Tuesday, August 25, 2009

First Day of School
















August 20th, 2009 Jakob started 3rd grade and Jaden entered into the world of 2nd grade. It has been quite an adjustment already and they haven't even made it through a full week yet. Jakob has more subjects this year and also stays an extra hour at school. That has been weird seeing Jaden show up at home without Jakob. Not sure I really like it, but next year they will both be doing that.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

The Game & Open House

Jaden in his 2nd grade classroom for Open House

Jameson trying out Jaden's desk!


Kira & Jameson at The Game!

Jaden at the top



Jakob stopping for a picture!
On Tuesday the 18th we went with a big group of friends to Glen Carbon, IL to The Game. It is a fantastic place to spend the afternoon. Lots of climbing, sliding, and swinging takes place here. I got a great workout climbing through with Jameson. He let me take a break to go climbing with Kira. It was a great way to spend one of the last days of summer vacation. Thank you to Ora for setting it all up. We had a blast!!!! Tuesday night we went to Jaden's Open House to meet his teacher Mrs. Porter. Jaden is going to have a wonderful year and he is looking forward to 2nd grade!!!




Science Center








Daddy took Monday the 17th off so that we could spend one last family day together before the big boys started back to school. We went to the Science Center and had so much fun! The boys are making the train go, playing the laser harp, and standing in the dinosaur footprint. We wish daddy could have every Monday off!


Grayson, waiting on the parade to start!






Mommy & Jameson enjoying the Homecoming Parade. Jakob and Jaden marched in the parade with their Cub Scout Dens, but my camera battery went dead before they got to us. These are the only pictures I got. After the parade we went over to the park and the kids got to go to ride on the rides with their friend Grayson who stayed the week with us.



Summer Fun @ the Pool




We have spent a lot of time this summer swimming at the pool on base. We meet up with our friends there and everyone has a very fun time.


Our 11th Anniversary

Matt and I celebrated our 11th anniversary on July 25th, 2009. We had a fabulous dinner with Matt's parents (who also celebrate their anniversary on the same day) and Charlie and Vicki McGee at Charlie Gittos on The Hill. The food was wonderful and the company was great too. It was a good day!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Grandma Great


This letter came from my Great Uncle Pete and was written about my Great Grandma Fagen. What an inspiring woman she is!



Family,

Today we are in Hoonah, at Icy Strait Point. It is a very cute Alaskan village. This port is limited to one ship a day and today it was Radiance of the Seas day. It is home to the Zip Rider, the world's longest zip line. It is over a mile long, drops over 1300 feet in elevation and you reach a speed of 60 miles per hour. As expected, I rode the Zip and had a great time. However, the real news is that a record was set today for the oldest woman to ever ride the Zip.Charlotte Fagen (91 years old) rode the Zip and broke the previous record set by an 88 year old woman. They took pictures of her and made an announcement on the bus ride to the top where she received a rousing ovation from the other thrill seekers on board.Word had spread all over the island like wild fire about the 91 year old lady that was going to ride the Zip Rider.At the launch pad they were expecting her and treated her like royalty. It was an exciting and exhilarating ride. When we got to the landing zone there were people all over cheering and clapping. It looked like press row with all the cameras clicking. From then on, everywhere we went on the island, people would stop us and say how great it was or how inspiring it was, or that when they grew up they wanted to be just like mom. We both got Zip Rider tee shirts and the bartender at the Landing Zone restaurant offered her a free shot of whiskey which she refused. So instead they provided a round of sodas for our whole group and a bottle of water for mom.This attention continued when we got back on board the ship with people congratulating her and telling her that she was the talk of the entire island. (Which she was). People we met on the plane to Vancouver told us that they proudly told others that they had met her when overhearing conversations about mom.Going back in time, yesterday when I told mom I was going to ride the Zip Rider and explained to her what it is, her eyes lit up and she said it sounded like fun. So I told her if it was accessible for her I would go with her. Some others were not so sure it was a good idea and expressed as much to mom. She finally put that discussion to bed when she declared that she should be allowed to have some fun in her life too.While the discussion was over, that didn't stop the hand wringing and worrying that was going on behind the scenes by the thrill seeking, record breaker's daughters. Worries about snapped necks, pulled out shoulders and all sorts of possible injuries. Thankfully, like most things we worry about, none of those worries came true.Finally, it was truly a beautiful, fun, memorable day in a fabulous location and we were all glad to have been part of it.More later.Love,Peter, Sarah and Andrew