Miller Memo: March 2008

It's About Time...

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

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

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

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!

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'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!