The Ryan Report

Moving & Merging

2008-07-24T05:51:00.000-07:00

Though it's hard to believe, it has been three years today since I began Ryan's blog. I enjoy looking back through the posts and seeing the highlights of the past three years. However, it's been difficult to keep up three blogs, so I have decided to merge them. I have been contemplating this for about a year, and I have finally decided to give it a try. I will continue to post the events of his life, but I'm going to move it to my main blog, Consider it all Joy. I will keep this one up and may occasionally post something, but for the most part, it will just be an archive of the past three years. For those who are only interested in Ryan and not the other goings-on in our family, I will tag all posts specifically about him with Ryan label so they can easily be found on the blog. All your comments and visits have been greatly appreciated!

Testing

2008-07-23T20:56:00.000-07:00

Oregon is pretty homeschool friendly, thankfully. We have very few requirements, and one of them is to test the student in 3rd, 5th, 8th, and 10th grade. We don't have to submit the scores unless the school district asks for them, but we have to test. As a trial run, to familiarize him with the testing process, and to just get a baseline for when he takes his third grade test, I decided to go ahead and have Ryan tested this year. He would have just finished kindergarten if he were in public school, but I thought the kindergarten test would be too easy for him, so I had him take the first grade test instead.

A friend of ours from our old church works for Basic Skills (the organization who does the testing), so she drove out to our house today and administered the test to Ryan. It was nice to have a familiar face to lessen the anxiety (for me...Ryan wasn't daunted at all!). He whipped through the test fairly quickly and only missed one (a double-digit subtraction problem)! Whew. I was pretty sure I had covered all the bases, but it's nice to have it confirmed. Ryan actually had fun doing the test, so that was an added bonus! Some parents test every year so they know where weak areas are, and I haven't decided yet if I'll do that or not. For now though, it is a relief to know he's doing fine...being responsible for my kids' education is sometimes very intimidating and overwhelming!

To celebrate Mommy's relief and Ryan's great job on the test, we decided to take Ryan out to dinner and then to get a scoop of ice cream at Baskin Robbins afterward. Ryan tried something new again and got Fudge Brownie!

Fun with a Friend

2008-07-20T16:09:00.000-07:00

We invited Ryan's and Abby's friend Frankie over for the day last Wednesday so his mom and sisters could do their activities at the fair without having to entertain him during the long day of showing rabbits, chickens, and horses. The three of them had such a great time! In fact, Ryan came completely unglued when Frankie's mom showed up to take him home.

They dressed up and played pirates and princess. I got out a huge pop-up playhouse that my brother and sister-in-law gave them years ago, as well as our play tunnel and a couple sets of walkie-talkies. They played for hours and then ate lunch outside. They were just getting ready to go running through the sprinklers when Frankie had to go home, so we'll have to have him over again soon to do that!

Baseball

2008-07-16T15:40:00.000-07:00

It seems like it came from out of nowhere, but suddenly Ryan is interested in baseball. He's been begging us to play with him after dinner and is wanting to play on a team. He is just old enough to start Little League this September for their fall ball program, which is two months long. He said he was willing to earn part of the $35 it costs to play, so I guess we'll sign him up and see how it goes.

We have been hitting and catching with him, though not with a real bat and ball yet. (Hmmm, suppose we should buy those, huh?) I am not sure he's ready (or me either) for it yet, but we shall find out in six weeks' time.

Ryan's Day 2008

2008-07-14T22:26:00.000-07:00

The kids look forward to their special day every year. It's a special day where we thank God for putting them into our family, and we celebrate it each year on the day we finalized their adoptions. Ryan has been saying for months that he wanted to go to the beach for "Ryan's Day," and so when we asked him if he'd like to go camping at the beach too, he was very excited!

Unfortunately, Daddy struggled with a migraine most of the weekend, but Saturday (Ryan's Day) was the worst. After the kids and I got up and had some breakfast, we decided to ride our bikes over to a large sand dune in the campground and let Daddy sleep off the shot he had given himself and hopefully the migraine too. This was the first time we have taken the bikes with us, and it was fun to ride around the campground. (Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera with me!)

We met Daddy on our ride back to the campsite. His head was still hurting, but he felt good enough to take a ride into Tillamook. We drove into town and hit a few of the local spots (we were doing a multi-cache geocache which took us to the main attractions in town), one of which was the Blue Heron Premium Cheese Company. Daddy and I had been here before, but this was the first time we'd taken the kids. We quickly browsed the gift shop (okay, the kids had to use the bathroom), sampled some smoked brie (yum), and then headed out to the main attraction for the kids...the petting farm and old machinery.

We have noticed an interesting phenomenon with Ryan: Whenever we go camping, he seems to push away his fears and be braver than usual. Last year he slept in his own tent, and this year he climbed trees (he's usually terrified of things like that) and willingly fed the farm animals and alpaca (he typically is very skittish and stays away from them). Go figure.

We managed to pry Ryan away from the heavy machinery by letting him choose where we ate lunch...McDonald's. After eating lunch, they played in the play place for awhile. Once we dangled the Tillamook Cheese Factory & Ice Creamery in front of Ryan, he was ready to leave MickeyD's and go have some dessert!

See, I was there too!
The place was packed! We even had to park in the overflow parking, which we'd never done before. Despite the crowds, the wait in line wasn't very long and we even found a table fairly quickly. We ate our ice cream, looked at the Morning Star ship dry docked in the front of the creamery, and then we headed back to the campground.

Ryan wanted to go back to the beach, so that's what we did. I stayed in my jeans because I about froze the last time we went down there, but the kids assured me they needed to go in the water this time so they wore their swimsuits (so did Daddy, who regretted it later). We dug a long trench, Ryan played with his bulldozer, and Abby pretty much just dug in the sand the whole time.

Despite the temperature being in the 70s, the wind was blowing so hard off the ocean that it was really chilly (typical of the Oregon coast). Dismissing my warnings that they would get REALLY cold, the kids decided to get into the water. They had great fun...for about 10 minutes before Abigail decided it was entirely too cold (didn't I say it would be?) and she wanted to go back to the campsite!

Ryan, however, was undaunted by the icy water and blowing wind. He happily ran in the waves a while longer. I finally had to take Abby back to the more sheltered campsite and build a fire to warm her up (I confess, I was happy to go!), but Daddy and Ryan stayed a bit longer, playing in the water and sand and building a sand castle.

We ended the day with a hot dog roast, which is one of the things Ryan most wanted to do on his special day. It wasn't exactly how Ryan had planned the day to go, but he had a great time nonetheless. We are so blessed to have him for our son, and it is fun to make a big deal of it each year. We love you, Ryan!

Beach Camping

2008-07-14T20:37:00.000-07:00

We decided to try a beach campground for the first time. Ryan wanted to celebrate "Ryan's Day" (the day we finalized his adoption) at the beach this year, and since we had to postpone our camping trip from last month, we thought we'd combine the two. So we headed out to Barview Jetty campground in Tillamook County.

Both kids were thrilled when we pulled into our campsite and it was surrounded by a dozen fantastic climbing trees! When we were at campsite, they spent more time up in the trees than they did down on the ground, I think.

We arrived around 7:00, so the first night basically consisted of getting the camp set up. Then we had some hot chocolate, went to look at the beach (which was just a short walk from our site), doused the fire and went to bed. It was after 10:00pm when we crawled into our sleeping bags. Ryan & Abby were so excited they had a difficult time settling down, despite the late hour.

The next day the kids and I were up very early...like 5:15am! I tried to keep them quiet, so we went for a walk to the bathroom. Then Mommy tried starting a fire since it was pretty chilly, but due the dampness of everything (I'm sure it had nothing to do with my general ineptitude at starting fires!), I wasn't successful. Finally, I broke out the food and started breakfast. I guess Daddy would just have to get up if he wanted a hot breakfast!

The first evening while we were setting up camp, three boys from a nearby site came and wanted to play. The five of them had a fun time climbing trees, fighting pretend enemies (it was decided they would have pretend enemies since no one wanted to be the bad guys), and bushwhacking through wastelands.

After breakfast and cleanup, we headed to the beach for a walk and some geocaching. There was an awesome fort, complete with pirate flag, that someone had made from driftwood. I was a little nervous about letting them go inside it, but after taking a closer look, it was pretty sturday and looked like it had actually been there quite a while.

We walked about a mile up the beach geocaching and finding shells along the way. The wind was galing and it was pretty chilly, but we still enjoyed the walk and the scenery. Ryan stopped a few times to make a sand angel as well as inspecting dead crabs, broken sand dollars and shells, and any other treasure he saw lying in the sand.

We walked the mile back toward our campground, and then went back to our site to have lunch. After our lunch break, we drove Daddy down to the jetty so he could do some fishing. Though we brought all of our fishing rods, the jetty was just too dangerous to have the kids around so Daddy fished solo.

While Daddy was fishing we headed back to the beach. It was 65 degrees with terrible gusting wind, so the kids stayed out of the water. But they had fun digging and playing in the sand for hours. Finally, Daddy returned and we all went back to camp for dinner.

The next day was Ryan's Day, and Ryan got to make most of the decisions for the day!

We woke up our last morning at camp, had breakfast and then rode our bikes to the sand dune again. The kids played with the only other child there, dug in the sand (guess a kid can never get enough of that), and scrambled up and ran down the dune numerous times.

Once they tired of the dune, we rode our bikes to a geocache that was located near the jetty. The kids had a blast climbing rocks and driftwood while Mommy and Daddy hunted for the cache. Then it was time to go and pack up camp. It took longer than usual this time, I think because of all the sand. Everything had to be shook out or swept or something. We managed to get it all back into the van, with some help from the kids. Mostly they did some final climbing in the trees, begging me to take a picture of them in each one! On our way home we couldn't resist one last stop at the Tillamook Creamery for a final ice cream cone...YUMMY!

Ryan decided to try something new...Mint Chocolate Chip!

Keeping Cool...Sort Of

2008-07-08T09:20:00.000-07:00

Our friends invited us over to visit and play in their hot tub this week. The hot tub was a little warm for Ryan (Mr. Oversensitive), but eventually got used to it and they all had a blast splashing and squirting and such.

