The Miller Family

So..... It's been a while!

2011-02-09T08:04:00.000-08:00

So, I kind of disappeared for a while. Sorry about that! After we moved back from Blacksburg, life kind of took over and I am just now starting to have room to breath. So I guess I better go over what has been happening the past year and a half.

Tabitha started and finished her first year of preschool in Ms. Lindy's class. She made some fantastic friends in the process. She is now in her second year of preschool and attends two different schools. This morning she read her first book to me. It's scary how fast she is growing up!

Ethan is now in 2nd grade! He is in a combination 1st/2nd class and loves it. He played football again in the fall and soccer in the spring. He LOVES to read and his new passion is his iPad which houses all of his books, flash cards, spelling words, games, movies and TV shows.

This past year and a half has brought us to many different places as well. We took a driving trip up north through New York, Niagara Falls, Toronto and Quebec City, and Vermont. There was only one minor bump in the road when Ethan got violently ill in Massachusetts. A late night at the hospital and overnight at a hotel and most of us were feeling better. Since it spread through almost everyone (except Granny and Brian) within a matter of hours! We also took a beach trip last summer with our fantastic friends and their children. Of course the year wouldn't be complete without Disney World! We traveled to Orlando for the Disney Marathon. Brian ran in the marathon and the kids did the small races. I will have to post some pictures on that soon.

So, I will post some pictures soon about our adventures. Sorry I disappeared and left everyone hanging!

Happy Birthday!

2009-07-06T18:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Brian! I hope you have a wonderful day and enjoy every second of it! I am so glad you are 31, JUST LIKE ME! Hmmm don't you wish it was your 18th though?

Happy 4th!

2009-07-05T18:36:00.000-07:00

We had a great 4th of July in Blacksburg. Granny and Grandad visited and we had a fun time. It started with brunch at Boudreaux's followed by the parade in downtown. After the parade, we went to Rita's for frozen custard and italian ice. Yummo! Then we walked to fireworks in the evening.

We hope everyone had a safe and fun 4th of July!

Happy Eight Year Anniversary!

2009-06-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary Hubby! I has been 8 whole years since our wonderful wedding day. It sure doesn't seem like that long. Thank you for a wonderful 8 years. I hope our next 8 is just as exciting and eventful as these.

Remember that day back in 2001? Some of my favorite things from our wedding:

All of our favorite people! Well, there are a lot more of you that are favorites but you wouldn't all fit up there at once!

Ready for the reception!

My handsome hubby.

The reception room.

The Cake!

The FOOD. I have dreams about that food!

Our names, on the floor.

Remember the parrots? In the lobby during cocktails.

Oh! The flowers too.

2009-06-29T19:58:00.003-07:00

2009-06-29T19:58:00.001-07:00

2009-06-29T19:57:00.001-07:00

We have official tooth loss!

2009-06-28T17:23:00.000-07:00

So, a dentist appointment later, weeks and weeks of wiggling, screaming, crying and an intense fear of blood, Ethan has officially lost his first tooth. It has been hanging by a thread for the last couple of days and Daddy was finally able to twist it enough so that Ethan could pull it out. The little tooth now sits under his pillow waiting for the Tooth Fairy. There is also a rather large tooth that has been waiting patiently behind his baby tooth for a space. This tooth is still way too big for the space but hopefully his other front baby tooth will come out soon. By the way, sorry Ethan for obviously inheriting my rather large teeth.

BEFORE

AFTER

UPDATE: So what do you do when your son is in tears in his room because he doesn't want the Tooth Fairy to take his tooth? He wants the money AND the tooth!

Happy Father's Day, Brian!

2009-06-21T23:11:00.000-07:00

What makes you a father?

On October 14th in 2002, Ethan made you a father . . .

Then, on November 19, 2005, Tabitha made you a father of 2 . . .

Now, today and every day, you show how great of a father you are to our children. You care for them, love them, provide for them and cherish them in ways that only a father can . . .

you laugh at their "funny" jokes

you smile when they draw a picture just for you

you carry them when they are tired and run with them when they have too much energy

you tuck them in at night so they feel secure and recite strange sayings and lists
so they can fall asleep peacefully

you are strong for them when they are sad

you inspire them to be the best person that they can be

you are leading them down a path that will turn them into wonderful people one day

you do all of this and so much more, you are the best father I could ever imagine for my children.

We love you so much!
Happy Father's Day Brian!

2009-06-18T10:52:00.001-07:00

2009-06-17T17:11:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Dad!

Remember your birthday last year?

You are the best dad and grandad anyone could ever ask for.

We hope you have a great day!

Merry Christmas!

Day Four - Hollywood Studios

2009-06-03T06:50:00.000-07:00

Another day, and more rain right from the start. Not the monsoon type, but the steady annoying type. We started off again, bright and early. Hollywood Studios was great. We had a chance to see lots of characters and do quite a few rides/shows. We saw the American Idol Experience for the first time. That was really neat, it was like actually being at the show. We saw the stunt show, even though it was raining really hard while they were doing it. The kids were really excited to ride the new Toy Story ride. Tabitha and Ethan LOVED that one. Tabitha also really liked the Little Mermaid show, Playhouse Disney and the Muppet's 3D show. Oh! We road Star Tours first thing too, no wait!

We left Hollywood Studios a little early so we could get back to the hotel, get dry and let the kids take a quick nap. Afterwards, we went to Chevy's for dinner, Brian's favorite! Then it was off to Downtown Disney for ice cream! Yummmm!

Day Three - Magic Kingdom

2009-06-03T06:14:00.001-07:00

There is only one picture from day three. Sad isn't it. This picture says it all though. Today was the day that the heavens opened up and tried to drowned us! We fought back though. We weren't going to let any "little" rain slow us down or spoil our fun. Even if this is what both kids feet looked like at the end of the day. These special ones, are Ethan's. Is this normal? I've never seen kids get as pruney as ours do.

So, Day 3 started of great. We headed to the park for opening and made it there right in time. As we got off the buses you could hear the music on main street that they play when the park opens. We did our usual thing and headed right for Fantasyland. We parked the stroller and made our way to the rides. In the first hour we rode It's a Small World (absolutely no wait), Peter Pan (waited maybe 10 minutes), Dumbo, the Teacups, the Carousel, and Mickey's Philharmagic. By this time, it was raining. We decided since it was raining we would go to Adventureland since we could do Pirates of the Caribbean since it is inside. As we were walking it started to POUR. I mean, monsoon type pour. Everyone in the park was standing in doorways and under overhangs. Of course, we were walking, in it. Remember, no rain is going to slow us down! We had the kids in the stroller with the rain cover on so they were fine.

I assumed that since it was raining that everyone would be looking for the indoor rides and shows. I thought we would have a nice wait at Pirates so that we could be out of the rain for a little bit. No such luck! No one was on the ride! We practically walked straight on this one too! We also parked our stroller inside and left it there so it would stay dry and went to watch the Tiki Bird show. Now we were all out in the rain. By this point, the outside rides had been shut down because of the rain and a large majority of the people were beginning to leave the park because of the rain. We decided to find a nice spot and eat our lunch.

By the time lunch was over the rain had let up a good deal so the outside rides were running again. We rode the Aladdin Carpets, walked through the tree house and then went on the Jungle Cruise. Then we made our way to Tomorrowland.

In Tomorrowland we kept having bouts of rain but no thunder and lightning so the rides stayed open. It was here, during a bathroom break, that I realized the jacket that Tabitha was wearing, that I thought was a raincoat was soaked completely, as were all of her clothes. No wonder she kept shivering! Poor little thing. But remember, no rain is going to slow us down! We rode Buzz Lightyear and Astro Orbiter (the longest wait, maybe 20 minutes), as well as the cars at Tomorrowland Speedway. Believe it or not, this was every one's first time on Astro Orbiter. We didn't even know there was a ride up there!

By this time, we were pretty wet and we were starting to get kind of miserable. On we went though to watch the parade. They had cancelled all of the stage shows. I guess something about Cinderella slipping and falling in front of all those kids. So, we were excited that they were still going to have the parade. Oh! You should have seen Tabitha and the look she gave the evil stepmother and sisters (from Cinderella) during the parade. It was so funny! She smiled and waved at everyone and would scream when she saw a new princess coming or Mickey and Minnie. When those stepsisters came into view though, her stare became cold, her hands dropped down and she just glared at them. Then she said, "Those mean girls, no like them!" The part of the movie where they rip off Cinderella's necklace really offends her. Every time she watches that movie I have to hear for the next two days how mean those girls are.

After the parade we were off to Mickey's Toontown Fair. We rode the Goofy roller coaster, which Tabitha loved. Then we went to see Mickey's house and Minnie's house. Afterwards I just wanted to check out the wait time for the fairies. Oh My Goodness! It was an hour and a half and no one was in the park! Needless to say, we passed on that!

At this point it was about 4:30pm. We decided to have an early dinner at Cosmic Ray's and then we headed back to the hotel with our pruney feet. Well, Ethan, Tabitha and I had pruney feet. Daddy, for some reason, doesn't get the prunes. I wonder why that is . . .

Oh, and by the way, we bought ponchos that night. Even though we had raincoats, we needed something longer to try to keep our legs from getting wet. At least we didn't go the extreme of one lady I saw. She had shopping bags tide around her feet to keep them dry. Now that was a funny sight! Of course, I bet her feet were dry.

Next post, Hollywood Studios, Day 4.

Take a look . . .

