The Adventures of the Busy B's

My Little Monkey

2011-09-18T17:49:00.000-07:00

Brayden's (and Brianna's, but she was at school) new thing is climbing trees! And our backyard is great for this! :) Last week, Brayden insisted that I bring out the camera and take some pictures of him climbing the tree to share with everyone. So, here they are! I call him my little monkey because, it doesn't matter where we are (at the YMCA, in the house, outside) this kid just loves to climb!

Brianna Lost Her First Tooth!

2011-09-18T17:41:00.000-07:00

All last year Brianna watched as most of her kindergarten classmates all lost their first tooth. And now it is HER turn! For the last 3 weeks she has been wiggling this little tooth around like 24/7, even had the new tooth growing in behind it, and this stubborn thing still did not want to come out! So, finally, I came home from Young Womens last Wednesday night and everyone was in the bathroom.......and Ryan, the miracle dad got it out!!! :0

Brianna was so excited that she woke us up at 2 a.m. to let us know that the tooth fairy had come and brought her some money (can you believe that the going rate around here is $2...I remember when it used to be a quarter!), a special note, and she even let her keep her tooth! I tell you what...that is one nice tooth fairy! It sure is wonderful being a parent and getting to relive your childhood through your own kids.

Mommy, can I have a box???

2011-09-18T15:11:00.000-07:00

Almost everyday Brayden asks me if I can get a box down from the attic for him. And usually I say no. But today, I actually said Yes! And this is what my excited little boy did with it for a couple of hours! :) Little boys and their imagination! Gotta love it!

Off To School Again

2011-09-07T14:30:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures from Brianna and Brayden's first day of school. Brianna is going into 1st grade and couldn't be more excited! Brayden is starting Pre-School at Brianna's school and was so excited to ride the big yellow school bus for the first time today. Last year, I cried when Brianna rode the bus for the very first time. But this year, I was okay. There was a moment when I thought...I can't believe that I'm sending my little boy away with a total stranger....but then it passed as quickly as it came! We love their school and are so grateful for a "free" great education system in our country. So study hard kids!!!

Hurricane Irene

2011-09-07T14:19:00.000-07:00

Yikes! It's not every week you get to experience an earthquake and a hurricane all at once! Fortunately we were safe in our house from the storm, but here are some pictures Ryan took. The first is of a tree in our backyard being blown in the wind. The second and third pics are of a 70 foot pine tree that came down in our friends yard. Crazy, huh? Then on Sunday, church meetings were cancelled and all the men headed out for clean up projects which lasted most of the day. We were one of the few that had power all day Saturday, made it through the storm with only a couple of flickers and then on Sunday, after we lent out our generator, we lost power!!! (haha! just our luck!) The last picture is of a little bird that Ryan spotted, hiding in a corner on our front porch, shielding itself from the powerful wind and rain. I guess even the little birds have to find shelter too. :)

Zachary Ethan turns 2!!!

2011-09-07T14:08:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics from Zack's birthday party! We can't believe how big our little guy is getting and how much he has changed over the last 2 years. He loved his cake and all his presents so, thank you to everyone for making his birthday so very special!

Introducing the Miller Family!

2011-09-07T13:32:00.000-07:00

Or should I say the Awesome Rasmussen's from Arizona, and the Groovy Miller's in Chicago! We feel so blessed to have such wonderful family, even though we live way to far from eachother, it is such a blessing to be surrounded by such wonderful people whenever we can! And all those crazy kids!!! Just LOVE them all to pieces!

The "Miller" Family Photo Shoot

2011-09-07T13:12:00.000-07:00

While we were on vacation in NY, we decided to get a few updated family pics!
It's always a miracle if you can get everyone to smile at the same time. And surprisingly, our kids did okay this time! :)
And of course, what would we ever do without Trevor, Kendall, and Kyle???
Not to mention, the wonderful Ohio side of the family, Heather and Hannah!
And where would we be without our amazing Mom and Dad Miller? :) We love you all so much!

