KEEPING TRACK OF THE MILLS FAMILY

House house

2012-02-04T19:03:00.003-07:00

How our kitchen looked for a week. It was an adventure. Thankfully Conner was at moms.

The Men in my life

Brians 52nd or is it 25th birthday.

Ian Werstling.

Sean's Birthday. I can't believe he is 13.

Bad hair day

2012-01-28T20:53:00.002-07:00

Today Anthony's illness and everything connected to it became really real.

One of the side effects of Chemotherapy and the Neupogen injections is hair loss.

The hair was literally coming out by the handful, so Anthony decided to buzz it.

Why is it when you see something it seems more real?

He went from McDreamy to Mr. Clean in one day.

At lease he can rock the bald head.

Low White Blood Count

2012-01-25T20:46:00.001-07:00

Anthony went in for his second round of chemotherapy today as planned, feeling ready for the process. They started out, like they always will, doing a blood work up to make sure all counts were within a healthy range. One thing they check is White Blood Count (WBC) which "are cells of the immune system involved in defending the body against both infectious disease and foreign materials," in other words this is what fights off infection and keeps us healthy. A "normal" white blood count is between 4.0 - 10.5 with 1.5 being a danger zone... Anthony's was 0.1 This means he has a 28% higher risk of contracting a life-threatening infection. In other words, if he has a hint of a fever we need to book it to the ER because his body can't fight ANYTHING off right now.

The nurse said a drop in WBC during chemotherapy is sadly normal, and told Anthony he could not have chemo until his WBC had risen. To aide this process he was given an injection of Neupogen, a white blood cell booster, and is now miserable. The main side effect he is feeling is a "stabbing pain in [his] spine," which makes it difficult for him to get comfortable. He has been in the chair, in the bed, on the floor, walking around, standing still... nothing helps. Maybe we'll try the car? Neupogen injections age given once per day for three days. On a Lymphoma internet forum Anthony found some guy who had to take 12 Vicodin to manage the pain. Our nurse suggested Tylenol.

However, next week after Chemo and every week thereafter, he will be getting a Neulasta injection. Neulasta is also a white blood cell booster that "helps reduce the risk of infection." Worth $7,000 per injection? You read that right. Seven more injections at $7K = $49 thousand dollars. My entire year's salary would cover 4 injectons. Luckily there's a financial application for the Neulasta which, if we're approved, will cover all but $50 per injection. Oddly enough, anti-nausea/infection fighting meds before chemo and the Neulasta injectons after are both more expensive than the chemo meds themselves. The financial advisors have been really helpful as far as getting us various financial applications for various medications.

Our current schedule is a Neupogen injection at 2:00P Thursday and 10:00A Friday, an appointment with the Oncologist at 10:20A on Friday, and try to have chemo again on Wednesday and if that works the Neulasta injection will be Thursday afternoon. We are blessed to live 22.6 miles from the Peggy and Charles Stephenson Oklahoma Cancer Center.

It Must Be Love...

2012-01-17T22:21:00.004-07:00

Here is a photo of our sweet little Ella. She is so good. Abbie loves to hold her and Ella is really good about it. Isaac comes along and pats her head and kisses her every once in a while. He also smiles at her and makes cute noises at her.

Mom and Dad came to visit one day...so sweet.

No we didn't leave Ella home, she was just sitting below us in her car seat. I think the cute lady that took the picture thought we were just carrying it around with us.

Pinterest...one of the best recipes for finger paint, 1/2 white glue and 1/2 shaving cream + food coloring = lots of fun and easy clean up (the shaving cream acts as a soap). This was a just getting started picture. The after picture would show all the "paint" gone and the entire picture and that table area completely painted. =)

Baby Isaac!

On our way to the park. So cute!!!

It is official, my 2 favorite holidays are the 24th of July and New Years Eve. If you have never been to Eva and Bryan's for their New Years Eve party you might consider it, its the best party of the year!!!

PowerPort & test results

2012-01-15T16:39:00.000-07:00

Recently Anthony had a bone marrow biopsy, Muga and PET scan, all previously explained here. Results; bone marrow biopsy was clean, Muga shows a perfectly working heart, and the PET scan showed the only conclusive cancerous cells are the ones in the mediastinum (the tumor originally in question). He also has an upper left lobe infection in the lungs, and some of the other lymph nodes had some potential growths, but that was inconclusive. So, they'll be treating the Hodgkin's Lymphoma as if the large mediastinal tumor were the only one.

On 1/6/12 Anthony had a PowerPort installed. The port itself is placed below the clavicle, and the catheter is drawn up the neck and inserted directly into the Jugular vein.

Triangle nubbs can be felt through the skin, needle inserted in center.

1/6/12

1/15/12

1/11/12 was the first Chemotherapy session. Two sessions equals a cycle and Anthony will have four cycles, so eight treatments total. He's on the ABVD regime, which is explained here along with possible side effects. Some side effects already experienced are nausea, fatigue, sore mouth, taste changes, numbness in hands, and discolored urine. Hair loss/changes are expected in the next few weeks. Because Anthony has such thick hair he may just have thinning and will not need to shave his head. We'll see what happens.

The nurse had Anthony chew on ice during the Adriamycin administration as this could lessen mouth sores or blisters.

We have an appointment with the Oncologist, Dr, Ikeguchi on 1/23 and the next Chemo session is 1/25. Along with all the negative side effects there have been some positives noted; Anthony's cough has 90% cleared up. Dr. Ideguchi said that might happen.

Biopsy results: Hodgkin's Lymphoma

2011-12-10T22:00:00.001-07:00

We've previously written about Anthony's ER visits and tumor here and here and here.

We had airfare for Utah for 11/30-12/4 for the Mills Family Christmas Party and figured we might as well see Dr. Bull (Chief Cardiothoracic Surgeon at University of Utah) while we were there.

We left OKC, OK at 6:50am.

and flew into SLC, UT at 9:50am and the appointment was set for 11:00am. Anthony's parents picked us up from the airport and we headed to the medical center. Dr. Bull talked with Anthony for a while, and suggested he have a biopsy... which was weird because he's previously told us not to get a biopsy. Turns out, he just wanted the procedure done where there was more equipment and what not... and he didn't want anyone else to touch it. The nurses asked our availability for the following two days in an effort to schedule a biopsy and sent us to the lab for blood work while they figured out schedules.

At 12:45, waiting for Anthony's turn in the lab, the nurse told us they figured a biopsy day and time... 2:00 that same day. Tender mercy? Anthony was so nervous going into the biopsy, as it was a CT guided biopsy and he would be AWAKE while and gigantic needle was shoved into his chest.

The big needle was the size of 3 IV needles together, then a smaller needle was inserted into that needle and bits of the tumor were removed and sucked up the smaller needle. Luckily they had him pretty doped up and he didn't remember much of the procedure, other than the popping noises when parts of the biopsy were taken.

They didn't let me watch the procedure, but I was able to be with Anthony right when he got out.

That's iodine, not blood.

The phone rang as we were walking out and it was Dr. Neumayer, Dr. Bull's wife who works at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. She was calling to check on Anthony and talk with him about how he was feeling, how the procedure went and what not. Up in recovery Dr. Neumayer stopped by to see how Anthony was feeling. She also said that one of Anthony's scans during the procedure looked like the needle was going straight into his heart, as the tumor was positioned behind his heart where it was not seen. After Anthony's meds had worn off we left the hospital and awaited news. He was pretty loopy and didn't remember much of the hour in the recovery area.

We were at the hospital for nearly nine hours.

Anthony's parents were such troopers, they stayed in the hospital with us ALL day.

On 12/6 Dr. Bull called Anthony telling him the biopsy results were in. Anthony has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Of all the cancers to have, this is definitely the best one as it has one of the highest survival rates. Anthony will need to start chemotherapy and radiation soon, and we have decided to stay in Oklahoma as there is a cancer center in Oklahoma City, about 30 minutes away.

Anthony has good days and bad days. His cough picks up a lot in the evening and he has a hard time sleeping quite frequently and most often sleeps on one of the chairs in the living room as he can not lay flat much of the time.

I wish I knew what to do for him.

Another tender mercy, open enrollment to make changes to my insurance was 12/8. I was able to add Anthony, so now he has his not-so-great insurance through OU, and whatever coverage he gets through my insurance.

We're still waiting to hear back from some oncologists in OKC, and after finals this coming week Anthony is hoping to start Chemo...

Random photos

2011-11-19T21:58:00.001-07:00

and the Earth shook

2011-11-07T20:09:00.000-07:00

It has been a very busy and eventful couple of weeks.

First off, Anthony has been really sick. I already posted a video of him wheezing and telling you about him being diagnosed with Bronchitis and a Sinus Infection. Well, the doctor at the student health center gave Anthony some antibiotics and a steroid and told him that if he got worse to go to the ER. Anthony sang at the Saturday evening session of Stake Conference and was feeling horribly and couldn't catch his breath so we spent our extra time change sleep-in hour in the ER. After a chest x-ray he got a new diagnosis - Bacterial Pneumonia. Yeah. So now he's on a different course of antibiotics and is supposed to go to the doctor if he isn't feeling better in three days. We're halfway through the second day, and I foresee us going back to the doctor.

After Stake Conf. on Sunday I was standing in the kitchen and Anthony was at his computer in the living room when something moved all weird like. I had no idea what was going on and Anthony & I just stared at one another for a second... then I realized the water in the fish bowl was sloshing around and our walls were swaying and creaking. I felt my first big earthquake. It was a 5.6 about 65 miles to the NW of us...pause, we're having another small one right this second. Also, there is a tornado warning for our area. Wanna come visit?

Work is going well. One of these days I'll actually explain what I do.

Hemingway and Winston are doing well. They went to the vet last week and Hemingway weighs 2.4 pounds and Winston weighs 1.8 pounds. That's almost a pound each in the last three weeks. Hemingway has started making these cute noises, and Winston purred for the third time today!

That's what going in this neck of the woods, how about you?

Time Flies!

2011-10-25T14:35:00.003-06:00

So I was looking at pictures today and here are pictures of the boys first day of school from 2006 and 2011 They grow up so fast!!

An author and a statesman

2011-10-16T21:57:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone who gave name suggestions for the kittens. After two weeks of observing their personalities and mannerisms (and not wanting to get attached with names in case we had to give them away due to Anthony's allergies) we have finally named the little men.

The kittens were living in squalor and I've had a heck of a time litter box training them. They have been quarantined in the bathroom for 4 days, apparently that will help them grow accustomed to going in the litter box.

I had some inklings the kittens had worms so I took them to the veterinarian. They were weighed ( H is 1.5 lbs, W is 1 lb) and given their first set of shots. After a little testing it turned out they have roundworms, which the majority of kittens are born with, so they got a little medicine.

Anthony is SO good to let me keep the kittens even though he's pretty sneezy and his eyes get red and itchy when he holds the kittens. We had to go buy allergy meds & eyedrops that seem to be helping, but sometimes he's still pretty miserable. I'm grateful he loves me enough to try to manage his allergies so I can keep the kittens.

Back to the kittens, let me tell you an awesome thing about each one.
Winston is unique in the way he climbs off his platform, it's so dang cute.

Hemingway is unique because he is polydactyl, meaning he has extra toes. It looks like a little thumb, which cats don't ordinarily have. It doesn't hinder him at all, and the vet called him "mittens" all day because of it. Apparently Ernest Hemingway, (author of A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Old Man and the Sea) owned several polydactyl cats which is why they are often called Hemingway cats. Interesting huh?

New additions

2011-10-02T00:23:00.002-06:00

After my hamsters sadly perished in this Oklahoma heat I needed something to love on. So we got a fish.

Meet our Crowntail Beta, Little Chunk.

However, a fish just wasn't fulfilling my need to . . . mother (for lack of a better word). So, today I talked my husband into getting kittens. Yes, you read that correctly. This dog lover and that allergic to cats man now have two adorable kittens. Itty bitty ones.

(No, I'm not pregnant, just chunky)

Tonight while Anthony was in the Priesthood Session of General Conference I ran some errands with Erica. I got home about two minutes before Anthony, and there were no kittens to be found. The door was locked, the bedroom & bathroom & patio doors were closed and there was no explanation of where two living breathing creatures could have gone. We scoured our entire apartment, took apart bedding, pulled out and looked under furniture, kitchen appliances, etc. No kittens. Anthony thought he heard some squeaking in the couch so it now has some large window cutouts in various areas of the back and sides. You also read that right. My allergic to cats husband literally ripped our couch apart trying to find lost kitties, to no avail. By this point I'm getting a little emotional and we decided to say a quick prayer.

Anthony decided to check under the ledges of the drawers and guess what he found under the bottom drawer?

The little stinkers found a gap we didn't even know existed and climbed right on in. If Anthony hadn't felt that gap and thought to pull the drawers out I don't think we would have found the naughty little fuzz balls.

See how they climbed in? The drawer was still out at this point because I found the following items jammed in the back, must have been falling out of drawers over time.
A ton of grocery bags, a washcloth, soup can label, alarm system agreement, and a ladle.

After a prayer of thanks our little storm clouds are now hiding/napping under the ripped up couch while I clean.

Now, if you're read this far you get to partake in a little fun!

We can't think of names for these cuties. Want to help?

We want to stay away from cutesy stuff like; Tiger, Cloudy, Fluffy and so on.

Please leave your name ideas in the comments and we'll let you know what we decide!

P.s. since Anthony is allergic to cats and we don't know how well my "you have a cat when you're allergic" method is going to work... so I have heavy-heartedly agreed to give them away if his allergies get bad. If that's not love on both of our parts I don't know what is.

Chickens, camels, and pigs! Oh my!!!

2011-09-28T20:42:00.000-06:00

You know, you wouldn't think Oklahoma would be so exciting, but let me tell you - it is. You wanna know why it is so exciting? Because they have State Fairs (granted, there is a State Fair in every state, but I've just never been able to go before) where you see huge horses, tiny pigs, chickens hatching out of eggs, and life-cycles of butterflies! Ok, so maybe it's not that exciting, but guess what is? RIDING A CAMEL!!!! That's right, I paid $5 to ride a big, soft camel named Tantor around a ring 3 times, and it was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!

Never in my life did I think I would ever ride a camel... and now I have! In Oklahoma. Also, this guy captured my attention and heart as soon as I saw him. *sigh*

No, not the farmer you sickos, the pig!!! He sure did squeal like he thought the Grim Reaper was coming after him, but he finally settled down once he was with his mama and 16 brothers and sisters. That's right, that mama pig had 17 babies. Can you even imagine!?!?

Did I ever mention that I went fishing? Well I did, and this is us fishing.

And this is my new best friend out here, Megan. Seriously, you would be so lucky to meet her!

And this, this is the view of our little fishing hole. Gorgeous right!? I stood in that little patch of mud all night and caught 8 fish. That's right, 8. And they were accidental too. I didn't even want to catch anything. Still though, it was a super fun experience that I hope to repeat in the near future!

The Lone Star State

2011-09-03T21:50:00.001-06:00

I FINALLY made it to Texas!!

Anthony & I haven't been to the temple in a while and decided before Saturday rehearsals are in full swing this is a perfect time to go. While the Oklahoma City Temple is about 45 minutes away from where we live in Norman, the nearest Distribution Center is three hours away in Dallas. Anthony & I needed some things from the Distribution Center so at 6:30 this morning we headed out.

We were lucky enough to watch the sun rise as we drove.

We also saw the "mountains" here in Oklahoma as we drove West.

We made it into Texas, a first for both of us!

First we went to the Distribution Center, which is handily located in the temple. However, they only had clothing and such so after getting a few things we headed down the street to a tiny little LDS bookstore to get a book I've been eying and little plastic holders for our recommends.

The Corner Market and Bakery was down the street & around the corner so we stopped there for lunch. The Paninis were phenomenal.

Even though we ended up in a Spanish session it was such a magnificent and beautiful afternoon. I love learning new things :)

finding puddles when I prayed for rain

2011-09-02T01:23:00.000-06:00

Many people wonder "why do bad things happen to good people?" but I wonder, why do bad things happen at all? I don't care if you're a good person or a bad person, bad days are just plain old bad days, and we all hate them.

Maybe it is true that "bad" things happen so that we can know the "good" in life. Any church-goer, or someone with a parent or grandparent who was a church-goer have heard the same thing before... but maybe there's something to it. In The Quest for Joy, Barbara Workman stated, " We may not feel deeply enough to know joy unless our hearts have been hollowed out by sorrow. A heart may not be big enough to know real joy until it has been stretched and pulled by trials and hard things." Maybe it is true. Maybe, just maybe, it really is true that without having your heart ripped out of your chest you won't realize just how much you can fit in that beautiful little muscle. Maybe being thrown down the metaphorical stairs of life, and getting kicked in the face by Mother Nature are ways for someone to be at the bottom of those stairs to pick you up and dust you off. Maybe someday there really will be that moment where you lay eyes on someone and think "oh, so here you are". For some of us, that may be a sweetheart, and for others it might be a child, and for others it might even be the perfect pet - I'm not judging. The point is, maybe it's true. Maybe the only way to get to Heaven is to pass through Hell. And maybe we don't get it right the first time, or we miss a detail, so we have to do it all over again.

Maybe bad things happen so that we can recognize the good. I definitely admit that I take good things for granted, a phone call with my mother, a text from a friend, or a lunch date with a loved one... but suddenly, when those things are whipped away, I realize how much I miss them, and I promise myself that I will never take them for granted once I get them back. But I, just like you, dear reader, am imperfect, and I often go back on my word. And when I go back on my word, the next thing i know I just expect those phone calls and texts and luncheons, without realizing just what a treat they are. So maybe, just maybe, bad things happen to remind me what is really important, and what not to take for granted. Maybe I no longer have someone's hand to hold so that I can remind myself that if he reaches for my hand in the grocery store, I'll hold it willingly, even if it makes carrying a basket full of green peppers and tomatoes (oh who am I kidding? A basket full of ice cream and hard shell chocolate syrup) uncomfortable to carry. Because I can tell you right now that I would much rather have the indentation of a shopping basket tattooed on my arm than no hand to hold.

Maybe some things happen as a punishment, maybe as a lesson to learn, and maybe because we've asked for them. I often wonder if when i pray for things, if I'm not taking into account everything that could come along with it. It's like praying for rain but then hating the mud puddles that come along with it.

Have you ever noticed that when people pray to God for something, and it does not turn out quite how they expected or wanted, they blame God? I am in no way excused from this. I've been known to yell at God quite profusely from time to time. But maybe if we realized that when we pray for something, it goes into God's hands, and God sure does see a lot further and a lot more clear than I can... and maybe he's just aching to scoop us up onto his lap and say "now you listen here,baby girl, I knoy you said you wanted X and Y... and you're right, they can make you happy, but not as happy as Z that I can see but you can't yet. I promise you that if you just hold on a little longer, and trust me on this one, that you will be so " much happier in the long run. Will you trust me on that?" Some people could look up into His kind eyes and be like, "sure, no problem.". But me? I'm ashamed to say that i've now realized that I am the kind of person who would look at Him and say "I can't see what you can see, but I can see this thing right here, and I know it will make me happy now, so let me just have that." And then, because God is so nice, he will give me that little piece of happiness that I could see, and then because I didn't see the bigger picture, and didn't trust that it was there, I am not ready for whatever it was that God saw when it comes, and it feels like my whole world has fallen apart. I need to constantly remind myself that I can't see the whole big picture.

So what do we learn from this? I'm not sure, but at O dark 30 in the morning I feel like it is something big. Something that I'll need to re-read in the morning, and maybe the morning after that too.

There's been some changes round these parts

2011-08-30T19:53:00.001-06:00

Figured it was about time for an update... That and Anthony has the car at the copy shop & I'm late for work and have already done everything I can think of to bide my time until he gets back.

ANTHONY: school is in session and my goodness is that boy happy. He really likes his classes thus far. Oh, he had his first voice lesson yesterday and his teacher, Bill, told him there are no major flaws they need to work on, just "polishing" things up. Hooray! Anthony accomplished his goal of fixing the big stuff while an undergrad.
He's been studying hard and learning his role for L'Incoronazione di Poppea (The Coronation of Poppea). He has a big death aria (aka he sings a song as he dies).

Anthony has also been invited to audition at the Santa Fe Opera in New Mexico. The audition is next weekend in Albuquerque and he & I will drive with a soprano from OU and a Tenor from Oklahoma City University to the audition. Fun stuff. If anyone wants to meet in Albuquerque (such a funny looking word) we'll be there Sept. 10 & 11.

Today Anthony auditioned to song the National Anthem at one of the OU home games. His text to me when he was done with the audition said "It went well. A couple of mediocre low notes but my high F was money!" So, if he's selected to sing at one of the games you just might see/hear him on tv or something. I don't know.

Speaking of OU games, any first semester student (like Anthony) is not allowed to buy tickets outright and your name is put into a lottery to "win" the opportunity to buy tickets. Well, Anthony was selected in the lottery so he can buy one ticket for each home game. Want to know the best part? All I have to do is show up at some office in a few days to show them my smiling mug & marriage license and I get to buy a ticket too!! OU games here we come!! First game is this Saturday... we've been warned to stay off the roads or get stuck in hours, literally HOURS, of traffic.

ALISHA: did I ever tell you I got a job? I work for NorthCare as a CHBS (Comprehensive Home Based Services) worker. Families are referred for services by DHS Child Welfare. "CHBS services are intensive, in-home interventions designed to preserve, strengthen and restore the family. CHBS service goals include the prevention of further incidents of child abuse or neglect, and family reunification. Case managers (that's me) provide comprehensive services suited to each family's needs, including: child health care, parent-child bonding, home safety, budgeting assistance and problem solving, crisis management, parent-child visitation and family reunification."

In other words; if there are allegations of child abuse or neglect DHS goes into the home and completes the initial steps, then call us. We go in and teach the family what to do if their children are sick, teach discipline techniques, teach parents how to better interact with their children, help clean up homes to make them more safe for children and loads of other stuff. Cases are usually open about 6 months so hopefully by the end of that time the parents have learned some techniques to make the whole household better, and in most reunification cases (where the children were removed from the home and we're trying to get them back in) the kids do end up coming back home. Yay!!

I like my job thus far. My first day was August first and I've already got 6 cases. Average case load is 10-14 so I'm doing pretty well I guess. I like most everyone I work with, so that's good too... don't feel as awkward in the office as I have in some other places of employment.

What else... I'm getting my paperwork ready to submit to OU to see if I'm accepted for the Masters of Social work program. It's all due October 1st, so well see what happens.

Thats about all that is going on with us. Toodaloo.

I skipped a year

2011-08-24T20:04:00.005-06:00

Do you know what it's like to be 25 when you go to bed and 27 when you wake up? I do. Apparently that's what happens when you don't remember how old you are and just assume you're 25 when in reality you're 26.

So... 27. I feel ancient. Curtis sent me a text that said "holy crap you are getting old" and to further rub it in Lauren told me my "wrinkle cream" is in the mail. Little does she know I was in the mirror fretting over my under eye wrinkles just last week. I'm getting more gray hairs as well. I used to say I'd gray naturally and wouldn't color my hair. That was until the other day I used this waterless shampoo that you spray on and leave for about two minutes then brush it out... I walked into the living room looking like I was 65 (the stuff is gray/white on the hair) and Anthony's horror filled expression about made me jump under the covers and never emerge, but I had to buck up and catch him as he practically fainted due to me old age appearance.

Ps. thanks to everyone that text, called & sent cards, it made my birthday that much more special :)

Our first three months in the fiery depths

2011-08-11T20:26:00.024-06:00

I should start out by saying that Oklahoma isn't Hell, but by golly is it hot. It was up to 116* last week. And the humidity!! Lozzy day is it humid here! Today it was actually 96* and I was wishing I had a cardigan. I'm ruined I think.

Anyway, since we've been here in Oklahoma we've gotten to see some pretty cool things. We've made quite a few trips to OKC (Oklahoma City) and have seen the Stock Yards, Bricktown, and the OKC National Memorial. We also went to the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History here in Norman (I'll post about those later).

I also invited myself on a trail ride with Erica & her friend Megan. So very glad I did.

I learned to saddle a horse. Pretty cool stuff.

I got to ride Ellie, a regular sized horse while Erica & Megan rode these ponies. It was hilarious though... Their heads only reached my ribcage as we rode along.

Megan is such a stud, she rode bareback. Her fanny was so sweaty by the end of the ride.

Look at all that sweat where the saddle was. Sad!!

Thanks for the day Miss Ellie. I enjoyed your company.

Ok, now let's talk about "critters."

This Alligator Snapping Turtle was in the middle of he road the other day. My visiting teaching companion & I were on our way to a visit and I just had to pull over to get a photo. She, having been raised in TX/OK, warned me not to get too close... apparently these are mean little guys.

(I stole this one from the internet so you'd have a better idea of how blasted ugly/creepy/cool these guys are)

I saw my first Armadillo!! Too bad it was dead. That didn't stop me from pulling over (and totally blocking traffic I might add. Oklahoma doesn't believe in shoulders or turn lanes) and getting this shot. Apparently Armadillos are nocturnal so there's a much higher chance of seeing them out in the country at night.

I've not turned into one of those people who stop to ogle and take photos of cows, I promise. All these poor cows were sharing shade of this tree and I thought it was too beautiful not to share. It's really quite sad when there are literally 50 cows sharing shade like this.

This is Herbert. He lives under our door, but most recently he's been living in the weird space under the neighbor's door, there's more bugs over there. That guy must not have used half a gallon of Raid when he moved in.

A few random notes.

Oklahomans are WORSE THAN IDAHOANS when it comes to double parking.

Also, there's something about old cars and HUGE rims.

Interestingly this is not the only car I've seen like this.

I've discovered Flea Markets. This is my favorite so far, it's on SE 44th in OKC.

The first day I walked in I thought of my dad & dad-in-law. I think they'd both cry if they saw this place. It was SO cool!!!

The first time we went we spent over an hour wandering around but didn't get much of anything.

The second time there we found this gem for $20. Bobby, the little old fellow who sold it to me, had an accent as thick as molasses, I liked him.

We call this painting the SS Leonard, it hangs in our breakfast nook (wherein we do not have a table and therefore do not eat breakfast).

Last but not least, did you know I married a super hero?

2011-08-11T00:31:00.002-06:00

I am officially unpacked and moved into my new apartment. Would you like a tour? Of course you would. These are a few snippets of my favorite things.

This is the kitchen table. This is where my roommate and I spend time chatting because, as you can see, this is where her PC is set up and where I can usually find her if she's not at work. This also happens to be the table where I was sitting when a cockroach decided it wanted to share my breakfast.

This is the raid I bought to kill that cockroach, and his aunt and his grandma and his little dog too.

This is our couch, circa 1962ish. Check that baby out! Isn’t it marvelous!? I tell you what though, it was a beast getting it in through the many doorways and entryways!!! And those foot stools! Boy oh boy, they may not be much to look at, but they sure add to the comfort level!

This is the TV that we watch when we sit on the 1962 couch. This baby weights a total of like 25,000 pounds and took 3 people to get it into the apartment.

This is the temperature guage. This is the first time in a week that it has dropped below 81 degrees. In fact, even though it is set at 73 it usually fluctuates between 81 and 85, which is very sad.

It’s a good thing we have these babies on our ceilings, or we might be numbers 12 and 13 to die because of the heat in this state so far this summer.

This is my bedroom, and I don't know what to do with all the space. I'm currently looking into getting a comfy chair or love seat or something to replace the fan.

And check out all my closet space!!! You could fit a twin-sized mattress in there!!! (If you ever come to visit, I guess you know where you're sleeping... I promise I'll keep the door open.)

And for the Pièce de résistance, check out this lamp!!!!! I bought it for a whopping $7 at a flea market in South OKC and think it just might be the best $7 I've ever spent! If they had a dress made like this lamp, I'd... well I'd wear it just for fun for a few minutes, but that's besides the point. Awesome lamp. Awesome!!!

I hope you enjoyed the tour, and I hope it prompted you to want to come visit! The door is always open (figuratively, not literally cause Dad would shoot me if he found out my door was always open).

I'll miss you

2011-07-18T18:23:00.001-06:00

When I was in 3rd grade I got an adorable gray cat from my friend Rebecca's house, and named her Shannon. That cat, more often called "Miss Kitty" or "Pretty girl" than Shannon, kept me company when I was lonely, brought me brand new kittens to cuddle with when I slept on the trampoline, and showed her ultimate love to her Mama when she plopped a dead mouse onto my sleeping bag and looked at me proudly. She used to sneak her way into my sleeping bag or under the blankets in the middle of the night and I'd wake up with her snuggled against my belly. She didn't let many people love on her, but whenever I was home, she'd come up and love on me, without exception.

She was super protective of me too. There was once that I took a walk up the canyon and then up around the Rodeo arena, and she followed me the whole way. As she got older, my pretty girl got a bit grouchy and chased off little kittens that my Mom brought home as "replacements", cause she had absolutely no intention of being replaced. She started to have a struggle when she jumped up onto the railing of the porch to get her dinner, and spent more and more time curled up in the shed than begging for food on the porch. But she still loved on me anytime I came home.

I called mom yesterday and we talked about if it was time to take Shannon to the vet so he could put her to sleep, and she said she didn't think it was quite time yet. Well, my cat has always been a 1 upper and I guess that she decided she didn't want to go to the vet, she wanted to have her last few moments in the place that she loved most, and mom and dad found her this morning and Dad lovingly buried her out by our great old dog, Thor. I'm sure she'll be happy out there. Whenever I get home again, I'll bring some flowers and let my pretty cat know how sorry I am that I couldn't be there to love her as she passed on.

My cat's the big one. The little one was a "replacement", and the spitting image of Shannon when she was a baby.

Oklahoma City Zoo

2011-07-18T10:21:00.002-06:00

On Saturday Anthony & I made the 35 minute drive to the OKC Zoo. It was 10:30am at a cool 91* with the sun shining and only a few white puffy clouds in the brilliant blue sky. What a glorious day to see nature in all its ~~caged in~~ glory!!

We meandered around for a while in the Aviary and saw Chilean Flamingos (Anthony served his mission in Chile and was very excited to see them).

Next we headed to the Noble Aquatic Center and saw seals, turtles, fish, anemones, etc. There is a lake out behind the NAC where people can rent swan paddle boats, we want to go another day and do that.

W/in the NAC there is a Sea Lion show and there was no way I was passing that up. I think it would be the coolest to be an animal trainer, don't you think so?

The video is about 8 minutes long showing Xander, Pearl, and Addy. Watch the whole thing, it's really cool :)

After the show we tried a short cut and got lost in the Education/Children's Zoo. By this point it was about 12:30 and it had reached a blazing 99* We were getting a little grouchy and frustrated we couldn't find the exit back into the main zoo and had a rowdy little family of 7 butt in front of us at the drinking fountain. Not only did they jam their way in, but by the time the last meandering kids were blocking our way they weren't drinking the water... they were wetting cloths repeatedly and playing with blasted feathers in the water. Finally I ~~scolded~~ mustered up as much kindness as I could pull out of my cooking bones and asked them to share one of the two fountains if they were just going to play so I could refill my dang water bottles before all the ice melted.

We headed over to the Pachyderm area, one of my favorites, and saw all the rhinoceroses but somehow missed the Pigmy Hippo.

The Cat Forest was a bust because ALL the cats were in their dens trying to beat the heat. We didn't see a single thing. I don't blame them one bit, can you imagine running around with a winter coat on all the time?

The Great Apes were across the way so we stopped to watch them for a while. Bless the architects who put all the shaded areas next to the glass so we could actually see some activity even on blistering hot days.

You see the fellow in the bottom right corner of the photo? He didn't move the ENTIRE TIME the gorilla was sitting near the glass. I fought the urge to do one of those "we'll get our turn to look as soon as this man infront of us moves" clearly loud enough so the man could hear it and get the hint. I really hate it when people behind me say things like that so I refrained from doing it myself. I guess I could have just sidled up next to him, but that might have been a bit awkward.

After some ape action (literally. It was scandalous) we headed to my favorite part of the zoo

There are three elephants at the OKC Zoo. Chandra & Asha are sisters, and Malee (May-lee) is Asha's baby.

Malee was born in April to Asha & Sneezy (who lives in Tulsa). Can you imagine giving birth to a 304lb baby?

See how they're holding trunks? It was SO cute. Reminded me of that song in Dumbo, you know, the one that makes me cry every time I watch it.

By this point we had been at the zoo for 5 hours and had each drank about 6 bottle of water. Though our bellies were full and sloshing our mouths felt like we'd been eating sand so we decided to make like this guy

and headed to the car for some glorious A/C. However, I apparetly do not do well with heat. I already knew from walks, exercising, etc. that I get pretty red when I'm hot... but once we reached the car and I looked at myself in the mirror the lobster staring back at me was not pleased. Luckily I was smart enough to wear sunscreen and I no longer look like a tomato.

We'll be going back to the zoo in the fall/early winter to see the rest of the facility when it's a bit cooler.

I miss...

2011-07-10T13:53:00.000-06:00

this view that means I'm home

And the quiet and contentment of Home

And my Mom and Dad

And my big, loud, loving family!

And holding babies (and being this skinny(

And hugs from big brothers who somehow help all the hurt go away

And hanging out with my sisters

And my tiny, sweet fireball of a Grandma

And late night talks with these beauties

And throwing parties for my residents (even though I was sure I would never, ever miss that)

And Rockband nights at Cal's house

And sometimes, I even miss studying and writing papers

And, I miss this face (and the beard)

But, even though I miss all that, I'm glad I'm here.

House vacation #3

2011-06-25T14:34:00.002-06:00

goose necks
four corners

mule ride down the north rim of the grand canyon

a native american hogan?

Ian trying to loose sean at dead horse point

Brian caught a snake in canyon lands

news paper rock

Sean caught a lizard

star wars episode 4 in the garbage-- arches

scorpion at goblin valley

House vacation #2

2011-06-25T14:22:00.002-06:00

Bryce canyon--wall street

a state park I think anasazi

capital reef

glen canyon dam

the grand canyon

the truck that is now a bridge

most of ian's pictures are like this

what is real

what you see

some ruins on a road to some where

natural bridges

House vacation #1

2011-06-25T14:12:00.002-06:00

some vacation pictures! kotachrome

Fatal Amtrak Train Wreck....

2011-06-25T01:14:00.000-06:00

I know we usually post positive entries on here but this is important. Corey and I have used the Amtrak train system for transportation many times but we won't be using it anymore. Today only miles from where he and I both went to High School a Semi Truck rammed into the side of the California Zephyr..... Click on THIS to see a news clip telling more. Please pray for the families of the victims.
Thanks

Illinois, Arkansas and Oklahoma's connection

2011-06-19T18:36:00.004-06:00

This weekend I was able to go to Tahlequah, OK, which is only 45 minutes from the Arkansas border. The trip was a stake-wide young single adult activity and I went without knowing anyone. Brave eh? I met Will, Nick and Michael in the car, and then made friends with Megan and Laura once I got there. We camped alongside the river and it was so freaking humid I thought I was going to die. I mean, who should ever need to sleep under a mosquito net in as little clothing as they can get away with, on top of all their sleeping bag, because it is so hot? I was up by 5:30 and was sweating by 6:30. Seriously, how ridiculous is that!?!? We had breakfast at 7 and boarded the busses at 9. We went to War Eagle landing, boarded the boats, and had a 4 hour trip down the Illinois River. The biggest rapid was... maybe 2 inches, so it wasn't exactly a Ride the River trip. We pretty much just floated along, pulling the boats onto sand bars and playing in the river, swinging off ropes and rocks and just played around. We also played Pirates, meaning that we jumped on each other's boats, stole oars, pulled and pushed each other in the water, and just had an all-around good time. When we got off the river we went to a little restaurant called Sam and Ella's, which everyone pronounces "salmonella"... I was a little freaked out to go until I saw the name written down and realized the restaurant wasn't a guaranteed place to get some nasty germs.

The sign that greeted us at our camp. I'll admit, we got some definite crap from a few other campers.

Our campground

The view I woke up to at 5:30am

Sunrise

Our rafts!!!

All in all, a fabulous trip.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD!

2011-06-18T23:37:00.002-06:00

Where the wind comes sweeping down the plains...

2011-06-15T08:34:00.004-06:00

I've been in Oklahoma for a week and a half now, and it's already been quite the experience. A 19 hour drive actually took us 27 hours because my poor car overheated. A nice police officer named Chris took me in his patrol car like 15 miles to the closest town, Buford, Wyoming, to buy antifreeze. I spent almost $70 on antifreeze and water... no wonder the owner of the gas station drives a sweet Jaguar.

We drove through Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas (which I don't really even remember because I was so dang tired by that point that everything just started to blur together), and ended here in Norman, Oklahoma. It's kinda sucky because the streets aren't really in a block system and they all have names instead of numbers, so it's harder to get around. There are some fabulous restaurants though, and we have a gym and pool just across the street that we frequent nearly every day, which is nice.

I don't have any photos, but last night was insane! A microburst tornado hit the north part of our city and there was also a severe lightning storm, which caused power outages, marble-sized hail, flooded streets, downed power lines that closed the freeway, and downed trees throughout the city. It was quite the adventure, but it made me really think about what will happen if there really is an emergency here. Like, what is the emergency radio station or broadcast network, and where are we supposed to go if/when the tornado warning sirens go off? Crazy eh.

Here's a few photos of some of the fun things on OU's campus, and the drive out here.

Now, I'm sure some of you are wondering how I'm doing about the broken engagement. I'm definitely doing better, but life is not a walk in the park yet. I haven't cried in probably a week, and I've forgotten how he smells, but I felt SO guilty when I checked out a bartender at a restaurant the other day. I'm still confused about what to do with my life and where to go and what to do and how long to stay and if I should go to Grad school and blah blah blah... but such is life. Well, such is my life. I just get a little bitter sometimes about why this is happening to me... like, it seems as if I've already had my share of crappy situations and broken heartedness and unhappiness and pain and hospital stays. I mean, it's nice when I can tell someone "no, really, I know exactly what you mean, and maybe blah blah blah can help". But at the same time I just notice that when things happen to me they get worse and worse, so I just hope that this isn't God preparing me for something like the death of a child or a future husband or something, ya know? Ugh that sounds horrid, I know, but it's true.

I still don't have a job, so if you or anyone you know knows anything about anything in the Oklahoma City area... let me know :)

Prepping for the big Oklahoma move

2011-05-17T08:38:00.002-06:00

Alrighty, much to tell, much to tell.

In the last 10 days we have:

1) Graduated with bachelors degrees from Utah State University
2) Finished our stint as House Directors at the Kappa Delta Sorority
3) Helped Mom & Dad with repairs to the Brigham City rental house
4) Blood results received (Alisha) and my liver, thyroid, cholesterol, etc, etc, etc, levels are practically perfect in every way. However, my insulin is 5.8 and my doctor would like to see down to 5.4... so I got another 4 month Rx of Metformin to see if that will help lower it at all. I posted last year about having Peripheral Insulin Resistance.
5) We both gave our two weeks notice at our perspective places of employment
6) Moved out of our apartment
7) Signed a lease to an apartment in Norman, OK
8) Transfered banks to a small credit union in Norman.
9) Trained the new practicum student at Alpine Hospice.
10) Work up every day before 8am (those of you who know me [Alisha] know what a feat this is!!)

Moving to Norman in 14 days.

Before then we want to have another Crepe or Sushi day where we ALL get together and make, then eat scrumptious food!! Erica is leading this adventure so get in contact with her with dates and plans and preferences and what not.
While Norman is ONLY 19 hours away, we would like to see everyone all together (Memorial Cabin Cleaning Weekend not included) for some fun!!

Adventure's Limbo

2011-05-09T20:40:00.001-06:00

I graduated on Saturday. I didn't really tell anybody... so it's ok if you didn't know about it. I just didn't think it was such a big deal that people should get work off and come sit through speech after speech just to see me walk across the stage, ya know? But I thought of you all as I walked and how much you have supported me. :) I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in both English Literary Studies and Liberal Arts with a minor in Speech Organization. I also graduated Cum Laude, which was a bit surprising.

I felt super loved as I had breakfast with some of my family and Weston's, when multiple people called my name as I walked to the stage, cheered raucously as my name was read, and snapped photographs. I was able to see friends that I haven't seen in ages, and say goodbye to some that I won't see for a long time to come.

A friend and I were talking in the office last night about how we won't remember what we learned in our classes, or who the professors were or what grades we got, but that we'd remember the people we met and friendships we made. I may have never made comments in class, but I was the one in the corner of the room that joked with friends through class and had professors rolling their eyes at some of the things we would do, or laughing at our antics. My professors recognized me and gave me hugs, encouraging words, and high 5's as I walked amidst them down the tunnel toward the commencement ceremonies. I guess I always thought I was invisible... but learned that being quiet, and trying to stay out of the limelight has its own power. It's true that someone is always watching what you do, even when you don't know it.

Thank you, USU and all the friends I have met here, I will never forget you or the good times we had together.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM

2011-05-09T04:00:00.003-06:00

USU Graduation - 2011

2011-05-09T02:16:00.000-06:00

The Magic Flute, Papageno style

2011-04-26T01:40:00.001-06:00

USU Graduation Announcement

2011-04-25T02:42:00.000-06:00

Final Performances

2011-04-18T15:53:00.001-06:00

I know it's late notice, but I wanted to inform everyone of my final two performances in Utah.
Tomorrow (Tuesday, 4/19) at 5:30 pm in the USU performance hall I'll be singing a short recital with a soprano. I'll be performing opera arias by Mozart, Rossini, Tchaikovsky, Korngold, and Puccini. I'd love to see anyone that feels like making last minute Tuesday night plans. I know its a school night, so I wont expect too much.

Heres a preview of one of the arias I'll be singing. This is one of my favorite baritones... Dmitri Hvorostovsky.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8zKkvGB7Rw&feature=feedwll

Next Wednesday (4/27) at 7:30 in the Kent Concert Hall is the USU Symphony Orchestra Concerto Evening. Every year the USU music department has a concerto competition department-wide (all students, all instruments) The winners get to perform with the orchestra at the year-end concerto evening concert. This will be my second time winning a spot to perform. This year I'm one of five students chosen to perform (and the only vocalist). I'll be singing 'Largo al factotum' from Rossini's 'The Barber of Seville'.

I know you all know it... you just probably don't know that you know it from the title. It's easily the hardest piece I've ever undertaken, so prayers in my behalf would be appreciated.

Simon Keenlyside... another of my favorites.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOvgeLXYgG8

Oklahoma!

2011-04-12T17:16:00.003-06:00

Well, after finally receiving all the offers from all the schools where I auditioned, we sat down last night and made a final decision. We'll be moving to Norman, Oklahoma as I begin work on my master's of music in voice at the University of Oklahoma. It was a tough decision to make, but we ended up going to where the money is. I've been offered (and have now accepted) a VERY generous opera fellowship as well as some competition winnings. It should allow us to live quite comfortably for the next two years while Alisha works, possibly pursues her MSW, and while I work towards my masters and potentially a doctorate afterwards.
It was a huge blessing that we received and we are looking forward to this next stage of our lives.
We're not sure exactly when we'll be moving, but come fall Oklahoma will be our new home.

From Aggies to Sooners!

This is the Reynolds Performing Arts Center. A beautiful building which houses the venue for all the opera productions. It's a gorgeous facility. I sang here when I took 3rd place in their scholarship competition.

This is a view of Holmberg Hall. The venue within the Performing Arts Center above. This is a view from the stage. It's a stunning facility and had stunning acoustics for the voice.

Check out our audition trip here.

Oh how I love technology!

2011-04-05T14:17:00.000-06:00

So as most of you know yesterday was April 4th, more importantly it was our ultrasound appointment!!! And I know a great deal of you have Facebook but for those of you who don't I'm putting up the same pictures. Plus one picture that shows the gender. I didn't feel it was appropriate for the gender picture to be on Facebook but on the family blog it's more appropriate. But if you'd rather skip the picture I'll give you fair warning so that you can skip it if you'd like.

Let us begin......

This picture is of her legs....

In this picture she is holding on to her foot and stretching.

These are her tiny feet. SO CUTE!!

Super creepy but the ultrasound tech said she has a perfect skull.

Her little legs are crossed at the ankle just like the little lady she is. (It almost took an hour for us to find out the gender because of how concealed she was.)

Fuzzy profile picture.... She's sucking on her thumb;
which later fell out of her mouth, she then spent twenty minutes
trying to get the thumb back into her mouth this didn't work out very well, she ended up continuously smacking herself in the forehead.

Her pink profile picture. You can see she has my nose and lips..... possibly Corey's chin but I'm hoping she has the Mill's family chin.

The next picture is the gender picture!!!

I hope that explains it..... LoL she is definitely a girl!

March in photos

2011-04-05T00:21:00.001-06:00

March was filled with...

2011-04-01T20:42:00.002-06:00

The boys enjoying the first nice day in a while. The sun was out and there was no wind.

2011-04-01T01:09:00.001-06:00

Ok friends (aka family), do me the favor of marking your calenders for September 30th because that is when I am getting married :)

2011-03-26T17:23:00.002-06:00

So, When I was a Junior I didn't have a date to the prom, so nice young man who was not quite 16 was allowed to take me to the prom. Well history is repeating its self. Ian who is not quite 16 took a Junior girl to the prom.

2011-03-14T23:37:00.001-06:00

The other day my Dad gave us some Gossner's chocolate milk in the individual boxes. He gave us three, one for each of us. So, after lunch Myles and I had ours and then when Myles finished his he begged for Frank's. I'll admit, I was tempted to split it with him, I mean, it is GOSSNER'S chocolate milk!!!! BUT, I was a good wife to Frank, told him and me no and moved it from the table to the counter where he couldn't get to it. Later that day I was making dinner with Myles help. I was standing at the stove with Myles standing on a chair next to me. While focusing on the recipe I didn't even think about the fact that now, standing on the chair, Myles was within reach of that little box of chocolate milk. Normally, Myles LOVES to help me cook because I let him dump in the ingredients, but this time he climbed up to see what I was doing, got back down off the chair and started playing on the floor behind me. It didn't even occur to me that he must not be interested because he now had something wayyy more interesting than a plastic measuring cup!!! A few minutes later I turned around to grab something and this is what I saw.

He had gotten the straw off the carton and out of the plastic but couldn't get the straw in the little hole, but he had made enough progress to get something out of the carton so he turned the carton upside down making the puddle you see. Then he tried to drink it off the floor!!!! Luckily, I had swept and mopped earlier that day!

What mom?

I will admit it was my fault he got to the chocolate milk, but he still cleaned up most of it....with my help of course :)

Some Fun Pictures

2011-03-13T20:52:00.002-06:00

Frank playing the play station and Myles acting like he is

My boys doing their cheesy smiles

Myles trying to walk with Franks shoes on

Making squishy faces with the tennis racket

Ian's football ring

2011-03-09T17:02:00.003-07:00

So, I took this video a while ago and now finally can let you see. This video was taken just after Ian got His state football ring. Priceless!!!!

2011-03-09T16:56:00.003-07:00

Ian at his Eagle Court of Honor.

How Myles Entertains Us

2011-03-04T22:41:00.003-07:00

Frank and I have this thing with bouncing balls off of Myles head. He sees Frank bounce the soccer ball off his head and loves trying it, but soccer balls are pretty hard and he would end up hurting himself when he tried. So, we got one of the big, soft, plastic balls for him to practice with, and so began Frank and I bouncing the balls off of Myles head. The other day Myles was playing with said ball and decided I could use a taste of my own medicine. :) So, he walked over and "bounces" the ball off my head!!! Liz and Frank were there and we all thought it was funny, but Myles thought it was HILARIOUS! See for yourself! One of my favorite parts of this video is Liz and her super cute laugh at the end! LOVE IT!

Myles also really enjoys making noises so one day after I was chasing him and growling at him I tried to get him to growl and to my surprise I got what I asked for! So cute!

Turtle what?

2011-02-26T02:05:00.005-07:00

My friend Austin and his wife have been married for quite a few years and finally went to the doctor to find out why they couldn't have a baby. Long story short.... they're doing invetro. However, because it is quite costly and Austin is in Grad school, they are looking for donations. Now, of course they'll accept plain old donations, but what they're doing is even better. They created this website, Two Infertile Turtles, and sell little things from children's ties to earrings and baby booties that are all handmade. I urge you to go see what is available. I've already purchases some earrings and simply love them!!!!!

2011-02-23T10:18:00.004-07:00

Hey everyone, On Tuesday March 8th at 8 p.m. Ian will be having his Eagle Court of Honor. If you can come, that would be great. If not ,we completely understand. This is just an F.Y.I.

Two birds with one stone

2011-02-16T17:21:00.003-07:00

April is a happenin' month here in Logan.
Get your pen and prepare to mark your calendars!!

April 6 - 9; USU's Opera Theatre Production of Mozart's "The Magic Flute"
April 7 - 9; Baby Animal Days at the American West Heritage Center

The Magic Flute - Opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

April 6-9 7:30pm
$13 general admission, $8 seniors, fee admission to students with ID
USU Campus, Kent Concert Hall in the Fine Arts Center (across from Aggie Ice Cream)

The show is double cast so Anthony will be in it either the 6th & 8th or the 7th & 9th.
(This is Anthony's last USU performance, come show your support!!)

"The story is based on circumstances connected with the mysterious worship of Isis, the deity of the ancient Egyptians. Its action is consequent upon Sarastro, the high priest of the Temple of Isis, having borne away Pamina, the daughter of Astrifiammante, the wicked Queen of Night, from her mother in order that she may be trained in the ways of virtue and wisdom. Tamino, a handsome Egyptian prince is saved from a monstrous serpent by the Queen’s servants. They show him a portrait of Pamina, and he falls in love with the unknown original. He is told the story of her having been stolen by Sarastro, and he vows to rescue. her.

Before starting he is presented with a magic flute, by which he is enabled to give alarm and invoke assistance in cases of peril; while Papageno (ANTHONY), the silly bird-catcher, who accompanies him, is furnished with certain musical instruments which, when played, transform anger into mirth and provoke a desire for dancing. Developments need not to be detailed. It is only necessary to say that Tamino, instead of bringing back Pamina, becomes a noviate in the Temple; meets Pamina there; goes through, like her, a severe testing probation; is ultimately proved worthy, and marries Pamina, while his companion, Papageno, also finds a mate."

Baby Animal Days
April 7-9, 2011 10am – 5pm

$8 Adults / $7 Students-Military-Seniors / $6 Kids 3-11
The American West Heritage Center - 4025 S Highway 89/91, Wellsville

"Northern Utah’s favorite springtime event is here again. Cuddly animals, living history, demonstration, vendors, pony and train rides, and the return of the baby bears. You don’t want to miss it this year. Come and join us for another great time with this new generation of baby animals."

Valentine's Day!

2011-02-16T04:43:00.002-07:00

Valentine's Day is a cheesy, Hallmark florists and Hershey's make lots of money holiday that is TOTALLY overrated! HOWEVER! I did enjoy this wonderful day of the year as it has been the first "real" date (meaning we went to dinner, just us, and a movie, just us, and all in one night!) we have gone on in............................................. you get the idea :). Frank and I are realists....perhaps too real at that, AND we are cheap! Combine those two qualities on Valentine's Day and you get dinner paid with a gift card you got from your in-laws for you anniversary (yes we did hang on to if for 2 and 1/2 months before using it) and a movie at the dollar theatre with licorice and peanut butter m&m's we bought at Wal-Mart while waiting an hour to be seated at Chili's and then hid them in my purse because we won't pay theatre price for them OR the movie :) (THANK YOU Janice and Bill! We never would have spoiled ourselves with the dinner we had last night without that gift certificate!) It was the best time we have had in a long time. Dinner was DELICIOUS! Chili's is by far one of my favorite restaurants and mostly because of their spinach-artichoke dip and chips appetizer! YUM! We got through our appetizer and took most of our dinner home to eat for lunch AND dinner today! We definitely got our moneys worth! The movie was AWESOME and we laughed through it while holding hands and eating our stow-away candy. So that is the cheap side of us, but the realists in us know that Valentine's Day plain stinks for many people. Why? Because relationships aren't a one day holiday proven with roses, chocolate and money spent! I like to think I celebrate having Frank as the love of my life each and every day because I know that is how he treats me. I personally do not like getting flowers. They remind me of funerals and they are WAY to expensive for how fast they die and I am NOT a chocolate person. This makes Valentine's Day tricky or so Frank thought. Over time I have finally convinced him that I would so much rather have a loving, caring husband who treats me like a princess everyday of the year and leaves me love notes on my bed side table, surprises me with a volleyball game for our date just because he knows I will love it, takes me dancing in the middle of no where to the music playing on the radio and makes us hot chocolate to drink while we cuddle up on the couch and watch a movie. If you think the romantics on Valentine's Day are bad, they have got nothing on Frank! He is my true love because I am his Valentine everyday. So, for Valentine's Day I got the everlasting, unconditional love of my husband with a hand written declaration of love and the reassurance that the gifts I have been receiving at random all year long are so much more than material. They are memories of my amazing, thoughtful husband that I will cherish forever. So, if you are one of those people who thinks your Valentine's Day was a rip off, I challenge you to look more closely at who you have and what they have already given you.

Myles also had a good Valentine's Day.....I think. I suspect that he did merely for the fact that he is big enough to climb onto the chairs and reach almost anything on the kitchen table including the bag of Dove chocolates that was sitting there. The result? One chocolate faced, sugared up boy for auntie Liz who babysat while we went on our date.

I just adore this picture! Myles has started doing the cheesy face when I take pictures and it just melts my heart! Of course, his shirt is my favorite one too! I am so lucky to have the two sweetest Valentine's all to myself!

5 days...

2011-02-15T01:01:00.002-07:00

I have been an engaged woman for 5 days. 5 whole days!!!! You know what that means? It's only 222 more days until my wedding!!!!! I also figured out that there's only 80 more days until graduation, and only 47 days of class left, with 5 days of finals tacked onto that. I sit here and think "it doesn't seem like that long... but it's a friggin eternity!!!" I know someday I'll regret that. But for now all I think is that it will be nice to come home from work and know I'll actually get to see Weston and go out on a date with him, or watch a movie with him because he won't have to run home right after dinner to write a dang paper. or I sit here and imagine what our house will be like, or what it will be like to wake up next to him... weird.

Really though, I like this imagining stuff :) I'm excited to pick out our furniture and appliances and bedding and towels and all that day to day stuff that I love picking out so much. I am SO excited for the next step in my life and am SO excited for day 223 :D

P.S. Happy Valentine's Day :) We went to The Vagina Monologues to Celebrate

After 26 years of waiting...

2011-02-09T22:41:00.003-07:00

I'm engaged!!!! After probably the worst day of the last 2 years, Weston got down on one knee and asked me to marry him *happy sigh* Oh. What's that? You want to know the details? Ok I'll tell you!!!

Like I said, it was a horrible day, what with the car breaking down and being late to meetings and only getting a 90% on an exam, emotional breakdown, venting session to my boss... yeah. Bad. It was Rebecca's 10th birthday and everyone was getting together for ice cream and cake at Twila's at 6:30 and I, being in a horrible mod, decided I didn't want to go. Weston, however, found out about the party from Alisha while we were out at lunch, and said we were going.

I put myself in a good mood (you know, what they say about fake smiling really putting you in a good mood is for reals), and we went to the party. I chatted with my sisters and loved on my cute nieces and nephews while Weston ate cake and ice cream, then I decided it was time to go. I scooted my way through the throngs of people and edged to the door when Weston called me back in. I just hollered back "let's go" and he said "come in here". "I'm already at this door!" I say to which he replies "Come in here". Fine. I scoot back through people to him and as I reach him he raises his voice and announces "Everyone" *my heart starts to pound and I think.... well nothing... because my brain is going SO fast* "Everyone, I talked to Rebecca earlier and she said we could share her special day" (remember we were there celebrating her 10th birthday). Then Weston pulled a little brown box out of his pocket, got down on one knee, and asked "Erica, will you marry me?" I, with hands over my mouth and a look of shock and confused joy on my face whispered "are you for real?" He rolled his eyes and closed the block then opened it again and just looked up at me. Again I repeated "Are you for real!?....yeah" and then the ring slid onto my finger and there was kissing and hugging and I'm not really sure what all else... but I'm happy. And it's beautiful!!!!!!!

Man, it's hard to dip someone!!!! How do boys do it!?

Oklahoma road trip

2011-02-07T21:57:00.001-07:00

Anthony & I just returned from a road trip consisting of five states in five days.

Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma.

Thursday February 3
I left my practicum at noon, we packed up and were on the road soon after.
We stopped at Little America, just East of Rock Springs, WY.

Anthony had stopped there as a kid and had gotten ice cream cones, so we stopped to do the same now that he is older.

You can see by our expressions (Anthony's in particular) the ice cream was retched. Honestly, it tasted like it had been made with sour milk.

We had also gotten these and were afraid to try them.

They turned out alright.

The remainder of the drive through Wyoming was utterly uneventful.
We couldn't afford multiple hotels so we drove all night.

While Anthony did this

I had a 5 hour energy and did this.

However, we have AWESOME gas mileage on the freeways, and amazing road trip music.

300.7 miles on 1/2 tank of gas

Lokalgrown is THE BEST road trip music

Friday, February 4
Somehow we missed the Colorado sign, but we made it into Kansas!!

I'd never been to Kansas before so I was watching ever so closely for this sign.
It was so dark that Anthony and I weren't visible below the sign, so these are from the next morning when we left the state then turned back for the sign.

When we first got into Kansas I was getting back into the car and I remembered the shoes I was wearing...

I pretended to be Dorothy for a few minutes :)

Did you know right inside Kansas there is a city called
Kansas and Colorado mixed. I wonder who thought that one up?

I mostly drive with my left hand on top of the wheel and after 9.5 hours it looked all red like this.

Uncrustables for a travelin man's breakfast. Yummy!

We made it into Oklahoma!! I'd never been to this state either. You better believe we sang the song :)

These two houses were about 100 yards away from one another.
Kansas house & inquisitive dog

Oklahoma house

We made it into Oklahoma City and spent the remainder of the morning and early afternoon sleeping at our hotel.
Friday night we went to the home of one of the University of Oklahoma (OU) professors to talk with his about the program. He was a very kind and gracious man and we liked him very much.

You should have heard all the comments people were making about "the weather." Apologizing for the snow, saying they couldn't do all they had planned due to the "weather."
The grass is totally visible through the snow. However, Oklahoma rarely has snow so most roads were covered in ice as there were not many plows.

Saturday, February 5
We got up bright and early to make it to the University of Oklahoma (OU) for a coaching Anthony had set up with his pianist. We wandered around campus for a while and read some of the history of the school and some of the buildings. It was super cool.

They also had these fun phone booths.
This is the Reynolds Performing Arts Center, where all the performances are held. A lot of the older buildings on campus were this Gothic style, I loved it.

Anthony was not only auditioning to be admitted to OU, it was also the Benton-Schmidt Vocal Competition.
There were 17 other contestants, each had 12 minutes to sing. The finals were later that evening and 6 of the 17 were invited back, including Anthony.
In the end Anthony tied for 3rd place. He won $7,500 to be added to his potential scholarships, grants, etc. if he were to come to OU.
Get this, there were THREE professors/voice teachers that let Anthony know they wanted him in their studio if he went to OU, two of which have sung at the Metropolitan Opera.
The special judge of the competition was Kay E. Holt, executive director of the Canterbury Choral Society in Oklahoma City. Afterwards she was giving Anthony some feedback and said he was tall, good looking and had a "sellable look and voice." I.E. he can go places if he works hard.

We had some dinner and custard then headed back to the hotel and went right to bed. It was a LONG day.

Sunday, February 6
We got on the road early and drove over to Yukon to see the Oklahoma City temple.
I was surprised it was so small!

Mom Eversole calls us "Loves" so we had to get a photo of this gas station sign.

Also, with Valentines Day quickly approaching we had to give this handsome fellow a photo-op.

Alright, here's something cool. Have you ever seen the movie "Far and Away" starring Nichole Kidman and Tom Cruise? If you haven't seen it you need to.
The movie is, a great deal, about the Land Rush of 1893 wherein settlers from across the globe, seeking free land, made their way to Oklahoma Territory to stake their claim to a new life.

"The Land Rush of 1893 happened on September 16, 1893 at high noon with more than 100,000 participants hoping to claim land. One of the few rules to claiming a lot of land was that all participants were to start at the same time. Those who went too soon were called "Sooners." Sooners were often deputy marshals, land surveyors, railroad employees, and others who were able to legally enter the territory early to mark out choice pieces of land for themselves or others."

"A tumultuous avalanche of wagons and horsemen surging forward all in one breathtaking instant."

As time went on, "Sooner" came to be a synonym of Progressivism. The Sooner was an "energetic individual who travels ahead of the human procession." He was prosperous, ambitious, competent, a "can-do" individual. And Oklahoma was the Sooner State, the land of opportunity, enterprise and economic expansion, very much in the Progressive spirit that engulfed the old South in the 1920s. Hence, the University of Oklahoma Sooners.

Learning about history isn't my favorite, but at times I have an insatiable appetite for historical knowledge. These photo I took in Kiowa, Kansas led me to find the above information.

Pretty cool huh?

There is also an Anthony, Kansas.

He didn't really care, but I thought it was wicked cool!

Also, all throughout Kansas there were these oil pumps, just out in the middle of a field. Some fields I saw had up to six pumps.

Monday, February 7

We made it back into Colorado and I was more vigilant in watching for the sign this time.

The weather in CO and WY was awful!! I was going between 25-40 MPH for a good two hours. At times the wind was blowing so hard I couldn't see ANYTHING and had to stop right in the middle of the road as to not run off.

Between Cheyenne & Laramie we came across this Abraham Lincoln Monument.

We made it to Mom & Dad Mills' in Laketown around 7:30am and slept till about noon (thanks again Mom & Dad. The electric blanket was magical after a cold night in the car!) We headed up Logan Canyon, but it was snowing and windy and we were sliding all over the place and had to turn around. Luckily, we hadn't gone back more than a mile when we passed a snow plow. We turned right back around and followed in his tracks all the way out of the canyon and made it home a little after 3:00pm.

Michigan road trip

2011-01-30T14:08:00.002-07:00

Anthony & I recently road tripped through 7 states in 6 days
Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan

Wednesday, January 12, 2011
We left the state of Utah

and entered into Wyoming

next was Nebraska.

Every time I’ve been in Nebraska something bad has happen (i.e. breaking down twice). So I’m giving a very large thumbs down.
While we didn’t break down I did get pulled over for going 85 in a 75, luckily I just got a warning.
We stopped for gas at a Sinclair station for gas and had a nice little chat with Dino.

After 13 hours of drivng we stopped for the night in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Thursday, January 13, 2011
Made it into Iowa

and stopped off in Winterset to see the birthplace of John Wayne.

It was also the same town “Bridges of Madison County,” starring Clint Eastwood & Meryl Streep was filmed. We stopped off to see Hogback Bridge, but didn’t have time to see any of the others.

Next through Illinois

& Indiana

then into Michigan.

Luckily we only had to go to Stevensville, so we didn’t have to go to far into the state before we could stop, after 9 hours of driving, for the night with Anthony’s sister.

Friday, January 14, 2011
We had a free day!! We had breakfast then went with Abbey and the boys to St. Josephs to do some sightseeing and shopping.

I didn’t get a photo of the lighthouse at Lions Beach/Silver Beach, but I LOVE lighthouses.
We took the boys to a toy store, had lunch at South Bend Chocolate Shop then headed back to Stevensville. The rest of the day was spent with the family, napping and movies.

Saturday, January 15, 2011
Headed to Michigan State University at 5:30am.

Upon arrival at 7:30am we promptly got stuck in the snow in a parking lot and had to walk the few remaining blocks to the audition. However, it was a good 30 degrees, which is about 30 degrees warmer than it was in Logan the day we left.
Anthony auditioned for admission to MSU for a Masters of Music and was accepted on the spot. They said they’d send a formal acceptance with a $ offer. If we’re lucky they’ll pay us to go to school there.
Had lunch at Tony’s then headed back to Stevensville for dinner and a movie with Abbey and Kim. I was SO tired and was in bed by 8:00pm

Sunday, January 16, 2011
Left Michigan and headed back through Indiana and Illinois. We got a little lost and ended up right in Chicago. I about panicked when I saw a guy standing in the middle of the road, but realized he was just selling newspapers.

On again through Illinois and Iowa.
We got off the freeway to get gas…

After a little research we stopped again in Madison County to see Roseman Bridge, which was the bridge most viewed in “Bridges of Madison County.” I stood right where Meryl had!!!

Our GPS stopped working and it took us two hours to find the freeway. During this time the Jets vs. Patriots game was in & out on the radio.
Anthony’s all-time favorite team is the Jets. My all-time favorite team is the Pats. Needless to say that two hours stuck in the car out in the middle of a dirt road was a little heated.
We eventually got GPS back and realized we were a good 30 miles away from the freeway and took a little highway into to Omaha.
We made it to North Platte for the night.

Monday, January 17, 2011
We couldn’t leave North Platte without seeing William F. Cody (aka Buffalo Bill’s) Scout's Rest Ranch.

The remainder of the trip through Nebraska and Wyoming was relatively uneventful, other than the fierce winds.
We stopped in Laketown to have dinner with Mom & Dad then headed through the canyon. It had been raining earlier in the day, and the wind was blowing really hard and we didn’t even make it even close to the scenic outlook and had to turn around because our tires were just spinning and spinning on the ice and snow.
Stopped at Susann’s and played the Great Dalmoody, then watched the first half of the 1983 movie Sahara, one of my favorites. Headed back to Mom & Dad’s for the night.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Left Mom & Dad’s and made it to through the canyon in about an hour and a half.
Anthony completed his first day of student teaching at Mountain Crest, and I went to work.
It’s been a whirlwind of a week.

My life changed

2011-01-27T12:41:00.001-07:00

I held a dear friend's hand as he passed away. He was surrounded by family, yet I was the one asked to hold his hand.
All the griping and complaining I have done about having my practicum placement at a hospice flew out the window.
I was, and am, truly grateful for the knowledge and training I have, that I could competently answer his family's questions when they looked to me, which they did multiple times.
I never imagined myself in this situation, and now I look back over the last few years of my life, the decisions I have made, the changes that have happened and where my path has led me and I truly see the Lord's hand in all things.
Not only does He know me, He knows what is ahead of me. He knows the things I need to accomplish to make me stronger for harder battles. He knows my weaknesses, and places people in my path to help me grow stronger. He is aware of my temperament and has given me the wonderful opportunity to work with those less fortunate than I, and He knows how this has greatly blessed my life.
Knowing my friend is in a better place, walking, running, and talking without struggle gives me a sense of pure joy.
I am so fortunate to have been born and raised in the gospel. I am grateful for the knowledge and beliefe I have of the Atonement and for eternal families.

Happenings at the House house

2011-01-19T13:19:00.000-07:00

This lovely picture of Brian was during the Road show. He had a singing solo. As the Stake President said he was so bad tht he was good.

Sean got some costumes for christmas. The afro and Darth Vador are his two favorites.

Ian is eating out of the toilet!!! can you believe it.

2011-01-18T23:24:00.002-07:00

I like the new quilt background. Well done, Alisha :)

This Santa has hairy legs

2010-12-30T20:08:00.001-07:00

A friend called and said she was doing the annual Polar Express party here in Logan and her Santa had flaked the day before the event, and how did Anthony feel about being Santa??

After a little poking, prodding, arm twisting and "it's for a good cause" talk he agreed.

He had no idea how to be Santa and was really nervous. That whole day he would suddenly say "Merry Christmas!!" or "Ho, ho ho!!" At first I thought he was just being silly, but he got really embarrassed and told me he was so nervous... and was practicing.

The next night it was about time to go and I went into our room to get him and he was watching a youtube video on how to be Santa. The last pointer was, when a kid asked for something expensive or big to say, "we'll see what we can do about that" instead of agreeing in case that gift was not given.

We went to the center and he began dressing in the provided Santa suit.

Anthony has really big calves and the boots wouldn't go further than this.

Can you imagine sitting on Santa's lap and a good two inches of dark hairy leg was sticking out??

Luckily they had another suit which fit much better. And it looked AWESOME because it was corduroy!!

We got the call for him to come out and he looked at me and said "I don't want to do this anymore!" Good thing he's a trooper. He marched on out, jingling the big wreath of bells and calling out "Ho, ho ho! Merry Christmas!!"

Santa read the story "The Polar Express," kids sat on his lap and told him all about what they wanted for Christmas (you wouldn't believe how many asked for a Wii), and gave out little gifts to each kid. It was so cute to listen to him say "we'll see what we can do about that" when a kid asked for something.

There were cookies and hot chocolate afterwards and there were also cutouts for photos. Of course we just had to have our photo taken :)

Sorry, I took the video sideways.

I got a edjumacation!!

2010-12-30T20:06:00.000-07:00

My second to last semester is over! AND I got a 4.0!!!

My practicum instructor came to my practicum site and had a meeting with my supervisors and they evaluated my performance. I just received an e-mail copy of that evaluation.

There were quite a few questions & answers but I'll just share the most important part.

"OVERALL RATING OF STUDENT PERFORMANCE.

Far Exceeded Expectations

Alisha's overall performance exceeds expectations. She is an active part of the team and feels free to offer input and suggestions. She has taken on the responsibility of managing the volunteer program and has attended trainings to better understand her duties. Alisha would like more direct patient/clinical experience and we feel she will be able to take on these additional opportunities and will work to have her more involved in patient care."

Anthony & I went to Village Inn to celebrate how well we did this semester over early morning hot chocolate.

Anthony passed his Praxis and will be student teaching at Mountain Crest in the Spring. He's also been getting audition dates for the 8 grad schools he applied for. He's going to be a travelin man here quick. I'm SO proud of him and his goals and accomplishments.

Yum, yum, yum!!!

2010-12-30T17:59:00.001-07:00

For this month's family get together (other than the Christmas party and Christmas), my sisters and their families came over to my apartment for a sushi night!

I taught the girls how to make sushi and they excelled!!!

Isn't it pretty!?!?!?!? And so yummy looking!

Then everyone dished up

And enjoyed.... except for those few pieces that had WAY too much wasabi (which caused the rest of us great enjoyment as we watched the discomfort of the person eating it)

Then the guys watched the football game

The kids watched a movie

and they girls sat in the kitchen and talked... I'd say it was a perfect Mills night :)

And then, just because I think it's too adorable not to share, here are Ian and Isaac :D

2010-12-30T17:58:00.001-07:00

So this is where I spent most of the Christmas Holiday,

The Lindbeck house in SLC.

Isn't it SO cute!

I spent Christmas morning with:

Weston and his mom, Shauna,

Casey, Weston's brother

and Fritz, Weston's dad

Then we went downtown and visited Grandma!!!

Then we had dinner at Weston's house with his mom's family. This is Heather, Weston's cousin/best friend. You'd never guess she's 38 would you?

This is Kaylie, a little cousin who became my friend after dinner.

Then we had a special visitor: Mrs. Clause!!!

Then we came here to see the lights and feel the spirit of Christmas.

It was a great day!!!

Mills Family Christmas Party '10

2010-12-29T22:44:00.012-07:00

December is one of my favorite times of year. I like the snow and Christmas and all that, but more importantly ALL my family gets together for our annual Christmas Party!!

We enjoyed sledding down the hill by the house. One of my favorite winter past times is seeing who can make it the farthest down the driveway. Run-ins with the stairs have been associated with this activity.

Making snow angels in the field behind the house. A lot of deer had already been back there, but it was completely free of human tracks.

Snowball fights

Various crafting prep

Someone is always eating at Mom & Dad's house. Something about the house and the environment just makes people hungry!!

Also, there is invariably someone sleeping

Caroling prep

Hot Chocolate after caroling

You want some?

Santa's visit

Look past Kathy, Annie, Mom & Michelle and really look how many people are filling the deck. That's right... EVERYONE!!!

We ran out of clean silverware (again, always eating) so Kayla had to use a big serving fork and Richelle had to use a spoon.

Poor Mom, she gets so tired during these big events and whenever she sits down she usually falls right asleep.

The nativity

Of course people had to take pictures of the newest baby.

I just couldn't help myself when I saw this wig. This is what Elvis would have looked like as a blonde.

The snow was REALLY coming down when it was time to go.

I'm grateful for the Mills family. I'm glad we're all close and can, more or less, stand spending an entire weekend with one another. I'm grateful for Mom & Dad raising us in the gospel, and that we could celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, during the Christmas season together.

I love you all.