Scientist or Supermodel?

So which do you think Chase will grow up to be based on these pictures? A scientist testing the laws of physics and motion or a supermodel with big pouty lips?

We are gearing up for our family vacation July 4th. And I mean FAMILY vacation-us, my folks, and my sister all going down to Sandestin, FL! Should be interesting, there's a family reunion there will my dad's side of the family so my PaPa will get to meet Chasen. I look forward to relaxing a bit and getting to the beach. Not to mention fresh seafood!

Be sure to check out the new movie review section on http://www.justinandjacinda.com/! Justin has been working on rating some of the movies we've been watching since we got our projector!

Pimp My Ride

Chasen Ford is now the proud new owner of a tricycle! He isn't proficient with the bike yet, but he loves to get on it and walk it around or have us push him. We got this bad-boy-bike at a yard sale the other weekend. We love yard sales! I've gotten several goodies for Chasen for pennies the last few weeks. We now have a huge box of mega-blocks that I got for $2. Of course, did he need more mega-blocks? Probably not at this stage in his life, but for that price who could resist? I can't wait to have our own yard sale in a couple of years to unload the piles of clothes growing in our basement. Who knew one kid could go thru so many clothes?

Chase is enjoying his summer. He's been to the pool and we have a baby pool in the back yard as well. He spends a lot of time in his sandbox pouring sand from one cup to another. We even have him sleeping in. He is now getting up between 7:30 and sometimes even 8:30! He use to be a 6:30-7:00 guy. I suppose that once we go back to work, he will have to adjust. My mom has been helping out and watching him while I get some school work done as well and taking him to the library for presentations. He is much better at watching plays and shows than he was just a few months ago! He actually stands still and watches!

On a personal note, classes are keeping me busy at GSU. I never knew there would be so much work! I have so many things due for every class. One lady is a little nuts with how many assignments she has given us. The problem is, I have so many little assignments that I have to work on but I also have large case studies that are due at the end of the semester. So, I'm working hard on the little things but don't seem to have time to fit in the large projects. I suppose I will just have to beg for baby-sitters the last weekend before it's all due and try to cram it all in!

"He had me at STEAK"

Just when you think you know someone....

Justin is notorious at our house for scaring off solicitors and all the Jehovah Witnesses and Mormans who come to our door. I on the other hand can't be rude to them so they end up coming back and bring their families! I will never forget the one day we opened up the garage door on our way out of the house and were blocked in by a whole family of Jehovah Witnesses who I had talked to the month before! They wanted to know how I had enjoyed the reading material they had left! Justin has a different approach. He answers the door with a beer in his hand and says "What do you want?" in his best p.o.'d voice. Some of the young ones start stumbling over their words and wishing they had never rung our doorbell!

This all changed yesterday. We had just gotten home from Publix and I was cutting Chasen some fruit for a snack. Justin was cleaning my car because the KING crab legs ($6.99/lb!!!) had leaked their sea juice all over the car and my car smelled like a tuna can that had been left in the sun for days. The next thing I know, Justin comes running in telling me I had to come outside to meet this guy who was selling steaks. I was like-NO! Hello! We just got back from Publix, why do we need more food? Well, Justin comes back two times trying to get me to come outside. I walk out and this guy plops down cases of vacuum-sealed meat trying to get us to buy into this great deal. I told him that I've had those types of steak before and didn't like them. I was refusing to buy into his sale. Justin on the other hand, was acting like he had just met his long-lost twin. The next thing I know, these guys are on our back deck (which is awesome by the way) drinking sodas and we are cooking a steak on the grill to try it out. I felt for a minute that I needed to let Justin and this guy have some time alone so that they could "catch up"! Ended up the steaks weren't going to put Morton's out of business, but they weren't as bad as the ones we had eaten before. But, we didn't buy the jumbo case either and still got quite a deal. My meat-loving hubby should be happy for quite a while! I asked Justin later on why he even talked to this guy when all other salesmen and Girl Scouts leave our door in tears. His eyes glazed over and he smiled as he said "He had me at steak......"

Our family vacation

The Miller family went on our first vacation since the honeymoon (you remember-B.C.-before children!) We took a three day trip to Charleston, SC. I have to say that I was very nervous about having our anxious lil' tot in a car for 5-6 hours, but he did very well! There were a few outbreaks of screaming, but they were short bursts not the hour-long drama I've seen in the past. We had a portable DVD player and I think that really helped. On the way home we gave him a big lollipop and that held him for a while, though once he started rubbing it on his feet that became a sticky mess!

While we were there, we visited downtown Charleston and I accidentally took my hubby on a three hour walking tour in 80% humidity 90 degree weather! I forgot how big Charleston was if you were on foot! We visited Palmetto State Park (the only one of three that I had wanted to see). It was just like walking in Jurassic Park minus the T-Rex. Along with the walking paths that took you to the marshland, they had an outstanding kid's park. Chasen had such a good time on the slides and swings. He also discovered it was a blast to throw rocks on the slide (thanks to some older children). That wasn't so fun when he turned around and threw rocks at the other kids (though maybe they deserved it)! We also went to the Charleston Aquarium which was nice. It in no way compares to the Atlanta Aquarium but the good thing about it was that it wasn't crowded. We could take our time and see everything. And then we could let the beast run wild and weren't scared that we would lose him among the 20 people who were there! We then took a trip out to Folly Beach, which I never knew was there. Justin went fishing on the pier (though no luck) and Chase and I played on the beach. Justin took him out into the ocean and he was OK for a bit, but then he got scared. He didn't like standing on the beach either where the water was rushing the sand from his toes. I imagine it could be a little scary that the earth is moving from underneath you and not understanding why! We settled for playing in the puddles up the beach that the tide had left and he enjoyed scooping sloppy sand into his bucket. He also rubbed sand all over my legs and gave me a deep sand scrub on my back. Spa Sydell eat your heart out! People would pay $100 for this service and I got it for free! Of course, he didn't rinse me off afterwards and then was upset when I went into the big scary ocean to get clean! I'm proud to say that I didn't get my baby sunburned (mother of the year award contender?!?) though I did burn in a few spots. Mainly my feet! Ouch! On our way home we took a long detour to the Charleston Tea Plantation. It is the only tea producer in the U.S. and it is the tea served at the White House (since it's Made in the USA!). That was pretty cool to see how they processed the tea, which we got to watch. Now I know how they make green vs oolong vs black. It's all the same tea-which I did not know. It just is a matter of letting them oxidate. If you'd like to learn more, just ask now that I have a wealth of tea knowledge!

The hardest part of the trip for us and was a huge learning curve was that you just can't get it all done with a toddler. It takes longer to do everything, and just when you think you have it planned out to go to lunch at a cool restaurant you turn around and the kid's passed out! So it's off to McDonald's! He also did not like to sit down for dinner, which is a big thing for us. We love to go out to eat for dinner on vacations and relax. There was no relaxing this time! One night we were lucky and went to Shem Creek to a bar-like spot. It was right on the pier and since Justin ordered all-you-can-eat crab legs I took Chasen on walks up and down the pier and up and down the stairs to the bar balcony while daddy introduced the snow crab population to the endangered species list! So, even though we really didn't have a dinner "together" too much, it was still cool. And it was laid back enough to let monkey boy run around a bit. The other nights....not so much. I don't know the solution to this problem, he will either have to grow out of this phase, or we will have to search out eating facilities that allow toddlers to roam and explore! Or, of course there is always McDonald's!