Adversity.....

Life throws you curve balls, when you least expect it. Hello everyone! The McGraths are all physically doing fine. End of year anxieties are setting in. Trying to keep Kieran and Brenna on task. Scott is currently in Kiev. He'll be home on Saturday. Then he'll be leaving again the following Thursday. He then should be home by the 5th of June in time for Kieran's graduation. Time is going be so fast. Trying to get all of Kieran's college stuff in order. He will be attending the University of Utah this fall. Benson will be getting a U of U sweatshirt to wear! Finals will be starting in a couple of weeks for Kieran, a few days later for Brenna. Then school will be out for the summer. We won't be doing to much this summer. Our house is supposed to be ready in July, so I guess moving will be the big thing this summer. Taking Kieran to school will be the second. I just wanted to jot a few thing down and to upload a couple of more pictures of the house. Will share more later. Hugs to everyone out there. ME

We trying......but we're inhaling sharply

Hello everyone, Life is what happens when you are making other plans. Much the way of this blog. It was so easy in the beginning, but then life must have took over. I'm not sure. Much has happened since last we posted. The big news and I mean BIG is that Scott and I are buying a house. Yes here in Virginia, which probably would have been the last place we would have thought to have lived, let alone buy a house. But we're almost through with this man's Navy and we really want Brenna to be able to start and finish one high school. We're actually building a house. Lots of decisions to make. Sometimes can be overwhelming. But the market is good for this area, it's a good neighborhood and Brenna will be going to the same high school as Kieran. So it's all good. We'll show some pictures everyone and then so that you can see. We just got back from our spring break vacation. Our last one before Kieran graduates. I'm having a hard time grasping that statement. He is graduating. But I guess they do grow older and do have to leave home. He is doing well at school now. Threatening not being able to go on vacation was a great motivator for him. No all he has to do is maintain until June. Everybody keep your fingers crossed. Of his nine schools that he applied to: 2 said yes, 1 said we have to see, one hasn't answered and 5 said no. Not bad odds I guess. Brenna is doing well in school. She picked out the classes that she wants next year in high school. No more band, only because she really wants to take the art classes that they offer. She has a bunch of field trips coming up that she is looking forward to going on. Geometry is going well. An SOL is coming up soon. That is Virginia's standardized test that they have to take and she needs to take one for Geometry. I know she'll do fine. Scott leaves for trip this week. He's been med down for awhile, so it's been nice to have him home. But the traveling starts again. He has lots of trips between now and the summer. Oh well, I'll just push on. I miss him, but life keeps moving, whether he's here or not. I've started walking 3 times a week with a friend in the mornings. We started out at two miles. I'm up to 2 and a half. I really don't like doing it, but it's good for me and Elisa pushes me to keep doing it. We're good motivators for each other. Well hopefully I can get someone else to write on this blog soon. Miss all of you very much. Take care and all of you are always in our prayers. ME

We're back..........

Well hello everyone..... Seems like we haven't posted since Christmas and for this I feel bad. Christmas was very nice. The kids were blessed with lots of presents from grandparents and parents alike. They enjoyed it very much. I made a turkey breast for Christmas dinner and it came out really tasty. The New Year came in quietly. Kieran was at a church dance and Scott, Brenna and I had our appetizer food fest with out him. My birthday came and went. It was quietly celebrated. I don't know if that was a good thing or not. I know I was a little bit upset, but I could not figure out why. Brenna had a combined birthday party with Molly, since her birthday is a week later. They had a sleepover here at the house with some girlfriends from church. They had fun. I made a bee hive birthday cake and they had pizza and a bunch of snack food. February was also the month that Kieran had his first accident. He was hit from behind and then pushed into the car in front. I describe it as being the cream filling of an oreo cookie. He handled himself extremely well. Kieran called his Dad and Scott met him there. Kieran made the initial call to the insurance company. The young lady who hit him, ended up being responsible for the entire accident. The Beetle ended up being in the shop until the 11th of March. It was a long couple of weeks. Scott had to get him to seminary or I had to get him to school or work. Then I had to go pick him up. You don't realize what you have until it's gone. I missed him being able to just get himself anywhere. It's nice to have the little bug back. Kieran is now waiting to hear from his schools. He applied to nine schools. He has heard from one so far. BYU has accepted him for the winter semester, which starts in January. We're also waiting to hear if he is going to get an ROTC scholarship. Lots of waiting. Brenna just finished filling out her schedule for next year. A freshman....can you believe it. She's taking Art and Russian 1 as her electives, plus Algebra 2/Trig, and advanced Earth Science. Her brother had to take biology as a freshman and she doesn't and like her brother she didn't want to and isn't. It's hard for me sometimes because Kieran is a senior and Brenna is going to be starting high school. Where has all the time gone. Kieran brought his cap and gown home last week and when he tried it on, I got teary eyed. Does not bode well for June. Well I better sign this blog off or it will get to long. I promise to be better about posting. And we'll try to get back on track so that you will be able to hear from the kids as well. Oh yeah, maybe from Scott too. Miss all of you...........

The most non sequitorious post ever.

