Ice Skating

The kids had Veterans Day off from school, so we spent the morning talking about why they had the day.  It's such an emotional subject.

Afterwards, we all went ice skating.  A first for Natalie.  It was quite an adventure for this mama.  Ryan and Kendall were thrilled to be back on the ice so were quite independent so I could help Natalie.

So proud of these three!

The Perfect Gift

The Seahawks punter, Jon Ryan, wears #9 which made it the PERFECT birthday gift for a Seahawks loving 9 year old named Ryan!  Such a special gift for this kid!  Thanks Grandma Sue.

My sister Jen found this baseball game for Ryan, too, which turned out to be absolutely perfect for him as well.  He's been played non-stop since it arrived!

Fireside Friends

Such goofballs!

Monkey Bar Master

Kendall comes home from school talking non-stop about the monkey bars.  Apparently, she has mastered them.  It was really fun to see her in action at Ryan's party (we played at the playground while Ryan and his friends played flag football).  She is awesome, and she can even skip a bar!  I was so impressed.  Go Kendall!

Natalie spent play time on the swings!

Our friend Temri joined us for some fun, too!

Natalie found a N!

Sword Fighting Cheerleaders

While the boys were playing flag football, these girls were being crazy!  They found the red field markers, which they used as shields and the flags became swords.  They come up with such fun ideas!

Ryan's 9th Birthday Party

As Ryan gets older, and more active and physical, it gets harder and harder to come up with an idea for a birthday party.  Having one boy and all that energy in my house is overwhelming at times, so having 8 boys under my roof is unthinkable.  In addition it is November in the Pacific Northwest, which means a rainy day is likely.

It dawned on me that a flag football party would be the perfect solution. and it was!  Amazing David was there to organize teams and establish rules, and 20 minutes into the party we deemed it the easiest party ever.  The boys played non stop for 2 hours, with only minor issues.  It was so awesome to see the boys having so much fun with something so effortless!  Woo hoo!

After flag football we caravaned to the house where the boys played some more and had pizza and cupcakes.

Such a fun day for Ryan!  He loved every minute of it!

Ha!

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Dear Ryan: A LETTER AT NINE

Dear Ryan,

You're 9!  Crazy how the years just keep flying by!  You're one cool kid.  Your dad and I are so proud of you.

You are a third grader this year, and love to go to school each day.  You still don't give us much information about how your days go at school, but you love to go so things must go well.  Your favorite parts of the day are recess, PE and riding the bus.  No surprise there!  You love math and excel when you're challenged.

You are still a sports lover.  You loved playing football this fall, and you're excited Liberty Select baseball is starting in a few weeks.  You still spend hours outside shooting hoops, kicking the football and making up whatever game happens to come to mind every day.

Going to Seahawks games with Grandpa Bill is one of your favorite things.  You're one lucky kid to get to so many games!  You're such a great Hawks fan!

You still love to snuggle with your stuffies at night, which melts my heart.  Your many stuffed turtles are still a mainstay on your bed.

Salmon, broccoli, pizza and noodles remain your favorite foods.  You've really turned a corner this year and have gotten so much better at trying new things.  There is the occassional freak out when we make you try something you absolutely do not want to try, but this is getting better too!

Your sisters still adore you, but we see a change a coming.  They are starting to play more together like house or dolls, and this doesn't interest you.  Being the odd man out is never fun, and you get frustrated being left out.  I love when you all find something you can do together like Legos, or bookstore, or zoo.  You all play so nice together most of the time.  And the sound of giggles definitely fill the house when you are all getting along.

You have convinced your sisters to play football with you a time or two.  This generally leads to tears, but they are both good sports and do play along!

You still are super sensitive kid, and we are realizing this will always be who you are.  We're constantly working with you on ways to help you react to situations more calmly.  You handle certain situations better than others, but if the situation involves you losing WATCH OUT!  We should have named you Mr. Competitive!

You're a good kid, Ryan, and we just adore you.  You're creative, thoughtful, smart and love to laugh. We feel so blessed that we ended up with you 9 years ago!  You make our lives so much better.

We love you!
Mommy (and Daddy)