Miller Moments

3 months!

2012-01-30T18:03:00.000-05:00

Krew is 3 months old!! I feel like I just took his 2 month pictures, and now he's 3 months old. Crazy!

He is still such a good baby. He's been giving lots of smiles, and making lots of cute sounds. A few weeks ago he learned to say his "g" sound, so he's been telling us a lot about "goo" and "ga" and "ging." Last week he laughed for the first time! I was the only one home, and felt bad that I was the only one who got to hear it, but a few days later, he laughed for Bart too. Now we are just waiting for the giggles to be a regular occurrence!

His cheeks and thighs and tummy keep getting bigger and cuter! He's wearing size 6 months clothes, some that Kade and Ky wore when they were 7 or 8 months old. I guess he's just going to be a big baby!

Isn't he precious? I think I'm in love!

party time-lightning mcqueen style!

2012-01-30T16:44:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, we had a birthday party for Kade and Ky. Only a month late, but that's what happens when your birthday is four days after Christmas! They are obsessed with Cars 2 right now, and since I lifted my ban on tacky character parties (which I feel limit creativity, but are super easy) because I have a 3 month old baby, a Cars birthday party was the obvious choice. It turned out really cute, and I think everyone had a good time!

This Secret Agent Special mission scavenger hunt was my favorite activity, and I actually thought of it early that morning while I was up feeding Krew. Nothing like adding a game the last minute, but I'm glad I did because it was fun for the boys.

We also had a contest to see who could stack the most "tires" aka chocolate cheerios.

We went fishing for McQueen with Mater's tow cable, fixed the road (put together a road puzzle), raced cars on the race track, and went tractor tipping!

My incredibly talented friend, Brittney made this amazing cake! I'm so glad that I gave up on the idea of trying to make the cake myself this year, because this cake is a zillion times better than what I could have done, and the boys loved it. Kade and Ky greeted their friends as they came to the party by saying, "I got an awesome Cars cake; it looks real!"

a hockey game

2012-01-30T14:43:00.000-05:00

For Christmas, Bart's parents bought us tickets to a hockey game! They also gave Kade and Ky pucks and team shirts to wear to the game. Last Saturday was the big game, and Bart's parents came to our house to watch Krew so that the rest of us could enjoy the game without worrying about the baby. It was the first time I had left him with anyone else, so of course I cried all the way to the game. But, once we were there I had a great time. It was so nice to spend some time with Bart, Ky and Kade the way we used to.

We sat right behind the opposing team's penalty box, and Bart and the boys had a great time harassing the players that got put in there. Here you can see Kade's disapproval of this player.

And at one point, the other team had 3 players in the penalty box at once!

Apparently I disapprove of their silliness, or something like that.

Aunt Sadie was at the game with another group and she stopped by to say hi! We had such a great time, and the boys cannot stop talking about it.
Thanks Zen and Denni for the tickets and for snuggling with Krew while we were gone!

i have a chubby baby!

2012-01-30T13:48:00.000-05:00

My first two babies were tiny! Sure, they eventually got chubby legs, but they were still tiny little things. But, I finally got myself a chubby baby!

See?

There's lots more squishiness for me to snuggle!

krew's baby blessing

2012-01-17T17:23:00.000-05:00

We started 2012 with a very special day. On New Year's Day, Bart gave Krew his baby blessing. It was such a special day. Bart gave such a beautiful blessing, and Krew was an angel. At one point during the meeting, I looked down at my adorable, sleeping son, all dressed in white, and wrapped in the baby blanket my mom crocheted when Kade and Ky were born. I realized that I had dreamt of that moment for so long, and now that it was here, it was as special as I could have hoped for it to be. I feel so lucky that my Heavenly Father would send such a sweet baby to our family, and that Bart is worthy to give him such a wonderful blessing.

My three sons! Aren't they handsome?

While the guest of honor was sleeping, we got a picture with Bart's side of the family, who we were lucky enough to have at the blessing. Maybe someday we'll get a picture of all of us, plus Krew!

After the meeting, we came back to our house and had a nice, little luncheon. Aren't all these neck-ties so cute?

m-i-c-k-e-y, why? because we love you!

2012-01-10T16:19:00.001-05:00

We love Mickey Mouse at our house, and I was thrilled when I saw the cute outfit my parents bought for Krew! I happen to think he's the cutest Mickey Mouse I've ever seen!

6!

2012-01-10T16:07:00.001-05:00

On December 29th, Kade and Ky turned 6 years old!! I can't even believe it. On the one hand, they are so smart, they constantly amaze me with what they know and what they can do, but on the other hand, it seems like it was just a few short months ago that they were my tiny babies!

The HUGE disappointment this year was that we were all so sick on their birthday! Ky had actually gotten sick first, and was feeling mostly better by that morning, but Kade, Bart, me and my brother and his wife who were visiting us, had all been so sick that whole night before and could hardly get out of bed that day. I was heartbroken that we couldn't spend the day celebrating them and making it such a special day. But luckily we were able to spend the next couple of days doing things to help them have a happy, delayed birthday.

Grandma and Grandpa Adams gave them each Build-a-Bear gift cards for Christmas, and they couldn't wait to go make some new friends. It's almost as much fun for me to watch their excitement in that store as it is for them to pick out what they want and watch their animal "come to life."

We ended up with a Spider-man bunny and a Soldier camouflage bear.

Saturday night, instead of celebrating New Year's Eve, we decided to continue to celebrate their birthday since we still hadn't really done it right. We let the boys pick where they wanted to go out to eat, and they chose Applebees. The first time the waiter came to the table, Kade told him that it was their birthday and that they needed all the waiters and waitresses to sing to them, not the regular happy birthday song, but one with lots of clapping. The whole time we were waiting for our food, and eating, I could tell that they were both just waiting to be sung to. And, the wait staff at Applebees did not disappoint! They started singing and clapping from across the restaurant and made sure everyone in the whole restaurant knew it was their birthday! Let me just say that my boys loved the attention (I wonder where they get that from?) !

I asked them a few questions about themselves so we can remember what they were like when they turned 6!

Kade:

What's your favorite food: Peanut butter and honey sandwiches
What's the best thing about school: My friends
What's the worst thing about school: You have to work all day
What do you want to be when you grow up: A race car driver
What are you really good at: Football
What is your favorite movie: Cars 2
Who is the coolest person in the world: Krew
If you could do one thing all day: Play video games-especially NCAA football
What is the best place in the world to be: Disney World

Ky:

What is your favorite food: Macaroni and Cheese
What's the best thing about school: Gym
What's the worst thing about school: It's too long
What do you want to be when you grow up: A boxer
What are you really good at: Video Games
What is your favorite movie: Tron
Who is the coolest person in the world: Krewbee
If you could do one thing all day: Play video games-especially Lego Star Wars the Complete Saga
What is the best place in the world to be: Disney World

I feel so lucky to be Ky and Kade's mom and I have loved these past six years, and I'm excited to see what this year will be like with my two six year olds!

P.S. I'm kinda in love with the fact that even though they didn't hear each other's answers to the above questions, they both said that Krew was the coolest person in the whole world!

christmas 2011

2012-01-10T15:24:00.000-05:00

We had such a great Christmas this year. It was a little different because we didn't have any family around, but after I changed my expectations about what Christmas is supposed to be like, we made some fun plans and had a great time.

Christmas eve we spent with some friends from church, had a great dinner and watched the kids act out the nativity. It was such a great evening.

Kade and Ky had been reminding me all day that they get to open one present on Christmas Eve, because it's a rule. I explained to them that it wasn't a rule, but a fun tradition, so of course they got to open their Christmas jammies that night. Kade and Ky got Transformers pajamas, Krew got football pajamas, and Bart got grey plaid pajama pants.

One of the very best gifts I've ever received:

Christmas morning, after all the gifts were opened, we all had a few hours to play with our new toys. Bart set up the Hot Wheels track that goes on the wall, while I curled my hair with my new curling iron. We all went to church together (something that never happens now that Bart is in the Bishopric), and although he didn't get to sit by us, I enjoyed listening to his impromptu help with the Christmas program!

After church we played some more and got things ready for our Mexican Christmas dinner. Bart had been talking to his Mexican patients and co-workers and learned that for them, it's not Christmas dinner unless they are having tamales and posole. So, he arranged to have some made for us. We invited our friends, Derrick and Brittney Rust to join us in our Mexican Christmas Dinner since they were without family this year too. It was a fun evening, and although we missed being with our families, we all decided it was a great Christmas!

Below are a few videos of Kade and Ky opening their stockings and gifts from Santa. Watch them if you have a few minutes, or if you just miss Kade and Ky and want to hear their cute voices!

happy 2 months, krew!

2011-12-28T21:13:00.000-05:00

Krew is 2 months old today! He is growing so fast, and changing every day.

He's starting to smile a lot and sleeping quite well at night. There have been a few nights this past week where he slept 7 or more hours in one stretch, ate and went back to sleep for a few more hours!

The most common comment we get from others when they see him is something about "all that hair!" He certainly doesn't look like a 2 month old with so much hair and those big chubby cheeks!

He is so much fun, and we all feel so happy that he has joined our family!

merry christmas! (2011 "christmas letter")

2011-12-22T15:22:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

This year I have had to simplify some things. With a new baby in our home (not to mention two almost-six-year olds), I just don't have enough time or energy to do all the Christmas-y things I want to this year. So I decided that anything that didn't help create Christmas memories for my kids, or teach them about the true meaning of Christmas, was out this year. I didn't bake a variety of goodies to take to my friends and neighbors (store-bought gifts for them this year), I didn't put up all my Christmas decorations (don't worry-the house still looks very festive), and I'm not printing and mailing Christmas cards this year (consider this your Christmas card!)

I had to remind myself that Christmas will come again next year, but my tiny baby is already not so tiny, and I'd rather spend my time snuggling with him and getting excited about each sound he makes, and each smile he gives me, than worrying about some of the less important details of this Christmas season.

But, if I had sent out a Christmas letter, this is what it would have looked like:
(click on the links for more info about each event)
This year has been a wonderful one!

In January, Bart started a new job. He was sad to say good-bye to his job working as an Otolaryngology PA, but also excited to start working in a family practice clinic, where 90% of his patients are Spanish-speaking. He is loving being able to use his Spanish, work in family medicine, and he especially loves his pediatric patients. I love that he no longer takes call, and only works until noon on Fridays!

After nearly two years of trying, March brought us the news that we were finally expecting baby #3! We couldn't have been more excited! Soon followed the fatigue and morning/all-day sickness, but let me tell you that it is way easier to be pregnant with one baby than with two, and I really enjoyed being pregnant. Luckily I was starting to feel better by the time Kade and Ky got out of school for the summer, so I had enough energy to keep up with them!

Kade and Ky were on their first sports team this spring. They played soccer and had a great time. It's so fun watching 5 year-olds play soccer! They played so hard and had such a good attitude. They haven't decided if they want to play soccer again, so we'll have to see what this spring brings.

In May, Bart had a PA conference in Las Vegas, so I decided to tag along so we could have one last getaway before the baby came. We ate lots of yummy food, saw a Cirque du Soleil show, and were amazed at the oddity that is the Las Vegas strip! It was a great trip and will hopefully hold us over until we are able to get away just the two of us again some day!

In August we all went to Iowa on vacation. We were able to see lots of Bart's extended family and it was nice to be able to reconnect with them. We spent one day at Adventureland, playing and the water park and going on lots of rides. We ended our trip by spending a day at the Iowa State Fair, where Kade and Ky won a ribbon in the Most Alike 5 year old category at the Twins, Triplets and More contest.

In September, Kade and Ky started Kindergarten! It's all-day here, and was a huge adjustment for them and for me. I suddenly had 7 hours to myself! I filled my days working on projects to decorate the nursery, and tried to rest my ever-expanding body. After about a month Ky and Kade decided that they like school, and they are really excelling. They even meet with the gifted and talent teacher for reading once a week. Now they love to go to school and have made lots of friends there.

Perhaps my favorite single day of the year was October 28th, when baby Krew was born! He has been such a sweet addition to our family and we are all in love with him! Kade and Ky are such good brothers and help me with the baby so much. Krew is a really good baby, and usually only cries when he's hungry or has a burp stuck (he's a very spit-upy baby!). He's growing way too fast, which makes me sad, but this time around I know that there are so many fun stages ahead, that it's okay to let him grow up!

