The Mills Family

Picasa

2010-10-23T23:13:00.000-07:00

So I downloaded Picasa and cant stop playing with it, it's a free version of an adobe photoshop type program and I love it. so here's what I had fun doing :)

BLAKE

RILEY

PAYTEN

SISTERS

Love this little guy!

2010-09-29T17:26:00.000-07:00

Well I can't get this first picture to upload strait, not sure what is happening here but I just LOVE this pouty lip. I feel bad but I love it when he gets sad! He is getting so big and chunky and I love all his rolls. love this boy

The Kiddos

2010-09-18T13:05:00.000-07:00

these two have so much fun together, they are so stinkin cute. they just adore their baby brother to, riley loves to help with him and payten loves talking to him! so sweet

Happy Birthday Blake Ryan Mills (yesterday)

2010-07-16T17:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the family baby Blake! Blake's stats were height: 20 1/4 inches, weight: 7lbs 13 oz (his sister Payten was the exact same weight). His entrance into this world was very scary however everything ended up ok in the end. But he was not breathing for just under 10 minutes, was black/blue, lifeless and very very scary. However they had a mask on him so he was getting oxygen and he is perfectly good now. The girls stopped by to see me after a girls night out and it was very fun to have them swing by!

John got to do the delivery which is pretty cool

Thank you April for all your help!!! I know the experience with out you there is a completely different story and we both are so greatful for you.

Welcome home Blake :) we've been waiting for you!

Our trip to San Diego and Arizona

2010-05-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

These girls were amazing on all the LONG car rides. If only Mardel didn't ask how much longer? every few minutes! hehe J/K she was very well behaved :)

Ryan, Melissa and Addy took us all to the Beach which was so nice!

We also went to the Mormon battalion in Old Town San Diego which was so cool, the girls had a blast there.

We even got to pan for Gold....gotta get a new wedding ring somehow!

Then we were off to the San Diego Zoo which is the best zoo ever. They had moving sidewalks that your strollers could go on that go UP HILL! so nice.

Best way to keep Riley entertained and out of trouble for a few hours....give her a book of stickers. however she's pretty sure the best place to put them is all over her face :)

We had such a fun trip! Thanks Melissa, Ryan and Addy for the fun in San Diego! and Tom and Mardel for Arizona!

Gardening with Nana

2010-04-10T16:53:00.000-07:00

Here's a great way to get rid of the husband for the day....should I tell him we have a bigger shovel?

Here ya go TOM :)

2010-04-10T14:34:00.000-07:00

I think I've gotten in the most trouble for my lack of blog posts from Tom! :) so this one is for you.

the new pack pack

who doesn't love pig tails

Can't get enough CEREAL!!!!!!

Oh yeah and Riley turned two!!! She is now potty trained and in a big girl bed and how did this all happen so fast?

Her first good pony tail

And her new favorite nap spot

Pretty as a princess

home improvement: we got the crown molding up. wohoo

Lets go for a hike

2010-04-10T14:23:00.000-07:00

Westwood Hills

Trying to get a belly shot...it really is more impressive in person i think! for some reason it always looks so lame in pictures. 26 weeks

The Lion King!

2010-04-10T13:43:00.000-07:00

aka: Discovery Kingdom with Nana and Jayden was so much fun. 7 1/2 hours of fun! ok and a little bit of exhaustion too. it was perfect weather and I think the kids would have been fine going back the next day too.

This kid has no fear...she doesn't even think twice

she was so mad everytime the swing rides were done.

Easter 2010

2010-04-10T11:08:00.000-07:00

Here is our easter morning with Jayden and Nana visiting! so fun, I have tons more pictures too and I will get them up very soon! I had to go get a new thing to transfer them to computer, i haven't had a way since the new year. but I have lots of making up to do :)

a little confused on what holiday it was

Merry Christmas

2009-12-13T19:51:00.000-08:00

Ovo

2009-12-07T15:32:00.000-08:00

We went and saw Cirque Du Soleil in San Francisco on friday night and it was the coolest thing I've ever seen. They had everything from CRAZY trapeze artists to this really fun slinky guy, these huge cool looking stick bugs up on big stilts (it's all a bug theme and story) there's no way to say in words how cool it was but I would recommend it to anyone!

these trampoline guys are crazy too they jump from up top there, flipping all the way down hit the trampoline then flip up and land on two feet up top again. they are running all over that wall and flying everywhere, it's so cool!

this guy went on a unicycle on his shoulders on the rope too!

they flip these kiwi's and run in place while they keep spinning, they toss them back and forth to each other and are amazing, all with their feet.

Laundry Day!

2009-11-18T11:12:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween

2009-11-02T20:27:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun Halloween night, we all had AMAZING food at Kelly's house then went out for a few hours to stock up on the years supply of candy! The weather was perfect and we had a blast.

I only got a few pictures of Payten, she went with

John and the big kids while I hung behind with the

small kid group.

The girls enjoyed WAY to much candy after

a hard night of trick-or-treating.

Boo

2009-10-26T19:57:00.000-07:00

Here is the outcome of our Halloween FHE. Payten freaked out...I mean probably the most scared I've ever seen her, when her father, her "protector" the one who is supposed to make her feel safe...shoved her hand in the pumpkin and started screaming the monsters got her! It really was one of those things that would make a perfect funniest home video but she was 1/2 terrified and 1/2 totally disgusted that her dad would make her touch that stuff.....Riley on the other hand couldn't get enough of the guts!

a side of catch-up

2009-10-26T10:37:00.000-07:00

Payten posing for the camera

Riley copying Payten posing

She's so in to Toe Jam lately

ok flash back to Birthday camping a month ago but I never posted it. The kids made "surprise" cupcakes and we had a party, it was too cute.

Riley felt this was the best way to eat a cupcake

We camped right at the base of this hill which Payten spend hours climbing all the way up to roll all the way down, she was totally catching air!

Riley thought those seaweed things, that nobody dares to touch that are so gross, were the greatest things on earth.

they are too cute!

So long, Farewell

2009-09-27T18:16:00.000-07:00

Riley Is Passi FREE!!!!

5 days, 5 naps, 4 nights with out her passi!

we've spent a small fortune buying these things only to loose them the next day, but no more for Riley. No more freaking out when I've realized I just started a trip out to Costco without a beloved passi, no more searching for HOURS though every possible hiding place only to give up and finally go buy more.

(knock on wood because now that I post this she'll probably go crazy tonight

wanting her passi haha)
farewell

The last frontier

2009-09-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

Oh man, this is why I'm always so homesick! my mom sent me pictures, the moose are in our back yard all the time and Denali (Mt. McKinley) is sooooo pretty. She took the pictures just down the street from our house of Denali and it is at least a 5 hour drive to get there! doesn't it seem like it's right there? ahhhh so beautiful I don't know if I can wait until Christmas to get up there.

