November 2015

November was a great month. We celebrated Kate and Tanner's birthday, had the Catmulls and Miller grandparents visit, had Uncle Kayle live with us, and did a hand full of random things.  

Grandma Miller gave us Halloween money for our family to get some ice cream. We went to her favorite ice cream shop "Baskin Robbins" and enjoyed a nice FHE ice cream date.

We had to get a baby gate to protect Kate from tumbling down the stairs.  The kids like to pretend they are in jail and Kate is the gate keeper.  It keeps everyone entertained and add such laughter in our home.

We finished reading the Book of Mosiah and so we went on a family ice cream date to celebrate. Each time we finish a book in the Book of Mormon we do something fun to celebrate.  The kids picked U-swirl, a kids favorite because they get to pour their own ice cream and put on their own toppings.

This is classic Kate.  Rolling around on the floor perfectly content and happy! Isn't she a doll!

And then she goes from sweet doll face to messy face! She LOVES to go through our kitchen drawers and pull everything out. She has found the food drawers-- we like to call her our human vacuum!

Spencer and I put up our Christmas lights. You have to know the back story-- for the past two years he has gotten in serious trouble by his wife (me!) because he has waited to long to put them up.  In Minnesota people start putting up their lights in early October before it gets to cold.  I would always suggest we should follow suite but he would say it's a crime to put them up before Thanksgiving.   Well, the past two years it has gotten cold SUPER fast and there was to much ice to put them up so they didn't get done.  This year he came home from work a week before Thanksgiving and suggested we put the lights up.  I guess he's learning!

We got a sweet surprise the Sunday before Thanksgiving. My organ professor, Sister Parkinson come to the Tabernacle twice a year to play as the guest organist.  We went to watch her after church and when she was done she asked me if I wanted to play the Tabernacle organ! Of Course I said YES!! I was ECSTATIC! I played "Angels we have heard on High" and "Come, come, ye Saints"! This was my second time playing the organ. Both times it's been a magical experience.  There is so much history and love put into that organ.  I can feel the pioneers spirit every time I play.  It is a beautiful instrument and I feel blessed I was able to have the opportunity to play it.  I also think of my Grandma Dunkley who has played the organ her entire life.  She's always had a dream to play it and so I feel pretty special that I've been able to experience that for her.  During Thanksgiving I went home to Boise and was able to tell her about it. She was pretty tired that day (she is 91 yrs old) but when I told her both her and my Grandpa lite up! They've both had a big influence on my musical abilities.  They stressed the importance of Music in their lives and shared it with us Grandkids.

Tanner and Benson have become great buddies.  Even though it's 50 degrees outside they are out their almost daily jumping on the tramp together (without coats).  You can tell they came from Minnesota.  They are tough little cookies! This is my view of them out my kitchen window.

Sundays can be special days in our home.  When we play games together and enjoy a peaceful and quite Sabbath as a family there is a spirit that brings unity into our home.  This particular Sabbath we were playing "wacky 6" and the kids were playing with Tanner's new toys from his birthday party.

Kate puts everything around her neck.  I think it's hilarious and suer cute!

1st day of SNOW!! The kids were SOOOOO excited.  They claim winter is their favorite season because of the snow.  They could hardly wait to get home from school so they could spend an hour outside playing.

This was early November! Can you believe we are outside playing basketball! The weather has been awesome this fall. I've been surprised how warm it's been.  I went to run an errand and when I came home this is what I came home too.  This to me is a beautiful life.  Seeing the kids outside playing together as a family (of course there is some arguing sometimes but we manage to have more happy times than crazy times!).

Tanner is obsessed with UNO! We play it ALL THE TIME! 

He's a great game partner!

Tanner going to preschool with his preschool bag full of "fruit by the foots" for his preschool birthday party.

Spencer and Ju going on a date! We went to one of my Young women from Minnesotas musical.  It was an impressive musical of "Catch me if you Can".  It was also fun to be on a date with my lover boy!

Yes, I bribed my kids electronic time to rub my feet!
My mom used to do this to us kids so I thought I'd keep up the tradition!

Kate likes to hold my grocery list while shopping. She's a great little shopping partner.

Christmas cards are here!! One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is all the Christmas cards I receive.  I love sending them, and I love receiving them.  I honestly wait patiently everyday for the mailman to arrive! So fuN! This was me picking them up at Costco. I'm pretty sure Cassi, Heidi, and Ashly and I were having a HILARIOUS texting chain during this trip. They are such awesome friends!

Reece made a Ninjago mask at school. Pretty cool buddy.

