Ryan's Year in Review

Here are the highlights of 2012 for Ryan Ting

• Airsoft Birthday Party, Age 14.  Ryan was into airsoft guns a lot last year and the beginning of 2012. Airsoft guns shoot little plastic BB pellets and are less painful and less messy than paintball guns.  Airsoft guns can be replicated to look like the real thing, but bright orange tips are required for safety purposes.  Henry and Alice are very strict with his airsoft guns and is required to treat them like real firearms.  He and his friends had good clean fun.  Here is a short video  of birthday party.

• Ryan went to Washington DC with a select group of Revere Middle School students.  He had a great time with his friends.  He had such a good time, that he didn't even text or call us back.  As they say, "no news is good news." At least he sent us this picture. 

• Graduation from Revere middle school.   Erin made a cool candy lei.

• Navajo VBS.  He spent a week with HarvestLA/EFCLA teaching VBS to the Navajo kids near Page, AZ.  This was his first short-term summer missions trip.  He met many of the Navajo kids that Erin met and loved over her past 4 years.  He enjoyed being in charge of games and playing the kids.

• Palisades Charter HS Marching band.  Almost immediately after graduation, Ryan started marching band practice.  Ryan switched from the French horn (orchestra) to the mellophone. A mellophone looks like a large trumpet/coronet.   He was warmly welcomed into the marching band family. We thank God that he made friends with some wonderful upper class-men band members, most who are ambitious scholar-musicians. His mellophone leader is the school valedictorian.  For those who are speed reading, Ryan is NOT the school valedictorian, but his mellophone section leader is. This will be the only time Ryan and valedictorian will be used in the same sentence.

• Boys Scouts of America (BSA.)  Although Ryan continued to advance in rank and achievements with Troup 144, he had to take a long break from BSA due to marching band rehearsals.  Now that marching band competition is over, he can focus on rank advancements.

• Marching Band competition.  For 5 or 6 Saturdays in October through December, Ryan and Pali HS participated in regional band competitions throughout Southern California. Palisades Charter HS won first place in the LAUSD competition and 12th place for the Southern California Division 3A championship.  Despite the long hours and intense practices, he really enjoys marching band.

• He officially become the tallest member of the family. Thank God.  He finally outgrew Henry in Fall 2012.  This is our biggest praise of all.  For afterall, it was only a couple years ago that Ryan had health problems.  This past year, he was hardly sick and he has been growing big and strong.  Alice and Henry hope and pray that brain and maturity developments will soon follow the physical developments.