I heart Provo, Utah!

Lucky weekend!

Spencer is "on-call" every four days--meaning he works a 30 hour shift every 4 days.

I thought for sure he'd be on call this weekend but we got LUCKY because he was on-call Thursday to Friday and so we picked him up Friday afternoon and got to Utah just in time for Grandma's party.

We were LUCKY to drive with Nicki in her SUV (that's what the boys call her Sequoia) and enjoy good conversations along the way!

We were also BLESSED. We had perfect roads, the boys did great, and we started out with a prayer answered! I was stressed Friday morning because Spencer was to busy to call me Thursday night (even at midnight) and so I didn't get to talk to him and make plans for our Friday pick-up. It was 11:40am and we needed to leave soon to make the birthday party and Spencer wasn't answering his phone. I decided to say a prayer and ask for help. I got off my knees and Spencer called immediately. My prayer was answered and I had a grateful heart.

We went to Utah to celebrate Grandma Byer's 70th Birthday! She's an amazing lady. She had 6 children and all of them talked about how she raised them to work hard and have complete confidence in themselves. They knew they could accomplish anything they put their mind to because of Grandma. We are LUCKY to have her as our Grandma. Grandma and Aunt Dani (she is perfect--seriously. If I can be anything like Dani, I will consider myself accomplished. She is a great friend, a perfect mother and wife, and she always has her priorities straight. She has raised 6 practically perfect children. My dream is to be like her).
Josh and Jordan--or shall I say ELDER BYERS.

We were LUCKY to hear his farewell speech on Sunday. He will make an awesome missionary. He's a very impressive young man. Good luck Jordan!The boys are LUCKY to have Maci as their buddy. I honestly didn't see the boys much this weekend because they were partying with the Byer's children. Maci, Josh, and Nathan gave the boys all the attention in the world. They treat Reece and Benson like Kings and are wonderful examples for my children.ALSO--we were SUPER LUCKY to crash at Jamie and Matt Jimenez's house. They are AWESOME hosts. Jamie entertained the boys with play dough and kept them up until the WEE hours of the night playing. Matt taught them how to play some bird game on his IPAD and the boys were HOOKED. Thanks for letting us destroy your house!! :) It was fun seeing you guys. Miss ya and Love ya!THANK YOU Byer's and Jimenez family for a fun-filled weekend. We miss you already!

P.S. Bryce took us and his family to the new Provo Beach resort. They have a FLOWRIDER you can rent for an hour and it is SOOO MUCH FUN!! This was my first exposure to one and I hope it's not the last. We spent an hour boggy-boarding while laughing pretty hard at each others wipe-outs. Now I need to visit a beach so I can practice my new moves on real waves!! :)

Sista party!!

Spencer is in his Internal Medicine rotation and it is BUSY! He really likes it (he can't decide between Medicine and Pediatrics) but the on-call schedule is crazy. He works a 30 hour shift every four days for the next 6 weeks. We've already completed the first 3 weeks so we're 1/3 through it. Last week he got the short end of the stick. His 30-hour shift (or on-call shift) was from Wednesday to Thursday. We met at his parents house for 2 hours and then he went to McCall for a Medicine conference. He got home Sunday--had a 3 hour break--and had to be back at the hospital until Monday afternoon. He was pretty much gone for a week.

We missed him tons--especially when he called us Saturday morning with food poisoning from LARDOS (for those of you not familiar with McCall--it's a restaurant with a great name!).

While Spencer was in McCall, my parents were at the music convention in California. We decided we MUST have a sista party in their absence! Here are the highlights:

Fun pictures. This car track entertains Benson for hours. This is only 1/3 of it--it's pretty cool!

He's been creative with it.

We had fun with the track until a car went from the track up into Natalies hair.
Unfortunately it had way to much fun in her hair.
I had to eventually cut her hair to release the car! opps!
We had a fort/library in every room of our house. This is half of the library. They had a reception desk, a place to return your books, and creative ways to "check out" your books.

