Halloween

Brooke's view of her "red sparkly slippers".



Brooke as Dorothy. Notice Toto has turned white.



This is the school Halloween parade. Ridge is the one with all the hair. Later he pulled the wig off and said, "I'm not being this for Halloween." The next night he went trunk-or-treating as a skateboarder.




This is me with my lovely sister-in-law, Carol. She forces me to dress up every year. She always manages to look better than me.





Here's my cute little "Twister girl" and her daddy, Zoro.


We interrupt everything in life to bring you Halloween. We enjoy dressing up. All these pictures were taken on Friday. On Saturday Hunter was "scream" with his friend. Koty was a rock star. I failed to get pictures of them. At the last minute Tim decided we were going furniture shopping on Saturday. We missed the rest of Halloween. The kids were on their own.

Remember me?

Hi,

Were you wondering if I fell off the face of the earth?

I'm in the middle of building a house, getting my masters degree in special ed., and raising teens/preteens/toddlers. Can you blame me if I can't get a minute to post a post?

Here are a few pics of the house. I don't know where I left off (I didn't take time to check.) so I'll just stick a few on here.

insulation, wallboard, brick

This is a sample of what the insulation looked like going in. Some was blown in and some was pushed in like these bats shown.

Here is the wallboard going in. It went pretty fast.

Here is the wallboard taped and almost ready for texture.

These are the stairs in the entry way. We decided to open them up with this angle piece.

Here is the brick going up. We love the brick. It's called "rustic sandia" made in New Mexico.

Digging, Pouring Basement, Framing

Framing
















This is inside looking toward the kitchen and laundry room and garage. The kitchen, dining, and family room is all one room.

























This is the back patio and the back of the garage on the right.

June 2009 -
Framing has gone really fast. We have 2 stories above ground. We're not going to finish the basement.





Digging and Pouring Basement











May 2009 -
The completed basement and the start of a floor.
The garage is in the foreground.

Forms for the basement walls.

Pump truck pouring the basement floor.

March 2009 -
It all started with one little hole.

The Start of Our New House

Well, here it is. This is the lot we're building on. This picture is taken facing south. The best views are taken facing north/west, toward the temple. I'll have to post a picture taken out of our windows.

Junior Prom

So, do you remember your Junior Prom? Here's Dakota at his. Doesn't he make a fine prom date? His date, Kenzie, is gorgeous isn't she. They've been friends since before kindergarten.

And this is the group they went with. Zach, McKenzie H, Kyle, Kamie, Kota, McKenzie B, Ashley, and Kovic. For their date they went to DI in Provo to buy each other outfits to wear, went mini-golfing at Trafalga, ate at Olive Garden, home to get ready for the dance, did the whole promenade and pictures, then watched a movie. They had a great time!

My Girls

So I create a blog, then I don't post anything for over a month? What's UP?

Cass is a dancer. She loves sports but she is a dancer too. Sixth grader so she has time to decide where her heart lies. This is her on the front left. She has good friends in dance with her.

And this is Miss Brookey K. She likes to paint. This is her spot at the bar where she paints and plays with Play Doh.

So glad I have a couple of girls. Those boys are fun, but thank heaven for little girls.

Pole Haven Sledding Tradition

Here are Cass and Brooke at Pole Haven on

New Years Day 2009. That's been a little tradition with the Miller Family for a few years. Most everybody was there ready for some fun.

This is Ridge on his board. He took some snowboard lessons at Sundance last year and really likes it.

That's Koty coming down on the left. He knows how to ride.

This is Hunter. He found a good jump up there and was trying it out.

And here is Miss Cassidy. She has been a good little skier but doesn't mind trying out the snowboard for fun.

Charger vs. Colts Nov. 2008

So here are the kids at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. Pretty Cool. There were about 68,000 people there with us. Wow!

This is Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison warming up. Yes, really.

This is Joseph Addai. I don't know these guys but the boys do. They're into the fantasy football and all that.

The guy walking toward us is Joey Costillo. Hunter's fav team is the Chargers. Koty's fav team is the Colts so it was fun to be there for that game. We had good seats too, thanks to Tim.

BEACH - Pacific Ocean

Look at that water that goes on and on forever. Don't you love to look out at the ocean?

It was a little chilly that morning but the kids had to get in and feel the sand in their toes and jump in the waves.

Splash! Too bad we didn't bring our surf boards. Oh right, we have snowboards.

Disneyland/California Adventure 2008

Brooke loved the parade and the princesses. She was right out in the road to watch. As the ugly stepsisters were fighting, one was pushed and landed right in front of Brooke. She leaned down and said, "Get Back!" in character, of course. Brooke looked at us like she wondered if that was OK. We all laughed so she did too. Later she told us, "The princess say, Get Back!"

Goofy is always a favorite. The big boys were off riding Tower of Terror and they all loved California Screamin'. My fav is Soarin' Over California. Never again will I ride Space Mountain. But if we ever get lost in Disneyland, I'll be at Indiana Jones.

Brooke loves Toy Story. We just had to get her this Jessie doll.

Thanksgiving 2008

Here we are in AZ for Thanksgiving. Older kids . . .

Younger kids . . .

Adults. Kar and Grandma S made a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanks and love you so much!

Halloween 2008

Yes, we like Halloween. Tim is an Elementary School Principal. Do you think he can NOT be something? I have to be something every year because of my sister-in-law, Carol. Oh, the pressure. This year I was Tiger Lily. Made my own costume thank you very much. Made Tim's too. :)

This is my sweet 8 year old boy. Totally his idea.

And here is Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. Aren't they cute?

Tinkerbell watching the Elementary Halloween Parade.

First Post

Hi everyone!
I'm a blogger. I decided I better join the blogging community. It seems like a great way to share thoughts and photos and such. So here goes . . . In fact maybe I'll do my Christmas letter this way. We'll see.