Ryan & Meg Miles

Halloween!

2011-11-30T10:45:00.000-08:00

We got to go pick out our pumpkin for Halloween while Grandma Atwood was here! There's a GREAT pumpkin patch on the other side of town--totally worth the drive. Lucy proudly drove the tractor. She even picked out her own pumpkin to paint. The family jack-o-lantern became Minnie Mouse. Ryan gets pretty buckwild when it comes to pumpkin carving!

For our church Trunk-or-Treat, Lucy went as Mickey Mouse, Riley went as a jack-o-lantern, and Daddy went as a hockey player (Shane Doan, of course!). Note the candy bag that Lucy used at the Trunk-or-Treat. My mum painted a few pillowcases when we were kids and she had the insight to save them! Cool, eh? When we went trick-or-treating, Lucy went as the cutest little purple and black witch I've ever seen (no bias here, folks!) and Riley again sported his jack-o-lantern costume. I know Lucy kind of seems like she didn't really like her costumes, but she really did. She especially liked her witch hat. We got to go trick-or-treating with Grandpa Miles, Auntie Lisa, and cousins Peyton (Dora) and Nash (Dora's monkey). Fun was had by all.

Lucy's New Bed Photos

2011-11-30T10:36:00.000-08:00

Sorry I didn't attach these pictures the other day....Enjoy!

Riley and Lucy

2011-11-28T07:47:00.000-08:00

Riley Walker Miles has arrived (almost two months ago...)! He was born on September 30, 2011 at 3:14 p.m. He was 20.5 inches in length and a whopping 8 pounds, 15 ounces! He's got dark blonde hair, dark blue eyes, and a dimple in his right cheek! He's growing like CrAzY! He's started sleeping through the night (six to eight hours), but has a hard time going more than two hours during the day without eating. Go figure, eh? Riley has also started smiling!

Lucy loves her little brother--mostly! She loves giving him kisses, helping Mommy burp him, and holding him. When Riley starts crying, Lucy is often the first one there. It's really sweet to see. She's 18 months old now! About a month ago, Lucy was switched from her crib to a toddler bed. As soon as Daddy set it up, she was excited! She jumped right up there, giggling, and practically posing while we took pictures. The novelty is wearing off now, but she's still doing pretty well with it. She occasionally gets out of bed when she's supposed to be going to sleep, but overall, she's really good about it. In the mornings, she's still very much in the habit of waking up and waiting for Mom or Dad to come get her out of bed. She's also getting better at feeding herself. She's been pretty good with a fork for several weeks now. "Poke it, dip it, eat it," is what we tell her as she's eating--usually dipping what she can in ketchup! She's recently been getting better with a spoon too. It's still pretty messy, but she's really learning quickly.

Since Riley was born, we've had Grandma (Elaine) Miles, Auntie Mandy, Grandma Atwood, and Auntie Susanne and Uncle Chris come visit. They were a HUGE help!!

The Mesa Temple Visitor's Center

2011-10-20T23:37:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of September, we took Lucy to the Mesa Temple Visitor's Center. When you walk in, there's a huge Christus, much like the one in Salt Lake City. We walked in and Lucy saw Jesus, she completely stopped walking, grinned, pointed, and said, "Jesus!" (Lucy had just learned the week before how to say Jesus; we were very excited!). It's amazing to me how she just knew who this statue was. It seems like kids always know, eh? As we walked around, she did the same thing with painting after painting of the Savior. It was the sweetest ever! Upon seeing the temple, she squated right down and pointed. She just loved it all. It was really neat to see her reaction to everything.

Lucy and Daddy looking up toward the Christus.

Lucy also enjoyed reading about Nephi and his bow.

Lucy on the ...Phone?

2011-08-27T15:24:00.000-07:00

Just a little candid video of Lucy. If it is kinda blurry, try NOT watching it on full-screen. It makes a difference on our computer; it might make a difference on your's too. Oh, and it's cuter if you can hear what she's saying, so you'll have to pause the music at the bottom of our blog.