2009-05-28T20:49:00.001-07:00

Click on the link below and check out picture 10. Even though her name isn't Tabisha, we'll forgive them!

http://www.roanoke.com/photography/slideshows/galleries/0430_vtspringtraining/gallery.html

Day Two - Animal Kingdom

2009-05-28T17:06:00.000-07:00

Day Two. Another beautiful day, although it was pretty hot about midday. It was a good thing we were at Animal Kingdom which has many shady spots to get some relief from the sun! It was an early morning. We needed to be at the buses at 8:15 in order to make it to the park by opening. Being at the park by opening is key. You can get so much done in such a short amount of time (before all of those other people get there)! Of course our morning didn't go as planned. We woke up a little late and then had to shower, make our lunches (yes another key to saving time and money), pack the diaper bag, get everyone dressed. Ok, I think you get the point. So we finally made it out of the room by 8:30 or so and off we went on the bus.

You would think the next thing is that we would be there, right? Well, no. After about ten minutes we were outside of Animal Kingdom. The next 20 minutes after that, we essentially sat in the same place, moving inches at a time toward the park. There was a traffic jam just getting into the park! I have never experienced anything like that before. It was almost pure torture, sitting there, being able to see where we wanted to be but not being able to get there. After about a half an hour we finally made it though.

Our first ride at Animal Kingdom was the safari. An absolute must do for our family and usually an absolute must do, multiple times. We grabbed a fastpass (ticket thing that gets you to the front of the line - well, kind of) for about an hour later and then we got in line to go on the safari right then since the wait was only 20 minutes. Of course the wait was only about 10 minutes and then we were off! We saw the rhinos, elephants (even the babies), hippos, the sleeping lions, monkeys, ostriches, and ooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh the giraffes! This is the first time that we have actually seen the giraffes close. Usually they are way off in the distance and you can barely see them. This time, all of the mamas, daddies and babies were RIGHT next to the road. They were eating their breakfast and and one of the babies was actually chasing a rabbit! They were a sight to see!

After the safari right we turned right around. That's right people, we didn't even go find the stroller! We got right back on the safari with our fastpass. Woohoo! The funny thing is, on the second trip, the animals had all moved or new ones were out. It really is totally different each time you go on it!

Next, we were off to go do the other rides. We rode Dinosaur. This ride took a little encouragement from us to get Ethan to even get on it. This is where the "I have to go potty" thing started. Let me tell you a little about our son. If you are ever in a line with him for an amusement park ride you better be prepared. At almost every ride, you will get almost to the front of the line. I mean like one or two people away from getting on. And you will hear this little voice from below say, "I have to go potty REALLY bad!" Now, being his mother and spending every day with him, I know this kid only peas a few times a day. At amusement parks, he must pee 400 times a day. It is every ride! Last year at Disney, we would get out of line and bring him to the bathroom. Then get back in line, only to wait all over again. This year, I was on to him! I am pretty sure he just has the nervous pees! The new rule was, it doesn't matter how bad you have to go, we are NOT getting out of line! Sounds harsh, doesn't it? It's not, because I don't believe he really had to go. After the ride he would tend to forget he even said he had to go. Of course, this whole situation makes Brian VERY nervous. He says Ethan is wearing diapers next time.

Alright, back to the Dinosaur ride. If anyone has been on it before, you know it is a little scary. We kind of new that but we like the kids to try new things and decide for themselves if they like it or not. On we went with both Tabitha and Ethan. The ride was a little intense and scary but what is interesting is that Tabitha didn't flinch once. She didn't even hide her head in my side (like Ethan has always done when something is scary). She watched everything, eyes wide open. Very interesting! Well, once we were off the ride Tabitha quickly announced, "I never do that again!" and then Ethan chimed in, "me either!". So, I guess that ride is off the list! Oh well, at least they tried!

The rest of the day went kind of quickly. We ate our lunch under the shade of a tree, watched the Nemo show, rode Triceratops Spin and the flying dinosaurs and watched the parade. Oh, we found the perfect spot to watch the parade. I'm not telling you though, it's our secret! After the parades we walked through the animal trek walking areas and saw many more animals (bats, tigers, fish, birds). The only thing we never saw was the zebras. Where are you zebras?

It was getting really hot and the park was about to close anyway so we headed to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We had our one and only reservation this night at T-Rex in Downtown Disney. This place is awesome! The decor is great and so is the service. We had meteor showers in our area every 15 or so minutes. Tabitha was a little leery of the moving dinosaurs. She kept saying they eat people, even though the waitress clearly explained that they eat cheerios. However, under the watchful eye of a pterodactyl she ate every drop of her food and behaved like a princess!

One final note. On the way to T-Rex is when he rain started. You'll hear more about that later. Next post, day 3, Magic Kingdom on Monday.

2009-05-28T14:28:00.001-07:00

2009-05-28T14:26:00.001-07:00

Day One Part Two - Magic Kingdom in the Evening

2009-05-27T18:53:00.000-07:00

So, after we checked into Pop Century we hauled all of our ~~crap~~ lovely things across the massive resort and up to our room. Before anyone was allowed to sit down or touch anything I began the disinfecting process. The disinfecting process: spray everything that might be touched with Lysol, remove all nonessential bed coverings (like those never washed bedspreads) and wipe all frequently touched places (i.e. door handles and light switches) with Lysol wipes all while holding your breath so the fumes don't kill you. Sounds extreme, hugh? Some of you might be thinking, "is she a germaphobe?" Nope! Not unless I am at Disney World! The reason being that up until this past trip (where I disinfected everything, including the children every ten minutes) we have gotten sick every time we have brought the kids to "The Happiest Place on Earth". And I don't mean the sniffly, coughing kind of sick. I mean the 5 year old projectile vomiting kind of sick. I'll pass on that whole mess thank you very much. So, if that means I spend 30 minutes inhaling toxic fumes, I'll take the risk to keep every one's food in there stomachs!

Now, as I was saying, after our disinfecting we headed out to the Magic Kingdom. It was beautiful and sunny and not too warm. The kids were so excited to get on the bus and off we went. The park was pretty packed so we decided to pick a couple of rides to fit in so we wouldn't have to do those when we were back at Magic Kingdom on Monday. First we were off to Thunder Mountain. This was going to be a test of Tabitha's height. Without her tennis shoes on she is about 39 and a half inches. With them she is a hair over 40 (the height restriction for most rides). So needless to say she didn't wear her crocs during most of the trip because they made her too short!

The evening went by pretty quickly. We picked up a quick dinner at Harbor House, did the Stitch show/ride, watched SpectroMagic (the light parade) and then saw the fireworks over the castle. The kids were so happy to be there that I don't even think they realized how tired they really were. We left the park a little before midnight and made our way back to the room. I think the kids were in bed around 1 or 1:30am. No, it didn't take us that long to get back but it did take us a while to give them their baths. Yes, baths are part of the disinfecting process!

Stay tuned . . . Animal Kingdom is next!

2009-05-27T18:37:00.001-07:00

Day One - The Drive to Orlando

2009-05-26T05:38:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning at 5:45am as promised we woke both kids, told them to quickly get dressed, threw a bag of kix at each of them and shoved them out the door into the car. As you can imagine, the first question Ethan asked was, "Where are we going?". Our answer to that was, "for a drive". So, we all packed in the car with backpacks full of disney items (pez despensers, goofy crayons, mickey and minnie coloring books, disney sunglasses, disney puzzles). You would have thought that would have been a clue but nope, they had no clue. Also joining us in the car was our dual dvd players and of course Ethan's Nintendo DS. Oh, and the only movies I brought were disney ones. Hmmm, still no clue where we were going.

We began heading south. We THOUGHT this was a good thing since it was raining and cloudy here (but more on that later). We told the kids we were looking for sunshine. Again, they were fine with that. Brian had told them that since it was Saturday and there was no school then we would just drive for the day. That meant that at naptime when they were sleeping we would turn around and head back home to the baby house. For those of you who don't know what the "baby house" is, that is the apartment in "the Burg".

As noon approached Ethan took a breather from his DS and Tabitha from her movies (that she was only half watching) for our lunch picnic in the car. That's right, we packed our lunch for the drive. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips and other snacks. A great CHEAP lunch with the added benefit of not having to stop! By the way, during the whole trip we only stopped for gas and potty 3 times I think. Pretty good for a 3 and 6 year old!

Once again we were asked by the kiddos if we would be turning around to go back home after lunch. Of course we lied (like all good parents should do) and said of course but the only way we would was if both of them went to sleep for nap time! Within 15 or 20 minutes both of them were asleep and we were noise and fight free!

The naps lasted about 2 hours. Ethan woke up first and of course started playing his DS again. He obviously hadn't been looking up the entire trip because in South Carolina we started to pass palm trees and you think that would have been a clue that we were no where near home. When they woke up both kids asked if we had turned around already. Of course the answer was yes. It really is ok to lie to your kids everyone. Especially when there is a great surprise in it for them. By this time too, Brian and I were having a difficult time keeping straight faces since they still weren't getting it!

At about 3pm we were getting into serious Disney territory. We were an hour away from "The World" and it was getting pretty obvious. Anyone who has ever driven to disney before would know what I meant. As you approach you pass Universal and Sea World. There are also numerous skyscrapers and city like things as well as billboards with disney stuff all over them. Obvious right? Noooo! Still no idea. Still clueless. Ethan did ask if we were almost back to the baby house. We said we would be there in about an hour. Well, our baby house is in Blacksburg surrounded by green mountains, sparse houses and lots of open land. Not exactly the CITY we were driving through. Oh, I also forgot to mention that as we drove by all of the huge billboards, Tabitha was pointing them all out and saying what was on them. This added more laughter and entertainment to Brian and I since they both STILL had no clue!

Alright, now we are essentially there. Brian and I can see Disney buildings and the huge entrance they have that has Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto on it. We were approaching this huge signage, getting closer and closer. Brian and I were laughing harder and harder trying to contain ourselves. We still had no reaction from the backseat. Then, finally, we hear Tabitha from the backseat and she says, "Look!", and we think, this is the moment, she has figured it out! Nope, she was looking at something else and still didn't even see the huge characters in front of her.

