Thanksgiving in Paradise!!!!!

Happy Turkey Day,

We hope everyone had a wonderful day spent with someone or someones' they love. We spent the day quietly as a family and prepared an awesome dinner with 3 different kinds of dessert. It was a relatively quick month and now we are staring at Christmas before we know it. Jeff (crazy!!!) went out about 3 am to get with the masses waiting for the doors for stores to open at 5. He didn't find anything, but felt he had to stick with tradition. Christmas will be tight as we are trying to save for retirement, which is in 7 months.....woohoo! I don't believe there were any birthdays this month, but I will give a shout-out to my mom & Archie for celebrating 9 yr anniversay.

Love and miss everyone.

Happy Halloween

Happy Fall everyone~

Fall has come quickly and with it it has brought Hawaii's version of fall weather....rain, rain, and more rain. The boys got their first report cards of this school year and Boy! was it an eye opener for me!! Both boys were struggling and I had no idea,Chase is barely passing in Science, that didn't go over well with Jeff who has a degree in it, but unfortunately Jeff was away when this was going on. Skyler was moved into a new 3rd grade class, created due to too many third graders this year. Well during this whole transition and then after, he decided that writing down homework assignments and then doing them was TOO much, and thus chose not to. Let me just say it was 2 very LONG days off doing nothing but homework, those were the longest 8 hours of my life. Skyler went on his 1 of 2 field trips to have pumpkin farm, and I actually got to go to as an EA for another 3rd grade class. It was kind of cool seeing pumpkins and watermelons growing in Hawaii. Skyler is still diving and he amazes me with how far he has advanced, he and a fellow dive student (Max) are learning the steps to put a back somersault together.... the boys are working hard to prepare for a series of dive meets starting Jan 3, 2009. Chase is still being a bum, but that is due to Mokapu Elementary dropping the ball again and not getting their fitness team up as of yet, all other schools that we will compete against next spring have been in practice for over a month. Jeff was gone for Halloween, hopefully the last one he will have to miss. The boys had a great time, Chase was the comical version of the villain from Scream, and Skyler was a demented Jester. The neighborhood we live in now rolls out the red carpet for this holiday and at 5:59 there was packs of kids waiting to knock on doors. I ran out of candy after an hour and fifteen minutes in, WOW there were sooooooo many kids! During the long 4 day weekend, we went to my favorite spot on the island, bellows beach and the boys played sand snow ball fights, quite amusing.

Big Island Vacation

We arrived on the big island Saturday afternoon around 4 pm and drove our rental 4X4 Trailblazer up to the camp where we were staying, elevation 4,000'. After getting our 2 bedroom with a fireplace cabin, we decided to tour the camp ground. We checked out the rec room filled with video games, pool tables, a mini theater and a mini bowling alley. We ate dinner at the cafeteria, and saw a movie that night. Sunday morning we drove back down to Hilo which is where we flew into, a lovely 45 minute drive to eat breakfast and go to the zoo. The zoo was very small and took us less than an hour to tour, but in that time we came face-to-face with some neat animals. I had an instant love affair with Zoe the blue macaw. We left the zoo and decided to visit two unique beaches, one black and the other green. Reaching these beaches we had to first drive on highway 11 through some serious volcanic wastelands...it got old fast. Black sand beach was very easy to find and it being a Sunday very popular with the locals and tourists. The beach was littered here and there with green sea turtles just snoozing away. We left there feeling fine and ventured on. Now reaching green sand beach proved to be more challenging, but a memory filled one. We passed our turn and ended up at the end of the road (Literally), which happens to be the most southern point in the USA, from there we did some off-roading to reach the parking area to the beach. I don't know what came over Jeff and I, I can only describe it as a total Griswald experience. To reach this beautiful experience we had to hike 2-1/2 miles over lava rock and scrub terrain. Sounds relatively easy right? No water, no lunch, improper footwear and wet sand covered clothing made it the walk from hell, that took almost 5 hours to complete, barely making it back before dark. Yeah, laugh all you want, but I'm still having nightmares!

Monday we drove to location of the most recent lava flow, to reach it you drive over a lava field that goes on for miles. Shockingly there were homes being built, and land for sale, the For sale by owner sign cracked me up. From there we drove on a one lane roller coaster road along the coast to reach a natural volcanically heated pool, the temp was about 91, blissful bathwater. The local bathers was a little scary at times. After lunch time we drove to Rainbow falls, and while the boys (all 3 of them) climbed to the top, I stayed below and listened to ukulele music. Late afternoon we drove back to the crater our camp is located in and from there viewed a huge active volcano vent. Tuesday was our day for driving, as we wanted to drive to the top of Mauna Kea (white mountain) which is over 13,000' above sea level and from Dec-Mar is covered in snow. At the top there are observatories that study astronomy. It was actually really BORING at the top, but the drive up and down (4X4 only) was AMAZING. My favorite thing of all was the sign posted cautioning: Beware Invisible Cows! Truly, I am not pulling your leg. From the mountain we drove around saddle road towards Parker Ranch, a 225,000 acre working ranch, the size of which is equal to 2/3 of Ohua...WOW! We visited another water fall - Akaka Falls. We drove back to where the lava has been flowing and walked the mile long route of lava rock to the water, but luck wasn't with us...no lava flow that day. Disappointed and road weary (9 hours worth of driving) we went up to the crater to do some exploring. We did a very easy and pleasant hike up to Thurstan Lava tubes and that was cool and scary knowing you were under ground in a cave that was formed by lava flow. After dinner that night we went back to see the active vent at night, and it was frightening to see it lit up like a huge bonfire. Wednesday, our last day we spent the last couple hours before our flight driving down crater rim road, stopping at different craters and lava areas that have occurred at different times in the past. At the very end of this road it is blocked off and deserted, signs telling you to not stop and to just turn around. Oh hell no, not the Griswalds, we park get out and hike over dangerous lava rock with deep fissures to peer over the edge at a part of the island that's not there anymore, it crumbled in during an earthquake. But, interestingly enough off to the right we could see "Laze" (lava + water) this was the active lava flow entering the ocean that at that time was only visible from air. Our vacation ended with a 40 minute flight back to our island, where we literally ran to our Jeep, through luggage in back and sped off to get the dogs from their vacation at Nalowinds kennel before they closed. Please enjoy the photos I have added, and know we love and miss everyone!

Happy Birthday Princess "Bling-Bling"

Happy Birthday goes out to our granddaughter Devon, she is 2 today! I also want to send a shout-out to Katelyn Renee Croucher born Aug 28 th to Scott & Pam Croucher, happy birth-day to my lil' southern Belle!!!! On a sadder, yet positive note, ask any and all that read my blog to all send out a prayer of fast recovery to my dear father-in-law Bob, he suffered a heart attack on friday, Aug 29th, he is slowly but surely recovering in ICU, and is surrounded my his loving wife Carol and his 3 sons, Danny, Jeff & Ryan and their families. Myself and the boys are unable to be there and it hurts that we can't. Bob, I love you and I wish in so many different ways that I could be there even if for nothing more than touching your hand. Carol, I love you, and I admire you tremendously, you are a brave & strong woman, and surrounded by the sons you gave birth to and raised, you have every reason to be proud. My heart is with you all in spirit, and everyday my prayers go out to you.

The boys have finished their first month of school and doing great, they fill me with pride at how smart they are. Skyler is starting back to dive practice twice a week again, and his coach sat him down and told him he was going to start training him on a more advanced level, he will be learning dives that would be taught to 10-11 yr olds. There is a dive meet next spring that Skyler will compete in 3 different age/skill groups. Pray for him as well, for patience and listening, for he is still an 8 yr old boy!! Chase is going out for the track/fitness team for the 3rd year, and this year Skyler is old enough to tryout too! We will most likely stay in Hawaii until the boys have finished their school year, so that means they will both be able to go to all the meets and competitions for their prospective sports. As much as I HATE Hawaii, my boys come first, and I believe sports are as important as school.

Paradise??