Benson had "market day" at school.  Every second grader spent the previous month earning money so they could buy products at their market day.  Benson made "Turkey Juice" and came up with the slogan "Is it Thanksgiving yet?" He picked out the idea and slogan and was so excited to sell them.  He sold 20 of them! Good job buddy. He thought the big goggly eyes were "so cute".  It was fun watching him get so excited and be proud of his project. Good work buddy.

Tanner birthday quotes

What is your name? T-A-N-N-E-R
How old are you? four
What do you like to do for fun? jump on trampoline, play pokemon and be Pikachu, play cars, be outside, play in snow and throw snowballs in street, do homework and do electronics after homework
What do you want to be when you grow up? A jet airplane
What is your favorite food? cinnamon toast crunch and ritz crackers with cookie butter and chocolate chips.
What do you do really well?  watching movies and tv
What makes you laugh? A funny movie like Penguin from Madagascar and playing with Mom
Best time of Day? playing with Mom
Who is your best friend? Jacob and Parker and my preschool friends and Cowan
What do you like to do with your family? sometimes I like to go poop or pee and sometimes I need to go potty. And sometimes I find bullets and put them in guns and shoot (nerf guns)
What is your favorite toy? my nerf gun, rabbit, rainbow bear, and cars.

Tanner's 4th Birthday

Tanner has waited for 6 months for it to be his birthday.  After Benson and Reece had birthday parties last spring he has been dreaming of his.  Anytime we are near toys he has to show me which ones I need to get him for his "birthday party". He is very innocent about it and it's darling! We started planning his party a month in advance.  He wanted to invite his buddies Jacob and Parker from Minnesota but I had to convince him it was too far for them to travel.  After we got through that, he decided he wanted all his friends from preschool. So we invited all 7 kids plus a kid from church.  6 kids showed up and he was stoked! I asked him what kind of birthday party he wanted.  He went from airplane party, race car party, motorcycle party, and back through the list a couple times over! He had strong opinions on EVERYTHING! He picked the colors for his cake, what went on the cake, and even helped pick the decorations.  It was not easy to convince him to stick with my ideas.  

We had his party on his actual birthday.  He waited ALL morning for his friends to arrive.  He watched me make his cake and made sure I used the correct colors and cars.  Even though it was a little chilly outside, he waited on the steps for his friends to arrive.  With each friend he welcomed them in with serious excitement!  Most parents told me that their kids have been talking about his party all week! OH, and I can't forget-- he took his birthday invites to preschool and it seriously was better than Christmas morning. He had so much joy in his face as he gave all the kids their cards.  Anyway, back to the party.  We played some simple preschool games, played with toys, and then had cake and ice cream.  When it was time for presents the kids were all confused.  They wanted to open their present for Tanner.  I was the Mama bear and made sure he got to open his own presents! He was sweet and kind and told all his friend Thank you.

We ended with a big dance party! Tanner was so fun to dance with. He ran around the house, singing and dancing, and then Tanner's favorite song came on "cause I'm happy…".  He was stoked!

It was a super fun day.  All the kids were exhausted by the end.  

Some other fun facts:

He is suddenly obsessed with BYU football. He wants to wear his BYU gear everyday.  

He was given a blue crown for his birthday at preschool and has worn it almost everyday since.

He took "fruit by the foot" to school for his birthday treat. 

He didn't touch his cake or ice cream---I even made him a chocolate wacky cake. Wouldn't even use a pretzel to eat the frosting. Maybe next year…

4 things we LOVE about Tanner:

1. His enthusiasm and love for Life: he truly loves life. He is such a happy and content kid. He makes any situation fun and enjoyable. He laughs at everything and loves going on adventures.

2. His imagination: Tanner loves to make believe. He can play by himself for hours.  On multiple occasions I have come out of the shower and peeked on him in the living room to see him talking out loud and carrying on a conversation with his cars or airplanes.  He can turn just about anything into a fun toy or game. Going shopping with him is also a treat.  His favorite thing is to turn into a race car and run down the aisle making car noises.  

3.  He never-stops-talking: Seriously! He can talk for hours without skipping a beat.  He makes me laugh ALL the TIME! Usually I can't understand what he's saying because he's talking so fast, but it always puts a smile on my face.  People at the grocery store give me the BEST looks! We'll be walking down the aisle and he'll be carrying on a seriously awesome conversation-- not a quiet one, but one full of expressions and super LOUD! I just love him!

