More Summer Stuff

Last Saturday (the 25th) was Miles' one month birthday. I can't even believe that a month has gone by already. He has been the sweetest baby and has been a great addition to our family. I really feel like he has completed our family and that he was meant to be here with us. The other three boys have loved having him and have been so sweet and helpful. This month has just flown by and I have enjoyed every second of it. He gave me his first smile yesterday for just a brief moment, but it sure was cute! (He's got that baby acne thing going on bad right now)
Mike and I have been dying that we haven't been able to go camping this summer. With his hurt leg and a newborn, it just doesn't seem possible this summer. So on Sunday we decided it was time to get to the mountains anyway. We took a picnic lunch and went up to Silver Lake. We enjoyed the cooler temperatures and the beautiful walk around the lake. The whole time, Max and Mitchel kept saying, "Are we going camping up here?" And we had to keep reminding them that we were just up there for a few hours. It was good to be in the mountains though.

Today, the boys and I went swimming at the Kearns KOPFC awesome pools while my Mom watched Miles for me. We had a great time playing in all the pools. My friend Jenn from High School brought her three boys too. (I wish I would have gotten a picture with all of them).

I can't believe school starts in less than a month. I feel like I have to squeeze all the summer fun I can into the next few weeks. If you want to go and play with us, let me know!

24th of July Weekend

My sister Tracy and I went to the "Kenny Chesney" concert last night at the Real Stadium. Well, really we didn't see Kenny, we actually went to see the opening acts which were Lady Antabellum, Miranda Lambert, and Sugarland. Unfortunately, Sugarland did not perform because the lead singer had lost her voice. Bummer! But the other acts were great. My sister and I don't really care about Kenny Chesney so we left before he even performed. There were more tank-top wearing women than I had ever seen in one place before, and the lines for beer were never ending. Funny! People watching was almost as fun as listening to the music! And hanging out with my sister is always super fun!
It was very hot in the stadium, like 102 or something. Our seats were in the blazing sun, so we spent most of the concert standing in the shade. And I spent $4 for a 20 oz. Mountain Dew. What a rip-off!

This morning we woke up bright and early to attend the Days of '47 parade. It has been a family tradition for as long as I can remember. It just doesn't feel like Pioneer Day without the parade. Mike HATES parades so it's the one holiday I let him off the hook and don't make him come.

The Harker Boys

When Miles was born, my Mom brought me a photo frame with "The Harker Boys" lettered on the bottom. Inside the frame she put this poem that she had written:

Oh, take this time and cherish it,

the years roll by too fast!

Your four little boys will grow up-

No, childhood isn't meant to last.

This frame can hold a memory

of boys who still are small,

And year after year, another photo,

of Harker boys growing tall.

One day the photo taken

will show four worthy Harker MEN,

And you will joyously remember

back when your life as mom began.

So this is the first official photo of all the Harker boys that I will proudly display in this picture frame. Every time I read this poem I totally bawl my head off. I can't imagine that one day these boys will be men. (that seems like a huge responsibility to me)

Speaking of my cute boys, this is Mason playing "Super Reader". He is turning into quite the little show off and loves making me laugh!

Yee-Ha!

We got to spend an awesome Tuesday night at the Days of '47 Rodeo in the E-Center thanks to some free tickets given to us by my brother. I have fond memories of attending this rodeo back when it was at the Salt Palace as a kid. I love the rodeo, especially the bucking broncos and the bulls. My kids thought it was pretty cool too. Thanks Steve for sharing your prize! We had a great time!

Old friends are the best!

