Annual Summer Trip to Utah!

As tradition holds strong this summer has been no different than the past. We made our trip up to Utah to spend some time with my family. There are always things to celebrate. And this time there was much to celebrate! The kids and I traveled to Salt Lake leaving Kiel home alone to fend for himself. He started his new job and his 8 week training so he couldn’t get away for to long.

The kids and I in Phoenix as we said our goodbyes to daddy! The kids were great on the flight (thank goodness..) and we made is safely to SLC.

One of the first things we did once in Park City was visit the Famer’s Market and we rode the cabriolet.

The next day we went into Salt Lake and Visited the Aviary. It was such a great park and it was a gorgeous day to walk around outside. Not that Salt Lake is comparable to Arizona, We were loving it! WE saw some really beautiful birds. I think that the bald eagle was my favorite. Might be something we will be seeing a lot of in the future.

Right outside the aviary the kids caught sight of a Ferris wheel and we had to check it out. Chloe, Connor and I rode the Ferris wheel (Not my favorite ride but I was surprised that they were so brave) Then Connor rode the swings… Chloe wasn’t tall enough and then Chloe rode the carousal. They had a great time.

After leaving the park we met up with Erin and Grandma, and Grandpa Pedersen in Sugar house for lunch at Café Zupas. Chloe and My Favorite spot!!! I am so blessed to have the greatest grandparents in the worlds. They are all so sweet and supportive. They all have been such great examples to me and my little family. I love it whenever we can spend time with them.

Next on the Agenda was HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIN!!! We didn’t see much of Erin this trip due to lame school  : ( But enjoyed being with her whenever we could. We went to Grub Steak House in Park City for Dinner and then we had treats at a park after. My kids adore their Aunt Erin and I am happy we all could be together to give her, her 23spankings!!

One thing that my parents wanted to do with each grandchild was to plant a tree in their backyard for them. So with Grandpa Connor, Chloe and I headed out and picked out trees to plant. Thank goodness I only have 3 children because digging the holes for each tree was work. But it was fun to do and it will be fun to see them grow in the future.

Connor and Chloe being so helpful in the planting process….

Each by their tree.

As we waiting for everyone else to arrive these are things we did……..

And then Monte and his 3 munchkins came!!! The house seemed to get a little nosier… but the fun had just started!

Monday Morning we packed up and headed off to Lagoon. None of us had been there in a very long time so we didn’t know what to expect but overall we were all very impressed. A clean park speaks volumes to me. The kids had a BLAST!! And I’m surprised at the kids and how wonderful they were. No whining, crying or major meltdowns. It was just perfect. The sun was out but not to hot, we rode some water rides around noon so we were cooled down during the hottest time of the day. I was proud of Connor and Chloe for being so brave and riding all the rides that they were tall enough for. I have some rollercoaster riders now! It was a perfect day!

Wednesday Eric, Libby and the Gorgeous Baby Claire FINALLY arrived the house got a little nosier but more the merrier at that point. I love it when the house is full. I have to say I’m kinda crazy about this little girl. She’s everything I thought Chloe would be… sniff sniff sniff…. just kidding.. .but she has that dark hair, brown eyes and is just delicious

I mean come’on it doesn’t get any better than this… Chloe holding her cousin Claire.

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Thursday everyone packed up with Grandma and Grandpa Miller and went out to the lake with the boat. Another perfect day. I kinda doubted the weather thinking it wouldn’t be warm enough to be in a babying suit in the water… I mean honestly.. it barely stopped snowing a month ago : ) but Utah proved me wrong. It was wonderful and very refreshing. The kids played hard and the adults even harder. Well, Not Grandma Miller…

I guess she’s “too old for those kind of things now” Boo Grandma! The kids swam, played on the kayaks but nothing beats being pulled, whipped, flipped around behind the boat on a tube. The kids loved it.

 

I went out with Chloe once and I was so focused on her safety that I totally wiped out and left her to fend for herself on the tube. She cried and freaked out thinking I was a goner.

  

Needless to say she was a little hesitant to go back out again after that.

 

It was nice to feel like a kid again playing in the water. And as much as I loved doing that I loved slowing down and holding this precious angel.

Best of both worlds. I just loved the fact that we had all day to hang out and relax and just talk. No stresses, no meltdowns again the kids were great and everyone got along and had clean, classic fun! More pictures from the day…

The Next day we celebrated Connor’s 6th Birthday.

 

Uncle Eric was so sweet to make Connor’s birthday pancakes!

The theme this year was Ninja Turtles. I can’t believe how old he is getting.. he has lost his first 2 teeth now, he starts 1st grade next week, and he is such a sweetheart. He’s my right hand man. I love you Connor! Happy Birthday. This will be an exciting year!!

