Miller Memo

My Cheeks Still Hurt

2010-03-11T22:30:00.000-08:00

My dad took us to Brian Regan this week.

Pee your pants funny and it never gets old.

Jon, Me, Gurney & Dani after the show

The Olsen fam

Sista sista

Non-stop laughs

Thank you Brian Regan-

...for getting me through every high school break-up

...for changing the way I look at a Pop Tart

...for making everything even MORE funny at 3 a.m.

AND

...for taking us away from the stress of being sick a lot lately, trying to graduate, buying a home, and moving!

Two Words

2010-02-24T19:34:00.000-08:00

Offer Accepted!

{Insert dorky cheesy pic}

...Bring on the cleaning, packing, and moving!

{P.S. If anyone happens to know someone looking to rent a place in Provo, spread the word ->
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=475&ad=9804645&cat=276}

Valentines Day: Love or Hate?

2010-02-16T15:02:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but I have a love/hate relationship with Valentines Day. The cynic in me wants to complain about the commercialization and evolved materialism of the holiday, yet the hopeless romantic in me cherishes a day completely devoted to the celebration of love.

Let's weigh my list of Cons:

It sucks to be dumped right before Valentines Day. Let's just put salt in the wound, shall we?
Guys and girls (but especially the guys) feel a fair amount of pressure to convey their love in an extravagant (and often material) way that often sucks all the fun right out of the holiday.
The agony of anticipation. The "will they/won't they?" remember factor. Last week, I actually started getting grumpy in anticipation of Valentines Day. My mind had determined that Jon wasn't going to do anything for me for to acknowledge the holiday. {Please tell me I am not the only gal out there who sometimes let's these female emotions run away with her mind. I'm glad I can retrospectively chuckle at how lame I am sometimes.}
Traffic everywhere. No reservation? Forget going out unless you love long lines and waiting with an empty stomach.
Let's be honest, I think we can all relate to Pam's character in the Office as she earnestly waited for a Valentines Day sentiment from her fiance all day. While no gift for her arrived, she had to deliver an entire flower garden along with every cliche Valentines gift under the sun to Phyllis.
The occasional gender-related paradigm clash regarding the "perfect gift." Jon's level-headed pragmatism is definitely one of his most attractive qualities. However, the stubborn romantic in me doesn't always appreciate "practical" gifts as much as I should. Case in point: For our first anniversary, he gave me a new pair of running shoes. On the other hand, Jon likely views my overt romanticism as silly. He probably would laugh if he knew I spend at least twenty minutes pouring over the "perfectly worded" card for any holiday. To him, it's just another card that will likely get tossed in the trash within two weeks.

On to the Pros:

There's usually CHOCOLATE involved. Need I say more?
On that note, there's typically a pretty delicious meal involved, if you're lucky. {Can you tell I'm hungry?}
If you're a V-day hater that year, you can kick it with other like-minded friends and have a pretty good time.
If you're feeling really pouty, it's an opportunity to unfold your most cozy blanket, slip into your frumpy pjs, grab a flavor of Haagen Daaz to satisfy your craving, and curl up in front of your favorite chick flick.
If you're married, it's a great way to force yourselves to do more than sit in front of the tv and veg for the evening. It gives a set date to remind you that you're lucky to be loved.
Gives you a chance to shift your perspective and learn to appreciate your differing perspectives on "the perfect gift." In the end, I've learned to appreciate the shoes (and future practical gifts) for the heartfelt gesture they really are. I've also noticed that Jon saves most of the cards that I give him now. It's a beautiful blend of meeting in the middle.
You get to spend the day with the one who you love.

Case in point: This Valentines Day. We slept in, exchanged gifts, and had a wonderful evening. We had our second annual Valentines Day home-cooked meal at the Walkers. Kevin and I collaborated on a yummy meal and it turned out delicious. We watched Couples Retreat and spent the rest of the night playing old school Mario on the Wii. It was low-key and relaxing.

2nd Annual Valentines Meal with the Walkers

Me making the veggie skewers

Our finished V-day dish

Kevin and Michelle

Jons and Me

So, what's your final verdict about Valentines Day?

Love or Hate? I'm stickin' with LOVE!

{P.S. If anyone is interested, Jon made me this video for V-day. He wanted to make it since we didn't do a wedding video. I think it's pretty cute, but I'm probably a little biased. The last two minutes are especially fun.}

Back To The Drawing Board

2010-02-10T17:36:00.000-08:00

{Our story begins...}

4 months of attending a capstone seminar.

Submitted proposal of topic (A- thank you very much!)

Started preliminary research and made a basic design.

3 months of procrastinating working on capstone paper.

(summer is a beautiful thing)

Finally decided I was serious about eventually graduating.

Spent too many hours to count in front of a computer.

Proudly submitted a first draft.

Brutal feedback.

Frustration turned to excitement at the chance to improve.

Back to the Drawing Board.

{Also this month...}

Pre-qualified.

Searched online for the perfect place.

Saw 21+ homes.

Marveled at the beautiful cabinets, tile, and walk-in closets.

Drafted the offer to the bank.

Told to wait 48 hours for the bank response.

Waited 48 hours.

Waited another 48 hours.

Waited more than another week.

Offer rejected.

Back to the Drawing Board.

{Meanwhile...}

Found an interesting job listing.

Called the owner and set up a time to come by.

Updated my resume.

Had an interview.

Called back for a second interview.

Asked to role play a sales pitch.

Nailed it.

Waited.

Owner called and said out of 100 candidates, only 3 got a second interview.

But they wanted some more time to decide.

Sure thing. More waiting.

Extremely complimentary phone call, but they decided to go with the other guy.

Back to the Drawing Board.

{And...}

Yes it's true! I chopped my hair! 11 1/2 inches gone.

Slowing learning how to style short hair.

Back to the Drawing Board!

xoxo

3 New Challenges (paper, job, home) +

1 New Haircut +

Jon by my side=

Pretty dang content with life :)

End Of My Blogging Hiatus

2010-01-26T15:42:00.000-08:00

I've been having a battle lately with my inner procrastinator. You all know her well. She's one tough cookie. In an effort to combat my villain of procrastination, I mandated a self-imposed hiatus from blogging until I finish my capstone paper for graduation. I've been making a lot of progress on my paper, but today I decided it was time to rationalize my way back into the blog world. Here's my logic: If I'm gonna sit on the couch watching an episode of King of Queens, I might as well blog at the same time, right? So, without further delay, how 'bout another Top Ten Recap (Holiday Style).....

*Runner Up - We discovered a Shasta machine that produces a 20 ounce bottle of delicious carbonation for only 50 cents. Are we easily amused? YES! Does Tiki punch make my taste buds dance with glee every time? YES!

Photo Copyright Nate Weir 2009- we miss the Weirs

Like a kid on Christmas morning

#10 The Baby Day Expo - A few years ago, Jon's brother Josh created the Utah Baby Day Expo. Jon helped out this year and the event was a success. Josh was able to fly out from Memphis and Jon loved spending time with his bro. Unfortunately, I was camped out on the couch with the swine flu, but everybody else had a fun time!

Josh and Jon running the expo

#9 Halloween - I kicked off the festivities with a trip to Gardner Village for Witches Night Out (see last post). Then we went on the third annual Provo river trip with the Weirs. We were scared for our lives, but our captain was able to direct our vessel through the pirate-infested waters back to safety. We went late for the "private tour" and had the whole boat to ourselves and just one other couple (obviously on a first date). What awkward first date is complete without photo documentation? So I insisted they join in our pictures and we all had a good laugh. On Halloween, we took a bus tour of all the haunted locations in Salt Lake City with the Weirs and Williams. Needless to say, our storyteller was somewhat lackluster, but we still managed to chase down "Clem the ghost." That skirt-chaser. We completed the evening at Starbucks and my pumpkin frappuccino left me in a state of Halloween ecstasy.

Entering the Halloween cruise

Our mighty captain- a captivating poet

Sharing in the joy of the first date experience

Getting into the Halloween spirit

Cheap entertainment

Our visit to Provo's most festive yard

Jon looks forward to October all year long so he can tell Halloween jokes

Looking forward to the 4th annual Halloween cruise this year- you know you wanna come!

#8 Humor U and Tucanos Dinner - For BYU Homecoming week, we got together with some friends for a "married event." Only at BYU... We devoured the Brazilian meat and enjoyed the performances by the local improv group.

The cliche photo op

Our fun group- Hardy's, Us, Wadsworths & Weirs

Marcus and Erica

Me & Jonny

Adam & Aubrey

The whole crew

The girls

#7 ESPN College GameDay - College GameDay came to Provo so of course, we camped out in the rain! I was lucky enough to land myself a spot in the front row and a nice long cameo on ESPN. Jon was close behind too and loved the experience! We enjoyed the rest of the football season. Even though we're seriously missing our front row seats, we're excited it's basketball season.

