Miller Family

Miller Family

Sunday, April 15, 2018

June 2017

JUNE 2017

BYER's 60th Anniversary
 Grandma and Grandpa celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at Bryce and Dani's house. We will always have a soft spot in our hearts for Dani. She watched Reece for 2 years while Mom finished her bachelors degree.  She would watch him 2 times a week so Mom could go to her classes.  Reece adored her and they were best buddies.  She taught him to love books and puzzles which he was incredibly advanced at for his age. We also love Grandma and Grandpa Byers.  IF you ask the kids where their favorite vacation spot is, they will all say the Byer's cabin.  It's a family tradition to spend the 1st week of August at the cabin and we all love it there.

FAMILY HIKE
 We LOVE to hike as a family.  Living so close to the mountains and beautiful canyons makes it easy to go on family hikes.  We all enjoy the fresh air, rocks to climb, and getting our energy out while exploring and having freedom to run and climb as we please.

FARM COUNTRY


We had some time off and went to Thanksgiving point to see what the Farm Country was all about. We have a Thanksgiving point pass and LOVE it, but mostly use it for the Museum of Curiosity. The kids rode donkeys, looked a other animals, and that was pretty much it. It was a pretty warm day and so we were happy to get in the car and get some air conditioning.  Reece and Tanner's skin gets super itchy when they start sweating in the sun-- because of this, winter is their favorite season and they mostly spend the summer hiking in the canyons and swimming.

HELENA, MT
Spencer hiking during a break while working in Helena at the VA. 
Dad works in Helena, Montana about 10 weekends a year to earn some extra money. He "moonlights" for the VA and its made all the difference with our finances during fellowship. Its a pretty great gig for Spencer too.  Most weekends he spends watching Football, March madness, reads a book, studies, or prepares for whatever is coming up next.  He leaves Friday night and works until Monday morning. They give him a 2 hour break on Saturday and Sunday.  On Saturdays he goes for a run, and Sundays he attends Sacrament meeting at the nearest church building. We are super grateful for this experience and the flexibility it's given us these past 3 years.

11 yr old SCOUT TRIP
Spencer went with the 11 yr old scouts to hike the Timpanogus caves. This is the "heart" of the cave-- they thought it was pretty cool and took a picture.

PARK CITY DAYTRIP
We took a family day trip to Park City to get some fresh air and new scenery.  We visited the Olympic Park and museum. Mom loves the Olympic spirit and so she was enthralled with it all.  The boys all were fascinated with the skiing stuff since it's become a new favorite hobby for the family.

After watching the skiers fly down the tracks and do crazy awesome tricks in the air before landing in a pool of water, we went over to the Park City Resort and went down the Alpine slides.  They were fast and fun-- but kind of spendy.

SUNDAY PICS
Mom loves getting her Sunday pictures! We were taking pics outside and a super nice man pulled over and took a picture of our whole family. It made me whole day.  Spencer bought me this dress and one other one right before I was set apart as the Young Woman's President.  I really wanted to look cute because I was pretty nervous.  Kind of a pathetic girl thing, but it did give me extra confidence and I really appreciate Spencer helping me find the dresses. He's better at finding cute clothes that fit me well, then I am.

LAGOON
We go to Lagoon once each summer, and it's always a blast.  Tanner got to come this year and he was so excited.  He was fearless and went on every ride he could.  He even stood extra tall so he could make it onto "Colossus".  It ended up being his favorite ride until the 3rd time he got in line the workers rechecked his height and wouldn't let him go. He was super disappointed. Being here with my kids brings back some seriously fun childhood memories.  We use to make the trip to Utah each summer so we could go to Lagoon for the day. I remember loving all the fast rides and then playing for hours at the water park.  I'm grateful I get to relive these memories with my kids. 





BENSON'S End of Season BASEBALL PARTY
Grateful to have a coach that built character, confidence, and helped these kids have fun this season. Mom and the kids enjoyed having Tucker on the team because that meant we got to chat with Becky and Lily each game! We also had Josh Young which meant mom got to chat with Jen too!

Kate being adorable and loving mom's flowers.

COUNTRY DONUT RUN with Grandma & Grandpa Lloyd
Grandma and I love sneaking out in the morning for a donut run.  I was going crazy with all the people in my Mom's house (we were there visiting for a week), so I texted my Grandma and she walked out of Costco and quickly met me for some donuts to keep me sane! Grandma thinks it's hilarious that I order the mega chocolate donut with chocolate chips in it. It's loaded!

FUN at Grandma and Grandpa Dunkley's house
The kids LOVE spending time during the summer at Grandma and Grandpa Dunkley's house. They take swimming lessons, have Bon Fires and roast s'mores, ride the 4-wheeler to Maverick for some slurpees, and then make Grandma's dream come true by showing up to church and sitting on the same pew for Sacrament meeting.  Another favorite is catching bunnies and selling the snack shack during swimming lessons.  It's always a party at her house and we feel like we never need to leave to find entertainment. We got plenty here in her back yard.




