Happy birthday Sierra!

Love,

~Ryan, Holly, and Larry

I forgot to mention that when I picked Ryan up from the CDC on Friday, he was soaking wet from jumping and splashing in a big puddle outside. I had an extra pair of pants for Ryan, but not socks or shoes. The CDC loaned me some socks and some Wellies.

Later on, it only took Larry about a minute after he got home to notice Ryan was wearing cute pink socks with purple flowers!!! *grin* Of course he made sure the socks came off immediately! :P I thought they were kind of fetching. :D

During the week Larry has to be up early for work. On the weekends, I'm usually up when Ryan's up, so Larry can sleep in if he wants. This morning, Larry and I woke up about the same time, but Larry was out of bed first. He went and got Ryan, who walked into our bedroom to say good morning. After jumping on top of me to make sure I was awake, he got down off the bed. He picked up my pajama bottoms and tossed them at me as if to say, "Get your butt out of bed, Mom!" :)

We really didn't do much at all today. In the evening we went over to Carissa and Tom's, and had pizza and watched football. (Well, Larry watched football! I chatted with Carissa.) It was really nice to socialize.

(This is the hill Ryan ran up one side and down the other of for ten minutes straight last week.)

Happy birthday Ginger!!!! Lots of love,

~Holly and RYan

(Here's a happier one of Ryan, also from Carissa - taken at Middleham.)

It is just soooo wrong that's it still dark at 7:30 in the morning! We've had a lot of dark and dreary mornings lately. But on the bright side, those dark and dreary mornings have been morphing into quite lovely, sunny evenings. Today is nice enough that we are even barbecuing!

Yesterday was busy. Larry came back from work to get me and Ryan and take us to MHS, so we wouldn't have to walk in the rain to the bus stop. I dropped Ryan off at the CDC, then went over to Sarah's house. We chatted for a bit, then walked over to the Chapel tea room for some lunch. Our friend Michelle met up with us there. It was nice to sit and eat without worrying about Ryan wanting to get up and run off! :)

After lunch, we went shopping at the "Faire," which took place in the gym. It was pretty much the same as the one that took place in May, which was very similar to the bazaars on post in Germany. I got a lot of Christmas shopping done, which was nice.

I went to the commissary, then picked up Ryan at the CDC. I was thrilled to hear he did great! I even have a little report card of how his day went. The lady who took care of him, Miss Sarah, said Ryan was wonderful and she enjoyed having him there. Yay! When I arrived, Ryan was happily playing outside, and didn't want to go! I was so relieved he had a good day and enjoyed himself.

Just a few hours later, I was back on post, babysitting for Carissa and Tom. (Larry was at home with Ryan.) It was weird because I felt like I'd hardly seen Ryan all day!

I had fun babysitting, because their youngest son is still an infant, so he reminded me of when Ryan was that little. (Which I know wasn't that long ago, but Ryan's grown so quickly it sometimes seems like a long time ago!)

Today we've had a nice, relaxing day. Larry watched Ryan while I went for a run.

After dinner, we went to Toys'R'Us in Leeds and bought Ryan a track for his trains (a wooden, puzzle-piece type track for those little magnetic trains). We let him stay up late to play with it after we got home. (The time change is coming up, so he'll have to get used to being up later anyway.) It's always great to see Ryan having fun with something new we've gotten him.

(This is another photo from Middleham. Carissa took it. She sent it to me after I'd already posted my photo album. Ryan was upset because I wasn't letting him run wherever he wanted!)

Not much is up today. I ran with the Harrogate Harriers this evening. This is only the second Thursday I've done so.

Speaking of second Thursdays... I forgot to mention that last week I went to the Victoria shopping area late in the afternoon. I saw that I had missed the street market that takes place each second Thursday of the month. I may have said this before, but a second Thursday is so odd - how are we supposed to remember that???

