The Miller Family

Spring 2009

2009-08-28T06:15:00.000-07:00

Okay. So. I have obviously taken a slight break from the blog, but now that the two big kids are back in school and I can be on the computer for longer than five minutes without said big kids begging to check out Webkinz world or Horseland or any other number of child-friendly websites anytime they see the flickering of the monitor, I am back in the game. Seriously. This time it's totally going to happen. Daily... er...weekly...monthly...um...we'll just see what happens. No guarantees other than this will be the best freaking Mormon Mommy blog that Blogger has ever known. I might even enter it in their "Award-Winning-Blog" competition. Obviously, it will need to be in the "Two posts a year or less" category. Maybe I'll even win a free custom layout. A girl can dream.

Lest any of you think that during the ensuing time between posts, nothing happens at the Miller household, this will be your proof:

Foster's first rocket launch:

So he may have had a leeeetle bit of help from his lovely assistant, a.k.a. "Dad", but I was impressed at what they were able to accomplish.

The countdown.

Blast off!

The mad scramble for the rocket that follows any successful launch. (This is what Jon told me anyway.)

The rocket scientists forgot to account for the intense tailwind when they chose the launch site. (A field at Comeaux High School.) As a result of this oversight, the Miller boys got an excellent workout and a earful from the hapless residents whose home was struck by the "missile of death." Furthermore the statement of "It's okay, I'm an engineer" is no longer acceptable in our house.

Another year wraps up at school:

Maya reached and exceeded all of her A.R. goals (at the end of the year, she was reading at a sixth grade level), and got medals for being on the principal's list and honor roll.

Foster also met all of his A.R. goals and received the ever-coveted "Tiger of the Year" award.

Maya and Foster's first swim meet:

I believe Maya is signalling her third place finish in her heat for freestyle. Foster finished first in his heat of backstroke. Don't worry, when it came time for him to compete, we tucked those ears into the cap to cut down on any extra drag.

Getting written on is seriously the highlight of any swim meet for these two.

Foster

Maya

Mother's Day 2009:

Maya's first art show:

Maya is in the talented and gifted art program. Back in first grade, when her teacher recommended that she apply for this, I had no idea how grueling it would be for her to get in. Seriously. Her teacher was asked to submit some of her work from class, Maya needed to submit an additional portfolio of her past work, and do some other drawings that were requested from the board. She then had to take an art aptitude test administered and judged by professional artists. It seriously felt like she was auditioning to get into an exclusive art institute. In the midst of this, I really questioned if this was a good idea to put a little kid through all of this pressure. I am VERY glad that we did it. (I would probably feel differently if she didn't make it into the program after going through all of this, though.) Every Friday, the gifted and talented art teacher comes to the school and has a class with Maya and two other kids at her school. This is the highlight of Maya's week/life. Every morning, she does the countdown to Friday and art.

Foster does soccer camp:

Over spring break, Foster was able to do this camp. It was 3-4 hours long, all week. He had a great time and was excited to go every morning. It probably helped that he did it with his buddy, Nick. He is starting fall soccer in about a week. We will see if camp paid off. :)

Lots of lunch and play dates with Merrit, Tanya, and McCord:

Ella loves her Merrit time! Merrit started kindergarten this year, and Ella has been sad to not be able to hang with her older cousin!

A trip to see Uncle Gregg in Destin, Florida:

Jon's brother, Gregg, was stationed for training just outside of Destin, Florida. It is not often that we have family a mere six hours from us, so we took the oppurtunity to drive over and see him... and also the beach!

Gregg made an excellent pack mule.

We had a great time burying each other and working on our sand sculpting skills:

Jon as a busty mermaid.

Ella allowed no time for art. It was in the hole, cover with sand, "Get me out!", all within the space of three minutes.

Foster was also not as obliging as he could have been.

Maya as "Muscle-Man," er, "Muscle-Mam." (She would correct us anytime we would slip.)

Ella's entire reaction to the beach was surprising to me. She loves to swim and play in the water, and she is not adverse to getting messy with her moon sand. I thought this would translate well to the beach (especially as the sand in Destin is the same basic constinency as moon sand.) It did not. We walked down the boardwalk and stairs to the beach and as soon as her feet hit the sand, she freaked. If you have ever heard Ella scream, you know what this entails. The most ear-splitting, mind-shattering, high-pitched scream that can be imagined. As we were all loaded up with stuff, none of us were able to carry her, so she had to tough it out. The sand was one thing, the water was another thing entirely. Anytime anyone would get within five feet of the shore, Ella would issue warnings mother-hen-style. She stayed in her little chair pretty much the entire time and called out warnings to all of us. She would occasionally venture a few feet from the chair and turn a couple shovel-fuls of sand and then beat a hasty retreat.

Foster, on the other hand, LOVED the sand. (And it loved him.) He went into the water some, but mostly constructed castles, forts, and looked for sea vermin.

Maya was all about the water. She would go out as far as her over-protective little sister would allow her to.

A picture with Gregg on the base:

We had a great time with Gregg. The only thing missing was his wife, Kayla, and their little kids. We wish that these other Millers could've gone to the beach with us! Gregg has since gone back to his family in Idaho, but we loved seeing and spending time with him!

Foster's Birthday Party:

A stroke of genius on my part: we went to the movie theater for a "movie birthday party." The only way to go with a gaggle of seven year old boys. The guests arrived, played a couple of arcade games, went into the party room for presents and cake, and then into the theater for the movie. This required very little effort on my part (my favorite thing is to expend as little energy as possible whenever possible), and I didn't have to go crazy keeping said boys in check. I sat back and let Dreamworks do all of the work for me. We saw "Monster's vs. Aliens." Not our favorite movie of all time, but still a great answer to a birthday party!

I didn't even have to make a cake. I would've felt guilty if I could make something as cute as this, but as my kids think they are eating gourmet when they have chocolate frosting on their brownies, I let Albertson's make this contribution.

He did pretty well for himself!

Thank you, Blogger, for always uploading picures so crazy and backwards and thwarting my well-laid plans. Maybe I won't post for another six months again, afterall. It is so frustrating...

A trip to the Baton Rouge Zoo:

We have a zoo membership that we purchased at our zoo here in Lafayette. (Broussard, actually for you locals:) This is such a bargain! We pay 60.00 a year and this gets us in to our own zoo and lots of others, too. It also gets us discounted tickets to most aquariums, as well. If you have kids, you should seriously look into a zoo membership. Really. Do it now.

In the petting zoo area, they provide the kids with these brushes to torture and torment the animals (mostly goats) with. Ella was seriously baffled why this goat didn't run out for a grooming session at her hands, despite her oh so persuasive pleadings.