My boys and I got to take a little "road trip" up to Perry, Utah on Monday to visit one of my best friends from High School. Laurie and I were cheerleaders together both in Jr. High (go Generals) and at Taylorsville High School. Even back in High School, Laurie had it all together. I always thought of her as the "pretty one" of my friends (and she got to date all the "HOT" guys) but she was also incredibly smart, funny, and kind to everyone. I don't know of anyone who didn't like Laurie. She was also very spiritual and kept me from going off on the wrong path with her amazing example. She also made it possible for me to pass the AP American and European History tests by getting me to study all the time (and letting me use her vocabulary cards which I was too lazy to make) She is now the mother of 4 adorable children. She sews, blogs, does food storage, studies gospel topics like the second coming, cans, does Scouting activities with her son, takes her kids on awesome adventures, supports her husband in his business, and a million other things that I could never live up to.The cool thing about visiting an old friend, is that they know the real you from the beginning, and they like you anyway. Even though we haven't seen each other much since High School, when we do talk or get together, it's like no time has passed at all. That to me is the sign of a real friendship. It was so fun to go up there and spend some time together and have our kids play together. Thanks Laurie for all your years of friendship to me (and for getting me started on Facebook!) I'll love you for forever! Here is a little trip down memory lane!
(Senior Year Varsity Cheerleaders)

(Us four kind of stuck together in High School. Me, Kali, Jenn, and Laurie)

(Junior Year-JV cheerleading)

Oh, What do you do in the Summertime?

I had the wonderful opportunity this past week to spend all day Monday at the Heber Valley Camp with our Young Women. This is the third year our ward has gone up there and it is by far one of my favorite places on earth. Unfortunately, I was only able to stay for Monday since I do have a 3 week old baby that needed me at home. But the girls had a very fun and spiritual week with the rest of their awesome leaders. I was able to go back up Thursday night for dinner and testimony meeting and it was wonderful. The Ridgecrest 1st Ward Young Women are the best! We spent a very HOT day at the Zoo this past week too. Miles didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped he would (meaning he didn't just sleep in the stroller the whole time) but the other boys liked it. By the end I was DYING of heat! This is us waiting for the bird show to begin. If you have never seen it, you should because it is really cool.

(Don't we all have pictures of our kids with this cute drinking fountain. I think I even have one of myself when I was a kid)

We have tried to cool off this week in our backyard using the little swimming pool Mason got for his birthday.

(This is just a cute photo of Mason holding crying Miles)

We also went to Murray pool this week to cool off. I LOVE this pool because it is perfectly suited to my kids and it doesn't cost very much. My mom watched Miles for us so we could go and spend a few hours. We all love the water slide and Mitchel can jump off the diving board and swim everywhere. It was a perfect day.

If my house only had central air, I would wish for summer to last a lot longer. I am enjoying having my kids home and just being able to spend time together just doing whatever. We are having a great time!

Happy Birthdays Miles and Mason

On Thursday we "celebrated" Miles' two weeks by visiting Dr. Wirkus for his first check-up. He is doing great. He gained a little weight and is now at 8 lbs. 10 oz. and grew almost a whole inch! He is healthy and happy and doing great. (Dr. Wirkus is one of the best pediatricians ever by the way!) This is what Miles' hair looks like when he gets out of the bathtub, all fluffy and sticking up everywhere!
Mason turned 3 on Friday!! He has been excited for weeks for his birthday. I can't believe he is already three. He is sunshine where ever he goes and talks so cute and polite to everyone. We started the morning with presents from Mom and Dad. (And since our boys share everything, Mitchel and Max were just as excited to see what Mason got.)

That evening we headed to a park in Herriman for the family birthday party. The kids loved having all their cousins there to play with and everyone brought such fun presents for Mason. He was impressed with all of them and wants to say, "Thank You!"

We had a yummy dinner of sandwiches, fruit and ...JELLO SQUARES! As soon as the kids saw these they dived in. Who knew such a simple treat could be so much fun!

Thinking back on Mason's three years, I would have to say that he is by far my easiest going child. He wants to do everything his big brothers do, so teaching him to do things has been really easy. He loves to play and wrestle and do all the things a little boy loves to do. My favorite thing that he says is, "No Thank You." It is so sweet. He is also so helpful and is being a wonderful big brother to Miles. He is a joy to be around and I have loved these last three years watching him grow.

Happy Birthday Mason! I love you more than you could possibly know! Keep being the good, happy, fun boy that you are. Thanks for being our "little buddy!"

