Zoo Mania!

Miller has been begging to go to the zoo this summer. So we decided to head to Boise for the day and hit the zoo with Miller's birth family. This is his big brother Darren and his little sister Alyssa. He loves being with them. I have always thought that Miller and Darren looked quite a bit alike, but this picture proves that Miller and Alyssa came from the same mold, too. They have the same face when they are squinting in the sun. It is so cute! I am sure as Miller gets older, he will appreciate that he has family that looks just like him.

We spent a lot of time watching the giraffes. They were great.

Miller was mesmerized by this giraffe's "purple" tongue. He talked about it all the way home to Twin Falls.

Watching these two on the slide was hilarious. Miller had to copy every single thing that Darren did.

I love this picture. Just the three of them chillin'.

There is an exhibit that you can feed the goats. Miller had a great time and wasn't scared. I love this picture with Miller and his birth mom, Amy.

We are very blessed to have Miller in our family, and blessed to have his birth family as part of our family, too. They are very special to him, and us as well.

T-ball 2010

So we got our first taste of organized sports this summer. Miller started T-ball.

Bret and Miller's aunt Gina were the coaches. Lots of fun, but more work than I think Bret expected. It was a good experience. My only problem? Is is really necessary to play a game for an hour and fifteen minutes, especially when we aren't keeping score? We are dealing with five year olds.

Miller loved playing at the pitchers position. He had this little wind up before he would pretend to throw the ball.

Miller had three cousins on the team with him. I spent as much time yelling at him to leave them alone as I did cheering for him while he was playing.

Batter up!

It's a hit!

I love his face in the picture. He really did love playing. I won't ever forget his first game, however, when he was playing in the outfield and suddenly, he and another of his teammates threw off their gloves and sprinted for the bathrooms. We had to sent in some quick replacements. We have a few things to work on for next season!

The mind of a child

As long as I live, I will never be able to figure out Miller and the way his mind works. Sometimes the funniest, and most surprising things come out of his mouth. I am still learning that children are sponges and pick up on way more than I think. A little while after bringing Porter home, I was fixing a bottle for him and he was throwing a fit because I wasn't making it fast enough. Meanwhile, Miller is coloring at the kitchen table. While I am making this bottle and Porter is crying, Miller looks up at me, without even stopping what he's doing, and says to me,

"Mom, he just wants to suck on your almond."

He said it in such a sarcastic tone like, duh mom, you should know this. I was speechless and several things are now going through my head.

First, how does he know what breastfeeding even is? No one in our family has had to do that in a while so I am not sure where he was recently exposed to that.

Second, why in the world does he call them almonds?

Well, I wasn't going to ask him about my first thought, so I asked him why he called them almonds?

His reply was priceless...

"Because Mom, girls have almonds and boys have peanuts."

Duh.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

One of our families favorite holidays. There is just something about spending a hot summer day having a BBQ with family and friends and then ending the day with fireworks.

The last couple of years, we have decided to skip out on the CSI fireworks and have a show of our own. I am sure it is more for the big boys. They have the most fun out of everyone acting like children blowing things up! It is fun to watch.

Miller loves to be in the middle of all of the action.

I still can't believe that I have two boys. What a blessing.

Porter enjoyed his first time seeing fireworks. He loved the colors and the noise didn't bother him at all. This is how he started the show....

...and this is how he ended the show. HE was done watching and fell right to sleep in all the commotion of fireworks and kids.

We had such a fun day making lots of new memories.

Lake Powell

This is my favorite vacation of the year. This was the 11th year Bret and I have gone and it is so great to have our kids with us. There are no phones, no tvs, just lots of food, and games, and naps.

A huge storm came through just after we had put all the kids to bed. We all sleep on top of the houseboat under the stars, which is my favorite part, but when it rains, we all start running. We crammed all the kids inside the kitchen/living room area...

...and we ended up on the back of the boat. I am not sure how we ended up with this sleeping arrangement.

We had Porter and Max with us this trip. They did so great. We spent the week keeping them out of the sun and as cool as possible. They had a great time and were so good the whole week. Porter didn't like sleeping outside, so we shared a bunk downstairs. He won't be back for a few years, but by then, he will be enjoying the nighttime stars on the top of the boat!

We took Porter out on the speedboat for the first time. I am a bit overprotective. I am terrified of a sunburn and I wasn't letting him go for a ride without his life jacket. He hated every minute of it. I am sure it's because that life jacket is so comfortable!

Miller and his cousins spent most of everyday swimming. He loves doing cannonballs off the back of the boat. He didn't care if the water was cold or not, nothing was keeping him from all that wet fun.

We brought the babies their own little pool to keep them cool on the boat. He didn't like it at first, but eventually he was all smiles.

Miller is constantly in Porter's bubble. Porter has just decided that he will chew on anything that gets close enough for him to grab, including Miller. I love this picture. It's my little brown boy with my little pale boy.

We had sparklers for one of the nights on the boat. Bret and uncle Kirk also fired off a couple of illegal fireworks in the canyon. That sounds was so loud as it echoed off the walls, it was like sitting in the middle of a thunderstorm. The only fired two. We were worried about attracting the park rangers and getting kicked out on our second night there.

Miller my dare devil...

He isn't afraid of anything!

Miller was warming up in the sun and completely fell asleep. That's what vacation is all about. Playing all day and sneaking in a nap when you feel like it.

It was Annie's birthday while we were at Lake Powell. Kirk made her cupcakes and we had a little party.

Porter needed a taste of the frosting.

I don't think he liked it.

We had so much fun. I can't wait until next year.

Happy Easter!

Holidays are so much fun with kids! I have a tendency to go a little overboard, but I can't help myself. I love watching Miller's face when he experiences a holiday. We hid eggs all over the house for him to find when he woke up Easter morning. I think next year will be interesting when he has some competition in finding the eggs!

Porter is having the greatest time, can't you tell? Almost as much fun as Bret. I think he wished he was still in bed sleeping.

Miller was spoiled again this year. Porter, too. He just didn't know it.

My funny Miller

Miller is always surprising me with his mischief. Our good friend Sam, who works for the Border Patrol, came to visit over Christmas break and gave Bret a pair of handcuffs (I don't even want to know why). So one morning, Miller wandered out to the kitchen asking what they were. I explain that policemen use them to keep the bad guys under control when they do something bad. I also told him not to put it on his wrist and close them because I wouldn't be able to get them off. I suppose I should have included ankles in my explanation.

So I hear the handcuffs snap into place just a second too late. Well, no problem. I will just open them with the key. Oh, wait. Sam never gave us a key. Thank you very much, Sam! I called Bret in a panic and made him come home from work. We tried everything we could think of. I was not happy that I was about to make a trip to the TF Police Department to have handcuffs removed from my sons ankle! I was sure they would call CPS on me.

Well, we stopped by Grandpa Lee's to see if just maybe he had some keys that would work, and we got lucky! Grandpa saved the day and is now the proud owner of a new pair of handcuffs. We will no longer be accepting gifts from you, Sam!