Then it happened. Immediately she noticed Pluto and then the others. She started rattling off their names one after the other. Then we heard Ethan shut off his DS and say, What?, What is this? Where are we? Our response was, "Surprise! We're going to Disney World!". What did Ethan say, "I thought so.". Little liar! He didn't think so, he had no clue! Then Ethan asked if we were only staying for a day and going back home that night! So cute! When he found out we would be at Disney for 5 more days he was really excited. Then the screaming and the hyperactivity started coming from both of them. They couldn't contain themselves they were so excited! By 4pm or so we were in the parking lot of the Pop Century Resort.

The buses at Disney are a favorite for both of our kids. They just love riding on them. So, when they saw the first buses they almost jumped out of their skin!

Here are Ethan and Tabitha standing outside of our room. We had a great view of the lake and the creepy unfinished early years part of the Pop Century resort. We stayed in the 60's building.

We had an elevator but decided to "take the yo yo" as the kids would say, most of the time. The yo yo covers the stairs that go up the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors. Luckily we were on the 2nd floor.

Here are some of the decorations on our building. We had lots of play-doh around and some characters. The Hippy Dippy Pool was also on the other side of our building. We never actually made it into that pool. If you read my later posts you will understand why!

More posts are coming. Next will be the rest of Saturday. We make our way to the Magic Kingdom for some night time fun!

Tomorrow . . .

2009-05-15T14:21:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we leave for THE WORLD. That's right, mickey ears, humidity and crowds of people await us. The kids have absolutely no clue that we are going and Brian and I are loving every minute of it. We plan on ripping them out of bed at 6 am and throwing them in the car. Then we will drive for 10 hours all while avoiding every question about where we are going. Yes, we lie to our children! It is all worth it though to see the expression on their faces when they figure it out. I live for that moment!

The big question is, when will they realize where we are going? Will it be after North and South Carolina or not until we reach Florida? Will Ethan even be able to read the state names or will he even look up from his Nintende DS or movie to notice. Lets just all cross our fingers for one thing, that they fall asleep at some point during the trip for my own sanity!

A Boy and His Trains

2009-05-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

Saturday was Rail Day at the Virginia Transportation Museum in Roanoke. We decided to bring the kids so they could have a chance to look at all of the big trains that they have there. Of course the model train set was a big hit with both Ethan and Tabitha.

This is one of the old trains that they had on display. Of course Tabitha wanted to be able to go in all of the trains and wanted us to just "ask the people" if we could go in them. There were only a few that you could actually look inside though.

Here are Ethan and Tabitha standing next to the big train wheels. Can't you tell how much Tabitha LOVES Ethan! What you don't see is she is probably pinching him!

This locomotive is GE's fuel efficient model. It was huge!

The kids were actually able to go inside this train and see where the coal went and talk to two engineers who were inside. There sure were a lot of knobs and levers in there!

Watch out! Just kidding, none of these trains were going anywhere. I am also sure they hadn't been anywhere in a long, long time.

Ethan and Tabitha both thought this train looked like it was straight out of the movie, Polar Express.

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-09T07:39:00.000-07:00

Mothers Day is a day to celebrate our mothers and is usually a day spent going from house to house visiting, eating and giving gifts. This year the day will be a little different for us. We are not at home to visit with everyone or eat with everyone. We actually won't have anything to do. I have begged for this kind of Mother's Day for years. This year I get to be a little selfish and just celebrate MY Mother's Day. Of course this makes me feel terribly guilty so here is our message to all of the mothers.

Happy Mother's Day . . . we love all of the mothers (and grandmothers and great grandmothers)in our life. Every one of you is strong and an unbelievably fantastic mother. We hope you all have a great day and that you enjoy every moment! Sleep in, eat a great breakfast, go shopping and spend lots of time with family! We wish we were there to spend the day with all of you.

Maybe at some point today we will get the kids to do a video message. That's if I wake up before noon tomorrow!

Tabitha is a TV Star!

2009-04-27T15:13:00.000-07:00

Tabitha's 2 seconds of fame!
(remember to pause the music in the green box further down the page on the right side)

We had a great time on Saturday at the Maroon vs. White Spring Game at Virginia Tech! We of course arrived 2 hours before kick off so that we could get in the first row. Being so close definitely was exciting for the kiddos. They received a lot of attention from the Roanoke Times and News 13! Towards the end of the game the camera man walked up to our section right in front of Tabitha. As soon as she saw that camera she turned her head away! We might want to think about crossing off TV and Movie Star from her future career list! Well, the camera guy wasn't about to budge ( I guess he as filmed a few kids in his day). It took all of our convincing to get her to even look in his general direction. It "appears" as if she is intently watching the game but really she is falling for the "is that the Hokie Bird over there?" trick.

The photographer from the Roanoke Times did come up to us and ask everyone's names since he took some pictures of the kids in their "hats". They were wearing custom hats made by Granny out of the posters that we gathered up when we entered the stadium. It was quite hot sitting out there in the sun and I am not sure everyone would have survived if it hadn't been for the poster hats and programs that everyone was wearing on their heads. Thanks Granny and Grandad for braving the weather with us!

The Spring Game has turned into a pretty big production! There were old players there, potential recruits and players who have already signed.

Macho Harris was there.

Can you believe that this kid is only a 17 year old junior in high school! He is a future Hokie football player!

Here is a group of past Hokies. Most of which are playing in the NFL or CFL (I hope I got that right). Then there was the actual game. Here are some pictures of that.

2009-04-26T13:31:00.001-07:00

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Happy Birthday Great-Grandpa Thompson!

2009-04-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Great-Grandpa Thompson! We hope you have a great day. Enjoy the video above! Just push pause on the music in the green box down below before you watch it.

Cascades Waterfall Walk Up

2009-03-30T07:11:00.001-07:00

Cascades Waterfall Walk Down

2009-03-30T07:10:00.001-07:00

A Hike to Cascades Waterfall

2009-03-29T13:37:00.001-07:00

Last weekend was so nice that we decided to bring the kids on a hike. Well, not just any hike, but a 4 mile hike up a mountain to see a waterfall. We were totally prepared for it to turn bad quickly. We had water, snacks, band-aids, pull-ups and everything else you could need for a 3 or 6 year old emergency. I had expected that about half way up they would both refuse to move another step and we would be stuck on the mountain forever.

Despite my fears, both of them did extremely well. We took the long way up, through paths of stone that winded next to the stream. There was staircase after staircase of stone steps which both of the kids enjoyed going up and down. We made our way calmly and slowly trying to conserve the kids energy.

At the top we stopped for a while and enjoyed Cascades waterfall. We all had our snack and took some pictures. Then we began the journey down. There was a little more whining on this part of the trip but nonetheless they did just fine. Tabitha had to be carried for about 15 minutes (but only because she has Daddy wrapped around her little pinky) and Ethan had a little mishap with loosing his beloved rock that had been with him for all of an hour and 20 minutes. Has anyone else ever noticed how difficult it is to find a specific rock among millions of other rocks.

So, after about 4 hours of walking (2 up and 2 down) we all made it back to the car safely with no broken bones or bear sightings! What mountain shall we climb next?

Miller Family Snow Day

2009-03-04T20:58:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures of our last snow storm. The kids had a great time playing in the snow, building a two faced snow man and having a snowball fight with Daddy. Yay snow! For whatever reason the pictures lost some quality during the upload. Sorry about that!

Yes! We finally had a REAL snowstorm!

2009-03-03T19:03:00.000-08:00

I will get some pictures posted soon of the fun in the snow with the kids. For now, watch this time lapse cam of the drillfield at Tech. It shows the snow coming and going this weekend. Be sure to look for the snowball fight that passes through and the huge snowman that the students built in the middle of the drillfield. The snowman gets knocked down in the end by the Corp.

They are saying some parts of the county got 12 inches. I guess that is what explains Ethan not having school for two days!

Here is the link for the video of the snow:
http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/webcam-snow.php

Happy Birthday PopPop!

2009-02-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

Today you are 91! We are so blessed to have you in our lives and we treasure all the time we get to spend together. We hope your day is filled with family, fun and some really good food!

We Love You PopPop!

What was happening on February 24th in 1918?

As of 2/24/2009 10:05:47 AM EST
You are 91 years old.
You are 1,092 months old.
You are 4,748 weeks old.
You are 33,238 days old.
You are 797,722 hours old.
You are 47,863,325 minutes old.
You are 2,871,799,547 seconds old.
Your date of conception was on or about 3 June 1917 which was a Sunday.
You were born on a Sunday under the astrological sign Pisces.
Celebrities who share your birthday:
Billy Zane (1966)
Kristin Davis (1965)
Eddie Murray (1956)
Steven Jobs (1955)
Alain Prost (1955)
Edward James Olmos (1947)
Joe Lieberman (1942)
James Farentino (1938)
Michel Legrand (1932)
Abe Vigoda (1921)
Chester W. Nimitz (1885)
Enrico Caruso (1873)
The moon's phase on the day you were born was waxing gibbous.
In 1918 the US population was approximately 91,972,266 people, 31.0 persons per square mile.
In 1918, a gallon of milk sold for $.55, a loaf of bread sold for $.10, a new car sold for $500.00, a gallon of gas sold for $.08, and a new house sold for $4,821.00. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was about 82.20. (In 2009, a gallon of milk sold for $3.87, a loaf of bread sold for $1.40, a new car sold for $24,125.00, a gallon of gas sold for $1.86, and a new house sold for $183.300. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was about 8,635.42.)
The average wage earner in 1918 made $1,144.00 per year, compared to $34,327.44 today.
Back in 1918, the popular songs were: Bagdad performed by Harold Atteridge; Hinky Dinky Parlay Voo performed by Edward Rowland; How Can You Tell sung by Ned Wayburn; as well as I'll Say She Does by Al Jolson. Also topping the musical charts: JA-DA by Bob Carleton; K-K-K-Kayt by Geoffery O'Hara; Oh! Frenchy by Sam Ehrlich; and the ever popular Sometime by Rida Johnson Young.
A separation of church and state is established by the new Bolshevik government in Russia. In other news, a method of producing motion pictures in color is developed by Leon Forest Douglas. The "New York Times" starts home delivery for subscribers. A.F.L. President Samuel Gompers promises labor's support for the war effort. The first American made warplanes begin carrying out missions on the Western Front.
In the world of baseball, the Boston Red Sox defeat Chicago four games to two win the World Series. United States Secretary of State Robert Lansing declares baseball a "nonessential" occupation to the country. A horse named Exterminator, ridden by W. Knapp, pulls ahead of the pack to win the Kentucky Derby. The Mare Island Marines soundly defeat Camp Lewis Army 19-7 in the Rose Bowl.

***For the video below please mute the music on the right hand side of the page. You also might want to turn your volume on your computer up, it might be hard to hear.***

It's PopPop's Birthday!

2009-02-24T07:45:00.001-08:00

Happy 91st Birthday PopPop! We hope you have a wonderful day!

Tabitha's Ribbon Week

2009-02-23T14:49:00.001-08:00

Here is a video of Tabitha's gymnastics class and the ribbon week ceremony they do once every few months. This was her second ribbon. She was so proud of herself.

We are working really hard on getting her to let go of her teacher when she is on the balance beam. As you can see in the video, sometimes she is holding on for dear life! There is also a little jumping track action! It is kind of a long video so hold on if it takes a while to load.

Can I shoot myself now?

2009-02-12T13:54:00.000-08:00

Recent events have led me to believe that I might just want vanish off the face of the earth in the near future, like when my kids become teenagers! Don't get me wrong, I love my children. I am sure most of you understand how precious little ones are.

This past week, today, SHE is NOT precious. SHE is EVIL! The SHE I am referring to is my lovely daughter, Tabitha. She seems to have found a new hobby here at the "baby house". It involves markers (usually the permanent kind), pens, or anything else that can make permanent marks, like say, LIPSTICK!

It all started a week or so ago with a dry erase marker. Your thinking right now, "How bad could that be, it's erasable". This is what she did with it:

Then, I got her up from a nap one day only to discover that she was covered from head to toe in pen! Somehow she had stowed a nice blue pen in her bed before nap time and preceded to draw all over her legs, arms, neck, stomach, hand and face. Oh, the wall and bed rails got it too. The next day I realized that Dora had gotten the same treatment! I was so furious I didn't even take a picture of her covered in ink. But here is Dora:

In case anyone needs to know, NO, pen does not come off Dora. Oh . . . I was sooooo mad!

So now here is the kicker. I was on the phone with my Mom and Tabitha was doing something she shouldn't so she was sent to timeout. I was sitting on the couch watching her, talking . . . She was literally out of my sight for 6 seconds, maybe. I turned and looked at her and I realized she had somehow manged to find my makeup bag. In that short span of time she had drawn ALL OVER the floor in red lipstick and concealer and given the kitty a nice coating of mascara. AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! What did I do to deserve this?

I don't even know how I will begin to survive her teenage years. Boarding school maybe?

At Home for Christmas

2009-02-02T14:48:00.000-08:00

So, it has been a very long time since I have posted anything. Sorry about that. I guess life is just now getting back to "normal". Brian is back in classes and working and Ethan is back at school and is getting ready to start his after school enrichment classes. This year he will be taking a critter craft class, french and chemistry.

We had a great time at home for Christmas. The kids were overwhelmed with excitement and could not wait for Santa to come to our house. Christmas Eve was especially overwhelming. We had dinner at Nana's house and then made our way home quickly to say goodbye to the shelf elf and put cookies and milk out for Santa. We also had to sprinkle reindeer food in the front yard (to attract the reindeer) and put carrots out with the milk and cookies. We really enjoyed spending Christmas with our family and it was really nice to spend more than 2 or 3 days at home.

So, with every trip home comes the packing! Our problem with being home for Christmas was that the kids of course wanted ALL of their presents to make it back to the "Baby House". As most of you know, we drive a Honda Civic. This car is not the roomiest of cars, especially with two kids and two cats in tow.

For all of you curious people out there. What can you fit into a Honda Civic. Here you go:

-2 adults, 2 children in carseats, 2 cats in cat carriers, four winter coats, 2 laptops, an amazon kindle, a livescribe pen with 4 notebooks, 1 extra large underarmor duffel bag filled to the brim with clothes, 2 large kids duffel bags stuffed to the brim with clothes and one small duffel bag filled with shoes, a matchbox space shuttle, the entire playmobil castle and every accessory that goes with it, 5 sets of playmobil fairy world things, a lego helicopter set, a breyer horse barn and 6 horses that go with it, a playmobil cargo truck, a pink tag reading system with five books, a green tag reading system with five books, 2 artist drawing tablets and two very special pens that came with them, 6 gi joes, a huge gi joe plane and a gi joe tank, batman, a nintendo wii, 3 controllers, 2 wii wheels, 8 wii games, a wii fit board, a go anywhere girls dance studio, go anywhere girls house, go anywhere girls pool house, go anywhere girls bus and ice cream truck, a tub of pop together beads, a battleship game, a my little pony and her remote controlled scooter, 2 binders of dvd's, 2 nintendo ds's, 6 new ds games, a "You, the Owners Manual" book, a cinderella play set, 4 pairs of dress up shoes, a bag full of play jewelry, a highlights calendar, a playmobil cement truck, a playmobil work truck, a playmobil dump truck, a playmobil construction set, a playmobil fire car, a gymboree bag full of pictures, mail and other things, a bag of diapers, a diaper bag, Brian's underarmor backpack filled to capacity, a kids laptop in a pink stephen joseph backpack, an Ariel head with hair accessories, 10 my little pony play sets, and one Operation game.

I think that might be it. I am sure I left something out but I think you get the point! See, we don't need a bigger car. By the way, I never said that any of us could actually BREATH during the drive home.

One last little tidbit of Christmas . . . Ethan and Tabitha both made candy houses. Ethan made his during school and Tabitha made hers during the visit we had with Santa at Ethan's school before Christmas. Here is one of the houses . . .

I am going to try to get cracking on more posts. I promise not to slack any more! Have a great Valentine's Day!

You are missed . . .

2009-01-13T09:28:00.001-08:00

To Brian, Jen, Nana and the rest of the Miller and Hosler families.

My thoughts are with you today.

Do not stand
at my grave and weep.
I am not there,
I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints
on snow.
I am the sunlight
on the ripened grain.
I am the gentle
Autumn's rain.
When you awaken
in the morning hush,
I am the swift
uplifting rush
of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars
that shine at night.
Do not stand
at my grave and cry:
I am not there,
I did not die.

-A Hopi Prayer

2008-12-18T05:58:00.000-08:00

So, last Saturday we ventured over to the elementary school for the annual Santa Breakfast. They had Santa there for pictures, yummy pancakes, a silent auction and candy house making. It was a lot of fun for everyone, especially the kids who didn't want to leave.

After the breakfast we made our way over to the Virginia Tech Surplus Auction. This is our new discovery and there are some great finds here. We were hoping to be able to win some of the clothes that they auction off but the other bidders had other ideas. Oh well.

After the auction we packed up and got in the car for a lovely drive to Tennessee. We visited Troy and Stacy and had lots and lots of fun! We brought the kids to see the Speedway in Lights at Bristol Motor Speedway. This was an EXPERIENCE! Thank goodness we were in good company because we sat in a line of cars waiting for 4 hours before we even got in to see the lights! The lights were fantastic (even though Tabitha slept through it). They donate all of the admission frees to children's charities so it was definitely worth the money. If you are every down in that area you should "stop by" and see it, maybe on a weekday though.

Thank you Troy and Stacy for your hospitality and giving up your whole evening!

The Santa Picture Experience

So here is Santa. Sitting, happy, waiting for children to come and take pictures with him. Then, come our children . . .

Ethan, move, we can't see your sister! Let's take your picture . . .

Ok, really? Are you serious? Poor Santa, not even allowed in the picture.

Yea! Merry Christmas!

Our "Baby House" Christmas Tree

2008-12-18T05:54:00.000-08:00

We were very excited this year to be able to have a "different" kind of Christmas tree in Blacksburg. Thank you Nana for the beautiful tree!

The Elf Yourself Video - Remember to pause the music down below on the right so that you can hear the music from the video!

2008-12-16T19:55:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I don't want to move you down the page . . .

2008-12-16T19:42:00.001-08:00

So, this is what I have to say. I have been struggling with moving my Grandmother down the page. I like her here, at the top. I can visit, see her whenever I want and I always know her picture will be here. My new dilema is moving her down. Every time you post something new, the old posts get moved down the page. I have so many new pictures and things to say but in order to do that I have to let Grandma go. She has to move down the page. So this is me, letting go, letting her move down. I am encouraging myself to embrace the fact that even though she is gone she is still with us. Her spirit is here. My Grandmother would want to hear all the new things the kids were doing and see the new pictures we had taken. So this is for me and you Grandma. Grandma, you move down and I will keep you in my heart, always.

By the way, my Grandmother would have really gotten a kick out of the elf video posted abovt. Thank you Amy for sharing the video you made of "the brothers". I stole your idea!

I will miss you Grandma . . .

2008-12-02T06:59:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, November 23rd we lost my Grandmother. She was 74 and had 8 children, 6 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. My Grandmother was an amazing person. Our hearts are broken.

