Highlights from our '07 Christmas Card Shoot!

*Special Thanks to Stacey Kane for capturing these special moments!

ADORE...

How amazing is this!?! I am so thrilled that I had Stacey Kane shoot my Mom and Dad with the girls during their session last month! It was a very impromptu thing and I am just so tickled to have these images. I only wish that Gramma Patty had been with us - but all the more reason for more sessions with Stacey the next time she is here in the spring!!!

We are all so blessed to live so close to each other and the bond that Annie and Gracie have with Gramma Bee and Papi Don ['Big Don' as Annie calls him!] is priceless. This quick collage [you can click on the image to enlarge] she designed says it all: ADORE: cherish, shower with hugs + kisses, love and respect deeply. I couldn't say it any better myself! We adore you Mom and Dad and are deeply grateful for all that you do for our family each and every moment of each and every day!

Aunt Kathleen On Her Way Here!!!

We are SO excited! Patrick's sister Kathleen [aka "Aunt Kate"] is arriving in the morning to spend the holidays with us straight from the island of Pulau [near Micronesia] where she has just wrapped filming the 10th season of Survivor! [her 3rd one on the series]. She is a producer with Mark Burnett Productions. We all cannot wait to hear all of her tales of her amazing travels and life experiences gained over the past year since we saw her last! She has been in Dominica [filming the series "Pirate Master"] and then was in China and most recently Pulau. We will only get her for a few quick days before she is off again to destinations unknown for the next 2 seasons!! Check out the pics of her in Pulau diving and swimming with the dolfin's in the wild!

She is just the coolest, most laid back and super fun Aunt/sister/sister-in-law and we are just totally psyched to hang with her for the next few days!! Updates and more pics to follow for sure!

Uncle Doug, Jimmy Buffet, The New Orleans Saints and a Racehorse!

[New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton on left, Jimmy Buffet in red and Doug to immediate right of Jimmy aboard his boat "Last Mango II" in Miami last February during the Superbowl!]

[The official 'Doug Miller' executive headshot from the New Orleans Saints website [which he is totally in charge of! Click on his photo to read his latest bio!]

Ok - quiz time: what do Uncle Doug [my little brother!], Jimmy Buffet, The New Orleans Saints and a Racehorse have in common?

Turns out - quite a bit!! Doug is a part owner of a racehorse named 'Pulaski County' along with Jimmy Buffet and a number of notable New Orleans Saints including head coach Sean Payton, quarterback Drew Brees, General Manager Mickey Loomis and his boss Greg Bensel, Vice-President of Communications! Racing under the "Last Mango Racing Stable" the horse had its second 3rd place "show"today [the first race was on Thanksgiving day].

So. Much. Fun!

Barb and Don were there today for the race - they said it was great and really exciting! You can visit the official website for the whole back story - but in a nutshell - when Doug and the others were in Miami last February for the Superbowl [which the Saints came heartbreakingly close to playing in!] they spent some time with Jimmy Buffet [a HUGE Saints fan!!] and after many Landshark beers they cooked up this idea - and less than one year later here they are!

This is a fun article from the Times-Picayune about the endeavor! Leave it to Doug - never a dull moment!!!

Visit with Santa '07!

One of the highlights of the Christmas season is the visit to Santa in Downtown Celebration!! We took the girls earlier tonight - this was the first year that Gracie has been bold enough to actually talk with Santa and sit on his lap. She was just beside herself with anticipation all day and so excited - I wish I could bottle it up! She wanted to wear her Santa sweater [at least 2 sizes too small!] and matching hat and besides a few anxious moments and tears at the last minute - she did warm up enough for a sit on the big guy's lap!!

Annie took a break in between her two Celebrate Gymnastics team performances downtown to pop over and visit with him - which explains the outfit! She made us very proud and is really loving being part of the team. She was also excited to debut her new 'do' - a shoulder length bob!! Santa loved it!

So far - there are more 'nice' moments than 'naughty' ones so heading into this final week odds are good that Santa will deliver on their lists...but we will keep you posted!

Our Soccer Girl!

Here is Annie's official soccer portrait from this Fall season. This is her 3rd season playing Celebration soccer and besides having her friends on her team - the best part about soccer is her coach...Daddy! Coach Patrick is enjoying coaching and soon needs to decide whether he will take on double-coaching duties when Gracie enters the league - starting this winter!!

Annie is growing up so fast and this past week has added Musical Theatre and Jazz to her already busy line-up of activities which include soccer, piano lessons, the gymnastics team. So much for my vow to not overschedule my kids!!! We will take stock over the holidays and decide what we want to do in the new year - but judging by her enjoyment of everything - she will choose to keep them all!!

The Elf on the Shelf!

The Elf on the Shelf arrived today to our house!! The girls are SO excited! They have named our Elf - "Nip" and he has been assigned to our family by Santa to watch over us and report back to the North Pole each night on who is naughty and who is nice...then, each morning until Christmas, "Nip" will reappear on a new shelf in our house and the girls have to find him! We will let you know how it all goes - so far, so good! "Nip" will go home with Santa and the reindeer on Christmas Eve and then return to our house next Thanksgiving night!!

