My World---Ryan

2010-12-12T10:18:00.001-05:00

Warming up with Bubby after playing in the snow!

More Bailey Pics

2010-12-02T22:11:00.002-05:00

Why chew on the toys in the basket when you can just eat the basket!

This rotten puppy is too cute and I can't stop taking pictures of her. you guys are going to get sick of seeing her. I am about to put more on facebook too. She gets to see her real sister on Tuesday for a vet appointment, meanwhile she is making good use of her new sisters! She can actually wear out Violet!

Bailey

2010-12-01T19:00:00.002-05:00

Bailey is the one in his arms

SO if you have been on facebook you probably know we got a new puppy. Her name is Bailey. We got her because Rita (Kevin's Mom) wanted to get his dad, a puppy for Christmas. Kev had an American Eskimo growing up, so she wanted to get one like her. Well we couldn't find any in the area, so we had to drive to Tennesse to get her. Ryan's hamster had just died and he got straight A's on his report card so we decided to pick up 2 puppies. They are so precious! They slept through the night the 1st night and have done a good job so far going potty outside. Well Rita couldn't wait until Christmas so we took Fred's puppy to him on Sunday, I think he was pretty happy. They named her Christie for Christmas. Bailey didn't have any separation problems like I excepted, so she is doing very well. She is rotten as sin but adorable. Violet took a few days to get use to her but she and Bailey are play buddies now. Bailey LOVED the snow this morning and was jumping around trying to catch the flakes as they fell. Later she licked it all off the ground.

Busy October

2010-11-04T16:50:00.002-04:00

We had a very busy October. We went to the zoo and Coney Island and many other fall themed things. We love them all! Ryan had a Halloween party for 7 of his friends, it turned out really well. They all had fun and got tons of candy! Ryan trick or treated with a group of friends and had a great time also. All in all it was a great month. I am looking forward to the Holiday season. I love shopping, wrapping, giving gifts, eating lots of yummy food and tons of family time!! The next couple months should be great. I hope you all have a great holiday season too!

HallZOOween

2010-10-13T10:18:00.004-04:00

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Ryan very excited to get to hold a snake in his Harry Potter costume!

We went to HallZOOween on Saturday. Ryan loves it. We really like watching all the animals play with pumpkins. The polar bears are my fav, always have been. We may go back again before it ends if we can find time. It is really a nice thing they do! The magic show was pretty good, and the boys all loved the trick or treating.

Happy Fall

2010-10-06T13:59:00.001-04:00

We love this time of year! We go to all the pumpkin farms and other fall themed things!! Busy time of year and we love it!!

Kings Island P&G day!

2010-09-23T16:29:00.002-04:00

Ryan had a blast KI on Saturday for P&G day. He was really excited that we got 2 extra tickets and he and Grammy went back on Sunday. 2 days of rides and games, he was in Heaven. He loves riding rides now, it is so good. He also loved the fact that the theme for the kids area is SNOOPY now. He loved seeing the characters and all the decorations!

These are the days of our lives

2010-09-14T11:36:00.003-04:00

SO Ryan is loving 4th grade so far. He was nervous about the 3 teachers the first days, he now knows "none of them are mean" He is happy. The homework seems to be less than last year but we'll see as we get further into the year.

I have started my Christmas shopping, I like to spread out the cost, wrapping and work of it all. But I also hate shopping early and then something is on super sale like on black Friday. Unfortunately this year I don't have a lot of ideas for Ryan or anyone else...YIKES. Oh well I always figure it out!

David leaves for college on Sunday. yes, my baby brother is going to college...hard to believe. Pray he settles in quickly and has a great year. I know he will!

Also asking for Prayers for Kevin's dad as he deals with his health issues.

Kevin is still doing well with his weight loss, I am giving it another go. Let's hope I can get inspired and motivated by him. He is doing so well!! I am very proud of him.

Guess that's it for now. I will try to update more often now that we are back into the schedule of school!

I AM BORED!!!

2010-09-04T23:01:00.004-04:00

I am so flipping bored!! Kevin is watching stupid football, Ryan is at a friends house and I am bored. Don't wanna read or scrap which is weird for me!! SO I decided to blog, though I really have nothing to blog about. Ryan starts school on Tuesday, he is excited and nervous! I am meeting a bunch of other Mom's after they are all at school for breakfast to catch up and just relax a bit. We had a great vacation as you can tell from all the pics. It was so much hotter in August than any other time we have gone. We will be going in June again next year. We got my car back finally after Kevin's accident, it took almost a month. It is good as new! I am so glad to have it back, I love that stupid car and hate driving the van. Hopefully I will just get another Escape when my lease it up, just love'em. I started reading a new series of books based on a new show we are watching Rizzole and Isles. I love both, the books and the show. I have read 2 of the books so far, I need to find the others. I will go to the book rack once Ryan goes back to school and look for them. Like I said I really have nothing to blog about! I am off to read all of yours IF there is anything new!! CIAO!

Disney Pics 2010

2010-08-24T14:34:00.004-04:00

Here are a few pictures from our trip. I will post a few everyday for weeks...JK.

Happy Summer, Enjoy the rest of it!

2010-07-18T23:00:00.000-04:00

Woodland Mound Park

2010-07-09T17:31:00.007-04:00

We went to Woodland Mound Park on Tuesday. Ryan and Zoe played in the water park, they loved it. I got seriously sunburnt. Dad and David met us up there. I got some cute pics, most are posted on facebook, so I am posting some of the ones I didn't post on there on here. It was a good day! I have been embroidering shirts for our trip this week. I haven't made any for us in the last couple years. Ryan has been playing outside, swimming, and playing Wii. We are having a nice summer so far...but I am so ready for vacation!! I miss MICKEY ;)

Sparkler FUN!

