100 random facts about me

1. I am the second of 7 children. I have 4 brothers and 2 sisters.
   
2. I like having dark hair and blue eyes.
3. My favorite color is red.
4. I love celebrating holidays and try to make all of them special.
5. I love trying new recipes.
6. I love the idea of crafting. Getting anything accomplished is another story.
7. I like to do dishes because I love having an empty sink.
8. I don't know what I want to be when I grow up. Do I want to go back and teach? I don't know.
9. I would really LOVE to have a clean house all of the time. I accept that I don't, but I WANT to. I feel so good and happy when everything is clean and organized.
10. I LOVE spring because spring flowers make me happy. I think partly because it means that warmer weather is on its way.
11. Red tulips are my favorite flower.
12. I got a pair of boots for Christmas, and they were a size 14 women's. Unbelievable. They ran small. I normally have to wear open toed shoes or mens tennis shoes because I can't find anything bigger than a size 12. In my price range, that is.
13. My kids are a dream come true. I have always wanted to be a Mom when I grew up.
14. I would rather be in a room full of spiders than a room full of cockroaches. UGGH!
15. I completed the St George Marathon in 2003. My friend Jill and I did it together. We were some of the last people to finish, but we did it. That was on my life to do list.
16. I have worn the same ring that my parents gave me every day since I was 13.
17. I get restless to DO something. GO somewhere. I often find myself wandering the aisles of Walmart and Albertsons, looking for something interesting or a good deal.
18. I have to make myself not be shy sometimes.
19. I love things that are bright and look happy.
20. I am looking forward to when Camille can babysit so Kent and I can go on dates and work out together.
21. I love having a mini van. I know they are not very cool, but I think for practicality when you are a mom, they are great.
22. I LOVE finding a good deal. Even if we were rich, I think I would still be a bargain shopper. That is how you get rich, right?
23. I wish I could find the perfect hair cut for me. I always want to do something different, I just want to know that it will look great, and be low/no maintenance. Is there such thing?
24. My hair turned curly at the age of 33. I had had perms for YEARS. After not having a perm for a really long time, I realized that the curls are here to stay. It is not a bad thing. No more paying for curls. Both of my sisters hair have turned curly too. It is pretty interesting.
25. I LOVE kissing my babies chubby cheeks.
26. I played basketball at Ricks College. Back in the olden days when it was Ricks.
27. I tore my Achilles tendon in tenth grade, and only got play the final part of the basketball season. I played all of my junior year. My senior year I accidentally kicked a bleacher at a football game, and got a neuroma in my right foot. I was out most of my senior basketball season too. I got to play a few games. I was blessed to still get a scholarship. Funny how things work out.
28. I used to love tole painting back when it was still cool.
29. I am not an artist at all, but I am crafty.
30. I admire people who can stick to routines. Especially cleaning routines. I struggle with that. It seems that is anything more exciting than what I have scheduled comes up, I jump at the chance to change my plans.
31. I wish I was better at knowing how to put on my make up.
32. Kent and I would rather golf than watch a movie together. We have only seen 1 movie together since we have been married. ( 10 years)
33. I am really good at remembering unimportant facts and info. Anything important is hard for me.
34. I served a mission in the New Zealand Wellington Mission.
35. I have served in some calling in the Young Women's program for the past 10 years. I did have one time for about 3 months that I taught primary. Other than that, all YW.
36. I like to teach adults. I think that being a continuing education teacher for a fun class would be a great job.
37. The first time I met Kent was in Salt Lake. I was with a group of people, and we went to his house. I was with my boyfriend.
38. I am happiest when I am with my family.
39. I wish I was the type of person that is ALWAYS nice. I try pretty hard, but I could be better.
40. I love having painted toenails.
41. I am very allergic to shell fish. Poor Kent LOVES it. Needless to say, I have never made any for him.
42. I have a double major in elementary education and special education.
43. I have lots of grey hair.
44. I could eat a Taco Bell bean burrito every day for the rest of my life.
45. The worst thing that I hate to clean is floors- sweeping, mopping, vacuuming.
46. I love that Kent is so much taller than me. It is so nice to feel short.
47. When I was 12, I was 5' 2"and wore a size 12 shoe. Right after that, I shot up.
48. I am a coupon shopper and love it when I can get things free. It is a fun game.
49. I like to read the newspaper.
50. I listen to the 80's station. I remember when I was young and my parents were listening to Johnny Cash and the like, I used to think that I will never be old and out of touch like them. Well I am. I think I am ok with that too. Kent and I are guilty of blasting the stereo in the van when an old Van Halen song comes on. The kids are the ones begging US to turn it down.
51. I like to read children's literature.
52. I have never been to Disneyland. I have been to Disney World. I think I need to go with our kids, because when I went, I was single and 25. It was fun, but I didn't think it was THAT fun. I am sure kids make it a different experience.
53. I don't like when roller coasters go up that first huge hill, and then drop. I always think I am going to die. Really.
54. One of the scariest things I have done is go on an air boat ride in Florida at night. I have gone on many air boat rides. The more I go on, the more scared I have become. You go out and see alligator eyes all around you everywhere. I fear the boat tipping over, and you are out in the middle of a lake/swamp and you have nowhere to go. I don't think I would go again. Weird huh?
55. I was born in Mesa Arizona.
56. When I was at Ricks college, I did a summer program called Discovery. It was a six week program where you camped out, and did you science credits out in nature. It was so fun. We went to the Oregon coast, Washington, Salmon River Idaho, and West Yellowstone. I went with my friend Sarah. She came home with a husband, I came home with some science credits that were actually fun for me!
57. The color yellow makes me feel happy.
58. My high school mascot was a Scorpion.
59. I only went to 2 dances in high school. Prom my junior and senior years.
60. Kent and I dated for 5 months before we kissed. We were engaged 2 weeks later.
61. My first car was a maroon Subaru hatchback. I shared it with my sister Erin.
62. I attended college at 3 schools- Ricks College, Utah State University, and Southern Utah University.
63. I knocked my two front teeth out on my mission. I was in a bike wreck and went over a huge curb teeth first.
64. If I could choose between a pedicure and a message, I would choose a pedicure. I am very ticklish.
65. I love it when Kent calls me from work. It makes the day better.
66. I hate it when kids are mean to each other.
67. I lived with my Grandma for a summer before I left on my mission. That was one of the most treasured experiences of my life.
68. I worked at Jiffy Lube for a summer. I didn't actually work under the car, I cleaned windows, vacuumed, and worked the register. People actually told me they didn't want a girl working on their car.
69. I used to babysit like crazy. I started when I was seven. My sister Erin and I went together. I always had summer jobs, and I was always watching someones kids. I finally got sick of it, and stopped in high school.
70. When I started taking piano lessons in 4th grade, our family didn't have a piano. I would practice on a fold out paper keyboard. Then we got a little electric organ type of thing, and finally a piano about a year and a half later.
71. I am a talker. I love visiting with people.
    
