Preschool Graduation

Jaxon graduated from preschool!  He was adorable in his cap and gown!

 They had an awesome program to show some of the songs they learned during the year.  

 Jaxon and his teacher, Miss Melissa

Jaxon loves her!  He got the "Gummy Bear Award" because he gave the best hugs!  It was so sweet:)

 A few preschool projects

Field Trip

Jaxon's preschool went on a field trip to a local dairy farm.  Jaxon loved it!

 Miss Melissa, Addison, Bradley, Kara, (Jax,) Ava, Bremmen, Sarah

Preschool

Jaxon started preschool yesterday.  He loves it.  He is going to a lady in our ward and most of the kids are in his primary class.

Every Thursday is "Mommy Helper" day where one of the parents comes in to help with the class.  I am pretty bummed I won't be able participate in this since I watch kids.  I want to be able to go see him in his class.  Maybe sometime I'll get to...

One Down, Eleven to Go!

Devin finished his first class in his masters program!  He even earned an A!  I'm so proud of all his hard work for our family.  He's got two jobs, is working on his masters, and is a fantastic husband and daddy on top of it!  He's really busy, but is so great at everything he does!  Now he only have 11 more classes to go! Ha!

This year Devin gets to teach the preparatory AP geometry classes!  This is fabulous news because the students are more motivated and mature than the freshman in algebra, like he taught last year.

more mature and motivated students = less babysitting = less stress and frustration + more teaching time! = happy Devin = happy wife = happy family!

Make sense?

Even though Devin is the most qualified math teacher at the high school (besides the department head), he was worried the principal would give the position to a different teacher, or even worse, a new hire.  But, he got it!  We were both so excited!

What's Been Going On...

Well, not much.  We had a nice weekend getting errands done and things around the house, nothing too exciting.  But spending the time together was really nice.

Devin officially starts teaching again tomorrow.  He was back at work last week, but the kids didn't start yet.  And I am watching daycare kids again.  I had a nice break, but am actually a little glad to have the work again.  I'm sure I'll be tired of it soon enough.

Along with teaching, Devin has night classes Monday and Wednesday, and works Tuesday and Thursday nights.  So, he is back to being really busy!  And I'm back to making dinner, cleaning up, and bathing the kids by myself every night.  I know lots of moms do this, but for me, I love it when Devin is able to help with dinner and bedtime.  By the end of the day it is such a relief to have his help.  But, he is working hard in school and I want him to be there so I gotta do what I gotta do!

I can feel the baby move now!  It's really light, but I know for sure it's the baby.  And we picked a name.  It was going to Graham, but when we found out for sure it was a boy, I just felt like that name didn't fit.  I can't really explain why.  I really love the name, but for some reason, it's not the right name for this baby.  I think we are going to name him Oliver.  Devin and I both really like it.  We've never even considered that name before, but it just came up one day after we found out he was a he.  That's kind of what it was like when we picked Henry's name.  We never talked about it before, but when we first said it, we both loved it!  So, Oliver Something Miller...we haven't decided on the middle name for sure yet...

Mormon Survey

If you are Mormon or not you might like to do this survey for a study at Dixie College. It's not long; it will only take a minute.

Please only fill out the survey once and be as honest as possible.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dHg3X1BVRl9jQXo0X1FJcE9uZ3JQOUE6MA

Catch 22's

As I was thinking the other day, I realized there are some situations that you can't really win...

1. Going to school & getting student loans

Okay, you go to college to get a good job and make good money. BUT going to college requires getting student loans and then you have that bill to pay when you graduate.

So, my question is, would it be cheaper to skip college and get a regular job without the greatest pay so you don't have student loan payments? Probably not, but I wonder...

2. Teaching & getting a second job

One reason we decided Devin would be a teacher, besides the fact that he loves it, is the great schedule teachers have. You know, Monday-Friday, 7:00-3:30, with all holidays and summer off. But, because the pay is so little, Devin has started working a second job after school. So now he doesn't get home until 7:30 two nights during the week and he works a few hours on Saturdays. That's not exactly how we planned it...

Devin's Graduation

Yes, these are a little old, but just got done...

Lil' Bro Moves to ASU

Sunday, August 17 my little brother moved to the Arizona State University dorms. My parents are "empty nesters" at age 45 and 43!

My dad and Joshua outside Manzanita Hall (his dorms).
Here's Joshua at his desk in his dorm room. Cozy!
My mom and Joshua.
Joshua, we'll miss seeing you as often as we do now, but you'll have fun in college. We love you!

Mr. Miller, Math Teacher

Devin officially started his student teaching today! He's teaching at Queen Creek High School. The classes are basic algebra and calculus. He's excited because it's a range from the most basic to the most advanced levels.

It will be nice not to have the long commute and better hours! Plus, it's nice that he's starting his career, rather than just working at a job. I know he will do so good and be an excellent teacher! We just need to pray that he gets a job when he's done, which will be in October...mid school year, which can be risky...but, we know it will work out!