Grandpa and I did go over to Salina's Saturday night and had dinner. Grandpa tried the chicken nacho plate. He liked the look of Mark's nacho's (steak) the last time we were here. I had my usual spinach enchilada's but they gave me refried beans instead of my favorite black beans. No big deal. Pattie wasn't our server but she did stop by the table and ask about you. So she sends a hello! You are missed!
Let's just say Grandma j is still having issues adding photos to the blog. Not that I have many pictures but the few I have aren't in the right spot to transfer to the blog. I should master this by the time you move back to the states.
Aunt Nora and I ventured out to the big town of Union Missouri yesterday. They have a furniture store which advertises in the local paper in St. Louis. There's not much else in Union but the store was worth the trip. Nora took lots of pictures to show Julie and I spotted possible new chairs for the dining room table. Prices were better than our city stores and it was a big shop. We were in there for about 2 hours.
Pearl and Sapphire are bored with me. I'm going to take them for a car ride to PetSmart later to try and cheer them up. Our walks have been short due to the heat. They did enjoy spending the weekend on the window seat because I was reading a book and laid there as I read. Normally they can't cuddle up to me during the day.
Not sure if you received the postcard yet but Erin gave birth to a 6.3lbs. baby boy, name is William Bernard Martin (Liam), that was on Sunday the 28th.
I did take a video of the girls taking a bath which I will try to post when I figure it out. Gearing up for the Labor Day Weekend. Love you all.
Aunt Christine and Uncle Joe went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner on Sunday night (Gulliver, Bantry, and Scooter were still resting from their "training"). Delicious pork, green beans, corn on the cob, and mashed taters with spiced cake for dessert was on the menu. As always, Grandma did an amazing job, and we all ate VERY well.
We spent a lot of time talking about all the fun things we're looking forward to doing with you guys when we come visit. Aunt Christine and Uncle Joe aren't able to make it during the holidays when Grandma and Grandpa plan to visit. They're thinking about October/November 2017, and Uncle Joe is entering the London Marathon lottery, so they might come in April 2018 as well.
We certainly missed having everyone together for dinner. Uncle Joe just isn't quite as exciting as you guys...
But as you can see, we're loving hearing about all of your adventures through your blog, facetime, and tweets. Ain't technology grand! If you'd like, we can make a VHS tape recording of our current commercials and some Saturday morning cartoons (do they even do Saturday morning cartoons anymore?) and send that to you for old time's sake, Camp Zama style. John Lewis may be great, but it ain't AAFES!
The girls missed the kids, for sure. They were all tuckered out from the heat, and were only able to prop an eye open from time to time for Aunt Christine to give them a little lovin.
Hope the kids have a great first week at school! We can't wait to hear all about it. Miss you guys!
Well, we had planned to spend our Saturday morning out at Route 66 Park cleaning up trash for an Operation Stream Clean volunteer event, but Uncle Joe had to go and get covered in poison ivy, so we steered clear of any more weeds.
With that, Uncle Joe spent a lot of time this past week sitting inside and itching. Gulliver and Bantry were none too happy. Much like Uncle Joe, the boys have been getting out of shape. It's been so hot outside that it's just too much for them to be out in the heat for very long.
All that time sitting around, we felt a little cooped up. So we went out for a little run before the Everton match on Saturday morning while it was still a bit cool.
Well, we're all a little out of shape, but it was a start. Uncle Joe and Aunt Christine registered for the Halloween run here in St. Louis, so we better start training. Scooter didn't want anything to do with training, so he just gave us all a dirty look while he sat in the empty lid of our donut box. (unintentional product placement pic)
Not too much going on in Missouri. Just hoping for the weather to finally get cooler. Dinner at mom and dad's tomorrow. We miss you guys!
So, Grandma and Grandpa haven't done anything too exciting like the Millers in London, but thought we'd catch you up on a few things we have done.
We went to "Rock the Hops" in Alton on Saturday. This was at Chez Marilyn's, where we stayed most of the time. Cousin Ed and Sharon met us there. We were drinking Recess Beer at the time. Their motto: Fighting Prohibition, One Beer at a Time. It was a really pretty day.
This picture was in the Alton newspaper, but Grandma is blocked out by some people.
Last night we had Aunt Nora and Uncle Fred over for dinner. Again, the weather was beautiful, so we ate out on the porch. We celebrated Fred's pending retirement, and their 40th anniversary. We even broke out the Pappy Van Winkle 20 years. And yes, we talked about all of you, but all good of course.
Pearl and Sapphire are doing well, and are still miffed by seeing and hearing the London Millers, but never seeing them at the front door. Grandma took them to the dog park again today. Grandpa tried out the new bike trail in the valley that now goes over the Missouri River and joins up with the Katy Trail on the other side. It's very nice.
The football season has begun! The REAL football season, as I'm sure the UK Millers have learned, is the English Premier League season. Uncle Joe, Bantry, Gulliver, and Scooter wake up early, make a big cup of coffee, put on their Blue and watch our favorite football (or soccer if you like) club, Everton FC.
Uncle Joe has been a proud supporter of Everton for over twelve years. Everton plays in Liverpool. Uncle Joe has always liked soccer, and when he was finally able to watch English Premier League games, he knew he needed a team to support, so he did his research. He wanted to support a team just like his other two favorite teams, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the St. Louis Blues. Like the Cardinals, Everton has a long, proud history, beginning all the way back in the late 1800s, and like the Blues, Everton have a very "workmen-like" style of play, and their supporters have always been from the blue collar class. This is why the club is often called "The People's Club." They have a few other nicknames, like the toffees, the blues, the dogs of war, and Uncle Joe's favorite, the School of Science.