Reece's new favorite toy--spell time. This used to be Nicole's when she was little--my mom thought Reece would enjoy it--and he does--it's the highlight of his day. Reece teaches Benson his little letters with it too. It's fun to watch them work together.

Kristi and her roomate stopped by for some games! It was fun beating them in Rummikub! :)

Nicole's high school graduation pics...

I just found a bunch of pictures of Nicole from her high school graduation and thought it would be fun to showcase her!!! She's an awesome sister! She will do anything for you. She is always happy and is very pure. She is loads of fun and I love her tons!!! Enjoy!Nicole and Grandpa Lloyd
Grandma and Grandpa Dunkley

The family--minus Jamie.

Silly sisters!

The traditional piano picture.

Fun in Provo.

Nicole ready for PROM!

Spencer's birthday--a little late

I was thumbing through my sister's camera and found a picture of Spencer with Natalie on his birthday and wanted it on our blog. Spencer's birthday is on the 2nd, and Natalie's in on the 6th. They had a joint family party! So fun!

Island Park, Idaho

For Christmas this year my parents rented a cabin in Island Park for us to party in for a week! Both sets of grandparents came with us which made the week very entertaining!!! They are so much fun! Natalie kept us well entertained--she had us crying we were laughing so hard, and Spencer brought some medical drama with a nice deep cut in his shin. My mom brought enough food to feed an army and we all gained at least 10 pounds from all the delicious meals and desserts/snacks. We spent lots of time on snowmobiles--although the weather was FREEZING-the high for the weekend was 4 degrees and the low was negative 22. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed spending quality time with the family.

Nicole with the boys

Grandpa is famous for his morning crossword puzzles. It's very entertaining to listen to him.

We did some reading.
Food pantry. This was only 1/3 of the food. We kept the rest in the garage and mud room. Delicious cinnamon rolls--my mom and Grandma Lloyds favorite food to cook.
Reece, Natalie, and Benson holding up with icicles.

The boys braved the cold (zero degrees in this photo) and went snowmobiling and sledding. I tried to keep them inside but they insisted on going out with the big kids.

Benson--the little charmer

Benson jumping on top of Natty.

Grandma Lloyd taught us how to knit. Natalie made a pretty scarf

Our view and outside the back of the cabin.

SORRY ABOUT THE DISGUSTING PHOTO--Spencer thought it was necessary to post this.

It makes me sick.

Natalie and the boys turned a corner of the upstairs into a fort/library. They made their own "secret books" and put them in between the cracks on the ceiling.

We finished a puzzle a day. So fun!

Spencer snowmobiling! Love it!

We also played lots of games. Hand and Foot is my families favorite card game.

Reece sitting on the hot tub. He couldn't resist the snow.

Grandma & Grandpa Miller

We were able to visit with Grandma and Grandpa Miller on our way to Island Park. We actually went up a day early so we could stay in Rexburg and visit with them. We had a great visit and were reminded once again how lucky we are to be their grandchildren.

Grandpa is wise, witty, and practically perfect in every way. Seriously--he really is. I think he should be twinkled. He is 92 years old and still sharp as can be and still has a joke for everything. He has spent his life serving his family and the church, reading books, perfecting his garden and studying the gospel!! He loves to read. He is a great example to everyone. Spencer's middle name is Ivan, named after Grandpa Ivan Miller, and Reece's middle name is Reece Ivan, also named after Spencer and Grandpa. It's a pretty big name to live up too--but Spencer and Reece are also pretty awesome!! (I'm a little biased). Spencer Ivan, Reece Ivan, and Ivan Miller.

Spencer and Grandma.

Grandma is the sweetest most pure person. She makes the most delicious apple sauce and is a very healthy cook. She is very knowledgeable and also loves to read. She is a wise and loving Mother and would never say a mean thing about anyone. She has always supported her husband in all his callings and work endeavors and has spent her life taking care of their family. She is a great example for me to follow.