Building a Crane

2008-07-01T21:45:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Daddy took Abigail fishing, so I had some special time alone with Ryan. I don't often get to have him all to myself, and I enjoyed the time so much. He's been wanting to build a crane from a design he found in one of his books, so I thought this would be a good chance to start on it.

After a trip to Walmart for a couple of needed supplies and to Starbucks for a treat, we came home and did step 1 of the project. The dimensions for the tracks were incorrect, so we only ended up with one of the tracks being done this time. We'll work on the next seven steps sometime soon and post the finished product.

Party Fun

2008-06-25T19:33:00.000-07:00

Ryan and Abby were invited to their friend's 5th birthday party last week. Ryan was so excited! Frankie, the birthday boy, seemed a little overwhelmed by the whole thing. This was his first party, and he was thrilled to find out he got to open ALL the presents! Very cute.

Since the hostess didn't know if it was going to rain or not (an Oregon hazard most months out of the year), she got a pinata with pull strings instead of the kind you have to hit so it could be done indoors if necessary. Thankfully, the day turned out to be lovely, and the kids all had fun pulling the strings. Ryan had no problem getting his share of the candy. In fact, we still have some left in the cupboard.

After the party, the kids ran around their one-acre yard chasing the chickens, the dog, and playing with the adorable baby bunnies. It was a fun afternoon party!

Summer Freebies

2008-06-16T14:39:00.000-07:00

Ryan is getting very close to promoting out of his Level 2 swim lessons, but our last session ended about a week and a half ago and we haven't yet determined if we're going to spend the money for another round of lessons next month. So I made sure to take advantage of the free lessons offered this week at our local pool.

We got there a little early to make sure we got our names on the list, and then we went next door to play on the elementary school playground until it was time for our lessons. Ryan begged me to join in pretending it was a tall ship (I even got to be Captain, a huge concession by Ryan's standards!) and we were being attacked by the enemy.

Then we went for a short walk around the school and pool before going inside to wait our turn for lessons. It was pretty crowded, but from what I could see, no teacher had more than three kids, which is a pretty good ratio. There were only three in Ryan and Abby's class, and though I don't think they learned anything new, they at least were practicing and not losing skills they already have learned.

Just before their lesson was over, a pool employee announced that they still had spots available for the next session and we could sign our kids up for the next session if we so desired. I immediately got in line! Ryan was thrilled when he found out they got to get right back into the pool for another half an hour.

It worked out well too because the instructor the second time was much better. Also, most of the kids in this second session were rank beginners, so the instructor moved them to the deeper half of the pool, and they had that half almost to themselves!

Ryan showing his new gap off!
They were starving after swimming for an hour, so we drove over to the middle school where the free lunch program was being offered, and the kids had fun eating at the "real" school. Money has been really tight here lately, so I enjoyed this completely free morning tremendously (Okay, not really free since we pay taxes, but you know what I mean)! I'm not sure I'll feel as joyful after a full week of this, but today it was great.

Lost His First Tooth!

2008-06-14T14:09:00.000-07:00

One last picture with all his baby teeth intact!
Friday the kids had their biannual dental appointments, and both had great reports of no cavities! Ryan has had a loose tooth since his last exam and cleaning in December, but over the last couple of weeks it has really become much more wiggly. The dentist said his new tooth is coming in behind the baby one and that we need to get the baby one out as soon as possible to allow the new tooth to come forward.

So with encouragement to wiggle away, Ryan has been messing with his tooth a lot. This afternoon I was looking at it and accidentally bumped it a bit which caused it to be so loose that I knew it would come out easily. As I was holding a tissue on it to stop a small amount of bleeding, I casually gave it a tug and out it came! Ryan didn't even know I had done it till he felt the hole with his tongue. He is now the proud owner of a smile with a hole in it!

Swordplay

2008-06-01T12:42:00.000-07:00

Ryan invited his friend over to play last week, and they spent most of their time sword fighting and defending the fair Princess Abigail!

Beating and Imitating Granpa

2008-05-24T20:12:00.000-07:00

Ryan has really begun to love playing chess. Thankfully I can still usually beat him, but I have no gift for strategy ("I need the man in black!"). Daddy is better than I am, but Ryan was still happy to have a new opponent. He was especially thrilled to beat Granpa the second game they played!

While Granpa was here he had cold cereal one morning (hey, I did cook the other two mornings!) and apparently Ryan thought it was pretty cool that Granpa mixed Life and Cheerios in the same bowl together because now he's doing it too!

The Gospel According to Mater

2008-05-21T19:56:00.000-07:00

I was rather amused the other day when I heard what sounded like a Sunday school lesson coming from Abby's room, complete with Bible songs and prayers. I went to check it out and found that Ryan had set up his Cars toys for a church service in which Mater was the preacher!

Geared Up

2008-05-19T19:48:00.000-07:00

Ryan and Abby all geared up and ready to fight the bad guys (which often ends up being me).

Eye Appointment

2008-05-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

Ryan had an appointment with his eye surgeon Friday. We have been going in about every five or six months to check on his progress. This time she hinted that we might need to do some patching again at some point, but for now she is happy with his vision and the positioning of his eyes. One eye has better vision than the other, but she said it's good to have a strong eye. So we go back to see her again in November, and then she said we may be able to go down to one visit per year!

Catching a Blessing

2008-05-16T23:21:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why, but I am always so blessed when I "catch" Ryan reading to Abigail. Sometimes he does it because I ask him to, but often I will find him doing it just for the fun or because she asked him to. In this picture he is finishing up the last chapters of Nim's Island.

The Talker

2008-05-12T16:48:00.000-07:00

Ryan is quite the chatterbox at times. The other day as Daddy and I were trying to have a conversation, he was chattering away at no one in particular. I said to him, "You really like to talk, don't you?" To which he replied, "Yeah, I've got a lot on my mind."

Try, Try Again

2008-05-01T08:36:00.000-07:00

We keep a small Etch-a-Sketch in the van for the kids to play with, but Ryan doesn't draw with it for very long. He gets frustrated because he can't make it draw what he wants (I have the same problem!). Yesterday, as we were getting out of the van I hear an excited little boy saying, "Look, I finally drew something good on the Etch-a-Sketch!" Can you guess what it is?

Hint: Just like the previous post, it has a Star Wars theme.

Charades

2008-04-19T19:56:00.000-07:00

One of the ways Ryan passed the time at urgent care was playing charades. Can you guess what he is?

Hint: Think Star Wars.

Celebrating Abby's Birthday

2008-04-13T14:42:00.000-07:00

We took advantage of our first day with temps above the 60s to be outside enjoying the sunshine. Since it was Abby's birthday, we got her "approval" to go to the coast and do some tide pooling. First we stopped at a fun logging camp restaurant, Camp 18, and Ryan wouldn't stop bugging us to go climb on all the old equipment.

Then, much to Ryan's dismay, we made a brief stop to see what was left of the tallest Sitka Spruce in the U.S. Ryan had no interest in this at all and just wanted to get to the beach!

Not the Sitka we came to see, but a neat tree formation nonetheless.
Finally, after some parking issues, we managed to climb down onto the beach. There were lots of people out enjoying the negative tide and the sunshine, but it really wasn't too terribly crowded.

Haystack Rock and the Needles.
Ryan was dying to see starfish (which he did), and he also saw muscles like this huge one he's holding, and anenomes and other critters. He even muscled up the courage to hold a hermit crab that Daddy found among the rocks and barnacles!

Ryan really enjoyed himself, especially once he found his much-sought after starfish. But all good things have to end, and the tide came in after a couple of hours so we left the beach and went geocaching before heading home.

Once we arrived home both kids were dying for Abby to open her gifts. Ryan has known what he wanted to get Abby for months now, and she was very excited to get it, a baby to go with her other Snap 'N Style dolls! Here he's giving her a birthday kiss, for him a more magnanimous gesture than the gift itself.

We were hoping that once Abby got a bike Ryan's competitiveness wouldn't allow him to give in to his fear any longer, and we weren't disappointed! While Abby was getting her new helmet and pads on, Ryan got out his long-forgotten bike and tore around the street like he had been riding it every day for the last two years. We hardly been able to get him to ride it because his fear of falling sucks all the joy out of him riding it (and drives me to distraction!), but yesterday he either conquered his fear or quit pretending to be so afraid and had a blast riding bikes with his sister!

LaCrosse Game

2008-04-12T20:30:00.000-07:00

Daddy won tickets to see Portland's professional LaCrosse team the Lumberjax Friday night. We have been wanting to go, but now we had a great reason to do so...it was free! We picked up Daddy from work and then went out to dinner at Red Robin since we had a free coupon due to Abby's birthday. Then we parked on the street and took the light rail to the Rose Garden Arena.

Both kids were really excited, but Ryan particularly so. We had to read the rules in the program since we had no idea how the game is played, but it was a fast-paced game and we had a good time. I think Ryan's favorite part is yelling!

The music was incredibly loud, the people behind us terribly profane (although a bit better after we asked them to cut out the foul language) and Lumberjax ended up losing, but we still enjoyed our evening and may try to go again sometime.

Jaxon, the mascot.

New Challenge

2008-04-11T19:59:00.000-07:00

Ryan has grown so skilled at checkers that he has been beating Daddy quite a bit lately. This afternoon Daddy broke out Stratego and started to teach him how to play. I stink at this game, and Daddy's hoping Ryan will get good enough at it that he will be a challenge to him since I won't play with him any more.

Doing Math

2008-04-10T19:53:00.000-07:00

Whatever works has been my motto lately. Ryan has taken to doing his math book in strange spots lately. I used to fight with him to get him to sit at the table "correctly," but I just decided that wasn't a battle that was worth having. Now, with the exception of doing his assigned writing, he can sit however he wants as long as I can read his work and he isn't distracted.

