a decade old......

It's time for the birthday blitz again.....starting with ten year old Ryan! His big day is almost over and I am racing to get his birthday post in under the wire........

What parents wouldn't be bursting with pride? Ryan has grown and matured in many ways this year. We are so thankful to call him son! I love his adventurous spirit - rarely fearful - and wanting to try new and exciting things.......that I would never think of. Ryan is inventive and creative. He has aspirations of learning how to start a business and building a treehouse with his grandpa Spence just to name a few. When he puts his mind to it, Ryan is focused and dependable and gets his work done. He is learning how to do every job with excellence and finding new ways to do even his day to day chores more efficiently and training his younger siblings to do them.

I appreciate Ryan's heart to spend time with his brother and sisters - enjoying and coming alongside them.

There is no shortage interest and willingness to try new things and have fun here.....

Courageous and brave......

Gives 110%!

Joyful and persistent.....

This year Ryan is learning Spanish and memorized a good portion of the Westminster Catechism. He is also studying the entire book of Isaiah with Dad and Madison at Bible Study Fellowship. I have noticed Ryan's special ability to love and accept kids in his social circle who have special needs or difficulty fitting in with their peers. He often takes the time to spend with them or encourage them. I am filled with gratitude to the Lord for this aspect of his character.

As Ryan grows and his character develops he gives us all significant joy! We continue to pray each year for his physical, emotional, and spiritual growth.

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Chris, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge -- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

Ephesians 3:16-19

Happy birthday big boy.....I love you!

Expedition to the Rose Parade - 2011 (Part 4)

I think he's forgotten his frozen toes and fingers now....

After a quick 2 hours.....the parade was over...12pm and we had been there about 6 hours. The end of the parade is quite unique in that there is a boat load of tow trucks following the parade in case the floats break down. This year only one was utilized so there was a long line of them after! People really jetted out of the scene very quickly - but we decided we didn't want to fight traffic and had our lunch on "our lawn" before heading home. It was delightful to go home to a hot shower, comfortable chairs, family, food - and my favorite: football. All in all, yes - a fun escapade. I don't think I have the need to do it every year. But I would do it again. My dream? Scoring a seat INSIDE the Rose Bowl for the game......now that would be worth sleeping on the curb for!

Tow trucks as far as the eye can see!

Parade viewing spot turned picnic area...

the vendors headed down route.....

Back to the car.....notice Mr. energetic there....

Roses everywhere......even in the yard next to the van.....

Not 10 minutes later from the picture above!

.....the game!

Expedition to the Rose Parade - 2011 (Part 3)

Each float made for the parade has to conform to certain regulations in the areas of height, width, length and thematic design and ENTIRE surface must be covered using a variety of flowers, seeds, bark, leaves and other natural materials Most of the floats are controlled with internal, computer-driven hydraulics and are entered in the parade on behalf of a corporation, city, or organization. This is what I love about the Rose parade - creative and nothing too wacky - and the flowers, fruits, and vegetables are so beautiful! To maximize one's parade experience - you really have to go view the floats before the parade or after - because there is no way to appreciate all the work while they are whizzing past you! We also realized after getting home and seeing some repeat on the tv that from our vantage point on the street we missed some things on top of the floats - like seeing inside the rose bowl on one, and jumping dogs on another! It was hard to narrow down which photos to share.....(click on the images to see them in a large size for more detail - may not work on every one though)

Here is our viewing "group" and then some! This is what it looked like all along the parade route - though there are areas with grandstands where people paid from $50 a seat into the hundreds!

The parade Grand Marshal - Paula Deen

Go Wisconsin Badgers!

Hail Horned Frogs!

I think this was my favorite floats because of all the cool things going on.......well and I love the fair.....I could crop in on any of the details and it is stunning.......

This is the front of the float...."A State Fair to Remember"

......close up.......

.......and the second half of the float from the dunk tank and not even to the back!

One of my other favorite floats was the Trader Joe's Exploring Planet Dinner float.....

......after the float passed.....notice some of it is folded down - this was because the overpass for the freeway was before our spot and near the end so sometimes the floats weren't extended up all the way......

"Pac-Man's 30th Anniversary Party"

One of the floats which carried public servants.....loved the canine.....

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Ok.....I'll stop with the float pictures.......

Expedition to the Rose Parade - 2011 (Part 2)

For those not familiar with the Rose Parade - and I know you are out there - the entries fall into four general categories: bands, horses, service groups, and the floats.