Hello my adoring public...or just public. There is no semblance of flow in this post, so bear with me. Life has this crazy habit of sneaking up on you and tapping you on the shoulder, but when you turn around he isn't there, but there is tap on your other shoulder. That makes sense right? Anyway, things have been pretty good over here. I finished my Vector Calculus class yesterday, which is a huge relief. Tell me if there is a logical fallacy in this statement: Crazy people go out during the holidays. I was out during the holidays. I must be crazy! Christmas is almost upon us, and our tree is very well supported by presents. I am a very blesséd child. I have winter reading over break: Heart of Darkness and Midsummer night’s dream. Midsummer night’s dream is a funny book to be reading in midwinter but hey whatever. My friend Crystal got married yesterday. She’s eighteen and went off to school only in august, and has now gone and gotten married, but what are you going to do. My sister and I aren’t quite done shopping, so guess what we are doing tomorrow? Oh yeah we went to see Mannheim Steamroller a week and a half ago. Very cool! I’ve now put my application in for USC, Stanford, Yale, a Pennsylvanian school Swarthmore, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, BYU, and MIT. That is a lot of opportunity for “We regret to inform you’s” Cross your fingers everybody that there are only a few if not any! Working the day after Christmas, which means no shopping with mother. I am actually really bummed about this, since as most of you know, and you do now if you didn’t, shopping with my mom is one of the most awesome things to do. N-E-Ways…not much else to report. As things pop up, I’ll let you know. Kieran P.S. You have to take foreign language classes at Yale, and I seem to thing that Italian would be cool. So here is you Italian lesson for the week: O mangiar questa minestra o saltar questa finestra. English translation: Either eat this soup or jump out this window. Idiomatic meaning: Take it or leave it. And Ogni regola ha un' eccezione. English translation: There is an exception to every rule. Ciao!

Merry Christmas Everybody, It's brrrrrrrr cold here in Northern Virginia. No snow, but we did have some rain. Granted it was cold rain. It's really sad when they get snow in Las Vegas and it's only cold and rainy here. The kids had a really busy week. Band concerts, final exams, mutual and such. But we got through it. YEAH!! Brenna's band concert went well. The eighth graders sound great. Sometimes it's hard to believe that she is an eighth grader, especially hearing the sixth graders play and that used to be her a year and a half ago. Kieran had his vector calculus final on Saturday. Yeah that is over with. He also worked yesterday afternoon. He said he had some really bad customers and then he has some real nice ones. An okay day at work for him. Tithing settlement was on Wednesday. Went okay. Finishing touches on Christmas. Really have to work on those Christmas cards. Hopefully we will get them out tomorrow. The kids want to go shopping tomorrow. I have visiting teaching to do tomorrow. I am currently very tired. Maybe I will post again tomorrow or Tuesday. We will definately try to post the day after Christmas. Hugs and kisses to everyone. Me

Merii Kurisumasu!

IT IS ALMOST CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay. Well, i was actually originally working on photoshop, but Okaasan said that if anyone wanted to be on the computer they had to write in this first. So, because i want to finish my drawing, here i am! Continuing, it is now winter break, which means i can finally get some proper sleep. My friend, Crystal, just got married yesterday, she was my flute teacher. Her and her new husband look so cute together! ^^ My band concert was on Thursday, everyone says we did really good. I know that we impressed the sixth graders. Our favorite song to play and listen to is, no contest, The Tempest by Robert W. Smith. Like i said in the beginning, it is almost Christmas, and of the five people i need to get presents for (Okaasan, Otousan, Niisan, Mizuko(Molly) and Rekai(Deena)) I have gotten three, i need to get two more, and of the three i have, only one is officially wrapped. So, basically, i am a late shopper. Can't wait till Christmas, but the year has gone by so fast! I am so happy! Well, i suppose until after Christmas, there isn't much to say...Oh wait. I forgot, we had a field trip on Tuesday to the Natural History Museum, it was really fun! I liked the fact we had to do a scavenger hunt, only because that allowed us to see the entire museum. They had foxes there!!! YAY! It was an awesome trip. So anyways, Feliz Navidad! Merry Christmas! Merii Kurisumasu! Sayonara ~AnimeTink-chan

Hello People! AnimeTink-chan here! ^^

Konnichiwa! Hm...let us see...It has been seven days or so since my last post (i don't know, i didn't check!) Anyways, we saw Mannheim Steamroller couple days ago! It was really cool, i liked the drummer, Tom Sharpe, and the solo violinist, Jeff Yang. They were awesome. Not that everybody else wasn't of course. I just thought that it was so neat that we could see what instruments produced what sounds in their songs! Continuing, yawn, Oops. i really need to get some sleep. i have gone to sleep at midnight for the past three nights. -.- <- that is me. Next, well...not much has happened, some people have presented their spanish, some were really cool, others...not so much. To be honest, of course. Um...have a field trip on Tuesday, to the national history museum. I can't really think of anything else..got quite a bit of math, but most of it isn't due until Jan. Christmas is coming! Yay. I have um...(starts counting) 2 of the 5 presents i need! Yay again. Well...i really don't know what else to type, so... OH! Wait, don't go! (waits as people slowly walk back to computer) Finally..Anyways, i gave a talk in church today, it was on knowledge ^^ I didn't want to do it, at ALL. but somehow my dad pursuade me to... how in the world did he do that?!? Continuing, apparently it wasn't bad to everybody so.. The only problem about sitting up there was A) i was falling asleep and doing that in front of everybody wouldn't be good. And B) i had to sit next to the other youth speaker, Daniel, and well, that was the closest i have ever sat with him. And, i couldn't even look at his face! And my mom kept going on about how we looked cute sharing a hymn book.... -_-' sighs Well... Sayonara ~AnimeTink-chan

It is Me......

Well the kids have blogged this week, so I guess I should too. It was a quiet day today. We decorated the tree after church today. The house is actually decorated inside and out. The Saturday after Thanksgiving, Scott put Christmas lights on the outside, not to many, but it looks nice. We have 4 trees up. We have our Disney tree, our traveling tree, B's Tinkerbell tree, and then our big tree that we decorated today. Very colorful in the house. As you know, we went and saw Kooza on Thanksgiving. It was a really good show. I felt bad that the kids really didn't have a Thanksgiving dinner. Actually the had popcorn, a pretzel, and a soda. I'll make it up to them for Christmas. But they did have a blast. We are going to see Mannheim Steamroller soon. We have been wanting to take the kids for a while, but we have never lived close to where they were performing, until now. I'm looking forward to seeing them. Scott and I saw them a long time ago. We have a ward Christmas party this Friday. I'll be cooking a turkey. I'll let you know how it comes out. I don't have to many cooked turkeys under my belt, so I hope I don't make to many people sick. Brenna will be caroling with the young women. She's also playing on the church girls basketball team. She's having fun. Tchai and Orion are doing okay. Tchai has been sleeping with Scott and I. It's funny, because he doesn't sleep with us in the summer and fall. But the minute it starts getting cold he's right there with us. He's a nice little heater on the feet though. I like him there. Six is just enjoying life I guess. He climbs his stick and taps the top of his cage. Eats his crickets and rests. Life is like that when you are a snake. Kids have two more weeks of school before Winter break. Then they have two weeks off. Brenna will have to think about her science fair project and Kieran will have midterms when he goes back. I'm hoping everyone stays well, especially me. Scott is healing slowly from his laser surgery on his eyes. He'll be off for a couple of more days, considering he really can't focus right now, it's a good thing. Everything is still blurry for him right now. Healing time is going to take longer for him as well. So I guess until the next time, hugs to everyone, take care and we miss everyone. Love you all......Me