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

2009-09-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

This is what My wonderful husband finds while taking down the gross shed in the back of our yard...he says that potatoe bugs are harmless but any but that looks like that and takes up the palm of my hand is probably the scariest thing I've ever seen! I know I'll go to bed tonight and it'll be sitting on my pillow!!! he also found all kinds of spiders and black widows to add to my terror

YEAH!

2009-09-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

I have a shower!!! ok well we had the main shower but now the one in our room is pretty! well pretty as in we'll keep it and use it until we redo the whole bathroom. But the point is we can take a shower in our own bathroom in our room! I'm really really excited...the girls too because now I'll stop ignoring them to put together a shower and play with them! haha

Behind every 1 1/2 year old

2009-09-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

Or should I say behind our 1 1/2 year old....

Is a sneaky 3 year old!!!! Today Payten got put in time out for being the little bird in Riley's ear telling her to do everything she knows Riley is not supposed to do...example: I heard her whispering in Riley's ear to climb up on the couch arm!!!!!!!!!! yes that is how she got hurt yesterday and YES she knows that they are getting in big trouble from now on when they are caught doing that. little sneak, she just wanted to be able to tell on her little sister!

Payten also had a lot of fun today making a rainbow (yeah this is totally random and has nothing to do with the post other than I think she's cute.......SNEAKY! but cute) :)

August 31st continued...

2009-08-31T18:47:00.000-07:00

Where's Riley? and yes you all get to see the gross side yard that is collecting stuff for a dump run. anyways we keep the side gate to the side yard closed so things like this can't happen and the one time it doesn't get closed all the way...where's Riley? Up the vertical ladder that is not open pretty much just leaning strait up and down against the fence. (oh and so you don't all think I'm an awful mom, John found her and told me to come look...so he watched her as I grabbed the camera...I didn't leave her like that) anyways so then I'm taking pictures and she shows us how she climbed up, she put her head in the hole moved hands and feet up then pulls her head out and up to the next opening...you know, so the ladder wouldn't fall over of course

What do you do?

2009-08-31T16:09:00.000-07:00

What do you do when your kid is completely fearless? I mean really....what do you do? Riley is unlike most kids, when I say fearless I mean she really doesn't care what the outcome is....it was fun on the way down! when she did something 30 seconds ago that resulted in landing face first (or more accurately nose first) onto the hardwood floor with blood everywhere, how come the second I go in the garage or to the restroom or anything Riley knows she has about 10 seconds to do the same thing again or anything she's not supposed to.

That being said the picture above is from her climbing on the back of the couch and falling off. She's been in trouble for this MANY times the last few days (Payten too) which is why she waited until I went outside to wipe off the patio table. I ran in to her screaming and blood everywhere! Now here's the best way to describe Riley.....maybe 1 minute after doing this, I calmed her down and she was fine, I went to wipe up the floor, looked up and Riley was standing in the exact same spot on top of the couch looking town at me with a "I know I shouldn't be here but nener nener look where I am MOM".

anyone know a trick for getting blood out, I've tried a few things and seems like it ruined both our shirts.

Earlier today she was trying to climb up on the desk in the office (also over hard wood floor). she was using a folding chair that folds easy and she was told repeatedly "no no" (and YES she does know what that means, she also knows very well what time out means) anyways I went to the restroom then heard her screaming. I ran to her to find her feet on the chair, her hands on the desk and the chair was sliding away from the desk....when I got to her she was completely horizontal (arms strait out in front of her and legs strait behind her...I never could have held that position) and her stomach muscles were shaking (like when you do the plank exercise). I threw my arm around her waist right as she started to drop....caught her luckily but that probably would have had the same ending as the couch if I didn't get there quick enough.

WHAT DO YOU DO?

(and yes she was sooo ticked that I wouldn't let her get back up on that chair to do it again!)

blocks blocks blocks

2009-08-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

I LOVE making blocks! they are a super cheap way at making cute house

decorations. Megan and I spend like an hour on the phone together browsing the internet for all these cute blocks we want to make....I think I have like 50 pictures saved on my computer of ones I want haha

We also made this Halloween (I didn't get a picture yet so this is the one we copied :)

I think these flags are adorable too the smaller one on top is the size they had it but then I put it together and wanted bigger...now I like them both and can't decide. oh well

Love these girls

2009-08-30T14:52:00.000-07:00

My girls are just getting into the whole dress up princess thing and they love it! They play so well together, it makes my life so much easier (knock on wood!)

Fun with the kids

2009-08-30T13:48:00.000-07:00

So I was watching a commercial at my sister-in-law Juli's house and they did this fun craft for kids, where you colored a paper like below then colored black all over the top then you could kind of scratch whatever design in it (we used a spoon) but then I was looking for craft ideas online and they did the same thing with the coloring part but used flat black spray paint (which being such a fan of spray paint of course I have like 3 cans of flat black haha) anyways I was thinking awesome! that's way faster then coloring the whole top again with paint and it totally worked, great!!! and payten loved it!

So lately we've had a lot of fun making home made ice cream. Did any of you make Ice cream in your science classes in jr high/HS???? Because John totally makes fun of me that we did this but I think it was the best class ever! So we did it and the girls had a blast and I don't think I've tried better vanilla ice cream (PS WAY good putting any goodies in it like cookie chunks, m and m's...etc.) OR take the ice cream, and make cookies....then make ice cream sandwiches!!!!! yum

It takes some shaking but we all just played catch or rolled it to each other.

Recipe and Directions:

1c whole milk

1c heavy cream (I didn't use heavy)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 c granulated sugar

2 quart size zipper bags

2 gallon size zipper bags

2 pounds ice cubes

1/2 c coarse rock salt

stack of newspapers

clear packing tape

In a mixing bowl, combine milk, cream, vanilla and sugar. Whisk until sugar is dissolved

pour mixture into a quart size bag and squeeze out air. double bag into other quart bag squeezing out air

Put on of the gallon bags inside the other, and put the quart bags(with mixture in it) into the gallon bag. Fill the inside gallon bag with ice and rock salt, alternately.

Squeeze excess air out and seal. seal outside bag (double bagging is just so if one breaks it's not a HUGE mess)

Open sections of newspaper as if you were reading the center pages. stack the paper sections on top of one another until the stack is about a 1/2 inch high

place ice cream bag in a corner of the papers. Pick up a few sheets at a time lifting the corner and roll until you have covered the entire bag with newspaper. fold in both sides and continue rolling. repeat till stack is used or until it will be too heavy to toss if you added more. Tape as necessary, using lots of tape on the outside so it doesn't break from tossing

Toss at least 15-20 minutes, longer if you want to eat it the minute you open it (we did 30 and it was PERFECT.) it seems like long but if your playing a game with it it really goes fast. hot potato or bowling...etc.