2010-07-08T11:59:00.003-04:00

Ryan and Dexter

2010-06-29T14:09:00.003-04:00

Ryan absolutely loved playing with Dexter! He is a gentle giant, very lovable!! He like to sit ON peoples laps!!

Father's Day

2010-06-27T20:44:00.002-04:00

Ryan had made Kevin an awesome card in school for Father's day. He thought he was too funny putting Kev's presents in a trash bag full of bubble wrap! We had a good. We were in Dayton in the morning for a Disneyana convention and pin games, then Dad and everyone came over for the evening! It was a nice day.

Happy Summer!!

2010-06-22T17:53:00.001-04:00

Cute Pics!

2010-06-17T18:04:00.002-04:00

dog, old person, dog, old person, dog

2010-06-11T16:59:00.001-04:00

2010-06-09T12:15:00.000-04:00

2010-06-02T15:16:00.001-04:00

2010-05-31T14:17:00.000-04:00

Couldn't be prouder!!

2010-05-26T17:03:00.008-04:00

Last night was David's graduation. I truly could not be prouder of him. He graduated with lots of honors. He is so smart, sweet, talented and caring!! I just love the brat!

3rd grade sale

2010-05-14T22:46:00.002-04:00

Ryan's class had a student run sale today. his class got to sell to the 2 other 3rd grade class. He sold old webkinz and made $653.00 in McCormick cash. he was very excited. the kids love it. They get money for doing well, handing in homework, reading extra time and get fined for misbehaving. It works out really well.

Nothing much

2010-05-06T12:54:00.001-04:00

I have had so much going on I haven't had time to blog. I am now waiting for Dad to get his MRI. I have about an hour so I decided to post. No pics posting from my phone.

Ryan is really about the oil spill. He is so worried about the animals and the effects on our oceans. We were planning on visiting an marine animal rescue in Florida when we go in August. He was excited and spent tons of time on their website. He has decided to try and save $125 to adopt 3 differnt animals. He will get pictures of his animals and monthly emails on how they are doing and a monthly newsletter on the whole aquarium. He is trying to save this money in addition to his Disnry spending money. We will be taking cans up to recycle tomorrow and hopefully make it out to Dad's to collect his can he is donating to Ry. We also plan to give him some adoption money for his birthday. I love that he loves animals even more than Kevin and I but I hate how hard he takes things when something bad happens. His class has had a bad year with the deaths of 2 pets this year. He takes it very hard, but his teacher is very touched by it and they bond even more.

This summer I will be making a little Disney money myself. I will be going with Sonya each week to the zoo with all her kids. Ryan loves this idea. I will also be watching a little girl Ryan's age a couple days each week. She is the daughter of an old high school friend and sounds like the girl version of Ryan. He will be meeting her tonight. They have talked on the phone a few times and both seem very excited about it. She loves animals and swimming, bike riding even bugs. Ryan should have a great summer.

Kev us working out everyday. I am so proud of him, he is working so hard. He is getting buff for our vacation. Hee hee!

That is about it. I am in planning mode. Birthday, end of year parties and teacher gifts, my baby brother's graduation. Oh my baby brother is going to be 18 and graduating. Holy Cow.

Ok I hope most of this is right. I didn't proof read it and sometimes
My phone thinks I mean something other than what I do. I do love my iPhone though.

-- Post From My iPhone

Poor Ryan

2010-04-22T22:21:00.006-04:00

He was all jokes and giggles before the doctors came in!
His thumb before they touched it, doesn't look so bad??

This face breaks my heart. He was in so much pain, and exhausted from the pain and emotionally distress! Not to mention he put up a good fight!

Today was just horrible! I took Ryan to the Children's Hospital to get his cast. We thought it would be easy, just go in, get the cast and we are done. Well he did more damage to the thumb than we thought. They had to reduce his thumb, basic pull on it and bend it back into shape. They tried to numb him, the needle scared him too death and made him cry. He bled like crazy from the needles, why I have no idea. Then he wasn't even numb. The "reduced" his thumb and sent us for xrays. He was in so much pain he was sick. We get back to the room and they say it isn't right, they had to do it again. It was the worst thing I have ever been through. There is nothing like hearing your baby scream for help when you are holding him down. My heart shattered! They really had to pull it hard and twist to get it into position. When the doctor was done the second time he told Ryan he wouldn't do it again no matter what the xrays showed. He felt horrible. What a job to have to torture small kids everyday, I felt for the guy. By the time he was ready for his cast his thumb was so swollen it didn't even look human. By then I was just holding and trying to comfort my poor baby so no pics of that. We sat for about 45 minutes before getting his cast so it was much better. Ryan choose red, his favorite color, but by then nothing could make him happy. He just wanted to get home! I am so glad this day is over! Let the healing begin. He is actually doing great now!

Singing in the Rain

2010-04-16T15:29:00.005-04:00

Above the song Make'em Laugh, below Ryan waiting on stage for the director to finish giving directions!

IN the cast picture poor Ryan was surrounded by girls! He hated it, the girls loved it.

Ryan and Nick doing their dance!

Fit as a Fiddle!

Ryan was chosen to play Little Cosmo in The McNicholas production of Singing in the Rain. They chose Ryan because David is playing Cosmo Brown. They look so much alike they thought it would be cute. I can't believe Ryan agreed to do it. He is only on stage for about 5 minutes and has loved every minute of it. He had practice all week, these pics were taken during rehearsal. Tonight is the opening night, Ryan is very excited!!!

Ryan's many Easter baskets!!

2010-04-09T10:32:00.003-04:00

Below from the Easter bunny! Above the adorable bag Grandma and Grandpa Sweet had made from Ryan and filled with goodies!!
Basket from Mommy and Daddy!
Ryan's Easter Basket from Grammy. He wanted this huge basket because it matched his new room!

We had a wonderful Easter. Ryan had a blast with egg hunts and family visits. Ryan also got a basket from his Aunt Teri but tore into before I even knew what was happening, so no pic! He has gotten use out of the whoopy cushion in it!!!

