Reunion Time

What do you get when you take forty people, including three infants, to the wilderness of central utah for three days? Well, besides a lot of people in desperate need of a shower, you get the spectacular Annual Miller Family Reunion. Evey year over the July 4th weekend we get together with the Millers for a few days of camping near Fish Lake. We play games, sing around the campfire, go hiking and biking, have scavenger hunts, eat amazing food, and just enjoy being together as a family.

This year we went a day early with the rest of Bev's family so we could enjoy the 4th of July festivities in Richfield and hike to Lost Lake before the reunion began. The Richfield parade was fun, especially for the kids who hauled away more candy than any two halloweens combined. To the adults the parade seemed more like an excuse for local businesses to get some cheap advertising, there were only two floats during the 90 minute parade, but plenty of average cars and trucks with a company logo. We still enjoyed watching the kids scramble for candy and the vintages cars that were part of the parade.
We then headed up to the Lost Lake Trailhead and began the 6 mile round-trip hike. We enjoyed the cooler temperature on the mountain and the smell of fresh pine. We hiked past a few monsterous beaver dams and eventually made it to the lake. We had fun at the lake and took a much needed rest and some took a swim in the freezing mountain water. The only casualty of the hike were my feet that had 5 blisters each, some the size of silver dollars, by the time we reached the cars (next time I'll be sure to wear some better shoes). It was a wonderful hike and great to finally see the Lost Lake I've heard so much about.
Friday night we set-up camp without any problems, and caught-up with all of the extended family. Of course it rained hard for about 15min, just long enough to soak all of the camp-chairs but we managed. Saturday we played bolo golf (the most popular game this reunion), volleyball, ticket-to-ride, and went for a bike ride. We were also introduced to the game of Sow, a thrilling game that involves everyone (all 40 of us) swinging big sticks at a can and at each other's shins until the "sow" gets the can in a hole and then we all run like mad to the designated area. Thankfully we only had one casualty, Megan took a stick in mouth, however, she is accident prone so maybe this wasn't an actual casualty but just another "Megan" incident. We capped the night with smores and singing around the campfire. Sunday we held our own little sacrament and testimony meeting. It's amazing how close the spirit is when you're in the mountains surrounded by God's creations. We then sadly broke camp and made the long drive home.

We enjoyed the time off from work and more importantly the time spent with family. This was our first camping experience since we've been married and have decided that we need to go more often. So if anyone is in search of camping pals let us know, we're there!

Happy Birthday Jake!!!

I know it is amazing that we are posting again. We had some fun adventures over the past week. The most exciting thing is that Jake had a birthday! It ended up being on a Sunday, so we spent the whole weekend celebrating. Well, I should say that the plan was to spend the whole weekend celebrating, but a few things came up unexpectadly. Friday night we were planning to see the new Indiana Jones movie, but as we were getting ready to head out the door we got called to emergency temple duty (a couple in our ward who had signed up to do sealings that night had to cancel at the last minute). When we got to the temple it turned out that they weren't really expecting us, but Jake and I both felt like we needed to be there that night. It was the first time we had done sealings since our own and it was a really special experience for both of us. Saturday we planned to spend outside hiking or biking, but it turned out to be a cold day, so we caught the Indiana Jones matinee instead. We visited my sister, Heather, and her new little baby, Weston.

We went to dinner at Outback Steakhouse- Jake's request. Then to Color Me Mine (taking us back to our pottery class days). My family grew up using a special birthday plate that you were only allowed to use on your special day. Jake and I decided to start the tradition with our own family, so we designed our own little cake plate, painted it and had it fired. We're excited to start using it.

Sunday (the final day of festivities and Jake's real birthday) we went to my parents house for dinner and of course cake and ice cream. We sang happy birthday and came really close to needing the fire department's help putting out all those candles!

Since we didn't get to do anything outside the weekend of Jake's birthday, we decided to go mountain biking yesterday. It was really fun, but also turned into an adventure. We decided to go on the benches above Bountiful. They have quite a few trails, however we didn't realize that the trails went straight up and then straight down again and were filled with gravel. Jake handled the trails well, but I am just a beginner and they were a little much for me. If anyone has any suggestions of fun trails to take (for a beginner), we would love to hear from you.

