September 26
Family History Checkup
Following are my responses to questions about my personal Family History that I have given over the course of the past 6 months. The questions were given in groups of ten so as not to overwhelm anyone all at once. This was made in an effort to try and get my family members on board of the Family History "train". Following is one of the initial emails I had sent out to my family:
It has been great fun to relive the memories of our youth and see some of the responses that trigger many memories that I have totally forgotten about. I encourage each of you to take 15 minutes to do this as this can be a great record for you and your posterity. The reason I decided to do this project was because I wish I had known more about my grandparents, who I never knew, as they both died when my mother was young. I have always wished that they had more records written about them. I have been corresponding with my uncle though, and he just sent me a copy of each of their patriarchal blessings. This was one of those hidden treasures that I have been longing for, and I feel much closer to each of them after having read those.
~Todd
Week 1: 3/27/2007
1. What is your full name? Why did your parents select this name for you? Did you have a nickname?
2. When and where were you born?
3. How did your family come to live there?
4. Were there other family members in the area? Who?
5. What was the house (apartment, farm, etc.) like? How many rooms? Bathrooms? Did it have electricity? Indoor plumbing? Telephones?
6. Were there any special items in the house that you remember?
7. What is your earliest childhood memory?
8. Describe the personalities of your family members.
9. What kind of games did you play growing up?
10. What was your favorite toy and why?
Here are my answers (of course I will practice what I preach!)
What is your full name? Why did your parents select this name for you? Did you have a nickname?
Todd Taylor Miller. My first and Middle name were given after my grandmother on my fathers side. Her Mother's maiden name was Todd and her last name was Taylor. I have three lines of ancestry within my name. The Todd's came from Scotland, the Taylors came from England, and the Millers came from Germany (Originally known as Mueller, it was changed to Miller sometime between 1846 and 1869 when the Muellers came from Prussia to Nebraska). I guess that makes me ScotGermLish. ;) I had a number of nicknames growing up. Mallard, Toddler, Rugger, Mod, Killer Tiller. On my mission in Japan, many called me Mirror Man, because Miller sounds like Miller in Japanese. Also Tenshinranman, which means naive and innocent. Then since being married: HotToddy, Toddzilla, and since LeAnn likes to tease me, "Bubba"
When and where were you born?
Primary Childrens hospital in SLC, Utah on August 30th, 1970 (A day that will live in infamy ;))
How did your family come to live there?
My parents met at BYU in Provo, Utah, and settled down in Sandy, Utah
Were there other family members in the area? Who?
The Garfields, which was my mothers sister, Vicky's family. Uncle Karl, my fathers older brother and his family. Uncle Alan and Eve, my fathers oldest siblings/twins and their families. Grandpa Cummings, who was my mothers grandfather on her mothers side, and Grandma and Grandpa Miller.
What was the house (apartment, farm, etc.) like? How many rooms? Bathrooms? Did it have electricity? Indoor plumbing? Telephones?
We lived in a number of houses during my youth. The first, and most memorable for me was on Mt. Majestic road in Sandy. We lived there until I turned 12. I remember it having 5 bedrooms. Two upstairs and 3 down. There were two bathrooms upstairs and and one unfinished one downstairs. I loved the big family room where we had a couple of couches and the TV, along with some lovely pea-green shag carpet. We spent a lot of time down there watching Brady Bunch, and I learned how to play video games when I got a console with Pong and Breakout on it. Good times!
Were there any special items in the house that you remember?
We had a beautiful grand piano and grandfather clock upstairs. I remember when dad put in hardwood floors and a new fancy wood railing. The upstairs living room always looked nice, and was where we always celebrated Christmas, often with a beautiful, flocked Christmas tree.
What is your earliest childhood memory?
One from preschool comes to mind. One burned in my memory because when I turned five, my best friend Darren Mansell and I had a joint birthday party. A couple of girls gave each of us a teaset. I was sooooooo mad. And they thought it was the funniest thing ever. I also remember playing a lot with our dog, Peppy. He was a great, affectionate dog, a Maltese Poodle mix. Yes, EVERY boy should have a dog! ;)
Describe the personalities of your family members.
Dad- Spiritual giant. I was amazed by his box of church talks and the markings in his scriptures. "I was so glad when daddy came home.." (cue primary song) I loved to spend time with him when he got home from work. He taught us so many things, especially about the joy of sports, and brain-washed us into being BYU cougar fans. ;) I loved going on fishing trips with him. He would always let the boys reel the fish in when he caught them, and saved me from drowning once when I let too much water get into my oversize waders.
Mom- Sweetest woman in the world. Everyone loved my mom. She was understanding and helped me through many of the difficult trials of my life. She loved each of us unconditionally. She was supportive in everything we did. Taking us to soccer, basketball games etc. She helped me to control the scowl on my face that sometimes appeared during basketball games, by bribing me with $10. Worked like a charm!
Kelly- One word. Redhead. She was always full of energy and fun. She gave me makeovers before I was old enough to understand that it wasnt manly. A partner in crime when dropping eggs from the top of the fridge as children
Brian- My little, bigger brother. Oh the pain inflicted when he started to outgrow me. But I was always a bit more musclely to his gangliness, so I never had any trouble taking him. ;) We were just a year and a half apart, so did a lot of things together-- basketball, soccer. He has a calm demeanor about him.
Brad- He was a fun-loving guy. I enjoyed watching him grow up with Donny up the street. Those two could make amazing GI Joe and army guy sounds come out of their mouths. Later I remember him dressing up like Michael Jackson and dancing to the "Thriller".
Brooke. She cracked my head open twice. Dont mess with her! Once on the trampoline, she literally "cracked my egg" when her teeth came down into my head after being "popped" about 7 feet high. The next time was when she was racing me up to the bathroom at our Camille Drive house. I beat her of course, but when I turned around to shut the door to keep her out, my feet slipped on the wet tiles and I went straight down on my chin. Other than that, a great girl! ;)
Ashley- Was nice to everyone. She was always singing and smiling-- off in her own world. The least fiesty of all of the sisters. Very even tempered. We "affectionately" called her the "Bag Lady" she had this little shopping cart she would toodle around in that had tons of dolls and stuff jammed in it. To this day, I dont like to watch Annie because she was always watching it.
Brandon- Such a cute little guy. Gotta love being the baby brother. We were twelve years apart, so I missed seeing the majority of his years growing up. Turned into an incredible ball player. Still hasnt officially beat me though :)
What kind of games did you play growing up?
When it snowed, we would play duck, duck goose in the backyard. We had a great neighborhood with lots of kids, where we played kick-the-can, and hide and seek. I would go on exploring missions with my friends in the woods above the golfcourse that was below our house.
What was your favorite toy and why?
I used to love a remote controlled corvette that I had. It was so fun to drive that puppy around the neighborhood. There was just a sense of power being able to control a little miniature vehicle. I think I ended up driving it right into the bushes in front of the house and never being able to find it again.
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11. What was your favorite thing to do for fun (movies, beach, etc.)?
12. Did you have family chores? What were they? Which was your least favorite?
13. Did you receive an allowance? How much? Did you save your money or spend it?
14. What was school like for you as a child? What were your best and worst subjects? Where did you attend grade school? High school? College?
15. What school activities and sports did you participate in?
16. Do you remember any fads from your youth? Popular hairstyles? Clothes?
17. Who were your childhood heroes?
18. What were your favorite songs and music?
19. Did you have any pets? If so, what kind and what were their names?
20. What was your religion growing up? What church, if any, did you attend?
What was your favorite thing to do for fun (movies, beach, etc.)?
I used to love climbing over the fence and playing in the woods above the golf course. (See attached image and try and pick out our house!)
We would sometimes wait until the course 'closed' and then go and hit balls around too. This is where I accidentally tossed one of my shoes into the creek when I was crossing once. The creek was pretty swift and we ran down the course trying to catch up with my shoe, but it got away. :( That was a tough one to try and put past mom when I came home wearing only one shoe.)
The next "fond" memory was the "Burning Bush". Darrin Fletcher and I were bored one day. We started rummaging through the garage trying to find something to do. We found dad's match collection in a large plastic container. (He had match books from various places he visited while traveling with Sedgefield or Trans Alaska). "Hmmm. What can we do with these?" we thought to ourselves. Then Darrin (I still swear it was all his idea) said we should jump the fence and see what things we could burn in the field-- of course it was the middle of the summer and it was drier than the Sahara outside. So we hopped over and surveyed the scene. Behind Mr. Carrigan's yard there were a bunch of old vegetables that had been pulled from his garden and tossed over the fence. They were nice and crispy. Darrin pulled out the matchbook and tried to light a rotten old zucchini. And what do you know? It went up like a torch! As we watched in amazement at the light show, a sneaky old Sagebrush seemed to stretch out its boughs and reach for the warmth of the flame. The Burning Bush. Our jaws dropped. Darrin, (who was a couple of months older than me and supposedly smarter) started yelling and saying: "THROW ROCKS ON IT!!!" I rolled my eyes and knew that that would do no good. Defying the foibles of youth, I ran to the nearest ant hill and started tossing the sand onto the fire- at the same time withstanding the wrath of the red fire ants. However, this didnt seem to be any more effective than the rocks. After a couple of minutes of this, we knew we were outmatched. Now, smart children (I think we were 9 or 10) would have quickly ran to an adult to get some help. We were not smart children. We just ran away. I think I hid under the dining room table and Darrin ran home. It was fight or flight. We chose flight-- self preservation above all else of course. I would peek out the window occasionally as I had been praying for divine intervention in having the fire go out. My faith apparently was insufficient at that time. I then saw Mr. Carrigan spraying over the fence with his garden hose. That was about like throwing rocks on it. Apparently, someone had then called the fire department. The fire engines ended up having to drive down the 17th fairway to get to the fire. (Im sure the golf course loved having to clean that up). Then it took them a while to get the hose long enough to get up to the top of the hill. By the time they put it out, I believe a 1/4 of an acre had been toasted.
Did you have family chores? What were they? Which was your least favorite?
I remember mowing the lawn a lot. I loved the self-propelled mower we had. Push down on the lever and it practically dragged you along. Other than that, just cleaning my room, etc. I dont remember being assigned a bunch of chores, but sometimes I would see a room that was a disaster and organize it just for fun. The laundry room was usually pretty bad, what with 7 kids and all.
Did you receive an allowance? How much? Did you save your money or spend it?
I dont remember getting an allowance. Occasionally dad would give us money for doing random jobs around the house. Mom and dad would always seem to help us when we needed something to purchase though. When we started working at Mack's Inn during the summers, I would usually blow the whole check on video games. Ahh, Popeye, Galaga, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr... what good friends we were. If I had anything left over, it would go straight to junk food. Yes, I did have my priorities straight-- games first, then candy. ;)
What was school like for you as a child? What were your best and worst subjects? Where did you attend grade school? High school? College?
