Life Adventures for Miles

 Made it home! Waffle House, Lots of rain more east the moodier/stressed out, tablet babysitting, zipping through SC, home in time for pizza!

 Zipped through LA, MS, rain rain rain, buckees! Dancing the fences

Dream: bathroom, Winn, Phone search, phone collecter, luna pool Driving, traffic,  construction work, making up time, faster pace, 2-hour commitment stops, Hustle House, Albany Texas

  screens, toys, stuffed animals, books, packing, goodbyes and farewells, luna stinkpot, karma, hair: pretty pigtails, Indian food family, clothes, sleep

Today was visiting with my father. This vacation was pretty nice as we got to sleep in and laze about most mornings (like today). We left for a grandpa's visit to the park. The grandpa got Whataburger for lunch we had a good meal before the grandpa presents! Luna zeroed in on the wooden blocks (tumbling blocks tower game) and wasn't as interested in the keyboard...so we played with the blocks and after a few games of "Jenga" we decided to build, steps, bridges, beds, chairs, and tables. Then it was a rambling walk around the park and a few games of monster grab, hide-and-seek, and mighty pups. After the park, we had a stroll through an outlet mall, and then by the end of it it was dinner time and Pei Wei was calling! Yummy Peeking duck and orange chicken all with a side of rice! Yay!

Today we did one of our lazy days. We spent the morning just hanging about watching our screens, sleeping in, and playing with the Christmas presents. Then it was off to a friend's house to hang out for a day. While there we had some more catch up and playtime for the kiddos. The screens didn't stay off there either. The Luna entertainment started with an episode of Micky Mouse Clubhouse (Daisy Bo Peep), then we had a puzzle of what to watch next and settled on fish (Finding Nemo) and then the husband's favorite, Robin Hood. It was a Disney full afternoon/evening! Then the husband made pizza and showed off his pizza skills! Yum! Yum!

  This book is about a little girl who finds out about herself, it goes through words the measure in size, first small, then big, she realizes she "is everything" and can do anything. The author likes the idea of multicultural books, so he wrote a book and has coordinated with a lot of different translations to translate the book into other languages. Speaking if German translations (as that is this particular version), Luna introduced her Oma to Paw patrol and they found it in German! It was a little fast for me to understand it all, and Luna had some trouble with the language change but soon as the channel showed episodes she has seen a millions and one times, she mellowed out and didn't found it just as interesting background noise as she normal finds her screens, heh.  The next 2 books are part of a series in which kids explore certain famous people and their skills. We read Amelia Earhart and Bruce Lee. It shares their life story and what they learned and what we can

Today we finally made it up the mountain! We were hoping for famous cookies and snow, however, the cookie cabin was closed and there was much snow in places we could actually get to...though we did find some! Luna had lots of fun trying to figure out what to do with it without having cold hands (we didn't have any gloves). We found a general store open that had lots of different fudge so we got some of that goodness! Luna also got a stuffie and named her "Rita the cheetah" (who is really a bobcat/lynx).  After the 3 hours of maintaining (an hour up, an hour down, and about an hour walking and playing about), Luna had a good nap before dinner and cookie making with her grandma! The craft of the week: cookies! So after a delicious meal of chimichangas and Eggees slushies, grandma brought out the cookie mix and we were all for it! The recipe was a typical chocolate chip cookie recipe and it was very Luna friendly as all the measurements were ready to go, so all the 4-year-ol

Our new year's eve day was spent back in Phoenix! We went to a couple different Malls (one indoor and one outdoor), found some sales we liked enough to buy from, and then set out to spend more time cousin playing! The evening adventure entertainment was a drive-in movie (Croods 2) whole fireworks go off in the distance! The Croods 2 was about the "caveman family meeting the evolved humans and the evolved humans scheming to get rid of the caveman family (but keep the man straddling both worlds). It, of course, ends up with both families realizing that they have similarities and needing to help each other out (one altra big family) and what it means to live for oneself (finding one's own " tomorrow" vs. The parents/guardians "tomorrow"). Great movie for the family as it was very colorful and adventurous but still had a sense of humor the adults could appreciate (I laughed through most of it). We learned that Luna is still not a moviegoer (and may never be

Today, we went to the zoo, here in town with the grandparents! We saw all sorts of animals! Some of them we just heard (like the big male lion's roar!) Luna enjoyed the birds and the meerkats the best, I think (as they were the most active). After the zoo, it was lunchtime! Picnic on the park was a perfect way to let Luna let off some steam and us enjoy the sunshine and sandwiches! Then came some wandering through a music store (luna had a blast finding both drums and piano. Then it was dinner at Outback Steakhouse via her uncle and his Xmas present (Thanks!). Yum Yum!  

