Birthdays

Happy Birthday Ryan - Through the Years

 18 years ago, May 31, 2004 was his birth day.
10 lbs, 2 oz of the sweetest baby ever. 

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2005, he hadn't said his first word, "ball", but it was clear he loved them.

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2006, he got two cakes, the first near Grandma's house.
He climbed all over the rocks and shore that day.
A month ago we scattered his ashes in these same waters. 


2006, the second cake was to share with his friends at his "Dirt Party".
They had a fabulous time, digging, in the mud, spraying water and eating cake.

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2007, was all about bikes.
We gathered his pals and their bikes and found treasures all over the best bike park around.

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2008, four years old and we played with boats at the beach.

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2009, they built cars, raced cars and ate cars and fun was had by all.

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2010, a train cake a treasure hunt of puzzle clues.

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2011, 7 years old and loving Super Mario Brothers. 

M & R were so excited to model the Mario and Luigi relay race costumes. 

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2012 Legos reigned.
The treasure hunt clues were stacks of Legos and a Lego decoder tray. 

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2013 Lord of the Rings
They quested their way through an obstacle course and found the making for sling shots.

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2014 After 9 years of themed parties, Ryan discovered board game conventions held each year on Memorial Day weekend, perfect for his birthday. These might have been the celebrations he loved the most, and they lasted FOUR days!

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2015 We brought a friend along and they had a blast!

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2016 he chose a breakfast treat instead of cake,
but we still managed to give him candles to blow out. 

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2017 he took his best friends camping and they came home for a campground cake.

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2018, turning 14, Ryan went for favorite flavors rather than fancy themes. It was yummy!

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2019, he was so grown up he didn't need Mom on his birthday. I was at a cohousing conference and he settled for a phone call and fun with Dad and friends.  

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2020 was the year of Covid and no parties anywhere.
With school remote, he got an extra long Atlanta visit. 

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2021 we showered him with gifts at his favorite restaurant. 

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2022 would have been 18 and the adulthood he wasn't ready to face. I'll return to the beach where we scattered his ashes. This year's flames will be from the cardboard urn that carried them. As it too become ashes, I'll remember the many wonderful days we had together, and imagine the incredible young man he might have become.  







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