18 Years of Wedded Bliss!

We walked down the aisle on August 1, 1992 in beautiful Mission Viejo, California. Our wedding day was PERFECT. Couldn't have asked for anything more. One of the happiest days of my life. Thought it would be fun to share a few photos from that wonderful, awesome day.

Happy Anniversary to us! :o)

Tigers & Vikings & Bees . . . Oh My!

We're on the COLLEGE VISIT circuit! We visited Millikin on July 26, St. Ambrose (the Fighting Bees) and Augustana (the Vikings) on July 27, and Mizzou (the Tigers) on July 28. What great fun it has been -- honestly, I'm not sure how high Alex would rate the "captive audience/front and center with mom and dad for several hours at a time" part (ha), but Mike and I have truly enjoyed the 1x1 time with Alex who has, before our eyes, turned into a responsible, mature (well, most of the time - LOL), incredible, fine young man.


Current standings, per Alex's assessment:

#1 - Augustana
#2 - Mizzou
#3 - currently tied between St. Ambrose/Elmhurst College

St. Louis University remains on our list of possible visits -- but other than that, we're calling this DONE.

Pictures .....

Millikin:

St. Ambrose:

Mizzou:

Next step -- the application process! We'll keep you all informed as the fun and games begin!

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On an unrelated note, here are a couple of pics from our recent trip to the Dells (um, I mean - our "camping trip" - see "Summer Memories" post for explanation! ha). We had a GREAT time -- kids and moms alike! I don't think my back has yet recovered from Hades - a "70 mph, thrash you around the car so much your head feels like it will explode, go down humongous hills and plunge into total darkness" wooden roller coaster - but we DID IT - multiple times. :o) And I think I still have a couple of bruises to prove it! LOL. To summarize, it was a weekend packed with fun and lots of great memories.

"Big" Boys:

"Big"Boys on Hades:

"Little" Boys:

"Hot" Moms:

How can it be that tomorrow is August 1 already??? Our anniversary, by the way ... 18 wonderful years. :o) School starts in just a few weeks . . . Sigh. I wish summer could last all year long!

Blue One!

OMG! OMG ... OMG ... OMG!!!! To say "I'm excited" is an understatement!

LOOK WHAT I BROUGHT HOME TODAY!!! I'm pleased to introduce you all to "Vivian" (yeah, we name our cars ... weird, I know, but that's the way it is in our household - ha) ... the newest addition to the Miller fleet of vehicles. :o)

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a HUGE "Buggy" fan. Have been for years, but have never been fortunate enough to actually own one. Tonight, that all changed. It started with a simple "Sunday evening drive" a few nights ago. We ended up at the local VW/Lincoln/Mercedes dealer so Mike could show me his "dream vehicle" -- a Mercedes sedan. One thing led to another and we ultimately ended up driving through the VW side of the lot. Carly was with us and she is also a HUGE "Buggy" fan, so my intent was simply to let her see the "Bugs" sitting on the lot.


Much to my delight, there sat Vivian. Looking absolutely adorable. She is a "Final Edition", number 1066 of only 1500 made. Figuring this truly was my LAST CHANCE to get one (they're no longer making them after this year!), we went for it. Thanks to my wonderful husband for spoiling me once again ... I still can't believe I actually have my very own Bug.

I love it, I love it, I love it!!!!

Summer Memories . . .

Just some random pictures to share!


We (me and several other moms) hosted a HUGE summer dance party for Nick's entire grade. We held it at a township hall just outside of Bloomington. We had an AWESOME turnout and everyone had a GREAT time. And no, the big guy in the very front isn't an oversized soon-to-be 8th grader -- he was our DJ for the evening! (Side note: Nick finally got braces ON!)

Elmhurst College visit - July 17 (we're wrapping up the visits in the next two weeks!)



Disney memories:

Carly's favorite part of the Disney day


And of course, ya gotta love the Teacups

Nick's and Alex's favorite part of the Disney day (haha - they actually DO look like they're enjoying it, don't you think?)

4th of July fun

That's all for now! The boys and I are going to the Dells this coming week for a few days. Two other moms and I are playing chapperone to 5 senior boys + Nick and his friend Logan. This should be interesting! LOL. Can't wait -- lots of water slides, roller coasters and go-carts. I'm sure we'll have a blast. Carly thinks we're going camping -- it was the only way I could convince her that she really didn't want to go along. :o) She's got a fun couple of days planned with Daddy instead.

Check back soon!

Enjoy each and every one of those lazy, crazy, hazy days of summer!

Time Flies . . .

. . . When you're having fun, right?! Well, it's SUMMER and we're havin' FUN! Where are the days and weeks going?????!!!!! I was in Walmart today and what did I see going up on the shelves? SCHOOL SUPPLIES! Boo hoo! I just wanted to CRY at that sight! :o) We have a jam-packed July, so this month is sure to whiz on by. Darn it -- why can't summer last forever??!!