Blooming Capitalist

2008-04-09T17:04:00.000-07:00

Ryan has discovered the value of money in recent months. He has been asking for ways to earn money and has expressed some pretty capitalistic ideas. For instance, when Gramie was here we were waiting while our gas tank was being filled (yep, we aren't allowed to pump our own gas in Oregon), and Ryan said, "Mommy, when I grow up and if I own a gas station, if more people want diesel than gas, I'm going to raise the price of diesel, but if more people want gas than diesel, then I'm going to raise the price of gas and lower diesel."

Then when he found out that the bank pays you to put money into savings, he wanted to run right down and get his small fortune put into the bank! I think his main motivation is that he really wants to save enough money to buy this really cool R2-D2 robot that he saw on a video some time ago. Hopefully by the time he saves $120 he will be done with his R2 obsession and will use the money for something else! In the meantime he has been having fun translating words and phrases into "R2" with this cute website.

Goofing Off

2008-04-05T18:28:00.000-07:00

I have a list of things I had planned to get done while Daddy was gone, but, alas, they remain undone so far. We are all missing him so much that on a whim I decided to just have a fun day yesterday. Ryan was counting his money and asking questions about banking, and once he heard you can earn interest, he wanted to go to the bank right then and put his meager savings into his bank account. He also wanted a tour of the bank but had to content himself with being lifted up to see behind the counter and taking a look into the vault (really, what else is there?). Being a typical six-year-old though, he found the play area infinitely more interesting than anything the bank had to offer!

After our bank outing we went out to breakfast at a local restaurant, then to a new place that just opened a few weeks ago called Out of This World (or what the kids call Pizza Planet). We got some half-off gift certificates and decided to buy a membership last week. I brought my book and just let the kids play to their heart's content. We stayed for FOUR hours, and they had a blast. They wanted to stay longer, but we were all hungry and I didn't want to buy food there (we're saving that for Abby's birthday).

In addition to the three-story play structure,
they have inflatables...

and a rock crawl (not to be confused
with a rock climbing wall!)...

and what they call Glider cars. Of course R & A have their
very own and were racing around like mad on the race track!

Again, Ryan has his own train table, but he still
spent quite a bit of time playing with this one.

After getting a quick bite to eat, we picked up some milk and the game of Life at Fred Meyer. We came home played the game and then it was bedtime. It was a very fun day for all, and the kids fell asleep almost as soon as their heads hit the pillow!

Reading Time

2008-04-03T21:18:00.000-07:00

I went to check on how Ryan's reading was going yesterday and found him training his buddies how to read. He had a book open for each one, and they were all happily reading their stories. Sprinkles was reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Speckles was reading The Tale of Jasper Jay, and Ryan was reading Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue!

No Joke

2008-04-02T22:12:00.000-07:00

I thought maybe it was an April Fool's joke when I saw the forecast for April 1st was completely dry and 60 degrees! Thankfully, it wasn't a joke, and we got outside and had a wonderful time in the sunshine. We went to the park for several hours, and then came home and planted some shrubs in our empty flower beds. When Daddy came home, he mowed the lawn while Ryan pulled weeds for about an hour (and earned three bucks doing so)!

Yes, believe it or not, there are shrubs in that flower bed!

Budding Game Designer

2008-03-28T20:48:00.000-07:00

Ryan has been talking about making up a game for a while, and when Gramie was here he finally decided to do it. She wasn't clear on the rules, so she had him write them out before she agreed to play it with him. It's called "Hurricanes and Tornadoes," and it turned out to be fairly playable (much to my surprise).

It wasn't his best penmanship, but what it tells you what happens if you roll each number:

Roll a 6: Tornado and Hurricane-Lose house and car
Roll a 5: Tornado-Lose house
Roll a 4: Hurricane-Lose car
Roll a 1: Lose turn
Roll a 2: Get house back
Roll a 3: Get car back

Park Playdate

2008-03-27T20:43:00.000-07:00

While Gramie was here we had at least one day of nice weather, so we took advantage of it by meeting some friends at the park. It was sunny and dry, but still a bit chilly, so we didn't stay as long as usual. Ryan still had lots of fun with his buddy Frankie

Easter with Gramie

2008-03-26T17:01:00.000-07:00

Though Easter kind of crept up on me quickly this year, we did still manage to do most of our usual activities. Ryan loves to bake cookies, especially roll-out ones where you get to cut them out and decorate them. So we made a batch of sugar cookies, and they turned out quite pretty!

We had the special treat of having my mom visit for Easter. Before picking up Gramie at the airport, we had enough time to do a few geocaches. We haven't been for months due to the wet weather, but it was finally dry enough. We put Ryan up in this tree for a picture and he tried his best to be brave, but you can tell he's clinging to the tree and can't wait to get down!

Next we headed to the airport where the kids waited impatiently for Gramie to arrive. It was a fun reunion!

That evening we colored eggs with Gramie.

Then Sunday was Easter! Ryan looked rather handsome in his vest and slacks.

Trying on Abby's Easter bonnet...silly boy!

Ryan and Abby each got two baskets this year: one from Mommy and Daddy and one from Gramie.

The Month in Photos

2008-03-14T12:09:00.000-07:00

Ryan has made such progress with swimming, not only
in skill but in overcoming his fears!

Daddy took the kids to a fire station tour with our
homeschool and playgroup kids. They got to walk through
the fire engine and ambulance as well as see the fire station.
The best part was that there was an alarm while they were
there so they got to watch the firemen in action!

Inside the ambulance with his friend Vincent from
across the street.

Enjoying our Valentine's Tea Party.

Ryan had been complaining that he had way too much
responsibility, so we let Abby and him be the parents
one Saturday. They lasted all of about 90 minutes
before wanting to be the kids again. Here is Ryan
trying to decide what to make all of us for breakfast.

Ryan loves doing crafts, and when I saw this cute little
wood model at Michael's for $1, I picked it up to give him
some rainy day. Well, it's been raining plenty around here,
so he got to do this project this month.

With the exception of helping with an obstinate axle and
the cloth cover, he pretty much did the whole thing himself.
It turned out really cute.

Fishing, but not catching, at Vernonia.

Reeling in a "salad fish," aka weeds from the
bottom of the lake.

Daddy is teaching Ryan to fly cast, and he's
finding harder than it looks!

In order to break up the monotony of memorizing math
facts, Ryan loves to do word problems (go figure!). I
found a good basic word problem book at the learning store
a few weeks ago, and he has almost finished it already.

We have been getting together once a week with some new friends from church. They homeschool as well and have a boy and girl just about Ryan's and Abby's age. Keston is about six months older than Ryan and doesn't let Ryan boss him around, which is just what we were looking for!

Making light sabers from modeling clay.

A Fishy Party!

2008-02-10T17:48:00.001-08:00

Ryan had his party yesterday. He wanted a fishing party, so I did my best despite a dearth of fishing themed items at the party stores. Daddy, Mommy, and Ryan all donned our fishing attire, I baked a fish cake, we had a waterfall complete with salmon running, and various other fishing decorations in addition to the usual streamers and balloons (which were varying shades of blue like water).

We had eight kids and five adults present, and it felt a bit chaotic at times. Overall, though, it went smoothly. The kids played for a while, then we started the games. We played "Pin the Fish on the Hook," which was pretty fun to watch. We had fish all over the place, and only two even made it on to the poster!

Next we brought out a small wading pool filled with packing popcorn (all the parents took a collective breath and said something or other about us being brave). We mixed in some paper trout, blindfolded the kids and each got a turn to see how many fish they could "catch." It was much harder than it looked! I thought Abby was going to win, but she got beat out by one fish.

Lastly, we rigged up a fishing pole with a plastic hook and each child fished a treat out of a pond of goodies. Again, this was harder than it looked and a couple kids (Ryan included) ended up needing some help with it. But each child got a small toy, and they liked that a lot!

Next Ryan opened presents and somewhere in here I lost control of the party! Everyone was throwing their gifts at him and he was opening them and then it was over. I was glad we gave him our gifts earlier in the week, except for a set of Nerf guns and ammo to go with it.

Finally, we sang to Ryan and cut the cake. After cake and ice cream (and Goldfish and Gummy Worms) the kids played a bit more until parents came to get them and/or packed them up to go home.

Ryan and Abby were both overexcited all day long and were pretty hyper during the party, but they both had a good time. Ryan was blessed to have all but one of the kids he invited attend, and the other little boy is having us over tomorrow for a special birthday lunch! He got to celebrate with some new friends, current friends, and even one friend we haven't seen in quite a while. He received some neat gifts, including two Lego sets, which he is really getting into these days.

It was a success, it was fun, but I'm so glad it's all over! It took 90 minutes to put the house back together. We had to move all our living room furniture around to accommodate all our guests and the party games! I think next year we'll go back to the small intimate celebrations we usually do.

He's Six

2008-02-06T21:53:00.000-08:00

11 days old.
Several years ago not long after we adopted Abby, we were eating at the Olive Garden and I noticed a family with two tweenage kids eyeing us periodically. They were smiling at Ryan and Abby and seeming to enjoy watching our babies. As they were leaving the mom looked at me and quietly said, "Blink and they will be this age" indicating her two children. She was smiling but I could see tears brimming in her eyes. I'm not sure why, but that one comment has remained with me. I can still see her face.

Showing his new watch and Lego kit he got today.
Today I feel like I have blinked. Ryan is six. Those years are gone and can't be retrieved, only reminisced over while turning a scrapbook page or clicking through our thousands of digital pictures. There are other memories too, ones only captured by a Mommy's heart. I treasure those mental snapshots and look forward to the new ones yet to be made. To us he is our miracle, and I love being his Mommy.

Happy Birthday, Ryan!

Being Thoughtful & Helpful

2008-02-05T22:03:00.000-08:00

Ryan has been showing some neat signs of maturity lately. He has really been trying to be helpful, not only to me but also to his sister. He made her bed for her this morning just to be nice to her. He often will "rescue" her if looks like she's going to lose her toys because she isn't cleaning them up or if she's going to be disciplined for not putting things away, but the last couple of months I've seen him do little things to help her for no reason at all.

