Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Spending Time With #1 Son

This summer, I've been able to spend some time with my #1 son.  I hesitate to call my oldest child and oldest son by the title of #1 Son because some may think that the title denotes favortism.  I assure you it does not.  For some reason, I've just referred to my eldest child as #1 over the years.

My oldest son lives in Utah, so that means we must travel in order to spend time together.  He is a banker who works very long hours during the workweek and commutes an hour each way to work every day.  Needless to say, he is very busy and does not get a lot of time off work.  I try to spend at least a week in Utah every summer and try to make at least one additional trip a year to spend time with him and his family and my daughter and her daughter.  

Ryan at Julie's Service
This year, Ryan made two trips to Colorado to visit.  This was a rare treat for me.  He was here for a few days at Christmas, and then he was here for a few days over the Memorial Day Weekend.  Ryan has been such a strength to me throughout the entire process of settling Julie's estate when it came to taking care of all the financial matters that occur after a death.  I don't know what I would have done without his financial wisdom and knowledge.   I've always valued his financial knowledge when I've turned to him for advice, but his fair and impartial ability to sort through many issues was truly priceless when I needed it in settling a difficult situation.

Ryan is a fun guy to be around.  He has a great sense of humor.  I love his take on life, people, and situations.  He has top notch social skills.  He makes friends easily and keeps them for a lifetime.  He likes to make people laugh and have a good time.

He also loves to cook.  On Sunday morning of Memorial Day Weekend, he got up and fixed breakfast for my husband and me.  Here he is in my apron.  I have others that aren't quite so feminine, but he grabbed the first one he saw before he began to fry up some bacon. 

Later that weekend, after he and I drove to Northern Colorado to stay with my daughters and a friend from Utah who would all be running the Boulder Boulder the next day, he made us some panzanella.  I was quite impressed and thought it was quite yummy, but then, I'm his mom.  


Ryan says cooking helps him relax after a hard day at the bank  Actually, he has always loved cooking.  I remember when he took cooking in junior high, he came home with all kinds of new recipes to try out on the family.

So, when I was in Utah in June, I had the opportunity to enjoy some more of his cooking.

Father's Day Barbecue



Ryan and Stephanie
Father's Day 2011
Ryan checks his email on his phone while others are serving themselves some scrumptious barbecued food he had prepared for a Father's Day celebration.  

  

We had grilled veggies and wonderful spare ribs that had been prepared using Ryan's special sauce.


Cousins, Regan and Gillian initially came to the celebration dressed as Dracula and bride.


Then, they changed outfits and came as bat woman and another wacky bride.  Regan has a belt made from her pajama bottoms and hat made from a cheering pom pom.  Note the make up they applied for this photo.  Don't you just love the RED lipstick?


They are being silly, but I think they will both be beauties someday.  Of course, I'm the grandmother, so I am a bit biased.  Actually, they are already quite beautiful in my eyes.


A shot of them being silly in the back yard.


Bridger has just made me the perfect smore in this photo.


Four of my grandchildren roast marshmallows around the fire pit on Ryan's wonderful back patio.


Summer Solstice Party

My oldest grandson, had a bunch of buddies over for a summer solstice party while I was in Utah.  After the party, he drove me back to my daughter's house a few miles away.  It seems very odd to think that my oldest grandchild will soon have his driver's license.  I was impressed with his driving ability while I was being chauffeured around.


While the kids ate hamburgers and fix-in's out on the patio, Ryan fixed me a perfect hamburger, just the way I like it.

While I was visiting with Ryan and his family, I had the opportunity to go shopping for a few supplies for an upcoming scout trip that he and Parker were taking later that week to the Moab area.  It was a biking, rafting, rock climbing excursion.  Ryan, who earned his Eagle Scout Badge as a young teenager, took some time off work to lead this trip for Parker's scout trip.  It was so great to see his excitement as he prepared for the trip.  It took me back to his days as a scout.  It brought back many happy memories and proud moments when I saw him inducted into the Order of the Arrow during a harrowing lightening, thunderstorm in the mountains of Idaho over 25 years ago.  I've always been proud of his achievement of reaching the rank of Eagle Scout.  It is great to see him now giving back to scouting as he takes his own son and others on scouting trips.  He is following in the footsteps of his paternal grandfather, another Eagle Scout, when he does this.

There are two special memories of Ryan that I  carry with me in my heart.  In both memories, he has the same look of absolute pride and sense of accomplishment.  One was the day he emerged from the workshop in the basement of his childhood home with the first completed birdhouse for his Eagle Scout project. He had constructed it on his own using a power saw.  Pride was written all over his face.  

