I love being American :)

This morning was the God & Country service at our church and it was really a beautiful service!  I always get so teary eyed when we recognize all of the men and women who have served our country.  It is so humbling!  I love being an American!!!  

Today was Levi's first time singing with the children's choir.  He did a great job!  Such a proud Momma!!

I seriously had the BEST weekend!  Gretchen is in and we spent some great quality time together.  {Post to follow later this week when I can get more organized!!}  Looking forward to posting my MM post for tomorrow!  Feeling so blessed today.  :-)

Miller Amusement Park

I'm all about grandparents spoiling their kids.  Giving the kids candy and junk food while they babysit, letting them stay up late because "they just didn't want to go to bed yet"...but sometimes I think my parents are insane.  

Growing up, we had a pool.  We lived in that pool.  When I was in 8th grade, we moved to their current house and there was NO POOL.  We begged for years, but it just didn't happen.  Once we all got married, my parents said when they had grandbabies, they would put a pool in.  ON IT.  My sister had Bailey, Travis had Griffin and voila!  A pool.  

A couple of years later, dad thought the kids needed something new.  That's when this ride appeared.  

The barrels have been a blast for the kids!  When dad starts walking to the barn to get the tractor, there are squeals of delight!  "Papa's taking us on a barrel ride!"  "Papa's getting the tractor!"  It's quite adorable.

Then there was talk about something new.  And, one afternoon, we got a group text with this picture.

The text said: "Loaded up and headed home!"  My dad thought the kids needed 4 wheelers.  The kids thought Papa was THE BOMB DIGGITY.

After getting fit for helmets and goggles, there was no stopping them.

At first, they were all timid and stayed on flat land.  NOW?  They are back in the woods -- up and down hills -- revving the engines.  I've had about 8 mini heart attacks, but it is getting easier to watch.  The best thing about them?  Each 4 wheeler has a remote for the parent!  HA!  If they are going too fast or doing something you don't like, you push a button and sound an alarm.  If they don't stop, YOU CAN SHUT THEM DOWN.  I love it!

I'm guessing next my dad will be putting in a roller coaster.

Vacation Bible School in full swing

This year is Maggie's first VBS experience!  She is THREE and officially able to go to her own class.  My mom does a fantastic job as the VBS director at her church and the kids love going.  Maggie, unlike Levi, was okay with posing for a little picture with her friend, Addi.  { I don't love Maggie more!  Levi is just way too cool these days. :( }

You know what is weird?  That for a whole week, Eric and I have free time for TWO HOURS AND FIFTEEN MINUTES!  That's insane!  But, we are loving it.  The first night, we met friends for dinner and even got these mini milkshakes.  Love.  

Last night, Eric went on a long bike ride and I subbed for a Bunco group.  I know...party animals!  ;-)  Tonight, we are celebrating our anniversary.  Eric said he may even take me somewhere nicer than Taco Bell!  Woo hoo!  As much as I love me some alone time, there is something I love more.  My kids are learning about Jesus and having fun while doing it!  I have such fond memories of VBS as a child and it thrills me that my kids love going.  They come home with a memory verse each night and tell me about their Bible story and how much fun they had.  It's pretty awesome!  For me, a definite win-win situation. ;-)

MU, a great Daddy, and a birthday!

Our weekends seem to fly by, especially when we have fun things planned!  Friday night, we met some friends and took the kids to see Monsters University! 

It was the first time we took Maggie to the theater except for the times when she was an infant and didn't move.  ;-)  The kids loved it!  Maggie did pretty good.  Towards the end, she started to get antsy, but I gave her a big "high five" for doing so well!