Remove mixture, if it's too soft you can put it in the freezer to firm up.

ENJOY! it seems like a lot of stuff to do but it's really not bad and so worth it

Paytens first slumber party

2009-08-30T13:35:00.000-07:00

Ok Here will be a few posts of catch up. Payten had her first slumber party with Wyatt. It was so much fun. She's had sleep overs with her cousins (which is equally as exciting to her) but this was the first time a friend came over to spend the night and they had so much fun. I dumped tons of blankets and pillows in the toy/guest room and they watched a movie back there and were so cute. Then I made the BEST cinnamon rolls ever (kelly's recipe) and they were soooo

wonderful!

My mind is so clear!

2009-07-30T22:06:00.000-07:00

On the way to camp April and I HAD to stop at a few garage sales and I got these two rocking chairs, they were in terrible condition and it took a lot of sanding, priming and painting but I think they turned out so cute and the girls LOVE them!!! they sit in them all the time now, and they were only $5 each! which made me very happy! The blue is not turning out quite as blue in the pictures, it looks more white ish grey above but it really is a sky blue and they look great together.

Diaper Cake

So now that camp and the shower are over with my mind is so clear. I don't have 100+ lists going on in the back of my head every second of the day. I had so much fun with both, but the last few weeks been VERY busy getting ready for everything. But in the end everyone fit into my house, the food was great (thanks Stephanie) and it was so fun. Camp was such a blast too, I don't really have any good pictures from camp because I was banking on stealing getting them from everyone else :) anyways we do still exist!

Ready, Set, GO!

2009-06-21T13:50:00.000-07:00

Before the race: life is good, tra la la la

After the race: People actually do this more then once?

We are women hear us roar!

Actually it really was so fun...ok maybe during the race all I heard in my head was I wanna die, this is dumb, why did I do this on purpose, I wanna die. But after there was a totally Runners high and sense of accomplishment and I would totally do it again! We have been training like crazy and all did awesome on the 5k run this weekend in Sacramento and had a blast...not to mention the pancake breakfast right after followed by the lunch at Panera Bakery maybe an hour after that! :)

It speaks!

2009-06-18T09:53:00.000-07:00

Riley has started talking, she says probably 10 more words but she was starting to get irritated with me following her around getting her to say what I wanted her to say :) (ok and the one in the middle where she squeaks at the end, she's saying cheese)

Finally moved in!

2009-06-18T09:36:00.000-07:00

Finally got the garage all unpacked and now we can park in the garage!!!!! :) this included LOTS of hooks to hang all the HUGE kid supplies that you can't trash because we'll be having more but

uuugggg they are sooo annoying to store!

Monkey caught in Action

2009-05-22T16:41:00.000-07:00

I came out of the house to see my baby girl ontop of the patio table! I swear this kid has NO fear!!!

Then she was kind enough to show me how she got up there by finding her way down

Quick look at the past two weeks

2009-05-17T21:31:00.000-07:00

We Learned Riley likes grapefruit....and is way to impatient to wait for us to get it for her with the spoon

Sprinklers will be used A LOT this summer! they spend hours sprinting though the back yard!

Note to self: learn how to dust a couch....the sun was coming in at the perfect angle so when John sat down the girls saw "snow" and kept trying to catch it all!

Payten's mothers day card to me, John said she picked it out and wouldn't go for any other one haha I love it

Painted hutch and Rocking chair black

ahhhh Still love roses

Girls break moms glasses....mom spends forever trying to get them taped together perfectly to use until new ones are purchased....then realizes this when going to try them on...

Girls Girls Girls :) too cute

Riley's new Mad pose, If she's on her feet she goes on tippy toes and arches the whole body

Payten's new hair cut

MY HUSBAND THE ROCKSTAR!!!!!!

2009-05-16T17:29:00.000-07:00

CONGRATULATIONS! you have passed the March 20-21 2009 CFP Certification examination!!!! the national pass rate was 52.3%

this was a two day test that he has been taking classes for and studying for years to take. HUNDREDS of HOURS of studying at the library every day after work, weekends, every spare second, full time week long cram course. ALL finished! It is SO hard to pass and he did it!!! I can't express how happy and proud I am of him, I get to have him all to myself now and dont have to compete with text books....YEAH!

He's pretty much AWESOME!

WICKED!!!

2009-05-01T09:26:00.001-07:00

Wicked was SOOOOOOO much fun! we all goofed of and had the best time, not to mention dinner was the best food I've ever had and I will be dreaming of it for the rest of my life!!! haha Ok so here's some pictures I have, I didn't put them all up because most are exactly the same as Stephanie's haha and this first one I didn't have a single one of those other two girls looking at MY camera! haha

CRAY LIMO DRIVER! ok I know you all know the road to Stephanie's house...well no one told this guy he was driving a limo! it was pretty funny/scary being thrown into each others laps.

Best moms ever get a little tipsy on Martinelli's haha

They have these awesome bad A charlies angels faces and mine all look like I'm happy, tra la la

Best part of the musical is right before the intermission! soooo exciting

(no these aren't my pictures....stole them from google :)

So lonely, So very Lonely...

2009-04-30T16:48:00.000-07:00

Tea just doesn't taste the same

Our turkey sandwiches....plain

The dishes will probably be in the sink until.....DINNER!

The toy/Guest room looks so empty

It's been 4 hours and I already miss my parents, things just aren't the same.

It started with the best night ever, WICKED (which will be getting it's own post asap!) My mom looked SOOO beautiful!

We went the an A's game that was SO much fun and the fireworks after were AMAZING!

This Guy spent so much time trying to start the wave, it took probably about 20 minutes of him running as fast as he could starting from our section tell he hit a road block. Finally it took and went around at least 30 times! (the game was REALLY BAD so I think everyone was looking for some entertainment)

bye bye Papa

Please....don't be jealous

2009-04-19T22:28:00.000-07:00

Payten works for free!!! She spends an hour plus perfecting your look and giving you more detail then you'd get anywhere else. BYOM (bring your own makeup) and anything else from your bathroom...ex: hand sanitizer, facial masks, well anything spreadable by hand or brush, she knows how to apply to a face. Oh and she also does hair, just look at mine.....flawless. She's quite the perfectionist so you know you'll be leaving with a flawless look that will have all heads turning!!!

My lips have NEVER been so moisturized

OK the flash took away so many details but notice the nose highlighting...I never would have thought of that on my own, genius

Does this look OK?

2009-04-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

Hey I need your help, So I had to figure out a way to get the crayons, markers, pencils and CHALK up so Riley couldn't reach and more importantly EAT. Does this look ok or does it look funny? I wanted them to be able to stay out because Payten will go use them without coming and getting me and it's really nice. the chalk board wall needs a clean and 1/2 the drywall I destroyed trying to get the shelf up is all over the floor so it looks really messy....which is it haha sorry anyways, looks ok? change it? I really want to know and I wont be offended if you don't like it!