Hi?

Hmm... i don't know if this will be posted before or after Niisan (brother, i usually use Ani, but since i use otousan and okaasan, i figured i might as well. it is supposed to be Oniisan, but i will just use niisan. ^^) If i post before niisan then it will make sense by me saying that K hasn't talked bout Kooza yet. if i post after, then saying that is useless. Reason i don't know which one it will be is because Niisan is typing right now as well on a different computer. Just finished decorating the tree, hard to believe it is December! And actually, since i am chatting with my friend, she just reminded me, it snowed yesterday! and stuck! But it is all melted now :( Dang it! I was hoping i could have the day off tomorrow. Phoo. Anyways, not much is happening, off the top of my head at least. I have a 96 in science. a 98 in spanish and a 9 something in history. NO idea what i have in English and Math. I should really ask... continuing, hmm... my Spanish presentation date is on January 7... yay. *cough*not*cough* Now... i really don't know what else! I mean, it has been pretty quiet in my eyes. Don't know what the rest of my family is thinking but...hey, if i could read minds i would not be sitting here wondering whether i have an A in english or math would i? Well...i can't really think of anything else.. Dad got surgery on his eyes, he is recovering. But that is it... Sayonara! AnimeTink-chan

Kieran thinks before dinner

I am the first person to blog in December!!!! Yesterday there was this weird white stuff on the ground. It was really cold and wet, and it made my car not turn over right away. While I may be the first one to post this week, I also haven't posted in a while. Life has been plodding along at the speed of life. And just as the speed of light depends on the medium through which it travels, the speed of life is similarly inconsistent. Big news from the last few weeks. My Academic team is number one in the district, now on to regionals. We may actually get somewhere this year. Who knows. Whatever the case is, this is a big deal. See this school, Hylton, always wins. In fact, until this year, Forest Park had only beaten Hylton in a match once. This year, not only did we beat them in a match, but we beat them for the whole kit and caboodle, (spelt right?). Whatever the case is, WE RULE!!! Also, we went to see a Cirque Du Soleil show, Kooza. Brenna has informed you, I'm sure. My favorite act was the Wheel of Death. We learned about torque in Physics, and this was nothing but physics, this act. They stopped the wheel by balancing their weight, they newton law'd their way through leaps of incredible proportions landing on the wheel as it came back around. I'm telling you, if I was a cirque performer, that would be the act I'd do! Other important events have included the election of a black man to the presidency...and to commemorate this event Prince William County Schools have given the county inauguration day off, and then reorganized exam schedules, robbed of us of a three day weekend, and ticked off a couple dozen teachers. Exams will now be split by a weekend, effectively killing it. President's day will no longer be a day off, much to widespread dismay. subject change I worked on Black Friday. After an eight-hour shift like that, It took all I had not to fall asleep standing up. I might actually have been asleep, I don't really remember. It was quite the experience though. subject change again (You can probably recognize without me telling you, but ah well) For my gifted education class we have to study and dress up as a philosopher. My philosopher is Rene Descartes, father of Incomprehensible Geometry. He is the guy that says "I think therefore I am." The context of that quote though is really weird. He basically says that anything he can't prove, he will consider nonexistent. He disproves everything except himself, and then he basically says that since he doubts, he isn't perfect, and since he isn't perfect, there must be something perfect, and hence God exists. Something kinda like that. Really confusing. I'm fairly confident that if people can understand you, then you haven't arrived at your philosophical potential. That is basically what is going on. I may add more as I think about it. All the Best, Kieran

Kooza is Awesome! LOVE the Trickster!!!

