Independence Day

We had a busy 4th of July weekend (doesn't pretty much everyone?). We started it off by going to my family's annual 4th of July breakfast. We hadn't been for many years and it was so nice to see some of my Savage side again. We only got one pic of the event though (lame). Then we strapped the kids in the car and drove up to Idaho. Nothing like getting back in the car for another long car ride. Actually, the kids have been subjected to so much travel they are really great travelers now and we don't even own a portable DVD player!

We spent the evening of the 3rd with Brett's family, catching up with his cousins and their kids. We had a great dinner in the backyard. How I long to have a spot of land like the one Brett grew up on. Brett's mom also made him a birthday cake so we could celebrate a day early when so much of the family was around. It was so great to see everyone. Even Brett's cousin who had had a baby only a few days before came with her kids. I love Brett's family and we had so much fun enjoying a beautiful Idaho evening before heading off to watch the fireworks in Idaho Falls.

Here is Chase playing ball with some of his Savage second cousins. These boys were awesome. They had so much fun playing with him and Chase loves being around other boys. They had a blast.

Ok, I am now officially a fan of the collage (I eat all my former words / thoughts about them). There were too many great photos to make you scroll through, but here's a smattering of our fun 4th (3rd) of July dinner with Brett's family.

And, here's the old man himself, blowing out 28 birthday candles.

Grandpa Time

These kids love their grandparents and we tried to fit in as much time with them as we could. We went with my dad one morning to a local park. How nice it was that the temperature is cool enough in Utah at 10 am, even in the summer, that we could spend some time there.

Fish and Cousins

What do you do in the middle of the night when you can't sleep? Blog, of course! Little Chase has become a much, much better sleeper, but like all babies, you can't count on a great night's sleep every night. The good news is I went to bed quite early, so I already had a few hours of sleep under my belt by the time he got me up. I think that's why I can't fall back asleep actually, but I'll survive. Nothing like the present to get me back on track on my blog catch-up.

While in Utah we took advantage of some time to be with cousins. We went to the aquarium, which you can hardly tell from the few pictures we took. I think Adie really enjoyed it, but mostly I think she liked being with her cousins. Chase was just happy for a change of scenery. I thought it was fun to see the aquarium which they built only a few years ago and I hadn't visited yet.

Adie's cousin, who is only a few months younger than her, checking out the fish. These two (mostly) play very wonderfully together and Adie misses her.

Hanging out with Aunt Diana

Adie had to get in on the picture-taking action. I still love carrying Chase in the wrap, and he still loves it too.

The twins checking out the sunglasses at the gift shop. These two are only a few months older than Chase and I hope they will all be good friends when they get a bit older.

A Mini Hike

Well, my goal of posting something everyday until I was caught up from all our travels has already gone unfulfilled (shocker), but I am undaunted. Since we didn't have too much going on this evening, I thought I'd get back on track. I am trying to go chronologically so we are still writing about late June.

Also, I have decided to do something unprecedented here at the Millar Family Blog. I made a collage. I don't normally do that for two reasons. First, I am extremely lazy when it comes to uploading photos, so extra steps aren't generally my friend. Second, and you collage-makers out there, please don't be offended, I don't love it when others put collages on because I can barely see the pictures. I am squinting on my 24" monitor to see what is going on half the time. However, it is a pretty efficient use of space when you have a lot of photos about one little event, so I decided to dive in. I admit, that picasa collage-maker is a pretty slick little tool. I suppose you might find me putting a few more collages on here from time to time.

Anyway...back to the events at hand. We decided we needed to get up to the mountains of the beautiful Wasatch Front, so we headed up Little Cottonwood Canyon with Marc and Diana, and after unsuccessfully reaching the Albion Basin for a little hike (still closed due to snow or something), we ended up on a nature jaunt (I'd hardly call it a hike) at Snowbird. It was beautiful, of course, and a little colder than we had anticipated. So, Adie wore a nursing blanket to keep her warm, which also allowed her to play the part of superhero with a cape. I think she enjoyed that. She mostly enjoyed seeing snow in the summer and getting into a snowball fight with Diana. Chase enjoyed chilling in the wrap and taking in the scenery. All in all, not a bad way to spend a morning. I long to live among such scenery.

Saying Goodbye

Let's reach back to mid-June to start our game of catch-up. We already had plans to go to UT / ID / FL during the month of July. Because we received the unfortunate news of my grandmother's passing, we extended our trip by a couple of weeks and headed up to Utah on June 22nd, in order to attend my grandmother's funeral on the 23rd. Funerals can be so bittersweet. I was very sad to say goodbye. I have nothing but the best of memories of my Grandma Savage. She was a wonderful person and I miss her dearly. I was really happy for her though because her body and mind have been failing her the last few years. I know she is now in a better place. The great thing about funerals, though, is the opportunity to get together with family you haven't seen for a long time. I saw many of my cousins and an uncle I hadn't seen in a very long time.

Her funeral service was very nice, even a little humorous at parts. It was also very musical, which is fitting for a woman whose life was full of music and singing. Adie now has me sing her the song "Doodlely Doo" daily (that song is probably not recognized by anyone not acquainted with the Savage family, but it's a family favorite). I am so grateful we live close enough that Brett, the kids and I were all able to make it out to pay our final respects to a woman who deserves all the respect in the world.

All the cousins who were present (except me who was nursing Chase, grrr!)

I don't know why this picture is so small, but here's my dad enjoying a moment catching up with family.

Adie was really curious about death, the afterlife, the funeral, etc. She still talks about how Grandma Savage died and is in heaven and how she was a good woman. It's been a great opportunity to talk with her more about what we believe. When we were told we could take a flower from the casket as a memento, she thought that was way too cool and kept going back for more. I think we finally got a handle on the situation after she had helped herself to about 4 flowers.

I know my Grandpa Savage really misses his wife. They were the cutest couple and in the last few years, I think they grew even closer to one another as my grandpa had a larger role to play in taking care of my grandma. What a great example of love and service they have been to me.

The Long Absence

This blog has been neglected, or almost neglected, for some time now. Besides the fact that I haven't been in a blogging mood lately, the real reason for our lack of posts is because the kids and I had been gone for 6.5 weeks visiting various states, in which family members reside or were visiting. Brett got to join us intermittently for about 3 of those weeks, but he still was working remotely a good portion of that time. Ah the joys of having a real job! Anyway, it was such a busy, busy summer full of memory-making and catching up. The kids were incredibly good travelers considering all the places and events they were taken to. Routine? What routine?

Amongst our travels we attended my grandma's funeral, two family reunions and the traditional Savage Family 4th of July breakfast. We also visited the Millar Family cabin, went to my cousin's wedding reception, attended another cousin's mission farewell, and were present at our newest nephew's baby blessing. We managed to get together with as many friends while we traveling too. We got pictures of many of these happenings, although there were a few things where the camera wasn't pulled out. Overall, I saw almost everyone I wanted to see. There were a few I missed and I certainly wished I had had more time with each and every person, but you do what you can do. We hit 6 states on our travels too: Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming (thank you Yellowstone for taking care of lots of those in one day), Georgia and Florida. And, if you include strictly traveling through, we also hit Nevada and Texas.

Anyway, for the next few days, I hope to play catch up and document all that has recently gone on. I considered abandoning our blog, but decided, if nothing else, it's a great way to preserve family memories, so here's to getting on top of all that. Get excited for blog mania from the Millar household.

While I get all our photos together, here's the latest and greatest picture of our adorable little Chase who just turned one, (more on that later).

And, here's a picture of Adie, just because she's also really cute.

Proud Husband

Just a quick note. I'm proud of Sabrina. She finished her first marathon yesterday, the Deseret News Marathon. Her training had been less than spectacular considering Chase hasn't consistently slept through the night yet. She'd run 10 straight miles once. That was about 2 months ago. And then yesterday she went the distance. She'll point out that she walked on the hills and some other spots as well. In the end, I still say she rocked it just by finishing it.