Point Five Years

Seriously how cute is this little girl!? She is growing up fast and continues to bring lots of light to our family. Lily had her 6 month check up and is just over 15 pounds and 25 inches, 30th and 40th percentiles. She is sitting up nicely and has become somewhat mobile, especially if you are trying to change her. She loves eating and trying to eat whatever is in front of her. She is most vocal when she sees food and feels we are not moving fast enough. She got her first haircut as well. Like Jack at that age the mohawk is the only thing growing and it starts to look a little silly. Her favorite things to do include watching her brother's antics and trying to grab the sippy out of his hands.

Here they are showing off their twin band-aids. Lily was a champ and didn't even react until the second shot. At that point she let out a "not cool! definitely not not cool!" Jack on the other hand reacted any time the nurse walked by or spoke to him. The Dr. was OK but the lady professor of torture was not welcome.

Busted

You know how when kids get caught playing with something they know they shouldn't be they immediately hand it to you as if to say "I was just getting this for you, relax."

"Oh Dad, I didn't see you there. Anyways, I found your Blackberry and was just getting ready to bring it to you. I may have downloaded a new ring tone but it's all good."

To further emphasize his helpfulness whenever Jack is busted with one of the cameras he hands it to us and proceeds to say "cheeeeeeeeeeessssse." Sometimes he just says "me. me. me." Maybe he really did catch a glimpse of himself in the mirror and thought he was just too cute to not capture. See below for a few caught red handed examples. Yesterday morning while rifling through the purse he finds the camera again, gets busted again, immediately hands it over and poses for a photo again. Not necessarily wanting another photo of him in his pajamas in front of the T.V. Beth asked him to go stand next to Lily for the picture. This is what happened next, you've never seen a boy's feelings get hurt and tears flow so fast.



Lily found the exchange totally entertaining.

Lights at Temple Square

It hasn't felt as Christmasy around here with the complete lack of snow. After such a long winter last year I've actually been OK with it. But now it needs to snow, and snow a lot. It's hard not to get in the Christmas spirit after a Temple Square visit. Lots of people, spirit, lights, and cold air. Although I once again felt like there were fewer lights than the year before and one person in particular was missing, a Danish sister missionary to hilse. Nevertheless it was a fun evening.
Lily was content to spend the evening slinged against her mother and would only occasionally peak out.
Gotta love these kids but man it can be frustrating taking a photo.
Jack loved the short TRAX ride from Cafe Rio to Temple Square. He entertained those around with his non-stop "woo-wooooo! woo-wooooo!"

Thanksgiving 2008

Hope everyone had an excellent Thanksgiving. We sure did. This was our first Thanksgiving in Heber and the first time we haven't traveled. It was nice and relaxing. All of the McEuen clan was there except for the Winslows. Ann and her helpers did wonders with the food and Tony Romo once again led my fantasy team to a big win. What a great day!
Before the meal Jack was curious about the toy that kept Lily so entertained. Lily was interested in the celery in Jack's hand.
Lily and the boys. Nick, Seth, Porter, Kru, Jack.
Without the babies to hold there was spontaneous hugging.
Come evening we all had to change into our stretchy pants. By the end of the night Jack had to go without pants. We'll spare you the details. Kru and Lily also got the celery they had been coveting.
Aren't these two just the cutest?

California Trip

Here are a few photos from Beth and the kids' recent trip to California. The week was filled with swimming, playing, and eating (of course!)

I was there

Along with the the standard answers of wedding, birth of children, first time you conquered Mario Bros., etc., this probably makes it into the top 10 moments of my life. Sad I know but it was just so wild. Three seconds left, down by four, at your rival's house, touchdown, sheer pandemonium. I fear I may be walking into the fire tomorrow but I'm doing it anyways. There's always that chance something like this could happen again and I can't pass it up.

Enter to learn, go fourth and 18.

Lily Potter

Speaking of sleeping habits . . .

Please address Lily's mail in the future to "The Cupboard Under the Stairs". She has been doing her best Harry Potter impression for a few weeks, hopefully it won't be as traumatic an experience for her. She graduated from our bedroom and I wasn't ready to give up the office. We thought about putting her in Jack's room so that he could teach her the beauty of sleeping until 8:30 a.m. However, the risk of her teaching him to wake up any time from 4:00 to 7:00 was too great. So it was off to the cupboard for Lily, a role once filled to some acclaim by the lovable Labrador, Cheyenne.

A Boy and his Blanket

It's official, Beth has finally left me. For the week. She packed up the kids and along with her sisters and mother are in California for a week. I miss them like crazy but it's even crazier how productive I've been without them. I've been able to get ahead in work and school, start and finish Spring cleaning, organize closets, wash cars, and even see a couple movies. Tonight it's Quantum of Solace stay tuned for my review. Maybe I'll just preemptively give it now, it was awesome!

Maybe the thing I'm most excited about is the newly cleaned and organized refrigerator. While detailing the fridge I came across a teriyaki marinade. The "Best By" date was November 7th, that's not bad, wait for it, wait for it, 2004! The most disturbing part is we have only lived here since 2006 meaning we moved with this marinade. That is highly unlikely since I am quite literally terrified of any food even near the sell or best by date. So the only logical conclusion is that somebody planted it there to freak me out when I was home alone. Come forward Mr. put old teriyaki in someone else's fridge and explain yourself!

Back to what I was originally going to post about. The pain of missing family is strongest whenever I walk in the front door. Usually one of two things happen, I am greeted with chants of "dada, dada" with hands in the air or if that doesn't happen it means I can go and peek in on the sleepers. Peeking in on the kids sleeping is one of my absolute favorite things in life and I do it several times before going to bed myself. Often Jack is out like a light with his blanket shoved halfway into his mouth. Jack has always had a weird habit of sucking on his blankets. We never could get him to take a binky but shove some soft cotton into his mouth and it calms him right down. We mostly limit the blanket experience to bed and the car in an effort to keep them close to clean. The worst is when he finds a blanket in the wash after or around a meal and pops it into his mouth. Oreo drool blankets are my least favorite. It's a crack up to watch him feel around a for a dry spot to put in his mouth. Apparently sucking on a wet spot would just be gross. Gotta love him!
May 2007
November 2007
February 2008

May 2008
July 2008



On a related note Lily is now at that stage where everything gets put into her mouth but even before that we caught her sucking on her blanket.

Aspen and 30th Birthday

Last week we spent an extended weekend in Aspen. We used my birthday as the excuse to get out of town. Why should I be depressed at home when I can be depressed elsewhere? It was great timing with a slow couple days at work and the off season in Snowmass allowing us to stay at the Grandpa Miller condo for cheap. Brian and Jackie joined us as well for a couple days. It was a nice low key weekend and just what I had in mind for my 30th. It's a number I didn't want to publicize but since my mom and grandpa and very aware of my age I feel safe putting it on my blog.

A few highlights included eating at some of our favorite restaurants (minus the Weinerstube which was closed for remodeling), church meetings only a small branch can deliver, shopping, playing, and relaxing. On the actual birthday we took a drive up to Maroon Bells, then lunch at Beth's favorite pizza joint, swimming at the Snowmass rec center, naps, birthday shopping, MNF at The Hickory House, back to the Condo to finish Breaking Dawn. While birthday shopping I got a new t-shirt and something else, oh yeah a new diaper bag.

One selfish thought that was in the back of my head while planning a trip was I knew there was a chance Elder Michael would be transfered from Lakewood on the West side of Denver. Aspen happens to be in his mission and I thought maybe we could bump into him. He did get transfered but to the other side of Denver but when he found out we were going to be in Aspen he said that one of the cities he could have been sent to because of an opening was Rifle, which is in the same zone as Aspen. While stopping for gas in Rifle ($2.19/gallon!) on the way home I kept thinking how crazy it would have been to run into Michael. Next thing you know we were heading out of town when we past the Elders walking down the street. We stopped to say hi to Elders Cooper and Tefault and tell them to give Michael a high five from us. Maybe that's why his Mission President didn't send him there, there was a chance his brother would stalk him down and not leave him alone. Or maybe it was to keep my parents from overwhelming jealousy.

Brian showing Jack how it's done.
Maroon Lake in the shadow of the Maroon Bells. I'm going to try and tell Jack to NOT look at the camera next time.
When in Rome climb on the Romes. Or something like that.
"Even reading is better in Aspen." -Beth
Everyone loves swimming in water as warm as the tub.

Halloween

Any guesses what Lily was for Halloween? Besides adorable. I didn't hear anyone guess correctly on the first try. Jack was a pain-in-the-butt. Sure he looks happy with the fireman's hat but that was the only thing he would try. The intended Tigger costume made him break out into tears (and sweat in the warm weather). We tried to trick him into wearing "pajamas" and at first he agreed but when he saw the Spiderman shirt and pants he wasn't buying. Beth and her sisters threw an excellent party for the kids and they had fun trick or treating. I even got some satisfactory reactions from the kids when I put on my rubber mask. Jack kept getting distracted by the candy already in his bucket and it was a constant battle to keep him walking. "Dad, explain to me again why are we not stopping to eat all this candy the nice people gave me?"

No Duh

Thank you online quiz for confirming what I've known for like 30 years.

Fall Television

While we patiently wait for the next installments of 24 and Lost we have given a few news shows a try. We've found a couple that we like but nowadays it seems like that is only half the battle. Now we wait and see if the show gets rearranged one week and then never returns. Here are my thoughts on the new shows, I watched each one at least twice before I reviewed.