I loved going to Brookwood Elementary. (Attached Brookwood pic) I had tons of friends there and started to excel at athletics. I was the "fastest boy in the mile run" in the whole school in 5th grade. I kicked a kickball onto the roof a few times (something only an elite few accomplished of course ;)). I remember dragging about 8 guys down the field while playing football. Kissing tag. My first "Girlfriend" - Tanya Allen-- who I was too scared to even sit next to. I called her up and asked her if she "wanted to 'go' with me". "Go where?" she replied. Then I had to explain to her what it meant. I did fine in my studies. Recess was my favorite thing though of course. My friends there were: Darren Mansell, Sean Snow, Matt Cole, Steve Nemelka, Nate Williams, John Blackburn, Rob Reynolds.
After elementary, I went to Union Middle School in 6th grade. We then moved and I went to Eastmont Middle school in 6th and 7th. We then moved and I went to Albion Middle school for 8th grade. We then moved again and I went to Olympus Jr. High in 9th Grade. (This one worked out well because I had a friend from Eastmont- Russ Park that had moved to Holliday the year earlier and helped me fit right in at Olympus Jr. Then I finished up high school at Olympus H.S.
I went to college at the University of Utah for one quarter before leaving on my mission to Japan. Upon returning, I went to SLCC for one year before getting engaged and moving to Washington with my beautiful wife, LeAnn. I took a few classes at Bellevue Community College while waiting for residency to kick in. I had taken some Japanese language exams at BYU, but those credits wouldnt transfer for some reason, so I earned 30 Japanese credits by examination at BCC. I then finished up my last two years at the University of Washington. I finished in 5 quarters by taking 20 hours a quarter. Yes, I am a glutton for punishment.
What school activities and sports did you participate in?
Sports, yes. School, not so much-- unless the activities were sports related. Although, in high school I ran for a Senate seat and won one of the three spots. It was great as we proposed new projects such as putting the sports section above the urinals and digging a tunnel under 23rd south from the school to the seminary building. Yes, many great ideas, but alas, few passed.
Most of my out-of-school time was spent playing on numerous soccer teams and playing basketball. I lettered in soccer in High School. Soccer was pretty much a year round thing for me-- playing indoor in the winter and then on competition teams in the summer and fall and for the school in the spring. Thanks mom and dad for driving to so many practices and games.
Do you remember any fads from your youth? Popular hairstyles? Clothes?
My big sister Kelly got me started on clothes in 8th grade. I guess I was quite the "preppy" then. I had cargo pants that rolled up at the ankles, and polo shirts (or the less-expensive imitation ones.) Then, the MOST popular hairstyle in 1984- THE PERM! I know all you guys are jealous and didnt have the gumption to get one, so you can all live out that fantasy through remembrance of my cool style. I did get quite the shock when I showed up at soccer practice and was mocked a bit when they started calling me "little orphan Annie". But once it mellowed out, it was sweeeeeeeeeeet. Then in high school I had some pretty cool flat tops that I would spike up and the ladies loved to touch. ;)
Who were your childhood heroes?
I followed Pelé quite a bit. I was always trying to emulate his famous bicycle kick. I even scored a goal using a bicycle kick in one of my games when I was 15. I did one right past the half field mark and it bounced right over the goalies head. Awesome. In basketball, I followed Jordan and Bird. (Who didnt idolize Jordan?).
My dad. I wanted to grow up as strong and as fun as he was. He spent quality time with us and I loved to go fishing with him and always wished I could catch fish like him. He was a great basketball player, even with his bad knees. (I followed exactly in those footsteps!) He was always constant in going to church and his religious views. He never wavered. These were great examples to me.
What were your favorite songs and music?
U2. The Police, then Sting. INXS. Howard Jones. I still listen to a lot of that music even today as it brings back such fond memories.
Did you have any pets? If so, what kind and what were their names?
Peppy was our first dog. A maltese poodle mix. Very kind and affectionate. One of the saddest memories of my youth was when I saw him get hit by a car down by the entrance of the Willow Creek country club. We were down there catching golfballs in the creek and he followed me all the way down there without me realizing it. I had TONS of pets later on in my teenage years. My room smelt like a zoo. 4 fish tanks at one time with African Cichlids. I had an iguana, a boa constrictor, a box turtle. Then there was Tasha. Good old Tasha. Very loyal and could jump about 5 feet in the air. Everyone will talk about how much she barked, and yes, that was a pain, but the good traits always outweighed the bad.
What was your religion growing up? What church, if any, did you attend?
I was an athiest.
Just kidding! LDS all my life and into the next one. It defines who I am today. Without the church, I would be just a shadow of the man I am today. I am grateful for the principles my parents taught me, and the testimony I have gained of the truth of Christ's gospel. It truly is the "Plan of Happiness"
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21. Were you ever mentioned in a newspaper?
22. Who were your friends when you were growing up?
23. What world events had the most impact on you while you were growing up? Did any of them personally affect your family?
24. Describe a typical family dinner. Did you all eat together as a family? Who did the cooking? What were your favorite foods?
25. How were holidays (birthdays, Christmas, etc.) celebrated in your family? Did your family have special traditions?
26. How is the world today different from what it was like when you were a child?
27. Who was the oldest relative you remember as a child? What do you remember about them?
28. What do you know about your family surname?
29. Is there a naming tradition in your family, such as always giving the firstborn son the name of his paternal grandfather?
30. What stories have come down to you about your parents? Grandparents? More distant ancestors?
21. Were you ever mentioned in a newspaper?
In 1982, my soccer team, the Stingrays won the state championship in our competition league. Darren Mansell, my best friend was also on that team. After the championship game, we received our trophies and took a team picture for the local newspaper. Im not sure if it was the Deseret News or the Salt Lake Tribune, but I still have a clipping of the picture with names attached. Unfortunately, I circled myself with a red marker on the clipping—just to make sure that everyone knew which person I was. (D’oh!)
22. Who were your friends when you were growing up?
Darren Mansell and I did a lot together. He lived a ways away down on Acorn Lane. We grew up together from preschool and our birthdays were just five days apart. I remember going down to his house quite often by riding my bike down. They had a trampoline and a bunch of other kids in the neighborhood that we would play with. We would go up to Big Rock, which was about a mile away from his house and climb the huge rock. There was also a big creek next to the foothills where we would play around in that, and then it ran into Pudding Pond, which, like its namesake, had gelatinous muck all around the shoreline. We were able to make quite a mess from that. Nearby the pond was a great place to catch lizards out in the sagebrush. Darren was a toe-head like me and was pretty skinny. Dad called him the “Shark” because he was a fast swimmer.
Darrin Fletcher lived closer to us and was in our ward. Darrin was a couple of months older than me, so he was in a grade higher than me. He had brown hair and was a bit smaller than me. I mentioned the story about the fire earlier. Darrin’s house was one street away from ours and we would cut through the Derrick’s yard to get to his as they had a gate connecting the two back yards. I always seemed to get into more trouble with Darrin than I did with Darren. Besides the fire, there was a time we decided to go rabbit hunting like Elmer Fudd. We had been watching the cartoon where Elmer propped up a box with a stick, tied a string to it, and hid behind a tree while waiting for the “Wascally Wabbit” to come and eat the bait under the box. If it worked for Elmer, it would work for us. We got all of the supplies and rode our bikes down behind pudding pond. We had seen jackrabbits hopping around down there during our lizard hunting expeditions, and figured we could nab one there. We set up our trap with lettuce and carrots under the box. We tied a string to the stick and hid ourselves about 30 feet away. We waited for what seemed like hours before a rabbit started sniffing around. We could not believe this might work. After the rabbit decided it was safe, he started chowing down. We pulled the string and actually caught the rabbit. We were beside ourselves with excitement. The box was bumping around while the rabbit tried to escape. We hadn’t thought this far in advance thinking that it would never have come to this point. We were in quite the dilemma trying to figure out what to do next. We decided that Darrin would lift the box and I would grab the rabbit. We nervously approached the box and Darrin picked it up. I was about to reach down and grab it (I was quite freaked out thinking it would bite me and have rabies or something), but it bolted out of there at about 100 MPH. It was so disoriented and scared that it ran straight into a chain link fence and tried to dive underneath it. We ran over thinking we still had a chance to nab our new pet. It started squirming more to get under the fence, but there wasn’t enough room. It had got its head under, and then it got stuck on one of the metal tines. At this point it started screaming. I don’t know if any of you have heard a rabbit scream, but it was one of the worst sounds I had heard in my life. It almost sounded like a new-born baby crying. It was unreal hearing a sound like that coming from an animal. It made me sick. Darrin was trying to free it, but it was stuck in there pretty good and it started bleeding. I became so upset that I started to cry. I ended up running off and leaving Darrin to free it on his own.
23. What world events had the most impact on you while you were growing up? Did any of them personally affect your family?
The cold war was always in the back of my mind. The potential of Nuclear War with the USSR was something that scared me a bit.
In 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded after takeoff. It was surreal. One of those things you can believe happened even after watching it over and over again on TV.
Michael Jackson- back when he was cool—before the surgeries. Everyone wanted to dance like him and we would all practice the moonwalk and later on breakdancing became big.
24. Describe a typical family dinner. Did you all eat together as a family? Who did the cooking? What were your favorite foods?
They never seemed to be typical, except on Sunday. Mom worked so hard to have nice dinners for us. I think with all of the different activities going on with the seven kids, there weren’t a whole lot of sit-down dinners all at once. When I was younger I do remember having them more frequently, so it was likely after becoming a teenager that dinners became more convoluted. I do recall having to sit at the table a number of times until I finished everything on my plate. I HATED that. You still cannot make me eat yams to this day—I get the gag reflex. ;) I loved Sunday dinners. They were always great and everyone was around. Roast with mashed potatoes and gravy. Mom made some awesome orange rolls and mac and cheese. I loved the taco salad and meatloaf that she made too.
25. How were holidays (birthdays, Christmas, etc.) celebrated in your family? Did your family have special traditions?
I LOVED Christmas. Definitely my favorite time of the year. I loved to get the spirit going by listening to Christmas music starting early in November. We had an 8-Track cassette player and a copy of “The Chipmunks Christmas” that I still love the songs today. I even got a copy for my family now. J One of my fond memories was going out to get the Christmas tree. It was always quite snowy and cold when we did this, and I can still smell the kerosene heaters that the lots had running as we looked for a tree. There were a few times when we got the “fancy” flocked ones, which I thought were quite cool. To this day, I still insist that my family go out to get a live tree each year so as to keep that nostalgic tradition and memories alive. We kids would often try to stay up late on Christmas eve and see if we could see Santa riding through the sky. I still remember one year where I swear I saw him flashing through a starry night sky on Christmas eve. We would often sneak out early Christmas morning and look through all of the pile of presents to see what we got. I could never figure out why mom and dad were never as excited as us to get up early and start opening presents. On Christmas morning, we had to stand at the bottom (or top- depending on which house we were in) of the stairs in order from youngest to oldest before going out to the tree. That way there was no trampling I guess. Then mom would have everyone open their presents one at a time so we could all enjoy everyone elses gifts. This was hard when I was younger, but as I grew older I recall hoarding my presents until the end when everyone else was done. Then I would bust them out and relish all of the focus on me after their initial excitement had worn off. J
Birthdays were always fun. Often we would have a party with friends and then a separate one with the family. Mom and Dad were always quite generous on our birthdays. For me, I remember not enjoying getting clothes. I would rather have had some other game or something fun. It was rough having a birthday right before school started because often times new schools clothes took precedence over “fun” presents. Mom would often make cool cakes for our birthdays and she was quite the decorator- one of her many talents.
