Merry Christmas

We wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! It was so much fun this year with the kids so excited about everything!

Thanksgiving with the Miller's

We spent Thanksgiving day with my family this year. We decided to leave Wednesday night so the kids could just relax in the car and fall asleep...it worked for 2 of the 3...Cooper was resilient. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing and just visiting with everyone. On Thursday morning we woke up and played a bit. The kids enjoyed watching bits and pieces of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. We ate a wonderful turkey dinner around 12:30. My mom tried a few new recipes. One was a broccoli dish that was very good and the other was a twiced baked mashed potato dish that was also great! We cleaned up and played some cards while the kids napped. Then enjoyed some fresh baked pies that my sister made! It was a great day! Friday morning I went out shopping for a bit. Then we tried to see The Blindside, getting there 10 minutes early...but it was sold out. Bummer. All in all it was a great visit! I truely appreciate my family and how wonderful they are. The kids can't get enough of them!

A Weekend with the Grandparents

We were lucky enough to see both sets of Grandparents in one weekend at the beginning of November. It was beautiful outside (mid-60's most of the weekend). My parents came down on Saturday and spent the day at our house. We hung out, went to the tree playground that we discovered with Aunt Casey the weekend before (this is basically a wooded area that has a bunch of fallen trees that the kids love crawling around on), and had fajitas for dinner! It was a lot of fun. Then on Sunday we went down to Delevan to spend another gorgious day with Randy's parents. We played in the leaves, grabbed McDonalds and went to Springs park to eat, play and walk around a bit. We couldn't have asked for a nicer day...especially in Wisconsin in November

Windy Sunday

Even though the weather hasn't been the best this fall you sometimes have to make the best out of it. Sunday was a little cool and windy but with plenty of sun so we decided to get out with the kites. The kids had a great time and we even got Ava flying (for short periods of time).

Potty Pals

Ava's in the process of potty training and what better method then to let her teach her "baby". Ava had a great day today...only one accident.

9 Year of Wedded Bliss

For our anniversary this year I asked Randy to take me out on a date. I didn't want to have to think about anything. So he called a babysitter (for the first time ever...besides asking family) and arranged everything. On Saturday night he picked up the sitter and we headed to Velvet Lips, a restaurant in town. We had a martini and an appetizer (calamari, my favorite) and chatted on the floating peer outside the restaurant. Then we went to Central Coast for dance lessons (the Tango and Foxtrot). We were certainly beginners but had a great time. There were two other couples there so we got a lot of attention but also got to see couples who kind of knew what they were doing. After lessons we enjoyed a wonderful meal with salad, main course and dessert. I had shrimp scampi...and it was wonderful. After dinner we watched the other couples dance a bit and even went out and tried out what we had learned. We did a little swing dancing, fox trot, waltzing and even tried the tango. I'm sure we looked quite mechanical, but we were learning it together and having a great time. It was the perfect way to spend our anniversary. I feel so blessed to have met and married my best friend. There isn't anything in my life that has made me happier. He has helped me grow into the person I am, he supports my creative hobbies and puts up with all of my crazy personality traits. He has given me 3 wonderful children and is a great dad. There is a saying that has become quite popular lately "All because two people fell in love". I truely think that is true in my life.

Football or Soccer

Logan had a busy day on Saturday. He had his first flag football practice in the morning. Randy is helping out with his team, which Logan loves. The kids did some drills, played a few games and learned some of the rules of the game. Then they got to play a little game at the end. It was exciting to watch. Many of the kids had never played flag football before, so lots of them had no idea what was going on. Logan had a lot of fun though and actually got one of the kids flags. He also ended up being on a team with two of his 4K friends and another friend of his from school!

After football and a light lunch, we went to the soccer field for his second soccer practice. I know we're crazy...two things at once. They just overlapped and we couldn't choose which one to put him in...so we'll see how this goes. Anyway, soccer went great. Logan had a blast and scored 3 goals. He has some friends from school on his team, which is fun also.

So which will he choose to do next year...I don't know. It's so fun seeing him have fun out there with all of his friends.

Ava's in a Big Girl Bed

This has been a couple of weeks coming...On the day of Cooper's family birthday party, Ava decided it was time to try crawling out of her crib. She did it a few times that day. The last time we let her know this was not OK...in very stearn voices. So two weeks go by and she doesn't try it again, until the day of our block party. She climbed out of her crib 4 times. The last time I went into her room and found her on top of her changing table (scary). It was at this point that we decide it was time to put her into a bed. It went suprisingly well. She loves it and the first two nights she didn't get up at all. On night 3 she peaked out of her her room once or twice and went back in when we asked her to. She just loves being able to get into her bed all by herself (and out again in the morning). Naps have been a little more interesting. She's not napping quite as long as she did in the crib, but I have to say I'm pretty impressed at how well she did!

