that mean? Luckily, Brad is an Eagle Scout and he was really into scouting when he was younger so Caleb has a parent that will help guide him through the world of merit badges, certifications, weird skits and silly songs. Oh, and I was told that Webelo means "We Be Loyal Scouts".
Caleb is at an age where it is not quite as cool to be outwardly affectionate to your mom in public. Here is is pinning the mother's badge on me.

I understand and I respect that (I respect it but I don't have to like it). Look at how thrilled he is to shake my hand. It was all I could do to restrain myself from giving him a huge bear hug and kissing him.

Earlier this year, Caleb had the Pinewood Derby. He had a great time making it with the help of his dad. I think it's so funny that they are carving over an old tee shirt in front of the tv. Because you know, if it were me, we would have newspapers spread out and doing it at the kitchen counter.

The finished project. Ooooh, so sleek and shiny!

It wasn't the fastest car in the pack but adults and scouts alike appreciate the aesthetic qualities his wheels.

Scouts is great! Caleb loves it.

Making the Cut

2011-05-25T08:22:00.002-06:00

I've been looking at my blog links and I'm wondering, if someone hasn't posted in over a year, is it safe to say that they've lost the Bloggin' Fever and they probably won't post anytime soon? Would it be rude to delete their link from my blog? Just wondering.

Chubby Penguin

2011-05-24T12:13:00.003-06:00

I knitted up this little guy this week. It was my nephew Max's birthday and I remembered that last year at the family reunion, he mentioned that he would really like for me to somehow knit him a penguin. With a bow tie. I came up with a penguin without a tie but with cute tufts over his eyes. I hope he likes it. He is one of the coolest kids I know. Happy 12th, Max!

p.s.
As an aside I was wondering if I should post the instructions for my projects. Is that pretentious? Would any of the six people who read my blog find that at all interesting?

Children of the 80s

2011-05-20T11:09:00.023-06:00

Or so they want to be.

Last Saturday, Emma and her friends decided to have an impromptu party. They call themselves the Silly Billy Club. They wanted to dress up in 80s garb, go eat dinner at Zupa's and then go bowling. I tagged around for the dinner because I was the ride. However, I did not break out my eighties finery, I stayed with my feet firmly planted in 2011.

Here they are in their 80s glory.

Cute girls - I'm really glad that they are so creative and fun. Emma was a little disappointed because she didn't really get that many stares or comments at dinner.

For the the record, I NEVER dressed like that. I was more of a prep than Madonna.

Here's how it's really done.

Now if you will excuse me, I think I'll go and listen to The Smiths and some Aztec Camera...

It's Like I'm watching Jimmer

2011-05-19T12:54:00.007-06:00

Caleb loves basketball. He loves watching it, playing it and thinking about it. He knows much more about the history of basketball than a ten year old should.

He was on a Jr. Jazz team this year. He was one of the smallest but definitely one of the fastest. That boy has some ball handling skills. See his team picture? He has an air of confidence in him, doesn't he? During one game we were watching, all the boys on his team were really excited and jumping around, trying to guard their guys. Rach, Emma and I had to laugh because Caleb was nonchalantly guarding his man with his arms up and casually blowing bubbles. He did a good job, I guess it was just another day at the office for him.

His favorite NBA team: The Celtics. He recently saved his money and spent $60 of his hard earned money to buy himself a shooting shirt. Since I never buy anything that isn't on sale, I'm pretty sure that his shirt is the most expensive one in the house. Both Caleb and Emma are pretty emotionally invested in the Celtics. When they were eliminated from the playoffs last week, there were a couple of pretty disappointed kids. As soon as the buzzer went off, Emma went outside in the backyard and started running back and forth as fast as she could (she said she almost started to cry.) Caleb simply walked up to the tv, turned it off and went to his room without saying a word. I guess it runs in the family because Brad told me that when he was ten and the 76ers were eliminated, he cried too.

His favorite NCAA team: BYU. No big surprise there.

Favorite players: Jimmer Fredette, Kevin Durrant and Rajon Rondo

There is a mini basketball hoop that we have downstairs that we've owned since Rachel could barely walk. I hear a lot of banging around down there.

Yesterday Caleb came up and asked me to take pictures of his slam dunks. We were both pleased with the results. In fact, he wanted to be sure I would post them.

So without further ado, Dr. Dunkenstein (wait, that name is already taken, isn't it?)

Look, he even has his game face on. Pretty sweet, huh?

And a Little Bit o' That (At Women's Conference)

2011-05-17T16:29:00.000-06:00

The Hospitality Team are affectionately nicknamed "The Angels in Blue Vests" because of the attractive blue vest that we got to wear to make us more easily spotted in a crowd. One thing that they stressed in the training meetings is that we as volunteers were to seek out "the one." We needed to not only be friendly and helpful to the Conference goers in general but we were to seek out those who might need a little extra help, a friendly face or a reassuring touch on the arm.

One story that Joy Flitton, one of the Directors for Women's Conference told was about something that happened a few years ago. One of the Hosts noticed two women walking arm in arm towards a venue. They didn't look like the normal conference goers. Instead of looking excited and chatting happily, they looked sad and they looked like they were holding each other up for support. The host got the strong impression that she should compliment one of them about her dress. She thought it was a strange impression but she followed through with it anyway. When she complimented her dress, the woman started to cry. She explained that for the past 17 years she and her two sisters attended Women's Conference every year and it was something that they looked forward to. One of the sisters died before Conference and the remaining ones decided that even though they didn't want to attend, they would go to the conference. To honor the sister that passed away, one of them wore her dress, the dress that the host noticed.