Well. It has been very little time since i last posted, and have i got a LOT to tell you people. Well, it was Thanksgiving this Thursday and guess what we had for dinner?? POPCORN, SODA, and A PRETZEL. Very original aren't we? Yeah, see, my friend was having a last sleepover with me (she moved Friday! NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!) anyways, we stayed up like ALL night (we slept for two hours, 2am to 4am ish) and in the morning, we had pancakes! After that we dropped my friend off and then we went to the movies. Okaasan and Ani went and watched Bolt while me and Otousan went and saw Twilight! (me for the second time, him for the first) Ya gotta love that movie!!!! After that, we went to the Harbor where a giant tent was set up. Guess what?? We went and saw Kooza, a Cirque Du Soleil show! And, one of its best to me! ^^ Hm... Cirque Du Soleil..., a thing of wonder and magic, with breath-taking, heart-stopping moments. May it always bring joy and amazement to those who watch it. And yes, i wrote that! Anyways, Kooza is about this "Innocent" who is pulled into an amazing world by the "Trickster" (who by the way, is my FAVORITE CHARACTER, like, EVER). On this journey, the Innocent sees many wonderous things. The Trickster supposedly controls this world with his wand, but even after the wand is stolen, the Trickster is in control. However, this entire journey is about the Innocent's soul, so in all reality, the Innocent is the one with control. Some of the acts in this thing was such as the Contortionists and the Wheel of Death. Now, while i am sure (and hope) that Ani (that's you Bro!) will explain the Wheel in more full detail, i can give a rough basis. See, Ani would be better at explaining this though, because, as he has said many times, it is all physics (i am only in 8th grade here people!!). So, the Contortionists. o.o Now there are some girls who can move their bodies in ways thought impossible. One of these girls, sat on her head (head was on the ground) she was lying on her stomach, and her legs went up over her head (basically, her spine bent backwards, reach toward your heels not your toes!) and then she ran around her head O.O. seriously. The Wheel of Death is basically two giant circles attached to each other (i looked it up, it weighs 1,600 lb.) and these two guys, run inside them and it goes around and around. and they do tricks in them while its spinning. And then they ran on the outside of the circle. and jumped rope. and it was still spinning. and i am going to let Ani explain this, because apparentally i can't. Another act was the balancing on chairs. This guy, stacked chair after chair on top of eachother and climbed up on them and like balanced on one hand on them, these chairs were like 23 feet in the air (once again, looked it up). Kooza was just really, really, cool. AND I LOVE THE TRICKSTER! *cough*i'mcrazyiknow*cough* Anyways..., not much else happened so... Sayonara! ........................................~AnimeTink-chan This is the Wheel of Death (points above) Kinda scary isn't it? Can you imagine doing tricks on that? on the outside of the wheel? The Trickster! Like i said, i LOVE him! Meet the Innocent (points to person on left) and, in the red white and yellow stripes, the Trickster again! To be honest i like this costume a lot more than the other one. But they are both awesome costumes! W-o-w. Meet the Contortionists. This is one of the simpler poses they do too... I can't even imagine bending backwards, and they do it like it's nothing! Truly Amazing.... Sayonara!

First in a while, yay?

Konnichiwa. Hm...it has been a while since i posted o.O since a lot of us have posted... where to begin? well, there is the beginning but...12 years is a lot to describe in a blog. Oh what the heck, let's see, Nov. 9 is the last posting date, it is Nov. 25... well, first thing i can remember is that we went on a field trip! Yeah, we went to a play and saw 5 'short' shows including: The Telltale Heart (by Edgar Allen Poe, if you haven't read it, you better!), Sleepy Hollow (most people should know this one, Headless horseman! ^^), the Monkey's Paw (this one creeped me out the most, only because i have a very VIVID imagination), The Necklace (irony is bitter sweet.) and the Leapin' Frog (the point of this play was...? to be honest, this one was just messed up, and it wasn't even a horror play and it scared me the most o.O). I liked the first three the most, the last two were kinda weird... Afterthat, lets see that was on the fourteenth...? hmm.... Turned in my Español project, i thought it turned out kinda cool, we had to make it 3-D-ish and textured so that our Spanish teacher, Señora Craig, could feel it, since she is blind. She said she really liked mine and that she loved my ideas. My country was El Salvador. Um...today was Greek day! We painted urns (sp?) (yeah...would have been fun if i hadn't arrived at the art room late and did a two min. job, it actually turned out really nice though!) and then we did a chariot race, where one person was in a wagon, another was pulling in front and a third was running after holding onto the back of the wagon. I just watched like a lot of people, a lot of the 'chariots' crashed though... after that we tried some Greek foods like humnus (yuck), Feta Cheese (goooooooddd....), pita bread (also gooooddd), some type of greek dessert (sugary yum! ^^), this some kinda shell i think...? with spinach in it, (that was pretty good too!), and can't forget the grapes and olives! (didn't have the olives, just the grapes). And we did a bunch of other fun stuff too such as how we all wore togas made out of bed sheets, which was really cool! I actually used a blue sheet, but some people had power rangers and the incredible hulk on.... weird. Geometry is going okay, i am understanding it for the most part. I have a science project due tomorrow and (i'm going to say i haven't started, wait for it...) I'm Done!! (oh..that wasn't expected...i'm no fun, i know). So, yeah, i can only remember like, three things from this previous what, 15 days? Oh yeah, Dad is home, got home Sunday and i am having random moments when talking to my spanish teacher, i want to answer her in Japanese. i can imagine THAT conversation.... i catch myself in time but...one of these times i am going to messup... glad dad is home though!! he was gone a while on this previous trip. Hm... i can't think of anything else to type at the moment so... Sayonara! . ............................. -AnimeTink-chan

............K

Sorry I skipped a week...I know that you all missed me :). Happenings within the family... well my Dad is on another trip, my sister is feeling a decent bit under the weather, Mommy is putting on a strong face, and I am pretty much in the same frame of mind that has persisted for the last little bit: TIRED! No matter how much I sleep or veg or whatever my mind is always running at many miles a minute and it just wears me out. I have all my eggs in the Stanford basket, but I also have prepared myself for the likely "we regret" letter. My academic team lost its match on Thursday, 155 to 150, not my fault. ... ... ... ... *pause to consider words* I miss Disneyworld/land. I know that you all know that, but I feel inclined to repeat it. Oh yeah, Tuesday. I was an election page, which for some meant handing out "I VOTED" stickers, but for me meant directing traffic. In our precinct we had a bajillion people wanting to vote, and it was my job to get them through this itty-bitty cafeteria door and into lines based on last name. Too many people had last names between G-M, and they were P!$$3D. (I wrote it funny because that is how mad the people were @ times.) I was jumping on chairs, telling people to push in just a little bit tighter, and a whole slew of other things. All the grief, and all i got was a t-shirt. And to end the day I took my NOVA math midterm, which I don't even want to know the results of. I then got to come home just in time to turn on Fox News to watch Barack Obama win the presidency. YiPeE?! I reserve the right to hold judgment until the man has the chance to do something real. I think he is a very liberal idealist, but I am going to wait and see what he does when faced with sitting in a chair that demands a realist. A lot of people see this as some miraculous life/history altering election that will forever rid the world of problems, and others see this as evidence of the world going to a very hot four letter word. I choose to keep a level head, and I'm kind of getting some heat from my classmates. If you ask me, their politics are the last thing that I need. I know I'm ranting, but this is the best place for me to do this, no? In GEMS, my gifted class, we're starting Metaphysics. Basically we are trying to answer the question "What is 'is'?" Talking about identity and logic why's and what's. Already this is much more fun then aesthetics. If we change the world, I'll let you know! What else is there... ... ... ... ... Nope can't think of anything. If I do, I'll post it when it comes to me. ---All the best K P.S. Jungle Cruise One Liner: "Now, as you're leaving the boat, if you find your shoes rapidly filling with water, you've gotten out on the wrong side! "

Sorry I couldn't post last week, well here i am now!