Maya and Foster got into a little bit of a scrap:

You've heard of fighting cocks? Well, no trip to the zoo is complete with out a jaunt over to the "Fighting Tortoise" pen for a quick wager on the winner. Just kidding. No tortoises were harmed in the taking of this picture. (I had to say that for the benefit of any animal rights activists that may have strayed to this blog by mistake.) I have never been so fascinated (in a bad way) by nature. I could not peel my eyes form their yucky necks. Who would've thought that tortoises could be so feisty?

It was a fun zoo that allowed us to get seriously up close and personal with the animals. Maybe a little more than I would really have liked...

Giraffes are cool, but not when there is only a four foot fence separating you from their vicious teeth. Jon actually fed this giraffe those leaves. During this feeding, I was concerned that our life insurance might not cover death by giraffe. I was relieved when Jon was able to walk away, virtually unscathed.

Proof that I do, actually, exist.

Lessons from a little girl

2009-03-31T07:43:00.000-07:00

I love being a mom and, for the most part, feel like I'm pretty much on top of things. However, whenever I start to feel too prideful, "something" usually follows to strike me down. Lately, "something" = "Ella." Here are some of the lessons learned:

A two-year-old little girl LOVES all things pink, sparkly, messy, and OFF-LIMITS. I hurt my back a couple of weeks ago and, while I am feeling better now, I was pretty much "down" then. Jon was offshore, leaving us land-lubbers to fend for ourselves. Ella had been asking me all day to polish her nails (her phrase). At the time, I wasn't able to bend over, let alone do an intense toddler mani-pedi, so she was made to understand that it wasn't going to happen. I turned a Barbie movie on for her (which usually cements her bottom to the couch) and laid down on my bed. All was quiet, too quiet, and as my little brother Joey taught me much earlier in my life, silent is deadly. About the time that Barbie discovered that she was really a princess that had marooned on a beautiful tropical island with animals that she could speak with, I started to notice that my house had the aroma of an Asian nail salon. I slithered out of bed and followed my nose only to disover this:

Back in the day, the pharmaceutical industry was forced to implement tamper-proof lids on all meds so that little children and arthritic little old ladies wouldn't be able to access any of the medicine inside the bottle. Someone please explain to me WHY the child-proof nail polish lid has not been invented and utilized?

An eternal truth: when you don't want them to fall asleep, they will. And with a smile on their smug little face knowing that they are thereby destroying any hope of being put down for a "real" nap that will enable you to clean up all that they have soiled in the course of the day.

You can buy world peace for a quarter... or at least a peaceful trip to Wal-Mart. I am not above bribing a child with a merry-go-round ride if they are a good shopper. ("Good shopper", of course, means sitting in the front of the cart (with the strap buckled), maintaining proper footwear at all times, remaining fully clothed, leaving the store with hair in roughly the same condition that it was upon entering the store, not eating any of the items placed into the cart, and keeping all noises (verbal and bodily) at an appropriate level.)

She's happy, I'm happy, and the Wal-Mart checkout lady is... well... maybe not exactly happy, but at least not cursing at me inside of her orthodontia-lacking-head for having the gall to bring a CHILD into a STORE, of all places!

Ahem, some lessons bear repeating: Silent is deadly. Of COURSE she's not playing quietly with her dolls and pretend food. She's found the rogue marker, buried in the deepest recesses of the couch, placed by the sofa manufacturer in the hopes that a random two year old will discover this blue wonder and destroy said couch, thus forcing the consumer to purchase more marker-implanted furniture. HaHa, Emerald Home Furniture, co. fat-cat. Jokes on you, er, or all over Ella...

2009-03-16T18:48:00.000-07:00

Grandma Foster came to visit us over the Mardi Gras break, and we had sooooo much fun having her here! We tried really hard to get her to extend her trip, but I think she needed to go home and recover. It was a really great two weeks that went by way too fast! Here are some of the hightlights:

Foster had his birthday on February 13 and Merrit on the 10th, so a Grandma-hosted birthday trip to Build-A-Bear was in order the night after she came.

Wishing it was her birthday...

I will be really sad when he decides that he is too old for this. He had a great time and loves his new buddy.

Another day, we decided to go to the Lafayette Children's Museum. Despite school being out for the break (Mardi Gras), it wasn't too busy.

My kids love the bubble exhibit and always try to do this:

(Which is actually harder than it looks...trust me.)

The newscast:

The paramedics: (sorry about the broken ribs, Merrit but you really should've held still.)

The dentist's office:

(How many mouths do you think this giant toothbrush has been in? Despite a rather heartfelt lecture on the importance of NOT putting the t-brush into eachother's mouths, I still think there was a deposit of Ella's saliva on it when we left.)

Bon appetite! (consequently, this is Ella's very favorite meal. She is a total health nut.)

Of course, the zoo was on our agenda. It was a pretty day and I think that G-ma Foster was only on the phone two or three times bragging to all of the people she left behind in Utah about being able to be outside without the threat of hypothermia.

The llamas were VERY friendly:

Proof that fear of viscious animal teeth and saliva skips a generation.

My kids asked if I would get them some "llama food." Um...yuck...no. Grandma's swift and immediate response:

...Anything for her babies.

The "picture tree" at the zoo:

It was so great to have her here...we are planning for the next time!

Team Sports

2009-03-10T14:41:00.000-07:00

So, the last few weeks have been quite busy for us. Foster started soccer, and Maya started swim team all within the same week. Between games and three times a week practices, my mom-mobile has been running all over town. I have even had to enroll Jon's junk-mobile to help me divide and conquer the many practices that often occur at the same time.

Here is Foster "assuming the position." He is getting to be a pretty good goalie, but, let's be honest. What makes him fit for this gig is his sheer size. We had to submit his birth certificate to prove that he really is only seven. 5'10" mom + 6'2" dad= a soccer star.

The cheerleaders:

This is where Ella can be found at every single game. Thank goodness for bleachers. They make an excellent jungle gym.

Maya enduring to the end. It was FREEZING this day. (Of course, to all of our "Northern" friends, I realize that this is completely relative.)

Enjoying a post-game beverage.

Their team name is aptly "The Beast."

Here is our swimming girl. I only uploaded one pic of her doing her thing because the picture quality was not good. She has practice three times a week and is LOVING it! We are waiting for a meet that is not on Sunday and she will be ready.

