Ryan - Home for Two Weeks
It was fun to have Ryan home for two weeks in-between his summer term and fall semester. Unfortunately he flew in right as the kids started school… but we still made the most of our time together.
Cheesecake Factory and Anastasia
Chris gave Emily, Megan and I tickets to Anastasia for Christmas and we’ve been anticipating it all year. Well, everyone except Megan. It’s just not really her thing so she was happy to give her ticket to Ryan and he was thrilled to join us for the evening. We headed to Cheesecake Factory for dinner and then headed to the Buell Theater for the show. We really enjoyed it. Great sets, choreography and music. And a really hilarious song with Vlad that just has to be seen to really be appreciated. So great. Love going to shows!
German Bakery
I can’t believe it’s taken me 4 years to go find this place! Matt had the morning off because of 5th grade literacy testing so Ryan, Matt and I took off on an outing to track down the German bakery in Colorado Springs and get a few treats. The pretzels were fantastic and the cinnamon roll was pretty great too. Fun to walk into a German bakery and see all kinds of things that reminded us of our favorite European country.
Red Rocks Open Space
We had a fun morning hiking around Red Rocks Open Space. It was a beautiful day - fun to be there with my boys.
Father’s Blessings
Always fun to have Ryan with us for Sundays. Come Follow Me at 10:00 - Church at 11:30 - Nachos - Games of Seven Wonders - and today Father’s Blessings. So grateful for Chris and the priesthood he holds and honors. Wonderful to be gathered in the piano room to receive and hear blessings for each of us. Love that he gives me one every year as well.
Disneyland Trip Surprise
One of the nights that Ryan was home we gathered everyone around the kitchen table for a surprise. (Just finding the time to gather was so tricky! We had to postpone our reveal three times!) We had fourteen clues in separate envelopes and handed them out one at a time. At first Megan shouted ‘We’re going to DisneyWorld!’ since this is what they talk about at least a couple times a week… but as each clue came they got more and more confused. A BYU shirt? Pizza Factory? Hiking on the Pacific Ocean? Even when they got to the ‘SAME hotel’ clue and the ‘Ghiradelli’s ice cream’ clue they still weren’t sure. At the last clue - meet a Prince and Princess… - they were jumping up and down so excited. We will DRIVE over Thanksgiving Break and spend a full day in St. George, three days at Newport Beach, three days at Disneyland and one day in San Diego at the BYU game. Whew! It’s going to be SOOO fun!
Tate’s Homecoming
Tate flew into the SLC airport to meet his family and then drove out to Colorado Springs for his homecoming. On Friday we headed over to dinner at the Pattersons with the Gillespies and Seaquist’s. So fun to see Tate and Ryan reunited and take to him all about his mission. We grabbed plates of food and had fun sitting around the table and getting caught up. The kids had fun together and after dinner, Emily and Megan and Brooklyn headed over to the COLOR DANCE at Pine Creek and Ryan and Tate took off as well.
On Saturday we headed back to the Pattersons for Tate’s Official Open House.
On Sunday, Tate spoke in the Cordera Ward and did such a great job. So neat to hear his powerful testimony and feel his love for his mission and the people.
Other Fun Things
Taking Ryan to our favorite Parade of Homes House from ‘All About Home’ — Watching Agent Carter every morning while we exercised — lots of great board games: 7 Wonders, Istanbul, Castles and Dominion — Ryan and kids jumping on the trampoline and playing soccer together — making pizza on Califlower crusts and eating outside — Ryan and Dad playing ping pong together — watching Megan, Luke and Megan soccer games — going to the ward party at Black Forest Park and staying until the very end — Back to School nights for Matt and Luke — Shopping with Ryan for new jeans and Vans — Working on Ryan’s Mission Posts with him and going through his old files from each year —