Konnichiwa! Hm.. Well whaddya know. Okaa-san said that she was the first to post last week. We were all so preoccupied that she was the only one. Oops. I was really tired last week... still am. I go to bed around 11 or at least that is when i fall asleep and i get up at around 5... Doesn't help that i have gotten sick recently... still am, Ani is too, as much as he hates to admit it. Though Okaa-san agrees that he isn't as bad as me... Got a spanish project due in 11 days, it is on El Salvador. No one kill me, but i haven't started it... this week is going to be fun. We babysitted Benson, a little boy of some friends on Friday and yesterday, Kaa-san and Ani will probably go into more detail. I have to finish up a math project that is due tomorrow... it is actually just 26 math problems, but they are long ones and you have to show Every SINGLE BIT of work. It is being graded like the Cambridge Test thingy or whatever... meaning that if you don't have your work but the correct answer, your grade is not going to be high. but if you have the wrong answer but all your work, you are still going to get credit for that question. Anyways, there isn't much that happened this week... let's see, oh well, my friend Hannah dyed her hair blond. It looks really cute. Anything else? Hm... Hannah slept over on Monday to Tuesday, we had Tuesday off because it was election day. Obama won. Whoopdedoo. I really don't care, but ya know. We had a fun time, went to see High School Musical 3. It was pretty cool. Not much happened the rest of the week from my memory, but sometimes my memory sucks so... especially when i can't concentrate because my head is pounding and my eyes wanna close. I guess i will finish up, Otou-san left on Friday, he will be gone a while this time... Until next week, Sayonara, AnimeTink-chan

The Old Man Speaks

• Okay, first off, let me apologize...I really had intended/desired/hoped to make up my missed Post last week, and here it is this week. What happened? Life happened, I suppose, but that is no excuse...I just didn't make it happen. Sooooo, I guess I will just do this week and beg forgiveness for last week. Without further ado...
• I am currently sitting in my hotel room in Bucharest, Romania (please reference the "Where's family" clocks), which, being that we are 7 hours ahead of D.C. time, explains the hour associated with this post. We are here to work with the Romanian Open Skies folks to give them a better understand of the way that WE at least do business to fulfill our obligations and rights under the Treaty on Open Skies. Next week (as in Monday, 17 Nov) we will accompany the Romanians on their newly certified AN-30 aircraft into Moscow do conduct an Active Mission over Russia. (“Certified” means that all the countries that are signatories on the Treaty have signed off on it agreeing that the plane, and all its associated sensors (cameras), comply with the dictates of the Treaty.) Today is a day off to at least TRY to overcome a bit of our jetlag. The fact that I started this Post at 10:30am local time and the Blog thinks that I started it at 3:30 in the middle of the night illustrates the need for this. I think we are going to go look around downtown in an hour or so.
• On the home front, things are pretty all right, I think. The kids are staying in line (mostly), my lovely bride is behaving (mostly), work is not OVERLY frustrating (mostly), I am getting comfortable in my new Calling (mostly) and I am fairly happy (mostly).
• I mentioned in my last real Post that I am one year out from my PRD (projected rotation date). Being that I am over 20 [years of service], I have a myriad of choices…
• I can get out or stay in;
• I can get out and not move or I can get out and move;
• I can stay in and not move or I can stay in and move;
• I can get out and not move and work for the government
• I can get out and not move and work for some company/contractor
• I can get out and move and work for the government
• I can get out and move and work for some company/contractor
• I can stay in and not move and work for the DTRA
• I can stay in and not move and work for some other Command
• I can stay in and move and work for the DTRA
• I can stay in and move and work for some other Command
• …and the choices keep branching off from there again, and again, and again.
• The miracle of the Internet really is…well…miraculous. To be living in a time when I can be sitting in a hotel room in Romania, some 4992.7 miles from my home (according to Google Earth, as the crow flies…give or take 10-12 yards) and look through a “virtual window” into that home to watch my family, and talk to them, and see that they are well…that is a blessing that would have been considered complete fantasy 50 years ago, and something for only the extremely rich and/or powerful and governments a mere 20 years ago. Proof once again that today’s science fact was once yesterday’s science fiction, and much of today’s science fiction will soon be tomorrow’s science fact. And this is happening at an ever increasing rate! I may have to write more on this subject in the near future…if I remember.
• Well, this is all I am going to write on this particular day. Perhaps you will get more out of me somewhat soon…perhaps not. We will just have to see…
• More later…???

Gee, I'm first.......