Holding out strong in the early morning rain

Game day

At the front of the ESPN set

At the BYU Utah game

Our football "family"

The other half of our football group (above)

Paige and Ty (below)

We bleed blue

#6 Thanksgiving - We had a wonderful Thanksgiving break. We were able to spend a little time with both of our families and had some delicious food!

The Miller dinner

#5 Danielle's Birthday and Christmas Dance - My baby sister turned 17! I love you Danielle. It's so weird to me that she's that old. The Christmas dance at Davis was the night before her birthday and I went up and did her hair & makeup for the dance. She had a fun group and they made gingerbread houses at our place and we judged them.

On her birthday

Danielle's dance hair- she's in purple

#4 Christmas - We narrowly escaped this year's "Naughty List" and Santa was very good to us. We sure fooled him! We spent time with both of our families, but missed all of our Miller siblings a lot. We decorated our place a little more this year and it was fun to get into the festivities. Jon and I had never been to Temple Square together and we finally went with Brett and Mallory Snelgrove. I'm kinda kicking myself that we didn't take the traditional "temple square trip" photo, but I guess we'll have to wait til this next Christmas.

Christmas Eve at the Olsens

The original Olsen fam

Daddy's girls

The guys

At the Millers

Cuddling after Christmas

#3 New Years Eve - We had an amusing experience as the only sober people at Benihanas in SLC and rang in the new year with Brett and my SP. We watched a few minutes of Hitch, saw the ball drop on TV, and fell asleep on their couches a little after midnight. Obviously we are party animals.

#2 Jon's Birthday - Jon turned 25 on January 2nd. On the 1st, I planned a surprise open house and we had a lot of friends over to watch the Rose Bowl. On his birthday, we had a surprise lunch with our families. After that we headed up to Midway for a yummy Mexican dinner and enjoyed a fun bed & breakfast package at the Homestead. We had a lot of fun!

Jon sharing his birthday treat at Chilis

The family pic at Jon's birthday lunch

Jon getting spoiled up at the Homestead (above)

and me enjoying our cute little room (below)

Jon walking through the Crater at the Homestead

#1 A Night On The Town With The Jacksons - Great Dinner- Check. Great seats- Check. Great company- Check. I really wanted to get a Korver jersey to match Paige and we managed to snag a kids size on clearance. The 60% clearance outweighs my embarrassment that its a kids size :P

Paige & I were drooling over Korver the whole time. We even had our "shot" with him when we walked right by him at half time, but we both choked. We'll be ready next time....

Stopping for a pic at the end of dinner

Paige & Ty sportin' the Jazz gear

Jon, Me, Paige & Tyler

*Photo Courtesy of less-than enthused guy in row ahead of us,

obviously disgruntled that we interrupted him to take the pic*

Korver fan club

Well, thanks for not losing faith in the Miller Memo. My blogging hiatus has officially ended and we're back in business. Say goodbye to the days of the Top Ten posts and brace yourself for more regular updates!

Top Ten Countdown

2009-10-18T22:38:00.001-07:00

Time for a summer re-cap for the Miller Memo! As a special bonus, I'll even include a sneak peak at fall so far. This might take forever so leave me a comment or I may never blog again. Just kidding. But seriously... Let the countdown begin! {drumroll}

#10 Summer Weddings

...Am I the only one out there who feels like there was at least one wedding to attend every weekend this summer? I guess it's that time in our lives. We had a lot of fun seeing a lot of our good friends tie the knot.

Phil and Angela's wedding

Me and Rae Rae at the temple

Jon and I at the Bountiful temple

Feeling the love

The boys on Phil's big day

Brock and Kenna's wedding

Mary and Shawn's wedding at the Salt Lake temple

The wedding party breaking it down

#9 I had a BIRTHDAY!

... More like a birth week...or weeks. I turned 22 this summer and sure had fun. A few days before my day, lovely LeeAnn Hyer came down and took me to dinner and we grabbed gelato. The next day the Miller clan met up in Salt Lake to celebrate at dinner.

My good friend/practically brother Brock Francis got married to the beautiful Kenna on my birthday so we spent most of the day with them. We went to Bountiful for their sealing that morning and it was beautiful. For their luncheon, they served Robintinos pizza. Anytime we go to a wedding now, Jon always talks about how awesome that luncheon was. That's a man for you--enough of the fancy little wedding food--just fill me up with something tasty! After we stuffed our faces with pizza, we turned around a few hours later just to go to the Mandarin in Bountiful with my family for Chinese. Don't worry, I saved room for treats at Brock's reception too. {Its a wonder I didn't gain 22 birthday pounds this week.}

On the way back to Provo, we stopped at Kevin and Michelle's place. They made me a cake. Did I mention the treat overload yet? When we returned home for the evening, Jon sent me on a scavenger hunt around our apartment complex ending with some fun new shirts and a massage/spa package. A couple days later, Kayla took me for frozen yogurt too. Trrrrreatss...

Me and LeeAnn enjoying gelato

Millers in Salt Lake

Me and Jonny at dinner

Dessert at the Mandarin..are you counting all the treats?

Cake with Michelle and Sweet Kev

This picture cracks me up

Chatting with Kayla

#8 Fourth of July in K-Town

...There is no 4th of July like a Kaysville one. You Davis Darts know what I'm sayin! After a fun parade of floats, the whole city breaks it down in an all-out city water fight. It just doesn't get better than this. Complete the day with a bbq, nap time, and a patriotic fireworks show and you're good to go.

Noah- my little buddy for the day

Kaysville Main Street

Loved spending the day with my sister

#7 Hangin with J&T

...Jared and Tonya were in town and I certainly wanted to take advantage of the time to hang out with them. After dinner at the Olive Garden, we girls tried to convince the boys to take us out for a night on the town. We settled for hanging out on Jon's parent's porch. Oh well-what can you do? Funny how we probably had just as much fun.

Our clever attempt to get everyone in the pic

Bros

Bein' sassy

Sneak attack

The cute couple

Just us

#6 The Next Food Network Star

...Our place was a hot spot every Sunday night this summer for the Next Food Network Star. Jon and I got really into the show last summer right after we got married and had to spread the word this time around. All the guys initially pretended that the idea of getting together to eat food and discuss the show at every commercial break was a dumb idea, but even they were converted after the first episode.

Food Network groupies

The Sunday night crew

#5 New Members Of The Fam

...Congratulations to Jared and Tonya. T {aka superwoman} carried and delivered a approximately 13 lb. baby! I can't remember exactly how big our little man was, but wow! We were so happy to share a few days with this little guy while they were in town. Also very excited about the news of our new niece-to-be. Big Congrats to Josh and Val.

Sweet "Little" Sam

Holding the bundle of joy

Loving our other nephews and niece

#4 SkyWest Lagoon Day

... When my dad mentioned his employee Lagoon Day, it took about two seconds to convince us. I haven't been to Lagoon for ages. It was a riot. Danielle brought her cute boyfriend Taylor Gurney and we had a blast. The last hour at the park, we sprinted from ride to ride to maximize our fun. Good times.

Love these guys

BFF

This is what happens when you line-jump

#3 Work

... Had another fun summer with Sugar Sweet Corn. I spent most of my days getting to know the construction workers and farm folk of good ol' Springville, Utah. It was a little creepy how many people knew me by name... I think that's probably a sign I've been at the little red wagon a bit too long. Nevertheless, I love it. Now thats the produce season is over, I am back to babysitting for these cute kiddos and now working as a TA for a couple classes at BYU.

Little man

Cute moment.

#2 Cougar Football

...You all know I love my Cougs. This year we were lucky enough to snag season tickets on Row One on the 40 yard line on the East side of the stands. We are loving it. We sit right behind the Defense and love to watch Logan and Eason getting the crowd pumped up. Sitting with the usual football crew {Nate, Briana, Phil, and Angela-we miss Todd and Jess} as well as Tyler and Paige. We also sold a set of tickets to a guy named Scott and his son Tanner who we already love.

Me and Cosmo

Rise and Shout

We need a picture with Paige!

Ty and Trace

Eason giving high fives after the game

#1 Witches Night Out @ Gardner Village

...This was a riot. Erica and I decided to get our girl on and go do some shopping! I wish I would have taken more photos of all the different versions of witch costumes up there. The place was so crowded! We got lucky and got there at the same time as Yvonne and Christina so we could mingle together and make fun of all the slutty witch costumes. Seriously ladies, this is an ALL WOMEN event. What's with all the cleavage? Sorry, I got sidetracked. Where was I? I ran into two beautiful ladies that I haven't seen for awhile and got to chat. My only sadness was that my attempts to meet up with Kimmy and Marley failed because it was so crowded. Still, between cheesy potato soup and the cackling emcees, I really just couldn't get enough of this night.

Me trying to be scurry

Me and Erica ready to cast some spells...and do some shopping!

Love these ladies!

I love Halloween

HAD to take a photo with this sign- its totally me!

Witchy Poo!

Moment of Serenity

2009-09-02T21:45:00.000-07:00

I'm grateful for the many moments in my life that my Heavenly Father takes away my grief, fear, and sorrow. When I humbly surrender myself to Him, He fills me with peace and blesses me beyond measure.

