Celebrating Bryce's Birthday at Swim Team

Photos shared by Patti with the following commentary:
First you swim the gauntlet according to rules of coach…today Bryce had to swim corkscrew 50 yards (down and back) between the team while they splash him.  Then the boys got very enthusiastic and tried to drown him!  Then you stand on the block while everyone sings happy birthday REALLY loud, then they push you off the block into the pool.  Pretty fun!

Long Beach Washington, October 2012

Bryce, patiently allowing photographers their time,

although at one point he did ask,

"which camera am I supposed to smile at?"

Bryce sledding 1/2012

Spring day in Kingston

After I took a class with Mark Van Huis along with Patti, I went back to the Hoffers', grabbed the boys and took them to the native American cemetery in Little Boston. I was supposed to be practicing with my digital camera, but I also shot some with my old Pentax using black and white film. I love film.

Eggs for breakfast

From Patti's facebook page today:

Mom: Bryce, what kind of egg do you want for breakfast?
Bryce: The leaky kind.


(It's always been my favorite kind!)

Thinking on a wide range of topics!

Mom, would you be really upset if my sisters were scientific geniuses and did genetic testing on me ....maybe they'd get rid of my B.O. and my armpits would smell like cherries.

I can't imagine living forever. I guess our minds are like peas and God's mind is like a really big watermelon.

I just don't get cars. They'll need boosters if they're ever going to fly. And if they hover, don't you think they'd use magnetic fields to do that?

Bryce: "Man, I love this Chinese food!!"
Miranda: "...This is popcorn chicken and macaroni and cheese"
Bryce: "Sometimes I get them mixed up!"

Christmas at Aunt Bev's

Bryce helped cook Christmas dinner ("Is this meat supposed to be white?" ...I guess he hadn't ever seen ground turkey before.) At the kitchen store I turned around and saw Alan giving Bryce a quick, spontaneous hug. And he also he got to go to Best Buy and use his money that he saved all summer and fall to buy an XBOX 360, 250 GB. That was one HAPPY boy!

He was one happy camper.

Bryce off to school

It's a safety thing that doesn't hold for all parents...we see lots of kids standing alone by the road waiting for the bus. But, Alan is adamant that Bryce have someone there...to the point that he stays home from work if I can't be there. Pretty cool, Dad!

Bryce's Awards from Spooktacular Swim Meet

Just need to point out that he is holding blue (1st place) and red (2nd place) ribbons ONLY.

Conversations with Bryce

Bryce showed me a Monty Python video on the killer joke...how it won the war for us because everyone who heard it died laughing. The announcer ends by telling about the Geneva Convention...how the joke was banned in modern warfare and laid to rest....never to be told again. Bryce looks at me seriously and says, "Mom, it's ok. This isn't real, you know!"


Bryce (5th grader): Mom, can I go to the Harvest dance?
Mom (slyly): So, Bryce do you have a date?
Bryce: Yup. October 15th!


Bryce: (Looking at real estate ad for his grandma's house) Well, if I bought it I'd flip the house around, throw a second story on, and make the house wider." Hum...future contractor?


Bryce: Mom, are you married when the guy kneels down with the ring or when you kiss in the church?

Bryce at Lincoln City

Celebrating the birthdays for 3 warm, sunny days at the beach!das

Bryce at the Mall

To be honest, Bryce was not wild to go mall shopping at the Tanger Outlet Mall in Lincoln City at first.....
but he seemed to get real interested when he found this shop....and managed to find a couple of items he could use his birthday gift card. A successful Shopping Trip.

Oh What you Can SEE from the ESTER LEE

Bryce with new hat, shirt and jacket

Celebrating Grandma's 87th Birthday

Nothing like having fun and a laugh with family....and of course taking lots of photos!

Using up your uncle's minutes!

Bryce: (explaining to his sister, Sarah, that he had worn out his uncle and she would have to be extra quiet around him) "Sarah, you'll need to be quiet because I used up all Uncle Don's great minutes."

At the hospital

While grandma was at Salem Hospital waiting for a pacemaker revision, Alan, Bryce and Sarah came to help out. So much to do, emptying the house, garage sale, selling the house, getting the foster home fixed up. And Bryce was a wonderful helper. He worked hard and was thorough. But he also enjoyed the TV in the hospital waiting room.

A Sunny Day at Edmonds Beach

Bryce at Port Orchard long course meet

Bryce managed to get a lot of friends to sign his back before he started swimming. "Why?," you ask....because you can!!

...yes, those are bubbles coming out of his butt!