Gee, I get to post first this week. Actually Kieran is doing homework and Brenna is taking a nap. Scott is doing I don't know what in the basement. Well Halloween has come and gone. Of course, I held on to my Trunk or Treat title as best decorated trunk. It was a fun evening. Scott made some mean chili, and anyone who was brave to eat it, thought it was delicious. It was good. Brenna had a sleepover that night. Molly and Hannah spent Halloween night and the next morning Scott made them french toast for breakfast. The french toast was truly delicious. Then Brenna had her hair cut. It looks really cute. She had about 10 inches taken off total. Well it's Monday. We all went to bed early yesterday. We were all pretty tired. Brenna even had taken a nap earlier in the afternoon. Scott and Kieran went to home teach a family from church. It was really a quiet Sunday. Kieran had his first academic meet. His team won both matches. A very challenging thing to watch. The matches this week are at Forest Park. Kieran takes his vector calculus midterm this week. He took the SAT on Saturday. He thinks he did better than the last time. He feels good about it anyway. School is going alright for both kids. School and homework is pretty much how things are going. Scott leaves on Friday for Romania. I'll have to fix the clock. This should be the last trip for this year. YEA!!! Nothing spectacular planned for this weekend. Pretty quiet, especially with him gone. Orion and Tchai have vet appointments this week. Shot time. Tchai is still enjoying watching Six. Scott and I can't figure out if Six is actually eating any of the crickets. I mean we know some drown, but we figure as long as Six is still alive, he is getting nourishment. Kieran and I are working the Polls on Tuesday. He's at Graham Park Middle school in Dumphries and I'm at the community center in Quantico Town. First time for me to working at a polling place for an election. This could be interesting. I'll let you all know how it went next weekend. Kieran will probably mention it as well. So until the next time I write, hugs to everyone. Love you all Me

The Old Man Speaks...an invitation and an observation

Gentle Readers, - First, comments to our various post are not only welcome, but encouraged. - Second, I noticed that my somewhat out of order late posting has caused some of the posts to be, well, out of order. If you want to ensure that you have "seen it all" you may want to do a quick scroll down (not that any post you might have missed could possibly be earth-shattering, since there has yet to be any earth-shattering posts). Thats all...more later...

K's Stream of Conciousness

So my government class, my teacher remains impartial as always, but my class of 30 has pretty much decided that we are going to have a black president, and a commuter vice-president. We keeping crunching the numbers and as long as voters continue to be invigorated like they are now, then this race is pretty much done. We realize of course that this election, complete with a high amount of registration, relies heavily on people actually voting. So basically what I'm saying is that this election is over in like 156ish hours, and things are going to be weird all they way through. That consumed a lot space didn't it? What else is going on. I got the Questbridge scholarship, provided that I get accepted at Stanford. Cross your fingers please. I got a 750 on my Math II SAT, and a 750 on my Literature SAT. I have a shirt that has a cartoon ghost and the phrase "be afraid, be very afraid" on it, and that is my costume. Well that and my mom is spraying my hair black with sparkles. Sparkles, despite misconceptions can be very frightening and very masculine. Don't anybody think otherwise. Work is going good; tis the season for crazy people, and I've had my fair share, and I only work 5 or 6 hours a week. Can't imagine the kind of asylum escapees that the rest of the store deals with. We are starting Cantebury tales in English...and this reminds me of something I have yet to vent:

There is a girl named Nicole in my English class. She thinks that she knows everything. She does know a lot of various things, and isn't afraid to flaunt it. She however is not the one that the majority of the english class looks to for answers. That honor is reseved for me, as egomanically egotistical as that sounds. She claims to have autographs from a variety of famous people, and I, making a joke, say that I have Mickey Mouse's autograph. Upon conclusion of this statment she launched into a long list of different kinds of Mickey autogrpahs she has. One of which is Mickey's autograph upside down. Now forgive me if I'm wrong, but if you hand someone your autograph book upside down, when they sign it and you turn it right side up, isn't the signature upside down?

Now that I got that out of my system, (and experimented with the funny blockquote button) I was talking about Cantebury Tales. I am acutally enjoying english again. Chaucer has quite the satirical mind, and I absolutely love satire. My first Academic Team meet was cancelled, so we'll try again this thursday, and I'm going to ask one of my teammates (a teammate of the fairer persuasion, in the words of my father) to get some sort of "victory dance"/"defeat consolation" desert afterwards. But that's what is new and interesting. Please email me if you my fans absolutely need to know what's happening in my life. I always have time for the little people. (I can say that now that I'm 6'1") Love, K P.S. I MISS DISNEYWORLD/DISNEYLAND...definitely going through withdrawls...

The Old Man Speaks...

Let's see, for this entry perhaps just a list of what is on my mind would be good. It might increase the chance of at least SOMEthing getting posted by me.

• I've been given a firm date for my eye surgery: 04 Dec 2008 @ 0730. SCARY!!!
• I am now less than 12 months from the end of my DTRA tour (if I don't, or can't, extend). SCARY!!!
• My son drives...everywhere...all the time...and he likes it. SCARY!!!
• My daughter is going to be an actual teenager in only a few days over three months. SCARY!!!
• Kieran has (We have) been filling out reams and reams of college application and financial assistance paperwork. SCARY!!!
• My Thrift Savings Plan has lost a nearly 37% of its value since 31 Dec 2007. SCARY!!!
• The weather is getting cold, fast...they say this is going to be an especially harsh winter. SCARY!!!
• I have my annual Russian language tests coming up in a few weeks. SCARY!!!
• People at Church keep assuming I know what I am doing, just because I am in the Bishopric. SCARY!!!
• The Church trusts me to handle and account for the Lord's funds. SCARY!!!
• Angelina is going to kill me if I don't publish something to our blog this week. SCARY!!!
• I am preparing for my next trip...going to Romania, going to visit Dracula's castle. SCARY!!!

There are at least another seven things that are really scary to me right now, but I think I will perhaps keep them to myself for the time being. There IS something known as TMI, particularly in such a public forum. That will have to be all for now... More later...

Okay....so it's Monday......