Eric was out of town all last week for a work 'conference'.  I use the term conference lightly because these weeks are usually jam packed with fun, too!  One morning, the 'conference' consisted of a tee time at 7 A.M.  One evening, I got a text that said, "Just ordered a $25 ribeye!" to which I replied, "Yum! Kids and I had leftover spaghetti."  ;-)  I'm thankful for a job that he loves and gets to have a little fun time too!  So, since he'd been gone, I had a pedicure scheduled for Saturday morning.  Natalie heard I was going and joined the party!  Even more fun for me!  Eric offered to watch her kids, too, and he sent us these pictures:

He took them to the park and even to McDonald's after.  Way to go, E!! 

Saturday evening was time set aside to celebrate my dad!  His 62nd birthday was Friday.  Travis smoked some brisket, chicken and pork and it was heaven!  We got a birthday cake and the kids did what they do best - shower Papa with love!!!

Dad was pretty much mush by the end of the evening!  He even let me snap a picture of him and Mom.  Ha!

And, of course, there was swimming!  Something a Miller party wouldn't be a party without!  

I love my family and am so thankful for these times together!  

Thirteen years and counting!

Last night, I pulled out the ol' wedding album in preparation for today's post!  Thirteen years ago, I woke up in my old bed for the last time.  I remember feeling very calm, cool and collected. ;-)  I wasn't nervous, but excited!  I had a full day ahead of pampering ahead before I would walk down that aisle and say, "I do".  

I have so many wonderful memories about my wedding day.  There are funny stories and sweet memories etched in my brain that I hope I will remember forever!  I will always remember that my dad and brother were the last two people waiting with me and how they both got emotional.  

The church was PACKED FULL of people that we loved, and it was HOT.  It was the end of June and the air conditioner was trying, but couldn't keep up with the body heat of 300+ people! ;-)  I do not like being the center of attention, so the walk down the aisle was painful for me.

Before I knew it, we were 'man and wife'!  Looking back now, we were just kids! 

I remember being so happy that I was marrying my best friend!

THIRTEEN YEARS, you guys!  It seems like such a long amount of time, but it also seems like we are just getting started! :-)

 I'm so blessed to be married to this guy - I can't imagine my life without him!!!

We've had an amazing journey so far and I'm looking very forward to the next 13 years!

  Happy Anniversary, Babe!  I love you.

doctor appointments and swimmin'

The kids both had their yearly check-ups last week.  Levi was WAY TOO COOL for me to take pictures of.  Blah.  But I managed to snap a couple of Maggie.  Hilarious that she is lounged out on the table having a big ol' convo with her doc!  We ADORE our pediatrician!

I don't remember Maggie's stats, but she was in the 60th percentile for her height and 70th percentile for her weight.  That had dropped quite a bit from last year.  Levi weighed 63 pounds and was 48.5 inches tall.  He was in the 75th percentile for both.  But, all he cared about is that he is tall enough for any ride at Disney in October!  Woot!!  Both kids had great check-ups and she said they were perfect.  I concur! {Mags did have a heart murmur that she wants checked out but is not worried about it.}

Other than that, this is what we've been doing.  

It has been a near perfect summer.  

I don't want it to end.  I'm so thankful to have this time at home with my kids!  We have no schedules and are very "go with the flow" this summer!  I am loving it!

Midweek Motivation

This was me last night:

During the summer months, there are free fitness classes offered at the RiverStage put on by Anchors A-weigh.  I tried out the Zumba class last night with Natalie.  It was so HOT!  I really loved the class.  It was awesome to do a class with a different instructor and be able to keep up!  The two instructors there were awesome.  Yesterday was one of the best workout days I've had.  My mom and I met Travis and Jenny in the morning at the Big Four Bridge and walked where I burned 272 calories.  Zumba almost killed me where I burned 588 calories.  So my total was 860 calories burned for the day!  Woo hoo!  

I am definitely not feeling sorry this morning!

I weighed this morning and my "official" progress is 18.6 pounds!!  I'm so excited!!  That's like THREE AND A HALF bags of sugar.  Or SEVENTY FOUR sticks of butter.  That's crazy for me to think about! But, I love it.  :-)

There are days when I get so frustrated because I just want to be at my goal weight!  But, I am really starting to see lots of small changes.  Those little changes are making it easier to remember that I am making progress.  Progress is good.  