Before and After

Some people spend Labor Day Weekend relaxing and others (like us) embrace the long weekend and try to get a long overdue project done. We stained, scrubbed and stained our deck and fence. You can see by the before and after pictures that the stain really added a lot to the deck...it looks brand new. It did take a lot of sweat though. After about 8 hours of work on Saturday by both of us staining, another 4 hours of staining on Sunday and 5 hours of scrubbing of the deck on Monday and about equal that much staining we finally finished the project. Have I mentioned how much I dislike staining/painting. In any case after all the hard work we finished and we are loving the nice weather to enjoy it with!

Cheese

Ava is quite the cheesy girl when she wants to be. With all of the gorgeous weather lately we've been able to enjoy our pool a little later in the season!

Logan is Officially a Kindergartener

Logan started Kindergarten today at Barrie School (the school I teach at). So I got to wear my teacher hat, as well as, my mom hat today. He was so excited to begin his journey. Randy dropped off Cooper and Ava and met me at school, where we took Logan out to the Kindergarten playground to play before school started. Then we headed into the room with the kids (I had a to leave for 15 minutes to get my students situated). We unpacked his backpack and then Mrs. Wagie talked with the kids about what they could expect for the day. She read them a book she had made titled "People at Barrie School". Two of the people she introduced were our custodians, who help keep the building clean. Logan raised his hand and said. They should have my grandma Miller come work here because she loves to clean. Then she read another book called "The Kissing Hand". It was very sweet. After the tear-jerking story they went back to their seats to trace their hand and color it as a response to the book. The parents were graciously escorted out with a picture and a kiss and my 'little man' was officially on his own. I really can't believe where the time goes. It seems like just yesterday I was holding him in my arms or walking to the park with him in the stroller. Now he's turning into such a neat little guy. He had a blast at Kindergarten. He got to do crafts, play at the sand table, play with the turtle 'Al', chase his friends as recess (who are his friends to the end), and take a nap...which he did no problem. All in all he had a great day and can't wait to go back again tomorrow!
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Logan can ride a two-wheeler

The night before kindergarten Logan learned how to ride his bike without training wheels. I was so proud of him. He spent about an hour riding it on September 1st...the night he learned and another 2 hours tonight. He is so excited and can't wait to ride his bike to school...I think that will wait for a while since it's a 3 mile bike ride. Yeah Logan.

Cooper is 3

We had our family over on Sunday for Cooper's 3rd birthday and had a great time. We grilled out, ate airplane cake and played with reptiles out by the pool all afternoon. Thank you to everyone for making Cooper feel so special. He had a great time and enjoyed all of his new toys!

Mommy, Are You a Princess Today?

Saturday we were out by the pool enjoying the day. It was beautiful outside so I decided to wear a two-piece suit...something I rarely do. We were about to hop in the water and Cooper turns to me and says, "Mommy are you a princess today?" and looks at my swim suit. Apparently, Cooper thinks that if mommy is wearing a two-piece suit she must be a princess. You gotta love the blinders your children put on when they look at you.

Which Eyes belong to which child?

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Last T-Ball Game

Logan had his last t-ball game on Friday night. The weather was a little questionable, but they played anyway. Logan had a lot of fun. He played in the outfield and second base and then got a few chances to hit the ball. Randy played against him with all the other dads, which was a lot of fun to see! The kids got so excited when they got one of the dads out!

Riding the Train at Menomonie Park

My dad and I met Jenny and the kids for a fun afternoon at the park. We played in the castle playground, had a picnic lunch, walked through the zoo and then went on the train. The kids all had a great time. It was fun seeing them so excited to do everything. Cooper took turns pushing Olivia in the stroller; while Winston and Logan ran ahead to check out the next animal. They loved the groundhogs and the elk best of all. The highlight of the afternoon was the train ride (Ava's first time)!

Camp LuWiSoMo

Logan and I went to Kinder camp this year at Camp LuWiSoMo (the camp I went to as a kid up near Wautoma, WI), June 12-14th. It was so much fun! We had a campfire the first night we were there, along with canteen and a sing-a-long in the chapel! On Saturday we had a jam-packed day! We started off the day with a walk down to the lake then we ate eggs, bacon, scones and other fun breakfast foods in the mess hall. Then we all went into the chapel to sing praises. After that Logan and I played some volleyball, horseshoes and Frisbee golf with two of his councilors (Sasquatch and Muggles). Then down to the lake for some canoeing and paddle boating. Lunch was good and included chicken nuggets, veggies, potatoes and dessert! My dad met us up after lunch and hung out with us down by the lake. Logan swam and played games with the councilors, while my dad and I visited with each other! We had a bible study after that and my dad headed home. Then we tie died t-shirts and shot bow and arrow. Spaghetti for supper and then games in the field. Logan and I had a little down time then went down for sing-a-longs in the chapel. We each had a treat at canteen and then went down to the lake for campfire and sing a long again. Logan crashed Saturday night on the top bunk in our room! Sunday we went down to the lake again and found some minnows and a small fish. Then we ate breakfast in the mess hall and had chapel. The kids went on a hike with the councilors while the adults packed up the rooms. We had our sending off sing-a-long and back to Fort Atkinson we went! It was a great chance to spend some one-on-one time with Logan. I would do it again in a heartbeat!