After the "Big Show"

2011-07-17T04:41:00.000-07:00

The hard part about being a dance teacher is that I can't get any pictures of my kids during the actual show! Bummer!!! And I had Ryan playing videographer so we could get it all on tape! :) Here are a few pics Ryan took after the show of me and the kids. :)

My Little Stars

2011-06-29T12:15:00.000-07:00

Here are individuals of Brayden and Brianna...of course, by the time I thought about getting a picture of them together it was too late! Oh well! :) That's the way my brain works these days!!! :)

Brayden's Creative Movement Class

2011-06-29T12:06:00.000-07:00

Here is Brayden's Creative Dance Class. They are so FUN! They danced to "I like to move it" from Madagascar and got to wear come cool animal masks! I have to admit, when it came time for their solos, they did have some pretty sweet dance moves!

Tuesday Dance Classes

2011-06-29T11:38:00.000-07:00

Here is my pre-ballet class. Aren't they adorable?

Here is Brianna's ballet/tap combo class. Yeah, crazy and cute girls too! :)

And my sweet little Irish dancers hard at work! :)

For the recital I wanted to take some pictures of the girls in their costumes, so we had a mini "photo shoot" here at our house and had so much fun! :) Hope you enjoy them!

A Mud Bath!

2011-06-28T16:09:00.000-07:00

Our kids thought we were crazy when Ryan said is was okay to go out and play in the mud! They had a really fun afternoon and Ryan got some great pics of the kids here! Zack kept looking at Brianna and Brayden and tried to figure out if HE was allowed to join in on the fun too! (I don't know how many times I have caught him underneath the trampoline "mud pit" after a rainy day and scolded him for doing so! One time I had to change his entire outfit 3 times!!!) Anyway, hope you enjoy them! :)

Oh the Lazy Days of Summer

2011-06-27T18:24:00.000-07:00

As I was making dinner one night, I looked outside my window to see our kids just being kids! Playing with eachother and having a grand time! These are the days to remember!

Soccer Springtime

2011-06-27T18:19:00.000-07:00

This year the kids wanted to try their hand (or more literally foot) at soccer. And they LOVED it! (Although I did not like the separate practice and game times!) They had some great practices and some even better (and prettty darn funny) games! We discovered that Brianna is great on defense, and would really get into the games. She would finish with a bright red face from running the entire game. While Brayden on the other hand was more concerned about counting how many goals he could make during the games. He would yell from across the field, "Mom, are you counting?" And yes, every now and then he would remind me of his cousin Peter, while staring off into space and letting the ball knock him back to reality! :) Oh, kids are so precious!

10 Blissful Years!

2011-05-18T08:56:00.000-07:00

Do you ever wonder where time goes? Has it really been 10 years since we were married? And how in the world do we really have 3 kids, own a house, and have so many great memories to reflect on? We are truly blessed. I am so grateful for an AMAZING husband who is also a great father, son, grandson, uncle, and brother! I guess time flies when you're having fun, and yes, we are still madly in love!!! :)

What a Jokester

2011-04-26T05:27:00.000-07:00

So when Zack's not sleeping, he loves to make people laugh! This was after breakfast yesterday morning. He thought he was pretty funny! And of course, it doesn't help that we kept on laughing at how cute he was!!!

Brianna, Brayden, and our Sleeping Angel

2011-04-26T05:21:00.000-07:00

And my sleeping angel in his sunday best! Who would have thought a three minute car ride was enough time to fall asleep!

My Handsome Brayden

2011-04-26T05:16:00.000-07:00

And of course, who couldn't love this face? What a sensitive sweetheart! Brayden is always the quickest to hand out the compliments. And I love that about him! There's not a day that goes by that he doesn't tell me, "You're the BEST momma in the world!" or "I love you my big momma!" He is the only one that can say that and get away with it!!! :)

My Little Girl

2011-04-26T05:10:00.000-07:00

Brianna was so excited to wear her new easter dress to church, and afterward Ryan had a great time taking some pictures of his little girl! So sweet!

Ahh! The Thrill!