1. Knight Rider D -- Not good. Cheesy and the only thing nostalgic about it was the theme music.
   
2. Fringe C- -- This was the show I thought had the most potential. J. J. Abrams said that fans of Lost would identify with this show. I just didn't get it and didn't care. The story line is government agents trying to figure out "the pattern" of weird events. My problem was each episode followed the same pattern and it got old. Something unexplainable happens, it turns out to be related to experiments done by a Dr. at Harvard 20 years, and the company Massive Dynamic is involved, the end. Beth wants to keep giving a shot but I think it's because she has a crush on the guy from Dawson's Creek. Plus another nail in their coffin is they fell into the same trap Chuck did. I can't tell if the main character is cute or not. I think she's cute, no she isn't, maybe if they changed her hair, no . . definitely not pretty. I'm not trying to say that every show needs to have beautiful people but I want to be able to tell one way or the other. And I know it's not just me because I have run this by Beth and others.
3. Kath and Kim C+ -- This made the DVR cut list because it has one of my favorite actors. The sad part is I don't even know his name but he has cracked me up in everything he's in from DirecTV commercials, episodes of Seinfeld and Arrested Development, and the Christopher Guest movies. John Michael Higgins, took 4 seconds to just look it up. Unfortunately the women characters are made to be too stupid and it makes it almost unwatchable. It's only 30 minutes so it will probably remain on the DVR list until it is cancelled.
4. My Own Worst Enemy B+ -- I thought the pilot episode of this show was excellent. It had more blood and showed more skin than we were used to on network television but that didn't continue beyond the pilot. The second episode bugged me because the company still sent Henry(as opposed to Edward) on the top secret missions. You'd have to see it to understand what I'm talking about. However, this weeks episode was entertaining and resolved my concerns.
5. Pushing Daisies A- -- I realize this show isn't new but it is new to us. It made the cut based on a recommendation from a friend who also caught us up as much as we needed. It is original and quite clever. Plus I don't have to debate whether Charlotte is attractive. The narrator is Jim Dale, who many will recognize as the narrator of the Harry Potter books. Another reason to try Pushing Daisies, it's one of those shows that looks awesome in HD.

If there is something else we've missed or you have enjoyed please let us know. The Office and Life are our two favorite shows right now. When Life was relegated to a Friday time slot we saddened knowing it was only a matter of time before it was canceled. But it keeps getting special showings on a Monday here or Wednesday there so maybe there is hope after all. The Office had a new all time funny moment a few weeks ago when Jim's review of Battlestar Gallactica involved Dumbledore Calrissian and his trip to Mordor.

Disneyland

For part of the extended weekend we took the kids to Disneyland for the first time. My parents and sister joined us for an excellent day. The weather was perfect, crowds were low, and the smiles would not quit. All of the sudden Disneyland is fun again.Jack was content to look at the characters including Winnie the Pooh. He would simply shake his head and smile when asked if he wanted to give them a hug.
Such a good little girl.
First stop of the day was the "new" Finding Nemo ride. Unfortunately it was the first stop for a lot of people and was the longest line of the day but since Nemo is one of Jack's words it was totally worth it. Who knew the submarine ride would ever attract a crowd again.
Dumbo was another big hit. Jack was so funny when he would get to the front of the lines and see the car/teacup/boat leave with the people that were in front of us. He would get impatient and almost worried that we had just missed our chance at happiness only to see another opportunity come his way.
Woody's Roundup Show was a big hit for a couple reasons. Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl is not only an excellent performer but also Jolie, the family friend that got us into the park for free.
Here we are the Jungle Cruise. Jack was at first cautiously anticipating seeing an elephant.
Then we saw it.
And he wasn't so sure he liked it after all. At least on this boat he didn't force his Grandma to cover his eyes with her hand like he did on Pirates of the Caribbean.
I like this picture because I never thought Lily could pull off the evil look.
Here we are over in California Adventure. The things around our necks are Dream Passes that gave us fast passes to all the cool rides regardless of the time. We were randomly selected as winners while coming of Big Thunder and the envy of those in the know.
This was taken on the tram back to the parking lot, maybe the kids favorite ride of the day. It might of just been the knowledge that In-N-Out was in the very near future.

Introducing . . . .

The Robleses. Casey has somehow managed to become a minor character of sorts in the tales of the Emmett Doggies. So I had to give him and his beautiful bride a shout out. However, tales from the bachelor party will need to be kept private. Unless you go here. Thanks for giving us a reason to go home for the weekend! Couldn't quite get my glasses off in time.

Here's one with the kiddos.

Foliaged Again

Every fall I eagerly anticipate chlorophyll's demise. You remember chlorophyll, the remarkable chemical that turns sunlight into starch. As days shorten and temperatures cool the green substance in leaves starts breaking down revealing the previously masked array of colors. Can I get a "Chlorophyll? More like Borophyll!"

I thought this was a pretty good year for foliage in the Wasatch/Cache national forests, not as good as some but still decent. Spring was a little too long and summer too dry but fall cooperated nicely (until the snow flew this week). Yesterday as the wind picked up you could literally watch all the leaves get blown off the trees around town. Apparently Mother Nature's little fling is over and we are about to be abandoned for the winter. It's times like this I wonder why I ever wish chlorophyll harm.

We made a couple half of half-hearted (quarter hearted?) efforts to capture a family photo displaying the colors. By the time we got around to the first two photos we were about 10 days too late for the reds and oranges on the hills in the background. The photos were taken on top of Memorial Hill in Midway. The next couple photos were taken over the weekend on a drive above Wasatch state park. This time we were about 10 days too late for the yellows of the quaking aspen.



Emily was able to get a good shot of my ladies. You can see that Jack has entered a phase where he is possibly the least cooperative participant ever for family photos. However, if it's just him in the picture he is often all smiles.