Yep, folks, we're in Bountiful

We moved in last Saturday to Dave’s parent’s home in Bountiful and we survived the first week of living at the in-laws! It has actually gone really well so far. Dave’s parents, and Aunt Julie & Uncle Randy are really nice and the kids love being able to party at Grandma and Grandpa’s every day and night! We’ve been trying hard to keep to regular schedules and routines here, and that’s been a bit of a challenge, because usually when we come here, we just hang out, eat goodies, stay up late, watch way too much TV, and we don’t do many productive things. So we’re wanting to do that, and so far that’s been good most of the time. This week, we mostly hung out here, caught up on laundry, done some more packing, helped do cleaning and things around the house, played with the kids, practiced, read, I’ve been really consistent with practicing, reading, scriptures and other things like that, which is good, we've gone to clean our condo and work on some touch-ups. Hopefully things continue to go well. We are still looking for a buyer/renter for our place and pray that it will happen soon!

One day, we were dancing in the living room (Dave's family calls it the "Sacred Room". Grandma brought out some feather boas, and the kids had a great time with them! Em has been running away anytime I try to take her picture, silly girl! So it's been hard to get any shots of her. But we love playing chase, here she is running away! And of course, the kitties! Grandma has three (yes, she is the crazy cat lady and readily admits it herself. The three doesn't count all of the "outside kitties" that she feeds as well.) and Emma and Cal just love them. Sometimes too much! Cal has been scratched more than once this week! This kitty is Tony, the most recent cat to join the family.

We went to a playgroup with friends down here in Bountiful one day at Bountiful City park and went to our summer playgroup at Hill Air Force Base Museum with our friends in Ogden. The kids had a great time and were so happy to see some of their friends, who they miss already so badly! Dave and I do as well! It's hard to find such good friends, and we really miss the ones we made in South Ogden.

On Friday, we did a recital with my flute student, her mom who plays the piano, and her sister who plays the violin and my mom who plays the piano and my sister who plays the violin. It was so much fun! We all played a solo, and played some duets. I played “Trio” by Khulau with my sister, Scherzetinno by Paul Taffanel, and Trumpet March with Allison. It was wonderful to be able to play with my sister Amy and my mom, as well as my student Allison Francis, who has been such a hard worker. She’s been great, and her family is so swell. After, Allison and her mom said some words and were in tears, so sad I was leaving. They said they were so grateful I was able to teach Allison. It made me start to cry as well. They just talked about how I was so instrumental in helping Allison develop a love for the flute and music in general. Allison told me I’d always be her favorite teacher, which was sweet. I will miss teaching her, she is such a hard worker. I'll also miss playing with my mom and sister so much when I move. It has brought so much joy into our family! I love playing with them. My mom is the best accompanist on the piano ever, and it's great playing with my sister. I had to laugh when I practiced with Allison and her sister and Mom this week, when Allison and Sarah were arguing a bit "You're standing in my way!" and things like that. I remember that, when Amy and I would squabble and say the other was playing too loud, the other's instrument was in the way.

On Saturday, we worked more on our house, and then we went to South Ogden Days. We saw the Flying Ninjas, walked around to see everything, saw Ryan Shupe & the Rubber Band in concert, and watched the fireworks. The kids love Ryan Shupe, especially the Corndog Song, which they sang along to! They got the licorice we brought and jammed out with it like they were drumsticks, it was pretty cute! Dave's favorite was the Devil went down to Georgia. We've seen Ryan Shupe quite a few times, and this was a fun show, and for free, yea!

We have the best friends. EVER.

I really do have the best friends. Ever. Period. End of story. I wouldn't trade my friends for any others. As I've grown up and moved on, I've gathered new friends along the way, but have kept my old friends and held them in my heart. "Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold" is a song I learned in Girl Scouts long ago (yes, I used to be a Brownie Scout, which BTW, I sold more thin mints and samoas than any girl in my troop the year I participated), and I like it, only I think all of my friends are golden. It started with the friends of my childhood - friends I had in elementary school like Harmony Vanzeeben, Patricia Hammerland, Amanda Richardson, Aimee Hood, Rachel Sheffield, Megan Peterson, Chelsea Rudelich, Katrina Conradi, and more. I loved these friends, and learned a lot about life and learning from them; though we were young, careless, and yes, very stupid at times. I wish I didn't have all of my scrapbooks packed in boxes, or I'd scan in some pictures of these friends. I do though, have some pictures of my friends from high school that I scanned in a while ago.

