Virgina Trip to Visit the Millers

At the beginning of October we made a trip out to Virgina to visit my sister and her family. This visit was especially exciting because we were able to meet the newest member of their family. We were blessed to have a wonderful friends take us to and from the airport, watch our cats, and get our mail. We had a great flight to Newport News, with a layover in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was a frantic run through almost the entire airport of Charlotte because of an unexpected traffic jam in the sky. We had to circle the airport for about half an hour, which made our scheduled layover of about an hour almost disappear. Alex did so well keeping up with us and I thought that my arm would fall off from carrying Sarah running through the airport. Finally we made it there and got seated. We had a pleasant trip and only had one casualty. Right as we were going to land in Virgina, our plane did a sharp swerve and then we heard a thump. We found out later that the pilot swerved to miss hitting a bird, but the bird unfortunately did not miss us. We found out later that we hit a Bald Eagle. It was nice catching up with my sister on our way to her new home. All in all it was a pleasant trip out. Eric, unfortunately, was beginning to get sick with a head/chest cold so the plane ride was not the most pleasant for him.


It was fantastic weather, we could not ask for any nicer weather. Most days it was sunny with the highs in the low 70's. I knew that Alex would love it there at their home, because he had two built in playmates. His cousins, Brayden and Brianna, were so nice and loving. They included him in all of their hours of playing outside. There was so much to do there and Alex was in heaven. They had two swings hanging from a huge tree in their yard, a trampoline, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, sand box and a push lawn mower. I think that Alex "mowed" their entire back yard twice from all of the time he spent pushing that toy lawn mower around their yard. I also think that Alex got spoiled by all of that time playing outside and when we came home, he asks everyday to go to the park and swing.



We were not only excited to spend our time with my sister and her family, but we were also able to spend time with my parents, who drove out to visit them too, at the same time. It was nice being reunited as a family. I had a little glimpse of what heaven could be like, being surrounded by the ones you love forever. What a wonderful blessing the gospel is in our lives!






Ryan took most of the week off and we were able to visit together. We went to lots of different parks and the scenery was fabulous. I enjoyed seeing all of the different waterways and inlets that made up where they lived.

While we had lots of fun visiting and hanging out with family, we had some activities that we did while we were there. We went to the Virgina Beach Zoo. It was a very nice zoo and there weren't that many people there and the weather was perfect. It was an absolutely perfect experience... well, except for the part of loosing Alex at the zoo. We were all together there and were looking at the elephants and giraffes, and Alex was with us... we turned around for a few seconds and Alex had disappeared. I ran all the way down the raised platform and no one I was passing had seen him, so I ran all the way back up the platform and back down the other side, the way we had come. I was in a total panic and was very emotional. There he was walking down the path. At that moment I was so full of emotions that I couldn't contain myself any longer. I was just asking over and over, why did you go away. All he could say was, I want to see a giraffe. I immediately said a prayer of thanksgiving to Heavenly Father for protecting our son from danger. That was a learning experience, one that I hope to never repeat.


We also got to take family pictures while we were there. It was a frustrating experience for me, but one that I should have seen coming. Alex loves to have his picture taken, but taking his picture in a studio with big flashes, is a different story. We were all ready to take our pictures together, thankfully we decided to take the big group picture first. That was the smartest thing that we could have done because he flipped out and refused to take any more pictures. He was screaming and crying and saying "All done, all done!" At one point, he laid on the floor and was just sobbing. Well that means no more family pictures for our family. Thank goodness everyone was looking and smiling in the first one.

Another fun experience was having Alex's first shopping experience. Grandma and Papa Jung gave the grand kids 2 dollars to spend at the dollar store on something that they wanted. Alex picked out a squishy ball and some punch balloons. He was especially excited to put the items on the conveyor belt and hand the clerk the money. Thanks Grandma and Papa for that fun experience.

What vacation experience on the coast would be complete without a trip to the beach? We took about a thirty minute drive to the ocean and played at the playground on the beach before heading down to the water. It was fantastic, it wasn't crowded, the water was cool, and the kids had a great time. Sarah and Alex just chilled in some beach chairs for a while. Alex did finally make his way down to the beach and got into a little pool that the kids loved to play in. They would fill it up and then play in the sand. Even Brayden got buried in the sand. It was a lot of fun.






