AJ’s Project

AJ has created some super thoughtful gifts at school.  I love  these things. The book is extra special to me because AJ worked on it when he was super sick. I was impressed by how thoughtful he was as well as how many sentences were included for each person. Writing isn’t AJ’s favorite thing to do!

So sweet! 

❤️Momma

Favorite Cheese

This year, Dempsey has developed a love for swiss cheese.  This is something that we share, I too love swiss cheese!  So when we go to the store, she asks us to get her 'Favorite Cheese!' or her 'Blue Cheese!'.

#6- 29

#6 for this guy!  Ryker has been such a light in our house.  He loves to laugh, and you can't help but giggle when he does.  He continues to be a connector.  We can't go on school grounds without him seeking out a friend or classmate, yelling "Hi  or Bye (insert kid's name)!!!!".  Everyday he does this and I just think it is so cool!   He is also is always ready, especially when he is excited for something.  He'll get his basketball clothes on quickly, or his Lion gear.  I usually never have to hassle him too much, because he loves adventures and is ready to go.

Ryk loves hiking and is turning into quite the hiking buddy.  If there are rocks, you can count on him climbing up them one way or another.  He also has enjoyed swimming and is such a quick learner. I can see him jumping off the diving board in no time!  He also has learned how much he loves basketball.  He took a camp and the started playing in a basketball league.  I find myself quietly shouting, "Pass the ball Ryk!"  He has found his love for scoring and sometimes (lots of times) it is worth not passing the ball!

Ryk is not always so simple.  He does get shy and is known for hiding behind me.  I have to do some quick moves to get him in front of me again.  He loves to laugh, and be goofy, which means lots of times we laugh with him.  He doesn't always take it that way and pretty soon he is whining and upset because he thinks everyone is laughing at him.  We try to explain that when you're the funny guy that will happen, but he still struggles.  

Ryk loves nature, I realized that when looking at most of the pictures I have of him.  He loves the rain, the snow, the sun.  He loves the mountains, the flowers, the rocks.  There was a task from kindergarten where he had to go in nature and find symmetry.  The picture of flowers with him barely seen, is what he chose to be submitted for his assignment.  He loved the way the flowers were in front, and he was barely seen.  An old soul he is.

Ryk loves cuddles.  He wants hugs.  And his kisses are um...intense at times.  I do not question how much this little guy loves his loves, because he no doubt shows us!  I'm proud to be his mom and can't wait for this next year!

Love, Momma

****Grandpa and Grandma Hoffman wanted to share some of their favorite memories too***

 From Grandma:

I can’t believe Ryk is already gonna be

6!!!

He was such an easy baby to take care of.  

Remember the time that I was holding Ryk and he started sucking on my chin.  I laughed so hard..., till I realized he had left a hugh hickey on my chin

When Ryker started to walk we thought he resembled a penguin.  He’d sort of lean forward, arms stretched out backwards and waddle along.

For some reason Ryker liked to be on top of the table.  Maybe because I’d sit him up there to talk.  Or sit him up on the island at the Lashley house and we’d talk.  But he and AJ REALLY liked to make a fort out of blankets and the dinning room table at the Lashley house.  They’d sit in there for lunch and to watch things on my iPad.  So fun.

Oh the iPad!!!  Every morning AJ and Ryker would come down stairs, “struction” (construction).  So I’d pull up construction stuff on the iPad for them to watch.  Then trains took over.  So we had to watch video after video of trains.  I’ll never forget the sweet little voice of Ryk, “trains”, “struction”.

When AJ came and stayed with Grandpa and I in New Jersey while mom and dad went on a trip, we took the boys on a train into NYC.  They were  fascinated with the conductor and got their picture with him.  In the city we went to ToysRus.  They have a huge dinosaur there that moves and growls.  I was holding Ryker while grandpa was up by the dinosaur when it started to growl.  Ryker got so scared and started climbing up over my shoulder.  It took a bit to calm him down.  But, when mom and dad came back he learned to growl like the dinosaur and scare grandpa.  It was so adorable to watch him growl.  He was so proud of himself.

While we lived in NJ, on one occasion that the boys and mom came to visit they enjoyed the garage we had painted.  We had painted the floor and walls and they boys wanted to eat breakfast out there.  So, we all ate breakfast in the garage.

Blueberries!  We could not provide enough blueberries for Rykerman.  He had a chair that hooked onto the table so he sat at the end of our table and he’d eat blueberries like no other!

When we moved here to the Mountain House, Ryker, AJ and Dempsey came to stay the night.  Ryker was anxious so he and Geandpa sat outside looking at the stars and talking.  The rest of us slept through it all

Over the years there have been so many wonderful things that we have gotten to share with Rykerman.  Playing, reading, swimming, boat rides, train rides, the ocean, flying, bath time and trick or treating. All kinds of wonderful things.  These are just a very small account of some of them.

Thanks for the memories Rykerman.  I love you and hope your birthday is great.

From Grandpa:

30 Sept 2017: Meg was hosting Erin Ricketts.  AJ, Ryker and Dempsey stayed overnight at our house in Estes Park.  At bedtime, Ryker asked if I could lay down with him.  I did.  After about 15 minutes, he turned to me and said.  “You can leave.  I want to have alone time now.”

I attended a Halloween party with Ryker this fall.  The party was hosted by the parents of one of Ryker’s school friends.  Ryker asked me to stay as most of the other parents/grandparents were staying for the entire party.  Ryker participated in all the activities throughout the evening.  One of his last activities was to construct a Halloween mask.  As he was working on the mask, one of the parents started asking him questions.  She knew Ryker from school and questions included:  Do you have brothers and sisters?  How old are they?  Ryker replied that he had an older brother AJ and a younger sister Dempsey.  The woman then said, “Ryker, you must be the best big brother.”  Ryker replied, “No, AJ is the best big brother.”  He is such a sweetheart.   Love you Ryker,

29.

