In a Nutshell...

So things have been too crazy, but yet at the same time too boring to warrant a post. But in an effort to write something, here it is in a semi-condensed version.

• I've been training for my first half marathon that is on Saturday and I'm super excited!! Hope all goes well and I don't die!
• Been super busy my the new Primary calling
• I've lost all control over my boys, they're literally making me go crazy!
• Chase got kicked out of the gym daycare today for 30 days for biting too many times :(
• Rylee HATES formula...and bottles. This does not work well for a mama whose milk is going away and I've tried multiple remedies to try and get it back. The bottles are a work in progress, some feedings are better than others. I'm still nursing a couple of times a day.
• Logan is getting better with his counting, colors, and saying his alphabet. Grandpa and Grandma Miller are coming to visit for Christmas and promised Logan that if he could sing his ABC's when they got here that Grandpa would take him out for a milkshake, guess that was all the incentive he needed!
• Rylee is speedy little crawler and is pulling herself up to her knees with anything she can find and still just a happy little baby!!
• Ray is super busy...still! He finished his first semester for his Master's Degree and got super good grades. I'm way proud of him!

Well, I think that's it! I'm sure there's more, but my brain just won't process anything else right now, so this will just have to do. :)

Turkey Trot

I haven't ran a race since September (I have been running still though) and decided to run in the city Turkey Trot. The weather was windy and cold (cold for us wimps in St. George at least) and I hadn't ran at all during the week and even missed a few days at the gym due to sick kids and an overwhelming schedule. Needless to say, I was a little apprehensive at how well I was going to run but I met my goal! I ran in 24:58 and I'm completely satisfied with my time. My last race was ran in 28:30 so I cut 3 1/2 minutes off. I've been training for a half marathon in December and so I figured I would really try to push myself, it's only 3 miles! It was a lot different to run a shorter distance and push for speed rather than doing an endurance run. It was a lot of fun and it felt pretty good. I'm really looking forward the half marathon in a few weeks and if all goes well I'm also planning on the doing another half marathon in January, the St. George Painter's Half Marathon.

My father-in-law planted a little seed in my head last week and has me seriously thinking of trying the Newport, OR Marathon in June. My bro-in-law (miss him sooo much!) will be coming home from his mission about that time and said I should give it a try since we'll be there for his welcome home. I think it would be kind of cool and such a beatiful place to run! Ray said he is even toying with the idea of it and we're trying to talk my other bro-in-law, Trevor, to try and make it out there and do it with us, afterall, he already ran the St. George Marathon and did awesome! I also want to see if my sis-in-law, Nicole, will do it too. The only issue there might be that she will of just had a baby in February! I don't know, lots of scheming, I just think it would be fun to make it kind of a family affair. We'll just have to wait and see if my body will even hold up after a half marathon.

Hide and Seek Games

On Saturday Ray was out playing Hide and Seek with Logan. I went out to see the grand adventures they were having and this is how I found them, climbing around in the tree. Logan now asks everyday if I will lift him up in the tree. :) When Chase saw them up there he of course needed to join in on the fun.

Can I just say that I love these guys soooo much! Ray is an absolutely wonderful dad and my most bestest friend ever. Logan and Chase are so fun play with, they have such energy that they will just go and go and go.

Fun with the Kiddos

The boys like to have fun taking pictures lately. Here are just a few of the random ones!




Not one of the best pictures of either one of us, but it was the best one of the moment.

Wizard of Oz Family

This year for Halloween I wanted to attempt a theme as a family and this what we came up with.

