Kedzie is eleven

Kedzie turned eleven in Jamaica as she swam with dolphins.  A dream come true for her and she deserved the experience. She is turning into a pretty incredible young lady.  I can't believe how quickly she went from being a new born to this stage in her life.  She's in her last year of elementary school and is nervously excited for Middle School.  She is a snuggler and one of the kindest people I know.  She continues to have the gift of making friends with anyone! 

She has turned into a swimmer and she's getting pretty fast.  She also continues to do tap and jazz.  She has wonderful friends that are a lot like her and are good girls.  I'm so grateful. She loves animals and continues to love horses the most. Kedzie also continues to have an amazing imagination. She's the best. She makes me so happy to be her mother.

This has been her year for sure. She is on student council, she has good grades, she's had no surgeries and she was recently selected to be in honors choir where she'll perform with 200 other 5th grades throughout the district in May. She has worked very hard in school to be where she's at. She might procrastinate, a lot, but she doesn't quit. 

Kedzie had a fun birthday party after our cruise at Mid-Air Adventure with her fun friends.  

Amber

Lucy

Melanie

Cali

Linda

Ava came for cake and a late night. 

Ethan is nine

Ethan turned 9 on Super Bowl Sunday!

He prayed that morning that the Broncos would with the Super Bowl and they did.  What a great gift for a kid who's been the best fan this year.  Okay, so he may get angry at them when they are losing, but he watches them every week and was so happy for their win. 

This kid brings me such joy. He gives amazing hugs, comes in for a kiss on his cheek or forehead, needs verbal validation that he is doing well and has never been in trouble at school. He has the magic power of being in control over the mood in our home! For better or for worse. 

Ethan loves soccer first. He then loves football and is very athletic. He works hard at his sports and makes great friends in the process. He is a great student and learns easily. He loves our dog and carries him around as much as possible. He works hard to have fun with his siblings. 

Ethan is funny, tender hearted, intelligent, athletic and amazing. I'm so grateful that he has been given  to Travis and I to raise. I pray that he will find joy in his life. He certainly deserves it. 

  

Ethan had a great birthday party with 14 of his closest friends and family at Go Sport.  They played soccer and football and had an amazing time.  

Camden, Garrett, Bergen, Ethan, Daniel, Tanner, Sam, Baylor

Triston, Alex, Matthew, Tyler and Nik

Ethan's new best buddies are Baylor and Sam

Jada and Jackson took Ethan out for ice cream one day after school. 

Cruise through the Caribbean

Cruise February 2016

Western Caribbean

Ravsten Family Adventures

I'm going to make a photo album of all our pictures, but I had to pick some of my favorites for the blog book.  We had a wonderful trip.  Our family of six met up with Kathy and Reggie in Denver and headed to sunny Florida where we boarded the Norwegian Sky for a seven day cruise to Mexico, Jamaica, a drive by the Caymans and the Bahamas.  It was sunny, windy, beautiful, exhausting, relaxing, fun, entertaining, and the kids cried when they had to leave their new friends. 

We did a drive by Cape Canaveral on our way to the ship.  The kids had no interest in touring.  They are a new generation. 

Getting on the cruise and our first of many dancing moments with Reggie

We were at sea on Super Bowl Sunday! 

Broncos vs. Panthers

There were more broncos fans present and it was an awesome game for the Broncos, who are the 50th Super Bowl Champions. We screamed and hollered and had the best time watching the game. It was a highlight.  We represented in our Bronco clothes for a few days. 

Go Broncos. 

Ethan celebrated his birthday on the ship on Super Bowl Sunday and got a Bronco win as his gift!

Thanks to friends, I got some pictures of the parade at home, and the awesome Von Miller receiving the MVP for the game.  

Costa Maya, Mexico was our first stop and very memorable. The weather was fabulous and we went to a water park and swam and went zip lining.  Incredible experience. 

Jamaica's Dunn River Falls where you can hike up a river that finds its way into the ocean.  It was a lot of fun for us all.  

Kedzie, Ethan and I had the chance to swim with Calypso the dolphin. 

We encountered a woman named Donna who reminded us all of Grandma Mary, that we knew it was a gift from our Heavenly Father.  It was Kedzie's birthday so where else would Grandma Mary want to be than swimming with dolphins, on a cruise in Jamaica with her family.  We were grateful to have Donna join us.  She's a retired nurse who loves to travel and was very doting to my children.  It was wonderful. 

Kathy, Travis, Reggie, Alex and Triston all experiences a dolphin encounter.  They all loved it.

Probably my kids favorite part of the whole trip was their hours and hours in kids club with friends from all over the world.  They met people from Argentina, Canada, Brazil to name a few.  When I picked them up the last night, they were bawling because they were sad to leave.  It was a great experience for them.  

Here's our stop in the Bahamas. Some people snorkeled, Ethan and I tried paddle boarding and we made sand castles, ate and drank soda and simply had a very relaxing, beautiful day on the beach.  

Our traditional family foot photo!

We love Grandma Kathy and Uncle Reggie

We left the ship early Saturday morning and found our way to Sea World where we enjoyed the day watching more animals! It was a lot of fun.  That evening we hooked up for a walk through Downtown Disney with our favorite Dorsett Family.

What a great family vacation we had! Now where are we going next year?!