Over the summer we spent a lot of times looking at homes, I love looking at homes. The boys actually loved it too. Every time we would go they would always see bunk beds in one of the rooms and tell me how much they wanted a house, I don't think they realized bunk beds are not the standard and don't come with it. We started researching prices and bunk beds are sooo expensive, especially the ones that I wanted. Darrin and I priced it out and we figured we could save a lot of money by building them ourselves. I mean by Darrin building them:) (I did help a little, and painted most of it) LOVE how handy my man is! Colby and Ethan loved building forts and helping Dad out, well.... as much as they were aloud. This is the first piece of furniture that we ever built and even though I think they look amazing, we learned a lot and I think we can only go up from here. I am totally happy how they turned out and the boys love them! I already found great bedding!



The boys love their bunk bed, every other night they take turns sleeping on the top and bottom. Ethan now stays in his room and hardly comes into ours. Yeah, I love my sleep!

Posted in: 2012, colby, darrin, ethan, riss on Monday, November 5, 2012 at 2 comments  

My sister, Candice and her baby girl Charlotte came to visit me and say good-bye, they are off to Virginia for 3 years. Totally going to miss them like crazy. We always were able to see each other at least a couple times a year but this is the start of not being able to see each other for WAY TO LONG:( I always have the best time with here and will miss her like crazy!

Colby and Ethan love to take Andy on walks, they really missed him over the summer. When we got back in Utah we had to make up for the whole summer without him. The boys got to be super heroes while walking Andy, best of both worlds. Gotta love boys, they are the best!

Posted in: 2012, candice, colby, ethan, riss on at 0 comments  

Lets be honest, I am a little left out over here, 3 boys to 1 girl. I have to say though, I love my boys and couldn't be happier with anything different. I love the rough housing, running around constantly (seriously they don't stop), bathroom humor, superheroes, aiming into the toilet ( I mean getting somewhat close, wait I mean.... not paying attention at all and I use lots of clorox wipes), building forts, cars and trains, hot lava. I love it all. Raising kids is the toughest and hardest thing I will ever do. I know one day my kids will be grown up and I will have all of the "me time" in the world. Showering without the curtain getting opened, sleeping in, only cooking for myself...sometimes I miss being selfish but I wouldn't trade being a mom for anything! I love my boys. I love the fact that I get to raise my boys. I love that I teach them right from wrong and teach them what is important in life. My boys and I have a great time together. I cherish every kiss I get, every cuddle, every hug. I am so glad my kids and I truly love each other.

P.S. Darrin makes it possible for me to be a stay-at-home mom, and it is the best blessing I could ever have. I am very thankful for him and the ability to be with my boys.

Posted in: 2012, riss on Sunday, July 29, 2012 at 4 comments  

At the Kanesville Tabernacle stands a statue of my Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather Henry Miller from my Mom's (Byers) side. His brother, Daniel A. Miller, is my Great, Great, Great Grandfather on my Dad's (Miller) side. Hmmmm... AND Daniel Miller's wife, Clarissa Pond, is who I am named after! :) Both Henry and Daniel were Captains of several hand cart companies. Legend has it that they always timed the trips right and never lost a soul. In fact, a journal entry tells the tale of one particular company crossing a swift river.  A pregnant woman and her wagon were caught by the current and dragged down stream.  Suddenly, Henry jumped on top of the wagon, cut the top open with his knife, and pulled the pregnant woman to safety! Wow! I am proud to have some great family heritage. It was nice to be able to visit my ancestor's home.

Kanesville was originally named Millers Hollow! How cool is that!

