A Day at the "Five Waters"

Grandpa's wedding day began with a little swim in the New River in West Jefferson. Pierson likes to call this watter the 5 waters because I was joking around and said we were going swimming in class five rapids (the new river is anything but!)

Fast forward a few days and we now classify water according to the size...

"waller my ga-house-a" (water at my house. aka the creek) is the 1 one water

"waller at gwam-ma's ga-house-a" (water at Grandma's house aka the pool) is the 2 water

"ga-big waller" (the new river) is the 5 water.

They never cease to amaze me with their associations and language skills. I don't think we could possibly have a better fit for our family than these two! I love them so dearly!

Here are a few snap shots from the day a the river with Grandpa, and the Miller 5.

Pierson loves his Buzz Lightyear goggles and insists on them being tight. That looks a little uncomfortable to me, but he likes it so... what do you do?

Maylin of course has to sport the "Hello Kitty" goggles.

Pierson liked collecting rocks and carrying them out into the water and "letting them go" It is a good thing because there were a lot of "beached rocks" at the river... A lot of rocks needed saving! :) He couldn't save them all but he did what he could.

And what fun is the river if you don't have a water fight with your Daddy. Of course I couldn't participate because I had my "big girl camera"! :) Lucky mommy!

Maylin eventually got tired of her goggles slipping around. (Maybe she needs to take a few lessons from her brother on how to tighten them) Within in five minutes she handed them to Grandpa who willingly and unprompted decided to try them on as well...

At least Maylin got them on right side up! :) Silly Grandpa! He is a good sport!

The kids decided they wanted to climb up the "class 5 rapids" with a little help from Mommy and Daddy. I think Daddy needed a little more help than Pierson and Maylin. They were too busy trying to climb up his head to notice that they were about to drown him! Luckily Daddy is stronger than both of them combined! :)

Finally they started to get braver. They made it all the way and then enjoyed sliding back down the rapids. Over and over we did this.

Pierson, my child who doesn't have any extra meat on him, needed a little break in the sun to warm up his shivering little legs.

Maylin loves a camera. Aunt Kristi aka Ayi which sounds like I.E. was gracious enough to let her snap a few photos... Hopefully she deleted the one's of me! :)

Little Darcy was so cute in the water. She observed the other kids and quickly fell in line and was exploring the water in no time.

Daredevil... I mean Caleb couldn't get enough of the rapids. He was so cute sliding recklessly down the rocks.

Maylin is my little fire cracker. She splashed in the water, slid down the rocks and giggled with the rest of them.

I just couldn't resist putting this picture in. It shows Maylin's determination and willingness to keep her head above water no mater the circumstances.

Somehow this is the only picture I got with all five kids in it. Sorry... it is the best I could do with five busy bodies! But it sure was fun!

Here is my handsome little buddy! I just love this little guy and his tender heart. His smile lights up my life!

Happy five water day!

Grandpa Mickey's Wedding

Congratulations to Claire and Mickey! We are so excited about your marriage.

This weekend my Father-in-law married a wonderful woman. We were so happy to be there and be apart of this great day. We didn't get any pictures of the ceremony. (I was a little occupied keeping two little ones still.) But here are a few snap shots from the reception at the plush Westglow Spa.

Adam, the love of my life! Look at those blue eyes... gotta love them!


First attempt to capture the five kids at the wedding in a decent picture.... The sun was too bright here...

The next several are just a few of MANY attempts to get all of them smiling at once... How did that go? Just take a look for yourself. At least you can feel the love and laughter even if we didn't get the 'award winning' shot!

Pretty close.

Not so much...

we're losing them...

oh yeah, they are done...

Is Pierson trying to kiss Kylie? (pretty sure that is not kosher)

Ok, enough is enough... let's head back to get some dinner.

Here is my precious little Maylin. I know I am partial, but isn't she beautiful?!

And my little niece Darcy... Her personality matches this grin!