Thank(ful)sgiving

The holidays have most definitely felt different this year.  I couldn't think of anything we needed more than what we did this Thanksgiving.  Will came.  Laurel and kids came (we missed you Dusty!).  And Papa and Granny Barb came.  We cooked and cleaned up.  We played games, and Laurel brought news ones that almost made me pee my pants and definitely cut my gums.  We enjoyed an adult-only night.  We read stories, and watched movies.  We cried, and told stories.  We drank, and told more stories.  We slept in and woke up too early.  We ate, and ate, and ate.  We played at the best park ever and bowled!  Losing Colleen has been the worst and it also has reminded us all how important we all are.  I make a point to say I love you more often.  We are talking about future trips to see each other.  When a matriarch dies, people must step up and take charge.  We all talk about the various things that Colleen setup/took care of/etc made it feel like she always knew that this was going to happen.  It made me think back to our Richardson Family Reunion that happened this past summer.  Laurel took charge of the entire thing.  Colleen would try to get involved, and Laurel would remind her that she was fully capable of planning the entire thing.  I think about that now, and it was almost like the unofficial, unbeknownst to anyone, changing of the guards.

Family is everything.

Love,
momma

Traditions

The wintertime brings on special traditions for the family.  Here are a few of them!

1.  The Holiday Parade!  This parade is fantastic!  It is full of glowing floats spreading holiday cheer.  This year was extra special because Russell, AJ and Ryker got to enjoy the parade on a float this year.  The float was in honor of the Cub Scouts!  It was all fun and games in the begining but then the boys were over the float.  They stuck it out!  Grandma and Grandpa came down for the parade, and with a group of friends we hollered at the guys when they came by!  That was pretty darn special!

2.  Holiday 

   Lights!  Mandy and I have made it our mission to go enjoy holidays lights, with hot chocolate in tow.  This year, Mandy and I, we braved the event with 5 children.  It was a Thursday before break, we didn't get there until 650pm, Dempsey fell out of the car on ice, it took at least 10 minutes from leaving the car to get to the entrance of the zoo....but darnit we DID it.  And we had fun.  We also agreed that a shot upon entrance might do us some good.  The kids begged to do the carousel and honestly that ended up being my favorite time!  AJ and Ryk went running around to grab their animal.  Dempsey really wanted to sit by the monkeys, which ended up being a stationary bench.  She could not quit laughing because she was so happy.  A cherished memory indeed!

3. Star Wars!  Not only did we see Star Wars on opening night, but we also got to see Star Wars with my immediate family!  It's becoming a tradition to go see the movie as an entire family.  Two years ago we all wore our own Star Wars shirts.  This year Grandma hooked up our entire family with matching Star Wars Colorado shirts!  

 4.  Christmas Day Opening Presents @ Home.  As long as I can remember I have immensely enjoyed having Christmas Day at home.  I can't explain it.  It's not that I don't love being around family, but there has always been something special to me about being in my own home.  I love being around my Christmas tree, our presents, our comfy pants...you get the idea!

5.   My Top 3 Favorite Day of the Year.  The student-staff basketball game at my school.  Oh I love it so!!  A packed gym with all of our students cheering us on!  I get to play a full court game with the best colleagues I could ever work with, many who have become dear friends!  I live for this day:)


6.  Christmas Eve Boxes!  I honestly don't even know where these got started, but we do this every year.  The boxes, which were created by Granny Barb a few years back, include matching pjs, hot chocolate, and bells.  Typically the kids put on these pjs, while they drink hot chocolate, and watch The Polar Express.  This year we celebrated this with my niece and nephew.  When I suggested we watch The Polar Express the kids were not interested.  At bedtime, AJ looked at me and said, "WHAT!  We aren't watching Polar Express?  But it's tradition."  Being that the kids needed sleep, we ended up watching this on Christmas Day.  Special still!

 6.  Getting our Christmas Tree.  But this isn't in bold.  You ask why?  Oh because we were lame this year and with sickness and exhaustion...well we went to Walmart.  I didn't even bring myself to attend this special event...well because...

It seems that traditions help me to ground myself in the things that are important to me and my family.  I am finding out that some of my traditions aren't necessarily interesting to my kids, but many are!  It isn't interesting to navigate what to continue, and what to honor for them and their needs.  It creates awesome dialogue for sure!

"But Mom, it's tradition!"
Love,
Momma

Watching the Demps

I've started to see a change in Dempsey Snow, and it's so wonderful to watch.  Typically a quiet girl, I have seen her start to open up.  Last night, she was our greeter when friends came over.  Another night we had two neighborhood friends show up, she immediately went with them and played for the first time.  Dempsey constantly amazes with her vocabulary and her higher level of thinking.  It's been completely fun to watch her grow. 


We finally got some snow, which Dempsey was insanely excited about.  We have sled almost every day that we can.  Dempsey finally will go on the sled with her brothers and cousins, and doesn't need us around.  Another milestone is that she can *almost* get dressed in her snow gear by herself!  Boots even! 



Demps is my girl for sure.  She loves noodles, swinging, taking pictures, laughing, and enjoying outside time.

Dempsey will say her favorite thing to eat is cupcakes, but that is because she loves the topping.  She loves Shirley Temples.  She can handle spicy food, and watching Star Wars in the theater twice barely.  She enjoys store and will cook you ANYTHING and everything you want.
2018 is going to be a big deal for Dempsey Snow.  I can feel it!

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