There is good news, too!

It isn't all bad news around here. My sister had her third child, Evan, on my Dad's 55th birthday a few weeks ago. He is her biggest child, born at 9 pounds, 1 ounce. He is just so precious!

Congratulations to Sara and Tian!

Sad News

Yesterday, my Grandpa Garl Miller had a heart attack and passed away. I am very sad and this was unexpected. We saw him in July, and he seemed fine and healthy. His funeral will be in Idaho on Friday, and unfortunately, we can't make it. I am just too pregnant at this point.

Grandpa was a man's man. He was great with horses and he was an amazing hunter. I was really proud earlier this year when I heard he went to a special place to hunt buffalo and took down the buffalo with one shot. I don't think he even had to get out of the vehicle to do this! My dad was going to go in November to witness a repeat performance. I am sure they would have had a great time.

The picture above was taken in July of 2006 when Lex was six months old.

Animal Kingdom

In addition to going to Magic Kingdom (see post below), we also went to Disney Studios and Jer and Lex went to Epcot while I rested in the hotel. I don't have any photos fron Disney Studios, but Lex quite enjoyed the Playhouse Disney show there and cried when everyone left.

We went to Animal Kingdom and finally caught the Nemo Musical. We always miss it, so it was good to finally catch it. It is a 40 minute show, so I was quite impressed that it kept Lex's attention for that long. We also went to the dinosar dig area and let Lex run around a bit. That boy loves to jump!

Labor Day Disney -- Magic Kingdom

We went to Disney World for Labor Day weekend. It was surprisingly not crowded. I guess most people were gearing up to go back to school and unable to make it. We had a great time. Lex LOVED the carousel. We were on our way to It's a Small World and Jer and I hadn't really noticed the carousel as we passed it. Lex sure did. He stood up in his stroller and would have jumped out of it while it was moving if he had to! Since there was not a long line, we were able to ride it four times in a row. It was fun to see him enjoy something so much. We also spent a long time on the train that day.

We finally did make it to It's a Small World, and Lex did like it. The fuzzy almost black photo above was taken in Mickey's Philharmagic. Lex wore his 3D glasses for the first time ever. He always really enjoys this show, but I think wearing the glasses made it even cooler for him!

I was so nervous for Lex to go on the Barnstormer roller coaster. He is now 36 inches, so he is okay to go on it, but I wasn't sure if he would be too scared. Jer went on it with him since pregnant people aren't allowed on it. Lex seemed to do well on it! Notice the binky in this photo. Lex's acid reflux has been acting up lately, and I thought sucking on a binky would help, so we gave it to him for a few days. Don't worry, he isn't an addict again. He hasn't had it in days, and he doesn't miss it at all.

We went back later that night for the Spectramagic Parade. Jer thought the first guys going through the parade were super creepy, so of course he took photos of them! Lex really enjoyed this parade. I've never been a parade person, but I am glad he liked it!

Luggage is so fun!

Jer was getting ready to go to Orlando for a few days this week for work, and Lex decided to help him by getting into his suitcase. Lex loved being wheeled around the room while peeking his head out of the suitcase!

Jer is back from China (wayyyyy belated)

Inside one of the watchtowers at The Great Wall of China. You have to climb instead of walk.
Right after this photo I got bit by this mosquito with tiger stripes. Good thing I didn't get the Yellow Fever shot, right?
I had to pay these two dudes 2 bucks for posing with them.
Take me down to the Forbidden City where the grass is green...
Members of the Redeem/Dream Team. Dwight Howard is in the white tank top.

Authentic Terracotta Warriors that I saw.
Beach Volleyball meets China's youth.
Beach Volleyball was a very fun event that was fast paced and full of action. There was even a DJ and game show type announcer.
Our next kid's hairstyle inspiration.
Inappropriate statues that I had to get a picture of.

My humble abode for a week.
My humble commode for a week
My first experience of the Olympics was walking back and forth on this sidewalk waiting for the ceremonies to begin. It was hotter than infierno there and I was constantly coralled with thousands of others, mostly Chinese along this sidewalk. Here are the fireworks outside The Bird's Nest from my vantage point. It was chaotic and I bolted back for the subway once 25 or so military cargo trucks pulled up and out poured hundreds of soldiers that started putting on riot gear.
The exterior of my hotel. It was about 40 minutes to get to the Olympic Green.
My first meal in China was KFC. (It was right next to the hotel) It was not finger licking good!

My mom has been wondering when I would update this blog. I've been bad, I know. Anyway, Jer has been back for weeks now, and he had a fantastic time in China! He commented on a photos above. He also had the opportunity to be one of those goofballs in the background of the Today Show. The quality is bad since I recorded it on the old tv in our bedroom, but you can see it on the video clip below. Jer is wearing a red shirt.

Jer went to many events while in Beijing including Beach Volleyball, Women's Gymnastics, Women's Basketball, Judo, Handball, Tennis (he saw Venus), and Soccer. He also got to see the Great Wall.

Thank heavens for Jake!

Yesterday morning, I was so happy with my brother. I logged onto our family website first thing in the morning yesterday and my brother had already posted about the murder of the volleyball coach's father-in-law (Jake lives in Belgium, so he is awake much earlier than I am). At that time, CNN.com only had a vague story saying that an American was murdered at a tourist attraction with no other details. My good brother had already done extra research and found out for sure that it wasn't Jeremy. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. I usually read CNN.com for news, and I would have seen that within a half hour or waking up. I would have FREAKED out.