Wow! Look how photogenic my children are! Thanks boys! :)

Sister Parkinson

Sister Parkinson is the BEST!!

She was my organ professor at BYU-IDAHO and one of my best friends.

Lessons were always so entertaining--we spent alot of time laughing,

but she also taught me some great skills and gave me once in a lifetime opportunities.

Spencer, me, and the boys stopped by her home in Idaho Falls on our way to Rexburg. We had a fun chat and caught up with each other's lives. She is wonderful and dearly missed!

Christmas! Too much fun!

Christmas was alot of fun this year. On Christmas Eve after we came home from the Lloyd party we got the children dressed in their Christmas pajama's and read the Nativity story. After that we gathered around the piano (Reece on Dad's lap and Benson on mine) and we sang a bunch of Christmas songs. Nicki gave us the neatest Christmas songbook full of hymns, Christmas songs from the Primary songbook, and other popular Christmas songs. But the cool thing about it was the book was full of the most beautiful pictures to go with the songs. The pictures made all the difference for the boys--they actually sat on our laps and listened to us sing and play the different songs. They started to pick out songs according to the pictures. It was a special and peaceful night--I felt like I was on top of the world having my husband and children around the piano singing together!

Here are some pictures from Christmas morning.

This ABC toy has a great story to go with it. I saw it on slickdeals.net for $10 at walmart. I went to purchase it online and they were sold out. While Reece was at preschool Benson and I went to Toys R Us and found this toy. Benson fell in love with it. I took it to the register to see if they price matched, which they didn't. So I gave it to the cashier and out we went. Well, Benson immediately started crying saying, " I want my ABC toy"--which is totally uncharacteristic of him. He usually could care less about that. Anyway, it took him 10 minutes to stop crying. A couple days later we were going the direction of Toys R Us and Benson started whining, "I want my ABC toy". I couldn't believe he remembered that! So, I had to buy it for him. He has been in love with it ever since and his eyes lite up when he opened it.

New helmet to go with his new bike (or Reece's old one....we added a bell and water bottle to make it new and exciting--which it was!). Benson loved his bike and rode it all morning. We had to pry him off of it so he could open his other presents.

Classic Reece. He got lots of new books and was in heaven. Please notice in this picture our lovely tree!! It died on us a week or so before Christmas. We were praying it would last through Christmas morning and it did!!! It was released from its duties shortly after Christmas.

Natty came over to see what the boys got from Santa. She was pleasantly surprised that Santa had granted her wish and brought her a new Kindle. We had convinced her she wasn't getting one so it was fun to see her be so surprised!

Christmas Eve--Lloyd family

We spent a relaxing day at home on Christmas Eve. Spencer had to pick up something that needed fixed from "Milwaukee" aka Toys R Us (we can't spell things anymore because Reece figures it out so we make up code names for everything) and I prepared some food for our Lloyd Family party.

We ate a Mexican themed meal and then Santa came to say hello! The boys are still a little scared of Santa, but it was fun to see him anyway. After the party we put the boys to bed and Spencer and I watched "How the Grinch stole Christmas". Actually, Spencer watched it and I feel asleep. The boys were so excited for Christmas they didn't fall asleep until 11:45pm (45 minutes after I feel asleep). Spencer waited until 1 AM and then woke me up to take care of some business! It was fun setting up our first Christmas at home! For the past 6 years we have lived other places for school and so this was our first Christmas we got to stay home and open presents on our own!!

Family picture with Grandma and Grandpa Lloyd

Hmmm...I wonder where Reece get's his callicks from?
Spencer's goes to the left and Reece's to the Right!

This is the boys SCARY face. They were playing the Wii and the only way I could get them to pay any attention to me was to have them make scary and silly faces.

Shy Benson loving his Daddy.

Dunkley Family minus Jamie and Matt. We missed you.

Mom & Dad!

Holly and Nicole with Santa

Kristi and Natty convincing Santa they've been good this year!! j/k

FOOD!

Spence and Ju