Coloring Eggs!!

2010-04-06T19:41:00.004-04:00

Ryan and Mom had a blast coloring eggs. I did too but THEY made the mess. Ryan's hands were black by the time they were finished, Mom's weren't much better. We did 4 dozen! I made my own color for the actually coloring instead of using a kit, the colors were much more brilliant. We used a couple kits to do other decorating. They were pretty and delicious too!

Horse Back riding!

2010-04-05T13:28:00.007-04:00

Cleaning Treger and getting him ready!

He couldn't be more happy!!

Wednesday we went out to Mom's bosses farm and got to go horse back riding. Ryan was thrilled. He was so excited on the way out there. He got to brush the horse and get him ready for the ride. Ryan was in Heaven. He was a natural rider, he had so much fun. This time Lisa led Treger(the horse), next time Ryan is going to learn to ride with a bit and steer him himself. Treger was so sweet and gentle! Mom and I rode him too. I fell getting on and Ryan and Mom had a great laugh! I did too!! Riding was great once I got on...haha. Hopefully we can go back a few times this summer! (even more pics on facebook, I took over 400)

Ryan Decorations

2010-03-27T23:00:00.005-04:00

Ryan wanted everyone to know that is a real turtle shell on the square shelf that he found.
Ryan got these mask at the Animal Kingdom on our last trip, he loves them!!
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa...they got Ryan everything in this pic but the shelf!!
I love these new blinds!!!

Here are some pics of the decorations in Ryan's room so far. We are trying to make it a classy looking safari/jungle room. We want it to be something he won't grow out of too soon. He also wanted it as green as possible so most of the shelves and frames are repainted from his old room or other projects. It is really coming together. For some reason the walls look gray in the pics but they are a deep sage green, we left his ceiling blue because he wanted it to be the sky. Lots more to do but we are getting there.

Wax Museum

2010-03-26T17:00:00.004-04:00

Ryan giving his speech to a group of 4th graders.
Katie
Nathan
Angie
Emily!

The wax museum turned out great. The kids were all so cute! The costumes were great! Ryan did a wonderful job, I thought he would be nervous but he wasn't at all! I hope that gives him even more confidence for the musical he is going to be in. He is going to be in David's musical. They are doing Singing in the Rain. David is Cosmo, and Ryan is going to be little Cosmo. I about died when the dance teacher ask me if Ryan would do it. He said Ryan and David look so much alike it would be perfect. Ryan doesn't have any lines, but a dance #!! He is doing well. For the wax museum he was Daniel Boone. He did a great little speech about him and even had rabbit pelts to show people. He did really well. He looked people in the eyes and said his speech pretty loudly, it was so hard to hear in there once so many people got there and all the kids got talking. I am very proud of him!!

Our Lives

2010-03-24T16:50:00.002-04:00

We have all been working on Ryan's room. We have painted the walls and all of his shelves. I painted and printed pictures for his walls. Kevin has been working on the headboard and foot board.

Ryan has a wax museum at school coming up on Friday. He is very excited. He had to pick a famous person and do lots of research on them. Then write a speech about them. He choose Daniel Boone. Friday he has to dress like Daniel Boone and give his speech as people walk up to him. The whole 3rd grade is doing it. They all get in the gym and people walk around and push "a button" on them to hear the speech. It should be really cute.

Ryan is going to be in McNick's (David's school) production on Singing in the Rain. David is Cosmo one of the lead men and Ryan is going to be young Cosmo in a "flash Back". He is so excited. He had his first practice last night. He has to fall and flip across the stage then do a little dance number with another little boy. I hope he gets the steps down, he did well for his first time last night. The show is the 2nd week in April.

Mine and Ryan's allergies have been going crazy!! And my sinuses have been terrible. Spring is here!!

I guess that is it. I will post pics as we make progress on Ryan's room and of course pics of Friday!! Have a great day all!!

Homemade Decor

2010-03-22T11:01:00.002-04:00

Here a few things I made for Ryan's new safari room. The photos were taken by his teacher on her worldly travels. The frames use to be white, now spray painted black and the mats were navy blue, now painted cream. Then Ryan chose stamps to use and we stamped the mats. The other 2 are cork boards, again frames spray painted black and then covered in animal print fabric. The room is now painted green, the new shades are up. We got a animal print rug yesterday. All his wall shelves are painted brown, his bookcase is almost completely brown. Still a lot to do but we are moving right a long. I am painting the headboard and footboard that Kevin made today!! more pics to come as we complete more stuff.

Police Station Visit

2010-03-17T18:36:00.004-04:00

Officer Caudell explaining the dispatch room.

Ryan is trying to look mean and sad like a criminal who has been caught. He just looks goofy!

Ryan's den went to visit the Loveland police station on Monday. They had a lot of fun. They really enjoyed seeing the holding cells and me taking their "mug shots". They learned about safety also and got to see the dispatchers. The cruiser was another huge hit!!!

More Maple Madness

2010-03-16T16:47:00.003-04:00

Ryan enjoying waffles and fresh maple syrup!
Ryan really enjoyed learning the way pioneers lived. He helped darn wool and make corn into corn meal.

Ryan built a fort out of sticks and dough.

Maple Madness

2010-03-14T22:19:00.004-04:00

He much braver than his Mommy!! But I got close enough to get the pics and I even pet the snakes!!

I love the way he looks down at the lizard with such love.

We went to the Maple Madness celebration at the Cincinnati Nature Center. We worried it wouldn't be worth the trouble with the rain and mud but we had a BLAST!! For Ryan that highlight was the Cincinnati Herp Society, they brought reptiles for people to see. Ryan loved seeing and holding the animals. He just fell in love with a huge monitor lizard named Savannah. We went back 3 times to see the animals, Ryan spent a lot of time talking to the people running it. I think he ios going to join their group and then volunteer for them. He would even get to go to things like the Nature Center and work with the animals. He is so excited. We did a lot of other things I will post about later. He really wanted me to post about Savannah. I really liked the lizard too, it was very sweet! I will post pioneer and maple syrup pics later.