I am so sad for this man's family. I just can't imagine. He looks like he was a really good guy, too.

Jer's Update

Just an update on Jer's adventures. His first evening in Beijing, he was really tired. But he was able to walk outside the Bird's Nest to see the fireworks from the Opening Ceremony before going back to his hotel and crashing.

On Saturday, Jer went to a corporate event and spent some time walking around the Olympic Green looking at all the sponsorship displays. He got to see the terra cotta warriors (I think they brought in three) that he had wanted to see so badly.

In the evening, he went to see Men's and Women's Beach Volleyball. He had a great time and was surprised at the party-like atmosphere there. I think that is where there are a lot of differences from the Salt Lake games we attended. In the snow, you can't really do the wave or other classic audience things.

Jer's Sunday seems to be shaping up pretty well. He had another corporate event to attend, then he was headed to Handball. Right now he is at Women's Gymnastics. I hope he is having a great time!

November 4, 2008

That is going to be Ian's date of birth! It is exciting to know a date. We are all scheduled. It was weird to sit there with the doctor and choose a child's birthday. What a big decision! Jer has already mentioned that he is going to miss out on good election coverage. I told him that won't be a issue because by the time results start coming in, little Ian will be twelve hours old. Jer can sit and watch all the coverage he wants in my hospital room while he holds Ian (and watches over Lex).

Jer is in China

Jeremy arrived in China at 3:00AM Eastern Time. There is a 12 hour time difference between the Eastern time zone and China, so it is going to be hard to find many hours where we are both awake! Jer is doing really well so far. He said that it was surreal in the cab to his hotel since he kept thinking that he was just in Chinatown in New York City or some other big city.

Since Jer has our camera (and I can't figure out where our older camera is), I don't have any photos to post in the coming week. So it will just be boring text!

More Trip

Okay, can you tell I've been putting off finishing up my writing about our trip? We had a great time, I just have too much to cover, it seems overwhelming. So I will cop out and be brief.

So our first Sunday there we joined Jer's family in Logan for a picnic in the lovely backyard of Jer's grandparents. Lex had a great time playing with his cousins, and it was fun to visit with everyone. Here are some photos of that day:




On Monday, we decided to be tourists in Salt Lake. We started out by visiting my Father-in-Law, Bob's, new office. We then went over to see Jer's brother, Chris, in his new office. Then Chris joined us for lunch at Jer's all-time favorite sandwich place, Gandolfos. We then spent the rest of the day driving around Salt Lake and visiting parks until it was time to go to my cousin Tori's house to watch the Bachelorette finale with them. We really didn't watch much of the show, but we all had a great time!


Tuesday we were tourists in Park City. We went to Main Street where Jer took some cute shots with Lex, and some stalker photos of me and Lex from a shop window. Scary Jeremy! Lex fell asleep and I took him back to the house to sleep while Jer joined everyone else at the Olympic Museum.




Wednesday we had a picnic at my cousin Ali's home, then we decided it was time to get Lex's hair cut. Once we landed in Utah, his hair went so flat and it was constantly in his eyes. Tori convinced us to forego our usual sleeping haircut routine and give a kiddie-cut place near them a try. It went pretty well. A few tears, but it was over quick. I also took the opportunity that afternoon to get my haircut at a nearby place (the kiddie place offered something called a "Mom Cut", but Jer said "Absolutely not!" -- I wonder why they don't choose a better name for it)!


We went back to Park City and took the kids swimming. Sara was stung by a bee for the first time ever while trying to move a chair for me to sit in, and I felt so badly for her! I've never been stung, either, but I came close that day when some stupid bee kept landing on Lex's head.


Thursday we hung out with Jer's mom during the day. She took one look at me and sent me off for a nap -- I must have looked pretty haggard, but I sure appreciated it! Jer and his mom spent the next few hours unpacking boxes and watching after Lex. We later went out to dinner with them (Cafe Rio) after Bob came home.


Thursday night my dad flew in from Portland. When we all got back to Park City, it was late, but my Uncle Jeff got the fire pit going and we sat by it for a while. It was really nice!




On Friday, I had to leave JerBear! I went off to Bear Lake for a family reunion, while Jer went to Provo to look around and find fun. He spent the rest of the weekend at Chris and Karen's house. Lex and I had a great time at the reunion. We went to the lake, went swimming at the pool, played fun games, and visited. Lex really loved it when my uncle Rick gave him a ride on his wheechair! He also loved ring-around-the-rosie with my aunt DeeAnn.

My dad was so nice to take Lex out on the jet ski with him!


He took Karen out, too!Lex and I wading in the water. This photo makes me laugh because the moment Jer saw it, he said, "Your butt does NOT look like that!" I said, "I didn't think there was anything wrong with this photo." Jer promptly said, "Oh. Never mind." Good man!






In the meantime, Jer went golfing with his brother and went back to Logan to see his grandparents again. He had a fun weekend, too!
Jer took a photo of our first apartment -- it is the door on the bottom floor.






Jer also took a photo of the location of our first date. Yum!



So that is it! There is our trip!