26. How is the world today different from what it was like when you were a child?
Things seem much faster paced. Maybe that is because I am an adult now and have many more associated pressures. I live in a different part of the world now which is quite different from the environment I grew up in. I recalled being quite neighborly with all of our neighbors growing up. In my neighborhood there are only a few families that venture out into the street, so it is more difficult to become friendly with folks. I think also living in a Mormon community growing up, where 90 percent of the neighbors were in our ward makes a difference. I think society overall seems to be much scarier. I am constantly concerned with the safety of my children. I never want Jaylin to go out to play in the front without one of her older brother or sister being out there too. There are so many bad people out there that I feel the need to protect them from. Media also seems to play a much larger role in our lives today. Especially the Internet/ Computers. I find safety in living the principles of the gospel. These are the standards that will help me and my family make the right choices. Making our home a “heaven on earth” is our ultimate goal.
27. Who was the oldest relative you remember as a child? What do you remember about them?
Grandma Miller. She died when I was seven and she was 73. She was always sweet and calm. I remember her smiling a lot. After she died, dad told me the story that Grandma Millers spirit came back and visited Grandpa and told him that he was supposed to marry Dora.
There was also Great Grandma Miller who lived in Logan and we didn’t see her very often. She lived from 1890 to 1989, so she was almost 100 when she died. She had a problem remembering who everyone was and I don’t remember her talking much. We did go up there once when she was 90 or so and helped clean out her basement where there had been a mice infestation. I remember Grandpa Miller calling all of the droppings ‘terds’. I thought that was funny coming from my grandpa.
Grandpa Cummings was born in 1898 and died in 1981. I remember he was quite strict. I was a bit pigeon-toed when I was younger and he would make me stand up against the counter while pushing the inside of my feet against the wall. I remember this hurting a bit. He also had me put a broom handle up against my back while pulling it in with my elbows to help with my posture. They had a home that was not very childproof. I was always worried that I would break something there. He also made some wonderful “Grandfather Clocks” I thought that was cool that my Great Grandfather made “Grandfather” clocks.
28. What do you know about your family surname?
Miller was once “Meuller” The name originates from Prussia, and included portions of territories of Germany, Poland, Russia, Denmark, Belgium, Czech Republic and Lithuania. Prussia was later to become Germany in about 1934. Great, Great Grandpa Conrad J Mueller was born in 1846 in Prussia and emigrated to the United States sometime before 1869 when he was married to Feiederike Albertine Schmidt, who also came from Germany in 1869. This is the definition of the Mueller surname; A German occupational surname for miller, from the Middle High German "mülnære" or "müller." MILLER is the English version of this surname.
29. Is there a naming tradition in your family, such as always giving the firstborn son the name of his paternal grandfather?
I was named after my paternal grandmother. Her name was Florence Todd Taylor. Todd is my first name and Taylor is my middle name. Todd was the family name of my great grandmother, Nellie Todd, who was married to John W. Taylor. The Todd family came from Scotland. My first son Austin, was given the middle name of “Kaylor”, which is a combination of his maternal grandfather’s name, Kay, and my middle name of Taylor. We used Adele for the middle name of my second daughter, Jaylin. This was to honor the memory of my grandma Hellewell, who died when my mother was twelve. One of the sweetest memories I have was after sending out Jaylin’s baby announcements, that one of my grandmothers sisters, Jeannine, sent me a note telling me that she knew that Jaylins great grandma and grandpa said goodbye to her and gave her hugs and kisses before she was sent down to earth to be with us.
30. What stories have come down to you about your parents? Grandparents? More distant ancestors?
My dad was quite a basketball player, and (so he tells us) a ladies man. He was a sharp dresser and worked hard to earn his way growing up. He was very involved in each of our lives and gave us all the gift of loving books and sports.
Mom was (is) one of the sweetest women in the world. The trick here would be to find someone who doesn’t like her. ;) She worked very hard and still does as an Elementary school teacher for many years. She could do any kind of craft, make great meals, and be so supportive of each of her children.
Through some family history research I have found that one of our lines goes back to Charlemagne, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
We also have a relative George Soule who signed the Mayflower Compact.
This question is actually one of the focuses of this project—so that not only might we find out more about ourselves, but have something to pass on to our posterity. In this way they will be able to have a few experiences of ours to draw upon in their future lives. I still have a strong desire to find out more about what kind of people my grandparents were and hope that this process will draw them further into our lives.
31. Are there any stories about famous or infamous relatives in your family?
32. Have any recipes been passed down to you from family members?
33. Are there any physical characteristics that run in your family?
34. Are there any special heirlooms, photos, bibles or other memorabilia that have been passed down in your family?
35. What was the full name of your spouse?
36. When and how did you meet your spouse? What did you do on dates?
37. What was it like when you proposed (or were proposed to)? Where and when did it happen? How did you feel?
38. Where and when did you get married?
39. What memory stands out the most from your wedding day?
40. How would you describe your spouse? What do (did) you admire most about them?
Are there any stories about famous or infamous relatives in your family?
I would take the cake on "infamous"! Im the only one I know of in our family who was arrested. Yep, thats right. Handcuffed. Taken down town. Thrown in the brink. Just like Billy the Kid, I had a warrant out for my arrest.
I was minding my own business in February of '94, driving to a class at college, when my "trusty" ol' Mazda up and died on me. (Queue line here on "Miller car karma")
I pulled over on the side of the freeway and was about to work my way back to a payphone on 33rd south when a "friendly" neighborhood police car pulled up behind me. (another 30 seconds and I could have made my escape) He tells me my tabs have expired and asked for my license and registration (and I thought he was there to help a poor, stranded motorist- HA!) and went back to his car to run my information. Im then sitting in my car waiting, and wondering why it has taken him so long to do this, when I look in the rear-view mirror and notice another cop car has pulled up behind him. Strange, I thought, but maybe he was just bringing him some donuts... Then a few minutes later yet another cop car pulls up. I guess they needed plenty of backup to handle this strapping young Mormon boy. Then the first officer walks up and asks me to step out of the car. He takes me back by my trunk and tells me there is a warrant out for my arrest. "WHAT!!-- are you kidding me!?" I say, "I think you have the wrong Todd Miller" I knew Brad knew another Todd Miller in Sandy, and it must have been him, right? RIGHT?. So he proceeds to handcuff me right there on I-215. (Im hoping the bishop doesnt drive by and see this) He actually was kind enough to cuff me with my hands in front of me and told me I could ride in the front seat. (Ohh, how exciting! Im getting the red carpet treatment here) I guess he didnt think that I was a big flight risk. From there, we had a nice, relaxing drive to the Salt Lake County Jail.-- OK it wasnt relaxing, it was one of the most traumatic drives of my life! We get there and I have to empty my pockets and get a mug shot taken and am fingerprinted. (insert crying, sobbing sounds here) I then get taken to a "waiting" area before I am "processed". I am sitting there with about 6 other "criminals". They are going around the room asking each other "What are you in for?" One guy says, "I beat up my girlfriend", the next says, "I robbed someones house". They get to me-- "The tabs on my car expired?" -- because other than that, I had no idea what was going on. For some reason they thought that was quite funny. (shrugs) After about thirty minutes, they ask me to come with them. They put me in a cell with a hydraulic door. I was petrified. The officer who put me in there saw the pain in my eyes and didnt completely shut the door-- he told me he wouldnt shut it all the way because I didnt look too scary-- but still not open enough for me to "make my escape"
10 minutes later they bring me out to a desk where they give me my "phone call". I call dad on the brink of tears, and explain what happened. He asks to talk to the processing officer. Strange thing is, I still have no idea what the reason was that I had a warrant out for my arrest up until this time. I was just sitting there like a deer in the headlights when the officer gives me some information for me to show up in court to defend myself. (I guess dad talked to them and they decided I was free to go). From there, I was about 10 blocks away from LeAnn's dorm at LDSBC. I went there and pulled her out of one of her classes. (we were engaged at this time, and I hope she doesnt change her mind about it after I tell her the story) I am practically crying as I tell her I was just in jail. I show her the red marks on my wrists from the handcuffs. After I calmed down a bit, I believe she thought the whole story was quite amusing. So much for sympathy. Even worse, that weekend her parents were coming down to meet their "future son-in-law". And what is one of the first things LeAnn tells them? Yep, to this day, my father-in-law affectionately calls me "The criminal"
I guess I should get to the part of confessing my "crime". Thats the tricky part, was I didnt realize what "I" had done until dad explained it to me when I got home. He told me that while I was on my mission in Japan (over two years ago) He had parked the "booger" (may he rest in peace) out on the street while they were putting a new roof on the house on Camille Drive. Another "friendly neighborhood police officer" had driven by and kept putting tickets on the car because it wasnt supposed to be parked on Lincoln Drive. Of course the car was registered in my name, and when dad called to contest the tickets, they said I had to appear to do it myself. He explained that I was out of the country on A MISSION, and couldnt do that. Anyway, apparently, that was never resolved. Ahhh. What a magnificent chain of events that was!
32. Have any recipes been passed down to you from family members?
There are a few I am glad havent been passed down-- tuna patties, yams.. but mostly I loved mom's cooking. I remember a number of times when they would make us stay at the table until we finished everything on our plates. Yet another important reason to have a dog. :)
I love Ruth's artichoke dip. Yum! And I miss mom's eclairs and homemade mac n' cheese. Other than that, the main thing we still make in our family is the mixed up taco salad with the Doritos chips.
33. Are there any physical characteristics that run in your family?
The one thing that I got from dad was BIG muscles. (Too bad none of the other brothers inherited that trait! ;)) I think we are all above average in height, and the boys all have big hands. We sure got a hodge podge of hair color among the siblings that run the gamut-- red, blonde, brown.
34. Are there any special heirlooms, photos, bibles or other memorabilia that have been passed down in your family?
I did receive from dad his set of Lincoln bookends when I gradated from the University of Washington. I believe that mom gave those to him for his graduation present, so that was pretty cool. Otherwise, mom made a nice book for each of us with family photos and information about Grandma and Grandpa Hellewell. Another fun thing to have is many of the Christmas ornaments we received as children were given back to us as adults. Seeing those on the Christmas tree each year brings back lots of great childhood memories.
35. What was the full name of your spouse?
LeAnn Thorne. Yes, I have the privilege of waking up each morning with "a Thorne in my side"! (I can see LeAnn rolling her eyes right now :)) Her maiden name originated from Sweden. (Ya shure you betcha!)
36. When and how did you meet your spouse? What did you do on dates?
It was a dark and stormy night...
Just kidding. It was November 3rd, 1993. I was the LDSSA (Latter Day Saints Student Association) fraternity president at SLCC (Salt Lake Community College). We had scheduled to have an exchange with the ladies at LDS Business College. We met up with them that night for a "Potato Putt Party"-- which entailed setting up a miniature golf course in the ballroom there and having a potato bar. I recall getting there with my supplies and then scanning the room, looking for "hotties", my radar went off when I saw LeAnn chatting with some guys across the room. I tried to keep her in my sights while setting up my mini golf hole. I remember not even having time to have a potato by the time I finished. There always seemed to be a few guys gathered around her throughout the night. I waited for my opportunity and pounced!-- OK, maybe not, but somehow I finagled my way in there and had a chance to chat with her a bit. I dont recall what we talked about, but became interested enough that I started to formulate a way to get her number. I didnt get it that night because of the swarm of guys around her made it a bit difficult. I do recall the highlight of that night was that she gave me a hug when I left!! (WOOHOO)
"Operation Acquire Phone Number" commenced later that week. I stopped by the student office at her school and talked to one of the students that was working there. I told her I needed LeAnn's number to contact her for future Sorority "exchange" information. She looked at me and measured me up before saying that they usually cant give that information out, but I guess I charmed her into it. ;) I called LeAnn later that week and asked her out. The rest was history. We started out on group dates with one of her roommates and my friend Brice Flowers. Then I remember going to a lazer show at the planetarium (Rush, I believe) and after Christmas, we saw each other almost everyday. One of the "painful" memories was when I was showing her some of my sweet Karate moves, and then she showed me some of hers. She did the Karate kid flamingo move and nailed me right where it counts. Then I went "down for the count". (Still brings tears to my eyes to this day) I knew then that this was the woman I wanted to marry-- she made me feel like no other woman ever had!
37. What was it like when you proposed (or were proposed to)? Where and when did it happen? How did you feel?
February 11th, 2004. Ahhh. Such a wonderful and stressful day that was. I barely was able to procure the ring before that special night. I had some help from Bryan Lampropoulos, who gave me $100 for the down payment (as my pre-emptive wedding gift) as I was quite the pauper at the time. I remember mom helped me pick it out, so I knew she was on board with me. :)
That night, we had a special dance/date planned at a restaurant that was on a river boat. It seemed like the perfect setting. (It was a girls choice dance her school had and luckily she invited me!) After we finished dinner, I gallantly asked her if she would like to go for a walk around the deck. When I found a private spot, I crouched down and told her I had "a rock" stuck in my shoe. (yes, it was veeeeeeeeeery clever, I know) I proceeded to reach down to pull it out as I got on one knee. After that, everything went blank. LeAnn tells me that I forgot to actually "pop the question", I just opened up the box and showed her the ring. So she made me get down and do it again. This time she said yes! It was the happiest day of my life.
38. Where and when did you get married?
July 8th, 1994. (Tomorrow is our 13th anniversary!) We were married in the Seattle, Washington temple.
39. What memory stands out the most from your wedding day?
Being so ecstatic in the Sealing room. Knowing that this was going to last forever. That I had finally found the girl who had be prepared for me from the beginning of time.
40. How would you describe your spouse? What do (did) you admire most about them?
She is amazing. She has given me such strength and love. She helps me through the rough spots and never gives up on me. She serves others without much thought of herself. She is selfless in the love that she gives our children. A wonderful mother, who is caring and supportive of each of our children. She is unwavering in the gospel. I hope to be as good to her as she is to me. She makes me want to be a better man to be worthy of her.
41. What do you believe is the key to a successful marriage?
42. How did you find out your were going to be a parent for the first time?
43. Why did you choose your children's names?
44. What was your proudest moment as a parent?
45. What did your family enjoy doing together?
46. What was your profession and how did you choose it?
47. If you could have had any other profession what would it have been? Why wasn't it your first choice?
48. Of all the things you learned from your parents, which do you feel was the most valuable?
49. What accomplishments were you the most proud of?
50. What is the one thing you most want people to remember about you?
What do you believe is the key to a successful marriage?
Having common beliefs and goals. These are things that have kept us strong and united in our marriage. The gospel makes everything so much clearer in our marriage. Knowing that we will be together forever with our family is a huge element that drives us. I think having children has strengthened our bond, and has given us much joy in our posterity. Helping each other out when one of us falls in a hole and being supportive of each other's decisions is another key for our marriage. I LOVE LEANN!
How did you find out your were going to be a parent for the first time?
We had actually started trying to get pregnant about a year into our marriage. We weren't met with much success for almost two full years. We were wondering for a while there if it was supposed to happen at that time or not. We went through a number of pregnancy tests (good thing we didn’t have to use rabbits like in the old days!), when finally, LeAnn came out of the bathroom jumping up and down in excitement. I was just sitting there watching TV when she told me. Then I started jumping up and down with her. (Those were the good 'ol days-- when I could actually jump up and down!). One of the happiest times of my life.
Why did you choose your children's names?
Autumn Dawn- we thought this was a beautiful name in the sense of the pictures it brings to mind. She truly has turned out as beautiful as her name
Austin Kaylor- LeAnn had wanted to have a son with the name of Austin ever since she heard the name as a young girl. Who am I to argue with that? Kaylor came from a combination of Kay, his maternal grandfather, and Taylor, my middle name- after the prophet of our church-- John Taylor.
Jaylin Adele- Was derived from the combination of her maternal grandmother, Janice, and her paternal grandmother, Linda. Her middle name was in honor of her paternal great-grandmother, Adele. Whom none of us have met (Yet!)
A sweet story to go along with this. When we sent out announcements to family, we got a card back from Jeannine Tolbert in Florida (Grandma Adele's sister). She wrote that she new Adele was with Jaylin before she was sent down and gave her hugs and kisses before she left the pre-existence. It was a very special note, that really touched me.
What was your proudest moment as a parent?
Each time one of my children is born is when I feel closer to God than any other moments. Loving that he sent them to be with my family, and entrusted their care to us is a special feeling that I will never forget. They continue to make me proud each day as I learn of their accomplishments-- at home, at school at play. They are each my "Sunbeams", and something I look forward to seeing each of them when I get home each day. This is why Lehi wanted to share the fruit with his family. So that they might each experience the taste that brought him such joy.
What does my family enjoy doing together?
We love to go down to the beach and be close to the beauty of nature. It is such fun to go down there and be together. With the kids looking for shells and rocks, taking Flash on a walk, and enjoying the fresh air. I remember one time we went down to Redondo beach when Jaylin was about two-- just a toddler. She saw one of the streams of water that the clams would shoot up into the air from under the sand. She was running around looking at these "mysterious" fountains of water, when she stopped in one place and it squirted her right in the face. She was so shocked. It was sooo funny!
What was your profession and how did you choose it?
I think my profession chose me! I was determined to find a job where I could use my Japanese. Which is funny, because I remember when people at our wedding reception at the Lampropoulos' home what I planned on doing jobwise in Seattle. I distinctly telling them that I would find a job using my Japanese--"Maybe even work at Microsoft" It turned out I did both! I ended up having many interviews for software development companies that needed foreign language skills. I went through a number based on my language skills until they found that I didn’t have many computer skills. I actually interviewed with Microsoft for a position in February of '97. A couple of months after graduating from the University of Washington. I didn’t get it. A few months later I had another interview at Microsoft. It ended up being with the SAME guy- Chuck Archer. He said I had improved, but still wasn’t quite there (I had been studying a bit in the meantime). At the time, I had a decent job at a publishing company in Seattle-where I had been using my Japanese, so I wasn’t totally concerned about getting something new. Then I had an interview down in Oregon at Intel. They said I was really close, but didn’t get the offer. The recruiter told me to check into a Software testing certification course to see if that would help me get over the hump. I took one during August of 97, and then had another interview at Microsoft. Things went really well this time. They gave me the offer straight away. Then I turned up for work the next week and it turned out that the person who hired me was Chuck Archer's boss! AND I ended up working for Chuck's team on Japanese Windows 98. Boy, was he surprised to find me in the office one day. It was quite the motivation for me to show him how good an employee I would be. I ended up writing more bugs than anyone else on his team-- with most of them having started months before me. He came around and started calling me the "bug man" and went on to say that I was one of the most persistent people he had ever met.
If you could have had any other profession what would it have been? Why wasn't it your first choice?
I had always wanted to be a marine biologist. I loved to study and raise fish while I was growing up. It was a fascinating hobby for me. I even took scuba diving classes at the University of Utah. (I know, Brad is proud - but I actually ended up with more credits from BYU as I tested out of 3 years of Japanese there) But that was a rough career path when you are in landlocked Utah. When I went with the class to get certified as a scuba diver, we went to some lake in Nevada in the middle of winter. It had hot springs going into it so it was fairly warm. The water was not very clear though, but I did see a couple of bluegill swimming around. Then I got separated from by diving buddy and ended up going down too deep, too quick. I actually ended up rupturing my eardrum. It was nasty and oozed for a week. (They still gave me the certification though) I got my first real taste of Marine Biology on our Cruise to the Bahamas/Grand Cayman. Snorkling with barracudas and Angel fish was one of the coolest things I have ever done. I could have stayed down there forever.
Of all the things you learned from your parents, which do you feel was the most valuable?
A love of the gospel. They were so consistent and strong in their beliefs. It translated over to me. That thankfulness transitioned into a mission in Japan which has shaped the rest of my life. Learning so much in those two years and having amazing experiences almost everyday is a tremendous testament to me of the truthfullness of the gospel.
What accomplishments were you the most proud of?
In the past few years, it has been getting over the traumatic experience of the devastating injury to my knee. Having the ACL rupture, along with the torn meniscus, MCL and PCL along with the dislocated knee at the same time, took me down into the depths of despair. I was very discouraged for so long that I wouldn’t be able to do so many of the active things in my life that were a huge part of me. After beginning physical therapy and being on the bike for such a long time, I realized that I could turn that into a motivating factor for me to reach other goals. Not that I was a big fan of bike riding, (though Im sure I rode thousands of miles on my mission) but I figured I could accomplish a couple of big rides. I started training for the Seattle to Portland bike ride about 6 months after my surgery and completed the 210 mile ride (7/2004), almost exactly one year after surgery (6/2003)
Then it happened AGAIN. I somehow tore up my Articular cartilage (yep, I didn’t know I even had that either) in 2004. (I think it occurred earlier in the spring when I jumped over a chain link fence with the kids to go look at tadpoles-- no wonder it never felt like the injury was healing-- because I had a whole NEW injury!) If it could be, this one was was even WORSE than the first one. For the first one, I had to stay off it for 6 weeks, but could put some pressure on it, since they wanted me to strengthen it. For the Articualur surgery, they had done a "microfracture" procedure, where they cut away the ripped up cartilage, and then drilled holes in the bone to promote bone marrow to come into the gap left from the missing cartilage. This is not as cushy as the cartilage, but is supposed to help with the cushioning. After this, I could not put ANY pressure or weight on that knee for THREE months. It was horrible. Hobbling around like a flamingo on crutches for that long. I couldn’t believe I had to go through that whole process again after such a short time. But I determined to work toward taking another ride. This time I trained for the RSVP (Ride from Seattle to Vancouver and Party, and yes I know I am a huge partier!) I took that one in August of 2005, and it was about 180 miles up to Canada.
What is the one thing you most want people to remember about you?
He followed the "Scout Law" -- He was/is "Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent" What a wonderful creed to live by.
It has been great fun to relive the memories of our youth and see some of the responses that trigger many memories that I have totally forgotten about. I encourage each of you to take 15 minutes to do this as this can be a great record for you and your posterity. The reason I decided to do this project was because I wish I had known more about my grandparents, who I never knew, as they both died when my mother was young. I have always wished that they had more records written about them. I have been corresponding with my uncle though, and he just sent me a copy of each of their patriarchal blessings. This was one of those hidden treasures that I have been longing for, and I feel much closer to each of them after having read those.
~Todd
Week 1: 3/27/2007
1. What is your full name? Why did your parents select this name for you? Did you have a nickname?
2. When and where were you born?
3. How did your family come to live there?
4. Were there other family members in the area? Who?
5. What was the house (apartment, farm, etc.) like? How many rooms? Bathrooms? Did it have electricity? Indoor plumbing? Telephones?
6. Were there any special items in the house that you remember?
7. What is your earliest childhood memory?
8. Describe the personalities of your family members.
9. What kind of games did you play growing up?
10. What was your favorite toy and why?
Here are my answers (of course I will practice what I preach!)
What is your full name? Why did your parents select this name for you? Did you have a nickname?
Todd Taylor Miller. My first and Middle name were given after my grandmother on my fathers side. Her Mother's maiden name was Todd and her last name was Taylor. I have three lines of ancestry within my name. The Todd's came from Scotland, the Taylors came from England, and the Millers came from Germany (Originally known as Mueller, it was changed to Miller sometime between 1846 and 1869 when the Muellers came from Prussia to Nebraska). I guess that makes me ScotGermLish. ;) I had a number of nicknames growing up. Mallard, Toddler, Rugger, Mod, Killer Tiller. On my mission in Japan, many called me Mirror Man, because Miller sounds like Miller in Japanese. Also Tenshinranman, which means naive and innocent. Then since being married: HotToddy, Toddzilla, and since LeAnn likes to tease me, "Bubba"
When and where were you born?
Primary Childrens hospital in SLC, Utah on August 30th, 1970 (A day that will live in infamy ;))
How did your family come to live there?
My parents met at BYU in Provo, Utah, and settled down in Sandy, Utah
Were there other family members in the area? Who?
The Garfields, which was my mothers sister, Vicky's family. Uncle Karl, my fathers older brother and his family. Uncle Alan and Eve, my fathers oldest siblings/twins and their families. Grandpa Cummings, who was my mothers grandfather on her mothers side, and Grandma and Grandpa Miller.
What was the house (apartment, farm, etc.) like? How many rooms? Bathrooms? Did it have electricity? Indoor plumbing? Telephones?
We lived in a number of houses during my youth. The first, and most memorable for me was on Mt. Majestic road in Sandy. We lived there until I turned 12. I remember it having 5 bedrooms. Two upstairs and 3 down. There were two bathrooms upstairs and and one unfinished one downstairs. I loved the big family room where we had a couple of couches and the TV, along with some lovely pea-green shag carpet. We spent a lot of time down there watching Brady Bunch, and I learned how to play video games when I got a console with Pong and Breakout on it. Good times!
Were there any special items in the house that you remember?
We had a beautiful grand piano and grandfather clock upstairs. I remember when dad put in hardwood floors and a new fancy wood railing. The upstairs living room always looked nice, and was where we always celebrated Christmas, often with a beautiful, flocked Christmas tree.
What is your earliest childhood memory?
One from preschool comes to mind. One burned in my memory because when I turned five, my best friend Darren Mansell and I had a joint birthday party. A couple of girls gave each of us a teaset. I was sooooooo mad. And they thought it was the funniest thing ever. I also remember playing a lot with our dog, Peppy. He was a great, affectionate dog, a Maltese Poodle mix. Yes, EVERY boy should have a dog! ;)
Describe the personalities of your family members.
Dad- Spiritual giant. I was amazed by his box of church talks and the markings in his scriptures. "I was so glad when daddy came home.." (cue primary song) I loved to spend time with him when he got home from work. He taught us so many things, especially about the joy of sports, and brain-washed us into being BYU cougar fans. ;) I loved going on fishing trips with him. He would always let the boys reel the fish in when he caught them, and saved me from drowning once when I let too much water get into my oversize waders.
Mom- Sweetest woman in the world. Everyone loved my mom. She was understanding and helped me through many of the difficult trials of my life. She loved each of us unconditionally. She was supportive in everything we did. Taking us to soccer, basketball games etc. She helped me to control the scowl on my face that sometimes appeared during basketball games, by bribing me with $10. Worked like a charm!
Kelly- One word. Redhead. She was always full of energy and fun. She gave me makeovers before I was old enough to understand that it wasnt manly. A partner in crime when dropping eggs from the top of the fridge as children
Brian- My little, bigger brother. Oh the pain inflicted when he started to outgrow me. But I was always a bit more musclely to his gangliness, so I never had any trouble taking him. ;) We were just a year and a half apart, so did a lot of things together-- basketball, soccer. He has a calm demeanor about him.
Brad- He was a fun-loving guy. I enjoyed watching him grow up with Donny up the street. Those two could make amazing GI Joe and army guy sounds come out of their mouths. Later I remember him dressing up like Michael Jackson and dancing to the "Thriller".
Brooke. She cracked my head open twice. Dont mess with her! Once on the trampoline, she literally "cracked my egg" when her teeth came down into my head after being "popped" about 7 feet high. The next time was when she was racing me up to the bathroom at our Camille Drive house. I beat her of course, but when I turned around to shut the door to keep her out, my feet slipped on the wet tiles and I went straight down on my chin. Other than that, a great girl! ;)
Ashley- Was nice to everyone. She was always singing and smiling-- off in her own world. The least fiesty of all of the sisters. Very even tempered. We "affectionately" called her the "Bag Lady" she had this little shopping cart she would toodle around in that had tons of dolls and stuff jammed in it. To this day, I dont like to watch Annie because she was always watching it.
Brandon- Such a cute little guy. Gotta love being the baby brother. We were twelve years apart, so I missed seeing the majority of his years growing up. Turned into an incredible ball player. Still hasnt officially beat me though :)
What kind of games did you play growing up?
When it snowed, we would play duck, duck goose in the backyard. We had a great neighborhood with lots of kids, where we played kick-the-can, and hide and seek. I would go on exploring missions with my friends in the woods above the golfcourse that was below our house.
What was your favorite toy and why?
I used to love a remote controlled corvette that I had. It was so fun to drive that puppy around the neighborhood. There was just a sense of power being able to control a little miniature vehicle. I think I ended up driving it right into the bushes in front of the house and never being able to find it again.
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11. What was your favorite thing to do for fun (movies, beach, etc.)?
12. Did you have family chores? What were they? Which was your least favorite?
13. Did you receive an allowance? How much? Did you save your money or spend it?
14. What was school like for you as a child? What were your best and worst subjects? Where did you attend grade school? High school? College?
15. What school activities and sports did you participate in?
16. Do you remember any fads from your youth? Popular hairstyles? Clothes?
17. Who were your childhood heroes?
18. What were your favorite songs and music?
19. Did you have any pets? If so, what kind and what were their names?
20. What was your religion growing up? What church, if any, did you attend?
What was your favorite thing to do for fun (movies, beach, etc.)?
I used to love climbing over the fence and playing in the woods above the golf course. (See attached image and try and pick out our house!)
We would sometimes wait until the course 'closed' and then go and hit balls around too. This is where I accidentally tossed one of my shoes into the creek when I was crossing once. The creek was pretty swift and we ran down the course trying to catch up with my shoe, but it got away. :( That was a tough one to try and put past mom when I came home wearing only one shoe.)
The next "fond" memory was the "Burning Bush". Darrin Fletcher and I were bored one day. We started rummaging through the garage trying to find something to do. We found dad's match collection in a large plastic container. (He had match books from various places he visited while traveling with Sedgefield or Trans Alaska). "Hmmm. What can we do with these?" we thought to ourselves. Then Darrin (I still swear it was all his idea) said we should jump the fence and see what things we could burn in the field-- of course it was the middle of the summer and it was drier than the Sahara outside. So we hopped over and surveyed the scene. Behind Mr. Carrigan's yard there were a bunch of old vegetables that had been pulled from his garden and tossed over the fence. They were nice and crispy. Darrin pulled out the matchbook and tried to light a rotten old zucchini. And what do you know? It went up like a torch! As we watched in amazement at the light show, a sneaky old Sagebrush seemed to stretch out its boughs and reach for the warmth of the flame. The Burning Bush. Our jaws dropped. Darrin, (who was a couple of months older than me and supposedly smarter) started yelling and saying: "THROW ROCKS ON IT!!!" I rolled my eyes and knew that that would do no good. Defying the foibles of youth, I ran to the nearest ant hill and started tossing the sand onto the fire- at the same time withstanding the wrath of the red fire ants. However, this didnt seem to be any more effective than the rocks. After a couple of minutes of this, we knew we were outmatched. Now, smart children (I think we were 9 or 10) would have quickly ran to an adult to get some help. We were not smart children. We just ran away. I think I hid under the dining room table and Darrin ran home. It was fight or flight. We chose flight-- self preservation above all else of course. I would peek out the window occasionally as I had been praying for divine intervention in having the fire go out. My faith apparently was insufficient at that time. I then saw Mr. Carrigan spraying over the fence with his garden hose. That was about like throwing rocks on it. Apparently, someone had then called the fire department. The fire engines ended up having to drive down the 17th fairway to get to the fire. (Im sure the golf course loved having to clean that up). Then it took them a while to get the hose long enough to get up to the top of the hill. By the time they put it out, I believe a 1/4 of an acre had been toasted.
Did you have family chores? What were they? Which was your least favorite?
I remember mowing the lawn a lot. I loved the self-propelled mower we had. Push down on the lever and it practically dragged you along. Other than that, just cleaning my room, etc. I dont remember being assigned a bunch of chores, but sometimes I would see a room that was a disaster and organize it just for fun. The laundry room was usually pretty bad, what with 7 kids and all.
Did you receive an allowance? How much? Did you save your money or spend it?
I dont remember getting an allowance. Occasionally dad would give us money for doing random jobs around the house. Mom and dad would always seem to help us when we needed something to purchase though. When we started working at Mack's Inn during the summers, I would usually blow the whole check on video games. Ahh, Popeye, Galaga, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr... what good friends we were. If I had anything left over, it would go straight to junk food. Yes, I did have my priorities straight-- games first, then candy. ;)
What was school like for you as a child? What were your best and worst subjects? Where did you attend grade school? High school? College?
I loved going to Brookwood Elementary. (Attached Brookwood pic) I had tons of friends there and started to excel at athletics. I was the "fastest boy in the mile run" in the whole school in 5th grade. I kicked a kickball onto the roof a few times (something only an elite few accomplished of course ;)). I remember dragging about 8 guys down the field while playing football. Kissing tag. My first "Girlfriend" - Tanya Allen-- who I was too scared to even sit next to. I called her up and asked her if she "wanted to 'go' with me". "Go where?" she replied. Then I had to explain to her what it meant. I did fine in my studies. Recess was my favorite thing though of course. My friends there were: Darren Mansell, Sean Snow, Matt Cole, Steve Nemelka, Nate Williams, John Blackburn, Rob Reynolds.