2011-04-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Brianna

Brayden

Zack with Daddy

As we were putting the kids to bed, Brianna was wondering how she was ever going to sleep, being so excited and wanted to stay up til' midnight to see the easter bunny! Don't you remember the thrill of waking up the next morning? Not knowing what would be in your baskets??? Oh to be a kid! :) I guess that's one reason why we have children. To relive our childhood through them, and appreciate the simple things in life. I love being a mom!

The Baskets

2011-04-26T04:50:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of the kids baskets. The kids and I put out a couple of carrots and celery the night before...you know, the Easter Bunny must get hungry delivering all those baskets! Brianna really got a kick out of the note he left! The next day she said, "This looks like you wrote the note mom. It's your handwriting." I said, "That's not MY handwriting. I don't write like that." (Thank goodness for husbands that like to write notes instead!)

It's Huntin' Time

2011-04-26T04:34:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we hosted an easter egg hunt for a couple of families in our ward again. I tried to get some good pictures, but everyone was running around so fast it was pretty tricky! And we even had a special guest drop by this year! Zack was pretty nervous at first but slowly warmed up to him. By the end he was even sharing his eggs with him! :)

Ready, Set...Color

2011-04-26T04:07:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning we had a grand time coloring easter eggs! The kids loved using the invisible crayon and glitter too!!! Ryan and I even got to do a few of them. How fun! Isn't family time great!!!

St. Patty's Day Breakfast

2011-04-25T12:23:00.000-07:00

So, I woke up that morning and thought nothing would taste better than a bowl of green oatmeal, and some green eggs and ham (okay, bacon). And the kids thought it was so cool to eat a green breakfast! So there's my contribution to this great Irish holiday! Ahh, the luck of the Irish!!! :)

Thanksgiving Daily

2010-11-16T18:30:00.000-08:00

Oh no! Alien Baby!

2010-10-13T19:18:00.000-07:00

As I was scrolling through my pictures to post, my eyes stumbled upon these funny pics of Zack! For Brianna's birthday we got her a camera with special editing features...and I guess these are the result! Pretty funny, huh? And I love the close up of Brianna! So I guess this is what we encourage our kids to do in their spare time!!!

Kindergarten Here We Come!!!

2010-10-13T13:59:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Brianna's first day of kindergarten. I can't believe how big she is getting! How is it possible that my little girl is old enough to be in Kindergarten??? And yes, when she got on the bus...I totally cried! She loves going to school and everytime she gets on the bus I think...ah, I'm going to miss her. And so does Brayden. Because 2 seconds later he always says, "I miss Brianna. I want to go to kindergarted too." But on the flip side, it has been really fun to see Brayden and Zack play together more, just chasing eachother around the house and playing with blocks together. Isn't being a mom great??? :)

Zack turns ONE!!!

2010-10-13T05:12:00.000-07:00

We had a great time celebrating Zachary's first birthday with our family in Texas! He got so excited after taking his first bite of the cupcake, that he actually ate two of them! Why not I say! It's his birthday! We love our funny baby Zack!

Brianna's 5th Birthday!

2010-10-10T19:28:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it has been a very busy summer! But I had to rewind and post a couple very important pictures of my little Brianna. She started the day with breakfast in bed, and then had a super fun time having a princess party, and playing games like dinglehopper (from the little mermaid) and magic carpet ride (aladdin), and Princess, prince, frog(duck, duck, goose). I can't believe that my little baby is 5 years old already and is so accomplished. I mean, she can get her own snacks, put her own shoes on, and already knows how to drive her brother Brayden crazy!!! :) She is so special to Ryan and I, and we feel so blessed to have this special spirit in our home. She really is a sweetheart, and we love her so much!

Bunk Beds!!!

2010-10-10T19:15:00.000-07:00

A little while ago the kiddos got bunk beds! Brayden was pretty sad when he realized that Brianna was getting the top bunk. But after a while, he thoughtfully said, "That's okay, because when Zack gets older I can sleep on the top bunk." Ryan and I just looked at eachother and thought, yes, he's right, but it's going to be a long while! :) The kids got new sheets and Brayden absolutely loves his new, "How to train a dragon" comforter, and Brianna loves her new blanket-pink is always a hit with her! :)

"Great Aunt" Barbara

2010-08-02T05:11:00.000-07:00

This past week we had the great pleasure of having my Aunt Barbara come and visit us from Florida! We had lots of fun, and it was so great having her here, we were so sad to see her go. There's definitely something special about having family around! We love you Aunt Barbara!!!