Mardi Gras 2009

2009-03-03T06:22:00.000-08:00

Mardi Gras. I LOVE it. What is it all about, you ask? It is the period right before Lent for you to get your fun out! So...of course a self-respecting Mormon girl like me wants to jump right in and hang with the Cajun Catholics. Here in South Louisiana, it is an oppurtunity for people to spend LOTS of money to be in a parade (a Krewe), go to balls, and throw beads to the revelling masses. (me.) There is something so completely satisfying about catching beads. I don't know exactly what it is, I just know that it makes me feel very happy inside. Jon's view of Mardi Gras is somewhat different. To him, it is something to endure for the sake of his wife and children. This year, we all were happy. Jon went on a combined Laurel/Priest stake trip to Nauvoo, and my mom came down to visit us (read: grandkids), and see what Mardi Gras was all about. Let me just say that we have a new M.G. convert. While the Bishop was away, we played. :)

Our first parade was at Maya and Foster's school. The second grade got to make shoebox "floats" about a book that they read and put on their own little procession.

Here is Maya with her contribution:

Let me just say that I felt really bad. Apparently, the other parents spent "slightly" more time helping their child with their float than I did with Maya. Thankfully, she was so enamored with the fact that I got a horse to stick on it, she didn't really notice.

We went to the Children's Parade on the Saturday before Fat Tuesday. It was a great parade, but we were very early. To kill some time, we walked over to the carnival that was being held at the Cajundome. It was ridiculously pricey so the kids only got to do two rides each.

Ella lurved driving the jeep!

Foster chose this alpine flyer thing for his second ride. As you can see, you get strapped down on your stomach, your little harness thing rises up to about fifteen or twenty feet, and you get flailed around and around and around. He was sooo excited to try this (I was freaking out inside... think of the word "Carney" and then picture this mental image setting up (probably while intoxicated or under the influence of some kind) a complicated metal structure that goes around at high speeds and then picture strapping your only man-child to said contraption. You understand.) Despite my inner turmoil, I tried desperately to get a picture of his face. As it started going around, he looked terrified which quickly to changed to the pre-barf face. (At which point I began visualizing cotton candy puke flying out in every direction at high velocity.) Thankfully, this quickly changed to elation which lasted for one more revolution and then the carney pulled the lever to stop the fun.

Maya, Foster, and Merrit all agreed that the Fun Slide had to be one of their choices. I put my money on Maya to win (thinking of my extensive Pinewood Derby knowledge of the heaviest car always wins), but fearless Foster got a really good start and flew down closely followed by scrappy little Merrit who picked up speed in the end. At least we kept the win in the family. Maya got the "coolest-looking car" award (which we all know is the kiss of death.)

Finally... it was time for the parade to start. About fifteen minutes before the floats start rolling in, the sirens start and then all of the LCRP's come by and slap the kids hands as they whiz by on their sweet motorcycles. (Of course you realize that LCRP's are our equivalent of CHiP's only instead of California Highway Patrol, "LCRP" stands for Lafayette Crappy Road Patrol. I often contemplate how they are even able to stay on their bikes with all of the van-eating potholes around here. Visit us here and you can see for yourself what I am talking about.)

Waiting to get whipped in the face by her next pretty necklace.

I'd like some more please.

That's my girl imitating me.

The haul.

Foster's 7th!

2009-03-02T13:47:00.000-08:00

May I just say that I CANNOT believe that Foster is seven?! It seriously seems like only a couple of months ago that we (very surprisingly) found out we were expecting him. I know it is very cliche to say, but I do NOT know where the time has gone! He is such a funny kid. Since moving here he has turned "ghetto" and likes to beat-box and has his own signature hand jives that go along with said beat. One of my favorite little stories about Foster's ghetto-ness was when we were playing Rock Band at our friends' house. Foster was on the drums, Maya on guitar, and Jon was on vocals. When they failed their round, Foster said: "Oh yeeeee-ah. Dat's how we roll." So funny. Not sure he even realized that they weren't good. He gets into his share of trouble but he is so freaking hilarious about it that it is often hard to dish out his discipline with a straight face. On the way home from church the other day, he was acting sad. He said that he had fought with his "best friend" and that they were no longer best friends. I told him that he needed to work on forgiving his former BFF and to move on. He said: " You mean my BFFL." I asked him what this was and he said: "Best Friend Forever.... Lies." What a girl.

Anyway, here are some of the highlights of his special day.

It is our tradition to do breakfast in bed. Here is his tasty breakfast of (as requested) donuts.

I asked Foster what he wanted to do for his birthday dinner. At first he said that he wanted to do Sonic. Jon, in all of his cheap glory, was thrilled with this option. I, however, was not. I told him to think of something even yummier (if this is even possible.) Of course, McDonald's came up next. Finally he decided on IHOP and at the last minute changed his mind to Gator Cove. Ryan, Tanya, Merrit, and McCord met us there and were very good sports about Foster's chosen location. (Tanya is NOT a seafood girl.)

Our boy loves him some crawfish! This night they made them SOOOOO spicy. All of our mouths were flaming hot. This is Foster's disgusting attempt to put out the fire. Dipping his napkin in root beer and sucking on it. Ew. All in the name of birthday memories.

After dinner, we came back to our house for presents and cake and ice cream.

I love this picture. I think his face says it all! What a fun day!

Boxed in

2009-01-29T05:35:00.000-08:00

So, in a previous post I shared one of my most prized mothering tools, that of the use of the laundry basket a.k.a. "Mother's 'Lil Helper". I have not abandoned this useful item but the laundry basket's thirty pound capacity just wasn't cutting it for me. I needed something that could comfortably contain at least ninety pounds of crazy kids. Found it.

This box kept Ella and Foster happy for, literally, two hours. I threw in a baggie of snacks, some crayons, the aforementioned children, and a phone with the numbers 1 and 9 removed from the keypad, and they had a great time. It makes me feel really happy inside that I can provide this nurturing service for my kids. In my mind it is almost like being back in the womb for them. They were in a tight little space and they heard their loving mother's snores as she slept peacefully. The only difference is that they got to wear clothes this time around. Sadly, this was a one time babysitter. When Foster was ready to get out, rather than calling out that he had had enough he decided to go all Dwight on the box and this was the result:

(Or as this was a womb-like experience, maybe I should say that he was more vampire-baby-like in his attempt to escape.)

I have yet to find a more durable substitute, but this was fun while it lasted. I am on the prowl for something that can hold upto 250 pounds so that I can start an in-home daycare. I will be sure to keep you updated on my new business plan.

As promised, here are the results to "The Santa Strategies."

2009-01-08T09:56:00.000-08:00

We went over to Ryan and Tanya's house for Christmas Eve. We had yummy food, a fab program, and a great time. Have I mentioned how much we LOVE that they live here? We do!

Here are the kids waiting to open their one Christmas Eve present. (It is our tradition that the kids get to open their present from their Daddy Christmas Eve. Always p.j.'s. Of course this is so they will be looking cute in the morning in new ones instead of the old raggedy ones that they wear the rest of the year. Who wants reality on Christmas?) Merrit is still wearing her costume from the program. Obviously, she played the part of the camel.

Ta-da! All ready to be adorable come morning time.

It is a little known fact that the reindeer need a little enticement to stop. Foster doing his part by sprinkling reindeer food on our front lawn:

And Maya doing hers:

We moved to this house in December of 2006. I am not ashamed to admit that one of my biggest objections to this house is that the kids' bedrooms are all upstairs and the master is downstairs, raising the quandry of what to do Christmas morning? I didn't want them to see their presents before I was there to capture the moment forever on camera. (Also, I didn't want them to get distracted by said presents on their way to my bedroom at 3am.) The solution: Wrap them up in their room. This has become our tradition since then and is one that will probably continue on in whatever house we live in the future. Not only do we get to be there for the big reveal, but we can easily put off the kids until we are ready to get up. It was Ella's turn this year to play hostess in her room. I wish we had recorded this so that you could hear the audio. It was hysterical. They were sooooooo excited and Jon and I were having sooooooo much fun prolonging their agony.

This is what they do when they are given the green light: (Ella hung back while the dust and paper settled.)

If you look very closely, you can see a smidgen of all three kids racing downstairs to see what was in store for them. I use the word "racing" loosely. Perhaps you can tell by the annoyed expression on Foster's face that he was impatiently keeping pace behind Ella. We make them come down youngest to oldest. Another way that Jon and I enjoy messing with our offspring.

Ella's haul: She loves pretend play and being a "mommy" so Santa thought this would fit the bill. It has become a common sight to see Ella with her new baby (obviously adopted.) Strangely enough, it smells like vanilla.

Foster requested "real-live spy gear because elves are the ultimate spies and probably have really great stuff." It must be said that his stuff is the most fun for kids and adults to play with. Santa had a great time positioning his stuff just so, so that when Foster came down and crossed the laser, an alarm sounded and he was shot with foam darts. One of the other things he got is a remote control car that has a microphone built in and an earpiece that the spy gets to listen in on. It would work great if not for the giggling that always precedes an "attack."

Maya's "surprise", as requested. Her main thing is a digital camera. She has had a great time taking pics of not people, but anything nature. She also got a Planet Earth DVD game from my parents and has really enjoyed learning about animals and their habitats. She is and always has been such an animal lover and earth protector. I am sure she will grow up to be some liberal environmentalist with no chidren, but ten thousand pets.

Maya also got a High School Musical 3 dance mat also from G-ma and G-pa Foster. Ella was very inspired by the sweet music and dancing and had to get down with Vanilla and Barbie (of course, wearing nothing but her tutu from cousin David.)

Wearing their Christmas finery:

Another thing Maya got was a nail kit and book from G-ma Sue and G-pa Carson. It took me 45 minutes to paint these cute ladybugs and Maya five minutes to peel them off. Reguardless, both girls have had fun with this one.

These last two pics were uploaded backwards but, whatever. Here is Jon solving the Rubix cube that Foster got in his stocking. I think this is actually illegal, so please, no one report this.

Foster attempting to do it before handing it off to Dad.

The Foster's came over to our house for Christmas dinner and then we went to a movie and came back here for games. It was a great day!

We had such a fun Christmas that I have been in mourning ever since it ended. This is my excuse for not blogging about it sooner. I felt it would be admitting defeat that Christmas really is over to do it any sooner. I just barely finished taking down everything Christmas yesterday. Despite my sadness before doing it, I love the way the house now feels so clean without all of it!

Santa Claus...what valuable life skills are they really learning?

2009-01-04T18:52:00.000-08:00

So this post is an in depth analysis of what exactly our children are learning from Santa Claus. Please don't get the wrong impression and immediately quit reading this post. This is not one of those Communist "Let's get rid of Santa and remember the true meaning of Christmas, bla, bla, bla" posts, but rather a "What approach really works to maximize presents while minimizing the potential of coal?" post. Read on:

So, here is our eldest child doing that which she has been doing for the past eight Christmases. I am pleased to announce that she has learned the art of "Santa Manipulation." When asked what she wants for Christmas, she sweetly replies: "Oh...I don't know. I have been so richly blessed and while I have been a VERY good girl, I just want to make sure that all of the less-fortunate girls and boys receive something before I do. I guess if you really insist on bringing me something, I will just leave it up to you as to what that will be." Of course the object here is to not limit herself to only one request, but to maximize on Santa's elfish heartstrings and receive the "mother-load." (Read "Sleigh-Load.") Works every time. (Her wardrobe choice also helps. She had just finished participating in the ward Christmas pageant as an angel. She was given the option to change her clothes. She declined. All part of her diabolical design.)

Foster has come a long way from the terrified, stuttering pre-schooler of Christmases past when placed onto Santa's lap. He has learned to be brief, concise, and to the point. Why beat around the bush? Neither he nor Santa is there for a lengthy conversation about his (Foster's) many exploits of the previous year. So he had a couple of recess detentions. Why split hairs? Confession may be good for the soul, but it is terrible for the stocking. Just get to the point and put in the request and not bore the old man. This strategy, too, works.

Aaaaah. Our newest requester. The two year old. So, up to this point in her short life, I have been instilling the importance of "Stranger Awareness." This is the only time of the year that she is encouraged to sit on the lap of an overweight, bearded white guy offering her candy (who, coincidentally, describes every level 3 sex offender in the state.) While this proved to be very confusing to her, she was able to develop her own scheme that, I hope, will evolve into something much quieter next year. Ella's strategy was, of course, panic. Scream, cry, kick, and cling to your mother. If done properly, not only do you get to escape the creepy guy's lap, but they thrust candy on you to shut you down.

I wish that you could see more of Santa's face in this pic. He was pretty much ecstatic to see this coming at him: (I'm equally excited to be included in the photo.)

And here is the after. Don't you love the pleased-with-herself-that-at-least-she-got-candy-laugh/cry? So she was slightly traumatized. It was all done in the name of Christmas joy.

Merrit, Ella, and their friend watching the "Santa Show" while munching on the fruits of their labor.

Conclusion:

Three different children. Three very different strategies. Stay tuned for the next post to see how it worked out for them.

Feel free to share your experience with proven successful strategies. (Or failed ones for that matter.)

Hell has frozen over

2008-12-11T09:50:00.000-08:00

...Or at least Louisiana has (frozen over, that is.) It has been REALLY cold the last few days (which, of course, is totally relative) and we heard that there might even be snow, but didn't believe it. We were woken up this morning to two completely out of their heads excited kids. Here is the dialogue: Foster: "Maya! I can't believe that it actually snowed in the Loo-zi-anna! It has been, like, years!" Maya: "Yes, Foster. The weather patterns are different here than in other parts of the country that we have lived." Ella: "Yeah!" Both back and forth: "Now we can teach all of our friends how to have a snowball fight and make snow-angels at recess." Ella: "Yeah!"

