Lately

We've had a great past couple of weeks over here at that the Miller house.

C was nominated to represent her class for the Royal Court at her school along with her classmate, Wyatt.

This was the first time C had been put in a competition type setting and we talked all week about how she may not win.  We even worked on her gracious smile and clap for when her name wasn't called.  :)

Unfortunately, she didn't win but she was completely fine with it.  I think she liked dressing up more than anything which was evident later that night when I saw her with her face in her kaboodle applying lip gloss.

We attended a wedding for a close family friend.

U was WILD!  Thankfully it was a very laid back wedding with several other children so they didn't mind him talking throughout the whole ceremony and wrestling with his sister at the reception.

I have no idea how we've made it this far without a single black eye or broken bone. 

We had to make a quick trip to Opry Mills to get U some shoes.  I somehow managed to have a son that requires wide shoes and apparently wide shoes in his size are very hard to find.  We literally had one option to choose from and naturally they cost more than I spend on my own shoes.  Sigh.

How we have to roll these days at malls.

As I was trying to get over how much I just dropped on a pair of shoes my son was going to out grow in 4 months, B tells the kids they can get a Build A Bear.  I swear he is as bad as the kids.  

Since it was U's first Build A Bear, it softened the blow.

We spent an evening playing at the park.

I got to be part of C's Halloween party at school.

It's always a crazy day but I love getting to be there for her parties and to see all her friends.

The Sunday before Halloween, our church hosted a Trunk or Treat.

I have this thing about the kids being a pair for Halloween.  I think it's cute but I'm sure I won't be able to get away with it for long.  C wanted to be a Lalaloopsy doll this year and I knew each doll had a sidekick but I thought they were all girly sidekicks.  Thankfully the doll she picked (Sugar Cookie) had a white mouse as a sidekick.  Whew.  

I didn't get a single picture of the kids walking around getting candy mainly because I was too busy opening each new piece of candy U got.  He thought as soon as someone gave him candy, he must eat it right then and there.  Instead of having a bag full of candy at the end of the night, he had a lot of half eaten pieces of candy.

I did get a picture of them at the end of the night which pretty much sums up everyone's feeling about the evening. 

C's fake smile letting me know she is OVER it and U too busy people watching to pay attention to me.

Halloween night, we went to my parent's neighborhood to trick or treat.  I had a friend stop by my parent's with her kids and we ended up walking around together.

After each house, the girls would say 'where we going next?'  Ha.

We ended our weeks of fun with the funk.

C went down for about a day with some type of nastiness.  She didn't move from this spot all day.  Thankfully, it only lasted a day and no one else got it.

We've laid low lately because the holidays are coming and that means goodbye relaxing weekends.

Most Wonderful Time of Year

We finally got our much needed beach vacation over Fall Break.

My parents, my brother and his family went too. 

 I would love to say it was as relaxing as the last time but we brought along two extra kids under the age of two.  And even though we love all the kids very much, vacations are more of adventures than time to relax at this stage in their lives.

We would start each morning with playtime/puzzle time in the condo.

Then we would head down to the beach.

C was still all about making sand castles.

U wasn't feeling the beach so the first few days he preferred to stay under the umbrella with snacks.

He came around on Thursday and finally got his feet in the ocean.

We loved getting to spend that time my brother, SIL and Jack.

Of course, I'm not sure Jack felt the same.  I'm the Baby Snatcher and when he sees me, it usually means his mama is about to disappear.

I am happy to report I gained a little trust back by the end of the week but he still makes sure he can see his mama out of the corner of his eye when I come around.  :)

One afternoon, we took a break from the beach and spent a few hours at a place that had go carts, mini golf and a few rides for little ones.

C got super brave and drove a go cart all by herself.

U wanted anything with a steering wheel.

B and C did get on the big track and even though C's face looks annoyed, she had a blast riding.

We ended up going back two more times because it was the only thing that would keep both kids entertained longer than two minutes.

I have to document B on this TINY kid train.

I had no idea he was getting on until I noticed he wasn't around after putting the kids on it.  HA!  He said he was going to enjoy some of the rides too.

U loved riding most of the rides but about halfway through, he would be over it and would cry the rest of the time.  It was pretty embarrassing amazing.

C's favorite ride, and my least favorite, was the bumper cars.

Thankfully, we didn't have any young boys taking it a too seriously.

Our last day at the beach, my dad rented a kayak for a couple of hours.

We all took our turn kayaking in the ocean.

(discloser: U is merely a photo prop.  He didn't get to ride.)

After seven great days, we had to get back to life where repairs had to be done

and where little boys go to church with sucker in their hair because their mamas forgot to give them a bath the night before.

*Sigh* I already need another vacation.

Life's CliffsNotes

Here are the CliffsNotes on our life lately.

We spent a Saturday at the Nashville Library.

As always, we had a great time and even got to see a puppet show while we were there.

We got another visit from my SIL and Jack.

We LOVE when they come to town! 

The jury is still out if Jack loves all the craziness his cousins seem to bring to the party.  :)

C got to cheer with the South Warren High School cheerleaders one Friday night game.

To say she had a blast is an understatement. 

She ate up every minute of it.

I mean how stinkin' cute do the little girls look?

The only part she wasn't digging was the stunt portion.  

She was so afraid they would drop her.

I was extremely proud of her for participating.  Since she is so shy, I knew she would back out after hearing none of her friends were participating but girlfriend didn't care.  She wanted to cheer with the big girls.  There were two other older girls from her school in her group so she made friends with them.

I love that she steps out of her comfort zone and tries new things.

Labor Day weekend, we headed north to visit B's family.

My in-laws bought the older girls tickets to see Beauty and the Beast on Saturday night at the local theater. 

They were pumped about the show.

The grands with all their grandchildren.

After the show, the girls were able to go backstage and meet some of the cast.

Belle

Chip and Ms. Pots.

One night last week, we had a playdate with our favorite 3.5 year old, Eli.

It's nonstop running, playing, sliding, jumping when they get together.

  

C's school had a breakfast with grandparents the Friday before Grandparent's Day so my mom went with her.

That same day, she requested I come have lunch with her.

Then that night, we made our annual trip to the Balloon Classic in town.

The wind was pretty bad that night so most of the balloons couldn't get up for the glow.  Thank goodness for the bounce houses.  The night would have been a complete bust.

The next night, we attended C's friend's birthday party.  Her friend got a balloon making kit and I whipped out my balloon making skills and made dogs for everyone.  I managed to pull out one hat for the birthday girl. 

We've been busy this weekend with yet another birthday party where I failed to get any pictures because I was running my mouth the whole time.  We also made a trip to see my Nanny for her birthday and finished the night with dinner with my parents.  

And now, we are resting up for the week.