Christmas in Boston 2010

For Christmas time we went to Boston to visit Brian's parents. What fun!

It's Miller Christmastime!

A copy of our 2010 Christmas card:

Christmas Break 2010

Most of you know that Brian's school has gotten out already. What have we been doing with our time?

Mini Christmas 2010

Because we are going to Boston for Christmas day, we decided to open up presents a little early this year. Santa was good to us!

Brian got an Xbox (which looked a lot like the one I won from Ellen... wink wink), and a video game. I got a donut cook book and donut cutter (remember when we made donuts??) and an iPhone case that's on the way. Mariah got some Mickey Mouse figurines and a play kitchen. I had a cool video of us all opening presents, but due to technical difficulties, I couldn't get it on here, sorry!

Here are a few of our decorations this year:

BYU vs UCLA Basketball Game

On Saturday we went to the BYU basketball game in Anaheim's Honda Center. Time to bust out the old BYU garb!

A New Food Blog

I know this is a little premature, as New Years resolutions are just around the corner, but I wanted to get a head start! I have started a new blog called Veronica's Diet. Lately I have been reading more and more about how crazy unhealthy people eat in this country, including myself! So this will be my blog journal on how I am progressing (or not progressing) with my personal battle for healthier eating. Please visit and leave some love!

A Picture of Brian's Skull

One of the perks of dental school: you get to play around with x-ray machines! Brian brought this awesome x-ray picture home from school and I thought I would just share it with you all. You can see where his facial profile is and then where his skull begins. I'm impressed, where's mine?? 

LA Temple Lights and Tito's Tacos

Last night for YW Activity, we took the young women and young men to see the lights at the LDS temple in Los Angeles. So pretty! And it's cool because they let people from the local wards decorate. Last year people from good ol' South Pas. got to decorate some lights.

Ward Christmas Party

This Saturday we went to our church's Christmas party. It's hard for most people to grasp the awesomeness of LDS folks: we all pitch in! We hardly had any budget for this party, but everyone gave a little and it turned out amazing.

Miller 3rd Annual Fondue Party

It's that time again...for our annual Fondue party! This year we fondued four different flavors: cheddar, pizza, chocolate and caramel.

Veronica Goes to Ellen's 12 Days of Christmas

**I know this is last week's news but I have had about 15 minutes of toddler-free spare time all week! We have been crazy busy with holiday parties and church stuff so I'm sorry for just getting to this now.**

Well last Wednesday, I went with my friend Paige to the first day of Ellen's 12 Days of Christmas. YAAAAAAAAY! (I hope that accurately illustrates how cool this was!) For those of you unfamiliar with the "12 Days of Christmas", it is 12 days in the month of December that Ellen Degeneres gives away fabulous prizes to EACH member of her TV show audience that day (anything from vacations to mattresses to electronics).

I love being a Mom

Yes. Motherhood is one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. My patience is constantly being tried. I get pooped on at least once a week. I'm so busy making sure Mariah gets enough to eat that sometimes I skip meals. I am just getting out if the "no sleep" phase. My body is just NOT what it used to be. I see my friends moving on in school or work to places where I doubt I will ever go. My idea of spontaneity is going to Wal-Mart for family night. I am in bed most days at 10:00pm. Splurging is going to a fast food restaurant. It is a successful day when I get to shower. And I only have one child!

But today I was getting Mariah out of her car seat after a church activity. Instead of being all crazy and wanting to run around in the garage, she just leaned her head on my shoulder and rubbed my hair and said, "it's ok, it's ok." It was so sweet!

I live for those little moments. Mariah is growing up to be such a caring and gentle and awesome little girl. Motherhood may be the hardest thing in life, but it reaps the greatest rewards.

New Living Room Pictures

Oh to be creative! I feel like so many of my friends are so crafty....and then there's me, the one with the frumpy apartment. But over the weekend I tried to do a little picture project. Months ago, we took down most of the pictures in our living room to update them, and then we never got around to putting them up. So I got fed up with it and finally put them back up in a collage style.

Here's the best before picture I could find (don't mind the random mess or husband). As you can see, this space needs some work.

And here's the after. We tried to incorporate the high lights of our photos, including our recent holiday photo shoot. We even went to the store and got a few new throw pillows. I'm proud of myself. :)

Thanksgiving 2010

For Thanksgiving this year, we stayed in LA! We had a potluck with friends at the church building. I was in charge of the turkey, stuffing, and a pie (yes, a bit ambitious, especially since we ended up bringing a bunch of extra stuff!). Luckily, my good friend Joan knows how to DEEP FRY turkeys and made one for us.

Christmas at Disneyland

It's the most wonderful time of the year! We spent a fabulous afternoon at the Happiest Place on Earth yesterday, Disneyland!

Our First Train Set

Since we've been married, Brian and I have wanted to get a train set to go under our Christmas tree. Yesterday we finally got our train set in the mail! We ordered a Lionel O-Gauge Penn Flyer Freight Train set (if you're into that stuff). We put it around our Christmas tree, it is pretty shnazzy!