Pregnant Again!

2011-07-25T22:46:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have seen "Ocean's Eleven." Ryan and I LOVE this movie--the whole trilogy, actually. In one scene, George Clooney is supposed to be beat up by this HUGE man, fittingly called Bruiser. What Benedict (the antagonist who has hired Bruiser to bean Ocean up) doesn't know, is that Ocean (Clooney) is pretty tight with this guy. While pretending to be beat up, Ocean asks him, "How's your wife?" Bruiser responds by spitting out, "Pregnant again!" Ryan loves quoting this line; especially now that it's true of his wife! Yep, we are almost 31 weeks along. Just over nine weeks to go! We are expecting Riley Walker Miles on September 29th!

Lucy is going to be a big sister! She will only be about 16 1/2 months old when he is born...The Great Debate: one crib and a pack 'n play, or two cribs? I really don't think Lucy is old enough to switch to a bed, or even a toddler bed. She's a great sleeper (as long as we're at home!), but she's all over the place...Do we keep her in the crib and Riley in a pack 'n play, or do we purchase another crib? Suggestions? I think I'm leaning toward a second crib....

There is a tradition on Ryan's side of the family to name a boy (though not all the boys) something that starts with "R" and then Walker Miles. Ryan's parents have both indicated that we don't have to carry on this tradition, but I think it's cool. Riley will mark the fifth generation of this tradition! Raymond Walker Miles, Russell Walker Miles, Roger Walker Miles, Ryan Walker Miles, and Riley Walker Miles. Most suiting, don't you think?

July First Family Reunion and Lucy's First Word

2011-07-25T21:31:00.000-07:00

Ryan, Lucy, and I had the opportunity to go home to Raymond for a small family reunion over the July First weekend. It's been a LONG time since the Atwood's have all been together. All of my siblings were able to go home except my oldest sister, Michelle. It's crazy to think that Mandy and two out of the three "little boys" are now raging "Returned Missionaries." Bill just got his mission call to Quezon City, Philippines! Hurray!! He will report to the Provo MTC on October 19, 2011, where he'll learn a bit of Tagalog (among other things) before flying out. Bill went through the temple for the first time while we were home. That was really neat to see all the younger siblings together in the temple. No pictures because our camera died the second day we were home and, of course, we forgot the charge cord. Sorry.

While were were home, we were able to see the Raymond Rotary Parade...Mounties, the Scouts Canada float, the RHS Band, etc. It was all there with all our hometown pride. Seems to me the candy was better this year too! Lucy particularly loved the horses.

We also played for a day at Ridge Park, just outside of Raymond. While it wasn't really blustery out, it was chilly. Only Ryan, Billy, and Ronnie were brave (psychotic?!) enough to get into the water. Note Ryan's muscles! Lucy, Ben, and Kaleb loved playing at the park! Overall, it was a great outing. Above: Lucy and Uncle Jonnie pause to pose.

After the hustle and bustle of the First, everyone went home except Lucy and I. Ryan had to return to Arizona for work, but Lucy and I were able to spend an additional week and a half with Mum. Lucy had two favorites while we were visiting Grandma Atwood--being able to play outside every day (something we can't possibly do after 8:30 a.m. when it's 117 degrees F--about 46 degrees C--in Arizona) and Grandma's kitty, Coal. On July 7th, Lucy said her first word (after, of course, saying Mama and Dada). Yep--"kitty." She quickly learned that Grandma Atwood's kitty is a little more friendly than Grandma Miles' kitty; meanwhile, Coal learned to be patient with Lucy! They formed a happy friendship while we were visiting.

Lastly, while we were home, we were able to catch up with a bunch of old friends. Nicole successfully threw a raging 30th birthday party of Susanne! Happy birthday, Susie!

2010-11-20T14:34:00.000-08:00

September Fun

2010-09-17T01:19:00.000-07:00

Lucy can hold her head up so high now!
Lucy's first D-Backs game. They lost to the Giants in extra innings.
She is such a Daddy's girl!!

Check out that smile!!!!! She is so happy!!!

She likes to roll now. You have to watch her when you change her diaper or she'll roll away.

Lucy Laughing

2010-09-16T23:20:00.001-07:00

Robson Visit

2010-09-16T22:33:00.000-07:00

Our family at the Mesa Southwest Museum

They had a movie exhibit that put you in the movie. Lucy was not happy to be in it though.

Chris, Hannah, Shelby, Meg, Lucy and Ryan.
Such a pretty little girl!!!

Meg and Susanne chilaxin' at the museum.

Bahama Bucks makes certain things blue if you order the blue raspberry flavor. Chris and Susanne are now addicted to Bahama Bucks!!!

Cute girls having a good time watching a Disney movie.

What a cute family!! We visited Slide Rock in Sedona with the Robson's.

The Robson clan.

Ryan and Shelby sliding down the rocks at Slide Rock.

Meg and Lucy enjoyed watching the people slide on the rocks.

She is sooooo smiley. What a great daughter we have!!

Daddy and Lucy in the black light room.

Mommy and Lucy looking cute after Eric's ordination to the office of Elder.

Poor Meg!! She got arrested for being an Avs fan!!!!!

More Lucy Cuteness!!

2010-08-18T23:27:00.000-07:00

Here are some cute pictures of me (Lucy). Daddy was reading me the book "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" and Mommy let me hold my own bottle!! My friend Liam came to visit me too! He is just ten days older than me. His mommy and my mommy used to be roommates! Crazy, eh?!

Lucy Adventures

2010-07-24T00:34:00.001-07:00

Lucy came and joined me when she woke up (note: she does NOT sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed!). Too bad I was not awake.

Lucy had a blowout and I got the lucky job of cleaning up the mess. I did get her onesie off of her without getting her messy!!

Lucy--after getting cleaned from her blowout.

Tempe Town Lake had a part of their dam burst on Tuesday July 20th at night. We went to see it the next evening after our baby centering group(show-off your baby) party.
Lucy is Content to just lay around and look cute.
Look Mom and Dad I am ready for church!!

Lucy after a bath kind of has the thug look to her. Don't mess with my girl!! She is a cutie!!

Updates on Lucy...

2010-07-13T15:53:00.000-07:00

I realized that we haven't updated our blog for a while...These pictures are not necessarily an "update" because they're kinda oldish, but we thought you might enjoy them. Look at how much she's changed!! She's eight weeks old now--she'll be two full months old on Saturday (you can send any big, expensive gifts in care of mommy!!). The picture of her in her crib with her hands up parallel to her head--she always wiggles out of her blanket. This is how she sleeps. Cute, eh?!

Oh. I also have to correct something. Apparently, Cookie Monster was, in fact, NOT purchased by my dad. He somehow won it in a drawing from the dentist in Raymond at the time!

Anyway, enjoy the beauty of our baby!

One Cookie Monster to Go, Please!!

2010-06-16T21:10:00.000-07:00

For those of you who knew my father, you might say he could be a little over-zealous sometimes...A little. Back when my older sister, Michelle, was getting ready to graduate from high school, my dad became somewhat excited at the prospect of marrying his kids off and becoming a grandpa.

Many times, Dad would go uptown, running errands for Mom--half the time, he'd forget what he was going for and come back with something completely different! One such time, he came back with a talking Cookie Monster (from Sesame Street), exclaiming something to the effect of, "Isn't this great? It'll go to the first grandkid!" That first grandkid, of course, was Benjamin (Joe and Kara's boy). Ben received the Cookie Monster. A couple of years later, he shared it with Kaleb, his little brother. Upon Lucy's arrival, Kara, my sister-in-law, had the insight to send Cookie Monster on to Lucy. Thanks, Kara! As you can see, Lucy loves him! Well, she might not yet, but she will soon! He makes noises and says things like, "Yum, yum, yum! Me love cookies!"

