Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic 2009

Nick and I had the amazing opportunity to go to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic for 6 days at the beginning of the month. It was amazing. It was an experience neither of us will forget. The culture was very different from our own. The best part though was getting to spend time together and loving every minute of it. I'm so blessed to be married to my best friend.

This was taken in front of the fountain in our hotel's front lobby. We stayed at the Grand Oasis Marien. It was beautiful and the food was great. The only downsides were how difficult it was to call home and to get outside of the hotel without paying exaggerated prices. Other than that, it was amazing. We're not sure we'd do an all-inclusive again, but it was good for this trip.
Hotel lobby.
On our last day, Nick and I walked through town (4.5 miles) to this tram. We rode it to the top of the mountain, where there is a beautiful garden.
Statue of Christ at the top of the mountain.
We rode back to our hotel in this van with 20 other people. I snapped this as it drove off, so you can't see the missing side door (built in air conditioning), but yes, the window is broken out in back. Nick likes an adventure!The beach at our hotel.
Sosua Beach. If you ever want to hear the adventure story of arriving/leaving this beautiful beach, just ask. This is already a long post.
Snorkling at Sosua Beach.
A typical gift shop on Sosua Beach. We got a laugh out of the name.This fort was built in the 1500s to protect the bay from pirates. It was fascinating to explore.Another picture of the resort.Our room. The maid would leave us fresh flowers daily and usually make some fancy arrangement out of the towels, such as a swan.Nick on the Yasika Adventures zip line.My turn! We got to go on 8 runs. The view was fantastic, and the adrenaline rush wasn't too bad either.
View of the ocean at sunrise from our hotel balcony.View from the other direction.The most amazing thing we did was go to the 27 Waterfalls. You climb up the fall to turn around and jump or slide into them. Nick couldn't believe I actually jumped off the 20+ foot jump just to ask if we could do it again. I'm all about facing my fears. These are our amazing guides. The taught us all about the plants and animals in the area and even knocked passion fruit out of the trees for us to eat. They were great.The only downside was that we must have ruined our underwater camera as we tossed it down the falls to our guides to take pictures. This is the only photo we got.We had so much fun. It was an incredible trip. Thanks Kathy for watching the girls the entire time. We couldn't have gone without you!

Family Pictures

I've been dying to have Meegan Littlefield photograph my family since I first came across her blog. Last Friday we finally did it. She's still editing our shoot, but to see a sneak peak of us, click here. I love her work. The only downside of the trip was that the girls wanted to play too much. I'm not sure we'll get a family photo, but I think I'll be able to put together a great collection that will represent our family better than a "let's sit still and all say cheese" picture. Our girls have far too many wiggles.

Personal Progress Faith #1

This goal was actually rather difficult for me to accomplish, and it shouldn't have been. All summer I have been trying to improve upon saying my morning prayers. And while I am still far from perfect, this goal has certainly given me a boost in the right direction. When I look back over the summer, I can see how striving to improve my pattern of prayer has really helped me. A very difficult spring slowly improved into a more stress free fall.

Prayer is vital in my life. It helps me assess my priorities before the day begins and allows me to invite the spirit into my day. With such blessings, trials and hardships once again become blessings that teach me how to be a better person. I have so many things to learn, and I have even more patience to gain. I'm grateful that I can speak with my father in heaven and get his help in facing any challenge, big or small.

Bird Nest

Last night when Nick went to tuck Ashlyn into bed, she had wrapped her blankie around her middle. He asked her to climb into bed, and she replied with, "I can't. I'm in my bird nest." She was fine with him lifting her, bird nest and all into bed. But then she said, "Good night Daddy bird nest." A few minutes later she called Nick "Daddy chicken" but she refused to follow Dad's promptings to call me "Mommy cuckoo." Smart girl, huh. She did agree to call me Mommy Road Runner though. She finished out her pretending by lying in bed flapping her wings and tweeting. The mind of a two year old. I love watching my kiddos pretending.

Emma's Big Day

Emma had a big day today. To start, she went to her first day of big kid preschool. She's been looking forward to it since last year's class ended. Since she's already used to it, she waltzed right in like she owned the place. She learned so much last year that she's already starting to sound out words and asks how to write some words. I'm excited to see what she learns this year.


Emma with her teacher Miss Jenn.

The second part of Emma's big day was a big girl's hair cut. She's been telling me all summer that she wanted her hair short like moms. Well, we did it. I left my camera sitting on the counter, so I didn't get pictures at the salon, but we cut a lot off. Here is the end result. I'm hoping to get her to sit still for a better picture tomorrow.

Millar Family Recipies

My sister decided to start up a Millar Family Recipe blog, so from now on I'll be posting my new recipes there. I just added a great zucchini bread recipe. Feel free to visit any time.

Also, my garden and freezer are overflowing with zucchini and crook-neck squash. If any of you have good recipes (preferably on the healthier side), please send them my way. Thanks.

Kid Activities

I am always looking for more ways to entertain my kids, especially educational ways. For some reason I've been turning more and more towards PBS (gulp - I admitted it out loud). I found this amazing sight with links to all sorts of fun ideas. It is geared towards preschool activities, so it's great for young kids. Right now, Emma is coloring a book of The Frog Prince with matching dolls with dress-up clothes. Enjoy.