This year we feel that we have so much to be thankful for! Our Heavenly Father has watched over us and taken care of us, and it's nice to be able to take some time this Christmas Season to think about Him and the ultimate gift He gave us, the birth of His Son, Jesus Christ. May the true spirit of Christmas be with you and yours this holiday season!

Love,

Bart, Ashli, Ky, Kade, and Krew

visit with santa and mrs. claus

2011-12-19T11:49:00.000-05:00

Santa and Mrs. Claus came to our house early this year! Bart's parents dressed up and came as Santa and Mrs. Claus to our church Christmas party. It was so fun to see Kade and Ky's reactions when Santa walked into the gym, and then to watch them as they realized it was grandpa. Then when I said, "No, that's not grandpa it's Santa," you could see the wheels turning in their heads as they tried to figure out what to think about who this guy was! By the time they came to our house afterward though, they were pretty convinced that it was grandma and grandpa.

We also got Krew's first pictures Santa. He wasn't very happy about it, but I don't think it had anything to do with who was holding him so much as the fact that I woke him up for the photo op.

Merry Christmas!!

one month already!

2011-11-29T16:52:00.001-05:00

My sweet, tiny baby is one month old already! How did that month go by so fast? It's amazing to me how much Krew has already changed. He's outgrown quite a few of his newborn clothes and is already too big for newborn diapers. His face looks much less like a newborn and he has a cute, pudgy little belly. (So much different than my tiny newborn twins were!)

I am so loving this newborn phase and I don't want it to go by so quickly. I love that when I hold him, he feels like a warm ball of dough. I love the way the top of his head smells. I love all his little tiny parts. I love watching him fall asleep in my arms. I love all the funny faces he makes, like smiling in his sleep, his "bird face" ( this is what we call it when he goes cross-eyed and puckers his lips at the same time. Kade had the same great bird face.), the face he makes when he hears daddy and I can tell he is listening intently. I love his awesome hair! I love how hard he arches his back when he is sleepy. I love how in love with him his brothers are. I love the feeling I get when I think about how long we waited for him to come to our family, and the fact that now he is actually here!

Happy one month birthday, Krew! You are such a blessing to our family!

thankful

2011-11-25T19:01:00.001-05:00

Thankful:

Yesterday's tryptophan induced snooze

Thankful, Thankful:

At IHOP on the last day of "two sons and mom"

Thankful:

enough said

The above three pictures are evidence that I have been so blessed and I have so much to be thankful for. Sometimes I can't believe that I have everything I always wanted, and I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and is taking care of me. He has given me so many things, but these are the four that I couldn't live without.

"Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God’s love" ~Thomas S. Monson

more of krew's first days

2011-11-16T17:37:00.001-05:00

Krew is already 2 1/2 weeks old, and growing so fast! Looking back at these pictures taken during his first few days of life, makes me realize how fleeting this newborn stage is. Luckily, I am so enjoying having a newborn this time around. I always said I felt like I got robbed of the newborn phase with Kade and Ky because two newborns is just too hard. But this time around I'm loving this phase, with all its newness, wonder, snuggling, pajamas-all-day, watching this new baby change every day.

It was so fun watching Kade and Ky meet their baby brother the first time. These pictures show really well how fascinated they are with him, and how proud they are to be big brothers.

Within the first few minutes after he was born, Bart noticed that Krew inherited his mommy's webbed toes. I think it's pretty special-evidence that this is my baby!

krew's first day home

2011-11-07T13:32:00.001-05:00

Last Sunday, Oct. 30th, we were able to bring Krew home. Our first day together as a family of five was perfect and something that I will always cherish. I had thought that I would want to spend as much time in the hospital being taken care of as possible, but when Sunday morning came, I was ready to go home. I missed Kade and Ky and I was excited for us all to be home together. Plus, I knew they were dying to have mommy (and Krew) home again.

We got Krew all ready to come home. He did not like his car seat, and this is the only picture I could get where he wasn't screaming.

When we pulled in the driveway we saw this cute welcome home sign that Kade and Ky made (with a little help from uncle Bret and aunt Charise).

First, we were able to spend a little bit of time visiting with Bret and Charise who had stayed with Kade and Ky while we were in the hospital.

We were able to take our first family picture as a family of five! Don't I have the most adorable guys in my life?!

Ky and Kade took turns holding their new baby brother. They loved this. They would hold him for a long time, and just look at him. It was so neat watching them fall in love with their baby brother. And they have been super big brothers. They are constantly asking if there is anything they can do to help take care of Krew, and they get really concerned if he is crying. It's going to be so awesome watching these three boys grow up together!

That evening we carved pumpkins. This was the first year that Kade and Ky have really been excited about helping and designing their own pumpkins.

I think they turned out pretty good!

We ended the night setting off some fireworks in honor of Krew and his coming home to join our family. I love fireworks, and watching them while holding my brand-new baby, thinking of how long we waited for him, and what a precious miracle and blessing from heaven he is, was such a special moment.

baby krew is here!

2011-11-02T15:54:00.001-04:00

Introducing Krew Adam Miller!

Our sweet little boy was born Friday, October 28, 2011 at 8:03pm. He weighs 7 lbs. 8oz. and is 21 inches long. We are so happy to have him in our family, and we couldn't be more in love with him!

First "smile"

my baby shower!

2011-10-21T21:24:00.001-04:00

Last Thursday my friends Greta and Bryn threw me the most amazing baby shower! It had an argyle theme to perfectly match the baby's room (pictures of that to come shortly). Also, the food theme was, "cinnamon." Many of you know that Bart is allergic to cinnamon so I don't bake with it at home. So, especially this time of year when all the yummy fall treats have cinnamon, I start to feel like I'm missing out. So, these cute girls filled my baby shower with lots of delicious cinnamon-y goodies. It was all so yummy!

We played two fun games that night. The first one, everyone took a paper plate and a crayon. They placed the plate on top of their head and had to draw what they thought my baby would look like. Then, I got to look at all of them and pick the one I liked the best. They were so hilarious that I was nearly crying I was laughing so hard. (You can see me laughing behind Bryn in the following photo).

For the next game, Bryn had placed little baby items in ten different paper sacks. Then we each had to feel the items without opening the bag and guess what was inside. I got all ten right!! I must be amazing or I've just spent the last several months looking at baby items trying to get ready for our little guy to come.

After games it was time to open presents. Everyone was so generous and gave such nice gifts. The whole time I was opening the gifts, I was barely holding my emotions in check. I couldn't believe that after all this time, after all the waiting, and heartbreak, and tears, that I was having a baby shower! I didn't know if I would ever get to open a gift with a tiny outfit inside again, and it was all I could do to hold back the tears. It helped that each and every gift was so fun, that they made me smile and ooh and aah!

My friend Bryn made this adorable yarn and argyle "K" that perfectly matches the nursery. It makes me excited to finish taking pictures of all the cute details in the baby's room and post them here. And yes, his name is going to start with a K, just like his older brothers.

doctors in training

2011-10-15T13:55:00.000-04:00

Last week we took Kade and Ky to a class at the hospital called, "Big Kids and New Babies." It was a class to help kids know a little about what to expect when a new baby joins the family. There was a really silly video for the kids to watch about how they might feel when the baby comes, and what the new baby can and can't do. Each child was supposed to bring a stuffed animal or a doll, so my boys came prepared with their teddy bears. The teachers showed them how to hold a baby, how to burp a baby, how to swaddle a baby, and how to put on a diaper. They practised all these things, and were so proud of themselves when they were able to put the little diaper on their bears. Then we got to take a tour of the labor and delivery floor so they could see where mommy is going to have the baby. Then, they got to decorate a bib for the new baby.
It was really fun to hear the comments they made about their little brother coming, and since that day, I have seen them practicing some of the things they learned. For instance, the other day they found an empty toilet paper tube and were trying to put some of their toys through the tube. The teacher said if the toy fits through the tube, then it is too small for the baby. So, it was cute to see them trying to figure out at home which toys they could share with their brother and which ones they couldn't.
I can't wait for this little guy to join our family, and I'm excited to see Kade and Ky as big brothers!

35 weeks!

2011-10-03T12:31:00.002-04:00

I can't believe I am 35 weeks! We are definitely in countdown mode at this point! We have been working so hard getting the nursery ready (pics to come soon!) and getting out all of Kade and Ky's old newborn clothes, purchasing things like a stroller and car seat, diaper bag, bouncy seat, diapers and wipes. I finally feel like if our little guy were to come soon, I would feel mostly ready. I'm amazed at how good I feel at this point. First, let me just say that it is so much easier being pregnant with one baby than it is being pregnant with two! Second, with as sick and tired as I was the first trimester, and most of the second trimester, I was worried that I was going to feel gross the whole pregnancy, but the past couple of months I have had more energy than I expected. Sure, I feel completely run-down by about 6:00 every evening, but even still I can't complain. Also, I am a tad bit worried, because I know how active and loud and rambunctious my other two boys are, and this little guy is already so wiggly I'm afraid he might be even more rambunctious than his brothers are. If so, our house is going to be crazy and LOUD! But we are so excited for this little one to join our family. We have waited so long for him, and we just can't wait to meet him!

two little piggies!

2011-09-30T12:13:00.002-04:00

Yesterday morning the boys were on the front porch waiting for the bus and talking to me through the window screen. It wasn't long before they started making piggy faces and I'm super glad I had my camera handy. Aren't my little piggies adorable?

(camera timer) family photos

2011-09-08T17:40:00.009-04:00

So, we finally got around to taking family photos. I wish we would have done it about a month earlier, before my baby bump got this big. Oh well. I really wanted some semi-decent photos of our family before the baby comes. We have been a family of four for more than 5 1/2 years, and I wanted some pictures to remember that before we become a family of five!

Let me just say that it is lots harder to get good shots of four people (especially when two of them are 5 year-olds) when using a tripod and camera timer than it is when I can just be behind the camera. But, it was free!

kindergarten-here they come!

2011-09-06T13:20:00.004-04:00

Thursday was Ky and Kade's first day of kindergarten. They were so excited. They woke up bright and early and got ready quickly. They kept telling me how excited they were. Kindergarten here is all day, so we packed their lunches, got their backpacks ready and headed outside to take pictures. The boys wanted to leave right away, but because they had gotten up and ready so fast, we would have been 30 minutes early! They could hardly stand waiting, but we finally made it to the school. Everyone lined up in their classes outside the school as they waited to go in. It took quite a while to make sure all the kindergartners were standing in the the right lines, that they all had their name tags on, and for the teachers to explain some procedural things to the parents. The boys were too excited and did not want to wait any more! While we were waiting, I kept thinking I should tell the boys not to cry, but I realized that the only one in danger of crying was me! Sure enough, as soon as I watched them walk into the school I turned around and the tears started to flow! I told Bart I had it more than twice as hard as any other mother there. No one else had to send their TWO oldest (and for now, only) kids to kindergarten for the first time at the same time! Plus, being pregnant, I'm more emotional anyway!
I was sad to see them go, knowing that they were now going to be in school all day, every day for a long time, but excited for all the things that lie ahead for them. And even though I missed them a lot, I made the most of my time alone. I cleaned the house (and it stayed clean all day!), I went to a doctor's appointment, went shoe shopping, baked cookies, and read a good book! Not too bad for one day!

the rest of the day at the iowa state fair

2011-08-31T16:44:00.009-04:00

The Iowa state fair was so huge that we were there from 8am to 5pm, seeing as much as we could all day, and we didn't come close to seeing half of the fair. It's no wonder people camp there the whole week!
Anyway, our favorite part of the fair (apart from the boys winning a yellow ribbon) was the Little Hands on the Farm. It was this really cute, very well organized way to teach little kids about what goes on on a farm and how things get from the farm to their own houses. Kade and Ky loved it!
They started out planting "seeds" in the garden. Then they each "harvested" what they had planted and put it in their basket.

They got to pick "apples" from the tree

And ride tractors around. They even learned how some of the crops they harvested are used for the fuel for their tractors.

They learned about sheep and wool and what is made out of wool

And they got to "milk" this "cow." Then they took all their goods and "sold" them at the farmers market where they earned a "dollar" that they used at the grocery store to buy themselves a treat. It was such an awesome exhibit.

