Ruddick Family Records

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Ronan's Party - part 1

In the afternoon on August 1st, we had a pirate party with Ronan's friends and almost all of his cousins. He had been anticipating this day for so long and could hardly contain his excitement!

We had worked up until the very last possible minute to get our backyard ready for the party, and we were so thankful to have that usable space! It was a really hot day, but the kids didn't seem to mind...and they all had fun trying out the new play structure!

Ahoy there, Emma!

I hid clues around the house for the kids to go on a scavenger hunt in search of treasure (the party favors). Tyler read each of the clues and then all of the kids would run to the find the next one. They did a great job trying to figure out the clues together. (:

The final clue led them to the play structure where they found the hidden treasure!

Present time!

Sooo much fun for a 5 year old boy--he was really excited about his presents: Lego sets, G.I. Joe guys, Star Wars stuff, & pirate ship toys!

Sadie, Luke, Marcus, and Cohen waiting for their cupcakes. (:

Cousin Finn dressed up for the party. (:

Griffin, Cohen, Ethan, Macey, Emma, & Grammie

Ryan & John-such handsome boys!

Sadie, Rhyan, Ellie, and Marcus

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Happy Birthday, Ronan!

Our big boy turned 5 years old on July 29th! He was so excited for his birthday and had a hard time waiting for Daddy to get home from work that day! To kill time I took the boys to a movie at the theater where we met up with my friend Melissa & her boys along with Papa, Tyler, and Sadie! That was a lot of fun for Ronan--getting to spend time on his birthday with some of his favorite people. (: After the movie we went to Dairy Queen for lunch, then home for some rest time.

This boy loves pirates!

As soon as Josh got home it was present time!
The Hulk toy was from Griffin. He picked it out himself while we were shopping. (:

Sooo excited about a new basketball!

Ronan's very first Lego kit!

Fun for Daddy, too. (:

For dinner we went to one of Ronan's favorite restaurants: Red Robin!

He didn't want to be sung to, but he was very excited about the ice cream sundae!

After dinner we picked up Ronan's "new" bunkbed that we found on Craigslist. Josh set it up for him that night so he could sleep in it. The sports bedding came with it and matched perfectly in his blue room! We were so happy to find such a nice quality bed for a great price, too.

Griffin wanted to snuggle with Ronan a little bit before going to his own bed. They looked pretty sweet together and I know it won't be long before they are sharing this room. (:

Happy Birthday, Ronan~our sweet, darlin' boy!!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

100+ degrees!

There was an intense heat wave at the end of July and temperatures got into the 100's, which is pretty rare for Eugene! This was our first summer to have air conditioning in our house, so that was a huge blessing! We also went swimming a few times at the pool where Josh's grandparents live. It felt so nice to cool off on those hot evenings!

Amy and Jon were also there with their three kids.

Emma getting used to the water

Great Grandpa and Ethan

Four of the Five Greens relaxin' in the pool. (:

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Backyard Projects

mid-July 2009~ I'm not sure how, but we (well, Josh) completely transformed our backyard within two weeks to prepare for Ronan's 5th birthday party! It seemed like an impossible task (to me), but Josh is ambitious enough and capable of taking on such big projects! He did a great job and we've been enjoying being able to use the space! I have to admit, though, that the stress of getting it done before the party was a little too much for me!!

Our little workers helping daddy build a play structure.

The boys could hardly wait for it to be done!

Getting closer!

The finished product...just in time for Ronan's birthday party!

Josh also built a deck using some of the leftover hardwood flooring.

My parents helped out a ton with getting the backyard ready for the party! They rolled the sod for our little stretch of grass and helped clean up all the junk/construction remnants on the back patio.

Insta-lawn!

View of the finished deck & sod

Tie Dye Fun

July 21st~ My mom did a tie dye demonstration for our moms group and all of the kids got to make their own creations! It was a lot of fun, and so neat to see the final outcomes! This was my first time ever tie dying, which is hard to believe since I grew up with "hippie" parents. (: (: