My Birthday

Another birthday has come and gone, another year older, another year wiser(?). I have to admit there are many things I don't enjoy about becoming older. My body aches more often and I am a much slower runner than I used to be. I have the occasional mental blocks where I can't remember the name of common household items or even my children's names. I sometimes enter a room and for the life of me can't remember why. But I am still doing my best to fight the battle. I still run and deal with the aches. I make up my own names for things and call my kids whatever I want. And when I enter a room and can't remember why, I use it as an opportunity to sit down and relax until it comes to me. I just hope I can keep up with myself.

But I do want to say that this birthday this year just reminded me of how blessed I am and how many wonderful experiences and people I have met in my lifetime. My day started out with homemade cards from my children. Then Brianna brought me breakfast in bed. She made me a peanut butter sandwich and she was very generous with the peanut butter (she informed me that we were all out of ham). She then sat with me in bed to ensure that I enjoyed eating the whole thing. It was sweet.

Roger took the day off to help me catch up around the house. We went to a nice lunch at Pei Wei. When the kids got home Roger had them help clean the whole house as a birthday present to me.

Throughout the day I got various phone calls, visits, gifts, and cards from so many people. I truly felt loved and special as you should on your birthday. We ended the day with a nice dinner, prepared by my hubby of course, and chocolate molten lava cakes.

I am thankful to everyone and I am honest in saying that I am loving this time of my life. I am happy and blessed and loved by truly amazing people. What more could I want?

"Wicked"

I had the incredible opportunity to attend the Broadway play "Wicked" this weekend. About a year ago, I heard that it was coming to Salt Lake and thought it would be nice to go. Then in June, Missy asked if I would like to go together along with Mom and Amberly. So I said sure and let her handle getting the tickets. I didn't realize that they would be so difficult to obtain. Fortunately for us, Missy's good friend Brandy, helped us get tickets through her mother who is a season pass holder to the theatre. She was able to get us some of the best seats in the house. I learned later that very few people outside of season ticket holders were able to get them. So I was lucky.

Everyone that has ever been to Wicked rants and raves about it. I was excited to see it but wondered if it would live up to all the hype. It did. The costumes were gorgeous and the set and special effects were dazzling. The singing was beautiful. The acting was well done and I was truly carried away into the land of Oz. I loved the story. It made me laugh and cry and the ending was just perfect. I only wish I could have shared it with the rest of my family.


It was great to be able to go and I especially enjoyed being there with my mom and sisters. I would definitely see it again in a heartbeat if ever given another opportunity. Maybe I just need to talk Roger into taking me to New York so he can see it with me :).

1st day of Soccer

Well it happened. I mean I started down this road many years ago and I should have known the outcome. And yet I proceeded to continue down the slippery slope and now there is no turning back. Yep, I am a Soccer Mom. All of my children are now playing soccer and between practices and games I spend a lot of time hooking up shin guards, tying up cleats, washing uniforms and carpooling from one field to another. I don't know what I expected so many years ago when I signed up Alyssa. She just looked so cute in her uniform and it was fun to cheer her on and now here we are still doing it.

Actually, I have to admit, I love it. There is something about being outside in the spring air with the sun shining down while sitting in a camping chair and cheering at the top of my lungs. I have enjoyed seeing the progress my children have made throughout the years. We gone from just being "cute" to actually being competitive and "good". It is fun to see the kids play with more skill and more understanding of strategy and teamwork. And when they are done with each game, I love their rosy cheeks and how exhausted they are from running up and down the field.

I also realize that these are the things I should enjoy at this time of my life. There will always be housework or things to do in the yard, but for this brief moment in time we can be together as a family cheering each other on. I couldn't ask for more.

So last Saturday was our first day of games this season. Even though we started later in April this year we still were unfortunate enough to have a cold day. The wind was blowing and the threat of rain was constant. Luckily it held off until we were through. Roger and I are coaching Brianna's team. I missed the game (I was at the other field with Alyssa and Ryan) and I was sad. Apparently Brianna has some natural ability and took right away to the sport. She scored 3 goals. I am sure it helped that she is a foot taller than most of the kids and one of the oldest. Oh well, it was a great boost of confidence for her.

I watched Alyssa and Ryan's game. I was in my winter coat and had a blanket wrapped around me. I was thankful that Megan sent a warm bean bag thing with Trent, it helped me survive the 2 hours in the cold.

Alyssa went to a few BYU women's soccer games with grandpa last year and it lit her on fire. She was so ready to go out there and show her stuff. She had one of her best games ever and scored 2 goals. One with even with her left foot. She had a ton of fun and it looks to be a great season for her. It is especially fun for me to watch her.

Ryan had his first game on the full-size regulation field. For the last several years he has mainly played goalie. But his coach this year put him as a half-back and forward. He held his own in those positions and I was quite proud. He ran the entire time and came close to scoring a couple of times. He and his friend Tyler are some of the younger boys on the team. I expect them to do great things in the games to come as they learn more skill and techniques. But as long as they are having fun, that is all that matters.