 

Now on to the Main event. Claire’s Baby Blessing.. but before we could party there were chores to be done. Not that the kids were too much help they made things more fun…. Uncle Eric giving the kids rides on the riding mower.

Claire’s Blessing day was perfect. The weather was gorgeous. Kiel flew in that morning and was able to stand tin the circle.. just in time to leave It was a wonderful day to be with everyone.

They are still working on being able to control their daughter… She’s only crying because I wasn't there. Love you Claire.

Family Poses….

 

 

 

More pictures of newest member to the Crazy Miller Clan.

It was a wonderful trip to Utah filled with fun, sun and luvin. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful inspiring, supportive family . I wish we all lived closer but until that magical day  comes We enjoy the time we get to be together. More pictures….

The next Great Adventure

I guess it’s time to make this more public… We have some very exciting, life changing news and for once I’m NOT pregnant. Yea! It’s time for Kiel to have the big news. He was offered the assistance manager position at the Super Walmart up in the one and only……… Kenai, Alaska! Alaska? What??

yes Kiel has signed us up on a big adventure. Kiel has always talked about moving to Oregon or Washington, Utah or even Nevada and of course Alaska.  I have always told him I would follow him to the ends of the earth except Alaska. When Kiel had the over the phone interview for this job I personally didn’t think it would amount up to anything much… I mean why would they hire someone from Arizona with a bread route and all those strings attached. But one week later the HR rep kept trying to call Kiel so we thought something must be up. After a job offer and then a counter on salary they came back and offered the job at Kiel’s counter and the papers were signed and faxed back. Not only with the job offer. They are paying for us to move, which is absolute bananas to me but it’s a great opportunity. I don’t think we would or could shell out 30 grand just to move our family. After digesting all this new information I am very……….. excited. The idea of moving somewhere new and this great new career move for Kiel is very exciting. He is so smart and will do well in any position but this will allow him to grow and show his real talents. The only part that worries me/us are the things we need to do to get out Arizona. But things have just been falling into place so far. For example. When Kiel was hired they told him that he would be doing through an 8 week training in Chino, California. He would be able to fly home a couple of weekends, and they would pay for everything but then a week ago we were informed that his training was here in Arizona. Like 15 minutes away! I was dreading the idea of Kiel being away that long. Such a blessing. There have been a lot of confirmations to us that this is what we need to be doing and it’s the next step for our family. I am very excited about it. Don’t get me wrong. I will be heartbroken to leave Gilbert. I haven't really allowed myself to think about that part of it yet… I know when I do I will slip into a depression. I have loved, loved, loved Arizona and all the friendships that I have, the ward family we have and Kiel’s family will all be so hard to leave… like I said I can’t emotionally get to deep into it or I’ll be hanging out my Kleenex box all day. But we are very excited but there are a lot of hurdles to over come before getting there so my only hope and prayer is that we can get through them without too many scratches and make it to Kenai with a peaceful heart. Here are some pictures of Kenai!

Summer has started!

So to catch up a little… I don’t understand why it takes me so long to sit down and type this up… but here it is..

The last week of school was bitter sweet. Connor had such an amazing teacher and she was so patient with us. Connor was sad to leave her but on the other hand he is stoked about going to 1st grade… me… not so much… but it’s time for him to grow up… He did really great! His report card was very impressive. Great grades.. just a little silly but Great Grades!! He has grown so much this year. We are so proud of him. He is really great at math and is reading like a champ!

 

 

 

 

 

Notice the “Happy Happy Happy” shirt…

 

 

 

 

 

 

After school was over we had our last soccer practice and game of the season… Coach Fred handed out awards to each of the kids as usual and he’s so kind and patient with all these 5/6year olds it’s amazing. Connor really loves soccer and has improved so much as well!

 

Go SpongeBobs! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Summer has now officially started as well as all of our summer activities. We have something fun to do almost every day which is Really nice!! Our ward Moms are really great at putting together a rotating schedule for the summer. Monday is story time, Wednesdays is Summer Movies, Thursdays the kids play at the church’s gym, and Fridays are swim days! I bought a deal on livingsocial.com for a summer’s pass to the Arizona Science center so we can go there all summer. Everyday there is something fun to do and beat the heat! It’s starting to warm up around here… which is nice and annoying… The kids LOVE going to the pool, almost every day! Either to our community pool or we blow up pools in the backyard but regardless the kids are running around in their suits most of the day. We are all developing a great tan!

 

The summer is fun and we are really enjoying it so far. Next year will be hectic with Connor in all day 1st grade and then Chloe starting preschool. It will be a lot so I am enjoying them all home and no major morning schedules!!

Curtis Loves being outside and playing!!! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Another great thing about Summer is the kids have more time to spend with their cousins. They have been seeing them at least once a week. They have come with us to the movies twice now and it makes things more fun.

