Apex Christmas Parade

The girls are on the jump rope team at school. November and December are the Christmas parades that the girls jump in. Last night was the Apex Christmas parade. This one happens to be my favorite. It is at night time and the parade route is through down town Apex. It is a great small town America parade. The girls did great. It was really cold but lots of fun. We got our exercise walking the parade route and then walking back to our car which was at the beginning of the line up. I would say we walked a total of 4 miles. It was fun to see some of our friends in the crowd cheering us on.

Funny Easton

Just thought of a funny thing Easton said recently and thought I would share it. I told him we were going to go to church today and he was going to get to go to nursery. I asked him if that would be fun and he said "yes." I then asked him who his friends are in nursery and he said "pretzels and water!" That is the snack he gets in nursery. They say the way to a mans heart is through his stomach I had know idea this started so early :).

Thanksgiving 08

When I was younger I thought of Thanksgiving as the holiday to get over so it would be Christmas time. Know that I am older Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. What a great day dedicated to remembering all that we are thankful for. There is so much to be thankful for, my family, health, friends the list can go on and on. We were fortunate enough to have our good friends Matt and Julie come visit with us. We had a great time. Matt and Jason spent most of their time up in the attic working hard. Thank you Matt!! Julie and I had the pleasure and at times hardship of watching the kids. I had know idea two boys could come up with so much mischeif. They kept us on our toes that is for sure. Our big outting was going to Marbles Childrens Museum. The kids had a great time. Jason and Julie both got to experience Black Friday, an event that Jason looks forward to weeks before. He left our house around 1:30am and sat outside to get us a new computer. Thank you Jason. We were sad to see our friends leave Sunday morning. I believe I saw a tear in Jason's eye :) . Thanks for all the help!!

Pile of Leaves + Kids = Fun

Graham and Easton had a great time two weeks ago jumping in the leaves in our front yard.

Halloween 2008

We started celebrating Halloween this year with the carving of the pumpkins. This year the girls carved their pumpkins completely on their own. They did a great job. Graham and Easton had a little help. Graham did not want our help but a four year old boy with a knife is never a good idea. He drew the picture on paper and Daddy did the carving. Easton had fun cleaning out his pumpkin and then picked out the eyes, ears and mouth he wanted from drawings I had on a piece of paper. All and all it went well. I even got to enjoy some yummy pumpkin seeds.
The girls got creative with their costumes this year. Maddy went as a hair stylist. She looked so mature. People kept saying she looked 25. Yikes!! She had a Halloween party that night so I had the pleasure of taking Maddy and and five other girls trick 0r treating. Emma actually won an award for her and her friend Jenna's costume. They dressed up as Thing 1 and Thing 2. Jenna's grandpa took the girls trick or treating but Emma told me that people were asking if they could take their picture. It was cute to see the girls they are such good friends and they had a great time. Graham and Easton went more traditional. Graham was a ninja, and Easton was a dog. Graham was daring this year and went into the neighborhood haunted house, I'm pretty sure it will be the last haunted house for some time. He was scared and wanted to go home right after his adventure. He did get to do some trick or treating before his big adventure. I can't believe Halloween is over and Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Time flies when you are having fun , and we are having fun :).

Madison Turns Eleventeen

Madison turned eleven this month. How time flies. We jokingly call her eleventeen because she already acts so much like a teenager. She is as tall as me and wears the same size shoe. She knows everything and will tell you "she knows" whenever we try to give her advice. All joking aside she is a great kid a wonderful student and for the most part a kind sister. We feel blessed that she is apart of our family. Happy Birthday Maddy we look forward to watching you grow in the upcoming year.
As far as her actual birthday went we have started a new family tradition that every other year the kids get a party with their friends. When it isn't a party year we do something fun as a family. This year we went to the N.C. State Fair. Marmee was in town so she went with us. We had a great time. The food was yummy and I hear the rides were fun ( I am some what of a wimp.) ON her actual birthday her friend Kipperly came over for dinner. Kipperly had decorated the outside of our house while we were at church as a surprise. It was a great day.

