Greenway Cycling, June 2012.

June 1st, we decided a greenway bike ride would be a perfect way to spend the afternoon and evening. We loaded up the bikes, parked at the UT gardens, and hit the greenways hard. We rode forever....almost 17 miles to be exact. We went to Ijams Nature Center, then to Market Square where we witnessed the take off for the Downtown People City Walk (1mile sprint race) which ends in the middle of Market Square. Then we rode down Cumberland Avenue to Cookout, where we indulged in some hearty cheeseburgers and shared our former favorite dessert...the Oreo Mint Milkshake. Oh so good. I was doubtful my legs would make it any further, but they did....we finished our ride through Tyson Park, back to the truck. We had a blast though, and I truly wouldn't have changed anything. Love you Todd! Love that you are my best friend, plus the greatest husband in the world.

Memorial Weekend in Miami, May 2012.

Memorial weekend couldn't come soon enough. One of my best friends in the entire world, Alexandra Eidelwein, MD, moved to Miami in December 2011...SAD DAY with lots of tears shed. We worked together for a total of 6 years at Children's (4 as an RN, 2 and an NP). I bought my SOLO ticket in early March, and flew Allegiant ALL BY MYSELF to visit her. Now, for some of you who have flown your entire life, that may not be a big deal, but for this girl, who just began her flying debut in April 2010, it was a VERY big deal. Despite the thousands of miles we have flown in the last year to Thailand and Ukraine, plus other national flights, it's a little more intimidating when you are by yourself.

Nevertheless, I made it aboard, and settled into my window seat. By the way, I NEVER sit anywhere else. I MUST be able to see the view and the clouds (if present).

I landed safe and sound in Fort Lauderdale, found the passenger pick-up row, where even though it was 1130pm, it was jam packed with cars, all LAYING on their horns.....which can be quite annoying. Alex picked me up, and we drove around downtown Miami, then to her new AWESOME home in Aventura.

Since I flew down on a Thursday, Alex had to work the next morning, and Gabby went to school, so I found myself up bright and early for a morning walk on Country Club Drive . It's a 3-mile loop around the gorgeous community of Aventura.

Then, I found myself migrating to the pool! How could I not. Miami weather is absolutely perfect for early morning sunning. And who doesn't love an infinity pool!!

Aventura is beautiful during the day, but also at night. Ahhhh!!

Time to hit the beach! Miami beaches....lots to see, too much of a few things, but the blue and deeper blue waters definitely take you to a happy place. And if that doesn't....

.....the food will for sure. Grilled Mahi Mahi, steamed vegetables, rice and salsa. Oh man, I 've never had such an incredible beach lunch!! If you know how much I love to eat, especially healthy food, then you know how much I enjoyed this delicious meal =)

Plus, I just had the best time in the world with my incredible friend. I love her and miss her so much. 

You can't go to Miami without a fun-sun, large-brim, straw hat!! Plus, it becomes miserably humid and hot, so this hair gets a little....no ALOT....out of control. It's always better to protect your skin too, especially your face.

 One great thing about this trip, everything in Aventura is super super expensive, and ritzy, and over-the-top nice. So, I spent NO money at the malls, which my husband was so proud of me for =) Where's White House Black Market when you need it!

 The malls are gorgeous though! Oh, and you don't go out until like 9pm to dinner (which was my 4th meal, or for those of you that know me well, my 8th meal). Yes, we literally sat down to order dinner at Cheesecake Factory at 940pm! Oh, but even that late, it was delicious!! Then we were on a sugar high until at least 2 in the morning. So much fun!!

Definitely need more pool time before coming home.

Once again, I just couldn't have enough time with her. I wanted to pack her in my suitcase, and bring her back to Knoxville. That would certainly be a challenge however, especially after seeing how great Aventura is, and how perfect it is for her. Love and miss you Alex!! I'm already planning my next trip down very soon.... I'll let you know when!

Oh, and since it was night time when I flew down, the pictures of the coast were kind of too dark to see anything. But, as I mentioned earlier, I ALWAYS sit by the window, so I can get these incredible views of God's most beautiful creation.

The Atlantic Coastline is one of the better sights from high above.....

....but will always be superseded by Heavens Magnificent clouds. They will always be my favorite.

