The Last Week

For the last week, we have hung around home and played with some friends before we went to MI for the weekend. I have some pictures of Ryan playing with my new Halloween hat, in the laundry and out in the rain. Ryan's new thing is 'No, no, no'. I say this when I don't really mean no, but we are laughing about it. Ryan doesn't actually say it, but he moves his hand in a no-no pattern. It's really funny. I included a picture of that too. He also has a new way of smiling for pictures. With his eyes closed. Too funny.

Over the weekend, Ryan and I drove to MI for Shannon Williams bridal shower. Ryan attended also and was very good. We also visited Danielle Scramlin (Brown) - a friend from high school - and her two little ones - Taylor and Grant. We both had a lot of fun - Ryan playing, and me catching up.

Last week, we went out to dinner and spent an afternoon with friends Shannon, Jeff and Mason. They were awaiting the arrival of their new little one and we provided a bit of distraction. Luckily, Jackson Jeffery came into the world on Friday, October 26, weighing 9lbs. Sorry I have no pictures yet. But we visited him today. He is a cute little one, who is driving them nuts during the night and being an angel during the day.

Also, my friend Kristin D'Angelo (Shanley) had her baby - Landon Vincent on October 19th. He was 8lbs, 12 oz. Both baby and mom are doing well. Here is a picture.

New Pictures

Seattle and other pictures for August through October can now be found at the Snapfish link to the left!

New Things Around Here...

In the last few days, we had a few things happen. Mostly, Ryan and I have been at home resting from our trip and playing with all the toys we've been missing. But Kris brought home our new car on Wednesday!!! We ordered our Corolla in July and finally got it, actually it's been at the dealership for 3 weeks but since Kris had to pick it up it just sat there. I think it's so exciting to get a new car. Of course, now it's sitting at Kris's work again because he is in Toronto - actually on his way home right now.

The second thing, was we had our first family tornado warning! Yes - a blast. They interrupted the tv shows around 10:40pm to tell us about the upcoming weather and the sirens went off around 11:15pm. So after I got the radio, candles, a blanket and the popazan into our basement storage room (it was either that or the bathroom!) I went and got Ryan up and took him down there. Our power never went out so we listened to the tv and sat in the dark (with the candles burning) until the warning was over. Ryan thought it was pretty strange that I would wake him up at night and make him sit in the basement, but was relatively calm and went back to bed easily. It actually didn't start raining here until around 2am and then it was coming down in sheets and the wind was horrible. Actually I should go walk around the house to check all the siding and pick up Ryan's pool toys that are scattered in the backyard. But in the end - we're ok!!

Seattle!

I'm writing this late - but pretend we just got home. We were in Seattle from Wednesday until this Tuesday. Kris had his yearly LFM (MIT) conference. It was a interesting and fun trip for everyone, I think. I'll give you a run down of what we did and add pictures to coincide.

Wednesday - We flew out early in the morning. Ryan didn't like keeping his seatbelt on, but loved the tray tables. He spilled orange juice all over me and managed to poop 3 times during the trip (luckily for 2 of those we were still in the airport). When we got to the hotel, we both took naps and roamed the hotel until Kris came in. He put Ryan to bed and then went out to his MIT thing.

Thursday - Kris had day 1 of his conference. Ryan and I went to the childrens museum and played all morning. We had a great time there. Ryan loved the fire truck and bus. He played grocery store and taco stand as well as Japanese house. He had a great time and didn't want to leave (but McDonalds for lunch made up for it). After nap, we played at the hotel until early evening. We walked around the fish market area until it was time to meet Kris at the bar/dinner. Ryan was very shy there and told everyone that I was 'my momma'.

Friday - Kris had day 2 of his conference. Ryan and I played at the hotel in the morning then met Kris at his conference. We went to the zoo in the afternoon with other families from the conference - and unbeknownst to us Kris joined us. So we had a great afternoon with him. We got a special treat in getting to pet a beaver and a sloth! Ryan also got to ride in a car without a car seat (yes illegally). He was getting pretty used to it though because of the taxis and did well. After the zoo, Kris and Ryan went to the LFM dinner and I went back to the hotel to rest.

Saturday - We went to the fish market and walked around doing a little shopping and ate lunch. After nap time we stayed at the hotel and went swimming.

Sunday - We went to church then split up. Kris and Ryan went on a tour of Safeco Field which is where the Mariners play. Kris said Ryan had a great time walking around and even ran down on the field (when he wasn't supposed to). I went on an Underground tour. Seattle is currently built about 12 feet higher to sea level than it was originally. Back then it flooded badly, so after the Great Seattle fire (which they let burn most of the town), they rebuilt the streets at a higher level, but the sidewalks and buildings were originally built lower and people had to take ladders down to do shopping. Now they have covered over everything, but a lot of the sidewalks are hollow underneath. So the tour showed you some of these. After I took the tour, I met up with Kris and Ryan and took Ryan home for his nap, while Kris took the same tour. After nap we watched Monday Night Football (I like it at 5:30!) and played.

Monday - We took a Duck tour. We had taken one in Boston at Kris's graduation, so most the Harpers and my parents know what I'm talking about. It's a tank that can drive on the street and can also swim like a boat. They do pretty good tours. Kris was happy about getting out on the water. After that we stopped in the Experience Music Project for a few minutes, had lunch and then went up into the Space Needle. We did manage to lose Ryan in the needle, but since its a circle and not big, we found him within a minute. Unfortunately, that day it was too cloudy to see Mt. Rainer, so a little disappointing. Also by then our camera batteries had died so no pictures. Monday was actually the first day that it rained on us, everyother day it was just overcast. That night we went out to dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory and went home to pack. Amazingly, after 5 days, we NEVER stepped foot in a Starbucks - but they did provide it at the hotel!

Tuesday - we got up early (6am West coast time) to start our trip home. On the way out we had a 3 hour flight to Minneapolis and then a 2 hour flight to Seattle, but on the way home we had a 4 hour flight to Detroit and then a 1 hour flight to Cincy. The 4 hours were a little much, especially when we ended up circling because of a plane that was broke down on the runway. This time it was Kris with pop all over him because of Ryan. We ended up missing our connection and losing our luggage, but we did make it home. We let Ryan play with his trucks when he got home since he was so happy to be here!!

We're Off!! :-)

Well we leave tomorrow for Seattle. I am very nervous about travelling so far with Ryan by myself. Especially with the time difference. I have our luggage packed and am just trying to get all the 'keep Ryan busy' stuff together now. Books, a DVD player, Magnadoodle, coloring book, sticker book, the list goes on. I get a book and a magazine! I'll be lucky if I ever open one of them. We'll be out there until next Tuesday. Kris has a MIT conference on Thursday and Friday and then will spend time with us for the rest of the time. We get to go to the zoo on Friday. So I'll make sure Kris takes pictures while we're out there to share.

Since I last wrote, it's been another week without Kris. We've been doing fine. Eating out a lot!! But we've kept ourselves busy. My mom came down on Sunday and is leaving after dropping us off at the airport tomorrow. It's been nice to have a little break. To be able to pack without Ryan unpacking for me. She took Ryan to the park this afternoon and they had fun playing in the rocks. Thanks Mom!

Ok, I'm off. I hope everyone is doing ok!

Who has a Dancing pick?

If you watch Dancing with the Stars, comment here as to who is your favorite for this season! Kris likes Jennie - but she was the only one he saw last week. I like Helio, Cameron and Jennie. My mom has picked Mel B. All I know is I don't like Marie or Wayne. I really didn't think that Marie deserved the scores she got today. I did think Sabrina did a great job - but there is just something about her I don't like.