My Brother, the missionary

My brother, Brycen, entered the Missionary Training Center. After three weeks of preparation in the MTC, he will live in West Virginia for two years sharing the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and eternal families with anyone who is willing to listen.

Being in the MTC brought back so many special memories of when I served a mission. We sang "Called to Serve," and tears came to my eyes. I feel so much love for the people I taught in Bolivia. Christ changed their hearts as they kept His commandments. I know that the message of the restored gospel is true. We are all called to serve God and share His message of love and peace and joy.

Go with God, Elder Mills!!!

Top of Timpanogos

Saturday, Pedro and I hiked to the top of Timp with my brother, Brycen, my dad, and a couple of family friends, Sharon Larkin and Gary Brimley. The wild flowers were incredible, so many varieties. It was my last hike with Brycen before he leaves on a mission to West Virginia. I loved chatting with him along the trail. We made our way down quite a bit shorter by sliding on our feet (or rear) down the snow fields - steep, a little scary, but exhilerating.

Happy Independence Day!

We enjoyed Independence Day Weekend in El Centro, California and in Mexico. The long drive was worth it to eat authentic Mexican tacos with Pedro's grandparents in Mexicali on Thursday. They showed us old pictures of when they were teenagers. At 17, his grandma was absolutely gorgeous. She still doing pretty good. Later, we visited his other grandma, Nana Flora, who fed us way more than we were capable of eating. She loves to tell stories about Pedro when he would visit her as a little boy. She explained how his mom would dress him in spotless white shirts, shorts and shoes, but when he got to grandma's house, he was free to take it all off and run free. In the evening, we ate the traditional shrimp with Pedro's dad. After dinner we went to the stake center for a ward basketball game. Pedro got to see some of his high school friends and play basketball with his dad. It was nice to see family and friends before taking off to the cold north of Minnesota.

Friday, the fourth, we enjoyed a pancake breakfast with the ward in El Centro. Their ward does a kids parade with red, white and blue decorated bikes and lawn mowers just like we did growing up in Holladay. Later that afternoon, we headed out of the 110* heat into the mountains above San Diego for a camping trip. At night, from the top of a hill, we could see thousands of stars. I sang quietly to myself some of my favorite songs: "America the Beautiful" and "My Country Tis of Thee." The next day we headed to Ensanata, Mexico, where we enjoyed a boat ride in the harbor and shopping in the streets.

Going back and forth over the border so easily made me grateful for my citizenship. How blessed we are to live in a free nation. I LOVE AMERICA!!!

Island Park, Yellowstone & Teton National Park

It was so fun going back to our adopted Grandpa Dan's cabin in Island Park. I remember as a child feeding the chipmunks and the yellow-bellied marmots that lived behind the wood pile. The marmot doesn't hang around any more, but we did see beavers and otters in the Buffalo river (no fish) and a moose among the trees.

We enjoyed kayaking down the Snake River and mountain biking along the side. Brette brought her paints, and we rediscovered the relaxing joys of painting nature. One evening the guys fished on Henry's Lake while Mom took Brette, Kelsey and I to see Oklahoma in West Yellowstone. We had a blast and laughed all the way back to the cabin.

Saturday, Pedro and I saw Yellowstone and the Tetons, at least as much as you can see in a day. It was a great day for seeing animals. I think Pedro brings luck. We saw a bear, a wolf, a mama & baby moose, deer (about 15 feet away, no joke), elk, bison and about 2.3 billion mosquitos. And to add to our luck, just after we saw Old Faithful, a much bigger and less frequent geyser, the Beehive geyser, started to spout. Pretty cool!

Worlds Apart

Pedro had a great time in Uganda, except, of course, that he missed me unbearably and swore to never leave me again. Fine by me; we can go together to see the world. I was so happy to have him home again, especially after two canceled flights.

He was using his computer science skills to set up computers and internet in a rural orphanage among other engineering projects. He taught the nuns who run the orphanage how to use email and how to make salsa. While he was gone, I spent some time in Mendon. Devan showed me how he gets the hummingbirds to sit on his hands. Brycen showed off his cloud-eating and tree-climbing skills. I'll never forget the gorgeous rainbows in that peaceful, quaint Cache Valley of mine.

Memorial Day Adventures

My family came to visit us. We played around at this ropes course, ate at Zupas (my favorite soup/sandwich/salad place), and saw Prince Caspian. I think the best moment of the day was when Mom started squealing as she dropped down in the giant swing. She bravely accepted all of the high-up challenges. Brette, Kelsey and I had a fun Girls' night. Pedro was sweet and insisted we buy some icecream. :) Oh, and our cousin, Cameron, arrived home from Iraq. What a great Memorial Day Weekend!

Graduation!

Pedro and I graduated together. Alma, Blake, Gabby, and Darla came from California. Grandma and Grandpa Miles came. Jordan and Rachel were there. My parents, Brycen, Grandma Judy came. Elder Bednar was the main speaker for commencement. Our friend, Matt Daley, gave a great student speech.

Fortunately, graduate students were first in line for the name-reading, diploma giving part. It was fun shaking hands with Dean Ned Hill since we'd gone birding with him just the week before. My favorite part was that all my professors lined up just off the stand to congratulate us after we received our diplomas. I respect them so much. I'll miss the MPA atmosphere and all my friends in the program.

We enjoyed a great BBQ at G & G Miles after the ceremony.

the Beginning: June 23, 2007