I'm a Rose girl now!

2009-04-14T15:44:00.000-07:00

I've always thought roses are over rated and although I thought they were pretty they were just ok....until now!!! They seriously make my day. I picked some and put them in a vase, I swear I want to carry them around with me and put them in whatever room I'm in. They smell awesome and well, I'm a huge fan of roses now! check out the white one, that sucker is HUGE!

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T14:58:00.001-07:00

Did the Easter bunny come?

Riley found her basket with some help from big sister

Payten found the eggs

I Hope you all are having a happy Easter!

Base boards

2009-04-12T14:47:00.000-07:00

Future Scrapbook area! for now..clutter Pile :)
New Office floor and base boards

New bathroom floor and baseboards

it's coming along. John put the new flooring in the office yesterday and I went behind him and put the base boards in. I still haven't caulked the nail holes and seems yet but they'll look great whenever I feel like taking on that LONG job!!!

....

2009-04-12T14:43:00.001-07:00

I pretty much find some version of this Riley at least once a day

smell the roses

2009-04-12T14:28:00.000-07:00

I almost didn't keep all the rose bushes in because there are at least 20+ bushes from front/side/and back yard. but now they are starting to bloom and in a week or so they will have hundreds of them, I tried counting some of the buds on one and it took forever, there will be alot, I'm kind of excited. Glad I didn't have to do the work in putting them in and getting them to be strong and healthy, I just get to look at them :) They put in so many different colors, white/ yellow/red/coral/orange/pink/deep red....so many. who ever they were in the past, they rock!

If you can't buy it

2009-04-03T14:54:00.000-07:00

Make it! So I've tried really hard to make what I can to save $ well In the process of making the mirror I managed to shatter the first one (there goes saving $$!...long story) but it worked out in the end to look pretty good. I looked all over for a table like this also for the entry and couldn't find what I wanted so I dragged my niece Kirra to home depot and got the stuff to make one

Why not dance on the floor?

2009-04-02T10:13:00.000-07:00

because there are so many more desirable places! - Riley

New fireplace

2009-03-30T17:42:00.000-07:00

So last week I painted the dinning/fireplace room and here's the before and after. This weekend I picked up the base and crown moldings so hopefully the place will feel more finished with those up. I'll keep posting pictures. sorry it probably gets really old having all my posts be about my house but that's pretty much my life lately, paint, nails, saws, hammers, etc :) have a great week

Worked to death

2009-03-23T12:33:00.000-07:00

So the girls helped me cut and put in the new floor in our front hallway closet, then we had lunch...Riley made it 1/2 way through that.

Gardening

2009-03-18T11:33:00.000-07:00

I always swore I wouldn't garden the spiders here are just WAY to scary. So of course the place we got has a huge garden! anyways I've actually had fun fixing it, I just got pretty new bark yesterday

Laundry

2009-03-18T11:28:00.000-07:00

So I was doing laundry going back and forth from the baskets in the bedrooms to laundry in the garage and Riley was following me everwhere whining for me to pick her up. I went into the garage and within 2 seconds I hear the knob shaking, I'm thinking what is Payten doing. I Open the door and Riley looked up at me from higher then normal with a "dang I almost had it" look.

Some moms read books

2009-03-18T11:24:00.000-07:00

Here's what I spent last evening teaching Payten to do hahaha she thought it was the funniest thing ever!

Still on the bad list

2009-03-16T16:02:00.000-07:00

So I'm still on that bad list, this time changing her diaper ( I felt no picture was necessary and probably none of you would want to see it) but it was the prettiest poop I've ever scene. It had about 10 glittery heart and star stickers in it. I really should document the things that come out of her diaper hahaha then maybe I'd know of 1/2 the things she's putting in her mouth!

I'm on Riley's bad list

2009-03-16T14:55:00.000-07:00

Riley can't figure out why I didn't let her finish the box of CHALK!

I swear she eats everything!

I had fun playing with their hair yesterday.

can you find the snugglie? Well I spent HOURS looking for Riley's snugglie that she has to have to go to sleep or when she's crabby. DAYS later john was watching TV and said I know where her snugglie is!!! I smell a big sister! haha needless to say durring those days I got her to love a new snugglie that I got 2 of, just in case one dissappears and also for laundry rotation, they are identical :)

SOOOO tooting my own horn!

2009-03-05T11:58:00.000-08:00

So yesterday I was to impatient to wait for John to help me...I was sick of carrying in sleeping kids from outside in the rain, so I installed the new garage door opener. That's right, the whole track and power head, smart beam to make the door stop if anything is in the way, key less entry on outside of house, remotes, all the wiring, etc! First I had to undo all the old stuff, take it all out then put the new all together and install everything!!! not sure if I'm the coolest girl ever or just so suborn and determined that I would never give up in the middle even if I were stumped. hahaha but in the end I have a working garage door opener that I can use with a remote from my car when we are going to and from....next project, organizing the garage so I can actually get in!

Now this piece of art came inspired by April Kennedy (best idea in the whole house!) the chalk board wall is a huge hit with Payten and she LOVES her little table and art area (and the unfinished stair in the middle is just the icing on the cake, hehe j/k

The only excuse I have for her outfit is that for about 2 weeks or so we were unable to use the water/laundry etc..... :) thanks kelly and Mardel for letting us use yours

Paytens Monster

thought I'd put a few pictures of the process, this was scraping the popcorn off! so glad that's done.

another case of me being determined haha all the "men" at home depot didn't think I could do this or push the cart I put them all on...i showed them!

Thanks Brian for helping with the floor and for renting the workers from home depot! :) haha

Thanks Tom

thank you Jaret for EVERYTHING, helping with paint, outlets, PLUMBING( you are why we can use laundry and kitchen sink, and dish washer!!!!!! and everything else you helped and advised on so far

Painted, scrubbed and bought new bulb covers...these were the ones before and the whole thing was gold and light brown

kitchen drawers and everything drying on trash pile that has consumed our back yard

LONG PROCESS!!!!

I can't wait tell she learns to do the dishes haha actually she was having a blast, I don't know why it was FREEZING and raining and yuck she's loved helping

good night

2009-02-27T00:10:00.000-08:00

SO white and clean :) now I just have to pick the paint for the walls and get new countertop and sink

quick update before I fall asleezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz (to late) haha j/k here are just a few pictures of what we're going...I would show you some gritty pictures of how sick the cabinets were before up close but you might get sick....but now they are SO clean! anyways I really am going to pass out, good night hope everyone is doing well and has an awsome weekend!