To Grandma,

I will miss you being here.
I will miss your smile.
I will miss the way you laughed.
I will miss your open heart and strong character.
I will miss the way you kissed us on the cheek before saying goodbye.
I will miss the way you looked at your great-grandchildren.
I will miss hearing how much you won at the track.
I will miss hearing how much the last lottery ticket brought you.
I will miss your cooking .
I will miss how you let every stray in (human and animal).
I will miss you on Christmas like I did on Thanksgiving.
I will miss you when our family is together.
I will miss you at every birthday Tabitha and Ethan have.
I will miss your mashed potatoes.
I will miss your love of slot machines.
I will miss all of the stories I didn't get to hear.
I will miss how you rearranged the furniture every day, it seemed.
I will miss your sense of humor.
I will miss your strength and persistence.
I will miss seeing you and Grandpa together.
I will miss how you loved your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren

Most of all, I will miss you!

Every day I will think about you. You were an amazing Grandmother and Great-Grandmother.

3 Years of Tabitha Pictures

2008-11-19T21:44:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday Tabitha!

2008-11-19T20:54:00.000-08:00

Oh my, my baby is 3! How time flies when you are having fun. I remember this day so vividly three years ago. It was two days after I begged my doctor to induce me. Finally he agreed and by the next morning, Tabitha was here. I remember Brian was out of the room at the snack machine when they told me to push. My parents were at home with Ethan eating waffles when they should have been at the hospital. I was supposed to be getting drugs at 7am to start labor, nope didn't need that. I thought I was having a 9 lb. baby, wrong again. Finally after 4 minutes and a doctor that almost didn't make it into the room we had our little baby girl. Of course she was a surprise to everyone except us since we had kept her gender and name a secret for the entire pregancy. That was a lot of fun by the way!

Now after three whole years we have learned a lot about little Miss Tabitha. She is a feisty red head who is fascinated by babies and accessories. She knows exactly which buttons to push to make her brother go crazy and would love to hug and squeeze cats and dogs all day long. Pony rides are a new found favorite and riding her scooter is her new talent. She loves ballet and gymnastics and I am sure one day Tabitha will be bungee jumping off of something. Oh and don't feed her applesauce, yogurt, or liquid medicine, she will throw up!

Please enjoy the slide show above of the first three years of Tabitha's life.

Halloween Weekend Pictures

2008-11-02T07:47:00.000-08:00

Halloween Weekend

2008-11-02T06:50:00.000-08:00

Halloween weekend was very busy. Granny and Grandad were visiting and we had lots of things that needed to be done. On Friday we went trick-or-treating in downtown Blacksburg, ate dinner and then headed right over to the Hokie Harvest Sale (the on-campus horse and cow auction). Trick-or-treating in downtown was a fun experience. There were lots and lots of kids everywhere. We got candy from all the stores, bars and resturants (even Daddy's favorite - Boudreaux's). Tyrod Taylor was handing out candy at the barber shop and there was even a man at the photography shop handing our gourds! Hmmm, weird. Why is it that Halloween always brings out the weirdos? The funniest moment was when we walked up to Hokie Hair (a haircutting place). Tabitha saw the people inside getting their hair cut and handed her candy over and was ready to walk in and get a hair cut. In the middle of trick-or-treating! We also saw quite few dogs dressed in their costumes as well!

On Saturday we woke up bright and early for the Virginia Tech Surplus Auction. That was a fascinating experience but a very long day. Brian and Grandad were able to get some really nice VT coats for pretty cheap! Needless to say I think there are a few more auctions in our future.

Oak Lane Trick-or-Treat Pictures

2008-11-02T06:44:00.000-08:00

Oak Lane Trick-or-Treat

2008-11-02T06:04:00.000-08:00

So, we had a very exciting Halloween weekend. It started on Tuesday with the Oak Lane Trick-or-Treat. For anyone not familiar with Tech, Oak Lane is where the Greek community is housed. Every Halloween they invite the local elementary schools to go trick-or-treating at their houses. Our check in house was Alpha Phi where we were greeted by two very enthusiastic girls. Let me just say, this night had to have been the coldest, windiest day we have experienced here in Blacksburg. Add on top of that the fact that Oak Lane seems to be on top of a hill, making the wind even worse.

Our two new friends led us straight to the free cotton candy and then took us house to house. Most of the houses were handing out candy but a few had other activities. The kids had their faces painted in one house and in one of the fraternity houses they had a chance to play some games. These were the games: Pin the face parts on the monster while a strobe light is flashing and throw ping pong balls into tiny buckets filled with water. Hmmm, were we trick-or-treating or at a college party? They tried so hard but it was quite humorous.

At the end of the night our last stop was the haunted house! There were two haunted houses. One for big kids and one appropriate for the littler ones. Our girls brought us to the lesser of the two evils. Well, lets just remember these are college students we are dealing with and their version of tame isn't exactly tame. After the ski mask people and the room with the bloody guy and the threat to murder 10 children by the end of the night. When left through the back door and were promptly greeted by the freaky guy yielding a chainsaw and jumping straight at us. The only thing that came of this wonderful experience was one sleepless night for Ethan and the knowledge that there will probably be no more visits to haunted houses!

The Last Football Game

2008-10-29T18:25:00.001-07:00

The Last Football Game

2008-10-29T18:22:00.001-07:00

There were lots of smiles and laughter as well as quite a few sad faces and tears but all great things must come to an end. Ethan had his last football game last Saturday and on the last play of the game got a tackle! Of course that means he pulled a flag off of another player! He was so excited you could see his smile from the stands! All of the kids seemed to be having a great time during their last game, they truly did not want it to end.

After the game we all made our way to the park that they practice at and we had pizza and had a chance to play on the playgroud that they usually only get to look at. The coach also had a wonderful surprise for the players. He had bought each one of them a trophy with their name engraved on it! You've never seen a happier little boy then when Ethan was handed that trophy! The boy is obsessed with trophies and now he finally has one!

After lots of playing, eating, laughing and rough housing it was finally time to leave. Ethan got very quiet in the car and would not let us look at him. He was obviously really sad and could not understand why he could not keep playing football all though the winter. Poor little man.

This football season could not have been any more fantastic than it was. His coaches were so caring and patient. They taught Ethan so much about the game and how to be a great teammate as well as great player. He learned to play every position and was given lots of playing time at his favorite position, center. We wish we could bring Ethan's coaches back to NOVA with us for next season but I'm not sure their families would appreciate that!

I'm Done, at least for now . . .

2008-10-29T13:50:00.000-07:00

I've finished updating the blogs layout. It didn't take the whole day, just most of the day. Now I can get back to posting things you really want to see.

Under Construction

2008-10-29T06:47:00.000-07:00

As you can see we are undergoing some changes. It might take me all day to fix everything so please have patience. Hopefully it won't take that long!

Saturday's Halloween Party

2008-10-27T08:38:00.001-07:00

On Saturday we went to a Halloween party! The party was hosted by one of Ethan's new little friends at school. Everyone had a great time wearing their costumes for the first time!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Happy Birthday Granny!

2008-10-25T08:30:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to you!!!!! Happy Birthday to you!!!!

Happy Birthday Granny! We hope you have a great day and enjoy your birthday! We wish we were there to celebrate with you. You are a great Granny and Mother and we are so lucky to have you around all the time. We wish we could see you and Grandad more. We will see you next weekend though!

These are all of the pictures I could find of you. You are officially on notice. We need more pictures of you!

The Birthday Questionnaire:

How old is Granny?
Ethan: 20
Tabitha: 5

What should Granny do on her birthday?
Ethan: go shopping
Tabitha: blow out candles

Ethan's 6!

2008-10-14T09:50:00.000-07:00

Ethan's birthday was Tuesday! He turned 6. He informed us half way through the day that he didn't want to be six, he wanted to stay 5. Oh well, we have to move on with life! He had a good day.

First it was off to school for his normal school day. While Ethan was at school, Tabitha and I went to the dollar store in search of decorations (yes birthday on a college budget). We found some fun balloons with nemo on them and dinosaur decorations. When we got back we decorated the whole apartment to surprise Ethan.

Ethan was off the bus at 3:30 and when he walked through the door he kept saying "this is awesome". It was quite funny! We had a long evening waiting for Daddy to come home at 7:30. We ordered pizza to be delivered. Dinner was Ethan's choice since it was his birthday. We ran to Food Lion to pick up an ice cream cake (another choice of Ethan's).

While we waited for Daddy we set up the computer and chatted a little with Granny and Grandad (Nana, we need to get your camera set up so you can video chat too - over Thanksgiving definitely).

Finally Daddy was home and Ethan opened his presents! He got monster trucks, and a Nintendo DS! Boy was he excited when he saw the Monster Jam game for the Nintendo DS! After presents we ate our pizza and had cake. It was a great little laid back birthday. Now I have to start working on Tabitha's in November . . .

Little Bear's Visit to Our House

2008-10-13T08:14:00.000-07:00

Ethan's Kindergarden class has a stuffed bear named Little Bear that goes home with a different student every weekend. This weekend was our weekend to have Little Bear. He comes with a book that you write in to tell the class what he has done for the weekend. We spent all weekend bringing Little Bear everywhere with us. He came to the Duck Pond, then Sinkland Farms and finally Ethan's football game on Sunday. We had an eventful weekend so it was great for Little Bear to be here.

This is the page that we put in Little Bear's book for Ethan to bring back to school on Monday.

Little Bear went to the Duck Pond to feed the ducks . . .

. . . and eat dinner.

Then, Little Bear and Ethan were off to Sinkland Farms, the pumpkin patch. Little Bear pet the animals . . .

rode a pony . . .

and helped Ethan pick a pumpkin!

Sunday was football game day. Ethan brought Little Bear to the football game. Little Bear cheered and cheered for Ethan!

Sinkland Farms

2008-10-11T07:19:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we went to Sinkland Farms which is a pumpkin patch/animal farm/corn maze all rolled into one. It is your typical place to go in the fall. Sinkland Farms is in one of the most gorgeous settings though! It is surrounded by mountains and farmland. I think Brian was a little jealous!

The kids had a chance to pet lots of animals. They had a sheep. . .

. . . cows. . .

. . . goats . . .

. . . and a really big draft horse!

Tabitha and Ethan also went on pony rides!

Tabitha rode Buddy. She LOVED every minute of it. I can't say that it doesn't make me smile to see her liking horses!

Buddy was a funny little pony though. He stuck his tongue out the entire time he was being ridden!

Ethan's pony was more like a horse. Ethan really enjoyed his ride as well. Although he looked a little more uncomfortable on the horse!

After the pony rides it was time to ride off in a hay wagon to the pumpkin patch. This was a nice little ride down the hill.

We were allowed to stay in the pumpkin patch for as long as we wanted so we searched and searched for the perfect pumpkins to bring home.

We came across quite a few unusual pumpkins along the way. Some of them were white and some of them were twins! We had never seen a twin pumpkin before so of course we took a picture!

Finally we found our pumpkins and made our way back from the patch. I have to say though, this is the first pumpkin farm I have ever been to where almost every pumpkin was the perfect pumpkin. It took us a long time to find the pumpkins we wanted because there were so many great ones to choose from.

The last activity of the day was a miniature horse carriage ride for Ethan and Tabitha. They loved this and it was so cute! Who though miniature horses were so strong! After the ride we all made our way to the Humphrey's house for dinner. We had a great time spending the evening with them! Thank you for the wonderful dinner!

Dinner at the Duck Pond

2008-10-10T06:37:00.000-07:00

The following Friday we went to the Duck Pond to feed the ducks and enjoy the nice weather. We never know what the next day will bring as far as weather so we have to enjoy it while it lasts. The duck pond is one of the kids favorite places to go.

Brian and the kids feeding a fish. The ducks were a little slow today in noticing that we were even there let alone that we had bread for them. There were a few humongous fish though that seemed to LOVE bread.

These are some of the ducks that we saw. A few of them came up really really close. We could almost touch them. I am still amazed at how much the kids love feeding the ducks. Such a simple thing!

Then the kids started to eat their dinner. After a few minutes things got a little silly and there was a lot of face making going on. Here are just a few of the pictures. Oh, your probably wondering about that bear in the first picture. I will explain him in another post.

VT Homecoming

2008-10-05T06:36:00.000-07:00

I APOLOGIZE RIGHT NOW FOR THE FACT THAT I HAVE NOT POSTED IN A LONG LONG TIME. PLEASE FORGIVE ME!

So, it's been a while since I've posted. Sorry about that! Since our last post we have been to another VT football game, of course. It was a good game and Granny and Grandad were able to come too! We had a lot of fun and the kids are really starting to get into the cheering. They don't complain or act up at games at all. The most they do is ask for food at half time. It's amazing!

This game was Homecoming for Virginia Tech. There were tons of places to go and things to do. We started on Friday with the Pep Rally. The football players, cheerleaders, High-Techs and Low-Techs were all there.

The Hokie Bird

The Low-Techs

Frank Beamer

There's Tyrod, barely in the picture with the glasses on.

Saturday morning began bright and early with the parade. I don't think we have ever been so close to the bands before. They were literally two feet from us. I think my ears are just now starting to recover. The kids loved being able to actually see the parade. It seems like every parade we go to is so crowded that they can't see everything. This time they could practically touch everything!

After the parade we met up with Jen, Tom and the kids and made our way to the Hokie Bird's Birthday Party! There was cake, face painting, pictures, cheerleaders and lots of other fun things.

Finally we were off to the game. There was a flyover before the game which Ethan LOVED! The game was great. Of course it always is when they win!

By the time the game started I was sick of taking pictures as you can tell. There are no pictures of the game. They won though and that is all you need to know. We like it when that happens!

Football on the Drillfield

2008-09-23T12:42:00.000-07:00

We brought the kids to the drillfield last night to play football with Daddy! They had a lot of fun and it got them good and tired before bedtime.

I am not too sure who the real football player will be though. Tabitha seems to really love playing. . .

and tackling!

Sunday Football: Raiders vs. Vikings

2008-09-23T12:08:00.000-07:00

Sunday was a big day! The first football game! Ethan had his first football game on Sunday in Blacksburg. Ethan was bouncing out of his skin with excitement and really had a lot of fun playing. They did officially win even though they don't really keep score during the game. The kids just have fun playing and it doesn't really matter if they win or not. He never even asked if they won. What a great thing!

They started with warm-up's.

Then practiced their passing.

Ethan started and played center the majority of the game. He LOVES playing center. I think he likes it so much because he understands what he is supposed to be doing.

Good Game Everyone!

A Weekend at Home

2008-09-23T11:52:00.000-07:00

We finally had a chance to go home this past weekend. The kids were very excited, even though Tabitha kept saying "no home, baby house". This meant that she wanted to stay at the apartment. She calls it the "baby house". On the way home the drive went surprisingly quickly. We did stop at KFC for some food. Note to self: NO CORN ON THE COB IN THE CAR! Who knew when you asked for corn at KFC that it comes as a HUGE piece of corn on cob, and on top of it, it's on a stick. Tabitha ate not only her piece but Ethan's too!

As you can see it turned into a huge mess!

When we arrived home it was like two kids in a candy shop. They went running from toy to toy and played with everything in site. Everyone enjoyed sleeping in their beds and how bright it was inside the house when we woke up. Now I know our apartment really is in a hole!

We had a great stay at home. We went to Caleb's birthday party which was a lot of fun! I think the kids bounced in the bounce house for at least 2 hours straight. We watched the VT football team too. Go Hokies! Yes, they won and we are so happy! We also went and visited Bailey at Granny and Grandad's house. It was very good to see her. As soon as she saw us get out of the car she howled (which I have never heard her do) and came running at us full force. That can be pretty scary when she weighs 100 pounds!

On Sunday it was time to pack up and go back to the "baby house". By this point Tabitha was saying "no baby house, home". So now she didn't want to come back and she was very upset. I think it was because she was leaving all of her toys. She quickly recovered once we were on the road and back in Blacksburg.

This Week . . .

2008-09-19T06:21:00.000-07:00

Another week has passed us by in the Miller house. We have had some exciting things happening. Ethan enjoyed his week as "Star of the Week". He brought in three show and tell items on Monday. He brought a helicopter, Thomas firetruck and his karate belt. He also was allowed to bring pictures into class to share with his friends (he was very excited about this!). On Wednesday, we were invited to lunch at school with Ethan. I think Tabitha enjoyed this the most. Everyone knows that Tabitha is just itching to go to school. She asks a least a couple times a week when she can get on the bus and when she can go to school. Next year Tabitha you can go to preschool!

This was how the week started out. Sunday was rough since it was the day after the football game. Ethan and Tabitha were a little tired I think!

This week Tabitha started her gymnastics class! I wasn't so sure how she would do since it took her a whole year to warm up in ballet class. We began class and I decided to sit with her, thinking she would want me close by. She was very clingy and did not want to participate. Of course I am thinking, great, I just paid a lot of money and by the time she finally warms up to taking gymnastics it will be time to move back home! Anyway, after a few minutes of that I asked her if she wanted me to go sit down outside of the gymnastics area. She said yes! I actually was not expecting that response. As soon as I walked away she started to do what everyone else was doing and was having a blast!

You can see Tabitha way off in the distance (sorry, I took these with my phone) in the black leotard hanging off the bar.

Ethan also had football practice again this week. His first game is this Sunday! So exciting! One of his favorite things to do is call the huddle. As you can see, the one thing they all seem to know how to do is huddle! Now for the rest of the game, it can be a little tough going! We'll have to see how Sunday goes.

We are in the midst of getting ready to travel home this weekend. Everyone will be very happy to see our house again and sleep in our beds! We will only be there for 36 hours but I am sure it will be worth the trip. Happy Birthday Caleb! We can't wait to see you on Saturday!

Orange Effect

2008-09-14T06:55:00.000-07:00

Everyone was in orange for the VT football game yesterday, including the players, cheerleaders and even the Hokie Bird! It was a sea of orange all through Blacksburg on the way to the game and it got even oranger (is that a word) as we got closer to the game.

Nana and the kids before the game. Thank you so much Nana for coming down and visiting us. I know it is hard to find time but we are so glad you came. We wish you could have stayed even longer. Tabitha was very sad and confused this morning when she woke up and you were not here.

Tabitha had some help from "up-high" with Daddy when her legs got very tired. She loves sitting on his shoulders.

It was a VERY long walk all over campus to park the car, pick up Nana's ticket, eat lunch in downtown and get to the stadium. Tabitha managed to walk almost the whole way. Ethan and Nana got tired though. Don't they look cute! Uh-oh, Ethan is going to be as tall as Nana soon!

Ethan and Tabitha had so much fun at the game. They behaved very well and screamed and yelled with the rest of the fans. Tabitha's favorite cheer is the "Let's Go" "Hokies" that the whole stadium does.

They shot the cannon off inside the stadium before the game. This is poor Tabitha's least favorite part. They place the cannon right below where our seats are so it is extremely loud. She covers her ears a lot at the beginning of games. They also did a fly over before the game which Ethan LOVED. Tabitha again had to cover her ears. The pilots flying the jets were Virginia Tech alumni and Georgia Tech alumni which was fun. They were on the field after half time. We had a hard time figuring out how they did that so fast and where they landed those jets.

Tyrod Taylor played for the whole game. Yay!

The Past Week

2008-09-14T06:18:00.000-07:00

Before I begin I wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS to my cousin Sarah and her husband Andy on the birth of their little baby boy, Neal. We hope everyone is doing well and we can't wait to meet him.

Congratulations also to Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Thompson on this being their 6th Great Grandchild.

It's been another week in the Miller household. I was a little slacking in the blogging department so I figured I would catch up today. The kids spent one afternoon this week decorating our "balcony" or as I call it, the hole in the ground. There was chalk everywhere!

You can see all of the chalk on the walls in the background of these pictures. Ethan and Tabitha had a blast using the chalk. They have never used chalk before. I guess that's what happens when you live on ten acres and have a gravel driveway. I have a feeling there is going to be a lot of chalk use while we are here.

After all of the decorating we had to clean up. I gave both of them scrub brushes and a bucket of water to clean. I think they might have had more fun cleaning it up then writing on the brick.

Ethan turned in his first school project this past Monday! It was a family tree that he had to cut out, color and glue. He also wrote the names of everyone in his family on the leaves and glued pictures onto them. I printed the pictures of us for him and then he did everything else by himself! I've always said I didn't want to be one of those parents that does the projects for their kids. After the hour long process to get this thing done, I can see why some parents just do it themselves!

Ethan had an exciting Friday at school this week. It was Goodies with Grandparents Day. Nana came down for a special visit and Ethan had a chance to take her to see his school and have brunch with her. From what I hear, they had a fantastic time!

Ethan also had an early release on Friday so he was home early to spend even more time with Nana. When he arrived off the bus we learned that next week he is STAR OF THE WEEK! He is beyond excited. This means he can do show and tell again, have lunch with Mommy and Daddy at school, and bring pictures in to share with the class.

We also had football practice 2 times this week. Ethan is starting to catch onto everything that he has to know for the games. Games start next weekend. That should be hysterical to watch!

Happy Birthday Great-Grandma Thompson!

2008-09-07T08:50:00.001-07:00

It's your birthday week Great-Grandma Thompson! We hope you have a great week and a great day! Happy Birthday! The kids made a sign to say happy birthday. It's kind of hard to see in the picture but they worked really hard on it! We are sad to not be there with you to celebrate but we heard that Granny and Grandad are coming up for a visit today. Ethan and Tabitha say hello and that they miss you!

A Day of Firsts

2008-09-04T17:14:00.000-07:00

Ethan had his first football practice today for flag football. He had a great time and learned a lot in the short hour. He didn't even look up at the airplane that flew over because he was so interested in practice. Ethan practiced throwing and catching a lot and even caught his first pass! There are a lot of rules to learn though so we will be working hard on that. One of the rules is that every child has to play every position so that should be fun to watch.

Here is a video of Ethan catching his first pass!

So, the other first happened while we were in Kroger after practice. We all know Ethan has been in kindergarten now for almost three weeks. He is doing well, learning and enjoying it very much. Well, he has officially read his first word! (besides the little ones that he has obviously memorized). We were walking through the back of Kroger and he kept looking up and saying "bah" "bah" "bee" "bee" "beer"! Beer! It is totally fitting that he was reading the big neon sign over the beer section that said "beer". But he read it and that is all that matters, right? Are we warping our child by living in a college town?

So here are some pictures of the days activities.

Is he a Quarterback?

Is he a Receiver?

Mommy and Tabitha watching practice.

He's ready for some football!

Tabitha has now decided that Mulan is her favorite dress up outfit now. Mainly because it is pink and not itchy!

A Weekend with Granny and Grandad

2008-09-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend with Granny and Grandad! They came down from NOVA for a visit and the kids were so excited to see them. We ate lots of food, went shopping, visited the duck pond and went to see Daddy at work. Everyone had a lot of fun and can't wait until they come back.

On Friday we waited for everyone to wake up from their naps and for Brian to get home and then we went to downtown Blacksburg to get some cookies from Crumb and Get It. It's a really neat cookie place where you "make" your own cookies. You choose mix ins to go into an already made batter and then they bake them for you in 15 minutes. They were fantastic! We ate yummy cookies all weekend!

On Saturday we went out shopping before the football game. Then, we watched the Hokies play which wasn't so much fun. I am sure they will play better next time! We had Jimmy John's during the game for lunch, that was good at least. After the game we went back out to find new shoes for the kids. Both of them found new light up shoes. Ethan's will light up a whole room when it's dark! He calls them his "police man" shoes. Then we had PK's delivery for dinner.

On Sunday we were out doing even more shopping. We ate at Olive Garden for lunch. At nap time Granny and I headed out to Roanoke to do some new baby shopping. Our friends Lori and Bessie just had their new little baby boys! Congratulations both of you. Your babies are the 2 cutest babies on the planet. Oh, then we had dinner at Cabo Fish Taco in downtown Blacksburg. Cabo Fish Taco is a very unique place and the food is FANTASTIC!

Monday morning we went and saw Daddy at work. Granny took his picture and embarrassed him to no end. Then it was time to say goodbye. So sad. But we will see Granny and Grandad soon!

Daddy at work.

All of us in front of Daddy's building.

Feeding the ducks at the duckpond. This has definitely become one of Ethan and Tabitha's favorite activities in Blacksburg. No baby ducks this time!

Granny and Grandad also brought some pictures along with them of Bailey who has been living with them while we are in Blacksburg. We miss you Bailey! We love seeing pictures of you though! Bailey has been busy doing barn chores, feeding the horse and sleeping. From what we hear she can never be more than a foot away from Grandad at all times!

Thank you so much Granny and Grandad for the fun visit. Thanks for the food too!

It's Thursday . . .

2008-08-28T17:17:00.000-07:00

So today is Thursday and nothing exciting is happening. We had a normal day with the normal things happening. We did go to the grocery store (if that is what you call buying groceries at Wal-Mart) but that isn't earth shattering. Ethan went to school and it sounds like he made a few new friends, which is good.

Here is something new. The other day Tabitha and I were driving into Christiansburg to do a little shopping and she asked to have the TV turned on in the car. For most of her life she has been uninterested in TV so it is nice that she finally finds it interesting. Then Mommy can have 30 minute breaks every now an then. I know this goes against all the "mommy rules" but you know all of you do it! She wanted to watch "were wore" as she says it or Word World. Let me tell you, this is the greatest show of all time! All of a sudden she starts singing the songs from the TV and repeating everything that the characters are saying. In the backseat she is singing "PIE, P-I-E, PIE". It was so cute! So for any of you Mommies out there that have never watched Word World, turn it on for your little ones. It is on PBS and it rocks! Tabitha's favorite character is the pig but she loves them all.

Thank you everyone who is leaving comments. We love reading them! Hope everyone has a safe and fun Labor Day Weekend!

http://www.wordworld.com/

What do you do all day at Kindergarden?

2008-08-26T13:05:00.001-07:00

Every day when Ethan gets off the school bus we ask him what he did at school that day. Usually he is pretty good at remembering what happened during the day. He also has has a take-home folder that comes home every day filled with all of the work from the day. I thought I would share the contents of today's take-home folder. They learned about fire, safety and fire safety today. I am sure they quickly learned that Ethan is an EXPERT in these areas! The pictures aren't great but it's the best I could do.

Remember everyone, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave comments! I feel all alone out here in blog land! Thank you Whitney for your comments!

All of the work from today.

Cause and effect safety page

Safe things to do in a fire.

The fire experiment with the science teacher.

Safe and Not Safe things to do. Now if he could just teach these things to his little sister!

Ethan said this is his "balloon decoration"

Hokie Kids Club Autograph Signing

2008-08-23T18:07:00.000-07:00

Today we had a chance to visit the stadium and meet the whole 2008-09 Virginia Tech football team. It was so exciting for Ethan and Tabitha (and Daddy too!). The kids each had their own footballs to get autographed. Tabitha even said "thank you" to all of the players as they signed the football.

We arrived about a half hour early so we had some time in line to try to get a picture of the two of them together. It worked out pretty well, amazingly. You can see the picture their "official hokie kids club t-shirts".

After a few minutes of picture taking it all turned a little crazy! This must be the inner monster coming out of them!

Here is Sean Glennon.

Tabitha and Ethan had their picture taken with Macho Harris. . .

and Tyrod Taylor!

The Hokie Bird was there too and we couldn't miss a visit with him! Luckily we will get to see him again at the Hokie Bird's birthday party in October. Tabitha wasn't too sure about getting really close to him though. She had to stand in front of Ethan in order to be "safe". That put at least one person between her and the huge furry creature!

This was the end result. Two completely filled footballs for Ethan and Tabitha to keep in their rooms. Now we just have to keep them away from Daddy who wants to steel them to put in the basement!

The past 6 months . . . before the blog . . .

2008-08-21T20:58:00.001-07:00

Another day . . .

2008-08-21T20:24:00.000-07:00

So what do you do when your brother heads off to kindergarden? You play dress-up of course. We were Alice from Alice in Wonderland and a purple princess (because purple is our favorite color next to pink!).

Of course every princess tends to have a little attitude! This cute little princess decided that she needed to dump out every puzzle in the apartment. I of course decided to bring a lot of puzzles when we moved here so there must have been 300 puzzle pieces all over the floor. I LOVE YOU TABITHA!

After the first day of school we decided to go the the Duck Pond to feed the ducks. Both kids had a great time throwing the bread and I think we fed every duck at the pond. We even had a mommy duck and her cute little babies come visit us for some food. Tabitha used great self control while the baby ducks were next to us. She wanted to run up and grab one of those babies sooooo bad!

Off to Kindergarden Video

2008-08-20T06:56:00.000-07:00

Off to Kindergarden!

2008-08-20T05:56:00.000-07:00

All of the excitement and waiting is finally over. Ethan is off to kindergarden. Now lets just hope he gets off the bus when it arrives at school! He was very excited this morning. He didn't even want to eat his breakfast. He was even ready for the bus about 20 minutes early!

Waiting for the bus. And waiting, and waiting, and waiting.

Oh my! Here comes the bus, finally!

There goes Ethan. Have a great day at school!

After Ethan got on the bus and left, Tabitha had a melt down because she wanted to get on the bus too. That was quickly solved when she walked back into the apartment and made a dash for Ethan's train table. Now she is happy as a clam! Totally Ethan free and playing with all of his toys!

Twas the night before kindergarten . . .

