Ryan is 14!

Wow! All the clichés about time passing quickly, and kids growing fast are so true, amazing, and bittersweet. How did we get here? Ryan is 14! 

His birthday celebrations were stretched over about a week's time - fun to kind of draw it out! The weekend before his actual birthday, my Chicago family was in town, so we had an extended family celebration with a cake from Sweet Mandy B's, a favorite Chicago spot. Uncle Steve was generous supply us with this yummy cake! 

His actual birthday was on a busy Monday. 

The day began with a dusting of snow!

We could not properly celebrate on his actual birthday due to musical practice, tennis, and youth orchestra.   Instead, we celebrated the following day with this beautiful cake (made by Burke) and presents. 

Thank you to all our generous family members, near and far, who helped Ryan celebrate!

While not necessarily intended to be birthday present, the timing worked out that it sort of became one. We've been discussing for a while, that it felt like time to get Ryan a phone. Burke and Ryan conferred, and so here we go -  symbol of growing independence. What a milestone! (I wish he had a NYC area code like Burke and I do. Oh well.)

 💙 Where it all began! 💙

Ryan @ 14: He is READY for high school, and even continues to plan for college and beyond. He loves learning. Yesterday he correctly answered two questions on Jeopardy that the current 16-day champ answered incorrectly. He's bright. He continues to be very adept at all things technology. He continues to be an avid reader. (Has requested a bigger bookshelf in his room.) He continues to create, and is a proficient cellist with musicality beyond his years (prefers playing by ear to reading music). Oh, and his voice is pretty deep now. He is confident and comfortable in his skin, thinks critically, and is a kind human. This makes us prouder than anything. 

I don't think he can fully comprehend how proud we are of him, and how excited we are to watch him move through the world with increasing independence. That being said, we hold 14 treasured years worth of Ryan memories in our brains, and it's hard sometimes to not miss those days when he was our little guy. Such is life...

NYC Spring Break

Our last trip to NYC was less than a year ago, but we just had to get back. We hemmed and hawed, debating about cost, but ultimately we went for it. It's been a challenging few months, and we needed a win, which for us, means a trip to NYC. Our main "reason" (as if a reason is needed) was to see Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster in Music Man on Broadway. It was a whirlwind trip, but we packed in a lot of NYC awesomeness. 

First stop, Chinatown. We walked a bit, then stopped for lunch.

Chinatown Street Scenes

Manhattan Bridge

soup dumplings

practicing with chopsticks

Then we headed to the Empire State Building.

Ryan looking at architectural drawings.

Bravely walking across an old elevator shaft

Evan looking chill and nonchalant in King Kong's grasp

South View from 86th Floor

Evan's favorite view

Northeast View from 86th Floor - only pic with the Chrysler Building

The viewfinders are free which is nice considering the price of admission. 

Up View from 86th Floor

Since I was last there, they opened the 102nd floor for more extensive views. This pic is looking down to people walking around on the 86th floor from the 102nd.

North View from 102nd Floor 

Central Park

Our WOW pic taken by a very kind Empire State Building employee.

Ryan says Empire State Building was his favorite thing we did. 

Nothing like NY pizza!

We stayed right in Times Square.

There's the 2022 and New Year's Eve ball.

The inside of our hotel looked like a space ship.

Our second day began with breakfast at Sarabeth's where Burke and I had our rehearsal dinner.

Ryan tried a sip of coffee, because I was raving about it. Even with cream and sugar, he was still not a fan.

We walked through a corner of Central Park after breakfast. The boys climbed the rocks, and discussed whether or not they are natural. They are.

ornate foot bridge, silly pose

Finally it was time for the show! This is my favorite movie/musical, an appreciation passed down through a couple generations on the Rittmueller side of my family. 

The line to get in wrapped around and around the block. They checked ID and Covid vax cards on the way in. As you can see, masks were required.  It was a full house, Evan and I sat just in front of Burke and Ryan. 

Though I'm grateful for every moment in NYC, this, of course, was my favorite part of the trip. This is now my "happy place" when I need to meditate on a time of pure joy - seated in the Winter Garden theater with my supportive, musical family, enjoying my favorite show performed by Hugh Jackman, Sutton Foster, and all the other talented performers. There was even tap dancing! I can't even... Evan said it was his favorite part of our trip. He also mentioned that he liked how they acted and communicated without talking. (In other news, Evan is currently rehearsing to perform in his school's musical, so it was great timing to support that process for him.)

After the show, we meandered over to dinner, stopping for photo opps at famous city spots. 

Radio City, Music Hall

Rockefeller Center

We enjoyed looking at this new, annual art initiative. This year's Flag Project theme asked artists to express their appreciation for the earth.

We MUST eat at Serendipity 3 - always an experience!

Forbidden Broadway Sundae

Frozen Hot Chocolate

Last day: Ryan requested a trip to the United Nations Headquarters. See all those empty flagpoles? Well, there are 193 flags representing the 193 member states, and Ryan was hoping to see them. Unfortunately, they were not up, possibly due to the rainy weather. The only flag that was flying with the UN flag. We'll try again next time we're in town. 

stop for NY bagels

Grand Central's Main Concourse

Burke and I have favorite wedding pictures here.

heading to the American Museum of Natural History

water buffalo diorama

T. rex

First complete T. rex skull collected - Barnum Brown (Montana, 1908).

mammoth skeleton

Olmec colossal head sculpture from ancient Mesoamerica

lobster section in the Hall of Biodiversity

blue whale model - the largest animal on earth

Lying beneath the blue whale (others were also resting here) after a lot of museum walking

American Museum of Natural History

Ready to refuel after the museum. 

Italian for dinner, with cannoli for dessert.

Thankfully, Evan approved of this restaurant.

Heading home from O'Hare. 

This is how we all felt after our trip.

Burke's favorite part was simply being in the city, and I understand his sentiment. The city continues to capture our hearts. The energy is invigorating. It's where Burke and I exhale. We asked the boys what they thought of attending high school in NYC. They were skeptical. 😉 We can wish! Maybe we'll retire there. In the meantime, we will continue to visit as often as possible. Until next time, NYC... 💕🏙