Power Kids Camp

Brant attended Power Kids Camp a few weeks this summer. It was a lot of fun and I thought the coaches were wonderful. The last week we carpooled with Reese because she was doing a tumbling/cheer camp at PowerKids, too. I took them in the mornings and tried to snap shots as I dropped them off. After a couple of days of this the kids thought that was pretty lame, so I stopped.

Brant and Reese showing off their lunch boxes on Day 2 of camp. Brant was super excited to get his Star Wars lunch box and could not wait for school to start to start using it.

Brant and Reese on the first day of camp. They are too cute, arent' they?

Brant and Reese with their medals at the end of the week. I think Brant was worn out by this time.

2009 Miller Family Reunion

This year the Miller Family reunion was held out at my mom's house in Kemp, Texas. It was nice for our family because the kids are very comfortable at mom's house and always have a lot of fun. We got there early Saturday morning and the first thing the kids wanted to do was ride their 4 wheelers and jeeps. Some of the younger cousins and extended family joined in and everyone had a good time. It is always great to see my aunts, uncles and cousins with their families because we all grew up spending time together, but now rarely see each other except at the annual reunion. It's always surprising to see how much everyone has changed over the year and what is going on in their lives. Fermin smoked some BBQ for a late lunch and we all brought "pot luck" side dishes for a huge feast and then most of the kids went for a swim. Mom of course planned somem fun evening activities for the kids. We had a treasure hunt, which was a huge hit and some sack races which were fun to watch. All-in-all it was a good day and always leaves me wondering why we don't get together a little more often. Of course, with everyone's schedules it is difficult to find a time everyone is available.

Brant, Reese and Collin exploring on the electric vehicles . . . lots of wide open spaces at Nana and Apa's house.

Cate and Claire taking over Reese's Barbie jeep. They love this thing. Good thing the bigger kid's prefer the 4 wheelers and don't really care.

Mom and Fermin enclosed their over-sized garage to make a whole new living space and just in time for the reunion. Extra air-conditioned space is always welcome.

Sweet picture of Reese and Collin sharing a ride.

Mitzi and Jeff and I talking to Kim's kids Rick and Matt.

Brant giving Blueberry the bear a lift. Have I mentioned he loves this bear?

We have "real" cowboys in our family.

Mom, Allison and I on the new porch swing.

Allison and Cate swingin'.

Fermin, Nita and Uncle Richard sharing a laugh.

Brian showing Brant the treasure map. And they are off!

By this time of the evening the girls were getting worn out, so we were bringing up the rear of the treasure hunt and needed to be carried towards the end.

X marks the spot-the kids digging up the treasure box.

Collin looking cool in the sack races.

Claire having a little "crazy time" with Aubrey. He is so much fun and the kids LOVE him!!!

Brian and Mitzi

Claire petting Aunt Dian's dog, Maggie. My kids are a little afraid of dog's but seemed to be really intrigued by Maggie.

The Henley Family minus Jody, who was in New York at a retreat--how fair is that? NY vs. Kemp . . . hmmmmm

Mom and her brothers, Uncle Richard and Uncle Larry and spouses, Fermin, Aunt Dian and Aunt Jean.

Claire passed out asleep in the car with banged up knees on the way home from the reunion on Sunday. Just the way it should be.

Licorice and Lollipops Photo Shoot

One of our friends has the MOST adorable children's clothing line and she asked the girls to participate in a photo shoot for her spring line. The clothes were so adorable and just looked precious on the girls . . . I can't wait to order some. The shoot was a little rushed so there didn't turn out to be that many great pictures, but here are a few of the better ones.

A Date With Nana

Last Friday we had a little time between the end of Brant's Power Kids camp and his handwriting class in Plano, so I thought I'd call up Nana and see if she could meet us for a little while at a park in downtown Plano (this is close to where she works). She came into town a little early and we had such a nice time. The park there is wonderful! There were a lot of big, shady trees, 2 playgrounds, a pavillion, an old train on display and a walking path with a bridge over the water. The kids loved seeing Nana and exploring a new park. Brant was a very protective older brother around the water. He was afraid the girls were going to fall in and insisted that they hold his hand. It was really sweet if a bit over board. After playing and exploring we ended up playing under the big pavillion. Whenever Cate sees a big open space like this she loves to run and dance and do her "ballet". Then Claire decided to be an airplane. I asked Brant if he could be an airplane and he told me "NO!" . . . "I'm a JET!". So everybody ran around playing airplanes and jets for a little while. I was so thankful mom was able to meet us. We are going to have to do it again soon.

Nana and the kids posing on the bridge.

Holding hands.

A sweet moment with Claire and Nana.

Going to see the birds and ducks.

Beautiful Cate and her curls.

Airplane Claire and her McDonalds french fries . . . she wasn't letting them go.

Brant the jet.

Brant checking out the train.

Random Summer Fun Pics

Camping in the Master Bedroom:

Brant wanted to build at tent and it was getting pretty late, so Brian suggested building one in our bed. Brant and Brian pulled the sheets up over the head boards and had the inside stuffed with pillows and Brant climbed in to read with his flashlight. My heart melted when we went in to find him later fast asleep with the flashlight still in his hand. I kind of woke him up taking the picture, but could not resist.

Brant asleep in his tent.

Camp Devlin campsite



Lounging in our jammies and changing into jammies mid-afternoon is one of B's favorite things to do in the summer (and afterschool). His combos are sometimes questionable to mom, but I guess you have to have the fashion sense of a 6 year old boy to "get it".

Classic Claire moment: Laughing, Smiling and being LOUD!

The Popcorn Picnic:

The kids love to eat popcorn and they are so funny. Somehow they have decided that popcorn=picnic and they like to bust out the blankets in the breakfast area and eat their popcorn. Here is at little popcorn picnic post-swim.






The girls love to be tickled and their laughter is just music to my ears. I dread the day those toddler laughs are gone forever. I was trying to capture a few pictures to commerate the moment, but if you've ever tried to hold the camera still while tickling kids you know it's almost impossible. Here is one of the only decent ones.


Big Girl Panties:
Well, we finally went out and purchased lots of princess and Dora panties for the girls and they think they are the coolest. We also picked up a Pink Princess Musical Potty. I haven't really started training them yet, but sometimes when we are home in the afternoon I'll put on their panties and try to remind them to use the potty. They have been successful on a couple of occasions, but I think we will need to buckle between Brant going back to school and the girls starting back to preschool in the fall.

Showing off those panties . . .

Cate posing on the stairs.

Brant Earns His Orange Belt!

Brant has been taking Tae Kwan Do at Rick's Kicks for almost a year now and it has been a really good activity for him. He was asked to test for his orange belt last week, so the whole family went to the belt test. It was fun to see him doing all of the things he has learned in class. It is not easy for Brant to balance on one foot, so kicking the board in half took him a few tries, but he persevered and finally did it. We are all so proud of him earning his orange belt.