Weekend Wrap Up

Darrin had an individual camp at UTM this weekend, which means individual players from all over came to participate, rather than with their school teams. He had girls all the way from Wisconsin to Texas.  It seems like they worked hard & had a lot of fun.  It was an exhausting weekend for him. The girls in orange are his players, and the others are the campers.  We seriously love his girls so much.  

Miles & I went to my mom's house for the weekend.  We worked around her yard for a little while on Saturday morning.  Miles was so excited about his new work gloves & trimmers from Marmee.  Now that's what I call a practical gift.  I'm a fan.  The kid still loves to work. I don't know what we did to deserve his work ethic....and more importantly, I don't know what to do to keep it.  He couldn't wait to get outside & use his trimmers. 

After yard work, we went out for a little retail therapy.  I picked up a few random things, but nothing major.  I did find a desk organizer that I've been in seach of for at least 4 years.  I bought one for my desk at work years ago at TJ Maxx & have loved it.  I've looked unsuccessfully ever since for one for my desk at home.  I turned the corner in Home Goods on Saturday and there it was.  My persistance paid off & I never caved and bought the one on Pottery Barn for $50+. 

We made a quick stop at the mall play area for Miles...

Saturday night, we hung out at home & went to bed early.  Just a few of my favorite things.  After church on Sunday, we went to lunch with my brother & sister-in-law, Dave & Emily, and my niece & nephew, Sarah & Seth. 

Seth is in town from England, so we were thrilled to be able to see him, even if it was only for a couple hours.  Miles wanted Seth to sit right next to him...

Unfortunately, we had to rush home b/c Miles & I thought we had VBS.  I got a text about an hour into the drive that we really didn't have to be there until Monday night.  We took advantage and stopped at Cracker Barrel for dinner.  I love to go out to eat with just Miles sometimes.  It's fun to talk to him.  He learned how to correctly play the peg game that they have on the tables.  I don't know the official name.  He was very intrigued by it. 

Our weekends are always go, go, go, but we wouldn't have it any other way.  Who wants to sit at home??  That's what week nights are for....unless you have VBS.  We have so much going on this week that I emailed Darrin this morning and listed everything we have going on each night & what I need his help with.  I know he just LOVES to get emails like this from me.  'Tis life with me & I'm pretty sure he's used to it.  

Happy Birthday Thomas!

Miles helped his good friend, Thomas, celebrate his 6th birthday tonight.  Miles was so excited about his Skylanders swimming party. These new swimming trunks came in the mail today.  It's hard to tell from the picture, but they are pink & blue.  When I pulled them out of the package, Miles said, "seriously Mom?" b/c they were partially pink.  Thankfully, he got over it quickly and decided he liked them.

Cannonball!

I love that he can swim now.  I still feel like we need to watch him closely b/c most of the time he dog paddles, but he can definitely swim.

Miles thinks that he is the only one at every birthday party with the birthday kid.  He followed Thomas around all night.  

Happy birthday, Thomas!  We had a blast at your party!

Calendar Contest

I took Miles yesterday to have his picture taken for the Tutus & Ties Calendar contest at Christie's Photography. 

I'm not really into the contest part of it, although I think it would be great if he was in the calendar.  I just wanted the 5x7 that you get.  We participated in a photo contest at Christie's Photography years ago and the picture she took is one of my all time favorites.

I was going for a casual look not realizing they had to wear a tie, hence the Tutus & Ties theme.  Obviously I should have picked up on that.  She had some men's ties to spare, so we threw it on over his outfit.  Hopefully it will turn out cute.  He wanted no part of putting the tie on, but she promised a pack of Smarties and then he was all in. 