I think that this Serenity Prayer is simply beautiful.

God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change
Courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.

Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with Him forever in the next.

All You Ladies Out There With Nice Hair...

2009-08-05T22:20:00.000-07:00

We've been having a busy and fun summer! One of these days I will write a post to display our awesomeness and adventures, but today is not that day. For now, I love reading all of your posts and spend at least five minutes of my day wishing I was half as cool as all you awesome friends of mine in the blogging world.

For now, I'm just wondering...does anyone love their hair stylist? I love the girl that does mine, but her schedule is a lot less flexible now that she just had a baby. I'm looking for some good recommendations anywhere between Davis and Utah county....

Thanks ladies!

A Little Bit of Lately

2009-05-28T16:18:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile. Where to start?
*I keep procrastinating this post for lack of new photos, but we're just gonna roll with it and steal some from other people (maybe even from you!)

First up, my trip to DC. At the last minute, I was invited to go out to DC with my current internship with The Institute for Research and Evaluation. The research for my internship primarily involves family and education issues. Since January, the main focus of my internship has been finding empirical evidence to support the efficacy of abstinence education health programs in public schools. I won't bore you with the details, but it has been a great experience to try to support a cause I really believe in--teen abstinence.

I attended a meeting at the Capitol on Obama's 100th Day in Office. It was definitely entertaining to be out in DC that day. Particularly, if you happened to be listening to conservative talk radio on your commute in to DC from Baltimore. It was a crack-up. On a less sarcastic note, meeting with the major abstinence education advocates from across the nation, networking, and lobbying to Congress members was a great way to bridge the gap between my experience in my political science major and my future hope of getting my Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy.

For several reasons, it was also an incredibly frustrating experience. For example, I flew all the way out to DC only to find out that I could not be involved in one of the main meetings I had planned to attend, the schedule for meetings was constantly changing, and of course, I was always the last to know. Luckily, I was staying with this cute couple:

Thank goodness for pizza and gelato at the end of a day of meetings. Hanging out with Nate and Briana alleviated all my frustration pretty quickly. At the risk of hatemail from Nate, it was pretty cute to watch him flirt with Briana since Jon and I missed out on most of their dating days. I owe the Weirs big time for letting me crash at their place and we're so excited for them to move back to Provo.

Speaking of cute couples, Phil and Angela are finally sealin the deal next month! They are adorable together and we are so excited for them. The guys batchelor partied last weekend and Jon had so much fun golfing, Diegoing, and man talking with Phil, Jess, Nate, Todd, Bruce, with a K, Shea, and probably some others that I can't think of right now. I really enjoyed finding a bridal shower gift for Angela and chatting with her and Rae Rae about how our men are the "boys who never grow up." Since Jon will likely be BFFs with these guys forever, I'm sure glad they've all made it a habit to marry such fabulous girls so far.

While we are on the note of wonderful women, the loveliest of lovelies, Ms. Hyer, took me to dinner the other night. Lucky me! She is choosing her debate officers right now so she asked me to come sit on her panel as an alumnus and help out. It was fun to think back on all my fun memories of debate and it made me a bit trunky for high school. Just a bit though. In all seriousness though, thank you Hyer for being such an amazing friend to me over the years. I loved our long overdue chat!

Oh, we also celebrated our first anniversary a few weeks ago. We made some plans and then broke them. We went to Chilis for lunch, checked into our room at the Hilton in SLC, and then sat down on the bed to map out the rest of the night. On the agenda: check out the pool/spa area for some mutual relaxation, walk around Salt Lake/Gateway, take "one year" photos outside the Salt Lake temple, have a romantic dinner at the Garden Restaurant at the Joseph Smith Memorial building... Well, this is so embarrassing. We got cuddled up on that dang bed--and we were out til 9 pm! There went all of our plans. Oh well, Plan B: share a rice bowl at Rumbi for dinner, eat a chocolate covered banana from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, sit in the hot tub with a bunch of drunks celebrating someone's wild 21st, and pass out watching a TV documentary on Will Smith. Wow, we are so lame! Jon got me new tennis shoes and I later gave him a bunch of skin care with tea tree oil. I guess practicality trumped sentiment this year. We did enjoy the day together.

Pic was from night before our anniversary--another fun celebration!
Congrats to Taylor and Meredith!
And thanks to Mike & Marci for the photo!

Me and Kimmy also finally got together for lunch at the Gateway. It was so fun to see Marley getting so big and cute and to chat with Kimmy. Love you girl!

Also a quick shout out to Dallas for getting engaged. We had a great time at their engagement party and really like Wendy! Dally, you done good!

Next weekend, Jon and I will be on a team for the American Cancer Association Relay For Life. We are excited to participate in an event to fight cancer, help with the fundraising, and honor cancer victims and survivors. The relay is next Friday night from 5 pm til 10 am because cancer never sleeps. If anyone feels inclined to make a donation to this cause, let me know. We are looking forward to it!

In other news, we are officially ADDICTED TO LOST. We started Season One a few weeks ago, and we are just about done with Season Two. Please tell me other people share in this awesome addiction?

Well, enough babbling for now. I've gotta run satisfy my sweet tooth.
For now, that's a little taste of lately.

365

2009-05-09T12:38:00.001-07:00

...The number of days we have managed to live together without killing each other.

Happy Anniversary, Jons. Love you.

Pay It Forward

2009-04-15T12:01:00.000-07:00

This is a fun trend that I'm sure everyone has seen going around.

Leave a comment anytime between now and April 23rd... {last day of finals! woooot!} I will randomly pick three people to be the winners of something awesome! The three winners will be the recipient of some act of service, craft, treat, or care package. Determination of prize will be somewhat contingent upon where you live, but hey--this will be fun. Alright, awesome.

***One little catch: if chosen, you have to PAY IT FORWARD too and offer a similar prize on your blog!

***Since I put the blog on private this week, I am extending the deadline to enter. And if no one else does I guess these guys will just get something reeeaaally good.

Sister Love

2009-04-15T11:19:00.000-07:00

Danielle's spring break was last week and she came down and spent most of the week with me. We had so much fun! It was awesome having her around all of the time. She'd only seen The Office once before, but I made her into a fan! In honor of my best friend lil iss kiss, here is a random smorgasbord of sister moments:

Love you little sister!

It's been a rough month

2009-03-29T15:09:00.000-07:00

But I'm learning so much about myself, my relationships with others, and my relationship with God. It really is true that it is in our extremities that we come to know God. I'm grateful for the strength He gives me every single day. I'm eager to share what I'm learning and I'm sure I'll find a moment to record some of my thoughts soon.

For now, I'm just so grateful for the constant support of friends and family.

Including these cute little ones!

In Loving Memory

2009-02-21T20:01:00.000-08:00

I am a huge Jazz fan! I just wanted to briefly honor the life of Larry H. Miller. He has done so much for Salt Lake City, the sports community, and the state of Utah. It's hard not to love this man. He's been a great philanthropist and done so much to build the Jazz franchise as well as the environment in Salt Lake.

In a society marred by corporate scandals, deception, and greed, it's refreshing to reflect on the great example of a business man who chose to give back to the community. It was wonderful to see Deron Williams present the game ball tonight to Miller's wife Gail after an emotional victory against New Orleans. Go Jazz!

In Loving Memory

April 26, 1944 - February 20, 2009

A Call For Help---yes YOU!

2009-02-02T15:49:00.000-08:00

As most of you would be able to guess, one of my New Years Resolutions this year is to quit procrastinating major projects. Well here is a way that YOU can help me...(please, please, please)

This semester I am taking my Political Science capstone course. The capstone course requires a 25 page paper and your grade on the paper determines your eligibility to graduate from BYU. Each semester the topic of the capstone course changes, and I am absolutely stoked for my section. The topic is "American Politics and Mythology in Text and Film." Thats right, I get to read novels and watch movies! Admittedly, I have postponed my capstone until this semester because it sounded a lot more appealing than most of the other topics.

Anyway, this is how you can help me. I have narrowed my topic and research question down for the paper. I am planning to discuss American vigilantes in popular culture, or those who take the law into their own hands, or "cut through red tape." I would like to explore different situations in which the protagonist in film or literature has been frustrated by the limitations of the law and ineffective government responses and has acted beyond their normally appropriate boundaries in order to resolve a problem or remedy a crime. (Think "Dark Knight" or "Oceans 13".) Other examples that people have given me so far include the "Count of Monte Cristo", the german film "M", and "Brick."

I know you are all a bunch of smarty pants, so please help me out. I am not limited to scholarly articles or classic novels... think of a movie you've watched lately or a really good book you've read where the "hero figure" is really breaking the law but you find yourself rooting for them because they feel justified in their cause. Or just any book or movie where the main character breaks the law in order to promote justice because the police just can't do anything, etc. Brainstorming materials now will help give me adequate time to develop my ideas (without causing another strike from my mind and body), so thanks in advance for your help.

5:30

2009-01-26T17:38:00.000-08:00

I have a ton of fun things that I have wanted to blog about in the last few weeks, but with 17.0 credit hours in school, work, and a new internship, I just haven't been able to find the time lately. However, today at 5:30, I had a brief experience that helped put some perspective on all my daily tasks and I wanted to share it.

You know when you need to focus on a task but all your mind can think is "pizza would be great right now" or "a salad would be nice"? Well, I was writing away in a computer lab on BYU campus and pretty soon I was dreaming up all sorts of food combinations that would satisfy my distracting cravings. Regardless of my true desire to endure, it wasn't long before I found myself climbing the stairs to the main level of the building and heading across campus to get some food.

As soon as I opened the doors to the cold outside air, I regretted leaving my coat on the chair in the computer lab. When it comes to the cold, I am such a baby. (If you don't believe me, just ask Jon. My laundry piles up for weeks just because I don't want to carry it out in the cold to the laundry room for our apartment complex.) In a short-sleeved sweater, I knew I wouldn't last long so I decided to just bee-line it to the WILK as quickly as possible (aka as close as humanly possible to a sprint without getting too many weird looks.)

At five-thirty every evening, the ROTC guys retire the American flag on campus for the day. As they do this, the national anthem is played loudly so it can be heard across campus. Mid-sprint, I heard the anthem begin and a moral debate immediately started in my head. I was freezing, snow was attacking my bare arms, and the last thing I wanted to do was stop in my tracks long enough for the cold to start setting in under my skin.

Well, the respectable part of me won out and I stopped, turned toward the service, and put my hand on my heart. I wish I could effectively convey the spirit that quickly entered my heart as I paused to honor the vitality of America. As I looked around at the many busy students around me, pausing to give reverence to our nation, I noticed I had goosebumps. Granted, that may have had something to do with the cold, but I was truly touched by the essence of our national anthem. Surprisingly, when the anthem ended, I wasn't nearly as eager to immediately bolt to the student center. As I walked, I reflected on the many blessings that I constantly take for granted as an American.

As a political science student, I have had the opportunity to study many different types of government organizations. The more I study comparative politics and international relations, the more gratitude I have for living in America. I truly believe that America is a sacred land and that the founders of our nation were inspired. As I listened to the anthem this evening, I thought "why was I so blessed to be born here when so many others are born into far less ideal circumstances?"

I believe that with great blessings come great responsibility. And we, my friends, have been immensely blessed far beyond our ability to comprehend. In times of difficulty and opposition, I hope we can retain a realistic perspective of how truly lucky we are despite our trials. In times of prosperity and peace, I hope we can remember that not everyone is as blessed as we are, and find ways to give of our time and resources.

And for me, I will apply this principle TODAY as I sit back down to finish the paper I started earlier and each subsequent assignment I need to complete. As I face a never-ending "To-Do" list, I will remember that my perpetual tasks are only a reflection of a life only possible in a land of opportunity.

GOD BLESS AMERICA.

We really hate to do this

2008-12-11T00:29:00.000-08:00

Dear Celeste,

It is with a heavy heart that we infect your precious blog with pessimism, but we have been silent for far too long.

Remember last semester when you left several of your major writing assignments and finals to the last minute? Well, we cut you some slack because you were planning a wedding, but do you recall how you promised us that you had learned your lesson and that your procrastination days were over? We are beginning to wonder if we have different definitions of the word "promise."

We can't take this much longer. Is it too much to ask to get seven hours of sleep a night? I mean, we prefer more like nine or ten, but we try our best not to get too greedy. But every morning when that blasted thing cries out to us, we want to throw the alarm out the window and watch it shatter into a million, gajillion pieces.

In attempt to meet deadlines, you ask us to come up with creative intellectual remarks in the middle of the night, so you can hand in your papers and get your A the next morning. Do you know what kind of pressure that puts on us? And what were you thinking taking on a new job this week? You realize there are still only 24 hours in a day, right?

Remember the glory days of fifteen minute, hot showers? We hate this five minute in-and-out business. Lamo. Likewise, your hair has been permanently parked in some sort of knot on the top of your head every day this week--do you really think that is flattering? And trust us, you DO look better with makeup.

We are officially filing for a raise. We refuse to continue to work overtime without extra compensation. And you owe us big time over Christmas break.

WE HAVE NEEDS TOO!!!

With kindest regards,

Your mind and body

A Little Holiday Spirit For Ya

2008-12-05T16:08:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards
Just spreading some holiday cheer from the Miller elves
Thanks Michelle!

Sleeping with the Enemy

2008-12-01T14:44:00.000-08:00

Jon and I cheer for a lot of the same teams, but when it comes to the NBA my loyalty is to the Jazz while his heart is with the Chicago Bulls. Last week, our parents and our friends Kevin and Michelle Walker ventured downtown to the Energy Solutions Arena to witness the showdown between our teams. Obviously the rivalry was a lot bigger in the days of Stockton/Malone and Jordan/Pippen but it's still exciting when they play.

Millers and Olsens

Unfortunately, Williams, Boozer, and Korver were still out, but it was still a really exciting game! It was a nail biter, and the Bulls pulled out the win with a buzzer beater! It was so close that the officials even reviewed the last play to make sure that the shot went up before time expired.

Me, Jon, Michelle and Kevin Walker

It's worth noting, Jon is actually a big Jazz fan too. He cheers for them with me all the time, except for when they are playing the Bulls. Also, I can't believe I am even saying this, but I cheer for the Bulls too as long as it's not against the Jazz. Back when we were dating, I went from absolutely hating the Bulls to finding myself cheering along with Jon. That's when I knew I must have really liked Jon!

Also, hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Here's Jon entertaining all of our relatives at our Thanksgiving feast!

Happy To Report

2008-11-28T06:19:00.000-08:00

I just got back from my first ever Black Friday shopping experience and I survived.
I managed to secure a few of the doorbuster items I went for and now its 7:20 and back to bed!

Joy in the Prosaic Moments

2008-11-24T14:47:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, Jon and I celebrated six months of marriage. I’m very aware that this is not very long, but I can’t believe how quickly time has gone since our big day. During this Thanksgiving season, I am extremely grateful for Jon.

On the night we celebrated, we just stayed at home and had a nice dinner. We talked about some of the best memories we have had since we’ve been married. We reminisced about our wedding and how beautiful and fun the entire day was. We had a wonderful wedding breakfast at the Lion House and were able to spend time with many of the people we love the most. Jon sang the song that he wrote for me last summer when we were dating. It was very special because when he wrote it he said that he was envisioning dancing together on our wedding day and that is what the lyrics are about.

The temple sealing was inspired and beautiful and it was so exciting to have so much support at our reception. We were overwhelmed by the love of our family and friends who came. Our first dance as man and wife was amazing and then we danced with everyone for hours at the end of the reception. We didn’t end up leaving until almost eleven. Half-way to our hotel we ended up at Walmart because we were hungry and most people who saw us made fun of us for being at Walmart on our wedding night! I don’t blame them, but of course I needed a late night treat before we got to our hotel!!!

It’s funny though because most of our best memories are nowhere near as glamorous as our wedding. We spent most of the time talking about memories that occurred in our every-day life. We talked about how funny many of our days were when we lived in our first apartment. Our mattress was permanently parked in the front room because it was too hot to sleep in either of the two bedrooms. When we used the kitchen sink disposal, food would come out of the bathroom drains (gross huh)! And of course, there was the obvious awkwardness for Jon because we lived in a BYU complex for single girls.

Jon is my best friend. I can’t believe how lucky I am. He is such a good husband and person. He’s so romantic!

A few weeks ago I came home to an immaculately cleaned apartment. The disaster that I had left that morning had somehow transformed into a spotless home. The piles of dishes had disappeared, the floors were vacuumed, and the bed was made. On the bed, I found a dozen roses and an incredibly delicious cinnamon sugar caramel apple “just because.”

Yesterday, I stayed in bed late because I wasn’t feeling well. Jon opened the door to the bedroom and walked in with a tray of breakfast in his hands. It was a very yummy breakfast in bed and it was much appreciated!

Despite how much I love these especially romantic moments, sometimes it’s just the prosaic moments that are a part of every-day life that mean the most to me. When Jon’s alarm rings in the five o’clock hour, despite how tired he is, he always gets up and goes to work to help provide for us. He works incredibly hard in school and is determined to do well. I’ve had a difficult time sleeping for the last two months and when I wake up in the middle of the night frustrated and sad, he sings me songs and cheers me up. He’s constantly doing the dishes and cleaning the apartment. And at the end of a hard day, I can always find happiness just spending time with him.

Tagged...

2008-11-17T22:51:00.000-08:00

I rarely get "tagged" on other people's blogs. Probably because most of my friends realize I won't have anything very interesting to say... but I was tagged by Michelle a few weeks ago and I am finally going to quickly jot down seven random facts about me...

1. I'm a huge NERD. I love learning. I was the Debate President in high school. I've fully accepted that I am a CLASS A geek.

