Okay, Okay...I have been tagged!

Two of my sweet friends, Mere & Mara, tagged me. So I am gonna take a minute to respond. Here are 7 random facts about myself:

1. I can spread my toes apart like fingers. It is quite a talent - too bad I could not win a scholarship for such a gift!

2. When I was 18 years old my mother let me & my friend Amy leave with backpacks to travel around Europe for 4 weeks. Just made it up as we went along. It was such a cool experience. I love to travel although I haven't gotten to much in my adult life. Getting a map and exploring an unknown place is something I love to do!!!

3. I like preschool. I love the age and kids. A couple of years ago I was a substitute preschool teacher for the year. It was amazingly fun.

4. When I get upset I like to clean/organize. Purging is a passion!! My kids will definitely need some counseling over how much stuff I have made them get rid of. At least when I die they will not be able to say I was a pack rat (their father however, may make up for it!)

5. I am a rule follower by nature. God has had to really work on me in this area - teaching to let go and loosen up.

6. Even though I was bit through my lip by a dog as a young girl & I have never really liked dogs, I love my dog! He loves me unconditionally and is excited to see me all the time - even if I just ran to the garage for a second. He has brought us a lot of joy this year during many trials.

7. I really do not enjoy to cook. I love to eat! Especially when someone else makes the food. But cooking is just not something I am passionate about. It is fun to make stuff that my family likes to eat. But it seems like a lot of work to then have it gone in moments.


There I finally did it! Sorry it took me awhile girls. I know you will probably not like this...but, I am not planning to tag 7 more people. I am going to be super naughty and break the rules. Aren't you proud of me?!?!? God must be really doing a good job on healing me of that obsession.

I am now giving in to the pressure and tagging my children. So Cody & Emma, you are tagged!

time for playing

Yesterday our baby turned one! We started the morning with a bone, peanut butter and a candle while singing to our favorite furry friend! We thank God for this bundle of joy - who loves us unconditionally and is always excited to see us (even if we just walked out of the room for a minute or two!)

I am not sure about this photo! Who the heck are these kids? They did about 6 different shots being very strange. They had gone roller skating the night before and were having a restful Sunday morning. Maybe we need to do a little more of this relaxin thing!
As we headed out to the pumpkin patch Sunday afternoon I found this on the wall. Hello!! Excuse me, but spiders like this are not allowed on the wall of the house. If I find something like this on the inside of the house, I am outta here! Yuck!
When the kids were little we always went to pomeroy house for pumpkins, but then school field trips always took us to Bizi Farms. So this year we returned to one of my favorite spots to hunt for pumpkins. It was a beautiful day!!

Curtis wanted to give the kids a little love squeeze while we waited for the hay ride. Notice there is no line? It was fabulous!!!

The four of us sat at the back for the best view (according to our kids).

After they dropped us off at the pumpkin patch, Emma found one she liked right away! She likes the small cute round ones that are easy to carve and carry!

Cody on the other hand searched the entire field for the big one he wanted. He & Curtis make quite a masterpiece so it has to be just so. We tried to keep up with Cody but he was long gone!

Luckily, we brought along our muscles so we could get it back to the wagon...
We continued the hayride down pumpkin lane which is beautiful. It has several cool old barns and about 80 pumpkin characters along the route.

The ride is about a mile and the pumpkin folks were fun to see.
This is my ideal place for a pumpkin patch - nestled in the hills - I wanted to stay all day!
After the hay ride, we met a very friendly goat and some other animals at the barn.

One of these days when we can finish our outside fence, we want to get a couple goats.
We ended our trip by watching this rooster sleep on one foot on top of a stump. What is he thinking? Doesn't he know how dangerous that is?

Thank you God for fall and your creation. We are so blessed to live in the northwest!!

the big falls - with a celebrity!

Yesterday we headed out to enjoy a God-given beauty that is so close to home. Multnomah Falls was calling our names and we wanted to hike to the top! We even took Tucker along and he did a great job once he had his harness on!
This shot of the kids and I was taken about half way up the hike to the top .

Once we got to the top Tucker had a nice bath in the mountain water and we enjoyed lunch on some great big rocks.

There were a few mysterious caves along the path that the kids fit perfectly into!

We made it safely back down for snow cones and ice cream cones at the lodge. Tucker was quite a celebrity at the falls. So many people were asking about him and wanting to pet him. At the end a group of 10 south Korean college students stopped to touch him and drool over him - they were so fascinated they were all posing for a picture with "Tuckar". It began to get a little ridiculous! It must be how the family of a famous person feels - a little invisible.

It was a great outing!

beach fun

My parents rented a house in Salishan for a week. The kids headed down Thursday to have some fun in the sun on Friday. They dug a huge hole in the sand with my brother and had a beautiful day on Friday. We came down with Tucker Friday night for the weekend. We took several walks and sat around a lot.
There was lots of time for good conversation. It was the quietest beach I had ever seen - we rarely saw any other people. There are also no street lights in this gated community so it was very dark and peaceful at night.

My brother, Berk, who moved home for a couple months before heading to Laos in July, spent a lot of time with the kids. They got up early Saturday morning and built us this little shelter. Isn't it great!!

Tucker enjoyed lots of stick chasing. He also went out running with Curtis and did a couple early morning walks with me. He was exhausted by the time we came home!

The sand at the beach was beautiful. I got several fun photos of it. It is amazing to think that God knows each piece of sand.

The kids and Curtis were so relaxed they laid down for a quick rest on the sand. Tucker decided to get in on the act. He even buried his face in the sand while he was laying here with them.

Before heading home we did our best at getting a group shot. It was a nice peaceful trip and was a great chance to get away from the routine and chaos of life. Thanks Dad and Mom for a great time to rest. We hope you enjoy the rest of the week.

ps. they really didn't build that shelter - we found a couple of them at the end of the beach. Cool though!! We thought we would take credit for it.

Family Day

Napkins Anyone???? Okay, so we have this seventeen year old cat that is hating our new puppy and since we are in the apartment there is limited high ground. So...she has decided that the table is her new perch and the napkin holder is just her size. This is soooo gross! She is driving me nuts?!?

We took our kids and puppy out for some family time today. It has been awhile since they have been able to ride bikes so we went to a nearby campus and brought bikes along. They had a great time and were exhausted from all the hills.

The men spent a bunch of time throwing the ball for Tucker and playing frisbee. My daughter got an awesome shot of my son but he will post that on his blog.

We are working hard with Tucker to leash train him while he is still small enough. Man, this is a ton of work! My arm was ready to fall off by the time we finished. Curtis gave it a try for awhile - I think this may take some more time.

This particular picture cracks me up! My husband recently got a very expensive speeding ticket. He was only going 10 miles over the speed limit but it happened to be in a school zone and he didn't have his proof of insurance in the car that day - bummer! Isn't my hubby cute? Not bad for an almost forty year old man!

What a Funny Dog!

My hubby & I were downloading some pictures today and we came across this hilarious photo of our insane dog Tucker! We cracked up laughing! Even though having a puppy is a ton of work and requires a lot of patience in training, we really love this dog! I know he is supposed to be the kids dog, but he really is pretty much my dog. He is wonderful and I really like having him around!

Needing a little Perspective!

Curtis is doing a consulting job at the coast and since neither child had school today we headed out to take photos and check on the progress of the job. We took a couple hours while there to play on the beach since it was such amazing weather for February. We definately require beach time to get a little good perspective in this family!
Tucker had never seen the ocean before. He wasn't sure why the kids would want to put their feet in that cold moving water. But he soon warmed up and enjoyed running around playing in the sand. He was in need of a bath by the end of the hour!

My daughter is always ready with a dramatic move for the camera.
It is hard to believe they were in shorts during February. Even though it was sunny, it was not very warm. Curtis and I were cold just looking at them.
We love this red-head beauty!
Our son has loved the beach since the day he was born. He has missed the Coast
so much and loved having a little time there today. He is a lot of fun to watch at the beach - always muddy and building something! (I wonder where he gets that?!?!)
Since Dad's phone was ringing the whole time we were there..reality is never far away, but it was good to enjoy the fresh air and time to run free.
We pray today for our many friends who are struggling with huge health issues and concerns - we love you, Friends! It was good to take a little time to get God's perspective again on what is important in life. Thank you Lord for the beauty of where we live, for life, for family and for You!

Fun Morning in the Snow!

Now that we have a hill to sled on, we tested out the run. Tucker decided it was pretty fun to chase the kids down the hill. Luckily, everyone escaped the teeth.

The kids both had fun getting air at the bottom. It was a nice dry snow, perfect for sledding.

Tucker had enough energy for all of us. Every thing is a celebration when you are a puppy!

I decided since Tucker wanted to chase us, that he needed to test out the sled run. We made it successfully to the bottom.

Their are several cows in the field next to us. Daily the cows and tucker have a stare down. Even though he wants them to come to the fence, he is terrified if they get too close. He talks big, but really is a chicken around big animals.

The men made an odd snowman. His hair is grass and he looks a little mean! Obviously, us girls had already gone in for hot cocoa by this point.

We love snow days!!

What have I done?????

Tucker is the newest addition to the Miller household. He is pretty cute, right? What I should actually have a picture of is him eating food off the table or eating our socks or shoes. For the most part, he is amazing. But...there are a few problems we need to deal with. Fortunately, he starts puppy kindergarten in the morning. Puppies are a joy, right?!?!?