The Last Three Months...

Somehow I managed to not get a single picture of my boys in their Halloween costumes so if any of you happened to take some please email them to me. Audrik was a cheeseburger and Draven was set on being a soldier for the second year in a row.

9 Wonderful Years

Today is our 9th anniversary. It is amazing to me that we have been married for 9 years! I haven't had much time to update the blog lately. We are so busy with school, research, work, crossfit/excercise and just life but I did want to take a 5 minute break from work and say thank you to the best husband ever!

Kurt is such a genuinely good person which is one of the first things that attracted me to him. Even after 9 years, all I have to do is walk into his arms and the whole world disappears and life is better. He is so supportive and is always aware of me and my needs. What other man would put up with my craziness :). Kurt is always thinking of ways to make my life a little easier. For example: I tend to take on too much (which most of you are aware of) I love how he knows me so well and naturally steps in and helps so that I am not overwhelmed.

This time of year is so hard on our little family. I really don't think I could survive without his support. Kurt puts up with my long work days, me being a stress case, and still tells me daily how much he appreciates me and all I do for the family... when in reality, he is the one holding it all together. I am truly blessed to be married to an amazing man, my best friend and an awesome daddy. There is no one else I would rather experience this journey with. I love you, Kurt!

We make a good team :).

I can't believe my little guy started Kindergarten this year. Draven is loving every minute of it and I am so glad!

First day of Kindergarten

Kurt getting Draven ready for crazy hair day.

He loved his green mohawk!

Draven wasn't the only one that started school...

Grandpa Richard also started school. Isn't he such a cutie!

The Big 23

Okay... so I am not really twenty-three but that is how old I feel and I figure that is what really matters :). The only way to describe my birthday this year is. . . interesting. Draven had spent the previous night at, his cousin, Joshy's house. Unfortunately, when they woke up in the morning one of the other kiddos had an eye infection. Barb being a sweetheart and not wanting to infect our household drove all the way to Logan to drop Draven off instead of keeping him for the day and just bringing him that night for the party. She also brought carrot cake and cheesecake so they could have a little celebration with me since they weren't going to be able to come that night. Cheesecake for breakfast is always marvelous :). My good friend and upstairs neighbor, Katie, also brought me homemade cheesecake so I was in heaven! Later in the day, Draven decided to swallow a penny and the day just kind of kept going in that direction. Luckily, I have an awesome family who made sure it ended on a high note by coming over that evening for pizza and cheesecake, yum! Getting ready to blow out the candles...

Success Maddie, Audrik and Draven helping me celebrate
My brother, Jim, and his wife, Britanie

Boating

One of our favorite things to do during the summer is boating. These pics are from one of our boating trips with my cousins, Becky and Stephanie and their families.

That's my man :)

Me and my cute boys

Silly Audrik

Playing on shore by the boat

4th of July - Family Reunion

This year we decided to have a Miller family reunion the weekend of the 4th and it was a blast! We all arrived at the cabin in Island Park on Friday night and got our tents set up. Saturday morning we got up and decorated the kids bikes so that they could participate in the I.P. Bill's Island parade if they wanted to. The parade was so much fun, with a lot of people participating and lots of candy for the kids. After the parade we had a family biathlon. It was originally going to be a triathlon with canoeing, biking, and running but the weather was a little chilly so we just did the biking and running portion. The biathlon was such a great idea and was so much fun! Of course, it helped that my team won :). Later that evening we went to the Island potluck dinner which was pretty yummy. After dinner we wandered over to a neighboring cabin and set up our chairs right on the lake shore to watch the fireworks. They had a boat promenade before the fireworks which was really neat. Some of the people had gone all out in decorating their boats. The next morning we picked up camp and Kurt and I headed home so I could work Monday. Thanks Doug and Jen for putting in so much work. I hope we do it every year!

Grandma and Draven during the parade

My cute dad :)
Audrik loving the sparklers

A momma moose and her baby decided to hang out 20 feet from the cabin

The biathletes

The Hiawatha Trail

A while back my family decided it would be fun to ride the Hiawatha Trail. We scheduled it for a Saturday morning and arranged to meet in Northern Idaho. Kurt's parents had moved to Spokane a couple weeks before so we thought it would be fun to take a long weekend and spend a few days with them since we would already be close by. We left Thursday and made the 10 hour drive to Spokane getting in fairly late. Friday we went to the Riverfront park in Spokane to see the falls and walk around. It was beautiful and the boys loved it. There was a huge Radio Flyer wagon that had a slide where the handle would be. The boys also got to ride on the historic carousel that was built in 1909. After the Riverfront park we went back to Kurt's parents and loaded up our bikes and went for a ride along the river. I think the trail was called Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes and the view while riding was gorgeous! Saturday morning we got up early and drove a couple of hours over to the start of the Hiawatha Trail which is where we met up with my family. It was a great ride and the views were breathtaking. The trail is 15 miles long and you go through 10 tunnels and over 7 train trestles. The longest tunnel was 1.66 miles long and was pitch black! It was a little disconcerting at first especially since I couldn't see more than a foot in front of me with my head lamp.

The huge Radio Flyer wagon. Richard and the boys are on the left.

Audrik on one of his many rides down.

The boys playing on the City of Spokane blocks at the Riverfront park.

The coolest goat ever. It has a vacuum in it's mouth so if you hold up garbage it sucks it up and sends it to a large bin behind it.

The falls. They were so pretty!

Audrik and Grandpa Richard

Audrik, Kurt, Draven and I at the Spokane Temple.

Our group at the start of the Hiawatha Trail.

Our little fam right after we came out of the longest tunnel.

The longest tunnel - 1.66 miles

Some of the great views.

Taking a little break.