Grandma fixing Kylie's bow. Kylie always looks so thoughtful. Such a sweet sweet girl.

My family looking so sophisticated. Pierson and Maylin did such a great job at being "big" kids. They were great... for the most part. :) Pierson only knocked over one glass of wine and Maylin only swiped one finger down the cake's icing before it was cut. :)

Meet Daddy's girl and her hero!

Caleb being a big boy! He is so cute and precious... Never a dull moment!!!

Grandpa Found a Turtle

I had forgotten how much fun turtles could be. My sister and I used to "catch" turtles (pretty hard to catch those speedy little things :)) and play with them for a few days. We fed them lettuce broccoli and who knows what else before we would return them back to the wild where we found them so they could find their mommies.
Fortunately Grandpa Mickey found a turtle on Grandma's driveway and brought it to the house for the kids to play with. Clever Grandpa!

Pierson and Maylin were a little more weary about the turtle then I ever was. They didn't want to touch him so we put him in a container so they could look at him closely.

Pierson started to get brave and was going to pick him up until the turtle started turning his head toward him. Pierson jumped backwards as if a Cobra were after him! Pretty stinkin' funny!

After we had sufficiently played with him I convinced the kids that the turtle was hungry and probably missed him Mommy. So we took him back to where Grandpa found him and let him go. The kids waved good bye and were happy that he would be able to go find his family.

We watched until he was out of sight. (Which took a little while). Today we saw another turtle on the trail behind our house. Pierson got so excited. He said "Turtle's Mommy!" He seemed to think that this was the original turtles mother. How do you explain to a 5 year old non-English speaker that there was no way that was the other turtles Mom? So I simply agreed and said, "Aren't you glad we let the turtle go so he could live in the woods with his family?" Pierson said "Yes. Turtle Happy!"

So there you have it the turtles get to live happily ever after! Are you as relieved as I am?! :)

Electrifying

Some of the simplest things in life are some of the most entertaining.
Thanks to my cousin Chad Pierson and Maylin learned a new science experiment. Friction creates electricity!

We were celebrating with Chad and his wife, Caroline, who just returned from a year long motorcycle trip going from D.C. to Alaska, down through Central America, to the tip of South America and back up the East Coast of South America! Welcome Home you two!!! (you can check out their travels on their blog if you are interested blazingsaddlebags.blogspot.com)

Obviously Chad didn't loose his zeal for life. He still had the energy and enthusiasm to teach my two one of the simple joys in life.

Three Months

It has been three months today since I first laid eyes on these two beautiful children!
Out of one side of my mouth:
"Can it possibly be three whole months since we left the island nation on Taiwan?"
Out of the other side of my mouth:
"Has it really only been three months?"

These two have captured my heart so completely in such a short amount of time. Sometimes my heart skips a beat when I see them. If I could hold them in my arms forever and keep them just as they are right now that would be perfect!


This is my little sunshine. He lights up my life with his "huge" personality. His dancing makes my heart happy. His laugh makes me chuckle. His snuggles make my heart melt. His kisses almost make me cry. His inquisitiveness makes me think I need to brush up on my trivia. And to think that he is only a few months away from going into kindergarten gives me anxiety attacks.

And here is my little princess. She brings so much joy to my life. Her giggles are contagious. Her tears break my heart. Her tenacity is inspiring. Her tenderness is so precious. Her zeal for life makes me want to be a kid again. Her determination makes me never want to give up.

I love these two with all of my heart! I wouldn't have them ANY other way than exactly how they are!

Even when they are melting down and destroying Graham crackers on Grandma's carpet.

And picking their nose while "talking on the phone".

Temporary? Really?!

When I agreed to let the kids put these temporary tattoos on I thought "This will be fun for a day... They will wash off in the tub tonight..."

Ummm... Nope!

Another thing that I remembered differently from childhood!

A week and a half later my friend gave me a great tip. Cotton balls and rubbing alcohol!

She was right! It worked wonders and those things rubbed right off! Finally! :)

Oh well, at least the kids enjoyed them while they lasted!

Laundry Basket Naps

Why is it that something out of the ordianry makes anything way more fun?
My kids decided that they would take their naps in laundry baskets ( I hadn't even suggest nap time yet.) One simple little twist to nap time and they were as excited as what I think they will be on Christmas morning!

As I think you can imagine the nap didn't actually happen this way, there were too many giggles going on! At least they had fun!



I just love their enthusiasm for life!
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Currently my favorite English phrase from Maylin is"
"Cuse you me" this is heard FREQUENTLY after toot sounds come out of her precious little rear end. Then she laughs hysterically!

The most frequent English phrase from Pierson is "Mommy, se cafa" (meaning, mommy be careful) this is heard a lot... washing hair, brushing hair, brushing teeth, driving, cooking dinner... get the point? I hear it a lot! :)

Maylin likes to tell me; "Mowmy, Mayyin no hit, no pwush, no time ouutka" She often informs me that she hasn't done anything to get in trouble.

Another one of Pierson's quotes is: "Mommy you funny" Apparently he thinks I am hilarious!

Finally one I hear from both of them: "Mowmy, Piewshon no share-a" or "Mommy, MayYin no share-a"

What ever is coming out of their mouths you can be sure that they are keeping me entertained!

Maylin's First Haircut in the US

While I know that she has had her hair cut before it was still the first time I got to take her. Mrs. Vicki (my second mom, and the person who has always cut my hair) did a great job, and Maylin sat so very still. Of course Grandma and I had to ooooh and ahhh over her, take pictures and save a little lock of her hair. Silly, silly mommy!
"Firsts" will never get old!

She looks so serious here doesn't she?

Pierson on the other hand could have cared less. He was just glad that Mrs. Vicki had something in the shop to entertain him! :) He got to go with Daddy a few days earlier and get his hair cut and guess who didn't take the camera?
Oh well, there is always next time. :)

Maybe My Memory Doesn't Serve Me Well

OK... So as a child I remember fondly spending time at Grandma and Grandpa's farm in Ohio.

There were so many things to do and many ways for the 8 of us grand kids to get in trouble. (Of course I was the baby so it was never my fault! :) )From popping tar bubbles on the bridge and dragging tar into the house, getting chased by the bull, getting trapped on the telephone poll bridge with cows on either side, getting in moss fights in the creek, running through the corn field, eating all of the cookies out of the yellow owl cookie jar, playing on the door to the tornado shelter, slamming the door to the summer house, getting into grandpa's stuff in the barn, setting the bull frog traps off at the pond, messing with the raccoons... you name it we did it... Oh what fun memories!

No mater how much mischief we got into Grandma and Grandpa never stayed mad at us. They always spoiled us with their love!

One thing I thought I remembered vividly was dying Queen Ann's Lace flowers. I remember going out to the field and picking the beautiful white lacy flowers then taking them in the house to put them in water dyed by food coloring. Just as vividly I remember the miracle of watching the flowers turn the color of the water over night! It was amazing! Or so I thought I remembered...

Wanting my kids to experience the sheer brilliance of Grandma Shultz we stopped on our walk to pick the lovely white flowers. Then we rushed home put them in water and squeezed in the liquid food coloring, stirred the water and waited for the magic to happen.

The kids had so much fun doing this. They kept saying "Tank you Mowmmy!"

After we stirred them we sat them in the window and waited... and waited.... and waited... three days we waited....

and this was all we got.

I thought maybe I did it wrong... So we tried again with daisies too. I tired mixing the color into the water before I put the flowers in... Nope... All we got was pretty water. The blue water tinted the flowers a little tiny bit, but the other's did nuthin'!

So there you have it... My memory doesn't serve me as well as I thought.

Happy pretty water day! :)