As you guys have probably learned already, club supporters take their team very seriously. Everton's club motto is Nil Satis Nisi Optimum, which is Latin for "Nothing but the best is good enough." Uncle Joe has always tried to live by those words, but sometimes he needs a reminder, so he put it where he can always see it...
Some great players have played for Everton, including some pretty amazing American soccer players. One of the best, was goalkeeper Tim Howard, who famously set a record in saves in a World Cup match with 16 two years ago against Belgium. He's ferocious, and a beast, and he is still a devoted Evertonian:
Uncle Joe always loves whoever is wearing the number 17 shirt for Everton, which at the moment is Idrissa Gueye, from Senegal. But his favorite number 17 for Everton was a rough and tumble Aussie name Tim Cahill who had a habit after scoring goals, to sprint to the corner flag and box with it. Gotta love the Aussies!
Much like the Blues and Blackhawks rivalry, Everton bitterly despises their cross town rival, Liverpool FC (blek!). The reds, as their called, are a bunch of stuck-up, whiny, nancies who cry whenever they don't get their way. Whenever the two clubs play, all of Liverpool stops to watch what's called the Merseyside Derby. A "derby" (pronounced dar-bee) is when two teams from the same city play each other, like Chelsea and Tottenham since they're both from London. Uncle Joe can't stand Liverpool FC, and the matches are brutal, but it's always a great day when Everton beats them.
Uncle Joe, Bantry, Gulliver, and Scooter will be watching Everton every weekend, and now that you guys are living in the UK, it's a special thrill to know that you're not too far from the matches we're watching.
Oh, and Everton won 2-1 today, so Bantry was especially excited. COYB! (come on you Blues)
We finally had a cool, rainy day! So to celebrate, Grandma and Grandpa, and Uncle Joe and Aunt Christine went to the St. Louis Art Museum in Forest Park (there was some confusion between what kind of museum we were going to, as noted in the above video).
Art or fart, we all had a gas. We visited a special exhibit at the museum on self-taught folk art, and we had a great time exploring all of the art work.
It's pretty amazing what people are capable of when they unleash their creativity, and the artwork we got to see showed that you don't have to be a world-renowned classically trained artist to express yourself and make something cool! Grandpa and Aunt Christine were super impressed.
But we all had a great time and it was fun talking about the different types of art we each enjoy. We also talked about some of our favorite pieces of art that Maddie and Henry have made.
All of that culture really worked up an appetite, so we drove over to the Boathouse in Forest Park and had a bite to eat. We also made quite a few feathered friends, with the many ducks, egrets, sparrows, and herons "taking our order." Didn't want to upset their stomachs, so we didn't feed them.
Unfortunately, the rain was coming down just a bit too hard for us to take a little paddle boat cruise after our lunch. Perhaps another time. Besides, we were nice and stuffed and ready for a nap. So we strolled back home with full tummies; Grandpa and Uncle Joe watched some more Olympics and dozed, while Grandma and Aunt Christine found a second wind and headed out for a wee shopping excursion.
It was nice to have some cooler weather here in Missouri. With a nice mist in the air, temperatures cooling, good food, and good company, all is well in the US Midwest. Just missing you guys.
Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Fred, and Aunt Nora went all the way to Washington, MO, last Saturday to shop for our pork and bratwurst burgers, go to the Farmers' Market, and generally just look around. We ate lunch at the Blue Duck Restaurant.
Grandpa was bragging to a friend about how no moles ever came around. That same day a mole tunnel was spotted, and the squirrel trap is getting a workout. One morning the trap was totally ransacked and knocked off its mooring. A huge ground hog has been spotted, as well as the usual chipmunks, etc. The ground hog is suspect #1, as it is too big to fit into the trap.
One of the participants in the squirrel relocation program is pictured below.
So, last night, Mom, Joe, Christine, and I started our blog. Today we'll try to get the UK Millers caught up on what's happened here with Mom/Grandma and Dad/Grandpa, as well as Pearl and Sapphire. Joe and Christine will update at their end. Pearl and Sapphire still run to the door when they hear your voices, especially Maddie and Henry. They get to go out on W-A-L-Ks and to the dog park, but they still like it when Henry and Maddie go too. They also like to sit in the sun.
Here are a couple pictures we took at the airport. Also, Grandpa liked to follow your airplane on the computer.
The day after you left, we went to Elizabethtown, KY, to see Val and other friends. We also visited the cemetery where our friend Sharon is buried. The girls like the cows, but the cows weren't too sure about them.
We did make to the Jim Beam Distillery. It was hot! But we did pay our respects to ol Booker Noe.
Grandpa keeps up with his buddies at the zoo, mostly in the Bird House. He seems to have a lot in common with the buzzards that he walks by each time he goes. He also likes sorting worms for the birds to eat....
A couple weeks ago, the Blues had an open house. Joe, Christin, and Grandpa went. The best part was the tour of the locker room. There were a lot of Backes jerseys for sale, and even some Oshie jerseys too.
Grandpa even found this future Blues player before his first skating lesson from Uncle Joe.