2. I love to COOK. My sophomore year I had a roommate that was a great cook and its started to get me interested in cooking more. When Jon and I started to date, I would cook for him quite a bit and he was always so complimentary. I think his enthusiasm really caused me to enjoy cooking. I guess the little investment he put into boosting my ego/confidence sure paid off because he's only cooked three times since we've been married!

3. I am deathly allergic to PEANUT BUTTER. I found out when I was about six months old and my mom fed me a peanut on an airplane. Luckily, I survived and went on to spend every single lunch period in my Elementary school's office because I couldn't even step foot into the cafeteria with all the kiddos PB&Js. (Don't feel too bad for me, my friends used to fight over who got to bring me my lunch. In Elementary school, I guess there was some appeal to eating in the office.) Despite this one perk, the allergy is usually just a huge annoyance (not to mention potentially life-threatening...) I spent one Easter in the ER because I took a small nibble of a chocolate rabbit who had "peanut butter" hiding at the very bottom of its ingredient list. My doctor advised me to stay away from the "terrorist" Easter bunny in the future.

4. I love to WRITE. I enjoy any kind of writing. When I was 15, I actually wrote a poem to help me get over Jon. (I mean when you meet someone at DisneyLand, crush hard on them and then things don't exactly work out, what else is a teenage heart to do?) It's hilarious to me to read it now and brings back some fun memories.

5. I love TREATS! Mostly I want to share this one because I want reassurance that I am not alone in this. Every night a few hours after dinner, I get this little longing for a little something sweet. So I'll cut up an apple and throw it in the skillet with a bit of brown sugar and cinnamon, make cookies, or dig in the freezer for some ice cream. I swear, Jon THINKS I AM CRAZY. I never eat a lot, but I also never try to stifle a craving. I just don't think it's healthy for a happy, sane individual to block the brain waves that scream "chocolate, NOW!"

6. I love SPORTS. I grew up playing ball with the (much taller than me) boys on the street, watching games with my dad, and living for basketball season. I know it will probably shock most people that I played on the school team and for a local competition team since I measure in at an intimidating 5' 2 but some of my best memories growing up revolve around basketball. My love of sports has made my marriage a lot easier since Jon watches more college football than any normal human should be capable of watching. Saturday morning, I have to beg him not to jump out of bed too early to get ready for the pre-game shows and I am lucky if I can re-capture his attention before midnight. Thank goodness I enjoy some of the rivalries just as much as he does or that routine could get old pretty fast!

7. I brush my teeth in the shower. If you haven't tried it, GIVE IT A CHANCE. Jon made fun of me too, but now he's a believer!

Now that I have shared seven random facts about me, I now TAG:
Kimmy, Marci, Hannah, Christina, Val, Beverly, and Cheyenne!!!

Halloweeeeeeen

2008-11-03T13:27:00.000-08:00

Our Halloween week agenda included:

-Bundling up to go on the Provo River Halloween Cruise

-Enjoying Hocus Pocus on campus at the Varsity Theater ($2 well spent)

-Attempting to watch Nightmare Before Christmas on YouTube (we had to click the next clip of it every ten minutes, and we both ended up dead asleep during Part 3)

-Relaxing with pizza and hoping we would get some trick-or-treaters at our apartment (but not too many since we already ate most of the Halloween candy)

-Raiding the goodies at our Ward Halloween party as pirates (argh, matey-we even won the Monster Mash)

Outside the entrance of the Halloween cruise

Scared for our lives during the boat ride

We survived! We especially loved the pirate jokes...

They inspired our costumes for a few nights later

Our friend Julianna is from Brazil and was so excited for her first Halloween

Ok, this was a crack-up. Hint: She's pregnant.

I can't believe how creative everyone was. Moses and the burning bush even showed up.

The coach for Ohio State caught our eye..

And of course, as Michigan fans, we took care of him.

(He was such a good sport)

It's Miller Time...

2008-10-10T15:55:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, it was really fun to get together as girls for dinner while the guys were at Priesthood. My silly little sister didn't come at the last minute, but it was still fun to have dinner with Yvonne, Mary, Chris (and kids), and my mom. Highlight of the night for me was probably taking Bekah to the bathroom and hearing all about the fairies pictured on her pink panties...she's so dang cute.

Our brief but wonderful meeting over Conference weekend made me a bit heartsick for the other Millers all over the map though. Jon and I are so jealous of mom and dad right now because they are out in Memphis visiting Josh, Val, Noah, and Eli. We wish we were there. We are also extremely excited for Jared and Tonya’s big news and happiness in Chicago and miss them heaps too!

In honor of Miller Time, I'm finally going to post some of the fun pictures from Jared and Tonya's wedding. What a wonderful couple and a beautiful day!
(J and T, feel loved--your wedding day is making it on our blog before ours even does.)

Me and Jon playing with baby Eli at our group Family Evening with Tonya's family and friends

Isn't Eli so cute?

Me cuddling with two of my favorites

Above: The Many Millers- aren't J & T a good lookin couple?
Below: The Miller kids smile for the camera

Miller girls trying to stay dry

I'm so crazy about him

Jon and I on the Salt Lake temple grounds after the wedding

AND THE WINNER IS...
So me and Jon, Josh and Val, and Chris and Rob had a "kissing photo" contest
Needless to say, it was a pretty fun photo shoot (bless Yvonne's heart)
I'm pretty sure this picture took home the gold,
but let's be honest--I'm a little biased!

Get Your Head In The Game!

2008-10-06T14:48:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is not good! It is only October and I am already having a difficult time staying focused with my school work. This is usually the time where I start motivating myself with stupid little rewards like telling myself "Celeste, if you finish that assignment, you can eat a handful of gummy bears" or "Just four more hours of reading and you can watch The Office."

Well, the Vice Presidential debate disabled that technique last week. (I really shouldn't complain about the debates, since I am a Political Science major...) The other problem with my usual methods is that I don't usually need these until at least November! Where did the savvy student in me run off to so quickly this semester?

I'm not sure, but I can tell you where I sure would love to be:
Warm weather + DisneyLand + the beach + Jon =
BACK ON OUR HONEYMOOON!

To honor my wishful thinking, I am finally going to post some pictures from that fun week. Any suggestions or comments on how you ward off your procrastination would be appreciated! Or, if you just want to sympathize with me and tell me what you do to procrastinate, that works too.

Cougartown USA

2008-09-15T16:54:00.000-07:00

RISE AND SHOUT...

THE MILLERS LOVE COLLEGE FOOTBALL!

After last week's controversy over the excessive celebration call made right before the Cougars stepped up big with the game-winning block, our team was obviously looking to make a statement that would silence all the skeptics. Boy did they ever! UCLA-who??? I couldn't go without mentioning how much fun this game was for us, but I have a lot of homework so this has to be very brief...

Luckily, I think 59-0 pretty much speaks for itself!

My Kimmy Loo!!!

2008-09-12T13:15:00.000-07:00

Well, I wanted to post this yesterday, to wish my dearest Kimmy Loo (also known to the rest of the world as Kimmy Poo) a HAAAAAAAAAPY BIRTHDAY!!! Unfortunately, the internet was simply not willing to cooperate yesterday, so I had to settle for waiting until I was on campus today.

Everyone has that friend, you know the one who no matter how long its been since you have seen each other, whenever you get to talk to them, you pick it up like you haven't missed a beat in each other's lives? Thats Kim for me.

We met when her family moved into my ward my senior year (her whole family is adorably wonderful)! We sat next to each other in Young Womens and after striking up a conversation, I swear we were best friends overnight. She came into my life right when I needed a good friend, I am so grateful for her!

I have so many awesome memories with Kimmy, mainly just the things girls love to do--talk about boys, have sleep overs, watch movies, talk about boys, go shopping, eat gelato, talk about boys, go on double dates, talk about boys... Remember when we rode our bikes to Blockbuster in Layton?!? Beyond the fun times, Kim and I were there for each other through heartbreaks and hard times, and I couldn't have asked for a better support. She's such a good friend.

I cried a ton at her wedding, knowing things would probably never be the same between us again. Let's be honest, she's got a much better sleepover pal than me now! The tears on her wedding were also happy tears--Chance and Kim are perfect for each other. And their baby girl Marley is absolutely beautiful! I can't wait to hold her.

Kimmy, I hope you had a wonderful 21st birthday! I love you!
P.S. I owe you a birthday lunch!

MY DAD COULD BEAT UP YOUR DAD!!!

2008-09-10T13:53:00.000-07:00

Do you remember using a comeback like this when you were a kid? To be honest, I don't think I ever did, but it seemed like a good way to start off my birthday wishes to my wonderful father today!!! (Plus, the title "Happy Birthday" already went to our blog last time. Wasn't really thinking ahead on that one, was I?)

In honor of my dad on his special day, please enjoy this Top Ten Tribute to him:
(now the hard part is going to be narrowing this list down to ten things!)

1. My dad's number #1 priority is his family.

Family Picture outside the Provo temple where my parents were married over twenty-five years ago.

2. My dad is an incredibly hard worker.

My dad has been a pilot for SkyWest since April 22, 1985-with hours starting as early as 2 a.m.
He works long days to provide for our family.

3. My dad has a great sense of humor.

My dad jokingly pouting that he was too tall to ride the kiddie ride.

4. My dad is an amazing example to me.

Everyone in my extended family looks up to my dad. I have always admired how he doesn't have to tell you what to do, because he leads by example with his actions. (I love everyone's face in this goofy picture, especially my dad's.)

5. My dad is a good husband to my mom.

After watching my dad my whole life, I had pretty high expectations of a future spouse.
Luckily Jon has a lot of the same qualities I respect so much about my dad.

6. My dad is incredibly generous.

Dad sharing his oysters with Danielle.
He and my mom have blessed my life so much with their generosity and I have always been so impressed as I have watched them give so much to others.

7. My dad cooks a mean steak on the grill.

Not only does is he a mean griller, but he also whips up an incredible spaghetti sauce and is definitely the melon expert.

8. My dad is a ton of fun.

Gotta love Dad's face here as we are about to take off on another fun rollercoaster ride at Busch Gardens.

9. My dad has been there for me at all the important times.

From coaching my basketball games to seeing me off to Homecoming dances, my dad has always been a huge support to me.

10. Any man who can live outnumbered by so many women deserves props!

Dad has miraculously figured out how to deal with us girls!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

2008-09-08T17:58:00.000-07:00

Well, in an effort to endlessly procrastinate my homework, I have found a temporary distraction in blogging. I love seeing all the updates of my friends and family! Jon and I initially started this blog last year in lieu of writing a monthly e-mail update to his family. As girlfriend of the time, I was somehow appointed to helping Jon to be more diligent about actually following through on this commitment. Not sure how I ended up with that designation, but lets be honest, Jon needed the help. (Love you baby!)

Today, I chanced upon Allie Shumway's blog. We were in the same dance group a few times back in high school and she's an absolutely adorable girl. On her blog, she mentioned that she is going to print her blog and make it into a book-what a great idea! As I was thinking about how it has been fun to capture the events of our dating, courtship, engagement, and marriage on our blog, I started to wonder how long its been since we started making this online record. Well, guess what? We started exactly one year ago today! Happy birthday to our blog! In honor of the beginning of our blog, I am going to post a picture capturing one of the beginnings of our relationship... the night we "pretended to be engaged" and took a fake engagement picture! If we only knew what we were getting ourselves into!

...and now, I WILL do my homework.

Our New Best Friend

2008-09-08T16:17:00.000-07:00

Jon and I have a new best friend. You may have heard of him- Harold B. Lee?

The Harold B. Lee library, that is. Somehow, somehow, I am going to have to find it in my being to not despise the library. I have already come to the painful realization of how many hours, no days, of my life I will be spending here again at the onset of this new semester.

Since I am now finishing my upper-division Political Science courses, the majority of my semester will consist of major research papers. The positive side of this is that I am free to explore numerous topics that interest me with a distinct research design for each of my classes. The downfall of this academic all-you-can-eat is that I can count on being at the library as close to 24/7 as humanly possible.

In the meantime, I am sure you will all be on the edge of your seat, just waiting to hear if I choose to focus my research on divisive primary election outcomes in newly democratic nations or Islamic authoritarianism and female empowerment. Please, please, I know its exciting but try to keep your shirt on while I deliberate. I promise to keep you all posted the moment I decide. Ok, who am I kidding? Is anyone still reading this?

Oh how I miss the days when my biggest stresses were making sure my cute little red wagon didn't run out of corn, my adorable husband had dinner on his plate each night, and that we didn't miss Deal or No Deal.

BACK TO SCHOOL: The newlywed days of a blissfully carefree summer schedule are officially over.

On A More Upbeat Note....
GO COUGARS!!!

Pop Quiz....

2008-08-21T12:47:00.001-07:00

Home from work sick again +

Trying to get rest so I can get better without dieing of boredom =

Another Blog Post!

So, here's the question of the day:

What does one of our favorite summer shows
Iron Chef
have to do with my summer job at
Sugar Sweet Corn?

Drumroll.....

MELONS!

That's right-the "secret ingredient" on the last Iron Chef episode we watched was melon! The main melons they used were watermelon, cantaloupe, and crenshaw-the same melons I sell every day at the stand.

It was really fun to see all of the different dishes made with melons at the forefront. They bruleed, grilled, pureed, and baked the melons into several succulent dishes. It was especially interesting because each of the dishes required a frozen element--the Commisioner seemed to be craving a brain freeze.

Despite the fact that there are a lot of cynics out there complaining about how Iron Chef is a lot less challenging than it appears because before each episode, the chefs know in advance if they will be chosen to compete and have a list of possibilities of what the "secret" ingredient will be, I still love the show. The cynics can change the channel, but leave me to enjoy Iron Chef- blissful in my naivety that the chefs never fall short of instantaneously creative culinary genius.

And Now For the Fun Part

2008-08-20T14:48:00.000-07:00

Well I am home sick and thought I would take this chance to follow up on my promise of pictures. The good news is that the picture drought is over because during our moving process I managed to find our camera cord, so now I can upload pictures so more will follow, but for now, enjoy a small collection of some of our favorite engagement shots...

Where Do I Begin?

2008-08-13T21:39:00.000-07:00

Not only have I not blogged for the last oh, five months--it has probably been the most meaningful time of my life. Slacker. Slacker. Slacker. Oh well, we're going to move past that now and pretend I was more diligent. Had I been... these are some of the things I would have mentioned to you, our wonderful friend:

1. Being engaged-wow, I'm sure glad that's over! Don't get me wrong, I was ecstatic to have a ring on my finger that meant "I'm taken and he's mine" but it was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster for me. The highs were higher and the lows were lower- its a miracle that Jon didn't throw in the towel on some days and run while he still could! But I'm sure glad he didn't. Our official engagement was only six weeks long, predominantly the crunch time of winter semester, including finals. I know- what was I thinking? Jon sure left me head over heels. I think I shocked A LOT of my closest friends when it was finally official (we were pretty good at keeping it a secret- in fact Jon's roommates didn't know until he pulled out the ring on the way out the door to propose). Anyway, my engagement period was just another testament of the fact that my sweet mom is WONDER WOMAN! She was so much help and it was great because after week three, the whole wedding was planned minus just a couple little last minute details we pulled together as soon as we could. Can I please repeat, my mother is amazing. I think one of the most fun parts of being engaged was taking pictures with Jon and designing the invitations... I will include those.

2. Bridals- I took them on an extremely windy day. I'm not gonna lie, I don't think I have ever been shy in front of the camera and we had a lot of fun. My photographer even got some fun shots of me and my mom trying to run out of the dust storm that the wind caused. I will post some of those next as well.

3. The wedding day. May 9, 2008. Alright, please forgive me for being so cliche--best day of my life. The Millers hosted a beautiful wedding breakfast at the Lion House, and it was wonderful to have almost all the people I love and care about most in one room together. The temple sealing was beautiful. The reception was exactly how I imagined it, and it ended with my family and close friends there for a whole lot of fun as we danced the night away. Everything went perfect and at the end of the day, I was married to my first high school crush, the person who pushes me to be my best, my other half, the support who cheers me up at the end of a rough day, the man I want to be with forever, and my best friend.

4. Honeymoon. Well, since we met at DisneyLand back in 2003, we thought it would be fun to make a trip back again just the two of us. We had a lot of fun hanging out on the beaches in California and being newlyweds at the happiest place on earth. I have some fun pictures from the honeymoon that I will post as soon as I find my camera cord.

5. New roommate. Wow, can I just say, I love my new roommate! He's clean, kind, and actually acknowledges me when I come into the room. Some of you may not know that I had a hard time with my living situation for the last year, sufficient to say--my roommates weren't exactly friendly to me most of the time. Good learning experience, but I am so grateful to actually feel welcome and at home where I live. We have enjoyed being newlyweds so much. The first part of our newlywed days revolved around the NBA Playoffs. We didn't miss a single Jazz game-even on our honeymoon! It was a bit sad being out in California while we were losing to LA though. Anyway, after the Playoffs were over, we didn't seem to know what to do with ourselves. (I hope you all catch the sarcasm, but in a way, it was kind of true.) Luckily, we found a new obsession in the fun American Idol-like series The Next Food Network Star. Every Sunday night we would get everything together for the week, get ready for bed, and try our best to keep our eyes open til 11 pm. Ok, I know thats not very late, but we are usually asleep by 10:30 or 11 ish. I'm not afraid to admit it, and neither is Jon-we're lame. Anyway, we would stay up til midnight every Sunday night because we absolutely loved this show. Every show they would have a challenge for the contestants to showcase their personalities in front of the camera, and then the best part...a cooking challenge. I was rooting for the former Cougarette, Kelsey but Jon and I also love the guy that won- Aaron. We are way excited about his new show Big Daddy's Kitchen. Ok, those of you who are making fun of our Food Network addiction-have you ever seen IRON CHEF??? They are hardcore. Alright, you can still make fun of us. We were also happy that when the Next Food Network Star competition was over, the Olympics were right around the corner.