Before

2009-02-04T20:07:00.000-08:00

Ok everyone is asking for before pictures....we'll see what we can come up with, I have no excuses for all the teal, blue whatever color they have all over the house...haha we'll improve on that!

uuuuggg I love moving

2009-02-04T19:34:00.000-08:00

I am reminded of why moving is not the most enjoyable thing in the world. However of course i'm stoaked about getting a new place, I have been packing all day EVERY day for a week now and I feel like I've barely made a dent....well really it's almost done but all the big things are still in place so if feels hopeless.

I love my daughter, I love my daughter, I love my daughter hahaha I had to repeat this in my mind alot today as my sweetheart for a daughter kept trying to help me clean. the day started with the lady from the rental organization coming by and doing a pre-move out inspection, just telling me what all needed to be done if we didn't want to get charged. some of the things are SOOOOO rediculous but i'll play their game because I want our deposit back. anyways so I pretty much had a bowl of bleech and a toothbrush in hand all day. Payten saw me squirting everything with chemicals and wanted to use my water spray bottle to clean the window with me, I thought that seemed harmless.

So I'm in the bathroom with a flat head screw driver chipping away mineral deposits in the deep cracks of the shower doors (I really dislike shower doors....worst thing ever to try and keep looking clean! give me a curtain you can throw away when it's gross) ok back on track, so Payten comes to me all cute and excited she wants me to come see all the cleaning she's done.....she cleaned the window, the couch, rocking chair, kitchen table and chairs.....THE TV, PHONE, CELL PHONE, and SCRAPBOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH. she was so excited she helped so much, so I tried so hard to let her know I wasn't mad when her lip started to quiver at my initial facial reaction. I just held her and told her how much I loved her, I wasn't mad, she was soooo sad and kept saying sorry and felt so bad, I tried explaining that she just couldn't do things like that. I told her windows and doors only.

So then we're cleaning the windows in the other room and she's loving it, I look over at her and she's looking at her feet PEEING on the floor!!!! NOT an accident, I asked her why she did that and she pretty much just didn't feel like taking the time to go to the bathroom....now a year ago it was understandable but she's been potty trained for like15 months now...that one she did get in real trouble for.

Next, she flushes the toilet, I walk by and see it flowing like a fountain out of the toilet and eventually filling my entire bathroom floor about an inch deep!!! she'd been putting all the paper towls she cleaned with in the toilet and saved it tell the end to flush. It took 3 rolls of paper towel to clean that up (all my other towels and supplies are packed) anyways I was very greatful I'd cleaned the toilet yesterday. I guess now I don't have to mop that floor! haha j/k

She's learned that saying sorry lightens the punishment so she'll do whatever she wants then come tell me she's sorry before I find it. earlier this morning her friend Lenore was over and they emptied a brand new thing of wipes under the high chair...well lenore is only 2 so she doesn't necessarily know better and she'll do whatever Payten is doing......Payten knows better!

ok there's more little side stories too but I'm going to stop now because this is getting to be really long. Anyways they keep stringing us along as far as the keys to the place go. Now we will get them tomorrow afternoon or friday at the latest....everything is done it's just waiting to record. the awesome thing is (sarcasm) is that we have at least 2+ weeks of projects we were hoping to get done before moving in and now we have to be out of her on wednesday. oh well we'll be living out of the garage for a while. that works too. :)

I love moving....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RILEY!

2009-02-04T15:22:00.000-08:00

I can not believe she is one...where did my tiny little baby go? oh well I guess I'll just have to make another one! (NO WE'RE NOT PREGNANT!) John would freak out hahaha. Anyways Riley decided to start her birthday off early and stay awake all night last night (which is more of a Payten thing to do! She's learning her sisters evil ways hahaha) but hey she took real steps today like not just two or three on the way to the ground. I put the phone on the couch and held her out a few feet and she walked to it. it's so funny because Payten really did the same thing for the first time on her 1st birthday, real walking. She's not like walking around the room or anything yet but that's soon enough. and yeah I had to work quick to get a picture of her today she is not the happiest birthday girl! but I'll give her credit, she's been working on a lot of teeth lately. anyways HAPPY BIRTHDAY RILEY, I love you so much and it's been an awesome year!

We do exist

2009-01-31T13:44:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone we're still alive here at the Mills house. We've since being back from AK we've had the flu (bad one) and a good cold sweep through our house, plus teething Riley with 4 upper teeth. We've been going crazy getting tons of supplies to fix up the new house, which we just signed all the papers this morning...YEAH! but we'll spend the next couple weeks going crazy fixing what we can.

Riley is SOOOOO close to walking, she took 2 steps to get to me last night and she walks everywhere if she's holding one of our fingers with one hand, she just figured out the balance thing so quick, I think she's watching Payten have all the fun and is finally sick of it. Her crawling speed has doubled too. A couple nights ago when Payten was asleep, Riley kept flying to their bedroom door and sneaking in, well by the end of the night she knew we'd be hot on her tail every time so she decided that using her hand to open the door was only slowing her down...who needs hands right? as soon as we'd set her down she'd go like 30 mph (haha ok little over exaggeration) but she'd head strait into the door head first and plow it open. It was great, free entertainment for John and I who were rolling on the floor.

Payten loves teasing her sister, HUMMMm big guess where she picked that up from (thanks John! ok i'll give Tom a little credit too haha) She's actually really sweet for the most part towards Riley.

Anyways you all know I'll probably not post for another few months right? hehe no I'll try and be better. have an awesome weekend!!!

Goodbye Alaska

2009-01-09T09:14:00.001-08:00

Photo shoot with Papa in uniform

2008-12-30T01:06:00.000-08:00

The kids were excited when papa came home in uniform so we all decided we wanted pictures with him. We miss you all and hope your having an awesome break!

Riley and Tucker

2008-12-30T01:00:00.000-08:00

Riley spends 1/2 her time following tucker around or wishing she were on the other side of the fence with him.

Great Grandmas

2008-12-30T00:54:00.000-08:00

G.G. (Grandma Ginger)

Grammie

Well of course there is more sledding and playing in the snow, we go sledding when it's above -10.....right now I think its -20 (no i'm not exaggerating)

Christmas

2008-12-30T00:38:00.000-08:00

They kids are having so much fun together they pass out at the first second of down time!

Christmas fun, Hope everyone had a great christmas! it was so fun. We made Gingerbread houses....

the non "kit" ones were held together with toothpicks and dental floss (thats what happens when your mom is in the dental field) but they ended up way cute.

Paytens hair up here is SOOOO dry and looks like this half the time!

They had fun doing eachothers hair with Paytens dress up presents which she loves....she's turning into a girl! :)

(lipstick)

Let the fun begin, I LOVE ALASKA

2008-12-20T18:03:00.000-08:00

Grammie got here this morning. I tackled the Saturday before Christmas crowds, and WE went sledding down our drive way. well My sled wouldn't move so I pulled the kids and sling shot them a head of me...then had to slow them down before they flew into the street. and yes that is our attempt at snowmen. the snow is so dry so we couldn't get big balls at all, they stand about 6 inches tall haha but Payten has been SO excited to make snowmen. today was fun!