I have been so proud of our little garden.. I am impressed at the delicious vegetables we’ve gotten. I’m sure things will start to shrivel up soon enough but we’ve had much success and we are already starting to think about expanding it. It’s been a great learning experience and very relaxing for me to take care of it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As for Kiel and I things are well. We have been trying to eat better and drop a few lbs. I don’t think Kiel is enjoying it much but he’s had great success…I’m proud of us. We work out together in the backyard (in the shade of course) while the kids splash in the pools. Having Kiel as a workout partner has been really motivating. He is very supportive and I don’t think I could do any of this without him.

There are times when I honestly don’t know how I used to do certain things. I used to craft more, sew, projects, SCRAPBOOK (something I’m desperately trying to catch up on), all those silly things… lately it’s cleaning… grocery shopping… laundry…kids activities… cleaning… primary…. budgeting… cleaning more… and then just literally dying at the end of the day. But I guess life is just one big give and take. I now am on a fun diet.. working out and trying to keep up with my little ones. Curtis is in a fun, crazy silly stage but Into or ON everything!!! He is still the love of my life.. but honestly..he is so brave and adventurous it’s tough keeping up.

I, like a lot of people get very anxious when my plate is too full. I tend to stress out when I don’t have control over certain things. It just seems so overwhelming sometimes. With all the housework, raising 3 children, not just keeping them alive… but working with them individually on the things they need to be working on. for example…

I love my Chloe. She will grab her papers and markers and tell me “Mom!! I want my lesson!!” She is so eager to learn. So when she does this it’s hard for me to resist. So I stop whatever I am doing… usually and sit down with her. I gave her the challenge this summer to learn not only the alphabet (which she already knows to my surprise) but all the sounds each letter makes. The way Connor’s school teaches… now that I know.. so I thought it would be a little bit of a challenge.. Nope. Chloe hears it, she writes the letter Capital and lower case and its down. She already knows half of the alphabet and I’m so proud of her. She is a little bit of a Diva but honestly a smart quick cookie. If only I had (or took) a little more time with her I’m sure she would be reading in the next year. She is so Eager to do all the things Connor is doing. It’s amazing.

Two weeks ago Connor noticed he had a wiggly tooth, he was so excited!! I think we were at Café Zupas and I can remember being a little embarrassed at the hoopla he was making but he was so excited, he wanted me to get on the phone and tell Everyone! It still hasn’t come out yet.. but it’s wiggly as well as the one next to it. So in the next month or so (I don’t know how long it takes for these things to actually come out… ) Connor will have a couple of holes in his mouth. Chloe is Sooo Soo Jealous. boo hoo…

In the end I am so grateful for my little family. Especially Kiel. When I get tense or start to feel that anxiety he is there with whatever I need to hear to relax and breathe. Life goes on. Our life isn’t perfect but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I look forward to another scorching hot summer (with a new AC unit) filled with fun adventures and activities. We love watching our 3 little monsters grow up and growing together as a family. 

Gardening and Soccer

Every morning I go out to our garden and feel such success because everything is still green and alive : ) I am really proud of our little garden and how much it’s producing. We haven’t picked anything yet but very soon!! Here are some pictures… It’s nothing compared to the Pedersen’s Garden but maybe someday!!

Our potted Pepper plants, 4 Bell peppers and then one Banana Pepper!

 

Our Cucumber Plant, It has attached itself to each of the pepper plants, the onions and the zucchini plants… It’s a very friendly plant! We have at least 5 cucumbers on their way.

All together we have at least 12 Bell peppers (My Favorite) coming and 3 banana peppers growing.

We have 2 tomato plants chugging along, this one is our Heirloom tomato plant.. very fragrant and huge, there are at least 20 tomatoes on this baby!! Very exciting!!

Then we have our onions, and celery (hidden under our ever growing zucchini plant)

Here are Zucchini’s (we’ll have at least 6) and then our Roma Tomato plant which some are already turning red.. there are at least 30 on that little guy!! It gets a lot of shade due to the Zucchini plant…

We love our garden… The kids love going out and seeing all the changes and watching things grow. we have tons of lizards that come and protect our garden from to many bugs.

And in other exciting news after 3 years our Lemon Tree is finally producing!!! We had 2 but one had a very short life… so we literally have all our eggs in one basket… This will be the MOST delicious Lemon Ever!!! well… it better : )

 

The SpongeBob's!!!

This season Connor has really grown and really enjoyed the game more. He has had the same Amazing Coach for 3 seasons now and he really has helped Connor improve. This season They are 5-1 so far. Connor scored this 2nd goal 2 games ago. He likes to play goalie and defense. I’m so proud of our little guy!!

Connor’s Biggest Fans! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL