BYU Cougar Cousins

Happy 1st day of school to these BYU Cougars COUSINS. 

 From left to right:  Katie-Sophomore; Aubrey-Sophomore; Rachael-Junior; Nathan-Senior

This is the first and last year they will all be together at the same university.  

Fall Soccer

http://necfamily.blogspot.com/2013/10/lindz-fall-soccer.html

 Lindz has been playing soccer with the same team, same group of awesome girls, for many years.  
http://necfamily.blogspot.com/2013/10/lindz-fall-soccer.html  

She was so sad to leave her teammates and the sport she loved when she joined the Bingham High School Lacrosse team last year, but found that with some carefully planning she could still participate in both sports in the Fall.  

We love being able to watch her play and enjoy time on and off the field with these great friends!  Here's to another fun fall season!

Live the Riv - Move in Day

Move in day this year, went so much better than last year
http://necfamily.blogspot.com/2015/08/move-in-afternoon.html
This year Aubs had 2 working shoulders, we were not rushed, we didn't have to put her bed together, and DAD was in town!  Yay!

This year she is living at the Riv, just across the street from the dorms she lived in last year.  Super close and super convenient for walking.

We got all her stuff in, went to dinner, shopping for a desk & chair, and that was it.  We are so proud of this girl.  So proud of who she is, her independence, her drive, and her desire to life and love others.  Here's to a great Sophomore year!

Brenna's Fun Run

Time for the annual Fun Run at the Elementary School.  This is an activity I was in charge of for many years when the older kids were younger and I love being part of it, seeing how it evolves and improves each year.  The ladies who run it now have it down to a science and do an amazing job in not only providing a fabulous Fun Run but also using it as a fundraiser to bring lot and lots of money into the school.

With BYU not starting for a few more days, Aubs got to come cheer Brenna on and be a parent volunteer helping other classes keep track of their laps.  Never to young and never too old to volunteer at the school.  

Our tired and red faced girls after running 16+ laps around the field during the 20 minute run.  Her goal was run more than laps than last year, which she did!!!  Congrats to B on a great run and a fun morning!

8th Grade

1st day of 8th grade for this cute girl!  Emi has always loved school, but I don't think she's ever been this excited for a new school year.  She takes her role as a Student Government Leader seriously and sincerely wants to help make this a great year for ALL of the students at SoJo.  

The theme they chose for this year is "See The Light"  One funny reason I love this theme is because the school got all new LED lighting over the summer, but I also love it because I think it is empowering to everyone involved with the school - administrators, parents, staff, and students.  We can all See the Light in our lives.

Emi says 8th grade's gonna be "the bomb.com"

Claws or Paws

Are these Arizona Wildcat paws or BYU Cougar Claws?  

Just getting excited to head to the BYU-Arizona Football Game in less than 2 weeks.  

Not sure who these girls will be routing for...

Bishop's Night @ Oakcrest Camp

Oakcrest is an LDS Girls Camp nestled in the beautiful Kamas Valley. Up to 3,000 girls attend Oakcrest each summer. Established in 1958, Oakcrest now serves over 90 Salt Lake Valley stakes and is open to young women who have completed the 7th grade.

The camp runs for 10 weeks of the summer with 9 or 10 stakes attending each week. Activities include: service projects, indexing, archery, zip line, Giant swing, gun range, crafts, hiking, obstacle course, basketball, volleyball, singing, spiritual classes and lessons, and other activities. There is a large main lodge where the meals are served and there are cabins with bunks where groups of girls sleep. A staff of amazing young adult women are hired each summer to run the camp.

The goal of all Oakcrest activities is to provide spiritual growth, wholesome fun, new and meaningful experiences, and skill in learning to live with others. Oakcrest is a wonderful setting away from the world where the standards of the Church are emphasized.

This week, the young women who recently completed 7th grade in our stake (area) are attending Oakcrest Camp.  It is something these girls have looked forward to for months. It is a super fun camp with so many friends and fun activities.  On the final night, the congregational leaders from the girls wards and stakes come up to visit them.  For the past several years, I have been involved in putting these final night activities together for the congregational leaders, but this year my role was different as I got to join Robert as a congregational leader's wife (aka. Bishop's wife).

We get to join the girls in the large, outdoor amphitheater to learn a little about their week and the things they have been involved in. From there we split into smaller groups (stakes) where we received further instruction from our stake leaders and then split into our final groups (wards) where the Bishop and their wives share a fun treat with the girls from their congregation.  

  Robert and I went with ice cream sundaes built on top of Costco cookies.  Though it was little tricky to keep the ice cream frozen for several hours up in the mountains, it was definitely a hit with the girls! 

Bishop Miller and the 2nd year Beehives....

Dabbing as we visited and enjoyed our treats together.

Following dessert, the girls wanted to show us their cabins, so we ran from trail to trail catching all of the girls different cabins and meeting their new friends and counselors.  They love showing off the cleanliness or cool decorations/themes they have going on in their cabins,  This was Tessa and Em's cabin, our final stop before heading back home.  We were both so grateful we could be up at Oakcrest and share this final night with our girls.  We love these young women and think of them all as our own.  We want nothing more than for them to have joy and happiness in their life journeys and hope that we can help them to know and feel of their Savior Jesus Christ's unconditional love for each one of them.

Wedding Bells

Wedding bells today..... but not for us.  Robert performed a civil wedding ceremony up Big Cottonwood Canyon for members of our church.  It was such a beautiful afternoon and we felt privileged to share this special day with their family.

Ward Camp Out

Camping is not a 'forte' of ours.  Neither Robert nor I grew up camping, and though we love the outdoors, we tend to work our way toward hotel rooms when the day is done.  We do have camping equipment/supplies, and have even used them a few times, but there are usually lengthy periods of time between outings, so we always have to ensure we still have all the parts and pieces before we head out.  Kayla, Lindz, and I tackled the tent situation this morning.  Looking like we got ourselves a tent...

I actually kept my phone in that magnificent tent structure of ours during most of the camp out, but I did catch one pic of the singing and smore's making around the campfire from Robert's phone.  Not all the girls were able to make it, (in fact, we ended up with just B) but she was thrilled to be there with so many of her friends and to have Mom & Dad all to herself in the tent.  She loved reading, praying, talking, and eventually sleeping in the tent, and hopes we go camping again next summer.  That may be just about the right length of time between our camping outings.

42 Years Strong

Forty-two!  Doesn't sound too bad.  After celebrating all weekend, Monday came without too much craziness.  The excitement of the morning was finding a "You Won" card in the cereal box.

After reading all the fine print and checking the rules online, we concluded that we indeed had Won $100.00.  Pretty good birthday present.

Aubs brought me Apollo Burger for lunch and we chowed down on those incredibly delicious fries and fry sauce.  Man, those fries are my favorite.

Once everyone was home we headed to dinner and then shopping for a new lawnmower.  Doesn't get much better than a new lawnmower for your birthday?!?   The girls likes these ones, but I settled on one from inside the building that I knew would be easy for me to maneuver and use, though I'm sure one of these would have been fun as well.   Best part of the day....having all 7 of us together.  Not sure how many more birthdays I'll have with everyone home, but so grateful for this one!

Mt. Timpanogos Hike

After preparing all summer to hike Mt. Timp, we were so excited when this day actually came.  Here's a little about this beautiful mountain and trails:

Mount Timpanogos is the impressive wall that dominates the landscape on the northeast side of Utah Valley. It is one of Utah’s most recognizable mountains, and perhaps Utah’s most popular mountain hiking destination. At 11,749 feet, it is the second-highest summit of the Wasatch Mountains (only Mt Nebo is higher).

Two trails are commonly used to reach the summit. The first is the Aspen Grove Trail, which runs 8.3 miles one way, starting at the Theater-in-the-Pines picnic area on the mountain’s east side. That trail is very scenic and passes several waterfalls.

The Timpooneke Trail also leads to the summit, extending about 7.5 miles one way from the Timpooneke Campground in American Fork Canyon. Horses are allowed on the Timpooneke Trail, but not on the Aspen Grove trail.

Wildflowers are spectacular along both trails, as are fall colors. Wildlife is often seen along both trails, including a herd of mountain goats. A snowfield on top of the mountain never melts (it is commonly called a glacier, but that is technically incorrect). Daytime temperatures along the trail are usually warm during summer, but it can get very chilly at high altitudes during stormy weather and at night, so dress in layers and bring a jacket. Light hiking boots are recommended footwear.

After parking about a mile away, our feet hit the trail head at 6:15 am

So fun to see the sunrise as we made our way up t e mountain

All smiles from these girls!

Water break

One of the great things about this hike in late summer is all of the wildflowers are in full bloom

Beautiful fields of wildflowers.  

Lovin this day with this crew!

Continuing our journey onward and upward

Until we finally reached the glacier fields

From endless wildflower fields to endless rock fields

I kept my eyes focused on the trail ahead, so I would not get nervous about how high we were.  The view behind Brenna in  this photo was fun to see, after the fact.  I wasn't quite ready to turn around to take in the view as we hiking up, but I did enjoy them on the way down. 

                                

Climbing into the clouds.....the summit must be close

Mt. Timp Summit

After 4 hours of hiking, we made it to the Summit

To the west is Utah Lake in Utah County

To the east is Jordanelle Reservoir in Summit County (Park City)

Within a few minutes, the clouds move in and our views disappeared.  Crazy how quickly it can change up there....and how COLD it was up there!

Looks like someone had already marked the shed with MILLER for us

We were so happy to make it to the infamous Mt. Timp shed

Brenna signed the official registry log

So proud of our crew for making it to the top.  It's been a fun summer of hiking and we topped it off on top of Timp!