On Friday, I had to conduct the prayer meeting to start the day because Jill had to be at the Marriott Center for the Opening Session. Along with the scriptures I read about serving others I debated whether or not to retell the story that Joy had told a month ago, worried that maybe some of the volunteers had heard the story if they had gone to that training session. In the end, I told the story. After the meeting was over, the person who gave the closing prayer was really emotional. I just thought that maybe something I had said had really touched her and that she was excited to start. She pulled me aside later and told me that she was the woman in the story that wore the dress. She was taken completely by surprise about the story and she was really excited to touch someone the same way someone touched her.

I think that it is important to remember that although grand gestures of charity are wonderful, sometimes it is the "Small and simple things" (Alma:37:6-7) are equally helpful. You don't have to head a huge fundraiser to help victims of a disaster to make your mark in the world. Sometimes, just saying hello to someone at the store or calling a friend you know is having a hard time has a great impact as well. I will try and start every day with the thought, "How can I make someone else's day better today?"

A Little Bit o' This (At Women's Conference)

2011-05-17T15:00:00.002-06:00

So there were many, many people that I met at Women's Conference. Here are some of my experiences with them.

This is Ann Dibb, she is the Second Counselor of the Young Women's General Presidency. That means that she is in the presidency of the Young Women's Organization for the entire world for our church. Her father, Thomas S. Monson is the President and Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One thing that struck me is that she looks so very much like her father. Can you see the resemblance?

So, she was one of the speakers on Thursday and I met her briefly that day when we escorted her to the concert hall to give her speech. On Friday she came to listen to the afternoon speaker, Margaret Nadauld. Friday was packed and it was a madhouse trying to find seats for everyone. She came partway through the session and asked me if there were any seats available. I lead her to the front of the auditorium where I had found one seat on the third row. She stood outside the auditorium and told me that she didn't want to make a big fuss and cause a big disruption. I asked young girl who was sitting next to the empty seat if the seat was taken and if I could sit someone next to her. She said it was fine and you should have seen her face when she looked up to see Ann M. Dibb sit down next to her; it was an expression of shock and awe. She probably also thought to herself, "I better not act sleepy and be dilegent in my note taking."

This is Silvia H. Allred, she is the Second Counselor of the General Relief Society, the women's organization of the Church. Her session was packed! The entire main floor was crammed with women lining up to see her talk. We had to try and snake the lines throughout the art exhibits, because it was too cold to have the line go outside. Because of the tightly packed quarters, some of the women were getting a little testy. At one point, the volunteer at the entrance had to stop the line from going into the theater because someone had to escort Sister Allred in and lead her to the stage. So while the volunteer at the entrance was helping someone read a map and find her way to the class that she wanted, another woman tapped her on the shoulder and kept asking her what was going on. The volunteer held her hand up to show that she was helping someone else and she would help her soon. That woman turned to her friend and said, "I don't know what's going on! I bet there are a ton of seats still! Just you watch, that girl will turn us away and we won't be able to get in, I can't believe this!"

That's when the volunteer had finished helping the other woman and she said, "The reason we stopped the line is so Sister Allred can get in." At that, she pointed to Sister Allred who was walking toward them not more than 15 feet away. The volunteer watched the color drain away from the two complainers' faces as they stammered, "Oh, I guess that makes sense," and as to try and make up for it, they said things like, "My, Sister Allred looks lovely today, doesn't she?"

Moral of the story, watch what you say.

My impression of Sister Allred is that she is very bubbly, personable and really, really tiny! I had to seek her out several times because someone needed to talk to her and each time, she was standing right in front of me.

"Sister Allred? Sure, I'll get her for you! She is right.....here...standing... right in front of me." (Sheepish grin) It's not very often when I have to look down to see an adult, I'm just not used to it.

Margaret Nadauld is a former General President of the Young Women organization. I got to speak to her the longest. She didn't seem the least bit nervous that she was going to address almost two thousand people. Her session was so popular that we had to turn away about 600 people. She thanked the volunteers for all the hard work we were doing and she and her husband were actually very chatty.

Just meeting these remarkable women made it all worth it.

Better Than Herding Cats.

2011-05-17T13:22:00.001-06:00

I got a call from my friend Jill the back in January.

Jill: Winnie, I was just asked to be a Project Leader for Women's Conference in April. I was wondering if you would be interested in being a team leader. We will be in charge of the hospitality team at the De Jong Concert Hall in the Harris Fine Arts Center at BYU.

Winnie: Uhhh., I've never been to Women's Conference.

Jill: I just think it would be really fun to work with you and I think that you would do a really good job. (The undercurrent was, "We've been friends since third grade and I would REALLY like your help.")

Winnie: Uhhh, what do I need to do?

Jill: We need to find forty volunteers, set up a schedule, attend training meetings and oversee the venue. I really want to you do it, but no pressure.

Winnie: Uhhh, oh, alright.

It actually turned out to be a really fun. Jill and my other lifelong friend Becky found volunteers (well, mostly Jill - I found out that I'm not really good at soliciting help). We figured out the rotation schedule and we made sure that the forty volunteers got all the information that they needed.

I was in charge of the "survival kit" for all the volunteers. Becky and I found some canvas bags at Hobby Lobby. Oooh, I love that place, except there is so much there that I get overwhelmed. Then another friend of mine helped cut out petals and leaves from wool. I assembled the flowers in the car to and from California (between the flowers and knitting Rachel's blanket, I had plenty to do.)

