Hello from Sunny South Florida!! Wow, our weather sure has been gorgeous! I just wish that the humidity would go down a little bit, but one could only wish. Mom and Dad got the feel of the humidity when they came to visit. We spent a few days in the Keys and stayed in a beautiful house on the water. Mom acutally went jet skiing!! And so did Dad. We had such a time together. Key West was interesting, but fun. The water was a gorgeous blue! It was a bit too hot, but we managed. Thanks mom and dad for coming. We sure enjoyed having you visit. Well, here is our latest news:
Mark just had his yearly conference for the state employees. He had to drive three hours north to Ocala for his meeting. He was gone for five days. We sure did miss him while he was gone. But he had a great time getting to know more about his co-workers and learning more about what he does. Mark loves this time of year. The weather is so beautiful for golfing. Today is was so windy. 30 mph winds all day today. It was hard to golf in that today. So when it's not so windy, the golfing is great. Mark has been a great father and a great husband and we're so happy to have him back home. (We missed his cooking!)
My job has been very stressful this flu season. The H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines and appointments has had my head spinning all day every day for weeks now. It has been the busiest flu season I've ever experienced in the time I've been working in pediatrics. But we've also had more sick patients this season than any other season. More with "flu-like" symptoms than ever before. I've been working long hours since the flu season began. It's been crazy. But I love what I do and I love helping to comfort the worried moms.
Ayn had a great summer! He took surf lessons for two weeks. He really enjoyed it. He's so happy to be back at school, though. He loves being in the second grade. He doesn't like the amount of homework that he has, but he really enjoys the reading time that we have as a family before bed. He's getting into the chapter books and loves reading them. He is ahead of his class and doing above and beyond his classmates. He is in tap and jazz class. He is also taking drum lessons this year instead of piano. He wanted to try something new in music. He is also getting close to getting his second black stripe on his yellow belt in Tae-Kwon-Do. He had his second sparring class in karate yesterday. He is so little compared to the other kids. Being a mom, it raises the anxiety level just a tad. He's doing great, though. No major injuries. Thanks goodness. We are so proud of him.
Jaden is just a cute as a button! We had a MAJOR breakthrough this month. Jaden now knows the concept of using the toilet!!! She is not 100% potty trained, but we haven't bought pull-ups in weeks now. She loves her "big-girl" panties! (That one is for you Jen! Love ya!) We are so excited that we have passed a milestone in potty training. She loves her new three year old classmates. Her speech is so much better and she just has the best personality. All of the teachers in her school just love her. We were worried about her development and speech and the doctor told us that we needed to take her to therapy. She has just blossomed on her own this month. No therapy needed. What a sweet joy she is!
Okay, Okay. I broke down this year and took my kids treat or treating. This is my first year doing it. I'm not realy big on the Halloween thing and something came over me this year and I changed my ways. Jaden was a pumpkin and Ayn was Darth Vader. We went for about 15 minutes and the kids were too hot in their costumes. It's hot down here and the costumes get so uncomfortable for the kids. But we got lots of candy and the kid's had a great experience. We also went to the Miami Zoo for Halloween. It was Mark and I's first trip to the Miami Zoo. It was a two hour drive. It was record breaking heat and it was sooooo hot The kids spent most of the time playing in the water area to cool off. The animals were fead pumpkins and we got to watch them eat the pumpkins. The animals were so close, it was amazing. There were booths for the kids to trick or treat which made it even more exciting for the kids. We really had a great time, despite the heat.
It sure was so much fun to see everybody in Arizona for Joshua's wedding. What a beautiful wedding it was. Erin made such a beautiful bride, and Joshua was so handsome. Congrats to them. It was so wonderful to see family! What a great family we have! We had a great time.
No hurricanes this season! Yeah! Yankees win the World Series! Yeah! Well, ta ta for now! Love you all!
Mark, Amy, Ayn and Jaden
Mark & Amy Ryan family