Football Man

Daddy and Ryan found Mommy's Joe Montana football in the garage - and apparently it is a big hit - both for playing, and as a pillow.

Every day Ryan tells us what kind of guy he is - it depends on the shirt he is wearing:

• If there is a soccer ball on it, he is a "soccer man"
• back hoe - "back hoe man"
• striped shirt - "stripe man"
• etc.

the one unchanging clothing item is his shoes - they are "soccer shoes" and any pants like the ones in the picture with the stripes on the sides are "soccer pants"

It's Buzz Lightyear!

oh yes - it's Buzz! We introduced Ryan to Toy Story while on vacation, and he was immediately engrossed in the story and all the toys. Or as he says "T-O-Y -- toy!" I think the coolest part of this is he has finally started finding humor in movies - he laughs when "Potato Head" puts his face on wrong, he loves when Woody says "oooohhh yeah" to Bo-Peep, and he thinks Buzz and Woody are just too cool. Therefore, Ryan will be Buzz for Halloween. When asked what Buzz says, Ryan will always start with "To infinity and beyond" but it is amazing to us what he picks up from this show. For example - Ryan will tell us that Woody says "you can't can't can't fly" (with finger shaking) then Buzz will say "Can fly" and sometimes adds the "with my eyes closed" part. What really made me realize we are in for it with this kiddo was the following story...Ryan had just woke up from his nap and was in my bedroom sans shoes - not his favorite way to be. So he went and got his shoes and wanted me to put them on for him. I told him he knew how to put his shoes on, to which he replied "I can't". Well of course I said, "yes you can, Ryan"He retorts with "NOT TODAY, Mommy" in a large voice. Of course I busted up laughing, but I asked where he got that from - "Buzz says it mommy". Sure enough - at the end of the movie, Buzz yells "Not today" just before the rocket explodes.

My Skeleton

I have been trying to get these pj's from Gymboree for 2 years now - but always waited too long and they would be sold out of his size. Not this year. I ordered them right away, figuring Ryan would think they were pretty cool (they glow in the dark). Of course when we got them he was scared of them. SWELL. For days I would ask if he would wear them - NO.Somehow, Daddy convinced him they were cool - as you can see.NOW he likes to scare Mommy with them - did you know that skeletons growl? Neither did I.

Oak Island - Last Day

Just before leaving we decided we should go out to the beach one last time. It was really hard for Grandma Betty to walk on the beach so Ryan and I decided we would just sit here with her for a minute before the journey through the sand.
Ryan digging in the sand.

Life just doesn't get any better than this....

Ryan and Grandma Jean were finding some really cool shells.

Ryan decided he wanted to stick his toes again one last time.

Anyone who has been on an airplane with a screaming 3 year old will truly appreciate this picture. With our portable DVD player Ryan is mesmerized with Woody and Buzzlightyear for entire flight. He is quiet and content.

What a great vacation!!!!!!

Oak Island - Family Pictures

Four generations!!!

Jenny and Grandma Betty

Oak Island - after hurricane Hanna

I have always been sort of intrigued by hurricanes. As Hanna was getting closer I was kind of excited in a strange way. We all sort of barely dozed as we waited for the storm to come in (it was supposed to make landfall sometime in the early morning). At 2:21 Jen was the first of the two of us to wake up. It is hard to express the sounds generated from winds 65-70mph. Jen and I laid awake in bed listening to the storm and the house creaking. It is important to know that the house we were in was on stilts that raised the first floor about 12 feet over the ground. At one point somewhere between 3-4am Jen went to the bathroom. While she was gone I laid in bed and realized that the whole bed was moving. We knew this house was only a couple years old and was built to the current hurricane standards. This was hardly a comfort when the whole thing was moving!!! We slept in short spurts and not very well for the next hour or two. There was an absolutely horrific banging on the side of the house right by the head of our bed. Of course this is also the time that the batteries in out monitor decided to run out of juice. Since there was no way we were going to hear Ryan if he woke up, we decided to venture upstairs to get fresh batteries and see how the rest of the family was fairing. The movement of the house was even more disturbing on the second floor. We managed to survive the storm, and Ryan never made so much as a peep. The next morning I sort of expected to see things like I have seen in pictures of so many other hurricanes (debris and destruction). It is safe to say that these folks in that stretch of the North Carolina beach area know what they are doing when it comes to building hurricane safe houses. There was little to no debris anywhere that we could see. There were not even the expected shingles laying everywhere. In fact, I couldn't see any missing shingles on any of the houses around us. The scariest part of a hurricane is how long they last. I have been in plenty of really intense thunderstorms in Kansas but even the worst of those is over in an hour or two. Hanna was just a tropical storm when it made landfall. To be classified a hurricane it must have sustained wind speeds of 74mph. This storm was just under that. My curiosity has been satisfied. I don't need to witness another one.

The following video and pictures were taken the morning after Hanna departed. The sound isn't too good but you can certainly tell how angry the ocean is.

As fascinating as the surf was, I was not willing to go in any further than this picture. Notice how windy it still was.

Oak Island - the beach house

This is the house that we rented. This is the beach side. The room with curved window is the master bedroom where Grandma Jean and Grandpa Leroy stayed. The room under that one is where Jen and I stayed. The door on the bottom right led into the room where Grandma Betty and Ryan stayed. What an amazing house. It even had an elevator (which made life a lot easier for Grandma Betty).
Here is Ryan on our private boardwalk out to the beach.

Lounging...

Jen and Grandma Betty both looked thrilled to have her picture taken :)