Summerfun at the YMCA!

2010-08-01T20:00:00.000-07:00

This summer has been so fun, and full of adventure! I snapped some pictures of the kiddos and our cousins Heather, and Hannah enjoying the pool at our YMCA! Are they all adorable?

Great Friends

2010-08-01T19:36:00.000-07:00

My really great friend Michelle moved to Michigan this weekend. Why are these kinds of things always so hard!!! (And yes, my little box is still closed for now) I sure am glad that I got to know such wonderfully amazing people. Michelle, and fam...we will miss you, but are SO HAPPY for your little family! And don't worry, I have two words for you...ROAD TRIP! We love you guys!
(And Michelle, please don't kill me for posting this beautiful picture of us, tears and all, you still look great!)

NICHOLE NORDEMAN - I AM

2010-07-12T05:38:00.000-07:00

Puerto Rico Anyone???

2010-06-23T19:31:00.000-07:00

SO I have to admit, the first time Ryan asked, "Would you ever be interested in visiting Puerto Rico?" This is NOT what I had in mind! We just got back from a fantastic vacation, and yes, we dropped the kids off at Grandma and Grandpa Millers, and everything was sooooo wonderful! Lots of beach (this is our view from our condo), sun, and sand! We did a little bit of kayaking in a biolumiscent bay~every time you touched the water it lit up like a glow stick , Carribean snorkeling, and horseback riding at the base of the rainforest. All in all, it is just what every couple needs...a little bit of a second honeymoon!!! :) We had great company, Ryan's brother Ray and his sweet wife Molly made the trip complete and tons of fun!

Here's we are at Luqillo Beach on the northeast side of the island. The water felt so nice and we loved the sunny weather! So picture perfect!

Cheers to NINE wonderful years of marriage! What a great guy I snagged! It sure is fun going through life with your best friend! :) Thanks Ryan. I love you.

My Baby Zack

2010-03-05T19:01:00.000-08:00

I love looking at newborn baby pictures, especially of my own baby. So, even on those not so fun looooooong days, you can remember how adorable and innocent these children of God are, and how special a gift it is to be their mom.

"The greatest work you will ever do, will be done within the walls of your own home."

Grandma'a are Great!!!.....Husbands are too! :)

2009-09-20T04:23:00.000-07:00

It was so great to have Grandma Miller and Grandma Jung come out for a visit. The kids absolutely had a great time and it was so nice to have a few extra hands to help with EVERYTHING!!! We sure love our grandmas...what amazing mom's Ryan and I have!!!

Zachary Ethan

2009-09-20T03:57:00.000-07:00

Brayden loves to hold his brother, and then after about 10 seconds he tells me that he is all done. What a nut!

Brianna is such a great helper.

Here is one of the first pictures of our little guy. Ryan was so helpful during the whole delivery, and of course after also. I really have a wonderful husband! Any guy that keeps reminding the nurses that their wife really wants an epidural like NOW is a great guy!!! By the way, when I got to the hospital, I was dialated to 8cm, and by the time I got my epidural, I was probably at 9cm. Not my idea of fun, but glad everything went okay. And for now, we are enjoying being "walking zombies"! :)

Washington D.C. Temple Trip

2009-06-28T14:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took a family trip to the Washington D.C. Temple. I am so grateful for temples on the earth today that allow us to be an eternal family. It was so fun to hear Brianna & Brayden get excited about seeing the temple. One of their favorite songs to sing almost everyday is "I Love to See the Temple." And of course, this temple has a special meaning to me because this is where I was sealed to my mom, dad, and sister when I was only one and a half years old. I am grateful for a loving Father in Heaven that wants us to be an eternal family. I know that families can be together forever, and that makes me so HAPPY!!!

Fun with the Bun (in the oven)!