I think Brad was getting tired of me squealing and exclaiming, "Oh! Look at this flower! It's so cute!" I attached the flower to the bag with a safety pin, so it could be easily removed in case someone wanted to use it for someone else (like a headband or a brooch, perhaps?).

Inside each bag, I put some band aids, safety pins, a small bottle of water, gum and some anti-bacterial gel. I think they turned out really cute and I got many compliments on the bags.

The two days of the conference was a lot of running around and trying to help conference goers find their way. I found that the busier we were, the more fun I had. I have many stories to tell but I think I'll save them for other posts, just to break it up a little.

Trying to keep the lines orderly and finding seats got a little difficult sometimes.

I had a really good time and I wouldn't mind doing it again next year. Wait, did I say that out loud?

It is Done!!

2011-05-10T15:50:00.002-06:00

Woo hoo! I finally finished Rachel's blanket. Sure, it's much closer to her birthday now than it is to Christmas but nevertheless she loves it. I feel like I was constantly knitting every chance I could to finish it.

Once in February, there was a bad blizzard and the power went out. I wasn't home when it happened and when I finally made it home, it was a cozy place lit with many candles and lanterns and everyone had a flashlight. Everyone was sitting in the family room when I sat down with them, positioned a flashlight over my shoulder and started to knit. That's when Emma started to laugh and said, "See? Look what Mom is doing, she's knitting while the power is out - just like she would do if the power was on."

Yup.

I made it with love in every single stitch. I love you, Rach.

The City By the Bay

2011-04-28T14:19:00.000-06:00

Things we did when we went to San Fransisco (in no particular order):

We went to a Giants game. It was a great game, they played the Dodgers and there is quite a heated rivalry between the two. The Giants won, though. Good thing the rivalry was heated because the temperature was cold! Many thanks to Valerie and Abby for lending us warm clothes to wear.

I only have pictures of Rachel and Emma because Brad and Caleb were wandering the stadium somewhere. Dan took Lucy to her first major league baseball game and she made things even more fun.

We walked around the beach by the Golden Gate Bridge

We taught Lucy that sometimes just looking cute doesn't cut it for pictures. Sometimes you have to own the camera. Lu was a very good student and learned quickly under Rachel, Emma and Caleb's tutelage.

We went to the Palace of the Fine Arts. It was a lovely walk and I learned that Abby does not like swans. In spite of that fact, she makes a wonderful hostess and we loved staying those two days at their house.

We went to Stanford Campus. We love Stanford, it's where Wood got his doctorate so Brad has many fond memories there.

We went to the top of Hoover tower to enjoy the view where we met Jimmer Fredette's girlfriend's best friend (you got that?). She was the student volunteer that ran the elevator. She noticed Caleb's BYU jacket and asked if we knew Jimmer. Well, yeah, what self-respecting basketball fan throughout the country doesn't know Jimmer?

We went back to El Dorado Hills and made ourselves home at the Tripletts.

It was a great trip. When can we go back again?

Pacific Coast

2011-04-27T17:23:00.003-06:00

ice plants in bloom

For Spring Break this year. We decided to head to Northern California to visit two of our favorite families; The Tripletts of El Dorado Hills and The Millers of Mountain View. Since the Tripletts didn't have Spring Break until the week after, we took a little side trip during the week to the Monterey area. I think it is one of the most beautiful places on Earth but I have never been there in my 40 something years when it was anything other than downright cold.

We made it Valerie's house Saturday afternoon and spent Saturday and Sunday hanging out there. Monday morning, we drove down to Pacific Grove. We spent the day walking around Carmel-By-The-Sea and driving along the coast, with an excursion on the 17 mile drive that goes by Pebble Beach.

The scenery was breath taking. But did you know that you have to pay $9.50 just to drive through it? I found that a little strange since there were many (large and beautiful) houses along the way. Brad and I were joking that next time we go on that drive, we should just tell them at the gate that we were visiting...uh, the Eastwoods, yeah, that's right, we're here to go pay a visit to Clint Eastwood. We got out of the car at Spanish Bay to see the sun begin it's descent and poke at various dead and smelly sea creatures that washed up on the shore.

Sunset at Sunset Drive. Isn't it lovely?

In the morning, Rachel and Emma got up early because they needed to run (for track training). They got to the beach and stopped running. Apparently it is hard to run when you're hands are full of sea shells and there are hermit crabs to play with. They finally made it back and we went to Monterey to have a picnic.

Lunch by the sea. Chilly but the scenery was absolutely lovely. We could have done without the seagulls though.

Those birds were brazen and brash. They hovered over our table just barely out of reach of my waving arms and Rachel's flying fists. I was worried they were going to drop some extra seasoning into our food, if you know what I mean.

We also stopped by Point Pinos, the oldest continually operating lighthouse in the West Coast. We wanted to get a closer look at it but unfortunately, it is only open on weekends and we were there on a Tuesday. *sigh*
We walked around Cannery Row where we ran into all sorts of interesting people.

Transient with his dog and his hitch hiking cat.

Fortune telling cats.

Justin Bieber

Fashionistas

Historical reinactors

Ne'er-do-wells

People that defy explanation

I love this part of California. I'm glad we were able to go back there again.

Next stop, Dan, Abby, Lucy, Kate, Sadie and the City By the Bay...

Cake Boss

2011-02-22T14:33:00.000-07:00

Emma is quite the baker. She loves watching the cake decorating shows on the Food Network and once in awhile, she feels the urge to bake herself a cake or cookies. She decorated her own birthday cake in January, which I will post sometime when we get those pictures off of her camera. But here is some footage of the cake and the cute baker on her birthday.

Yesterday was President's Day. Emma wanted to bake a cake.

Not too shabby. She didn't want to pose for the picture because she spent the entire day in basketball shorts, a tee shirt and no makeup. For the record, she still looked pretty good to me. I'm glad she's working on this hobby, my waistline however, is not.

Magic Fingers

2011-02-15T14:11:00.000-07:00

Caleb is going through a stage right now where he really likes to play the piano. I love it when he is in that stage. I really dislike the drama involved in getting him to practice when he doesn't.Earlier this month, Caleb performed in the Music Festival. He really loves his songs, especially the second one, The Sorceror. A bonus was when we walked into the recital hall and saw that one of the judges was Cathleen Poulsen, one of our neighbors and just about the nicest person you could ever know.

This piece is called Fanfare Minuet, by William Duncombe

The Sorceror, by Carol Matz

Caleb Miller, you are so cool.

The "Blizzard" of 2010

2011-01-18T14:24:00.002-07:00

On November 22, there was a blizzard that was scheduled to scream through all of Utah. The weather men were in a lather about it, with wearing their white sport coats and predicting mayhem and doom. People were all worked up about it as well. Brad said that there were people literally shouting about how they needed to get home early as they were leaving his building at around 3:00 in the afternoon. Dance classes were cancelled, piano lessons were postponed and the deejays on the radio were urging people to stay at home.
Our ward had cancelled our weekly Young Women's activity, not because of the storm but because it was two days before Thanksgiving and we felt that everyone would be busy with family things.

I went to the grocery store because we were out of hot chocolate and I thought it would be nice to have that with the soup I was planning on making for dinner. When I was there, there were people running around everywhere buying cans of soup, candles and generally stocking up. I ran into a neighbor at the store and she was debating whether or not to change her Thanksgiving plans and stay home instead. I made it home safely and we survived the storm intact. Here's some photgraphic proof of the storm.

This is right before the storm when all media outlets were excited about the impending doom. (I know, I didn't rake the leaves in my back yard.)

Caleb and Emma are standing out there somewhere.

During the storm. I was really glad I didn't have to go anywhere because it was blowing pretty hard.

After the storm. As you can see, the grass is still visible and we didn't even have to shovel the driveway. We have since had several storms that were on a much greater magnitude but the weathermen didn't raise such a fuss. So in case you were wondering, The Millers are just fine after The Great Blizzard of 2010.

Dancing Fools

2011-01-14T11:26:00.000-07:00

My parents and brother gave us a Wii for Christmas this year. Santa gave us a Wii Fit and a couple of games. It was tricky because Santa's presents were there in the morning and they got the Wii in the evening. Brad and I told the kids in the morning that we would buy them a Wii after Christmas so the surprise wasn't spoiled for my folks.

Just Dance 2 was the game that Emma got-to the great enjoyment of all. One night we had a lot of family over and my sister-in-law Rachel came upon this scene:

So much fun to see them shake it, shake it like a Polaroid picture. For the record, I can keep up with the best of them and I even have a couple of the high scores. Just sayin'...

I have yet to see Brad dance, I'm not sure if I ever will, but a girl can keep dreaming, right?

...and knitting...and knitting...and knitting...

2011-01-13T14:24:00.001-07:00

That's what Pee Wee Herman said in the movie Pee Wee's Big Adventure when he was coming unglued because of the loss of his beloved bike. That's what I've been doing this fall and winter (knitting and knitting and knitting some more). In addition to the projects I've showed you already, I've been working on this chestnut:

It's one of Rachel's Christmas presents. I started it in November, both of us knowing fully that I wouldn't have it done by Christmas. It is made from a merino/microfiber blend that is wonderfully soft and squishy to the touch. I really splurged on the yarn because I wanted this to be a blanket that Rachel could say to her kids one day, "Poa Poa made this for me." It's a modified log cabin pattern knitted up with a simple garter stitch. Pretty easy and mindless knitting. Because of sheer size of the project, I'm only about a quarter of the way done with it. I wrapped it up unfinished and put it under the tree so Rachel could open it on Christmas. It's a little hard to tell the scale of it from this picture so I took this picture:

He didn't want me to take the blanket off of him when I was done. Yeah, it's that soft and cuddly. This project has been a lifesaver to me on several occasions, I take it with me whenever I know I need to sit and wait awhile. Things like basketball games, trips to the orthodontist and trips to the emergency room.

Brad asked me to send this picture to the kids to show he was ok. What a dad!

Back in the beginning of December, I took Brad to the ER twice in one week for severe stomach cramps. I spent about six or seven hours in the ER total and I worked on the taupe and purple blocks there. Brad is ok now, he just had a particularly nasty case of e. coli (stupid hamburger).

Now I will think of that adventure whenever I look at the blanket...and that it turned out ok. I'll post a picture of it when it's done.

Flower Power

2011-01-12T14:26:00.001-07:00

headband

Rachel and I learned how to make these fabric flowers and we made a lot and attached them to many different things for Christmas gifts this year. We sewed them on gloves (on the outside of the wrist), made hair clips, headbands and attached them to hats. She was all set this year for friend gifts.
All you need to do is cut out varying sizes of satin fabric, cut them into scalloped circles and hold them over an open flame to warp the fabric.

With a needle and thread, sew the petals together and attach the beads.

Once that is done, you can attach it to anything you would care to attach a flower to.

It

2011-01-12T14:15:00.000-07:00

I love this guy! There is nothing normal about him. I think he is wonderfully weird without being creepy (a self-portrait perhaps?) His arms are different lengths, he has two fingers on one and three on the other, one eye is bigger than the other and a different color, and he has mismatched toes on his feet...and he's just fine with that. I am too

Bunny

2011-01-11T15:38:00.001-07:00

Aww, it's so cute!! I made four or five of these bunnies. Three for my dear nieces who were baptized this year and one for a cute neighbor girl. I knitted these with whatever was in my stash so the bunnies were all sorts of color combinations. Do you want one?

Ribbit

2011-01-11T15:34:00.000-07:00

I knitted this cute little frog for my nephew. He's been asking me for a frog for about five months. I was happy to oblige. I could have stuffed the body with a tennis ball to make him bouncy, but I opted for a more cuddly fiber-filled guy.

Hey I Didn't Know You Quilted...

2011-01-11T15:18:00.004-07:00

I didn't know I could either. Every year, Brad's brothers and sisters exchange Christmas gifts to the family of one of their siblings. This year, we had this cute family:

Dan, Abby, Kate, Lucy and Sadie

Then I came up with the ambitious project of making them a quilt. I have never pieced a quilt before, the whole idea scares me. There is so much precision and exact measuring involved, the whole idea gave me hives. I asked my hurricane-of-creative-energy-friend Kristen if she would be willing to teach me. Before I knew it, I was sitting on her floor looking at dozens of cute fabrics and making trips to specialty fabric stores and trying to figure out endless combinations of how the fabrics would go together. I also decided to make this my Individual Worth project for my Personal Progress. In the end, I came up with this:

I love the colors, I call it the happy quilt. I spent about a month and a half working on the quilt, fininshing just days before Christmas. Kristen made a similiar quilt excecpt that she had it machine quilted and I hand quilted mine (with a LOT of help from my dear mom). I even stitched Dan and Abby's initials on the center of the quilt. I thought it would give it a little more personal touch. Plus if I had their initials on the quilt, it would make it harder for me to keep the quilt for myself (which I was sorely tempted to do).

(I don't know why blogger keeps rotating this picture)

I was hoping that taking the picture without a flash so it would show the colors more true to life.

Back of the quilt.

I have always admired and respected someone that could quilt but now that I've actually done one, my admiration and respect has increased tenfold. I don't think I could have finished this quilt without Kristen guiding me through the process. Plus those rotary cutters scare the daylights out of me. I had a lot of fun making the quilt, piecing it with Kristen was a laugh a minute and I really liked talking with my mom while we sat around the quilting frame. Will I quilt again? Probably, but not right now.

My Hands Were Not Idle

2011-01-10T16:51:00.001-07:00

I took a break from blogging because this Christmas, I decided to make a lot of my gifts. I had three or more projects going from the end of October until...well now. Tomorrow I will share with you some of those projects. Hey everyone, I'm back.

Football and Boys

2010-11-28T16:22:00.021-07:00

Caleb had his birthday party on the day of the BYU/ U of U football game. It was a pretty easy theme, I would say. The plan was for the boys to play football, open presents, eat pizza and watch football for the afternoon.

First came the invitations...

Then came the boys...a LOT of boys.

As a definite bonus, Caleb's cousin Max slept over the night before and he was able to stay for the party. Max, Max, Max...I'm so glad you came!

These boys are obsessed with playing football.(Regardless of field conditions.)

There were some cool presents...

In the end, BYU lost...so very sad. But everyone had a good time.

Have you ever watched a football game with 11 young boys? Well, I have and I can proudly say that I survived (even if my ears were ringing for several hours afterwards.)

Caleb, I sure love that kid.

Autumn and Red Rocks

2010-11-10T16:16:00.001-07:00

Over fall break, we went down to Moab with Brad's parents and enjoyed the milder weather of Southern Utah. The weather was perfect and the company most pleasant. Unfortunately, Rachel wasn't able to come with us because of her basketball practice. She had her first game later that week and she couldn't miss any practices. We really missed her but we had a great time anyway.

Here are Emma and Caleb enjoying our spacious hotel room in Moab.

Here are Brad, Susan and I enjoying the vista on the Slickrock Trail.

There is a trail in Canyonlands called Cave Springs where there is a abandoned cowboy camp that was in use from the 1860s to the 1970s. There are also a couple of ladders to climb. I highly recommend taking your family there sometime.

Brad helping his mom up from the ladder.

Creatures in the rocks.

Emma proving that she can still do pull ups.

That night, we ate at a Mexican Restaurant. The food was really good, but I had this staring at me the whole time. Disturbing. What were they thinking? (The artist and the person who hung it up.) Ack, it gives me a headache.

Brad at the Mesa Arch Trailhead.

Emma atop the Mesa Arch. (Grammie and Grampa were most nervous.)

Caleb taking direction from his dad as to where to safely land.

The gap that Caleb and Emma had to jump over. It was several hundred feet down to the bottom.

Lovely picture of the family (minus one)

Squaw Canyon at Sunset.

Brad and Grammie have a conversation about either politics or health issues. Wait, is someone down there in that crack?

I took several picture just like this:

Before I finally got one like this.

On the last day we drove down the White Rim Road. It was quite an adventure, I think Grammie thought it was an adventure that lasted about an hour too long. Still, we got to see some fantastic scenery. I'm glad we went there. I'm also glad we were there when we were. The week after, there was a fugitive hiding in that area that shot a park ranger.

Headed down the White Rim Road.

With Wood and Susan not far behind...

Rugged terrain...

...so rugged that Brad had to get out and see which was the best way to drive.

Note the GPS on the dashboard. Proof that we were truly in the middle of nowhere.

The mighty, mighty Colorado

I opened my eyes long enough to take the picture. Watching my family on the edge of a cliff makes me nervous...Yeah, I'm weird that way.

It was a wonderful trip and I recommend anyone who has some extra time in the fall to head down there. The crowds are few, the temperatures are good and if you have someone fun to spend it with, it makes for pleasant holiday.

He's Golden

2010-11-10T08:39:00.074-07:00

Caleb had a big birthday this year. He turned 10 on the 10th (of November) in 2010. I mean how often does a chap have such a momentous birthday? Every hundred years or so. He was so excited and we are going to have a big friend party for him to celebrate. What did we actually do on his birthday? He stayed home from school with a bad tummy ache and a fever. So very, very sad. Last year for his birthday, he got the present of the H1N1 virus and a good dose of pneumonia thrown in because Swine Flu just isn't enough.
We did manage to have a little party for him on his birthday with homemade chicken noodle soup and rolls. We decided to save his fancy birthday cake for when his tummy felt better.

This is by far his favorite gift. Thanks Ed, for the Rajon Rondo jersey.

There are so many things about him that make him lovable and fun to be around for instance, I am always finding things in the freezer that he has frozen.

I think that is an eraser in the cup. I feel bad for his Lego guys, they are always getting frozen. My favorite was when he froze his Lego Indiana Jones guy. He explained to me that the reason his gun was drawn was because he was in a fight with the bad guys and they froze him with a freeze ray. Well, the freeze ray only works for five minutes so the bad guys put Indy in a giant cup and froze him. Oh Indy, won't you be surprised!

Caleb is always pulling weird faces that make us laugh. We're all crazy about him. Rachel and Emma sometimes spontaneously grab him and hug him and tell him he's cute. He doesn't like that very much.

He loves spending time with his family. Here they are at a Hunter family reunion.

He loves spending time with his dad. The night before his birthday, he was really sick and the girls and I were at young women. When I came home, he told me he had a good night because he watched the Jazz game (which the Jazz won in overtime) while lying on his dad. I wish I had a picture of that. Those two are really close and I love, love, love it.

Caleb at 3.

Looking at the Colorado River via the White Rim Road. Caleb at 10.

Did I mention that he was a really cute little boy?

This is one of my most favorite things that I have recorded ever. It was when I first got my camera and I was trying out the video function. I learned that I shouldn't rotate the camera because I can't rotate the video back when it was done. If I ever feel down, I can look at this video and it makes me laugh. Caleb is two in it. My favorite part is when he giggles because he is so pleased with himself.

He is so fun to have around! Everyone tells me how cool he is. I concur.

From Steam Engines to Graveyards

2010-11-08T15:08:00.001-07:00

On Labor Day, we did NOT labor or celebrate the fact that we are in an organized union (which we are not.) What we did do however, was hop in our car and headed toward Promontory Point.

I'm a little embarrassed to say that although I was born in Utah and have lived here my whole life, I have never visited this historic site. Brad hasn't either. Well, we remedied that situation. We got there just as they were retiring the Jupiter for the evening.

I told the kids how the Chinese were instrumental in connecting the continent. Caleb thought that was cool.

Just as an observation, Promontory Point is waaaaay out in the middle of nowhere. I'm glad we went but I'm not sure we will be going back there any time soon. On our way back, we went to the Farmington Cemetery where Brad's great-great-great grandpa is buried.

This is the grave site of Henry W. Miller. He lived in St. George and while he was visiting his brother Arnold Daniel Miller, he got sick and died. So, his final resting place is in Farmington. His wives and children are buried there too.

Henry W. Miller is quite prominent in Mormon history. He first met Joseph Smith when they were living in Quincy, Illinois. They joined the church and it is Henry and is brother Daniel, who were both carpenters, that built the aspen wood tabernacle where Brigham Young was ordained the second prophet of the church. Henry W.'s statue now sits outside the rebuilt tabernacle in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

He also crossed the plains several times leading wagon trains to the Salt Lake valley. We're pretty proud to be related to him.

We had a fun time looking at the pioneer headstones in the cemetery. Emma was pleased to come across this one.

Do you like how I inserted myself into Emma's picture?

Emma, Emma, she's always had a fascination with the macabre. We went to a ceramic store where you can paint and fire something once when the girls were younger. I let Rachel (7) and Emma (6) pick out something to paint. Rachel chose a heart-shaped plate. Emma chose an eyeball. I encouraged Emma to choose something else.

Emma loves this picture and the creepy way her face is washed out from the sun. I know her Poa Poa would hate it.

Labor Day was a good day for us this year.

Another Year Older

2010-11-08T12:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Brad. I love you.

It's Logical

2010-11-03T14:51:00.004-06:00

I had my sister-in-law Laura write on my facebook wall today. It said, "I'm missing your blog."

Sigh

So here I am. I thought I would access the dusty corners of my brain and come up with a logical equation as to why I have been behind on posting. Ready? Here it is:

Well, I was going to show you the logical equation for it but it turns out that I can't figure out how to insert an equation into a blog post. Sigh.

I really struggled in that class in college anyway.

To put it in plain English, it is:

The more significant events you have in your life worth posting about, the less time there is to do it.

So I'll work backwards and hopefully, I'll catch up before Christmas rolls around.

Channelling Our Inner Selves

2010-10-31T16:06:00.052-06:00

Our ward had a Halloween party at the local fun center that our neighbor is the manager of. I wasn't planning on going but Rachel, Caleb and my friend talked me into it at the last minute. We threw our costumes together in about 15 minutes. I think we look pretty good.

Meet Rachel a generic 18th century girl (did you know that they hid their cell phones in their sashes?)

Winnie the Witch

Caleb the Nerd

Emma is revisiting a costume from the past, an 8th grade girl.

Emma and Brad stayed at home and watched the World Series (go Giants!) It was interesting once we got there. Caleb took off with his friends and played in an area called the Blast Zone, which is exactly what is sounds like- a sweaty stinky place where boys get to hit each other with foam balls. I stayed on the sidelines and talked to my friend, and Rachel and her friend Bailey put on skates and stumbled to the rink. It was interesting to me because within 20 seconds (no exaggeration) two or three boys came over to "help" Rachel stay up on her skate. How nice.

So I think that Halloween is a time when you get to be somebody maybe you secretly want to be. Caleb decided that being a nerd was NOT what he really was (too close to home, perhaps?) and we had a change of plans. Rachel wasn't satisfied with her costume either. She improvised a pretty good flapper costume but she left before I got a picture. Caleb became one of these.

Oh yeah, my son is a Greaser.

I remained a witch. What does that say about me? Just that I really, really like my cool hat.
The pumpkins that the kids carved were pretty cool, too.

Caleb carved the Grim Reaper, Emma did Cinderella and Rachel carved the black widow.

Happy Halloween!

A Blessed Event

2010-08-26T14:21:00.002-06:00

After we cleaned up from String Lake, we went to Jackson Lake Lodge to bless this little sweetie.

Sadie and her mom

Dan worked at the lodge a few years ago and attended the branch there. The branch president was thrilled when Dan and Abby asked if they could bless Sadie there. It was a very spiritual meeting and I really liked the testimonies and how most everyone expressed their love for the Tetons.

In addition to our family that attended, there were many other families that were there for family reunions. One of the other families that were there that day was the family of Elaine S. Dalton, the General Young Women's President. Sara, Rachel, Sydney and Emma recognized her right away and they were really excited to be in a testimony meeting with her. After Sacrament meeting, Brad walked up to Sister Dalton and introduced himself and the girls. He then told her that Rachel sang in the General Young Women's Conference back in March and what a great experience it was for her. Sister Dalton then said that that was one of the best group of girls that has ever sung in the choir. Then she looked at Rachel and said, "You got a haircut since then haven't you?" There were over 200 girls that sang in the choir and she recognized Rachel!

The girls were giddy with the opportunity that had in talking with Sister Dalton. It was Rachel's Aunt Laura that put it the best, "If Sister Dalton, who is the General Young Women's President, remembers you and loves you, can you imagine how much Heavenly Father loves you and knows you?" It gave me goose bumps.

After the meeting, we went outside to take a picture (or two, or twenty). It felt weird to be so dressed up in the Tetons but we look good, huh?

Since Trent hadn't arrived yet, Caroline borrowed Sadie to hold.

Kate, she likes to walk the line.

If you are ever in the Tetons and are Jonesing for a good pizza, I highly recommend Leeks Marina.

The pizza is great and there's the marina close by to visit.

Lu and Kate entertaining themselves with what has entertained children for centuries, rocks and sticks.

We took up most of the restaurant some of us ate outside and some ate inside.

What a great way to spend a Sunday evening!

Can You Canoe?

2010-08-18T16:52:00.009-06:00

We went to String Lake with a couple of canoes and a lot of enthusiasm. Some of us went out into the lake, some of us didn't.

Some of us couldn't keep the canoe afloat:

I wonder if Max had anything to do with the canoe capsizing?

A waterlogged watercraft will NOT thwart the adventure. I love how Bennett and Reagan are still sitting in the boat.

Ellery responsibly bringing the life jackets ashore.

Some of us were just happy splashing on the banks:

I would keep these two if their moms would let me.

Some of us explored Skull Island:

Much to Grampa's concern, some of us went out on the lake with no adult supervision in the canoe. (For the record, they were never any farther than 20 yards away from the shore and the water is about a foot and a half deep there.)

Some of the dads went out on the lake to make sure all were safely gathered in.*

Brian and Brad being responsible.

and all of us had a good time.

*No kids were lost during the making of this post. The only thing that went missing is a single flip flop. Or would it just be called a flip? Maybe flop?

Jackson Hole

2010-08-16T21:08:00.004-06:00

July 30, we arrived in Jackson Hole for the start of the reunion. Grammie and Grampa, Derek and Laura arrived first. An hour later, Dan and Abby, Sam and Rachel and we arrived within minutes of each other. Then the rain started to pour. Did that stop us? Pshaw, it will take more than that!

We went to Miller Park and had a picnic of pizza under the pavillion.

Look at the sign, it really does say Miller Park.

I love this picture of Bennett, it shows what he likes to do best--be a ninja.

The next day we loitered around the town square, while waiting for the Tripletts to arrive.

When they arrived, we were very happy! So happy that we loitered some more.

We did a little of this,

and even a little of that

Then we all loaded up our cars and headed to the Tetons.

