Snow Pictures

I have always wanted to have family pictures taken in the snow.  I was never really sure how to make that happen.  It has to be such a spur of the moment thing since it doesn't snow much here.  And when it does, everything shuts down b/c we can't drive in that mess.  Imagine Darrin's delight....b/c he's such a fan of having family pictures taken...when I sent the following screen shot to him via text & said "If I can make this happen, you are going to have to humor me."  

He was at a volleyball tournament in Paducah and expected to be home around 2 or 3pm.  His response was "ok yeah".  I could tell he was thrilled!  We scheduled it for 3:30pm at her house.  Unfortunately all the snow melted where she planned to take the pics.  We still had enough snow at our house, so she came over to give it a try.  I'm so glad she did b/c the pictures turned out to be everything I wanted.  They took less than 30 minutes, and they were all taken in our yard and just across the street.  You wouldn't have known it by Darrin's mood, but it really was painless.

I didn't have time to obsess about our outfits, which was kind of nice.  At least you can't tell in the b/w pics that we don't really coordinate.

This felt extremely cheesy, but I thought it turned out kind of cute.  The trees are just so pretty.

Miles has on a navy jacket and black boots.  This is the kind of thing that never would have happened if I had time to prepare.  As it turns out, I don't think you can tell.  I'd like to think I learned something here, but I doubt it.  My OCD will kick in again next time.

Love this....and his sweet eyelashes...

This might be my favorite picture, ever...

I kind of like this one too...

This setting is just amazing.  Our hands were frozen after this...

I am so, so happy that we did this.  Now, I'm ready for spring.

The Eye Doctor

I recently had an eye doctor appointment.  During my visit, I asked my doctor at what age kids should have their eyes checked for the first time.  He replied, "6 months."  Well, we missed that.  I made an appointment for him on my way out, which was for Tuesday of this week.  I informed Miles about going to the eye doctor on Monday night as I was tucking him in bed.  Terrible timing on my part.  He whimpered and started freaking out a little bit.  I told him not to worry, and hoped for the best. 

When I picked him up from school on Tuesday, he said that he wasn't scared anymore b/c his friends at school told him that it was ok.  Thank goodness for his knowledgeable friends. 

He made this hat at school and wanted to wear it to the appointment.  Pick your battles.  As we were walking in, a man walking out asked him if it was his rain hat, to which Miles sternly replied, "It's a falcon."  I don't know how the man didn't know that.

We waited a few minutes and then it was time to get started.  I thought the appointment would last around 10-15 minutes.  We were there for over an hour and a half.  I had to have one of my eyes examined, but still, Miles was completely cooperative and said at the end of the appointment, that Dr. Gilliam is his favorite doctor, even over the dentist.  Dr. Bates didn't stand a chance since they give shots, but I thought Dr. Matt, his dentist, would be stiff competition.

He loved everything...

...and was so proud that he knew his letters...

Dr. Gilliam is amazing with kids. He has five of his own, so that certainly doesn't hurt. At one point, I was a little anxious b/c Miles wasn't quick to cooperate, and Dr. Gilliam told me that Miles was fine & to give him a minute.  I realized at that moment that Dr. Gilliam had it under control and I just needed to let him deal with Miles. 

I love how Miles is studying the picture in this one...

He even let Dr. Gilliam dilate his eyes.  Miles was not a fan of his eyes being blurry.  Later that night as we were watching TV he said, "I just want my eyes not to be blurry."  I felt sorry for him.  As a friend pointed out, at least he will know that something is wrong if his eyesight ever changes.

We used the stickers they gave him to pass the time while his eyes were dilating....

It was a very long, but good visit.  He is a little farsighted, but that is very normal at this age.  He said they hope for 20/30 at this age and he is actually 20/25.  Dr. Gilliam was very impressed with him and even said that he was a pleasure. 

Good Times with Old Friends

Over the weekend, I had a girls' weekend with three friends from college.  We were sorority sisters together.  My college years were a blast....all I could ever ask for at that time in my life.  And, I made so many great friends during those years.  I stayed with Stephanie Friday & Saturday night.  We all met up for dinner on Saturday before going to see Keith Urban.

In order, Sharon, who is 7 months pregnant, Susan, and Stephanie...

The weather cooperated as we walked to and from the concert....not too cold and thankfully not raining.  It was a little windy though...

This was actually during the concert.  None of us can do anything without our phones anymore.  Back in the college days, I didn't even have a cell phone :)

These boots were not a good choice, but I knew that when I put them on.  Ouch...

There was a couple in front of us, and the guy was actually hitting on the girl on the other side of him.  It was entertaining all night...

When you go to a country concert in Nashville, there are always surprise guests.  Maybe it's like that everywhere but I tend to think it happens more in Music City.  We had three special guests, but Eric Church was the only one I knew.  I'm sure that's sounds terrible, but I'm just not a huge music person.

Keith Urban was awesome.  He sang a lot of his new songs first.  Ummm, "Cop Car" is the stupidest song I've ever heard.  I swore I was going to go to the bathroom when he started singing it. It actually did sound better live, but not enough.  I liked the second half of the concert better, when he started singing his older stuff. "Raining on Sunday" was probably my favorite.

I always think about Darrin a lot at concerts.  I love song lyrics.  There are so many songs that I relate to certain things or times.  This song has always made me think of Darrin.  I sent him a video clip of it during the concert but I don't think it ever went through.  Lyrics don't mean as much to him as they do me anyway.  Thought that counts.

The confetti at the end was so fun!

 

...not so much when it mixed with all the spilled drinks...

For the record, I'm laughing...I don't know what Sharon & Susan are doing...

Sad b/c the concert, and our weekend, is over...

Superbowl Sunday

I went to Nashville this weekend for a little girl time with three friends from college.  What a great time.  I'll write about it this week, but now, we must discuss the dreaded Super Bowl.  I got a  Facebook message early this morning about how Super Bowl Sunday is like Christmas morning for adults. So true, especially in our house.  We have been waiting for today.  Darrin & Miles have been picking on me saying that they were going to decorate the house in Seahawks posters since I am the only one cheering for the Broncos. 

What a good daddy to do this.  Miles loved it and has already asked if we can make more posters tomorrow after school.

So...on the way home from Nashville, I was literally planning our whole night.  Wondering how we were going to keep Miles entertained, and how we were going to get him to sleep without the 30 minute bedtime routine, and how we could get everything done with as little interruption as possible.  I didn't want to miss a single minute of the game, b/c surely it was going to be an unbelievable game.

On our mantle...

We fixed wings, homemade fries, and hot fudge brownies.  We thought the Super Bowl was definitely reason enough to have a cheat day.  Never mind the fact that I ate & drank junk all weekend...

And now....the game is still going on....I'm blogging....and Darrin & Miles are happy campers...

Just as we preach to Miles, there can only be one winner, and tonight it was all Seahawks.  I'll be in mourning tomorrow....not just b/c the Broncos lost, but b/c there's no more football until next fall.  Oh, it's so sad.  I guess it's time to watch golf.  It's good, but no replacement.  Good night everyone!