Rinn Reflections

Isaac at 8 Years Old

Isaac spent his eighth birthday in Steamboat!  We drove to Hahn's Peak and hiked.  It was absolutely pristine!  Isaac was thrilled to hike through the snow!

After hiking, we stopped at the Clark General Store for lunch!  After lunch, we let the kids pick out a bag of candy.  This was the biggest deal to them!  It was such a fun day driving through the mountains and all being together.

Isaac was thrilled with his gifts from Papa and Nana, and they embody everything he loves!  He received field guides for Texas and Colorado, a new watch (he always wants to know what time it is and make sure we are on time!), and a George Washington costume.  I am writing this months after his birthday, but he still loves this costume and wears it a lot! He even asked to wear it home on the plane that afternoon when we flew back to Texas.  

Isaac had a football party with a bunch of boys to celebrate turning 8!  Dave led a football game for all the boys at the park by our house, and then we came back for pizza and cake!  It was loud and a lot of fun!  I hope our home is filled with lots of kids and laughter (and food, ha!) for years!

 

We celebrated with family that night, and Isaac asked for a Blue Angels cake.  He was proud to wear his new Blue Angels shirt from Mom-o and Pop.  

We love Isaac so much and are so proud to call him our son.  He loves to use his imagination and play, especially with his army men.  He is the leader of the siblings, and they love playing along with all his ideas!  

Isaac loves animals!  Here are two toads he trapped in our backyard and kept for a few days, until he released them in the pond.  He named them Jumpy and Trumpkin.  

Isaac loves Emma and Josiah.  Isaac and Emma have become overall good playmates.  They love dressing up and jumping on the trampoline.  Isaac is also learning how to be a gentleman to Emma!

Josiah depends so much on Isaac, because Isaac is so helpful to him.  Often, when I am teaching and Josiah needs to use the bathroom, Isaac jumps up and offers to help him.  He helps Josiah with his chores and often comforts him at night when he is sad.  I often find them sleeping together on the bottom bunk.

  

I really love teaching Isaac!  He is such a fast learner and asks fantastic questions (and I often don't know the answer).  His reading his taken off amazingly this past year, and now he loves to get lost in a book.  I remember this as a 2nd grader, too!  He devours Imagination Station books, and I've found that they are a great reward for him!  He has raked leaves and cleaned out the garage in exchange for a new Imagination Station book.

9.  What is your favorite show?  Wild Kratts & Shaun the Sheep

20.  What do you want to be when you grow up?  an astronaut, and if I don't get to be an astronaut, then a zookeeper

Isaac, we love you and pray that the Lord will direct all your steps.

We went camping with my parents the first weekend in October at Lake Ray Roberts.  Dave took the kids fishing, and Emma had the only catch of the morning.  

Isaac had a bad bike fall in some gravel while we were camping on Friday night.  My dad and I took him to the urgent care in Denton--our second urgent care trip in a month!  He only needed his chin glued, though!  He still couldn't believe that he was the only Rinn kid who has never had stitches!  

The kids & I flew to Colorado to surprise Susie (Nana) for her 65th birthday! This was my first time flying with the kids, renting a car, and driving up to Steamboat with them.  They were fantastic travelers, and it went really smoothly!  We listened to some of our favorite audio books during the drive, and it was a really fun time together.  

When we arrived in Denver, we met my dear friend Amanda and her five kids for breakfast at Chick Fil A!  My kids had fun playing and burning off energy before our drive to Steamboat, and it was such a treat to catch up with Amanda.  

My father-in-law arranged it so the kids and I snuck into the back of the house when we arrived in Steamboat.  It was so fun to see my mother-in-law's reaction when Josiah walked out into the kitchen to surprise her!  We had such a fun trip playing in the leaves and going on hikes.  I was able to attend Community Bible Study with Susie, where she is the teaching director, on Thursday morning while Tim babysat the kids. 

The kids love playing under the trees by the driveway--they called this their fort.  

We did a nature scavenger hunt one morning on the trails behind Nana and Papa's house.  It was just perfect outside!  

We took a field trip in Steamboat! We visited Fly Gulch Schoolhouse, which was built in 1917. Emma asked if we could please do our schoolwork here!  I called the Routt County Historical Society and was so delighted that they let us in for a tour!

Nana's birthday!  She didn't know that there were more surprises to come later in the weekend!  Dave flew in on Friday evening and took the shuttle up to Steamboat.  He arrived at nearly 1am.  The next morning, he walked out into the kitchen and shocked Susie!  Ha!

 Later that day, we rode ice bumper cars to celebrate Isaac's 8th birthday as well. 

#8 bumper car for our 8 year old!

Isaac and Dave raked tons of leaves in the backyard.  Then it snowed for just a few minutes, but long enough to put a huge smile on Isaac's face!  

We had a surprise party for Susie at their house on Saturday evening with lots of friends from Steamboat!  

Monday, October 16 was Isaac's 8th birthday and our last full day in Steamboat.  We drove up to Clark, CO and hiked on Hahn's Peak.  The kids were ecstatic to see snow!  

I bought the kids new costumes at the Rhea Lana sale last summer and saved them for this fall!  I gave them to them one morning when their schoolwork was done, and it was so fun!  They were so excited!

We went to the Countryside Fair for the first time!  This is a huge, all-church carnival/festival!  We started with a huge chili cookout/dinner in the gym.  My chili did not win, but was completely gone because I labeled it "kid-friendly, not spicy"-ha!  Then, there were different activities and games set up throughout the children's building and one of the adult SS buildings--far more than we could have ever gone to in one evening!    Two SS rooms were converted into one huge maze made of cardboard boxes.  This doesn't sound scary at all.  Dave did it with Isaac and Emma, and then they asked me to do it.  I went in with them and after about 10 feet of crawling, the boxes became smaller and I was forced to army crawl to make any progress.  I was terrified!  Also, it was completely dark and kids were using the flashlights on their parents' phones for light.  I knew that I would be able to make it out, eventually, but there were two different paths and I had no idea which would get me out.  I backed out all the way!  My heart was pounding for the next half hour.  I'll leave the maze to Dave from now on!!  

This is precious Annika who helps in Josiah's class on the weekends and also babysits for us.  Josiah LOVES her, as you can see from the picture where he is just adoring her.  A few days ago, we were asking our kids which friend they'd like to have come over to play, and Josiah said, "I want Annika to come and play with me!" 

Riding the electric bike with Pop one gorgeous evening!  (Shorts and sleeveless shirts in October!)

Isaac's friends came to watch his football game!

Oh, I love these kids!