2009-06-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

We went to the beach a couple of weekends ago, and the Ryan and the kid's convinced me to let them bury me in the sand...So, I have to admit, it has been quite a while since I have done this, and my memory of how much sand (in all those weird places) gets trapped in your swimsuit afterward was a little off. Note to self....it will be a while until I do THAT again...but it was still very fun.

Dance Costumes!!!

2009-06-15T14:04:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite pics of Brianna in her costume. Doesn't she have the best smile???
Pictured are the other two girls in her ballet class, Kate and Lacey. They did a wonderful job during the recital and I was so proud of all of them....especially my lil' dancer! I'll attach a video of their dance soon (it's on our video camera still).

Uncle Ray and Brianna

2009-04-30T10:35:00.000-07:00

Ryan absolutely LOVES this picture of his brother and our little girl. And of course he should! Brianna was so excited to go to the beach and what made it really special was there her Uncle Ray got to go with her. It has been over a week now, and we are still hearing her talk about the fun family trip and her famous Uncle Ray!!! :) Thanks Ray for bring so cool!!!

Beach Day with Uncle Ray

2009-04-22T09:52:00.000-07:00

We're ready for a fun day at Virginia Beach!

Uncle Ray helped out by carrying Brianna after she got tired from walking along the boardwalk.

These next two pics are kinda funny b/c they look like they go together....but no, Brianna did not push Brayden into the sand...he just did that all by himself! What a silly MESSY boy!

The boys (Ryan & Ray) had a fun time building a wading pool for the kids. The kids had a fun time digging, splashing, and falling into it!

Some quality Uncle & Nephew time!

This picture is to document the fact that both these young strapping lads decided that a water temp of 50 degrees was NOT going to stop them from diving into the water...personally, I think they're both CRAZY! It was pretty funny to watch them get the guts up to do it though. I think they were out there in the water for about 1 hour before Ryan just jumped right into a wave, and then Ray followed shortly after. I tried to get close enough just to take pictures and my feet were FREEZING!!! It's so fun to see boys just being boys! :)

Williamsburg anyone???

2009-04-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

Ryan had a great idea to check out Williamsburg, VA. So, we packed up the kids, and some lunches, and headed out for the day (a little unprepared because it RAINED alot of the time we were there...but we still had a great time!) Here are some pics from our visit (and by the way....we didn't even buy tickets and we still had a great time!)

Brayden practicing his "sad"face for this pic! And next, we enjoyed a pipes and drum parade...it sounded really cool, and the kids really loved it too!

This is how we teach our kids to work hard! And check out this water fountain in a barrel! Cool, huh?

We asked how much a ride in the fancy carriage was....um, $20/person and the ride lasts 20 minutes!!! Yeah, can't afford that one right now!!!

The kids and I just relaxing after playing a serious game of Duck, duck, goose in the commons area lawn. I love spending time with our little family! Oh....the memories! :)

Our Easter Surprise!

2009-04-22T08:56:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I have been training our kids to play quietly in their rooms when they first wake up (so we can get some extra Zzzz's and sleep a little later then 6 am on Sat. mornings). This has been working really great! So, the night before the Easter Bunny came (actually Fri. night b/c we celebrated the pagan side of Easter on Sat. this year) Ryan and I stuffed the eggs and set it out on the table nice and pretty for the next morning. Looks perfect...right????

Well, the next morning we wake up to Brianna saying to Ryan, "Dad, come quick, come quick! You won't believe your eyes! The easter bunny came last night, and he gave us candy...and we are EATING IT RIGHT NOW!!!! So, we both groggily wonder downstairs to discover every candy filled egg dumped onto the kitchen table, and the big chocolate bunnies opened and melting in their little hands! Oh, what fun to be a parent!!! Serves us well for trying to get a little extra sleep!!! hahaha...gotta LOVE KIDS! And we do, especially ours!

Easter Fun

2009-04-22T08:33:00.000-07:00

A family from church made this giant Easter Bunny cake (really adorable...but HUGE) for Brianna and Brayden...they LOVED it! They were sooooo excited!