Summer Fun

Now that Miles is out of me and I can move, and walk, and bend over, (and fit back into my regular pants) I decided it was time to get out and enjoy summer. June kind of passed us by with all the rain and my not being able to do much, but now it's time to play! So on Monday, the boys and I, along with Mitchel's friend Caitlin, went to Liberty park for a picnic and then to play in "The Rivers." The kids had a great time playing in the water while Miles and I found some shade to hang out in. On Tuesday, I had to run an errand up in Sugarhouse, so while we were there we decided to stop and have a picnic and play at Sugarhouse Park.

Then later that afternoon, Aunt Adrianne invited us over to her apartment pool for some swimming with the cousins. I love these pictures with my boys in their goggles. All three of my boys love swimming and jumping off the side and just being little fish. Thanks Adrianne for letting us come over! They loved it!

Hopefully we'll have lots more summer adventures to blog about soon. Today we are just kind of taking it easy at home. (We had one of those newborn baby nights with not a lot of sleep). Happy Summer!

4th of July

We started our 4th of July by attending our ward breakfast. It was really yummy with all the pancakes, bacon, hash browns, eggs, and watermelon that we could eat. It was fun to show off Miles too! This is Miles' 4th of July outfit. It says "All American Cutie" and he certainly is that!

I love the 4th of July because it is just a relaxing, no pressure holiday. Every year my family (the Millers) and Mike's family (the Harkers) get together at a park to watch the fireworks. This year we went to Murray Park. My favorite part is just waiting around for the fireworks to start. We eat, play games, talk, and just relax. I could really care less about the firework show. Miles slept through all the big booms and everything, but I kept my hands over his ears the whole time too.

I love this photo of Mike and I. He is one HOT husband!! (and this is the first picture of me in my braces that I actually like)

These are the Miller cousins, Ryan, Abbey, and Allie. They are all really close in age to my kids and they love hanging out with each other.

We had a great holiday and it was fun to spend it with our families. I sure am grateful to live where I do. We are so blessed!

Why I love to blog

Okay, so honestly, a year ago, I thought blogging was the stupidest most self-centered thing in the world. Really, no one cares about anyone else's life and all the mundane things they are doing and what is happening with their children etc. except for the person writing the blog. So why, I thought, would anyone want to post all of that for the rest of the world to read, when the rest of the world could care less about your little life. I even made fun of people who were "bloggers."

Then, with encouragement and help from my friend Sherry, I finally gave in and started my own blog. I haven't kept a real journal since I was in High School and even though I am a scrapbooker, I only "journaled" occasionally in it and when I did it was months after the event and by then I had forgotten most of the details and emotions involved. Blogging has changed all that for me. I now look forward to coming home from an event and immediately typing what happened and how I felt and posting pictures. I find myself writing about things that I never would have written otherwise and that would have been forgotten. I've discovered that a blog is not about whether people read it or not, it is about me keeping a record of the events that happen in my family's lives and how I feel about those things. I find that I go back often and read my older posts and reminiscing about past events. What a wonderful thing! It is so much easier than a real "journal" and plus, there are pictures to go along with it. I have to admit that I am hooked! My plan is to take all my blog posts and make them into a book or scrapbook. It is also nice to know that the posts can never get lost since they are on the Internet.

I am really grateful that Sherry convinced me to start a blog. I love getting comments from others, but really, even if no one ever reads my blog, I will, and that's the most important part.

Mitchel's Cub Scout Camp

Mitchel absolutely loved going up to Cub Country and learning all sorts of "scout skills." Since Mike had already taken the week off work because of Miles, he was free to go up with Mitchel both days. They both had so much fun! Mitchel making an eagle feather out of a turkey feather.
Learning how to lasso.

Learning respect for the flag and how to fold it properly.

Learning about Native American culture and how they used pictures to tell stories.

Shooting a bow and arrow for the very first time.
I'm so glad he got this opportunity. He was able to pass off a lot of his Wolf requirements.

"It was very fun. I can't wait to go again next year." -Mitchel