After elementary, I went to Union Middle School in 6th grade. We then moved and I went to Eastmont Middle school in 6th and 7th. We then moved and I went to Albion Middle school for 8th grade. We then moved again and I went to Olympus Jr. High in 9th Grade. (This one worked out well because I had a friend from Eastmont- Russ Park that had moved to Holliday the year earlier and helped me fit right in at Olympus Jr. Then I finished up high school at Olympus H.S.
I went to college at the University of Utah for one quarter before leaving on my mission to Japan. Upon returning, I went to SLCC for one year before getting engaged and moving to Washington with my beautiful wife, LeAnn. I took a few classes at Bellevue Community College while waiting for residency to kick in. I had taken some Japanese language exams at BYU, but those credits wouldnt transfer for some reason, so I earned 30 Japanese credits by examination at BCC. I then finished up my last two years at the University of Washington. I finished in 5 quarters by taking 20 hours a quarter. Yes, I am a glutton for punishment.
What school activities and sports did you participate in?
Sports, yes. School, not so much-- unless the activities were sports related. Although, in high school I ran for a Senate seat and won one of the three spots. It was great as we proposed new projects such as putting the sports section above the urinals and digging a tunnel under 23rd south from the school to the seminary building. Yes, many great ideas, but alas, few passed.
Most of my out-of-school time was spent playing on numerous soccer teams and playing basketball. I lettered in soccer in High School. Soccer was pretty much a year round thing for me-- playing indoor in the winter and then on competition teams in the summer and fall and for the school in the spring. Thanks mom and dad for driving to so many practices and games.
Do you remember any fads from your youth? Popular hairstyles? Clothes?
My big sister Kelly got me started on clothes in 8th grade. I guess I was quite the "preppy" then. I had cargo pants that rolled up at the ankles, and polo shirts (or the less-expensive imitation ones.) Then, the MOST popular hairstyle in 1984- THE PERM! I know all you guys are jealous and didnt have the gumption to get one, so you can all live out that fantasy through remembrance of my cool style. I did get quite the shock when I showed up at soccer practice and was mocked a bit when they started calling me "little orphan Annie". But once it mellowed out, it was sweeeeeeeeeeet. Then in high school I had some pretty cool flat tops that I would spike up and the ladies loved to touch. ;)
Who were your childhood heroes?
I followed Pelé quite a bit. I was always trying to emulate his famous bicycle kick. I even scored a goal using a bicycle kick in one of my games when I was 15. I did one right past the half field mark and it bounced right over the goalies head. Awesome. In basketball, I followed Jordan and Bird. (Who didnt idolize Jordan?).
My dad. I wanted to grow up as strong and as fun as he was. He spent quality time with us and I loved to go fishing with him and always wished I could catch fish like him. He was a great basketball player, even with his bad knees. (I followed exactly in those footsteps!) He was always constant in going to church and his religious views. He never wavered. These were great examples to me.
What were your favorite songs and music?
U2. The Police, then Sting. INXS. Howard Jones. I still listen to a lot of that music even today as it brings back such fond memories.
Did you have any pets? If so, what kind and what were their names?
Peppy was our first dog. A maltese poodle mix. Very kind and affectionate. One of the saddest memories of my youth was when I saw him get hit by a car down by the entrance of the Willow Creek country club. We were down there catching golfballs in the creek and he followed me all the way down there without me realizing it. I had TONS of pets later on in my teenage years. My room smelt like a zoo. 4 fish tanks at one time with African Cichlids. I had an iguana, a boa constrictor, a box turtle. Then there was Tasha. Good old Tasha. Very loyal and could jump about 5 feet in the air. Everyone will talk about how much she barked, and yes, that was a pain, but the good traits always outweighed the bad.
What was your religion growing up? What church, if any, did you attend?
I was an athiest.
Just kidding! LDS all my life and into the next one. It defines who I am today. Without the church, I would be just a shadow of the man I am today. I am grateful for the principles my parents taught me, and the testimony I have gained of the truth of Christ's gospel. It truly is the "Plan of Happiness"
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21. Were you ever mentioned in a newspaper?
22. Who were your friends when you were growing up?
23. What world events had the most impact on you while you were growing up? Did any of them personally affect your family?
24. Describe a typical family dinner. Did you all eat together as a family? Who did the cooking? What were your favorite foods?
25. How were holidays (birthdays, Christmas, etc.) celebrated in your family? Did your family have special traditions?
26. How is the world today different from what it was like when you were a child?
27. Who was the oldest relative you remember as a child? What do you remember about them?
28. What do you know about your family surname?
29. Is there a naming tradition in your family, such as always giving the firstborn son the name of his paternal grandfather?
30. What stories have come down to you about your parents? Grandparents? More distant ancestors?
21. Were you ever mentioned in a newspaper?
In 1982, my soccer team, the Stingrays won the state championship in our competition league. Darren Mansell, my best friend was also on that team. After the championship game, we received our trophies and took a team picture for the local newspaper. Im not sure if it was the Deseret News or the Salt Lake Tribune, but I still have a clipping of the picture with names attached. Unfortunately, I circled myself with a red marker on the clipping—just to make sure that everyone knew which person I was. (D’oh!)
22. Who were your friends when you were growing up?
Darren Mansell and I did a lot together. He lived a ways away down on Acorn Lane. We grew up together from preschool and our birthdays were just five days apart. I remember going down to his house quite often by riding my bike down. They had a trampoline and a bunch of other kids in the neighborhood that we would play with. We would go up to Big Rock, which was about a mile away from his house and climb the huge rock. There was also a big creek next to the foothills where we would play around in that, and then it ran into Pudding Pond, which, like its namesake, had gelatinous muck all around the shoreline. We were able to make quite a mess from that. Nearby the pond was a great place to catch lizards out in the sagebrush. Darren was a toe-head like me and was pretty skinny. Dad called him the “Shark” because he was a fast swimmer.
Darrin Fletcher lived closer to us and was in our ward. Darrin was a couple of months older than me, so he was in a grade higher than me. He had brown hair and was a bit smaller than me. I mentioned the story about the fire earlier. Darrin’s house was one street away from ours and we would cut through the Derrick’s yard to get to his as they had a gate connecting the two back yards. I always seemed to get into more trouble with Darrin than I did with Darren. Besides the fire, there was a time we decided to go rabbit hunting like Elmer Fudd. We had been watching the cartoon where Elmer propped up a box with a stick, tied a string to it, and hid behind a tree while waiting for the “Wascally Wabbit” to come and eat the bait under the box. If it worked for Elmer, it would work for us. We got all of the supplies and rode our bikes down behind pudding pond. We had seen jackrabbits hopping around down there during our lizard hunting expeditions, and figured we could nab one there. We set up our trap with lettuce and carrots under the box. We tied a string to the stick and hid ourselves about 30 feet away. We waited for what seemed like hours before a rabbit started sniffing around. We could not believe this might work. After the rabbit decided it was safe, he started chowing down. We pulled the string and actually caught the rabbit. We were beside ourselves with excitement. The box was bumping around while the rabbit tried to escape. We hadn’t thought this far in advance thinking that it would never have come to this point. We were in quite the dilemma trying to figure out what to do next. We decided that Darrin would lift the box and I would grab the rabbit. We nervously approached the box and Darrin picked it up. I was about to reach down and grab it (I was quite freaked out thinking it would bite me and have rabies or something), but it bolted out of there at about 100 MPH. It was so disoriented and scared that it ran straight into a chain link fence and tried to dive underneath it. We ran over thinking we still had a chance to nab our new pet. It started squirming more to get under the fence, but there wasn’t enough room. It had got its head under, and then it got stuck on one of the metal tines. At this point it started screaming. I don’t know if any of you have heard a rabbit scream, but it was one of the worst sounds I had heard in my life. It almost sounded like a new-born baby crying. It was unreal hearing a sound like that coming from an animal. It made me sick. Darrin was trying to free it, but it was stuck in there pretty good and it started bleeding. I became so upset that I started to cry. I ended up running off and leaving Darrin to free it on his own.
23. What world events had the most impact on you while you were growing up? Did any of them personally affect your family?
The cold war was always in the back of my mind. The potential of Nuclear War with the USSR was something that scared me a bit.
In 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded after takeoff. It was surreal. One of those things you can believe happened even after watching it over and over again on TV.
Michael Jackson- back when he was cool—before the surgeries. Everyone wanted to dance like him and we would all practice the moonwalk and later on breakdancing became big.
24. Describe a typical family dinner. Did you all eat together as a family? Who did the cooking? What were your favorite foods?
They never seemed to be typical, except on Sunday. Mom worked so hard to have nice dinners for us. I think with all of the different activities going on with the seven kids, there weren’t a whole lot of sit-down dinners all at once. When I was younger I do remember having them more frequently, so it was likely after becoming a teenager that dinners became more convoluted. I do recall having to sit at the table a number of times until I finished everything on my plate. I HATED that. You still cannot make me eat yams to this day—I get the gag reflex. ;) I loved Sunday dinners. They were always great and everyone was around. Roast with mashed potatoes and gravy. Mom made some awesome orange rolls and mac and cheese. I loved the taco salad and meatloaf that she made too.
25. How were holidays (birthdays, Christmas, etc.) celebrated in your family? Did your family have special traditions?
I LOVED Christmas. Definitely my favorite time of the year. I loved to get the spirit going by listening to Christmas music starting early in November. We had an 8-Track cassette player and a copy of “The Chipmunks Christmas” that I still love the songs today. I even got a copy for my family now. J One of my fond memories was going out to get the Christmas tree. It was always quite snowy and cold when we did this, and I can still smell the kerosene heaters that the lots had running as we looked for a tree. There were a few times when we got the “fancy” flocked ones, which I thought were quite cool. To this day, I still insist that my family go out to get a live tree each year so as to keep that nostalgic tradition and memories alive. We kids would often try to stay up late on Christmas eve and see if we could see Santa riding through the sky. I still remember one year where I swear I saw him flashing through a starry night sky on Christmas eve. We would often sneak out early Christmas morning and look through all of the pile of presents to see what we got. I could never figure out why mom and dad were never as excited as us to get up early and start opening presents. On Christmas morning, we had to stand at the bottom (or top- depending on which house we were in) of the stairs in order from youngest to oldest before going out to the tree. That way there was no trampling I guess. Then mom would have everyone open their presents one at a time so we could all enjoy everyone elses gifts. This was hard when I was younger, but as I grew older I recall hoarding my presents until the end when everyone else was done. Then I would bust them out and relish all of the focus on me after their initial excitement had worn off. J
Birthdays were always fun. Often we would have a party with friends and then a separate one with the family. Mom and Dad were always quite generous on our birthdays. For me, I remember not enjoying getting clothes. I would rather have had some other game or something fun. It was rough having a birthday right before school started because often times new schools clothes took precedence over “fun” presents. Mom would often make cool cakes for our birthdays and she was quite the decorator- one of her many talents.
