Happy Birthday to Janie!

Happy 53rd Birthday to cousin Janie! Here she is a few years ago.

'Tis the season for maple syrup...

... and cousin Dan was tapping some this past weekend, along with friends. Here he got some help collecting wood for the cooker.

A batch o' birthdays

Birthdays are busting out all over this week. Happy Birthday to... Perrin Cook, now 3, shown with sisters Sonya and Maria. (March 25)

Nick Broberg, newly 15, celebrating here with his Aunt Lavone Broberg and an extremely lovely cake. (March 24)

Little Taviah, granddaughter of DanO, cousin Cindi's husband. Taviah turns 1 today. (March 26)

Happy Birthday to Nick Broberg!

Happy 15th Birthday to cousin Nick Broberg, he of the long legs and thoughtful gazes. Aging Rosie is lucky to have such a wonderful caretaker.

"Hello, do you like my hat?" "I do! I do like that hat!"

Nick in 1994, when he was brand new, held by Great-Aunt Anna Sprick Smith.

The story of the donut tree

Thanks to Uncle Elmer-Joe, our very own family Henry David Sprick Thoreau, for this lovely essay on the donut tree at Waldesruh. To make it large and legible, click on the image.

No. 1 with us

Cousins turned out in force to cheer for Moriah Miller and the Centennial High School Cougars in the Class 4A state high school girls basketball championship game Saturday night (3/21/09) at the Target Center in Minneapolis. The Cougars lost 68-61 to Minneapolis South, which was led by that team's dynamo unstoppable superstar Tayler Hill, but played well nonetheless, and hey, No. 2 in the state is TERRIFIC! Of course, Mo is always No. 1 with us. Here are some snapshots. We regret that we don't have any of cousins Sam, Bridget, Tyler, Alex, Zachary, Ted, Jane and Katie, all of whom came to cheer but were lost in the crowd by the time our camera came out. Thanks for coming, all of you! Moriah, upper left, prepared to high-five the Cougars starters during the introduction.

Mo ready to high-five Kahla Becken, #15.

Mo, center left, and her teammates listened to Coach Jill Becken during the intense game.

The girls were teary-eyed to lose -- but hey! Look at that gigantic second-place trophy! Not bad! Almost as nice as the coveted Burnt Wienie Award trophy!

That's our Mo, headed to get her ribbon, reflected in the gigantic TV screens that hang over the Target Center.

Dad Chris Miller couldn't hoot and holler much because little Elizabeth fell asleep in his lap near game's end after doing a lot of exhausting hooting and hollering of her own.

Zachary and his UW-Stout pal Josiah came to cheer Mo on.

Zack took his turn carrying snoozing Elizabeth after the game. Seems like those two big strong Wolves players coulda helped, too.

Hannah and two of her lovely look-alike friends wore Centennial collars, scarlet and white.

Mary and Pam, looking a little loopy, after the game.

Mary and Pam, a little more composed.

Chris and Uncle Freddy Eischen, Mary's brother, in the Target Center lobby.

A fair young lady

Love this pretty photo of our beautiful cousin Cindi, singing and playing the guitar back in the era of classic folk music.

They did it! Mo's team reaches championship game

Moriah's Centennial Cougars girls basketball team beat Eden Prairie Thursday night at the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis, which means they'll play in Saturday night's Class 4A championship game against Minneapolis South High School! Here's the Star Tribune story. Cousins, come on down for the big game! It's at 8 p.m. at the Target Center, general admission tickets. If you can't make it, tune in on Ch. 45 (12 on some TVs). Congrats, Mo and team! Dad Chris Miller, pictured at right, was a tad anxious during the game! He needn't have been.

The golden boy's golden birthday

Thanks to cousin Katie Hagberg for these nice photos from the golden birthday of her brother, Teddy, who turned 19 Thursday. Teddy, Katie and their proud Hagberg aunts.

Teddy and Katie with parents Ted and Jane.