Morrisville Camp Out

Each year our ward has a one night camp out. Since we have moved here I for one reason or another have not been able to stay the night. I would usually leave in the evening and Jason and the kids would stay over night. Well here is proof that I went camping and spent the night. I did it! I learned that I would rather be home sleeping in my own bed. I didn't have to cook a meal or anything to difficult but I did re-discover that camping is not for me. The kids had a blast. Graham ran around with his buddies (mostly Carston, thank you Carston!) The girls also ran around with their friends. Easton thought it was great all sleeping together in the tent. He was the last to go to sleep and kept crawling on us saying he loved us. We love you to Easton, but I don't love camping :).

Pumpkin Picking

Finally it is beginning to feel like fall. We are starting to enjoy some cooler weather and getting into the spirit of the season. We went to the Farmers Market and each kid got to pick out a pumpkin. Easton was absolutely overwhelmed with all the choices. He was trying to pick up as many pumpkins as his little hands could handle. Emma enjoyed looking at all the unique pumpkins. Maddy and Graham got right down to business and found a pumpkin pretty quickly. The activity was enjoyed by all. We are looking forward to Halloween.

Bed time boys

We had just finished our family nightime routine and the boys decided they weren't ready for bed yet. They thought they could hide from us and wouldn't have to go to bed. They hid behind their curtains, little did they know that we could see their little toes. Easton isn't the best hider to begin with. All we had to say is, "where's Easton", and he jumped out saying "here I am". Thank goodness he did because we never would have found them :).

Time out

I had asked Easton to pick up something that he had thrown. He wouldn't do it so I asked him if he would like to go to time out and he said yes! This is him putting himself in time out. He decided were he wanted time out to be. Obviously he really didn't want to pick up. He thought he was such a big boy, just like his big brother who also spends a lot of time in time out :).

My hard working boys!

Graham and Easton love to go upstairs and work in the attic with Jason ( yatic if you are Easton). One particular day they were up in the attic with Jason, he was working on something and he turned around and the boys had created this block tower/town with all the scrap wood. They were so proud of themselves. Anytime Easton hears the door to the attic open he runs to get his shoes so he can go help. My little builders.

Maddy Starts Soccer

Madison decided to give soccer one more try. She had a brief go of it back when she was five. It started out HOT!!! They would play in the heat of the afternoon with high temps and high humidity. She was a trooper. She toughed it out and even managed to kick the ball a few times. Last week she almost made a goal. She is already better than her mom ever was!! Her favorite part of soccer is the snack after the game. That's are Maddy we love her.

Our First Base Girl

Emma started her second season of softball. She's gaining confidence which is fun to see. This season the girls have started pitching and the 3 strikes your out rule now applies. This is different than last year and a bit of an adjustment but we are learning and having fun, that's what counts. She is playing first base most of the time ( being our lefty) and a back up to 1st the rest of the time. Most people might call this right field but at this age there really isn't a "right field". Go Emma!!

Graham starts soccer

We started soccer and softball a couple of weeks ago and we have been on the run ever since. Graham started soccer for the first time and seems to enjoy it but with him you are never quite sure. His games and practicea are on Saturdays. He has practice for 1/2 hour and then has a game for 1/2 hour. Short and sweet. We love it! He got his first goal during his first game ever. He was very proud of himself. He came running home to tell me all about it. Go Graham.

Easton Performing at Gammy's House

Here's a fun video of Easton showing off at Gammy's house. Somewhere, he picked up this thing where he does a karate punch and says "Fire!", as though he's shooting you with a ray gun. I think Graham had something to do with it. Enjoy.

Easton's 2nd Birthday Pictures

Easton turned 2 on September 17th. He is getting so big and loves to do what his big brother is doing. This many times ends up in trouble. For his birthday he got a sand table and match box cars. We all enjoyed a yummy egg, dairy and peanut free cake! We love you Easton. Happy Birthday.

The Millers Are Officially Bloggers!

It's been a long time coming but we made it to the 21st century. Thanks to those who have gone before we have decided (pushed) into doing our own family blog. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Things are quite busy at the Miller house. School is in full swing, and three of the kids are involved in sports. Madison is playing soccer, Emma is playing softball, and Graham is in soccer, too. That makes for a hectic, but fun, Saturday schedule.

Easton just celebrated his 2nd birthday on Sept 17th. He was thrilled with his dinner of hotdogs and fruit salad. He really likes his new sand table and matchbox cars.

Jason is making some progress in the attic we decided to finish. Luckily the weather is cooling off, so it shouldn't be so hot up there. We can't wait to have another room to lock our kids in (I mean spend quality family time in).