Halloween

 Halloween continues to be a popular holiday at our house.  This year we only carved two pumpkins because the older two weren't too interested in doing so.  Owen was very proud of his custom design and independent carving.

 Owen wanted a camo ghillie suit to wear as his costume. This is something normally worn by hunters, but it made a great Halloween monster.

 Dallin wasn't sure what he wanted to be for Halloween this year, but he really liked this Black Panther costume when he saw it in the store.  His pumpkin also turned out great with some help with dad.

Brothers!  They trick-or-treated together for just a few houses because Owen was determined to get a ton of candy this year.

VAD Trip to Maui

 We were privileged to take a vacation to Maui, Hawaii again this year with Nathan's company.  This was our fourth trip to Hawaii together and our third time to Maui.  The island felt very familiar and we knew exactly what we wanted to see and do based on our previous trips.  The most memorable parts of Maui are the constant perfect temperatures, the amazing smells from the flowers and ocean, and the view of the blue ocean.  

 I never get tired of looking at palm trees.

It rained several times during our trip, but my pictures only show picture perfect weather and views.  The rain was the one disappointing part of this trip.  It had never rained on our other trips to Maui., so we were a little surprised.

At the beach outside our resort, we often saw women throwing their leis onto the volcanic rock.  Legend says this brings good luck.

The flowers seem to always be in bloom on Maui.  Flowers of every color can be found across the island, but purple is my favorite color!

The view from one of the pools at our resort.  We tried to sit at the pool every day.

Another fun pool at the resort that seemed to be more popular to the kids.

Which might have been because of this amazing water slide connected on one side of it.  If you look closely, you will see Nathan at the top getting ready to go down.

And here he is at the bottom!

I had the brilliant idea of going to Haleakala Crater this trip because we had never been to it on any of our previous trips.  It is quite the production to go because it is at the top of mountain that requires winding around and around a mountainside with zero guard rails to keep you from plunging over the side.  Visitors flock here every morning (it's really the middle of the night) to watch the sun rise from the highest point on the island.  It is supposed to be a once in a lifetime experience.

So, since this is probably our last time visiting Maui, I convinced Nathan to leave our cozy beds at 4:00 a.m. to drive an hour up to the volcano.  As we are climbing the mountain/volcano, the temperature starts dropping drastically and suddenly there is ice and snow on the ground.  A normally dangerous drive suddenly becomes a very frightening mistake.  Luckily, we followed a large tour bus safely up the volcano and parked at the visitor center ready to see a marvelous sunrise.  Instead, we saw nothing but fog.  We were frozen solid the second we exited the car, but we waited for what seemed like eternity in the hopes the sun rising would make the fog disappear.  The fog never left and we didn't see the sun at all.  I kept the rest of my big ideas to myself the rest of the trip. 

Another first, but with a much better outcome, was dinner at Mama's Fish House on the north side of island.  Reservations are required well in advance, which is one of the reasons we didn't make it on our previous Maui trips.  The food was as amazing as everyone says it is and it is definitely a place we would go back to if we ever find ourselves in Maui again.  The restaurant was tropical themed and open so it felt like we were eating outdoors.  My steak was amazing!

I liked how these cool Hawaiian birds walked on top of the bushes around the resort.  They didn't seem to mind all the tourists walking past them.

The Hawaiian plumeria are the most amazingly fragrant flowers.  They are often worn in women's hair and have a beautiful fragrance I miss.

We attended an authentic luau one evening with Nathan's company and customers.  The luau started with the unearthing of the pig who had been cooking in this pit all day.  

Uncovering the pig

Ta-da!  That's dinner!

No luau is complete without Hawaiian dancers.

The sunsets on Maui are truly memorable and sad at the same time because it means another day of paradise has ended.  Maui will always hold a special place in our hearts, but we are anxious to see other parts of the world!

Homecoming 2017

 Trenton went to his Senior Homecoming Dance with Abigail.  Love the purple color scheme!

 Trenton and Abigail attended Homecoming with a large group of their friends.  It is a tradition at Mason High School for the Senior girls to wear boas to Homecoming.

Handsome Trenton

 Instead of attending the Homecoming Dance as a Freshman, Ashleigh had her friends over to her house for their own fun for the evening.

Ashleigh's closest friends, Michelle, Katherine, and Megan (left to right).

1st Annual Miller Reunion

 We attended the first annual Miller Family Reunion over Labor Day weekend in Burlington, Iowa.  Nathan's brothers, mother, aunt, and cousins all celebrated the 100th birthday of Nathan's grandfather on the property of Nathan's Aunt Diane.  It was a fun day of outdoor fun for all!

Family photo in front of Nathan's grandfather's tractor that was recently restored.

 Nathan with his brothers and mother.

 The kids enjoyed tractor rides with Cousin Kyle and Grandma Borders.

 Fishing at the pond was a popular activity with the Borders men and children.

 Canoeing was also popular with the kids.

 Trenton was a trooper taking lots of trips out on the pond with a boatload of children.

Dallin even caught some tiny frogs!

Random fall activities

Owen participated in a Raingutter Regatta with his Cub Scout pack in August.  The boys raced boats made of pool noodles and parchment paper. 

Dallin finally lost his first tooth on 8/26/2017 at the beginning of second grade.  He had been anxiously awaiting this day and was so happy to lose it at school so that he could get a tooth box necklace. 

Ashleigh was honored to be a member of the court of her friend's Quinceanera on 8/26/2017.  She spent countless hours learning dances to perform at the event and had a ton of fun learning about Spanish culture.

2017 Solar Eclipse

On August 21, 2017, the first total solar eclipse in the United States since 1979 passed through Cincinnati.  It was a big event here complete with the children getting out of school to view the eclipse with special NASA approved glasses and my own Eclipse viewing party.  There was a huge shortage of eclipse glasses across the United States, but we were fortunate that our school district pre-ordered thousands for every student to have a pair.

First Day of School 2017

The first day of school for the 2017-18 school year is in the books!  Ashleigh started high school this year with Trenton.  They both have early morning seminary, which means a 5:00 am wake up call for Ashleigh.  We are lucky that Trenton can drive them both to save Mom from having to be fully awake by the time they leave at 5:45 a.m.  They are amazing for accomplishing this incredibly difficult task every morning!  

Senior Trenton!  

Freshman Ashleigh

5th grader Owen.  Owen was a little nervous that 5th grade might mean extra homework and hard classes, but then we learned that our school district recently adopted a "no homework" policy for all grade school students.  He was super excited to hear that!  Research has shown that homework at the grade school level offers no academic benefit and our district would rather see students involved in family and extracurricular activities after school.  Score!  Optional homework is available though for the over achievers.  I might keep that in my back pocket for when I need it.

2nd grader Dallin.  He's sporting matching colored shoes and backpack out of pure coincidence!

 He was excited to go to school today on the bus.  The bus was 15 minutes late this morning, so we were so happy to finally see his bus pull up.  He is going to have a great year!

Owen has a full size locker this year.  Last year his locker wasn't even big enough for his backpack, so it's pretty exciting.  He has an awesome team of teachers this year.  

Team Imagination was my top pick for Owen.  They are the perfect team of teachers for him.

]Dallin was excited to see that his desk has a cubby underneath for his folders and books.  He is also very excited about his new classroom and is going to have a great year.

Each class in his school has an animal mascot.  His class is the dolphin class again this year.  Familiarity is always good!