Off to School!

One day Savannah asked Mesa if she could take her to school for show and tell. So Mesa decided too try and sneak off with her in her back pack. Too bad I caught the little rascals and sent them straight back inside for a photo op! It was pretty cute.

My future gymnast

Mesa has been in gymnastics now for 2 terms. She also took gymnastics for a semester or so in San Diego. She has always had a love and what I would consider a natural talent for gymnastics. She has really good form. So a few weeks ago her gymnastic squad or whatever you call it had a show where they each did every aspect of gymnastics. It was really nice. Then they all got a trophy afterwards.

So cute

On the bars

On the balance beam

Floor routine

The Jolly Happy Soul

I know I am continuously posting things of Savannah but we all just love her so much and she does so many cute things all the time that we want to share! From the moment she wakes up she is the happiest little bub. In fact the kids are always fighting over who gets to go get her out of her crib. There's a mad rush to the stairs everytime someone hears her making noise in the morning. Who'd have ever thought I'd have my own personal herd of elephants? Here is some cute video footage of her in her jolly jumper. This time its not sideways either. Yay!

Here's another clip of her drinking her water. Not really super interesting but we need to keep her grandparents in the loop and let them know what they're missing out on! Notice the dress she's wearing in this one Grandma Betty Jean?

Now are a few cute photos we have taken lately. Savannah has figured out that food is what its all about. We went to the zoo the other day and I stupidly let her have a taste of my ice cream and she was very vocal about getting some more after the first try. She loves all foods.

What's this green stuff called again? It's not too bad...

My fingers really bring out the flavour of the food.

Why are you taking a picture of me eating Candace?

Blaze took this photo of her with his hat on like a little gangsta.

The girls in white

I got this cute as dress for Savannah at Target of all places and it was only $20! I love good deals! So Mesa went and took all these photos except for the one of her and Savvy together. She got some good shots! I think they're gorgeous (the girls I mean) I mean to get a good shot of all 3 of them together tomorrow maybe and some of all 4 kids together as well. I'm also going to be posting about Mesa's gymnastics presentation I went to today. That'll be later though as I have the unfortunate task now of putting my kids to work in the backyard. Yippee. Not.

The little shoes were included. They even stay on her feet!

Little Watermelon Baby

We are lucky. Savannah loves all foods she has tried. Especially watermelon. This was a sweet clip I managed to catch on video. Enjoy!

Happy Anniversary! 5 years and waitin for more!

Rick and I celebrated 5 years of married bliss the other day. I can't hardly believe how time has flown by. It has truly been a journey thus far and the best time of my life. There are so many things that I have to be thankful for being married to Rick Miller. I am so proud to be his wife. I think he is just the best in every way and I love him to bits and pieces. We just love being together no matter what we are doing. I never tire of him. So on Saturday when we remembered that it was our 5yr anniversary, the boy that works for Rick was standing here and offered to take care of the kids while we went to Byron Bay for the rest of that day and all of Sunday. He is preparing to go on a mission and 19 and very responsible and just a really good kid. I found out later that he even had family prayer and scriptures with the kids! Wow! I am so stoked! So off we went. It was a 3 hour drive to Byron which is the most easterly point of Australia. After a few hours in Byron we decided to take a detour on the way home and so we went out to Nimbin which is not only the Hippie Capital of Australia but the Cannibis Capital of Australia as well! We were sorely tempted to purchase some of that cannibis but since it was the sabbath we decided we best be stickin to a tub of Sara Lee ice cream instead. So we bought this tub of ice cream and were gonna go sit down at a little park and eat it and Rick points down this alleyway cuz he saw a park bench or a picnic table or something down there and says "lets go down to this park" so we start down and immediately this lady who is for sure doped up starts talking to us about Savannah and I thought she jokingly said "no babies allowed back here" so we continue to walk after our friendly little conversation with her and i'm a bit ahead of Rick and this guy says to us"You guys wanna buy some dope?" I'm like thinking "no way! get away from me!" and at that point I feel like I must be walking around in a clown suit cuz it seems like everyone's staring at us thinking we're gonna come buy some dope from them. I'm pushing the stroller and Rick's carrying bubs and I initially thought "oh, we just need to get past this guy who's selling dope and then we can get to the park" hahaha that thought lasted for about 2 seconds and then I realized and said to Rick "ummm Rick I don't think this is the park we're looking for. I think we're in the wrong place" So we turned and started walking out of the alley from hell and says to the lady on the way out "we thought this was the park" she kinda laughed "nope this isn't the park honey" oh gosh what kind of parents are we? taking our 6mo old into a drug alley? ahhh! Well, we got a good laugh out of it anyways and then we went to the real park which didn't even have any grass...well, green grass anyhow and ate a whole litre of ice cream. It was delish. Savvy liked it too. But mostly she liked the milk I gave her to wash it down.

The famous Byron Bay Lighthouse. 1907

On the way up to the lighthouse you pass this beautiful sight. Postcard material right here.