My friends from high school were all great! I hung out with different groups, and I really found my niche in high school. I love my Woods Cross friends, though most were in the same ward and had known each other their whole lives, treated me like I was just another of them. Especially Camille, she is just so crazy fun and crazy good and crazy cute, I love that girl! She is stellar! Then there is Kaylin, Emily, Melinda, and the rest of the crew. Then my friends I kept that I knew from junior high and we became even closer in high school. Amanda, my twin! She and I are two peas in a pod. She is super smart and talented and creative! Then there's Kristen, who came to my junior high Hollywood party dressed as Pamela Anderson, with waterballoons stuffed in her bra. Yep, that's Kristen. She is so kind and can always put a smile on your face, and is brilliant. Stacie is just so funny and tells the best stories. She is so enthusiastic. Emily has so much quiet inner strength, and is such a great example to me. Mike, I love us! Mike is fun to be around. Matt is just funny. Katrina is such a great girl. She is a great friend and she does so much! I could go on and on about all of these people! I'm grateful for the example of my friends. A lot of times, we turn out like the people we spend time with. I'm happy that my friends are such high-quality people. They have helped shape my life in ways they probably never even realized.

Here I am with some friends on a band trip at the San Diego Zoo.

At a stomp dance with many of my great buddies from high school.

This picture was taken just a few weeks ago, as Emily (far right) is visiting from Germany, where her husband is stationed for the military. Me, Stacie, Amanda, Emily.

This is Kat with her son Owen.

Our little group still gets together quite a bit. About once a year now, which is fun.

Me, Stacie, and Amanda at an ice-cream/catch-up event. Amanda is living in Colorado Springs now and Stacie is here in Utah working as a Pharmacist.

Then my friends from my college days. I had so much fun, and my friends provided such a great support system for me. I was involved in marching band, and so before school even started, I had instant friends. My flute friends were (and are) so incredible - Amber, Nicole, Hillary, Tiffany, Katie, and the rest! Friends like Katie, Marti, and Katie. Here we are at a Halloween dance, dressed up as Teen Girl Squad from homestarrunner.com.

With Hillary, Waldo the Wildcat, Katie and Nate at a basketball game. Nate introduced me to Dave...thank you, Nate!

Brandon and Katie, and of course my Dave, my best friend! This foursome had, and has such a fun time together! in fact, we're going to see them tonight- yea! Katie is just so much fun! She is very talented in many ways, and is great to talk to and listen. She was always there for me when I needed a girl to talk to in college.

And then there is Jasmine. Jazzy got off her mission and started school again during my last year in band, but she was so nice from the get-go. There's no one sweeter and more thoughtful than Jasmine. And Katie, of course, buckets of fun! Here we are doing pudding finger paints! We love our Anne of Green Gable marathons, beverage tasting parties, girls brunch and White Christmas parties, and going out to lunch for birthdays.

At Katie's wedding. What a great day!

Then there are my neighborhood and ward friends. What an incredible support system we have where we lived. I'm gonna miss all of these ladies so much!

Here's Nanette. Nanette is so crafty and clever and cute, and so good with her 3 boys!

Then there's Lori Daliva, always so sweet to do things for others and think of others. She is a convert and learning the ways of the Gospel. She's great!

And then Kasey, who was my visiting teaching companion. She is so diligent and hard working in everything. She always is fun to talk to!

Ashley is a super friend. She was the one to drop off cookies with their phone number on an index card when we moved in. She organized our neighborhood preschool. She is a spiritual giant. We were also in Scouts together, which was fun!

Then there are the Yangs, I love this family! They lived three doors down from us. Hlee is so sweet! She's the neighbor I'd run to if I needed anything, and I knew I could count on Hlee. She is a convert and has such a powerful testimony! She puts me at ease and helps me to feel comfortable. She makes her home a welcoming place to be.

Hlee just has a heart of gold! She'd do anything for anyone and is constantly giving, giving, giving!

And who could forget my good, good friend Calena? She is awesome! We met in our University young marrieds ward when we were both pregnant with our firsts. We started trading our kids one night a week so we could go to Institute or on date nights. I really could trust Calena with my life, she is that reliable. I feel so comfortable taking my kids over to her house, knowing they'll be in the best hands. And we get our families together to hang out and get the kids together for playdates. Calena is such a good wife and mother. She has gone through so much in her life, but remains strong and true. She is a friend you call when you just need to talk. She helps me out so much! We compare stories of kids and life. We cry and laugh with each other. Dennis and Dave are great friends as well, they like to try to beat Rock Band, go shooting, and shoot the breeze together.