These baby ducks reminded us of our baby ducks we had last year.

Aren't these baby ostriches the cutest? I wish this picture gave you a better idea of how spiky they looked.

So the Butter Cow is a huge part of the Iowa state fair, and this year they celebrated 100 years of the butter cow, so it was an even bigger deal. Can you believe that detail, made out of butter?

What's a fair without some yummy fair food? Kade went with a classic fair corn dog.

Ky wanted a turkey leg-totally his idea. Look how it's almost as big as his head!

The boys shared this yummy lemonade,

And the huge turkey leg. It was such a fun, exhausting day. It was even a lot for my boys who never seem to run out of energy, and do not sleep in the car. They were out within minutes.

tractors!!

2011-08-31T11:29:00.004-04:00

After the twins contest, the next thing we saw at the fair were all the tractors! The boys had a great time climbing up into each one and posing for a picture. If it had been up to them, they probably would have sat in each and every tractor at the fair. I couldn't believe how huge some of the tractors were, or the fact that some of them cost more than $500,000!

They also liked this car, and ever since, Ky has been telling me every day that when he grows up he wants a convertible!

a yellow ribbon at the state fair!

2011-08-25T12:02:00.005-04:00

While we were in Iowa, we knew we had to check out the Iowa State Fair, which is one of the country's biggest state fairs. Seriously, I could not believe how huge it was! The day we were planning on going happened to be the day they held the Twins, Triplets, and More contest. We entered the boys in the "Most Alike" category (the other category was Most Different). It was so fun to see so many multiples, of all ages in one place! There were several sets of triplets, a set of quadruplets, and one family that had two sets of identical twins, a couple of years apart.
Kade and Ky waited for their age group, which was the 5 & 6 year olds. They started with the babies, and worked their way up.

Most of the other groups were less than 10 sets, and when they got to Kade and Ky's age group and category, there were 19 sets of twins and triplets. Here we are all lining up on the stage. The woman running the event stopped and had each of the children tell their name and where they were from. Every once in a while she would ask an additional question. Well, when we had registered that morning, she said something about their missing teeth and I told her that the week before they had lost the same tooth on the same day. So, after she asked Kade and Ky their names on stage, she asked Kade if there was a funny story about losing their teeth. He proceeded to tell a very lengthy story about how his fell out, but it took some nudging from me before Ky told about losing them the same day. It was pretty cute!

They gave the top 5 entries ribbons, and Kade and Ky came in 5th place and each got a yellow ribbon. I was such a proud mama! 5th out of 19-not too bad!

Here they are with their ribbons. I laughed when I got home and saw this picture-the picture that I took with their ribbons they won for looking the most alike, and they look totally different from each other in this picture. So, lest you think that the judges were just plain wrong, I give you the following picture, taken the same day to show that they often do look very similar:

iowa trip: part 1

2011-08-23T20:25:00.007-04:00

A few weeks ago we went on a road trip to Iowa to visit Bart's extended family. The boys did amazing on the long car ride there, and the drive went fairly quick. Our first day there we went to Adventureland for a day of rides and playing at the water park. The boys have no fear when it comes to rides, and rode everything they were tall enough for. Even when I got worried that they wouldn't like the ride because they might be too scared, they laughed the entire ride and always said it was their favorite ride-every time!

Bart's cousin's daughter, Anna came with us for the day to show us around the park and help take the boys on the rides that I wasn't able to go on. It was fun to have her with us.

I think this may have been Bart's favorite ride. Doesn't he look thrilled to be on it?

This is the best picture of the day. This is one of the rides that I was worried would be a little too intense for Kade and Ky. But you can see by the expressions on their faces that they loved it! It was such a fun day and a great start to our little vacay!

july madison trip

2011-08-14T20:07:00.005-04:00

We just got back from a week in Iowa visiting Bart's extended family, but I want to keep my posts in order, so stay tuned for that post later.

At the end of July, we went to Madison to spend the weekend with Bart's brother Bret, and his family. We had such a great weekend full of fun things to do and really enjoyed the time we got to spend with Bret, Charise, Cooper and Lynndon.

The men started the weekend off with a round of golf, while us moms watched the kids play around outside. Then on Saturday, we got up and went to the zoo. It's the perfect size to explore for a morning, plus it's free!

Cute Lynndon!
Bart and his brother Bret pretending to be a lion and a zebra

Ky and Kade as chicken and egg

I call this one, "how do you squish three kids and a pregnant mom into a tiny train caboose"

Later that day we went to a really fun splash park where the boys ran around and had a great time.

That evening we went to the coolest mini-golf course ever. We've been there one other time, so this time we tried the other course. I liked the first one better, but it was still a lot of fun.

There were a lot of water hazards, and Bart had to help the boys get their golf balls out of the water lots. I began to think that the boys were getting a kick out of hitting their balls into the water and were doing it on purpose.

Thanks Bret and Charise for entertaining us for the weekend. We had such a great time!

300th post!

2011-08-01T22:08:00.012-04:00

I love looking back at the list of 100 things about our family that I made for our 100th post. So, in honor of my 300th post, I thought I should attempt to do another 100 things about us, because 300 would be way too many!
1. We have lived in Wisconsin for 3 years now.
2. Sometimes we miss living in Florida and Utah, (me more than Bart) but right now, this is home.
3. Bart and I have been married for over 8 years.
4. We dated for 11 months before we got married.
5. We still have "Fun Family Friday" every week and we eat pizza and watch Man vs. Food or Mythbusters while we eat.
6. I have seriously perfected my homemade pizza after all these years of making pizza twice a month.
7. Bart and I love having a TV show that we watch together
8. We prefer to watch it on Netflix, because we are too impatient to wait a week between episodes and we don't like commercials.
9. We have watched The Office (first 2 seasons) this way, all of Lost (except the last season which we watched on TV), every season of 24, and now we are watching Parks and Recreation. We need a new one.
10. Last year, we went to Utah twice: once for our summer vacation, and the second time for my brother Jonathan's wedding to my new sister-in-law Katherine.

11. Whenever I go to Utah I make a list of things I want to do.

12. 75% of this list are places I want to eat. Top of this list is Cafe Rio.

13. This year we have been on "vacation" to Las Vegas, Minneapolis (twice for me), Madison, and Chicago 2-3 times.

14. Kade and Ky's ideal vacation is anywhere with a hotel and a pool. We can be doing something really fun on vacation and they will keep asking when we are going back to the hotel to swim.

15. I'm 27 weeks pregnant!

16. We think we have a first name picked out for this little guy, but are FAR from picking a middle name.

17. Bart called the Olive Garden last night where I was having dessert with my girlfriends, to have someone come find me and let me know my husband was trying to get a hold of me. When I called Bart, he said he just wanted to tell me he loved me.

18. It reminded me of when I told the announcer at the baseball game we were at to announce that it was Bart's 23rd birthday because he always thought 22 was a weird age.

19. Bart recently changed jobs to work in a (mostly) Spanish-speaking family practice clinic.

20. I always feel like a minority when I go visit him at work.

21. Bart always makes the boys say things in Spanish while we are there.

22. I have picked up some random Spanish phrases over the years.

23. I can now say, "Where is the bus to Cancun?" "I can cook in the kitchen with a fork," "I want Taco Bell," and "This is not my puppy" in Spanish. It never comes in handy.

24. Kade and Ky lost the same tooth (bottom, front-right) on the same day.
25. I have to eat cold cereal for breakfast. Even on days where I don't eat breakfast, I don't really feel like I can start my day until I eat a bowl of cold cereal.
26. The first trimester of this pregnancy, I practically lived off of cereal (often dry) and Gatorade.
27. I don't normally drink Gatorade, but when I'm pregnant, I drink more than any human should consume in a three month period.
28. Before we found out the gender of this baby, I had three dreams that it was a boy and two that it was a girl. I was right the first two dreams.
29. My favorite dessert at this point in my life is warm cookies or brownies and ice cream.
30. Kade and Ky would pick bubble gum over just about any other sweet most of the time.
31. Kade STILL will not eat noodles.
32. Both Kade and Ky ask for seconds on their vegetables often, and never ask for seconds of anything else.
33. Every time I eat crab or lobster I think it's the best thing I have ever eaten.
34. Bart and I like to talk to each other about our pet peeves.
35. I can't stand when people mispronounce "thank you." It should be the same th sound as "thistle," not the same th sound as "the."
36. It drives Bart crazy when people use the word "alls" because it's not a word at all.
37. He also can't stand when people say "plus it," "minus it," or "times it."
38. I was awarded the "Math Wizard" award in 3rd grade.
39. Kade and Ky start all-day kindergarten in four weeks (don't get me started on the all-day part).
40. They are both reading really well already.
41. Last spring when they were tested, Kade was reading at an end of 1st grade level, and Ky was reading at a beginning of 2nd grade level.
42. They both still weigh less than 35 pounds.
44. Bart can't sleep with the bed sheets tucked in at the bottom.
45. I have a life-long dream of somehow obtaining a shirt or hat made up for a championship, with the team that lost. You know they have to make some for both teams. I want one that is wrong.
46. Kade and Ky have recently become Justin Bieber fans.
47. They are also in a Pokemon phase right now.
48. Before Pokemon they were into Iron Man and War Machine, Transformers, Star Wars, Alvin and the Chipmunks one at a time this past year. Who knows what will be next.
49. My favorite color is pink. Whenever my boys ask me my favorite color and I tell them it's pink, they get frustrated that it hasn't changed yet.
50. Red Robin is our default restaurant when we can't think of anywhere else to go.
51. I always get the Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich there. Yum!
52. My boys jump up and down while playing video games. The. Whole. Time.
53. They love to play the Lego video games.
54. They also love to play with Legos. They can keep themselves entertained for hours with their Legos.
55. I have a love/hate relationship with their Legos. I love that my boys play so well with them, that they use their imaginations, and learn small motor skills. I hate that I am always stepping on/cleaning up their Legos.
56. When I was young, I got to watch The Lion King before it came to theaters. It's one of my favorite Disney movies ever.
57. I love Disneyland and Disney World. I pretty much think that 90% of family vacations should be to one of these magical places.
58. We won the stay in Cinderella's Castle in 2006. It was amazing!
59. Walt Disney and I share our birthday. That should mean I should get free Disney stuff, right?
60. Kade was worried that this baby would be a girl and that he would then have to watch princess movies.
61. Kade loves to run. He likes the challenge of racing others.
62. He won a medal from beating all the other 5 year old boys in a kids' race this summer.
63. Running is my least favorite form of cardio. I've never liked to run.
64. Bart and I challenged each other to run in a 5k next summer. This will be a much easier goal for him than for me, but I told him he has to push the baby in a stroller while running it.
65. Kade and Ky know the following words in spanish: water, milk, juice, pants, hello, good-bye, throat,stop, let's go and probably a few others that I have forgotten.
66. Things I resisted liking as long as I could, and now enjoy: the Twilight Saga, and Facebook.
67. I've been eating blueberries like crazy during this pregnancy.
68. When I was pregnant with Kade and Ky, I craved and ate lemons. I ate them the way people eat oranges. And I couldn't get enough.
69. Bart and I have perfected homemade buttered, salted popcorn.
70. When we were first married and both in school, we would stop studying every night in time to watch Letterman and eat popcorn.
71. We rarely watch Letterman now, but we still like to eat popcorn.
72. We went to a taping of the Tonight Show with Conan during his small stint as host. It was such a fun experience.
73. Bart and I went rock-climbing for the first time last summer with my brother. I climbed up faster than Bart did, but to his credit, I had actual climbing shoes on and he had sneakers.
74. I love Swedish Fish.
75. I used to like Sour Patch Kids, but didn't really like the sour part. I was excited when I found out that Swedish Fish are just the same but without the sour coating.
76. Chocolate is by far my favorite sweet. I have to have some every day.
77. I love fireworks! The sight, the smell, and mostly the sound. I like the ones that are so loud you can feel them.
78. One of our first dates, Bart took me to a place where he knew we could watch some fireworks from a local baseball game, but didn't tell me that's why we were there. I think that's pretty much when I knew I wanted to marry him.
79. Kade and Ky love to swim. They like to jump in from the side over and over and over.
80. I have coloring-changing toenail polish on right now. It changes in the sun, and I'm pretty much fascinated by it every time I go outside. And I've had it for 4 years, and it never gets boring.
81. I like food situations where there are lots of choices of something, like various toppings for ice cream, a variety of sauces for hot wings, different flavors of marshmallows for s'mores, salad bars, etc.
82. I like most of my foods separate, Bart is a put-it-all-in-one-bowl-and-stir-it kind of guy.
83. Bart sleeps on the right, I sleep on the left.
84. I have a really hard time telling left from right. It helps if I think about a left-hand turn, because it's so much different than a right-hand one.
85. Someday I want to choreograph a dance routine to the song "Come Together" with clips from the Beatles version, the Michael Jackson version, and the Aerosmith version all put together.
86. Our song is "There's Only You" by Kevin Sharp.
87. The first time we danced was under the stars to that song.
88. Bart asked me to be his girlfriend after we had dated for four months by giving me a CD with the song "Girlfriend" by N'Sync and Nelly. The chorus starts, "Why don't you be my girlfriend?"
89. Ky wants to be an astronaut when he grows up.
90. Kade wants to be a hero when he grows up.
91. Ky's favorite movie is Star Wars.
92. Kade's favorite movie is Transformers.
93. Ky's favorite treat is popsicles.
94. Kade's favorite candy bar is Butterfinger.
95. Ky's favorite food is spaghetti.
96. Kade's favorite food is grilled cheese sandwiches.
97. I love going to car races. Especially when they do figure-eight racing. It's the best!
98. Bart loves college football, and of course he cheers for the Gators!
99. We feel so lucky to have such awesome family and friends all over the country!
100. I'm glad that I made it to 100!!