6. I love my family! How blessed am I? I have the best parents and sister in the world and I couldn't have married into a more wonderful family if I had handpicked every single member of it! And one more shout out to my husband... Jonny I love you, you are so wonderful!!!

Obviously, blogging is not exactly my strong point...

2008-08-13T21:25:00.000-07:00

Ok, so many of you may not know this about me, but I am a bit of a perfectionist. This has always been very problematic for me because I also tend to be an avid slave to my procrastination. These two dynamics of my personality compete vigorously within me 24/7--especially during the school year. And while I can't blame my long lapses between posts on my procrastination, I have to admit my stupid perfectionism sure has been a roadblock to my blogging bliss (along with the recent disappearance of our camera cord). I have two scapegoats to point out to those who have complained that I drop off the blogging planet for long periods of time--well other than that my husband is so adorable all I want to do is play with him all the time. : )

First off, I don't consider myself a totally technological illiterate, but despite several searches, I just can't seem to find a blog template that I like. Second, I think I was an absolute failure at just making one myself. I always think to myself "I will post about my life when I finally have made my blog cute." Then I thought that sounded too similar to when people say "you know, I just think I will be happier with my life when...fill in the blank." So not to add to an attitude that I don't appreciate, I am going to live content in the moment, and content enough with my blog. Suggestions for help with my blog would still be greatly appreciated, though!

The Proposal

2008-04-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

Sorry to all of those who have been waiting!

Jon really surprised me! First of all, he had the jeweler explain (in front of me) that the ring would not be done until the first week of April. Well, knowing the clever antics of Jon, I had somewhat speculated that this was a bit of a fib- thinking he might just get the ring a few days earlier than when they had said. Since we would be celebrating our first year of dating the last weekend of March, I was slightly suspicious that the proposal might come Saturday night. Boy was I wrong.

Monday, March 24th, Jon picked up the ring after work. I have to say, this was one of the busiest school days for me! I was running around and in classes/reviews all day, and didn't even leave campus until after 9:30 p.m. In the meantime, Jon had been deliberating about when to pop the question. He said he sat in his room playing guitar for hours just staring at the ring nervously. He went to Family Home Evening and they watched the movie Enchanted. (If you haven't seen this movie, you have to!) So after watching Enchanted, Jon was in such a joyous mood that he surprised his entire FHE group by announcing, "I'm going to propose to my girlfriend TONIGHT!"

After the initial shock wore off, some people in his ward helped him start to put everything together for the proposal. Keep in mind, he didn't start this process until pretty late that night. I had an exhausting day and was pretty ready for bed, but wanted to see Jon first. He was taking ages to reply to my texts, and I must admit I was starting to get aggravated! Finally, around ten thirty, I brushed my teeth and put on sweats to go to bed. Right after I turned off my light, I heard a knock on my bedroom door.

It was Jon. I was happy to see him, but figured a quick hug and chat would be all I could manage to stay awake for. When we went down to my kitchen, he suggested we take a drive. I am thinking, "Okay, at almost eleven at night?" but I agreed. We talked casually about school and work, until we got to a park here in Provo. He parked the car, and suggested a walk because he had something planned for us.

When I first saw what he had set up at the park, the thought popped into my head -Is he proposing?!?! But I thought, no- he doesn't have the ring yet, and its not like he would propose this late on a random Monday night, especially when I am in sweats! Wrong again, Celeste.

He had a blanket spread out on the grass with rose petals, a platter of strawberries and chocolate, sparkling cider, and candles. It was really cute. After pouring me some cider and feeding me a strawberry he jumped to his feet and excitedly announced he would be giving me some live entertainment. He asked if I had any requests, and when I didn't, he started to play the song that he wrote for me last summer. This song is very sentimental because Jon wrote it with a very specific vision in his mind-our wedding day. I always love when he plays it for me. The chorus of the song is "I have fallen for you." When he finished playing, he looked at me and told me that he had fallen for me - and dropped to his knee! I must have looked like a deer in the headlights!

I was in complete shock. After a moment of silence, I finally responded by playfully hitting him and exclaiming "YOU PUNK! You are in so much trouble!" (Ok, not quite the sentimental, emotional response I had imagined when contemplating how the proposal would go, but I was truly so surprised!) Jon's response to this was, "So, is that a 'I'll get back to you' or....." Finally, the shock faded enough for me to say yes, and I gave him a big hug. As soon as I did, fireworks started going off in the background. He had some of his friends from his FHE group hide in the bushes to light them. It was really cute!

Sorry it has taken so long for me to document our proposal story, but since then I have been extremely busy - interviewing, training, and starting two new jobs, finishing up school projects and preparing for finals, and oh yeah- planning a wedding! Sleep has pretty much been eliminated from my daily routine! Oh well, I can sleep when I'm married! Ha ha

For those of you who don't know, our big day is May 9th. We are extremely excited and our countdown is now at about 24 days... but who's counting!

I love you Jon!

(oh, but you can blame him for us having zero pictures of the proposal- such a good surprise, I didn't even have a camera with me)

It's About Time...

2008-03-01T22:36:00.000-08:00

So for all of you that have been anxiously awaiting a new post from us (aka harassing us every time you see us)... we think we have finally let you sit at the edge of your seat long enough! I was finally able to get my old computer to turn on long enough to retrieve some photos from our adventures of the last six months so without further ado...

Enjoy our recap and cross your fingers we don't make it a habit to only update semi-annually!

Oh, and if anyone wants to do me a favor and start bugging Jonathan about occasionally adding his own material- I guarantee the updates will have a bit more pizazz if he takes a turn!

Valentines Day

2008-03-01T22:20:00.000-08:00

I just re-read what I wrote below and I have to warn you that it is mega-cheesy/mushy, but hey- it was Valentines Day! Ok, read on if you want, but you can't say that I didn't warn you!

I was so excited to see Jon on Valentines Day that I didn't want to wait until after he got home from work! So I snuck into his apartment before he woke up and brought him breakfast in bed--heart shaped banana pancakes and french toast. While he was at work, I decorated his room with tons of hearts, balloons and pictures of us together. Throughout the day at work, I arranged for his co-workers to give him little notes, pictures, cookies, quotes we have said, and things that remind me of him as kind of a "14 Days of Valentines" deal. It was so fun making it all because it gave me a chance to think back on all of the wonderful memories we have together and all the reasons he means so much to me.

Jons is such a sweetheart! After the weather ruined a lot of preparation and planning for his initial idea of taking a plane ride over Provo, he still pulled through with something to help us end the night on a romantic note. (Even though I was so tired from staying up the night before finishing up my Valentines stuff for him that I fell asleep on his couch by like 9:30!) He made me close my eyes as we walked into his apartment for dinner, and when I opened them I was in a cute little romantic "restaurant" called "Le Miller." He had hung up black sheets encircling his kitchen table and put white Christmas lights all around the ceiling. It was an incredibly cute setting, complete with candles and even a menu! After dinner, he played me the song he wrote for me last summer and gave me a picture of us with the lyrics of the song. It was so sweet.

We are also very excited for Jared and Tonya! They are absolutely perfect for each other and we are so excited that they got engaged the next day! Tonya is amazing! We have bonded quite a few times on the joys of being an "outsider" invited for a sneak peak into the excitement of "being a Miller." It was nice to see Jared again while he was in town, and we couldn't be happier for them!

Me decorating Jon's room

Jon found his surprise!

I had a ton of fun trying to surprise him throughout the day

It was fun to finally print eleven months worth of pictures too!

We had a wonderful day

Jon at "Le Miller" - It was so cute
I had a hard time deciding what to order from the menu

Isn't he the cutest? I love you babe.

Thanks for a really thoughtful evening!

Australia Day

2008-03-01T22:02:00.000-08:00

Well Jons got to reminisce a little about his two years in the land down under on Australia Day this year. Our cute friend Justine threw a party to celebrate!

The party gave Jon a chance to brush up on his Aussie slang...

and that fake accent he had when he got home... ha ha

This is our cute friend Justine who hosted the celebration

Jon playing some guitar

I'm probably going to be in big trouble for that first caption-good thing he loves me!

Double Date with Matt and Jesse

2008-03-01T21:58:00.001-08:00

My cousin was able to stay in town for a few days after we returned from Hawaii, so we decided to go on a double date with her and Jon's good friend from work, Matt. We enjoyed going to Chilis-- one of our favorite places for a few reasons! ; )

After that, we put on our game faces for a few rounds of bowling. I smoked Jon in the first round. I never should have agreed to double or nothing though because he beat me by ONE POINT the second game!

Jesse and Matt-- both of them are so fun!

Me and Jonny--at Chilis again--you're probably noticing a bit of a trend

Aloha!

2008-03-01T21:46:00.001-08:00

Well other than the fact that I spent almost as much time in the hotel room throwing up as I did sight seeing, Hawaii was wonderful! Really though, it was such a fun opportunity to go back out there for a weekend with my mom, dad, Danielle, Lisa, Calvin, Reuben, Martha, and Jesse! Thanks mom and dad. We had a lot of fun at Pearl Harbor, the PCC, and spending time at the beach.