Ryan and Nick

2010-03-08T16:52:00.001-05:00

Ryan and Nick are so happy it is finally warm enough to play outside. Ryan was outside all weekend with all his little neighborhood friends. They all had a blast and loved running off all that energy!!

Cheerio

2010-03-04T14:52:00.003-05:00

We had another class pet home for the weekend, this is Cheerio, one of Ryan's class gerbils.

Cake

2010-03-01T07:33:00.002-05:00

Here is the cake Ryan made with a little help from Mom on Friday night for Kev's birthday! He decorated it himself too! How sweet is he!

Our Weekend

2010-02-22T08:34:00.003-05:00

We got our Pack picture for the yearbook. This is our crew!!

We had an interesting weekend. We had the Cub Scout Blue & Gold Banquet. It is the celebration of the beginning of scouts. This is the 100th year. Ryan had a good time. Saturday I got up early and Julia went to Archiver's for the make and take its. It was fun we made a cute little album. We had planned to scrap the rest of the day. Well Ryan was bugging us so we finally kicked him out of my scrap room. Well he went outside to play and started knocking on the basement windows and waving to us. Well he hit one too hard and broke out the window. Glass rained down on Julia, Ryan freaked out and said he didn't mean it and Daddy was going to kill him. Once things calmed down Kev fixed the window, he didn't kill Ryan. Julia and I were talking and we are amazed that Ryan hasn't broken a window before now. Sunday Kevin and I slept in til noon!!! Oh how relaxing. I then tried to scrap a little, wasn't feeling it so I made chili and baked brownies. We actually had a very nice weekend, window and all. Hope you all had a great weekend. I guess I will add a few B&Q pics!

Snowday fun!!

2010-02-16T22:16:00.005-05:00

Me, going down backwards on my back, and getting a face full of snow!!

Even Beth, Nick's Mom, got in on the fun!!
Clara, poor thing had a hard time walking in the deep snow!
David getting a face full of snow!!
The girls getting some much needed exercise!
We did a lot of sledding in the last few snowdays, but today was the best. We all had waterproof suits so we lasted a lot longer. We all had so much fun!! I took over 300 pics. Some are on facebook, some here. I got great shots, I can't wait to scrap it!!

Valentine's Party

2010-02-11T13:58:00.001-05:00

Today we finally had school. It was a good day to go back because all the Valentine's parties were today. Ryan doesn't have school tomorrow or Monday. His party went really well today. Ryan had lots of fun. Here is a group shot of the kids and the moms and then one where I got out and Mrs. Harris got in. Ryan absolutely loves her. He will be sorry when this year ends. If he could have her every year I'd be thrilled.

Mummies!!!

2010-02-06T21:01:00.003-05:00

Mira
Violet

Ryan update

2010-02-04T22:49:00.002-05:00

Ryan is so excited and I am quite impressed. He did his first power point presentation. Yes, my 3rd grader did a power point presentation on wolves. I saw it, it is pretty impressive. The school got laptops. So each 3rd grader got to work on the laptops at their desk and do their presentation. He is so proud and excited!

We went to the skating party tonight. He was happy. He now loves to skate. Every time I saw him he was surrounded by girls. I even had one come tell on him because he was spending too much time with one girl and ignoring this girl. They are so funny and I am so glad he is still embarrassed by the attention from the girls. I am so not ready for him to "like" girls.

We are excited about the snow. If we are going to get it I hope we get a ton. It's the weekend and we could use to be out sledding. Just this last time then I am ready for spring!

Pics from the skating party tomorrow!

Update

2010-02-01T11:31:00.002-05:00

Ryan using poor Mira as a pillow!

I haven't updated any of you lucky people on our lives lately. For one reason, there really is nothing new going on. I ahve been busy with yearbook stuff for school and planning Ryan's Valentine's party. Now that the pinewood derby Ryan has just been doing his homework and playing with Nick. they are both dying to get outside and play again. They both hate indoor days! They would both rather be out in the dirt running around. Kevin is already obsessing about the derby next year! We want to get Ryan's room painted and decorated in the safari theme soon. He got lots of great stuff for Christmas to decorate with. Hopefully we will get to that soon. I will post pics when we get it done! That is about it. We have been spending lots of time together, which is nice. We have played lots of games and watched some good shows. But I am soooooo ready for SPRING!!!

Homework Time

2010-01-26T15:36:00.001-05:00

Violet laid with Ryan for an hour the other day as he did his reading. She seemed quite happy and he didn't complain about how long his reading took!!

Pinewood Derby

2010-01-23T09:27:00.002-05:00

Ryan did wonderfully at the pinewood derby this year. He came in 2nd over all and got a medal. He also won fastest looking car. All the scouts got to vote on their favorite cars, fast looking, best design and I think best paint job. He got a trophy for having the fastest looking car. Kevin won 1st place in the adults and won a medal. I came in 5th place so I did beat 1 car!!! But mine was the biggest hit with the boys which is what I was going for. I had them chanting PORCUPINE< PORCUPINE as the races were going on. Our food and bake sale went very well. So all in all we had a great night!!! Tons of pics on facebook!

Wizard Quest

2010-01-18T16:30:00.005-05:00

Ryan loved Wizard Quest at Great Wolf Lodge, we have gone a few times so he can work on his quests. It is fun! He really likes it!

Snow FUN!!

2010-01-10T16:08:00.006-05:00

Ryan tied Violet to his little sled and had her pull him down the hill!

Violet kept burying her face in the snow! She is crazy.

