Tidbits Of Our Recent Life

Most of you probably know this, but those who haven’t heard, Sara and Mike, have adopted a baby girl. (I’m pretty sure it’s final, but if not, it will happen, without a doubt.) She’s the 13th of our nieces and nephews, 6th girl. She has a plethora of medical problems, and has been in the hospital the entire time. For more on Rylie Mae Hill, check out my sister’s blog.

Meanwhile, Mike has still found time to do some more work on our house. Fixing some of the odds and ends. He’s almost completely finished with the upstairs, then he’ll start doing the major stuff in the basement.

Then there’s the yard... A landscaper came to look at the mess we had for a lawn, and one thing led to another, now EVERYTHING is getting re-done. Every last plant and blade of grass is going to be killed and/or taken out. A new sprinkler system will be put in. Then they’ll hydroseed a new lawn, and add new plants, bushes, and trees. Since it’s all going to go, we haven’t needed to water or mow. But they were supposed to start already, and the yard is only getting more terrible looking. Which has prompted some very visible looks of disgust and anger from our neighbors as they walk or drive by the house.

Which reminds me, we had a strange encounter with someone the other day. Jenn and I were looking out the front window when a man on a skateboard went by. He looked at the house, up into the window, and stared at us the whole time he rode passed.

Two minutes later, I watch him as he returned to the house, hopped off the skateboard, quickly walked up to the house, and tried to come right in! The door was thankfully locked, so then he knocked. We couldn’t pretend we weren’t there since he had seen us, so I answered it (ready to brace myself if he tries to push his way in).

The door opens.
Without a word to me, he shouts, “Ashley! Is that you?”
I look at him and say, “no.”
He says something like, “Ashley’s not here?”
“No,” I say firmly.
“Ashley Miller?”
“No.” Firmer still.
“Okay.” And he leaves.

Jenn and I were a little freaked out about that. But he hasn’t come back, so we’re feeling safe again. It prompted Jenn to write down a quote from Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables (which Jenn recently began to read for the first time). The quote (translated) says: “Unless God protects a house, they who guard it watch in vain.”

On a lighter note, we want to wish Jordan a happy 14th birthday today! It’s June 25th, and you know what that means: CHRISTMAS IS COMING! We’re halfway there!

Quick Trip To Park City

As most of you should know by now, my family has a timeshare in Park City. Every 8 weeks, we get a week, Thursday to Thursday. We had forgotten it was our week, even though the calendar is on our refrigerator. But on Monday, when my mom mentioned it was our week, and that no one else would be using it, we decided to go on a much-needed, almost free vacation. We dropped the fish off at Ty's and left that evening.

It was wonderful! The few days we were there, the weather was as consistent as a blonde woman's brain (only kidding), but when the sun was shining, it was very nice. We went swimming a couple of times, sipped lemonade while watching the golfers, fed some ducks and geese, walked down Main Street and through the outlet stores, and sometimes we just relaxed.

Jenn also got a sunburn for the first time in her entire life. I got sunburned too, and it sucks, but I've been burned dozens of times, so I'm used to it. She kept asking if it was normal to feel the way she did, how long they last, and what to do about it. It was pretty funny. I can't believe she has never experienced a sunburn before. She told me back when we were dating that she doesn't get sunburned, and I said I was jealous. Now she understands why.

Anyway, I snapped a few pictures one day...



One of the geese had a broken wing. At first it just looked twisted, but as it tried to flap its wings, we could see the bone sticking out. It was pretty sad. It kept swimming in circles. And the last picture is our traditional Park City picture that started back when we were dating and I took a picture of Jenn (black pigtails and all) in that same spot and same pose.

Update: Okay, so my sunburn was a lot worse than I thought. This seems to be the worse sunburn I have ever had. Not only because of the pain, but the ITCHING! I have never itched so bad before! Of course, because of the burn, it kills when I scratch. My whole back, my shoulders, and halfway down my arms - all itch. We ended up going to the doctor today it was so bad. And I'm sorry that I thought Jenn's sunburn was "funny". That sun was far more brutal than we thought.

Memorial Day Weekend

This year, Memorial Day Weekend was a bit more eventful than in years past. My family came down for Tori’s High School Graduation, and Adam’s family left to go camping (*shudder). Adam and I had just moved into our new house and were trying to unpack the massive amounts of accumulated stuff. Pack rats one and all.

On Thursday, when my family arrived we gave them the Grand Tour of the house and gave them the key to the apartment (the kids were to stay there). On Friday, we went to Tori’s Graduation and on Saturday attended a lunch held in her honor. Sunday we all went to church together.

On Monday, Adam and I went to visit my Grandpa Kenworthy’s grave with my family before they left for Colorado. While there, my Dad commented that he wished he’d brought a flag. He didn’t have the time to go and get one because they needed to hit the road. So, Adam and I took it on ourselves to get a flag for my Dad and place it on Grandpa’s grave.

