Holiday Memories - 2008

Braved the brutal central Illinois winter weather, just days before Christmas --- CHECK!







Baked and decorated 9 dozen cookies --- CHECK!

Had a wonderful and festive Christmas Eve --- CHECK!

Santa visited our house and granted everyone's wishes --- CHECK! . . . and if you're thinking that the left side of the tree looks a little more 'heavily loaded' than the right, you also must know that Alex & Nick DID get that drum set they were wishing for ..... so this photo isn't a true representation of their Christmas haul . . . :o)

And, last but not least, hosted the annual Christmas Day celebration with the Miller side of the family --- CHECK! (Sorry, but I was too busy in the kitchen to snap photos -- darn it!) We had a great time - ate way too much food, opened even more gifts, and then settled in for some good old fashioned game playing and catch up time with all the siblings/in-laws and cousins. The day is never quite long enough and we're always sad to see it come to an end.

And, before we know it, the Christmas season comes to a close. I do love this time of the year -- all the anticipation, hype, stress, and happiness -- but I also look forward to the start of another new year -- new beginnings, new resolutions, new adventures. Being the achievement-oriented person that I am, my immediate quest is to get all the Christmas decorations put away. And for those of you who've seen our house this time of the year, you know that putting everything away is no small task. :o) We'll see how long it takes me to meet that goal . . . I'm typically done before New Year's, so . . . I think I best get started soon.

Once again, Happy Holidays to everyone! Best wishes for a wonderful 2009!

Happy Holidays!

Ho Ho Ho! Tis the season!!! This time of year is always so festive ... so exciting ... so full of anticipation ... so busy ... so hectic ... so exhausting! LOL. We're slowly getting ready for the holidays around here -- the decorations are up, the kids are excited . . . but only a FEW presents have been bought so far! I do this to myself year after year --- and each time I ask myself WHY do I procrastinate with the Christmas shopping? Thankfully, I'm taking a day off later this week and will shop all day with a dear friend. Maybe she will inspire me to get going on those Christmas lists! Carly is starting to get worried -- she even cornered me this past weekend up in her room with a notebook and pen and asked me to PLEASE write her list down on paper. She then promptly gave it to our Elf on a Shelf in the hopes that he would deliver it to Santa on one of his nightly trips back to the North Pole. She was thrilled when she got up on Sunday morning and found that Mr. Elf had indeed moved to a new location in our house (if you're familiar with the Elf on a Shelf tradition, you'll know what I mean) and ... the list we made was GONE! She is convinced now that Santa has what he needs in order to fulfill at least some of her many wishes. The boys have one item on their lists this year --- a drum set. Yes, a REAL drum set. Seems as though all the time they've spent playing Rock Band and Guitar Hero in the last year has inspired some (until now) hidden musical interests in each of them. We shall see what Santa does about that wish . . .

As for our remaining holiday festivities, we'll be getting our live, flocked tree for the basement hopefully this weekend (which will bring our tree total to SIX - smile), we'll be decorating Christmas cookies and, if my patience holds out, we'll also be making a gingerbread house. :o) And, I have yet to make the first batch of homemade caramels, which is a BIG tradition in our family. I guess the fact that I haven't yet made any isn't all bad -- how good for you can a bunch of cream, milk, sugar, and corn syrup be, anyway? NOT! And, considering the fact that Mike and I are going on a cruise at the end of January (Merry Christmas to us!), well . . . I really need to stay away from some of the many Christmas goodies! And that is OH SO HARD for me because I dearly love sweets. All of them! LOL.

I hope you all are enjoying this wonderful time of the year. As I remind myself daily . . . always remember the "reason for the season"! Happy Holidays to all!

Winter Wonderland

Oh my GOODNESS - winter has arrived!! We woke up on Sunday morning to 6 'lovely' (it is a matter of perspective -- if you ask me, 'lovely' is used sarcastically vs literally - LOL) inches of SNOW. The funniest part of it is that I didn't even realize we had snow in the forecast! Yep, I guess that is a sure sign of someone who is too busy for their own good. :o) I must start paying more attention to these small details. We were blessed with relatively mild temperatures throughout the day on Sunday, which allowed the kids to play in the new fallen snow, much to their delight. Here are a few pictures . . .

State Champs!

Woo Hoo!! They did it!! Central Catholic won the state 4A championship on Friday night! Final score was 37 - 28. It was a beautiful night for a football game and it was a battle of two very well matched teams. What a GREAT game. What an awesome end to an incredible season. GO SAINTS!!!

