'Tis the Season... for Camping!

This post will have no pictures in it- but I have many great excuses. Our camera broke and it looked as though it was dropped. Mysteriously, no one knew anything about it. Hmmm.....

We also got a disposable camera for Rebecca's camp, but scanner is also broken- so no camp pictures... yet.

So, Rebecca was waiting for her big Pine Cove 5th grade Camping trip in December. I know- camping in December? Apparently, camping weather is better in the winter and the spring in Texas. The summer is just too darn hot!

We squeezed Becca's camp fee into our budget (we're just getting over the "deposit" hump from the move) about a month ago. I started to think I was crazy to send Rebecca on a campout with a bunch of people that I do not know for 3 days and 2 nights. I was really regretting not signing up as a chaperone. (The district pays for most of the parents food, etc. for the trip.)

So I asked Rebecca if I could still sign up for the trip and she said that there were so many moms that wanted to attend that they had to have a drawing for chaperones. Hmmmm.... oh well.

About a week before the campout, Becca came home super excited and said there was an opening for a mom chaperone! It took a little bit of juggling with the kids' schedules & piano lessons, but I was able to go with her!

Wow, this camp was AMAZING! It seriously was like a vacation for me. (3 days with no cooking or cleaning? Nice!) They have a Pine Cove Camp website if you'd like to check it out.

To sum it up: pine trees, lake, zip line, bird show, lemur jumping in Becca's lap (she was in heaven!), petting snakes, a hawk, and a sloth, riding horses, archery, geocaching, building mud structures, smores by the fire, heated cabins and showers. Was this really camping? I'm thinking maybe not. Oh, and if you ver are in charge of feeding hundreds of people at a time, we learned a very efficient way to set it up. No standing in line with a tray!

I was very impressed with the counselors at the camp- they were great! They are all college students, or just graduated from college. The camp is normally a "Christian Camp" in the summers. I gave one of the counselors Becca's pocket size Book Of Mormon when we were getting ready to leave. I had it in my purse to read on the way home. I don't know what she thought of it, but I saw her showing it to another counselor on our drive out and they were smiling and looking through it. Maybe they thought it was totally strange, but you never know...

Stay tuned for more camping adventures from the Ryan family coming up... soon! Allison's YW camp is scheduled in March- during Spring Break. And John was just called as the assistant Scoutmaster! Wow, you know he can't get enough of camping. (Yeah, right.)

Anyhow, we now have another camera and we look forward to posting pictures of Christmas! We love you all and hope you're having a wonderful holiday!

Family Pictures 2010

This was the winner for our family picture this year- (despite Tommy's funny face)! We took our own pictures again- not bad for setting the timer, right? (Please say yes!)


Thomas made up for his funny faces this year by giving us this extra nice smile!


Pretty Becca!


Allison looks more grown up everyday.




The sisters


Here's just one of our outakes this year. I don't have the energy to post all of them this year!


Okay, here's one more. :) Typical of our days at home. Tommy teasing his sisters and me trying to stay calm.


Allison's All-Region Choir. She's on the front row- second from the right. We started to see why All-Region is such a big deal here. Kids from 33 schools auditioned for this! We're very happy that we made the investment in her black dress last year.



This is a quick 16 second snip of one of their songs. They sound GREAT!


We thought we got there early, but ended up on the back row.


This is random, but kind of cool- this hot air balloon went right over our house! It was so low, we could see the huge fire inside and the people in the basket. The kids took lots and lots of pictures.


Rebecca also had her share of singing and performing this month. The 4th and 5th grade classes at her school performed "Kickin' It With Africa"- with lots of fun singing and drums based on African music and based from the World Cup games held in Africa last year. (Becca is on the back row in the grey t-shirt.)



Here's a sample of the fun they had that night!


Mom and Tommy in the audience. This is another typical sight when we attend public events. Tommy gets a little antsy!

REAL Salt Lake in Dallas!

This little cutie (along with her brother and Dad) was able to go to a REAL Salt Lake game in Dallas! Becca insisted that she and Tommy have the REAL sign painted on their faces and that they cheer for REAL. She said everyone at the game thought they were a little nutty. When Becca's classmates found out who she rooted for, they thought it was even worse!

I was able to get the tickets for free through the work I do on my blog, then we found out parking was free as well! The popcorn and drinks were $9.50, so I guess it balanced the trip....(:

Dallas FC won this game 2-1. Better luck next time REAL!

(P.S. Do you like the weather...? These pictures were taken on Oct. 30- crazy! We've been getting Christmas decorations out- early, I know- it seems so strange to get them out when it's 70 degrees outside!)

Happy Halloween & All-Region Choir!

John and I actually dressed up (a little) this year! A witch and a cow- there you go. We haven't dressed up for years. I think we're going to put some thought into it next year, the prizes for costumes at our ward's trunk or treat were awesome! (Like water park and NBA tickets awesome.) We're hanging out by the bounce house here.

Tommy was a little Darth Vader (only because his Storm Trooper Costume did not show up in the mail- boo!) He would run to the car and have a few bites of his dinner and then run back to the bounce houses for more fun and excitement with friends!

