tis the season

One of our Christmas card poses. We did virtual cards in an effort to save money this holiday season. I do miss sending real cards through the mail.

We spent the weekend of the 12th and 13th at Fairmont Hot Springs and celebrated our family Christmas. We swam for three days. Eva loved the slide and made friends: Saturday she palled around with Jody and Sunday she ran laps to the slide with a girl named June.

Ben loved swimming and splashing.

Saturday night we treated ourselves to a fancy dinner at the Mile High Dining room at Fairmont. The waitress complimented Eva's polite manners. Ben is just now able to sit in a restaurant high chair. Justin and I enjoyed the free arms and Ben liked banging on the table. Ben has found his voice and likes to scream to the point of coughing and choking from making himself hoarse. The dinner was good: Justin had a giant pork chop, Eva ate bow tie pasta with marinara sauce and I had the duck which was awesome!!

Dinner was a good deal, the swimming awesome, we took advantage of the family package Fairmont offers which included half-day passes to the slide. Ordering breakfast room service was not a good deal and I will from now on always remember the champagne for mimosas.


Our hotel room Christmas tree.

Our at home Christmas "tree."

Tonight, Tuesday December 15th, we have Eva's Christmas program at school. Tomorrow we are having my parents over for Christmas dinner with Eva before she leaves. We take her to Missoula this weekend.

Merry Christmas!!

Happy Holidays!!

Peace and Joy!!

crafting hell and Thanksgiving Bliss

Maybe I should be more patient, take more deep breaths but every time I start a large craft project (like dozens of cutout sugar cookies) I end up regretting it at the end. I wanted to have the girls over to do bag decorating with Eva, and it felt like a huge headache when all was said and done. We expect a lot from Eva: stellar behavior and manners and she was definitely the best behaved. I can't believe how sassy, bossy, and mean girls can be and I am frustrated that they have to be pushed so hard to get a thank you. It will be a long time before I forget the trauma (like birth), although I think that Beth, Kenna and Eva had a good time.

Benjamin and Uncle Liam had some good bonding time. I'm afraid Ben is preparing for a career as Liam's stunt double.

Thanksgiving marks the end of hunting season for our family. We got skunked this year in terms of elk. Justin proved he could out hike me, but the men still all know that I'm the one that sees 'em. I was able to get out three times; Justin and I had one great long hunt together from which I still have not yet recovered my muscle strength. Its hard to train for walking in knee deep snow and tiptoeing through the woods, over logs, scrambling across boulders, slipping and sliding down steep, treacherous downhill. The menfolk got us a loaded up with Venison and this weekend coming up, this first weekend of December Grumpa Robert, Granny Leslie, Justin and I will butcher up the meat.

Thanksgiving was spent up Timber Creek with the Donnelley's and Sally and Kate Schendel. It was a wonderful, restful time and we were so blessed to be surrounded by loving family. One of my highlights was getting to teach yoga to my aunties and my mom down in the pool room. We were even blessed by the presence of our baby buddha.

Ben and Eva wore matching "Don't Call Me Turkey!" outfits and Ben enjoyed his beautiful mocassins crafted by our Oregon Mommy, Christene George.

At hunting camp, the sock saves our lives from the cold and rosies the cheeks. Cousin Kit was taking the picture, one of several taken during the getting stuck episode of the day. Cousin Kit teared up in the womb, such an emotional guy. We don't allow tears at hunting camp.

(Cousin Kit also renamed the inside of the Indian truck the womb)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks to the Donnelleys for hosting such a wonderful event!

Leslie, Robert, Tommy

Sally, Benjamin, Justin, Sadie, Myra, Eva, Kate, Barbi, Liam, Kit

So, cutting up meat this weekend, also taking a Christmas picture. The weekend of the 12 and 13 we are planning on celebrating our Miller family Christmas with Eva at Fairmont Hot Springs, west of Butte. She flies out the 19th for Christmas in Oregon with her birthmom. We will miss her but she will have a blast.

Blessings to all.