moving, phase II

for those who were unaware, our move to texas happened in two parts: 1) the official getting back into the state and 2) actually moving into the house we will be living at in plano. the first part of the move happened in early august to accommodate my new job's orientation and maddie's 1st birthday party, the second part of the move didn't happen until the end of september, when the house was actually ready for us! we are actually renting the house, which worked out well for a number of reasons, but we ran into some snags with the actual move-in part. first, it wasn't vacated as early as we expected (no one's fault...just something we hadn't planned for). second, all the floors needed replacing (something we weren't anticipating, but they were 20+ years old!) and third, we decided we wanted to change all the paint colors (not just the master bedroom as i had originally planned). all this translated into staying at my gracious sister shari's house for nearly two months. we are so thankful she had room to spare and a generous heart! if you are curious to see the before & after photos, check out below...if not, check back later for photos of the place fully decorated and moved-in!

before & after pics

SMU saturday fun

game day ready with my baby bro

mom and dad at the alumni reception

with my dad being an SMU alumni and my brother a current student, we had twice as many reasons to head to the campus on a beautiful saturday (the 24th) to enjoy some "boulevarding" -- that's SMU's version of tail-gating. instead of hanging out in a parking lot before the games, the students and alumni of SMU are invited to enjoy the festivities up and down the main boulevard of the campus where, among other things, you can enjoy free beer and food. each major has it's own tent set up, so we tend to spend an awful lot of time near the engineering tent (dad is a mechanical engineer, jared will be when he graduates) but also take advantage of the other freebies on game days. this time we got free lemonade from raisin canes, free chili, free doubletree hotel cookies, and free SMU shirts before sitting down to the free burgers the engineering tent provided (oh, and the free beer, yes).

this saturday was especially festive, since it was the annual rivalry game with TCU, who this year is actually a ranked opponent. a bit of trivia for you: the game is titled "the battle for the iron skillet" and the winning team walks away with an actual cast-iron skillet as a trophy. allegedly, the tradition started when an SMU fan was frying some frog legs on a previous game day decades ago (TCU's mascot is a horned frog). after some debate over whether that was appropriate or not, the two decided that the winning team would get to take the skillet home. it's been the tradition ever since!

we didn't stay to watch the game live, but instead headed home to watch it at mom & dad's house...unfortunately, TCU took home the skillet this year. better luck next year, mustangs! and no matter what, you guys know how to throw a pre-game party!

at an alumni reception before the boulevarding

part of the boulevard

a horned frog, made to be an example

one of the many tents up. no hiding their allegiance

"pony up!"

the parade

german dancing

the childers children have recently been learning german dancing and had the chance to showcase their skills at the addison oktoberfest on september 16th. matt and i had promised the kids (and ourselves!) that we would see at least one of their performances this year, so we took advantage of free admission and parking and headed out to addison to watch. the kids were great and oh-so-adorable in their authentic german outfits! i absolutely loved seeing them all dressed up and dancing in cute little boy-girl pairs. feel free to disagree, i know i'm *slightly* biased, but i'll let you judge for yourself!

addison oktoberfest 2010

and here's the video, the first part is the kids at practice. the second part is them dancing at the oktoberfest.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

George Charles Miller

George C. Miller

November 29, 1924 - September 1, 2010

after the family birthday celebrations on the 1st, my parents received a late-night phone call from my dad's step-mother stating that my paternal grandfather had passed from this life to the next. he had spent the last few years on dialysis, and recently had gotten to the point where he was practically unable to tolerate it. he was also suffering from severe peripheral vascular disease, which was greatly limiting his mobility. although no one expected it, we all knew that it was better that grandpa wasn't suffering anymore. he had always been the independent type, and enjoyed being able to work outside on his ranch, and with his failing health that was no longer something he could enjoy.

we attended the memorial service on september 7th in west, texas and a short reception that followed. it was good to see family and friends, even if it was for a sad occasion.

we also made sure to set aside time to celebrate shari's birthday, which happened to be the same day as the service. she got chorus of happy birthday in the morning at our kolache breakfast before the service, and again at dinner with the immediate family once we had traveled back to the dallas area.

geroge charles miller

53 & 34

no one could decide what to write on the cake, so we ended up with...

alex's was pretty easy

it's september again which means the intolerable heat of the summer should be getting better soon...at some point...maybe...eventually. AND, it's time for the birthdays of two of my favorite lovely ladies! my mom and sister both joined this world in september and we were there to celebrate their 53rd and 34th birthdays, respectively ;)

we had a small family celebration at my parents house and sang happy birthday to our two september birthday gals and our august birthday boy, alex, who turned 11 on the 31st. we enjoyed a great dinner, some tasty desserts and family fun.

happy birthday, mom! so glad you're here to be an amazing mom for 34 of your 53 years!

happy birthday, shari! you are a wonderful big sister and sister-in-law to us, and we love you!

and happy birthday, alex! you are a truly amazing 11 year old!

happy birthday to "mom, shari, alex"