Christmas Morning 2010

Our Christmas morning started off quite early. At 5:00 Mirra woke up from a dream and Drew had a coughing fit. None of us could get back to sleep so we decided to check the tree.

Santa brought Mirra a dollhouse for her Barbies and Drew got an MP3 player.








Drew playing my new Wii!!!

Happy Holidays

We are midway through the Holiday Tour and we thought we would send out some Christmas cheer.

When you marry someone with a different hometown and decide to settle in yet another, you can really rack up the miles during the holidays. It is worth every click of the odometer though. We really enjoy spending time with our families at Christmas.

We wish you all a memorable and safe Christmas and a happy 2011!



The Miles Family Christmas
First we made reindeer cupcakes with Grandma.

Opening gifts


Dylan is most interested in the big box.

Andy tries to get Dylan's new phrase on video: "What's up, Dawg?"

"Not half as good as you"

This was my uncle's jovial response every time I saw him and asked him how he was. Sadly, we lost him recently in a car accident. This is my small tribute to a man who was generous of word and deed and had a contagious sense of humor. My Uncle Ronnie loved to interact with kids. He would light up around them and immediately get on their level and start a conversation with them. He was thoughtful. He was generous with his time, helping those who needed it without question.

There are song lyrics that sometimes run through my head: "I want to do something that matters..." It was gloriously apparent at Ronnie's memorial services that he had done something that mattered...to a lot of people.

I have my own theories and philosophies about life and what comes after. In that spirit I say to my Uncle Ronnie, I believe you are in a better place. And me? I'm not half as good as you;)


"The Bow Boys" Anita in the background, my dad Carrol, Uncle Ron, and Uncle Randy.

Giggles and Quotes

This morning Mirra cheered Drew on with her pom pons while he ate his breakfast.

Mirra is 3, but Drew still calls her "Bad Baby" when she does anything that irritates him.

Mirra told me that she couldn't give any hugs because she was out. But she did have two kisses available.

The other night while checking on our outdoor kitties, Drew saw a member of wildlife on our doorstep and told me he saw an armadillo. I told him that armadillos don't live around here and asked him if it was a raccoon. Later that night I saw that it was a possum looking for cat food. His guess was closer than I thought.

Quotes

"Mommy, I drew your name." I absently replied "That's great, Honey." Wait...she has a crayon in her hand and I don't remember seeing any paper. Yep. There is my 'name' written in orange crayon on her bedroom wall.
Me: Mirra, where do we draw with crayons?
Mirra somberly: On paper.
Me: Do we draw on the wall?
Mirra: No.
Me: What do you need to do now? (I'm looking for 'clean it up')
Mirra: Stay calm
My giggles were very difficult to contain.

Mirra and I spent the morning rearranging her room and putting a few things on the walls. As I leave her room I say to Mirra "I need tools." I hear my husband say from the floor below "Uh oh." This makes me laugh because such a statement from me is usually followed later by "Honey, can you give me a hand?"

Mirra bought a new Ariel doll with some of her piggy bank money. Two days later she become lost. We were discussing where Ariel might be and Mirra said "maybe someone ripped it off."

I asked Mirra to put some things away in her room. She replied "It's too hard." Then she proceeded to count the nine stairs between her and her room. I told her that Mommy's job was hard and she did indeed need to put her own things away.

Drew is requesting to play baseball every evening. I pitch my best underhand to him but I still only hit the strike zone 1 out of 3 times. After hearing me say it several times Drew chases yet another errant ball saying "Mom is not a good pitcher."

10 Years

Ten years ago I married an awesome guy.










Best decision I ever made:)

Happy 7th Birthday Drew!

Drew had a great day at school. He had a popcorn party with his class and many prevlidges because it was his birthday.

After school he opened his presents from us.



This is the first year he can read his birthday cards all by himself. You can't tell, but that little fact gives Andy and I Permagrin.


Drew chose to go to our favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner. They treated him to a song and ice cream.


Then Anita took us to a minor league baseball game. Andy and I had forgotten how relaxing it is to sit in a baseball stadium. The kids were most impressed with the mascot, Rowdie.

Drew nearly missed his name on the scoreboard wishing him a happy birthday. Thankfully, they scrolled the names a few times so he did see it. He was pretty excited.

All in all it has been a great week celebrating Drew's amazing seven years.

Drew's Birthday Party

Drew's seventh birthday party was a great time. Our boy has a lot of truly wonderful friends. He's a very lucky boy. We had a pool party and the day was perfect for it. We also have some wonderful family that helped us a great deal with the preparations and clean up. Thank you all!!!

Drew's First Win

Drew won his first heat race!

Saturday, August 28. Drew qualified second, right behind his buddy. They finished the first heat race in the same order.

