DeMill Family

Gender Prediction

2012-01-05T12:10:00.000-07:00

After our first ultrasound (around 6 weeks) I naturally started to wonder if it was a boy or girl. After a few weeks Shane was sure it was a boy and I knew it was a girl. So I looked into a few of the classic/"old wives tale"/calendar ways to tell. The results were mixed. See What I mean:

Heart Rate: Girl

Cravings: Boy

Chinese Prediction Chart: Girl

Myan Legends: Boy

Draino Trick: Girl

Acne Changes: Boy

Morning Sickness: Boy

Ultrasound: Girl

Since it was obvious during the ultrasound that she didn't
want her privates shown you get a cute profile pic

I am going to go ahead and say that the ultrasound is the most reliable. What do you think?

Happy Christmas

2011-12-24T12:44:00.000-07:00

We hope you are having a magical Christmas season with your families. And enjoying the spirit of the season. Since many people have asked when I was going to do a blog post again... I decided to finally get around to one. The last few months have just flown by here is a quick snapshot of what we have been up to since our free fall from the sky.

Jessica took and passed the series 7 & 63 license exams. The best description I've heard of these tests is that they are the equivalent of taking a masters finance class - and they were done in weeks.

We went to Seattle for one of my dear childhood friends wedding. It was fun showing Shane my neighborhood from growing up. I love that the people living in 'our home' still have it painted white with green trim. This picture alone should have it's own post.

This is the only picture proof I have that we went to the wedding (and it is not even a picture of the bride). It was a beautiful wedding and unlike any wedding we had ever been to (and we loved it).

We spent our Sunday being tourists downtown. We gave our hosts a hug goodbye (thanks Ballard family - we loved staying with you!) and headed downtown. We started with a stop at Top Pot Donuts, per McCall's suggestion, and were not disappointed. I got a maple bar bigger than my head and Shane enjoyed a fresh blueberry cake donut that was also quite large.

We visited the Space Needle and surrounding Seattle Center. Then rode the monorail towards the market.

Loved the market. I could have spent more time there just wandering the aisle's of flowers and booths. We got a king salmon to bring home with us (I am amazed that they can pack it tight enough that you can carry it on a plane and not smell a thing). We also enjoyed some fresh fruit... nothing compares to the peaches and Rainier cherry's we enjoyed that day.

Next we headed down to Ivar's to give our feet a break and enjoy fresh fish and chips. After we were finished they bagged up our food and we headed out to the pier to feed the seagulls. We would hold a fry out in front of us and they could come down and take it right out of our hands.

No trip to Pike's market would have been complete without a stop at the gum wall. It is completely disgusting looking and smelling but a completely interesting piece of downtown "art". We did our part and contributed to the grossness.

October was pretty uneventful - we just worked, ate, and slept then did it all over again.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with the DeMill family this year (which I didn't take a single picture of). During November Shane started a new job as well, managing an autobody shop.

This picture should have been before Seattle... but oh well... In late August we had a personal pharmacy delivered. We decided after years of trying multiple other things that it was time to do an IVF cycle. So I had the pleasure of injecting myself with a few of the above drugs every day. (traveling with sharps was ALOT easier than I anticipated).

Very long story short we ended up with a handful of these which in turn turned into one healthy growing peanut. We are thrilled to have another member of our family in early June. The whole IVF process could have a huge post to itself... but we'll just leave it with those two picture. If you have questions feel free to ask, I am pretty much an open book.

So there you go - September, October, November, and December in a Nut Shell. If you are lucky you'll hear from us again before Easter. But don't hold your breath

Take a flying leap

2011-08-14T08:34:00.000-06:00

Have you missed us? Well we are back. There are lots of things I have to update on like... Fun summer activities, work, family reunions, Shane's Birthday Bash, and Chloe's 2nd birthday party (yes I threw a party for my dog). But the truth is.. I didn't really take that many pictures. So maybe if you are lucky you'll get a few random pictures from the above events in awhile. So for now -- you can read about our most recent adventure.

For Shane's birthday Michelle and Mark gave him a free skydive. I was TOTALLY against it, but decided that if he wanted the throw himself out of a plane and kill himself that he could. I may or may not have made him check his life insurance policy to make sure they would cover his death. He was thrilled.

Well the big day came - August 13 - and after one of my hospital shifts we headed up to Skydive Ogden to get him all signed up. While he was signing his life away and Mark was getting ready to jump Michelle and I talked each other into going. So here the 4 of us are pre-flight.

Don't we look super fashionable? At this point I was a little freaked out (mostly that I would throw-up once we got in the plane). The view from the plane was spectacular and my nerves we totally calmed down at this point

And then we jumped...

talk about a thrill. I pretty much just dove out of the plane and started falling. Shane did 3 front flips out - the video of it is super cool! The view from the sky is spectacular and we lived to tell about it. So next time you are thinking to yourself "I think I'd like to jump out of a plane today" (which I am sure happens frequently) I'd recommend you do it!

Just incase you didn't get enough above.. here are a few more pictures for your viewing pleasure...

2011 Sunbeamisms

2011-06-05T16:14:00.000-06:00

Today I got released from the BEST calling ever, teaching the sunbeams (2.5 years for those who were counting). The kids this year were just as entertaining, if not more so, than in the past. So just in case you didn't get enough from this post or this post or this post here are a few more gems for the book:

Girls can't control where their pee goes... because they don't have a penis
"You don't wanna see my panties, or my china, or my bum bum" - right on sista
Weekly activities of these darling little sunbeams include playing with trains, riding bikes, and hitting brothers
When it is dark outside you jump on your bed. When the sun is out you play but go to bed when you are sassy to mom.
Fishing poles = lightsabers, guns, and swords
Sunday isn't called Sunday. It's call "My Class Day"
"Teacher did you know that you got a new door" said 3 weeks in a row. Yup. I got a new door
"Sister FaMiiilllll your dad is here to get you" (translation: Shane just looked in the window)
If a certain little girl kisses you - wipe it off in slow motion, with a very disturbed look on your face
"There is a secret about the baby in my mom's tummy, but I can't tell anyone yet" - cat is out of the bag
I asked the kids to turn off their mouths and turn on their ears (works like a charm most of the time-they love turning their mouths on when it is their turn to talk). One little guy could NOT stop talking finally I looked at him and said "Miles, is your mouth on or off right now" and his reply "It's turned on really high, and it is supposed to be off. But I like it on."
Scripture Power = hold your scriptures above your head
"Sometimes I can't sit down because my bum doesn't bend"
Picture in your mind this situation. You get back from talking with Bishop about said change in calling. Walk in Primary about 20 minutes late and take your seat. One little girl walks up to you and with a very stern look on her face takes 2 fingers and points to her eyes and then points to you. Then follows it all up with "now don't be late again"

Although I am excited to get to spend some time in Relief Society - I'm sure going to miss the antics, snack time, playdoh, and great family secrets that comes with the Sunbeams.

The Finish Line...

2011-05-04T13:33:00.000-06:00

You may remember that we had a little water problem back in January. Which resulted in eating out a whole lot. But I am pleased to announce that we are finished with the kitchen (can I get a hallelujah)!

So just in case you forgot what our kitchen looked like before let me help you out:

And here is the finished product...

-We took out the linoleum and put hardwood through the kitchen/dining area and then tiled the bathroom, laundry, and little hall from the garage

-Added trim to all of the windows and case on all of the doors

-Got rid of the Wooden Spoon (by Martha) walls and painted them Tracing Paper (by Color Life - Kwal)

-Added a cream oversize subway tile back splash

-Ran ALOT of electrical (microwave in island, under cabinet lights, and upper cabinet lights)

-New Cabinets that are near ceiling height, providing MUCH needed storage

-Granite Counter tops

-New sink, because the old one was only 6 inches deep, and Shane put in an industrial disposal because I put pretty much everything down there

-Plus put in a new front door, painted the rest of the 1st floor, and all of the other little things that have to happen in between all of those projects and trying to square up with the insurance company.

I'd call it a success. Audra, or anyone else who desires to see it in person, feel free to stop by any time.

Wedding

2011-05-02T09:08:00.001-06:00

Last week I was sick - like strep throat, headache, don'tturnonthelightorIwillkillyou sick! So I stayed home from work on Wednesday and Thursday to enjoy my sickness. Most of that enjoyment came from watching TLC's coverage of the Royal Wedding - and I enjoyed every minute of it.

This is my favorite official photo! There is that kid in the back who just can't manage to stand up straight - mixed with Miss Crabby Pants sitting on the far left.

I watched every TV special on this blessed event that I think was ever created - and DVR'd the event so I didn't have to wake up at a ridiculous hour to watch it. All in all I probably watched a good 24 hours of coverage on the event - and loved every last minute of it.

Miss Crabby Pants is still crabby in this one. And I wish I could pull or canary yellow like the queen

I just love a good old fashioned fairy tale. I hope you loved it too.

P.S. I loved Kates dress and the 50's checked floors in Westminster Abbey. And could those hats be any more ridiculous? I think not.

P.P.S. So glad Osama is a goner. Even if the media coverage did interrupt the last hour of Celebrity Apprentice - I'll get over it I am sure

P.P.P.S. My kitchen is done - and I have not managed to take a single picture. Oh well - you'll get one soon enough internet!

How to gain a little weight in not a lot of time..

2011-03-30T13:05:00.001-06:00

Just try eating at these places for 2 months... for 3 meals a day...

Apollo Burger - Applebees - Arby’s - Arctic Circle - Astro Burger - Bajio - Betos - Blue Lemon - Burger King - Café El Lago - Café Rio - California Pizza Kitchen - Chick fil A - Chili’s - Crown Burger - Del Taco - Denny’s - Dominos - El Farol - Gas-N-Go - Grubbins - IHOP - Intermountain Cafeteria - Italian Village- Jasons Deli - JCWs - Little Caesars - Loves - Market Street Grill - McDonalds - Noodles and Co. - Old Spaghetti Factory - Olive Garden - Panda Express - Parents Houses - Pei Wei - Pizza Hut - Quiznos - Red - Lobster - Rumbi - Sean’s Smokehouse - Smiths - Subway - Thai House - The Pizza Factory - Walmart

Wasatch Deli - Wendy’s - Wingers - Won Won Wok - Yogurt Bliss - Zupas

... And I know that that isn't all of them, just the ones we had receipts for.

Daycare and Depression...

2011-03-02T14:06:00.000-07:00

Since our flood Chloe got to go to doggy daycare at Little Dogs Resort and Salon. It sounds fancy doesn't it!

That's because it is. She absolutely LOVED it! She was been able to go and play with other furry friends and run like crazy. They have play time, nap time, TV time, singing time, recess, meal time, and music therapy. Every day when I picked her up she did this...

and slept until the next morning when she could go to day care again. Since our kitchen is now at the point that she can stay home our insurance put the ax on day care. And now we are experiencing doggy depression - not fun at all.

On a kitchen note... do you recognize anything different in this picture?

Shane built us a brand new front door. And I absolutely LOVE it! Hopefully we'll have the rest done next week so you can see the inside. I'm excited that there is FINALLY light at the end of the tunnel.

Wedding

2011-02-08T13:45:00.000-07:00

Last week Shane's sister Sherece got married.

During the ceremony I let our niece play with my phone.

And that cute little face captured some great pictures of the event. Like this one...

and this one...

And a large collection of other things - like her mom's shoes, the lights, and Shane's bum.

Water

2011-01-19T17:59:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday (January 4) started out as any other day would, but ended unlike anything I would have EVER imagined! I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few needed items for dinner on my way home from work. Shane and I pulled into the driveway at the exact same time. We got to mail and took our time getting the groceries out of the car.

I walked into the house expecting Miss Chloe to be right there excited to see us, but she was not there. Instead of her bark I heard rushing water. Rushing water coming from under my kitchen cabinet to exact. Naturally I freaked out while Shane rushed to the basement to turn off the water. Chloe got soaking wet and jumped up on one of the kitchen chairs.

The pipe that provides water to the dishwasher popped right out of it's socket allowing water to run for a few hours. I did what any normal person would do and sent out a facebook cry for a wetvac, then called my hometeacher. (Wondering where Shane is? He ran across the street to deliver a pinewood derby car to a neighbor) Within a few minutes we had 2 people there with their shopvac's soaking up water.

It was so humid in our house that water was clinging to everything. After all the furnature was moved and water was soaked up we examined the damage. And called Service Master to come and do a little disaster clean up. That night they surveyed the water damage and installed a portable furnace. The water had gone through our ducts and flooded out the furnace. Since then we have been in recovery mode.

Our kitchen/dining and laundry rooms have been torn completely apart. Cabinets have been removed, flooring ripped out, and drywall cut and drilled into to help dry the place out. We've had fans, dehumidifiers, vacmats, and a bunch of other random equipment running in our house since then.

This is why I love the homebuilder in our neighborhood. Now to adventure of putting it all back together - with hopefully minimal arguments (despite the fact that Shane has already had a dream that I wanted to get a divorce over the fact that I want european style cabinets and he wants face frame).

our Happy Holidays!

2011-01-04T15:23:00.000-07:00

We hope all of you enjoyed your holiday season. We sure did - in fact we had so much fun that we only took 2 pictures of the months worth of festivities. Here are some of the highlights

-December 12: DeMill Family Christmas Party. Ate lots of food, played some games, and enjoyed each other's company
-December 17: Ugly Sweater Party. Good food, good laughs, and an all around good time.

This is the only picture I took all night. Glad I captured the lights on Jake's sweater

-December 19: Pulley Family Christmas Party. Always a good time when this large group of people get together.
-December 24: Christmas Eve Party at the Buonocore's. This party is epic. Never in your life will you have the opportunity to eat as much delicious food as you do here!
-December 25: Christmas Day. Brunch at my parents, Dinner at Shane's parents. Our favorite gifts include: a new cell phone (and provider), world map, clothes, shoes, slide compound miter saw, and treats. Chloe loved the wrapping Paper
-December 27: Extended Hill Family Shin-Dig. At Classic Skating, complete with snowball. Waited 2.5 hours for a pizza that tasted like cardboard.
-December 28: Jessica's MHS friends lunch. Love these girls (and the two who couldn't make it). It was good to hear about the adventures everyone has been up to.

-December 31: New Year's Eve at my parents. Played LOTS of games and watched A-Team.

Overall we'd call the holiday's a success. Maybe next year I'll take more pictures (but don't hold your breath).

Sunbeamisms 2010

2010-12-27T08:47:00.000-07:00

Once again I taught the 3-4 year old sunbeams at church this year. Shane taught with me for a good chunk of the year. We had 12 kiddo's in our class (only 1/2 of the age group) and they provided us with non stop laughter. Here is what we learned this year...

-When you turn 8 you get married -- or get your ears pierced
-When you go to the bathroom and you hear "plop plop" it will splash up and get your bum wet
-Heaven is full of princesses, like cinderella
-Joke: Why did the scripture power cross the road? A: because Jesus wants me for a sunbeam. (what... you don't think it's funny)
-Sitting on chairs is only fun when you have another chair in front of you to put your feet on
-When it is Sunday at our house it is Monday at the Juvenal house and Saturday at the Alonzo house
-Praying is "overrated"
-There is no prophet... but there is a brofit.
-Sometimes you don't have to share your toys. Like when your sister wants to play with them, you just push her down and then you don't have to share.
-It is more fun to be angry than happy
-FHE is "tupid"
-When Noah filled the arc he didn't have to add fish and ducklings because they knew how to swim
-You can learn all of the important scripture stories from veggie tails. When dad tells the stories they are boring.
-You don't have to be looking at the teacher or participating to know what's going on. And they'll never figure out you've been in la la land when you get asked a question and your response is about Chuck-E-Cheese
-Tears will get you out of anything - and usually win you a trip back to your parents (yes I am the meanest teacher ever to at least 2 kids)
-When you are asked to show someone how to be reverent it is appropriate to sit on the ground, put your feet in the air, and laugh about the color of your underpants
-Fingers belong in your nose
-When teaching and all else fails - bring out the play dough

I'm sure I've missed some of the spectacular things that were said, but all in all it's been a great year. I can't wait for another year of madness!

2010 Christmas Devotional

2010-12-06T10:20:00.001-07:00

Last night we went to the 1st Presidency's Christmas Devotional. It was marvelous! I loved each of the messages that were shared. When I found out that I was one of the "chosen" people to get tickets this year I was excited - but I was even more excited when we got there and found out that our seats were at the very front. What an incredible experience to look straight into the eyes of the prophet as he shared his Christmas message. And here are some pictures we took following the devotional. Something about the lights surrounding Temple Square just makes the holiday season a little more real.

"Let it be a time of forgetting self and finding time for others. Let it be a time for discarding the meaningless and for stressing true values. Let it be a time for peace" - President Thomas S. Monson

I'll have a wash and trim please...

2010-11-28T18:09:00.000-07:00

I took Miss. Chloe to the groomer this weekend. She needed a good bath and a little face trim. She came out looking like this....

... missing half of her face. I took the poor thing back and she now looks like the most pathetic little dog ever created.

Happy Halloween

2010-11-22T11:11:00.001-07:00

Do you think it is appropriate to do a Halloween post the week of Thanksgiving?

You do! Good, I think so too. This year Shane and I dressed up as our former selves - only a few years older (and a few pounds heavier in my case)

Yes here we are. The MHS class officer and BHS soccer player. (Ben and Melinda you have our permission to copy in the future if you choose)

Gift Exchange

2010-11-09T11:44:00.000-07:00

I know I have not posted in forever... and no I do not feel bad about it.

However, I do request that you update your blogs regularly. (Does that make me a hypocrite?)

On a side note. One of my favorite crafty blogs is Craftaholics Anonymous. She is having her Holiday Handmade Gift Exchange and I thought some of you might be interested in participating. So jump on over to her blog and sign up. You can sign-up to exchange with someone internationally or just in the USA.

Go Go, Go Go, Go UTA...

2010-09-27T17:09:00.000-06:00

Last week I decided to try out the public transportation of the great state of Utah. Not only would I get a free ride to work, but I would do my civic duty by not polluting the air or taking up space on the construction ridden freeway. UTA recently started an express route from the BFE to downtown so I thought I'd try it out. Want to know how it went?

I'll do this in real time for you...

5:30 Wake Up
6:00 Run out the door to catch the bus
6:13 Board express bus to SLC
6:25 Stop in a neighboring city
6:35 Stop in another city (This is about the time I normally wake up)
6:40 On I-15
7:00 Bus exits 400 south
7:02 Bus makes first stop
7:05 Bus makes another stop, that is not scheduled (This is about the time I normally leave for work)
7:07 Bus maks another non-scheduled stop
7:10 Bus makes another stop
7:12 Bus makes a scheduled stop
7:15 Bus makes another non-scheduled stop
7:20 Bus makes a scheduled stop
7:21 Bus makes another non-scheduled stop
7:25 Bus makes it's final stop - I get off
7:26 I realize that I missed the connecting bus so I have to wait for it
7:30 now realize that instead of the next bus coming in a decent amount of time I have to wait 25 minutes
7:35 I start to walk around the gateway to kill time
7:40 Homeless bum starts walking and talking with me - I walk faster
7:50 I return to the bus stop where I can catch a bus to work
7:56 Bus is now 1 minute late (This is about the time I normally arrive at work)
7:59 Bus finally shows up
8:15 I get off the bus infront of my work

Did you catch that people 2 hours to ride the bus to work when I can drive there, through the construction, in about an hour. And the best part of it all... I got to do it all again on the way home, leaving work at 3:45.

The best part! I had to take vacation time to make-up my hours.

I can Fondue...

2010-09-04T21:14:00.000-06:00

...can you fondue?

Tonight we did a little fondue with my family. It was absolutely delightful. We started out the evening with a cheese fondue. We dipped pears, apples, grapes, bread, and broccoli. It was delish!

We then moved on to a little meat fondue. Chicken, steak, and shrimp. (is your mouth watering yet?)

We finished off the night with chocolate. dipped mango, strawberries, pineapple, cookies, marshmallows, cinnamon bears, and wafers.

It was an absolute delight to be with the family. It takes FOREVER to get everything ready, but so worth it. Especially when you are preparing with the people you love most!

Now go fondue with your family.

привет

2010-08-24T16:27:00.000-06:00

5 years ago I embarked on an adventure of a lifetime. It was 5 years ago that I said goodbye to my family and friends and ventured into a big unknown world. A world where I knew no one, didn't know the language, and certainly not the culture. It was 5 years ago that I left my home and went to Kiev, Ukraine - an experience I wouldn't trade for anything! And this weekend they will be dedicating the Kiev, Ukraine temple! I am so excited for the people there -- they have been waiting FOREVER for it!

I went to Ukraine to teach English. It was an absolutely incredible experience. The best moments were when you could see a light bulb go off in their heads and then they started talking your ears off. I just love those kids.

I love the teachers/friends I got to know while I was there. I have not been good at keeping touch with most of them but each of them forced me to really take life by the horns and live it! It didnt' matter if we were lost on the metro, surrounded by drunk men, or walking through a beautiful cathedral or park we were always laughing -- yes we were THOSE Americans.

Sometimes I wonder what the family I lived with is up to. They don't speak hardly any English so most of our communication was pantomime. I love that Lina (my host mom) taught me how to make all kinds of yummy food and Volodia (my host dad) played his accordion while we danced and laughed. Natasha and Sofia were the best host sisters you could ask for. I loved helping Natasha with her English homework.

I miss the beautiful churches. I miss living the 'big city' life! I miss wearing a big fur lined coat and totally fitting in. I miss the high-fashion of the women there. I really miss that pink purse that I brought home totally black...I miss it all - but I am extremely grateful for what I learned there. It makes me proud to live where I live, and extremely thankful for everything that I do have.

I just can't believe it's been 5 years.

One Mans Trash...

2010-08-17T16:35:00.000-06:00

Is another dog's treasure... or so it is at our house.

Last night I was making dinner and threw some fatty, vein filled pieces of chicken in a box I was going to take to the trash. I turned around to see this little love wagging her tail and enjoying my garbage.

Lake of the Bear

2010-08-16T11:20:00.000-06:00

This past weekend we went to Bear Lake with my extended family. It is always delightful to hang out with the cousins and just relax. Our family is quite large (my mom is 1 of 7) so there is never a lack of fun when we are all together. Here is a little breakdown of the fun

Friday: Arrived at the house mid-afternoon. Got our tent pitched (because of said family size we opted to sleep outside instead of fighting for an attic bed). Then went to a real live cowboy rodeo. This rodeo is nothing like the ones we experience at home - lets say we were a little out of place in our t-shirts. We had some family that barrel raced and steer wrestled.

I didn't take a single photo.

Saturday: Played at the lake. Oh what fun it is. Nothing is better than hanging out with your family on the sandy shore sun~~burning~~bathing. And the fact that we had 2 boats, jet ski, wave runner, and water scooter made for plenty of fun on the lake. Shane, the mad man, decided to try out wakeboarding. He popped right up his first try. Proceeded to cut in and out of the wake, did a little jump coming back in, and to make us all feel better about his natural ability gracefully face planted after doing a little out-of-control number. We also had tube wars and plenty of fun.

Sunday: We caught a little church, then enjoyed an extended family reunion.. So extended that I didn't know a single soul (except my own cousins). But the food was delish. Then Shane and I packed up and headed home so we could be back to the grind Monday.

I didn't take a single photo of this day.

Vacation

2010-07-21T14:28:00.001-06:00

As I mentioned earlier we went to California with my family at the beginning of the month. And since I lack the desire to blog about it - I will just refer you to my sisters blog if your little heart wishes to read about it.

On a side note. Miss Chloe Dog likes fruit. Here she is cleaning out a watermelon, and this morning she found a mango pit in the garbage that just made her day.

Lifeguard on Duty

2010-07-06T20:23:00.000-06:00

Shane and I spent the last week vacationing with my family in Orange County, California. It was delightful - While we were at the beach I had a flood of memories that came back to me from the summer before my Senior year at MHS.

(Me, Skye, Melinda, McCall)

I was invited to go to Newport Beach with some of my friends. While there we spent alot of time at the beach soaking in the sun rays (meaning sunburn for me) and catching a wave. One afternoon I remember the waves being fantastic. We were hanging out in the water waiting for "the perfect wave". We passed up a few good ones knowing something better was coming and we wanted the best ride we could get.

Before we knew it the waves were crashing in front of us and not behind us. We hung out still waiting for that wave. Next thing we knew we saw lifeguards running into the water and then lifeguard trucks pulling up on the beach. Thinking "What idiot needs a lifeguard" we continued waiting for that wave. Next thing we knew 2 unattractive male lifeguards swam up to us and told us that we were in a riptide being pulled out to sea (oops.) The lifeguards proceeded to pull us into shore.

Yup. We felt like total idiots. But it created a fantastic memory.

Please ignore the poor quality photos. My scanner is obviously not the best. And pictures of our recent trip to come...

Chloe's House

2010-06-18T21:01:00.000-06:00

You may remember a few weeks ago when Shane built Chloe's dog house.

I decided today to spruce it up a bit - and make it more homey for her. Not to mention it would improve the aesthetics of my back yard. While I worked Chloe did this....

and this...

comfortably inside the house. While I painted away in the backyard. The finished project looks like this...

I rather like it. And I think the Chloe Dog does too.

Recap

2010-06-16T14:33:00.001-06:00

A little weekend recap...

Shane and I decided to kill some time at the World Market waiting for some of our friends to come home from work so we could play. We found this little shopping cart - I thought it was hilarious, borderline ridiculous, so I snapped a photo. (P.S. Shane is not impressed with the World Market, he thinks it shouldn't have that name because they didn't have Alfajores)

On Friday I hung out with this girl...

and these dapper dudes...

They are pretty hilarious little guys. While the 4 of us were together we made these

MJ put her potato head in the quiet books she is making for the above dudes - Mine was just plain. Don't worry she isn't crying - it's allergies.

Then on Saturday we went to a DeMill family reunion

While there we made a stop at the grocery store and Shane found this. I had to take a picture.

We then went to the reunion where we froze our rear-ends off (No thank you Mother Nature). It was delightful to spend some time with the family and see those that we dont' see very often.

After the reunion we went to my parents house. While there Shane enjoyed himself with my dad and brothers. I went with my mom and sister and colored and cut my hair (no picture).

It was a delightful weekend.

la la la....

2010-05-26T13:49:00.000-06:00

Nothing much up in our life - just work, sleep, eat, repeat...

Last night we mixed it up a bit by going to my little brothers Jr. High Choir Concert

(They are the ones with the Red Arrows Pointing to them - don't judge my editing skills)

It was as delightful as can be.

There was a solo by this guy

and he did a fantastic job.

Just like...

2010-05-10T17:18:00.001-06:00

...Old Times. Do you ever have those moments where you feel like you are still in High School? I had one of them a few weekends ago. McCall and I went to our dear friend Ben's wedding when we ran into these dapper guys.

Bean, McCall, Robbie, Me, Jeff, Josh

We had a grand old time laughing about dances, weekends, and other ridiculous things we did (and still do). It was an absolute delight to see them again. I was ready to throw on a pair of flip flops (in the snow), walk down to Southwood, and play a game of Ultimate.

We speak English...

2010-04-28T15:43:00.003-06:00

Last Weekend...

2010-04-15T10:25:00.000-06:00

We Shane built this...

for this...

Meet Chloe - the newest member of our family. I love her - Shane tolerates her.

Thanks

2010-03-25T16:23:00.000-06:00

...but no thanks Mr. President

As Requested...

2010-03-09T21:54:00.001-07:00

Mrs. Eva's Sugar Cookies

The cast:
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 Tbsp. baking powder
4 1/2 cups flour

Scene 1:
Cream together butter and sugar. After it is creamed add eggs, sour cream, and vanilla and mix.

Scene 2:
Sift together salt, baking soda, baking powder, and flour. Then add it 1 cup at a time to the butter and sugar mixture, making sure you mix it in completely before adding the next cup. The dough will be slightly sticky.

Intermission:
Cover the bowl and put it in the refrigeratior for about 2 hours

Scene 3:
Take the dough out of the fridge. Roll it out on a well floured surface to desired thickness (I like them about 1/4 inchish). Then use your favorite cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Place them on a cookie sheet sprayed with pam and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until slightly golden around the edges.

Finale:
Frost with your favorite frosting and enjoy!

Living on a Prayer

2010-02-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

While driving home from work on Thursday I was in Sandy when I looked down to see this...

Yes I know my speed is a little over the speed limit - but you obviously missed it. Let me show you closer up what I saw....

See that little orange light -- it means "get to a gas station sister- I'm runnin' LOW"

So I did what any practical responsible drive would do - I said a prayer in my heart and put the pedal to the metal. After all I had to get to Costco so I could save a few pennies.

Shane is convinced my car runs on fumes

P.S. One of my bestest friends delivered 30 week twins earlier this week. The younger one got life flighted to Primary's late last night with some problems. Prayers are needed for these two little angel boys, Isaac and Owen, and their parents.

Upgrade

2010-02-02T10:49:00.002-07:00

Not much exciting going on in the life of the DeMill's.

Except... We upgraded from this
to this

And we LOVE every minute of it.

Now if we could just get PCs and Mac's to be friends we would be loving life even more!

Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam!

2009-12-28T14:33:00.004-07:00

Most of you are aware that I teach the sunbeams at church... perhaps the funniest little 3-4 year olds you will ever meet were in my class this year. You may remember this post from earlier this year -- and well... things only got better. The last part of this year we learned even more than we did in the first half.

-One particular little guy is fascinated with... well just read here for the whole story
-While talking about keeping the Sabbath day holy the idea came up that we don't shop on Sunday. One particular little guy looked so confused and exclaimed in the loudest voice ever "uh...Yeah we do. We shop on Sunday ALL the time. Heavenly Father doesn't care if we just go to Wal-Mart"
-Sitting reverently no longer means sitting with your arms folded. It means put your feet through the back of the chair and your hands on the floor while attempting to do a little twisty thing.
-It is totally cool for me to go in the mens restroom at church because "You're with me" (I guess that excuse for why they could go in the womens restroom came back to bite me in the rear)
-If you lie a monster will come get you and eat you (one of my kids told their mom that I taught them that - I must have Alzheimer's because I'm pretty sure I never taught that)
-If you turn the light off you can hear the Holy Ghost
-Big chairs are much more cool than little chairs. and making "Sister Mill" sit in a little chair is FUNNY
-Jesus was born in a stable where animals pooped and it stunk really bad!
-My last name is DeMill and my first name is Sister according to one kid - another says my first name is Teacher and my last name is Jessica.
-While teaching with Shane one week he started talking to one of the kids in Spanish. He proceeded to call him by his Spanish name to which the kid turned around and looked at him really funny. Shane asked him if his parents called him that - the reply was "no way" when Shane asked why the reply was "Because they love me!"
-You put soap in your eyes when they itch

I hope you enjoyed the little sumbeamisms... Maybe next year will be just as adventuresome!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

2009-12-10T12:36:00.004-07:00

I just love this time of year - I love the magic that Christmas bring and the good things that happen. We've had a wonderful holiday season so far.

We went to the Festival of Trees last weekend. I really wanted to go see a tree that one of my neighbors decorated in memory of two kids who live about a block from our house. Both kids passed away of different forms of brain cancers this past year. I must say I thought the tree was pretty cute (and didn't take a picture - dang it!). Michelle and Parker joined us for the event. It was fun to celebrate with them.

Shane was there as well... This was the only picture I got of him.

Then on Sunday we made gingerbread houses with our friends Pete and Beka. I got the grand idea that it would be fun to make them from scratch. I didn't have enough molasses to double the recipe (I should have read it more carefully) so our houses were not as big as we had imagined... maybe next year. Although I will say that it was fun to design our own houses and figure out how to make it work.

The frosting was a little runny --but fun just the same. Below is our house. And here is a picture of our tree.
Merry Christmas!

Crafty

2009-12-10T12:25:00.004-07:00

Awhile ago my friend Corissa posted this cute craft on her blog. I thought it was pretty dang cute and decided that I would make one for myself... Here are my results
I thought it was a fun way to make this once blank wall a little more exciting
And here is a close up for you. It cost me about about $2 to make so one day when I decide I hate it - I'll just throw it away and not think twice about it.

Now if I could just convince Shane that it is time to paint the wall behind it...

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-12-10T12:16:00.002-07:00

Ok we know... Thanksgiving was forever ago... but I had to post some pictures just to prove that we celebrated the holiday. I didn't take any pictures of us actually enjoying the delicious food - so you get pictures of what we did after instead.

Shane and Braden scoping out the adds. As usual there was nothing we needed/wanted/could afford that was such a great deal that we could justify waking up at the bum crack of the morning to get.

The kids played Thanksgiving bingo and made paper chains to count down to Christmas. It was a delightful time for all.

Life Lately

2009-11-23T13:24:00.004-07:00

So you've been wondering where we've been...well...we've been here. Our lives are about as exciting as a white wall. We are both busy with work and life in general. Maybe with all of the Christmas festivities coming up we'll have something of interest to post.

So until then - enjoy this season of Thanksgiving! I sure am thankful for lots of things - but I won't bore you with my list.

What I do...

2009-10-28T17:16:00.003-06:00

If you ever find yourself wondering... "What exactly does Jessica do?" I think this video can best describe it ...

So now you know.

It's been a day.

2009-10-09T14:06:00.002-06:00

You may remember last year when I posted about our baby. I was upstairs getting ready for Shane's Grandpa's funeral and he called me to come downstairs. He said he had a surprise for me. You see I'd been talking about how we needed a bunny for about a month - and Shane, being the fantastic husband he he, decided that he would grant me my wish. I came down to find a baby bunny hopping around our backyard and Shane putting the finishing touches on his cage. We named him Chomper. He helped us weed and fertilize the garden (he doesn't know he was helping) and provided hours of entertainment with family and other kids in the neighborhood. This morning I woke up and headed out to the back yard to let the little guy out and play with him. Unfortunately he was not alive. I immediately called Shane and cried my eyes out while trying to tell him what I had just found. Not exactly the best way to start the day.

This is the 3rd bunny I've had die on me. The first one Snowball baked in the sun one summer, the second was eaten by a dog, and Chomp - we are suspecting poison (we had our yard sprayed for spiders). So needless to say I'm not up for another rabbit -- at least for a little while.

So my little Chomp - I hope you are enjoying hopping around in the green meadows of heaven.

Ding, Ding, Ding..

2009-09-16T17:14:00.007-06:00

(You'll want to read this post with a thick Minnesota accent)

Attention Carnival Liberty Family. Cruise director Butch here. Just wanted to take a minute to fill you in on the exciting adventures of the DeMill family. Believe me this is going to be a post you will not want to miss. See they started out their journey in a little town we here at Carnival like to call Miami. It has some great beaches, expensive food, and ghetto's like you will never believe. From Miami they reported at the Carnival Cruise Terminal. Now this place is alot like an airport but instead of getting on a plane you get on a ship. After just minutes of being on the ship the DeMill family reported to their Muster station where they learned all of the procedures that would be taking place in the event a disaster of titanic proportions occurred.
The family then arrived at a little port called "Half Moon Cay" in the Bahamas. Now this port is unlike any other port of call on this vacation. You see this island is owned by Holland America (AKA Carnival) so everything to see or do on this island will cost you about 5 times what it will anywhere else.

The beaches are the whitest and the waters are the bluest you will see anywhere in the world.

Sandcastle building is optional - but highly encouraged. After leaving this port the DeMills then spent their next day at sea: Soaking up the rays. (Please add a fake laugh here)

Maybe a few too many rays. After the Aloe is applied you can enjoy the pictures of the formal night. Now on this night you can dress up in you finest attire and eat the most exotic foods the ship provides. After dinner change out of your dress clothes and head to the karaoke bar. Here auditions will be taking place for a show later in the week... you might see a certain someone performing later on.

After the day at see the DeMills stopped at an island called St. Thomas. Here they went snorkeling at Sapphire Beach and rented wave runners to enjoy the salty water.

In St. Thomas they also enjoyed the views of the rest of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Later that night they enjoyed some tropical (virgin) drinks.

Following their adventure at St. Thomas the DeMills joined their friends Pete and Beka for a rain forest adventure. They climbed on a bus of 24 people and headed off to the Puerto Rico rain forest. This rain forest is full of waterfalls and other adventures! The tour guide, Hector, does not come highly recommended unless you'd like to make a 4 hour tour last about 6.5 hours and the extra time was spent learning the name and orgin of every plant in the rain forest.

Following Puerto Rico they adventured into the Armpit of the world (Goofy Laugh) I mean Grand Turk. On this Island you will experience the worst snorkeling every imaginable and see absolutely nothing.

However, Shane does have the opportunity to drive on the wrong side of the car and the wrong side of the road (by American standards).

Now do you remember that Karaoke night I talked about earlier... Do you recognize this person.

Yup you guessed it. Jessica was selected from the entire population of the ship to be Brittney Spears at the "Carnival Legends" show. Singing "Hit me baby one more time" she totally rocked the house - or maybe not.

So the DeMills had a wonderful vacation. and hope you enjoyed reading about it. Yah.

Love and a Marriage

2009-08-28T09:50:00.004-06:00

On August 15 My little sister Michelle decided to tie the knot. The lucky guy, Mark Montgomery. I should also say that she is a lucky girl! We just love them both and are so excited for the two of them. They were truly made for each other - cut from the same cloth. Here are some pictures from the exciting day.

Michelle and Mark taking pictures at the Salt Lake Temple. (I really don't think there is another place in the world quite like it!)

The Hill Family

Michelle and the Bridesmaids (I sure hope the photographer got a better picture than this)

The flowers that night were extravagant, the food was delicious, the setting was perfect, and the company could not have been better

Michelle and Dad then did the "traditional" father-daughter dance in a very NON-traditional way. I hope to get a video of it to post on here in the near future.

Congrats Michelle and Mark - and Happy Eternity together!

2009 World Series

2009-08-24T12:11:00.002-06:00

This year the Babe Ruth World Series is being held in my hometown, Murray, Utah! I'll be honest I've never been a big baseball fan. I remember going to Mariners games when I was a little girl in Seattle, but that was just for fun. My little brother, Alex, LOVES baseball and is pretty good at it. With Murray being the Host of the World Series they got an automatic bid. They put together a team with the best players in the Murray League and Alex was asked to play! So this week we will be singing lots of "Take me out to the ball game" and enjoying some hot dogs.

P.S. The picture above was about a year ago when he played at a Cooperstown Field of Dreams Invitational. He'll probably kill me for posting it.

The Office...

2009-08-20T12:23:00.003-06:00

Mormon Style. I just found this movie - and you office watchers may enjoy it. Maybe not.

A little update

2009-08-13T08:34:00.002-06:00

Last night I went here... Because this little lady(Cousin Cami)...
Is going on a mission here...

(Cherry Hill New Jersey for those interested) leaving at the end of October. I had a wonderful experience there - I highly recommend it! While sitting in the chapel waiting to start the session this guy...

Walked in. (Elder Scott for those who don't recognize his face) What was so fascinating about it was that he was just like anyone else who was attending that session. It was a glorious time for all who attended.

On a side note. I will be headed back to the beautiful building previously pictured on Saturday to see these two...

tie the knot!

I don't think I mentioned it on here but my sister got engaged back in may. It was perhaps the "most epic proposal of all time" and we are pretty excited about it. I'll post pictures of the big event later.

**P.S. I apologize for not blogging in the last month (Just in case someone cared to notice). I've been busy sewing tablecloths for the previously mentioned event being held this weekend.

1st Annual DeMill Family Talent Show

2009-07-14T09:49:00.003-06:00

Shane and I were 'InCharge' of the DeMill Family monthly home evening. We decided that we would teach the parable of the talents found in Matthew of the New Testament. After we told the story we encouraged our family to share their talents with others... We started by sharing our talents with eachother Shad played the "pocket bagpipes" which was a HUGE hit among the kiddos
Aubrey, Maura, and Tolby showed off some of their stellar Gymnastics moves!

Jaida and Makaila did a little dance for us.

Other talents included....

A magical card trick by Braden

A fantastic rendition of chopsticks by Shane and I
A violin solo with dance by Grandpa Lynn and Grandma Jean

An awe inspiring sommersault by Davin

Some artwork done by Jennifer (don't forget to go to her house and check it out... when the house is finished)

But perhaps the favorite talent of the night...

Mr. Wes doing the robot!

Note to the DeMill families living out of state -- I've decided that this will be an annual event -- so next year be prepared to either fly out here to share your talent with us... or we'll call and ask you for a video so we can share it with everyone.

Snowbird 2009

2009-07-14T09:15:00.002-06:00

Every year we take a day off work and enjoy a little Snowbird fun! We head up Little Cottonwood to enjoy the beautiful scenery God created for us, and have a good time with the family.... Here are some of this years most memorable moments. Shane rode the mechanical bull... and then fell off...

We also rode the zip-line and alpine slide but have no photos to prove it.
We rode the tram up to the top and had a little snowball fight

and Ran around like crazy people trying to stay warm (who would think that it could be soo cold when it's so stinkin hot outside)

And enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

After the family left Pete and Bekah came and played with us. but once again I didn't take any pictures... so I dug up this old one.

The 11th bi-annual Hill Family Reunion!

2009-07-07T14:36:00.003-06:00

2 years ago we went here for our family reunion. But for the 11th Bi-Annual Max and Donna Hill Family Reunion we decided to stick a little closer to home and went up to beautiful Park City! Now when most people hear the words "family" and "reunion" together in the same sentence one can expect to hear groans and moans following. But NOT us! We L-O-V-E this family reunion.

You see when I was a little girl my Grandma and Grandpa Hill decided that it was important to them to have all of the family get together and enjoy each others company. The truly believed that "The family that plays together, stays together" so that is what we did, we played. There is nothing like traveling in a caravan (don't think mini van) to the fun destination where you can just hang out with your cousins. Both of my Hill Grandparents passed away a few years ago - but the family reunion tradition is still alive. The family grows each year and we love it!

Enjoy some photo's of the reunion!

Here are the original Hills (minus one) Back: Sharon, Dad(Doug), and Dave Front: Greg, Jim, and Kent! We missed you Mark!!
We held the "Hill Family Olympics" the Doug Hill family was the Blue and White Team! Please note that we are rockin' some very fancy bronze medals! Woot Woot!!

And we ate at my FAVORITE Mexican restaurant - the one and only Baja Cantina!

We then returned back to the valley where the pains of work had us in its grasp once again...

Going on a Bear Hunt

2009-06-23T13:37:00.003-06:00

Last weekend we decided it was a great weekend to go camping with some of our favorite friends (Pete and Bekah). We wanted to go to the Spruces - but they were full. So we drove up Farmington Canyon (tiny dirt road FREAKED me out!). We found a cute little campground that had lots of privacy - Enjoy some photos. Bekah and I had a broccoli stock throwing contest - I lost
We had fun - I'm sure that is what is happening in this freaky picture!

We enjoyed the beautiful scenery. We didn't take enough wood so we had to steal some from the area. If you look into the background of the above photo you will see Pete chopping down a tree. We request that you don't be a tattle-tale on us.

Pete- Bringing in the tree for the fire

Going home we decided to take a "more scenic route" and we went down this road - The sign by it says "Not suitable for passenger cars or tailors". Shane decided we were not a passenger car and that we could handle it. Well about 5 minutes later we discovered that a 4-wheeler was needed to get through the narrow road. So we backed out and went home the way we came-and it was ugly.

P.S. Shane was on this trip - I just didn't take any photo's of him. Well I didn't take very many photo's in general.

What is black and blue and hurts all over?

2009-06-13T08:58:00.004-06:00

Feet [feet] Plural of Foot noun

(in vertebrates) the terminal part of the leg, below the ankle joint, on which the body stands and moves.

Soccer [Sok-er] noun

a form of football played between two teams of 11 players, in which the ball may be advanced by kicking or by bouncing it off any part of the body but the arms and hands, except in the case of the goalkeepers, who may use their hands to catch, carry, throw, or stop the ball.

Swollen [Swol-len] adjective

1.to grow in bulk, as by the absorption of moisture or the processes of growth.
2.Pathology. to increase abnormally in size, as by inflation, distention, accumulation of fluids, or the like: Her ankles swelled from standing.

Bruise [Brooz] verb

to develop or bear a discolored spot on the skin as the result of a blow, fall, etc.

As I'm sure you have put together - Shane did quite the number on himself at his soccer game Tuesday night. He has 1 pair of shoes that fit (tennis shoes - so he's lovin that) and has an excuse to keep his leg up at work!

M-U-R-R-A-Y

2009-05-28T12:12:00.005-06:00

I'm usually not a tag person - but this one looked a little bit fun - and our lives have been slightly uneventful and therefore I am posting my High school Memories for all of you to see. I know there are some people that HATED everything to do with their High School. I on the other hand L-O-V-E-D the good ole MHS. Since I got to go to the "old school" and the "new school" I can reminisce about green bathroom tile hallways and the super cool new automatic paper towel dispensers. anyway.. on to the real reason of this post.

1. Did you date someone from your school? No, I didn't really have a 'boyfriend' in High School - I guess I was just too much of the 'girl next door'

2. What kind of car did you drive? A Cadillac Eldorado - I know its a Grandma/Mexican car - but it had ALOT of 'get up and go' - it was also loving named "The Boat"

3. Did you pass your driver's license test on the first try? Yes

4. Were you a party animal? By party you mean hanging out in my basement with a bunch of friends while eating popcorn and playing something like UNO - then yes I was the biggest party animal EVER!

5. Were you considered a flirt? I don't think so

6. Did you play in band, orchestra, or choir? No - I left that up to those with talent

7. Were you a nerd? I think it would depend on who you talk to... I was part of the "Wack-Pack" so if that makes me a nerd than yes - But I wouldn't have considered myself to be nerd by any stretch of the imagination

8. Were you on any varsity teams?Nope - I'm not the athletic type

9. Did you get suspended/expelled? No - although sometimes I think it would have been fun to cause a little troubble...

10. Can you still sing the fight song?YES! and I can still do some of the cheer moves even though I was never a cheerleader

11. Who were your favorite teachers? Mr. Wood or Mrs. J

12. Where did you eat lunch? In the school cafeteria - nothin better than pizza from 5-buck

13. What is your schools full name? Murray High School

14. School mascot and colors? Spartan - aka gay warriors and the colorsOrange and Black (like Halloween), best school colors ever

15. Did you go to Homecoming and who with? Every year. Sophomore Year, Ian Ledford. Junior Year, Damon Garso. Senior Year, Jason Snarr.

16. If you could go back and do it again, would you? Humm - I'd rather not go back and relive it. But if I had to - I would.

17. What do you remember about your graduation? I felt like crap! We were going to go eat after but I didn't feel good-so instead I went home and took a 5 hour nap and my family ate leftovers.

18. Were you in any clubs? I was in Student Government every year, part of MYCG(Murray Youth City Government), I was on the track team... only thats a sport... it was basically a club - I don't remember any others

19. Who was your prom date? Junior Prom, Jason Knott (my dress RULED) Senior Ball, Mark Campbell(my dress also RULED here).

20. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion?I would imagine so

21. Did you have a job while in high school? I was the 'hostest with the mostest' at the one and only Snelgrove icecream parlor...I was also the janitor at a local wood shop.

And now I tag the rest of you Spartans -- or others who feel this tag would be fun to complete.

Swine Flu

2009-05-05T09:38:00.003-06:00

As the media has so wonderfully publicised...H1N1 aka. "Swine Flu" has made its way to Utah. For those of you wanting to keep your family from cathing this dirty little bug I advise you to not do the following...

It's Official

2009-04-19T09:36:00.004-06:00

It is official - We have been living in our house for a year. Well -- we've been home owners for a year. We really didn't move into our house until almost 2 weeks after we closed. It is weird for me to think that we've been living in our fabulous neighborhood for that long. Time has flown by. We've made so many great friends and absolutely love where we live.

In the past year we have taken on a few home improvement projects... We've knocked out walls, laid hard wood floors, painted pretty much every room, and the latest project... Building a shed (aka: Shane's Man Cave). You know something is wrong when you have to squeeze past a scooter, dance over water bottles, suck your stomach in, and do a little dance when trying to get into the car. After knocking our heads on rear view mirrors a few times we decided it was time to take on this project. Shane's mission companion, Preston, and his wife, Beka, came out to help. Pete (Preston) doesn't look too excited to be helping in this picture - But he swears he enjoyed himself - we couldn't have done it without him!

Here they are putting the roof on. We've gotten a little bit farther since this picture was taken... we have a window in, shingles on the roof, and a flower box (my addition to the man cave). I can't wait to have it done and move all the junk from the garage out.

A big THANKS to all the neighbors who came and helped shovel gravel and lent tools.

Sorry to the neighbors that have to deal with the noise of an air compressor - I've been told we will be finished on Saturday... we will see.

The things you learn in Primary...

2009-03-23T15:22:00.002-06:00

These 3-4 year olds are smarter than they look. While almost every lesson has to do with spiderman (As you can tell from Brady and Jacob's pose) there is quite a bit you could learn from these kids. For example...

-When the whale "threwed up" Jonah he didn't hurry to tell the people to repent. He took a bath because he was "stinky like fish guts"

-They are not called Matryoshka dolls, or Russian nesting dolls... they are called "Russian Dolphins"

-One must go to the bathroom at least 3 times in a one hour period. You must also need the drinking fountain that many times.

-The pictures you hold up that has a round planet on it is not the earth (despite the fact that it looks just like the earth) its called the moon... And animals and houses are on it, but NOT people and certainly NOT us

-If you are mean to a dog you have to give it away. Especially if it is a girl dog and you kick it too much

-When the teacher brings in a bucket of water for the "I am thankful for water lesson" it does not mean we should sit quietly and look at the water. It means we should splash water all over ourselves... sorry parents.

-Dirt tastes good

Oh the wonderful things we learn in Primary... can't wait to see what next week will bring!

Happy Happy Birthday

2009-03-05T09:48:00.004-07:00

It's time for another birthday! My little brother Alex turned 13 years old today. HOLY SMOKES him growing up makes me feel old! I was 10 when this little guy was born. I remember going to the hospital and thinking he was the cutest baby I'd ever seen. He's grown up to be such a good lookin' dude. as he would say it..."I'm just too sexy". So today is dedicated to you - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Yesterday was my Grandma Hill's birthday. If she were alive today she would be 68 years old. Grandma always had a jar of treats, a smile on her face, and a collection of costume jewelry that would make any little girl dance with excitement. Happy Birthday!

Take me out to the ball game

2009-03-05T09:23:00.002-07:00

A few weeks ago Pete and Beka invited Shane and I to go to a Jazz game with them. It was a very eventful game - This was the game that Harpring almost got in a brawl with some dude on the other team (obviously I was into it!). The Jazz won. This is a picture of us out front - thank you lady who took the picture - sorry we distracted you from your child who played in the mud while you snapped it
Here is the view from our seats - front of the upper bowl. Perfect view of the screen and court.

Me and Beka entertaining ourselves while the Jazz dancers "danced"

Shane and Pete - obviously NOT wanting to acknowledge us - apprently the game was too interesting.

Dear Bird,

2009-02-21T11:03:00.003-07:00

Dear Mr. Bird,

Thank you for the prize you left on my car this past week. I was overflowed with joy when I walked out of work to see your poop so strategically placed on the top of my car, windshield, and side mirror. I, and my black car, would prefer to not recieve your prize again. We wish you luck on your journey south for the rest of the winter. Maybe you will leave before the snow hits next year.

Thanks,

Jessica

A Trip down Memeory Lane...

2009-02-12T08:09:00.003-07:00

This week I've been given the opportunity to take a little walk down memory lane. In addition to the passing of Shane's grandpa - two of my high school friends (Adrianne and Cody) got angel status on Sunday. Therefore I've been going through old pictures of my Jr. High/High school days and enjoying/laughing at pictures. Like these... Cody Shaffer, McCall Lewis, Me, Mitch Short

One would think that going to see La Tour Eiffel and walking around Paris would inspire one to look fashionable in the city known for fashion - Obviously I was uninspired!

McCall Lewis, Brad Diehl, Me, Ben Brockbank, and Megan Lee
This one is at La Caille - Another good reason to try to not look like you just rolled out of bed - Please note my white mini mouse shoes, I LOVE the vests that Brad and Ben are wearing. I'm sure we thought we looked like little fashionista's.

Back Row: Becca Plant Fager, Anna Vanzeben, Megan Westbrook, April Recksiek

Front: Melinda Johnson Christensen, McCall Lewis, Me

There is nothing like hanging out in the Johnson basement and watching Mystery Science Theatre 3000 and laughing our guts out.

Oh to be young and carefree again...
Thanks Cody and Adrianne for all the great memories you've given me - I just wish I could be taking a stroll down memory lane under different circumstances.

Tired...

2009-02-09T17:44:00.005-07:00

I have a confession... I have stayed up WAY too late lately reading this... and the 2 books that follow it. Shane bought me The Sound of Rain for Christmas when I told him all I really wanted was a book. And since he knows that I love sappy quick reads, especially those by Anita, he decided this would fit me perfectly. I read the first page in December and quickly decided I didn't like this side of Anita... until last week. I picked up the book and read the whole thing in about 4 hours. I then stopped at the bookstore the next day got A distant Thunder book #2 of the Jayson Wolfe series. Needless to say I finished it that night. I was very bummed because the third book wasn't out yet. Shane was excited to know that he would have his wife back until the next book came out. What he didn't know was that it came out on February 5. I bought Winds of Change and as you probably guessed finished it within a few hours as well. So now I have to wait patiently for the next book to come out in May (I hope).

For those of you out there who enjoy sappy books as much as I do I would recommend this little series to you - I'll let you borrow it if you want! My current read is The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (Not Sappy -- It was actually a book I 'read' at BYU now I'm really going to READ it--It is a book about change)

If anyone has any good suggestions I'm always looking for something new to read - preferably not something like the Twilight series... which I did not like.

In Memory of Grandpa Carl

2009-02-06T16:24:00.002-07:00

Today Shane's Grandpa, Carl, returned to our heavenly father. I am sure that there was a crowd there anxious to give him a hug and once again share cowboy stories. Grandpa grew-up in southern Utah as a true cowboy! He always had a story about riding horses, catching rabbits, or deer hunting. No matter how many times I heard the same story I was captivated by the many adventures he had. Grandpa was an army boy - and has pride in being an American. Grandpa loved having his family near. He lighted up whenever we were around. Grandpa also had a very strong testimony. He shared it through his actions and his words. I truly feel grateful for all the advice and stories he has shared with me. Love you Grandpa!

La MAS

2009-02-01T21:25:00.007-07:00

La MAS = La Mision Argentina Salta (The Argentina Salta Mission for those of you.. like myself.. who do not understand Spanish) has been an underlying theme to our lives lately. About 7 years ago Shane served his mission there. (well 5-7 years ago depending on how you look at it). and LOVED it! He thinks it is the best mission on the planet and everyone should serve a mission there. About 3 weeks ago in church the bishop announced that Shane's HTing companion (Trace Staker) got his mission to.. you guessed it.. La MAS! I'm not kidding when I say Shane nearly fell off his seat with excitement! We invited them over for dinner to have authentic salta empanada's (minus the 4 lbs of lard the recipe called for). Shane pulled out all of his mission stuff and they talked for hours about what a fantastic place it is to serve a mission! I of course forgot to take a picture while they were over so instead you get a photo of Shaney Baby preparing to bake the empanada's. I was in charge of creating the meat Concoction that goes inside the little dough disks (which is why there was not 4lbs. a lard used... and they were not deep fried). I made the full recipe and had enough to feed the entire Chinese army. So after we had dinner with the Staker's we invited one of Shane's mission companions, a Dev roommate, and their wives over for another round of empanada's. Once again. I was retarded and failed to take any pictures, Therefore you just get to hear about what a fantastic time we had reminiscing about the good times that were had while living in Salta. We are so excited for Trace - Shane is especially excited to hear about what has been going on since he left almost 5 years ago.

Neighborhood Hood

2009-01-22T14:47:00.002-07:00

Once upon a time in the day's of my Childhood these were the neighborhood hoods. Ok- So maybe not my Childhood...more like my highschool years... but they were hoods just the same! The three boys on the left have grown into Highschool Seniors (maybe Juniors). And the two adorable boys on the right (my brothers) have grown into handsome zit-faced teenagers. I just can't stand it! I just can't stand it!

A Historic Day Indeed!

2009-01-21T15:53:00.002-07:00

Yesterday I sat at my desk starring at my computer screen watching President Obama be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States of America. As I sat there I couldn't help but feel proud to be an American. I had never sat and watched a presidential inauguration before and I don't think I'll ever miss one again. I felt as though I was one of the millions of people standing there watching a great man take the oath of office. Although his speech didn't have a line like former President Kennedy's or make me want to bust out cheering at anypoint I still felt proud to say that he is the president of my country. So I'll end this post the same way he ended his speech. Thank you. God bless you. and God bless America!

Happy Happy New Year!

2009-01-08T14:04:00.003-07:00

Well -- It's been awhile since I posted. Isn't it just CRAZY how fast December comes and goes. I feel like it was just yesterday we were welcoming 2008 and here we are celebrating 2009! Since I'm sure you are all dieing to know how we celebrated the Holiday Season I'll give you a quick recap...
Christmas was full of family, fun, and food! We celebrated with the DeMill family on the 19th. We started the night with dinner followed by decorating and delivering cookies to Shane's Parents neighbors. We then did our rendition of the Nativity - I wish I had pictures to share.. but I couldn't find our camera this morning when I was running out the door-sorry.
We spent the 21st at the Pulley family Shin-dig. Once again we enjoyed yummy food. We had a family talent show, did another fantastic rendition of the nativity, and the cousins opened their presents - I did not get one since I decided to get married I became disqualified - but I wouldn't change it for the world!
Then Christmas eve was spent at my Aunt Marylynn's where we once again stuffed ourselves silly and talked and laughed and talked some more. It's always a blast to be with family.
Christmas day Shane and I woke up to find what Santa had left us... a wii, wii fit, rockband, and a few other wii related things - Santa decided to surprise me and got me a picture for our house that I've wanted for a really long time. After we were wii'd out we went to my parents house and enjoyed some brunch with the family. Then we were off to the DeMills to eat Christmas dinner with them.
On that Friday we went to Temple square with some of our favorite friends who moved to Denver and were back to visit. Todd is pretty much the nicest person I know-He talked to this homeless bum for quite awhile, he let him use his cell to find some family members, found a couch in the visitors center for him, and a bunch of other stuff. What a great example! Thanks Todd. We saw all the beautiful lights and enjoyed spending time with them. I forgot to mention that we went to Kneaders one of my all-time favorite places to eat!
We went Skiing/Snowboarding with the Hill family on the 27th. Sorry for anyone who sat at the bottom of the hill for an hour waiting for me ... I'm glad you finally went up again and passed me on the way down! I don't think any more explanation is required. It was fun - I'm trying to get better but the truth is... The only reason I go down Hill is because it's the way I fall!
We celebrated the new year by going to dinner with one of Shane's mission companions, old roommate, and their wives. It was quite fun. We then went and rock banded until we couldn't rock band any more. Then went to sleep. I'm no good for staying up late!

Now for the good stuff... Since things tend to slow down at work for the holidays... Sarah(my co-worker) takes the holiday off. Julie (another co-worker) and I decided to take advantage of her time away and did this...

Yup you guessed it. We wrapped her entire office in foil!

Believe it or not the phone still worked

another shot of our masterpiece!
We covered EVERYTHING in foil - right down the the pens in her drawer. We then made a door to her cube. and sat back to enjoy our masterpiece...Thank heaven for camera phones- we would have no pictures if they didn't exist! She throughly enjoyed our work and still has a good majority of her office covered in silver. Oh it was a BLAST! If any of you have a boss, coworker, or manager who deserves to have their office covered I highly recommend it!

Sorry for the novel!

special delivery...

2008-12-13T19:41:00.003-07:00

On Black Friday Shane and I had this baby delivered...Yes -- it is a baby grand piano. It was a little bit nerve wracking to watch 2 men lift it up the stairs to the front of the house and put it together! Shane and I are both super excited to have it here -- we both wish we were better players! I've neglected to post it on here for a few reasons... #1: Sometimes I feel like I brag on my blog... and I hate it! I felt like posting about this would be a BIG brag... but after some friends at work kept asking about it, and some neighbors had seen it, I figured it was time to post. #2: I didn't have any pictures of it (lame excuse I know) and #3: I've decided to use google analytics to get the stats on my blog (boring I know) and I wanted to see if a new post increased my ratings... we will see. Anyway. If anyone is just dying to come play it they are more than welcome to stop by any time (we can't guarantee we will be home.. but feel free to stop by)

FINALLY FINISHED

2008-11-25T11:38:00.013-07:00

You may remember a few weeks ago Shane and I decided to do this...The beautiful 1/2 wall the separated our "front room" from our family room disappeared. As you may remember I didn't love the wall because I felt like I had 2 of the exact same room. honestly... who uses a front room? Some use them when the home teachers come over or when they have prestigious guests- but we don't even use it for either of those purposes (we don't get guests of such prestigious nature that they should have their own room)! So out the wall came... out came the carpet, base molds, and cold air return. In came the mess of a little Do-It-Yourself(DIY) project... After we moved the cold air return and painted (I'm sad that my black wall had to go...but I just couldn't imagine that much black) we got to work on the floors. My Grandma, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Julie, My Mom, Shane, and I had a BLAST putting the hardwood in. (a big thanks to all of them!) We were kicked out of our house for a few days while someone came in and finished the floors and we returned to this...Well.. almost that... After they finished the floors we moved the furniture out of the kitchen and into their appropriate spots and then took the above picture. I must say that I LOVE it! Having the room open is FANTASTIC! We highly recommend it to anyone who is considering it. Since this picture was taken we have hung curtains, pictures, and started work on some pillows. YAHOO! our project is done.. I promised Shane I wouldn't dream up another DIY project for at least 2 years... we will see.P

a little update!

2008-11-20T12:17:00.002-07:00

Well my friends... I've officially decided that I am one of the worst bloggers ever . Sometimes I'm good at updating on a regular basis but I feel like most of my life is so uneventful that there is no point in updating you on my daily life. Maybe one day when I feel my life is slightly more adventuresome I'll update you.
For those of you who are wondering what happened with our little construction project we started at the beginning on October I'm happy to inform you that we are pretty much finished! I've dusted my house at least 4 times and I am still finding dust everywhere! I will post pictures soon! I've promised a few people I would get them up by tomorrow (November 21) so stay tuned for photo's of the new and improved DeMill household!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-28T15:09:00.004-06:00

On Sunday We had a little Halloween Party with the DeMill Family. Of course the kiddos come dressed up in their finest Halloween attire - and we did what we do best - PARTY!! Of course we always kick off the gathering with a little food (for this festive occasion we had Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup and Chili - with bread sticks and other Delicious things that filled our belly's completely!

For Dessert we had this scrumptious little treat - It was my contribution to the party! Yes to the naked eye it looks like a jack-o-lantern but the truth is-- it is cake.

I was just going to make a plain ole pumpkin cake but Shane got the grand idea to put a face on it! I must admit I think it looks fantastic! We only ate about 1/2 of it (not because it wasn't so delicious we couldn't stop eating... but because it takes 2 cake mixes to make the thing... so we have lots of cake if anyone needs some).

And what party would be complete with out a little bit of doughnuts on a string...

and bobbing for apples!

Good times were had by all!

humm...

2008-10-28T15:07:00.002-06:00

Ode to the Sunfire...

2008-10-15T12:14:00.003-06:00

When Shane got home from his mission in 2004 he was blessed with the opportunity to have a car to drive around. He got this GREAT pontiac sunfire!

I asked Shane a few questions about the car.. and here are his answers...

1:Tell me about your car.
-It is a 1996 Pontiac Sunfire Sedan 2.2L. It is about 15 miles away from crossing the 200,000 mile on the odometer.

2:When did you get it?
"I got the car not to long after the mission. I was driving my parents old pontiac grand am. Shad and Jenn had the sunfire and they were going to get rid of it because they just got a minivan. So it was between a couple weeks after to the mission to a couple of months. I cant remember which."

3: Who had the car before you? Multiple Owner?
"Shad and Jenn had the car before they gave it to me. My parents sold there pontiac grand am and gave Shad and Jenn the money for it and then i took the sunfire. I believe jenn bought it used from someone, i dont know who."

4:What is something good about your car?
The good thing about the car is that it has lasted for awhile and gets good gas mileage (about 30+ depending on my driving), and it got me places that i needed to be.

5: What is something you don't like about your car?
I didnt like that the fuel injectors leaked fuel, nor did i like that the A/C was out for the last 3 summers/ nor did i like the volume knob on the radio, because it had to be turned just right to change the volume, and if you didnt do it right it wouldall the sudden get really loud and blow your ears out. I cant think of anything else for the moment, so i will move on.

6: What will you miss?
I think that i will miss the gas mileage a little bit. But the fact of having a truck out weighs that by a lot. I might miss the stick shift once in a while, but probably not.

So based on the last question you can tell that we decided it was time to move on -- and THIS is what we got! Shane LOVES it (maybe more than he loves me)!

(Please try to ignore the scootie and enjoy the beautiful truck Shane gets the opportunity to drive) It is a 2009 Toyota Tacoma -- If you need more details you will have to ask Shane! So if you know anyone that is just dying to have a little Sunfire that needs a little work... give them our number... we'd be more than happy to help them out!

The newest addition!

2008-10-13T13:30:00.003-06:00

Meet the newest arrival to the DeMill family! Coy Randall DeMill - our nephew! We are excited to know that him and mom are doing well and can't wait to meet him... hopefully in the next year (He is in Ohio)! Congrats Shy and Britt (and Emery, Addie, and Dashle)!!!

I love handbags!

2008-10-09T17:06:00.001-06:00

The truth of the story is I love purses!! It seems that I can ALWAYS find one I 'need' even if I only got one a few weeks ago. So for any of you who are just as obsessed with handbags as I am you might want to check this out http://www.handbagplanet.com .

Word Tag...

2008-10-08T17:05:00.004-06:00

So... basically because I feel a little bit guilty about not posting for over a week... and nothing eventful has happened in our lives - including no progress on our little construction project - I'm doing this little word post. I know when you came to this page you were hoping to find something exciting but unfortunately NO - instead you are going to waste the next minute of your life reading a post that will do nothing for you ... so enjoy!

1. Where is your cell phone? broken
2. Where is your significant other? working
3. Your hair? done
4. Your mother? fantastic
5. Your father? great
6. Your favorite thing? sleep
7. Your dream last night? forgotten
8. Your dream/goal? eternity
9. The room you're in? cubicle
10. Your hobby? home
11. Your fear? disappointment
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? busy
13. Where were you last night? out
14. What you're not? crazy
15. One of your wish list items? floor
16. Where you grew up? Murray
17. The last thing you did? wrote
18. What you're wearing? professional
19. Your TV? hiding
20. Your pet? chomper
21. Your computer? slow/broken
22. What do you think of tags like this? difficult
23. Your mood? bored
24. Missing someone? no
25. Where would you rather be? home
26. Something you're not wearing right now? skirt
27. Favorite store? AnnTaylor
28. Your summer? fast
29. Love someone? Shaney
30. Favorite color? Blue
31. The last time you laughed? earlier
32. Who will participate? unknown

a little road trip

2008-09-25T10:11:00.002-06:00

Yesterday my co-worker, Sarah, and I went on a little trip to Roosevelt, Utah. I jut thought I'd include some of the highlights of the trip for those of you who wish to visit this little town sometime!- We WAS in Roosevelt

-Laughing for 11 hours non-stop

-Eating all day

-Talking about Physical Activity and Nutrition -- then eating Fried food and Icecream

-Waiting 20 minutes for a map that would get us NOWHERE

-Trying to figure out the mini-van doors... and opening and closing the windows instead

-Driving in the wrong direction for 20 minutes...then driving back

-Prank Calls

-Being in the city with the 2nd highest amount of gang activity in the state of Utah

-Being TOTALLY out of place (you know this when you ask "so do you have a mall?" or "don't you feel bad when you have to kill your pet cow?"

-2 'city slickers' eating lunch with a bunch of 'country bumpkins'

-"What happens in the caravan stays in the caravan"

-Almost running out of gas

-Timesheets

-Getting checked up on...

I hope you enjoyed reading about our little trip as much as we loved taking it! If every road trip is like this one... I think I'll go on a road trip EVERY week!

DeMill Demolition

2008-09-22T17:39:00.003-06:00

This weekend we made it official! We took down the 1/2 wall between the front room and our family room. I had always felt like it was the same room two times... so out the wall came so we could expand our family room to be BIG ole room for everyone to enjoy! Shane started the demo. on Friday evening... We just took the sheet rock off so we could see how the electrical wires ran and what not... and what did we find...

a little suprise from the man who was finishing up the sheetrock. I'd like to believe that he accidentally left this can in the wall and thought that one day when the house was 100 years old someone would find it and this precious can would be worth thousands of dollars because noone would have a Pepsi can from the year 2004- but my instincts tell me that he was just too lazy to get up and walk over to one of the many garbage piles laying around to throw the can away. So many suprises tha await when you start taking down walls!
On Saturday shane finished the demo. and a neighbor came over to show Shane what to do with the wires that we need for electrical plugs and such!
and I learned that when you take down a wall you get a GREAT BIG mess!!
Saturday evening was spent pulling up carpet.... and sweeping up the nails and staples that were left behind!
So here is what my house looks like right now... so for anyone that wants to come over and visit... I suggest you have a good pair of shoes and a face mask(to protect from dust)!!!

Sweet Ride

2008-09-20T07:36:00.003-06:00

Yesterday(September 19) I had the opportunity to drive up to Logan for work - and since I would be going on state business I got to take a state car... but because of our fun new 4/10s work schedule I got to get a car through enterprise!! I got to enterprise and they told me I would be driving a PT cruiser. I'll be honest I was a little bit bummed about this -- I mean seriously. They look like mini-Hurst's and I always laugh when I see one on the road. But I was ok with it since it meant I wouldn't have to spend my own gas to drive up there.Then the guy behind the counter asked me if I wouldn't mind driving something a little bit bigger for the same price. My mind jumped with excitement. I was thinking I was going to get a civic or maybe an Accord... but no I got this...

a 2008 Toyota Tundra - double cab - V8 - bright blue

I immediately called Shane who seemed a little bit jealous that i was going to be spending the day in this monsterous truck and he would be stuck at work behind a desk. I must admit that the truck was nice - but I probably would have preferred a littler car for the following reasons. 1- I drive a small car so I had to adjust to driving this monster. 2- It was a little bit BIG for me...I felt so small getting into and out of and just plain ole driving it. 3- The color was not exactly fabulous-I'm sure you've all seen a bright colored car driving down the street - you just can't get your eyes off them!! 4- Trucks and tight freeway lanes because of construction are not exactly friends!

Now for those of you that have considered buying this truck - I'm not sure I would recommend it to you. The dash is HUGE and if you are driving by yourself the radio is practically on the passenger side of the car (not good for short people with short arms). There are also no cup holders on the drivers side - you would have to reach over the massive center console right next to the passenger seat to grab your beverage. I also noticed that the truck didn't handle the bumps on the road very well and started to shake when I hit about 80 (please remember I was headed to Logan so the freeway speed limit was 75... so I was only slightly speeding and not driving recklessly!!!) i did like that the air conditioning was perfectly placed for the driver... and the seats were rather comfortable... and I got to make Shane jealous for the 8 hours I was driving this beautiful blue monster!!

Do You Wonder?

2008-09-07T08:52:00.002-06:00

Do you ever wonder what your kids will look like?? If you are shaking your head saying "why yes"... I found the solution!! www.makemebabies.com If you are wondering what our kids are going to look like we've got a sneak preview for you!

Boy -- at least he smiles! I guess we are hoping that his hair goes brown.
And girl -- she must get her hair color from both of us...and brown eyes like me! Unfortunately no blue eyes like shane.

I hope you all enjoyed that little sneak peak -- It took me about 8 different computer generations to get a girl with hair!! It was light and curly the first time -- then I got girls that had braded hair (looked like a homeles girl) girls with hats and scarves, even in a duck outfit. I think if I had to try that many times to have a normal looking child...I can't imagine what real life will bring!

Rise and Shout the Cougars are out!

2008-08-17T14:05:00.002-06:00

I GRADUATED! and i am so excited about it! I thought I'd share a few pictures with all. Above is me by the sign I think everyone gets their picture taken by!
These are my parents (and me in the middle of course)! A big Muchas Gracias to them for all of the love and support they have given me the last four years. I couldn't do it without you! It was fun to graduate from the same exact same college my dad graduated from.
Me and Shaney Baby! a big shout out Gracias to him also - thanks for putting up with me through tests, finals, papers, and all the other things I had to do. Love you!
Grandma, Michelle, Mom, Me and Dad
So I know you are supposed to get a photo infront of this sign also - but - it was hot, i would have had to walk accross the street, and there was a long line of people. So I just stood accross the street and smiled - I figured it was pretty much the same thing.

I should also let you know another eventful event that happened with graduation. When I went to pick up my cap and gown the alumni association grabbed me to go spin this wheel to see if I could win something - and I did - I got to put my name in a drawing for all kids of cool prizes. They were giving away computers, IPods, BYU gear, and all kinds of fabulous things any BYU grad would LOVE to get their hands on. SO - I got a call from the alumni association the message went something like this "Hi this is (insert name here) from the BYU alumni association. We are calling to inform Jessica that she has won a mini ....(long pause).... football helmet signed by John Beck...yada yada yada" I'll be honest I was kind of expecting mini ipod or something to follow the mini - football helmet was not quite what I was dying to win. Shane is excited about the winning -- he thinks we are going to save it and not even take it out of the package so when the good John Beck gets into the NFL hall of fame we can get LOTS of money for it. We will see..

It's a Small World

2008-08-01T09:38:00.002-06:00

In addition to my last post on our Disneyland trip - I had to add this little tid bit. I LOVE It's a Small World. Yes the ride always had that little hint of old water and mold in the air - but I just can't resist going on it at least 3 times while I'm at Disneyland! The dancing dolls just leave you feeling all warm and cozy inside!

Unfortunately this ride was closed for our little vacation - and will be for quite some time. The Disney workers told us they were giving the ride a facelit (which I must admit was needed). they also told us they had to close it down because too many boats were getting STUCK on the ride. The reason you may ask - FAT PEOPLE! No I am not kidding - boats were hitting the bottom and getting stuck because people were weighing them down. As I looked around at all the people at Disneyland I was not suprised! Extra Extra Extra large people sitting (barely) on a bench enjoying their Ice Cream, Chicken leg, and Cotton Candy. So I'm calling out to the fat people of America to put the food down so that my favorite rides at Disneyland don't have to be closed! Thankyou.

The week of a million Dreams

2008-07-31T12:03:00.008-06:00

Yes it is true. We went to the place where dreams come true during the year of a million dreams! It was absolutely magical! The whole park is decorated to fantastically - right down to the tinkerbell who waves her magic wand making the big Mickey face at the front of the park start to glisten! Shane had not been to the great Disneyland since we was 12 so it was fun to experience the magic with him! Some of our favorites included the new Toy Story ride in California Adventure, the Buzz lightyear ride (which Shane has been made the master of in our family), BIG pickles, peterpan, Soarin' over California (for everyone but Shane who got sick every time we rode it), and of course screamin'. OH and now that i've started making a list I feel like I could just keep going - so basically everything was our favorite! Thanks to Mom who planned such a wonderful magical week for the family! (you may notice that Dad and Alex are not in the pictures - that is because they are in New York because Alex's super league baseball team is playing in the coopers town tounament. GO MURRAY SLAM!) Me and Shane at the park entrance!
Me, Mom, Parker, and Michelle at the park entrance
The Mysterious Parker Hill. We love the mad hatter because you get to try on all kinds of funny hats! Its great to try them all on - take your picture - and not have to buy them!
Thunder Mountain Railroad "Scenic Photo Spot" Parker looks like he is about to die! I think Disneyland started to rub off on us - we started to look like the characters!Everyone has to get a picture in the Tea Cup -- but not everyone has to ride the Tea Cups!
Captain Shane Sparrow
WE GOT DREAM PASSES! you may be wondering what is so fabulous about this - well let me tell you. They give 500 of these out during the first 15 minutes the park is open. They have 2 park employees that stand in an area that people don't usually go. If you find them you get one of these passes - it's a fast pass to every ride in the park. You just go to the front of the line - tear off the pass for that ride and you are good to go. You don't have to use them at a certain time - and you can use them for 2 days!! So we used them one day in California Adventure and one day in Disneyland and didn't hve to wait in a single line! We were so excited!
Look at those funny bugs - "It's tough to be a bug"
GOOFY! He designed this picture - we don't usually pose like this I promise!
WE ARE GOING TO DIE!
please notice Mom is grabbing Michelle's leg.

Parker and I both talked to Crush! Did you know that Crush's favorite color is green, and you can tell the difference between a boy and girl turtle because boys have tails and girls don't. Crush also likes Princess Jasmine and all of the other princesses.
In Tomorrow Land (should be yesterday land) we got to ride the segway in the futuristic house. We also rode autotopia in tomorrow land - it was decidedly everyones LEAST favorite ride.
While we rode the segway Parker played video games (you had to be 16 to ride it)
Splash Mountain! Zip-a-dee-do-dah and find your laughing place.
We got thrown in Jail for having too much fun - but we broke out!

On our last night we ate at the Blue Bayou (Thanks Britt for the spelling). It was our favorite meal of the trip. It was so cool to sit inside the pirates ride - although you don't really notice that people are going on a ride right next to you. The food was FABULOUS! I had salmon with this great glaze on it, my mom had steak, michelle had ribs, shane had...I don't remember, and Parker had salmon like me! It is true that it's expensive - but I highly recommend it to everyone at least once in their life time!

Over all we had a great time! We hope all of you have a year of a million dreams too!

a little 4th update...

2008-07-16T21:35:00.002-06:00

For those of you are are anxiously awaiting a video of this years DeMill Family Slip-n-Slide extravaganza stay tuned! More to come in the near future - just give me a minute to make my life slightly less crazy!

This year the 4th of July was lots of fun. We started the day off by waking up at 6am. Shane and I headed off to Murray Park to save seats on the parade route. Yes it's true to get the great seats in the park you have to be there with all the white trash at 6am. After my family made it over (sometime in the 8:00 hour) we went over and got a bit of breakfast sponsored by the Murray Lyons Club! A must do for any of you who miss out on this - it's a family tradition I'd hate to be without. We watched the parade come - there were some pretty fantastic floats this year. I'm still amazed at the thousands(or so it seems) of banged up RMR(Rocky Mountain Raceway) cars are in the parade and how they think their cars are cool when indeed they are junky! After the parade we played some games in the park - after we were tired of the games we went to the good ole chuck-a-rama for lunch! Alex was excited about this decision. After the Chuck we went to the DeMill's for a great slip-n-slide! Alex and Parker joined us and are still talking about how much fun it was! We went to DeAnn's for a little BBQ then headed back to the park for fireworks! Great fun.

On Saturday we went to the west side of Utah lake to exercise our "right to bare arms" Enjoy the pictures of that adventure posted below

Parkie and Davin Peanut hanging out in the car looking for a little shade and eating a little junk food for the soul!
Alex, Parker, and Auliver enjoying the toasty morning with dirt and loud BANG's!
Alex, Michelle, and Parker after spending the morning with the guns... they obviously can't handle the power that comes with a gun. It makes them loopy! (j/k)
Michelle showing us her mad gun skills!
A few Shotguns and clay pigeons make for good time! (I only wish I could hit one)
Shane teaching Auliver how to shoot a shotgun - like me he doesn't love the shotgun. so much but he LOVES the 22 rifle
Me shooting my handgun - good times
Brothers having fun together -- good times.

We hope you all had a great 4th too!!

We have a baby!

2008-07-01T15:29:00.002-06:00

Yes it's true! Shane and I have a baby! Unfortunately for all of you it's not the baby you are all thinking about. It's a white bunny. No I didn't have a typo there we really have a bunny. His name was Sparticus for awhile but after some great suggestions from our family we have decided to name our little guy "American Chomper". We just call him Chomper...or Chompie most of the time. Shane's Brother Shyler and his wife Britt were the ones that came up with the name! I'll get a picture of our little guy up for you all to enjoy...I just need to take one first!

Grandpa Sheppick

2008-06-18T11:35:00.001-06:00

Shane's cute Grandpa Sheppick passed away monday afternoon. He was such a great example to us of how to work hard and have fun while doing it. He seemed to always have a smile on his face when we were together. We loved him lots and will miss him being around!

And the pictures you've all been waiting for!

2008-06-11T20:28:00.000-06:00

This is a picture of the front of our house... Beautiful I know. Since this picture was taken we (by we I mean Shane) have pruned the tree in the front so it looks like a tree instad of an oversized shrub that didn't know which direction to grow. We have loved getting to know our neighbors. the people that live just to the left of us are about our age and have an adorable little girl! other next door neighbors are an older couple - Interesting combination of neighbors huh!
When you walk through our front door this is what you will see. Grandma's beautiful blue couch made the journey with us!! Shane thinks it needs a cover -- I think it looks fine! After all we will only sit on it when the home teachers come! (yes I have done the laundry since this picture was taken)
If you walked through the front room you would run into this family room -- complete with black wall - entertainment center - couches -- and thats about it! I wish I had more time to decorate but until school is over this may be as good as it gets!
So if you decided not to stop in the family room you would proceed into this area... the kitchen. I love having enough counter space to actually cook something!! Our table will be replaced as soon as my real table is finished (The table pictured is a stand in until the real one is done... Which should be in about 2 weeks....I'll keep you posted)
Now if you decided you didn't want to see the first floor at all... you could come up stairs where you would find this bedroom. Complete with all the dolls from my childhood -- and other random treasures. If you wanted to come sleep at our house this would be the room you would sleep in! Thanks to Grandma for donating the dresser and bed to the cause of decorating our first little place.

Now you should know that we do have a master bedroom, and another room that right now has many reasons for being including storage room, computer room, the house of 1/2 of my clothes...and a few other random purposes -- but my computer is being stupid and won't let me up load those pictures so... Come visit yourself and see it all in real life!

My favorite Piece of Furniture

2008-06-11T20:20:00.002-06:00

This is my favorite purchase we've made since we bought the house! Why you ask? Its because it looks fabulous against my black wall (yes I have a black wall). And It looks like just a plain old book shelf. But wait...
When you turn the TV on it automatically starts to raise out of the bottom part (as pictured above). So shane can have is big ole TV to watch his favorite games on... and when we arn't watching TV i can have an attractive piece of furnature! Just thought I'd share!

a little Wall DEMO!

2008-06-11T20:10:00.001-06:00

One of the first things we did was knock down a wall -- not an important wall -- its the wall in our garage. My brothers have been asking to knock down a wall forever. This wall was goign to come out eventually anyway so we decided to knock it out with them. Now shane has another item on his honey-do list...fix the stair rail so I don't get slivers when I touch it!

More Scootie Fun!

2008-06-11T19:59:00.001-06:00

Our Friends Kart and Laura and their two kids came to visit us at our new house. Of course the scootie was one of the highlights of the visit. I had this picture and thought i'd post it. When the rest of you come visit we will post your picture on our blog too. Then everyone will know who comes to see us... and who the slackers are!

Update

2008-05-01T14:19:00.002-06:00

Alright - I thought I'd give you all (if there are any that read this) a little update in the little lives of Shane and Jessica. We have officially moved into our house - but have not officially unpacked and found everything in our house. Last night it took me 20 minutes to find a pair of scissors... I never found them so I used a knife. We were fortunate to have lots of good help during the move now I just need to find where all our stuff was put!!
We don't have internet yet - so you may be wondering how I am writing this post - I am using the computer at work (UDOH) to research and find everything I need. Internet and Phone will be hooked up tomorrow - I CAN HARDLY WAIT!!!
I'll hopefully have pictures and what not to update you later - but until then - this will have to do!!

Scootie Fun!

2008-04-14T11:33:00.005-06:00

This weekend we went on a little scooter ride with our friends up the the 'Y' . We were all suprised to make it up there - we thought our scooters would die about half way up the hill! The views were beautiful! we were all glad to be up there!
Todd and Melissa - on their scooter "Ricardo"
Me and Shane -- I forget how much shorter I am than him -- then i see a picture like this and I am quickly reminded! I was even standing on on rock in this picture!!
Great Sunset!

Lethal Luau

2008-04-03T19:53:00.003-06:00

On Saturday Shane and I hosted a Murder!! It was lots of fun. We invited 3 other couples from our ward - and a good time was had by all. We had Leilani, Chief WikiWiki, Les Baggs, Holly Day, Natasha Seymour, Joey Breakers, Birdie Putt, and Rip Tide!! I didn't take very many pictures but everyone cam decked out in the finest Hawaiian outfits. We'd tell you the outcome...but it might ruin the suprise when we decide to do it again!!

Council Reunion

2008-04-03T19:47:00.002-06:00

Last Friday Shane and I went to a little reunion with a bunch of people Shane was on institute council with. It was fun to get to see everyone and catch up on their lives - I'm finally recognizing faces and remembering the ongoings of their lives. I think this was the first reunion with people's kids - and from the big bellies there will be plenty more at the next reunion!! It's always fun to catch up with old friends!

Home sweet Home

2008-03-18T09:33:00.003-06:00

I just thought I'd post a picture of our HOUSE! Yup-we bought a house. We are super excited!!! Now we just have to get through closing and all the madness that happens in between now and then. We'll keep you updated on the process. YAY!!!

The Newest Addition to the DeMill Family...

2008-03-05T21:46:00.004-07:00

MEET FUZZY!!!

While you might be wondering why we have a stuffed animal dog as our new pet...its because he isn't a stuffed dog - he is the latest in fashion here in Provo! You guessed it. Fuzzy is a purse!

His legs are bendable...so sometimes he sit... Usually he is standing... and everyonce and awhile I put in in "attack" position! If you ever want to get some attention just get a fashionable purse like this and you can't imagine the looks you will get from people.

The best part about a dog like this is 1) he does not bark 2) you don't have to feed him 3) no vet to visit 4) he won't bite 5) he makes a great pillow when you are stuck in traffic!!

**for any of you who think I'm serious...stop thinking that! This purse was purchased as a joke - as Shane so kindly put it "if you spent more than $10 on that you wasted your money!"

The Top 10

2008-02-21T21:05:00.004-07:00

I thought I'd take a minute to share with you the top ten reasons Shane and I are OVER living in an apartment - although it does have it's perks sometimes 10- You never have to worry about the laundry not getting done-because it's always in your way

9-The neighbors are sometimes more like ELEPHANTS!!

8-The peace of knowing there are 8 registered sex offenders living accross the street. (thank heaven my husband believes in "personal defense mechanisms")

7-Parking - one space per appartment. The rest - first come first serve!

6- Even with two bedrooms you can never have too much storage!
5- Coat closet, Food Storage, Camping Gear, Ironing Board, and Toilet Paper all in one convenient location!!

4 - 850 square feet of luxurious shag carpet and 70's linoleum and counters!

3- At least it only takes a few hours to 'deep clean' on Saturday

2-The soothing sounds of a rumbling train ever 20 minutes throughout the night!

and finally
1- The number one reason we love living in our apartment is that our hands are getting a really good workout scrubbing the dishes lately!! It's time to invest in some dish soap that doesn't make your hands feel like sandpaper!

Ariana Discovered Her Tongue

2008-02-21T20:48:00.002-07:00

A few weeks ago at Family Home Evening with the DeMill Family we caught Ariana sucking on her tongue. She has never loved her binki - but LOVES her tongue. So for all of our family who hasn't got to see this fabulous tongue sucking girl - here it is for you to enjoy!!

Happy Valentines Day!

2008-02-17T12:30:00.003-07:00

This year we did something a little different for Valentines day. We agreed not to get each other anything!! It was nice to not have to worry about getting something - but dont worry we still love each other! After school on Thursday I drove up to Murray to get my brothers home from school. My parents went to Costa Rica for the week so Shane and I spent the night with them. For dinner the 4 of us went to Jasons Deli (one of my favorite restaurants!). It was fun to spend Valentines day doing homework and having fun with my brothers. We hope you all had a great Valentines day too!!

WE ARE IT!

2008-02-05T09:08:00.000-07:00

TAG! We are it!!

Mandi got us - and we will get you!

What’s His Name? Shane DeMill

How Long have you been together? humm... 2 years. We've been married 1 1/4 of those 2 years

How long did you date? 6 weeks before we were engaged :S

How old is he? Shane is 24 years OLD!

Who eats more? It depends on what we are eating - but usually Shane can put it down!

Who said I love you first? Me - it was a weird situation - We were hanging up the phone and i

just blurted out "alright talk to you later, love ya, bye!"

Who is taller? Me when i'm wearing 12 inch heels - but all other times- Shane

Who can sing better? The people at church probably wish we would both just not sing - but its probably me

Who is Smarter? without question Shane

Who does the laundry? I usually do the laundry - folding the laundry...thats usually Shane

Who pays the bills? I am the one who writes out the checks, mails them, and all that.. so i guess me!

Who mows the lawn? Well we have a fabulous landlord who does it! but if there was lawn to be mowed-Shane would do it!

Who makes dinner? I make dinner most of the time

Who sleeps on the right side? I sleep on the right side!!

Who is more stubborn? the two of us have pretty stubborn moments..but i think i'm more subborn.

Who asked who out first? Shane asked me out first

Who proposed? Shane did - I don't think i know any girls that have proposed

Who has more friends? We both have lots of friends. I keep in touch with more friends - but we both have friends.

Who has more siblings? Shane - by 1

Who is more sensitive? If you mean crying while watching 24 because Jack might die(even though he is on the cover of 3 later seasons) that would be me. If you are talking about getting upset about dumb little things that would be me. I guess over all I am the more sensitive person.
Who wears the pants? The pants are worn by both of us. Shane is the head of the family - and I am the neck that turns the head (thanks to 'my big fat greek wedding')

Now we TAG! Britt/Shyler, Jennifer/Shad, Sherece/Greg, Shaunie/Arne, Melissa/Todd and Michelle

"MANRICHMENT"

2008-01-29T10:58:00.000-07:00

On Saturday the South Elders Quorum had a little fun shooting down in Payson, Utah! About 25 guys(and a few of their wives) came down and we had a good time!! There were Shotguns, 22's, and some deer hunting gun - I'm not sure what it was!! Shane and I also took our handguns. I think the people in our ward are a little bit scared of us - after all we did supply 1/2 of the guns at the activity!!! Over all It was fun to get out and shoot!

For the activity we bought a trap! It was kinda nice to not have to throw all the skeet by hand. Shane is pretty excited about this new little toy - so if you ever want to get out and shoot at the orange disks in the sky call us and we'll be there!!!

More pictures!! lots of fun!

Its time to...

2008-01-28T17:02:00.001-07:00

Stand a Little Taller, To Rise a Little Higher, To Be a Little Better!

-President Hinckley

With the passing of President Hinckley I thought it would only be appropriate to share with you all our feelings at this time. When we heard the news we were shocked! President Hinckley is the prophet of my youth - and I can't imagine it any other way! He gave us great counsel and inspiration. I hope that each of us can look to him as an example of how we should live our lives. He was dedicated, full of gratitude, faithful, happy, and above all a great example of our Savior! We know that the Church is true and are excited for a new chapter to begin!

A little Christmas (and post Christmas) Update

2008-01-08T06:40:00.000-07:00

This Year Shane and I had a FANTASTIC Christmas! I was lucky to have the holiday off this year so we enjoyed lots of time with our families. On Christmas Eve we went to Nick and Marylynn's house to spend time with the Pulley Family. As always there was more food than we could eat....but somehow it found its way to our plates...to our mouths... and to our tummies... until we felt sick! We went back to my parents house where we watched the movie Joy to the World. It reminded us of the reason we celebrate Christmas and helped us remember our Savior and the wonderful things he has done for us. Christmas day was as exciting as ever. I was excited to get a new iPod nano, clothes, movies, and other exciting things. Shane was excited to get clothes, bullets, and a gun safe (to keep his pride and joy from being put in the wrong hands!) Alex and Parker got an XBox 360 and rock band. Needless to say we spent a good chunk of the day "rocking out"!! We went to the DeMill's that evening and had some Christmas dinner and got to spend sometime with them. It was fun to see all the nieces and nephews excited about the things they got and to share them with us! We felt very fortunate this Christmas and hope you all had a great one too!! I got to get together with some of my BESTEST friends from MHS this past weekend. We met up at Mimi's Cafe for a little lunch and to catch up on each others lives. It was crazy to see how much our lives have changed over the past few years. It was fun to reminisce about our crazy high school days ad all the fun things we did together.

I thought I'd post a little something I made with the vinyl cutter i got for my birthday. It's a fun little present that keeps my free time BUSY!

It snowed this weekend... and we came home one night to find this HUGE snowman in front of our apt. It's probably 2x the size of me. I had to take a picture of it... i found it fascinating and hope you find it that way too!