#24

As much as I'm sure Scott and Kurt do not, I kind of enjoy Kurt as the dark horse in the race for quarterback at BYU. That way, when his glorious moment arrives and he stuns the Cougar Blue with his heroics (and we get to do the "we told you so" dance) an amazing sports story will begin. A few years later we will all have a blast watching the ESPN segment about Kurt on the day he quarterbacks the Cougars to victory in a BCS bowl game that begins, "He was a walk-on from a school in a small Utah town called Heber City..."

Kurt, this is what is known as "visualization" in sports psychology; we are all doing it for you! And on the days that you get tired of having to work harder in the other guys, just remember it will make your ESPN segment that much better :).

I got to thinking about this today because someone I work with pointed out the following article to me that you all can see here: http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/207542/3/

GO KURT!!!

Spitting Image

If you can't guess who this is at two months old, you haven't taken a good look at her mother!!!

Little Ruben's Polish Hottie

Finally! Here's a picture of the Aga we've all been hearing about and she's gorgeous - should we have expected anything less?

Kate Needs Your Mail!

Today Ruben helped in Kate's second grade class and her teacher, Mrs. Leach, asked the class to have out of town relatives send postcards to share in class. They are going to post them on a map and see where they are from in relation to Las Vegas. So, please take time to make Kate the kid with the most traveled relatives! Here's where to send your postcard:

Amanda Leach
10135 W. Quail Ave.
Las Vegas, NV 89148

(Papa thanks you as does Kate the Great. Also, please note your relationship to Kate on the postcard, i.e. uncle, cousin, great grandma, etc.)

How is any of this Even Possible?

Allie looking gorgeous and going to prom? Tori looking fierce on the soccer field? Garrett driving things? And when did Cami start walking (I guess at least she still has dolls...)? How have 16 years of having nieces and nephews gone so fast? Seeing how well they're growing up, coupled with very fresh memories of holding them as babies is almost too much for me to bear. Life goes by way too fast.

Family Recipes

Little Ruben had the fantastic idea of having people post recipes to the blog since no one has ever gotten around to compiling all of the family (meaning Grandma's) recipes. He wanted to make stuffed bell peppers and that got him thinking that it would be great if we just shared these things virtually. Wonderful idea, wouldn't you agree?

He got this recipe from Honey and Papa yesterday, so here is the first family recipe for everyone to enjoy. I am officially requesting recipes for everything that Grandma makes :). Also, Honey’s salsa and Ann’s deviled eggs. Everyone send me your stuff – and bonus points if you originally got it from Grandma.

Stuffed Bell Peppers, serves 6
-Cut off tops of 6 medium green peppers, remove seeds and membrane
-Pre cook green pepper cups in boiling salted water for about five minutes, drain (for crisp peppers omit cooking)
-Sprinkle inside of cups generously with salt
-Cook one pound ground beef and 1/3 cup chopped onion until meat is lightly browned, then season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a dash of pepper
-Add one 1 lb. can of tomatoes, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice, and one teaspoon of Worchestershire sauce
-Cover and simmer until rice is tender, about 15 minutes
-Stir in 1 cup shredded cheese
-Stuff bell peppers with mixture and stand upright in baking dish
-Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes

What D'ya Think?

Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback on the logos that were created for the blog. Everyone placed the same composition in their top three so that's the logo I decided to revise. Here it is with a different font and another version in different colors. Leave a comment and let me know which one you like the best (for those of you who haven't figured it out yet, all you have to do is click below on "comments" and it's pretty straightforward from there...). I can still make revisions so if you have any ideas about what to change or try, don't be afraid to share. Thanks!

Coyote Boy

Here is the coyote coat Papa made for Sparky. As you can see, it is embellished with feathers for the full Indian effect. Sparky wore it to school for show and tell and all of the other kids were reportedly jealous, at least the boys were anyway. Amber won't touch the thing - it hangs in the garage and if he wants to wear it Matt has to be home to take it down and put it on. Papa is now working on the racoon that was brutally murdered in Heber over Christmas but it is supposedly as stubborn dead as it was alive.

