Carolina Blue

Christmas in Canada 2011

2012-01-16T20:21:00.030-05:00

Well we had a great time up in Canada for Christmas. We went up to Nana and Granddad's for Christmas. Jeni and her family came up as well. The kids had a great time getting to know each other better. It had been 2yrs since the last time they had seen each other. We did lots of fun things up there. Lynne took all the girls to see Beauty and the Beast the play. Caty and Lizzy loved it. It was their first play they had ever been to. We went on a sleigh ride one day. It was very cold but we had a great time. It was beautiful and everything was covered in snow. The kids had a blast and the cold did not bother them at all. We also had a surprise visit from santa. He came by to see the kids and ask them what they wanted for Christmas. They were so surprised and enjoyed there visit with Santa. Carleigh loved it, she was the first to sit on his lap and tell him what she wanted. We went out to Granddad's farm and roasted smores and hot dogs. The kids loved it. Brian also took Bri snowboarding. This was the first for both of them. Bri loved it and Brian liked it better then skiing but that is not saying much. Christmas morning was fun. We woke up to Carleigh throwing up. I felt so bad for her, this was her first Christmas were she got it. She was so looking forward to the gifts Santa brought her. She felt so bad she did not even care about looking at her stuff until she had been up for a few hours. Luckily it only lasted 2 days. The kids all had a great Christmas. They all got what they wanted as usual. Unfortunately I had to stay home with Carleigh on Christmas so I was unable to go to church. Everyone said it was wonderful and really enjoyed the Christmas program. We then spent the rest of the day at home with family and then had a wonderful dinner. Lynne out did herself as usual. The trip ended on a bang. I got sick in the middle of the night before we left. Luckily I was able to fly without having to go to the bathroom. We made it home and the kids started back to school the next day. I can't believe it is a new year. We have had a great year. We put our house up for sale right before we left to go up to Calgary. We have decided to build, it will be in the same neighborhood. One of our neighbors is a builder and he owns the last lot for sale in the neighborhood so we are going to buy it and have him build a home for us. We are now just hoping our home will sell. Well to start the new year we celebrated Brian and Carleigh's birthday. I will post pictures and write about that later. I am now just trying to finish up the year so I can get our blog book printed.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T11:28:00.003-05:00

This was the first annual Thanksgiving fun run for the Miller and extended family. 1.5 miles of gruelling path running (straight and flat). The kids finished in around 15 minutes, some just faster and some a bit slower. No crying, minimal whining and Biscuits for all at the finish line! Papa Burl came to visit and walked with Cathy for a mile or so. Beautiful morning, Beautiful Day!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-08T18:46:00.004-05:00

This year for Halloween we went to Ooma's and Papa's for dinner and went trick or treating in their neighborhood. This year is the first year Carleigh understood what was going on and she had a blast. Caty-lynne hates costumes so we always have to find something we can add to her everyday clothes. This year she was a devil, we got her a pitchfork, cape and horns to wear. She was comfy which makes it pleasant for the rest of us. Bri was an army soldier, again taking common toys around the house and making a very practical costume. Carleigh was a fairy and loved it and Lizzy was a cat and pulled it off very well. Robin as usual had no desire to dress up. I had the best costume of all - THE PUMPKIN HEAD. Yes it was heavy and at the end of the night I had a very sore neck.

Soccer Liz

2011-11-01T08:58:00.003-05:00

Lizzy is the champ - she has scored as many as 5 goals in a game. She has her days where she is not in the game, but when she is, WATCH OUT! She loves to chase it down and kick it hard - aim will come with time. Forget passing to other players - that is 1-2 years away.

The Kid's Running Run In In

2011-11-01T08:37:00.006-05:00

These are the pictures from the school run's for Brian and Caty-Lynne. Bri finished his in 9:00 and Caty-Lynne finished in 10:01. They had lots of fun except when dad was encouraging them to run faster - When Caty-Lynne runs with me at home it is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth until we finish - somehow she made it through the whole run with hardly any complaining. The power of having friends there.

Bri pushed hard, walked a couple of times but pushed hard and sprinted it out at the end to almost break the 9 minute barrier.

I guess it helped to have dad offer frosty's as incentives!

Note how Bri skillfully dodges the high 5 from the girl in his class, playing hard to get I see.

Lizzy's Birthday

2011-11-01T07:49:00.004-05:00

Lizzy turned 6 this year and wanted a party at Chuck-e-cheese. She had a blast. She got to go in the ticket blaster and was shoving tickets into her shirt. I think she ended up with like 1000 tickets at the end. She invited some girls from school and church. She wanted me to make her cake and decorate it for her. She wanted a heart shaped cake which I can handle but the decorating is another story. I decorated it while she was in school and it did not look so hot so I was worried she would be a little upset once she saw it. She came home from school saw it and looked at me and said mom that is the prettiest cake I have ever seen! I guess from a kids eyes it was great. At the party all of her friends where all saying the same thing to her when they saw the cake. She was so proud!! We had a great time and the next day was even better because Nana flew in to spend a few days with us. The kids all love when Nana comes and are very sad to see her leave.
Lizzy got some roller skates for her birthday and loves them. If she is outside you can count on her having them on. She has gotten pretty good at them to. She also received a yummy and pretty cookie bouquet from nana and granddad. All the kids love birthdays for this reason, they know that when it is one of their birthdays we always receive one with tons of cookies to share with everyone.

Lizzy is such a happy go lucky girl, she is so much fun to have around. She makes us laugh and you never know what is going to come out her mouth. What a sweet little girl we have and we feel so bless to have her as our daughter.

Hanging Rock

2011-11-01T07:35:00.004-05:00

This is the day that Carleigh and I went on a daddy daughter date to Hanging Rock. Much to Robin's dismay, we went all the way to the edge and took some pictures. the funniest part of the trip was that Carleigh didn't have to use the bathroom until we reached the top of the mountain. She got naked from the waist down and peed in the forest at the top of the mountain. For the rest of the week and still today, she talks about peein in the forest on the mountain!

Abby was worn out by the end of the trip, as was I

Summer Triathlons

2011-11-01T07:05:00.004-05:00

Here are some pictures from the YMCA triathlon in Charlotte NC.

It was a good year for me, I did 6 races and finished all of them. I only had to walk during one and we won't talk about that any more. Robin was kind enough to come to this one and take some pictures.

The kids came over the transition area while I was changing to the run to give some encouragement

The sweatband - don't leave home without it.

2011-11-01T06:48:00.002-05:00

The first day of school. Beautiful and handsome children. Lizzy was super excited and Robin almost cried.

Brian is in Grade 5 (last year of elementary)

Caty-Lynne is in Grade 3

Lizzy is in Kindergarten

Carleigh is in preschool which she thinks is going to the gym with Robin. Makes perfect sense to me - and I don't have to pay extra for preschool.

The Almodova Miller reunion

2011-09-07T13:54:00.002-05:00

Meeting the Almadova's for ice cream in Provo and then at Keely and Byron's baby blessing for little Jaxson.

Bridal Veil Falls

2011-09-07T13:44:00.003-05:00

While in Utah, we hiked around the Bridal Veil Falls waterfalls just outside of Provo in the Provo Canyon. The kids climbed up the lower part of the falls and then they all went swimming (for 10 seconds) in the freezing cold glacier water at the bottom for a Dollar.

2011-09-04T09:45:00.002-05:00

All very appropriate pictures, the Goofy side of the kids...

Heeeed Paannts Noooooowwwww!

Mega mind

Jay Leno anyone?

2011-09-04T09:22:00.002-05:00

smiles and giggles. Other than a few minutes after waking up from a nap, Carleigh is the happiest cheeriest 2 year old we know. Always smiling and wanting to snuggle. She is also a really good car seat rider (as long as she has a movie to watch)

Snuggle Monkey

What? One of our children falling asleep sponaneously! this is a rarity

2011-09-04T08:54:00.003-05:00

Grandaddy came to visit

Carleigh sporting the cheezy smile

Robin's nemesis, the frog on the front porch. She cannot go outside if there is any wildlife anywhere.

Frog wins this battle!

Lizzy's Dance Pictures and The Beach!!!

2011-07-22T18:12:00.009-05:00

Lizzy had her dance recital and did great. She had been sick all week with a high fever and in bed so we were not sure if she was going to make it or not. She felt better on the day of the recital so we gave her some medicine and off we went. Right before it started she said she needed to use the bathroom so I sent her in while I went to put something away. I came back and she was crying, while she was peeing she got some on her tights and leotard. So we had to take off the tights and clean the leotard by hand and put it back on wet. Luckily she only had to wear that for the first song but what a great way to start off the recital. She did a great job, even though she was still not feeling great.

For the week of the fourth we went to Ocean Isle beach. We had a great time. The weather was great. We enjoyed going to the beach everyday. Brian rented a kayak and took all the kids on it. He took the girls out in the sound and they went to little islands and explored. They loved it and said it was their favorite thing they did. The next day he took Bri and Michael out in the ocean with it and they had a blast. He and my dad went out as well. He then rented a surf board on Thursday night to use Friday morning but when we woke up it was thundering and lighting. So he took the kids to the movies and after it had cleared up a little so he tried to get out on it but the waves were no good but at least he tried. What a great trip we all love going to the beach. One day I went back to collect somethings we had left on the beach and decided I would stay for a little while, I laid down and fell a sleep and when I woke up it was so quite and I looked around and there was only a few of us left out there. I knew it must be getting close to dinner, but it was so relaxing to be on the beach and not have to worry about watching kids. One day all of my beach trips will be like that so I guess I better enjoy these while I have them.

