My friend Linds

So the weekend of May 1-3, a great friend of mine/ours came & completely surprised me! I was in the kitchen preparing snacks for a game night, when in walked Holly P. and LINDSAY! I screamed! I couldn't believe she was really here & Arlan knew all along...ugh!
I hate yet love being in the dark!

A great night was had by all...who doesn't love a great Speed UNO game?!

And even if all my planning instincts would have kicked in, I couldn't have planned it better...several of our closest friends met at Busy Corner for a late lunch. It was great!

Lindsay - it was great having you here and I already am pining to see you again!
We love you & treasure your friendship!
Come see us again!

Loving the surprise factor...

We have been LOVING telling family & friends our special news in oh, so dramatic style! From placing a sonogram in my Aunt Vonnie's birthday card to placing the sonogram underneath Aunt Lois' napkin at dinner to having my nephew Maden whisper over the phone that "he is going to get another cousin" to steady "Eddie" Uncle Ells' smirky smile...it has been great fun!

Mom & Dad Miller ~ we stopped by their place before taking off for Spring Break "to show them our Washington D.C. pictures"...after showing them, we decided to show them one more...and here's their great reaction!

Aunt Vonnie ~ it was so fun spending the day with you on your birthday!

Aunt Vonnie had warned us "Should we tell Lois in public? She'll scream"...and she didn't disappoint :)

Smirky Uncle Ells

And some MORE exciting news...the night we told our Miller/Schlipf family, Cathy & Brandon unexpectedly announced their pregnancy and are due 3 days before us! So that means Theresa (with Adam on her lap) is due in September and 2 more Millers will arrive in November...Christmas will be crazy! Well, maybe not this year, but eventually :)

Surprise!

So travel may slow a bit... :)

Baby Miller due November 12

Spring Break 2009

The week after D.C. was our Spring Break so off to Utah & Arizona we went. It was great to see the beautiful creation of Zion National Park. We also traveled down through the Grand Canyon, stayed a night in Sedona and then landed in Phoenix to see family for the Easter holiday. It was a great whirl-wind of a week but so much fun...especially to see my family! Enjoy some pictures...

Zion National Park, Utah

Grand Canyon and the Colorado River

The pretty red-rocks of Sedona, AZ

My cousin's first, Kole...he and I became great pals that week!

He is such a fun little kid...even at a VERY early Easter sunrise service!

Uncle Ells & Aunt Lois took us to see my maternal grandfather's grave.

Aunt Vonnie got us tickets to see the Diamondbacks play the Dodgers...2nd row!

Millers + 11 PCHS students = FUN!

The week of March 29 - April 2 found us traveling to D.C. with a great group of PCHS students to attend Close-Up D.C. Academy. The kids got to sight-see, meet their Congressmen, attend workshops, and see the politics of our beautiful nation's capital well, Up-Close :) The Presidential & war memorials, Holocaust Museum, the Smithsonian Museums, Arlington Cemetary, and Capital Hill Day (pictured) were some of the many highlights. One of Mrs. Miller's highlights was the fact our Close-Up week fell on National Cherry Bloosom Festival which meant the trees around D.C. were in beautiful full bloom! It was spectacular! While we came back with almost 1000 pictures, I'm just going to post this one as the credit for a great group goes to our wonderful students. We were so proud of each of them as they were the cream-of-the crop from schools around the nation that week. They lead discussions, wrapped up moderations, and were overall the leaders other students looked to...thanks for making the Millers & PCHS proud!

The Aunts & Mom

Last weekend, Arlan and I were privileged hosts to my dear mother from Iowa (far right) and also her two sisters, Lois & Lavonne (from left). Let's just say it was quite entertaining! All three flew in for a funeral [friend of their mom's in Eureka] on Friday and stayed until Monday. It was great! From the Mennonite Relief Sale (which they thoroughly enjoyed catching up with the vast array of AC attenders) to shopping on Saturday to Gridley church on Sunday, I'm pretty sure Central IL will not be the same...it was such a pleasure hosting all of you at once...please, make this an annual trip!

Lois has a knack for finding the stresses in your life...all from your feet!
While painful, it is helpful :)

My mom & me

Let's Rodeo San Antonio!

Valentine's weekend saw the Miller's whisked away to the fun city of San Antonio, TX! We have always kind of had this city on our "let's visit someday list". Arlan surprised me at Christmas time with this trip & rarely in the education world does Valentine's Day fall over the lovely 3-day weekend called President's Day (yeah for Abe & George)! While we hoped for a bit warmer weather, the low 60s proved quite nice for some sight seeing on the famous Riverwalk, the Alamo, botanical garden, and some great grub in San Antonio.

Quite a famous shot from the river boat tour of the first restaurant, Casa Rio, to open on the Riverwalk.

Valentine's dinner on the Riverwalk...some of the best seafood we've tasted!

La Villeta - a quaint, historic village filled with small shops, crafts, and artwork.

The Alamo - while it was okay to walk around and look at, it wasn't what it's cracked up to be (think Gatlinburg or Branson). There were a few neat historic items but for the most part, quite disappointing. And for all of you out there who thought the Texans so bravely defeated the Mexicans at the Alamo battle...they lost. Sorry if this ruins your day!

And who can go to San Antonio without experiencing smoked baby-back ribs!


FYI - the post title comes from Arlan's phrase of the weekend...there apparently (from all the wranglers and ropers we saw) was a national rodeo in town and a huge banner flying from the tallest hotel in downtown proclaiming "Let's Rodeo San Antonio"! You can imagine how much fun Arlan had with that phrase :)