FRP and Feelin Old

Back by popular demand! We've had numerous requests to update our blog, so here is the latest.

Earlier in the month we set out on what would become an age defining adventure. We decided to hike the "Y", in happy valley, mostly because Jake had never experienced this during his 4 years there. We met up with Ben, Bretton and Natalie (Bev's siblings) and began the arduous hike. It soon became apparent that though we exercise on a regular basis it is no match for youth. We seemed to lag behind no matter how many breaks we took. What was their secret to having so much more energy? A breakfast consisting of browines and cookies!! Needless to say by the time we reached the top we felt old. We did survive the day and enjoyed the view of the valley perched atop the "Y".
We also did our best impression of BYU.
The rest of the month has been occupied with our role as F.R.P.s (Friendly Reunion Planners). We were in charge of and have been planning the annual Anderson Family Reunion the past couple months, the culmination of which was 4 fun-filled days at Bear Lake. Our theme this year was "Anderson life is good" and we planned various activites to remind us that life truly is good. We spent an afternoon at Lava Hot Springs, went golfing, threw 2 baby showers, learned to make jewelry, played horse shoes, had a handshaking competition at church, made and raced cucumber boats, went on a nature walk/scavenger hunt, played games, had a campfire, ate good food, and just enjoyed being together. It was great to see everyone and we hope we dont have to wait until the next reunion to be together again. We're hoping next year will be a little less stressful, now that we've handed off the clipboard to Ali and Mark. Thanks everyone for making this year's reunion such a success and so enjoyable. Though we may not be able to keep up in the hike to the "Y", at least now that we're not consumed by reunion preparations we'll be able to keep up with our blog!

Lessons Learned

Back in November, we began a project that we thought would only take a few weeks to complete. Many months later, here we are finally at the end of a long road. When Jake went to law school he bought a table set from the illustrious K-mart for $30. The table and chairs were a gorgeous orange stain color which though we loved, didn't quite match the rest of our kitchen. Rather than buy a new set at K-mart, we thought we'd refinish the old orange one. We ended up saving money, so long as our labor was worth only a penny an hour. We did learn many valuable lessons from this experience though. Lesson #1 Choose the colors you want BEFORE you start painting. Lesson #2 Cheaper paint from Wal-Mart is not always better. Lesson #3 Sanding inside the house makes a little bit of a mess! Lesson #4 Winter time is not ideal for refinishing furniture, most of which needs to be done outside. Lesson #5 That old orange color wasn't so bad. Lesson #6 Paint fumes will fill the entire house and give you a buzz for a week. Lesson #7 Don't plan a get-together at your home to force youselves to complete the project (our guests are still coming down from the buzz they got). Lesson #8 Ask for advice before starting, not once you've alread screwed-up. Lesson #9 When painting indoors use a drop cloth or a lot of newspaper. Lesson #10 Refinishing furniture is an adventure and was a lot of fun doing together. Having learned all of these vital lessons we would definitely do it again.

Grand Canyon Adventure

We decided to get out of the cold weather for President's Day weekend and go to the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately the Grand Canyon didn't get the memo that it was supposed to be warm. We headed out Friday morning and made the drive though southern Utah and stayed that night just over the Arizona border in Page, AZ (near Lake Powell). Just seeing Lake Powell made us wish we had a boat. Saturday morning we awoke early and made the two hour drive to the Grand Canyon. There was snow on the ground, the wind was blowing, but the view was spectacular. We spent the day driving along the south rim, braving the cold at each of the look-outs or vistas along the way. Some of the stops were a little precarious with icy trails, severely lacking guard rails, and 5,000 ft drop-offs. We enjoyed the day there and have vowed that we will never take our kids there until they are grown.

We drove back to Page that night, and at some point picked-up another passenger, a broken tire chain. After arising early and getting ready for church we were surprised to find we had a flat tire thanks to the broken tire chain. How grateful we were that we weren't in the middle of nowhere on the side of the road, and that Bev had the impression to fill-up the spare. We spent the next hour changing the tire. It was an adventure to say the least, as the jack didn't lift the car high enough to change the tire. With some help from a kind stranger we were able to make it work.

