Hexan Haus

We strayed a little from the normal “Miller” tradition of making cookie trains… when it was just our family making a treat I didn’t want to invest in ALL the cookies and candies to make just one… so I saw on a cute blog that you could go to Trader Joe’s and get a gingerbread man kit and I thought that would be fun. But they were out. Instead I saw these German Hexan Haus’… which fits in with our little German family : ) It was a cute little kit.. no baking involved! All I had to do was to whip up the royal frosting. The kids were Very involved… as you can probably tell in the decorations. They had fun! Chloe didn’t do much decorating… it was more like… 1 for the house… 2 for her..  Turned out pretty cute, right?

**Merry Christmas**

Fröhliche Weihnachten

The Polar Express

Every Christmas The Polar Express is a must read. I love getting it out along with all the other Christmas books. I have read it to the kids almost every night this month already and I have to admit it’s one of my favorite Christmas stories. But this year being pregnant I am a little more emotional and I have to admit I cry every time I read it. I am so much more emotional when I am pregnant it’s annoying sometimes… but this book is one of those things that gets me every time. Along with the stories with Great Grandma Miller’s voice reading the stories to the kids these are my/our favorites!!! 

Get that hole in your pocket fixed, signed Mr. C

We took our Monkeys to the Temple

One thing we always make sure we do each holiday season is go see the lights at the Mesa temple. The kids loved walking around seeing all the lights. I love that each year their understanding of Christmas increases. It just makes Christmas even more special. Connor talks about the day that he grows up “big like daddy” and he’ll be able to go into the temple and be married… it’s cute.

One of the many reasons why I love living in Arizona is being able to live so close to the temple. It states in my patriarchal blessing that I will always live close to temples. Having the Mesa temple only 8 minutes from our home has been such a blessing and within the next year or so we’ll have another in Gilbert. It’s exciting. I really feel blessed for living in Arizona… even though the summers are a little rough I love the winters here. The weather is perfect, especially for being 8.5 months pregnant. I have no complaints. I am uncomfortable from time to time but I am happy to be pregnant right now.

We also walked around the visitor’s center. The kids loved looking at all the nativity sets they had from around the world and then of course they knew where Jesus was. We sat through the short presentation and it surprised Kiel and I that the kids were so reverent while listening to Jesus. It was really tender watching their faces look at Jesus. It was a great night. Thanks Kiel for taking us!

20 Big Ones

This morning Connor and Chloe earned their last Quarter to make their goal of $20 each! They are excited to go shopping for each other. They are really helpful around the house but this made things a little more fun for them. I am sure we’ll make another chart sometime after Christmas so they can earn more for toys or whatever they want…. it’s been a fun experience… now comes the shopping! I plan on brining the kids home and helping them wrap their presents for each other. Should be interesting… but will make for a Fun Christmas!

Tire Swing

About a month ago Kiel replaced some tires on his truck but he asked if they would save one of the tires for him. We had briefly talked about doing this.. but Kiel took the ball and ran with it. Yesterday we found the time to go out and get other supplies to make our Tire Swing!! It was a fun project to do with Kiel while the kids were napping. We cleaned the tire and painted it with a thick coat of Latex paint. Kiel drilled the holes and we put it up. The kids woke up from their naps ready to play!! They love their new swing. I think Chloe would sit on it all day if I let her. This morning already we’ve spent almost a half hour out there… I am glad they like it. Thanks to Daddy for his great idea!!! It might get a little  hot in the summer…. but for now it’s Perfect!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Halloween this year I have to admit was more fun than last… The kids both loved dressing up and really got into the spirit of things. We have a couple of Halloween books that we read every night this past month along with our usual bedtime stories. The kids loved talking about Ghosts, goblins, witches and spiders…  Halloween morning we were invited to Halloween party. A lady in our ward has a preschool and she invited more kids to come and play and celebrate with her students. Connor, aka.. Spiderman loved the bouncy house, Chloe…uh… not so much : ( We mixed it up a little bit and she dressed as Dorothy. It’s a little big on her but I had to put her in it!

jUmP hOusE VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

 

As promised…. after dinner time Kiel and I took the kids and Super Petey out to trick or treat!! It only took a couple of houses for them to get into the groove of things. My favorite part was standing on the side walk and hearing Chloe scream “THANK YOU” after each house!! Half way through I had to empty her bag because it was getting to heavy for her to carry…

*I made Petey’s cape from left over felt I had. It was completely covered in dog hairs at the end of the night… but it was a hit.

I didn’t get a ton of great pictures but you get the point… Princess Chloe was a hit… she quickly learned that it was faster to cut across the grass in every yard even though we told her not too…. oh well…We came home and crashed!! It was a great night!

Ward’s Trunk or Treat

Last night was our Ward’s famous Trunk or Treat. The kids were so excited to go to the Halloween party. We didn’t see much of Connor once we got there and realized he had a inch of freedom to run around. Chloe, our Princess was a hit… everyone loved her costume and she never got sick of hearing how pretty she was. She loved it when I pulled out some of my old glitter shadow and put it on her eyelids… she was in heaven!! It was a fun night and we are so happy that Kiel came with us, a sacrifice on his zzz’s… but hopefully it was worth it!

Getting ready for the trunk or treat portion…

(My shirt, has Chloe's hand prints and under them it says “Let me Out” we wanted to make sure Curtis was involved!)

Happy Halloween!