An Awesome early Christmas

My best Christmas gift didn't come in a package or a bow; it came in a minivan this year! Our two beautiful nieces made the trip up from South Carolina and WE HAD A BLAST. Here are a few of my favorite pictures.

Clare spent the first night at our house. She and Delilah really hit it off.

In the morning, we did a few projects.

Followed by a bath.


And a rousing game of Hungry Hungry Hippos. Doesn't that bring back memories.

After that we went over to the neighbors to check out the chickens.

And Clare found an egg!!

We all got dressed up and went over to Gammy and Pappa's house. How adorable is this bunch?

We got in some good family time and some good cuddles.

So did Grammy and Pappa.

We got in a lot of play time too.

Some extended family came over as well and we had a blast with our Uncles, Aunts and Cousins (none pictured because apparently I only take pictures of those below the 4 foot mark). Here is my Cousins little boy, Nolan.

Aunt Sarah was able to tame the beasts, and everything was pretty calm (although Pappi may beg to differ).

Uncle Danny and Aunt Claudia came over as well and we did an early Christmas for the kids.

Clare and Caroline got a sweet dress up set. Here is a picture of the "bride before her wedding". Her words, not mine. I think she looks a bit more "Material Girl" than "Bride", but hey...

And here is sweet Caroline in her tiara. Adorable!

Uncle Tad and Clare reading some stories to the boys. Please note the footwear.

Of all the gifts, the large box was the favorite. Everett and Clare spent hours in it just reading and talking.

After the oh so sad departure of my favorite little girls, our fam got together with some other adorable little girls (and some other great friends). We caught them kissing after dinner....Uh Oh!

It all tired the boys and Delilah out.

The plague

Well we are on day 9 of someone in the Miller house having a fever, so we have had to get creative with the activities. Most recently we started looking through pictures and found these gems. My next post will be of my beautiful nieces' visit from South Carolina. Enjoy.

Daddy and Jack Jack. Aww....

Jack snoodling the dogs.

Everett caught a chicken.
And this is from this morning. I turned my back for 2 seconds while washing the dishes and heard Everett say "Jack got in the bath". Well I guess he did...

The Long Arm of the Law....

Well Everett is three and has already been in trouble with "the law". Let me explain.

We came home from the library on a cold fall day. I (mommy) let the boys inside and came back out into the 3 season room to hang up the hats and coats. Everett came running out after me with his ride on truck in tow and closed the door. After hanging up the hats and coats, I tried to open the door up to go back inside and Everett oh so sweetly said, "Mamma, I lock the door so Jack can't get my truck". Sure enough, the door was locked. I not so sweetly said "SH!T", and Everett, in his warning voice said "Mamma, we don't say SH!T in this house". right... Did I mention that Jack (and the dogs) is locked inside? So I run around the house like a lunatic trying to open windows and doors to get inside. No luck, so I take a quick peek in the window and yell to Jack that I will be right back (my cell phone is inside the house right next to my keys). I grab Everett and head to the neighbors house and call Clint and my mom. One doesn't answer and the other is an hour away (you can speculate as to who didn't answer). So then I very calmly call the police and ask if they have a way to pick my lock or break into my house because "my three year old locked my one year old in". After the call, I run back to my house with Everett and wait. The police arrive minutes later with lights flashing, but thankfully no sirens. We got not one, but two police and one police supervisor all parked in front of my house. They come into the 3 season room and report back to dispatch that they "have a visual on the child". I feel like a total moron, Everett is apologizing and telling me to call Handy Manny so he can let us inside, and the police are trying in vain to break into my house. So they decide (after climbing on the roof, inspecting all the windows and doors, etc) that we should call a locksmith and just wait. So we do - for an hour.....Now you might be wondering what little Jack Jack was doing all alone inside the house and if he was terribly upset by the ordeal. Don't worry, he is just fine. So Jack first finds my phone, brings it over to the window and with a HUGE grin shows it to me because he KNOWS he is not supposed to have it. He proceeds to play with it for a few minutes before he gets bored and starts banging my beloved Android smatphone on the window. Next he gets in the "off limits drawer", empties it and takes a few pictures with the camera. Our files that we keep next to the desk were next. He threw those papers around with abandon - it looked like new years eve in times square. And last but not least, he found my wallet. He climbed up into his high chair and proceeded to empty its contents, after which he took said contents and threw everything into the trash!! Finally, the locksmith came and he was fantastic. He drilled a hole into the lock and let us all back inside. The police rode off and all was back to normal in the Miller household. The boys had lunch, and while they took a nap, mommy cleaned up the carnage and fished her credit cards out of the trash.