Last week both kids eagerly helped me get the house cleaned up before some of guests arrived for a playdate. Ryan cleaned the floor and toilet while Abigail did the sink, counter, and mirror!

Then this morning Ryan decided he was going to make my coffee for me! I took a deep breath and said, "That would be wonderful, Pumpkin." I knew he would have some difficulty with the task, but in the end he needed only a little guidance and a towel to clean up the spills. He did make my coffee (and a big mess too, but it's the heart that counts!). He even inquired about how much creamer he should put in for me. I was very blessed by his thoughtfulness.

Making Invitations

2008-01-30T21:54:00.000-08:00

Ryan is very excited because he is going to have his first "real" birthday party this year! We have had a friend or two over before, but usually we keep it really low key and just do a family activity to celebrate. Now that we are settling in to our new church and neighborhood, he has enough friends to have a larger party. He chose a fishing theme for his party, and yesterday he helped me make his invitations.

Enjoying His Job

2008-01-29T21:00:00.000-08:00

How this big of a tube is deemed to be only
one inch of precipitation is beyond me!
When we first signed Ryan up to report the rainfall I wondered if he'd soon tire of it and have to be prodded and threatened to go do his daily reading. I have been pleased to see that that isn't the case. Though I do remind him most days, he eagerly runs out at 8:00am to read the gauge, then reports the numbers to me so I can submit them online. He's learned how to read hundredeths of an inch, and this week he got a lesson on a different kind of precipitation...snow.

After correctly reading the gauge for a few weeks, he's been
released to read it on his own without me hovering over him.
Normally he just reads the numbers on the tube to see how much rainfall we've had, but when we woke up to snow yesterday, he had to bring the gauge inside so we could melt it and then do the reading. It was a bit of a cumbersome task, but fun nonetheless.

Replacing the gauge after melting the snow.
Of course, he couldn't wait to get back outside to play in the snow. Unfortunately, he ended up having to wait a few hours, but at least the sun was shining when the went out to play.

Gaining Confidence

2008-01-20T20:48:00.000-08:00

My dad got Ryan this gear building set for Christmas. At first Daddy or I were helping him and doing most of the building, but recently he wanted to play with it and I didn't have time to help him. After a little persuasion, he tried it on his own, and now he builds like crazy with it! Though you can't see it in the picture, it is remote controlled and even has flashing lights.

First Reading

2008-01-17T17:32:00.001-08:00

Promptly at 8:00 am this morning Ryan and I went out to read the rain gauge so we could submit the data to the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network (CoCoRaHS). It didn't rain at all, but we had freezing fog this morning (yep, weird but true!) and the fog was all frozen on the outside of the gauge. We submitted our data online and an hour later I looked out the window and it was snowing! So much for a dry day today. So tomorrow instead of 0.00 rainfall he will get to report a T (trace).

He is pretty excited by his new job, and we're all having some fun with it. If you want to see our station on the map and see our precipitation for any given day, click here. Currently there are four stations in our county, and we're the northernmost station.

Gauging the Weather

2008-01-16T21:26:00.000-08:00

I've mentioned before that Ryan is fascinated by all things weather-related, so when I saw an ad on our local news website looking for people to measure and report on rainfall in their area, I submitted an application in Ryan's name (with me as a helper, of course). We were assigned our station number, we ordered and received our rain gauge, I mounted the gauge to a post, and today I got the post put up in the back yard! Tomorrow at 8:00 am Ryan will go out, read the gauge, and commence his "career" in weather reporting for CoCoRaHS! Unfortunately, it's not supposed to rain for the next three days. Hey, I had to wait for a dry spell! Who wants to go dig a hole in the rain?

Lots of Reading

2008-01-16T21:02:00.000-08:00

Almost every January hubby and I have made a decision to not watch movies or television or anything for a month. Usually we don't include the children, but this year we decided to have them join us. Ryan is not really much of a watcher anyway. He'd much rather be playing with his toys or a game or something, so this wasn't a big deal to him...at first. Abigail has said every day that she wants to watch something, but this week was the first time Ryan has admitted he would like to watch a movie too. I suggested I could build a fort for them or they could play one of their new games, but next thing I know, Ryan is reading to Abby out of a Disney storybook we have. He was reading Toy Story, just the movie he wanted to watch! I got a kick out of them huddled over the book enjoying the story. I have noticed this week that he has been reading to her quite a bit and he's even been reading more to himself than usual. I'm loving the quietness and am ready to get rid of the television completely, but I think I'm the only one!

Reading the Tale of Cuffy Bear.
It's also been neat to see how much progress Ryan has been making in his reading. He is loving a series of books written by Arthur Scott Bailey. A few are included on his reading list for his homeschool curriculum, but I've printed out more of them from Gutenberg.org (love that site!) since they are old, rare and usually too expensive to buy. When he first started reading his first book in the series it took him about 20 to 30 minutes to get through one chapter, and today he whipped through five chapters in 30 minutes!

He Can Tie His Shoes!

2008-01-15T20:52:00.000-08:00

I have been negligent. I've never taught either of my children how to tie a knot or bow. I just simply don't buy shoes with laces! But since Ryan is approaching six, I figured it's probably something he ought to know, so we got out the book I've had for ages that has a bunch of shoes with holes to lace up and comes with a string. I sat down on Saturday and showed him how, then we reviewed it on Monday. Voila! He now knows how to tie his shoes (should he ever have shoes with laces). Why did I put that off for so long?

Sunshine Sunday

2008-01-14T20:25:00.000-08:00

Since the sun was shining and it was nice and dry after church, we decided to head to the zoo for a couple of hours. The zoo is up in the hills though, and it was still pretty cold, even when you're walking for miles. We first went to the Lorakeets since we have been missing them the last few trips to the zoo. Then we went to the jungle area where the jeep is to let the kids play on it for a while. For whatever reason, they love this jeep, but Mommy and Daddy usually skirt it so we can see the actual animals when we come. But they played for quite a while today and had a good time.

It's amazing to me: we don't watch television except for a couple of shows on PBSKids or Discovery Channel a couple times a month, we took the kids to exactly three movies last year (Artic Tale, Ratatouille, and Meet the Robinsons), we always skip the commercials when we watch DVDs, and we don't get any magazines or newspapers or catalogs that the kids look at, but STILL when Ryan saw this telescope at the giraffe exhibit the first thing he said was, "Look, it's WALL-E!" I have to admit, it does look like him. It's just incredible to me how easily kids pick up on things...I've barely heard of the movie, let alone remember the name!

Moon Sand

2007-12-30T20:24:00.000-08:00

Knowing how much I love Play-Doh, my sister-in-law gave the kids Moon Sand for Christmas (okay, it was from my brother and their two girls too, but we all know who actually chooses, buys, and wraps the stuff!). Wow, what a mess this stuff makes! But the kids loved it, and it kept them entertained for over an hour, so it's hard to complain about a little grit when it occupies them so well. That reminds me, I need to start thinking about a birthday present for my niece...

Playing in the Snow

2007-12-28T20:59:00.000-08:00

As we watched the snow fall yesterday, Ryan begged to go out and play. Unfortunately, the flakes were so small that the accumulation was very small as well, even though it snowed for the majority of the day. Finally when it looked like the snow was turning to rain, we let them go out to play.

The Weather Channel said it was 35 degrees outside but felt like 26 degrees. I believe it! It felt really cold to me, so I stayed inside and made hot white chocolate to warm the kids up when they came inside. It must have felt cold to them too because they wanted to come in before I even finished making the hot drink!

Christmas Day

2007-12-25T22:02:00.000-08:00

It has finally happened. I wondered if and when it would. I remember having the same problem when I was a child. Ryan couldn't get to sleep on Christmas Eve because he was too excited. I was especially surprised because we have had such long days with no naps or quiet times, so I thought he'd just crash.

He did finally fall asleep, but he was up bright and early at 6:45 dressed and ready for the day. He was a bit impatient when I reminded him that we were going to wait for Abby to wake up and we were going to eat breakfast first, but finally Abby got up about 7:30 and we began the day.

We got our stockings down first. Ryan was pretty excited by a couple of things in his. I've been saving a Cars car, DJ, for a while to surprise him. He has been collecting all the cars (well, lots of them anyway) and this was one we had trouble finding. Then we opened presents from grandparents and cousins. As usual, our generous family sent way too many gifts, but we are grateful for their giving hearts!

After playing games (we got quite a few!) and enjoying our new things, we had a yummy dinner that even Ryan enjoyed! One of the best surprises of the day was the snow that fell all day long! It didn't stick, but it was such a joy to watch it drifting through the air throughout the day.

Christmas Cookies

2007-12-24T20:06:00.000-08:00

We baked two different kinds of cookies to give to the neighbors as love gifts, and there were only a couple of each left. I also baked a favorite of mine growing up, Russian Teacakes, but it turns out neither of my kids really like them. Ryan has been wanting to make cut-out cookies for a while, so we made a batch of those to please him. I don't often make them, mostly because I haven't found a recipe I really love (anyone know a good one?). It's a lot of work and mess to roll out, cut out, and decorate cookies that really don't taste that great. I also get frustrated because they all seem to lose their shape so much, but I digress.

I tried yet another receipe, and the kids had fun rolling and cutting. Abby was overtired and had to be sent to bed for a nap, so Ryan did most of the fun job. He sprinkled a few with some colored sugar, but we saved the rest to frost with icing.

Little did I know we wouldn't be able to get back to frosting them until Christmas Eve! But then Daddy joined in on the decorating, and that made it even more special. Since he's usually at work when we do all the baking and crafts and fun stuff during Christmastime, it was nice to include him. In fact, he may have found a hidden talent...his cookies turned out really cute!

In typical kid fashion, both kids frosted about three cookies, and then they were done, leaving the rest for Daddy and I to finish. (To be fair, Abby would have kept going but we had to take everything away from her because she kept putting it all in her mouth!)

Something Different

2007-12-23T20:24:00.000-08:00

We had a change of plans for the weekend before Christmas, and Sunday evening was spent at Daddy's office. Ryan was thrilled though because we let them each open on gift early so they could have something to play with while we were there all night. He opened the gift from cousin Alisha, a marble run!