For a long time, I've been sad to know that Ryan--and all my siblings' spouses (except Kara) will not know my dad. Likewise, Lucy and all her cousins will not have opportunity to get to know their Grandpa Atwood. Whatever the case, silly and excentric or not, Lucy--and perhaps all the grandkids, as we pass Cookie Monster from child to child--will at least have a piece of Grandpa Atwood.

test video

2010-06-03T00:36:00.000-07:00

The New Family

2010-05-28T16:03:00.000-07:00

Lucy is here!!

2010-05-20T13:44:00.001-07:00

We are finally home after spending 5 days in the Hospital. Meg had PIH(pregnancy induced Hypertension). They wanted to make sure she was ok so they admited her Saturday afternoon. Lucy was born Monday night at 11:34 PM. She was 6 lbs 15 oz and 21 inches long. As you can see she is sooooo cute!!!!! The cure for PIH is delivering your baby so Meg and Lucy are fine now. They kept us an extra day because they wanted to make sure Meg was fine while coming off the drugs. All is well and we came home this afternoon. We were so blessed with doctors and nurses who knew what they were doing. Call Meg if you want more details. Welcome to our family Lucy Rose Miles!!!!

Countdown for Lucy!!!

2010-04-13T22:22:00.001-07:00

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At long last.....

2010-04-13T21:57:00.002-07:00

This is Lucy's first D-Backs game. We beat the Cubs 5-3 in an exhibiton game. She is getting bigger but we are so excited to have her in about 5 weeks!! Can you believe it, 5 weeks!!!! I will make sure that plenty of pictures get up as we get closer and closer. I should start a count down or something. Enjoy....Lisa and Lindy hopefully these will sufice for now. Meg would not let me take these ones until I guilted her into them. Hopefully she will let me take more.

Sister Mandy Day II

2010-03-19T04:24:00.001-07:00

You guys will NEVER guess who just ate at my house!! Sister Mandy Freaking Atwood!! Crazy, eh?!

On Monday afternoon the Ward Mission Leader phoned us up and asked if we'd be willing and able to feed the missionaries either that day (Monday) or Thursday. Having much to do on Monday, we opted for Thursday (today). Last night, Sister Morris phoned to confirm the dinner appointment for tonight. I asked her what they'd like to eat and she was all, "Oh anything is fine."

I said, "Okay then, what do you guys eat a lot of, so I can avoid that?"

She was all, "Oh anything, really. Whatever you want. Or anything that you would feed Sister Atwood. Anything she'd like, we'll like too. We have pretty similar tastes."

We then kinda joked about how my sister would be lucky to get a PBJ out of me. Little did I know, that they were going on splits with Mandy (Sister Atwood) today--meaning, Sister Atwood would be eating with Sister Morris at our house! Don't worry! When they realized what was going to happen, they phoned President Craig to get permission. "We're obedient," Sister Mandy declared.

Anyway...Lo! And behold! They came aknockin!! I began to be astonished! We ate poutine (that wasn't so good) and sweet and sour chicken with rice and peaches (just as Dad made it!) that was so good! Sparkly cupcakes too!

Sister Mandy seems to be doing well. Really well. All skinny and tanned...She's healthy-looking and still running each day, so we can assume that when she says her RA isn't flaring up right now, it really isn't. I guess her meds are really helping her. Her voice is still wonky, but not as bad. The work is progressing. She shared a spiritual thought and committed me to a couple of things. Sister Morris is a great girl who has the Spirit with her. Mandy wants Ron to seduce and marry Sister Morris (I would not object!). We'll see how that pans out...

The pictures are glorious, eh? Yep. I definitely look like a GIANT PURPLE PLUM. Seriously, I'm sad that these are really the first pics anyone will see of me being pregnant...Please don't look too closely. I am swollen and OBESE in every way, shape, and form (not even kidding). Mandy looks great though! The far distance pictures are of Sister Atwood (teal top, black skirt) and Sister Morris (blue top, khaki skirt) in action. They went out to the car to pick up a bag of clothes Mandy needs us to store and ended up "OYM-ing" this guy barbequing in our complex.