Aloha family & friends,
Okay, so I jumped on the whole "blogger" wagon and am joining the masses. I am really terrible about keeping in touch with everyone on the mainland, so I guess this will be a great middle man!
Chase, Skyler, Madison and I arrived on Oahu March 13, 2006, to discover Hawaii was having the worst rainy season in 60 years. It rained for 50+ days straight, try doing that in a place you have never been, with no tv, no toys, and a backyard that flooded and was a mud-pit (can you say muddy dog?!!!) We survived and soon made many friends and started to see the island as the sun reemerged. We met up with our old and dear friends from Maryland, the Frantzens, and new friends that are now like family to us, the Crouchers and the Wilsons. Without these three families my prison sentence (4 year tour) on Hawaii would have sent me to the crazy house or divorce (j/k hun!) We have experienced many good things here and the culture and the scenery are worth it. The boys have adjusted slowly and along the way there have been trials, but We are Miller (sorry stole from We are Marshall, couldn't resist) and we made it through! We did a hike up a mountain to see a lovely waterfall, it was an easy hike that took less than an hour, but my oh so adventurous husband wanted to do the off-the beaten track hike up the side of the mountain (literally) to the top, where I will begrudgingly admit the view was breathtaking! The whole experience caused several (20+) gray hair to sprout on my head!!! In September, I got to go home to Tx on the squadron plane and see my grandbaby Devon the day she was born, she is as beautiful as her mommy! I spent 6 days there and is was wonderful. The majority of 2006 was spent boogie-boarding at Bellows (true paradise) hanging out at someones house playing darts, dominoes or cards (yes and drinking too!) 2007 was the year of really experiencing life in Hawaii, during the boys 2 week spring break, we went to Waikiki and played tourist for a week...it was awesome! We went on a submarine 120 feet under the water to different sites that had sunken boats and planes, where we saw sea turtles and sharks and thousands of rainbow colored fish. On the boat ride back to the pier be had a pod of pacific bottle-nose dolphins swim next to the boat, some would dive out of the water, I felt blessed (me and dolphins, what can I say?). We swam at the beautiful Hale Koa hotel pool, went to dinner shows, and went out on a sunset dinner cruise, where the boys got to feed huge fish that swam along with the boat, and watched Chase dancing in a conga line!! We went to Sea Life Park (50 first dates filmed there) and Chase snorkeled with Sea rays and various fish. Got to see the one and only in the whole world Whalphin (a dolphin got nasty with a whale and a baby was born!!) the dolphin show was of course my all-time favorite. We hiked up to the lighthouse and the pictures will never do it complete justice. We snorkeled at Hanauma Bay (I should say Dad & Chase did) Skyler and I hung out on the beach and watched, it was still gorgeous. Summertime the boys and I caught a C-14 supply plane (yeah we sat in jump seats among supplies going over to Germany, with 50 other passengers) that flew us to McGuire AFB, where we met a fabulous couple driving to Md and they offered us a ride to my brothers house. We went to Kings Dominion in Va and it was a blast, Chase and I rode some killer roller coasters, and Skyler got to ride on his first big coaster and loved it!!! From there the boys and I traveled up to Pa and stayed with Carol and Bob (Jiffy's mom & dad) and spent the 4th of July with all his family and friends, did a lot of swimming in their pool. We left there and ventured down to NC to visit my mom and her husband Archie at the Outer Banks beaches. The boys and I discovered and obsession of going to the fishing piers that extend about a mile out in the ocean and are open 24/7. We experienced so much in a few days that will last a lifetime in my boys memories. They got to see various fish caught, and caught a few themselves, Skyler caught a baby blue shark (he still talks about it) and we saw a 4 ft in wing span stingray swim past the pier and 6-7 ft long shark jump out of the water (Air Jaws). My mom took us to the aquarium and to touristy shops and the boys got to go to an outside play about the first settlers. My mom works at a hotel that has an indoor heated swimming pool and the boys and I swam everyday. We spent time with my good friend and old roommate Kathy and her brother Billy and daughter Martina. We went ghost crab hunting at night with flashlight and buckets, climbed Jockey's Ridge (the largest sand dune on the Eastern coast) and we crabbed for well crabs! on the soundside using string and chicken necks, that was a very fun day. Jeff met up with the boys and I and we drove back up to Pa to spend 2 more weeks with his family. We went to Kennywood, an amusement park in Pittsburgh, and stayed until close, riding all the rides over and over. We fished in the river next to the dam and caught HUGE channel catfish (nasty eating!!!!!) We got to meet the newest addition to the Miller family, Austin born July 3rd to Jeff's older brother Dan. We were sad to see our vacation come to an end but we flew back to Hawaii mid July. Chase is in 4th grade and Skyler 2nd at Mokapu Elementary on Kaneohe Marine base (where we live....duh!) They both like their teachers and are consistently A & B students. Chase was on the fitness team, that competes with other schools on the windward side of the island (again where we live), he won silver at the Kaiser competition (a 1st for Mokapu EVER) and was awarded the President certificate signed by president Bush. This year has been quiet with sports, Chase hasn't wanted to play anything and Skyler has had a difficult time with his left knee. After numerous visits to specialist after specialist, Skyler was diagnosed with psoriasis causing an auto-immune reaction in his body resulting in rash and arthritis in his knee. He is a brave little boy and has adapted to his situation admirably. I guess you noticed by now that I totally skipped over fall and winter?? Well, it was a Banner year in the Miller family and we'll leave it at that. We lost our good friends on island, the Crouchers are now stationed at our old stomping grounds at Andrews AFB, Md. They are renting a house off base in the country and are expecting a baby in Sept. Way to go Pam & Scott!!!! If I were to say anything about the fall and winter of 2007 I would say "Thank you" to higher up for putting us through hell. We learned valuable lessons about life, our marriage and especially ourselves, and thank you to the friends that stood by us and never once faltered. Christmas was great, the boys got some truly awesome gifts and Jeff enjoys playing with them quite often...lol!
So, that now brings us to January 2008 where we are now living in a different house on the same base, god love the military!!!! We are in a 3-story townhouse with no backyard, an adjustment when it comes to walking two dogs. Oh, yeah I forgot to mention Jeff and I have been smoke free for 5 months and I have lost 13 lbs. I walk everyday, up the hill, down the hill, up the hill etc..... We entered 2008 not with resolutions, but with strong convictions, and being this will our last full year here, are determined to make every moment count. We love everyone and I am soooo sorry to make you read our saga, I promise all further updates will be short and funny!