The Strattons and EASTER

We were so excited to have the Strattons come visit for Spring Break.  Macee LOVED Ryan!

Arlington Cemetery

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier....shhhh!

Decorating for St. Patty's Day...right down Ryan's creative ally!

Mount Vernon

 EASTER

Ryan continues to bring VA to it's knees!

We got up early enough to hit the Cherry Blossom Festival at sunrise...except it was overcast :(  Didn't keep us from having a great time!

 Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Jamestown

A little heavy for "teensy" Ryan. (She told us her friends at school call her this because she is the smallest one in her class and so cute...hilarious!)

Kindy garten

This is my girl...her first loves: all things art, dress-up, and playing with Izzy.

With 2 big sisters heading the same way every morning, my little home-body has had no hard time adjusting to full-day school. For the first couple of months she would come home and say something like "I can't believe I can read now!" She is absorbing like a sponge. She was one of two kindergarteners in the school to answer a bonus test question right which included an explanation of how she knew it (funny thing is it was some math I had been teaching Izzy and Ryan happened to be listening in :).

Carli and Ryan. We had a little problem with Ryan getting crazy on the bus (eg. bumping them off the seats) with her friends--unfortunately causing some tears and requests from parents for her to calm down. She explained to me..."Mom, I just get really excited. Those kids don't have a lot of fun family like I do and they've never felt what it's like to have fun being crazy!"


Ryan was the first kid in her class to lose a tooth

BFF in New YorkFor Halloween Ryan decided to be an Arial Kitty Cat--hence the concoction of wig and tail:

Lorin wrote down this story of Ryan:

"I caught Ryan with my Horse Dictionary book. She flipped to a page with a black horse and said, 'Now this one is a killer! It can jump 100 feet in the air! It can run 1,000 miles! It's a beauty without honor. It's called the black beauty.'"

December 2011

This 4 wheeler made Christmas a big hit!!  Ryan could drive all by herself!

A couple of Ryan's favorites:  Hello Kitty and black!

Ryan and Lorin gt to sing with Izzy on her baptism day.

FALL FUN

Ryan loves herself a good Corn Maze, hay ride, and ...pig chasing!!

For the ward Trick or Treat, the 2 little pigs and the big bad wolf!

Ryan was pumped to re-create the mummy from a couple years ago!

Now you see her!

Now you don't...except for a tiny bit of purple coat sticking up!

Chuck E Cheese?  Whatever, it's a cute picture :)

Thanksgiving!!!

Goodbye TEXAS, Hello VIRGINIA

 Saying goodbye to good friends like Jenna and Shelby Linford, the Smiths, and the Moores was tough.  Here are a few last hoorahs!

Ryan, Shelby, Jenna, and Izzy tied themselves together and let Ryan lead the way!

 Saying goodbye to 116 degree heat on moving day...not so hard.  Ryan and Graf were out before we left the driveway!!

Ryan did a great job embracing our new home in Virginia...especially this climbing tree!  Unfortunately that love affair ended the day Ryan slipped off a branch and landed flat on her face/belly.  The double bloody nose made it extra memorable!

 First day of school at the bus stop...so many fun kids!

 

Ryan LOVED when Graf came to school and she got to show him around!

She kinda liked Mommy coming too :)

 The other amazing things we have to do here also made the move feel like it was a good one!

Museum of Natural History in Washing DC

See the Empire State Building?

 

Brooklyn Bridge...Ryan walked/ran the whole way!

Lady Liberty

 

Dillan's Candy Shop in NYC