Inagural Blog Entry - 2007 In Review

Welcome To Our Family Blog!

We are very excited to finally get this going! Starting a blog has been something we have wanted to start all year, but what a crazy year 2007 has been!! We decided to make the family blog one of our top new year resolutions, and so here we on the first day of the new year posting our very first blog entry. We thought the best first entry would be a 2007 year in review. We hope to hear from our many friends and family, so visit often and let us know how you are doing.

March 2007
~A BIG CHANGE ~
In March, we decided to make a significant change in our lives. After 5 long years, Justin decided to leave Ernst & Young, his first job after graduating from BYU. This was a very difficult decision for Justin, but a need for less travel, a larger salary, and most importantly, more time with family were the primary reasons for leaving. Justin enjoyed his time at E&Y, especially the many friends he made and the overwhelming experience gained in his career. Justin applied and interviewed with three different companies, receiving great offers from all three. After a lot of contemplation and discussion, we decided that accepting an offer from Quellos, an investment firm headquartered in downtown Seattle, made the most sense for our family~

April 2007
~ UNEXPECTED NEWS ~
In April, shortly after Justin started his new job, we received some news that would change our lives forever! Jacki found out, to our surprise ;), that she was pregnant with our third child, set to arrive in November. WOW, THIS SHOULD MAKE OUR LIVES INTERESTING...


October 2007
~CRAVEN FARMS ~
In October, we made our annual trip to Craven Farms to let the kids pick out their Halloween pumpkins, pet the animals, ride tractors, and oh yeah, don't forget gorging ourselves on Kettle corn popcorn! It's one of our favorite things to do each year. How fun!



~PUMPKIN CARVING NIGHT ~
Here are some pictures of our annual pumpkin carving party, which usually translates into a Dad carving party. We barely got Jaden to touch the "guts"~



~ HALLOWEEN ~
Halloween was a blast in 2007. Jaden was black Spiderman, of course. Halli was the cutest witch ever! She seemed to know just what to do for her first Halloween all dressed up. She clutched her wand and candy bucket all night long as she ran door to door. And oh yeah, great job on those pumpkins Dad!



November 2007
~ RAGEN J. MILLER ~

On November 6, 2007 we welcomed Ragen J. Miller into our family with loving arms and kisses. Our largest baby yet, Ragen weighed in at 8 lbs. 14 oz. Although our world has been turned upside down, we are so happy she is here with us; she has made the perfect addition to our little family. Grandma Holmgren came to visit when Ragen was born to help us out with the big transition.

December 2007

~ HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! ~

~ LET IT SNOW ~

It doesn't snow that often around Seattle, so when it does, we take advantage!

~ CHRISTMAS EVE ~

Keeping tradition alive, we celebrated Christmas Eve by opening new pajamas for everyone! There's nothing like new pajamas on Christmas Eve! YAHOO!

~ CHRISTMAS ~

This was our first year celebrating Christmas in Washington. We must say we missed being on the road living out of our suitcases and visiting family in Utah; well not really. We did miss visiting family, but it sure was nice to relax at home all day with the kiddies.

~ ANOTHER GREAT OPPORTUNITY ~

Out of the blue, Justin received a call from a former senior manager who worked with him at Ernst & Young and offered him to join her team at Microsoft. After receiving an offer he could not refuse, Justin accepted and will begin a new phase of his career at Microsoft on January 2, 2008. We are so excited for him and the wonderful blessings this new opportunity will bring our family, including more time with Justin.