So it was a great day and I am sure the fun is only beginning.

Ryan's Past Birthdays

I thought I would take a walk down memory lane. So here are pictures of all of Ryan's birthday cakes for the past 9 years.



On his first birthday we put the highchair out on the lawn and let Ryan go crazy with his cake. He was somewhat timid at first but by the end he was covered from top to bottom. I love the picture that makes him look like he has a beard. (I can almost flash forward to the future.
When he was done, Dakota, our dog at the time, helped clean him off by licking the frosting. )

When Ryan was 2, he loved anything and everything to do with balls and tractors. It was much easier to make a cake look like a ball than a tractor so that is what he got.








This is the era of dinosaurs. He couldn't get enough of them so we had a dinosaur cake.

We were still very much into dinosaurs and all kinds of creatures at the age of 4. We had a Dora the Explorer/Dinosaur themed party. This was his first party where he invited friends over.

Age 5 brought about the love for super heroes. We had his party at the bowling alley with friends and cousins.

At age 6 we went and played laser tag for the first time. We had so much fun, but mom did not know how to make a cake for that theme so therefore we went with the basic standby of Happy Birthday.

Ryan started truly loving sports at the age of 7. We had a sports party and of course the cake sported his two favorite teams, BYU and Ohio State.

Laser tag was so much fun that we did it again for his 8th birthday. But he was also loving golf, thus the golf cake.

And finally this year, his Nerf gun party. This cake is supposed to look like a target but my coloring was a little off. Oh well, it was three layers high and still cool.

I wonder what next year will bring . . .

Ryan

Since it has been Ryan's birthday week I have been quite nostalgic. I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that he is now nine years old. He is no longer my chubby, cute lovable little guy. Everyday he seems to be growing taller, smarter, more handsome and more guy like. I can't believe it.

Ryan has always been my sweetheart. He was such a calm and sweet baby. He loved to snuggle and he loved when I would rub his chubby little feet. He has always had a tender heart and is so kind.

I often worried that he would lose his loving disposition as he got older. But as of right now he is still my sweet Ryan. He is such a gracious person. He is always thanking me for every little thing I do for him. I know that when I am old and grey that he will take care of me, because he always watches out for me. He is sincere and genuine.

Another thing I have always admired about Ryan is his love for his little sister. He is her biggest advocate. He is patient and kind to her and so willing to play with her all the time. Brianna adores him and I hope it never changes. He is generally sweet to younger children and is especially tenderhearted towards girls. Someone woman will be lucky to have him some day as a husband.

Ryan takes after his father in many ways. He is quiet natured and not a boy of many words. But he is smart and his mind is always thinking and planning. He loves technology like his dad and naturally excels at all kinds of video games. But he also enjoys sports much to my delight. He likes to be active and loves to play anything.

Ryan has a strong sense of what is right and wrong. He holds strong to his values and often is a good influence to those around him. He loves life and all it has to offer.

Here are a few of his favorite things at age 9:

Favorite Food: Ribs and Pizza

Favorite Fruit: Pomegranate

Favorite Fast Food: McDonalds

Favorite Snack: Yogurt (Yoplait Vanilla)

Favorite Candy: Junior Mints

Favorite Ice cream: Mint Chocolate Chip

Favorite Drink: Hawaiian Punch

Favorite Holiday: Easter

Favorite Number: #27

Favorite Place: Ohio

Favorite Clothes: Shorts

Favorite Movie: Night at the Museum

Favorite DS game: Big Bang Mini

Favorite Board game: Risk

Favorite Book: How to be a Knight Overnight

Favorite sport: Basketball

Favorite Cartoon: Phineas and Ferb

Favorite Color: Red

Favorite Pet: Cat and Dogs

Favorite Animal: Lizard

What he wants to be when he grows up: Scientist

Likes: Art, Science experiments, sports, speed stacking, rock hunting, geocaching, legos and playing with friends.

Ryan's Party

For Ryan's birthday party this year we decided to have a nerf gun party. Everyone was asked to bring their weapon of choice and it was amazing the amount of variety there is in nerf weaponry. Since we have an arsenal ourselves, we figured it was a perfect party option.

Those that enlisted in our little nerf war were Tyler Millington, Hayden Webster, Brans Petersen, Josh Jones, Brianna, and Jacob Teerlink. Uncle Matt and Colby came a little later. Roger was the Sargent and Alyssa and I were also there for support.

Roger set up many different kinds of military style drills. There was the sharpshooter, target practice, and quick draw. We ended with a super steal the flag nerf war. This was the most fun because we could all go wild shooting at whomever, whenever.

Here are some of the serious looks of concentration as the shooters took aim.

Ryan's cake was of course a target.

He received many wonderful presents, everyone of them fit his personality well. He has many great friends here in the area and we appreciate them all.

Here is a copy of the invitation.