Let's Give This A Shot...

Well instead of trying to blow up your inboxes with monthly e-mails contaning gigantic size photo files...lets take two and try a blog, eh?

We thought this would be fun and hopefully give everyone a chance to get an inside peak at life in Provo for us. Jon and I are both going to use this page. So... with that said... Millers...if there is too much Celeste stuff ... take the TiVo option...and skip the boring parts. And my fam, I'd give the reciprocal caveat...but lets be honest, stuff about Jon is always exciting.

We think this will be fun for us and hopefully you derive at least a small smile or laugh from each visit to the page.

Much love,

Celeste & Jon

Visit from Old Mission Companion

Old Richard Walker came to spend a weekend with me. For those who don't remember, he and I served together in the great area of Joondalup. It was great to catch up and talk about the good times (Johnny was especially a highlight of the conversation...he was the one that I sent Mary a photo of). He came down Thursday and stayed until Saturday. We had a lot of fun.

Richard hanging out at the apartment

All Sports Passes

BYU FOOTBALL!!! Yes the season has started and we are "Fully Invested" to attend every game. The first game was great as we were victorious of Arizona. It looks like BYU has a good team this year we have high hopes. We picked up our All-Sports passes with a nice group of friends (there are about seventy people who picked up passes in our group...out of hand, especially since one girl went and picked them up for all of us). So we look forward to a great season of BYU football.
Game #1 Highlights

We are fully invested!

Part of our group at the BYU win over Arizona

New Roommate

With Wang off on his honeymoon, we were anxious to see who the new guy to get thrown in the mix would be. Tom immediately won over our admiration (probably because he brought a 42 inch high definition flat screen TV). The boys were pretty excited about that. Turns out he is also a really cool guy and its been fun to get to know him better.

New roommate Tom and his girlfriend Whitney

Tom, Whitney, Celeste, and Jon

Jared's Move To Chicago

So it was good to get together with the family for one last hurrah before Jared took off to Chicago. We really enjoyed spending time with him and think him and Tonya (hope that is spelled right) are a cute couple! We wish him the best and will miss him!

Jon shows off his cooking skills and apron

Jared gives Jon a lift

Trying our best to look tough

Jon loves this picture

Jared gets a GOOD GAME!

Look how cute we are

Danielle Comes To Play

A few weeks ago, Danielle had her harp recital and she did a great job! It is so fun to see her playing again and she is very gifted! After her recital, Jon kept bugging her about when she was going to come down to Provo. So we arranged for the next weekend of fun!

Troy and MaryAnn brought Danielle down Friday night and we all went to dinner at Goodwood BBQ. It was great! Anytime you see big knifes, paper towels, and wet wipes on the table before the meal is spread, you know its going to be good! Jon wanted to give a shoutout to the Texas briskit (emphasize Texas) that was so lovely. Thanks Dad!

So our young visitor was left in our care with lots of fun options for the night ahead. We offered to take her shopping, to a movie, go to the park, etc. But, none of these options appealed to her as much as being able to go driving. So we went to the BYU stadium parking lot where Danielle was entertained (and entertained us) for hours. I would say cheap entertainment, but with the price of gas...

Jon entertained us with a concert on his guitar, after which Danielle decided it was necessary that we take a road trip until he "is discovered." We put in a movie and after about five minutes, Danielle and I had a hard time hearing it over Jon's snoring. The next morning we made banana pancakes and bacon. We had just enough time to watch a movie and paint our nails (Jon especially enjoyed this part of the day) before mom was back to get Danny.

Danielle at her harp recital

Congratulating Danielle at her recital

Jon, Danielle, and our wonderful great grandma

Thanks for dinner mom and dad

Me and Jon at Goodwood BBQ

Danielle, Celeste, and Jon hanging out

Wang's Wedding

Ah, our little Wang moved on to bigger and better things. It was sad to see him go. He was engaged to his longtime (of thirteen days) girlfriend Rachael back in May and now joined in the holy bonds of matrimony. Me, Nate, and Phil had the blessing of attending the sealing as well as the luncheon and reception. At the luncheon, I was privleged to give the Toast of Good Friends. Although his effort to hide his car at the reception was a diligent attempt, we prevailed in the end. Also making an appearance was Brad Baldwin and his wife Whitney, who are expecting...BABY!