This year we tried our hand at an easter bunny foam cottage...the kids really got into it, so much, that I was the one trying to hurry them up to finish, and they wanted to use every tiny piece! Brianna spent most of her time decorating a flower with every foam dot possible!!! A lot of work for a little girl, very detail oriented like her perfectionist dad! :)

Here we are decorating our easter eggs! With Princess and Ball stickers! We had a lot of tie-dyed eggs (smashed in the process of coloring them). They look really cool on the inside, and make for colorful egg salad sandwiches!

Ryan, getting into the action too! Lots of fun and lots of mess to clean up...but well worth it!

Ultrasound pics

2009-04-15T16:53:00.000-07:00

Picture #1 is a profile, #2 is a tiny hand reaching up (how sweet!), #3 is our little boy facing down and an awesome view of his spinal column...how incredible!!!

These pics aren't as great as the one's above but you can still see in this pic that this is like looking face to face with our little boy (eyes are on the far right, and a hand on the far left), same thing in the next pic, and then the last one is our...."Yep, that's definately a BOY" picture! :) Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Here are the wonderful pics from our ultrasound. Enjoy!

The Results are In.....

2009-04-02T18:54:00.001-07:00

We had our ultrasound yesterday....and we are so proud and excited to announce that we will be adding another BOY to the Miller family (we're keeping the Miller tradition of Y chromosome dominance going)!!! He looks healthy, and perfectly formed....it's really a miracle, isn't it? Anyway, just wanted to fill everyone in on our exciting news! Now, our biggest problem is coming up with another boy name! (and FYI we're probably not going to do the "Br" names again.) Any suggestions?

Too Much Fun All Dressed Up

2009-03-22T19:20:00.000-07:00

After I got the kids ready for church...I had to take a picture of them...they just looked soooo CUTE! Matching and all. Of course, I had to match them too, but I was the one behind the camera. How did I end up with such happy kids?

Saturday Adventures

2009-03-22T18:52:00.000-07:00

This last Saturday, the kids and I had some fun adventures! First stop, a garage sale. Now, I do not usually go to these things...but every once in a while, I get these crazy urges to go garage sale shopping! Maybe it's the fact that I just might find a GREAT bargain...but I'll never know unless I stop by! So, I did, and I found some great deals on summer clothes for Brianna...including a dress which she is modeling in the last picture. I love how Brianna gets so excited when she gets something new (well, new to her)...even from a garage sale...she must be my daughter!

After we did all the shopping, the weather was so great the kids got to spend some time playing in their sand table...making "blueberry sand pies", and plates of noodles, and corn...which is Brianna's favorite meal.

And this little guy wants to be just like his big sister. He always says, "Brianna, I love you. You're my best friend." Over, and over, and over again...it is sooooo cute!!!! Totally melts a mom's heart!

Here is Brayden sporting his new Spiderman sunglasses (that match his prized posession..a spiderman bookbag) and holding his new Percy train (free from Toys R Us thanks to a great Aunt Molly)! This kid LOVES to get dressed up. If you look closely, you can see the huge kid snow gloves on his hands (about ten sizes too big!) and also from the garage sale, which he wore during and after his afternoon nap. What a silly guy!

Modeling her new garage sale treasure! Her special Hawaiian dress!

Pizza Time!

2009-03-22T18:36:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night it was just me and the kids (Ryan's at a conference in Chicago), so we decided it had to be a pizza and movie night! Here is Brayden working hard at spreading the cheese onto the crust and into his mouth.

Brianna also had an important job of spreading the sauce...such concentration!

Here is the almost finished product (before the oven). What great helpers! By the way, we ended up watching the Jungle Book, and the kids LOVED it!!! What fun times!

Are You Up for a Challenge?

2009-03-13T09:37:00.000-07:00

COMPLETELY COPIED FROM MY SISTER'S BLOG :(It's sounds like a fun idea):

I did copy her word for word!
The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It'll be done this year.
4. You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a song. It may be a self portrait or maybe even some creation I haven't yet dreamed up. I may draw. I may bake you something and mail it to you. It may not be big or impressive. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure! But lets be honest here. This is me and I will likely do something amazing. =) So come on, sign up!
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!

