Greetings from the Crab That Fishes...

Anne was just getting ready to sit here and post the family's recent escapades from down at the lake when something happened....she realized that from her post she could see that dishes needed to be washed, the laundry pile that had hidden while the kids came to stay had come back, the floors were yucky and, for the love of Pete, what the heck was growing in the pan of Spice Cake from last weekend? And so it goes...

It seems that this time around, the Lady of the House is a lot more grumpy while pregnant. And tired, which somewhat befuddles her, which (in turn) makes her more grumpy. It's a vicious cycle that friends may slowly be beginning to notice. As you will soon see from the incoming fishing posts, we are thankful to have BRAVE social friends that pretend not to notice the occasional one-word answers (usually we're talking Tolstoy here), the not-so-private sessions of fussiness and the muttered curse words when a fish gets away (for those of you not aware of this uncultured trait - just pretend she is saying things like: "Rats or Shooter-Magoter") The ice cream depletion isn't looking so good either, with weekly buys of either Mud Pie, Rocky Road and the like. Anne was even seen fighting off a nine year old from a bag of Cheetos recently.

The particular female in question likes to think of herself as a (normally)happy person that plays well with others and can carry on a conversation without whining. We're not talking freakishly happy here, like the little bug-eyed character off the Madagascar movie that seems to always be on a caffeine frenzy kind of happy. So, if you have been morally offended recently by a certain Mrs. Miller, she apologizes. There's only one kid here at this house with the other on the way and the Millers know plenty of happy well-adjusted moms of multiple children that seem to make it just fine. So people, since we have presented you with this tableaux of pitiful pregginess....offer some answers before the local sheriff arrests her for being a public disturbance! PLEASE! :)

Wee One

Here are a few more random pics of Gwennie from Idaho and our trip over there. We have more "Parts" in the story but you'll have to forgive us if they wait a bit. We are hosting 2 kiddos for a sleepover this afternoon and trying to make sure we don't lose them in the laundry. :)

Idaho Part Two :Let's Play Pass the Baby!

While in Idaho, Gwen was busy meeting a whole host of relatives, all anxious to hold her. In fact, so anxious that at times the little one's hand-offs resembled more of some strange advanced football game with unwritten rules. She loved them all and was held more in the several days time than in the past few months! Granddad Bruce (in lower left corner, bottom pic) also got to meet Gwen for the first time, which was the main reason behind the trek to Idaho!

Idaho Part 1 : The "Bothers"

This past month has definitely been a busy one for the House of Miller. Everything from Swimming Pool Benefit Auctions to tagging 4H pigs to work trips and (at long last) an official we-won't-be-home-n0r-are-we-working-on-the-road vacation. That's right folks....Anne, Eric and Gwen hit the road and drove the 11+ hours to Lewiston, ID to visit Anne's family. This was the first maiden voyage across two states with the young hooligan and it was relatively calm, strangly enough. However, could be suggested that feeding your wee daughter sausage off a supreme pizza for the first time, while staying in a hotel room, when you really need to sleep later and when you don't have the baby Gas-X in sight is a real inopportune time to discover that various elements of the pizza have the same heritable traits of gastric distress that they do in one or more of the parental units. "But," says the responsible (male) party, "she liked it!" In any case, the group emerged unscathed and triumphant from the 'wilds of Montana.'

The next order of business was to make sure Gwen got to meet both her uncles on that side of the fam. Philip, the one in the middle of the three of them, is a mechanic who officially graduated from the Lewis-Clark College degree program this past weekend. He has actively worked in his field for multiple years, meaning that when his sister has a breakdown of the automotive variety, she calls him and then is forced to imitate whatever sound she last heard before the malfunction. Stuart, the tall one at the end, is the youngest of the three and has worked for Microsoft the past couple years. He basically went straight from seeding fields to an apartment in Seatttle and a job with Mr. Gates. Anne is rather proud of both of them and, to cover for it, still refers to them by the older sister gradeschool nickname of "The Bothers." Gwen warmed up to them right away and it is believed they'll be allowed to see one another again. Of course, that all depends on whether or not Phil and Stu REALLy plan to start her off early on fireworks, loud toys and by teaching her all manner of deplorable habits.

And the winner is...................

Drumroll please...........the winner of the Pohney Poundcake Drawing (Chocolate, no less!) is:

Mary**, if we hear yells of joy coming from your part of the county tonight, we'll figure you just saw this. See...persistence pays off! Call me to arrange delivery. Stay tuned for the May drawing prize announcement later this weekend.

**Admission charge for C.U.P.s on Wed is one slice of the cake ;)