all about ryan

In honor of his 30th BIRTHDAY TODAY, I wanted to tell my husband why I love him:


You look cute in expensive chinese star hats on the Great Wall of China,

You can do anything you put your mind to, even entering and WINNING a school competition, (McNichols Moot Court Competition in 2007, he won best Oralist!)

You are fun to go on roadtrips with,

You are fun to play in the snow with, and your forts and tunnels are AWESOME,

You look so handsome in your suits, it's a good thing you chose the right profession where you can wear them!

(pictured here with Chief Justice John Roberts)

You not only SURVIVED law school, you were successful and flourished!

You are a tremendous father,

You are a hard worker,

(taken on the very first day of law school, August 2006)

You make dreams come true,

(Riding the MAGLEV train in Shanghai, China)

You have big muscles,

I love your sense of humor, no one makes me laugh like you do.

You are artistic,

And....there's many more reasons!

Happy Birthday Rysie Lynn, I love you and am honored to be your wife. You are an amazing person and I'm so proud of you. Have a very Happy 30th Birthday and know that you're a special part of my life! Now, let's party!!

how to throw a frisbee

There's much speculation about the correct way to throw a Frisbee. Here are our different views on the matter:

Dawson's technique is rather fluid. His body is straight, his wrist-motion is steady and he follows through with his hand when letting go of the disc. He plants his feet and stays in the same spot on the lawn. He pretty much can hit a target or if not, he doesn't miss by much. He catches the Frisbee with one hand and is actually quite coordinated. Dawson's thinking is, "If I just do it slow then it will be easier to catch and then I don't get dirty." Touche, Dawson.





Now, with Ryanna, the technique differs entirely. She flails about, her hair whipping to and fro and she's constantly on the ground. One can hardly watch her with a straight face, due to the "cuteness" factor from her delicate and precise technique. Dancing all over the lawn, she throws the disc, then proceeds to fly with both of her arms twisted around her body. Then, trying to catch it, she usually runs into some nearby tree or trips over something. The spectators watching her skill usually erupts into giggles. Her thinking, "Well, it's hard. The Frisbee doesn't cooperate very well makes it hard to throw. But I still do it, and I sometimes hit the tree."






When Uncle Britton was asked how to hold a Frisbee, he looked up and gestured:

Then Aunt Sabrina tried the same gesture. She wasn't so sure.

Even Grandpa thought this technique was correct!


Carter and Aunt Sabrina gave up on the Frisbee part and elected for a ball instead.

Then I got DISTRACTED!!! My very photogenic niece, Alexis. She's so cute!!

I love this one. She's concentrating very hard on something important.

After we were done playing outside, we went in for some cake and ice cream to celebrate Carter's birthday. The cake was only $6 and not very boyish, but the price was right and it was GOOD cake!


Ryanna and Grandma

Aunt Sabrina and Grandpa

A very exhausted Birthday Boy eating his cake and loving his new books that Holdies gave him for his birthday!



He LOVES his new books that he got, he refuses to sleep without them!

Thank you, Holdaways, for your help in my research for the correct way to throw a frisbee.

cake, cards and a luchador

On Father's Day, we got to have Dad over for dinner and a little birthday party for Carter. It was fun to party! Ryanna LOVES her little Spanish Dress that my Dad brought back from Mexico for her! She is dancing dancing dancing! And she's CONVINCED that she's a professional.

Grandad was a dinosaur and rolled around with the kids on the floor for a while...until that poor dinosaur died... (oops--I'm SO not trying to say my dad is ancient, though!!)

Dad brought back a few Luchador masks for the boys, SpiderMan wouldn't take his off to save his life! He LOVES it. He couldn't figure out how to EAT in it though...I guess food will just have to WAIT!

Carter opened the present that Uncle Donny and Aunt Ash gave him. He got a couple of Mr. Potato Head buddies. That's a hit!

We gave Dad a colorful Father's Day card and he got a kick out of it!!


The kids love their Grandaddy!

Ryan relaxing and enjoying all the excitement.....
still enjoying.....
... maybe enjoying a little too much!!
Ashley and Donny gave Dad a very sweet Father's Day card too, her's was more sentimental.
CUTE Carter Boy!
Here's his cake, sans candles because they're all packed! Happy Birthday Carter!

One of Ryan's Father's Day gifts was a little model rocket that he was DYING to put together. He and Dawson got it put together and they ended up losing it on the first launch! I guess we'll have to get more.

Sorry for the horrible lighting, but I LOVED the father/son bonding time. They liked it too!

Stay tuned for more party pics.....