Back Bloggin

It was a lovely (busy) break.

I flew to Florida to drive my mom back here for the summer.

Picked up some kick a$$ fireworks in PA.

Graduated Ryan child #2 from highschool.

Threw a wicked graduation party.

Had a funtastic time with family and friends.

Picked 20 pounds of strawberries.

Made umpteen jars of freezer jam.

(ok well mom made umpteen jars of freezer jam)

Got Ryan child #2 registered for college.

and am now heading to the river for a week of R&R.

(hope to post while at the river)

A bloggin break

Dear Blogger Friends,
I am taking a wee bit of a bloggin break. Too much goin on these days (all good) and I could use a short hiatus. I'll still be checking in on all my bloggin buddies and I'll be back bloggin in a couple of weeks! Hope you are enjoying summer so far, it has been gorgeous here in upstate NY!

take care,

Lisa

Senior Daze for David

Senior ball, camping trip with friends, crew banquet, varsity letters awarded, finals, graduation parties.

A time for David to shine and have fun!

A time for me to be happy and sad simultaneously.

A few pictures to share of he and Kate the night of Senior Ball.

A mom moment ......

David and Chase had their last regatta yesterday.
It was a biggie.
Both their boats made it to finals.
Both their boats took a silver medal.















and Chase had his Jr. Prom last night.
He and Jordanne had a great time.

Two for Tuesday (David)

David Justin Ryan turned 18 yesterday!

READY?














YAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!














photos by Nick Scalione

This post is for Jenna

Diploma arrived today.
OFFICIAL documentation, woo hoo!

the ZOO!

The nice thing about quitting my job and going to work for the family business?

Family tends to come first now!

I was able to push my start date to next Monday and am spending some fun time with my niece Kate this week as her daycare is closed.

Today we went to the zoo.

Kate's favorite animal today?

the lion

My favorite?

the red panda

Sleepy head wakes up

Kate, Honey Bear, and Grover

Fa la la la la

It's early this year but the tree is up!
What better time than when the family is all together.
Merry, merry!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey Tip #1

When roasting a bird on the grill, do not leave it.
Not for a second.
Not for a minute
Especially not for 10 minutes.
Even if the grill is off.
Because things can happen.
Like an overflow of turkey juice
that can quickly light on fire
and your delicious Thanksgiving bird will not look like this.
















It will look like this!

Congrats Zachary!

For making the JV highschool basketball team.
30+ tried out, 12 made it.
You worked hard to make it happen!
We'll be cheering for #24.

An array of emotions.

Sad, shocked, inspired, humbled, joyful and proud
Is what I felt yesterday.
The three boys and I went down to the north side of Syracuse to help distribute food and clothing to those in need.
The ministry was amazing.
Pastor James is a one man show administering to the homeless and bereft families in the area.
The stories were endless, most so sad, but many with hope.
The smiles and the thank yous were heart wrenching
It was a thought provoking and humbling way to spend a few afternoon hours.

(and the boys never lost their warmth and grace, smiling, handing out bags while answering the one question they heard by almost 90 people who walked through the door "How TALL are you?" 6'4", 6'5" and 6'6" btw)

Happy Birthday Jenna!

happy birthday punkin head.
hope you're having a dance party tonight.

My New Pet

I was going to post the picture below
and ask for help naming my new fish.
Then I took a closer look at the photo and what was behind it and realized my naming quest was over before it had even started.




























Meet Bubba the Beta!

love and patience

Kiss Me Kate

So darn cute and photogenic!

Life lessons learned in a weekend.

It was a work weekend at Todd and Laura's house.
Their 200 year old house.
A dirt floor in the basement dug up.
100+ year old peonies dug up and replanted.
Shingles for the barn/outbuilding stained.
(ahem, individual shingles for a barn? If there is the male equivalent to Martha Stewart, he lives in Cazenovia.)































































Despite the rain, the blisters, the sore feet and aching backs, there was quality time spent and some good life lessons learned:

friends and family help each other
lead by example
the best way to do a job you are dreading?
hit it head on with a positive attitude
ask for help
listen to good music while working
laugh alot
blisters go away
take time throughout the day to
pet the dog
kiss the baby
enjoy a good meal

Did I forget anything?

David reads

“So please, oh PLEASE, we beg, we pray, Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install, A lovely bookshelf on the wall.”
- Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

No TV at camp.

The condom fairy

has been visiting our mailbox!

Ok, so maybe it's not the condom fairy but for the last few weeks little white boxes containing trojan condoms have been delivered via the USPS. As you can see by the name on the box, they do not come addressed to any specific Ryan family member.












Amanda Hugalot was the adressee on the box today.

Last week was Mike Hunt.

The week before that was - ummmmm, I really can't repeat what that one said.

Gotta love teenage boys.

oh and since they didn't come addressed to anyone specific here,
I am now the keeper of the condoms.
I told the boys to just ask me if they need one.

Who is this man?

Why it's Anchor Man Ron Burgandy of course.

Only Zach could convince his art teacher that instead of doing a self
portrait final project he should paint Ron Burgandy.