The Gang

2010-08-13T11:09:00.002-06:00

Here we are, the whole family. Well, almost the whole family...

He showed up the next day. And we were happy. Now we are complete.

Epic Adventure

2010-08-10T13:48:00.001-06:00

The logo that my friend Carrie and I designed for the tee shirts for the kids

Ah, the Tetons and Yellowstone! It holds a special place in my family's heart. We've gone there every year (ofttimes more than once) since Rachel was barely five weeks old. This year's trip to Wyoming was different -- it was the Miller Family Reunion. What does this mean? It means that Brad's parents, siblings, spouses and all the offspring that comes attached will descend on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem AT THE SAME TIME. If you are wondering about numbers, that means fourteen adults and seventeen kids, ranging from ages 16 to five weeks old. We celebrated a birthday, a wedding anniversary and a baby blessing the week we were there. There was so much to do and so much to see!

But today, I will just focus on the photo shoot we had on August 2nd. Since it wasn't my camera that took the pictures of the group as a whole, I'll just showcase the pictures of the kids and the events leading up to them. I think that they are a good indication of the general mood of the whole trip.

First there were the parents directing the children as to the behavior that was expected of them:

Then there was the selection of where to place the camera:

and the arrangement of bodies on the "Miller Fence". (Family pictures have been taken in front of that fence since Brad was a little boy. Needless to say, it was a requirement to take a picture there.)

Taking pictures with seventeen kids with a huge age range? Not an easy task.

Reagan, Campbell, Lucy and Kate were about done.

Then somebody (me) had the bright idea that everyone start crying. Then they wouldn't stop.

All the cousins in order of their birth, except for Sadie (17) who was carefully held by numbers 1 and 2. Campbell needed her mom.

Just the boys.

Just us.

Ooh, the Tetons are so pretty!

The five oldest

My goofy girls.

It was fun, if a little tiring.

If pictures aren't enough to show the chaos that was involved, I took a video of all the grandkids crying, some for real and some for dramatic effect.

Stay tuned for more of the events of the week...

Peas in a Pod

2010-07-30T23:27:00.003-06:00

Rachel: Mom, I feel sorry for you.
Me: Why?
Rachel: Because you don't have a sister and I'm so lucky to have Emma.

Emma and Rachel, two girls that are so different yet so close.

Here is the "secret handshake" that they showed me tonight.

They are lucky to have each other...and I am very lucky to have them both.

All Froth and Fun

2010-07-26T16:12:00.002-06:00

Lehi City apparently has a tradition called Foam Days. We didn't know about until this year. It is a fireman's fundraiser where they go to a park and spend several hours dousing everyone with fire-extinguishing foam. I took Rachel, her friends Emilie and Bailey, Emma and Caleb to the event. Do you think they had fun?

Here they are all clean and ready for fun.

Then mayhem ensues.

Belly slides

I would have jumped in more but I was worried about the camera.

Love the frog goggles, Bailey.

Same time next year?

Oh That Kid!

2010-07-26T15:42:00.001-06:00

Caleb was bored one day and dressed up. He makes me laugh.

All to End in a Yurt.

2010-07-25T14:52:00.004-06:00

View from our yurt.

Saturday morning we packed our cars and went to Rocky Mountain National Park. Rachel stayed behind to meet us on Sunday morning. We drove around and enjoyed the sights.

My sisters are weird.

There was a lot of driving. It really wears a person out.

We went on a hike to a place called Adam Falls. Bennett was asleep and Sam stayed behind to keep him company while we hiked on to the falls. I'm glad we did.

Have you ever stayed in a yurt? Do you know what a yurt is? A yurt is a circular tent-like structure that originated in Mongolia. Well, I can say that I have now had the opportunity to stay in a yurt. The 1/4 mile hike from the car would normally not be a problem, even hauling all of our gear except that there were heavy thunderstorms that afternoon and the trail was very muddy and wet. The little kids didn't care for it much but they were troopers. To tell you the truth, I didn't care for it much either, but seeing that I had to be the grown up, no words of complaint issued from my lips.

Once we got there, the party began. The yurt was very well stocked and Rachel and I cooked a dinner of soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. It was quite and adventure and I was a lot more comfortable than I expected to be.

In the morning, we ate breakfast and hauled out our stuff (with the word "stuff" to also mean some of the smaller people) and met Rachel and Campbell in Grand Junction to drive back home to Utah. I rode in Rachel's car with Caleb and her kids and helped her out and enjoyed some good conversation with her. With the help of her iPad, a couple of Ninetendo ds consoles and some really fascinating talking animal crackers, the drive was just fine. Brad and the girls had a quiet drive home and were able to spread out. My Rachel loved that she was finally able to sit in the front seat for a road trip. It was a great trip, I'd do it again in a heart beat. What do you say, Sam and Rachel?

Doing Whatever

2010-07-16T13:26:00.003-06:00

We didn't have any huge plans on Friday but I am a strong believer of having a day or so when on vacation when you just hang out. We went to see Toy Story 3 with Ellery and Bennett in the morning (absolutely loved it.) and then went swimming in the afternoon.

I wish I had a picture of Reagan twirling in the water. It is the picture of true bliss. That girl is a character!

That evening, we went to see one of Bennett's baseball games. Campbell and Reagan stayed behind with Rachel and Emma and they had their own fun at home. I think that small act alone made the evening much more enjoyable for every single person involved.

It was an easy day to prepare ourselves for the adventure that came next. The next day we will head out to Rocky Mountain National Park.