Seventeen.

He’s seventeen now.  I can hardly believe it – but I can hardly believe it every year. When I took him outside for a birthday picture we just couldn’t seem to get the rest of the kids out of the picture.  I think everyone loves this kid.  What a great big brother and such a good example.  Those younger boys sure do think he’s the best.

Ryan’s birthday landed on the day after we got home from Lake Powell and after Katie and Emily had already left for Girls Camp so we went to Pei Wei for dinner and watched a movie at home but left the presents for later in the week when everyone would be home.  He got the new Imagine Dragons Album, the new Dominion expansion: Adventures, a new game: Istanbul, the iTunes movie: Avengers Age of Ultron (when it comes out in September) a German Stately Type Shirt and tickets to the Imagine Dragons concert in July.     Movies, Games, Music and Germany… sounds like Ryan.   He lucked out with some cash from his Grandparents and a few Aunts and Uncles – good thing because this kid is poor.  Happy, but poor.

U2 Concert

Leah and I took our husbands to the U2 Concert up in Denver for their Father’s Day presents.  A perfect gift for Chris.  He loves U2 and hasn’t seen them in concert.  We ate a great dinner at Seasons 52 and then headed to our seats in the Pepsi Center.  The show was incredible.  They are such great performers.  The way they used the screen was amazing.

We both got U2 concert tee’s!  Such a fun night.

Loose Tooth

Horseshoe Bend in Page, Arizona

We had a couple hours before we were going to meet Chris’ family for our Lake Powell trip, so we decided to check out Horseshoe Bend once we got to Page.  It was close to 100 degrees when we hiked the fifteen minutes to where you could view the bend.   We carried water and it was all gone by the time we got there.  Hot!

The view was pretty spectacular… even grander than it looks in pictures.  So neat to see.  Steep steep cliffs so there was lots of hand holding.  I laid down on the cliff to get the shot below… and wished I had a wider lens to capture it all. 

Summer Camp

Katie and Brookelyn hosted their second Summer Camp for Girls and had a great time.  It was the first week after school got out and they were surprised at how quickly the slots filled up.  They ended up having 13 little girls for most of the camp.

Tuesday – Thursday 9:00 – 12:00 $40 each  --  This year they called it ‘Olaf’s Summer Camp’ and had an Olaf craft, Olaf treat and lots of other fun summer activities, snacks and crafts.  I think the girls loved it!  It sure is a great way for them to earn money for Girls Camp and EFY.

The Olaf’s Summer Camp filled up so quick that when some boys showed interest, Katie and Ryan thought they’d add a Boys Super – Hero Camp to their afternoon.  Tuesday – Thursday 1:00 – 4:00 $40 each.  Ryan and two boys who were playing GeoTracks downstairs are missing from the picture.  They ended up with 6 boys (including Luke and Matt) and had a great time coming up with Super Hero activities for these tough guys to do.

Matthew’s Kindergarten School Work

October Fun

Thanksgiving time…

Christmas time…

January - Martin Luther King Day   “I have a dream.  My dream is that I could be Hulk and save people.”

February

I found this paper that came home from school in early February.  “In 9 days I am going to Hawaii with my family.”  So hard to focus on anything else!

President’s Day – reversible Lincoln and Washington president art – so cute!

March – St. Patrick’s Day things…  “I feel lucky when I got a new friend that is right beside my house.”  Matthew’s treasures: Ryan, Mom, Dad, Gamdpad, WiiU.

Mother’s Day

Matthew was so cute with his charts.  He loved when I would make one for him but more and more he wanted to make his own.  He would draw pictures of what he wanted to accomplish that day which would take him a good hour itself.  I loved finding his charts all around the house.