4. He's tough: this kid is amazing. We went to get his flu shots and he told me he was going to be tough so when they gave him the shot he didn't cry or flinch or anything! He looked at me and said, "see I'm tough".  He kills me!!! I was dying. When he gets hurt he'll say the same thing. "I'm okay, i'm tough. Right mom? I'm tough"!  And honestly-- he really is.  His skin is itchy and uncomfortable and bothers him everyday, and he still doesn't skip a beat.  He's had a lot of health issues and through it all he has been such a fighter.  

Tanner is strong, happy, fun, lovable, sweet, grateful, smart, independent, and sincere. 

Two things I want to remember about Tanner:

1. During the middle of the night when I check Benson's blood sugar I sometimes accidentally wake up Tanner.  He'll be a little upset so I'll tuck him in, give him a kiss, and tell him I love him.  As I'm walking away and up the stairs he'll yell "thank you mommy, I love you, have a good night". I wish I had a recorder and could replay that moment over and over again.  It is tender and sweet and truly comes form his heart.  

2. He will tell me "thank you" for the funniest things.  For example: I'll buy him crackers and will be putting them away in the counter and he'll ask what I'm doing. I'll tell him and he'll say, "thanks mommy".  For things that I do on a normal basis that I never get thanked for-- he seems to notice and thanks me.  LIke buying groceries, doing laundry, getting something prepared for a fun activity.  Simple things like that.

LOVE YOU TANNER! Love, Mom

Mom visit for Kate's birthday and Primary Program

Mom visit for Kate's birthday and Primary Program

My Mom, Kristi, Myla and Buck came down from Boise for the weekend to celebrate Kate's birthday! Friday night we had Kate's birthday-- super fun!

Saturday we woke up and went to the BYU bookstore! SCORE! The kids were in heaven and all got new BYU gear.  Then we went to the Bean museum on campus.  Kids thought it was awesome.  They had a section dedicated to President Packers art and love for birds.  I was impressed the kids knew about him and some of the things he has accomplished or loved.

Then we came home and got ready for the Jazz game.  I about died when we first arrived because our seats were literally the second row from the very top! At first we were all feeling a little frightened by how high we were (instead of the seats being a gradual slope, they were super steep)! After a while we adjusted and had a great time! 

Funny memories:

--Grandma is obsessed with this boot store and bought Myla and Tanner cowboy boots and hats. Dang adorable!

--We ran across University Ave with all the kids to get a picture with the BYU sign.  We made it safely and took some pictures and then headed back to the car.  Once we were all in the car my Mom started laughing sooo hard.  She made it us get out, run across the street again and take another picture because it looked funny the way she was holding Kate.  We were dying! And then Tanner looked at the Stadium and said, "BYU football-- why aren't we going to a BYU football game". Of course he said it with serious enthusiasm.  

PRIMARY PROGRAM:

The kids were darling! They were dressed in their fancy church clothes and had practiced for weeks their parts.  They each had two parts since our primary is so small.  I look forward to these programs but also get a little nervous because so far at least one of my kids each program does something to draw serious attention.  

Benson went first.  He jumped onto the step and put his hands on the side of the pulpit, leaned in and said his part with a cute grin on his face.  Then he paused (I about died-- I was seriously holding my breath) and then jumped off and sat down.  Phew, we made it.

Then it was Tanner's turn.  Like Benson he jumped onto the steps but then whispered his part "I can listen in Family Home Evening".  The girl standing next to him told him to say it a little louder.  He got this crazy hyper grin on his face and yelled it into the microphone with the goofiest smile you have ever seen.  The entire audience started laughing-- including all the kids.  Well---- I guess we kept the Miller tradition alive.

Reece was handsome and had two long parts that he delivered very well.

I was proud of the kids.  They are great listeners in Primary. I've gotten a lot of comments about how well they know the gospel. Hopefully they take that knowledge and turn it into a testimony.  They are wonderful kids and I love them so very much!

Kate's birthday

 Kate's birthday was wonderful.  My Mom, Kristi, Myla and Buck came for the event! We had a nice dinner and then had her open her presents and eat her cake.  She was darling as usual.  We had Tanner and Myla (we were celebrating their birthdays too!) open their presents from my Mom at the same time so that kept the boys out of her face while we showed her the new dolls we bought her.  Then we put her on the table with her cake. She wanted NOTHING to do with it. Spencer stuck her hands in the cake and at first was not happy.  Then she decided to grab some cake and offer it to everyone around her! It was cute.  She would grab a big piece and then give it to Spencer and so on.  She's a gem and we were glad we got to add some purple and pink in our home and celebrate this special day.