Here we are with some friends from our married's ward. I have some of the greatest friends from those two married's wards we were in...Amanda, Krisann, Keri, and too many more to name! <3

Calena and I hardly have any pictures of us. They're all of the kids! So the past few months, we've had Dennis take some of just us. Here's one of us at Rio Tinto Kennecott mine. I'm so grateful to have a friend like Calena!

And, I had to post these pictures! Dennis took these a while ago of the kids together. Dennis is a great photographer! If anyone needs pictures done, I can hook you up! Not only are we the best of friends, our kids are as well. We wanted to capture this! Emma and Tavin are a couple of months apart, the middle boys are about 5 months apart, and the babies are 5 days apart. These kids have grown up together and they all have a blast together!

The Miller and Ryerse kids!

Push, pull! Kids on parade.

The cute babies, Kaleb and Lucy! I died when Calena told me they were pregnant, but I couldn't tell her we were too, because we had to tell our families first. Well, she ended up finding out first, because she babysat while Dave and I went to the first O.B. appointment. The babies were due five days apart, and were both born exactly a week early at five days apart.

So precious!

The middle boys, Alec and Cal. They either play really nice together or clash sometimes because of their age and because they are boys.

Both of the boys were super tired when we were taking these pictures!

So I've posted about Tavin and Emma before, watch out! These two are so cute together and are just so sweet! I think (and others have said) these look like engagement photos! We didn't plan for that, but we basically told them to play, or stand by the tree, and they did the rest!

Now they do have their free-agency, but we joke we could arrange this marriage so we could be related! Ha ha!

Tavin just cracks me up with the things he says. He also makes Emma giggle a lot! These two get along so well. We've never had any problems with them fighting. Ever! That's pretty hard to do.

And the crowning jewel, this pic is my favorite!

I love all of my friends so much and will miss you all when we move! But though we might not live close by anymore, but "the road to a friends house is never long." Remember that. I'm never too far and we'll keep in touch!

C'est la vie!

The last couple of weeks have brought lots of ups and downs! The kids finished up this year of preschool! Emma’s now ready to move on to kindergarten, and Cal is just getting started with preschool. He started going in January. We had our little graduation party a couple of week ago, it was so cute! We watched a movie of pictures from the year (we all got copies and Cal has been wanting to watch it at home over and over again!). They got “caps” and they walked and we awarded them diplomas. And we let them play with balloons, and ate snacks. I’ve had such a fun time doing the neighborhood joy school. This is the second year we’ve participated, and the kids and I love it! I want to continue it for all of my kids, wherever we are. All of the mom’s we’ve done it with have been fabulous! Ashley Frey has been kind of the ring leader, her little boy is Hyrum. Then there’s Kasey Migliori (Emmy), Nanette Gamble (Ethan and Logan), and Lori Daliva (Jarel).

Congrats, Grads! Here they are throwing their hats up in the air!

Emma's done with preschool...on to bigger and better things!

Lining up for their Preschool graduation ceremony. It's been a lot of fun! Thanks, Moms, for all of your hard work! We've loved doing preschool. Unfortunately, the Gambles were unable to come to the graduation.

We also had a water party with the preschool friends. Here's Elisha, Jennica, and Emma.

Cal taking his turn at a water relay.

Having a great time!

Memorial Day was great. The Sunday before Memorial day, we went to the Ogden City cemetery to see the graves of my side of the family. Callahan was jumping all over the headstones, so we had to take him back to the car and sit with him there. But Emma has always enjoyed seeing the cemetery and has been respectful. I’m grateful for the righteous heritage I’ve been blessed with. I’ve been proofreading a book my mom is writing “My Pioneer Ancestors” lately, and it’s been such a joy to be able to do so. I also have helped her create a cover and add and edit things a bit. My ancestors and those who have come before had such courage and faith, I’m so blessed to be able to be their posterity, and I’m so glad they chose the gospel, though they faced much adversity. If they didn’t, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today. Their stories are fascinating and give me more of a sense of who I am and where I get some of my ways from.
We also went down to the Ogden River, which is flooding. It is so high, I can’t believe it. I just pray that the elements will be tempered so that we won’t have too much damage from flooding.
On Monday, Memorial Day, we packed up more stuff to move down to Bountiful. It was snowing! We probably got about 3 inches! This is getting ridiculous, almost June and it feels and looks like winter! Then we took the kids to the Clark Planetarium in Salt Lake and saw “Born to be Wild”, a 3D IMAX show about baby orphan animals. It was fun, and Cal even sat through it! We were worried, because he can never watch a show more than a few minutes. That was his first movie in the theatres. It was a great show! Then we went to my parents and did the annual Memorial Day luau. We had tropical fruit, coconut shrimp, Island pork, sweet potatoes and bananas, salad, fruit punch, and for dessert, coconut covered bananas and ice-cream with a Hawaiian sauce, coconut and macadamia nuts. It was so tasty! The kids enjoy all of the fun decorations, and putting leis on everyone. We were the only ones there, Amy and Kolby were moving that day (my parents went to help them later on), and Marko had to work. Then we went to the Ryerse’s house, where we hung out with everyone who was over. The kids had a blast playing with Tayla and Kaison, like always. That afternoon, my in-laws came home from their cruise to Alaska. We all welcomed them home, and heard stories, and looked at pictures. They had a fabulous time! It was their first cruise, and they are ready to go on some more. I’m glad they had fun, they deserve a good break! We had a BBQ that night, hamburgers and hot dogs and Jerry made some tasty ribs and grilled pineapple. I made sweet potato pie and strawberry shortcake for dessert. It was a fun day and we are glad Grandma and Grandpa are back safely.

