Millar Mission Impossible Reunion

                    This year's Millar family reunion theme was Mission Impossible.  Before arriving to the reunion (held at the Running Y Ranch in Klamath Falls Oregon) the kids had to solve a special riddle and assign themselves special agent names.  The girls spent a family home evening deciding on their name and solving the riddle.

            Once we arrived at the reunion, we were greeted to this sign:  (My mom is so darn clever!)

The special agents revealed their secret names to each other.  Some made perfect sense.  Others...not so much.  I did a special scrapbook page to show off their clever naming.



































Next, they were given their special agent tools.  The rest of the reunion, they had to use these tools to complete training missions.  It was so much fun!  (More is to come as I get it scrapbooked!)

Millar family reunions rock!

July 4th

I'm finally getting around to posting again!  We have been crazy busy the last few weeks.  I finished a few pages from the week of the 4th of July!

First is the Eugene Pro Rodeo!  We have never attended before but this year, our best friends invited us to go.  So, I took the girls (minus Casey who had church meetings and Maggie who was in Medford with cousins) and we enjoyed an evening of horses, bulls and cowboys.  The girls had a blast!  The crowd was friendly and incredibly patriotic.

The next day was the 4th of July.  We spent it with family and the rest of our CRAZY neighborhood.  They had some serious fireworks...totally illegal but awesome!

More to come...including an amazing family reunion!  I'll post more when I get a chance!

Scavenger Hunt

Last Saturday we promised the kid we would go out to the beach for a day swimming at Cleowax Lake.  Unfortunately, mother nature didn't let us keep our promise as it was rainy and cold.  So, because Casey only had one more Saturday off before he enters the official wedding season (and he works every Saturday), we decided that we had to make it memorable.  Casey wrote up a photo scavenger hunt at the mall.  We divided into two teams and had 45 minutes to find as many objects as we could and take a picture.  (Note: if you decide to do this, be careful not to disturb the stores too much.  The mall doesn't really like scavenger hunts if they are asking the workers to do stuff.  A photo hunt is better because it doesn't distract from work or others shopping.)

Anywho, here are a few of the pictures that my team took.

A child sized mannequin

a pair of hot pink shoes

Holding your nose at the perfume shop.  (This place really does smell awful)

A picture with the guy in armor

A picture with a Build a Bear.  Okay, we did disturb the lady at the store for this one but in our defense, she wanted to be in the picture and she was just standing around showing off bears.

A mannequin dressed modestly...harder than you might think!

A red bug.  We were lucky to find this little one in a toy store.  The other team took the exact same picture!

This picture put our team over the top.  We got bonus points if we spotted anyone from the ward.  The Claytons happened to be walking through the mall!  Woohoo!

Anyway, it was a really fun activity and it chased away the rainy blues.  (I'm thinking this would also make for a fun family home evening!  We may have to revisit that at a later date!)

Sigh....

Hey friends.  I thought I'd share some pages with you.  Not much more to report...other than my seething rage at the Supreme Court's decision on Obamacare.  Our country is heading down a dark, dangerous hole. It makes me sad.  But, on a happy note, the sun is shining to day...so that 's good :)



































Here is week 25~

Letting go

Do you have a hard time letting your kids go places on their own for extended periods of time?  I have always had a hard time with this.  I worry terribly about their safety....certain that no one else can keep them as safe as I can.  This last week has been a good exercise for me.  First, Jillian left us for 3 days of outdoor school.  She was up at a camp where cell phones didn't work so for the first time in her life, I didn't talk to her in 3 whole days!  They were LONG days and I constantly wondered how she was doing.  Thankfully, she returned happy and whole and not the slightest bit homesick.

Next, I had to say goodbye to Allison for 2 days.  She was invited to visit The Great Wolf Lodge in Washington with our best friends.  We had a family prayer before she left and I struggled like I did with Jillian...though it was easier because we got constant texts and pictures.  I am slowly learning to have faith that my children will indeed, be okay without me (for short periods of time).  I know it's going to get worse though as they get older and more involved with school and church activities.  Uggh, letting go is hard!

Allison and her friend stopped at the temple on they way to Washington.

Here is week 23

Week 22

Memorial Day

Our Memorial day 2012 started with a hike up to Mt. Pisgah.  We did this last year and had such a great time that we decided to carry on the tradition.  Note to families with young kids:  this is a tough hike.  It's uphill the entire way.  Lydia barely made it...and she only did so by holding hands with her friend Lauryn and cousin Joel, or being carried on Casey's shoulders!  She had a great time though!

A quarter of the way up, the kids were already breathing hard and had to take a much needed rest on a rock pile.

We took several stops along the trail to get a drink, pose for pictures and just rest.  Originally, we were going to do this hike alone, with perhaps, Grandma Walburger.  But, as we were talking about it at church, others became interested and before we knew it, we were a huge group.  It made the hike that much more fun...and it kept the complaining from our kids to a minimum.  Peer pressure will do that for you!

Thank goodness for strategically placed benches.  We had to be careful because the sides of the trail were covered in poison oak.  Apparently, the forest service hadn't sprayed it yet.  

Here is our group at the top!  We were so relieved to make it...and very grateful for the cool weather!

The best part of the hike was the surprise birthday party that the Andersens gave Grandma Walburger.  Eric had lugged up a full cake, frosting, ice cream (packed in ice) and utensils!  What a stud!  Grandma was so surprised and the kids welcomed the energy from the cake and ice cream.  Grandma felt very loved!

After taking a few hours to rest, we all gathered at the Booren's house for a BBQ.  (and yes, the whole hiking group joined us!  It was quite the party)  Casey made these lovely kabobs.

And he brought out the giant slide.  After a strenuous hike, 2 hours of playing on a giant slide sounded exhausting to me but the kids loved it!.  Needless to say, sleep came very easy for them that night.

Charlotte spent her time holding baby Caleb.  She claims him the instant she goes to the Booren's house.

We had more cake and ice cream for Grandma Walburger after the BBQ.  We worked off all those calories earlier in the day right?  All in all, it was a great Memorial day.  We are so thankful to the men and women who serve our country so we can have the freedom to hike, play, and party.

Here is week 21