We have been back for a couple of weeks and in about 10 days we fly to Utah. We are all looking forward to that. It will be a fun trip. I am looking forward to seeing the Almodova's and meeting baby Jaxson.

Family Photos

2011-06-08T21:06:00.009-05:00

On Monday we had our pictures taken at Bicentennial Park. The girl who takes our pictures is moving to AZ so we wanted to get one more photo shoot in before she left.

On Monday morning I was out trying to find what we were going to wear in these photo. Talking about waiting till the last minute. Once I found the dresses for the girls the rest was easy. Lizzy has not been feeling good for the past week so she was a little somber in the photos. Then we have Carleigh who only does cheesy smiles but all in all I think they turned out really good.

I feel like we are the sick house around here. Caty and Lizzy were both sick last week. Caty got better but Lizzy is still not feeling well. Bri started feeling bad last night and Carleigh woke up from a nap yesterday with an ear infection. Hopefully everyone will get better and we can start this summer off right.

Brian has had this week off and it has been wonderful to have him around. He is doing his first triathlon on saturday in Charlotte. I guess if we can get the kids better we will go with him. Lizzy had her dance recital on Sunday and it went great. I will post pictures later and tell the story on that.

Caty-Lynne's Dance Recital!

2011-05-22T15:55:00.006-05:00

Caty-Lynne had her dance recital today and she did great. It was so much fun to watch her up there dancing. Her first dance was tap (the red outfit), she danced to Sweet Home Alabama. Her second dance was to a song called Hollywood. This was her jazz dance and she wore the pink outfit. Her last dance was ballet (blue outfit) and they dance to America The Beautiful. The theme of her recital was road trip across america, so each song was about a state. My favorite dance was her Hollywood dance. She looked like she was having so much fun up there and she was gettin down. We all enjoyed the show and are looking forward to Lizzy's in 2 weeks.

Easter 2011

2011-05-11T14:48:00.006-05:00

This Easter Brian did not have to work and that is the first in a long time. We had a great day. After church Brian, Bri and Lizzy went on a bike ride from our house to my parents and once Carleigh woke up we met up with them there. The kids enjoyed a egg hunt and we had a wonderful meal. This easter egg hunt was fun for Carleigh. This year she got that they were filled with candy and money so she had a blast running around searching for eggs. At the end the kids were all getting her to trade the eggs with money for candy. She was willing because candy is much better then money for her.

Caty-lynne has been wanting me to curl her hair but I did not have a curling iron. Well I finally got one and we did her hair last sunday before church. She looked so beautiful.

Well not much is going on around here. We have a few more weeks of school left before summer. The girls have their dance recitals in about a week so that should be fun. Both the girls have decided that they do not want to take dance anymore. I am hoping lizzy changes her mind because I think she is just doing what her big sister is doing. She is really good and she can really move! I guess we will see. Brian has a crazy work schedule this month. There were a lot of people who needed shifts covered and he took them all. He is working almost everyday. I hope he is never this nice again. This is just crazy and no one needs to work this much. Well the month is half way over so not much longer until it is over. In July we are going to the beach for a week and I just got tickets to go to Utah in August so this will be a fun summer. Looking forward for it to begin.

San Diego Part 2

2011-04-13T21:39:00.006-05:00

So today was our last day here in San Diego. I did a little shopping while Brian was in conference and when he got done we went to Old Towne and toured the Mormon Battalion. We had fun and did a little shopping there as well. We then ate the best mexican food we both have ever had. While we were there we got a call from our vet. saying someone had found Abby running down a busy street and she stop to pick her up. We left her with a girl that does dog sitting, so we called her but no answer. We called the lady that found abby and she said she watched her almost get hit by 3 cars before she was able to get her. She also said she was very hungry and thirsty. Who knows how long she was out by herself. My mom and sister went and got her for us at the lady's house and she will stay with my parents until we get home. I am just glad someone stop to help her and called our vet. from her tag she was wearing. So tomorrow morning we leave to go home and I think we are both ready to get home and see the kiddos. We have had a great trip but we are missing our sweet kids. I'm sure once we get home and they start arguing we will wonder why we were missing them!

San Diego

2011-04-12T23:22:00.004-05:00

Brian and I are in San Diego and having a great time. Our first day here we went to the San Diego Zoo. It is amazing how different it is to go to the zoo without kids. I think it was the first time I really enjoyed the Zoo. We then came and checked in our hotel The Del Coronado Hotel. This hotel is amazing, right on the beach. We then walked around the city of Coronado. Brian is here for a Pediatric Emergency Medicine Conference. So while he has been in the conference I have been going to the gym and laying out by the pool. We have really enjoyed our trip so far. Tonight we were able to go out with John, Sandy, Jake and Josh for Josh's birthday. It was good to see them and I can not believe how old the boys were. I still remember them as little boys not teenagers. On the way to meet up with John and Sandy we stopped at the temple to get some pictures. What a beautiful temple, I think it is probably my favorite temple. Tomorrow we are going to go to Old town and enjoying our last day here.

Bri's in the double digits now!!

2011-04-12T17:50:00.005-05:00

Well Brian Jr. turned 10 a couple of weeks ago. It is hard to believe he is only 6 years away from driving and 9 from going on a mission. Time goes by so quickly, that is starting to scare me a little. On his birthday he wanted to eat at the Golden Corral. He had just gone on his 4th grade field trip to the coast and one night they ate there so he decided that it was so good he wanted to take us all. The kids really enjoyed it and it was a great time. This weekend he is going to have a party at the house with some of his friends. This should be fun 8 10yrs olds running around the house.

In the last picture of Lizzy and I, we are doing zumba! I got a dvd from the guy who teaches it at my gym and lizzy loves it. She wants to do it every day but I have to do it with her because it is no fun by yourself. At least that is what Lizzy thinks. Brian took pictures of us the other day while we were doing it. She is always asking me why the guy on the dvd is always smiling. I always say he is just happy. They other day she ask again and I said the same thing and here response was "I bet he doesn't yell at his kids because he is always happy" Well lizzy he does not have any kids! I didn't know rather to laugh or cry. It was funny but does that me she thinks I am not happy because I do yell at mine. So I ask and her response was yes, you don't look happy when you yell at us. So that is what I am trying to work on here is not yelling so much. I told her if my kids would listen one of the first 3 times I ask them to do something I would never have to yell at them but yelling seems to be what gets them listening. So that is what we are working on here, listening better and not yelling. We will see how that goes.

Catch up on the first of the year

2011-04-03T09:01:00.022-05:00

Well the year started out with celebrating Brian's 34 Birthday. We had a family party and Brian and I went to eat Brazilian food. It was not like the yummy Brazilian food they have out in Utah. In fact I would never return to that place again. The best part was that we got to be together. It was the first in a long time, for us to go out without the kids. We were also able to go to the temple together which it had been a while since we had done that as well.

2011 started out with cold weather and snow. We had more snow this year than we have ever had since living in N.C. The kids enjoyed playing in the snow. Well that is everyone except Carleigh. She did not enjoying being cold at all. The kids missed a lot of school as well due to the snow. Which took away more than half of their spring break that they will have in april.

So in this picture of Lizzy, she had me straighten her hair. She looks so grown up with her hair like this. What a beautiful little girl!!

So the next event in January for us was Carleigh's birthday. I can't believe she is already 2. What a sweetie. We had the family over and had mexican food for everyone. She had pick out a princess cake that day at sam's. She makes us smile all the time. She is also super smart. I mean I know I'm her mom but how many kids turn 2 and know there shapes, colors and can count to 10. She amazes me everyday with the stuff she says and does. She got some princess clothes from nana and granddad and loved them. She had to try them all on for us as soon as she opened them. She also got a trike and loved it. The girls have pushed her around the house just about everyday until the weather warmed up and she could go outside.

Caty-lynne made her this crown to wear and she loved it. She wore it until she got her princess clothes with a real crown and then up graded to the non paper crown. She also received some cookies from nana and granddad and loved them. They had one of her favorite people on them, Minne Mouse. She loves Minnie Mouse, I think we need to take her to meet her down in Flordia. That would take a lot of convincing to get her dad to go again. I'm sure in a few years she will get him to take her, she has him wrapped around her little finger. I thinks she has everyone in her life wrapped around her little finger, even the girls at the gym daycare. What a wonderful blessing she is in our family.

Later in the month we celebrated Caty-lynn's 8th birthday. We had a surprise birthday for her at CiCis pizza with a few of her friends. She was really surprised and had a great time. We had pizza played games and then came back home to play at the house and have a sleep over as well.

This was a special birthday for her seeing that she was getting baptized. Nana came out the week before and was able to be here on her birthday. We let her stay home from school that day so she could hang out with mom and nana. We took her to get a pedicure, lunch and then a little shopping. I do mean a little shopping, because Caty-lynne does not like to shop and if she does it is for a very short time. She had a wonderful day. That night she wanted to eat at Taco Bell for dinner. So for two years now we have eaten there for her birthday. My kids love that place, but actually Brian and I like it as well. We just all love anything mexican.

