Helicopter Coolness

    
On September 22, Benjamin turned 29, Mr. Tom 56 and on the 25th, Uncle Jo turned 18! 

So we had publix cake. 

Have I told you how much I love publix cake?  I think I MIGHT could eat a whole one by myself.  We've had this discussion in the Ryan household and the boys are convinced they could.  I think I could hang with the boys on this one. 
They are so light and fluffy and good. 

We don't have Publix anywhere NEAR us. The closest one's in Columbia. 
That's just some junk.  Probably helps keep some JUNK out of my TRUNK! 

Note:  Benson is not one of the birthday boys.
(in case there was any confusion there)
But he was cool enough to make the shot because he smiles so naturally. 

For his birthday, Mrs. Lula gave Benjamin a remote controlled helicopter.
Benson considers this the coolest present daddy has ever gotten, ever. 

When I was little, I was always so jealous when my boy cousins got cool toys like these.
I mean, what's a doll that just sits there, compared to this thing?

Even now... I'd rather have something techy-cool, than sparkly.
Not that I don't love sparkly.  Don't get me wrong.

But I do feel like my Nikon and Mac are my second and third children.
My love for them is great.
I pack the car and think, "Do I have Benson?  Mac? Nikon? Ok, we're good."
This is not a joke. 

After a few days of watching daddy fly it, Benson asked if he could fly it. 
Now he asks, "Can I fly my helicopter?"
I think it's changed owners.

I love having a boy.  They are so fun. 

But I'm just going to be honest.  They have cooler toys.  

Girls have cuter clothes and accessories, yada yada....

But toys?  Boys win the toy category.   

This boy wins the cute category in general. 

I can be biased like that,  I birthed him. 

I love his inquisitiveness.
Except for the 478th time he asks me to explain how a tornado works.
I think this is related to his boyness-  I'm not sure girls ask their mamas
478 times to hear about tornados.  And volcanos.  He wants to know all about volcanos.  All the time.
Next time you see him, he's likely to ask, "Can you tell me a story about a tornado?"
Surprisingly, most people have one.  Get yours ready for the next time we run into you.
He ZONES IN when people start telling their tornado stories.   

I love my sweet little pilot! 

And his hunka-hunka-burnin'-love 29 year old daddy!!  

Fall Sugar Snap

The leaves had started falling last time we went to Greenville, so we snapped some shots of the little sugars outside.

Benson thought that this baby Tulip Poplar tree growing out of a railroad tie in Kell's yard was THE.COOLEST.THING.EVER.  He couldn't believe that this tiny tree could grow into the one that was standing beside the side walk, wayyyy too tall for him to even see the top.

Wanna know how to tell a Tulip Poplar when you see one?    See the little leaf on the left? If you turn your head to the side, What does it look like?
uh huh.. a TULIP!
Ha!  I was paying attention in Botany lab :) 







The picture below reminds me of the first time Benjamin ever kissed me.
He was a senior and I was a Junior and we had gone to the park after school.  We walked down by the stream and sat on a swing and were watching the water babble along.  He took my chin in his hand and turned my face toward his and kissed me sweetly on the lips.
What a lovely memory :) 

This is not these two's first kiss.

These sweet babies are such a blessing to their mamas!! :)  

And they give our cameras quite a workout! :)

Our other Ville

     On our most recent trip to Greenville, we ventured away from our most favorite pastimes with Kell and Lael (bathtime and naps) and out to the Children's Museum of the Upstate.  

     I was impressed with the vastness of the place.  It's three stories of FUN.  And education. But mostly education disguised as fun!  And while it isn't a cheap date (it's $12 for kids AND $12 for grown ups... the fact that each adult has to pay is a little inhibitive for me, but I guess they have to pay for the coolness somehow!)

 Benson and Lael had a grand time.  See?...







Oh yeah.  Us mama's got our $12 worth too!  :)









This picture makes me laugh:



He was supposed to be tapping the paint brush in order to drip the paint onto this shaving cream that was spread out on a tray, but he isn't exactly light-handed and hit it with such force that it splattered up onto in his face... I'm going to venture to say that art isn't his strong suit.

And here he's flying a space ship.  Or listening to Mister, Mister, I can remember which one...



Benson loves his KK.
He told me, last week,  that he wanted to marry her.
And work for Farm Bureau.
And go to Vienna with mama and daddy and his wife, KK.
I can't blame him.



More to come from that little photoshoot I told you about last week :)

Introducing.... my newest niece :)

Ok, so he's not my newest niece.  But BOY, is he adorable!

a special thanks to kell for being second shooter on this one.
i feel like we're charlies angels.
with nikons :)

Windy Gap Womens Weekend

My sweet friend, Carrie, invited me to the Windy Gap Women's weekend in Weaverville, NC.  It was SUCH a great time!!  There were hilarious skits, awesome music by Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors {which by the way, if you're looking for some new good tunes, I'd HIGHLY recommend anything by them!!}, and really awesome messages from Paula Rhinehart {who by the way, wrote a book called "Better than my Dreams" that I would also HIGHLY recommend.} 
Here's the blurp from the back:

Each of us has a dream—an image in the back of our minds of the life we think we want. When our story doesn’t quite unfold the way we hoped, how does that disappointment unveil the invitation to an actual journey with Christ that offers something deeper—something richer—something better than our dreams?

This one's worth your time and money, folks. 

Windy Gap itself is absolutely BEAUTIFUL.  It's a Young Life retreat center and it is SO well done.
Love it.  And can't wait to go back!! :) 

They have TRIPLE bunk beds.  Carrie was a trooper and took top bunk.  :)

They had a bazillion of the most beautiful butterflies everywhere. 

And they were tame!!

And the blob.  They have the blob.  On Saturday, we had about six hours of free time to enjoy the campus and activities.  We didn't participate in the blob adventure, but we sure had fun watching those who DID!  :)

All of the food is homemade and presented by college students who are young life leaders all around the South.
They were so great! (And we ate SO MUCH of this yummy food!!)

They serve drinks out of mason jars.  Yall, this place is cool. 

Thanks, for a wonderful weekend, girls!  Can't wait to do it again! :)

And thanks to B for having a daddy weekend with the little guy so that I could have a girls weekend with these sweet chickies! :)

Peace Out

Whenever we're in the car, driving away, Papa always gives us the "peace" sign....

Benson, in his rather insulted voice, has been insisting,
"NO Papa!!  I'm THREE!!!"