Posted in: 2012, riss, us on Sunday, July 1, 2012 at 4 comments  

It's official! I finally made a blog for my hair and make-up prices. I have been enjoying doing hair and make up A LOT and let's be honest, always have. I have been working on a button for my site but only knowing basics on photo shop.... I need help from my sweet husband!!! Now I am on to making some business cards. I am super giddy right now. Finally up and running!!! Yeah!!!! All smiles here :)

I am wanting to make some comp cards, I will be needing models for make-up/updo's and color. I will do these at cost IF I am allowed to post pictures on my site with the rights to the photo. Email me if you are interested: onebeautylux at gmail ( I am writing my email address kind of funny because I heard spam can be brutal if you write it correctly. Being cautious:)

Posted in: 2012, riss on Thursday, June 28, 2012 at 2 comments  

 We haven't been able to go on any dates since we moved to Nebraska and Darrin and I love our date nights! I think everyone who is married should always go on dates but since we don't really know anyone.... well enough, we are doing lots of family dates! The kids are loving this! A couple weeks ago we noticed the fireflies, they are SO much fun. I feel like a little kid, I love to run around and find them, and try to catch them.
For our family date night we had quite the party! We went out for dinner and then we went to the grocery store so the kids could pick out some yummy snacks for our movie night. We all got in our pj's and brought the beds downstairs and watched Cars and all slept in the living room together. Now this type of camping I can do! ( I know if I think that is camping- I am pathetic) We ate popcorn, had lots of snacks, soda and fun. Halfway through the movie it was dark enough outside to go chase the fireflies. Normally our kids go to bed early so they never get to see them but they thought that it was so fun and special to be up this late with mom and dad. They love fireflies, they love chasing them around! We came back in and finished the movie and then Darrin and I stayed up late watching shows. It was so nice having a fun evening with the fam and in the morning I made a killer breakfast (pinterest has the best ideas)  before heading off to the zoo!

Posted in: 2012, colby, darrin, ethan, riss, us on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 at 2 comments  

I found these to show you how cool this place is, the top is an aquarium that you can walk through with gorgeous fish, sting rays, sharks and lots of cool fish. The next, is of the Lied jungle, one of the worlds largest indoor rainforests!

"Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is nationally renowned for its leadership in animal conservation and research. It features the largest cat complex in North America, "Kingdoms of the Night" is the world's largest nocturnal exhibit and indoor swamp; the Lied Jungle is one of the world's largest indoor rainforest, and the "Desert Dome" is the world's largest indoor desert as well as the largest glazed geodesic dome in the world."

 The Henry Doorly Zoo. We live right down the street and we are so happy about this. The zoo is in the Top 10, it really is amazing and so much fun. The boys and I love going, we haven't missed a week yet. Great getting out of the house activity. It even has an IMAX theater, the boys love seeing shows in 3D. The best part is the price. 99 gets you a year pass and free movies, best bucks ever spent!



 Here kids can dig up bones in the rubber pit. Colby and Ethan love this!




In the Rainforest, it is massive!! There are paths the kids can go on under waterfalls, so fun.

Posted in: 2012, colby, darrin, ethan, riss, us on Saturday, June 23, 2012 at 1 comments  

We did something different this year, and it was AMAZING!! My older sister and sister in law (side note, I use "in-law" to clarify, I really don't like the term and, of course, think of her as a sister)  were in Mexico, on the beach AND living it UP! Soooo My mom decided to head down to S.L.C. and have a Mother's Day date with Candice and myself! SO SO BRILLIANT. What a thinker!!  :)


Candice and I met my mom at the hotel in S.L.C. during the lunch hour. We stayed at a lovely hotel that was close to the new mall, City Creek (great mall, Utah is finally getting it right). We walked to the new mall and had lunch at Kneaders, than went shopping! Shopping where I didn't have to bring snacks for anyone or say "I will try this on so fast", or bribe! Sooooooooo verrrrry relaxing, we took our sweeeet time.... in every store! This was fabulous and so was the company! After our great shopping excursion we later rode the tram back to the hotel (a couple blocks but since I have never done it, it was fun and not scary. I am branching out :). Before we left the mall we of course grabbed all of the catologs at Hardware Restoration, then went back to the hotel, drank Diet Coke and Mountain Dew while soaking our feet in the hot tub. Awwww, so nice and refreshing.