Cousin Dinner!

Yesterday we went to Bryon and Rebecca's house (Brian's cousin) for our first cousin dinner in southern California. We used to do these all the time in Utah with Brian's other cousins (he's got a lot of them!).

Here are Brian (yes there were TWO Brians there, thankfully they spell their names differently), Rebecca and Bill enjoying delicious pie.

Just Ordered My Free Xmas Cards!

I just wanted to update you all on the offer for 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly that I wrote about about earler this week. I got my promo code via email today and I just ordered them. I'm super excited because they are super cute!

I think the offer is still going on but I would suggest doing the promotion soon. You have till Dec 31, 2010 to use the promo code. Have fun!

Happy Veteran's Day: Our Family Veterans

We have a few veterans in the family. Brian's and my grandfathers served in the military, as well as cousins and other relatives. We love the USA!

This year, I learned about Walter Raleigh Robinson: my maternal great-great-great uncle (the younger brother of my great-great-grandmother) Walter Raleigh Robinson. He served our country in WWI, and was honored by having an American Legion Post (a veteran's organization) named after him.

A Year of Braces

I don't know if you can tell in these pictures, but I have had my braces for a whole YEAR! It's a long road to straightness, and I'm only about half way there! Next month they are finally going to put brackets on my lateral incisors (the ones next to my middle teeth). Have any horror stories with braces? I would love to hear them, it will make me feel better! :)

A Little Preview of the Photo Shoot...

On Monday, we did a photo shoot for holiday cards/Mariah's birthday with our fabulous friend Kate. Here's a little preview of the shoot (possibly more to come, don't want to spoil the surprise for the holiday cards!). Enjoy!

Shutterfly Holiday Cards

Hey guys, I just wanted to let you all know about a great photo website called Shutterfly.com. I have used this website in the past with making photo books for Mariah and our wedding photo book. They also have some great wall calendars and wall art. It's a really good website with lots of different templates and projects. Plus they have great prices and a lot of promotions.

This year they have a promotion for 50 free holiday cards. They have some really cute holiday photo card designs. I was thinking of using this design to send to friends and family, it's cute and has lots of space for pictures, since I always like to send out more than one. We just took a really cute photo shoot, so you’ll get to see our new pictures soon.

You can get your own set of 50 FREE holiday cards, just visit this link here. 

SPHS Football!

This past week we went with the Lukers to a South Pasadena High School football game. Go Tigers!

Trunk or Treat 2010

Happy Halloween! We decided to do a Monsters, Inc theme for Trunk or Treat this year. Mariah was Boo and Brian and I were CDA people (Child Detection Agency). Our car had little doors like in the movie. It was so much fun! I taught Mariah how to say "Trick or treat" and we went around to get candy TWICE! Then we went inside to see all of the holiday games and treats, which were awesome. At the end, we won "Best Overall Theme (including car). Sweet!

Veronica Goes on the Ellen Show

One of the many perks of living in Southern California: TV show tapings! A few weeks ago, I was checking the Ellen Degeneres website for tickets, as I often do. I saw that the Halloween show was open so I texted a bunch of my friends and we all got tickets to go. Here we all are in costume!

Pumpkin Carving

Happy Halloween! For FHE this week, we carved pumpkins. This was our first time carving them from any sort of kit. So Brian and I decided to do a pirates theme.

Brian Builds a Bookshelf

Brian is on a roll! He has been doing lots of woodworking projects this month. Here is the fantastic bookshelf he made for our bedroom. Now that we have a computer in there, we need more storage space for computer and office stuff.

Brian Builds a Slide

 While Brian's parents were here, Brian started a woodworking project: a slide for Mariah. Lately, Mariah has been using everything from our legs to a wakeboard as a slide so Brian thought it would be a great belated birthday present for her.

Grandparents Come to Visit

Sorry for my hiatus, folks! It's been a month since I have blogged. We have been super busy (with work stuff, not fun stuff) and sick so I had to put blogging on hold. Here's what has been happening.

In the first weekend of October, Claude and Marlena came to visit us. We went to Disneyland for Marlena's birthday, which was a lot of fun! We got Brian to go on the Thunder Mountain Railroad ride (in the back of the train too!), which was pretty awesome. And he didn't get sick!

French Bread Recipe (Bread Machine)

So today I had a strange craving for French bread but didn't want to have to go all the way to the store, so I decided to make it!

I found this fantastic EASY bread machine recipe from Food.com (I added my own modifications):

Anyone want to help me make a costume?

So we're thinking of doing a Monster's Inc themed Halloween this year. Anyone want to help me make some costumes?? Let me know if you can give me any pointers.

Brian Builds a Bed

A few weeks ago, Brian decided to build Mariah a big girl bed. It only took him two days!

The only bad part was that Brian had to do it in the living room (one small sacrifice for such awesomeness tho)!

Mariah's 2 Year Doctor Visit

This past week, Mariah had her 2nd year doctor visit. Mostly it was all good news.