On Saturday after her birthday She had her baptism. Granddad came the night before and stayed for a few days. She was able to have both sets of grandparents here for this special day in her life. Ooma and Granddad gave wonderful talks at the baptism. It was such a wonderful day. We thought we were going to be late due to her brother Bri. He was outside playing and saw a few of his friends and went off with them without telling anyone but Lizzy. So we were out searching the neighborhood for him and finally found him and made it on time.

The kids had a great visit with nana and granddad. We just wish we could see them more.

So Caty-lynne love to decorate cakes, so for her birthday every year she wants to make the cake and decorate it with me. I am not good at it at all but we have done it twice now and I don't seem to be getting better, but she loves it so I am sure we will keep doing it for years to come. This year the cake looked ok but it tasted soooo good! It is hard to believe that we now have two kids that are baptized. Caty we are so proud of the choices you have made and that you were baptized. I know that it was a very special day for you and your dad. You will always remember this day and will hold it close to your heart. We love you and are so glad to have you as our daughter. What a wonderful little girl you are.

So lastly I wanted to show the before and after of Bri after he cut his hair. He decided that he wanted to grow his hair out and I let him. After months of growing he realized he was sick of having to get up and do his hair because if he didn't then it would look like the picture below. So he decided to cut it and boy does it look so much better short. I thought I would put this up so he would always have a picture to remind him of that. Well that should catch me up for know. Oh yea to share a Lizzy moment, our home teachers were over and after they had been here for a while Lizzy looks up at them and says "oh would you please go home now" I was not sure what to say to that. I wanted to laugh but was not sure if I could. Luckly the home teacher both started laughing so we were able to join in. I swear you never know what is going to come out of her mouth. Oh yea one more thing, Bri had his pine wood derby race for cub scouts and this is the car he made with his dad. If did not win but he had fun making it with his dad. So hopefully I will be able to keep up better on our blog so I can continue to make blog books for our family.

Finishing Up 2010 Blog!!!

2011-03-25T21:25:00.011-05:00

Well I am trying to finish up 2010 Blog so I can print off our family blog book. I realized I never put any pictures from Brian's half iron man race he did in September up in Williamsburg, Va. Not that I had very many pictures but I did get these two as he was finishing the race. My parents came with us to cheer on Brian at the race. His swim took about 50 min., the bike 3hrs, and the run 2hrs and 45min. for a total race time of 6hrs and 42min. We were so proud of him. He said he drank gallons of fluids and still did not pee until the next day. He did manage to make it out of bed to go to dinner that night to celebrate papa's birthday. What a great memory we all got to share together. After the race we toured the Jamestown settlement. We also road the ferry over to Williamsburg and that was exciting for the kids as well.

I'm sure you can tell Bri does not look happy in this picture. That is because he had just gotten in trouble and was forced to be in the picture. Oh Happy Days!!!

In November we had our family pictures taken at farm near by our house in Summerfield. They turned out pretty good. The ones of the kids turned out much better than the family picture but even that one was not bad.

For Christmas this year we stayed home and enjoyed Christmas here in Summerfield for the first time. The week before Christmas Nana came to visit and we all enjoyed that. We had not seen her since June and that was a long time without Nana. For Christmas we had Christmas eve at my parents and went to Mandy's for a delicious brunch on Christmas morning. We then had the family over here for Christmas dinner. Brian had to work on Christmas but did not have to go in until that night. What a great Christmas and wonderful time to spend with family. We even had a white Christmas this year. It was snowing in the morning and lasted all day. The kids were able to go out and enjoy the snow even though they had no snow shoes or snow pants. This meant lots of clothes changing throughout the day. Well 2010 turned out to be a pretty good year but lets hope 2011 is even better!

October 2010

2010-11-07T14:13:00.004-05:00

Well October has come and gone so fast this year. I can't believe we are into the first week of November. The kids had a blast trick or treating this year. On Saturday night we went to the church for trunk or treating. Lizzy wanted to be Princess Ariel for halloween this year. So she put on her costume for church and loved it. Well on halloween I told her to go and get her Ariel costume and her reply was mom I already wore that costume last night, I can't wear it again. So she went up to her tub of dress up cloths and picked out a Bride dress and was that on halloween. I can only imagine that this will only get worse with age. She always keeps us laughing here. When out trick or treating at one person's house they gave out one piece of candy and she looks at Michael and say only one piece really. Of course the lady was still standing there to hear. At another house she sees the lady approaching the door with bags of pretzels and yells OH PRETZELS! The other day we were in line to pick up the kids from school it started to hail and I said look lizzy it is hailing. She ask what hail was so I told her and then she looked out the window and says oh HELL. I'm not sure who laughed first Brian or me. I then tried to correct her but she was unable to see the difference between the two words.

We went and got family pictures taken yesterday. Hopefully they will turn out good. The kids looked so cute and they did really good at the farm we went to take the pictures. We will get the disk tomorrow and see how they turned out. I had to throw in these pictures of Carleigh I took this morning before church. She looked so cute I could not resist putting them in.

Well the girls just finished up there soccer season and it went great. Bri is playing flag football and is doing great. His season just ended yesterday but they have there tournament starting this saturday. He will start basketball in about 2 weeks so that will be fun as well.

The Girls!

2010-10-14T08:05:00.003-05:00

These are a few pictures I took of the girls this morning before school. Caty-lynne had pictures today and she got up bright and early to make sure she got her hair done and looked great. This was a surprise because it is so not Caty-lynne to want to have her hair done or even care about her hair. She even took a brush to school and lip gloss to put on right before her picture. I would have never believed it if I was not her to see it. I guess she is growing up and getting girly on me. She looked very pretty and I'm sure the pictures will turn out great. Bri on the other hand could have cared less that it was picture day. He did at least wear what I had picked out with no argument. Lizzy and Carleigh just wanted to be in some pictures as well. I found them watching tv like this. Carleigh coping Lizzy, I thought it was pretty cute.

Women's Only Run for Breast Cancer

2010-10-02T16:32:00.004-05:00

This morning Lizzy, my mom, Mandy(sister) and I participated in a 5k run/walk for breast cancer. Lizzy did the girls run which was 400 yards. She did great! She was so excited to do it and loved the pink shirt she got and the medal as well. It was a great morning, perfect weather and lots of wonderful people. Caty-lynne wanted to do the girls run as well but you had to be under 7 and she did not want to do the 5k. I told her she could walk with my mom and mandy and at first she said yes. I then told her that she could only do it if she would not complain the whole time to them. She then looked at me and said no I do not want to do it then. Caty-lynne is known for always complaining about something. Whether it be her socks, shoes, pants, shirt or the weather. We are trying to teach her how to be more positive. I mean she has the best example, me that is. I guess that is something we all need to work on. Well it was a great day, helping raise money for a wonderful cause that has special meaning to us here in our family

Lizzy's Birthday

2010-09-24T11:28:00.002-05:00

Well I can't believe it Lizzy turned 5 yesterday. She is growing up so fast. She is now in pre-school 5 days a week from 9-1 and is loving it. Yesterday she got up very early to open some presents, went to school, went and got her ears pierced and followed all that with dinner, cake and more presents. She loaded up this year. I think her favorite gift was her remote control strawberry shortcake car. She has been asking for it for a long time and in fact when she made her wish blowing out the candles that is what her wish was for.

In this picture of Carleigh she has on a Ariel necklace lizzy got and when you press the button it has Ariel singing. So Carleigh would put it on and just open her mouth so it was like she was the one singing. It was very funny to watch. We started potty training Carleigh this week. She is 20 months so a little older than her siblings were. She is doing good, I think it is because she gets candy if she goes on the potty and she loves candy better than anyone.

Well back to Lizzy she had a great little family party. She wanted tacos but we had to go to Taco Bell with the play place to eat and then we came home for cake and presents. She had a princess cake and the majority of her presents had something with princess on them. She truly is our little princess. In fact yesterday every time she wanted something she would say it is my Birthday and that means I get want ever I want. She then ask since I am 5 does that mean I can have candy for breakfast everyday. No lizzy you can't, well I can today because it is my Birthday! She also believes that when Carleigh goes potty she should get candy as well if she is in there cheering for Carleigh. Her response was I was in there helping her so I need it to.

Lizzy is such a sweet loving little girl and we are so lucky to have her in our family. We love you Lizzy and are glad you had a great Birthday.

Hiking Heart Creek Trail

2010-07-04T21:56:00.003-05:00

This was the first day in Canada - the trip was precarious - Robin will give more details later. But this first day was full of fun - this was the Heart Creek trail which is the first mountain valley that you reach when you enter the Rockies from the Calgary. The trail was 4 miles or so round trip. The kids did great - no complaining and had lots of treats most importantly. There were people climbing rock walls, and streams to hop over. Lots of bridges. Lizzy is the queen of posing as always.

2010-06-15T19:45:00.011-05:00

Well as usually it has taken me months to update my blog. Since last post we had a trip to Utah. We had a great time. We were able to go out and be there for my sister and her family to be sealed in the temple and also her daughters blessing. What a wonderful time that was. The kids had a blast and loved going to Temple Square.

The girls had there first dance recital and did great. It was so much fun to go and watch them. Lizzy loved putting on the makeup and costumes. Caty-lynne could not wait to take it all off. They both did a great job.

The kids just finished up another year of school. I can't believe I have a 4th grader and 2nd grader. How did I get so old so fast! We are leaving in a week to go Canada for 10 days. We are all very excited about that.

Carleigh is getting so big, she is 17 months old. She keeps telling us she needs to go potty and sometimes we make it in time but most of the time she tells us right when she has started. Don't really want to start potty training until after we get back so not doing much about it now. She is talking so well, she can say pretty much anything. Her favorite words are Stop and No.