I saw that same look of pride, accomplishment, and amazement when he emerged from the delivery room carrying his first-born son and my first grandson.  His eyes said, "Mom, look what I've produced!"  These memories, and the ones we continue to make whenever possible, are treasures that become more valuable as each year goes by.




25 comments:

  1. Oh, Sally, how blessed you are with your wonderful family! All of your children and grandchildren are so special. And Ryan is a treasure! Thanks so much for sharing the lovely family pictures and update!

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  2. Oh how wonderful, Sally... SO glad you got to spend some time with Ryan and the family. I know you are proud of that young man.. He obviously has grown up into a fine and upstanding man....I can just 'feel' the pride in you when you talk about him---just like you talk about the rest of your children.

    Thanks for sharing.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  3. Absolutely beautifully written! I got here from Kay's blog, and will be back for more! Aloha!

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  4. You are so lucky to have such a wonderful son! I wish I had a son I could go to for financial advice. He looks like he's got a wonderful sense of humor and there's a sense of strength too. Such a beautiful family. Your granddaughters are already beauties and you've got a grandson who is adorable and will be a hunk very soon too. All that food is making me hungry. It all looks so yummy!

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  5. Your son has given you a lot to be proud of Sally and that pride shines through in your post. I"m so glad you have been able to spend this time with him and his family and that you shared it with us.

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  6. Yes, Sally, I echo what your previous commenters have said. Ryan is a fine son, and you have every right to be proud of him. Love that picture of him in the apron. I have run half a dozen Bolder Boulders myself as well as spent time in the Moab area, so this post brought me many reminders of that time in my life. Thank you for sharing your memories of Ryan with me.

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  7. It's wonderful that you are able to spend time with him and see the links between what he learned and accomplished as a child and how he builds on those things today.

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  8. A lovely post Sally, Son's are pretty special and I do believe you have a jewel.

    I enjoyed all of the photos.

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  9. What a lovely tribute to your son. Cooking can be such a good way to share love. And the gils are adorable! Your pride shows and that's a good thing!

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  10. how wonderful to get to spend time with your #1 son i love hearing about your family

    Everyday Life

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  11. What a wonderful time with your family, and especially with Ryan.

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  12. Betsy is right, your pride does show and it should.
    A former Eagle Scout, sense of humor, loves to cook, a great dad, what a guy.
    What a wonderful time you had. I am so happy for you.

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  13. Special memories, for sure. Isn't it fun to have adult kids? I have enjoyed mine as adults as much as I did when they were little ones, I believe. :)

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  14. A lovely tribute to your son...I can't add anything else to all the other comments. The time with family is precious. The older I get the more I realize how special it is, and I've taken it for granted for years.

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  15. What a happy, lovely post this is. Your son is a special man for sure - it's not just your mom heart talking. I'm so glad you're having the summer you are.

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  16. How great that you are able to spend individual time with your son, what a blessing! Ryan sounds like a wonderful son, you are right to be proud of him. I loved ( always love) seeing pics of your beautiful family, it sounds like a wonderful time for both you AND them. Thank you for sharing this.

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  17. I'm back in the world of blogging. I enjoyed the break but began missing my blogging friends.

    I certainly enjoyed this post about your visit with son Ryan. He certainly sounds like a keeper.

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  18. Wonderful hearing about your son Ryan who seems like a prince. How sweet is it that he likes to cook for his mom!!
    And the g-kids are gorgeous!!!

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  19. Hi Sally!
    Thanks for stopping by my blog and your much appreciated comments. It is so helpful to me to hear of others who survive major surgery!
    I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your son and your grandchildren. What a beautiful family you have, and you will always treasure these special times spent together.
    I look forward to reading more about you and your family in the future!

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  20. What a lovely chronicle of family events you have shared with us!! Ryan is such a wonderful son and the love he gives to all of you is so evident. I am so happy for you to have had all this love around you!
    Wow, and he cooks such beautiful things, as well. Yum

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  21. Aw, what a lovely piece about your son. I've got Eagle Scouts, myself, so I know how much that means. How lovely that you get to visit as often as you do.

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  22. Great post about pride in family, Sally! I wish my own kids had Ryan's cooking skills (but - they DO have me as a mother...)

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  23. PS Please E-mail me if you come to Mts. I have a friend very ill in Denver. May have to spend some time there next week.

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  24. Ryan certainly is a very special son my friend. It was lovely for me to see all your family photos, as I haven't seen them before. You're right, your granddaughters are beautiful!! Blessings indeed. All that food looked amazing. Lovely post today.

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  25. Yikes! All that and he's very cute, too! You are lucky, indeed, to have a lovely family -- I'm glad to see you enjoying time together.

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