another car trip

2011-08-01T21:57:00.003-04:00

We have been in the car a lot the last few weeks and we are planning another road trip next week. It's a good thing we look cool riding in our swagger-wagon!

minneapolis

2011-08-01T21:35:00.003-04:00

Bart grew up in Iowa until he was 14. Last weekend, his best friend from Iowa got married in Minneapolis, so we made a quick trip out there to be at the wedding. We had a packed, fun weekend that included a stop at a little zoo, a marathon shopping trip at IKEA, finally using a gift card that we got for Christmas to P.F. Chang's, the wedding, swimming in the hotel pool, and Ky getting sick.
Before we even made it to the hotel, we stopped at the Como Zoo to see some animals and the neat conservatory. My favorite were the poison dart frogs, and watching Kade and Ky.

Ky loved this map and looked at it every few minutes to let us know what was coming up next.

Saturday afternoon was the wedding. It was at the hotel we were staying at which made it so convenient with two five year-olds and a pregnant mama who needed a break, and to go back to the hotel room before Bart did. Here are some pictures to show the wedding from a five year-old's perspective:

The only part that was bad was my sweet Ky getting sick Sunday morning, and throwing up all the way from Minneapolis home. It made for a long car ride, and I felt so sad for him, but we all survived, and I'm glad we were able to go.

trial run

2011-07-28T15:07:00.007-04:00

So, being a photographer means that I can take nice pictures of my friends and their families, but I'm embarrassed to say that we haven't had any decent family pictures of our own taken for a couple of years. I just can't stand the thought of paying another photographer to take pictures and not have them turn out well, when I "could do it myself for free." I put that in quotes because obviously that's easier said than done. It's hard to be on both sides of the camera at the same time. So, last month I loaded up my camera and tripod to get an idea of how it would work to take pictures with the camera's timer function. So, without thinking about what we were wearing, or the location, or the lighting, or whether anyone had done their hair, we did a trial run of family pictures. Here's what we got:

Let me just say that it's a lot easier to get nice pictures of a group when I can take a bunch of pictures before we change poses, and when I can double check that no one is going to get their arm (or head) cropped off. Five year-olds don't stay still very well and when they have to keep sitting still while I run back and forth from the camera, they get cranky quick. But, it may work to get a decent picture for now, and then after the baby comes maybe we can hire a real photographer.

24 weeks!

2011-07-21T09:47:00.005-04:00

I hadn't really taken any baby bump pictures up to this point, so I decided I should have Bart take some of me at 24 weeks. Some days I still can't believe this is real! But then I look down, or I get kicked and I figure it must be real!

summer time fun!

2011-07-16T11:16:00.006-04:00

Here are a bunch of pictures from some of the fun things we've been doing this summer! One Friday night while my mom was here visiting, we went to a baseball game. It was such nice weather, the game was exciting, and there were fireworks after! After the fireworks were over, the kids got to run once around the bases. Such a simple concept, but so exciting for 5 year-old boys!

The next day was a Family Fun Run put on by our church. They do a 5k, and a kids run. Kade and Ky took their race so seriously, and Bart and I have both challenged each other to run the 5k next year! This is a huge deal because I HATE running. I would rather do twice as much of any other cardio activity than run. But, I'm going to want some motivation to work hard after the baby comes, and it might be nice to have a goal and accomplish something as horrifying as a 5k! (I know all you runners out there are laughing at me, but seriously, in my mind, running=torture.)

And they're off!! Both of the boys ran the entire 1/2 mile without stopping, or slowing down. They did not get their running skills from me! All the kids ran together, but they divided up the winners by age and gender and the winner of the 5 year-old boys category...

Kade Miller! Ky was only about 4 seconds behind, a nice 2nd place finish. After it was over I thought they should have held hands as they crossed the finish line so they could tie, but I guess they are going to have to deal with one or the other being better at some things their entire life, but it was hard to watch Ky be disappointed when Kade's name was on the poster, when his name was called, and when he got his medal. All because of 4 seconds.

The next weekend, Bart volunteered to work the first-aid booth at the nearby Native American Pow-wow. So, the boys and I tagged along for a while to see what it was all about. It was fascinating to see all the amazing costumes and to hear the music and see the dancing. What a rich culture!

Isn't this little guy so cute all dressed up! I love it!

Another fun outing the boys and Bart took was fishing with Grandpa Zen. They had a good time, and came home with a fun story about how Kade almost caught a fish, only to have it get off the line as they were pulling it up in the air. Oh well!

We are having a fun summer, and we are trying to soak up every ounce of warm weather we can! We are also trying to enjoy the freedom that comes with no school, less routine, and enjoying this last summer we have as a family of four!

happy 4th of july!

2011-07-14T22:56:00.003-04:00

We had a great 4th of July weekend this year! We started by dropping a small fortune on fireworks. We lit some of them off on Saturday night, and some on Sunday night. On Monday morning we met up with two of my cousins and their families that I have not seen very much of the past several years. It was fun to see them and their kids and watch a parade. In my opinion, it's not a proper 4th of July without a good parade! Then we did some shopping (where I bought some really cute baby clothes, that I definitely don't need), took a lovely 4th of July nap, had a BBQ and ended the night watching the big fireworks downtown.

it's a(nother) boy!

2011-07-02T14:19:00.003-04:00

That's right, Kade and Ky are getting a little brother! We had our ultrasound a few weeks ago, and found out that we are expecting boy #3! The boys are both super excited about having a little brother, and for all the things they are going to teach him about, like football, golf, Star Wars, Transformers, etc. I'm excited to watch all three of my boys interact, and to go through all the many boxes of Kade and Ky's old baby clothes to get ready for this little one's arrival. Plus, I just saved a small fortune by having another little boy rather than a little girl that I would have to buy a whole new wardrobe for. So, what to do with all the money I'm saving...

i'm officially a soccer mom

2011-06-15T17:46:00.003-04:00

I'm officially a soccer mom! And here's why: I now have a mini-van, I'm expecting baby #3, and my two oldest are in soccer! It's been so fun watching Kade and Ky in their first team sport. 5 year-olds playing soccer is more entertaining than watching professional soccer (unless maybe if David Beckham is playing, but that's besides the point). The kids all go from really into the game one minute, to totally distracted the next. The teams are co-ed, which usually means there is some crying every game when someone gets knocked down (sometimes it's not even the girls crying). The coach rarely puts Kade and Ky in the game at the same time, but on Monday, while they were both playing offense at the same time, Ky kicked it really well, and set up Kade for his first goal!! They were so excited and celebrated with a hip bump!

Kade
Ky

I know it might sound cheesy, but I can't believe that right now in my life I have everything I dreamed of having when I was a little girl. In my life, I am right where I've always wanted to be, and I hope I can treasure this time.

Plus, I get to watch every game with this attractive man (who also happens to be the father of my unborn child :) ), so life is pretty sweet!!

last day of school!

2011-06-12T17:59:00.003-04:00

Last Monday was the boys' last day of 4 year-old kindergarten, or 4K. They have had a great year, and have grown a lot. It was hard for me to let them go, and adjust to having them gone 4 mornings a week, but we survived, and the boys did great!
Here they are on their last day with their teachers, Miss Stacie and Mrs. Kempf. They adored their teachers and are going to miss them.

Here they are with their best school buddy, Ashton. The three of them got along so well, and Kade and Ky always had lots of stories to tell us about what Ashton said, and what Ashton did. It's fun to watch them grow up and make friends, outside of the kids whose parents I hang out with. I'm sure Ky would have liked me to take pictures of him with a lot of the girls in his class, because Ky liked to make friends with the little girls, but everyone left too quickly for that. Oh well, I'm sure there will be lots of little girls in his kindergarten class next year that he can make friends with!

Way to go Ky and Kade! Mom and Dad are so proud of you for all you learned and did this year at school! You are amazing, smart little boys, and we love you!

viva las vegas

2011-06-08T11:23:00.007-04:00

Last week, Bart and I went to Vegas just the two of us for a few days. Bart had a conference to attend out there, so we decided I should tag along and have a few days just the two of us before this baby comes. We spent the trip taking awesome hold-the-camera-at-arms-length-and-take-pictures-of-yourself photos. They don't always turn out the best, but it's fun that our photos all follow a theme!

At the airport

This is the awesome ceiling in the Bellagio lobby. It's made of huge glass "flowers." So pretty!

We spotted Micheal Jackson while we were there :)

This picture behind us is made of real, live flowers

Someone took pity on the fact that we were trying to take all our picture ourselves, so they took this one for us. It's nice to have a photo that's not so close up.

Bart in front of Caesar's Palace

This is the Monte Carlo where we stayed

If I look a little sick in most of these pictures it's because I was. Not horribly sick, but I was so congested-hence the Rudolph look I'm sporting.

ooh, yummy!

How patriotic!

Notice the palm trees? I LOVE palm trees!

In front of the pirate ship--which reminds me, we saw the new Pirates of the Caribbean while we were there. Awe.some.

Gelato! Doesn't it look awesome? Too bad we saw this fancy gelato 2 minutes after we bought some other not-so-fancy gelato. Oh well, ours was still tasty.

Our Vegas photo book wouldn't be complete without a picture of us in front of the slots!

We had such a good time and it was fun to see all the craziness that is Las Vegas. One of the funnest things we did while we were there was see a Cirque du Soleil show-Mystere. It was incredible, and it made me want to see another one before I left, but we didn't. The last night I was there, we went to a buffet with Bart's uncle Von who was out there for the same conference. It was fun to eat crab legs, shrimp, chicken, pasta, etc, etc, etc. It was yummy food and I liked being able to just take a little bit of a lot of different food (except the crab legs which I took lots of!).

But, the yummiest thing we ate while we were there was a chocolate crepe at the Bellagio. It was a huge crepe, covered in brownie pieces, chocolate sauce, and chocolate shavings!!! Wow! We had to wait quite a while for it, and while we were waiting Bart said, "This had better be the best crepe I have ever had." And guess what? It was!

Thanks Bart for such a fun trip!

lambeau kids run

2011-06-08T10:59:00.002-04:00

The middle of May, there was a fun kids run that occurred in conjunction with a marathon and 5k that were being held in town. The boys still remember the "big race" they ran in Tampa and they were so excited to run in this one. Plus, they were excited to be able to run in Lambeau. Unfortunately, that morning was drizzly, and so cold. We were pretty miserable and it was so disappointing because it was really well put together.
Here we are before the race, notice how red our faces are, because they were frozen!

When it was almost time for the 5 year-olds to run, Bart went inside the stadium to video the boys and I went to wait in line with them. Just moments before it was their turn, I learned that they "highly recommend" a grown up to run with the kids at this age since otherwise they can't be seen as they run through the various tunnels, and kids this age have been known to stop, or cry, etc. So, I ended up running with them. I am not a runner to begin with, plus running while pregnant, with morning sickness, carrying my purse, 3 extra jackets and a sign we made to hold up at the finish line was a little less than fun. But, the boys had a great time, ran the whole way, and now I can say I ran through the players' tunnel, and around the field at Lambeau!

biker buddies

2011-05-24T11:54:00.002-04:00

We just bought Kade and Ky their first "real" bikes and we have been having so much fun with them. The weather has been so cold and wet this spring that we have had a hard time getting out as much as we would like. Ky keeps saying, "I'm sorry I keep wanting to go for a bike ride, I just love my new bike so much!"

Ky's funny joke as he was riding his bike through puddles the other day: He noticed that after he rode through the puddle, that the tires would make a line on the ground back behind him. So he decided that his bike was a "line backer." Get it? Ha ha.

2011-05-16T13:30:00.004-04:00

Last week a few friends and I threw our friend Greta a baby shower, just 6 days before she welcomed baby #3, a sweet little girl!

Brittney made these gorgeous, delicious cookies. She's amazing!

Oh, and she made these light, airy, minty meringue drops. Told you she was amazing! And what a fun color too!

These are the coconut lime cupcakes that I made. Aren't they cute? They were yummy too.

We had lemonade with limes and blackberries (in keeping with the color theme, of course)

We first played a fun game that Bryn put together. She had 11 paper lunch sacks with various baby items in each one. Everyone had to feel what was inside and try to guess what each item was. It was so much fun, and some of the items that should have been easy stumped a lot of people.

We had each guest bring a baby picture of themselves and everyone had to guess who was who. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be, but a lot of fun.

And of course, as is standard for me, once the party got started I didn't take any pictures. Which means I don't have any pictures of the guest of honor, or any of the other guests. I don't have pictures of everyone having a good time, and I don't have any pictures of the cute little girl clothes and gifts that everyone brought. Some day I am going to figure out how to play host and photographer at the same time, I hope!

the one with the "friends" party

2011-05-11T11:22:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, my friend Brittney hosted an awesome Friends (the TV show) party. I love the show and actually felt a little sheepish that I never hosted a Friends party before! Unfortunately there ended up being a huge snowstorm that evening, so I think we missed a few people who couldn't make it that far in the storm (yes it was the end of April, in case you were wondering). But, we had a great time with those that came.

Of course the inside of the front door had to have one of these awesome, iconic frames. Great touch!
So, Brittney asked each of us to bring a Friends inspired treat to share. Once I started thinking about it, I came up with about a gazillion ideas, and had a hard time deciding what to bring. Here are some of my ideas:
~G. Stephanopoulos' pizza
~ the Joey special-two pizzas
~sandwiches (especially meatball subs)
~cheesecake that had been dropped on the floor
~a lasagna with a blue fingernail in it
~ruined potatoes
~fajitas
~mac & cheese
~bowl of cold cucumber mush
~ a side salad-"what would you like that on the side of?" "Why don't you just put it right here next to my water."

I'm sure I had some other ideas, but this is all I can remember now a few weeks later. I was planning on bring a "plate of fries for the table" or the buffer fries, but because of the snowstorm, I wasn't going to make any extra stops.

Once I thought of this next idea (actually to be fair, I think Bart came up with this one, along with several of the above ideas), I knew it was going to be THE one. Okay so remember the episode where Rachel decides she is going to make dessert for Thanksgiving? She ends up making a "traditional English trifle." Or so she thinks.This is what she says as she describes how she made it:
"It's got all of these layers: First there's a layer of ladyfingers, then a layer of jam, then custard-which I made from scratch-raspberries, more ladyfingers, then beef sauteed with peas and onions, more custard, and then bananas, and then I just put some whipped cream on top!"

I loved this scene and so I decided to replicate it as closely as I could.

Doesn't it look yummy? Even with the beef and peas? It was delicious!*

Brittney made flan. Remember the birthday flan? Ha ha! She also made some yummy bread sticks with "squeezed tomato" dipping sauce. Get it?

I also brought Yoohoo and funny straws in Chandler's honor. (As a side-note: I don't think I've ever had a Yoohoo, and I don't think they taste very good).

There were also the yummiest cake balls! Delish!

We chatted, we played a Friends trivia game, which was poorly designed and the instructions made no sense, but the questions were fun, and Brittney and I tied for first! I'm such a geek!

We ended the evening watching my all-time favorite episode: The One With All the Wedding Dresses. I think almost every scene is my "favorite scene," and I just can't stop laughing.

Thanks so much for the fun night Brittney!

* Oh, and please don't be worried. I didn't really put beef or peas in the trifle. The "beef" was Cocoa Krispies and mini chocolate chips, and the "peas" were little Sweetart balls. But they sure looked realistic, at least from a distance.

april catch-up

2011-05-09T09:47:00.006-04:00

I have been so bad about keeping up with what has been happening around here. I've just been too sick and too tired to do much of anything. So, here is one big post about what I missed in April.
This picture of Bart and Ky makes me smile. I'm not sure what they were watching/playing on Bart's iPod but it must have been funny! This is what our backyard looked like on April 20th! That's right the 20th! It had been such a cold, crazy spring around here. It had better warm up soon or we are all going to go crazy!

The day before Easter, Bret and Charise and their kids came up to color eggs and have pizza with us. This was the first year that Kade and Ky wanted to keep coloring eggs until there were no more eggs left to color. In the past they have each colored a couple and then I am left alone in the kitchen to color the rest. But this year, between us all we colored 2 1/2 dozen eggs and the boys would have colored more if we had more. It was a lot of fun!

Cute Cooper smiling for the camera

Some of the finished products!

Easter morning we had a little egg hunt around the yard from the Easter Bunny. Luckily the snow had all melted by then, but notice the boys are wearing boots because it was so soggy!

Too bright!!

At the end of April, the boys and I went to a wildlife sanctuary nearby. I think it was the one sunny, warmish day of the whole month, so we had to take advantage and do something outside.

The highlight of that trip was seeing these cute little baby geese. The boys could have watched them for hours, and they kept telling me, "Take another picture!"

catching the royal spirit!

2011-05-02T16:51:00.003-04:00

I loved spending time on Friday watching the royal wedding! It felt so magical and romantic. There were so many times that I had to remind myself that what I was watching was real life and not a Disney movie! I got goosebumps when the two princes were shown riding to the abbey. Seeing Prince William in his red uniform and everything else he was wearing, made me smile! I seriously thought that he looked like Prince Charming--and he is-for real! I loved Kate's dress, all the amazing hats, the accents, the inside of Westminster Abbey, the kiss(es) on the balcony, and especially watching them ride away in that gorgeous open carriage!
Kade and Ky watched a few minutes of the wedding with me, and I asked them if they wanted to be a prince and they both gave me an emphatic NO! But they both decided that they wanted to be the royal guard with helmets, swords and shields. Luckily they each have a little knight costume, so they put that on. Then they told me that they were missing the feathers on top. So, a couple of bunches of feathers, some pipe cleaners and a bit of hot glue later, and here is what we came up with:

Aren't they the cutest royal guards ever?

That evening, we had a service auction at church to raise money for the young women's camp this year. Bart bid on and won a replica of Kate Middleton's engagement ring, which also used to be Princess Diana's ring. I think it's pretty awesome! Now I can pretend that I am a princess!

the post i thought might never happen

2011-04-23T13:36:00.002-04:00

After nearly two years of trying, Bart and I are THRILLED to FINALLY announce that we are expecting baby #3!!!
I'm due the first week of November, but we are shooting for 11/11/11 because that would be the coolest birthday ever! As you can see we had an ultrasound over a month ago and we saw ONE tiny, fluttery heartbeat, so it's not twins this time. Honestly I would have been thrilled if it was twins again (maybe a little less thrilled if it was twin boys again), but I've also heard that having only one baby at a time is a nice way of doing things, so we'll give it a whirl!
Kade and Ky are excited to be big brothers. Some days they say that they don't care if it's a boy or a girl, but most of the time they want a little brother. And, they want to name him Luke Skywalker Miller. Oh, and Kade does not want it to be a girl, because he does NOT want to buy princess movies!
These past two years have been filled with lots of disappointment, lots of tears, lots of prayers. There have been lots of doctors visits, dozens of ovulation predictor kits, and far too many negative pregnancy tests. Days of trying to keep our hopes high, days when we wondered if this just might not ever happen for us again, and days where I wondered if we were sent two babies the first time because it was our only shot. Days when I felt guilty for wanting more, when I had already been given the two most amazing kids ever, to days when I truly felt blessed that I even had two kids.
Through it all I have learned a lot about trusting in the Lord and His plan for me. I have learned a lot about the importance of growing from our trials, not simply enduring them. I have learned some about how to choose to be happy, even when things aren't going how you expected them to.
Hopefully I can be a better wife, and a better mother because of what I have learned. I see this pregnancy as a blessing from above and not just something that is supposed to happen because I wanted it to. And I see this precious life that is growing inside me as nothing short of a miracle!

time out for women weekend

2011-04-19T13:27:00.002-04:00

Last weekend, my friend Greta and I drove out to Minneapolis to attend Time Out For Women. It's a two-day seminar put on my Deseret Book. There were lots of awesome speakers and some great musical performances. We learned all about how to be better in our different roles as women: as mothers, friends, and daughters of God. I was amazed how all the speakers could have us all laughing one minute, and the next minute we were in tears because we were all touched by the Spirit. What a great time! Not to mention the 10 hours driving that Greta and I had to chat. There aren't many people that I could talk to for 10 hours in two days, but I'm lucky to be Greta's friend.

One of the reasons I was so excited to go was because my friend Whitney's singing group, Mercy River was going to be there to perform. Whitney and I became friends when we lived in BYU married student housing (Wymount) and Bart and I liked to show up on their doorstep, usually Sunday evenings, and expect her, her husband Rock, and their one-year old, Braden to entertain us. We have kept in contact with their family these past seven years, but it had been a while since I had seen her. Watching her singing group perform was so worth the long drive!

Here Greta and I posed with Mercy River. Because we knew someone on the "inside," We got to have front row seats, and lunch backstage with the presenters. It was nice to feel so special!

My friend Whitney and I. Can you believe that she is pregnant with baby #5?

mini photogs

2011-04-08T10:46:00.002-04:00

I just uploaded pictures from a camera that we rarely use, only to find tons of pictures that the boys have taken. Apparently they use the camera way more than I knew about. I thought I would post a few of the less random ones. (Yes, most of the pics were way more random than these). The really funny part was all the videos they took with the camera. I'll have to see if I can upload some of them so you can hear how silly my boys are!

is it spring yet?

2011-03-27T11:45:00.007-04:00

The boys had spring break this past week, but it sure doesn't feel like spring around here. Their "spring" break included a snowstorm that brought 17.3 inches of snow in one day. This picture is all new snow. The snow that piled up all winter had finally melted a couple days before the snow hit. We are anxious for the actual spring to get here, but in the meantime, we've been trying to do some fun things indoors. A few weeks ago we headed down to Chicago for the weekend. We swam in the pool, Bart went to the temple, we went to IKEA, we ate Giordano's pizza, and went to Legoland Discovery Center. The boys had a blast! Check out this awesome re-creation of Chicago, all in Legos.

I love this bridge in Chicago and it's fun to see it done with Legos.

The boys were in love with this Darth Vader and R2-D2. I think this right here was the highlight of their trip!

Dad and boys made race cars and raced them down a ramp. They could have done this for hours if it hadn't been so crowded.

Also a few weeks ago, a few friends and I took our kids to a children's museum. It was so much fun, and if it weren't for my parking time limit, I think we would have stayed there all day. The boys loved dressing up and pretending they were fire fighters.

There was also a fun water room. What little kids don't love playing in water? I remember when I was little, I would push a chair up to the kitchen sink just to play in the water. (Who needs a fancy children's museum anyway?)

While the boys were on spring break, Bart took a couple days off so we could all play. Thursday we went bowling and I could not believe how well the boys did! First time not using the ramp, and they both got close to 100! (With bumpers of course.)

Ky is using "the force" to try to get his ball to knock down more pins. I think he did this almost every time.

That evening we met up with some friends at a sports grill to watch the Florida vs. BYU basketball game. As you can see in this picture, Bart and Kade were cheering for the gators, while Ky and I cheered for the cougars. I was sad that BYU lost, but I couldn't be sad that the gators won!

The boys didn't last the entire game, but a soft chair and Daddy's iPod did the trick.

One thing about Ky's BYU shirt. That afternoon we were talking about who was going to cheer for each team. Ky said he wanted the cougars to win, and I was feeling bad that neither he or I had a BYU shirt. So in less than an hour, and using what I had around the house, I made us each a BYU shirt using my silhouette machine. My shirt was blue with a white logo, and I just ironed my logo on, but didn't stitch it so it could be removed, but I sewed Ky's on, and since then, the boys have fought every morning who gets to wear the new BYU shirt. Not bad for throwing it together last minute, if I do say so myself!

going green!

2011-03-05T18:09:00.005-05:00

We have been growing tired of the "home-builder beige" wall color and so we decided to go green and let Kade paint the walls.

Actually we let both boys paint the sample colors on the wall, and none of these colors won.

But a few more sample colors and a few more spots and we had picked our color. I don't have a really good before pic of the kitchen/living room wall, but this gives you a pretty good idea of what it looked like before. We also painted the wall by our fireplace and around our pantry door in the kitchen.

Before

Bart did all the painting and only had one incident wherein he stuck his toes in the paint tray!

What do you think?

After

Dining area in kitchen after

This wall around the pantry is my favorite part about the change. I just love the way the angled walls pop with the color.

I didn't contribute much to the wall color, but I did make this wipe-off menu that matches. It's so handy and cute!

sledding fun

2011-03-01T13:20:00.007-05:00

While trying to make the most of the ridiculous winters here, we took the boys sledding. They had a blast! They've been three times this winter which I think is a pretty respectable number, considering.

This video of the boys sledding down the hill together is short, but pretty funny.

splish, splash, painting in the bath

2011-02-20T18:07:00.003-05:00

The other day, I made the boys some bathtub paint using baby shampoo, cornstarch and food coloring. I figured it was a fun way to pass the time in the tub, and and easy way to clean my tub walls!
Aren't they amazing artists? I think the tub looks kinda neat this way.

The boys were having a great time, and I thought I could catch a picture of them to show how much fun they were having, but as soon as I got their attention and they saw I had my camera, they immediately put on their silly "picture faces." Oh well!

packer fever

2011-02-05T17:27:00.002-05:00

In case you were wondering if things are getting a little crazy around here in anticipation of the Superbowl, let me show you a few pictures of what I found at the grocery store this week. I also wish I could give you a feel for how I can't turn on the radio without hearing some song that they've taken and turned it into a "Packers-are-going-to-the-Superbowl" song. They are all high quality too, let me tell you. Anyway, back to the grocery store. (Sorry for the poor-quality cell phone pics again.)

(These are Packer rice krispie treats)

Cheese

Our grocery store has a fun kids area where I can drop the boys off while I shop (best. invention.ever.) While they were there, they got to make Packer decorations. This was the second week in a row that they made something to do with the Packers.

Yes, Kade made a Steelers helmet. Not sure what that is about...

Oh, and I took this one at Wal-mart today. It's crazy! I wish I had gotten a picture of all the employees at the grocery store in their Packer jerseys. Oh, and at school on Thursday the boys made Packer banners and watched a video from last time the Packers won the Superbowl. All the schools in the area get a day or two off next week just to celebrate-win or lose. And I thought people were Packer-crazy before.

brave boys

2011-01-30T17:33:00.003-05:00

Last weekend we went to a kid's science expo here in town. They had lots of fun hands-on science exhibits, and overall we had a good time. ( We did not like waiting in long lines only to be disappointed by an exhibit.) My favorite part was the dragon's breath. They had taken little pieces of graham cracker and froze them with liquid nitrogen. So, when you put them in your mouth and chewed them up, it looked like you had smoke coming out of your mouth and nostrils. Super cool! We did it over and over.
Then we saw this booth where they had lots of people holding/wearing snakes. I thought the boys were brave for getting this close to this huge snake, plus you can see that one of them is touching it. Yuck!
Then they both decided they wanted to hold a snake. What?!! Are you kidding?! Nope. They weren't. See:

Check out the clear box behind Ky's head--full of snakes. I seriously have nightmares about snakes crawling all over each other like that.

The mama bear in me wanted to protect my children from these horrible monsters, but I tried to be brave for them.

Yuck! Is it on me? I feel like it's on me!

"i can't eat noodles"

2011-01-24T12:15:00.002-05:00

My son Kade has refused to eat any noodles for years. Remember this incident? In fact he dislikes noodles so intensely that if we tease him about trying something with noodles, he will get real upset.
So the other night at dinner, Ky and I were discussing what we should have on the menu for the next week. He suggested spaghetti, I suggested manicotti. Kade said, "Pick something that I can eat. I can't eat noodles." The next thing out of his mouth was, "Can I have some more rice-a-roni, because I love it so much!"
Please don't tell Kade what the "a-roni" part of rice-a-roni is. It would crush him.

good riddance (or good-bye) 2010, bring on 2011

2011-01-16T11:12:00.010-05:00

~~Good riddance~~ good-bye 2010, bring on 2011! Okay, so to put it mildly, 2010 was not my favorite year ever. In fact, it just may have been my least favorite year. But it's over now and I am determined to make 2011 better than 2010 (shouldn't be too hard).
That's not to say that 2010 was all bad. I am very aware of the many blessing I have, most importantly my husband and the two most amazing children a mother could ask for. We have a nice house, Bart has a good job, we have families that love us, we have great friends all over the country, (somehow) our cars keep running, we got to go on several little vacations this year, including two to Utah to visit my family. I gained a new sister-in-law and a new niece in 2010. I was able to watch my kids learn and grow, to start school and make lots of good memories together as a family. I could go on, because I truly do have a lot to be grateful for.

So, how to make 2011 better?

First, my attitude. I need to focus more on the things in my life that are going right, and less on the things that are going ~~wrong~~ not so right.

Second, make smaller monthly resolutions instead of huge yearly ones that I know I won't think about after mid-February. My goal for January has been to get caught up on some of the projects I have been putting off, and getting my house more organized. In February, I'm going to work on 72 hour kits and food storage. March will probably be painting more of the house, but we'll see.

Two other things that will surely help this change are:

1- Our zodiac signs changed. (Did you hear about that?) Not sure what that means for how 2011 plays out, but it must be a good thing right?

2- Bart is starting a new job today. (Not that his old job was any of the problem with last year. In fact he has loved his previous job, he just couldn't pass up this new opportunity. But change is change right? And that is what we are looking for here.) He is now going to be working in a family practice clinic where 85% of their patients are Spanish-speaking. He's excited to use his Spanish at work and to serve the Spanish-speaking community here in town. I'm excited for him, and I love hearing him speak Spanish, but since I know almost zero Spanish, sometimes I get nervous when he is speaking it to someone and I start thinking they are saying bad things about me. But I do know a few Spanish words and phrases, so if, while he's talking to someone and it feels like the conversation is headed that way, I can ask where the bus to Cancun is, or tell them to give me a kiss, or tell them that I can cook in a kitchen with a fork. I can also tell them pants, water, juice, and milk if necessary.

So, there are a couple of changes that have happened since the beginning of this year that will hopefully push 2011 in the right direction. And since I am determined to have a better year this year, it's bound to happen.

I'm going to leave you with some pictures from 2010 that make me smile--see there were a lot of things to love in 2010!

lego party!

2011-01-11T12:09:00.005-05:00

On Saturday, Kade and Ky had a few friends over for a Lego birthday party. It turned out so cute and everyone had such a good time. I love planning parties, including birthday parties for my little ones, but I think I have already spoiled them. As soon as we cleaned up this party, they started making plans for their 6th birthday. I can't even think about them turning 6--they are growing up way too fast!
These are the party favors that all their friends got to take home

We decorated with paper Legos. They were so easy and so cute.

These marshmallow Lego heads were so fun. I got the idea from here. They were a big hit.

It's a good thing I was entertaining 5 year-olds because the cake turned out kinda wonky. Except for the Lego guys on it, of course.

Can you believe that these Lego guys are made out of white chocolate? My mom had made some and when we were in Utah, she gave one to each of the boys, then my new sister-in-law, Katherine took one and bit it in half. The boys were shocked--it was pretty cute. Anyway, I decided right there that I could plan a whole birthday party around these chocolate Lego guys, and my mom was nice enough to make a bunch and mail them to us. Thanks mom!

We played pin the bump on the Lego,

this hunt for the matching Lego piece game,

and this Lego toss game. We also played duck, duck, goose because it's easy and we had time to kill.

I love Kade's expression in this pic. Remember we practiced our present opening reactions before Christmas, and he really was excited about all the presents he got. So was Ky.

We used trick candles for the second year in a row because last year I felt like they didn't really get it. They reacted the same way this year. Just a lot of blowing, but no laughing or even acting like they were frustrated. Just blowing.

It was such a fun party, I had so much fun planning it, and I'm so happy it's over!

P.S. Lego is a proper noun. My spell check did not like how many times I wrote it with a lower-case l.

christmas card 2010

2011-01-06T17:16:00.005-05:00

If we missed you on our Christmas card list, sorry. But here is what we sent out this year:

Millers 2010

Here is a quick summary of the happenings in our family from this year.
• Family trips included fun visits to:
Minneapolis - Mall of American and family fun
Utah - a great family vacation combined with a conference for Bart
Chicago - the museums, Navy Pier, Giordano's, shopping, and riding the train
Madison - several trips to visit cousin Cooper and also a Badger football game
Utah again - this time for Uncle Jonathan's wedding and Thanksgiving
• Kade and Ky - Started 4 year old kindergarten which is 3 hours a day, 4 days a week. They are enjoying making new friends and being a part of an classroom environment. They are both now reading and continue to learn and grow each day.
• Bart continues to enjoy being a Physician Assistant and is preparing for a job change in January. He has been asked to be the sole provider for Clinica Hispana which is a primary care office here in town where 85% of the patients are Spanish speaking.
• Ashli continues to explore photography and actually had several paying clients this year. She hosted several parties at our house this year, her favorite included her girlfriends and a certain vampire movie.
Our Heavenly Father continues to bless our family with health and happiness. We hope that 2011 will be a great year for you and yours. Come visit us (although we suggest waiting until things thaw out here in northeast Wisconsin!).

Merry Christmas and love from,

Bart, Ashli, Ky and Kade

kade & ky's birthday

2011-01-06T16:12:00.003-05:00

We celebrated the boys' 5th birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. It's so fun to watch these boys bounce around that place playing games and things. It was just the four of us, and we didn't pay for any of the birthday stuff, and it was just perfect!

My favorite thing to watch the boys do was play on this smaller air hockey table. They were so cute and did really well.

Then we came home and grandma and grandpa come over for cake and ice cream. Actually, it wasn't cake since I'm making their birthday cake this weekend for their birthday party with their friends. Instead we had chocolate waffles with ice cream.

Then they opened their presents. We had talked before Christmas about acting excited about every present, even if you don't really like it, and so their reactions were so cute. They were so enthusiastic, even after opening these shirts, that I couldn't tell if they really liked them or if they were just acting like we had talked about.

(Please ignore the huge holes in the bottom of Kade's socks. I swear it's like they have disposable socks. I throw away 4-5 socks each week.)

It was such a fun day, and I loved celebrating my sweet boys' 5th birthday. Now they are "patiently" waiting until Saturday for their friend birthday party! I'll post pics from that later.

christmas 2010!

2011-01-06T15:52:00.002-05:00

Christmas of course started the evening before with new jammies, reading of Luke 2, watching Mr. Kruger's Christmas, reindeer food, and leaving cookies and milk for Santa.

Once again, I didn't take enough pictures on Christmas day, so I'll just have to write about what happened. Santa brought Kade and Ky the one thing they wanted most this year: Star Wars Legos! We didn't have time to put them together on Christmas, but within the next few days, and several hours of Lego constructing later, we had two awesome Star Wars Vehicles.

After we opened presents, we had yummy orange chocolate chip muffins, and played with our new toys a bit. After lunch we headed down to Bart's parents house, where we opened more presents, ate a delicious turkey dinner (and ended it with the most amazing chocolate chocolate chocolate cheesecake-yum!!), and played games. But the most exciting part was meeting my brand-new (10 day-old) niece, Lynndon. I've been busy editing photos from the newborn session we did the next day, and I can't wait to post some of them for you to see how yummy she is! We spent the night at Bart's parents house so we could spend the next day together too. It was such a great holiday!

fives

2010-12-29T22:11:00.003-05:00

Kade

Ky

I just wanted to send a huge birthday shout-out to the two most awesome, funny, smart, cute, best-buddy boys in the whole world. Today my boys turned 5!! I can't even believe it. We spent the day playing with their new Christmas presents, watching Toy Story 3, going to Chuck E. Cheese and having chocolate waffles and ice cream for dessert. Here are some of my favorite things about Ky and Kade right now:

Ky:
Ky is reading so well. He can pick up a book and read most of it. He also writes very well and loves to write notes and cards to everyone and only occasionally asks for help spelling a word. He still shares everything with Kade, and if Kade is crying about something he wants, Ky will almost always give Kade what he wants. Ky is so funny. He loves to tell jokes, but even more than that are just the funny things he says. He quotes movies and song lyrics at just the right time to make everyone laugh.
Kade:
As always, Kade is so expressive. His eyebrows are almost always raised, either in excitement or from being upset. He's also constantly expressing his love for each member of our family. He likes to tell us that he loves us more than _____________ (fill in the blank). It's fun to hear what he comes up with that he loves us more than. Winter is hard on Kade because he still has a deep love for sports. He wishes he could be outside playing football or going golfing with dad. He makes up for not being able to play sports outside by watching sports with Bart.

The two of them are inseparable. The worst thing I can threaten them with as punishment is to split them up and make them play in separate rooms--and I only make that threat when they are fighting. They always try to make their brother's time outs more enjoyable by bringing them toys (which is of course prohibited). Even if one of them gets in trouble for hurting his brother, the one that got hurt always tries to get their brother out of a punishment. Luckily they usually play super well together, so this rarely happens.

They are both really into Star Wars right now. They also went through some serious Iron Man and War Machine, and Transformers phases this year too. Ever since they started 4 year old kindergarten in September, they have both decided that they love to color. Actually, I guess it would be more accurate to say that they like to draw, because they rarely want to color out of a coloring book, but like to create their own pictures on a blank sheet of paper.

They recently discovered the show Backyardigans, and have been watching a lot of it lately. They also like to play video games. Their favorites include Little Big Planet, Lego Batman, Lego Indiana Jones, and Lego Harry Potter (although they got the Toy Story video game for their birthday today, so we'll have to see if that becomes a new favorite).

I am so lucky to be Kade and Ky's mom. They are seriously the best kids a parent could hope for. They are such good boys--full of energy, but so good. They are fun, happy, and full of love. Happy Birthday Kade & Ky!! I hope it's the best!

crazy snow storm

2010-12-28T22:47:00.003-05:00

It's been a few weeks now since we had this crazy snow storm. There was a lot of snow, and even more wind. Because of all the wind, there were some huge drifts of snow. I could see patches of my grass in places, and other places the snow drifts were 3-4 feet deep. The funniest thing I think was that the wind blew the snow through the screens on our windows and made it so we could hardly see out the window at all. This was just the first big snow storm of the season and I'm sure we'll have more.

This is what our sliding glass door looked like in the morning. See how the snow goes all the way up to the top on one side? Crazy.

singing christmas songs!

2010-12-22T21:32:00.004-05:00

Here are some fun videos of the boys singing Christmas songs. The first one is what they performed at the Christmas party at church, and the other two are from their preschool winter program. Enjoy!

jonathan and katherine's wedding day

2010-12-12T13:55:00.007-05:00

My little brother Jonathan married his sweetheart Katherine on November 20th in the Draper temple. We were lucky enough to be there to help them celebrate this special day. It was so neat being in the sealing room with lots of my family members watching them be sealed.
Outside the temple afterwards, we tried to take pictures, but it was soooo windy and cold, so pictures didn't last very long. But I think I got a few good ones anyway. Katherine's dad is a photographer and was their official photographer, but I wanted to take some too, so I tagged along behind him to capture a few moments.

Doesn't my mom look pretty in this picture (and wind-blown, and happy)

Our family

I love how happy my brother looks in this shot

Isn't my new sister-in-law gorgeous?! Yep, she is.

Glad they can be silly together

My amazing mother made the cake, and did the flowers, in addition to planning and throwing the entire reception. Her talent never ceases to amaze me.

Ky chilling at the reception with his uncle Daniel-my older brother

Silly Kade

Right after the bride and groom cut the cake and fed each other a bite, Ky jumped right in to get a bite himself. It's a good thing his uncle loves him enough to interrupt this moment. Silly boy!

The whole day was just beautiful, and we are so glad we got to be there. Congrats Jonathan and Katherine!

eclipse movie release party

2010-12-08T13:24:00.004-05:00

Saturday I hosted a fun little Eclipse movie party. I used a few ideas from my Twilight party, and a few new ideas. Because I had been in Utah for two weeks a week before this party, I had planned on keeping things really low key. That didn't work. I guess I can't throw a party "low key." That's okay because it turned out great and everyone had a great time (I think).

These little party favors were kinda last minute, but I love how they turned out. Eclipse ornaments for all the guests to take home and hang on their tree, plus a little chocolate because no party favor is complete without chocolate.

I covered the drink glasses with blood (aka red corn syrup). I loved how it looked with the frothy white pina colada drink inside-I just forgot to take a picture of it.

I wish I could say that I made these cookies, but I did not. My very talented friend Brittney made them. Can you even believe the detail on each cookie, taken from the various Twilight book covers? Amazing. Before I ate mine, I thought, "These look too cute to eat." Then I ate it and thought, "I'm sure glad I decided to eat that, because it was delicious!"

We had a great time eating, talking and watching the movie. I can't wait for the Breaking Dawn party, (which won't be for another year and a halfish).

we're back!

2010-12-01T17:11:00.003-05:00

We got back last weekend from a two week vacation to Utah. We were there for my brother Jonathan's wedding and Thanksgiving. We had a fun, very busy time between prepping for the wedding, throwing a bridal shower and attending a second one, to entertaining Kade and Ky, to planning and throwing Thanksgiving. We didn't get to visit with many friends, but we made sure we ate at Cafe Rio and Carrabba's.
I'll post more about the wedding when I have a chance to go through the pictures, but I did want to share this picture of the funnest thing I've ever seen at an airport.
When were were in Minneapolis for a long layover, the boys and I found this cool wall. There were three of these umbrellas, each made up of lots of little umbrellas. When you moved in front of them, they scattered like fallen leaves blowing in the wind, then they would move back to the original spot. We played with this wall for nearly 30 minutes, and the boys kept asking me if we could make one of those walls at our house. They were so disappointed when we flew home that our layover was not in Minneapolis.

trick-or-treat!

2010-11-07T21:32:00.004-05:00

I know this is a week late, but I think that's pretty good considering how busy October and November have been.

We had a fun Halloween this year! A few days before, I made this fun lunch for Kade & Ky. We had mummy dogs, monster faces, and tator tots dipped in blood. However, they each only ate one bite of their mummy dog. Sometimes I wonder why I go to the trouble to make things like this fun, when they would have been happier with a pb&j. Oh well.
On Saturday evening, we went to the ward trunk-or-treat. It was extra fun because Bret, Charise, and Cooper were with us. I think the boys had a great time and they got lots of candy, even if it was too crowded and chaotic for me. I didn't get to talk to a single person at the party, except for Greta, but that's only because our cars were parked next to each other.

War Machine and Iron Man in the costume parade.

Cooper as Buzz Lightyear-too cute!

War Machine and Iron Man had their costumes picked out months in advance. I couldn't believe that I was letting my kids wear store-bought, jumpsuit costumes for Halloween. But, to add that special, homemade something extra, we made repulsors for their hands with gloves and little lights. They looked super cool in the dark!

If you remember the fake War Machine costume that Ky used to wear all the time, then you'll notice that this actual War Machine costume is a huge improvement. I'm not embarrassed to let him wear this one out of the house.

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween like we did. Oh and P.S. don't tell my boys that they missed Trick-or-Treating because Halloween was on Sunday, because I don't think they even knew they missed it. They had so much fun at the trunk-or-treat, and we were too busy at Bart's surprise party on Halloween night for them to notice they were missing out on something.

the big 3-0!

2010-11-01T22:07:00.002-04:00

Last week, my amazing hubby turned the big 3-0! We've been having so much fun celebrating his birthday for over a week. We started the celebrations with a party with some friends the Friday before his birthday. I had so much fun planning and decorating for his party.

I printed out a bunch of pictures of Bart when he was younger and tied them to the glasses so everyone could keep track of which glass was theirs.

We ate food based on Bart's favorite snacks: Twizzlers, peanut butter M&Ms, salt and pepper chips, peanut butter and chocolate popcorn, black-bottom cupcakes, and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with caramel bits. It was all so yummy!
Then, we played games from the show Minute to Win It.

Ky showed everyone how to do it!

This balloon game was super hard. I think we needed a bigger room with no ceiling fan to get in the way. But, doesn't Bart look cute trying? I think so.

Me and my sweetie at the party. He looks good for 30!

His actual birthday was on Wednesday. We had his annual birthday lasagna, and cheesecake. This year's cheesecake had a fudgy layer, topped with a creamy cheesecake topped with peanut butter ganache, chocolate ganache, and peanut butter cups. Yum!

Friday night, his brother Bret and his family came up and surprised him at his clinic. They stayed through Sunday and we had a lot of fun with them too.

Then, last night we had a surprise party for him at his parents house in Appleton. His sister Sadie planned the whole thing and we had a lot of fun. We almost weren't able to get him down there, but we did.

I think he looks a little worried about blowing out all 30 candles!

We also celebrated my nephew Cooper's birthday at the party since he turns two tomorrow. He was the first one to hit the Spiderman pinata.

Here he is enjoying his birthday cake. Yum!

It was so fun celebrating Bart's birthday, and I feel so lucky to be his wife. Happy Birthday Bart!

enjoying the fall

2010-10-18T11:17:00.006-04:00

We've been doing our best to take advantage of the gorgeous fall weather here. We've been playing outside, roasting marshmallows in our backyard, visiting the pumpkin patch, and getting ready for Halloween.

I wanted to post a bunch of pictures from our recent adventures. I had to find a good location for a family portrait session I did last week. So, I dragged my boys out scouting locations. Here are some of the pictures I got of them.

My favorite part about this next picture is how the sunlight accentuates the puff of hair on the back of Ky's hair. Don't worry, he got a haircut the next day.

Here are some silly pictures from our trip to the pumpkin patch.

chicago trip: part 3

2010-09-26T17:16:00.004-04:00

On our way home from Chicago, we stopped at the Jelly Belly warehouse for a tour. We got to ride on a train, and they took us around the warehouse and we watched video clips of how they make Jelly Bellys. They gave us free samples, and we still spent $20 on jelly beans! Yum!

One of the cool pictures made of Jelly Bellys. They are so detailed, and awesome!

Our family by the Jelly Belly car. Not a very good picture, but that's what happens when I have a stranger use my camera. Oh well.

Another thing about our trip I wanted to mention is Garrett's Popcorn. We kept walking by these stores while we were downtown. We could smell them a block away, and then when we got there we saw people standing in line out the door, even in the rain. Well, we finally found one that wasn't crowded, and I knew I had to try some. They had cheese popcorn, caramel corn, caramel corn with nuts and something called the Chicago Mix. When I ordered my popcorn, the conversation went something like this:

Me: What's the Chicago Mix?

Garrett's Popcorn lady: It's cheese popcorn and caramel corn together.
Me: Really?

Lady behind me in line: Oh, that is the one you want. Trust me.

Me: Really?

Everyone else in line: Yes, get the Chicago Mix.