Thanksgiving Greetings

Wishing everyone a happy and blessed Thanksgiving! We celebrated 'turkey day' early since my mom is working today, so we ate our fill of turkey last weekend. Today, we had a delicious, but VERY unconventional Thanksgiving feast, consisting of a variety of appetizers, dips, and snack foods. YUM! Hope you all are enjoying the day!

Headin' to State!

For the second year in a row, the Central Catholic Saints are heading to Memorial Stadium for the 4A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!!! Woo Hoo!!! The big day is next Friday (the day after Thanksgiving). What an awesome season . . . and what a truly special experience for each of the boys on the team. They played an excellent game yesterday and pulled off a 51-28 win. Alex got some playing time toward the end of the game, so that was an added bonus. (Most of the sophomores on the team don't play too much in the playoffs.) The team was HOT yesterday, despite the FREEZING cold temperatures and windy conditions. LOL. Let's hope they play equally as well on Friday. It almost seems surreal that the season is just a week from being over. I won't know what to do when Alex doesn't come dragging in every night at 6:30 - 7:00ish! Seriously, it will be nice to have him 'back' again. It seems like the entire first semester is devoted to football, with the craziness beginning even before school starts in August. Oh, but as hectic as it can be, I do love it that he is part of the team. What great memories he's making, what a ride, what a season!

GO SAINTS!!!

Heading Home . . .

Well, the time here has gone by WAY too fast ... we're headed back to our 'real lives' today! What a great time we've had. Seems that the weather knew exactly when we were planning to leave, as we woke up this morning to a very brisk 49 degrees! We'll spend this morning tidying things up here at the condo, and then head for the airport after lunch. Saying goodbye to this place is always bittersweet -- and this time will be no different. I'm so thankful to have such wonderful friends to spend this precious time with. And again, I'm so thankful for my wonderful family for letting me take this trip year after year. Goodbye Marco Island ... till next time!

Marco Great Escape - Update

We're having a WONDERFUL time!!! We did the 'beach thing' on Thursday and Friday (temps were in the upper 80's!) and today we headed out for our annual 'shop till you drop' excursion. And that is exactly what we did! I've successfully converted both Robin and Jen into avid Stein Mart shoppers. Woo Hoo! Fortunately for us, we happened to be here for their big annual 14- hour sale . . . the bargains we found were unbelievable. Let's just say that we definitely helped the Naples economy today. LOL. It is supposed to be significantly cooler on Sunday with highs only in the 70's, so we are hoping for one more beach day before we head back home on Monday.


Lots of relaxation, laughter, gossip, and good old-fashioned fun going on here at the condo. Each day on this trip is just so precious to us. We're all very blessed to have such supportive hubbies and families who help with kiddos, schedules, meals, etc while we're gone. To all of you, THANK YOU!!! We like to think that it is truly amazing that our families can survive for a few days without us ... LOL. In all honesty, though, we know that everyone in Illinois and Iowa is holding up just fine. :o)

Here are a couple of photos of the 'flip flop girls':

Great Escape 2008

Aaaahhhhhhhhhhh . . . this is the life. This is the weekend that I look forward to all year long. Sunning, Shopping, Drinking, Eating ... no one's nose to wipe, no family dinners to prepare, no 'taxi service' with getting kids to/from school and practices and, best of all, no homework headaches . . . for 5 wonderful, relaxing days. This is the weekend of my annual "great escape" with my "flip flop sisters" - Jen, Robin, and Heidi. (Unfortunately, Heidi couldn't join us this year - sniff, sniff.) We're enjoying awesome weather -- it was about 85 degrees today and not a cloud in the sky. Needless to say, we spent the day on the beach AFTER whipping up a variety of dips and appetizers to sustain us for the next several days, and a couple of batches of whiskey sour slushies (which only lasted us a couple of hours). LOL. Ya gotta love a girls' weekend, huh? We love you Marco Island!!!

Halloween Greetings!

Happy Halloween, everyone!!! We celebrated the big day with warm and balmy weather . . . and one little butterfly who didn't feel very well. :o( We still made our rounds through the neighborhood, but I think Carly only managed to mutter "Trick or Treat" at one house. LOL. She woke up from her nap with a fever but nothin' was gonna stop that butterfly from trick or treating, so she donned her costume and off we went. Both big brothers had other plans for the evening - Nick was celebrating with friends and Alex had a football game (Central won which means now they advance to round two of the playoffs!! Woo Hoo!) - so that really created a new dynamic for the evening, since Carly has always trick or treated with her brothers. She came home with quite a haul of candy and goodies, though, so I'll call the evening a success.

She didn't really want her picture taken, but here's Carly in her costume:

And here's a picture of the kids and their jack-o-lanterns:

Hope you all had a safe and festive Halloween!

Homecoming 2008

Lots of excitement for the Miller family! This was Central Catholic High School's homecoming week/weekend. . . . which means we just finished a very full (and exhausting!) week of school-related activities, fun, and games. The Saints won their homecoming football game on Friday night 17 - 0, beating the only other (at the time) undefeated team in the Corn Belt Conference! We remain undefeated and are ranked #1 in the state. Go Saints!!

I'm serving a one-year term as co-president of our school's Parents Club, and one of my 'duties' included organizing and hosting our annual Alumni & Friends luncheon this past Friday. It was a big success and lots of fun to plan and host.

And finally, the weekend concluded with . . . drumroll please . . . Alex AND DATE (they're just good friends ... smile) attending the big Homecoming dance on Saturday night. Here are a few pictures:

Football Frenzy

Some action shots of the Miller boys ....

(I got a new zoom lens for my birthday -- thanks Mom and Dad! -- so I tried it out at last week's football games.)

Nick is #70 - he plays Center and Linebacker:

Alex is #63 - he plays Offensive Guard and D-Tackle:

In this shot, he's 3rd from the left on the line.

And in this one, he's on the right side of the picture -- by the time the play was over, he was in the pile-up on the ground.

And, last but not least -- we can't forget Carly -- she is their BIGGEST FAN.

Birthdays Come & Birthdays Go . . .

I think that's kind of how you feel as you get older ... and older ... and older. :o) I turned 44 on Friday, September 12 -- and the only problem is ... HOW IN THE WORLD CAN I BE THIS OLD??!!! LOL. Geez. I remember as a kid thinking that people who were 30 were ancient, and now I've far supassed that mile marker. Oh well -- they say you're only as old as you feel, right? Well, that means I'm still 21 (most of the time). Except when I try to ACT like a 21 year old and then I distinctly remember that I'm double that . . . plus 2. Ha! Seriously, I had a great birthday week -- started the celebration early with a "birthday party" last weekend (planned by none other than Carly Jade) at my parents' house, and then concluded the festivities with a dinner outing (before watching a Central Catholic varsity football game in the pouring rain) at my favorite pizza joint in the world on Friday night and dinner out with our family and Mike's parents on Saturday (after watching another football game in the pouring rain). Who could ask for more??!! There's nothing like a week long celebration!! For now, I will continue to celebrate the fact that Carly and I are the "same" age -- "4" .. as she so proudly pointed out the other day. Soooooo ... here's to being 4!!! Cheers!

Guiping Girls Reunion

If you're wondering what a "Guiping Girl" is ... well, that would be our very own Miss Carly Jade. She's from Guiping City in the Guangxi province of China, and this weekend we hosted the 4th annual gathering of all 10 families from our China travel group. Our daughters were all adopted on the same day, are from the same orphanage, and have birthdays within 1 month of each other. You can see for yourself how much they've changed in the last 3 1/2 years by the photos -- the first one is our "red couch" (a China adoption tradition) photo at the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou (when the girls were 13 1/2 months old) and the second one is from this weekend's reunion (they are all 4 1/2 now). Carly is 3rd from the right sitting on the couch in the top photo and 5th from the right in the bottom photo. The bond these girls have is truly amazing (not to mention the bond that all 10 families have). It is absolutely heartwarming to see the girls interact and get to know one another more and more with each passing year. Our festivities this year included an evening of fun at State Farm Park on Saturday and a day of excitement at Miller Park today. We enjoyed delicious food, great company, and wonderful memories. I think it is safe to say that a good time was had by all! I played hostess this year along with my good friends Jen Schmidt and Christie Wright ... and let's just say that I think we're all due for a 'spa' day very soon. :o) Seriously, it was alot of fun to plan, albeit a bit stressful at times. Everything came together beautifully in the end and we had a very special, memorable weekend, which is what is most important. I'm sure I'll be posting a slide show of pics from the weekend very soon -- I didn't take too many myself, so need to see what some of the other families will share. Check back soon!

Football Season!

Hard to believe, but football season is upon us once again. Here are a few pics from today's Blue & White Scrimmage at Central Catholic High School. (Alex is #63) This is an annual tradition -- their way of kicking off the season -- the teams scrimmage, do drills, and then the families have a big cookout. Lots of fun, but BOY was it hot out there today!! Two-a-day practices started on August 13 and ended on August 19. School started on August 20, so now practices are from 4 - 6:30ish every night. Nick's football season is also in full swing and he practices M-Th 5:30 - 7:30. Let's just say that dinner time in our household is very interesting these days. I feel like a short order cook most nights! And my grocery bill with two football players in the household is ... well ... something that should be in the Guiness Book of World records! :o)

Endless Summer (I wish!)

