10 Things

A long while ago my friend did a post about 10 of her favorite things that start with the Letter D. I read it and enjoyed it so much I volunteered for a letter. She randomly assigned me R. So here are 10 of my favorite things that start with the Letter R.

1. Roller Coasters-b/c who doesnt' love a good thrill right?! I still remember my first roller coaster, the Matterhorn at Disneyland. I was about 7 and road it with my mom. And what better way to start my love of thrill rides than doing it with a fun loving red head and an abominable snowman. Now don't get me wrong. There is a lot of fear that goes into this whole thrill process. Someone usually convinces me to just "wait in line" with them. I hesitantly agree because they assure me that I don't really have to go on it. When we get to the front I can always just "not get on". Yeah right! Somehow, I always manage to wind up strapped in with the shoulder harness firmly clicked into place before I realize I never wanted to do this. And then it is too late because we are slowing making our way up the first hill. When we finally reach the summit, I actually begin to lose consciousness-whether these momentary black outs are from altitude poisoning or the fact that I've been hyperventilating since I sat down remains a mystery-But before I know it we are plunging straight down into what feels like the center of the earth. It is about this time when I realize I am not dying, I am actually having fun. And then it is over, I feel great and anxiously await to start the entire process over on the next one.

2. Road Trips-over the years I have had the opportunity to go on hundreds of fabulous road trip adventures. I've piled in with parents, siblings, my dog, roommates, kids, my husband, best friends and have been to some really cool places. Sometimes it's been to somewhere new. And sometimes it's on to an old faithful like Morgantown. Sometimes it's in a car, sometimes it's on a coach and once even on a "chicken bus". Each trip I take is special in it's own way and I am so grateful for all of the amazing things I've seen and the amazing people I've shared them with.

3. The Red Bellied Woodpecker-These are truly a lovely bird. And you might be surprised how common they are. If you live in a neighborhood with trees chances are you've got red bellied woodpeckers living right under your nose. Just take a few minutes when you're outside doing yard work or on a walk. I often see them up high on the trunks. Really they are there and they are fantastic!

4. Reading-One of my favorite things to do in the world is put the kids to bed, grab a great book, get all cozied up in my favorite chair and read. It is especially nice when it is chilly and raining outside and I can snuggle up under Me Maw's afghan.

5. The Ritchey's-My best friend Mandy and her entire family really made my Jr high and high school experience not only bearable but enjoyable for me. Mandy's house was the place where we'd all hang out. I have such happy memories spending many o Friday nights there playing games, eating yummy food and having fun. Plus they took me to the beach with them for 8 summers in a row!!!

6. Reese's Peanut butter Cups-I feel no further explanation is needed.

7. Rain-There is nothing better than waking up to a heavy downpour on a Saturday morning when you have no place to be. I love hearing the pitter patter on my roof and windows even before I open my eyes. And then it is positively fabulous when I realize I can stay in my cozy bed, listen to the rain and let it lull me back to sleep.

8. Rachel-my niece- What is not to love about this adorable 3 year? She's cute, she likes to cuddle and she always says something that makes me laugh. Plus as Anne of Green Gables would say she is my daughter's "kindred spirit". They were born just 13 days apart and are great friends. Such a blessing.

9. Running-now I am using the term "running" rather loosely b/c it's more like jogging. And I actually don't really "love" it. But it is something that has brought me a lot of satisfaction. And I've also run further than I ever thought I could. And even though I often want to cry while I'm in the middle of it(sometimes I actually have), I also always feel great when I'm done.

10.Ryan D, Ryan H and Robert.

Husband, son, and dad.

Again no further explanation needed...

The Next Oscar Blandi?? I Think Not!!

About a month ago our sweet Adelaide had herself a scissor party!! Is this a right of passage that all little girls must go through? I don't know but I've stopped asking why. These pictures really don't do it justice. This was a serious hack job! It actually brought tears to my eyes. But hey it grows back right?!

Happy Birthday Ryan H.

Please indulge me with another slide show...
With Ryan's birthday being 2 days after Christmas I have a feeling we'll be doing these back to back slide shows annually.
We are so happy to have this fun and healthy 6 year old boy in our lives. If Ryan keeps growing the way he is, he will not only be taller than his mom(not too hard) but his dad as well-something he thinks is really cool.
Ryan loves to play and be silly and have a good time. I've loved watching him grow and learn. He can be very determined sometimes. He actually spent an entire afternoon teaching himself how to jump rope. Lemme tellya He's pretty darn good at it. And I am so thankfully for those moments when we share a good hardy laugh together.
We had a fun birthday party at our house with some buddies. I think the hit of the afternoon events was not the cake(thank you Emma for so thoughtfully making that for Ryan's special day) or even the presents but watching Gramaw and daboyz get down to The Blacked Eye Peas during the dance off. I never knew my mother-in-law had such moves.
That night we went as a family(about 20 of us total) to Medieval Times. I highly recommend this fabulous jousting tournament. Of course I've done it now, My son turns 6 and he gets knighted by the King, how am I ever to top that? Chick File is just not gonna cut it next year...

A Bounteous Christmas-in Toys, Food and Love

1st and Goal

Why write about Christmas, A birthday or even Grandparents when I can write about COLLEGE FOOTBALL....It's Bowl Week Baby!!!

I'll admit I'm kind of on jersey overload right now. Over the past 2 days I've probably watched (now this is a rough estimate mind you) about 15 hours worth of Bowl Games. And yet, I am genuinely sad that there are no games on today. I mean there's always the NFL wild card if I need a fix but college ball is where it's at for me (not as many egos and ridiculous touchdown dances, plus I just really can't stand that they don't stop the clock on the 1st down). Now just so ya know, in all this football watching I have in fact managed to not entirely neglect my family, my running or my house. I've washed the dishes, played multiple board games with my son, read stories to my daughter, jogged around the neighborhood and done 3 loads of laundry. It really is kind of amazing the things you can accomplish during half time ...

And To You Your Wassail Too

To all of our blog readers out there...

We are so grateful to have to you in our lives. To have family and friends to share in our joys and occasional pains like say oh loss of a finger...We count our blessings this year and they are many because of you. We hope all of you are surrounded by loved ones this holiday season and are filled with the spirit of Christmas. I don't think anyone could say it better than Clement C Moore and so I will send my greeting in his famous words

"Happy Christmas to All and to All a Good Night".

5 feet tall is very respectable in Oz

The other day my son Ryan was feeling quite put out because we would not let him have a soda with dinner like Ryan my husband. We told him he could have milk or water but not soda-it's for grown ups. He turned to me and said "You get to have soda". I said that's b/c I'm a grown up. He then looked me straight in the eye, cocked his chin and in his perfect 5 year old tone said

"Oh yeah, then why are you so small??!!" I wanted to be angry with his attitude but what can you do when they say something so unexpected and yet so true... We just laughed our heads off. He still didn't get the soda but eventually got over it.