The Hagbergs went all out for Teddy's birthday. Look what they got him! A toaster! An OSTER toaster! We're not sure if they were toasting him or burning him. He looks happy though!

Happy Birthday to two cousins!

Happy Birthday to two wonderful cousins... Cindi...

... and Teddy. (No no, Izzbee, it's not YOUR birthday!)

A Miller is part of March madness

Yeah, baby -- Mo is going to state! Yes, we're very proud of cousin Moriah Miller, whose Centennial High School Cougars basketball team beat Champlin Park in the section finals Thursday and will be playing in the state tournament next week (2 p.m. Wednesday). Thursday update: Moriah's team won in the quarterfinals yesterday and will play those cake-eaters Eden Prairie tonight. If they win, it's to the state championship Saturday! Mo cut down the net.

The winning team, which is coached by Jill Becken. That's our Mo in the back row with the rosy-red cheeks. (The scrapblog editor is very fond of rosy faces!)

Mo with proud sister Hannah after the game.

Mo with little sis Elizabeth and teammate Celia.

Lamar in la snow

That's cousin Davy with the donut tree at Waldesruh a few years back. The tree is famous in Sprick family lore; wonder why it grew that way? Got a theory, Uncle Joe?

Weather wizards

The Strib may be down, but it's not out. We still have fun there! Recently weather reporter Bill McAuliffe dragged a bunch of us outside during a snowstorm to teach us how to take official snow-depth readings. You think it's easy to measure snow depth? You're right! It is! And fun, too. The weather wizards: Mary Lynn Levandowski Smith, Bill McAuliffe, your scrapblog editor, Chao Xiong and Maria Elena Baca.

McAuliffe had a hard time keeping his class on task. We kept cutting up and lobbing snowballs. At one point, one student who we won't identify but who may look familiar to you cousins plopped to the ground and made a very large snow angel in the little park in front of the Star Tribune's entry in downtown Minneapolis.

Miller moments

Miss the Millers? Here are some things you're missing if you miss 'em ... Oh! My! Gosh! A horse talks to Moriah and Chris!

The three girls, all dressed up for something, probably not church.

When little Elizabeth is sleepy, she wants her binky and her big sis, not necessarily in that order.

Sprick-o-rama in Eau Claire

Scenes from a recent gathering of Elmer and Mavis' brood in Eau Claire, Wis. Mavis and Katie Jo. Two very lovely Spricks!

Perrin entertained his great-grandparents, Elmer and Mavis. "He's a pistol!" Mavis said.

Cousin Tanya Cook, mom of Perrin, Maria and Sonia.

Cousin Cindi and son Monty Leiser, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

During his visit, Uncle Joe took this photo of a deer out of cousin Davy's picture window.

The great white north

Cousin Dan sent these photos of his and Marty's Presidents' Day weekend Boy Scouts trek to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Snowbank Lake at twilight.

Marty worked on a quinzee (snow cave). Dan slept in one, but Marty and his friends choose to sleep outside in a lighter shelter. The nighttime low was 13 below. Before they retired, Dan read the Scouts Jack London's great short story "To Build a Fire," which he described as "a good bedtime story about freezing to death in the Yukon."

Keep cruisin' in your minds ...

We swiped these delightful photos of Sam and Bridget's New Year's cruise off their Facebook sites so we can all feel the rays of sunshine from them as this winter drags on. Sam, Tyler, Bridge, Zack and Alex.

Our cousins with their other lovely relatives, Bridget's sister and parents.

Bridget smooches a dolphin!

Remembering...

Remembering dear ol' Dad (Uncle Bill to the cousins), William Alton "Brother" Miller, 4/13/25-3/01/96. (That's him dancing at a USO club in Schwabisch Hall, Germany, after the war, where he met Mom/Aunt Alverna.)

Noah and Jamie

The scrapblog editor's favorite son, Noah, and his favorite person, Jamie. Ah, youth!