He was extremely cooperative and almost seemed to enjoy having his picture taken.  She ended up giving him 3 packs of Smarties b/c he was so good.  On a side note, he's such a giving child.  He ate one pack of Smarties and said he was going to give the other two to his neighbor friends, Sammy & Savannah.  Since they weren't home, he gave one to Darrin and one to me.  He most definitely gets that quality from Darrin.  I'll post when the contest begins and maybe you can help Miles become Mr. August or something :)

Venture River

We went to Venture River yesterday with some friends.  This is is the same group that we went on vacation with last year & had a blast.  We went from 3-6pm b/c it was half price & it was perfect.  Carrie was genius to come up with that idea.  There was hardly anyone there, which meant no waiting in lines.  Three hours was all we really needed.  I definitely think we will do this again.

We ate at Cracker Barrel on the way home.  Miles told Ansley at dinner, "Maybe I'll marry you" and nudged her on the arm. It was adorable & then he got really embarrassed when he realized everyone heard him.

I didn't bring a change of clothes, so I had wet bathing suit marks through my shirt & shorts.  I felt extremely redneck.

Miles really loves babies.  He was so happy to hold Anna Claire...

 

This group is always fun.  Darrin & Travis played DJ & sang to us the whole way home.  Good day with great friends.

Happy 4th of July

We had plans to spend the day with friends at a water park, but decided against it since the high was only supposed to be in the 70s.  We may try to go Sunday afternoon if the weather warms up at all.  We spent our day walking around Lowes & looking on Pinterest for a project that we could tackle this weekend.  We didn't have any luck, but we have a promising new idea for tomorrow.  We went swimming at a friend's pool while she is on vacation and then came home for family nap time, which we all took very seriously.  I think everyone was asleep for almost two hours.  That never happens in our house anymore.  I knew Miles really needed a nap since we were staying up to watch fireworks.  I also knew that he wouldn't go to sleep unless I laid down with him.  Just trying to do my part.

After our naps, we got ready & went to dinner at Los Portales in Union City before heading to Discovery Park for the fireworks.  On a side note, why do my eyes look so little??  Darrin offered to take another one, but as I told him, pictures don't lie.  Sarah, I need your eye make help A-SAP.

Miles is getting so big.  We are loving this age.

We had to park a L-O-N-G way from Discovery Park. Miles handled the walk like a champ. 

We finally made it with over an hour to spare.  That's a long time for a little boy to wait.  We bought this from a vendor to help pass the time.  She had several different things including light up wands, necklaces, and swords.  He had his heart set on this.

We met our friends, Ricky & Mitsie there...

Finally the fireworks started.  They really weren't loud at all, but Miles is super sensitive.  Last year, the fireworks were right over us & very loud, so I think he just anticipated these to be also.

The fireworks were pretty...what we could see anyway.  They shot them off behind the main building and our side, which is where most of the people sat, couldn't see at least half of them.  The building was too tall.  We missed the entire grand finale.  

 

Miles just wasn't feeling the night.  You never know about kids.  He was cold, tired, hungry, the fireworks were too loud, and he really wanted a light up sword.  This pretty much sums up the night for him...

The blue ice cream on the way home was the highlight for him...

Despite the long walk & missing a lot of the fireworks, it was still a fun night.  The weather was beautiful & we got to hang out with Ricky & Mitsie, which doesn't happen often.  Happy 4th everyone!

Family Golf Date

When Darrin & I were dating, we both worked night shift.  The problem was that we worked the opposite night shift.  When one of us was off, the other had to work.  So, that meant we had to have day dates.  We golfed all summer long.  Many days we played 36 holes.  I haven't played much since those days b/c once you get married, you become instantly broke, right? 

Since we belong to the country club this summer, it allows Miles & me the opportunity to just play around.  We kicked our holiday weekend off with a family golf date after I got off work.  We didn't get to the course until around 5, so we only played 9 holes. 

We are having a rare cold spell in July & it felt amazing today.  It was actually chilly towards the end.  I think Darrin was in heaven having our family together on the golf course.  As soon as we got in the car, Miles said, "That was fun."  I see more golfing in our future.