Little Miracles...like the size of an avocado!

2009-03-01T19:36:00.000-08:00

So on Friday Ryan and I took a trip to the doctor's office and we got to hear, for the first time, the heartbeat of our unborn 16 week old baby! (So for all of you that may not know...we are expecting busy B#3 August 23! TaaaDaahh!) It's kinda of funny because up until the first time you actually get to hear a heartbeat, some part of me seems to think that I am not really pregnant...even though I definatley feel physical changes. And then I am always amazed just by how mind boggling the entire process is, and how smart our Heavenly Father must be to know exactly what needs to happen to create a perfect child of God. So as of right now, we are having an avocado...no, just kidding, but that's how big our baby is! Kinda of funny comparison though! At least it's not a jelly bean anymore...although Ryan is quite fond of those too!

Oh, and by the way... we ARE going to find out the gender, and timed perfectly....our ultrasound is scheduled for April Fools Day! hahaha

My Sister...My Best Friend!!!

2009-01-01T21:45:00.000-08:00

My Sister!!! She is one of my most FAVORITE people in the whole entire world!!! Erika is such a selfless individual, always eager to help others and has a beautifully contagious smile that EVERYONE loves, and can't help but feel happy when they are around her. I think that Heavenly Father really knew what he was doing when he put us together. So, here she is.....

My Sister, and My Best Friend...I Love You Sis!!! :)

Christmas 2008 in Texas!!!

2009-01-01T20:59:00.000-08:00

This year our family decided to do a "very, very, very, very, very long car ride" (as Brianna calls it) to visit my family in Texas. Our first stop was to Mom and Dad Jung's house in Killeen, (give me a couple of days and I will post the "Christmas morning pics" when we get back to VA)and then on to Houston to spend some time with my sister and her adorable family. It was so much fun and I don't want to leave!!!

Here is Uncle Ryan with "cousin storytime" reading their new Cars book. The boys were so captivated....I think Brianna (aka Cinderella) is really just trying to be polite.

Here is Brianna being a wonderful Big cousin to baby Sarah who is just 6 weeks old today!!!

I love my kids!!! Who wouldn't be able to fall in love with the cutest lil
super hero and a beautiful princess like these two! Don't we all sometimes wish that we could just stay in that wonderful land of make believe?

Painting our Pumpkins

2008-11-05T08:52:00.000-08:00

Since the kids are still so little, Ryan and I thought it would be best to paint our pumpkins instead of carving them. So, here are my two special guys, Brayden and Ryan, painting their pumpkins.

Pausing for a pose.

Two kids hard at work.

My SNEAKY husband!

2008-11-05T08:38:00.000-08:00

So Ryan told me to clear my calendar so that we could go on a surprise date. I didn't know where we were going, or what to expect. He was to give me clues through out the week to help me guess what in the world we were doing.

So, each day he hid a clue somewhere for me to find. And still after the clues, I had no ideas on what we would be doing. So, he made me put them all together.

Ads with the word "Save"+ "Ion" car +
a bunch of "Glove"s + and the letter "R"

Hmmmmm..... who else but Savion Glover---

the BEST tap dancer in the WORLD!!! I was so stoked I actually started crying! It has always been a childhood dream to see him, and here is my husband, so thoughtful, not even knowing how much it truly meant to me.

Of course we both had a super great time. Did I mention that I have the very best husband in the WORLD!!! Thanks Ryan, I love you!

Crazy Eyes!!!

2008-11-05T08:24:00.000-08:00

Brianna brought home from preschool a craft with these googly eyes. She decided that the googly eyes looked much better on her than on the craft. I looked over and she was trying so hard to get them to stay on her own eyes, and then said, "Hey mom, look at me!" I about died laughing and then ran for my camera of course. It is so fun to see her little funny personality emerging....even at 3 years old! My silly lil' girl!

So Darn Cute!!!

2008-11-05T08:20:00.000-08:00

Here we are getting ready for church and the kid's just looked so darn cute I couldn't resist takin a picture! It so funny to me how much time and effort you can spend getting your kids ready...tuck in shirts, change diapers, do their hair, put their shoes and socks on....just to have them undo in two seconds everything that took you half and hour to do!!! Kids!!!! Gotta love them!