In the second heat race Drew came from sixth position to win!!!! His buddy was right behind him, coming from 7th position. What an exciting finish. Drew came off the track so happy. We were quite excited too.

The Funniest Thing I Heard Today

I was in the next room when I heard Mirra start crying. When I found her I asked what was wrong. She wailed "Drew picked up the poop!"

Drew immediately piped up from the next room "I didn't eat poop, it was a chocolate chip."

We use chocolate chips as rewards for Mirra going on the potty. Apparently Drew found one that had escaped Mirra's grip. The thought of what was going on in Mirra's mind had me ending my day with a chuckle.

DIY

Before: our gray kitchen



After: a big thanks to Grammy & Papa for keeping the kids for a few days so we could complete this project!



I created this wall for displaying the kids' art.

The art wall clears some of the clutter off the fridge. Note, it does not clear the clutter off the floor;)

Summer Operating Hours

As soon as school ended for Drew we began attending sprint car races, Drew began racing his quarter midget, we visited Six Flags, and we frequently stay up to catch fireflies. Our routine quickly disappeared and we began staying up much later than we were used to. Thankfully we can sleep in a bit, but my favorite 9:00 a.m. kickboxing class has not seen me in a while.

With summer vacation half over we hope to start easing the kids back into a reasonable bedtime hour. Hopefully we can manage that without sacrificing too many summertime memory-making activities.

Quotes

I had asked Mirra to pick up her toys in her room. Instead she opted to lay in the middle of her bedroom floor calling to me while I tidied up in the next room. "Mom.....Mom.......Mommy, can you hear me?"

I replied "Yes, Mirra, can YOU hear ME?"

"Uuuuhhhhhh"




I asked Drew to help his sister with something and he replied most politely
"No, thank you. I'm sharpening my pencil, but thanks for asking"

Mirra's Milestone

Three days with no 'accidents'...YEAH!!!!
So proud of Miss Mirra J.

Drewisms

Drew was ticked off at his dad the other day for beating him in a race (we still need to work on good sportsmanship). Drew said he was going to turn his dad into a frog.

Drew tries out his British accent after watching a short cartoon about a pig.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the great dads out there!!! I'm truly thankful to have a great dad and to be married to a great dad as well. Pappy and Andy, I love you both!

Here is a little story...

I was in junior high I think when I started learning how to cook. The first big meal that I made was lasagna. I used my mom's recipe and followed everything to the letter (or so I thought). We sat down to eat as a family that night. At the first bite it was obvious that something went wrong. The recipe had called for minced, fresh garlic. When I didn't find any I had substituted garlic powder. The taste was so strong that my mom, brother, and I could only stand to eat that first bite. But my dad finished off most of his portion, knowing I worked hard on it. I wouldn't have blamed him for not eating it...but it sure means a lot that he did.

Life in the Woods

A month ago both kids had a nasty bug over the weekend. As they were recovering we ventured out for a little fresh air and discovered this big tortoise by the pond. It quickly grew tired of our avid interest and scooted back into the water. At that point we found a crawdad.

More Great America

What do you get when a blogger and scrapbooker join forces for a day? LOTS of photos...


My favorite photo of the day




Drew and Dante just got off a "spinny" ride. They rode it at least 3 or 4 times. These two boys were like peas in a pod and had a great time together.

Jam Session

Our first night at Six Flags we walked by these drummers and they invited the kids to play along. So awesome!

Friends and Fun

Our friends met us at Six Flags and we had a blast. The weather started out to be less than ideal but the crowds were thin and the sun eventually appeared. Some of us adults even managed a couple of rides on some big coasters. Superman rocked!

My college friend, Sue and her daughters Bianca (who turned 1 that day) and Tatianna with Mirra. Her husband Paul and son, Dante, are in the background.


Ruh row Raggy!
Extra tough!

The girls

Six Flags Great America

The two-story carousel was our first and last ride in the park. The kids ended up riding it a total of 3 times in two days. Each time they rode the exact same horse. Mirra named hers Pixie and Drew named his Fargo.

Candids

Mirra's Party

Mirra's party had a Princess and the Frog theme. Andy made gumbo, which Mirra loved. I made a Princess Tiana cake and cupcakes with lily pads and frogs. We played pin the frog on the lily pad. We had a large crowd and a good time, even though the weather was a little less than ideal. Mirra had a good time and didn't want it to end.


Mirra, Lilly, Damon & Drew

Eating cake with Great Gram

Mirra was excited about the worm she found

Mirra shows us how old she is

Cousins Trisha & Ashley

What the big boys did to entertain themselves, riding wagons down the hill





Andy, Grandma Leslie, Uncle Donnie and Aunt Trish

Papa, Grammy, Aunt Anita and Great Gram get into the royal spirit






Even Drew was exhausted by the end of the day