72. I love it when Kent puts his arm around me in church.
73. I melt when my kids say they love me out of the blue.
74. I like to keep journals. I have a lot of journals from over the years. I got my first one for Christmas when I was in first grade.
75. I love when I can think of ways to really help someone out without being asked.
76. I love Christmas time. I love the excitement and anticipation in our kids. I love that people are trying to be kind to each other.
77. I want to learn how to do pieced quilting, and learn how to machine quilt.
78. I don't read too often. Mostly at the gym on the treadmill.
79. I wish I could remember the scriptures better. No matter how many times I have read a story, I still need to read it again.
80. I think it would be so cool to have a crafting blog like some that I see. I always wonder how in the world people have the time to be a wife, mom, make crafts, sell crafts, have a blog, and answer the comments on their blog. I would just like to know how to do all of those fun things that they do. I think my list of cool ideas I would like to do some day is 100 miles long. Baby steps.
81. Water is my favorite drink.
82. Whenever I am down, service really does make me feel better.
83. I don't know where Kent works. I know he works for Fidelity, but I don't know exactly where his office building is. Weird huh?
84. I always wanted to be the kool aid Mom when I had kids- like playing tackle football in the back yard with them, and then having yummy kool aid and a snack ready at any given moment. I play with them, but not as much as I thought I would. Seems like life is always getting in the way.
85. I am technologically backward. We don't have i-pods, mp3 players, and we just got cell phones 2 1/2 years ago. I sent my 1st text message last month to Kent to see if we could send them on our phones.
86. I love getting into a made bed at night. That does not mean it is always made, just that I like it. The ONE good thing about working late at night is when I get home and go to bed, I never have to get into a freezing cold bed. Kent always had it warmed up.
    