In my pre-six a.m. grumpiness, I told them not to get their hopes up as they cancel recess at school at the slightest threat of moisture.

I think our total accumulation was just over one inch. North of us, they got around three inches and cancelled all public and private schools and shut down the highway due to hazardous conditions from the "blizzard." At first I thought it was crazy, but after driving the kids to school this morning, decided that it was a good idea not because of the slickness of the roads, but because of the idiocy of the drivers being over-cautious to the point of being hazardous. Yikes.

What is totally crazy to me is that it is supposed to be back in the 70's on Saturday.

Our house in all of it's winter wonderlanded glory.

Three very excited kids. Ella was a little freaked out by it, but made a valiant effort to have fun.

2008-12-09T07:19:00.000-08:00

These are a bunch of pictures taken in the recent days and weeks.

Gingerbread House construction. Very tricky. Must be done on Monday evenings while wearing PJ's.

Ta-da! Pride of ownership. I love Foster's smug expression.

So this is the way I see Ella anytime I come at her with a camera. She has turned into such a poser. I have to hide this ballet costume because everytime she sees it, she MUST wear it! At least she conceded this day and let me put it on over her clothes. It was actually the greatest amount of clothes she has worn for the longest amount of time for weeks. She either likes to tear off all of her clothing and just wear a diaper, or the ballet tutu. I get her dressed on average ten times a day. If you are wondering about the laundry basket, I call it Mommy's 'Lil Helper. I just put her in there and she can't get out and she is good for hours on end, or until her diaper starts leaking. It's good for when I want to get out of the house and don't feel like having a two-year-old-tag-along. (I hope you all know I'm just joking about that. I would never leave her in there until her diaper leaks. I just take the diaper off completely and hose her and the basket off when I get home.)

He's the happy elf... One of the many times that I am sooooo glad to be a girl.

So of course these pictures were uploaded backwards but, whatever. On Thanksgiving, the kids made these turkey headbands. This is little McCord (or "Baby Goat" as Ella likes to call him, I think it is her version of "Baby Cord.") My brother Ryan and his family moved here last year and we LOVE having them here! (Baby McCord is there new little guy.)

Ella and cousin Merrit sporting their fetching headgear. Ella adores Merrit and gets so excited anytime she is mentioned.

Our gaggle of turkeys.

7 Things, Cont.

2008-12-08T08:42:00.001-08:00

So I am a blogging idiot. I have just learned that while I can only upload 5 pics at a time, I can upload more within the same post. I haven't technically posted in over a year. That is my excuse. If you want to read the 7 things in order, scroll down for the first three and come back to this post. Sorry. Anyway, as I am sure everyone is waiting with baited breath to see what is next, here goes:

4) Designing and re-designing furniture. While I love decorating, I am very cheap and I can never quite find exactly what I want in the store, anyway, so I often make up my own stuff. I designed this and Jon begrudgingly built it for me and it is working out really well for us. It is still in my design plan for him to build three boxes on wheels to go in the cubbies underneath, but he is totally sick of working for me. As he built this over a year ago, I have learned to cope with the baskets. While I really like how this piece turned out, it is sort of a let-down to open it up and expect to see a giant tv inside, only to find our dinky little 27 incher. It is always my secret hope that the sneaky tv-fairies will spirit away our old set in the night and surprise with a beautiful, new, giant one.

5) School Pictures. I hate them. Or rather, they hate me. I always had the same feeling when school picture time would roll around. Excitement that this would be the year that my picture would be so good that the photographer would be forced to use it as an advertisement in all of their brochures and that all of my classmates would beg to have a wallet-sized momento. Maybe I wasn't an attractive enough child. I don't know. Anyway, these hopes were always dashed. I like to think that it wasn't my fault. Maybe it was the parent that volunteered to help with picture day sabotaging me. Using that little black comb to ruin my perfection of a hair-do. Who knows. Be that as it may, I have never taken a good school picture and I am very sad to report that my children are following in my un-photogenic footsteps.

Do you see what I mean about the hair? Even at the tender age of eight, I would not have left the house with a butt-part. Darn you parent helper and your disgusting comb that you used on every child in the class except for your own! How sad for me that I had two attempts in the same photo to get a good one. Sadly serious Jenny just looks really freaked out and smiling Jenny isn't much better.

This is Foster's misguided attempt. At least you don't have to prepay and they give you the proof so you can decide if the picture is worth buying. I like to call this picture "The Jack-O-Lantern." (His real smile is really much cuter!)

Yikes! What can be said? In an attempt to get a smile out of Maya, the photographer inadvertantly frightened away her upper lip. Time to choose my favorite smile. Hmmm, sepia, black and white, or color? So many choices. What to do? I know, save the 50.00 a package and buy none!

6) Hair Product. Love it. Can't get enough of it. Wish I could marry it. And yet, 13 days out of 14 my hair remains in a ponytail.

7) Holiday Decorating. How great is it to have an excuse to decorate every other month? Sorry about the picture quality. A photographer I am not.

7 Things

2008-12-08T08:14:00.000-08:00

I have made it my new old-year's resolution to do better at blogging. As Jon posted our one and only contribution about a month ago, I will have doubled our posts with this one! Yay for lofty goals!

So I was tagged forever ago to post seven random things about myself. As I am a very random person, this will be very easy for me.

1) Decorating. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE it. I obsess and plan and plot and do and start all over again. It is all-consuming for me. I so wish that I would've done design school instead of something so non-useful and boring and completely impractical as stinky old nursing school! I recently converted our playroom into Ella's room. Don't tell Jon, but the real reason behind the change was not that Ella wasn't letting Maya get to sleep at night and that Maya was waking Ella up way too early in the morning, but that I just really wanted to do a room like this:

I am not quite finished, but I am really liking how it is coming together so far.

2) Monogramming. I think it is the coolest thing ever! I love that I can take super cheap hand towels and for 5.00 turn them into something really custom. The kids' bathroom is the "M" bathroom and how cool is it that they can wash their hands and work on their alphabet? (Okay, so Maya and Foster pretty much have had their ABC's down since way before the time lapsed since my second to last post, but I love the concept, anyway.)

I dont' know if monogramming is as big in other areas of the country or if it is a southern thing, but it is big business around here. (Obviously, anyone that loves Pottery Barn loves monogramming though, right?)

3) Soap Dispensers. Janitors install them, school children use them, and who doesn't love them? I think that soap dispensers that go on the wall are so great and definitely far superior than their counter-sitting cousins.