We then decided to head to Zions National Park where we hoped the weather would be warmer and the spare would not fail us. We were blessed on both accounts. Zions was gorgeous, and most importantly warm and sunny. We spent the rest of Sunday looking at some of God's amazing creations. Monday moring we decided to hike the Emerald Pools and had a wonderful time looking at waterfalls, and the beautiful red rock canyons. We made the trip home that night and thankfully the spare tire held-up. We had a wonderful trip and were glad for the vacation. We're looking forward to warm weather and many more adventures.

Goodbye to a Prophet

We have been wanting to write this entry for a while and are finally getting around to it. We had the special opportunity to attend the viewing of our beloved prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley. We both left work a little early in hopes of beating the crowd, unbeknownst to us everyone else had the same idea. The line stretched around the conference center in both directions (a testament to how much President Hinckley was adored). It was cold but the sun was still shining and we thought it would be an hour wait outside . . . little did we know our adventure had just begun. Three and half hours later we were finally rescued from the freezing wind and cold temperatures. We literally could not feel our fingers and toes by the time we made it in. Then we began the hour and half wait inside dethawing and watching the recording of President Hinckely's birthday celebration. Finally it was our turn. We had the opportunity to walk beside his casket and see the prophet one last time. The five hour wait was well worth the experience. It was a solemn moment to see the mortal tabernacle of one who embodied a life of service, a moment we will not soon forget. We're grateful for his wisdom and service and now look forward as President Monson assumes his new calling.

Winter Adventures

It has been far too long since our last post. For all of our faithful readers (Mindy)... this one is for you:) We thought we would catch you up on what we have been doing to try and enjoy the crazy weather we have been having. On New Years Eve day we went sledding with Megan and Ben (Bev's siblings). It was a lot of fun with just a few minor casualties. The first casualty was when Ben's sled broke in two after going off a jump, however that did not deter him for using it for the rest of the day!
The next casualty is when Megan started feeling a little breeze down her backside. We were all very thankful she had snowpants on.

The final casualty was on the last jump of the day. Ben finally made it all the way down the hill and made the jump, however he ended up with a sprained ankle. He was proud he had finally made the jump though, so I guess it was worth it.



Somehow Jake and I escaped any major casualties and just ended up with a couple of sore tail bones. It ended up being a very entertaining and fun day.

* * *

Our other winter adventure was going snowshoeing a few weeks ago with some friends. We went along the pipeline trail up Millcreek Canyon. It was such a beautiful day and felt so nice to be outside enjoying nature again. We had a lot of fun playing in the snow and especially sliding down the mountain on our bottoms. It was a little scarry weaving through the trees as we slid down the mountain. We lost our voices screeming and laughing the whole way down and I think the people at the bottom may have wondered what kind of crazy creature was coming towards them. We can't wait to go again sometime soon.

O' Christmas Tree, O' Christmas Tree

Okay, so it's been nearly a month since we actually put up our christmas tree but since not enough people live close by to see it, we felt we must post it for your viewing pleasure!!!

Bev's family has a yearly tradition of cutting down christmas trees the day after Thanksgiving. Every year they head down to central Utah near Richfield and spend the day at Grandma and Grandpa Miller's house and on the mountain in search of the perfect tree. We had a wonderful time at the house this year, catching-up with family and eating hot-chaws (a topic for another time).

This year Bev and I were the last to find our tree. Some were lucky enough to find their perfect tree close to the base of the mountain and right off the side of the road. Others of us had to search the whole mountain for the perfect tree. Bev and I hiked to the top of the mountain, where we stopped and found our tree for the year. Then we had to wait for the chainsaw (operated by Bev's dad) to catch-up to us. We then began the journey down the mountain carrying our fresh tree.

After some hot cocoa we loaded up the trees and headed home. We couldn't wait to put up our tree, so the minute we got home we put it in the stand, turned on some christmas music and decorated it that night. We stayed up way past our bedtime, but we had a lot fun decorating the tree. Best of all, our house smells like moutain pine...a perfect air freshener.

We wish you all a very merry christmas!!!!