Sunday was a busy day at our house. Scott got home from church around 2, which is kinda early really. We had lunch, then we watched a little of our recorded television while we ate. The kids then had to get working on their homework. Saturday was a wash for them doing it, because Kieran had to work and Brenna was with her friend Molly all day. Brenna ran a mile run on Saturday. She did it in 9 m 30 s. Which is not bad for her. She was happy with it. The corn maze youth event that they were going to do for church was canceled because it was raining. So they played glow in the dark volleyball at the chapel. Any who, both kids had to finish their homework on Sunday. Brenna had a political poster to do and Kieran had to finish his essays for his college applications. By the way, Kieran is a Questbridge finalist. This means he is in the running for a full ride scholarship to his Questbridge college selection, which is Stanford. He'll know in about 6 weeks if he is selected. Kieran's academic meet was canceled last week, rescheduled for this Thursday at a different high school. He's ready to get started. Brenna had a good week at school. She had a field trip to the Air and Space museum on Thursday. She liked the trip. Scott conducted at church for the first time yesterday. He was a little nervous. He says he wasn't, but he was. He really didn't do to bad. He'll get better the more he does it, though. Our family history teacher was not at church yesterday, so we just visited. I was working on the new program that Scott got me. It's called Legacy. It's really cool, but I really could use a manuel. They are mailing it to me, so I have to wait. In the meantime I did something stupid. I deleted me. Yes there is no Angelina Rebecca Castillo in my family line. I'll just have to add me I think. I'll figure it out. The rest of the family is fine. Orion is enjoying the fall leaves blowing around. He loves chasing them in the back yard. Tchai is totally enjoying watching Six. He is fascinating to watch. A snake really wouldn't be the number one pet on my list, but he is interesting. As long as he remains in the terrarium. Well I guess I'll sign off for now. Happy Halloween Everyone. We'll be at the church for Halloween, you know Trunk or Treat. And I'm determined to win the best decorated car for a second year. Again we miss all of you. Hugs to everyone..........

Well... Hello.

Hey world, another week by, another week i post. This past week, i will admit, was pretty cool. My english teacher called home (no i wasn't in trouble no matter how bad you want me to be!) it was a good thing. yes, a good thing. she was calling about good things i have done in the past week, like actually taking time to memorize one of the poems she posted online, and things like that. and i am getting good grades in math.. and i just realized i left my math folder at graham park... i need it at potomac... crap. Anyways! Now it is Monday... yeah, it took me an entire day to write a sentence -_-' . Well, thank goodness I didn't need that folder. I had a busy day on Saturday. In the morning I ran a mile with my friend Molly and her little brothers Hank and Ernie (well... Henry and Ernest... but hey.) In the rain! It was fun! and oh my gosh, the last person to finish the mile, was this little boy, he was around 5 maybe 6 years old, and he was using a walker! He was surrounded with like 20 marines that were running with him... it was such a touching moment! Then, that evening we went and played games at the church instead of doing the corn maze because of the rain. It was SO MUCH FUN, we played volleyball and two different types of tag in the Dark, the only way you could see other people is because we all had a glow stick on our wrist! and then me, Deena, Molly and Jared got REALLY REALLY HYPER!!!!!!!! It was awesome! And Jared climbed out a window, it was a small one too... Anyways, On Thursday we went to the Air and Space Museum for a field trip, that was fun ^.^ I better go and do my hw... Okaasan will get mad if i don't.... She is picking up Otousan right now. Ani is on his way home... and the Inu (dog) just threw up... >_< give me one second... alright. I just had to pick that mess up... So yes. I got to go. Until Next week! ~AnimeTink-chan

The Old Man Speaks...

Another seven days, and what do I get, Another week older and deeper in debt, St Peter don't call, 'cause I can't go... I owe Peter, who I borrowed from to pay Paul, And I owe Paul for the money he lent me to pay Mary... (I am talking sleep debt…I am going to go narcoleptic soon!!) I have yet to feel like I am even starting to get ready to begin to maybe think about possibly returning to this time zone, even though I have now been back as long as I was gone. I go to bed at a decent time each night, and though I occasionally take a few minutes to turn off my brain, in general I am in bed/asleep the proper amount of time. But I have not woken up feeling refreshed, or that I got enough sleep for…well…forever. I usually don’t have a lot of trouble (if any) getting up to go to work, I just do so in somewhat of a fog.. I admit that Sunday are going to be a bit hard. I don't begrudge the Lord, or his Church, my time, talent and efforts, I just am going to miss the family time that really only happens on Sunday. Every other day is filled with school, and homework, and chores, and this, and that, and the other thing. Sunday mornings are going to be fun...I had to be a Church before 6:00am this morning...and I found out that I will have to be at Church before 6:00am every Sunday...and it was WAY hard to get out of bed when my body knew, somehow just KNEW that is was Sunday, and not a weekday, and to make matters worse... - First, it was COLD this morning...I haven't switched on the central heat yet. - Second, I just could NOT fall asleep last night. - Third, I woke up more than once during the less than five hours I was actually “asleep”. I know, “Waaaaah!” - I woke up SO tired! Unfortunately this is becoming my theme song as of late. Okay, so that is all for this post... Sorry it is so short. More later...

There's a chill in the air....

Hello Everyone....yes there is definitely a chill in the air today. I had to borrow my son's suit jacket at church because the building was so cold. We're going to have to put the blankets on the beds soon. I really don't like the cold. But then we live in Virginia and it does get cold here. It was a not so busy week on some things. We went to "Touch Base" at Kieran's school on Friday. All the teachers just thought Kieran was "an awesome kid", "wonderful", "I want a classroom full", "Great Kid". Him being well liked by teachers has never been a problem, but we have discovered that the boy has a definite problem getting assignments turned in. He does the work, he takes it to class, but then fails to turn it in. I have to admit he is getting better about turning it in, but there is still a small amount of "not handed in" or "NHI" as they are commonly referred to. Brenna played her flute at Forest Park High School on Friday. Graham Park Middle School played with the High School band at the beginning of the game and then they stayed and watched them perform at half time. She may want to join band next year after all. She's still not sure yet. But if she joins band, there is a huge time committment. Not only from her, but from the parents too. Both kids are doing well in school. Kieran's first meet for the academic team is Thursday. I'll let you know how it went. Brenna has "doodle club" this week. Kieran has a field trip to the National Art Museum. And we need to finish the financial application portion of Kieran's Stanford application. Boy is that time consuming. I'll share next week, how it went. Tchai, Orion and Six are all doing well. Enjoying life. Everyone enjoy your up coming week. We miss you all and you are always in our prayers. Till next time we chat......Me