Me: Okay, I'd like a medium Chicago Mix. (In my head I'm thinking, yuck! But if nothing else I can pick out the caramel ones and eat just those)

Oh. My. Goodness. It was so good! It sounded so strange, but it was amazing. Totally worth the $7 for popcorn. I'm definitely getting more Chicago Mix next time I'm in Chicago.

chicago trip: part 2

2010-09-22T16:56:00.005-04:00

The next day we went into the city and started our day at the Shedd Aquarium. There was so much to see there, and I think we all had a good time. It was also fun for me to take the boys there because the first time I went there was on our honeymoon!

The boys put on penguin costumes and pretended they were penguins. That was something I really liked about the aquarium: there were plenty of places for the kids to stop and play around, because otherwise they would have gotten bored of just looking in tanks all day.

After we left the aquarium, we decided to walk to millennium park. I loved walking around downtown Chicago.

We stopped by this awesome fountain. It's huge!

I had to include this picture of a bride and her wedding party, because as we were walking around that day, we counted 8 brides and wedding parties. It was a gorgeous day, and a fun place to take wedding pictures, but it was September 11th, and we were surprised that there were that many couples who didn't mind having that as their anniversary.

I love this picture I took while standing near that fountain. I love the contrast between the fancy skyscrapers, and the row of port-a-potties. Random, I know.

Here's a better picture of the skyline with no outhouses.

Next we found the huge "bean" and stopped to take pictures. The boys had fallen asleep in their strollers (which is crazy because they won't even sleep in the car), but we took pictures of us together anyway. I think they both woke up before we left, so at least they got to see it.

I could have seriously stayed there taking pictures for hours. It was the coolest thing!

Our only family picture we have of us in Chicago, and the boys are both asleep!

This one is looking up at the bean from underneath it. So cool! And what a fun day!

trip to chicago: part 1

2010-09-19T17:37:00.006-04:00

Last week, Bart took a few days off of work so we could take a quick family vacation to Chicago. On the way down, we shopped at IKEA and a huge mall. Of course the first thing the boys wanted to do was swim in the hotel pool. I think they would have been fine if the only thing we did on vacation was sleep in a hotel and swim in the pool.

The next morning, we got on the train to go into the city. The boys loved the train! They colored and played Old Maid, and before we knew it, we were there.

Our first stop was the Lincoln Park Zoo. It was so much fun, and it was free! One of the boys' favorite parts of the zoo was the farm.
They got to pet goats (even if it took Ky several minutes to get up the courage to touch it).

They also got to pet a chicken named Spitfire

After the zoo, we walked around downtown, stopping in a few fun stores.

Our next stop that day was Navy Pier. We rode on the huge Ferris wheel. It doesn't stop moving, and it takes seven minutes to go around once. The views from that high were awesome!

We ended our first day in the city with the boys doing a little boogieing.

weekend in madison

2010-09-15T16:07:00.006-04:00

For Labor Day weekend, we went to Madison to visit Bart's brother Bret and his family. We spent Saturday morning at this awesome children's museum. We could have spent all day there. The boys had so much fun!

This water room was so cool. I wanted to get in there and play too!

We spent the afternoon at Bret and Charise's apartment, napping and playing this game where Bret would throw the boys into the air and they would land on our air mattress. It scared me every time, but the boys thought it was the coolest thing.

Even Cooper got in on the fun!

That evening we went to the coolest mini golf course I have ever been too. I wish I had a picture, but I didn't want to try to golf with a camera, so I didn't bring it. Anyway, there were several holes where you had to go up several stairs, start the hole from high up, and then slide down for your next shot. Every hole was so creative, and we all had a great time!

time out party

2010-09-08T12:01:00.002-04:00

This happened nearly a month ago, but I thought it was so funny that I wanted to make sure I posted it. One day, Kade either hit or bit Ky (I can't remember which), so he got sent to the naughty spot for a time out. Pretty soon I see Ky carrying a pillow and a blanket toward the naughty spot, and give them to Kade. Then I watched as he got Kade a few toys, and then got a pillow and blanket for himself. Then he proudly announced that they were having a "time-out party!" Now, obviously I don't think this helped Kade learn his lesson, but what I really loved was that Ky, even though he was the victim of Kade's abuse, wanted to take care of Kade and make sure that he wasn't sad.
This isn't the first time that Ky has helped Kade avoid a punishment for something Kade did to hurt him. One time when we were at the store, Kade bit Ky, so Ky got a treat and Kade didn't. I thought that might help Kade realize that he shouldn't hurt his brother. Only Ky shared his treat with Kade. It just amazes me every day how much Ky loves to take care of his brother. He is very good about sharing and sometimes he just gives Kade what he wants, even though he really wants it himself. I know that Ky loves his brother so much!

first day of school!

2010-09-01T16:45:00.003-04:00

Kade and Ky started school this morning. They are in 4 year-old kindergarten, or 4K. They will be going 4 days a week for three hours in the mornings. They have been so excited! I wanted to take the required first day of school photo, but I can't seem to take a picture without them making a goofy face.

Plus, in this one they got distracted by the bus that came to pick them up, even though we had been told they wouldn't bus them. They were disappointed when the bus drove away without them. When did they get so grown up?

At school they each have their own locker. I didn't get a locker until I was in 7th grade. Also, it's going to be a long time until they can open their locker by themselves.

Bart took the morning off so that we could take them to school together, so while they were at school we went out for breakfast, did a little shopping and tried hard to kill the three hours. It did not go by very quickly. When we finally went to pick them up, Ky said he had a great time at school, but Kade was sad. When I finally got him to tell me what the problem was, he said he was just sad because he didn't get to ride the bus. They are too funny!

Now I just have to figure out what I am going to do with all my new free time...

swim lessons

2010-08-24T16:42:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago the boys finished their first series of swimming lessons. I was nervous about them because I had only one day of swimming lessons when I was little, and it was seriously a traumatic experience, so even though I knew it wouldn't be that bad for the boys, I still felt a little bit of anxiety. Kade and Ky however, just thought it was the funnest thing. I think it was the first day, they were playing ring-around-the-rosies and they were supposed to dunk their heads under at the end. The first time they hesitated, but the second time they both went completely under. After that, the teacher couldn't get them to stop dunking themselves. They were bobbing up and down constantly, even when they were supposed to be listening to the teacher.
They took everything very seriously and got very good at floating and swimming on their backs. I think we will have to make sure they do swimming lessons again next year!

This last picture is a "I know you are freezing, but I want a picture of you on the side of the pool so I can blog about your swimming lessons" picture.
Also, notice their tattoos on their chest. Since their swim trunks are the same, and I couldn't put them in different colored shirts, I gave them each a different tattoo so that their teachers could tell them apart. But even still, she mostly just called them "boys." Oh well, what can you do?

kade's new smile!

2010-08-15T21:32:00.003-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, Kade got a new smile! He lost his first tooth! His two front top teeth have been wiggly for quite a while, but recently the one got super wiggly and came out while he was drinking a smoothie at McDonald's.

He was so excited to put his tooth under his pillow and see what the tooth fairy brought him. He had told me earlier that he hoped the tooth fairy would bring him paper money because he likes paper money a lot more than just quarters.

His "whole dollar" and his note to the tooth fairy. He loves showing them off, and showing everyone his new smile!

He wrote this note all by himself. I helped him sound out the words, but he almost could have done it with no help at all. You can see that the tooth fairy wrote back on his note that night.

a visit from my cousin

2010-08-04T13:22:00.007-04:00

Last weekend, my cousin Janessa and her family came to visit us. Janessa and I spent a lot of time together growing up, but we haven't seen each other since the day the boys were born, four and a half years ago. Her husband Jeremy is doing an internship in Minnesota for the summer, and decided that while we were that close, they would come by for a visit.
Saturday morning, after getting 4 kids ready, we headed to the wildlife sanctuary. The deer were very hungry and the kids had fun feeding them.

It took Ky a little while to decide he wasn't too scared to feed the deer, and I think he was glad he finally did.

Kayla even decided to give the deer a little kiss. How cute!

After that we headed to the amusement park in town and let the kids go on some rides. Kade and Ky have been on these rides so many times, and they never tire of them.

After lunch and nap time, we headed to Lambeau Field where they were doing lots of activities to kick of training camp. The boys dressed as football players, bounced on the inflatables, and got some awesome eye-black.

We got to go inside the stadium and take a few pictures.

Check out their "game faces!" Isn't my family silly?

Jeremy and Bart

Sweet Kayla
The only time I get my picture taken anymore is if I take one of those awesome "stretch your arm out as far as you can and hope your face is in the picture" pictures.

Me and Kade

Me and Ky

Me and Kayla. We became fast friends that day.

Me and Bart (oh, I love that man!)

Our whole family

Kayla and her daddy

The Reese family. I think that is the only picture I got of their baby Avely. She was such a good baby that at times, I almost forgot she was there.

That evening we stayed up late chatting and catching up. I sort of felt like Janessa and I were supposed to make up a dance or a skit or something and perform it for everyone because that is what we did nearly every time we had family get-togethers. I'm so glad that video cameras were less common then, because there would be a serious amount of embarrassing footage if they had been.

Thanks you guys for coming to visit us. We had such a great time, and hope that it's not 4 1/2 years before we see each other again!

4th of july utah style!

2010-08-04T11:29:00.004-04:00

When planning our trip to Utah, I decided to stay out there extra long so that I could be there for the 4th of July, because no one does it better than Utah County! And I was so glad we stayed because we had a great holiday (or three days of holiday since the 4th fell on Sunday). Saturday night Ky, Kade, my mom, and I went to the Stadium of Fire. Carrie Underwood was the main performer, and she did such a good job. The boys thought it was so cool that they were at their first concert!

I know it's hard to tell, but I promise that that small speck is Carrie Underwood. It was such a great show!

Once it got dark, my mom gave the boys several of these glow sticks to hook together to form a necklace. They both noticed a little boy behind us who was eyeing their glow sticks, so they each gave him one. I was so proud of my boys for sharing with a complete stranger.

A group shot of everyone waiting for the parade to start Monday morning. Thanks again Andrew for staying up all night to get us such a great spot.

We left Utah the day after the parade, and though we were sad to leave our friends and family there, we were glad to be back home and be with Bart again.

Some of the other fun things we did in Utah that I either don't have pictures for, or just don't feel like devoting a whole post to include:

~ Going to the midnight premiere of Eclipse with my mom

~ Taking the boys to the zoo

~ Swimming a lot

~ Going to Pirate Island (like a pirate themed Chuck E. Cheese)

~ Seeing some of my friends from high school

~Seeing an old college roommate

~Seeing all my grandparents, and a few aunts, uncles, and cousins (but not enough of them. Maybe someday we'll have a reunion or something so I can see everyone.)

~ Eating at Cafe Rio (twice)

I'm sure there are lots more, but that's all I can remember, now that I've been home for almost a month!

dino museum

2010-08-03T20:08:00.003-04:00

My parents' neighbor is a paleontologist who works at BYU, and he invited the boys to come and get a special tour of BYU's dino museum. I love this pic of Ky. I think it really looks like he is scared of the T-Rex that is chasing him.

The boys got a tour of the back part of the museum where the paleontologists work at cleaning bones. The boys even got to help clean this large fossil. They both thought that was pretty neat.

Kade & Ky impressed the paleontologist there with their knowledge of dinosaurs' names and whether they were a carnivore, herbivore and omnivore. Thanks Dinosaur Train for that knowledge.

canyon dinner

2010-08-03T20:01:00.002-04:00

A trip to Utah would not be complete without dinner in the canyon. While we were waiting for the coals to be ready for cooking our dinner, the boys decided they wanted their pictures taken with Uncle Jonathan.
After dinner, Grandma helped Kade get his marshmallows ready to roast.
Such a happy little guy!

races!!

2010-08-03T19:40:00.002-04:00

One of my absolute favorite things to do in Utah is go to Rocky Mountain Raceway. We always go when they are going to do Figure-8 and Train races. We've been going to the races as a family since I was little, and it was fun to take my boys and continue the tradition. I just wish we could have gone before Bart left us to go home and get back to work.

As long as the boys had their earplugs in, they had a great time. Look how happy Ky is!

This sign defines what the crowd at the races is like. Nowhere else in Utah to they have to post a huge sign stating that no weapons are allowed. I love this sign!