87. I was always #42 in basketball. I LOVED that number.
88. I was a 3 guard when I played basketball in college. I was one of the shorter tall girls, and I was fairly quick. Oh to be young again...
89. I am a receptionist at an answering service. We do all sorts of things from taking messages to placing orders on websites. You name it, we do it. Sometimes better than others.
90. I am reading the #1 Ladies Detective Agency series right now. It has been fun. They are light, funny, interesting, simple mystery, and short. They are by Alexander McCall Smith.
91. I am good at doing simple math in my head. I really enjoyed teaching 5th grade math. You get to teach them all of the basics of math, before they have to get into the "other" things.
92. I have an office full of stuff. It is always a mess, but I know pretty much exactly where everything is. I have a little bit of everything which comes in handy. I just need to put things away after I get them out, so it would be tidy.
93. I have tried many times to use the Flylady system. It is something I know helps me so much to have better routines and organization, but I can't stick to it.
94. I have had 2 surgeries- one was a neuroma removal on my right foot in 1989, and the other was arthroscopic knee surgery in 2005.
95. I cut Kent's hair every other Saturday. ( Also, both boys- but not often enough) At first it was torture. I have accepted it after ten years. I am mentally keeping track of all of the haircuts I have given, and someday when we are older and financially in a different place, I am going to ask to be paid! :) Good luck, huh?
96. The average time it takes me to fall asleep is 3 minutes. I had a sleep test in January, and they told me that. I think it is funny. Anyone who knows me well knows that about me.
97. My narcolepsy diagnosis that I have had for the past 13 years got changed in January. I was retested again, and my Dr. said that I did not have narcolepsy because I didn't have all of the symptoms. He changed the diagnosis to idiopathic hypersomnia, meaning excessive daytime sleepiness. They treat me the same way, but I just don't have to have that narcolepsy diagnosis.
98. My daily musical selection comes from peoples blogs. I seriously listen to peoples play lists on my computer- it is our stereo.
99. I feel like I am pretty much doing what I dreamed of when I was growing up. I wanted to be a wife and mother, stay home with our kids, and be happy. Of course my life is not perfect, but I am happy and I feel like my life is what I had hoped it would be up to this point.
100. I wish I was the first Mom in history who had kids who didn't fight.

This was REALLY hard to do. I have been working on this list at work for a couple of weeks. I enjoyed trying to think about my life- interesting thing I have done, things I hope for, what I want to be when I grow up, and just look at my life. I had fun doing this. I am glad that I am me.

Singing Time Kids

Camille is in a group called Singing Time Kids. They had their little performance last Friday night. It was a really fun performance, and all of the kids were so cute. Grandma and Grandpa Miles came from Cedar to be there, and Erin and Kelly came too. It was fun to have family there. I was so proud of Camille! She did a great job. She joined the group a little later than the others. The first week, when I went to pick her up, one of the leaders asked her if she had a solo that she would like to do. I have to admit that I thought there was NO way that she would do it. Well my sweet Camille gave me a surprise. She said yes, that she had a solo, and she went up to perform. I was shocked- mostly because I wondered what in the world her solo was going to be. I knew darn well that we didn't have anything ready. So she got up there, and sung Mary had a Little Lamb. It was so cute. After that, I decided that I had better help her find a song that she could sing, because she was game to do it. We borrowed some song books, and Camille decided that she wanted to sing "Take me Out to the Ball Game." So after a couple months practice, this is the final product. I love it that kids have so much confidence that they can do things like this.

The story behind Camille being in this group is pretty neat. In 1994 I was serving my mission in New Zealand. I was just transferred to a town called Westport. It was on the west coast of the south island, and it hadn't had sisters there for quite a few years. I was supposed to train a new missionary. When I met my new companion, I knew immediately that she, Tyra Abney (now Hawkins), was going to be great. And she was. She is one of those people who is just dynamic in every way. Everything about her was fun, filled with energy, and spiritual. I have thought many times that she trained and taught me more than I ever taught her. She had been in a performing group at Ricks college called Showtime. She is an amazing singer. She was always singing, yodeling, and doing funny moves to go along with it. It kept me laughing. She told me back then that her Mom started a little group when she was a kid called the Rainbow Rhythms. She taught them how to do singing and little actions. I always loved hearing her sing.

Fast forward 14 years. When we moved to Murray we ended up living about 5 minutes from where Tyra does. We have been able to get together some, which has been so enjoyable. She and a friend started a singing group so their kids would have the chance to sing and gain confidence performing. What an amazing service. So Camille got to be in Tyra's singing group. Never in my imagination did I think my daughter would be singing in Tyra's group. It's funny how things come full circle. Now our kids are acquainted with each other and have sung together. I am so grateful that Camille had this opportunity. It was really fun for her. It was also fun for me to see Tyra as a mother and directing this group. I am still totally convinced that she is amazing, and I feel that I am blessed to be her friend.

Piggy Tails

Morgan's hair has been a challenge. I remember Camille's being the same, until it got thicker and curly. Morgan's is getting a little longer, so there are a few things I can do with it. BUT, she hates having anything in it, and takes anything I put in it out as fast as she can. The other day I had a great idea. I let her play in the sink with the dish scrubber while I put piggy tails in. She batted at my hands a few times, but when all was said and done, she had piggy tails for about an hour. That was a small victory. Needless to say, she has only had them in once.

