Ryan's 10th Birthday!

Ryan is 10!

Burke and I hung streamers from his door for a birthday morning surprise. 

Then he just had to have a regular school day. He chose to take Oreos to school for a birthday treat to share with his classmates. Burke rushed home to make him his favorite dinner, steak, before heading to the soccer field for a game. 

After soccer, my parents came over for birthday dessert. We had brownie sundaes, and opened presents. He wants a turtle for his birthday. We've done some research, so we can undertake this pet ownership possibility responsibly, and have learned that the turtle may outlive Ryan. An expert suggested Ryan research and write a report on the Russian tortoise (what he'll likely get), in order to demonstrate that he will be willing to put forth the effort and time to care for a pet. He's hard at work on that report!

He made himself a 10 statue out of Legos!

We had official photos taken in honor of his 10th birthday. We used to take them to photographers a ton when they were babies, but really pulled back on that. Last time he had pictures taken was for his 5th birthday. Our last family picture was from 2012. So it was time for some updating.

The weekend after his birthday, my Chicago family came to SJ to celebrate Ryan. This time he wanted to go to Vivi's for dinner, and have ice cream cake for dessert. He and Evan think gopher teeth are hilarious at this stage of life. 

Burke and Steve usually handle cutting up and distributing desserts. This picture was taken shortly after Burke accidentally cut my mom's finger. She was trying to be helpful. Oops! 

The newest iteration of Ty obsession. These are their Teeny Tys. Evan bought Ryan the little Dalmatian near the top with his own money as a birthday present. He was so excited to give it to him, he was literally vibrating with anticipation when he asked me if he could give it to him early. He could barely keep the secret. Evan gave it to Ryan the morning of his birthday, wrapped in his "small blankie". It was an adorable gesture. 

In more recent news, our newly minted 10 year old won the Grand Prize for grades 3-5 at the St. Joseph Public School Ren Baldwin Technology Festival - a distinction he also earned back in 2nd grade. This is big news for our young man! Congrats. 

Ryan & his teacher

She also wins prize money and a ribbon for being his sponsoring teacher. She was so sweet. She was tearing up as they played his project. She said she was so proud, as if he were her own. 

His project is called Matter Matters. District teachers have asked him for permission to use it as part of their curriculum when they teach this unit in the future. Super cute! Click on the link to visit the Festival Page and look for the Grand Prize Winners option to view his (and other) project(s).

Burke said his parents used to put his age up on the wall, which I thought was a fun tradition. So we did the same. Happy DECADE to my guy! His faves are turtles (and other "cute" things including nemnes, of course), drums, technology (He has his sights set on buying an Apple Watch with his own money. He reminds me of his father on this one.), reading, and drawing. 🐢🎵💻📚✎

Sometimes days seem long, but years sure fly by quickly!

We love you, Ryan, and are so proud of you!

Fort Myers 2018

We arrived home from this trip a month ago today, but better late than never, I suppose. We were lucky to be able to take a quick trip to Ft. Myers, Florida to visit family and enjoy some warm weather during our spring break from school in early April.

We arrived late after a long day of travel, but we headed straight to GGPa and Marge's house for some ice cream and to give hello hugs. 

We went to church with GGPa and Marge, and later searched for eggs hidden at their house.

We ventured up to Sarasota to explore different beaches, and discovered Siesta Beach. The sand is unique, because it's made of quartz, which reflects light, keeping the sand cool. It was a beautiful town and beach, so popular that parking was pretty difficult. Even so, we were so eager to be outside in warm weather that we soaked up too much sun, leaving all of us with varying degrees of sunburn. This was the boys first experience with sunburn, and luckily they did not get the worst of it. Lots of sun-related lessons (finally) learned after our Siesta Beach day. Despite the sunburn, it was a lovely beach spot that we'd love to return to sometime.

Aunt Mary drove down from Atlanta to visit, and we spent some of the next day at Manatee Park. There were no manatees to be seen, but Ryan climbed a palm tree.

Then we got to go canoeing in the Orange River. Burke, Ryan, and I went in one canoe.

Mary & Evan went in the other canoe.

It was a peaceful, idyllic time.

Making a statement

That night, Burked cooked us all dinner!

We played the dice game Farkle.

We wrapped up the evening with a walk around the block. I was glad to get this picture of the boys with GGPa outside their house, as GGPa and Marge were in the process of planning a big move to an independent-living retirement building, and this would likely be our last visit while they lived in the house.

On our last day in Florida, we visited GGPa and Marge's new apartment. It was still being renovated for them while we were there. The rooms are a nice size. They are on the 13th floor and have amazing views. 

There are many amenities for them to enjoy, including a dining room, and this lovely screened lanai/porch. Both GGPa and Marge said they envision spending time in this relaxing space.

Though Burke took this picture from an outdoor deck at ground level, this is essentially the view GGPa and Marge have from their new apartment. How peaceful! We were thankful to get to see where they'll be living now, and can't wait to go visit them sometime after they're more settled into their new place.

After our tour of their new apartment, we headed to Sanibel Island. Last time I went was during a tropical storm, so I didn't have great memories. I'm glad we went back on a warm-sunny weather day. Now, I see what all the fuss is about. We liked how it was not too crowded, the shells, and the vastness of the water.

One of my favorite shots from this trip! Love my guys.

The boys used Sanibel shells to make our mark.

When the boys were getting hungry, we left Sanibel and happened upon a fine-dining restaurant near Captiva. The food was insanely delicious. I read that there's nothing like a Captiva sunset, so we headed back to the beach to watch the sun go down on our time in Florida.

As Burke pointed out, we are spoiled by our access to sunsets over Lake Michigan. But now we've seen a Gulf of Mexico sunset too, and I'd say it was worth it. 🌞

We stopped by the house after Captiva for some goodnight hugs, and took a couple family pictures.

The next morning, we stopped by one last time to officially say goodbye before heading to the airport. We were thankful to escape the cold, snowy weather in Michigan for a few days. And we were most thankful for a few days with GGPa, GGMarge, and Aunt Mary.

Until next time...