 Later that evening we walked around the temple grounds and headed to our reservation at The Roof. So lovely! I think that was the first time for all of us and we were seated with a perfect view of the temple. We made a later reservation in the evening so the blinds were going up as we were seated. We saw a great sunset! They had a piano player there, she was great. She played all of the good stuff, Les Mis, Phantom, Clair De Lune; it was perfect. They had great creme brulee, so in other words- it was perfect!! We came home, tried out a fun face mask and watched HGTV.
Sunday morning we woke up and went to the Spoken Word and sat on the 4th row. I have a SUPER mom and am SO very thankful for her. Candice and I had a blast!!!!

Posted in: 2012, candice, millers, riss on Friday, June 1, 2012 at 2 comments  

Boise is always a blast. Candice and I have been able to see each other a lot these last couple of months and it has been so much fun. Colby and Ethan love Charlotte. Alright so Colby is great with her and Ethan and Charlotte clash some BUT by the end they were playing great together. Her they are giving her some L O V E!

( AND of course, Colby with no pants, I know we are working on that, my kids would be great at a nudist colony:)



Ethan has had a rougher time lately. With Darrin being gone for 3 weeks, me constantly working on the house and yard( 5 acres..is TOUGH) and trying to get packed for Omaha, busy- is an understatement. I headed up to Boise for a little fun! By this point Ethan has had it, and is exhausted. He had a rough time going to sleep and when I was checking up on him... this is what I found. He is in my suitcase!!! He had fallen asleep like this. The funny thing is, there were paper and things on the bottom, so it couldn't have been comfortable it's a duffel bag. Exhausted after his tantrum, he is still a keeper!



I am trying to organize all of my pictures and my conclusion is... I have almost none of myself or Darrin. I always wished my parents had more of themselves, but now being a parent, I have noticed it is hard to remember. This is before church. I also discovered posed picture with both kids smiling are nearly impossible, from now on it's going to be candid!



The munchkins exhausted from lots of playing at Grandma's!! On our way back home:)

We had a great time in Boise! We stopped at Nat and Cob's house to play with the cousins and spent the night there. Natalie showed me that there is stuff to do in Burley............ well they have a great mexican food place and yogurt shop:) 

Went swimming at the Dunkleys! Oh, how I love that they heat the pool to 90! Awesome! Not so awesome that Colby freaked out with his swimming lessons, like hysterical- thanks for getting me through that, Ju! Ethan loved them, and Colby did too, well after he was out of the pool! Swim lessons are going to be fun this summer!!

Lot's of yummy food, Idaho Pizza Company and Westside will be missed, best garden burgers ever!!! Of course my moms food.

The bunk beds, along with the trampoline, books, bath time, grandpa making them awesome breakfasts every morning and me getting to sleep in, why do I ever leave???

P.S. Juliann, love the moves at night............ Candice thought we were soooooo FUNNY!!!!!!!!

Posted in: 2012, candice, colby, ethan, millers, riss on Thursday, May 31, 2012 at 2 comments  

The perfect winter activity, go to the Bean Museum. The big building on campus with a ton of stuffed, dead animals. ( doesn't that sound fun, ha! actually, the kids love it) They do little shows where one of the workers will talk about animals and let the kids pet some live ones (snake, turtle, lizard ) Darrin finished his classes early, he joined up with us. The boys loved showing Daddy around!

See, they like to show us the animals! They do a great job remembering what everything is, totally impressed!

Posted in: 2012, colby, darrin, ethan, riss, us on Wednesday, March 21, 2012 at 1 comments  

My parents just bought a bunk bed for when the the grand kids come visit. Who doesn't love a bunk bed? This one is great because both beds are full size. I really want one! Probably should have a house first:) When it's Darrin's night to tuck the kids in.......I often find all three boys tuckered out!
Colby and Ethan love the trampoline. I loved having one growing up and it is nice because it is in the ground. Much safer. The kids and I always have a blast on it.