Bri just started Tae Kwan Do and is loving it. He goes 3 times and week and learning lots. Lizzy and Caty are going to take swim lessons when we get back so they can improve in their swimming skills. Other than that we having nothing else going on for them this summer. We are going to take the kids to the beach in August for a week, so that should be fun.

A few of the pictures are taken from our hike on Memorial Day. We went up to Hanging Rock but this time we hiked the waterfall trails. It was a blast. The kids had fun playing in the waterfalls. As we started to head back a huge rain storm came out of nowhere and we all got soaking wet. The boys and Lizzy thought it was great. Caty-lynne on the other hand was not happy about it. Luckily I had a sweatshirt of mine in the car for her to put on or I'm not sure we would have been able to take all the whining we would of heard from her about being wet! I guess she is that much like her mother, not that I complained about it out loud but in my head you better believe it. Hopefully I will update sooner than I have in the past.

2010-06-15T15:11:00.005-05:00

WOW IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME!!

2010-01-31T15:17:00.006-05:00

Well a lot has happened since my last post. School is going great and we are loving our new house and being here in Summerfield. Since the last post We went to Disney World and had a blast. We meet Libby and her family, Jeni and Natalie, and Nana there. The kids had so much fun. I threw in one picture from Disney World. Shortly after our trip to Disney we went to Canada for Christmas. What a great Christmas. We had snow and cousins to meet for the first time and play with. Going to Nana and Grandad's is always fun so that was no surprise. Since we have been back from Christmas we have had 3 birthdays. Brian, Carleigh and Caty-lynne.

Carleigh turned 1 and I can't believe how fast she is growing up. She is all over the place. She started walking around 8 1/2 months and now she is just running everywhere. She is such a sweetie and brings so much happiness into our home. We feel so lucky to have her.

Caty-lynne turned 7 on Wed. and she was supposed to have a party at skate land on Sat. but we had a snow storm come on Friday night so we rescheduled for next Sat. She has also grown up so fast. What a wonderful girl she is, she is a great sister and a caring little girl. She wanted to go to Taco Bell for her birthday dinner so that is where we went. I will be glad when these kids start liking a little more high scale restaurants. They all had fun because the Taco Bell had a play place, so it was great for the kids.

As I mentioned we got snow this weekend and will probably not have school for days. In fact Church was canceled for today so it has been a long day. I sure hope it warms up and melts soon. They kids have had fun in the snow today. They have been out in it for hours. To bad we do not have a sled, and everywhere that sells them have sold out. Oh well I guess I will be better prepared for next year. I'm sure we won't get any if I actually have a sled and snow gear. Well enjoy the photos and I am going to try real hard to blog more regularly.

The Summer Has Come To An End!

2009-08-29T06:44:00.006-05:00

Well the kids started school this past Tuesday and we were all looking forward to that day. I think I was looking forward to it the most. Lizzy's school starts on Monday and she is very excited about that.

Carleigh is all over the place. She started crawling almost 2 months ago and her new favorite thing to do is climb the stairs or pull herself up on things. She will be 8 months in about 1 week and she is just starting to wear her 3-6 months clothes which are still a little to big on her.

Well last week before school started Libby and her family came to visit for the week. We had a good time visiting with them. The kids all enjoyed playing together.

Here are a few pictures of the kids from the last few weeks and of Bri and Caty-lynne on the first day of school. I had to force Bri to take a picture. He is so much like his dad. Not just in the picture taking department, he will come down stairs dressed for the day with navy shorts with a navy shirt and I will say bri you need to put on a different shirt. His response is just like his dad's was the first time we went out. What it the same color it matches. It must be in the genes.

HAPPY 4TH

2009-07-04T19:49:00.002-05:00

Hope everyone had a great july 4th. Brian had to work but my parents, the kids and I went out to Breakfast for biscuits, caught the last of the parade, hung out downtown at the festivals, got charicatures made and went to a pig pickin. All in all it was a good day. Not sure if we will make it to the fireworks but I am not to upset about that.

2009-06-28T09:28:00.002-05:00

Well He Did It! Brian finished residency! I am so proud of him and all that he has accomplished. We went to his graduation dinner the other night and it was very nice. Carleigh was sporting the little black dress. Even though it was little it was still to big on her. We are now in Greensboro trying to get settled in. Once I get everything together I will post pictures of the house. That might take me a year so don't hold your breath. Brian starts work here on the 1st. It will be so nice to have him home more, we are really looking forward to that. He has had the last few days off and Lizzy I think ask everyday if he is going to work. She just doesn't know how to act with him here so much. I guess that is something she will have to get use to. Well the kids are doing good. I don't have any recent pictures of the other kids. I have not pulled my camera out in a long time, will have to do that soon.

2009-03-28T07:33:00.002-05:00

Well we found a house and signed papers for them this morning so it is official. We close on June 8th. The kids finish school on the 9th and Brian is done on the 19th. This house is new and has all the things we wanted so we are both very happy about it.

Bri turns 8 on Monday and I can't believe it. He is having his party today at a place called sports connection. They get to play basket ball, soccer and then hit the batting cage. I think they will have a blast.

Carleigh is doing great. She is such a good baby. She sleeps through the night and is happy all the time. She giggles and smiles all the time. I will take some pictures of her at the party today and post them later. I will also take pictures of the other kids as well and post them tomorrow.

Well Bri's baptism is going to be on Sat. April 11th and Carleigh is getting blessed that same weekend. Lynne and Steve are coming on the 6th and we are going to Myrtle Beach for a few days. We are all looking forward to that. Lizzy and Caty-lynne are doing great. The other day I was making dinner and I ask Brian to change Carleigh's diaper. Lizzy always wants to see it if she has gone number 2. Don't ask me why b/c I have no idea she just likes to see it. So lizzy heard this and said I will get the diapers and wipes for you. So in a few minutes I see Brian still at the comuter and I hear Lizzy talking and saying ok now we will take the diaper off. So I went into the room and she had Carleigh in a chair with her cloths off the wipes out and a new diaper ready. She was starting to take the dirty one off. I said um Lizzy what are you doing and she looked at me like duh mom I'm changing Carleigh's diaper. It was pretty funny, I was a little suprised she was even willing to do it b/c her brother and sister would not even change a wet diaper much less a dirty one. She is so funny. She goes around the house singing apple bottom jeans and Just dance all the time. She brings so much humor in our house, you never know what she is going to do or say next.

Busy Saturday

2009-03-08T08:55:00.002-05:00

Well we had a full day yesterday, We left at 10:30am and got home at 8pm. It started with dropping off to birthday party, then to caty-lynne's soccer,then to bri's soccer, basketball games and then to dinner with basketball team to celebrate winning championship. What a day and that is when only two kids are involved in sports, can't wait till all 4 are doing it. Brian was not able to go with us so he missed out on all the fun.

Well we went to make an offer on that house I posted pics of and they had just accecpted an offer the day before so we are going back to look some more on friday.

House Shopping

2009-02-24T08:58:00.003-05:00

So we went and looked at houses this weekend in Greensboro and I think we narrowed it down to this one. We are talking to our agent about making an offer soon. I thought I would post a few pictures so you could see what we are looking at. I love love love the kitchen in this house and it is plenty big for us. It is a new house and in a very nice neighborhood with good schools. It has 5 bedrooms and 4.5 baths. Hopefully everything will work out and we will be able to get it.

Sweet Carleigh

2009-02-19T15:22:00.002-05:00

Here are a few pictures I forgot to put on the post this morning. The first one is trying to get a picture of her smiling and could never take it at the right time, always caught the end of the smile. The others are her wearing her cute fur boots. She look so cute in them with her little legs, just had to get a picture of them.

Just a Few Pictures

2009-02-19T08:37:00.003-05:00

Just thought I would share a few picutres of the girls. I never seem to have any pictures of Bri, he is not one to like to have his picture taken. The girls on the other hand if they see a camera they want you to take a picture of them. Not much going on around here. Caty-lynne had a birthday, she is now 6 yrs old. I had a birthday the big 31! That is about it. We are going to Greensboro this weekend to look at houses so that should be fun. Carleigh is doing great. She is smiling alot. It is no longer just while she is sleeping but when you hold her and talk to her she will smile and giggle, very cute.

2009-02-02T11:32:00.002-05:00

2009-01-22T20:18:00.003-05:00

Well we actually got snow here the other day and the kids were thrilled. They went in and out all day long. Since we never get snow they have no cloths to wear in the snow so they would come in to change into dry cloths after being out for a short time. Lets just say I am glad it is just about gone today and will be gone after tomorrow since it is supposed to be 6o degrees.

Well the kids kept asking me to make a snowman with them and I told them I was not very good since I had probably only made a few in my life and that was when I was a kid. So I went out to help and we made a little one and they were happy with that. Well today Brian was home and he went out with them and made one before the snow all melted. I think it is easy to see who grew up with snow and who didn't. I also threw in a few pictures I have taken of Carleigh this week.

Mountain Man

2009-01-22T10:58:00.006-05:00

Here are some pictures of 1998

Mount Temple, Alberta

I'd die if I tried this today.