Family Favorites. Monthly, 2012

Every week or two, we take time to Skype with Evan, Becca, and sweet little James. It is one of our favorite, most anticipated days/nights of the week. We love watching James find us on the computer screen, pause, then smile. It's truly the cutest thing ever.

 We are so thankful for the ability to chat "live" with our family, who lives several hours away. If only we could reach through the screen and give them lots of hugs.

Billy's Birthday. May 2012.

There are so many blessings we receive in life, but one of the greatest blessings I've experienced is becoming an aunt, FOUR times, to FOUR boys. Todd and I tremendously love our four nephews, and there's just something so wonderful about getting to love love love on them, buying them fun, sugary birthday presents, playing intense and competitive (and I mean competitive) soccer all afternoon until you can't move, and laughing until you cry and fall on the ground, and then laughing even more.

  Billy is our first-ever nephew, and he is now 6 years old. Oh man, how time has flown by. I remember the day he was born, the first time I held him, the first time our new puppy Micah licked him right in the face, and so many more firsts, that only come with your first nephew. 

I love this little man more than words could say. He has an incredible passion for life, fierce determination in everything he does, a growing confidence in his God-given abilities, and the biggest and brownest eyes ever...kind of like his aunt janice =)

 

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY BILLY!! WE LOVE YOU!

March Madness!!! March, 2012.

March came and left in a whirlwind, which is why I titled this post March Madness! We closed on a condo in Fountain City on February 29th, with the intent to make the upgrades and changes we wanted over the next couple of months while we worked out our 60-day notice at our apartment. 

We looked ahead at our schedules, and quickly realized April would be even more hectic, as you can imagine, with a 10-day mission trip to Ukraine (and all of the packing, planning, and preparation that involves), plus both of us working full-time, extra out-of-state traveling for Todd, not to mention his birthday--which we WILL celebrate no matter how busy we are.

So, we spent every waking minute of March working our tails off to make our new home Mills-move-in ready. That meant spending our anniversary weekend packing and labeling boxes, then loading and unloading all of them, unpacking each item, and deciding where in the world it should go. 

In the meantime, we picked out starchy white paint for every square inch of ceiling, which was previously painted a beige color, very similar to the wall paint in this picture. It was like walking into a peanut butter cave. No thank you!! Since we were limited on time, and there are only 300,000 paint colors to choose from, we went with a neutral gray-beige for the interior walls. We ripped up the horrible smurf blue carpet from the master bedroom, as well as the guest bedroom carpet....tile and hardwood floors only for us. We selected the perfect river rock which would replace our too fancy and formal corner fireplace. And we absolutely hired some helping hands to get all of this accomplished in only a couple weeks time.

 

We have many photos still to post, but we'll start with the fireplace transformation....

LOVE!!!

Looking back, March definitely was a bit of a hurricane ride, but God worked out the details of everything so perfectly, even down to the final weekend days we would both have off so we could move in, make a trip to Atlanta IKEA with a friends covered trailer to purchase furniture, and bring it safely home through a monsoon of a downpour. Not to mention the fact that we are literally a 1 1/2 minute drive from Todd's mom and dad. They were a tremendous help throughout the entire renovation, packing, moving, settling process.

Our first few weeks were spent sleeping on a mattress, sheets taped over the naked windows, sitting in lawn chairs while eating, and all of our clothes hung on every door frame and shower curtain we had =) As I said earlier, more pictures will be posted later. We are still in the never-ending process of deciding what to hang on the wall, how should we fill this corner gap, etc. Stay tuned!

My Valentine, February 2012.

This year on Valentine's day, I worked the evening shift at Children's, which means 5p-1a, during the time my wonderful husband and I would traditionally go out to a nice dinner to celebrate.

Tonight, this incredible man, who I am so blessed to call my husband, and my valentine, brought Chick-fil-a and The Cup to the hospital so we could still have our Valentine's dinner together. God has blessed me beyond words, all throughout my life, but especially when He gave me you, Todd Gerald Mills. I love you so much, and I am so excited that I get to share ALL of my Valentine Days with you.

Sweet Baby Tristan, February 2012.

This is our sweet nephew #4, Tristan Michael Barr. He arrived February 8, 2012. Baby boy #3 to proud mommy and daddy, Andy and Collin.

We definitely can't forget about Tristan's VERY proud big brothers, Benjamin (left) and Billy (right). Daddy would be THRILLED to have 4 grandsons. I so wish he could be here to see them. Congratulations Andy and Collin! We love your sweet and growing family so so much! 

New York City/Atlantic City, January 2012.

As I have mentioned before, my incredibly gifted and talented husband was inducted into the US Martial Arts Hall of Fame in July 2011. I'm so so so proud of all of his accomplishments. Now, he has been inducted into Alan Goldberg's Action Martial Arts Hall of Honors, with this years ceremonies being held in Atlantic City, NJ. Why yes, I think I could make arrangements to be there =)

We flew into New York a day early, so we could spend time sight-seeing, and exploring all that New York City has to offer.

 There's honestly no better way to see the city, than atop a hop-on, hop-off, double-decker tour bus. 

 First hop-off: the world trade center site. This is the new memorial tower under construction. Pictures do not even come close to describing the magnitude of this building. It truly brought a new, unimagined perspective to all that took place on 9/11.

 Second hop-off, and this is My handsome man in front of Rockefeller Center. It actually took some effort to get this picture. What you might wonder is what everyone in the background is looking at??

 That would be a live filming of 30ROCK! Yes, indeed! We were kindly directed out of the filming boundaries by security =) It was so awesome!

 Atop Rockefeller Center. 

 Love him!

 You honestly can't say you've truly experienced New York City without shopping on Fifth Avenue. We went in AND right back out of many many incredible stores on NYC's famous Fifth Ave, but our favorite for sure....

 ....was FAO Schwarz, especially the FAO Schweetz floor. Heaven for this girl with not just one sweet tooth, but an entire mouth FULL of sweet teeth =D

 After a lot of walking, and a 2-hr train ride from Penn Station in NYC, with a quick over-lay in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, we made it to our final destination at the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Atlantic City, NJ.

 It might have been 20 degrees, but by george, we WILL take pictures on the beach, and Todd WILL chase the seagulls. It's a long-standing tradition of his, and it's hilarious. I missed the photo opp unfortunately. 

 The beach is literally a few short steps outside.

 First night, dinner at PF Changs.

 Dessert at the Market...which had CHEESECAKE FACTORY cheesecake!! Yes, we did indulge!! Vanilla bean cheesecake hit the spot =D

Next, Mission Impossible, Ghost Protocol IMAX!! Oh good heavens, it was incredible, and we have since watched the movie at least 3 more times!! Highly recommended by the Mills.

 This is the view from our hotel room. Somehow, even in the winter, the beach can seem so relaxing.

 And if the beach isn't relaxing enough, I'll just head down to the spa and have my manicure/pedicure while the husband gets a massage. Must get ready for the awards ceremony!!

 There he is.... Congratulations Todd!! I can't express in words how joyously proud I am of not just your accomplishments, but the unbelievably amazing person you are.

 I'm honored and privileged to be your wife, and call you my husband, and my best friend.

 If you've never been to a martial arts award ceremony, let me tell you right now that they are rather lengthy. Nonetheless, early we rise the next morning, and bundle up for our venture outside where it is now 15 degrees, with a wind gust of I don't know how much, but it felt like really fast. We waited at the tram stop for our shuttle, and we froze our tails off. It was COLD people....FREEZING!!!

 But, the train ride into Philadelphia, and then to NYC was absolutely breathtaking.

 We're now back in NYC at the famous Penn Station, and Madison Square Garden. Oh, and there are NO pictures of the taxi cabs nor the drivers. That was without a doubt my least favorite part of the trip. Thank goodness we have strong legs and feet that walked us everywhere we needed to go, and we only needed the taxi to and from the airport. I can't even talk about it, it makes me feel flushed, dizzy, and sick to my stomach.

 Oh, and I definitely have to post this picture. As you know from our recent mission trip to Ukraine, I LOVE LOVE LOVE boarding the plane on the runway. Yes, even with snow and ice, freezing winds, and a slight hesitation to board the plane that would take off in these conditions, it was still an honorable walk up those steps =) 

Safe on the ground in Knoxville! Thankful for an awesome time with this man in one of the coolest places in America....at least that I've experience so far.