Today we were going to go up a mountain but decided against as we all slept in and had a late night getting in the night before; so instead we just hit more shops! We got to see another Mall, another truck (another credit review) and some other boutiques type shops.  As we mostly just had the afternoon to mosey (and a lot of that was truck reviewing), we ended up just having leftovers for dinner back at the hotel. These slow days are nice because we can just chill and luna gets some normal rest as she does not have to deal with the new...just all her toys, heh. 

Today we went to Phoenix, AZ. Lots of interstate driving (up, down, and around) lots of busy people, and its if things to do! We wandered it a bit before visiting a cousin before heading back. The first stop was IKEA! We did end up buying lots of little things (like a stuffie snake for luna) and getting "lost" in and about the place. Luna found "her" room and had several fits trying to get back to it (I will admit it had perfect sized Luna furniture), as well as a kids play toy section with a play kitchen and a train set. Then we spent most of the rest of the day finding and reviewing travel trailers, trucks and our credit. We were all cranky and stressed from that adventure so before dinner we stopped if to see and chat with my husband's brother, sister-in-law and a Luna cousin. We ended up spending more time there then we thought as the cousins disappeared pretty quick and had no problems but lots of fun, a good break before the trial and error of finding the

{Pandemonium} by {Katja Miles} The woman watches her video feed where upon the news has glued their channels to updating the world on their towns minute by minute, second by second. She closes her eyes tight, shakes her head, her lungs expand and contract once, twice a third time...and the feed screen turns black. This Coronavirus pandemic quarantine has caused a lot of kerfuffle. While it has not been the only pandemic in recent history (see Zika virus for more details); it has made it to the global stage, creating waves of panic buying and cabin fever. Idioms like being in a rut, slump, funk, and worse mental health situations have become a commonplace in conversation. All these have the negative connotations one thinks of when they are stuck and not happy about it.  Lemme tell you why these situations may be a good thing in one word: rest.  Your brain and body need rest to recharge and survive life's developments and experiences.  Being stuck in a holding pattern lets you slow

Maturity in all its forms by Katja Miles I find maturity an interesting concept to think about, considering I have often been placed in both categories of maturity and immaturity by the world around me.   Historically, humans saw it in a very literal sense, which followed the natural cycle of nature: when one is biologically mature, they were viewed as an adult, thus putting them in adult situations was common and regarded as normal. They married; had babies; ruled over man and beast; and provided the bread and butter (literally sometimes).  As time aged, so did human thinking: biological maturity is mostly thought as ONE of the signs of one’s developmental stage into adulthood, rather than THE sign of adulthood. There is also the legality of being an adult: having independence in all or some of its attached factors, such as voting, smoking/drinking; and military service.   Maturity is the expert in life's rational thinking. It has a calm, quiet; and serene quality about it that

The woman stares at the photo album of her kid’s block builds. Should she post them anywhere to share? She and her daughter are so proud of them. They had so much fun doing it, too. However... However, they are all fairly similar. The foundation and framework, as well as the appearance are similar enough that, while she names them differently (sometimes), one would or could think all the photos being viewed are just one build multiplied by however many photos there are. Are there people out there wanting to see them? Does it really matter? Her and her daughter are so proud of them… I find myself metaphorically using building blocks as verbage for a lot of things in life. While the scene above was a concern for showing off literal building blocks photos, it also showcases the vulnerability the woman has for letting the world into her home.  The first line of building blocks are usually the foundation. Consider her image of vulnerability but also her want of showing off her child’s bui

{In the beginning} by {Katja Miles} “I have this idea!” a woman says into her phone, flapping her arms and up and down. “But I feel uncertain it will go anywhere.” She flaps harder, a heartbeat for every flap. “I never feel like I will succeed...or push through anything successfully.” Her mind on her current patterned habits as her eyes skim over the unfinished projects she has currently heaped on her “craft” floor. “What is the worst that can happen?” She hears faintly from the phone wobbling in her sweaty hand. “I can be your accountable buddy. Just start. you will be fine!”  Her daughter walks in with the woman’s other half in tow. “I am going to blog !” The woman flings her hands up, her phone falling to the floor. “It lets me share my life and the millions of pictures I seem to take and collect. ” “Mama, your phone!” yelps her kid, little feet hopping to pick it up. “Blog?” “A web log-an online journal to share your passions, personal or professional life, hobbies and