I also brought a new Color Wonder packet for each, and Ryan enjoyed coloring for quite a long time. Finally, the projector was set up in the conference room, I popped some popcorn, and they watched a couple of movies on a big screen!

Christmas Program

2007-12-17T17:36:00.000-08:00

Our church had its children's program Sunday evening, and after MUCH arm-twisting, Ryan finally consented to participate. I knew he'd love it once he tried it, and sure enough, he had a great time!

Decorating the Tree

2007-12-12T21:34:00.000-08:00

Ryan has been dying to decorate the three this year, and finally we were able to do it last weekend. The kids did the whole thing themselves with very little guidance or help (not counting the lights, of course)!

Christmas Fun

2007-12-12T14:14:00.000-08:00

The Daughters of the American Revolution are the caretakers of the museum in our little town. The Caples House belonged to the first physician in Columbia County, and the house and several outbuildings have been turned into a museum. They had a special Christmas festival this weekend, and we took the kids. We toured the neat old house, had a story read to us by "Mrs. Caples," looked at the old tool shed and its tools, and learned some history. They also had a bazaar and activities for the kids. Each child got to decorate his or her own gingerbread man, and they each got to hand dip a candle to take home!

When I Googled the name of the museum to get the URL of the website, it turned up another site with some, shall we say, interesting information about the museum.

Budding Librarian

2007-12-06T21:19:00.000-08:00

I had to laugh yesterday when I saw what the kids were playing. They had taken our pile of Christmas books and some others and lined them up on the couch so they could play library! We visit the library A LOT, but I didn't know how much till I saw this cute game. I know it's probably a little dorky to some, but I'm thrilled they love books and the library enough to play a game about it!

Homeschool Challenges

2007-12-06T20:59:00.000-08:00

Remember we were collecting leaves for a leaf book? Yeah, well, we did and then we forgot about them! We collected Bigleaf Maple, Red Maple, other unknown Maple, Yellow Birch, Oak, and various other leaves. We pressed them in an old phone book, and that was as far as we got. Then I was cleaning out one of our homeschool drawers (yes, the same drawer as the race car!) and found our leaves not yet put into a book. That's one of the challenges when you homeschool, at least when you don't have a room to do school in. We do all our school at the kitchen table, but we use the kitchen table to eat at three times a day too. So everything needs to be cleared off the table for mealtimes. At least that's my excuse for not getting it done yet...it got put into a drawer and forgotten about!

So we got out the leaves, paper, colored pencils, and got to work. We found a great leaf identification website (you didn't think I'd actually use a book, did you?), and we labeled, pasted, and put our leaf books together. Ryan did a great job! And at least we got it done before the official start of winter.

Doing Crafts

2007-12-05T08:50:00.000-08:00

Ryan loves doing crafts, from the simple to the more complex. The last couple of months he's become pretty independent in doing them too. I picked up this race car kit at Michael's for $1 sometime last year, and he earned it probably six months ago for doing something that I can't remember now. We both forgot about it until we found it recently in the back of a drawer. So after finishing his school work (done in record time this particular day), he painted and put together his new race car. He did the entire thing himself with the exception of a troublesome axle that wouldn't fit into the wheel.

The Christmas Patch

2007-12-02T13:26:00.000-08:00

We usually get our tree the weekend after Thanksgiving, but this year since Thanksgiving was a week earlier than usual, our preferred U-cut tree lot wasn't open yet. However, it worked out well since this weekend when we planned to go cut our tree, it was snowing at the lot...or as Ryan called it, the Christmas Patch! We may never have a white Christmas at our house, but it sure was fun getting a tree in the snow.

Since Daddy has a sore neck and because it was pretty cold, we chose a smaller tree near the parking lot instead of searching the lot looking for the perfect tree. It was kind of sad to knock all the snow off our tree. It looked so pretty covered in white!

After playing a while and getting our tree, we went inside for some hot cider and cookies. Each child got to choose a toy, and Ryan chose this little stuffed Pumba from The Lion King movie.

Thanksgiving with Gramie

2007-11-24T19:09:00.000-08:00

The time went pretty fast the week Gramie came for Thanksgiving. Daddy had a pinched nerve in his neck and had quite a few medical appointments that week, there were holiday preparations, and just general business of life. We enjoyed the time with Gramie, and almost every day Ryan asked Gramie to take them to the park that's within walking distance of our home. I think she took them three times! We don't go much anymore now that we have a play structure in our backyard, so the kids really enjoyed this.

Eye Surgeon Follow-up

2007-11-11T20:49:00.000-08:00

Ryan had a follow-up with his eye surgeon on Friday. They dilated his eyes with drops (she is a master at getting drops into a screaming child!) and did a full exam.

She was very pleased with the results of the surgery! His eye is perfectly straight when he has his glasses on, which is more than we expected. She also said if his farsightedness levels out around middle school, which most kids' eyes do, he may not even need glasses! She did adjust his glasses prescription a bit, but other than that, we don't need to go back again for six months.

This is the assistant, not the surgeon. I keep neglecting to get a picture of Ryan with his surgeon.
Other than the drops, he was very cooperative and even sat in the chair by himself. In the past he has always wanted to sit on Daddy's lap. Daddy wasn't with us this time, so maybe he didn't want to sit on my lap, but I think he is just growing up and getting braver.

Out of Commission

2007-11-08T19:13:00.001-08:00

Edited to add: Hubby reminded me that we hadn't wiped my old laptop yet, so I dug it out and am back in business...sort of! At least I can check my email regularly and maybe even add a blog post or two.

My wireless adapter "disappeared without being properly prepared for removal" two days ago. We were told it's a known problem with the driver software, but my wireless card may be fried too.

At any rate, in the process of trying to get it going again, my system has had to be wiped and completely rebuilt, so I am out of commission for a while. I will try to check email once a day or so on our PC, but I probably won't be doing any blog posts until I get the issue fixed. Our PC is REALLY slow and cumbersome to use, as well as not having everything I need on it.

I'm sure it will do me good to be without a computer for a while, but it is more painful than I care to admit!

New Style

2007-11-08T17:33:00.000-08:00

Ryan really dislikes haircuts, even more than I dislike cutting his hair. For the last couple of cuts, Daddy has taken him with him to get one done at a barber, which was fine with me!

Last Saturday Great Clips opened in our little neighborhood, and they were running a special of $4.99 per cut! So we took advantage of that and got Ryan's hair cut. He was not happy about it. I had to laugh because the stylist did the exact same thing I do when cutting his hair...give him a spray bottle and let him have fun squirting!

He perked up a bit with the spray bottle, and when he saw another little boy getting his hair buzzed, he decided he wanted his hair cut the same way. I told the stylist to leave it a bit longer than the other little boy, but we gave him the cut he wanted. I think it looks very cute on him and makes him look so grown up!

Learning Math Facts

2007-11-05T17:06:00.000-08:00

The Zoo...Again.

2007-11-02T22:39:00.000-07:00

It was Abby's Day, and another trip to the zoo was what she chose, much to Ryan's dismay. He usually enjoys himself once we're there, but he would never choose the zoo if you asked him where he wanted to go.

He wasn't interested in the newest exhibit, Warty Pigs, though I can't say I really blame him. They added not one but two different varieties of these wild hogs recently.

We rarely let the kids play on the animal statues since it's usually way overcrowded with children, but today wasn't bad at all. Ryan was thrilled to finally climb on all the animals.

This is Elliot Moses Something-or-Other who downright insisted we take his picture! He wanted us to take a picture of his mom too, but she didn't seem as eager as he did to be photographed.

The way Ryan was scarfing down this Elephant Ear you'd never know that just a year ago or so he didn't even want to try one. He was convinced it was a real elephant's ear and wanted no part of it!

What's up with that? Remote controlled turtle?

Even Ryan can't resist the meerkats. We even got to see them in their den today, a little peephole in their habitat where you can see them up close!

Hey, what's that, a genuine smile? He must be having fun after all!

How Fun Is This?

2007-11-02T21:46:00.000-07:00

Ryan can't wait till he's strong enough to sling a pumpkin himself!

Ryan's Photos

2007-11-02T21:43:00.000-07:00

Ryan practiced his photography skills during our pumpkin patch outing.

Having a little trouble holding the camera vertically.

At the Pumpkin Patch

2007-11-02T20:21:00.000-07:00

We have had a busy month and haven't been able to get to the pumpkin patch this year until last Monday, the second to the last day before they closed! It worked out well though because the crowds were gone (it was a weekday too), and it was a dry and beautiful day.

Ryan isn't a big animal lover, but he did pet the sheep and got close enough to the turkey coop to get a peck on the hand!

He got to climb on not one but two tractors and was thrilled one of them was a John Deere!

Playing King of the Mountain!

Ryan zipped through the hay maze several times, and...

we couldn't keep up with him in the corn maze. He ran ahead and found all the animals before we were even halfway through.

Not quite strong enough yet to handle the pumpkin slingshot.

Enjoying a hayride through the pumpkin fields.

So many pumpkins...how will he ever choose?

"Look at this cool gourd!"

Motor Boat

2007-10-30T14:58:00.000-07:00

A friend of Daddy's and his son Zach took Ryan and Daddy on a fishing trip last weekend.

It was the first time Ryan has been on a boat with a motor, and though it freaked him out at first, he ended up LOVING it, especially going fast! They didn't end up catching anything, but they had a great time anyway.

It was an added bonus that Ryan behaved incredibly well...Daddy was very proud of him!

Planting Bulbs

2007-10-25T20:25:00.000-07:00

I got some free bulbs from Brecks, and they arrived in the mail last week. We've had beautiful weather, so it was fun to go outside, till the ground, and plant the bulbs. These are the only flowers or plants we can afford right now, so I hope they do well!

Ever since the bulbs came, Ryan has been asking to go out and dig in the ground to plant them. Our soil is pretty rocky and poor, so they had fun helping me till some good soil and mulch into the ground before we planted the crocus. Hopefully I'll have some pictures of them blooming in four months or so!

