A Beautiful Arrangement

I realized something about my brother this summer...

He inherited my mom and dad's green thumb.

Just look at this stunning bouquet fresh from Danny's garden.

I'm impressed. And it makes my dining room table look just fabulous.

Another good reason to keep my big table mister...

The Nursery

We're proud to finally show off our nursery 

for lil Piper.  We wanted to take photos and post 

them now, before she arrives on the scene. 

Trust me, it will never be this clean and organized ever

again.  I'm almost sure of it.

We would have never completed the nursery on time

had it not been for Danny, mom, & TT.

Especially, Danny - he spent a whole week at our 

place helping us out.  He worked and worked, and worked

some more.  Little brothers 

(gosh, I better get used to his new title---uncle!)

sure come in handy.

I'm pretty proud of all that hard work.

And mister, you've been working super hard too-

ripping up carpets, painting, figuring out tool sets, and dodging 

falling desks off the balcony.  I'm convinced Piper's gonna

be a daddy's girl for sure.

Siblings

Just last week, my brother & I

took a mini adventure to Davenport, Iowa.

Here's what I learned:

My brother doesn't sleep.  Really, I don't know how 

he does it.  He was awake till 5:30 am- slept till 8 am -

then, only took a one hour nap the next morning.

I'm not sure how the boy can function.  But, he assures

me that this is normal for him.

We both agree that Sleep Number beds are annoying.
When, he actually did fall asleep, every time
he rolled over the bed went mmmmrrrrp-click. 
How annoying!

Both of us get flustered when driving in unfamiliar 

territory.  Skinny bridges also freak us out. 

Sometimes, I need to admit when my little brother

is right.  (This is difficult when you're an older sibling.)
 

On our ride down, I confessed that I really don't 

know very much about babies.  Now, I already knew this, 

but Danny's going to be a really super cool uncle.  

While waiting for me to finish work, he spent hours 

at Barnes & Noble dismantling the babycare section finding

the most comprehensive baby care book.  He

said the little old ladies in the bookstore were getting a 

kick out him sitting in the middle of the 

baby care aisle amongst piles of baby books

thinking he must be a new nervous dad.

He ended up picking Your Babycare Bible.  

Thanks Danny!

Thanks again for being my travel buddy :0)

 

Thanksgiving Memories of 2012

Thanksgiving this year will have a lot of memories for me.

We kicked off Thanksgiving break in the Millar household with...haggis.

Well, to be more precise, the mister and the little litos 

kicked off Thanksgiving break with haggis.

They love the stuff.  I don't understand their passion for

this canned Scottish goodness myself, but 

I get a good laugh out of the big production.

We spent Thanksgiving day at Great Grandma's house.

Mom made such a good feast.  It was ready on the table and everything

right when we walked in the door.

We put up the old artificial tree - check out it's original instructions.

What a sweet vintage find.  I tell ya, a trip to Grandma's house is

always like walking into the past.

Danny taught mom & I how to create fancy Christmas bows.

 

 And last but not least, we played a lot of Scrabble.

On Friday night, we were supposed to be at a bar watching Brandon's band play.

But, for whatever reason, the show was cancelled.

So, instead Brandon stopped by at Great Grandma's house

and we played Scrabble at maximum capacity.  

I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

Mr. & Mrs. Ritzman

On Saturday, we had the honor of

attending Brandi & Matt's wedding.

They're a cute couple, through and through.

I'm so, so happy for them both.

Brandi was our neighbor growing up in Plano.

Gosh, we all spent so much time together.

When I think of summertime my mind usually wanders

back to these days, with the all-day swim-a-thons 

and trampoline jumping. 

I think the funniest bit of trouble Brandi and I 

got ourselves into was the infamous Amigos Tacos trip.

We walked down the street to the little Mexican restaurant and 

ordered a feast.  Dish upon dish.  

I'm not sure what we were thinking...

But, when we got the bill both of our jaws hit the floor.

I don't remember how we paid that bill.

But, I do remember being terrified to have to explain

the the whole thing to my mom.

Danny made the wedding cake.

After all, Brandi was the first girl he ever proposed to.

He was a little boy and she was his babysitter.

He constructed paper flowers and got down

on one knee...the whole she-bang.

To which Brandi responding, "Well,

how about we see when your a little bit older..."

So, without further ado, here's the cake

 

The cake was delicious.  But,

I'll forever remember the "Danny Cake Cutting Face".

 Congratulations again Mr. & Mrs. Ritzman!

We all had so much fun at your wedding :o)

4th of July, Mini-Adventure 3.0 with Heather

The 4th of July is

not complete without

red, white, & blue

and until

you have an All-American

cookout at your

Great Grandma's house

with grillmaster Danny

and his partner in crime, Evan.

Costume Party, Mini-Adventure 2.0 with Heather

Before Miss Heather's arrival,

we received an invitation from

Queen Titania & Lord Oberon

announcing their

Midsummer's Night Eve party.

To which we responded,

"Oh yes, this will be fun."

So, the crafting began

for the Cobweb Fairy,

the Mustardseed Fairy,

and Bottom the Jackass.

Wings were made,

a pillbox hat was created,

even a tail was crafted.

The glue guns were out

in full force and turned our

Goodwill purchases

into magical costumes the

eve before the 

Midsummer's Night.



And so a magical night it was...



Leave it to the ass to perfect the art of photobombing...



I think I can safely say we all had fun.

Queen Titania and Lord Oberon

were delightful hosts and mischeivious memories

were spun that night for all who attended.

yum, yum, & double-yum

We finally got to check out the place where my little brother

is the pastry chef.  I'm so happy we did.

I can't wait to go back.  The dinner and the dessert, and wine were

yum, yum, & double-yum.

After dinner, we got to check out the park.

Gosh-I haven't been there in so long.  

Mom hadn't either.

It looks amazing now.

When I lived there as a little girl it was just

a plain river---not really a park.

Love it now.

I also love that mom and the mister 

are probably bigger goofballs than I am,

maybe.

Dear Danny,

Please feel free to send cupcakes whenever you get the urge :0)

I really love the peanut butter kind. (like the one pictured above.)