Here some pics from our snow adventures. Ryan had an absolute blast, so did the girls. David seemed to be having a lot of fun also. Ryan was out for 5 or 6 hours each day...crazy kid.

New Year's Eve

2010-01-06T15:52:00.010-05:00

Mira is vicious too!!

Mira had a hard time staying up! She napped on the couch while we played games.

GROSS!!!! he didn't really eat it, he was posing for the camera!

Bethany giving Dick Clark a New Year's KISS!!

New Year's Kisses!!!
Cousins playing together! Doesn't Violet look vicious!!
The annual Parade!!
HAHAHA Chewy peed on Aaron!!

Here a few pics from New Year's Eve. I will post a lot more on Facebook. We had a good time! We did a lot of the usual. Games, paraffin wax, lots of food, pots and pans and of course our parade! The girls had a good time ganging up on Dexter. Dad and Julia couldn't come this year, Dad was sick...:(

Christmas Eve

2009-12-28T17:50:00.007-05:00

WEIRDOS!!
Sawyer had a blast beating up Kevin...over and over!!
Ryan LOVED his 3 and half foot giraffe!!

My brother is a parrot head!!
Party faces...very happy with their foodsaver bags!!
Julia opening one of the 3 Emmett Kelly clowns Dad got her.
Dexter is the world's largest lapdog!! Ryan loved it!

David loved his Victoria Secret's gift!!

We had a wonderful Christmas eve. Everyone came over to our house this year instead of Dad's, they had so much going on with his health and everything it was easier for us to have everyone over than for them to get everything ready. It turned out nicely. The boys played nicely together, Nick too! They dressed up in well crazy outfits! We got lots of wonderful gifts and had tons of food!! We all had a really nice time!

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-24T13:29:00.001-05:00

Thank you Amanda!!

2009-12-21T11:40:00.003-05:00

Amanda made Ryan a Star Wars pillow for Christmas. He absolutely LOVED it!! It is so adorable. Thank you so much Amanda!

Red Tailed Hawk

2009-12-15T19:03:00.001-05:00

Here is the red tailed hawk who hangs out in our back yard. I finally got a pic of it.

Christmas Cheer

2009-12-12T22:15:00.006-05:00

Every year Daddy lifts Ryan up to put Tink on top of the tree once everything else is up. He loves this tradition!

Tink's wings light up and change colors.

Nick's side.
Ryan's side.

Ryan, Nick and I made our ginger bread house. I did the construction they did the decorating!. It turned out really cute. They thought hard about how to do each thing, it was very cute. We also had to get a new tree topper, I dropped the old Tinkerbell, which turned out to be a good thing, the new one is way prettier. I glued the old one back together and Ryan is using it for his tree.

PIE TIME

2009-12-09T10:30:00.005-05:00

The kids loved cheering on the pie throwers!!
Ryan chose Kim Kunkel, our pack masters wife, she was in charge of the popcorn sales this year. Ryan adores her!
Mr. Baker warning Ryan that he controlled the school and signed his report card!

They are still friends!

Ryan was the top seller in his pack for the 2nd year running!! He sold over 1000 dollars in popcorn and got to throw a pie in his principals face!! He got many other prizes too. He got to throw a pie at a leaders face, a free Cyclones Hockey game, free day at CoCo Keys indoor water park, plus $110 to spend at the scout shop. He worked very hard to sell the popcorn and was very proud of himself. He wanted to get his principal so bad!! Thank you to all of you who bought popcorn and helped him so much!!

Cyclones Game

2009-12-06T23:24:00.007-05:00

YMCA!!

Twister! He shot t-shirts out into the crowd...none of us caught any.

All the cub scouts who sold over $300.00 in popcorn got a free ticket to the Cyclones game. We went last night, and had a great time!! Kevin bought Ryan a puck hat when we went in, it was too funny. He wore it the whole game. We all really enjoy watching hockey so it was really a fun time. The Cyclones won so that made it even better.

Buddies!

2009-11-30T17:25:00.001-05:00

Ryan having snuggle time with Violet and Blaster.

Veteran's Day

2009-11-23T08:27:00.002-05:00

On Veteran's Day Ryan school holds a celebration for all the veterans in the area. The whole school sings patriotic songs. The veteran's love it. The kids love doing it.

Cute pics!

2009-11-19T09:45:00.001-05:00

2009-11-16T20:40:00.001-05:00

Proud Wife

2009-11-14T23:02:00.007-05:00

Tonight Kevin was inducted into the Norwood Athletic Hall of Fame. He was so nervous it was too cute. He gave a great speech and looked handsome in his suit. Ryan insisted on wearing a button down and tie like Daddy even though I bought him a beautiful sweater to wear. He looked cute too. It was a very nice ceremony. 5 other people were inducted. We were all very proud of Kev!!

Just Stuff

2009-11-11T18:46:00.002-05:00

We are anxiously awaiting Kevin's arrival home. He won't be home until about 11:00pm tonight. Ryan has spent the night playing with the girls and the piggies. He really love his animals, I don't know what he'd do without them. I am sitting with one now on my neck, hiding in my hair. Silly little thing! They are so sweet, I am really glad we got them. The dogs seem to like them too, and not in a I"d like to eat you way.

I can't believe Christmas is sneaking up on us so quickly! I mean I love the Holiday season and can't wait for it, but boy do I have a lot to do! I am cutting way back this year! I have barely gotten started and that is not like me. Can't wait for Black Friday! I just love that day!!

Today was the last day of our book fair. It turned out really well. The kids also had an all school sing for the Veteran's in our area. They invite the Veteran's to school and sing all kinds of patriotic songs and thank them. It was really good. I took pics but I haven't downloaded them yet. Soon I promise!

Piggy Playhouse

2009-11-08T19:58:00.005-05:00

Ryan with his creation!