The bands were great - my hat is off to all those kids marching 5 miles some carrying small and large instruments! When they got to us after going for 2 hours they still had spirit and zeal! The college bands are my favorites but there were also bands from Mexico, Japan, and bagpipes!

The college bands rock! They play so well and with such enthusiasm. They are always matched with the cheerleaders, mascot, and team float.......

This band from Mexico was so joyful and seemed to be having a great time.

Pretty girls.......

Love the bagpipes....

The high school bands are always so thrilled to be there and seem to enjoy the experience - though by the end when they got to us there were some poor souls visibly in pain from carrying tubas and base drums over 5 miles and for 2 hours!

I think this band is entered almost every year....

The horses were beautiful - and decked out .......

From top.......

to bottom.......

Expedition to the Rose Parade - 2011 (Part 1)

People have their New Year's traditions.....some eat Hoppin' John, others shoot off fireworks....in my family growing up we always watched the Rose Parade and then feasted on family, food, and football all day long. As an adult I've drifted a little from the tradition but it never takes long to rekindle the fire. For several years my venturesome husband has been trying to persuade me to make the trek to California and try and view the parade in person. I have been holding him off with the usual response....."Not until everyone is out of diapers." I can no longer use that excuse so we planned a trip. We are fortunate that his brother lives near Pasadena so we have a nice place to stay. The week we left was a little unnerving as it was freezing cold here and rain was predicted for the day of the parade at first. I began to feel like I would be just fine in my own living room drinking coffee New Year's day as opposed to hauling 4 children out into the winter morning to scope a prime spot. Ah - but he used the normal lure - reminding me of the great pictures I would get and how really what is life without a little adventure?

Grandma and Grandpa Spence decided they needed a little extra risk and thrill in their lives so tagged along. The trip out was great and weather was shaping up to be fine.

The view on the way into California

Have ipod, will travel.....

We had done research beforehand and discovered that most locals camp out the night before to scope a good spot for the parade. Since the temperature was going to be below 40 degrees we chose to bypass freezing cold torture and go out early and try our luck. The official website even stated that people could not stake out sights without being there and staying with their chairs so we figured we'd be fine. My parents had been down near the first 4 miles of the route and it was already packed with people and chairs so our strategy was to head to the end.

5 am of course came early - the kids I don't think knew what hit them before they were latched into their seat belts and we were driving to the parade route. As we wound our way through the neighborhoods to find a place to park, we saw chair after unmanned chair. I was livid - being the rule nazi that I am. "How is this fair? We suffer, they waltz in with their seat?" It is what it is - I didn't have the guts to move another person's chair - nor to argue with the guy that just rose from the dead (a pile of sleeping bags next to us) about where their boundary was!

The view down toward where the parade would come from standing in our claimed spot.....

Freezing kiddies......notice the campers slung out in the background.

It was under 40 degrees when we left our van - and when we got to our "spot" it was about 6am......great.....only 4 more hours until the parade actually gets to us! Now what? Try to find the food......wish we brought more blankets.......be thankful we borrowed REAL winter coats from friends........keep praying for the sun to rise. About 7am Jonathan had reached his limit and began to scream and cry. Everything hurt he said - I am sure it did. I finally decided to take him to the van for awhile......then when Grandma and Grandpa got there and the sun too things began looking up......until I got my (borrowed) camera out to shoot more pictures and the battery blinked that it was going dead! That was it - I was not enjoying this adventure any longer - oh no - I dislike cold, getting up early, etc. but rob me of my opportunity to take pictures? After I'd researched and studied how to get good shots and sacrificed my body for a front row seat? I think at this point Merl realized I was near break down. I have to say I think I handled it well. I took deep breaths (lamaze class was good for something) and tried to remember that I was supposed to be having fun with my family. Besides - I had brought my other camera for back up - things just wouldn't be the way I'd planned.....which is all well and good if you don't like plans!

This was well before the "battery crisis".....I am still smiling...

Sunrise.........the view up the street where the parade ends.....

The sun is up and we are all looking down the street in anticipation of the fun.....over 700,000 people line the route to watch this parade......

8am......fly over means the parade is starting 5 miles down the road and it will get to us in 2 hours!

Bryan's family arrives later - they got to sleep in - but I will let them have it since they provided a place for our weary heads to rest!

Jonathan finally stopped crying and asked for food.....

One of the white coats coming to visit his neighbors and family before the parade

Finally the motorcycles started clearing the road and at 10am sharp the party got to us......I took the camera battery out of my pocket (hoping to warm it back to life) - and lo and behold it had a full charge. Must not like getting up early and cold either. Let the photographing begin!