Is it really the end of July already? How can that be??!! Let's see -- since I last posted, we returned home from vacation and went on another vacation! :o) We headed to Wisconsin Dells last week with another family and had a blast. Alex has been there many times with the family that joined us, but for the rest of the Miller clan, this was our first visit. We will definitely go back!! We stayed at Mt. Olympus Resort & Theme Park, which includes a little bit of everything. Amazing go cart tracks, awesome roller coasters (OUCH -- after getting tossed and thrown about at very high speeds, I have to admit that I felt every bit of my almost 44 years each morning when I climbed out of bed), kiddie rides, water slides galore (both indoor and outdoor), midway games, bumper boats, etc. Definitely something for everyone! I added a short slide show so you can see for yourselves.

Nick attended basketball camp at Illinois State University a couple of weeks ago and track camp at our high school last week before we left for the Dells. He will start football practice on Monday, August 4, which means our evenings become chaos for the next 12 weeks (but in a good way). Alex has continued with football "captain's practices" and weight lifting and will start two-a-day sessions on August 13. School starts for us on August 20, so unfortunately, the summer really is starting to wind down. I guess that means it is time to shop for school supplies, uniforms, etc. If history is any indication, I will successfully procrastinate those things till the very bitter end. LOL.

Thanks for checking in with us! Enjoy what remains of those lazy, crazy, hazy days of summer!

Marco Island Sunsets

Leaving here is always hard, and that is exactly what we'll be doing later today. Our only saving grace is that we know we'll be back again. Here are just a few of the many amazing sunsets we've seen the last 2 weeks. Oh how we wish we could just stay here forever. We've all had a GREAT time -- but as they say, all good things must come to an end. We'll head to the beach and pool for a couple of hours this morning, get everyone showered, tidy things up in the condo, load the car, and hit the road for home probably around 2pm. And then it is back to reality! :o)

Goodbye Marco Island! Till next time . . .

Family Photo Shoot

Well, we had our annual family photo shoot last night and got some pretty good pictures. Here's one of the kids that turned out cute. The weather was a little 'difficult' because it decided to be very hazy in the late afternoon/evening, which we hadn't yet experienced on this trip. Thankfully, the kids (and adults - ha) were all patient and cooperative so we were able to capture several good shots.

Vacation Update

We're continuing to have a wonderful time!! The weather has cooperated perfectly. One might think it would be unbearably hot in south Florida this time of the year, but surprisingly the temps have only been in the high 80's. We've seen some amazing cloud formations pretty much each day, but really haven't had much rain here on the island. Naples, which is just north of Marco, has not fared so well, so the thunderstorms are spotty and isolated indeed. This is perfect beach and pool weather, for sure!!

We had a great 4th of July -- but we've NEVER before seen so many people on the beach here -- it was literally wall to wall canopies, umbrellas, chairs, etc for as far as you could see in both directions. Turns out Marco Island is THE place to be for the 4th of July holiday! We watched fireworks from the balcony of the condo as they were shot off a barge about a mile out in the ocean. Very cool.

I added a slide show of our July 3 offshore fishing excursion. A great time was had by all (Oma stayed home -- the captain could only take 6 passengers max). We all caught plenty of fish (Carly caught the most if you can believe!). Alex hooked a 5 foot SHARK and took part in a valiant fight to reel him in, but the shark snapped the line about 15 minutes later. DARN! Not sure I would have wanted that thing IN the boat, though, anyway! ha. Mike later hooked AND successfully reeled in a 2.5 foot Bonnet Shark. Nick caught a good sized Pompano (for you fish eaters, that is good eating!) and I caught a small Robin Fish (poisonous -- not good eating). I lost track of the number of fish we hooked that day -- many of them were poisonous catfish that we had to throw back. The excursion was something we've never done before and was something we definitely will do again. Enjoy the slide show!

We went to Naples on July 5, hit the mall, a few stores, and ate at one of our favorite places -- P F Chang's. YUM! Today we had another beach day .... and tomorrow, more of the same. Ya gotta love a beach vacation, huh? I could stay here forever .......

Will post more soon!

Summer Vacation 2008

Greetings from Marco Island!! Ahhhh, our little slice of paradise ... well, actually, its my parents' little slice of paradise, but fortunately they're willing to share. (smile) We've been here so many times that it feels like our second home. Carly and Nick can't remember not coming here, so it would be accurate to say that this is just a natural part of our summer. We arrived on Saturday, June 28 and we'll head home on Friday, July 11. Between now and then, there will be plenty of beach time, relaxation, pool time, good eating and, of course, a cocktail now and then. I'll post a few pictures and maybe even a slide show (I'm new at blogging -- this is actually my debut at it - ha) now and then. Check back often!

Happy Summer everyone!!!