14 New Pictures

That's right everybody, Jack turned 6 months old 8 days ago and is now enjoying a new variety of food. So far he hates peaches as much as I hate cottage cheese, and loves bananas, peas, squash, sweet potato's, and pretty much everything besides the peaches.

Hallelujah, Idaho doesn't suck anymore. The snow melted and it's been sunny and in the high 60's for the last couple of days. Dustin set up the trampoline and Jack's been loving the little red swing. It's time I start spending more time outside, I noticed today that my legs looked almost see-through from being so white.

Jack is almost 17 pounds! It's almost time to switch car seats for him. Lillie can be in a booster seat with a back, and lets be honest, I can't carry a 17 lb baby in a 4 lb car seat.

On Friday night Dana and some of her girls, Elisha, and me and Jack went to Rigby High's production of Beauty and the Beast. It was great! I would recommend it to anyone. The costumes and set were amazing and it followed the movie pretty closely. Here's a picture of little Jack and Sayde (2 months apart) sitting together at the musical.

The girls loved Bell!

My favorite was "Be Our Guest." People came out as china, various silverware, and salt and pepper shakers.

Alli had her baby 5 weeks early, so her baby shower came 1 1/2 weeks after Brycen was born! On Saturday we had the shower. Alli got tons of cute baby clothes and blankets. I volunteered to make the cake, it was fun and pretty easy to make.

The table-scape.

Favors.

The quilt Grandma Hill made.

It's been a busy weekend, but a fun one! Last night Dustin took me out to the Drive-In to see "Bounty Hunter" and "Date Night." I've never been to a drive-in theatre, and I loved it! It was only 6$ a person plus you can bring in all the food you want. What a steal.

The Cocoa Bean

Okay Southeastern Idahoans, you win. All this time I thought Idaho had nothing good to offer me besides the amazing food selections at all my favorite franchises. I met my match on Friday when I stepped into this little cupcake cafe in Rexburg. I purchased the "Raspberry Chocolate Cheescake" cupcake for $2.75 and almost peed my pants. It was splendid, no, more than splendid. It was by far the most amazing moist chocolate cake topped with glazed raspberries, light cheesecake mouse, and a fresh berry anyone could purchase, anywhere... and it came in a really cool box.

Next time you're in Rexburg and are feeling down, are on your "you-know-what," or need a quick and easy Birthday present, head over to College Ave (across from Porters) and partake. That cupcake gave me all kinds of crazy endorphins.

Dustin got an interview!!

Some guy from Kartchner Homes (out of Idaho Falls, ID) called Dustin tonight around 4:45 and asked if Dustin could come in for an interview tomorrow morning. We're so excited! Finding a job these days seems impossible, so that phone call was a pleasant surprize.
Please say a prayer, or send positive energy, or whatever you do our way!

The past week.. sheesh!

Holy Moly.
Not only was it General Conference weekend, a weekend that takes up a good 8 hours for me, and 10 hours for Dustin (well, maybe more like 8 1/2. He doses off a lot.) but also Easter weekend. We had an egg hunt on Saturday between conferences at Aunt DeeAnn's house and another egg hunt Grandma Julie put on after dinner on Sunday.
Then, Alli went into the hospital around 8 or 9PM Easter Sunday and had their baby at 10:48AM Monday morning! He was 5 weeks early, but is doing pretty good. I'll have to dedicate a whole 'nother blog post to just baby Brycen Timothy Miller when I get more pictures.
Lillie and Jack got a really fun package from the "I-gotta-package-man" on Saturday. Lillie loves getting mail, and started laughing really hard when she saw the box! She opened it and told me what everything was. Grandma Diane really spoils our kids! Lillie and Jack are always getting fun things in the mail. Lillie loves talking on the phone to "bah-bah" and "Bap-bah" (grandma and grandpa).

Easter morning we made Lillie wait to go and see what the Easter Bunny brought them until Jack was finished eating. She was dying!! She really was excited when she ran out. The first thing she yelled was, "WOW!!!" And she was being a little pill when we tried taking the picture... typical Lillie.
Sunday afternoon Grandma Julie had her Easter Egg Hunt for the Miller grandkids. It was so much fun! Even Jack got in on the fun and played with all the bright eggs.

Angie was kind enough to hold Jack so that Dustin could help Lillie and I could take pictures.

Jack is getting so much bigger! He's always chewing on something.

The Easter Bunny must have been watching the ads and found some great deals on things to give to Lillie and Jack. He must have known that Lillie needed a trike! She loves it and rides it as often as the weather permits.

My favorite part of this picure is the wrench in Dustin's back pocket.

Here's baby Brycen!! This was taken about 1/2 hour after he was born. I love that little guy! Can't wait to hold him. Alli and Tyson are already really great parents. Dustin and I are so happy for their little family.

It wouldn't be Idaho if there wasn't a huge snow storm in April. This was all from April 5th-April 6th. It snowed about 7-8 inches in Ucon. Lillie loved tromping around in the snow. It was almost up to her knees! We had fun and made a snowman. Jack still fit into his snowsuit, too. We put him in the red swing for a few minutes. He loved it.

Welcome to Idaho, baby Brycen!

And did I mention through all of this we're potty training Lillie... again??! She's doing really great. It's been a million times easier than it went about 8 months ago.