Update From Annie: International Festival

Hi again i havent bloged for a MONTH!!! se these pic's these first ones i am doing gymnastics i can do a bridge from a stand!!! and the ones below are from me and my friends dancing for the international festival for my school!!!!!!!!!!!! Love Annie

Annie+Gracie in Cayman - Spring '07

[Special thanks to the awesome Rebecca Davidson for shooting these priceless images of the girls! Also - to hear the music for this slideshow - disable the sound from the Xmas post and click on the sound icon on this one!]

Happy Birthday to Gracie!

Happy, Happy 4th Birthday to our dear, sweet Gracie!!!! This special little girl has brought such pure *joy* to our lives for these last 4 years. Her happy, smiley, goofy personality is infectious and she just lights up a room when she walks into it! And those freckles --- oh those freckles!!! We just cannot get enough of this kid!!!

She is beloved by all of us and, as Patrick says, "She is all that's good..."

We had a great time at the Montessori School International Festival where both Gracie and Annie performed with their classmates and then as a big surprise everyone [a few hundred people!] sang Happy Birthday to her while she was on stage and she handled it like a pro!!

Happy birthday sweet girl - may you continue to be such a magical thinker and to spread your happiness to all whom you meet. We love you right up to the moon and back!!!

Mommy, Daddy, Annie and your adoring Grammas + Papi Don too!

Halloween in Celebration!

Check out our little Spanish Dancer and Ladybug!!! They had a blast and are of course enjoying the candy coma that comes with it [as are Mommy and Daddy...]!!

A Visit to the Pumpkin Patch!

One of my favorite evenings of the year - the visit to the Celebration Pumpkin Patch held at our Church - Community Presbyterian Church of Celebration. The girls loved picking out their favorites {and posing for pictures as you can see}...they seem SO big to me all of a sudden! There were some parents there with infants and they were propping them up among the pumkins for pics - and I was very nostalgic to think that it was not too long ago we were doing the same...time really flies - just trying to hold onto every precious moment!!!

Stacey Kane coming to Celebration!

I am SO excited because the AMAZINGLY talented photographer Stacey Kane is coming to Celebration next weekend. I have been working with Stacey for over a year now in the wedding-side of life. She came down from Maine last Spring and shot Kathryn and my new headshots for the EC website and is coming back to shoot our girls for holiday cards!

If anyone is interested in this special opportunity to have one of the BEST and most respected family/children/wedding photojournalists in the country [her work has appeared in Martha Stewart Weddings, In Style, People, US and a number of books to name just a few!] get in touch with Stacey to set up a time to meet up with her in Celebration or over at BoardWalk [great background locations there!] where she is staying. Sessions are $150 with all photos posted online afterwards. Her email address is: stacey@staceykane.com or phone is 207.653.2356 - she will be here Oct. 19-22nd. Check out her blog for some of her latest work!

Cleaning and Crossword Puzzles

Crack us up - Check out Gracie in action doing the dishes and working on her crossword puzzles...hmmm, perhaps a reflection of spending so much time with 'the Grandma's?' :)

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

Last week brought much needed cool(er) breezes so PG and the girls broke out the kite and had some fun in the park in front of our house!

Mommy off to Antigua!

Well - I am off yet again! This time to Antigua for the opening of a new Sandals Resort! I will be there for the whole weekend hosting the who's who of bridal media on all that is new with Sandals Weddings!

Daddy and the girls will be just fine - but I always hate to be away - especially over a weekend!! Could be worse I know - but I will be rooting for team Galaxy soccer team {Patrick is the coach for the 3rd season!} from afar and missing all the great things that a fall weekend in Celebration brings.

Down for the Count...

Well, our little mad-blogger has been absent after a stong start this weekend. Poor Annie has been down for the count with a fever, sore throat and bark-ey cough for the past 3 days...they are always so little and sad when they are sick. She has been here at home with me all week [with some quality Gramma care in between] and I take her to the Dr. this afternoon. My guess - Strep Throat. Hope we get a stong antibiotic to knock it out and that it does not make its way through all the rest of us!

Gracie at the Park

Nothing beats a morning at our favorite Spring Park in Celebration!

Best friends

It's Annie again! this is my best friend Katie she is 7 1/2 too and i have known Katie since i was 10 days old. she goes to school with me at montessori school of celebration fl in the green room in second grade i hope you liked meeting my friend Katie. annie bye.

Sunday Morning 9/30/07

Hello its Annie again. every day now i am going to type its fun. this picture is from when i was in cayman islands on an iguana at the cozy sandy beach i ran in and out of the water its annie bye.

Hi from Gracie

Hi I'm gracie grinnals ilove my big sister annie she alreddy made a blog and since i dont now how to type she is typing all this for me she is still teaching me how im almost 4 years old i go to montessori school to im in preschool and annie's in second grade WOW it's gracie bye.

Hello from Annie

hi its Annie its my first blog picture IM EXITED yay yay yay i lke it. im 7 1/2 years old. I go to montessori school of celebration fl. bye Annie

Some pro pics

We were so lucky to have the amazing photojournalist from Maine, Stacey Kane in town back in March to shoot our new headshots for the Engaging Concepts website. Kathryn and I brought the 4 girls with us and Stacey was kind enough to turn her camera around and capture a few images of each in between our shots. Gracie was running about a 102 degree fever that day and was a total trooper [no surprise there!] but you can really see it in her eyes. We are really excited because Stacey is coming back at the end of the month to shoot the girls for our holiday pics - can't wait for those!