Matt's Surprise Birthday last November

For Matt's 23rd birthday, I planned a surprise getaway for him. I arranged with his awesome boss to get him off work early on Friday. Little did he know...he was coming home to a packed-up car and going to LA! As I was driving, I kept pretending like I was going to exit in Santa Barbara, Ventura, etc. It was so fun teasing him! We finally got to the Pantages Theater and saw the musical Wicked! It was incredible!!! We can't wait to see it again. 

That night we stayed in the LA Temple apartments (thanks Alma & Ed!) and had donuts with Nana & Bobba the next morning (thank you very much Nana...yummy donuts are always a welcome treat)! They were all in on the surprises! Saturday was a peaceful day spent in the Temple.

Saturday night we went out to eat at a jazz restaurant in Bel-Air. Matt LOVES jazz music and we had so much fun dressing up and pretending like we were rich. (We do that any chance we get!)

That night we stayed with my aunt and uncle, Susan and Perry, in Santa Clarita. We had a fun time with them and all of their animals! We did breakfast with them and had a great time visiting. 

We got ready for church and then started driving...Matt had no idea where to! He was driving, and when he asked which exit and I told him, "Kanan Road," he knew we were going to see his Mission President! We went to church with the Hamiltons and had dinner with them and their beautiful girls. It was so fun to hear Matt and President Hamilton talk about all of the cities Matt had served in. I was able to keep up because I remember all of the cities from writing them on countless envelopes throughout those two years! What an incredible family. Matt and I decided that we want our future family to be like theirs.    

***My reason for this belated birthday post is as follows:

I had planned this birthday surprise for months. The thing that was hard was I couldn't do things ahead of time, because he would get suspicious! "Why are you packing our suitcases babe?" Yeah. Not too sly. 

On the day of the getaway, I had to work, pack our bags, fill the car with gas, load up, make sure we had our tickets, etc. Well wouldn't you know it, I woke up sick on Friday morning. So my perfectly-packed-and-planned schedule had to accommodate a doctor's visit and a trip to the pharmacy to fill my prescription for antibiotics. 

In all of this madness, I could not find our camera for the life of me! I searched high and low and was on the verge of tears because I really wanted to capture this weekend in pictures. I had to leave without being able to find it. We had to leave Santa Maria to make it to the play in time. I ended up taking pictures with the camera on my phone, and then buying a disposable camera. (When we came home I found the drawer I had put it in...sometimes I clean and stash things without thinking about it. So annoying!)

Oh but the story doesn't end there!

We used up the rest of the roll on that cheesy disposable camera so that we could get the pictures developed. I looked in my purse, and it wasn't there!!! Months pass. I figured out that the last place I had that Fuji Film cardboard piece of junk was when we had gone to Farmer's Market with my dad. I finally asked him last night if he had found a camera in his car and he said YES! It has been in his glove compartment this whole time. 

I believe that these pictures deserve to be posted after all they (and I) have been through.

Don't you?   

Gray's Blessing

Gray Donnelley Miller was blessed on Sunday, February 17th in Lompoc, CA.

Ryan did a wonderful job and Uncle Matt was glad to be a part of it. The things that stuck out to me were that he would be a strength for his friends, and that he should look to his namesakes for examples.

We love you Gray! 

On this day, two years ago...

Matt proposed to me! :)

To celebrate, we went to the Los Angeles Temple with my mom for Stake Temple Day.

It was a beautiful day that reminded us to take spiritual breaks and recharge. 

It's amazing how wrapped up I can get in the hustle bustle of everyday life, forgetting the big picture and what is truly important. I love going to a place where I can let the cares of the world melt away, remember that my Heavenly Father loves me, and feel that I am on the right path back to Him.

I love this place.

Posing under the Wedding Tree!

On the way home, we stopped for a Valentine's dinner in Santa Barbara. 

Mmmm Palazzio!

We're pretty sure our server really wanted the fish platter to be in the picture more than us. 

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

I have the sneakiest husband! 

I left the house for about 30 min. last night. When I returned home, my mom had left us some See's candy and a sweet card on our front porch. Thanks Mommy! :)

Then I walked inside and saw the coffee table I'd been wanting! With goodies all over it! Ahhhh! I started crying I was so happy, shocked, and impressed! He had written me the sweetest love note, bought the perfume we loved from Victoria's Secret (so cute, the bottles are magnetic and stick together...Very Sexy Attraction, get it?), roses, a Tobelrone (I love those things), and some herb tea and honey for my sore throat. What a thoughtful, stealthy man I married. 

I love you Matthew Daniel Miller!

I gave Matt a new wallet that he desperately needs and a box of just his favorites...bordeauxs from See's. He was most excited about the candy!   

Then the Valentine's Fairies came...they found us! 

This is a tradition that the Miller's have - there is a knock at the front door and the Valentine's Fairy leaves a goodie bag for one of the kids! Then when everyone is at the front door, there's a knock on the back door, and there's another bag for another kid! 

We had a good laugh; Matt was so happy and we had a great visit with the in-laws. 

Thanks for the goodies Marc & Diana!

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day celebration. Ours is still continuing with a couple's massage tonight. I have been looking forward to this for months! xoxo

   

  

Kindergartners are adorable!

Last Friday Lakeview had a minimum day, so I offered to help my mom out in her Kindergarten class after work. Those kids are so cute! I helped while they did art, directed drawing, and made Cheerios necklaces out of 100 Cheerios that Zero the Hero brought them ;) 

Some favorite quotes from the kiddos:

"My mom is ninety." - Andy

"I know who you are. You're Mrs. Johnson's sister!" - Owen (my mom loved him for that one!)

"My sister has the exact same hair as you. Exactly." - Stephanie

"I'm going to do twelve Cheerios at the same time!" - Kevin 

"They're ranch flavored, I really don't think you'd like them." - Gianvanni (to another kid about his Corn Nuts at snack time) 

Ah, I can't wait to move down grade levels! 

In case you missed it...

Here is what our New Year Letter had to say:

Happy New Year!

2007 was full of new things and firsts for The Matthew Millers.

We had the opportunity to move to Kauai for the summer to work and play with friends! We went on our first helicopter ride, learned how to scuba dive, surfed, went to tons of beaches, and made lots of new friends. We celebrated our One-Year Wedding Anniversary on Kauai where we Honeymooned a year before. We pretended like we were rich and stayed at the Princeville Resort. It was definitely a highlight of the summer! 

We are now back in Santa Maria, CA continuing to work hard and stay busy. Kara has been called as the Personal Progress leader in Young Women’s and Matt is serving as Teachers Quorum Advisor in Young Men’s.

We love that we get to see each other on Mutual nights now, and the youth are great! It seems like just yesterday we were in their shoes. 

Kara is working as an Instructional Assistant with resource students at the Jr. High she graduated from. She has learned a ton and brushed up on her math skills! Matt is a Manager of a rent-to-own store in Grover Beach and loves it. He is learning many skills that will help him in the future.

Kara has finally decided on a major, Elementary Education. She wants to be a Kindergarten or First grade teacher like her mom and sister-in-law. Kara is going to start Chapman University this fall and is very excited that in two years she could have her own classroom! Matt has decided he wants to work with money (investing and making it). J He is working on his General Education at Allan Hancock College going towards his Business/Finance major.  

We are so grateful to live here with our families, friends, the beach, beautiful cities, and perfect weather. We’re working very hard, are very busy, and know that it all will pay off soon. We feel incredibly humbled by the opportunities and blessings that we have been given. We are grateful for our loved ones and friends in our lives and hope that you and yours have a wonderful 2008!

 

Finally!

Yes, I have finally jumped on the bandwagon and started my own blog. It's about time! Since Matt & I don't see many of you guys these days, this is a great way for us all to keep in touch. Now all of you pro bloggers need to help me out and teach me the ins & outs of this business. (Cute layouts and all that jazz.) Hope you enjoy the updates on the craziness that is our life!