"Born to Be Wild" in 3-D.

At the Clark Planetarium.

Emma loved putting leis on everyone at the luau, including herself! She kept running away from me when I'd try to take a picture! (:

Cal trying to play the ukelele.

Little Lucy also enjoyed the Island fun.

Then last Tuesday, we got some not-so-good news. We found out our buyer, Debbie, couldn’t get the loan, as she would need to put 20% down, and she doesn’t have that kind of money. She tried a bunch of other institutions, but everywhere else was the same story. Because at our condos, you need to have more than 50% owner-occupied to get an FHA loan, and right now, it’s sitting at 47%. So lending institutions say it’s risky lending at that percent, so now with the new housing regulations, you need 20% down. So we offered her to do a rent-to-own thing, or help do owner financing, but she was so frustrated, she is done, and just wants to rent now after all of that. So we put our house back on the market, and we’re looking to possibly rent, and have shown our condo to a couple of interested people. It’s a big bummer, because she wanted it so bad. And we really wanted to sell it so we could use the money for moving expenses. But I know that things will work out. We already packed away most of our stuff, so it’s kind of hard. Family and friends have been so kind. My mom sent me home last week and the other day with a bunch of meals, so that was super nice. Nothing better than her home cookin’. Hlee had us over also to eat once as well. And Calena had us over for dinner last week, and brought us dinner last Sunday. They are all so sweet! I really have the best friends! I packed up all of our dishes and food and spices and cooking supplies. We were just planning on having sandwiches, cereal, and easy stuff this week, since we were planning on being out a couple of weeks ago Friday. So this past week, we made a bunch of freezer meals, so we could just pull out some real food from the freezer and heat it up. We made super bean burritos, South West lasagna, honey glazed ribs, and cream cheese chicken. They all turned out really well! It was fun getting together to do that with her. We’ve talked about doing it for a while, but this time, we had to do it. But now we’ll be here until we can find someone to buy or rent it from us, it’s looking more like we’ll find a renter. We’re also looking more at places to rent up in the Spokane area. We’ve found some pretty good places, now we just need to find a job! Dave’s been applying, but no luck so far. Hopefully soon! We’ve been fasting and praying that things will work out. And we appreciate those who also have been doing the same for us. (: Just when you think everything is going your way, something happens to throw you off course. I’ve been dealing pretty well with it, but one night, I was pretty frustrated. I think I'm done eating off paper plates and sitting on camp chairs instead of our couch and living out of boxes. But c’est la vie…so is life, right?

These past two week, since most of the packing is done and cleaning hasn’t been bad, I’ve had a lot of time to play with the kids. It’s been nice. We went to the Splash Pad with a group of friends from our old student ward. That was great to see them all! We went to the park one day with the Yangs, and also went to their house one afternoon to go swimming and play. We went to my Mom’s on Friday, and played outside a lot of the day. Now that it’s actually nice, I love it! (: And even more than the nice weather, I love playing with my kids!

Here is Emma at the Splash Pad, having a good time!

Cal running through the water...he thought it was pretty cold! He loves being warm and gets chilly pretty quickly.

Lucy chilling in her carseat, doing the thing she does best, and that is, looking pretty.

Hlee helping the kids. She blew up their inflatable raft this time and it actually worked pretty well. She filled it up with warm water from the bathtub, since it was kind of a cold day.

Splishing and a splashing on a summer day!