Snippets of Ryan's Week

2007-10-19T12:33:00.000-07:00

Building cars with Play-Doh. He had a whole parking lot full of them by the time he was finished!

When I asked him what they were playing, Ryan told me he is teaching Abby to play "Checkers." Huh?

Our friends who used to live on a farm moved recently, and they invited us over this week for a playdate at their new home. They still have their horse, rabbits, dogs and cats, but the chickens and cow are gone (they're eating the cow!). Ryan had a great time with Frankie, whom he is now referring to as his best friend. Frankie likes Ryan a lot too, I'm guessing, since he tried to get into our van to come home with us and was upset when he couldn't!

Cookie Maker

2007-10-18T14:26:00.000-07:00

We baked cookies yesterday, and Ryan filled up a whole sheet with dough all on his own!

Creative Writing

2007-10-17T12:17:00.000-07:00

I usually give Ryan copywork to do for his writing each day, a Bible verse, a poem, or just practicing letter formation. This year I decided to let him do some creative writing if he wanted to, and I've been impressed with what he's written. Though his spelling needs work, he did a great job of making complete sentences and writing a short essay on tornadoes!

For those who need a translator, it reads:

October 16, 2007
Twisters happen when warm air meets cold air. That's why they twist. And when they don't touch [the ground], they're called funnel spouts. They happen the same way twisters do.

Saturday in the Park

2007-10-15T21:35:00.000-07:00

Ryan's Adoption Story

2007-10-15T20:34:00.000-07:00

I don't get to tell the story very often anymore nor do I think about it much, but this weekend we got to visit with some dear friends whom God used to bring Ryan into our lives, so it's been on my mind again. Since I haven't shared this story on his blog yet, now seemed like a good time!

Tanya's two kids with Ryan and Abby.
(Forgot to get a picture of Tanya with the kids!)
It was the second time we lost a set of twins and the eighth time we'd ridden the rollercoaster of joy, anticipation, hope, fear, confusion, heartache, and emptiness of losing a baby. You'd think it would get easier, but it doesn't. It only carves away at hope and joy, leaving a deeper hole each time. We had finished our homestudy with an adoption agency, and we were headed down that road when I had gotten pregnant again. I had so many questions about adoption, and though I was excited by it, I was still mourning the loss not only of the babies we had lost but also the loss of not being able to carry and give birth to a child.

It was at this point that God was beginning to give me a peace about our situation and teaching me to lean harder on Him. I felt as if I had been walking through a very long tunnel and had started to see some light at the end. I didn't know what the light was and I was incredibly weary, but I had a budding awareness of peace in God that had been lacking for the last few years. I was excited about the weekend ahead. I had signed up to attend a Precept workshop along with a group from our church. When we got there, we found that our church group was scattered a bit instead of being in the same class. Everyone else went to sit together, but I didn't want the teacher or host to be inconvenienced and I figured God must have had me in this room for a reason, so I remained where I was.

In walked Tanya with a friend of hers. I hadn't met her before, but we chatted some and I discovered she had been adopted as an infant. I asked her if she minded me posing some questions to her about how she felt about being adopted. She was very open with me and generously answered all my questions. I told her our situation and that we were on the verge of being put into a pool of waiting families. We cried together and laughed together, and at the end of the day she asked if she could "walk this road" with me. She prayed with me then and there and promised to continue praying for us as we embarked on this journey. What a blessing to us she was that day and continues to be still!

A month passed and one evening when Ed answered the phone, it was Tanya on the other end. I don't usually remember things as vividly as I remember that evening. I was handquilting a baby quilt and still had the thimble on my finger when Ed said I needed to get on the other phone. Tanya asked if we were still considering adopting. After assuring her we were, she told us that her sister's good friend in Montana was pregnant and going to be placing her baby for adoption. She said it was a little boy and that he was due in February and were we interested! She admitted she was trembling when she picked up the phone to call us and still was and said she had no idea what to do next. She was trembling...we were fairly giddy with excitement! We told her not to worry because we knew what to do.

We had our adoption profile completed with the exception of writing the "Dear Birthmother" letter. We hadn't done them yet because we had never been able to come up with the right words, but now the words flowed freely. It is so much easier pouring out your heart to an actual person than some generic faceless entity. We put our letters with our profile, took it over to Tanya the next day who graciously mailed it for us.

Then the hard part began...waiting. Would she choose us? Were we what she was looking for? Was she holding up emotionally? Were we good enough? How hard was this for her? Was her family supportive or was she alone in this? The questions that ran through my mind were endless. I tried not to think about it, but it was nearly impossible. It was almost all I thought about! We prayed for her, for the baby, for God's will in this, and for our hearts should this not be the baby God had for us. I distinctly remember being grateful that she had chosen to give this child life.

Several weeks later, we talked to Tanya and she said she broke down asked her sister if she knew anything. Tanya told her, "I don't know how Kim and Ed are holding up, but the suspense is killing me!" Her sister told her that the birthmother had narrowed it down and that she wanted to talk to us on the phone. We set up a time for her to call us.

Hubby and I sat on our bed, each with a phone, awaiting the call and holding hands. Finally the phone rang and we got to talk with Becky. We chatted casually for a bit and then she asked us some questions, we asked her some questions, and if it was a little awkward, she made us feel very comfortable. Though we weren't really expecting a final decision from her yet, she gave us the joyous news that she had chosen us to parent her baby and from now on we could consider this baby ours! There is no way I can possibly describe the emotion I experienced at that moment. Ed and I were again holding hands and looking at each other, both trying not to cry but not succeeding very well.

To keep a long story from being even longer, we talked off and on with Becky for the next couple months, flew out to meet her and her family in January, and then drove there in early February for the birth. She was so sweet to let me be present during those precious moments as my son came into this world. How did she endure the congratulations that the doctor and nurses were giving me?

I often hear people make the comment that they could never do what she did, give up their own flesh and blood and someone they love so much. I always point out that that's what makes it such pure, unadulterated love. What she did was not to satisfy herself but to do the best for her baby. We love her wholeheartedly and are tremendously grateful for her priceless gift to us.

Becky, I know you read this blog, and, as always, I hope this post brings only joy and peace to your heart. There aren't many things in life I'm certain of, but I KNOW God brought us together, and it gives me comfort that you know it too!

Learning About the Flash

2007-10-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

Ryan wanted to take a picture of his beloved Sprinkles on the couch he made for him, but he needed a lesson in how to use the flash on our camera. (Mommy is still figuring this out as well!)

Earning Computer Time

2007-10-10T21:07:00.000-07:00

I don't allow Ryan to play on the computer much (Abby isn't allowed on the computer at all yet), even the educational games we have. I much prefer him to build or read or imagine or run around outside instead, but it's that time of the year where we spend lots of time in the house, and he's been asking to play on the computer a lot the last couple weeks.

So I decided to make him earn his time on the computer by reading one minute for every minute he plays. I expected protestation, but he just asked if he could read any book he wanted. When I said he could read whatever he wanted, he went and got one and sat down and started reading. I was so blessed when I saw he had chosen his Bible to read and even more so when he asked if I wanted him to read it aloud to me! He read for 25 minutes straight right from the gospels, and even though he reads to me every day, I was amazed at how well he read it.

Silliness

2007-10-10T19:00:00.000-07:00

Abby got something sticky on the floor of our bedroom yesterday so I told her to go get a wipe and clean it up. Ryan saw her doing it and decided to help. He got a wipe for each appendage and cleaned up the floor...silly boy.

New School Year

2007-10-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

We got a late start with school this year due to a fun trip to California last month, but we hit it hard this week. We keep it pretty basic in our homeschool, just the three Rs. After Ryan finishes his three Rs, he then is free to do art, crafts, reading or the activity of his choice. Currently, he is fascinated (obsessed?) with storms and natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornados, lightning, volcanoes, and earthquakes, so he reads books and magazines all about those, as well as watching DVDs we check out from the library about weather and such. He doesn't know he's "doing" science, but that's the great thing about homeschooling...we can let his interests guide us in science, reading, history, etc. I am grateful both kids love educational type shows, and one of their favorites is the Popular Mechanics for Kids (aka PMK) series. They have learned so much from it and always ask to get them at the library.

We are also working on a leaf book, which he is very excited about. When we went for a walk to gather leaves yesterday, he came home with about 20 extra-large maple leaves in addition to a bucket full of other leaves! I had to convince him to keep the best one of each kind and (gasp) throw away the rest.

New Booster

2007-09-28T21:50:00.000-07:00

Ryan has been legally allowed to sit in a booster for almost a year now, but since his old car seat still fit him and it's safer than a booster, we have just kept him in it. However, Abby has been needing a new car seat for various reasons, so instead of buying her a new car seat, we gave Ryan's old one to her and bought him a new booster seat. We had one that we keep in our other car, but now we have another so they both can have one if needed. He loves that it has lights on the side so he can read at night! I like that we can now move him to another vehicle without the fuss of strapping in a car seat correctly.

Home Again

2007-09-25T18:12:00.000-07:00

Ryan was so ready to go home! He was really missing his Daddy by the second week, and he was starting to act out and behave really poorly. Consequently, our trip home wasn't as peaceful or enjoyable as our trip down, but Gramie was with us and that helped a lot.

Once we got home, Ryan went running through the house hugging furniture and saying, "I love our home! I love our home!" Now, that's what I call a homebody! He hasn't wanted to leave the house even to go outside and play (though it's mostly been raining, so that hasn't been a big deal). We weren't home five minutes before he had his toys out on the floor playing, and Abby had Gramie on Ryan's bed doctoring her! Ah, it's good to be home.

Odds and Ends

2007-09-19T18:09:00.000-07:00

Ryan sitting on Granpa's motorcycle. We couldn't convince him to

go for a ride even around the driveway, but he enjoyed sitting on it.

Playing "golf" with rocks at the shop with Gramie.

Feeding the ducks at Fairmont Park in Riverside and huddling

close to Aunt Darcy to be safe from the dreaded geese!

Looking at a tank the American Legion has on display at the same park.

Playing with cousins one last day before we have to go home.

Darth Ryan!

Trip to Hollywood

2007-09-16T17:14:00.000-07:00

Gramie had a special day planned for us on Saturday. She got tickets to see The Jungle Book at El Capitan Theatre for it's rerelease on DVD. We picked up some friends of hers then headed to my brother's house where we picked up his family and did a caravan over to Wienerschnitzel for lunch. I have missed the chili cheese dogs from there, so I really enjoyed our lunch!

We drove to Hollywood after lunch, taking a detour due to a traffic accident. It's been years since I've driven through the area, and I saw things I hadn't seen before. Who knew L.A. had a Little Ethiopia?

As we passed over many stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, I couldn't resist taking a picture of Winnie the Pooh's star. This part of Hollywood has really been cleaned up since I lived in Los Angeles 20 years ago, but it was still an interesting display of humanity!

I had to laugh at Ryan because he kept inquiring why we were going to see a movie that had already been released on DVD! I informed him it was so we could see it on a BIG screen as it was intended to be viewed. I could tell he was skeptical, but once the movie got going, he thoroughly enjoyed himself.

Places to Go and People to See

2007-09-15T14:36:00.000-07:00

We were on the go most every day we were in California, which is hard on Ryan. He's a homebody! However, he really enjoyed going on the route with Granpa (twice!) and learning how to file a bandsaw.

This is the third time Ryan has met his great-grandmother, and though it was a long visit for him, he entertained himself well and was polite to her.

He really enjoyed going to his cousins' house and playing with them, their toys, and in their backyard. He was a bit out of sorts trying to learn his place among all the girls and having been knocked out of his "rightful" place on the top of the age totem pole, but he eventually adjusted and had a great time.

Geocaching isn't as much fun in the dirt and the wind, but both Gramie and Granpa were up for finding a few, so we took them out and had a good time hunting despite the blowing sand.

More Fun With Cousins

2007-09-10T20:57:00.000-07:00

After breakfast we went to the Hesperia Zoo only to find we had to wait about 50 minutes until the next tour. So we decided to do a quick hunt for a geocache a mile away. It was the first time Gramie, Hannah, or Rachel had ever done one, and I was surprised how much they enjoyed it, despite the baking heat!

The hunt took just long enough for us find it and make it back for a personal tour of the zoo. Hannah and Rachel have been several times before, but it was the first time for us. It is a charming little zoo, and we had great upclose views of all the animals. We aren't used to over 90-degree heat, and we were ready to get cooled off after the zoo.

Gramie and I took the kids home and got them into their swimsuits so they could play in the Slip & Slide for a while! They didn't want to get out of the water and ended up playing for several hours.

Aunt Darcy took a couple of organized photos, and this one Uncle Steven dubbed the "rock star" shot because it looks like a photo of a rock band.

After drying off and changing clothes, we went out to dinner with Gramie and Granpa at our favorite Mexican restaurant!

Day Two

2007-09-09T16:08:00.000-07:00

Our second day of driving to California went really well too, not perfectly like the first day, but still a very pleasant trip! We got up, had some breakfast and headed to a park in the small town we spent the night in. The kids played for a little bit, and then we hunted several geocaches. Ryan found the first two all on his own!

After our long drive, we arrived at Gramie's house where cousins Hannah and Rachel were spending the weekend and waiting for us to arrive! We only had about 30 minutes before we headed to the park for a movie. It was a new experience for all of us to watch a movie outside in a park, and though it got a little chilly, it was fun overall.

Going to California!

2007-09-07T20:37:00.000-07:00

Well, after a long day of driving, we have arrived at our hotel. Both kids were well behaved, but Ryan was just exceptional!! We chatted and played car games. I made Ryan a map, and he charted our progress on it with a highlighter (geography credit!). They watched a couple movies, and they colored and played some games we brought. It was one of the easiest drives I've ever done!

We arrived at the hotel more than an hour earlier than I expected, so we checked in, grabbed a bite to eat at Taco Bell, then got into our swimsuits and played in the pool for a while before it was bedtime for the kids. I hope tomorrow's drive goes as well...or even half as well as today!

New Shoes For Ryan Too

2007-09-06T13:50:00.000-07:00

I was taking a picture of Abby's shoes for a post I did on her blog, so Ryan wanted me to take a picture of his shoes because he thinks everyone will want to see them too. So here they are...

By the way, they will probably look new for months while Abby's will be thrashed in just a few weeks' time!

Getting the Hang of It

2007-09-05T14:15:00.000-07:00

Beach Fun

2007-09-01T13:37:00.000-07:00

Grampa discovered a beach that is within walking distance from our house. It is a nice sandy stretch along the Columbia River, and ever since he took the kids there back in April, they have been dying to go back.

I finally appeased them last week, and we went for several hours. We watched them suck sand from the bottom of the river and shoot it onto a barge to take elsewhere, and we watched large ships and barges float by. Mostly though the kids splashed in the water and dug in the sand while I snapped photos and read a book.

Chicken Eggs?

2007-08-26T23:19:00.000-07:00

We were visiting some friends of ours who live on a farm, and while we were there they collected some eggs from their chickens and gave them to us. Ryan was so excited and said he wanted scrambled eggs for lunch. Then he looked at me with a puzzled expression and said, "Mom, have we ever eaten chicken eggs before?!" My friend got a good laugh out of that. Anyway, we went home, washed the eggs and had scrambled eggs for lunch, just as requested. In fact, I made egg burritos since I figured this was a good chance to get Ryan to try them while he was all fired up about eating actual chicken eggs! He loved the burritos!

Crafts

2007-08-17T22:30:00.000-07:00

While we were in Seattle, Ryan kept asking to do a craft. Obviously, I didn't have anything with us to do something like that, so I assured him we would do something when we got home. I've been trying to have the kids outdoors as much as possible while we still have dry weather because I know the wet days are fast approaching! But as promised, we broke out the paints and paper and scissors and things when we got home so they could do some crafts. They each painted a picture for Daddy, and Ryan painted one for our neighbor who lives behind us so we could put it in the fence mail.

I have been saving a couple of small Perler bead kits for a rainy day, but I broke down and let them do some projects with them now. They have never done them before, and Ryan had a blast! Abby needed significant help, so she wasn't as enthusiastic about it. Ryan made about a dozen things from the one small turtle kit I had given him and the leftovers from Abby's butterfly kit. He'll be excited to find out I have a whole tub of beads too, but I'm saving those for a truly wet day!

The End of the Fun

2007-08-17T07:45:00.000-07:00

By the time Wednesday rolled around, I was ready to get back home, but the kids were still having a great time. Our last day in Washington consisted of packing up our things, playing at a couple of different parks, and visiting the Bellevue Botanical Garden. We also walked a bit around downtown and looked at some art along the way.

Ryan had the most fun at Wilburton Hill Park, right next to the botanical garden. There were lots of little houses to play in, a big play structure, a spider web to climb on, and a really neat seated zip-line swing.

More Water and Walking

2007-08-15T10:29:00.000-07:00

Today after breakfast and some playtime in the hotel room, we drove to a nearby park, Meydenbauer Beach Park. It had a gorgeous parking area and then beautifully landscaped paths down to the beach and play structure. Ryan dug a trench and helped Abby build a sand castle, and just had fun swimming in Lake Washington.

Then we went to lunch and headed home for naps for all of us. Abby fell asleep quickly, but Ryan wasn't able to until I laid down with him, then he went right out. I rested for a while but couldn't actually get to sleep, so I got up and browsed the internet.

After naptime we went back down to the hotel pool, and they played for quite a while down there. Then Daddy arrived and we headed out for dinner and walking downtown Bellevue. We tried to hunt a few geocaches, but had trouble with the signal bouncing off the buildings and didn't make any finds.

Ryan was again grumpy this morning, but he was a bit better after his nap. If we didn't have to check out today, he'd be napping again today. But since we have to leave in the early afternoon, I think we may just head to another park and they can run and jump and play, and hopefully they will be worn out for the trip home tonight.

Grumpy Boy

2007-08-14T10:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday wasn't quite the blissful day we had on Sunday, so I kept it low-key. We ate at the hotel's continental breakfast, and Ryan whined and fussed about the food he had chosen (next time he doesn't get to choose; I will choose for him). We hung around the hotel room most of the morning, cleaning up and playing a bit. Then we went out for a walk. Ryan lost the privilege of having any input into where we would eat, so Abby chose Wendy's for lunch.

It was evident both kids needed some rest, so after a little bit of window shopping we went back to our room. Ryan had his quiet time while doing some reading from his school book while Abby took a nap. When Abby woke up we went down to the pool. I wasn't sure how Ryan would react since I wasn't going in with them. I forgot my swimsuit as well as their swimming goggles, and he is sometimes timid in the water. Thankfully, he seems to have mostly overcome his fear, and he and Abby had a great time together.

After getting into some dry clothes, I tried to find something for the kids to watch on TV while snacking on some popcorn. The hotel has 42-inch plasma screen TVs in every room, so I was hoping for a good movie. But there was nothing decent on any of the cable channels (reminding me why we don't have cable), so we settled for Curious George and such on PBS.

Daddy finished his day of training, and we decided to go see a Seattle Mariner's game. We have been playing with Ryan in the backyard lately practicing hitting and throwing the ball, and we thought he might enjoy the game. He's been to several Beaver's games, Portland's minor league team, but this was his first big league game. He loved the stadium, the hot dog and soda, and watching them chalk the field...then he was pretty much done! Grrr...he can be such a stick in the mud at times. I tried to engage him in the game, getting him to root for the Mariners (who ended up winning with a spectacular homerun in the bottom of the 9th!), join in doing "the wave," and explaining the game to him. It helped, but mostly he was just a grumpy little boy. I think he'll take a nap today as well as Abby!