Ryan and I made a play house for the guinea pigs tonight. He is very excited and they seemed to love it! They stayed in it forever, until we finally had to let the girls in. He really loves having the pigs! They are sweet little things. They get a long with dogs pretty well. I laid the pigs on the dogs tonight, they all took it well.

November is Here!!

2009-11-03T14:54:00.005-05:00

Very proud 3rd place winner.
Ryan and Nick's creations!

Here are a few pics from the last week or so. We made pumpkin cookies and carved pumpkins. We had a really good Halloween. We went trick or treating and then ordered pizza and played Catch Phrase. Ryan had a little friend over, Katie. She is a cutie and had fun too. I have been busy since then getting ready for the school book fair, I really need to stop signing up for so many committees. It should be fun though and makes tons of money for the PTO. I am trying to go through all Ryan's clothes and toys before Christmas...boy is that a task. Needs to be done so badly. Ryan won 3rd place in our yearbook cover contest. His drawing will be on the back of the yearbook. He is thrilled. He got a certificate and a little prize. He is excited, the whole school voted on which one they liked best.

October

2009-10-26T19:21:00.007-04:00

Ryan after being tortured by his den!

Kevin got a little bored!
How cute is my little gangster! He loves his costume!

We are always so busy in October. We love love love the fall activities. We go to the pumpkin farms and cub scouts have a lot of stuff going on. It is a busy but fun month for us. Here are some pics from Spook o ree, it is a cub scout halloween party with games, haunted trails and castles, trick or treating and a maze. Fun stuff. Most of our pics are on facebook too. We went to spook o ree last weekend just to have fun. Then we went this past weekend to work the maze. We spent a few hours scaring people. Oh my gosh it was so fun. I never got tired of seeing people duck, or jerk or even scream. It was so funny! Mom went too, she enjoyed scaring people too. My little gangster held people up, I must have heard "Give me all ya valuables" about a thousand times. But he had a blast! There are also a few pics from our October pack meeting where the kids did skits. Ryan was the butt of his den's joke and loved it!!! It is such a ham! Looking forward to Halloween!! Have a great time!!

Our Anniversary

2009-10-17T13:49:00.003-04:00

I married the sweetest man on Earth. Seriously no one does special occasions like Kevin. He told me to be ready about 4:30pm yesterday and that was all I knew. He came to the door with roses, a dozen red and 10 white for each year we've been married! First we went to Best Buy to get me an iphone. I was excited. I love his iphone and couldn't wait to get one myself. We then went to Buca de beppo's. I had been wanting to try it since I heard it was here. OH my it was awesome. He had called weeks ago and reserved the "kitchen" table. It was literally in the kitchen. As each dish came up someone would bring it to our table and show it to us and explain each dish. The smells were awesome, seeing all the food was amazing. We finally ordered and were given a free meatball to try, it was the size of a baseball and delicious!! The food was amazing and the servings were big enough for about 4 people. It was really just an awesome place! As we waited for our food, Kev pulled out a little gold box, which contained a beautiful Sapphire and Diamond necklace....it is gorgeous but we weren't suppose to buy any gifts!!! The meals was amazing and so was the dessert! We were going to go to a comedy club but had a couple hours before it started, so we decided on a movie. We went to see The Invention Of Lying. That was the only mistake of the night. Oh my gosh the movie totally sucked!!! It was a real downer and was suppose to be a comedy. Some people seemed to think it was hilarious we hated it. It also made it seem as if Heaven and God were a big lie. BAD BAD movie! But we had fun laughing at ourselves for picking such a horrible movie. It was a wonderful night.!!! I love my hubby so much. He truly is my best friend and I love him more every day!!!

For Amanda!!

2009-10-14T21:42:00.006-04:00

Here is my ladies man!! (in a pink hat) This was a picture a friend of mine took last year at school.

Look at all the girls!!
Amanda yelled at me on facebook for not posting! So here is a lovely post about nothing for her. I have a terrible sinus headache...hope it isn't becoming an infection. Friday is our 10 year anniversary. WOW 10 years, it sure doesn't seem that long! I really have nothing else to post about.

Oh our weekend last weekend. The cub scout campout. I posted all the pics on facebook. I almost froze too death. We slept in a tent and the temperature was 35 degrees when we got up. I didn't sleep at all, Ryan slept very well in his nice warm sleeping bag, 2 sweatshirts, sweat pants and hat. He looked too cute getting in bed like that. We had a lot of fun. He did a ton of fishing and loved it. I froze!!! all night and the whole next day until we got home. Kev got the tent and stuff laid out to dry and I took a long HOT bath and then a long nap. Ryan went to mom's to visit my brothers dogs.

K, that is really it now. Chow!! Ciao!

1 day after being groomed

2009-10-11T22:27:00.002-04:00

She looks very happy with herself!

I went out to put some stuff int eh car for our camping trip. The girls went out too. I then went to buy some batteries. I get back adn this is what Violet looked like. I asked Ryan what happened to her as he was with them the whole time. He said and I quote " I don't know, I guess she got dirty", very helpful child! She is clean again after I scrubbed her face for about 20 minutes.

Rides

2009-10-04T11:43:00.005-04:00

Julia would get it going so fast we couldn't even hold our heads up. It was great!

I have never laughed so hard for so long in 1 day. My throat and my jaws hurt after that day. I have never spun so much in one day either.

Canoeing

2009-10-01T16:19:00.003-04:00

They had free canoeing at the park. Ryan was so excited!! We really had fun, I thought for sure Ryan would flip us. Sitting still isn't really his thing. I thought all we needed was for him to see a frog or a turtle and we'd all be in the lake! Luckily the animals stay away and we stayed afloat!!

I have lots of funny pics from Coney. I will post some tomorrow!

Burnet Woods

2009-09-28T07:52:00.004-04:00

This was the start of our great Saturday! We went looking for buckeyes in the woods but the squirrels beat us too them. :(
Lots more pics coming!

