College Acceptance #1!

It's official! Alex's FIRST college acceptance letter arrived today. I'm proud to say that he's been officially accepted at Carthage College in Kenosha, WI! Woo Hoo for Alex!!! Mind you, that was one school of probably four he will ultimately be applying to . . . stay tuned for the rest of the results!!! We will keep you posted!

WAY TO GO ALEX!!! Great way to start Senior year!!!

NEWSFLASH! Lost Tooth!!

Miss Carly lost her FIRST TOOTH tonight! I helped her get it OUT - it was hanging by a mere thread! LOL! We have a VERY proud little girl! Finally - she has waited a LONG time for this big event! Congratulations to Carly! :o)

A Senior, an 8th Grader, and a 1st Grader . . .

Ready or not, here we go! Off to another school year! Here are a few of the pictures from our annual "first day of school" photo shoot.

I know it won't surprise you when I say that I'm SAD to see summer come to an end. The school year brings new levels of stress, worry, anxiety, and chaos to our already overloaded household. :o) I must say, though, that all 3 kids bounced back with enthusiasm. Alex primarily because he's finally a SENIOR, Nick because this means he'll get to actually SEE all of his friends every day instead of just texting them, and Carly because she is SO EXCITED to be a 1st grader AND she lucked out and got into the same class with one of her very bestest friends (the same little girl she spent all summer with). We'll see how happy all 3 of them are in another couple of weeks. Ha!

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!