Anyway, that's about it...Enjoy!

Spring Break Chaos...Preparing for Lucy's Arrival...

2010-03-17T10:04:00.000-07:00

Can you ever REALLY prepare? I think not...I suppose there's only so much you can do...It's a good thing this whole process takes at least nine months, eh? Hmmm...

This week of Spring Break has come at the perfect time. Lucy will be here (hopefully!) in just under nine weeks. 9!!! That's less than two hands!! That's insane!! So soon, eh? Anyway, Ryan and I both have this week off from school (he's still working, hence, we're still in town), so we have a list of a bazillion things to do.

First, we set to work on our "spare" room. YIKES!! Pretty much, over the past two years, this room has become a jungle. Exercise equipment, water/food storage, hockey memorabilia, tubs of just STUFF, and most recently, baby items. Anyone want to purchase a great elliptical?! This job was a doosie! We (mostly Ryan) went buckwild on it and now Lucy has living space! Yay! It's not quite 100%, but at least she has some space!

Ryan had the joy of trying to fix the little dresser we have for her (isn't he manly?!). It looked real nice at first, but I think it's still defective... Then we (again, mostly Ryan) put Lucy's crib together. I began to be astonished!! It was extremely quick and easy! Isn't it PRETTY?! We're very excited!

Today, we're off to register. Probably at more than two places...Is that dumb? They give you cool stuff if you do though... Any suggestions on what to pick out?

Now that I've written a freaking novel...Wish us luck with our continued preparations, eh?!

P.S. My sister-in-law and mother-in-law are having a baby shower for us. If you would like to pop over, we'd LOVE to see you! It will be sometime in April, at Kacy's house (Ryan's parents' old house in Tempe). Shoot me a comment or an email with yer address please!!

And her name is.............

2010-03-17T09:59:00.000-07:00

LUCY ROSE MILES!!!!!!!! Thanks for your votes. The winner did not even win....ooppss!! Oh well; the parents always get the last vote.

It's a GIRL!!

2009-12-29T19:09:00.000-08:00

We are having a baby Girl!!!!

Baby Miles!!

2009-12-21T18:41:00.000-08:00

We are so happy to finally say, WE ARE PREGNANT!! I am going to be a dad!! Crazy! We find out on the 29th of December if it is a boy or a girl. Vote here on our blog on the names that we have decided on. We are a bit split on what to name our baby. If you have any questions give us a call or shoot us an email.

Canada

2009-07-11T21:24:00.000-07:00

Sister Mandy Day!!!

2009-05-10T10:57:00.000-07:00

So today is Mother's Day. Thank goodness fer our beloved mothers! Ryan and I went to church with Ryan's parents fer Mother's Day Sacrament meeting and lo! And behold! Whom did we see?! Sister Freaking Mandy!!

Sister Mandy was just barely transferred from Gilbert to Tempe this week. She's now serving with a few wards, one of which, is the Shalimar Ward where Ryan's parents live and attend! President and Sister Craig were attending that ward today too, so we had opportunity to talk to them, Mandy, and Sister Alder (Mandy's companion)...You think they're going in alphabetical order?! Just kiddin'.

So Mandy...She looks GREAT! Her countenance is light (not that it's ever been dark!), she looks happy and healthy. She's very organized. President Craig said she's working so hard and had wonderful things to say about her and the Stake she's now serving in--some 51 baptisms within this stake--just this year!! Mandy indicated to us that they walked about 10 miles (16km) just yesterday! YIKES!! No wonder she's getting skinnier! Too schkinny! (Fa, Mulan!). I can't believe I got to see my baby sister!! (She'd kill me if she knew I had written that [insert evil cackle here]!!) Her companion seems to be a great girl from Colorado. She's not to into the Avs, but her 'sister's boyfriend is!' Crazies...