Okay, so I struggled with putting this picture on here.  I've mentioned before that I don't like the full length mirror stuff.  ;-)  HOWEVER, I was in my closet Saturday looking for something to wear to church on Sunday.  I found a dress that I forgot I had ordered last year.  When I got it, it was too small, so I just stuck it in the closet with one of those thoughts of "maybe I can wear it when I lose some weight".  Ha!  Well, just for kicks, I pulled it out and tried it on.  IT FIT.  So, I was able to wear a new dress to church on Sunday!    

There you go!  Some midweek motivation.  Maybe with my next post, I will be a little bit closer to my next goal - 25 pounds! :-)

An incredibly random Friday post

Let the hair drama continue.  My obsession with hair is ridiculous.  I know that.  I can literally talk about hair for hours.  Sometimes, Gretchen and I will be on the phone and before we know it, we will have been talking about our hair for 40 minutes.  I just love how diverse everyone's hair is!  My hair is the longest it has been in  six years!  And, for six years, I've been straightening it every.single.day.  Over the last year, I've been trying to work more "with" my hair, instead of against it.  It has a natural wave to it and I'm trying to figure out how to fix it best!  I still can't decide if I like it curly, wavy, or straight - but, hey, at least I have options, right?! ;-) 

I've mentioned before how much I love Courteney Cox's hair.  Love it!  This week, I got some shorter layers cut and attempted to have Ashly style it similar to a picture I showed her.  

The horrible annoying great thing about my hair is that it continues to get bigger, all day long.  By the end of the day, it's a big puff ball.  ;-)  Let the drama continue... Ha!

I saw this on Pinterest the other day and sent it to G.  Hilarious!  And true.

I feel bad for those of you that I am connected with on all forms of social media!  Sometimes you have to see a picture on IG {because it is my absolute fave!}, FaceBook, Twitter and on my blog.  What's this world coming to?!  I do love it, though. :-)

A little puzzle time with Maggie's great-granny this week.  Moments like this make me smile.

And, once in a while, I catch a moment so priceless, my heart literally skips a beat.

My dad stopped by and Maggie forced him to have tea, and wear a fireman's hat.  I have no idea what they were talking about, but I'm sure it was of the utmost importance.

So thankful for these little moments. :-)

Crazy about our family pictures!

Eric was so excited when I announced that it was family picture time!  ;-)  Brittany took the kids pictures last year, and they were wonderful!  After seeing lots of beautiful work done by Leslie Elder at Letography, I finally booked an appointment.  I'm so glad I did!  {Many of you have seen these already on FaceBook, so you will have to suffer through them again.}

Oh my stars...

 

  
Thanks, Leslie!  I love them! :-)

things we love: the pool, friends, and baseball

I cannot believe how quickly our summer is passing us by!  Levi has been out of school for a few weeks now and I love having him home.  If I could figure out the key to getting my children NOT to fight, our summer would be pretty perfect!  ;-)  Thought I would share some random pictures I've taken trying to capture some sweet moments.

Even though the weather has been cooler {which I LOVE!}, summer wouldn't be summer without the first swim at Grammy's pool!  

And summer also wouldn't be complete without some play time with our sweet friends!  I love these kids!  

Summer also means hours upon hours of baseball.  Hours practicing, pitching, hitting, running, catching, and mostly laughing!  Levi has grown to L.O.V.E. this sport and I can't wait to see how he improves next year. 

We loved our hours spent at the ball park...

...even when it was raining! :-(

And, sometimes, after games, you just have to cut loose and have scooter races...

...and eat yummy milkshakes!  After all, that's what summer is for.  Right?  

One more thing on our agenda was having our family pictures taken.  I will leave you with a sneak peek: