Ryker Turns 5!!

 Dear Ryker,

It's cliche to say, but I simply cannot believe you are already FIVE! My baby is not a baby, or toddler, and to say you are a preschooler doesn't quite feel right as you just as easily fit in with older school age peers. Daddy and I are so proud of the little boy you are and the young man you are becoming. You are kind, thoughtful, sweet, inquisitive, smart, interested and interesting, funny, and have a positive attitude most of the time. You love to explore and dig, be read to, build Legos, draw, create, play pretend, ride your bike and scooter, are becoming more interested in sports, and love to go to the Museum of Nature and Science (the "Dinosaur Museum" as you call it). You are still innocent and enjoy being with Mom and Dad so much of the time. We'll take it as long as we can get it. Thank you for being such a light in our every day lives. We love and adore you.

Love,
Mom

Birthday Anticipation
Having a birthday the day before Halloween has turned out to be really fun. Ryker has morphed his birthday and Halloween into one event that he looks forward to with much anticipation. Several weeks back we were at the grocery store together, and when Ryker saw that they had Halloween decorations out, he look at me and declared, "I can't believe they are already decorating for my birthday!" He also attributes the neighborhood Halloween decorations to everyone prepping for his birthday. It's too cute.

Birthday Celebration
We celebrated Ryker's birthday this previous weekend with family and a few friends. We had tacos, cake, presents, and just let the kids play. Ryker had been asking for a cousin sleepover as the main thing he wanted for his birthday, so Raum spent the night with all four kids sleeping in one room. Ryker loved it!

Later today on his actual birthday, we will go out to eat (Applebee's per Ryker's request), and come home to a few more presents.

Happy Birthday to our precious little boy! He wouldn't agree to staying 4, so I'll try to soak him up as much as I can as the years fly by.

Edited later: Unfortunately, Ryker, Sydney, and Myles all got a stomach bug the afternoon of Ryker's birthday, so we had to postpone our Applebee's dinner. Since Brayden had already had the stomach bug, Ryker naturally blamed it on him. While throwing up in the bathroom he yelled out, "Why did Brayden do this to me?" and later while crouched over a bowl dry heaving, he lifted his head enough to exclaim, "Let's just get rid of Brayden!" In the morning, he came into our room and asked, "Are the bugs all out of my body?" Thankfully, the bug only lasted less than 12 hours, and Gilby and I were somehow spared!

Adam's Camp - Summer 2017

This summer we had the opportunity to go to Adam's Camp at YMCA Snow Mountain Ranch in Granby, CO. Adam's Camp is a family camp for children with disabilities and their families. Myles was in intensive, but still fun, therapies for five days while the other three kids attended a sibling day camp. Myles' group did one adventure activity per day including canoeing, climbing, swimming, horseback riding, and tubing. Sydney was in the Big Sibs camp and was on the go most everyday. They went climbing, swimming, miniature golfing, go cart riding, shopping, roller skating (her favorite), the two little boys were in Little Sibs camp and stayed onsite to do all sorts of preschool type activite - crafts, playground, nature hikes, scavenger hunts, etc, while Gilby and I had free time for four days in a row, which was much needed respite for us. We stayed in a cabin on the Snow Mountain Ranch property and were able to do fun things as a family in the afternoons and evenings. It was a great week!

Monday 7/31 - We arrived at camp in the afternoon to get checked in and settled. Since it was Myles' birthday, we had left home early and stopped at Beau Jo's in Idaho Springs for a pizza birthday lunch. We took the kiddos on a nature walk before meeting up with the other Adam's Camp families for a quick orientation.

Tuesday 8/1 - While the kids were at their day camps, Gilby and I went to a breakfast with other parents of campers. We then spent the day resting, reading, watching TV, and went on a little hike before having to pick up the kids. Things we don't often get a chance to do! We ended the evening flying kites out front of our cabin.

Wednesday 8/2 - Gilby was able to go golfing with another dad from the camp, and I had the whole day to myself. I sat outside of our cabin for most of the day and worked on updating family pictures and blogs. It sounds boring, but was actually just what I needed. We headed to the kiva and went on another nature hike with the kids after pickup. One of Sydney's highlights was the improvement she made with her roller skating.

Thursday 9/3 - Gilby and I went to the Hot Sulphur Springs during the day, picked up the kids and had family photos taken by the volunteer camp photographer, and then went tubing. The two oldest loved the tubing hill, but the younger two decided it was too scary after only a couple trips down.

Friday 9/4 - Hiking! One of the things I for sure wanted to do while the kids were at their camps was to go for a day hike beyond that of just a little nature walk. Gilby and I drove into Arapaho National Forest and hiked Caribou Pass Trail. It was gorgeous! Friday night the Potter family came to Snow Mountain Ranch to spend two days of their Colorado vacation with us. It was so great to catch up.

Saturday 9/5 - Adam's Camp activities wrapped up with a little program put on by all of the kids. Afterward we had a conference with Myles' therapy team. He loved all of the camp activities and made some good progress during the week. We drove to Grand Lake that night for pizza and ice cream with the Potter crew. It was fun, but also so rainy and chilly!

Sunday 9/6 - The Potters headed out after breakfast, and we surprised Sydney with a horseback riding session, which she had been asking for the whole week. It was her first time on a horse. I pictured the 1.5 hour session to be Sydney on an horse riding around a ring with an instructor giving her the basics while I watched from the side. Nope. It was a trail ride! I did not sign up to go along, and by the time I figured out she would be going off on a trail, it was too late for me to sign up because I had the boys with me. The staff kept referring to Sydney as "the unaccompanied minor" to make sure she was situated right behind the lead horse since she was the only kid without a parent! I felt horrible, but Sydney didn't mind at all. She was so brave and excited. 1.5 hours later and we picked her up at the end where she excitedly reported nothing but great things and fun stories. I was so proud of her!

A fun week that left us with memories, which will soon not be forgotten.