Danielle and I at Pearl Harbor

The Polynesian Cultural Center

The girls learning how to hula

The guys showing off their island moves

Hula girls again

Me and our fun guide at the PCC

California Dreamin'

2008-03-01T21:23:00.000-08:00

Jon and I met at DisneyLand in high school in January of 2003. This year, we were lucky enough to go back to "the happiest place on earth" exactly five years later! It brought back a lot of memories for us of our first week as friends! We are so grateful to my parents for making it possible for both of us to go, and also to Josh and Val for letting us stay with them! It was great to see Josh and Val, and we loved playing with baby Noah!

Five years after we met there!

Dancing At DisneyLand

More dancing

We love to play

Welcome to the Happiest Place on Earth!

The whole California crew

On Jon's favorite ride... PIRATES of the Carribean

Van ride to Sea World

Jonny playing with Noah

Me playing with Noah

Cute Val- so kind to us! She even made us french toast!

At M&M world..part of our stop in Vegas on the way home

Outside the Bellagio in Vegas

Danielle's Harp Concert Conducted By Kurt Bestor

2008-03-01T21:12:00.001-08:00

I totally forgot to mention Danielle's Harp performance at the Conference Center on October 20th! Oops. We were so proud of her! It was incredibly fun because my uncle Calvin, aunt Martha and Uncle Reuben, and cousin Jesse were able to come into town to watch her with us! She did a great job. Afterward, Jon, Jesse and I went and got appetizers, drinks, and dessert at Chilis. Everyone had a great time at my house after chatting into the early hours of the morning!

Jon refers to me as the "Ice Queen" when I where this coat... he thinks it looks like the one on Chronicles of Narnia

Jon and I waiting at the Conference Center

Jon and I sipping lemonade together at our favorite-Chilis!

Goofing around with my family after the concert

Jon's Birthday

2008-03-01T21:11:00.000-08:00

I have to say I was so happy for all of the help I had from everyone to make Jon's birthday special. When most people were still trying to sleep off their New Years Eve partying, we showed Jon we had the endurance and longevity to make January 2nd a party too! It was so fun to have everyone over at my place for the surprise dinner. It was great that Josh could come too, since Jons hadn't expected to see him while he was in town. Mucho thanks to my parents for letting us come there and to everyone for contributing to such a fun evening together!

Christmas Time

2008-03-01T21:06:00.001-08:00

Even though BYU managed to nearly rob us of all of our holiday spirit this year, with finals not ending til the 21st of December- we still managed to narrowly escape a completely "bah humbug" (spelling, anyone?) mentality. My biggest disappointment is that we never even made it to see the lights at temple square, but now it will be especially fun next year! We did enjoy a little holiday spirit during the weeks leading up to Christmas though. My parents took us to Manheim Steamroller and Kurt Bestor in Concert and it was fun to decorate the tree and sing songs at the Millers.

Jon and I at dinner

Decorating the tree

Bekah and Kyle helping out

Jared and Tonya

Merry Christmas everyone!

Thanksgiving

2008-03-01T21:03:00.001-08:00

We had so much to be grateful for this year. We were especially thankful for the opportunity to spend the day with our families. We went back and forth between our families about five or six different times throughout the day. Hectic, but fun to be able to spend time with everyone! Thank goodness that our families are so kind to live so close to each other!

At Jon's grandma's for Thanksgiving breakfast

Jonathan's Ward Thanksgiving Dinner

Magic Happens

2008-03-01T20:55:00.000-08:00

The date was November 24, 2007-

the rivalry game between BYU and Utah. I think ESPN said it best:

Playing with a sprained shoulder, Max Hall had one final chance to save BYU against rival Utah.
All he had to do was convert on fourth-and-18 from his own 12 with barely a minute remaining. Hall scrambled to his right to buy a little time, then threw the ball as far as he could -- right to teammate Austin Collie for a 49-yard gain.
The play with 1:05 left kept the Cougars' final drive going and led to Harvey Unga's 11-yard touchdown run with 38 seconds remaining in BYU's 17-10 win over the Utes on Saturday.
"We call it 'magic happens,'" Hall said. "Certain things happen to allow you to win games and I think that was definitely a magic play."

We have loved being "fully invested" this year and the win over Utah was incredible!

Celebrating our victory

Jess and Jons

4th and 18 baby!

BYU Fall Preference Dance

2008-03-01T20:47:00.001-08:00

Mid-October, me and Whitney (Jon's old roomie Tom's girlfriend-now wife) decided to surprise the boys with a Friday night date. We picked them up and they were probably surprised when we ended up in the field of a farm for a country style dance. We enjoyed pulled pork sandwiches and slaw and got down with our country side!

Playing with the pumpkins

Jon is such a goof-he stole that hat right off some guy's head for this picture

Tom and Jon bustin' a move

Me and Whitney trying to keep up with the boys

Tom playin his "fiddle" for the crowd

Goofing off in the corn

Jon gets a kiss!

October General Conference Weekend

2008-03-01T20:30:00.000-08:00

It was super fun to have a lot of us together at the Millers for Conference weekend. The pool tournament was fun, but did we ever get far enough to declare someone the champion? If so, please send me a memo. But somehow I have to think we must not have finished- because I didn't hear anyone parading around with their new bragging rights. In fact, I figure its a fairly safe wager that if a winner had been declared, it would have gotten plenty of press coverage around the Miller home.

Josh, Valerie, Me, and Jonathan

Me and Jon

The boys

Rob, Josh, and Jonathan

Jons, Rob, and Bekah

Jons and Josh doin their thing

The drama...

Bekah and Oma

Noah and Bekah playing

Jonathan holding Noah

Noah eating pie off of my finger

Happy group

Sailing on A Beautiful Fall Morning

2008-03-01T20:12:00.001-08:00

Oh what a joy to wake up and go sailing on a beautiful Saturday morning! On the drive out to the dock in Magna, me, Jon, and Chris enjoyed a fun little dance party to the radio. Jon especially loved singing Sean Kingston because he says the lyrics explain his fear of water and activities like sailing: "I feel like I'm drowning in the ocean..."

Jon helping us get ready to go

Chris and the kids on the dock

Steering us out of the dock

Bekah getting her hair done

Cute Kyle

Me and Jonathan

Thanks for a great day!

Jon's Trip To Cali with The Boys

2008-03-01T19:58:00.000-08:00

Well, Jon can fill you in on the details of his trip... but I'll post some of the photos he took. He took pictures of the hotel our group stayed in on the trip we met on back in high school and the Taco Bell where we very first saw each other.

314

The Taco Bell where we first saw each other

BYU Football Game
Fireworks after the game
Having fun at the baseball game
The boys

Back To School Means...

2008-03-01T16:22:00.000-08:00

Jon needs a haircut!!!

Thanks to his mom for making him BYU Approved again...

I hope he's not mad that I put these up...but he's just so dang cute

Jon stands triumphant as his highlights process : )

Let's Give This A Shot...

2007-09-08T14:06:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-08T13:28:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-08T13:22:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-08T13:14:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-08T12:39:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-04T21:11:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-04T20:45:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-01T21:33:00.001-07:00

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

2007-09-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

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

Celeste's Birthday

2007-09-01T11:28:00.000-07:00

A few days before my birthday some of my close friends made me a birthday cake, took me out to dinner, and allowed me to amuse them with my longboarding skills (or lack of). Needless to say, I still have scars.

Jon really went out of his way to make sure I had a fun birthday celebration. We went to dinner at this little place called Ruth's Diner that was tucked up in the canyon in Salt Lake a bit East of Hogle Zoo. It was a really cute outdoor cafe with live music. The food was tasty and it was a really fun atmosphere. After, we hiked up Ensign Peak and looked over the valley to ring in my birthday. When we got to the top, we each took an earpiece to Jon's Ipod and danced and sang on the top of the peak...with a lot of people watching and wondering about this crazy couple who seemed to be oblivious to everyone else and the fact that they were singing aloud with no inhibitions.

The next day my awesome parents had a barbeque for me and some of my close friends. It was fun to have a lot of my favorite people together with me that day.

Me with the "Angel" Food Cake My Friends Made For My "Celestial" Celebration

The proud display of my skills

Celeste and Jon at Ruth's Diner

Jon and Celeste at Ensign Peak

My cute little family on my birthday

A small collection of my most favorite people

The Killers

2007-09-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

At the end of Winter semester, I decided to give Jon a pre-finals surprise. I hoped the new Killers CD Sam's Town would help give him an extra kick to finish finals off strong. He had been dropping hints left and right about wanting it. Then, at the end of finals, Jon proposed some celebration in the form of two tickets to their upcoming show at Saltair. We went to dinner with Jon's boss Steve and his wife before and talked with Celeste's boss Missy for a little while at the show.

Dinner with Jon's Boss Steve, wife and friends

The Killers

A Shot of Celeste in the crowd

Tired after a fun night