The Space Needle

2007-08-13T13:02:00.000-07:00

We are enjoying a few days in the Seattle area this week because Daddy had some training in the area and invited us along for the free hotel stay. Even though we won't get to see much of him the next three days, we left early Sunday morning and spent the whole day together as a family seeing some of the sites.

The first thing we did was visit the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, where the Komodo Dragon exhibit was the kids' favorite. We let the kids ride the carousel at the zoo, but only if they picked a horse that actually moved up and down. Believe it or not, this is the first time he's done that. You can see the fear in his eyes in this picture...poor kid. He lived to tell about it, and he said next time he will choose the horse that moves.

Ryan practiced his photography skills and took this picture of Mommy and Daddy. It's a little blurry, but he centered it nicely.

After the zoo we went to the waterfront for some dinner and to see what Ryan has been most excited about...the Space Needle. We were too late to let the kids see the famous fish throwers at the market and all the neat things there, unfortunately, but they did get to walk the wharf and see the ferries and ships and craziness there.

We drove to Seattle Center, and while Daddy found a parking spot, the kids played hide and seek and other games in and around this piece of "art." Each ribbon must be about 25 or 30 feet tall and kind of looks like a field of grass or something.

Two years ago when Daddy and I went to Seattle for a weekend getaway, we brought Ryan back a miniature of the Space Needle. Ever since then he's been dying to see it. So all day while he was enduring the zoo, he kept asking when we would go see the Needle. At last when Daddy met us after parking the car, we walked to see it. Ryan was amazed at how huge it is. He kept saying, "I didn't know it was that big!" He was disappointed that we didn't actually go up into the tower, but since it would have cost us $48 (is that ridiculous or what?), we decided to wait until they are a little older and more able to appreciate it...oh, and once we're confident he won't flip out once he gets up there!

Schwarz Park Camping

2007-08-06T19:58:00.000-07:00

Though it was a short trip, we managed to squeeze in a camping trip before the summer slipped away. Ryan was very excited this year since he remembered our camping trip from last year and knew a bit more what to expect. He helped set up the tents and get the campsite ready, and he couldn't wait to make S'mores.

We camped on the banks of the Row River and within walking distance of Dorena Lake and the dam. We got to the campground on Thursday evening, so we didn't have much time to do more than set up camp and take a quick walk to the dam. To our surprise, Ryan wanted to sleep in the little tent by himself, and so I reluctantly let him. Since our air mattress went flat right after we went to bed, I didn't sleep more than five minutes and listened intently for noises in or near Ryan's tent two feet from me. (We bought a new mattress for the next night!)

After a breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage, and hot chocolate, we headed out for a day of exploring the area while geocaching. Cottage Grove is the town near the campground, and it is known of it's covered bridges, so we saw quite a few of those. We also ran across a small airshow with vintage biplanes, so we stopped and looked at those for a while. That night we made S'mores, much to Ryan's delight. He doesn't even like marshmallows, so I didn't expect him to like them much. He did enjoy it, but asked for his next one to be without the marshmallows. He spent the night in the little tent again the second night!

We woke up and had cereal for breakfast, and then I took the kids to the camp playground for a bit while Daddy did some fishing. While we were there, Ryan and Abby made a friend in a little boy named Hunter. It turned out he was staying in the campsite right next to ours with his Grandma and Granpa, so we headed back to our campsites so they could play there for a while.

After lunch we headed out for more exploring, and we ended up at Cottage Grove Lake where we let the kids play in the water for a while. They had a blast splashing and floating and trying to swim in their life vests. We then went back to Dorena Lake and went for a beautiful walk on the path that goes all the way around the lake. Ryan was in a pout because he was getting tired of walking, so we headed back to the van. Both kids were a bit cranky so after dinner they pretty much went right to bed and fell asleep fairly quickly.

Ryan had a nightmare at a little after 4:00 am and we brought him into our tent for a few more hours. We got up, had some French Toast and bacon for breakfast, and then Daddy took them to the playground for a while and I began packing up the campsite.

Everyone was a little cranky, and it was time to go home. We had a good time, and it went better than last year. Maybe next time will be even better! We're already planning where we want to go next summer. We hope to take at least one longer trip to Crater Lake or some place that's a bit farther away and requires more time.

Growing Up

2007-08-06T16:41:00.000-07:00

At the last minute I threw the small two-person tent into the van. If nothing else, the kids can play in it, I thought. Once we got to our campsite we began putting up the tents, and Ryan asked if the little tent was "his." He was so excited when we told him he could sleep in it if he wanted to. He helped Daddy hammer the stakes in, and he put his blanket and buddy "Blue" in the tent with his sleeping bag, pad, and flashlight and then pretty much begged us to go to sleep for the next couple of hours! It took a long time for him to settle down that first night, but he did eventually go to sleep.

To my utter amazement (and motherly discomfort), he slept the whole night in the tent by himself! I would have bet money that he would get scared and want to come into our tent at some point during the night, but he never did. In the morning I told him how proud I was of him for being so brave. He informed me that he had gotten scared once because the shadows looked like six tornadoes, but he reminded himself that there are no tornadoes in Oregon and was able to go to sleep!

He slept by himself the other two nights as well, though the last night he ended up having a bad dream early in the morning (something about "floating hurricanes"...hmmm, I see a theme here), and we brought him into the tent with us. I was frankly a bit uncomfortable not having him within the confines of our tent, and I felt a twinge of sadness too as the reality of how fast he is growing up hit me. I'm proud he is overcoming some of his fears, but at the same time it forces me to see that he's just not my baby anymore.

Merging Blogs

2007-08-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

I am merging my homeschool blog with Ryan's blog, so if your feed-readers are kind of looking strange, that's why! I had less than 20 posts on my other blog, and I just am not able to keep it up separately, so everyone will have to endure my homeschooling posts on Ryan's, Abby's, and my blog now. I didn't want to delete the blog because it had information on it that was valuable to me, so I moved them over here. Just didn't want to confuse anyone!

Bus Ride & Playdate

2007-07-29T20:26:00.000-07:00

Last week I needed to take the van in for a minor repair (under warranty, thankfully), and friends of ours in the area invited us over for a playdate. We haven't seen them for a couple of months, and the kids were very excited to see Jake. They were even more excited when I told them we would be taking the bus from the service center over to Jake's house!

It's only about a mile, maybe two, but the bus ride took us 20 minutes going and 35 coming back. We had to go to the transit center first and transfer busses and then waiting time. I don't mind the bus once in a while, but it certainly made me grateful for my van! Ryan and Abby, on the other hand, thought the ride was entirely too short!

It's Ryan Garner Day!

2007-07-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

It is time again to celebrate the day Ryan's adoption was finalized and he legally became a Garner! We had planned to break the day up into two parts with Daddy renting a canoe and taking Ryan fishing and then I would take him out to dinner for some special time with just the two of us. Unfortunately, it was raining on the day we had chosen to celebrate, so instead I took Ryan to lunch and then the following week, Daddy took him fishing.

Ryan chose to go to Applebee's for his lunch, and we had a fun time just me and him. Daddy often has time alone with Ryan because he will take him to work with him on Saturdays or take him fishing from time to time, but I rarely get to have any one-on-one time with just me and my son. I was hoping he might try something different, but as usual he ordered a plain hamburger. Oh, well.

We don't typically give gifts on this day, but we did give him some this year. He got his very own tackle box loaded with tackle from Daddy, and a Knights Kingdom Lego set that we knew he would love from Mommy and Abby. He doesn't have a lot of Legos, but the few he does have Daddy or Mommy has helped him assemble. This time he put it together following the instructions almost entirely by himself. I did give him the pieces he needed for each step, but that's about it. He loves his siege tower! We later turned it into a catapult, which is pretty cool too.

The next Friday Daddy woke Ryan up at 5:00am to get ready to go fishing. He woke up with a great attitude and ready for his canoe adventure. We weren't quite sure how he'd handle the canoe, but since he's been showing signs of bravery lately, we figured it would be worth a try. Daddy said he did well until they pushed away from the shore. Then Ryan freaked out! Thankfully, he got accustomed to it and was even rocking the canoe before the day was out.

The morning was very foggy, which was great for fishing! Ryan caught some perch, blue gill, and a trout, and Daddy caught a bass in addition to the perch and blue gill. Fishing is always so much more fun when you're catching fish the whole time, and Ryan caught the first and last fish of the day. The weather cleared up and it turned out to be a gorgeous day.

Overnight Sitter

2007-07-23T20:38:00.000-07:00

Daddy took me to a cabin overnight for my birthday, and Ryan and Abby had their first overnight babysitter (not counting Gramie). They were VERY excited and had not a trace of anxiety. Candace is a family friend from years ago when we lived in Tennessee (I babysat her a time or two back then!), and she graciously came and took charge of our kids for a while. She said they were well-behaved, and the kids reported having a great time!

Lions, Butterflies, and Bears

2007-07-22T20:14:00.000-07:00

My family watching the sea lions eat.
We went to the zoo a few weeks ago to see the butterfly exhibit, among other things. The first animals you come to once you're inside the zoo are the sea lions, so we see them almost every time we come. On this trip we actually got to watch them feed them, which we've never seen before. Usually there's so many people gathered around it's impossible to see, but we just happened to be right at the front while they dished out the herring and other goodies to the hungry sea lions.

We got to see something else we'd never seen before or even knew they did at our zoo, and that was watch an elephant paint a picture on canvas. Interesting! On our way out we finally got the picture Ryan has been dying for me to take, he and Abby under the bears! Normally there are so many people waiting for a picture and then you only can get one bear and then there's too many people in the way, but this time we almost had it to ourselves and Ryan was so happy.

Playing Nicely

2007-07-19T20:55:00.000-07:00

My neighbor had an emergency and asked if I could watch her kids for her, so we had an impromptu lunch and playdate yesterday. The last couple of times the four of them have gotten together they have played so very well, and today was the same! In the past the girls kind of paired off and the boys did too, but lately they have all four been playing together. It was such a pleasure to watch them making up superhero powers or playing Cars or making lunch in the kitchen without any bickering or fighting or pouting! It did get a little rowdy once or twice, but nothing too obnoxious.