It's really strange to think that Mandy was about 5 miles (8km) from Ryan and I throughout the last 2 1/2 months and yet, we've never seen her. Now she's going to be in Tempe fer a fair spell and I probably still won't get to see her...ho hum...I guess that's kinda the point of serving a mission away from home, eh?!

Anyway, this has been extremely long, so it sufficeth me to say that Mandy seems to be doing very well and we miss her (and Ron and the rest of the fam) like crazy. Please continue to pray for her!

Recent Happenings

2009-02-18T22:54:00.001-08:00

As you can see we are hockey Fanatics. Meg wanted to go to the Coyotes Vs. Flames game on Valentines day......Who am I to deny my wife her wishes!! There was a couple of fights as you can see, but best of all, It was Hockey Night In Canada!! Meg got to hear her national anthem from her home and native land. After the game we took a few more pictures and then used the restroom. While I was at the urinal a guy from the Coyotes orginization asked me if I wanted some vouchers for a free hockey game. Of course I said yes!!! He saw that I was busy and told me he would leave them on the trash can lid. We barely made it down to the guys who were handing out the tickets. They gave us 6 tickets to the Oilers vs. the Coyotes on Monday night. The best part is that they were row 12 on the lower level just to the right of the Coyotes Bench. We were less than a meter or 2 feet or so from Wayne Gretzky as he walked out of the tunnel for the 3rd period. Needless to say we had a hockey filled weekend and got to hear the Canadian National Anthem twice. Meg was in heaven.

Busy week!!

2008-11-02T21:21:00.000-08:00

I will explain these later, like tomarrow.

2008-09-29T09:06:00.000-07:00

We went to the third anual Coyotes Fest on September 20th. Coyotes Fest is a meet and greet the players day. There are also fun activities and an open practice to watch. It is always nice to see Gretzky out on the ice coaching. The Top Picture is Kurt Sauer, Olli Jokinen and Mike Zigomanis. The Second Picture has Miakel Tellqvist and Davaid Hale. We are so excited for the Hockey season to start. As you can see Meg and I suited up for the practice as well.

2008-09-15T22:11:00.000-07:00

We went to the Coyotes Caravan at the Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe, AZ. It was awesome!! We walked right in and got to meet(from left to right in the top picture) Enver Lisin, Ilya Bryzgalov and Derick Morris. I even talked to Derick Morris about GIS, kind of a funny story, you'll have to ask me about it. Then We decided we should get some autographs for Bill, my brother-in-law who loves hockey. When I went through the line again all the players recognized me and Bryzgalov said, "Hey, you again?" It was funny and of course he was joking. The line was super short. This Saturday we will meet the rest of the team. So awesome!!!! I had to show you the photo of Bryzgalov using the vending machine. To me it was kind of funny. He even borrowed the change from a Coyotes publicity representative.

2008-06-26T23:19:00.000-07:00

I bought Meg some pucks to go with our collection. I got her 2 Canadian teams this time. She Bought Me a pair of CCM Hockey gloves so that I can protect my precious fingers and hands while playing roller hockey. I also got her some flowers. It is a good tradition that I have picked up. Then we went to the Olive Garden for Dinner. We have been Married for two whole years.

2008-06-26T23:09:00.000-07:00

This is our camping trip to Mt. Graham in Arizona. We Hiked, Kissed, read books and played all weekend long. It was so much fun. (Actually Meg only read for like 15 minutes)

2008-05-29T14:32:00.000-07:00

Recent Activity

2008-04-23T23:24:00.001-07:00

Our First Aniservary July 2-5 2007

2007-09-17T14:38:00.001-07:00

Shark Reef

Las Vegas Strip

Las Vegas Temple

Wedding

2007-09-17T13:52:00.000-07:00

Our Wedding Day in Cardston Alberta Canada. Isn't My wife pretty?!!