Even More KI

2009-09-22T10:07:00.006-04:00

Ryan and Fred spun like crazy....Ryan loved it!!

Ryan was much more daring this trip to Kings Island. He tried a lot of rides he wouldn't try before. Some he loved some not so much. The monster was one of his favorites, he rode it about 10 times.

More KI

2009-09-21T23:07:00.003-04:00

Goofballs!! Ryan loved all the halloween decorations! He made me take pics with him and most of them.

Here are few more pics from our day at Kings Island.

P&G day at Kings Island

2009-09-20T12:44:00.002-04:00

Here are few pics from a wonderful family day at Kings Island yesterday. Lots more to come!!

2009-09-18T00:37:00.001-04:00

Ryan recieved 2 things at our last pack meeting. I summer activities pin and a recruiter badge. He was proud!

CNC Preparing for night

2009-09-13T22:07:00.006-04:00

These things died naturally so Ryan was ok with people learning from them.
Sylvester the great horned owl
Angel the screech owl!

We went to the Cincinnati Nature Center on Friday. They had a getting ready for night event. They are usually closed at dark. We got to go around with flash lights to different stations and do different activities. I think both of our favorites was the Raptors Inc. , they had 4 owls there. We watched the presentation twice. The owls were so cute and Ryan loved learning about them! We also learned about animal eye shine and lots of other things about nature. We had a great time. We bought a membership so we plan to go a lot. Also with the membership Ry's grandparents can take him, I am sure he and Mom will go a lot. We had a very busy weekend so I will post more tomorrow!

A POST!!!!

2009-09-09T17:11:00.005-04:00

This is my new organizing system Kevin surprised with on Sunday. We hope to get 2 more in the next couple days. They are kinda a pain for him to put up but he says he doesn't mind. They are awesome and get stuff up off my tables!
This is a my favorite area. All my dies and machines, it is where the real work gets done much quicker now. Kevin has gotten me some awesome programs to use with my die cut machines.

Long time no post! Sorry, busy, busy busy...I think I got bit of Lura's blog block. It is over now!

I have been busy this week. Kevin and I started cleaning out our rooms in the basement. My scrap room was a total disaster! I mean you couldn't walk through it. Well it is organized and beautiful now!! Once we get the rest of the basement cleaned up we are going to clean sweep the upstairs. Once we have done the whole house and it is shiny and organized I am going to reward myself and some of you. I want to have a little scrap weekend. I can fit 4 people comfortable in my room up to about 6 if we want to be cozy! I will get it done as quickly as I can so we can scrap our hearts out!!

ALSO I am bribing myself on another level. I want to lose 33.8 pounds this school year. I have started walking everyday with my friend Kristi, we walk 2 miles every morning. I am also going to go to the gym, hopefully 3 times a week. Eating better and just making better life choices. Well here is the good part...the bribe if you will. At the end of the school year if I have reached my goal I am having a HUGE pool party. You are all invited. If I make my goal everyone I have ever met is invited...okay maybe not gonna go that far. SO keep me accountable people. We want to have a big party right. Amanda asked if there would be cake at our celebration. Of course what better way to celebrate losing the weight! We will play corn hole, games, swim, grill out...so much fun!! Let's hope I can stay motivated. All of you who need motivation think about it, you'll have to wear your swimsuits at my party. We will take lots of pics of our new skin selves!! Let's do this ladies, I know many of you are trying like me. Let's help each other out. Kristi and I are also going to take monthly pics of ourselves wearing the same outfit each month. I will post mine on here...scary but more motivation to lose!

3rd Grade

2009-08-18T21:11:00.006-04:00

This is the guinea pig, who's name I can't remember.
Corny the corn snake.
Canyon the corn snake.
Franklin the rat.
This Ollie the rat.
Mrs. Harris
Ryan at his desk, 3 of his good friends sit right by him. That won't last.

These are pics of Ryan's classroom, teacher, desk and most importantly class pets. He was so nervous yesterday about starting school, then we couldn't get him to leave the class room at open house. I think he is really going to enjoy this year. In her classroom she also has a turtle shell, skull of a deer, an hornets nest, and a lot of other nature stuff. She takes the kids outside all the time for lunch or math. They maintain a garden and tons of bird feeders. He is going to be in heaven and might even learn a few things in the process!!

Dayton Disneyana Convention

2009-08-11T20:46:00.004-04:00

Our pin game team...The green pirates! They gave out the Mickey bandannas earlier that day. We won!!
David carrying about 95 pounds of pins on his person! He even has a backpack on filled with pins.

Ryan and Grandpa Smiley, these 2 really love each other. Ryan spends most of his time up ther with Smiley at his table "helping".

We had so much fun at the pin event. We traded tons of pins and shopped a lot. I got a beautiful Cinderella tea set, I will take pics and post them later. We won lots of prizes playing pin games. Including a really nice pin bag and Ryan got a Wii singing game. David traded for a pin he really wanted and was extremely excited. Fun all around. Things got silly at the hotel. That is another post with "interesting" pics of David!!

Fun with Son!!

2009-08-04T13:44:00.007-04:00

The pool was freezing cold, I seemed to be the only one bothered by that! We had to walk up 145 steps up a hill to get there and then I almost froze to death. The boys had fun though!

Off for our nature hike!

Ryan is surprisingly good at BB's. I couldn't believe it. He could hit anything! Me not so much!

Boys from our pack. Ryan, Ryan, Christian and Matty.
I even had fun playing kick ball. It was parents against the kids. They kicked out butts, of course the rules were swayed towards the kids! It was really fun!
Finger printing. The theme was CSI cub scout investigators.

We had a lot of fun on our camping weekend. The only problem I had was showering and sleeping with bugs! I was attacked the 2nd night by bugs in my bed because I had my book light on. I quickly turned it off! Funny the only place that I seem girlie to Ryan is at cub scout camp!! Ryan had so much fun. He had fun being outdoors for so long and hanging out with his friends. He really loves the archery and bb's. We saw a mama deer and 2 babies.