Decorating Wang's Car

Brad and Whitney

Phil leading the group

500 feet of Plastic Wrap

Celeste with the Bride

At the reception

Moving

I was very grateful for Jonny's help in cleaning out my old apartment and moving in to my new room in the duplex. My parents helped me hang curtains and pictures to make the place feel more homey. I really like my new ward, but it was sad to leave my roommates at Centennial. We had many fun dance parties and I will really miss those girls.

I hope that I can get to know my new roommates here, too. They are a lot older than me, but they are really nice girls. I am so happy that I finally have a washer and dryer!

Old Roommates at Centennial
Megan, Lisa, and Kim

At my old apartment with Jen, Cassie and old roomie Lisa

Me and Jon at my old apartment

Friends at Lisa's Birthday Party at Centennial

Me in my new room

Thanks for the help with the curtains and pictures mom and dad

The new set up

Celeste's Visit To Logan

I went up to Logan for a couple days to visit my friend Bethanie from high school. It was great to have some "girl time" and catch up with her and her roommate Jamie. We spent a day at the pool, watched their ward's "superhero" competitition, went out to dinner, and after going country dancing...ended the night in the Emergency Room. Luckily, after being dropped on her head dancing, she was alright. The ER did prove to be heaps entertaining though...it may or may not be an interesting group of people that find their way to the ER at midnight. My new friends included a guy who got bit by his girlfriend's pet racoon. Yeah, you can't make this stuff up.

One of the main contenders for the ward "Super Hero"

Our vote goes to Duct Tape Man

Bethanie and I enjoying Asphalt Pie

Three Cheers for Girls Night Out

The Fray

We went to see the Fray at the end of July. They played a bunch of their hit songs, as well as a cover of Shakira that Jonny especially loved. It was really nice to see Mary there, as well as Dan Valetta and his wife.

Fun concert

The whole gang at the Fray

Olsen East Coast Trip Summer '07

My family was able to take a week together and go back East. We were lucky enough to have our grandpa Olsen with us too. We spent a few incredible days in D.C., enjoyed the fourth of July at Virginia Beach, and traveled to the Outer Banks of Carolina. We loved the theme park Busch Gardens Europe so much we went for two days! Whether it was eating an enormous amount of delicious seafood, riding a bicycle built for six, or hanging out at Pocahontas Pancakes, our days were enjoyable and memorable.

The whole gang at a museum in D.C.

My cute parents in D.C.

Celeste at the Supreme Court Building

The guys

The gals

Experiencing the Terror of the Big Bad Wolf at Busch Gardens Europe

One of many seafood feasts

Six person bicycle ride

Pocahantas Pancakes

Enjoying dessert with my cute little sister

Miller Family Retreat

Well, this was going to be funny and full of jokes. But it all got deleted so now all we get is pretty much a low budget C grade movie full of cheap jokes and dodgey effects for a shock factor that will do nothing more than make you cringe and feel nauseous. So for all those who enjoyed the tea cups at Disneyland, read on!

Here's the recap:

Happy Camper Award. We all learned that valuable lesson "Bribery fixes problems." Let's put that one right next to "If you're not cheating, you're not trying" and "Looking good is all that matters."

Nightly workshops. Setting goals, how to keep our family close, the helium stick, Jared disappointed that the helium stick wasn't something he could inhale, Josh disappointed that he wouldn't then have a lower voice then Jared even if it would only be momentarily, and how to manage our finances using the equation: Freedom buys Happiness, Money buys Freedom, therefore, Money buys Happiness.

Great Hikes. Bekah screaming as her bottle bounces off the edge. Jared without hesitation chases after it. Pops uses his token phrase "What a Dumb@$$!" Mom slaps Pops. The rest of us laugh. Jared returns victorious. Bottle ends up broken anyway.

Good times, good times. Though this blog may be a bit damp from the sarcasm (which is mostly due to the fact that I am having to retype this) we really did have a great time. It was good to have us all together again. All of us got along well and were able to just enjoy being with each other. Thank Mom and Pops for everything, but I think the biggest thanks goes out to the true Camper of the Week and an inspiration to all...Tom Selleck!

Hiking at Arches

Cherished Moments

Learning together

Finding the coolest spot

Climbing to new heights

Fun and games

Lets talk about Jared's facial hair some more

The joy of grandkids