CARLEIGH at One Week

2009-01-15T15:56:00.003-05:00

Here are a few pics of our sweetie. The last picture was taken in the hospital and the rest a couple of days ago. She is such a good little baby, last night she went 8 hours in between eating. I don't think I could ask for a better baby. She reminds me of Caty-lynne, that little girl never once woke up in the night to eat. Well we are doing good here and everyone just loves little Carleigh. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

More Pictures of Carleigh

2009-01-07T08:55:00.003-05:00

Welcome Carleigh

2009-01-07T08:23:00.003-05:00

Hey All

Robin's Delivery was uneventfully successful. She's the 1 push wonder. Here are some initial pictures of our bundle of joy. Enjoy

Almost Pushing

2009-01-06T08:37:00.004-05:00

5 is nice, but 6 is better

Mom has been here for a week and very graciously extended her ticket for several days to stay for the baby. Robin convinced the doctor to induce her today, so we are at the hospital and Robin is on the drips with contractions every 10 minutes or so. No progression in the last 10 days since the false alarm.

The kids were so excited last night that I don't think Bri slept all night. He told us that he was up all night with a hot sweaty face because he was thinking about the baby coming. I couldn't sleep because Robin was coughing and kicking the bed. Hopefully little Carleigh comes today.

2008-12-21T13:33:00.002-05:00

Here are a few pictures I took this morning before church of the kids. Brian got a suit last night and he was very excited to wear it today. He looked very handsome at church today. The girls actually had matching dress to wear for Christmas Sunday but they wanted to wear these instead and I did not want a fight so I let them. They look festive and once Lizzy saw her sister wearing poka-dots she had to put her poka-dotted dress on. They both looked great. The kids are getting very excited for Christmas, family coming, presents and santa coming. Lizzy is really getting into it this year. Brian has to work tomorrow and on Christmas Eve and then his has three days off so we are looking forward to that. I am hoping Carleigh decides to come before he goes back to work. I guess we will see. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

2008-12-15T10:33:00.002-05:00

Well here I am at 37 weeks. I am not a big fan of showing off how big I am but Lynne has been asking so I had Brian take a picture this morning when I got home from the gym. That is why I look so pretty. I thought these cloths are the most form fitting so you can really she how big I am. Hope you enjoy.

OCTOBER

2008-11-03T11:34:00.004-05:00

Well here are some picture from the past month. Nana has been asking so these are for you. Bri just finished flag football and loved it. He is looking forward to next year when he can start tackle football. The kids had a great halloween, we went to Greensboro for the weekend. Brian and I were able to go and look at a few house and get the feel of the area and see what part of the city we want to live in. Hope you enjoy.

Happy Birthday Lizzy!!

2008-09-25T11:00:00.004-05:00

Well Lizzy turned 3 on tuesday and she had a great day. She started the day off by opening a present from Nana and Grandad. She had told me she wanted to dress up like a princess for her birthday so they had gotten her a sleeping beauty costume and she was so happy to see it when she opened it in the morning. She had to put it on right then and she kept it on all day long. She also had to wear slippers, crown and wand. She had everyone stopping to tell her what a pretty princess she was all day. We went and meet Brian for lunch at the hospital and her shoes were so loud I think everyone in the hospital heard her coming. She had a great day. When Caty-lynne and Bri got out of school we took them to a place called jumping monkeys and they jumped on all the toys and had a blast. We then ask her what she wanted for dinner and she told us she wanted cheese dip from Moe's (mexican place) so that is where we went and then we came home for pink cake and opened the rest of her presents. I can't believe my baby is 3 boy does time fly. Well Nana ask for a lot of pictures so here they are.

2008-09-05T16:25:00.006-05:00

Well it has been a long time since I have blogged. So I thought I would put in pictures from summer up to the first day of school for the kids. Bri is now in the 2nd grade, Caty-lynne started kindergarden and Lizzy started preschool this year. So that means I have 3 mornings a week to myself. Well at least until Jan. when the baby comes. Not that I do much, by the time I go to the gym come home get ready and clean up the house it is time to go and get her. The pictures start with back to school and then go through the summer. We had a great summer and it flew by so fast. We started it off with sailing and going to Canada. Then about a month later we went back to Canada and when we got home Libby and her family came to visit and we went to the beach for a couple of days. Brian has also been interviewing for jobs and actually accecpted one on Monday in Greensboro, NC, which is where I grew up. So that is pretty exciting. That about sums up what is going on here. Enjoy

This is a picture of Lizzy when I staightened her hair one day, she does not even look like the same girl.

PreSchool Graduation

2008-05-23T13:09:00.002-05:00

Today Caty-lynne had her graduation at school. It was a very nice graduation. She had a little speaking part and did great. We are very proud of you Caty-lynne and we love you. After we took her to lunch and tonight we are heading to Greensboro for the weekend.

The Last Month at the Millers

2008-05-17T08:27:00.005-05:00

Well as you can see in the picture we took the kids down to the pond by our house and they went fishing. They all caught a fish. They had so much fun.

This is a picture of Lizzy at the Strawberrry farm. They had a little petting zoo for the kids, it was a lot of fun.

About a month ago Caty-lynne took off her training wheels on her bike. She did great, she is still trying to figure out the stoping thing without falling but other than that she has it down.

This is Bri at his Terrific Kid assembly. He was given an award for being a terrific kid. Well I can't believe that May is almost over. On Friday Caty-lynne will have her Preschool graduation and she is looking forward to that. I guess they will be doing a little play and she got a part. So it will be fun to go and see. I just can't believe she is done with preschool and will start kindergarden next year. Lizzy will also start school next year, she will be going three days a week to preschool. I will not know how to act with everyone at school. Bri is done with school on June 6th and on the 7th we are leaving to go to Canada to go sailing with Granddad and Nana. We are looking forward to that, the kids can not wait. After the sailing the kids and I are going to Calgary for a week but Brian has to come back for work. Well that is about all that is going on here. And Jeni I did this just for you since you are always wanting me to blog.

Easter/Bri's birthday/Update

2008-04-13T15:31:00.001-05:00

Well in the last month we celebrated Easter and Brian's 7th birthday. I can't believe that he is seven and next year he will be baptised. Boy does time fly by. I also added some pictures we took today a River Park North. We went for a walk there this afternoon. The weather here has been great the last few days. The kids have had fun playing soccer and playing in their pool yesterday. That is about all that is going on here.

Hanging Rock

2008-03-07T15:10:00.003-05:00

Well last weekend we went up to Hanging Rock with my mom and michael, the kids had a great time. It is a 1.2 mile hike up hill and then you come to top and they have a look out. It was a little scary when you have 4 kids and if they step the wrong way they can fall off the cliff. We had to keep a close eye on them. Here are a few pictures from the hike and few I took of the girls today.

THE BIG 30!!!

2008-02-07T19:54:00.000-05:00

Well I turned 30 today and have to say I am feeling pretty old. I am starting to notice wrinkles and everyone I know that is in there 30's tell me once you hit 30 it just all starts to go down hill from there. So that is real encouraging to think about. Today I got some beautiful flowers for Libby, Sean and kids and also from Mom, Dad and sisters. I just want to tell them thank you and let them know how nice it was to get them today, it brighten my day. Any way just want to send out a Thank You to them.

So Brian has been working all day and will get off late tonight. The kids and I have been just hanging out enjoying this perfect weather. It was in the 70's today, so we went to the park and had a great time. We ordered pizza for dinner (because I refuse to cook and my birthday) and the kids thought that was great. It was either that or Wendy's and I figured Caty-lynne took us to Wendy's on her b-day so I thought I would change it up a bit. Also Keely e-mailed me a coupon for a free pizza, even better. Lynne called and ask what I had done for me on my Birthday and I told her I got to go to a class I really like at the gym this morning(I don't get to go to it very often seeing it is at 8:30 and Caty-lynne has to be at school at 9:00 every morning, so only on the days brian can take her to school is when i get to go). It is funny how things change once you have kids. I don't think that would have been the highlight of my day when I turned 20. Once you realize that it is not so much fun to get old Birthdays just start to fell like another day.

Happy Birthday Caty-lynne

2008-01-28T15:54:00.000-05:00

Well Caty-lynne turned five yesterday and we had a little party for her here last night. Nana was here with us to celebrate her birthday. She had a great day and got tons of great gifts.

Our Trip to Charlotte

2008-01-24T19:09:00.000-05:00

Nana is here visiting so we decided to take a trip to Charlotte, NC while she was here. Rob Steele and his family moved there this past summer so we went and had dinner at their house on night. We also took the kids to the Discovery Place in Charlotte, they had a blast. Lynne and I were able to do a little shopping at a great mall, I forgot how nice it is to be able to shop at good mall. The kids were able to go swimming at the hotel, so all in all everyone enjoyed the trip. We are now back in Greenville just hanging out and getting ready for Caty-lynne's Birthday on Sunday. Also while we were at the Discovery Place we ran into Nemo and his dad so we took a picture to share with everyone.

Christmas 2007 Canada

2008-01-17T13:42:00.000-05:00

We had a blast this Christmas up in Canada. Everyone was able to come up to Nana and Grandads house. All the kids had a great time playing with each other. Now we are back home and getting ready for Caty-lynne's birthday. I can't believe she is turning five. Nana is coming in on Sunday for a week and we are looking forward to seeing her again.