I've got nothing to blog about...

2009-07-28T22:18:00.002-04:00

You should be singing my title in your head. Nothing really exciting going on. No great pics. Next week I should be full of stuff. We have our Fun with Son weekend for cub scouts. Ryan and I will be sleeping in the fort Friday and Saturday nights. Our days will be filled swimming, archery, bb's, hiking and many other wonderful activities. I should have tons of pictures next week.

Ryan is being a complete demon lately. I just don't know what to do with him. I spank him, ground him from games, video games, going outside...he doesn't care. He even hit me back. SO this evening I took away all his stuffed animals, not just grounded from them but took them all away. Bagged up in trash bags and locked in a closet. He went ballistic! But maybe it will get through to him. Of course Kevin cut a deal with him and he got one back to sleep with. I will keep this up until he starts being respectful or has 2 empty rooms!

Well unfortunately that's all have right now. Night!

More ZOO pics!

2009-07-14T16:29:00.008-04:00

Stunt riding!

See the baby? She actually has 2 on her back.

Petting Buddy!

BOBCAT

cute little falcon!!

Right before she got bitten!

Adorable baby lynx. I wanted to bring it home!!

We rode the carousel 4 times. Different animals each time.

OH my the baby lynx were so darn cute. They ran around and pounced on their Mommy. They played in the water dish, which a zoo employee had just filled up. It was so cute. We could have watched them all day! We had a wonderful day, it wasn't too hot and most of the animals were up and moving. BUT while we were feeding the birds Lauren got bitten and it actually broke the skin. Rotten birds, they were bad yesterday, CRAZY!

For Flying Out Loud!

2009-07-10T17:46:00.007-04:00

Swan Dives!

Jumping over Ryan!
Attacking my poor little doggies!

Ryan made a "bed" of pillows and blankets today. Soon after the jumping and flipping started. They had a blast and some of the were hilarious!!

2009-07-08T18:37:00.002-04:00

Violet Found the Frogs

2009-07-05T23:48:00.001-04:00

Violet has been obsessed with our lizards since we brought them home. Well yesterday we moved Ryan's frogs into the living room, well Violet found them and now LOVES them. She just can't get enough of them. If she leaves the room she has to run over and see if they are still there. She watches them constantly!

Cincinnati ZOO Zoo Zoo

2009-07-01T14:01:00.006-04:00

Ryan and I had a wonderful day at the zoo yesterday. We spent the whole day there, just walking around and talking. He got to pet tons of animals so of course he was thrilled. We saw all the animals but the highlights had to be the tiger cubs which were adorable! and all the stuff Ryan got to touch. We even got to pet a penguin. The meet a keeper sessions are really neat, that's when we got to pet Buddy the penguin. As you can see from the pictures Ryan got a wolf hat, he wore it all day, he has actually worn it all day today.

Last Day at the Magic Kingdom

2009-06-26T13:34:00.010-04:00

Ryan takes driving very seriously!

Big Thunder Mountain, Speedway Cars, Goofy's Barnstormer, Minnie's house, Buzz, Astro Orbiters ...we hit all the favorites and then off to downtown Disney to shop before heading home.

More for Lauren

2009-06-24T22:09:00.009-04:00

Godspell

New Year's eve

DAvid's birthday 2004 the day we brought Mira home.

Disney 2003

New year's eve karoke!
First baseball injury!

2003

For Lauren

2009-06-24T21:43:00.003-04:00

Christmas 2001

He was so little when Ryan was born. He was almost 9 years old.

Here are some pics of David when he was little and silly ones! ENJOY!! More to come!!

Animal Kingdom

2009-06-23T23:07:00.006-04:00

Bird watching. He loved identifying all the birds from the chart.

Primevil Whirl

Here are some pics for the Animal Kingdom. Mom and Ryan rode Kali River Rapids 3 or 4 times. They finally got wet enough, they loved it!! Ryan got to be in the Lion King show. He marched around the floats shaking an instrument. He was excited, the guy on the stilts talked to him. Mom loved Everest.

Guess what....more Disney photos!

2009-06-21T20:17:00.003-04:00

Ryan won these animals playing a gobblet toss game,

Family Tattoos

Kevin's Photo session!

2009-06-17T22:50:00.006-04:00

Choo Choo!

Mean Pirate!

Kevin and I were waiting for Ryan to ride Splash Mountain for the millionth time. So he thought he'd be cute and put on one of the funny hats. Well he put them all on, he entertained me for quite awhile. I think other people got a kick out of him too!!

Even More Disney Pictures

2009-06-17T14:38:00.004-04:00

Are you guys sick of my pics yet? Hope not because I can keep going for weeks.

For David

2009-06-17T14:28:00.002-04:00

Big Thunder Mountain! We all love this ride!

David wanted more pictures. He could just look at all of them on my laptop, but he wants them posted...NOW!!

More Disney Pics

2009-06-16T16:02:00.005-04:00

Dug and Carl

More Star Wars weekends

2009-06-16T13:34:00.005-04:00

Boba Fett and Darth Maul scared Mom!

Darth Goofy!
Jedi Mickey

Frozen Hon, Ryan and Kevin.

here are some more pics from star wars weekends.

Star Wars Weekends

2009-06-15T20:24:00.001-04:00

We went to 3 Star Wars weekends. Ryan loved it and so did MOM. She was excited to see the characters as he was. Lots more pics to come.

For Amanda!!

2009-06-12T09:34:00.002-04:00

2009-06-10T09:23:00.004-04:00

Boba Fett scared mom!!
Ryan and Mom got chosen for a game show at EPCOT!

Ryan finally got chosen to fight in the Pirate show. He was thrilled.