Showered

Bridget and Paige have been offiically showered. It was a big success - almost every person that was invited showed up! Here are some pictures from the party.

And Now a Word from Dr. Garnica...

I got this email from little Ruben today that he wanted me to post and I happily obliged. I realized today that I think the last time I saw him was almost four years ago in San Diego, so it's nice to know he's happy and doing well. I also found this picture and webpage of him regarding his work at Cambridge. I know it's horrifyingly embarassing to all of us what a dummy we have in the family, but I thought I should share the link anyway: http://www-dak.ch.cam.ac.uk/people/Ruben.html. Here's his email...
-----------------

Hello all! Its been a long long time but I am still around and doing quite well. Now that we have this wonderful blog I thought I might take the opportunity to say hello and give a quick review of whats been going on with me.

I am currently living in Warsaw Poland with my girlfriend Agnieszka and her (our) dog Toshia. We have been dating for about seven months now and met while living in Cambridge England. As you probably know after Brenda and I moved to the UK things got worse and we eventually split and are now divorced. But Aga and I are very happy together and plan on living in Poland for the next few years while we figure out if Bush (or any president for that matter) will let an ex-Communist like her into the country! We may not move back to the States right away though as we would both like to travel a bit more before we settle down. However, if things go according to our plan, we will most likely be back next Christmas for a visit.

I admit that I am a bit of a Gypsy so I have started a blog of my own to track where I have been. I post photos from my travels, silly stories, and whatever else suits my fancy. The url is:

www.ocphotography.blogspot.com

One of my favorite post so far is this neat video I found on YouTube. Enjoy and I'll try to keep in touch...

http://ocphotography.blogspot.com/2006/09/jump-rope-video.html

Ruben

Christmas/Post Christmas Pics From Amber

Margaret in her Christmas PJs

This picture deserves its own post. I am so happy that Amber and Margaret are coming to Provo tonight because the thought of not knowing when I was going to get to see this baby again after getting this picture would have put me over the edge!

Anna the Thumbsucker

I had an ultrasound this week and guess who was caught sucking her thumb?

Don't Forget about Family Activities this Weekend

Just reminder that Bridget's shower is this Saturday at 3 pm at my house. Amber outdid herself and made what might be the cutest baby shower invitations ever! No family members have called to say they can't make it so I'm expecting you all to be there. We promise it will be fun and the food will be yummy.

Porter's 2nd birthday party is this Sunday at 5 pm at Ann and Scott's. Based on last year's picture, I can't wait to see what he does with his cake on Sunday!

Elena is a Big Girl

Elena turned three on January 7th - here are some pictures from her birthday party!!! Emily says things have been crazy with Oliver being sick for a month, which has been more unwelcome than it would normally be after having the flight from hell back home. Emily has had to deal with hives (notice the interesting pattern on Oliver), nasty flight attendants, diarrhea, coughs, colds and ear infections since she left Utah...maybe it's a sign she shouldn't have left! Happy Birthday Elena, and get better Oliver - your mom deserves a break!!!

Cute Baby Streak

I received the most adorable pictures from Chelsea today of the baby boys. They made me 1) miss Andrew more than I already did, and 2) remember for the millionth time that we have never had an ugly baby in our family and I may just be the one to break that very long streak.

Sparky Screws Around

For Christmas this year Parker received real tools, including a screwdriver. Amber had no idea how far this one small gift would go to make things interesting in the Teeples' house. This week Parker removed the lid from a toilet upstairs, as well as flipped his new mini ATV over took the bottom off. He's so adept at using the screwdriver that he has had no problem putting everything back together once he's reprimanded, but Amber has to watch him closely to make sure anything in their house with a screw in it stays in one piece.

Miller's Online Outpost Logo

Since I work at a company whose specialty is logo design, I figured it would be a great idea to put in a project to have a logo created for the blog. I sent some of you an email asking you to log in a vote on the compositions (I've attached a few of my favorites here for you to see in case you didn't get the email). Ignore the spelling error - we'll get that fixed in the revisions. Let me know if you have any suggestions or what you think.

Jenn is Still the Oldest Grandchild

Tomorrow (January 9th) is Jennifer's birthday, giving me back the ability to say that she's two years older than me. Considering, however, that Jenn has four kids and the youngest can read, write, and drive an ATV expertly, PLUS the fact that Jenn weighs less than me and has actually at some point in her life decorated a house, she is quite a bit farther ahead so those two years really don't give me much comfort. She is the supreme example of what it means to keep a clean house, raise great kids, and look hot doing it all. Happy Birthday Jenn!!!

Porter Turns Two and You are Invited!

Marci just sent the following email and the best picture yet to appear on Miller's Online Outpost: "I just wanted to let everyone know that we will be celebrating Porter's 2nd birthday on Sunday, January 21st (which is his actual birthday as well). We will be having dinner at my Mom & Dad's house, as usual, but we will be having a little birthday party following dinner. No gifts are necessary - just your presence. He has been singing Happy Birthday for a week now - in his own way anyway- it usually just entails - Happy Birthday.....Happy Birthday... Happy BIRTHDAY!!! I don't even remember where it all came from.... Anyway, we'd love you have you all there - dinner will be at 5:00 - hopefully that will work for all of you!"

Bridget's Baby Shower

Bridget's baby shower will be on Saturday, January 20th in the late afternoon at my house. Everyone will receive invitations but I wanted to post the information so you can mark your calendars now. Amber is taking the lead on this one so it's sure to be done right. We are excited to throw Paige her first official party and welcome her into the family Miller style!!!

Note from Papa

I got the best email from Papa today that he wanted me to share...

"hi, i would like you to let everyone of the kids know how much i love my christmas gift..
this is one of the best gifts a father could get from his family. thank you all. for all of you to get together and buy my something that is one of my favorite past times is really nice. i don't show too much emotion, but this is great. it has taken a few days for it to sink in."

We hope you have fun at the race, Papa!

And the Survey Says...

The boys fared much better at our New Year's Eve supper and game party than the girls. With John's frightening handle on Broadway musicals and Steve's telling knowledge of celebrity gossip, the girls didn't stand a chance at "Battle of the Sexes." All of the women agreed that the game cards were most definitely written by men, but luckily Bridget saved the day and we got to chalk up at least one win in "Family Fued." By the way, that's the demure and classy Anna Nicole Smith and her dog Sugar Pie, which Steve incorrectly guessed was named "Honey Pie." For all those celebrity blogs you read Steve, your team expected more out of you.

Baby Margaret

Most of us got to meet Baby Margaret over the holidays. She is the most alert, aware, and adorable newborn you could ever hope to find! Many of us also got to meet Olliver for the first time, and having Jack and Andrew there as well made for on-demand baby holding and cuddling. Paige (Bridget's first) is due at the end of February, and Anna (my first) is due in April. Next Christmas will be interesting!!!

First Family Post

I realize that most of our family, at least those older than 45, are what I affectionately call "technopeasants," but after spending the holidays at the Heber House and getting a preview of what is about to come, the family is getting too big, too many exciting things are happening, and there are too many things that we need to be sharing with each other that it does not make sense NOT to have a place where we can go online to keep track of it all. So, with that in mind, I have decided to start the Miller's Online Outpost so that we can all share news, photos, information about family stuff and updates in one central place.

Obviously, I am not the switchboard for family information (that would be Amber), so I will need everyone's input, emails and information in order to have things to post. For instance, Emily sends out these great emails periodically with updates and pictures of Ollie and Elena, and I will take those and post them to the blog so that we have a running log of them. This blog would have been the perfect place for the family reunion information, baby blessing plans or the Christmas schedule. It will also be the central place where you can find everyone's most current mailing address for baby announcements, invitations, etc. I hope everyone will help me out with it and make it a great resource for the family so we can stay as close as we always have been. All you have to do is email me what you want posted!

Love you all. Thanks for the wonderful holidays!