This picture does not even do the countryside justice that we drove through to get to Nimbin. It was just fairy tale beautiful. Part of it was even called Happy Valley.

Stiff as a gun. Stiff as a gun.

We drove past this "thing" on the road and I made Rick turn around cuz I wanted to see what it was. Yucko! But I just had to take a picture to put on the blog. The sicko that I am! Its a blue tongue lizard who's tail has been decapitated. Ewwwww

We took Savvy for a swim at the hotel that morning and she was so tuckered out from it she fell asleep in the hot shower afterwards. Awwwwe!

We bought these strawberries from a stand. They had to be the most perfect looking strawberries I have ever seen. And delish too!

Us eating our strawberries. What a geek I am. Btw, I need these glasses for driving bc of my double vision. Its terrible!

Always the funny man

Not really sure if she like this or not. I think it was too sour for her.

Yup. Too sour. Pucker up girl!

Ladybug Ladybug fly away home...

So when Lydia was here we went shopping and they had these cute as outfits at Big W (the Aussie version of Wal Mart) and so I had bought this ladybug one as well as a watermelon one. I didn't think about it at the time but later decided it would make the perfect halloween outfit. It came complete with the cute little hat with the antennas on it. hahaha She made an absolutely adorable ladybug!

Here she is doing her one and only first ever trick or treat. She's all ready to receive her candy!

What gorgeous eyes! She always has them so wide open!

Here comes trouble!

Here's the house we went to. Rick is their home teacher. The Appletons

The Jolly Jumper

Here is a little clip of savvy in her jolly jumper. This was her first time in it. sorry for the sideways view. I should have changed it but now that it's loaded I'm not gonna bother. I have a devil of a time every single time I try to upload a video. Any tips you blogger maniacs? Nothing seems to be a nice quick easy upload. It usually takes seriously ages to upload if it does it at all. Well, enjoy

Halloween critters

I can't believe it. I finally broke down after 3 years of being in Australia and let my kids celebrate halloween. I even went "all out" by making their costumes. Wow. Do I get the mother of the year award or what? And get this, I even let Candace have a Halloween party in which she invited 9 friends to. Well, maybe I don't get the mother of the year award but just the crazy mom award. 10 13y old girls for 4 hours? Yeah, you guessed it. LOTS of noise. I fared well though. They bobbed for apples, made caramel apples, had a bbq for supper, had a treasure hunt and watched Psycho. Oh and did I mention made alot of noise? I can't believe I lived to tell the tale. I decorated the house even! Yikes! I'm surprising myself just by talking about it. But Canny had fun and I had fun too actually. I can't wait till the pool's done in a few weeks and then she can have a pool party with all her little matey's.

I made the witches cape too. It was too easy. I forgot how much fun making halloween costumes can be! I used to make cute costumes for my kids every year. I miss that actually. Maybe there's hope for this halloween hating mother after all eh?

Tri Pod

Savannah is growing up far too quickly! I can't believe she is 5 1/2 mos old already although that wasn't as shocking as 5 mos. The other day Rick sat her up and surprisingly she stayed that way for quite a while and showed no signs of falling over. It didn't look too comfortable though. I was thinking how big her tummy is and that it seems as though it would be the equivalent of me with a prego tummy and that pose...would NOT be comfortable! Rick started calling her tri pod though probably cuz of her cute triangular shape from a side view.

She's loving her food. So far she's had rice cereal, peas, carrotts, squash and sweet potatoes in that order. She loves her jolly jumper but only for a maximum of 30 min. Someone else told me their baby would spend hours in there. Hmmmm, child neglect? My child wouldn't stand for that and I love getting her out of it cuz it means I get to hold her again! Notice on this bottom pic that little drip of drool? Heehehe soooo cute and licious! She continues to be a bright beacon of light in my life. I'm lovin every minute of it! She brings so much joy to the whole family. Some may think Rick is crazy for having another baby at this point in his life but he says she is so refreshing and sweet to have around. She makes life so much more valuable and makes him forget about all his daily stresses. We love you Savannah Ivory Miller! xoxoxo

Ode to Candace

"You should be proud to know that Candace Perry will be receiving an Academic Award at the 15th Annual Awards Night. The nature of the awards is truly prestigious, showcasing the most outstanding student achievements. You are cordially invited to attend this special occasion and celebrate, along with us, the success of your child."

This is an excerpt from a letter that I received in the mail the other day. I am so stoked that Candace is such a good girl and so bright! She is truly a gem right now. 8 months ago I had almost had it with her attitude and thought I was in for a real uphill battle for the next few years. But somethings happened and I don't know what but she has just turned into the nicest daughter to have! Verry happy most of the time. Obedient. Just an all round good girl. I know I don't have to worry about her doing naughty things either. She is a very trustworthy person. Whew! What a relief. Well, this is my ode to Candace.

This is what she USED to be like on an all too regular basis. Yuck.

Here again, not at her best. But I chuckle when I see this photo. Thanks for the entertainment :)

What a cutie! She has the most beautiful eyes! Bright blue.