And some days.....

.... your 8-year old gets a Lego stuck up his nose!

No surprise that the first one of our children to get something stuck up his nose was Corban.

Even though I suspect that Corban was just trying to be silly for the friend that the boys had over, we parents still ask, "What were you thinking?" Of course we never get a satisfactory answer to that question. I don't know why we ask. I guess it's just something we must do. Maybe it's the same for 8-year olds and Legos up their nose. Something they must do.

I'm sure Corban didn't intend for the Lego to get stuck. But stuck it got. Really stuck. So far in there that neither Jack nor I could see it for a while. Corban's attempts to pick it out with his finger only shoved the Lego in further. Many parents would have their child at the emergency room to take care of this kind of mishap. Not Jack Miller's son. I think Jack thrives on opportunities to be an amateur surgeon. This Lego looked like it might have even Jack Miller beat for a while. But, after a bit of probing, Jack succeeded in removing the Lego, much to the relief of Corban (and his mother) who was starting to get uncomfortable.


In our household distribution of labor, most jobs that involve tweezers - tick, splinter, or Lego removal - fall to Jack. I think we're both happy with that arrangement. I'll be the one who takes pictures of the procedure.


Got it!

A few more Aidan pictures

Aidan is putting on some pounds and looking older







Blue eyes!

Tuesday afternoons

Going to our CSA this year is an event. Two hours at the farm, everyone has their respective picking assignments. And then many wonderful hours in the kitchen processing all of the produce we brought home. I hope to preserve more as the years go by and I learn more about food preservation (and as my kids get older...). But, for now, on Tuesday afternoons, this is where you'll find me - in the kitchen.

roasted tomato soup tomorrow night


raspberry/banana smoothies for a snack


pesto pasta for dinner tonight (+ 4 double batches in the freezer)


I get out the big compost bowl on Tuesdays!

Hunting for Aidan pictures

They say that parents take fewer pictures of each successive child. I don't think that was true for us and Lauren, but I better pick up the pace with Aidan! Poor boy! I had to hunt for some recent pictures to share. I'll try to remedy that in the coming weeks...

Aidan doesn't spend much time in the swing, but it's sweet to watch him when he is in there (I know, watching him while he's in the swing is exactly opposite of the reason he gets put in the swing in the first place!) He looks up at himself in the little mirror above his head.


More smiles for Aunt Alli

Apples!

There are times when life seems just about perfect. Today, as my kids were running apples in from our very own apple trees! and Jack worked in his office, and the sun was shining, and I was making applesauce from our very own apples! life did, indeed, seem just about perfect. Both the applesauce and the apple crisp we had for dessert tonight were sooooo good. I may be sick of processing apples in a few weeks, but today? Today was lovely.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

I have the very great privilege of working closely with a great group of home school moms. Not only are their children delightful, but the moms have lofty goals for their kids. We are able to work together to push and provide a better and more "full" education for all of the kids. A recent example of this was a production of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Two of the girls decided they wanted to do the play, their mother graciously got on board and transcribed a script, the 12 kids in the play learned their lines in a week, they banged out three rehearsals, and the result was a lovely performance. I'm so glad my kids had the opportunity to participate in this wonderful event.

Annie was Hippolyta (a part consisting of one line). For Annie, there was as much thrill in saying the name "Hippolyta" over and over and over for the past week as there was in actually playing the part. It is fun to say. Try it.


Corban made an appropriately mischievous Puck and Jakin played Oberon.


The audience


The cast

Aidan's baptism

So the few of you who still check my blog (even though I rarely post anything) know that when I do post something, I often post a lot of things at once. No exception here. We didn't do a big vacation this year. Instead, this summer has been filled with little trips and some visits by family to our house. Read on...

Most recently, our family celebrated Aidan's baptism on August 7. It was a beautiful ceremony and I'm so glad that Aidan has experienced the blessing of this sacrament. That said, one of the most vivid memories of the day was that is was rippin' hot in the church. Gallons of sweat....

Aidan wore the family baptism gown. Worn by Lauren, me, my brother and sister, my mom and her siblings and I'm hoping to compile a list of who else.






My sister Allison and her (new) husband Micah are Aidan's godparents. It was so great to have them here, not only for the baptism, but also for a visit. They live in Kentucky so we don't get to see them nearly as often as we would like.

NYC

Jack's brother and sister-in-law have lived in Brooklyn since last October. We had to go visit, right?! (Actually, I had the idea that taking 5 kids to the city would be too difficult. But, after my sister-in-law drove in to the city by herself with her two young kids, we decided that we could do it, too. So, thanks Becky!) We took a quick sprint trip a few weeks ago and tried to make the most of our 2 days in the city.

Coney Island boardwalk


Our wonderful tour guides! It was so fun to be with David and Amy and they were incredibly helpful in getting us around. Successfully shuffling a family of 5 kids through the NYC subway system is no small feat! I didn't see too many other families with 5 kids on the subway....


Waiting for our harbor boat cruise. The Statue of Liberty is in the distance behind us.


On the 86th floor of the Empire State Building! Gaaaaa! I was not at all comfortable with my kids looking through these bars. In fact, I was not at all comfortable with this part of our trip until my feet were firmly back on the ground of the sidewalk outside the ESB.


Notice I have Aidan strapped firmly to my chest. I'm quite sure he would have somehow fallen if he hadn't been attached to me. I would have had all five kids attached to me if I could have. So, yeah, I don't like heights.

Lower Manhattan in the background... 86 floors down....


Great trip. So glad we went. But, I'm a country girl!

Miller visit July 4th weekend

There are so many fun (and free!) things to do in town here in the summer. As our family enjoyed them all last year, I thought how great it would be to have our extended family with us in 2011. It worked! In addition to our 7, 12 more Millers traveled to celebrate the weekend of July 4th with us. We had a wonderful time. The 9 kids got along great. We took turns cooking (a huge blessing for this hostess who had just had a baby!). Wonderful weather. And for Jack and I, this was a dream come true. As we prayed for and designed and built our house, we dreamed about having the space to host a lot of people comfortably. During this visit, we went to bed smiling every night because the house was full.

Two more boys in the family! Evan-5 months, Aidan-1 month


Seven grandchildren!


Goofy Corban at the July 4th parade


Me and my girls


Exploring the brook with cousins

Adirondacks 2011

2nd Annual Adirondacks trip!

5 peaks, carrying packs in and out, camping in a lean-to.... these kids are doing some SERIOUS camping! Jack tells me they are (mostly) cheerful during the trip. And after the trip? They remember this time as the highlight of their year. Swimming at the end of the hike. Ice cream on the drive home. Great job, Dads.



Jack, Corban, Jakin, with friends Brandi and Brian


This ain't no Sunday stroll in the park!