Bond, James Bond

This is the office building we went to celebrate the 10th anniversary of.  It's 75 years old and was set to be torn down when Jeff's boss decided to renovate it and rent it out.  It is very cool inside and one of the premiere office buildings in Columbus - with a 96% occupancy. 

My fancy hair-do from the back!

James - I mean Jeff eating an oyster something or other!

We're happy together!

Jeff and I flew to Columbus for a Black Tie Gala, celebrating the 10th anniversary of an office building that his boss owns.  I borrowed a dress from Cynthia and Jeff borrowed David's tux and we had an elegant and fun evening.  Jeff looked so handsome and I just look FAT!  I'm going to put a picture of me on the fridge or someplace I can see it regularly to remind me not to eat!  We had a really nice weekend together and though we didn't find much to do in Columbus, we loved being together.

We flew home early to get ready for being in Logan for mom's treatments that started today.  She is in surgery now and will go to chemo and radiation right after she's out of the recovery room.  It is going to be so hard to watch her suffer, as I'm sure she will.  We all love her so much and wish she didn't have to go through this.  I would gladly trade places with her in a heartbeat.  She has been amazingly strong and positive throughout the past month, waiting for her treatment to start, but yesterday her nervousness showed.  Her blood pressure was really high this morning.  

Oops, she just got out of surgery so I'll quit now.

Pumpkin Carving

Our kids came over for pizza and pumpkin carving.  We had a fun night eating, creating, wrestling, holding Abbie, and talking politics!  We always miss Jake, Josh, Julie & Colby at our gatherings though.  Why do we have to live so far away?  We'd love to see our 3 year old Colby in his cowboy costume.  Stay tuned, maybe Julie will send us a picture we can upload to share.

Jeremy and Bailey's creation

Jaxson and Grandpa carved the headless horseman

As you can see, the boys worked really hard on their pumpkins!

Jeremy asking Abbie who she's voting for!

Proof that Jax DID help!

Spencer & Melissa each carved their own but Melissa's favorite part is cleaning out the pumpkin - yuck - I hate that part!  Glad she likes it though.

Our little dolly!  I bought this little dress (24 month) to put in a "dress-up" box for future fun but Amy decided to try it on her and as you can see, Abbie LOVED it and we did too!

My mom and her four daughters!

Bonnie, Mom, Lee

Karen & Sue

We aren't all together very often, but Lee flew in from Wisconsin so we thought we'd better take the opportunity to have a family picture taken with Andrea as the photographer.

Mom and her two sons

Jim, Mom and Jeff

The whole fam in mom's backyard - we love autumn!

My Mom

Just want to show you a picture of my beautiful, brave mom.  She had a biopsy Tuesday and we now have heard the worst words you can hear.  My mom has cancer.  I can't even think about life without her.  She is the best, most loving and wonderful mom and grandma in the world.  She isn't scared or worried about herself, just doesn't want to leave her family.  That's what makes her cry.  She wanted to watch her great-grandchildren grow up.  Can't write anymore.  I love you mom.

We love September!

Last night we went to Jordan's Eagle Court of Honor.  He's such a great young man (I really wanted to say kid but he is grew up so fast!) and we're so proud of him.  He's getting ready to go on a mission in February so he's a busy guy.

I'm tending Abbie and took our picture together, isn't she a doll?  Notice her headband - Amy usually has one on her and she looks adorable in them.

I went in to check on Abbie a few minutes after she fell asleep and this is how I found her.  She had first pulled the flower off her headband (you can see it on our bed above her head) then pulled it down over her eyes.  Julie says she must be a true Miller cuz she likes it dark when she sleeps!

Jeff and I celebrated our birthdays last week and we had a very fun time.  Jeff and our kids cooked dinner for me on my day and I kidnapped him on his.  We went to the Hilton, had massages and relaxed, but once again decided there's no place like home!

Tradition! Utah State Fair with our grandboys.

Bailey, Grammy and Jaxson

Grandpa always spoils them and today was no exception!  He bought them these "cool" sunglasses and they thought they were pretty hot stuff!  The fair always sets us back at least $100 and sometimes I wonder if it's worth it, but then I start eating the kettlecorn and think "yep, it's worth it!"  Just kidding, we LOVE having this tradition with our cute grandboys and will do it as long as they'll go with us!  They weren't interested in seeing the animals this year for the first time, but we have fun seeing the magic and comedy shows, riding the rides and eating all the junk food we can.  It's great fun to be with Jax and Bay.

Bailey rode this ride about 5 times & LOVED it, but it took some convincing to get Jax to go on it - then he liked it too.  It looked pretty fun to me but I didn't have a wrist band to go - dang it!

Jax took our photo at the Elvis impersonator concert (which by the way, you can be

 glad you didn't have to sit through - we lasted less than 5 minutes there!)

Sunday afternoon ride

Here we are - motorcycle & windblown hair and all!

Guess this is why it took so long, there are some "awesome" birds there the environmentalists had to protect!

All the overpasses & bridges were made with rocks like those used on the sign behind Jeff, very impressive indeed - and my man is too!

Jeff and I decided to check out the newly opened Legacy Parkway on the motorcycle and had a blast.  It was a great ride on a beautiful day.  They did a good job building the 685 million dollar road - we just wish it wouldn't have taken them so long!  It's a great stretch of road - check it out when you can.  We didn't actually take a picture of the parkway and these photos aren't the greatest, but it's hard to take a picture of yourselves with an Iphone and the sun in your eyes! 

Bella Abbie & Papa

Too cute for words!

Bella, Bella, Bella (for those of you who don't know Italian - that means beautiful!)

Like I said in an earlier post, you gotta start 'em out young!

Easy riders!  Check out the belly on that girl - so cute!

We are blessed!

Spencer, Melissa and our sweet Gram

During our fun vacation to Oregon and Washington, we got terrible news about our sweet Grandma Barr.  She had a G.I. bleed - losing half of her blood.  Luckily she was at my brother Jeff's house or we may not have her with us now.  We've been taking turns spending time with her and are happy to report that she is slowly getting better.  She is weak and uses oxygen almost full time now, but that's to be expected after having to have six blood transfusions!  She is a beautiful lady, inside and out and we are so glad to have her still with us.

Labor Day Weekend - Enumclaw, WA

Rosie, Andrew, Jeff, Bonnie & Rebekah at Sunrise Trail

The bikers - Brad & Jake

Adorable (sorry guys, but you are!) Jake and Paul

Goodbyes are hard on moms!

Bonnie, Jeff, Rosie and Brad

Next we went to visit Jeff's sister Rosie's family in Enumclaw.  Her son Paul is getting ready to leave on a mission to Ft. Lauderdale (Spanish speaking) and we wanted to be there for his farewell.  We had a great time with them and enjoyed being able to spend a little time in that beautiful part of the world.  

Jake and Brad (Rosie's husband) rode 10.5 miles UP a mountain and were happy it only took them 62 minutes.  Jake was thrilled to be able to ride Brad's $8,000 (plus) bike!  Brad told him to sacrifice his head, limbs, whatever, just protect the bike!  Luckily no sacrifice was necessary and they enjoyed their workout.

We met them at the top of the road and said our goodbyes to Jacob.  He had to head back to Portland for school.  After he left, we did a little easy hiking and enjoyed the breathtakingly beautiful views.

Another of the highlights of our trip was going through the Seattle Temple with Paul, Brad and Rosie.  What a great experience and we were so happy to be able to share that with them.  They are an awesome family and we are glad to claim them as part of ours!  

Visiting Jacob in Portland

Jacob and Jeff at Lewis & Clark

Jake's "bed" - how does he do it?  I wouldn't even be able to walk in the morning, let alone sleep at night!  He's slept like this for several years now and won't let us buy him a bed.  He says he sleeps fine and doesn't want to get used to being comfortable so when he rock climbs, he can sleep anywhere!  Oh, to be young huh?

The only furniture Jake had in his whole apartment when we got there.  We added a chair and dining room table with 4 chairs from Ikea.  It was fun to shop (well, for me anyway!) and then put the furniture together.  Hopefully it will make his 3 years there a little more comfortable.

Me & a map of his law school

Jeff & I drove north to see Jake at his new school, Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland. We had a great weekend with him and feel great about his decision to go there.  It fits him perfectly and he will have a great three years there.  He has a nice apartment and bikes 25 minutes (uphill) to school - course that means it's downhill home!  He carries about 25 pounds of books on his back so that adds to his workout.  Luckily he's in great shape!  The campus is beautiful and so is the city.  We had delicious berries from the local farmer's market and it made me wish we had access to some her in SLC.  They have a definite advantage weather-wise and they can grow beautiful fruits and vegetables.  That also makes it a good place for Jake since he's a vegetarian.  We loved spending time with him (even after spending two nights on an air matress!) and are so proud of him. 

You had to know we'd teach her to play cards!

If you want to teach your kids or grandkids something, it's best to start them at a young age!  We had a fun night playing "Salad" with some of our kids and Abbie had a good time trying to help Grammy - we didn't win - but I was the luckiest cuz I got to hold her.  I love that girl!

New Specs for Gram

Beautiful lady but outdated glasses!

Much better!

Check out Grandma's new glasses!  They are a great improvement over her old ones don't you think?  There's only one problem with them - Standard Optical put the wrong lenses in and she can't see out of them!  Nice.  Jeff and I went to Logan today to see "Aida", an opera that Grandpa and Grandma bought tickets for.  We got enough culture today to last a lifetime!  It was 3 hours and 20 minutes long!!!!  It was in Italian - or so they said - Jeff couldn't tell!  It was minimally enjoyable, but a nice gesture from great parents!  

It's official - her name is Abigail Jean!

She looked so beautiful in her dress - and it's long enough she can get baptized in it too!

The proud parents in front of their apartment

Cutie patooties, Tauna and Jer

Hmm, is it the look of love?  Lacey and Jacob

Gram, Amy, Jonathan and Abbie

There was a time when we wondered if our sweet little Abbie would keep the name we had been calling her for months so some of us held our breath Sunday when Jonathan blessed her!   We were relieved to hear him say "Abigail Jean" as it would have been hard to start calling her Jane, the name they considered for her.   Everything went as planned though and it was a great day.  We all enjoyed our time with each other, though we missed Spencer who had to work and of course our Boston kids.  Jacob and Lacey came from California which made the day even more special.  Jeff drove to Logan (what a great guy!) in the morning to pick up Grandma Barr so she could be with us but Grandpa & Grandma Miller weren't able to make it.  Abbie was a perfect angel and we were so glad to be there for her special day.  Jaxson was asked to give the prayer before the meal and he brought a tear to my eyes and made my heart soar with pride when he said, "We are grateful to be in the presence of this beautiful baby girl."  He's only eleven!  What a sweet, gentle boy he is!  

Jeff, Jaxson, and Grandpa Ivan Run the Snake River

On Wednesday, July 23, Jeff, Jaxon, and Grandpa Ivan drove to Jackson Hole to float the Snake River between Hoback Junction and Alpine.  They loved it!  Grandpa was in a 10 man raft with some of Jeff's co-workers at Living Scriptures (LSI).  Steve Ott, the CFO of LSI owes the rafts and the two man kayaks, called duckies, that they used.  

Grandpa had a blast!  He is wearing his white round hat sitting near the back right on the boat. Pretty good for a 90 year old to run the river!

Jeff and Jaxson floated the river twice.  This is their second time down.  Grandpa Ivan decided once was enough, so he didn't go with us the second time.   Jeff is steering the boat while Jaxson yells "watch out for that rock, Grandpa!"

The first time down the river, Jeff and Jaxson were in a two man kayak.  They got soaking wet, but didn't tip over.  Both of them loved it.  Jaxson thought the 10 man raft was pretty tame compared to the kayak.

Some other co-workers at LSI, Dave and Lori, didn't fair so well going down "Lunch Counter".  They were in the same type of boat as Jeff and Jaxson but ended up swamping!