The stats:

Height: 32 in (10th percentile)

Head Circumference: 45 cm

Weight: 21.4 lbs (not on chart)

Height to Weight ratio: 5th percentile

According to Mariah's weight, she is in the 50th percentile for a 12 month old, but not on the scale for a 24 month old. But the doctor charted her birth weight, and Mariah is comparatively at the same place on the chart (at like 1st percentile or less). That might just be the way she grows. Of course the doctor encouraged me to keep feeding Mariah high fatty foods (if only I could get Mariah to eat them!).

But developmentally, the doctor was very impressed by what Mariah could do. I guess all those iPhone apps work! Mariah can already identify colors, numbers up to 10, almost all the letters, and most shapes. She's going to be a smart little thing! 

If only I could get her to eat her food!

Erika's Baptism

A few weeks ago, our friend Erika got baptized. We first met her through the missionaries when they asked us to go teaching with them. She's a local to the area and is studying to be a dental assistant. Brian got to baptize her and Melissa, Lisa and I got to sing "I Know that My Redeemer Lives". We love her so much! Let the fellowshipping begin.

Mmm, Pie

I just baked the first apple pie of the season. So good! Trust me, there will be many more to come. Did you know at Thanksgiving, my family bakes on average, one pie per person?? We like a lot of pie. Cherry or apple is my favorite. Gosh I love fall.

Mariah's Birthday Visit to Disneyland

Mariah is becoming such a little kid. We tell her we're going to Disneyland and she gets excited! She knows what we're talking about when we say we're going to go on rides. Her favorites: carousel, Pirates (because it's Brian's favorite), and the train.

Books Read Lately

Lately I have been on a book-reading binge. I actually listen to them mostly, since I can do this while doing chores or watching Mariah or driving. Lots of good titles, here are a few of them.

Happy Birthday Mariah 2010

Making Mariah's cake.

Scott Visits Disneyland 2010

Scott Parks (Brian's childhood friend from Pleasanton) came to visit us in August. We went to Disneyland for three days straight!

Hawaii Trip 2010

 In mid-August, Brian and I got to go to Hawaii with his family. It was tons of fun! Here are the highlights of the trip.

Trip to the ER

I know people want a follow-up since my last post, so here's what's been going on with the possible miscarriage and such (possible TMI warning).

So I'm pregnant, but not for much longer...

Sorry we haven't updated the blog in a while, we have been really busy for the month of August. I will post more later on all of our adventures. I just wanted to make one particular announcement, just because I don't want to have to tell it a bunch of times.

Peanutbutter-filled Chocolate Cookies, yum!

Another spin on Rolo or Reeses cookes, this newest obsession comes from my friend Megan's blog. Soooo good. Here's the recipe.

Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Cookies
Taken from itwasamazing.blogspot.com

La Donna Comes to Visit

My sister La Donna came to LA this past week to present her paper at a theatre conference. While here, She got to experience the highlights of So-Cal living.

This Past Month: Dental School Visit!

Mariah and I got to visit dental school with Brian last week. He took us on a tour of the school. Very enlightening!

This Past Month: Trying to Eat Healthily

It all started with this book, Animal Vegetable Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver. My first impression was that it was this kinda weird, tree-hugging concept that didn't apply to real-life families (especially students) who actually had a budget for food.

This Past Month: Dodger's Game

A few weeks ago, our friends Jeff and Annalise got married here in LA and as part of the weekend festivities, we got to go to a Dodgers game.

This Past Month: Independence Day 2010

For this Independence Day, we got to celebrate for two days, as the holiday was on Sunday. On Saturday, we had a BBQ/pool party with Hayley, who I visit teach. She is fabulous. We just whipped up the party the night before, it was awesome!

Then on Sunday we had a dinner party with the Rudeliches and friends and watched the fireworks on their rooftop. It was cool because we got to see the highlights of all the neighboring cities.

HAPPY (BELATED) FOURTH OF JULY!

This Past Month: Mmm, Donuts!

Since Mariah love donuts already (notice the chocolate Hitler 'stache in this picture??), Brian and I decided to make homemade donuts. From scratch!

This Past Month: Twilight Business

Last month was the premiere of the Eclipse movie, and of course, I had to have a party in preparation for the glorious event.

Updating the blog...

...as we speak. Sorry I have been a bum.

iPhones!

The odds were in our favor! Both Brian and I got our iPhones one glorious day early! I am Mac bliss right now. This pic was taken on the phone, otherwise I would have shown you the actual phone, not the box. Who wants to FaceTime??

On another slightly unrelated note, Eclipse is less than a week away. This is too much excitement for one week. :)

- Posted from my iPhone

Oregon Trip 2010

Last week I got back from my trip to Oregon. It was the first time in FIVE years that the bottom six sisters (my siblings I actually grew up with) could all get together. We had so much fun!

Star's HS Graduation Pictures

I have uploaded photos from my niece Star's graduation (unedited). You can find them on Flickr here. Congrats Star!

Mariah Playing At Disneyland

Thank you CA Adventure for a good time! This week marks our one year of having our pass *tear*. So we have to decide if we want to upgrade or not. What do you guys think?