The scene near the bounce house. I really like the big furry boots waiting outside!

Becca and Allison both invited friends to the Trunk or Treat. Becca is a hippie here with her friend 'Cleopatra!'

The kids in the backseat. Allison dressed up at 'Elphaba' from Wicked. She is saving up all her birthday/babysitting money to hopefully see the play one day.

Allison dressed up three times last week for 2 parties and one Young Women's Activity where they 'reverse trick-or-treated' and took treats to an assisted living home.

Allison also got her choir solo. Her choir will be singing "God Bless the U.S.A" for Veteran's Day during lunches next week. Allison also tried out for the Middle School All Region Choir on Saturday. What a surprise when we got a call from her teacher saying she made it!

Allison didn't even want to audition for the choir, she heard that only one person from each school is able to join. I encouraged her to at least try, that the audition would be a good experience. Well, two people from her school are in this year and she is one of them! We had to drive to Carrollton (about 45 min. away) for her audition. We waited in a middle school cafeteria until it was her turn. The cafeteria was PACKED with students and parents. Music is a BIG deal in Texas! The auditions were held for most of the day.

Allison's audition was for judges sitting behind a screen. They don't want the child's looks, dress, etc. to affect the judgment of their voices. She sang two solo pieces for them and then they gave her a piece of music that she had to sight read for them with "do, ra, mi" notes. She really felt good about the audition- I told her to pretend like she was trying out for a play and I think it worked! I reminded her that she needs to show that she can sing well when auditioning for plays, so I think that thought motivated her.

So, when we found out that she made the Region Choir, we were thinking, "Now what?"

So far we know that they have a big Saturday practice and perform in a concert that night. We also know that she will have the chance to audition for the All State Middle School Choir. Anyhow, we are really proud of her and happy that she will have this opportunity this year! She's so easy going and takes all the changes in her life in stride. Way to go, Alli!

Postscript

I finally figured why I'm not able to open some of your blogs! Anyone that has shabby blogs.com or cutestblogontheblock backgrounds- I cannot open your pages from my computer. Weird!

I just tried to add a background again and then I couldn't open my own blog! I took the background off and then I was good to go again. Has anyone else had this problem?

Anyhow, I can read your blog from John's computer, but not mine- so it's not convenient, but I can still read it at night.... namely Mary, Lorenne, & Crystal- I can't open your blog and it makes me really sad! :(

Funny things

Some funny tidbits about our family:

1. Thomas came home from school yesterday and said "Allison loves me."

"Of course Allison loves you!" I say. No- this is a different. Allison is a little girl in the 1st grade & has a crush on Tommy. What?! He told his Dad, "Allison wants to date me." We introduced Tommy to our family rule of no boyfriends/girlfriends until 18. He doesn't seem interested anyway.

2. When Tommy gets upset with Allison (his sister), he tells her: "I'm not going to marry you! I'm going to marry someone else instead."

3. I ordered Becca and Tommy's Halloween costumes through a Groupon deal and had to order them separately to get two. Becca's arrived yesterday (a pink hippie costume) and Tommy's (Stormtrooper) is still nowhere to be seen. Eek!

4. I'm trying to be a more balanced person after the move, etc. I was so focused on trying to make my blog work so that I could help support the family from home if I could. It's actually turned out to be a blessing for us! It does make some money for us on the side and that has helped us get reestablished in a new place. The crazy thing is that Family Fresh Foods opened when we moved to Ogden and they started doubling coupons in January. That's when I decided to start a blog. This week Family Fresh Foods is closing! So sad...

5. It's still summer here. When do the leaves change in Texas?

6. John is getting some nice perks at work in the way of food: free lunches and dinners, and even came home with a gift pack from a hotel full of cookies and snacks- wow! You're not going to get those kind of perks being self-employed. He took me to a BBQ restaurant last week that was to-die-for! The gift certificate for the restaurant came through work- yay!

7. I started teaching piano lessons again (our piano was shipped here from Utah- thanks to John's Grandma!) and I have 2 students so far. I am trading lessons for one of the students for hair services from his mom. I like the barter system.

8. John has a calling in the Cub Scouts- Bear leader and I am in the Nursery. The first two weeks in Nursery were HORRIBLE, but last Sunday was better. I'm with the older group, so they'll all be graduating into Primary in January! Hopefully, I'll get the sweet 18 month olds after that. Oh wait .....

9. Allison is auditioning for a solo in her school choir today, "God Bless The U.S.A."

10. Thomas made friends with a little boy in his class that lives about 4 doors down from us (so he's really close!) I went to meet his family last week and they are from Zimbabwe! It was really fun to meet them and talk to them- I felt like I was in London again.

11. Texas is a VERY conservative place and there are hardly any billboards around. (Nice!) Most Texans are church-goers on Sunday morning, but go to events on Sunday night like it's Friday or Saturday. Neighborhood parties, The Mickey Mouse show, concerts, etc. all happening on Sunday night!

12. My bishop's wife makes better rolls than I do. She's my visiting teaching partner so I'm pretty sure I can score the recipe.