A few other hilights would include, Karen and my parents watching Sarah and Alex for us so that Eric and I could go on a date. We didn't do very much, but it was nice to just spend time together alone. Thanks Karen and family! We also celebrated Eric and my dad's birthday with a nice home cooked meal and some spice cake.

This was a great vacation. Thanks for all of the fun memories.We love you and are already looking forward to the next get together. Hopefully it is soon.

Ten Months and counting....

Sarah turned 10 months old last week and I thought that I would do a little update about her. She has three teeth and is getting pretty close to cutting 3 more. She loves to army crawl around and like her brother is very fond of my set of keys. Sarah weighs 21 lbs and 8 oz. She is still very much a daddy's girl. She giggles and laughs when she gets close enough to Daddy. Here are some of my favorite pictures of her at this age.

Our Little Handy Man

Alex loves to help us do practically anything. From unloading the dishwasher, throwing laundry in, sweeping the floor, to making dinner, we are blessed to have an extra pair of little hands around. It only makes sense that he would want to help out his role model, aka Daddy... with a little project around the house. He was so proud of himself for helping out.
We needed an extra shelf for our growing food storage,so off to the store and out with the tools our young man went to work. Here is a photo recap of how it transpired.




I am so proud of both of the men in my life. Thanks for your hard work.

Look, I see a moon!

It has been fun tonight and I don't want to forget it. Alex was looking out the back door after dinner and the conversation went like this:
Alex: "Look, I see a moon."
Me: "Oh yes, I see a moon too. You are quite the little astronomer tonight.
Alex: "Oh YES!!! Da doo (Thank you) Mamma!
Me: "What else do you see, Alex?"
Alex: "I see a orange light (light posts). I see a tree."
Me: "I see a cloud. What color is the cloud?"
Alex: "It's blue."
I thought that is was great. Alex has been progressing at his language skills, but our conversations usually consist more of him repeating phrases of what I say to him. It was fun to hear him say what he saw outside and what is important to him.

Alex's First Day at School

Alex had his first "official" day at our little preschool group last Thursday. I dropped him off at 10 am and went home to spend some quality time with my little baby girl. We formed this preschool a few months ago and have been meeting all together to get the kids used to each of us and our homes. We are co-teaching, since we all have young babies in tow as well. I am excited for it to start and for our turn to teach. I enjoy planning and getting ready for the lessons. I really miss teaching and this is a wonderful outlet to get the creative juices flowing.
This month's theme is transportation and they got to study about buses last week. Alex loves buses and I was excited to see what he got to do there while I was at home. Alex finger painted, practiced cutting out his bus, and then we got to make a bus to take home. Here are some pictures (courtesy of Ashely and Trisha) of Alex's first official day of preschool. A huge thank you to Ashley and Trisha. Alex loved it!!!!



Alex was so fascinated with his bus that he made at preschool, we lost it and he kept on repeating "Bus, Bus, I want to see bus!" It was a scary few minutes, but we managed to find the missing bus in the pantry. What a close call.... Here is a picture of the happy reunion!

Sarah is Chatting up a Storm

Sarah is finally beginning to babble. She has just stated saying the "b" sound. It is so much fun to hear this going on in our house. I just love my little girl.

Galveston Getaway

Last weekend it was time for us to get away as a family and we went to Galveston to take in the sights. We got down there and already knew that we needed to stop and get some lunch because we could hear Alex in the back just repeating one word constantly. EAT, EAT, EAT!!!! We might just have a mutiny on our hands if we didn't get some food into him quickly.
We stopped at a restaurant that Eric had been to for a work lunch called Fishtales. It has really good food and when we got there they said that the only place that they had room for high chairs for our kids was going to be on the patio upstairs. We trucked upstairs and found a spot overlooking the beach. It was a little warm, but soon after we sat down at the table it began to pour buckets. It was so relaxing waiting for our food and watching the rain come down. We decided to move closer to the building so that we wouldn't get too wet. It was great. Eric just leaned back and was relaxing. It really was a wonderful unexpected surprise.



After lunch we made our way to the Rainforest Pyramid at Moody Gardens. As we entered the building we saw the Paddle Boat pulling away and managed to snap a picture of it.
Here are some more fun ones that captured our adventure. There weren't too many animals in the pyramid due to Hurricane damage from Hurricane Ike last year. Hopefully it will return to its glory days soon.





Here is what one tired family looks like (minus one tired picture-taking mom). What fun memories! I love being with my family just being together!

Am I Obsessed? You tell me...

I guess that I have an obsession, but I hope that it is a good one. I am obsessed with getting food storage for my family. I might have told some of you that over a year ago. I had reoccurring dreams about getting my food storage taken care of and in order. We had a really good start to having about a year's supply of staples, long term items that would sustain life if needed. That brought us comfort and so it went on the back burner for a while.
I kept on having the strongest impression that it wasn't enough. I went to a bread making class that was taught by a woman in my stake at church and she talked about making sure that we had our houses in order as far as making sure that we have enough food for our family. It really hit home for me and I now consider it an obsession. I want to have my family be prepared for the time when we can't always run to the store because we are out of this or that. I don't want to have my children look up at me and tell me that they are starving and need something to eat. I know that there must be balance in you life, but I started looking at where I was and where I needed to be, and I decided to make that commitment to help my family be prepared.
I started clipping coupons, looking more closely at the sales and deciding what was most important to our family at this time. It is hard work, but I look at it like my job. I am CEO of this household during the day and I am for the majority responsible for the nurturing and well-being of my family. It takes work to do this, but when I look back and see the results and feel the security that having a well stocked pantry brings to me and my family. It is all worth the time, effort, and penny-pinching in the end.
We are even having to expand our good sized pantry to accommodate our growing supply. I am so grateful for the counsel that a modern day prophet has given us to use the time of plenty in our land to create a surplus in our home that will provide for our family's well-being. I know that by following his counsel, even if we never have to rely on it solely, we have been blessed by being obedient.
When I was younger, I remember my family having to eat their food storage because my dad lost his job. We relied on that supply to sustain us until we could again provide for ourselves. I am so grateful that my parents listened to a prophet's counsel. I hope one day that my children will have a testimony of this principle of self-reliance.
Here is an update from my shopping trip. I went to the store today armed with coupons and the ads and hit a store that was having a sale on cereal. I was able to get 9 boxes of cereal and a package of nut clusters for under $10. Here is a picture of what I got. As my friend Kristin would say... not too shabby!!!

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9 Months Old Already??

Sarah has hit that nine month mark last week. I can hardly believe it. I am heading to the doctor tomorrow for her check up. She is sitting up and is starting to push up and can sometimes get up on all fours for a few seconds. She is still not babbling very much and sometimes on a rare occasion she blows raspberries. She enjoys baths and really liked going to the pool when we were able to go. She is a chow hound. I am constantly amazed that she can eat so much she has one healthy appetite. I have started making her baby food at home, because it was breaking my baby budget trying to buy baby food for her. Sarah also has two teeth and her eyes look like they have lightened up a bit. I am still crossing my fingers for darker thicker eyelashes like her big brother and Daddy. She is such a sweetheart. I am so blessed to have her in our family. Here are a few pictures of her. We love you Sarah. I will update this entry later with her stats.
After visiting the doctor's office here are her stats:
Weight: 19 lbs 4 oz (50%-75%)
Height: 28 1/2 inches (75%-90%)
Head circumference 45 cm (75%)

We have one healthy girl on our hands.

Announcing the Newest Member of our Extended Family...

I have some exciting news to share. My sister had her baby boy yesterday morning around 11 am. He was 7 lbs. and some ounces... not exactly sure the correct poundage. I was too caught up in the excitement to remember. They decided on a name... Zachary Ethan Miller. Mom and baby are doing well. My nephew said when he saw his new baby brother, "They got him out!" Very cute. I am excited to see some pictures when they get some posted. Congrats Karen, Ryan, Brianna, and Brayden.
We love you guys!