Thursdays with Linda, Miles, and the Big Dog

It's been a while since I posted here. Do you know why? Because Linda abandoned me this winter to get out of the snow and spend almost two months in Las Vegas with her sister (my mom). I'm in Vegas right now to pick up Linda (a 9-day ticket is cheaper than a 2-day ticket...bummer), so I joined her on some of her adventures.

Waiting for Miles outside his school.

Thursdays were pick-up days - Linda and my dad* picked up my 6-year old nephew Miles from half-day kindergarten. While my sister enjoyed one uninterrupted day a week, Linda and my dad would take Miles out to eat, then back to their house for an afternoon of merriment.

Miles has three favorite restaurants for lunch: Wendy's, McDonald's, and Big Dog's Draft House. I got to pick this week, so we went to Big Dogs. Not only do they have better food, they have legalized gambling for kids...

Poor kid only needed two more dots to advance!

AKA the stuffed toy animal crane. Linda brought a bag of loose change for Miles. He swapped some dimes and nickles with the waitress for some quarters (and she threw in an extra quarter because this kid is so stinking cute). About 45 seconds later he was out $3, but he had fun.

His absolute favorite.

Check out that expression - he takes this very seriously.

Miles scarfed down his French toast sticks (and half of Linda's French fries), while the rest of us enjoyed soup, salads, and sandwiches. As you can see, he and Linda have settled in well to their routine.

Cuteness overload! Cuteness overload!

Since it's a draft house, Miles insisted that they say, "Beer!" instead of cheese.

Back at Babcia and Dzia Dzia's (grandma and grandpa's) house, Miles knows the rest of the routine: homework, changes clothes, then fun. He has two basic options: go to the park or use the computer. This week he chose the computer - Animal Jam ("Aunt Karin, do you want to watch me play Animal Jam?") followed by monster truck videos on YouTube. Aunt Linda joined him on the couch and played some Nintendo DS (baseball of course - it's almost opening day!).

Two peas in a pod.

I'm sure Linda will miss the routine when we're back and Michigan (especially the part about doing it in shorts and a t-shirt!) but I keep reminding her that it's spring, and it'll warm up soon (I hope).

We have a few days left in Vegas, so there may be another post in our future!

*Thursdays are brought to you by my dad, who was with us in each of these locations, but didn't quite make the cuteness-cut for photos.