This is the dress Grandma Julie gave all the little girls, BTW.

It was a fun Easter! Even though it was busy, Dustin and I still sat down with Lillie and explained in very simple terms what Easter is really about. I loved all the talks at Conference. Especially Elder Hollands talk at the end of the 2nd Saturday session, and President Eyring's talk at the very end of the 2nd Sunday session. I loved how so many talks were about eternal families and loving our neighbors and the power of Christ (atleast that's what stuck out to me). I'm very grateful that Dustin and I were able to be sealed together. I'm grateful to know that if we keep our covenants we can be together forever with our family. I'm grateful for Christ preparing a way for me to be with my family. I'm grateful for the safety and security of the gospel. I feel very blessed, even at our hardest times. I love the gospel and I will never be quiet about it!

Happy late Easter!

Jo Malone

Have you heard of this amazing-ness?? It's a fabulous collection of various scents you can wear alone or mix and match. The scents are mostly unisex, and all go together. There isn't any combination that wouldn't "go."

I'm embarrassed to say, but I'm thinking about starting up my own "fund" to obtain 3 or 4 or 6 of these bottles. I made fun of Dustin for creating his "Gun Fund" (A jar with a picture of some expensive, masculine, scary-looking gun he wants) ... but after the trip to Utah I'm thoroughly obsessed.

http://www.jomalone.com/

I want the following:

Lime Basil and Mandarin
Nectarine Blossom and Honey
White Jasmin and Mint
Amber and Lavender
154
Black Vetyver Cafe

"We're really doing it, buddy!"

It's true, we packed up our family and went down to Utah for Saturday and Sunday. We stayed at the awe-inspiring Hyatt Hotel in SLC. Lillie loved sleeping in her very own Queen bed.
Saturday night, after picking up good ol' Eric Harker, we all drove down to Orem to see Michael Holt in his show called "Dirty Rotten Scoudrels." Let's be honest, I was a little skeptical at first if I was going to like it, but after about 15 minutes I couldn't stop laughing. Dustin and I were almost in tears! Singing was outstanding, acting was decent, and Michael did a good job. Thanks for the tickets, Michael. We also went to an amazing pizza place called 712. Wasn't disappointed.
Dustin and Eric helped me pick out a new perfume. I've been in the market since January. Dustin found his Jean Paul Goutier, and I found my Chloe. I almost picked up another awesome perfume called Flower Bomb... but after going back and forth, I'm confident I chose the right one. It was a big decision, and I couldn't have done it without those two (and the 2, slightly pushy sales ladies).

Sunday morning we woke up and headed off to Magna to see our old friends at church. It was nice catching up on everything that's been going on and see all the new babies that have been born in the year we've been gone. We picked up some lunch, then headed over to Temple Square. It was a really nice day. Lillie loved running around in the mid-50's sunny weather. It was a great weekend.

People that Change Your Life

I've been thinking about the people that stick out in my mind who have impacted my life. Everyone has their own list of those meaningful people. Some of the people on my list I was never really close with, but being around them made a very positive impact on me.
(by the way, this list is on NO particular order)

1. Laurel Merz. One of the happiest, enjoyable people to be around. She has faith in everyone and is accepting of everyone. She's everybody's instant best friend, and is probably on everybody's "list" of most influential people in their life.

2. Summer. The boldest, kindest Relief Society President I've ever had. She was only 28 or so, but was a full-time firefighter until she had her baby girl (who was born the same day as our Lillie). She never hesitated to bear her testimony. Every time she did the spirit was so strong and brought me to tears. She always looked out for me that first, difficult year we were in Las Vegas.

3. Jen Hirschi. A forever friend. A person I have a strong connection with and who I look up to more than she'll ever know.

4. Randi Nordstrom (Alexander, now). My hero for many reasons. She was contagiously happy and hilarious. She always had a positive, optimistic attitude and taught me that my attitude was a choice, not a consequence. She also bluntly said to me after I was throwing a teen-aged tantrum about not being asked to prom, "Maybe you need to be humble." I think about it all the time!

5. Dana. The most giving, considerate person I've ever known. She always puts herself last and gives everything she has and can to everyone. She's one of my best friends, and is a 2nd mother to me. If I could choose to be like anyone, it would be her.

6. My husband. I married a perfect guy. He's very courageous and humble. He's very honest and open and does what's not popular. He never says no when he's asked to serve in any capacity, and always gives everyone the benefit of the doubt. He admits when he's wrong, and forgives me when I'm wrong. He's very supportive of me and my dreams, and earnestly tries to be better every day of his life. We've never been in any fights because he's so patient and kind towards me. He helps me to be better.

7. Kandis Broadhead. A very loyal friend. She's outgoing, hilarious, and giving. I remember coming home and finding delicious, homemade brownies on our front step, and her also bringing us a meal at a trying time. She rescued me when I found out we needed to take Lillie to Primary's (when she had RSV) and would send hilarious text messages at just the right time ("I am your brother, your best friend forever..."). Her and Dave befriended us when we were new in the ward. Her personality is so vibrant. She's a friend anyone would be blessed to have.

There are probably more people on this list, these are just a few who stick out in my mind tonight. I love all of these people. They've all taught me so much just by their example.