Tucker wanted to go sledding too

Snowmen

Grammie says hi

They should have paid me to fly!

2008-12-20T17:43:00.000-08:00

Here's Just a quick run down of the happenings of December 18th 2008, location beginning at Sacramento airport. Normally when I am traveling somewhere....well really every time I've traveled, one of the girls has been sick and kept us up ALL night the night before a long day of travel. I would have killed for that sleepless night. I woke up on Thursday thrilled that the girls actually slept through the night, lets just say that was the end of my good luck. Ok I really will try and keep this short, so we checked through security in Sacramento, waited an hour + before they announced that the flight would be another hour and a half. Then about 35 minutes into the wait they announce urgently that we all need to get on the plane as quick as possible, we need to take off in 15 or we will miss our opening....imagine a plane full of people making a mad dash for the door not wanting to miss out on their Christmas. lets continue, we make it to Seattle where we are told that the next flight will be at least another hour and a half past original departure time. 30 minutes tell the new departure time they announce we will be leaving from a different gate shortly, remember the last dash??? ok now picture that only everyone making a quarter mile dash...then there's me with the stroller, girls, diaper bag, Payten's backpack, purse and Riley is on my hips, trying to join in the dash. still not to bad? ok so then it was a j/k dash, we waited for 45 minutes before boarding, however once we finally boarded we sat on the plain for three and a half hours before taking off the run way, YES! that is not a typo, 3 1/2 hours not moving then finally took off for a 3 1/2 hour flight. 7 hours on the same plane with a 2 year old and a 10 month old with no naps. I don't even want to think about how many times I cried on the plain on the way up. OH and get this, the whole 3 1/2 hours at a stand still, the whole time I'm telling Payten as soon as they pass out the digi players (you rent for $5) that We'll get one and watch movies. it takes 45 minutes for them to get to the row ahead of us, where they sold the LAST one. I think the flight attendant could feel the daggers shooting from my eyes. oh and another side note, whoever made those bathrooms were not thinking about the mom who had to take her 2 kids to the bathroom together, OR the one trying to squeeze in and change a diaper with the toddler at the hip! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ok breath I'm here hahaha. yeah worst day of my life!

aaaaaaand.....scene:

2008-11-26T23:09:00.000-08:00

A family of four, two "perfect" little girls, mom and dad go on an outing to Target. The mom was so excited to have another adult to help run errands. The oldest daughter either whining about getting wall-e or picking her wedgie most of the trip wins and gets her movie. The youngest with an adorable smile turns to the approaching mom, letting her passi slip from her lips, to show a face COVERED in what looks exactly like cottage cheese. Mom gasps, dad pretty much dry heaves as we see the present left for dad, down his sleeve. They contemplate how to handle the situation, dad tries to lift daughter over his shoulder to wipe the mess off with the baby....didn't work. So the mom grabs the baby and slides her bottom down the his arm....works! then we start to laugh.
I wish I had pictures, I'm sure the security people were thinking what kind of parents are these, using the baby as a rag while their other kids is climbing and jumping on the selves....or no where to be seen....hahaha every time I run an errand I forget why bringing kids isn't always the best idea, until the next trip.

The gift that keeps giving!

2008-11-25T14:09:00.000-08:00

I'm almost to embarrassed to admit this but if any of you have ever tried it then you feel for me and know that it's physically impossible to leave a full can of home made whipped cream alone. Our good friend Brian got me this for letting John go and visit him a few weeks ago, I just got the N2O cartridges today and thought huuummm I wonder how it'll taste (Right, like i really didn't know) anyways I count myself using 3 different spoons to get as much as possible out of the bowl i mixed it in, then I told myself I wanted to see how it looked and what fun shapes I could make with it.....yeah everyone really knows that means I just wanted to keep eating it! I think I ate about 1/2 the can!!!! haha do I regret it? not for a second, that stuff is amazing!

sigh :)

2008-11-21T18:30:00.000-08:00

aaaaahhhhh we all went to see Twilight today, it was so good. If you've never read the book I don't know if it would be as great of a movie but for us followers....I really liked it! I'm going tonight again to see it, it was so fun to go with all the girls and go get lunch and i'm sure the twilight party tonight before we go tonight will be tons of fun!

Thomas!

2008-11-21T18:27:00.000-08:00

I keep thinking Payten will get sick of Thomas, I guess I should stop holding my breath :) this is what we spent hours making and playing with when it was cold outside. we were determined...ok maybe I was....to use every piece :)

It's just not fair

2008-11-21T17:52:00.000-08:00

It took about 9 days before Riley went from learning to crawl to pulling herself up on toys, it's just not fair how fast they grow. Payten is really enjoying being able to play more with Riley however Riley does follow her everywhere knocking down her towers, tracks or pulling (playing with) her hair if she's laying down. haha it's kind of funny to watch

Anything for Food!

2008-11-09T20:06:00.000-08:00

Riley learned to crawl yesterday, she can stop growing....NOW! :)

So Proud

2008-11-09T19:44:00.000-08:00

So Payten has a doodle thing and she loves drawing, coloring, painting...all those things. well she was drawing this earlier today. first it was the two outside bigger people which was Payten and Kirra holding hands, then after talking she realized she wanted Wyatt in there too so he's the smaller one in the middle. I couldn't believe it she was drawing their outfits and very instant they had buttons.

Pilates

2008-11-02T19:16:00.001-08:00

So I was doing a Pilate's dvd at home Saturday and Payten wanted to exercises too! she laid in front of me by the tv, listened very intently to the ladies instructions and did everything EXACTLY the same as her, right on the count, legs at 45 degree angle, everything was perfect. She had no idea that for like 10 minutes i was just taking pictures of her, she was SO into it, I was cracking up. She's too dang cute!

I wish I had her Hair!!!

Trick or Treat

2008-11-02T18:59:00.001-08:00

Halloween was so much fun, All the family got together at Tom and Mardel's (even though they were out of town) We had alot of fun. Payten just thinks the concept of trick or treating and CANDY is awesome! I must seem awful to her for never giving her candy really...cruel! haha

ANIMAL I HAVE BECOME!

2008-11-02T00:02:00.000-07:00

I CALLED IT! I know I showed most of you the song, Animal I have become by Three Days Grace, made you all listen to it and said it would be the PERFECT song for, well really Jacob or Edward. Well I was just browsing the Stephanie Meyer website and came across her playlist for the Midnight sun Book that may or may not be released now but still.....ANIMAL I HAVE BECOME is on the playlist!!!!! I SOOOOOO CALLED IT! I've made everyone listen to it I think hahaha i'm a nerd but I was so excited because I always thought it was so perfect for what must be going through their heads. ahhhh I hope she finishes the book, John's read what came out and seems to like it better. I'll put the song on my playlist for the site, It's harder music so hopefully It doesn't offend any of you. I like Three days grace, Linkin park, Machbook romance, Taking back sunday, Anberlin and Fuel quite a bit, the rest I haven't heard of or don't know well.

Midnight Sun Playlist
Since I'm not sure when/if I'll get back to Midnight Sun, I figured I might as well post the partial playlist along with the partial rough draft. Enjoy.
Monsters — Matchbook Romance
One of a Kind — Placebo
Animal I Have Become — Three Days Grace
Na Na Na Na Naa — Kaiser Chiefs
Hit the Floor — Linkin Park
Notice — Gomez
Bullets — Editors
Glycerine — Bush
Ugly Side — Blue October
Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want — Muse
MakeDamnSure — Taking Back Sunday
Map of the Problematique — Muse
You Make Me Smile — Blue October
Paperthin Hymn — Anberlin
Pts.OF.Athrty — Linkin Park
Hemorrhage — Fuel

Let the Halloween Craft week continue

2008-10-30T16:07:00.001-07:00

Made with Egg Cartons (NO the ones we made were not nearly so perfect, I ended up paper macheing them too to make them more round then we'll paint them)

I LOVE THESE NEXT FEW MONTHS! so much fun to have, eat and make. These were they attempts this week for Halloween. The paper mache pumpkins will be painted tomorrow, Payten has had a blast with the spiders.....she hid one to scare daddy when he finds it.

THE COOKBOOK!

2008-10-28T09:38:00.000-07:00

So the last month I have been spending ALL my spare time in microsoft word. This Project took FOREVER but it is done and I love it! All my recipes used to be in a box with no dividers and i had to flip through 100+ cards everytime i needed a recipe, or my handwritten book that I started back in highschool. I am SO excited to have all my recipes organized, together and in word. I can email quickly or print off whenever anyone wants one or I can find them quickly when wanting to use one!!!! Every section has it's own index and the book has a color coded index for the sections, ahhhh :) love it

Twilight

2008-10-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh I just saw my first Twilight movie commercial on tv! I'm sure it's been on before but it's my first time.....sooooo excited

Let the Halloween Continue

2008-10-27T19:48:00.001-07:00

So I decided that this year I am going to do a count down to each holiday and do something fun crafty....so here's attempt number one....hahaha the point is Payten had fun!!! we won't be opening an etsy stop anytime soon, but fun!

Can't get enough of this Strawberry

2008-10-27T19:37:00.000-07:00

Bath Crayons

2008-10-27T19:31:00.000-07:00

Ok whoever created this idea is pure genius!!!! Payten spends FOREVER coloring on the walls and then it just wipes away! Of course Riley loves watching.

Let the Holidays BEGIN!

2008-10-27T19:17:00.000-07:00

Carving pumpkins is always fun!!! While carving, the seeds looked good so I thought maybe this year I'll stop being lazy and actually pick them all out to bake them....I found the BEST way to make them, Worcestershire sauce!!!!! OHHHH YEAH. I coated them well in it then 1/2 through I coated them again with a little salt....ahhhhh we rationed them for like a week. The carving was fun too but uuuummmmm pumpkin seeds!

we lit them after the bath and clean up

PS- Sometimes it's easy to get a little excited and carve your pumpkins 3 weeks early.....don't! lesson learned when they rotted, fell off the wall, and oozed everywhere.

Blessings in disguise

2008-10-21T08:05:00.000-07:00

Although getting in an accident is a HUGE hassle and not fun. This one has had some pretty cool bonus', We just got our new car yesterday, it's another Grand Cherokee, 2008 which is so awesome! we got such a good deal. the girls got new car seats, their old ones were great too but these are new. Oh and I guess i never posted that the outcome, which your probably assuming by now, was that it was a total loss. It doesn't look like it but I guess the damage unseen was just to much $. Anyways wooohooo for the new car, We're pretty excited. Hope you all are having a great week!

Hot Digity Dog!!!!

2008-10-17T14:44:00.001-07:00

This song make me happy! haha Payten plays computer games at disneys clubhouse and when she's done they sing this song. now I do realize that this is maybe something I shouldn't admit to but I find myself sprinting to the computer when I hear she's done with the game so I can dance to this song with her! HAHAHA yeah yeah, I'm one of those crazys who should be in a nut house. Then I got looking at what the characters are all dancing like and realized I do EXACTLY what goofy does! Then I thought that represents my personality pretty well...Which one are you? some of the girls and I have determined which desperate house wife we are, but which disney character are you? :) I call tabs on goofy....really the funnier post would be the video of me dancing to the song...haha NOT happening! have an awesome weekend everyone

The replacement

2008-10-13T21:12:00.000-07:00

So here's the car I get to drive for the next couple weeks. I LOVE IT, however I don't think they'd let me just trade. The update on the car, at this point they are determining if it's totalled or not. the estimate is $7200 so far which I think is above the totalling % of fair market value. I hope not because I love my Jeep, but we'll see. For now I'm loving the rental.

Whats the damage?

2008-10-08T19:32:00.000-07:00

My first car accident! I could have gone without it, but oh well, I'll be without a car for a while and have visits to the chiropractor, not sure when my headache will go away either but really it could have been soooo much worse and I'm so grateful my girls were ok. that was really the scariest part, having them in the car. Payten was definitely freaked out, crying and scared (i don't blame her at all!) Riley really couldn't have cared less (which is pretty much her personality in any situation), had my adrenaline not been pounding my heart practically out of my chest I would have been freaking out big time. I have to say THANK YOU to Amy for seeing us and stopping to help with my girls while I tried to figure out what to do tell John got there. and Thanks Jamie for stopping too :)

OK MY JEEP IS AWESOME! my care looks like it really barely got hit....unfortunately for her, her car took the bigger hit

her car has seen better days

The road from her point of vew, I was on the left side of the picture headed towards us and she was on the right side in the turn lane turning left.......she said she didn't see me which is odd to me, i don't really see how she couldn't have seen me but oh well, thats that.

buds

2008-10-06T23:09:00.000-07:00

Payten and Riley are buds, they are finally able to interact and have fun together, they crack each other up all the time, bath time, etc. No one gets Riley to crack up like Payten can.

Rileys Favorite form of communication

2008-10-06T23:04:00.000-07:00

Riley LOVES gurgling. she can gurgle for hours. Cooing and babbling like normal babies is overrated, gurgling is the communication of the future.

ONE piece of candy...PLEASE?

2008-10-06T22:13:00.000-07:00

I'm SOOOOO not over exaggerating when I say Payten was doing this for a half an hour plus! I gave her ONE piece of candy....this is the biggest reason she rarely gets candy, it's like toddler speed! Here are two pictures of Riley during Paytens little session...you can see her thoughts... "are you kidding me? WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER?" hahaha yes she had these expressions the whole half hour or so, she seemed so confused, scared, weirded out, and maybe a little excited for this new entertainment.

and so it begins...

