this crazy twosome...

these two are so cute.

they make me happy. 

 when this pic was taken they were on their way out. 

he had text her and asked if she wanted to go out for dinner.

she looked so dang cute. 

i laugh, though, because as cute as she looked, what ya can't see in this pic are her elbows --- they were black 'n blue with scabs on them. 

not just tiny little bruises either. 

a few days earlier she had her dirt bike out, ripping around the trails on our property.  the little girls had the stop watch and were timing how long it took her to

drive the 'loop' of our trails - she believes in speed and is good at it. 

apparently her best time was 29 seconds around the whole trail, which is basically the perimeter of our property and through the woods. 

so, yeah, she was ripping pretty good. 

she wiped out once on a corner, hence the bruises and scabs. 

but she got right back up and did it again. 

she's quite the gal. 

on another day the two of them went flying in a plane. 

seems some friends of his have a plane and they all went up together. 

she text and said theyd be flying over our house shortly and so we all ran out and waved as they flew over. 

i thought they should have tried dive-bombing the house, but they didn't. 

think of the stories we could have told! ha! 

but they apparently did the 'rollercoaster' with the plane. 

which means, basically, that they were doing what a rollercoaster does (straight up then back down again, like going in a big wave). 

they thought it was pretty cool. 

crazy kids. 

they've both been been parachuting together, so i suppose the 'rollercoaster' is pretty tame compared to jumping out of a plane!

 

they always seem to have very adventurous dates. 

they always have something new and fun up their sleeves.

laura has always been an adventurer. a thrill seeker.

she drives me crazy a lot of the time. 

she has a bucket list a foot long. and is always adding to it.

  ***

recently they made the trek down to the city and visited the state fair for a day, along with his family.

it was her first time there.  they had a great time.

(and yes, i stole some of these images off her facebook and instagram. bad mom.)

the latest thing they've been doing is scuba diving.

gulp.

this freaks me out way more than jumping out of an airplane.

but she assures me it's all good and not to worry. 

they both said it's awesome and way better than skydiving.

they've been taking classes and have been under water a few times already. 

soon they'll take their tests to become certified. 

they can't wait to go diving in some of the mining pits in the area.

double gulp.

(below: suited up in their wet suits)

and just the other night she told me she wants to learn to pilot a small plane.

well, i dont think i have to worry too much about that right now since it's pretty expensive.

i know it'll be awhile before that becomes reality.

or at least that's what i hope!

***

earlier in august they went exploring in some of the abandoned buildings

(or whats left of them) 

in an old mining town in our area. 

i like that they're not opposed to taking some of the younger siblings

with them on their adventures.

on this day they spent a few hours exploring and had a fun time. 

they did, however, encounter a ground nest of wasps and

some of them got stung several times.

ouch! 

but other than that it was all good.

 

they've been boating....which includes water skiing, knee boarding and tubing.

ryan has grown up doing these things but laura hasn't

and so he has helped teach her, as well as cheer her on. 

 

 

they find cool places to go canoeing and kayaking.

they bring picnic lunches and explore.  

and sometimes they invite the younger siblings to go along.

and the younger kids love it.

they adore both laura & ryan.

 

 

he has a harley.

and sometimes they go out riding together.

it's because of that motorcycle, in the first place, that they even started seeing one another.

neither of them was looking to date

but they started hanging out...

and look what happened!

it's a sweet story.

i'm glad they found each other. 

 

and then there was one saturday our town had a bike festival.

ryan entered a few mountain bike races and laura was a volunteer at a booth.

afterwards they (and some of the fam) ventured over to the big ole' airbag

that was set up.

they were lifted way up high and stood on a platform above the bag 

and then did weird stunts as they jumped off the edge about forty or so feet onto the airbag.

laura, ryan, colter & jon were the brave ones in the family.

or maybe the crazy ones.

but they loved it.

no fear.

and, quite honestly, i could go on and on

about the fun things they do together and their cool dates,

which include far far more than what i've posted here.

(like going out late at night 'storm chasing' when a huge storm moved into the area, sitting in a field with a friend and colter watching lightning during a summer storm, going to the horse races in the city, valleyfair, camping, music concerts...ETC)

but i better stop now.

i think they're both pretty cool people.

and i'm so glad they have such a good time together.

i have no doubt they'll always try to live life to the fullest.

i like that.

i wish that for everybody.

summer 2012

{laura - 18 & ryan - 22}