13. There's a neighborhood here where all the streets are named after the Monopoly properties.

14. I went to Tommy's IEP meeting this morning- it's called ARD here. John joined us by conference call from work. It was him on the phone and 7 women at the school! Wow, Tommy has quite a team to help him. He will be getting resource help with his reading, but they determined that he is performing normally in math!

15. John received President Monson's biography for his birthday. (Thanks, Mom & Dad!) It's very funny and we've really been enjoying it!

16. Becca gave her best friend at school a pass-along card. She also attends church and was a new move-in when we were.

17. Tommy continues to amaze us with his musical abilities. John set up the practice pad and a few drums right in the living room. It's very entertaining!

18. No basement here and you cannot store food storage items in the garage because of the summer heat. We have three closets full of wheat, rice, beans and oatmeal!

19. I could go on and on, but I'll stop for today! This is an easy way to get our tidbits of news out to everyone! Love you!

Texas State Fair

We were able to attend the Texas State Fair on Saturday! It was John's birthday and our bro and sis down here got us tickets. It was a crowded, but very fun day!

Tommy and Henry are little buddies. Tommy is always disappointed when he comes to visit and can't sleep over. They are cute little friends!

At the Ford displays. These are our favorites, Josh! ;)

The Birthday Dad and son wishing they were rocking out on the stage behind them.

We loved this cute little farm they had for kids! Tommy got an apron and a bucket of corn and fed the animals at each station. He also got to put the milkers on the cow, gather eggs, and plant seeds in the garden.

At the end of the farm, you got to turn in your vegetables, etc. and get paid. They gave all the kids a paper dollar and they got to go to the "store" and buy a snack with the fake dollar.

Allison was a good sport through the whole thing and helped Tommy out at the farm. We liked the way Tommy's arm matched in this picture!

We are loving Texas. It's truly a wonderful place! We miss our sweet family and friends but hope that someday we'll have visitors...? I still can't wrap my mind around being so far away. I keep thinking we'll be back in Utah next week for a visit. Reality will probably set in around Christmas time. We're happy that we have blogs and such to keep in touch!

McKinney

Our poor little family blog is so neglected.... it's true. In my defense, I've tried for days to upload pictures and for some reason it wouldn't work! So here are the two handsome men in our family at our church in Frisco. The weather finally cooled off last week!

The kids have loved the long summer. They even went swimming between conference sessions on Saturday.

We had a few field trips to Old McKinney and loved the colonial houses. There are quite a few and they are kept up really nice. The kids were ooohing and aaahing over them and the girls told us which house they are going to live in when they grow up.

The reason we were in McKinney was for a less glamorous reason: laundromat. There's one miles away and it happens to be near these gorgeous older homes.

We finally figured out at home (on dryer #3) that there must be something wrong with our electrical connection. Well, actually, we weren't that smart, the Spirit told me that it wasn't these poor dryers fault!

Our dryer now works as of today and boy, do I have some catching up to do! I was kind of enjoying doing laundry only once a week. The laundromat is not a bad way to go, if you have to. I would wash loads all day on Monday, load up the wet clothes after dinner with the family, 40 minutes in the dryers, everyone helps fold- boom! You're done! Now it's back to the regular way.... a few loads everyday. :)

We had a little family party with Josh & Mary's family.... for Allison's big 13th birthday. She was so excited for her big day and really wanted to have a swimming party- she'd never had one and this would be a first! We unfortunately got rained out of that idea. We stayed inside and decorated these silly cupcakes and watched old home movies instead.

Yay for a cute new dress!

Henry's silly jack 'o lantern pumpkin. Mary saw this picture and said, "That is so Henry!" Such a sweet boy!

Janie likes to hide in the space between our fridge and the wall.

More of downtown McKinney. There are a ton of tourist specialty shops (including a ski shop??), the girls really liked this girly-girl party store.

Me and John Ryan. Thomas took this picture..... upside down!

They're ready for Halloween in McKinney!

Rebecca and Thomas in front of their elementary school. They walk back and forth about 3 blocks each morning and afternoon. It's a little opposite here- elementary starts early and middle school starts 40 minutes later. They also have full-day Kindergarten. We are very impressed with the schools and the staff- everyone has been wonderful! Becca is running for student council secretary and will go on a 3-day, 2-night camping trip for a field trip in December. She has all the luck when it comes to field trips!


More of McKinney! Sorry I didn't bother to put the pictures in order, I'm going to be elated to finally get them up! There are a lot of sidewalk cafes downtown as well- we can't wait to show the grandmas and grandpas around this place! The girls think this will be the perfect destination for their Daddy-daughter dates. We'll see....

I think we're gonna like it here...

The kids are in heaven with the neighborhood pools. It's still summer here!




Becca on our street. We're trying to give the grandmas and grandpas an idea of what our neighborhood is like. Notice the big church in the back... a lot like one you would see in Utah, but not owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.



Our house. The grass looked extra nice after the Hurricane rains! I've never seen so much water in my life!




It's a short walk down this street to T and B's school. They love it and I think we're finally settling in!