A House of Their Own

2008-09-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

Life in the backyard, was suddenly about to become much more exciting! We were getting a new house....about 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide! Thanks to a great dad and a handy screwdriver!

Brianna's First Day of Pre-school

2008-09-30T11:30:00.000-07:00

Here she is....our little girl on her first day of pre-school! We are doing a co-op school, and like it or not, I was her teacher, and we held school at our house...not very exciting if you ask me, but she was thrilled! And if I may add....(no bias at all) she is my very favorite student ever!
Brianna has such a great daddy! He surprised her with her very own flowers!
And if that wasn't enough, Princess Aurora even sent along a little card telling Brianna that she hoped she had a great first day of school! This is one of the many reasons why I married Ryan! Thoughtful, and very sneaky!!!

Trains, trains, and......beards?

2008-09-30T11:18:00.000-07:00

We took a family trip to the Virginia Children's Museum which has a huge train exhibit that I knew my dad (an extreme train lover) would really appreciate. Brayden who is just now getting into trains loves this place too. So, I knew there would be some papa, grandson bonding going on.
But, little did I expect that Brayden's fascination with his Papa Jung's beard would distract him from his favorite train book! Both Brianna and Brayden thought his beard was really cool, and really soft. While my dad was reading them this book, they kept taking turns "petting" his beard. Not scary at all....who would have thought! :)
We love you Papa and Grandma Jung!

3 Generations of Polka Dots

2008-09-30T11:04:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I were so happy to have my parents come and visit us....a car ride all the way from TX! Yeehaw! My mom and I had a good laugh when we noticed that all the "ladies" were wearing polkadot dresses to church! We must be related! :) So, here we are, except for Brayden who always falls asleep right after church, and my handsome husband who is behind the camera!

Can You Say CHEESEball???

2008-09-30T10:56:00.000-07:00

Brayden is such a Hoot! Before I took this picture he was trying to be very sneaky and put on his sister's very cute and PINK Minnie Mouse sunglasses(thanks Aunt Molly). Once I started laughing and reaching for my camera, he couldn't help but give me a BIG Smile...probably because he knew he wasn't in trouble, and thought he was a pretty funny kid!

Tree Climbing...take 2!

2008-09-29T11:37:00.000-07:00

Yes, that is Ryan and his brother Kyle showing off their mad tree climbing skills!

Tree Huggers....

2008-09-29T11:24:00.000-07:00

I never thought I'd have to worry about my lil' girl becoming a TREE HUGGER! Just kidding. This is actually Brianna's first attempt at climbing a tree. She turned and said, "Look Mom, I climbed a tree!", and that is exactly as far as she got! I wonder who she gets her mad tree climbing skills from....maybe her Dad, and Uncle Kyle! Check out the picture above!

Special time with Grandma Miller

2008-09-29T11:12:00.000-07:00

Mmmmmmm....Blueberries! During our trip to NY to visit Grandma and Papa Miller, and the whole rest of the Miller gang, we decided it would be really fun to go and pick some yummy blueberries at a local farm. Here is Brayden with his super Grandma Miller! The lil' guy did pretty good at picking off the ripe ones, and also eating them!

Fun at the Park

2008-08-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

I love our family outings. This picture was taken at the zoo, and of course their dad is the one that can REALLY make them laugh. Sometimes as a mother, it is fun to sit back and just watch your kids enjoying a moment. Motherhood~ a lot of work, but so worth it!

2008-08-20T17:48:00.000-07:00

Stay Tuned

2008-08-18T19:43:00.000-07:00

I am still trying to get this thing figured out! :) So, please stay tuned!

This Was a Selfish Labor of Love...

2008-08-08T21:06:00.001-07:00

So this is the sister to the beautiful mom of these cute kids and out of pure selfishness I began this blog for her so that I could see what this wonderful family is doing. I wished that we lived closer, but this is my feeble attempt to connecting with them easier. What can I say more, they are cute and I love them!
Love,
Aunt Erika