Miller Family Updates

2008-10-23T05:31:00.000-07:00

You've seen the Schwanoma for quite some time now and are probably getting a bit disgusted with the morbidity of the thing. To that end, here are some new updates on the Miller Family.

Maya Turns 8 and gets baptized.

Her birthday was loads of fun with both Grandma and Grandpa Foster here as well as Grandma Sue. Jenny took the photos for the invitation.

Millers and Fosters escape Hurricane Gustav by travelling to Dallas:

It was loads of fun and we finally got our family vacation in this summer. We spent a few days enjoying sights such as 6 flags and the acquarium. The funnest part was when we drove to Dallas. We arrived very late that evening (well after midnight). Shortly after we finally got everyone settled, the fire alarm went off and everyone was expected to evacuate. The frustrating thing is that we were among only 4 families that actually evacuated. We sat of the curb for about 15 minutes and nothing was happening, so we called the emergency in to 911 and the firetruck showed up, so at least the kids had fun looking at it! Photos to follow in a later Post.

Ella Turns 2!

A great time for all with a pinata and cake and family.

Jon leaves Samson to work at Intermoor!

After 4 years at Samson, it became time to try something new. The new company, Intermoor, was a customer of Samson's. Jon will be working in the Subsea division as a staff engineer. Best part of this new job is that there will be an opportunity to earn his professional engineering certification as there are professional engineers on staff at Intermoor and he will be working under one.

Not for the feint of heart

2007-10-20T07:16:00.000-07:00

I decided that my first post, post-surgery should be my latest excuse of why I have not posted for awhile. (I tried to get in the Guiness Book of World Records for the most uses of the word "post" in one sentence but failed. If only I had had the beverage "Postum" during my recent hospital stay, I would've been able to put that in the sentence and I just may have succeeded. Maybe next time.) Anyway, there she is in all of her glorious splendor. My Schwanoma. (I have assigned a gender (girl), and am thinking of a name for my growth. Any suggestions will be duly noted.)

I suppose that I should give a little history for all that have not heard of my sad, sad plight. This is a tale sure to inspire, excite, and even make you shed some tears. On Sunday, September 23, I woke up having chest pains and difficulty breathing. Jon was already at Bishopric meetings, so I called him and he came home and took me to the E.R. (For those of you that want a play by play, not to mention reassurance that we didn't just leave our three sleeping children at home, we dropped them off at a friends on our way to the hospital.) I was mortified to be 30 years old and having chest pains. I figured that either the yummy food that I had been enjoying of late had caught up with me, or that the entire bishopric and our friend watching our kids had just been notified that I was a snively wuss who went to the E.R. at the slightest provocation. Anyway, when we got to the E.R. we got right in. (Something I learned to avoid long waits in the E.R. is always come in, complaining of chest pains. You get right in, at that point you can explain your real reason for going in.) To make a long story (and not even the most exciting part) short, they did a chest x-ray, saw something on it and then did a CAT scan to confirm. Apparently, there was a HUGE growth on my right lung. On Wednesday, I went to a Pulmonologist, who then sent me to a Thoracic surgeon, and I had a Thorocotomy (surgery where they make an incision on the upper back, cut through the muscles and spread the ribs. A surgery that they say is more painful that open heart surgery because of the involvement of so many muscles) on Friday morning. That's right. All in the course of less than a week. When they sent my little cantaloupe-sized friend to pathology, it turns out that it wasn't a cyst like they thought, but a tumor called a "Schwanoma." My doctors have all been amazed that I haven't had problems earlier because of the size of this thing. They say that I have, most likely, had this for a long time and it is not very often that they get this big. Yeay me for not listening to my body earlier! I have been having pain there for the past five or so years. I just figured that the pain was situational from sitting too long or something like that. Had I listened, they would have been able to to do the surgery with a scope instead of a big incision. Much less painful and much easier recovery.

So now I am three weeks out of surgery and am half-way through the 6-8 week recovery where I am not supposed to lift anything (including Ella, fat chance!). I am amazed at how quickly I am healing and know that I am being really blessed. My mom was able to come stay with us for awhile and left on Tuesday and we know that we have had a lot of prayers being said in our behalf. I have been very humbled through this process and have gained an even greater testimony of the power of the Priesthood and the power of prayer. We feel blessed to have such amazing friends and family that love us so much.

A funny little story about the picture. Maya inadvertently saw this picture while I was still in the hospital. She was very concerned (not to mention completely grossed out) and asked if they had "removed Mommy's heart." Then later when she came to visit me in the hospital, she stopped in the doorway before she would come in and asked me if my surgery was contagious. I told her it only happened to naughty little children, so I have been getting some mileage and quite well-behaved kids out've my plight. j/k.

The evolution of dance

2007-09-13T17:59:00.001-07:00

I saw this on my friend's blog and thought it was fabulous. Mainly because it has given me great fodder. I am currently using this as a study guide and, if things continue to go well, I will have some super sweet moves in my repertoire by the time Maya attends her first Church dance at which time I will exhibit.

Mainly I just thought it was fascinating and it took me back to my own Church dance days and that bygone time of mediocre dancing and flowery-printed dresses and unfortunate hair.

First Day of School 2007

2007-09-10T07:25:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay, so I would be perpetuating a fraud if I continued to mislead and make you all believe that these pics are really from the first day of school. It's just that I have never heard of someone publishing about the 19th day of school. At least it is still the first quarter of school. So to all of you moms out there that really took pictures on the actual first day of school: hats off to you, you're a better (and certainly more organized) woman than me.

Maya in her all of her favorites: Favorite hair-do (Kitty-cat ears), her favorite uniform shirt (red), her favorite jumper (blue), and her favorite shoes (pink sketchers which coordinate very nicely with the rest of the ensemble, I think. sidebar: there is P.E. everyday so they have to wear tennis shoes everyday. I think that some cute little mary janes would look totally cute but... )

Foster is actually wearing his teacher's favorite pants, as these are the ones that he can hook and unhook without assistance. He is loving kindergarten. We have all day, everyday kindergarten here so I was a little concerned about how he would do. He is definitely fried by the end of the week but is really enjoying two recesses, P.E. everyday, eating lunch at school, and naptime (okay so maybe he doesn't love naptime, but as he has actually fallen asleep several times, he definitely needs it.) I was also a little concerned about how he would do with the talking thing. Foster loves to chatter! Consequently, I received a note home about curbing the talking on the second day of school. He has since done much better. His words: "I learned my lesson." Apparently corporal punishment works. j/k. One funny story about Foster and meeting friends: He met a boy in the car-rider line (the line that the kids wait in for their moms and dads to pick them up after school). Foster has been really excited about this friend. He has described him to me in detail. I have gathered that he is a little older than Foster, really cool, has a Nintendo 64, and black. One problem: Foster has a hard time with his name. Upon hearing his name, Foster said, "Well, I'm gonna have a hard time with that. Can I just call you Evan?" Whatever works.

Our two little school-kids together. I love that they can kind of watch out for eachother while they're at school. I also love that they are really enjoying school this year, so far. (Maya really struggled last year.) I, selfishly, especially love how clean my house stays from the hours of 8am to 3:30pm.

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-09-01T06:21:00.001-07:00

7 things

2007-08-15T08:17:00.001-07:00

So I was "tagged" in this little game about two months ago. It has taken me that long to think up 7 facts about myself:
1) I've only had one cavity in my entire life.
2) I'm sad that Foster is starting kindergarten this year, but a part of me is secretly excited for all of the quiet time.
3) I am afraid of the dark and dogs, I also think spiders, all reptiles, bugs, birds, and rodents are foul.
4) I love decorating and become obsessive when I am in the midst of a project.
5) I hate carnival rides and get just sick looking at them.
6) My secret hope while I was growing up was for my parents to be driving me to school and make a "wrong" turn and end up at the airport where we would board a plane and fly to Disneyland. My secret hope was never realized, but a couple of years ago, we surprised our kids with a trip to Disneyland. They didn't know anything was going on until we got to the airport and even then, they just thought we were going to a hotel. It was bliss.
7) There is very little that makes me as happy as having a clean house.

Fun times in Utah

2007-06-26T22:09:00.000-07:00

Ella samples her first RedVine. Many of you may now be thinking, "What is Jennifer thinking? What kind of a crazy-headed mother gives her not quite year old baby licorice?" I was asking myself the same thing when I pried it from her red, licorice-caked, sticky hand. One of those treats that will probably not be repeated until she has the ability to actually keep said treat in her mouth. It was fun while it lasted.

My dad is working on putting in his yard and brought home the tractor. Foster nearly wet himself in glee and Maya wished it had been a horse. They both had a great time taking turns "driving" it, reguardless.

2007-06-19T15:27:00.000-07:00

Shortly after moving to Lafayette, we bought a season pass to the zoo. We go all the time and the kids love it! It is nice to go and not feel like we have to stay all day to get our money's worth. $60.00 well spent.

A picture of all of us by the petting zoo. Sorry about the clashingness and non-coordinatingness of the outfits. Not a planned family picture. How embarrassing. Courtney Price would be outraged!

Foster wrastles his first gator. Obviously, we were standing on the wrong side of the enclosure to get a picture of his face. When asked how it felt to stare death in the face, Foster replied "I felt ready."
Ella stares death in the face in her own special way. She was not too impressed with the overly friendly goats in the petting zoo.
This picture was not taken at the zoo but it is still blog-worthy. Pretty impressive that the world's largest boot decided to visit the fine city of Lafayette. You should've seen the guy they belonged too!

You gotta love the sister, matchy-match dresses! I'll enjoy it while it lasts and they don't have a say!

Sure to excite and amaze!

2007-06-11T20:53:00.000-07:00

Right about now, I am sure you are all saying, "Wow! A new post from the Millers! Can this be? At last! How we have missed gazing at photos of the most attractive children south of the Mason-Dixon line. How we have agonized over not being able to read the witty repartee of the cleverest girl we have ever known." Well, I say, let your life continue ,and enjoy...

All I wanted was an award winning photo, but I don't think I would enjoy the award that this one would earn. Seconds before this picture was snapped, we told Foster about chiggers that live in the grass and burrow into your skin and make you itch like crazy. Maybe this was a mistake. I'm not sure why Ella's not thrilled. Perhaps this question could be answered with another question: Where is Maya's right hand and why is she the only one smiling?

"If I close my eyes and make a wish and throw my bread crumbs, when I open my eyes, if the bread crumbs are gone, then it means the magic duck has gone to make my wish come true." Did Foster's wish come true? A mystery. Actually, here's the real mystery. Do you notice the dog standing behind Foster? Well, as most of you may be aware, I (Jenny) am afraid of dogs and would not have calmly snapped this picture with such a savage beast standing mere inches from my child. I swear this dog was not there when I took the picture. The Ghost Dog of Lafayette strikes again. Wait, maybe it would the the Ghost Dog if the dog was there, but didn't appear in the picture. Hmmm. If anyone is up on their ghost-animal lore, I would appreciate your input.

Myself, Maya, and Foster enjoying the lovely, gurgling swamp. Maya and Foster tried to play that game where you throw a stick in on one side and then run to the other side of the bridge to see who's stick comes through fastest. I think it is safe to say, it was a tie. I'm pretty sure that, as the water was pretty much stagnant (not to mention gelatin-like), the sticks are still in exactly the same place as when they were dropped.

The camera is Ella's favorite treat. I was trying to get a picture of how pretty her eyes are and out came her two, razor sharp bottom teeth ready to have a taste. She's got a bit of an underbite, which adds to her fierceness, I think.

Well, hopefully it won't be another two months until we do our next post. Maybe we should start a collection fund of some sort to buy the Miller's a new computer? Just a thought. I will have to check the rules and see if Blogger allows such a thing. Maybe the Millers will just have to break down and buy a new computer so that everytime we go online, Jenny doesn't go into a blue streak of swearing whenever the computer decides to randomly shut down or freeze. On the other hand... having an excuse for being lazy and not updating the blog works too.

A day in the life of a five-year old superhero

2007-04-07T20:12:00.000-07:00

I thought it might be interesting for everyone to see life through the eyes of our resident middle child and only son, Foster. From here on out, he will be narrating this post.

My mom has been telling me for days that I need ed to get a haircut, so I took matters into my own hands. Imagine my chagrin and surprise when, after pulling me out from underneath the table with the scissors firmly grasped in my hand, they were not thrilled with the results. I thought I would be saving them time and effort, but all dad said, while trying not to laugh, was :it's gonna be the #1. Mom just kept telling Maya atta girl for running away from me.
This is me after Dad got through with me. See the cool leter "C" on my forehead? It stands for "Cool Kid." How did I get that? Well, that's a mystery. The lady at the Dr.'s office asked what happened when we were there for Ella's 9 month check-up, and I looked at my mom and asked her: "What was I supposed to tell her, again?" For some reason, that made Mommy really nervous.
After we got home from the Dr.'s, I wanted to go swimming. My mom made me really mad and said I had to play in the baby pool because she had to take care of Ella and couldn't go in the big one with me. I actually think she is just wimpy because the pool is not heated and sometimes the cold makes it kind've hard to breath. Anyway, I showed her and punished her by standing in the baby pool and pouted like a...oh wait.
Well, that about sums up my life. It is a hard one, but someone's got to the the coolest kid in the Loosiana.