I've been neglectful and haven't posted since the end of our wonderful vacation in June! Following our week + of paradise in Marco Island, we had a great time in Orlando. We spent a day at the Magic Kingdom (thank you to Disney's "Give a Day, Get a Day" program!), braved the heat and humidity - it must have been 120 degrees the day we were there! (Ha) and then went to the Kennedy Space Center for a day (I told the kids it was for their summer Science lesson) where we also had a great time. Highlights of our Magic Kingdom day included Carly's willingness to ride Space Mountain (TWICE, actually! who would've thought?!) and lining up to get pictures taken with the princesses, including her most FAVORITE Princess Aurora. The Kennedy Space Center was awesome - lots to see there - soooooo much information to absorb and cool things to see! Highlight of that day ... well, we waited in line for the Shuttle Launch Experience ride (me, Alex, and Carly) and by the time we got into the actual ride, I was sufficiently freaked out due to all of the precautionary information and warnings they repeatedly shared during the wait. So we went into the capsule, sat down, buckled in, and ..... when they said "last chance to exit" I raised my hand and said I wanted OUT. NO THANKS - I did NOT want to ride. Alex was appalled. :o) As I got out of my seat, I turned and told Carly, "Come on, let's go - I don't want to ride it after all...." and she said, "No way! I'm staying with Alex! You big scaredy cat! I WANT to ride it!" LOL!!! So I waited with all of the other people who had chickened out and a few minutes later, out comes Carly as excited as could be telling me all about it. Exiting that capsule full of people .... Not one of my proudest moments, to say the least. Haha.

We got back home on June 15 and returned to work on the 17th. Back to reality VERY quickly .... and it wasn't a welcome return on our parts! :o)

Other exciting news ... Alex took the ACT on June 12 in Naples, at the tail end of our Marco stay ..... he anxiously awaited and simultaneously dreaded the results (he felt the exam was more difficult than the one in April so he was not optimistic!) which finally arrived last week. He got the score he was aiming for! An improvement by 3 points over his April result. Needless to say, we were THRILLED!!!! This new score will open up a few more options as far as colleges go .... so lots of exciting times are ahead as "the search" continues and he begins to narrow down his list of possible schools. As of right now, he's still holding Augustana in the #1 spot -- we'll see how the rankings pan out when we finish our visits later this month. Stay tuned for that!

Since returning home, Alex has been busy working two jobs. Nick is staying busy keeping Alex busy (one of Alex's jobs is to be "summer companion" for Nick and his friend - very brave move on our parts, wouldn't you say? ha) and staying active in sports camps, etc. Carly is having THE summer of her life enjoying every day with her dear friend Ella and their sitter, Shannon. They do all sorts of fun "girl" things and they swim almost every day .... need I say more? :o) Mike and I are staying busy just trying to keep up with the kids and their social lives and activities, lessons, etc. Some days (actually, most) we barely keep our heads above water, it seems! But it sure is nice to deal with the chaos minus the hectic drama of the school year. I will continue to enjoy this pace of life for the next several weeks ... and then, all to soon, we will be facing yet another school year .... with a SENIOR, an 8th grader, and a 1st grader. GULP. Once again, WHERE does the time go?!

Sorry no pics with this post ... I will try to remember to post some soon of our Orlando visit and various summer activities/fun.

Hope you all are having a WONDERFUL summer!!!

Oma & Pappy's Best Souvenir Ever!

Honestly, it all started innocently enough. The kids wanted to make a quick trip to the Naples mall, so we set out to do just that yesterday morning after a late breakfast. As Oma browsed in a store with Alex and Nick, Carly and I made a beeline for the pet store, which is on our list of "must visit" stops in the mall every time we're here. We walked in and what was looking up at us with the most adorable little face I've ever seen? An 8 week old coal black miniature Schnauzer. Those of you who know my parents know that Schnauzers are their favorite dog of all. So I asked the sales clerk if we could hold the puppy . . . and next, in walked Oma. Let's just say that she fell head over heels almost immediately and thus began a long series of phone calls, text messages, and ultimately, an unplanned trip to the mall by Pappy and Mike to meet the precious little puppy and to hopefully gain Pappy's approval. As suspected, one look was all it took and Pappy was also SOLD.

Travel crate . . . . $30.99

3 lb bag of puppy food . . . . $12.99

Bag of squeak tennis balls . . . . $3.49

Bringing Anistasia home . . . . PRICELESS!

We are 100% convinced that little Anistasia has hit the puppy jackpot -- she will have a wonderful, happy life with her new parents. She loves all of us and has had a big evening of playtime and exploring. She's presently asleep on Pappy's lap . . . time will tell how much sleep the rest of us get tonight. Carly is convinced that she needs to hold her all night long, so this could get interesting very quickly. LOL!

Heading out tomorrow -- Orlando, here we come!

Ya Gotta Love It

Where does the time go? Feels like we just got here and now we're on our dreaded LAST DAY of island time. As they say, time flies when you're having fun . . . and especially when you're relaxing and enjoying the lazy days of summer. :o)

Alex takes the ACT tomorrow morning in Naples . . . and from there we will head to Orlando for a day at the Magic Kingdom and a day at the Kennedy Space Center. We'll head for home on Tuesday . . . just in time for Mike's birthday. :o)

We've had a WONDERFUL vacation!!