The Playground

One of the highlights of most of our days is going to the school to pick Camille up, and playing on the playground. I enjoy getting out and walking with the kids. I also enjoy them being outside and not being cooped up inside making messes. Another benefit is visiting with the other Moms who are there. I have met some nice friends. The kids love being out and running free.

It's Spring!

Spring is finally here after a LOOOOONG winter. I just love spring. I love the flowers the most. I walk with the kids to pick Camille up from school, and we would look for signs of spring. These little crocus flowers were some of the first signs of spring we found on our way. I don't know why it is that flowers can lift my spirits and make me feel happy, but they do.



After one of our walks looking for signs of spring, we got home and McCray said we have some signs of spring in our backyard. Our back yard is not exactly filled with plush grass and beautiful flowers. But lo and behold, along our back fence there were tulip plants popping up randomly in our grass. It was a gift! Tulips in our own back yard. I could hardly wait to see them bloom. Well after about a month of waiting, they have bloomed.

Red tulips are my very favorite flowers. Just seeing them makes me smile.

It's finally spring. I made it through the long Utah winter. I keep thinking if spring is this pretty here, I can't wait to see what summer will bring!

Valley of Fire Photo Scavenger Hunt

As part of our family reunion, Kent and I were in charge of organizing a Photo Scavenger Hunt of the park. It was really fun. We divided into two teams, gave each team a list of places to see, and a list of pictures to take. Each place and pose were worth points. The rule was that everyone had to be in each picture, except for the photographer. Sometimes this was easier than others. The point was to not just take pictures of scenery. Take pictures of people in the scenery. We had just over two hours to complete the scavenger hunt. With our lists in hand, and the competitive spirit that the Miles family is famous for, we set out on our adventure. Our team was our family, Bruce and Mandi's family, Scott, and Ambree. The other team was Grandma and Grandpa, Kirt and Pauline's family (minus Ambree), and Aaron and Jessica. In the end, our team lost. But I figure, there are no losers because we had a blast, and got some fun pictures. Good memories.

1.Picture of a park animal- these lizards are really neat. They were huge. We didn't press the issue of getting someone in the picture. Otherwise, we would have NO picture!

2. The most relaxing place you can find- this is my nephew Ammon kicking back in the sand. 

3.The other team thought the this rock looked pretty relaxing.

4. This is on the Mouse Tank hike. We are all trying to do the TOYOTA jump. As you can tell, I skipped out on the jumping part because Morgan was asleep.

5. The other team did much better with their jump.

6. I take credit for this find. We were supposed to find something funny. This cracked me up. Can you see it? This rock looks a profile of a man with a big nose. Bruce climbed up there to compare profiles.

Well there you have it. We had a great time. It was a great way to get out and see the place, and also just have a great time together laughing and being creative. I highly recommend it if any of you are trying to think up a fun reunion idea.

7. Can you believe how nimble Grandma Miles is? I don't know many people MY age the can do the splits! She is AMAZING!

8. This was a cool find. We were supposed to do what the sign says. We thought this sign would do. These are four of the Miles boys. The sign in the background is a little hard to see, but it says "Next four Miles". They are the next generation of Miles boys. Kent just commented that he hopes their road isn't curvy like the sign says. That's right boys, straight ahead, no curves! :)

9. This is another shot that is a little easier to read the sign.

10. The other team is also doing what the sign says.

11. Here we were supposed to take a picture with someone's pet. The two kids and the dog are what we came up with.

12. We were also supposed to take a picture of something crooked. We thought the dogs tail would work for that.

13. We decided to go and find the Mouse Tank. This is probably where we went wrong in our strategy to win, because it was a hike that took a little time. But it was neat, and worth the short little hike.

14. This was for the picture, Can you believe we can all fit in here? This is my Brother in Law Scott. I am glad he was willing to try to fit in there, because I wasn't! :) The other is of Kent and the kids. I don't know if you can tell, but Kent is cut in half by this rock. Can you see it?

15. This is a picture where we were supposed to make the people in your picture look small. We were at the Beehives.

16. This was at a place called Atlatl rock. We were making funny faces. Can you tell, or do we just look normal?

17. This next place is called Arch rock. We are doing the same thing as the picture. We are trying to make an arch.

18. This picture was taken at the Visitors center. We were supposed to take a picture with a park employee. This guy was a good sport to help us out.

We had a great time, and made some good memories. It was fun way to check out the park and also get some good pictures.