G for Great Day

Ry and I were looking at blogs and Ry said that she wanted to write on ours. So she said, "Hey, let's write about a great day. G for great day."

This is Ryan's story about great days: "Great days are so much fun and um I play with Ashley because she's my best friend and she plays with me so much even Cade plays with me all day and we play so much together everyday and I play with them everyday even mornings." (all in one sentence).

And now she says she's done. So that's it. A typical Ryan story just in time for bedtime.

Hope you all are having a great day too! : )

Italy

We were fortunate this summer that Chris and I were able to get away for our 5th anniversary to Italy. We had such a great time enjoying the history, scenery, people and each other. Check out some of these great pics:

At the Michelangelo Piazza overlooking the city of Florence

One evening at the Colosseum

During our tour inside the Colosseum

In St. Peter's square just before our Vatican tour

It truly was a great trip--tough to be gone from Ryan for so long, but thankfully my mom and Chris's mom could watch her for the week while we were there!

We had such great meals while we were there and the people were so friendly (one reason why we didn't go to France)! There is so much to see and do in Rome--the churches alone could take a week! The metro (subway) is easy to navigate and seemed safe (so far as we knew!) and overall, it was a perfect trip--aside from our sore feet and legs from wanting to see and do everything in just a few short days!! : ) Yay for Italy!

Disney!

I realize that it has been since March since I've posted! Yeesh! It has been a very busy 6 months for us to say the least! Here are a few pics from our recent trip to Disney--Ryan had a GREAT time, as did we as a family. We went with Chris's dad and step mom, and Chris's sister and their family. It was fantastic and we were so glad to get away for a while to a truly magical place!

Interview with Ryan

As some of you may have seen, my friend and fellow Blogger, Stormy, interviewed her kids with the idea that she'd ask those questions of them in the future also to see how their answers change as they get older. So here is our version. Chris and I came up with the questions, and we interviewed Ry as we ate breakfast yesterday morning. Here is how it went:

Chris: What's your name?
Ryan: Ryan

Chris: How old are you?
Ryan: 3 (holds up three fingers too)

Chris: Who are your friends?
Ryan: Ashley, Cade, Max, Mimi, Faith, Daniel....that's it...that's the end of my friends.

Chris: Ryan, what's your favorite snack?
Ryan: Gummies and juice...grape juice, grape juicy

Chris: What's your favorite game?
Ryan: Chutes and Ladders

Chris: What else do you like to do?
Ryan: Hmmmm...play in my room, play, read books, go to bed

Chris: What is your favorite animal?
Ryan: Mmmmmm....horsey!

Chris: Why do you love mom?
Ryan: Because she loves to play with me all the times....ok, Dad?

Chris: Why do you love dad?
Ryan: Because you love to play with me and for me to.....(Chris: What? What's for me to? Ryan: For me to!! Chris: ....okay....)

Chris: What's your favorite show?
Ryan: Kung Fu Panda; a brand new Kung Fu Panda (there was a little show on one time on Thursday night about Kung Fu Panda....she saw it once...for 30 minutes! She really loves SuperWhy, Dora, and Toot and Puddle)

Chris: Why do you love Grammy? (she was over at our house for breakfast)
Ryan: Because she has spots on her belly. (Not sure where this came from!! Grammy had surgery the day before though, so she had some bruising on her belly...maybe that is what she was talking about???)

Chris: Tell me about Duncan.
Ryan: Because he is my pet, he likes to go outside and play with me. He's not annoying; he is a puppy! And he's also a pet and goes in his cage and gets food.

Chris: Do you have any chores?
Ryan: Yes. Getting pencils and pennies all by myself and put them in my pink piggy bank for doing such a good job. (Notice: she doesn't tell what her chores are...apparently the work is not much of a chore, since all she remembers is the getting coins part. I have no idea where the pencils thing came from....her real chores are to clean her room, help with putting up Duncan and letting him out when we get home. She also puts away the silverware when we unload the dishwasher).

Chris: What do you like about our house?
Ryan: I liked it when you painted it up in the sky and on the walls and I love the way you put the ornaments on that tree (our little Easter tree) and I liked the way you put water in that plant because it is growing. I like the letters by Duncan's food. (we have the letters EAT by Duncan's food bowls....again, not sure where painting up in the sky came from...we haven't painted any ceilings!!)

Chris: What is your favorite book?
Ryan: Ummmmm...Dora--all of the Dora books and the princess ones, and Deigo ones, and Max and Ruby

Chris: We're almost done...What do you want to be when you grow up?
Ryan: Ummmm...open my candy all by myself and rollerskate and biking really really fast. Play soccer. Watch this guys....(drinks milk)...I have a mustache!!

Chris: Ryan, what's your favorite stuffed animal?
Ryan: Hello Kitty and Sherlock and Ellie Belly and Tip Top.....(runs off into the living room)....(calls back)...I'm DONE!

And she was done. We couldn't help to keep asking questions. It was cute to watch because we could see that she felt really important while we were asking her all of these things about her. : )

Jason Mraz-I'm Yours

If you listen to the music on this blog, you'll notice we changed the first song to Jason Mraz-I'm Yours. Ryan LOVES this song and is learning the words, much like she still loves to sing "Had a Bad Day"--I think the cutest part is that she doesn't really know the words. It is adorable the little words she makes up so that she can sing along.

Ryan is also into using the computer. We put it on just a blank page of Word, and let her go to town. She loves to find the letters to type her name and really thinks she is a big girl because she gets to use the computer. As I type, she is saying, "Mom. Are you done? Are you done yet, Mom?" She is impatient (as most 3 year olds are I suppose!) and wants what she wants right away. Today she wanted some cheese on the way home and couldn't understand why we had to wait until we got home to get it. Chris tried to explain, "Honey, I don't have the refrigerator with the cheese in my car." Ryan: "Why?" ---ahhh....the why stage at its best! : )

On another note two of our friends had babies this week. Chris's high school friend, Shaun and his wife Samandra, welcomed a little boy, Micah. And another of Chris's high school friends, Jeff and his wife Alma had their baby today. So it is a week of new beginnings and happy thoughts! We're keeping them all in our thoughts and prayers as they adjust to parenthood. We wish them the best! (and start gearing up for those babies to grow into cute little kiddos who sing songs and ask "is it going to take a long long time til it's my turn on the computer!)

Daytona 500

I'm completely stealing a story from my mom here. She and my dad were at the Daytona 500 this past weekend. Mom was telling me a story about a couple they were with where the wife was clearly irritating the husband because she would not stop talking and talking and talking. He tried to be subtle by putting his finger up to his mouth to "shush" her. This apparently went on and on until finally, the last day, he says, "For the love of God, will you shut up?!"

You see stuff like this all the time on shows, but not in real life! She said they got a real kick out of this couple over the weekend. I'm sure they did, since it happened to another couple and not them! : )

Something I think is very cool about my dad's job is that occasionally, he gets to go on some pretty interesting trips--like this one to Daytona (though it is old hat for them--they were there last year to support Tony Stewart--they have a new driver now for the Home Depot car in case you aren't "up" on the NASCAR circuit!...we wouldn't be except Dad keeps us in the know!) He also got to go to the Superbowl this year. He went to Cuba last year for business, too. Of course he has to work during these weekends, too and I know he would really probably rather be home since he travels 5-6 days a week every week, but I guess it is a perk of sorts! I'm also grateful that my mom gets to go sometimes. I know she enjoys that time with Dad and has fun being entertained by ladies who can't keep their mouths shut! : )

I guess with our jobs in education, we won't be going on trips like that for work....maybe to Brenham for a soccer tournament, or to Austin for a principal's convention.....that's not exactly the same thing. I guess our perks come from working with great people and with kids who we get to teach and guide and become a positive part of their lives. That's just about as good as the Superbowl.

Tough Biker Chick

When we got home today, Ryan decided she wanted to get geared up to ride her bike. Since it was a GORGEOUS day, I was happy for the chance to get out there and enjoy it, too. But, before we went out, she says, "Mom, take my picture!" Of course, I never turn down that chance, so I got my camera. As she posed, she said, "Look at my mean face!" I said, "You don't want a picture like that do you? You want to make a happy face, right?" "No!" she says, "Take it with my mean face!" So, here you go: Our Tough Biker Chick (princess elbow pads and all)!