Part 1 - Michael's 30th Birthday

It's Michael's 30th birthday today! We went camping with the Jeffs on Mt Hood and visited one of Michael's favorite places on earth, Trillium Lake. He grew up fishing on this lake with his Grandpa Miller and Dad. He camped there so many times as a kid and it's been WAY to long since he has been back. He was all smiles as he rowed the boat into the middle of the lake. It has to be one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen.

Happy Birthday Babe - Love you tons!

Soccer Family

We are officially a soccer family!

When Andrea and I talked about putting the girls in soccer this year little did we know our whole family would be jumping in with both feet. We received an email letting us know they were in desperate need of coaches which lead to Greg being head Coach, Mike Asst Coach, and I was now the Team Mom! We know very little, close to NOTHING about soccer. Thank goodness Greg at least played the sport and he is doing a great job coaching. Despite the fact that we nervously laughed at the idea of Mike and I having any role at all on a soccer team we are REALLY LOVING IT! Besides, we get to hang out with the Moffat family multiple times a week - WHAT A BLAST! Here are a few pics of practice last night. I am sure this blog will be bombarded with photos from games in the weeks to come.

Wonderful Moments

The arrival of baby Ava Mary!

More pics coming soon...

Lunch with Aunt Katy & Yaya

Church Picnic on the Sandy River

Visit from my Cousin Lizzy, Nathan, and their adorable son Oliver.

Green is my favorite color

Good green stuff from our garden.

Ellie has become quite the gardener. She loves checking on the veggies with me and gets so excited when things are ready to be picked. We picked green beans, a perfect cucumber and lettuce for dinner tonight.

Ellie has green bean pride.

Day 1

Today was our first day of swim lessons for the kids. Blake was excited and sweet Ellie was nervously excited. Let's just say, Ellie is not all that comfortable in the water. They both did great and I can tell that by the end of this Ellie will be a lot more at ease in the water.

Fletcher Fun

Two beach trips in two weeks with the Fletchers!

Fletcher trip to Rockaway

We made it back to our favorite beach Rockaway with the Fletchers.

We made the Fletchers come with us to do some traditional Miller crabbing. We caught lots of little ones but no keepers - SAD.

The Wilsons gave us a grand pirate adventure! They were on vacation in Rockaway right before we got there for our vacation. So they buried a treasure on the beach and gave us a map to follow. It required the use of an i-phone, directions from some locals in a bar, and a good long search on the windy beach. We all had a blast! We finally found the buried treasure of beach toys and a bumble bee transformer kite.

It was AWESOME...thanks Wilsons!

The reading of our Pirate letter!

Tillamook Cheese Factory

Fun at the Zoo

It was perfect weather for a trip to the zoo!

Blake got a little too comfy on the train.

Farewell Jeffs

We packed in as much fun as we could with the Jeffs these past few weeks since they are headed out of town tomorrow morning, for over a month.

Drive safe Rachel and have a blast!

We will miss you guys while you are gone.

Miller Rockaway Beach Trip

This was our 4th trip to Rockaway with the Miller clan. It was so much fun. We got lots of rest and play time in. We made ice cream (tradition), had bonn fires, roasted marshmallow and made some pretty fantastic gourmet smores, played cards, and ate delicious food. I personally kicked Ivan and Michael's butts at badminton, I took them both on at the same time! We had typical Oregon coast weather, moments of rain and moments of sun. I think Michael's highlight was watching me attempt to stay dry as it dumped rain on us while crabbing. We were out on a Pier in the middle of a flippin' storm...and Michael could not understand why I was a tad bit cranky! I had my legs stuffed in a camping chair bag and was hiding under a blanket most of the time. But I did it, I sat out there for over an hour getting soaked so we could catch NOTHING! I do have to admit it was a blast. We all hit the Pier again the next morning same scenario however, better dressed and prepared for rain. Again, lots of laughs but NO CRAB! Thanks, Papa, Nana, Ivan, Melissa, Chloe, Justin, Michelle, and Viola for a wonderful vacation!