26. How is the world today different from what it was like when you were a child?
Things seem much faster paced. Maybe that is because I am an adult now and have many more associated pressures. I live in a different part of the world now which is quite different from the environment I grew up in. I recalled being quite neighborly with all of our neighbors growing up. In my neighborhood there are only a few families that venture out into the street, so it is more difficult to become friendly with folks. I think also living in a Mormon community growing up, where 90 percent of the neighbors were in our ward makes a difference. I think society overall seems to be much scarier. I am constantly concerned with the safety of my children. I never want Jaylin to go out to play in the front without one of her older brother or sister being out there too. There are so many bad people out there that I feel the need to protect them from. Media also seems to play a much larger role in our lives today. Especially the Internet/ Computers. I find safety in living the principles of the gospel. These are the standards that will help me and my family make the right choices. Making our home a “heaven on earth” is our ultimate goal.
27. Who was the oldest relative you remember as a child? What do you remember about them?
Grandma Miller. She died when I was seven and she was 73. She was always sweet and calm. I remember her smiling a lot. After she died, dad told me the story that Grandma Millers spirit came back and visited Grandpa and told him that he was supposed to marry Dora.
There was also Great Grandma Miller who lived in Logan and we didn’t see her very often. She lived from 1890 to 1989, so she was almost 100 when she died. She had a problem remembering who everyone was and I don’t remember her talking much. We did go up there once when she was 90 or so and helped clean out her basement where there had been a mice infestation. I remember Grandpa Miller calling all of the droppings ‘terds’. I thought that was funny coming from my grandpa.
Grandpa Cummings was born in 1898 and died in 1981. I remember he was quite strict. I was a bit pigeon-toed when I was younger and he would make me stand up against the counter while pushing the inside of my feet against the wall. I remember this hurting a bit. He also had me put a broom handle up against my back while pulling it in with my elbows to help with my posture. They had a home that was not very childproof. I was always worried that I would break something there. He also made some wonderful “Grandfather Clocks” I thought that was cool that my Great Grandfather made “Grandfather” clocks.
28. What do you know about your family surname?
Miller was once “Meuller” The name originates from Prussia, and included portions of territories of Germany, Poland, Russia, Denmark, Belgium, Czech Republic and Lithuania. Prussia was later to become Germany in about 1934. Great, Great Grandpa Conrad J Mueller was born in 1846 in Prussia and emigrated to the United States sometime before 1869 when he was married to Feiederike Albertine Schmidt, who also came from Germany in 1869. This is the definition of the Mueller surname; A German occupational surname for miller, from the Middle High German "mülnære" or "müller." MILLER is the English version of this surname.
29. Is there a naming tradition in your family, such as always giving the firstborn son the name of his paternal grandfather?
I was named after my paternal grandmother. Her name was Florence Todd Taylor. Todd is my first name and Taylor is my middle name. Todd was the family name of my great grandmother, Nellie Todd, who was married to John W. Taylor. The Todd family came from Scotland. My first son Austin, was given the middle name of “Kaylor”, which is a combination of his maternal grandfather’s name, Kay, and my middle name of Taylor. We used Adele for the middle name of my second daughter, Jaylin. This was to honor the memory of my grandma Hellewell, who died when my mother was twelve. One of the sweetest memories I have was after sending out Jaylin’s baby announcements, that one of my grandmothers sisters, Jeannine, sent me a note telling me that she knew that Jaylins great grandma and grandpa said goodbye to her and gave her hugs and kisses before she was sent down to earth to be with us.
30. What stories have come down to you about your parents? Grandparents? More distant ancestors?
My dad was quite a basketball player, and (so he tells us) a ladies man. He was a sharp dresser and worked hard to earn his way growing up. He was very involved in each of our lives and gave us all the gift of loving books and sports.
Mom was (is) one of the sweetest women in the world. The trick here would be to find someone who doesn’t like her. ;) She worked very hard and still does as an Elementary school teacher for many years. She could do any kind of craft, make great meals, and be so supportive of each of her children.
Through some family history research I have found that one of our lines goes back to Charlemagne, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
We also have a relative George Soule who signed the Mayflower Compact.
This question is actually one of the focuses of this project—so that not only might we find out more about ourselves, but have something to pass on to our posterity. In this way they will be able to have a few experiences of ours to draw upon in their future lives. I still have a strong desire to find out more about what kind of people my grandparents were and hope that this process will draw them further into our lives.
31. Are there any stories about famous or infamous relatives in your family?
32. Have any recipes been passed down to you from family members?
33. Are there any physical characteristics that run in your family?
34. Are there any special heirlooms, photos, bibles or other memorabilia that have been passed down in your family?
35. What was the full name of your spouse?
36. When and how did you meet your spouse? What did you do on dates?
37. What was it like when you proposed (or were proposed to)? Where and when did it happen? How did you feel?
38. Where and when did you get married?
39. What memory stands out the most from your wedding day?
40. How would you describe your spouse? What do (did) you admire most about them?
Are there any stories about famous or infamous relatives in your family?
I would take the cake on "infamous"! Im the only one I know of in our family who was arrested. Yep, thats right. Handcuffed. Taken down town. Thrown in the brink. Just like Billy the Kid, I had a warrant out for my arrest.
I was minding my own business in February of '94, driving to a class at college, when my "trusty" ol' Mazda up and died on me. (Queue line here on "Miller car karma")
I pulled over on the side of the freeway and was about to work my way back to a payphone on 33rd south when a "friendly" neighborhood police car pulled up behind me. (another 30 seconds and I could have made my escape) He tells me my tabs have expired and asked for my license and registration (and I thought he was there to help a poor, stranded motorist- HA!) and went back to his car to run my information. Im then sitting in my car waiting, and wondering why it has taken him so long to do this, when I look in the rear-view mirror and notice another cop car has pulled up behind him. Strange, I thought, but maybe he was just bringing him some donuts... Then a few minutes later yet another cop car pulls up. I guess they needed plenty of backup to handle this strapping young Mormon boy. Then the first officer walks up and asks me to step out of the car. He takes me back by my trunk and tells me there is a warrant out for my arrest. "WHAT!!-- are you kidding me!?" I say, "I think you have the wrong Todd Miller" I knew Brad knew another Todd Miller in Sandy, and it must have been him, right? RIGHT?. So he proceeds to handcuff me right there on I-215. (Im hoping the bishop doesnt drive by and see this) He actually was kind enough to cuff me with my hands in front of me and told me I could ride in the front seat. (Ohh, how exciting! Im getting the red carpet treatment here) I guess he didnt think that I was a big flight risk. From there, we had a nice, relaxing drive to the Salt Lake County Jail.-- OK it wasnt relaxing, it was one of the most traumatic drives of my life! We get there and I have to empty my pockets and get a mug shot taken and am fingerprinted. (insert crying, sobbing sounds here) I then get taken to a "waiting" area before I am "processed". I am sitting there with about 6 other "criminals". They are going around the room asking each other "What are you in for?" One guy says, "I beat up my girlfriend", the next says, "I robbed someones house". They get to me-- "The tabs on my car expired?" -- because other than that, I had no idea what was going on. For some reason they thought that was quite funny. (shrugs) After about thirty minutes, they ask me to come with them. They put me in a cell with a hydraulic door. I was petrified. The officer who put me in there saw the pain in my eyes and didnt completely shut the door-- he told me he wouldnt shut it all the way because I didnt look too scary-- but still not open enough for me to "make my escape"
10 minutes later they bring me out to a desk where they give me my "phone call". I call dad on the brink of tears, and explain what happened. He asks to talk to the processing officer. Strange thing is, I still have no idea what the reason was that I had a warrant out for my arrest up until this time. I was just sitting there like a deer in the headlights when the officer gives me some information for me to show up in court to defend myself. (I guess dad talked to them and they decided I was free to go). From there, I was about 10 blocks away from LeAnn's dorm at LDSBC. I went there and pulled her out of one of her classes. (we were engaged at this time, and I hope she doesnt change her mind about it after I tell her the story) I am practically crying as I tell her I was just in jail. I show her the red marks on my wrists from the handcuffs. After I calmed down a bit, I believe she thought the whole story was quite amusing. So much for sympathy. Even worse, that weekend her parents were coming down to meet their "future son-in-law". And what is one of the first things LeAnn tells them? Yep, to this day, my father-in-law affectionately calls me "The criminal"
I guess I should get to the part of confessing my "crime". Thats the tricky part, was I didnt realize what "I" had done until dad explained it to me when I got home. He told me that while I was on my mission in Japan (over two years ago) He had parked the "booger" (may he rest in peace) out on the street while they were putting a new roof on the house on Camille Drive. Another "friendly neighborhood police officer" had driven by and kept putting tickets on the car because it wasnt supposed to be parked on Lincoln Drive. Of course the car was registered in my name, and when dad called to contest the tickets, they said I had to appear to do it myself. He explained that I was out of the country on A MISSION, and couldnt do that. Anyway, apparently, that was never resolved. Ahhh. What a magnificent chain of events that was!
32. Have any recipes been passed down to you from family members?
There are a few I am glad havent been passed down-- tuna patties, yams.. but mostly I loved mom's cooking. I remember a number of times when they would make us stay at the table until we finished everything on our plates. Yet another important reason to have a dog. :)
I love Ruth's artichoke dip. Yum! And I miss mom's eclairs and homemade mac n' cheese. Other than that, the main thing we still make in our family is the mixed up taco salad with the Doritos chips.
33. Are there any physical characteristics that run in your family?
The one thing that I got from dad was BIG muscles. (Too bad none of the other brothers inherited that trait! ;)) I think we are all above average in height, and the boys all have big hands. We sure got a hodge podge of hair color among the siblings that run the gamut-- red, blonde, brown.
34. Are there any special heirlooms, photos, bibles or other memorabilia that have been passed down in your family?
I did receive from dad his set of Lincoln bookends when I gradated from the University of Washington. I believe that mom gave those to him for his graduation present, so that was pretty cool. Otherwise, mom made a nice book for each of us with family photos and information about Grandma and Grandpa Hellewell. Another fun thing to have is many of the Christmas ornaments we received as children were given back to us as adults. Seeing those on the Christmas tree each year brings back lots of great childhood memories.
35. What was the full name of your spouse?
LeAnn Thorne. Yes, I have the privilege of waking up each morning with "a Thorne in my side"! (I can see LeAnn rolling her eyes right now :)) Her maiden name originated from Sweden. (Ya shure you betcha!)
36. When and how did you meet your spouse? What did you do on dates?
It was a dark and stormy night...
Just kidding. It was November 3rd, 1993. I was the LDSSA (Latter Day Saints Student Association) fraternity president at SLCC (Salt Lake Community College). We had scheduled to have an exchange with the ladies at LDS Business College. We met up with them that night for a "Potato Putt Party"-- which entailed setting up a miniature golf course in the ballroom there and having a potato bar. I recall getting there with my supplies and then scanning the room, looking for "hotties", my radar went off when I saw LeAnn chatting with some guys across the room. I tried to keep her in my sights while setting up my mini golf hole. I remember not even having time to have a potato by the time I finished. There always seemed to be a few guys gathered around her throughout the night. I waited for my opportunity and pounced!-- OK, maybe not, but somehow I finagled my way in there and had a chance to chat with her a bit. I dont recall what we talked about, but became interested enough that I started to formulate a way to get her number. I didnt get it that night because of the swarm of guys around her made it a bit difficult. I do recall the highlight of that night was that she gave me a hug when I left!! (WOOHOO)
"Operation Acquire Phone Number" commenced later that week. I stopped by the student office at her school and talked to one of the students that was working there. I told her I needed LeAnn's number to contact her for future Sorority "exchange" information. She looked at me and measured me up before saying that they usually cant give that information out, but I guess I charmed her into it. ;) I called LeAnn later that week and asked her out. The rest was history. We started out on group dates with one of her roommates and my friend Brice Flowers. Then I remember going to a lazer show at the planetarium (Rush, I believe) and after Christmas, we saw each other almost everyday. One of the "painful" memories was when I was showing her some of my sweet Karate moves, and then she showed me some of hers. She did the Karate kid flamingo move and nailed me right where it counts. Then I went "down for the count". (Still brings tears to my eyes to this day) I knew then that this was the woman I wanted to marry-- she made me feel like no other woman ever had!
37. What was it like when you proposed (or were proposed to)? Where and when did it happen? How did you feel?
February 11th, 2004. Ahhh. Such a wonderful and stressful day that was. I barely was able to procure the ring before that special night. I had some help from Bryan Lampropoulos, who gave me $100 for the down payment (as my pre-emptive wedding gift) as I was quite the pauper at the time. I remember mom helped me pick it out, so I knew she was on board with me. :)
That night, we had a special dance/date planned at a restaurant that was on a river boat. It seemed like the perfect setting. (It was a girls choice dance her school had and luckily she invited me!) After we finished dinner, I gallantly asked her if she would like to go for a walk around the deck. When I found a private spot, I crouched down and told her I had "a rock" stuck in my shoe. (yes, it was veeeeeeeeeery clever, I know) I proceeded to reach down to pull it out as I got on one knee. After that, everything went blank. LeAnn tells me that I forgot to actually "pop the question", I just opened up the box and showed her the ring. So she made me get down and do it again. This time she said yes! It was the happiest day of my life.
38. Where and when did you get married?
July 8th, 1994. (Tomorrow is our 13th anniversary!) We were married in the Seattle, Washington temple.
39. What memory stands out the most from your wedding day?
Being so ecstatic in the Sealing room. Knowing that this was going to last forever. That I had finally found the girl who had be prepared for me from the beginning of time.
40. How would you describe your spouse? What do (did) you admire most about them?
She is amazing. She has given me such strength and love. She helps me through the rough spots and never gives up on me. She serves others without much thought of herself. She is selfless in the love that she gives our children. A wonderful mother, who is caring and supportive of each of our children. She is unwavering in the gospel. I hope to be as good to her as she is to me. She makes me want to be a better man to be worthy of her.
41. What do you believe is the key to a successful marriage?
42. How did you find out your were going to be a parent for the first time?
43. Why did you choose your children's names?
44. What was your proudest moment as a parent?
45. What did your family enjoy doing together?
46. What was your profession and how did you choose it?
47. If you could have had any other profession what would it have been? Why wasn't it your first choice?
48. Of all the things you learned from your parents, which do you feel was the most valuable?
49. What accomplishments were you the most proud of?
50. What is the one thing you most want people to remember about you?
What do you believe is the key to a successful marriage?
Having common beliefs and goals. These are things that have kept us strong and united in our marriage. The gospel makes everything so much clearer in our marriage. Knowing that we will be together forever with our family is a huge element that drives us. I think having children has strengthened our bond, and has given us much joy in our posterity. Helping each other out when one of us falls in a hole and being supportive of each other's decisions is another key for our marriage. I LOVE LEANN!
How did you find out your were going to be a parent for the first time?
We had actually started trying to get pregnant about a year into our marriage. We weren't met with much success for almost two full years. We were wondering for a while there if it was supposed to happen at that time or not. We went through a number of pregnancy tests (good thing we didn’t have to use rabbits like in the old days!), when finally, LeAnn came out of the bathroom jumping up and down in excitement. I was just sitting there watching TV when she told me. Then I started jumping up and down with her. (Those were the good 'ol days-- when I could actually jump up and down!). One of the happiest times of my life.
Why did you choose your children's names?
Autumn Dawn- we thought this was a beautiful name in the sense of the pictures it brings to mind. She truly has turned out as beautiful as her name
Austin Kaylor- LeAnn had wanted to have a son with the name of Austin ever since she heard the name as a young girl. Who am I to argue with that? Kaylor came from a combination of Kay, his maternal grandfather, and Taylor, my middle name- after the prophet of our church-- John Taylor.
Jaylin Adele- Was derived from the combination of her maternal grandmother, Janice, and her paternal grandmother, Linda. Her middle name was in honor of her paternal great-grandmother, Adele. Whom none of us have met (Yet!)
A sweet story to go along with this. When we sent out announcements to family, we got a card back from Jeannine Tolbert in Florida (Grandma Adele's sister). She wrote that she new Adele was with Jaylin before she was sent down and gave her hugs and kisses before she left the pre-existence. It was a very special note, that really touched me.
What was your proudest moment as a parent?
Each time one of my children is born is when I feel closer to God than any other moments. Loving that he sent them to be with my family, and entrusted their care to us is a special feeling that I will never forget. They continue to make me proud each day as I learn of their accomplishments-- at home, at school at play. They are each my "Sunbeams", and something I look forward to seeing each of them when I get home each day. This is why Lehi wanted to share the fruit with his family. So that they might each experience the taste that brought him such joy.
What does my family enjoy doing together?
We love to go down to the beach and be close to the beauty of nature. It is such fun to go down there and be together. With the kids looking for shells and rocks, taking Flash on a walk, and enjoying the fresh air. I remember one time we went down to Redondo beach when Jaylin was about two-- just a toddler. She saw one of the streams of water that the clams would shoot up into the air from under the sand. She was running around looking at these "mysterious" fountains of water, when she stopped in one place and it squirted her right in the face. She was so shocked. It was sooo funny!
What was your profession and how did you choose it?
I think my profession chose me! I was determined to find a job where I could use my Japanese. Which is funny, because I remember when people at our wedding reception at the Lampropoulos' home what I planned on doing jobwise in Seattle. I distinctly telling them that I would find a job using my Japanese--"Maybe even work at Microsoft" It turned out I did both! I ended up having many interviews for software development companies that needed foreign language skills. I went through a number based on my language skills until they found that I didn’t have many computer skills. I actually interviewed with Microsoft for a position in February of '97. A couple of months after graduating from the University of Washington. I didn’t get it. A few months later I had another interview at Microsoft. It ended up being with the SAME guy- Chuck Archer. He said I had improved, but still wasn’t quite there (I had been studying a bit in the meantime). At the time, I had a decent job at a publishing company in Seattle-where I had been using my Japanese, so I wasn’t totally concerned about getting something new. Then I had an interview down in Oregon at Intel. They said I was really close, but didn’t get the offer. The recruiter told me to check into a Software testing certification course to see if that would help me get over the hump. I took one during August of 97, and then had another interview at Microsoft. Things went really well this time. They gave me the offer straight away. Then I turned up for work the next week and it turned out that the person who hired me was Chuck Archer's boss! AND I ended up working for Chuck's team on Japanese Windows 98. Boy, was he surprised to find me in the office one day. It was quite the motivation for me to show him how good an employee I would be. I ended up writing more bugs than anyone else on his team-- with most of them having started months before me. He came around and started calling me the "bug man" and went on to say that I was one of the most persistent people he had ever met.
If you could have had any other profession what would it have been? Why wasn't it your first choice?
I had always wanted to be a marine biologist. I loved to study and raise fish while I was growing up. It was a fascinating hobby for me. I even took scuba diving classes at the University of Utah. (I know, Brad is proud - but I actually ended up with more credits from BYU as I tested out of 3 years of Japanese there) But that was a rough career path when you are in landlocked Utah. When I went with the class to get certified as a scuba diver, we went to some lake in Nevada in the middle of winter. It had hot springs going into it so it was fairly warm. The water was not very clear though, but I did see a couple of bluegill swimming around. Then I got separated from by diving buddy and ended up going down too deep, too quick. I actually ended up rupturing my eardrum. It was nasty and oozed for a week. (They still gave me the certification though) I got my first real taste of Marine Biology on our Cruise to the Bahamas/Grand Cayman. Snorkling with barracudas and Angel fish was one of the coolest things I have ever done. I could have stayed down there forever.
Of all the things you learned from your parents, which do you feel was the most valuable?
A love of the gospel. They were so consistent and strong in their beliefs. It translated over to me. That thankfulness transitioned into a mission in Japan which has shaped the rest of my life. Learning so much in those two years and having amazing experiences almost everyday is a tremendous testament to me of the truthfullness of the gospel.
What accomplishments were you the most proud of?
In the past few years, it has been getting over the traumatic experience of the devastating injury to my knee. Having the ACL rupture, along with the torn meniscus, MCL and PCL along with the dislocated knee at the same time, took me down into the depths of despair. I was very discouraged for so long that I wouldn’t be able to do so many of the active things in my life that were a huge part of me. After beginning physical therapy and being on the bike for such a long time, I realized that I could turn that into a motivating factor for me to reach other goals. Not that I was a big fan of bike riding, (though Im sure I rode thousands of miles on my mission) but I figured I could accomplish a couple of big rides. I started training for the Seattle to Portland bike ride about 6 months after my surgery and completed the 210 mile ride (7/2004), almost exactly one year after surgery (6/2003)
Then it happened AGAIN. I somehow tore up my Articular cartilage (yep, I didn’t know I even had that either) in 2004. (I think it occurred earlier in the spring when I jumped over a chain link fence with the kids to go look at tadpoles-- no wonder it never felt like the injury was healing-- because I had a whole NEW injury!) If it could be, this one was was even WORSE than the first one. For the first one, I had to stay off it for 6 weeks, but could put some pressure on it, since they wanted me to strengthen it. For the Articualur surgery, they had done a "microfracture" procedure, where they cut away the ripped up cartilage, and then drilled holes in the bone to promote bone marrow to come into the gap left from the missing cartilage. This is not as cushy as the cartilage, but is supposed to help with the cushioning. After this, I could not put ANY pressure or weight on that knee for THREE months. It was horrible. Hobbling around like a flamingo on crutches for that long. I couldn’t believe I had to go through that whole process again after such a short time. But I determined to work toward taking another ride. This time I trained for the RSVP (Ride from Seattle to Vancouver and Party, and yes I know I am a huge partier!) I took that one in August of 2005, and it was about 180 miles up to Canada.
What is the one thing you most want people to remember about you?
He followed the "Scout Law" -- He was/is "Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent" What a wonderful creed to live by.