Tired and dirty!

2007-04-03T12:45:00.000-07:00

This spring, Foster and Maya have set new, all-time records of how much dirt can fit onto one little body.
It feels good to be clean.
Ella got really sleepy while playing in her bouncer. Is this considered abuse?

The Millers "deaux" Mardi Gras

2007-03-06T15:49:00.000-08:00

We have successfully weathered our first Mardi Gras season and wanted to share some of the highlights. We went to only two parades and had a great time at both of them. We first went to the parade in a little town called "Youngsville" the Saturday before Fat Tuesday. It was really fun and the kids got A LOT of "trash"! We went home with a shopping bag literally full of beads and plastic coings and little cups. We went to the King's Parade that came through Lafayette on Fat Tuesday and it was a blast! The floats and costumes were amazing and kids got a lot of beads again! To give you idea of how big a deal this parade was, the King had to pay $50,000.00 to be in it. Hmmm, two new, nice cars or three hours of royalty? We only went to the one parade on Tuesday, but there were parades going on all day long. It was a great time!

Maya, Foster, and a friend waiting for the parade to come.

Throw me somethin' Mister!

Jon and Ella all pimped out.

Yum!

Ella is signing!

2007-03-06T15:12:00.000-08:00

Ella started signing a couple weeks ago and here is the proof! I worked with her on it, literally, only once. She has been, by far, the easiest of my babies to teach. She thinks it is really funny and giggles while she does it. She currently has "All done" and "More" in her repertoire but we are working on "Please." What a big girl!

Ella signing "All Done."

Me showing her the sign for "More."

Her signing "More."

Flat Stanley geaux's Cajun!

2007-02-14T12:07:00.000-08:00

Foster got Flat Stanley in the mail from his cousin Hunter. We decided to take Stanley out for crawfish and Cajun dancin'!

Foster, Stanley, and Maya posing by the very fierce looking alligator outside of the restaurant. Maya is trying to mimic the fierceness.

Foster loves crawfish! This was his second time eating the little "mud bugs", as they are called here. I think he thinks it is fun to dismember his dinner before eating it. Should I be worried about this? This looks like a lot of food, but it is very deceptive. It is a lot of work to peal one and you only get about half a bite.

Flat Stanley being attacked by a mutant crawfish.

Foster, Maya, Ella, and me waiting to take a turn on the dance floor. At a lot of the Cajun restaurants here, they have live music and dancing. Especially right now, as it is Mardi Gras time and also crawfish season.

Foster and Flat Stanley posing with the band. Pretty exciting stuff. I think that Flat Stanley will have quite the story to tell when we get him back to Hunter. Also, as a bonus, he will go back smelling of dead fish.

Coming soon: Flat Stanley goes to a Mardi Gras parade! We'll be sure to have a talk with him about approriate behavior at the parade. No flashing allowed. With any luck, he will get enough beads to take back to the class.

We are enjoying being here and learning about this crazy Cajun culture! It has been very interesting!

Life Lessons

2007-02-05T10:59:00.000-08:00

Since moving from Lynden, I have learned many truths. I like to call these truths "life lessons." This posting is my attempt at sharing these "life lessons" with you in hopes that you will b able to learn from my vast experience and, thus, have your life improved.

Life Lesson #1: Babies aren't very good at disguising themselves.

LIfe Lessson #2: All small children, and even some adults, love large, dead, stuffed animals.

Life Lesson #3: Never, never, never tell children that they may turn on the jets in Grandma Foster's tub and then blow dry your hair and put on your makeup and neglect to glance over at said "children." This never turns out well.

Life Lesson #4: Do not trust bored husband with camera. He will not take the world's next "best photo," but will use the camera as his vehicle to rekindle his love of making silly faces when told to "say cheese."

Lfe Lesson #5: Never allow sweet-looking, freshly fed baby to give you a kiss on your forehead. You will not like the results. (Why couldn't she have done it on herself? I was at least showered and dressed for the day while she, obviously, was not.)

The Bouncer

2007-02-05T09:18:00.000-08:00

Here is Ella looking sweet and cute.

And here is Ella looking sweet, and cute, and happy...And why is Ella looking happy?...

She's in her bouncer! Ella lovesto be in her bouncer and she loves to work those leg muscles. (She loves her giant flower-hat too, don't you think?)

A Day At the Park

2007-02-02T12:03:00.000-08:00

I was going through some old pictures and found these. As my camera is broken and I am unable to post new pictures, I decided to post these. They were taken at Boulevard Park in Bellingham, WA. It is a great park right on the waterfront where we liked to go and play on the toys and roll down the hill and bike the trail and watch the sailboats go by. We really miss it!

Jon and Foster were having a "rolling down the hill the fastest" contest. I don't remember who won.

While it may look like Foster and Jon are enjoying the view, they are actually debating over who won the contest. Give it up Jon. He was two and a half.

Foster, Jon, and Maya watching the sunset on an obliging log.

2007-01-31T18:27:00.000-08:00

What can I say? It's only funny because you know you've done it. These pictures were taken about the time that we started to potty-train Maya, before the time when underwear were merely stretchy-cottony things that you used to cover up your privvies. They were magical-morphing hats that could make you more than just a toddler, frustrated to be walking around in your own poo, they could make you be anything you wanted to be. So, I thought, why not? Hence the center picture. Unfortunately, the magic only works if you are under the age of three.

Baby Ella

2007-01-31T17:44:00.000-08:00

Our first family picture with Ella (Ella two weeks)...I think she's lovin' the Baby Bjorn.

Ella discovers that she's got sweet huge hands. (love the possessed eyes, too.)

Kind've a smile after her first day at church. Also, her first time being forced to wear matching dresses with her sister.

Our sweet baby's first smile...Please realize that this is a hotel and do not assume that this is my glorious comforter. I have better taste than this.

We wanted to share a few pictures of our sweet little Ella with everyone as many have not even gotten to meet her yet. I hope you enjoyed them. Ella is an amazing little girl and such a blessing to our family.

2007-01-31T17:08:00.000-08:00

Watch out for alligators.

Maya walks to the water's edge and the ducks start to gather...

Look, I can even feed them with my back turned...what, never turn your back on an aggressive gander?

We have a great duck pond that is in our subdivision. It was a gorgeous day a few weeks back and the kids and I decided to take a walk over. It appears that Maya was the only participant that day but really we are all there. Foster kept chasing his frisbee out of the camera's range, and Ella was sleeping in her stroller. I wish that you could capture the vision of how aggressive the ducks are. When you show up with bread (or even without), they hunt you down. We finally had to run away which was a glorious vision for all of our new neighors to see. Me, Maya, Foster (unwilling), and sleeping child in stroller. We are grateful to live in such a great area.