The Miller Family

starring in

THE WIZARD OF OZ

It was fun making the costumes. Ray and I's costumes were simple and not much to them but the kids were a little more involved. Chase's lion costume was a monkey that Logan used a couple of years ago. I just cut the monkey nose off and used yarn for the lion's mane. Pretty easy and he looked super cute in it. Logan was the Tinman and I wasn't quite sure how go about it so Ray helped out with this one. We used an oil funnel for the hat, cardboard for the body, and dryer vent hose for the arms and legs. We didn't get quite enough dryer hose but it still turned out fun. And then Rylee's dress I had to sew. This was an adventure because I've never sewed clothing before and I'm not exactly skilled in this department. I was pretty proud of myself though because I didn't have a pattern or anything and just kind of guessed what I had to do. I asked my mom and a neighbor a couple of questions, but it still turned out good. Rylee was pretty dang cute as usual (PS - she got her first tooth yesterday!!! Lets hope it doesn't put a monkey wrench in nursing now. I don't know now long I can handle it if she starts to bite when nursing :) ) But overall, it was a fun holiday and I'm already starting to think about what we could do as a family theme for next year.

Ok....so there's a lot of pictures, but I'm going to try and capture the events of Logan's birthday as best as I can without writing a novel. He turned 4 yesterday and we had a blast!! He opened his presents in the morning and then that night we went to Staheli Farms to get pumpkins and to play. They have quite the setup at the farm where the kids can play. So here we go!!!



Grandma Miller made Logan a cowboy vest with chaps and leather gloves. The sunglass are from Grandma Jolley who also gave him a bouncing ball, you know the ones with the handle and you sit on and jump. He gets quite the kick out it, plus it's funny to watch!




Logan wanted a Cat in the Hat birthday cake. It's not perfect but I thought it turned out pretty cute. The one thing I totally forgot about until after was the whiskers for the cat. Oh well, Logan loved it!



We got Logan a big boy bike. He's been riding a much too little tricycle for quite a while and he's loving it! He took off on it like a little champ and is even doing good learning how to use the brakes.



Chase with his pumpkin at Staheli Farms. It's about as big as him!




Oh magosh!! Is Rylee not the cutest little girl ever!! I just can't get enough! And sitting up all by herself like she's so big....

The boys choosing their pumpkins.

All of my darling little children!

My handsome men!

Our attempt to get a family picture. It turned out a little blurry but gets the job done.

Logan doing the duck races. He had fun with this game.

Staheli Famrs had this slide and dumps you into a pit of dried corn. Chase had blast!

Chase loved the slide!

This is just a random picture of the boys outside. We've had awesome weather lately (the reason we love St. George!) and we've tried to take advantage of it as much as possible.

I have a very sweet friend that I attempted to make this nursing cover for. I was proud of myself with the way it turned out. I'm soooo not a seamstress so to get something that turns out semi-right is such an accomplishment! :)

So this weekend was a blast!! First off Ray and I went on a date to the homecoming football game for the school he teaches at. It was so nice to be able to actually watch the game and follow it. Then Saturday morning I ran in a 5K race. My sister-in-law's Stake put on a fun run and so I decided to run in it. It's been about 10 years since I ran a race and so it felt really good. I finished with a time of 28:13, placed 2nd for my age group (20-29), and placed about 35th overall. I'm hoping to run a couple of more races this year and improve my time.

This is the running crew. :) My good friend Katie, Katie's sis-in-law and Kathryn's nieghbor Kandice, my sis-in-law Kathryn, and me. Trying to get a little warmed up before the race. It was cold that morning!

I was NOT about to let this young kid beat me. Proudly, I did beat him!! :)

They also had a 1 mile run for the kids. Logan placed 3rd for his age group and finished in about 14 minutes. Way to go kid!!

After the race we (meaning Ray's three sisters and their families) all went for a walk. This was not a good idea where it was about 95-100 degrees outside. But it worked because we walked around the river and decided to play in the water which the kids thoroughly loved!

Chase and cousin Emily

Little Miss Rylee in Unlce Darrin and Aunt Nicole's hiking backpack. Thanks for hauling her around!

Cousin Kimmi, Logan, and Cousin Kassi

Logan found a "skeleton rock".

Playing in the river. I'm still getting used to the idea that this is a river. Where I'm from, a river is a "little bit" deeper and faster. Oh well, it works for what we need!

Logan enjoyed relaxing in the water.