Halloween/Girls Trip to Texas

2007-11-06T12:32:00.000-05:00

Well I had a blast in Texas, I meet Jeni, Lynne, Libby and Robyn in Dallas. We did lots of shopping and lots of good eating. We went to Canton and shopped from about 10 am to 6pm, needless to say our feet were killing by the end of the night. The next day we woke up and got pedi. and manicures. They were much needed since we left the spa and went shopping more till about 8:30 at night when we sat down for dinner. We had a great time, a big thanks to lynne for taking us there. The outfit the girls have on is from this store in Dallas called the pumpkin patch. They had the cutiest cloths, the girls both loved the cloths and the boots. I also put in a few halloween pictures as well. The picture of lizzy with her mouth open, I guess that is her new smile. Every time i would say smile that is what she would do, not so cute. Hopefully she will grow out of that one soon.

Briley's Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-23T14:08:00.000-05:00

Last week Caty-lynne's class went to the pumpkin patch and Lizzy and I went along. The kids had so much fun. They got to feed the goats, which Lizzy thought was great but when they would jump on her for the food she would yell no samson(our dogs name) sit. I think the white with spots must have confused her. It was pretty cute. They went on a hay ride, learned how to make butter, milked a pretend cow, got to pick out a very small pumpkin and had a treat and then went home. It was a fun day. I also threw in a picture I took of Lizzy before church on sunday and one of Caty-lynne from a few days ago. I have no pictures of Bri, the last picture I have of him is his first day of school. That kid does not like to have his picture taken. He just can't sit still long enough for me. Anyway things are great here, Brian has the next week off so that will be nice. We don't have any plans just hanging out. He has to take his boards on Thrusday and Friday, so I'm sure he will be doing a lot of reading the next few days. Enjoy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIZZY

2007-10-03T10:36:00.001-05:00

Well Lizzy turned 2 last week and I can't believe how fast time goes. It just seems like yesterday we were having her 1st birthday party. She had a blast opening up her presents. Last year it was all about the cake but this year it was about the presents. She loved picking out the cake and showing it to everyone but only ate about 2 bites and then was done. She is such a sweetie. We are so lucky to have her in our family. Since she is the youngest and Brian and I have soften so much since Bri was her age that she gets what ever she wants, no kidding. The more you have the more you realize the little things are not so important in the long run. So to all you parents choose your battles!!! We love you Lizzy.

Thank You Nana and Granddad!!

2007-09-19T14:07:00.000-05:00

So yesterday when we got home this is what we found had been delievered to our home. Nana and Granddad sent it to us and we loved it and they are very yummy. The kids love them. I think Caty-lynne likes them the most, she woke up this morning asking for one and then again when she got home from school. Just what I need around the house, something I feel I need to take a bite of everytime I walk through the kitchen. Thanks again we love you guys.

2007-09-07T15:28:00.000-05:00

Well this is Caty-lynne on her first day of school. She was so excited to go. She had me do her hair, put on lip gloss and wanted pink eye shadow on. She loves school and enjoys going. She goes five days a week from 9-12.
I also threw in this picture of lizzy b/c I love this outfit. Lynne got it for her and she looked so cute so I thought I would share.
Well we decide to redo our master bathroom and Brian started taking out the tiles. Once that was done we thought well it would look better with a new vanity and toilet. So he pretty much gutted the whole bathroom. My grandfather came and help with the plumbing with the vanity and Brian has finished tiling the floor. He has to do the shower and he will be done. It already looks so much better. Once he is finished I will post pictures. I did not take any before pictures but lets just say the house was built in the 90's and it was very out dated. White octagon shaped tile. Need I say more!

Bri's first day of School

2007-08-28T12:29:00.001-05:00

Well yesterday was Bri's first day of 1st grade. He said he had a great day and thank goodness he was not up at 5:30am like he was on his first day of school last year. Caty-lynne starts tomorrow and is excited but she said she is a little scared about learning how to read this year. I'm sure she will do great! I also put in a picture of the girls. Enjoy

Canada

2007-08-27T10:29:00.000-05:00

Well we are back from Canada and we had a blast. We got back last week and my computer is now letting me download pictures yah. We all had so much fun in Canada, we went to Calloway Park, boating, Heritage Park, and other fun things. The kids did not want to come home. Bri fell in love with their grass, in fact he wanted to know if we could have grass that nice one day. Our grass here in greenville sucks. This summer we have had hardly any rain so it looks like a green brown mix. Anyway Bri started school today and Caty-lynne starts on Wed. I don't know who was more excited today me or Bri or Caty-lynne. I will post some pictures of today later. Enjoy

2007-08-07T10:28:00.001-05:00

Well I haven't blogged in a while so I thought I would give a little update. Brian is no longer working in Raleigh, so it is nice to have him home. He has an elective this month so he is doing ultra sound and working a few shifts in the ER. This is great b/c that means a very light month for him. It is nice to have him around more, but that will change next month when he goes back to his normal work load. He is very excited that he is no longer an intern but now a 2yr resident. That is a big thing at the hospital, you gain a little respect from others.
We are leaving on Sat. to go to Canada and we are very excited about that. Bri is staying this week at my parents house and he is having a great time. In fact when we took him down this weekend he keep asking when we were leaving. He then went to tell me how when I left he could stay up late. When we pulled out of the drive way he waved good bye with a smile on his face. It is so nice to feel loved by your children.
Anyway something is wrong with our computer so we can not download pictures to it so no pics this time.

Happy 4th of July

2007-07-04T13:22:00.000-05:00

Happy 4th! These are some pictures I took of the kids this morning sporting their American Pride cloths. There is one of lizzy with the head band in that was taken yesterday but I thought it was so cute I would throw it in.

MYRTLE BEACH

2007-07-03T12:31:00.001-05:00

Well we had a blast a the beach this past week. The kids had so much fun at the beach and playing with their cousins. We all got to do something we love to do, the boys went golfing 3 times, the kids played at the beach, pool and mini golfing, and the girls went shopping one day and got a pedicure one day with Caty-lynne. It was her first and she loved it. It was so much fun watching her facial expressions when they would scrub her feet or do something new she had never had done before. We had a great week, Big Thanks to Nana and Granddad for taking us. Here are a few pictures from the week.

2007-05-31T10:27:00.000-05:00

Well I thought I would share some pictures we have taken this month of the kids. This month has gone by so fast, I can't believe it will be june tomorrow. Caty-lynne finished school last week and Bri will finish on the 8th. The weather here has been great. We have been going to the pool and the kids love that. Lizzy has no fear of the water at all. She will walk out until she is completely covered by the water. So you have to keep a close watch on her or go in the baby pool with her so she is locked in by a gate and the water is only up to her knees. That is about all that is going on here. We are really looking forward to going to the beach in 3 weeks. Hope you all enjoy!

Soccer

2007-05-02T15:02:00.000-05:00

Well Bri had his last soccer game last night. He did great, he scored 2 of the 3 goals his team made. He has been playing since the beginning of March and this is the first game I actually took the camera too. Caty-lynne's last game is on Sat. and I have no pictures of her either but I will take some on Sat. She is the all star of the team, she has been making between 5- 8 goals a game and is doing great. She always brags to Bri about how many more goals she makes so then I have to remind Bri that he has a goalie and Caty-lynne does not. Anyway they both had a great season and are very aggressive on the soccer field, which is great. They will both start back up in the fall. Bri is looking forward to starting flag football in the fall as well. That should be fun to watch!

Turning Loose Mother Goose

2007-05-01T12:55:00.000-05:00

Bri had his school play today and he did great. He had a speaking part, where he talked about kindness and then he was peter from peter peter pumkin eater. Hid did a great job and look pretty cute in his overalls. Here are a few pictures from today. enjoy

Our Newest Family Member

2007-04-23T19:05:00.000-05:00

Well on Friday afternoon we went to go and pick strawberries but could not find the place but did find the pound and all of those who know Lizzy knows how much she loves dogs. So we pulled in to let Lizzy see all the dogs. As we were pulling in Brian said to Bri, hey should we take lizzy to the dog pound and Bri said no b/c he did not want us to leave her there. Once we assured him it was to take her to see the dogs he agreed. So we go in just to look and we did and nothing sparked our interest until we reached the puppy room. We all fell in love and ended up bringing him home with us. As we were pulling out I looked at Brian and said what in the crap did I just agree to. He laughed and was so excited to have a dog, since he has wanted one since we got married 8 years ago. Anyway this is Samson our newest addition.

He is a very sweet dog and mostly stays in our backyard playing all day. He sleeps in the garage and does very well. The kids love him and play with him tons. He is a Lab mix, the mother was lab but we do not know what the mix is. He is 7 weeks old and very cute.

It's Potty Time

2007-04-23T13:11:00.000-05:00

Well about a week ago a decided to start potting training Lizzy, yes some might think I am crazy and you would be right. She is only 18 months but her sister was potty trained at 18 months in three days!! Lets just say she is not her sister but she is not doing that bad. The last day she seems to be getting the hang of it. We will see and I am sure she will get better with time. Today was a big day b/c she told the ladies at the gym day care when she needed to go pee. This is big b/c most of the time I am just taking her rather than her telling me. This is a picture of her after she had been in the bathroom with her dad and wanted him to all these bows in her hair. She is growing up so fast, I can't believe I have no kids in diapers anymore.

2007-04-13T11:39:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pictures of the kids on Easter. This is Caty-lynne trying to look like a bunny. The others are on easter morning and at our easter egg hunt. We had a great time. Brian had to work the all weekend so the kids and I went to my parents house in Greensboro. Hope everyone had a great Easter.

Happy 6th Birthday Bri

2007-03-30T07:30:00.000-05:00

Well today is Bri's b-day and I can't believe he is six years old. Some days it seems like yesterday he was born, boy does time fly by. So last night he had his party b/c Daddy has to work tonight. He had a great time and got tons of great gifts. The day started off with rain, which was a little upsetting since we planned on a outside party. By 1:oo the rain stopped and the sun came out and dried everything up. The kids played soccer in the back with his new soccer goal we gave him and basketball in the front. They had a blast. Happy Birthday Bri we love you.

The Kids

2007-03-27T16:23:00.001-05:00

Just thought I would post a few pictures of the kids. We have been having great weather the last few weeks so there has been lots of play time outside. Lizzy has starting wearing pigtails and she looks so cute in them. Every time we go out someone stops to tell us how cute the pigtails look on her.

Just thought I would share this great picture of Brian playing with the kids in.
If you click on the picture below you will see a video of Bri and Lizzy. Enjoy

MY TWO GIRLS

2007-03-04T17:35:00.000-05:00

This morning Caty-lynne wanted to wear her new dress from Canada and wanted Lizzy to wear hers to so they could match. So I first get Lizzy dressed and tell her how pretty she looks and she starts to dance and giggle and pet her dress. Then when she sees Caty-lynne with the same dress she went crazy laughing, dancing and giggling. She ran up to her and gave her a hug and started to pet her dress. It was so funny to see her get that excited about a dress and matching her sister. I then told them I wanted a picture and she ran into the room and just sat on the floor until I took a picture. After one picture she was done. I wanted one of them standing but it soon became a game for her. So I guess that first one will have to do. I guess I was pretty lucky since it came out pretty darn cute. I also thought I would throw in one of them running around laughing. Enjoy.

More of Canada

2007-03-04T09:43:00.000-05:00

Our last day in Banff we went on the Gondola. Brian, Bri and Granddad hiked up to the top while the girls stayed behind to shop in the gift shop and get some hot chocolate. It was a very beautiful sight and very cold. I think it was something like -9 at the top.
We had a great trip to Canada and enjoyed the cold weather but it sure was nice to come home to weather in the 70's. We went from jackets and boots to flip flops and short sleeves.

CANADA

2007-03-04T09:13:00.000-05:00

Well we had a great time in Canada. The kids had a blast playing in the snow. Caty-lynne whinned about being cold but she still enjoyed the snow. These are pictures of when we went up to Banff for a couple of days. We went on a sleigh ride and to the hot springs the first day. It was a blast, thanks Nana and Granddad.

What's Going On In the Miller House

2007-02-15T16:15:00.000-05:00

Well not much has been going on around here since the last posting. Funny story about Bri and Caty-lynne. So CL had to go the the doctor for her 4yr old check up and the night before I told her and she got upset b/c she wanted to know if she was going to get shots. I knew she was but I told her I do not know b/c the last time she got a shot (flu) she cried for about 1 1/2 and made herself sick all over the kitchen floor. So I thought it would be best for all of us if she did not know until we got there. Anyway as she kept asking about shots Bri

looks at me and says do you think they give shots to make you not talk so much? I said i don't know and he said well can you find out and if they do have them give Caty-lynne one. I just started laughing and said you really think she needs it and he said oh yes.
Here is a picture of Bri the day he had his assembly and got his certificate for being a Terrfic Kid. It was cute they had the kids sing and then they had the students that were Terrfic Kids come up and get there certificates.

Then we have Lizzy, here she is with her leap frog alphabet song magnent. She loves to walk around the house playing it humming and dancing to it. She is growing up so fast. She reminds me so much of Bri as a little boy. Always wondering what they can get away with.
Well Brian is doing Nuerology this month so he is around alot more. We are enjoying seeing him everyday and not having to work on the weekends. Its like a normal job 8-5, it makes me see how nice it would be if he had a job with normal hours. Oh well as long as he likes what he is doing. Then there is me and I have nothing exciting to tell about me. Same thing everyday take bri to school, go to the gym, come home clean up while lizzy sleeps, pick up Bri.,make dinner and put kids to bed. Pretty boring, i bet everyone is jealous about my days wishing they had such excitement in there days. In 6 days we are going to Canada for a week. We are really looking forward to it, the kids are counting down the days until they get to go. They are excited to see snow, nana and granddad. Well we will let you know about our trip when we return.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CATY-LYNNE

2007-01-27T21:26:00.000-05:00

Happy 4th Birthday Caty-lynne. She had a great day, it started with getting this cute new outfit from Ooma and Papa and then going to get a biscuit and a diet coke at Bojangles.

She then had her Birthday party
that afternoon. She had a Hello

Kitty party. She had a few friends over and had a great time. She got tons of new cool things. She has gotten into Polly Pockets and she got a few new things of that and a polly movie. She got some new cloths and some lip gloss and glitter makeup. Later Ooma took her to build a bear and she pick out a unicorn and named her sweetie. She had a blast.

Later in the day Papa and Daddy took her, Bri and Michael bowling. She had a great day and we ended it eating at a mexican resturant. Yum, Caty-lynne had her own bowl of cheese dip and licked it clean.

Happy birtday sweetie we love you!!!

THE LOVE HATE RELATIONSHIP

2007-01-21T11:21:00.000-05:00

This is what lizzy looks like most of the time. Walking around with a smile on her face, that is until her bossy big sister comes around.

Then she looks like this. I know Lizzy loves Caty-lynne but most of the time they start playing lizzy is enjoying it but after about five min. this is what is happening. Lizzy is screaming and pushing Caty-lynne away and Caty-lynne is not leaving her alone. When Lizzy is just walking through the house CL is right behind her pushing her where to walk so she goes where she wants her to go. I am looking forward to the day Lizzy can talk, b/c i think it will be pretty funny to hear what she has to say to Caty-lynne.

Caty-lynne I know you are only doing this b/c you love her so much. Also she has gotten to be a little bit jealous of Lizzy b/c she is no longer center of attention all the time. We love you Caty-lynne and one day lizzy will see you are only trying to be a good sister. I am sure they will be best of friend and enemies. At least that is how it was with me and keely. Now that we are older we have past the enemy part.

Pictures

2007-01-20T09:16:00.000-05:00

Finally Some Pictures

2007-01-20T09:05:00.000-05:00

I finally got some pictures from Christmas so I thought I would share a few.

Christmas

2007-01-14T17:03:00.000-05:00

Now that Christmas is long since over with I thought I would blog about it. We had a great Christmas. I got a new camera and with the great luck i have been having with camera's this one was not different. Yes it was broken so therefore I have no pictures to post. But we had a great Christmas and I will be getting a new camera hopefully tomorrow. We stayed here because Brian was working and my family came for a few days. The kids got everything they could hope for and more. Caty-lynne's favorite is her Barbie Jeep that she rides up and down our street. She can really fly and it even has a radio in it and a barbie cd that plays barbie music. So her and lizzy jam out and ride all over the place. Lizzy likes to just sit in it and dance to the music. Bri got a new Bike and he flies himself up and down the street on his bike.
Now that Christmas is over life is back to normal. Kids are back in school and its pretty boring around here. Tomorrow is a holiday so no school and Brian has a day off so we will have a fun time together as a family. That is something that is very rare these days.
Caty-lynne's Birthday is in two weeks is she is so excited. She can't stop talking (and I really mean that) about what kind of party she wants and what she wants for her presents. So that is about all that is going on here in NC. Speaking of NC Brian was very upset last night when they lost there basketball game, I mean what is up with that. Being ranked number one did not last very long for them this week. Oh well we still know that they are really the best.

Caty-lynne's Big Day

2006-12-18T13:24:00.000-05:00

So yesterday Caty-lynne got her training wheels taken off her bike and she did great. She was so excited that she was able to ride a bike like a big girl. At first every time Brian would let go she would stop pedaling and just glide, she did not get it that you are still suppose to pedal even after Daddy lets go. After about 2 or 3 times of doing that she got it and did great. We were so impressed considering she is only three and just got her bike in April. So Brian is calling her his Lance Armstrong. Of course I still have not gotten a camera so I have not pictures of the event, maybe I will go and get one today to take a picture of her and post it.

Oh How I Wish I Could Afford Private School!!

2006-12-16T19:22:00.000-05:00

So I went to pick Bri up at school yesterday and his teacher tell me how Bri was pretty much jumped by a kid at his school on the playground. I guess Bri was playing with a little boy and these two Boys from another class came up and pushed him to the ground and started kicking and hitting him. He said he would get up and they would push him back down, he was trying to go and tell the teacher on them. He then tells me how they were trying to kick him in the privates. I was so mad, I ask him if he hit back and he said yes but just once b/c he did not want to get in trouble. I then said did you cry and his response was NO I did not want to look like a baby! So he teacher told me that the teacher of their class wrote them up and took them to the office, i hope they get suspended from school. I will find out on monday. I ask Bri if it hurt and he said they hurt his head from when he was pushed to the ground. He also said one of his friends from his class saw what was going on and jumped in to help Bri. So when the teachers found them it was a hand full of boys on the ground kicking and punching each other. Can you believe that someone in kindergarten would do this, i mean you might think this would happen in middle school or high school but not kindergarten. The whole way home i keep thinking to myself oh i wish i could afford private school, this is why people send their kids to private school or home school them. Oh well in 2 1/2 more years i guess we can. I guess what makes me mad is the fact that Bric is one of the most friendly kids you will ever meet. He always is looking for someone new to meet or play with. I am sure they just picked the first boys they could find. Just thought i would give on up on what was going on here.Bye

Update on the Miller's

2006-12-13T16:52:00.000-05:00

Well I have not posted in a long time because I was waiting to get a new camera so I could have pictures to put in. Well I still have not managed to find time to go get a camera. It is not the sort of thing you want to do with 3 kids and Brian has not been around to much the past few weeks. I went online to look and found one I was going to order but Brian told me not to order to go and look to make sure I like it, anyway I will have one before Christmas. Things are going good around here. Bri lost his first tooth the other day so that was pretty exciting. He was also made a terrific kid at school. That is an honor you get for being good and doing well with your academic performance. In Feb. they will have an assembly and he will receive a cerificate. We were very proud of him for that one and he was very excited. He got a bumper sticker for the car that says I am a proud parent of a terrific kid, i told him I do not put stickers on my car so he decided to put it on his bike instead.
Lizzy is starting to talk more, when you tell her no she points her finger and shakes it at you and says no no and then giggles. She is so cute.
Brian is doing great, he is back in the ER working hard. He stays busy so he is happy to be back in the ER. And Caty-lynne and I are doing good to. We are all looking forward to Christmas. The kids are counting down the days. Well next time hopefully I will have pictures to go with.

SCHOOL PICTURES

2006-11-04T20:00:00.000-05:00

Bri just got back his schools pictures so i thought i would share. He looks so grown up in the picture. I think they turned out very cute.

HALLOWEEN CON'T

2006-11-04T19:56:00.000-05:00

Well I figured out how to get the pictures to work, so here they are.
Lizzy was so adorable, we had people asking if she could be their treat instead of the candy.

HALLOWEEN

2006-11-04T19:31:00.000-05:00

We had a great time at halloween this year. These pictures were taken for trunk or treat at church. On halloween night we went to take pictures and our camera was broken. So I found our old film camera and took pictures. I scanned in the pictures to our computer but for some reason they are not showing up on the blog. So these will have to do. As you can see Bri was Darth Vader, Caty-lynne an angel and lizzy a butterfly. They other pics show the costumes off better.
Lizzy was so cute on halloween, she loved trick or treating. The next morning she got her bucket and walk around the house with it stopping and picking out candy. I took it away and she threw a fit. She screamed and me and then ran up and hit me on the leg. If she is doing this at the age of 1 and don't won't to see her at 3.

Our Trip To The North Carolina Mountians

2006-10-26T12:36:00.000-05:00

Brian has had this past week off so we took a trip to the mountains (well really the rolling hills). This first picture looked so much prettier in real life. This picture does it no justice. The trees have all changed colors and they were beautiful.
We were execpting weather in the 40's but when we got there it was snowing and 28 degrees. It was also pretty foggy from the snow until the late afternoon so in some pictures you can not see what is behind us. Like the one above This was up by Grandfather Mountain.
This is a picture on our hike. We had a great time. With kids you can not go to far but they lasted 2 hours and we thought that was great for them. They did not complain the whole time, until the end that they were ready for lunch. Since it was 3pm i do not blame them.
We were a little upset because when we pulled up to Grandfather Mountain they were closing the entrance into the park because there was so much snow. They wanted to salt the roads and said that would take a few hours. This is where all the good hiking trails were at and also the swinging bridge. This would only happen to us really. The one time we spend money to go on vacation and when we get there they close. I mean really who closes a mountain. So we left there and went to the Blue Ridge Parkway and enjoyed the beautiful views from the road. Later we went into the little town Blowing Rock and ate and did a little shopping. All in all we had a great time. It was fun just being together.

LIZZY'S 1ST BIRTHDAY

2006-09-27T12:43:00.000-05:00

I can't believe how time flys, it just seems like yesterday that sweet lizzy came into our lives and she is already turning one. I show you this picture of her cake b/c as you will notice in the next picture that she ate the whole thing. I have never seen anyone enjoy a cake more than she did. I have a video of her eating the cake so if jeni will tell
me how to post it i will. I was told we should enter it into americas funniest home video. The last picture of lizzy as you can tell she is all clean and wet. I was joking and said to Brian that she was so messy that we just needed to take her out side and hose her down. Well Brian said I will clean her and left the room. He came back in and she was clean. I said you did not take her outside did you and he said ya you told

me to. I was only kidding but only Brian would hose his 1yr old down. He said the kids across the street saw him come out and yelled hey and started to cross the street and when they saw him start to hose her down they ran back home. I said ya i wonder why. Anyway we all had fun and Lizzy had a blast eating her cake.

SOCCER TIME

2006-09-27T12:22:00.000-05:00

Well soccer season has started once again. This is Caty-lynne's first time on a soccer team. She was so excited to have her first game. She scored one of the three goals her team had to win the game. She was very cute. She got pushed down by the girl in purple two times and she got up and keep on playing. Later in the game that same girl fell and got stepped on and started to cry and set the rest of the game out, I turned to my mom and said don't you just love karma. She got what was coming to her.

Bri is starting his fifth season of soccer and at his first game he was slacking. He did score a goal but he was not into it like he normal is. Oh well it was only his first game. Here he is giving one of his power kick. I think this is going to be a fun fall for the two kids playing soccer. I am looking forward to see the improvement in Caty-lynne. She is actually better as a beginner than Bri was his first season. I don't mean that Bri is not good b/c he really is, last season he was scoring 5 and 6 goals a game but Caty-lynne just seems like it is more natural and easy to her.

Brian's creations

2006-09-17T14:59:00.000-05:00

Well this is a picture of Caty-lynne in her skirt that her Dad, yes her dad, made for her. He is still knitting and he made the girls both a skirt. They are very cute. Her is lizzy in her skirt. Here she is with her stomach bluging out and her little bubble butt as her dad calls it, very cute. Brian did a great job on these skirts. He is so funny for caty-lyne's drawstring for her skirt you had to bread some yarn for it so i offered to do it and he said no this is my project and i am doing everything for it and he did. They turned out great and the girls love them.

What a Mess

2006-09-17T14:33:00.000-05:00

Well they came to cut the trees down and it was a mess. This is a picture while they were cutting the trees down. There were limbs everywhere, you could not even see the ground. Then this is a picture after they left. We no longer have any grass and bought seed to start over. Brian and I spent all day yesterday in the yard pulling roots and Brian tilled the ground. We still have a long way to go. I was second guess what we did. Anyway we will now actually enjoy our yard once it is all done without pinecones and pineneedles everywhere.

The Kids

2006-09-14T15:01:00.000-05:00

I thought I would show a few pictures of the kids, because nothing exciting is going on here. I caught Bri in the princess chair and took a picture and told him I was going to post it. He just laughed and said sure mom. He is so cute, he is truely his father's son. They have the same personality.

Then her is our princess and she truely thinks she is a princess. We got her a crown the other day at target and she wears it everywhere. She had to wear it to school and when Brian went to pick her up, he said he was their for Caty-lynne and her teacher said oh do you mean the princess. So now even at school the are calling her the princess. She makes me laugh daily with her way of thinking. Today she was upset on the way to school b/c she had forgotton to put on her lip gloss. She told me that she did not look pretty b/c she had forgotton to put it on. I reminded her that i do not wear makeup so does that make me not pretty and her answer was yes. I do not know how she came to like makeup so much, i mean the only time i ever put it on is for church and even sometimes i don't do that. She is such a priss. Her dad blames the sweet lady who bought her the makeup in the first place. I will not say who that sweet lady is.

Here we have sweet little Lizzy. If you can see this is the day she had her first ponytail, well if you can call it that. It was on the top of her head. I thought see looked so cute. I think her sister has been teaching her how to show off b/c after i put it in she went to show her dad and sister her hair. She would grunt until they looked at her and told her how cute she looked. She is starting even younger than her sister on that one. When Bri saw her after school he laughed and said, Why does lizzy have a ponytail on top of her head? It looks funny.

This a a tribute to my mom. This was her dance costume when she was a little girl and I would play in it was I was a little girl and now her granddaughter is wearing it. It is amazing that it has held up b/c it is sooooo old. Just kidding mom. But she looked so cute dancing around the house and she then informed me that I needed to take a picture of her so we could put it on the blog. So here she is Miss Caty-lynne.

First Day of School

2006-08-31T08:21:00.000-05:00

Well today was Caty-lynne's first day of school and she was so excited. She got up and picked out her cloths and then had to do her makeup so she would glitter. Then she had me do her hair. Before we left she informed me that she needed her necklace on to finish the outfit. She look so cute. I can't believe that she is in preschool.
This is a picture of her when she got to school. The teacher had them color when they first got there. She did not stop grinning from the time we left the house and when we got there she still was smiling and giggling about starting school. She was a little upset that Nana left this morning and did not get to see her school or meet her teacher like she did for Bri. I told her Nana would come again and be able to do that for her too. She then said ok next week when I go to school we can call Nana and have her fly back here.

Here is Bri on his first day, he started on Monday. He was so excited that he got up at 5:45am wanting to know if it was time to go. Needless to say we were all ready for before 7 and his school starts at 8 and we live about 5 mins from his school.

Here he is in front of his classroom. He loved his first day but was a little upset because he did not get any homework and he wanted to see what it was like. I told him he had a whole life of homework ahead of him so don't wish it on to soon. So now it is just Lizzy and I hanging out and we are trying to figure out what to do with such a quiet house.