We're Back Baby!!!!

So it has been a while (3 months). Things have been hectic around here so some things have been neglected. Don't worry, it wasn't the kids, it was the blog (and laundry, dishes, dusting, etc). I got recalled to the Coast Guard, but luckily an awesome previous supervisor got me re-routed to New London from New Orleans! So between that, Clint's job, my grad school, and the kids, things got a bit hectic, but we made it through and did all this cool *&%@ during it all. Here is a cornucopia of happenings.

To start off, here is Jack eating a few M&Ms.

Hitting the beach on the jet ski!

Everett was "quiet" for too long and this is what I discovered he was doing.

There was a visit to the Roger Williams Zoo. Our favorite exhibit was the petting zoo and the "BaaBaas"

Apparently it tired Everett out (although he refused to go to sleep).

We met my college roommate up in Boston and tried to fit it all in during one short day. First we hit the Boston Children's museum.

After that we had some lunch in the north end and hit the awesome farmers market. Jack ate like the beast that he is.

We tried to make the commons, but ran short of time, so chose to try the carousel and a local park.

On our way home we saw the lights in Fenway were on so we decided to try and get tickets. We did and the boys got to enjoy their first baseball game at FENWAY!!


Judging from this hardcore sleep, it was a good day!

In major news, Everett started real school. He goes twice a week for a few hours and he loves it (so does Mommy). Here he is getting his new backpack for his first day.

Delilah has been getting really big and really loves the boys. Here she is snoodling Jack.

And now it is officially fall. That means jumping in leaves.

And Halloween. Everett decided to be a coconut tree for the big day and I think he pulled it off pretty well. Jack was a monkey. And Uncle Danny was Pauli D. I think he pulled it off pretty well too.

I am sure I am missing something and will post things as I remember. We will also be posting more often, so if you are still reading, come back often. Jack is now talking up a storm, so some videos will be next.

County Fair Time

Well the weather is starting to turn a little and that means it is time for county fairs. We went to a small one this past weekend in Lyme, CT. and had a pretty good time. Amy and I learned from a clown how to make a balloon into a dog. Jack and Everett had a great time riding some rides.

Here is Amy with Jack and Everett on the helicopters.



Everett and Jack both rode around on the fire trucks.

Mommy took Everett way up high on the Ferris Wheel.

"Look son, a Carnie"

Everett was even given a hat at the entrance and donned it to do some goat feeding.

Overall, it was a lot of fun. There are no pictures, but my favorite part was the 2-story high slide that Jack and I raced Amy and Everett down on carpets. (we won.)

Parents Visit and Jet Skiing

This past weekend was a great one. We had some of the greatest weather all summer and my parents came up to enjoy it with us. They also brought my grandparents' jet ski up. The jet ski was used by my grandparents, parents, myself, and now my kids spanning four generations of Miller craziness. Here is a picture of myself, and both Jack Millers with the jet ski.

After a long drive back to Ohio to pick it up and then a drive up to Connecticut from maryland my parents delivered the jet ski. As a reward, we thought we would take it out.

Here is Amy and Everett about to jump on. Amy turned out to be quite a speed demon and Everett loves it.

Here is Grandpa Miller about to go out and teach Everett how to properly spin out a jet ski.

Mom still loves to ride and was the luckiest when it came to finding waves. She put some air under the hull on quite a few occasions.

Even Jack went for a ride with Amy. Here they are waving for the camera.

Amy and Everett out for another ride.

This jet ski is big enough for the whole family.

A big thanks to my grandparents and Uncle Tim for getting the jet ski ready for us. It ran perfectly like the day it came off the line 15 years ago. Also thank you to my parents for all the driving they did to bring it up to us. We will take good care of it.