This Christmas we went shooting, I love shooting. Soooooo much fun. Kayle has a handgun which is super powerful and had a nice kick to it. Darrin really loved this bad boy and Kayle would start from where we were shooting and take a ton of shots walking and jogging up to the target. I swear it was like watching some undercover agent/ James Bond kind of thing. Pretty sweet! Darrin was great at knocking off all of the targets we lined up.
( We also (each couple) bought an airsoft gun and we would print off a target and have competitions in the basement, I love those things!!)




The day we went shooting, it was freezing! By the end, Candice and I would warm up in the car and only get out when someone else was nice enough to load up the guns:) This gun we borrowed from the Dunkley's, it was super fun. You could load 2 shells and when you pulled the trigger the smoking shell would fly out, how awesome! I really want this bad boy, it's kind of heavy for me so I would leave the gun down until the skeet was thrown than lift it and aim. My shot might improve if I held it up the whole time!

Candice and I had a blast. Her official gun stance, that's how people shoot right? We had all of the fun while the guys were nice enough to go set up the targets( thanks to Darrin's massive pop addiction we had plenty) P.S. The guns not loaded, We do practice gun safety!!

I am shooting my dad's 22. I think this is my favorite gun. It is super lightweight and no kick, I am more comfortable with this one so my aim is a little better. Candice, my dad and I would have competitions to see who could knock down all of the cans. My dad hit every single one. Let's just say Candice and I had fun! :) At least I have swagger when I shoot!! HAHA

Posted in: 2011, candice, christmas, dad, millers, riss, vacation on Friday, December 30, 2011 at 1 comments  

A couple of days before heading to Boise, for Christmas, we found out my Grandpa was not doing well; a few days later he passed. Darrin stayed in Boise taking care of the boys while I drove down to Rexburg, ID with my parents, Natalie, Spencer and his wife Juliann and their newest baby, Tanner.
  I have been to funerals before but never a close relative. Being L.D.S I know that he truly is in a better place. If anyone knows my Grandpa he definitely made it! (unlike myself for example; I could go anywhere :) But not him- he was amazing!
  Having my Grandpa pass is sad.  I get teared up knowing my Grandma and him will be apart. Now that I am married, I know how hard it is to be away from my husband and it makes me sad to know that my Grandma will be missing her loving and devoted husband everyday until they meet again.
  The funeral service was amazing. My Grandpa was such an amazing guy. Each of his kids gave a talk about different aspects of his life and being there made me realize (even more than I had already known) what a great guy he was. My Grandpa was a great dad, great at his job, served our country, great husband, served the Church, I could go on and on. I am proud to say that he is my Grandpa and know he will be missed. I am exited to see him again.

Grandpa Miller loved sage. When he was far away during World War 2 he missed the smell of it, he said some of his favorite letters he received was when someone sent a sprig of Sagebrush in the envelope. It just flooded him of memories back home. He was a good ole' Idaho boy who always wanted to get back home.
If anyone has been to Rexburg they should know how cold it gets; it is freezing. The wind does not help.  It always feels a good 10 degrees colder because of this. The day my Grandpa was buried it had snowed and the ground had a good foot of snow. After the burial service, everyone started getting in their cars when I noticed my cousin, Lincoln, discretely trudging deep through the snow to the very outskirts of the cemetery. I wondered what he was doing.  As he made his way back to our Grandpa's burial site I saw that he held something in his hand. As he approached the casket, he laid a bundle of sage upon his casket.
I could picture my Grandpa smiling down.





My Grandpa was a patriarch. He gave me my Patriarchal blessing and sealed me to my husband. The last song that was sung at his funeral was God Be With You Till We Meet Again. I have grown to love this song and which now has a new meaning for me.

Posted in: 2011, millers, riss on Friday, December 23, 2011 at 1 comments  

We are to cheap and in school for professional pictures, for Christmas cards Candice and I traded off taking each others pictures. My kids decided it was best not to cooporate at all, we did get some pictures. After trying to get both kids to smile and look at the camera at the same time- I want to pull my hair out! Exhausting work, how do pro's do it! Bribes or drugs??

Posted in: 2011, colby, darrin, ethan, photo shoot, riss, us on Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 1 comments