2008-09-28T23:41:00.000-07:00

So I thought I had a little longer before the battle over, who gets the computer, started. I was wrong. I thought it would be fun to go play some games on PBSkids.com and Disneyplayhouse.com with Payten, something fun for us to do and she could start to learn what you can do on the computer. WELL it took about 10 minutes before she was kicking me out of the way and doing what she wanted. She totally gets the mouse, arrow keys, space bar, etc. I will be out in the kitchen and I hear her on the computer with a frustrated sigh "cooooommmeeeee ooonnnn" and "DO IT!" (every once and a while she'll hit the wrong button on the mouse and get soooo ticked at the computer) haha I totally get that computers are the most frustrating thing in the world when they aren't working. Anyways I just can't believe that I'm having to share my computer with my 2.5 year old....for the next 16 years (maybe I wont let her leave, lets say 30 years hehe) I now have to battle for my time on the computer, which if you follow my blog at all you know I don't update too often because my computer time is ALREADY limited thanks to little miss princess Payten :) it's a good thing I can't help but Love her

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

2008-09-22T00:16:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone this is why I don't change my site often, because i'm a DANG perfectionist and i stay up tell 1 in the morning getting it just right....well i give up for tonight so sorry if you all are wondering why it's not perfect. GOOD NIGHT....zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Birthday Surprise

2008-09-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

THANK YOU John, Anna and Jaret. I was surprised with the best birthday trip. All I was told (an hour before leaving) was to pack for cold for the girls and I and the rest was taken care of. We drove out to Dillon Beach, after driving around for a while we pulled up to the camp area where the Paulsons had set everything up. Anna had gotten us Red Robins mud pie which is one of my favorite things ever, and made her AWESOME cheese fondue recipe for dinner. We did all the usual camping stuff, the girls were awesome and slept great. We spent a lot of time on the beach and Payten couldn't have been more in heaven. It was raining on the drive out so we were a little scared but as soon as we pulled in we passed the rain and it was 60 degrees, and didn't even get cold at night. I had so much fun, thank you guys!

Remember when...

2008-09-18T20:57:00.002-07:00

It was always so fun when you were a kid because you got to do so many random cool things. Example, peanut butter and birdseed bird feeders. Well as Payten is getting older I'm realizing that i get to be a kid again and do all those random fun things :) we found this pine cone at the park with Grandma Mills today and had a blast making it into the feeder....of course we ate about as much peanut butter as went on the feeder, but it was fun.

First day of school

2008-09-18T20:57:00.001-07:00

Well on the 9th Payten had her first day of "school" :) she loves that she gets to go to preschool. She was all excited to wear her new outfit that Nana Spadafora got her, ate breakfast on the way and was like see ya mom the second we got there. Soooo big!

Time Out

2008-09-18T20:57:00.000-07:00

Finding our true laughs

Ok so before I get any more hate mail about how long it's taken to update my blog, I'll start back with what I've neglected to post. Time out for Women was back on the 5th and 6th. I had so much fun, we all went up friday to shop all day and be goofy gitty girls with NO kids for the day, it was soooo relaxing and fun. (maybe would have been a tiny bit more relaxing if I'd gotten more then 3 hours sleep the night before, I don't know why but my girls ALWAYS seem to get sick the night before a big trip) Anyways it really was a blast. Saturday we went to the conference and the speakers were SO good, I loved every speaker. After that none of us felt quite ready to get home so we did some more shopping and dinner. I deffinately missed the girls but it was so nice to go in and out anywhere without 10 minutes to get in and out of the car every stop!

We got to ride an ELEPHANT!!!

2008-08-30T21:36:00.000-07:00

We went to Discovery Kingdom on Friday, John took off work and we had so much fun. John asked if we wanted to ride the elephant? I think I was initially more excited then Payten. I'm WAY to cheap to do it when it's just us girls there but since he offered :) Payten

was so excited and had a BLAST she was so excited afterwards to tell everyone. I wanted to tell everyone too hehe it was pretty cool! We go there quite a bit but Payten really enjoyed having John there. And of course Riley loved watching all the commotion there, really the only thing she could do was ride on Thomas but she's never really the one to complain.

Ok stop growing right now!

2008-08-26T20:41:00.001-07:00

Riley learned to sit up yesterday, like all by herself for hours a day, when you can walk away and leave her. She's doing awesome at it, She even sits in the bath now, and that is tricky with the water moving, but she loved it. And Payten learned to climb the ladder at the park (well she probably could have earlier but she's normally in sandals which are tricky. I think the shoes were the ticket :) she was very excited.

My dad the Superstar!

2008-08-26T20:19:00.001-07:00

CONGRATS dad on the first day of your new job (yesterday), I'm so Proud of you! Love and Miss ya too :)

PICTURE TIME

2008-08-17T21:09:00.001-07:00

So I've really been missing my family lately (Alaska family) So I'm sorry to any of you out there who are getting sick of seeing just tons of pictures of the girls, I feel like that's all I post about but It's just really hitting me often how quickly the girls are growing and changing and that I want to make sure they can see as much of them as possible.

GOSH I feel like an emotional wreck, us Napa Mills have been listening to "Bella's lullaby" which is the song I have on the blog right now, for some reason it totally brings me to tears thinking about my life (in a good way haha) These girls are just the most amazing gift and it's pretty scary that I'm trusted with their lives ....really scary especially if you know me at all haha :) John, as SMELLY as he is, is a pretty great husband.......anyways...i'm sure they'll be driving me crazy any minute here again hahaha...ok I really need to turn this song off for a few minutes.

So you'll all have to deal with seeing more pictures then you probably care to see and this post I'm just going to post random pictures from the last week or so. most involve Riley eating or Payten falling asleep in the middle of dinner, Payten wearing mommies shoes etc. anyways love and miss you all!

We'll have to wait! But YEAH for Twilight

2008-08-15T23:41:00.000-07:00

For those of you who haven't heard, I copied this from Stephanie Meyer's website. I'm SOOOO BUMMED about Harry Potter!!!!! however it is sweetened a little by Twilight:

Movie News Flash!
So, many of you have heard that the release of the sixth Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, has been moved from this Thanksgiving to next summer. First and foremost, please know that this schedule change has absolutely nothing to do with Twilight, me, or Summit Films (so enough with the imdb death wishes, okay?). This is Warner Bros. decision, and it was not motivated by anything Twilight-related.
Now for the good news! Though we're all sad to have to wait for Harry Potter, this open spot at the theater creates a cool opportunity. The good people at Summit were thrilled to let me know that now Twilight fans are going to get their movie three weeks earlier than scheduled. That's right—Twilight will be released in theaters November 21st! Let the merry-making commence!
--Stephenie