Now, you wouldn’t think it would be difficult to purchase a flag on Memorial Day…but it was. We investigated store after store, looking for flags with none left to be bought. We finally found a package of four perfectly sized flags at one of the stores and we were set. Having four flags now, we decided to also put flags on the graves of Adam’s grandparents. They were buried in Salt Lake and we had to search the internet for the exact location of the cemeteries as his parents could only give vague (but accurate) directions.

We loaded up with cookies and Dr. Pepper and began our adventure. We stopped first at my Grandpa’s to place the flag, calling my Mom afterwards to let her know what we did. Then we set out for the unknown, at least to me. Adam had been a few times, but not in the last few years. When we reached the cemetery where Adam’s Mother’s parents were buried, I was wondering where to begin looking, but Adam walked right to it. We spent a short time there, then moved on to his Father’s Father and Step-Mother. Unlike with his Mother’s parents, nobody had visited yet. Nor was the grave well-kept. Using his pocketknife, Adam cut away the overgrown grass and we brushed the marker clean. After that we placed the flag and went our way.

I very much enjoyed the opportunity to place flags on these graves and see the places that Adam’s family was buried. It helped me feel a closer connection to the family. I hope to make this a tradition in the future.

Happy Memorial Day Everyone! (Yes I’m aware this post is a week late…)

I Love My Wife!

I want it to be made known that I love my wife with all my heart. I would shout it from the rooftops, if I wasn’t so afraid of heights. I would write her a love song, if I could only play a musical instrument. And I would yell it out in a crowded place, if I wasn’t such a social-phobe. So, this is the best I can do.

I love her so much. I love her more and more as time goes by, as impossible as that seems. I would do anything within my power for her. I am a better person because of her. I am in a better place in my life, and on a better path thanks to her. And I want to thank her for everything that she does.

All of the flaws that she can see in herself, and is so quick to point out, I honestly don’t see them. I need her like I need air. I figure that’s why it gets so hard to breathe when she is upset. Heck, I even need her more than I need Dr. Pepper!

Happy 22/16 Month Anniversary!

Moving Sucks!

...It really does. I never want to do it again. At least not for a very long time. But we did it. We’ve moved into the house.

I still have a problem referring to it as “our house”, because my parents own it (well, technically, the family trust owns it). I suppose since this is where we live, the house we reside in, and the place we call home, it is therefore “our home” and “our house”. But it still seems strange. It could also be because this has happened so dang fast.

Thank you to Bret, Jeremy, Mike, Cami, and my parents who helped us with the heavy lifting. Also, extra thanks to Mike for fixing (and continuing to fix) the various issues this place has. And many, many thanks to my parents for the cleaning they did, making this place livable (and breathable).

We have boxes stacked taller than us, and we’re sore, achy, and exhausted. We’ve been sorting, packing, hauling, fixing, and cleaning for weeks. And now we have an apartment to clean... So the fun is far from over. But at the end of this month, we are taking a well-earned break.

The House

So, it's official! The papers have been signed and processed, we got the keys, I changed the locks myself, and we've started preparing the place for the move. My parents went on an Alaskan cruise, and took our jointly-owned camera with them, so you'll just have to live with the pictures we already have for now.

First, we'll go upstairs...



The first two pictures show the living room. Then we have the dining room, as viewed from the living room (the TV stand on the wall will be going away). Next is the kitchen, viewed from the dining room. Then beyond the dining room is the family/entertainment room, which features an interesting innovation: an indoor window. (You see, that wall was once the back of the house. When they extended the house and added this room, they kept the outside window. Mike has since taken it out, and it will just be an opening from the kitchen.)

Down the hall...



Going down the hall, the first stop on the right is the middle/guest bathroom. Next, on the left, we have the office (and if we ever have a baby boy, this will be his room). The next door on the left is the art studio (potential girl's room), which also features a wallpaper mural that Jenn loves. Across the hall is the master bedroom, and from there, the master bathroom.

Downstairs...



The first is the deceiving look at the downstairs... The second is the more accurate view. The third picture shows the reverse angle. However, there is a massive storage room, which is also the washroom. Then as we go down the "hall" we see more of the unfinished basement (sorry it's blurry). And to the right we have the diagonal bathroom with a corner toilet. (That's right, folks! You can go in the corner and it won't be frowned upon... Wait a minute! Pull your pants back up - I meant only in this bathroom.) The last picture is from one of the unfinished bedrooms and looking into the other two. And while it may look like a disaster, a lot of the hard work has been done, and it won't be too difficult to finish the basement.

So that's the house. We hope to give everyone a real tour soon enough.

P.S. Take a look at some of the links we've added in the Related Blogs & Links column.