Tomorrow will be interesting. There's a fair at MHS. I'm putting Ryan in at the CDC, and going to the fair with two friends. Ryan hasn't been at the CDC (child development center) in a very long time. He never really cared for it much. I hope he's not too unhappy!

Oh my. It's been a week already!

(This is a picture I took with my phone. Ryan and I were out for a jog on the Stray. I'd let Ryan out to run around. I just thought this looked kind of neat.)

I keep forgetting the Rat Droppings. :D When we went to Middleham, there was a small gift shop (there's ALWAYS a gift shop) outside the castle. Among other interesting items, were Rat Droppings, which were chocolate candies of some sort. I almost got some, just to say I ate a bag of Rat Droppings!!! :P

Today the sun came out. YAY!!! The sun hasn't been out in several days. Normally this would send me into a SAD (seasonal affective disorder) state, but I've been busy, and out and about, so that's taken the edge off.

Thursday the 12th I took Ryan and went for a run on the Stray (that's when I took that picture). There's a hill that separates two sections of the Stray. Ryan ran up and down both sides of the hill for ten minutes straight! Ah, to have boundless energy again...

Friday the 13th, Larry did come home just fine. He took the train in, which was nice. That way, Ryan and I were spared about four hours in the car, and yet another trip to Manchester. :)

Saturday night was the Navy Ball. Once again I assisted Sarah. This time was a little different. The ball was in a different building, and they had Sarah and me off to the side in a little room by ourselves. We still did a pretty good business, though.

This ball didn't seem quite as organized as the Army or Air Force balls. At one point during the ceremonial part of the evening, dignitaries were supposed to enter the main room. The dignitaries were all down a hallway talking and drinking and had no idea they were supposed to be on! So Sarah and I went and got them. I had the script for the evening's events, so I called out the order the dignitaries were supposed to be in, and they moved into line nicely.

One thing the Navy had that the other two services didn't was on-site child care. Sarah and I thought that was great! They also had a designated driver, which I think the Army had, but I'm not sure about the Air Force.

We got to eat at a table with the rest of the guests. That was nice! We took the places of two people who weren't able to be there.

Things weren't as hectic at this ball. (At the Air Force ball, the AF was paying for everyone to have a complimentary photo. We were swamped!) However, things were definitely more drunk towards the end of the night! There was one Navy girl who wanted photos, and couldn't even write her name on the order form!

All in all, it was a fun night.

Unfortunately, Larry had to work Sunday. Sarah was doing Halloween photos, so Ryan and I grabbed the bus and headed out to MHS. Sarah and I tried really hard, but Ryan was NOT in the mood the have his pictures taken. It's really hard to photograph an uncooperative two year old! We got one or two that are ok, at least.

After that, Ryan and I jumped back on the bus and headed back to town. We went to Starbucks and got something warm to drink. It had been freezing out at Menwith, but seemed at least five degrees (if not more) warmer in town. MHS always seems to have its own weather going on.

Monday night was a spouse's coffee. That was fun. The lady that hosted it did everything in an autumnal/Halloween theme. Almost all the food was pumpkin, which I love! It was really nice to socialize and relax a bit.

Last night I ran with the Harrogate Harriers. It was dark and drizzly. I was thinking, "I'm running in the dark and in the rain - voluntarily!!!" :P I didn't get a chance to run with them last week, so it was nice to get to do it last night.

Ryan is doing well. His sleeping and napping have been a bit all over the place, but that happens now and then.

Yesterday he did something funny. He was all dirty and wet from playing outside, so I needed to put clean pants on him. I picked out some track pants, and started to put them on. He shook his head and said, "Jeans!" So I got a pair of jeans and he was happy to wear them! Ryan definitely has particular ideas about what he wants - whether it's clothes, or food, or toys, or anything! :)

I hope everyone is having a good week.

Happy belated birthday Iain! Hope you had a fun day!

Love,

~Holly, Ryan, and Larry

Happy birthday, Cesareo and Kim!

And a happy Friday the 13th to everyone!