May 2017


Meadowlark Ward Young Woman
I was released as the 1st counselor and called as the Young Woman President today! Never thought I'd be called as President, but I'm excited for this adventure and will try my best to serve these awesome YW! 
Reece and Kate with our family goose. Go Jazz!!
Tanner has mastered the bike without training wheels. He literally woke up one day and said he wanted to ride the big bike without training wheels, started pedaling, and off he went. He has been riding like a crazy man ever since!
Kate is adorable! She has serious adventures in her crib. You never know what you'll find when you go into her room.  Once day, I opened the door and she was sitting on her luggage. I was shocked. She had pulled the luggage into her crib (with impressive skills) and then stuffed it with everything she needed including a blanket, books, a doll, and some clothes.  I about died! How did she do that? She must have magic powers.
Buying a basketball hoop was one of our best purchases. The kids love being outside and playing lightening with them is always a blast!
My favorite girl snuggling with her mama! Love her!
We LOVE playing in spring rain storms. This particular one had some crazy hail.  We started collecting them so we could exam how big they were. 
I don't like Tanner to be in the front yard without someone watching him.  So after school Tanner wanted to ride his bike like usual, but the boys had new books from the library and wanted to read, so I made them read outside so Tanner could be on his bike.  I opened the garage door and found this scene. I thought it was adorable.  2 boys reading comic books while babysitting their little brother on his bike. Springtime is the Best!
Tanner made it onto the 5 year old wall! Mom was so giddy she could hardly stand it.  A couple months after his 5 year old birthday, we were at the dental office and the dentist said he had some teeth ready to fall out.  Mom just about went into a panic attack and with in a week had Tanner a suit and was at the photographers office taking pictures.  It wasn't for another 6 months before his tooth fell off, but we got some darling pictures and now he's on the wall with his brothers.
Kate is so funny when we shop. She always finds the cutest things.  I actually think the troll helmet is adorable but didn't want to spoil her so I didn't buy it for her. But she's a great shopping buddy.
Lots of baseball games for Benson. The kids love going to his games because it's a fun place to play.
Tanner had a darling Mother's Day program where he sang songs and gave me some drawings he put together during preschool.  I was in tears watching him. He's such a sweet and tender boy.  I love him so much!

Benson had a baseball outing with his team and I tagged along for the fun. We went to a University of Utah baseball game and then headed for pizza.  Benson's been blessed with a great team and the best coach.  He has been so supportive and encouraging to Benson.  After one game he sent Benson this text, "dude, you did awesome tonight.  I'm super proud of what a good team mate you were.  When Tucker got up to hit the first inning, I heard you cheering for him clear from where I was standing at first base.  Also, I think that really helped the team cheer each other on and helped your team mates have fun, and when kids have fun playing baseball...they play better, and when they play better, the team wins!  Also, you had a great attitude when I pulled you off of third so Bridger could have a chance to play in the infield. You did what was best for the team, that is what being a team is all about my man.  Therefore, I am making you team captain for our next game against the Cardinals.  Good work dude, I'm proud of you.  Nice work....Couch out!" He's been an angel sent from heaven!!
MOTHER'S DAY! Sure loves these kiddos of mine! They have been super sweet today and spoiled me by helping me with whatever I needed and by being kind to one another.  I am one lucky Mom to have these kids as my own.  They make life fun, adventurous, and are just all around awesome people.  I wouldn't trade being home with them all day for anything. Being a stay-at-home Mother is one of my biggest blessings and I don't take that for granted.
Reece had an amazing 4th Grade teacher named Gretchen Murray.  She was diagnosed with Breast Cancer around Christmas time while he was in her class. She was an amazing teacher. She taught him the 8 keys to success and was truly an inspiration to Reece and so many other students. She was a gifted teacher and gave her all to her students.  She passed away a year later and the school had a memorial for her.
Just another rain storm we are having fun in! Benson came up with a "brilliant" idea to run up a ladder, dunk the ball, and then hang on the hoop. I thought it was clever and fun too...until he slipped and fell right onto his back flat on the cement floor.  We had to take him into the ER to make sure he didn't have any internal bleeding.   I guess it wasn't a brilliant idea after all.

Benson had a field trip and I tagged along for the fun! He has great friends! 

Benson learned how to mow the lawn! I thought he looked so grown up-- it was a proud mama moment.  He told me he actually liked mowing. Keep up the good work buddy!
Tanner and Charlotte were on the same soccer team this year. They had so much fun! Tanner is quite the social butterfly as well as a fast soccer player. He wasn't afraid to get in there and kick the ball.
Reece also played soccer this year. This is his 2nd year on his soccer team.  He has a great coach that really liked Reece and was always impressed with how aggressive Reece was while playing.
We have the most beautiful view while watching Benson's baseball games.  It's fun watching him play while the other kids run around the park playing with friends and enjoying the beautiful spring weather.
Check out this awesome picture Clarissa found while unpacking.  Daddy looks so darn cute!