2008-08-19T18:49:00.000-07:00

Twas the night before kindergarten and all through the house
Ethan was bouncing off the walls like a wired mouse

He called Granny, Grandad and Nana too
But couldn't talk long because there was important "school paperwork" to do

His backpack was ready, and his clothes hanging on the door
Even his tennis shoes were by the door!

Tomorrow will be his first day of "real" school
Buses, art, PE and a new teacher too

Ok, now it's getting hard to rhyme. Ethan is so excited for tomorrow. He was literally running in circles in the apartment. After Ethan gets on the bus I totally expect Tabitha to start her victory dance. She will finally have mommy all to herself for a large majority of the day! As for Mommy, I am sure I will be wondering all day how he is doing, if he is actually talking to his teacher and whether or not he is eating his snack at snack time or his lunch. Here are some pictures of the night before kindergarten.

The New Place . . .

2008-08-18T18:50:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures of the apartment. Some of them are a little dark but that's the best you get when you live in a BASEMENT!

This is Ethan's Room

The kids bathroom.

Our Bedroom

The patio

The table! Yes, it finally got finished. Doesn't it look great! Thank you Granny for your long days of hard work down to the last few minutes before we closed the back of the truck for the move!

The Kitchen

Family Room area

View of the whole apartment. Yes, it is that small!

Tabitha's Room

We're Here!

2008-08-18T18:21:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I know it has been a long time since I have written anything but our lives have been a little upside down for the past month or so. We are finally moved into our new apartment. We are all slowly getting used to how small it is! Thank you so much Granny and Grandad for all of your help last week with the packing, moving and groceries! I am not sure we would have been able to do it without you! Thank you too Nana for all of your help too, even though you couldn't be down here with us for the move.

So here is a little overview. On Sunday, August 10th we picked up our moving van and filled it full (I mean really full) with all of our things from home. Of course I was still not completely done packing so thanks so much to Debbie, Stacie, Brian and Mark for coming over and helping us out with the packing and filling of the truck. I don't think it would have actually gotten done had you not come and rescued us!

Monday, August 11th was the big move day. We left late of course because we still had more stuff to put into the truck, animals to bring to boarding and cats to put in the car. Then finally, Monday afternoon we arrived in Blacksburg.

Since then we have been unpacking, going to Target (a lot) and setting up the new apartment. Did I mention it's TINY! I think we are pretty much unpacked now and the kids are starting to get settled in. This past Saturday we enjoyed a lovely day at Smith Mountain Lake with Jen, Tom, Hannah, Brooke and Caleb. Thank you so much guys for giving us a fun filled "break" from unpacking! Today, Jen and the kids came down to Blacksburg to visit the new place and have lunch. We were so excited to have visitors! Here are a couple pictures of the visit.

Ethan had his meet the teachers night tonight where he met his new teacher and his first day of school is this Wednesday. Oh my, my baby is going to kindergarten! He is very excited but I think a little nervous too.

My next post will have some pictures of the apartment for those of you who wanted to see it. Hope everyone is having a great August! We hope you're feeling better Pop Pop, Ethan and Tabitha both say hi and that they love you and miss you!

Fun in the Sun

2008-06-24T12:27:00.000-07:00

Minus a day of rain we have been having a great time at the beach with all of our friends. Ethan, Nathan, Natalie, Tabitha and Luke are getting along great (most of the time) and we have only had one day of rain so far. The kids have been enjoying the sand to the extreme! Ethan rolls around in the sand like a dog and Tabitha likes to rub it all over her body.

Tabitha is also getting her fill of Baby Luke. As most of you know she has been obsessed with Baby Luke for quite a while now. She sings songs about Baby Luke and even does a "Baby Luke Booty Shake". Now that she is spending a week at the beach with him I think she is in love forever!

Here is the fish head that Brian found in the ocean. Yuck!

Ethan and Tabitha in the little baby pool on one of the back decks

Saturday, On the Way to the Beach

2008-06-24T05:57:00.000-07:00

On the way to the beach this year we finally stopped to see Grave Digger! Ethan was so excited to see all of the big trucks in person. It just so happened that the day we stopped was when the owner/driver was doing a signing so he even had a chance to see him. The kids all walked under the trucks and tried to fit into the tires, which was pretty easy since they are so big. In the workshop you could see all of the trucks they were building and repairing. I am sure we are going to be stopping every time we go to the beach for many years to come!

Busch Gardens

2008-06-24T05:51:00.000-07:00

Now it is time to play catch up on the posts. On our way to the beach this year we stopped at Busch Gardens with our friends Brian, Stacie and Nathan to have some fun! The kids rode lots of rides including the Big Bad Wolf. Ethan said he liked the ride but was NEVER doing that again! Funny! Here are some pictures of some of the little rides that Tabitha, Ethan and Nathan had a chance to do.

The Mommies and Daddies had fun too. We rode way too many roller coasters. Our backs hurt now! We had a great time and are looking forward to going back some time soon.

Happy Birthday Grandad!

2008-06-23T18:54:00.001-07:00

So I am a few days late with the birthday wishes. Happy Birthday Grandad from all of us. We enjoyed eating pork chops and saurkraut. Especially Brian! Enjoy your panini maker and new Turkey hat!

Welcome Home Grandad

2008-06-23T17:49:00.000-07:00

It has been a very eventful last few days. We had the scary event of Dad (Grandad) going to the hospital Thursday night while we were getting ready to leave for our week long trip to the beach. So we had a quick chance to visit him at the hospital but we were not able to welcome him home when he came home yesterday. So here you go Grandad. The kids wanted to say hello from the beach and so here is a cute little video message . . . We hope your feeling better Grandad! Remember, DON'T DRIVE!

Preschool Graduation

2008-06-22T10:10:00.000-07:00

On May 30th Ethan graduated from preschool! We were all very excited for him. Daddy took off from work to come watch too! This was his third year in preschool so Ethan was a little sad to be saying goodbye to his friends. I am sure we will see them all again soon though! Miss Chris and Miss Denise did a wonderful job saying goodbye to the kids. Everyone work little red caps and even received small class rings on chains for them to wear. They sang a few songs for all of the mommies and daddies and then we were off to the picnic at the playground. Now we have kindergarten in Blacksburg to look forward to as our new adventure!

The Karate Test

2008-06-04T06:59:00.000-07:00

Ethan had his green belt karate test a few weeks ago and I am just now getting around to posting about it. When we got there you could tell he was VERY nervous. He started with his sparring. Which, I have to say, is the funniest thing ever! I never thought I would want to see my own child hitting and kicking another child but when they have all that equipment on it is hysterical! He sparred two older kids and did very well. Ethan is still more about blocking and not getting hit then punching and kicking his opponent.

After sparring, Ethan demonstrated his form and kicks. He has been practicing this form for a long, long, long time and was ready to show his teachers how much he has learned. After he was all done, Ethan was presented with his brown stripe to show he had earned his green belt!

Yikes!

2008-06-02T20:15:00.001-07:00

Yikes! Ok! I am going to try this blogging thing out. I figured I would try to get a jump on it so that I have all of the wrinkles ironed out by the time we move down to VT. So here it goes.

The craziness of our lives is calming down a little bit. Ethan graduated from his third year of preschool and Tabitha just ended her last ballet session. We have a week break until ballet recital practice begins so I actually get to wake up with the kids instead of the alarm clock!

Ethan just earned his green belt in karate and is SO proud of his accomplishments. Here is a picture of the two of them. Now, let's see if I can acutally get this loaded . . .

The Miller Family

So..... It's been a while!

Happy Birthday!

Happy 4th!

Happy Eight Year Anniversary!

We have official tooth loss!

Happy Father's Day, Brian!

Day Four - Hollywood Studios

Day Three - Magic Kingdom

Take a look . . .

Day Two - Animal Kingdom

Day One Part Two - Magic Kingdom in the Evening

Day One - The Drive to Orlando

Tomorrow . . .

A Boy and His Trains

Happy Mother's Day!

Tabitha is a TV Star!

Happy Birthday Great-Grandpa Thompson!

Cascades Waterfall Walk Up

Cascades Waterfall Walk Down

A Hike to Cascades Waterfall

Miller Family Snow Day

Yes! We finally had a REAL snowstorm!

Happy Birthday PopPop!

It's PopPop's Birthday!

Tabitha's Ribbon Week

Can I shoot myself now?

At Home for Christmas

You are missed . . .

Our "Baby House" Christmas Tree

The Elf Yourself Video - Remember to pause the music down below on the right so that you can hear the music from the video!

I don't want to move you down the page . . .

I will miss you Grandma . . .

3 Years of Tabitha Pictures

Happy Birthday Tabitha!

Halloween Weekend Pictures

Halloween Weekend

Oak Lane Trick-or-Treat Pictures

Oak Lane Trick-or-Treat

The Last Football Game

The Last Football Game

I'm Done, at least for now . . .

***Under Construction***

Saturday's Halloween Party

Happy Birthday Granny!

Ethan's 6!

Little Bear's Visit to Our House

Sinkland Farms

Dinner at the Duck Pond

VT Homecoming

Football on the Drillfield

Sunday Football: Raiders vs. Vikings

A Weekend at Home

This Week . . .

Orange Effect

The Past Week

Happy Birthday Great-Grandma Thompson!

A Day of Firsts

A Weekend with Granny and Grandad

It's Thursday . . .

What do you do all day at Kindergarden?

Hokie Kids Club Autograph Signing

The past 6 months . . . before the blog . . .

Another day . . .

Off to Kindergarden Video

Off to Kindergarden!

Twas the night before kindergarten . . .

The New Place . . .

We're Here!

Fun in the Sun

Saturday, On the Way to the Beach

Busch Gardens

Happy Birthday Grandad!

Welcome Home Grandad

Preschool Graduation

The Karate Test

Yikes!

Under Construction