Mickey For President (Or K's thoughts for this week)

"Islands in the stream" of consciousness "that is what we are". (The song that is currently running through my head, and I don't even particularly care for country music.) The past week was not majorly game-changing. My parents had an opportunity to talk to my teachers on Friday; the thing about having a name like "Kieran" is that as soon as my parents say it, teachers know exactly who they are talking about. The other frightening thing is the fact that several teachers recongize, RECOGNIZE, my parents before they even introduce themselves! This in and of itself is a blessing and a curse. On the one hand my teachers look out for me, and on the other they look specifically for me. (hopefully that makes sense) Fall is fast approaching, and it is the time of year for sweaters. What else is there....Oh yeah, the siginificance of the title. I watched the final debate this week, and I continue my position as an Independent believer that neither party is currently representing my 17 year old opinions, which I would like to believe are slightly more mature than most 17 year old opinions. Anyway, I googled "Mickey for President" recently, and there acutally is a reasonably strong following for voting "none of the above" this year. (Side note...a fair percentage of Thai voters acutally vote this way) The idea is that if enough people vote Mickey Mouse for president, then it would have to be reported, and it would, hopefully, have a sobering effect on whichever candidate did win. I can't vote for president until 2012, and I can' acutally fix things until 2028. Such is life. I am going to attempt (again) to ask out a girl at school, this time being up front about the totally platonic nature of the question. There is a corn maze activity on saturday, and it should be a good opportunity. Readers, please wish me luck. I figure that after the first successful "ask her- she says yes- she comes- she enjoys- we have a goodtime" chain of events, then subsequent attempts at asking others will come slightly easier. And just to put some academic zip-a-dee-do-dah into this blog:

• Physics=Electricity and Circuits (Actually somewhat fun)
• Government= Federalism (as fun as history can be)
• English= Cantebury Tales (TBD)
• Engineering Drawing=Reverse Engineering (Harder than it seems!)
• Multimedia= Flash (always a joy)
• Seminars= Aestetics (heavy stuff defining art and beauty)

LOL (Lots of Love) {How Cheezy} K

Hey World. I'm back (i know, you just missed me terribly)

Hey Everyone. Well, today hasn't been my day... not only did okaasan and i have a major argument (over something really minor) that somehow ended up with me in tears, we were also rushing to get to church for my orchestra practice, to find out my flute wouldn't play! so i sat there doing nothing... really sucks. So as i ponder the wonders of the world. Just wasn't the best day for most of us i think. Halloween is coming up... I really have no idea what to type right now though.. Isn't much to tell. Although we did go on a flying trip yesterday on some of those really small, four seater planes. That was FUN, like, incredibly. Not only that, i got to fly the plane!! for like three to five minutes!!! it was amazing. and no, i did not crash (how the heck would i be typing this if i crashed?!?) I had to keep reasurring my bff that i wasn't going to crash. and my other bff (she didn't have headphones on, there was only one pair back there) didn't even know i was flying until later!! it was so cool. I wish i could do it again, and just like keep flying in one direction forever. That would be awesome. I thought of a quote i made earlier. I think i made it a while back but it just really came to mind today. here it is- "Time keeps us going, Love makes us stop. Stopping is never a bad thing." It is true. To me at least. I mean, life is short. That much is true. So, we rush through things so that we can say we did that in our life time. However, when you find that one special person (not like i have yet, but, this is in my opinion of what i think would happen) You actually take the time to examine the world. You realize true beauty and find hope in things you do. Stopping never is a bad thing. The world may keep going, but contrary to many beliefs, you don't have to keep up with it. I say, let the world go two generations ahead of you. Let everyone else say, you are way out of date. Because at least you can reply, At least i know i am fully enjoying my life and finding joy in many more things than you. Hey, just my thoughts. Got to go, Sayonara! ~AnimeTink-chan

Kombowa! AnimeTink-chan here!

Konnichiwa once again to those who have decided to take time reading this (Arigatou all). Well, Okaasan (okaasan means mother, i am in a Japanese mood today :D) told everyone i had a bad day, so i guess i will say why. We are doing this project on the presidential candidates okay? and most people are either doing Barack or John (Obama or McCain, whatever) well, my luck of the draw, i became one of (or the only one) doin third party, aka Ralph Nader. If that isn't bad enough, on Thursday we were supposed to turn in the outline of our papers and (i hate outlines -_-') i had a question on my conclusion for my outline. Since this was the case, i did everything on my outline except my conclusion. This was because the conclusion had to have whether and why you supported or was against your candidate, well, i don't give a dang. I say we throw all the candidates in a trashcan and get some new ones! or vote for mickey mouse... either or. so on Thursday i asked my teacher what i was supposed to do and she told me. Well, when i asked if i could turn it in the next day so i could finish my conclusion, she said the highest score i could get was a 76 C! and well, i had to turn it in the next day... tells you what i got on my outline (at most) T_T. Not to mention i missed half of lunch working on said outline before class, had to finish my history hw during history class, etc etc... (basically, very bad day.) so i will say it again, I HATE OUTLINES. You know what i don't like? Messed up teachers. Take my english teacher for example. She can be telling you that you will get a C on a (stinkin, rottin) outline, and be perfectly nice about it! She can be an awesome teacher and still be giving you bad grades in such a way that you don't even realize it until you are out of the classroom! Or my science teacher, oh my goodness he scares me! (though i think i scare him more...) That teacher can be joking and smiling at one kid and at the EXACT SAME TIME, be yelling his head off at another. Silly... scares... me.... i try not to get on his bad side. Otherwise, i am doing fine. Basketball is fun, not my favorite sport (don't think i have one...) but it is fun to play with my friends (Especially since this isn't at school...) i am rambling again... there is so much more i could talk about but... i will another day (maybe...) Otousan (father) is finally home! i am so glad... ya think i would be used to this by now.. i guess i am but still... Ani (older brother) helps me when chichi (another way to say father) is gone so... do you know haha is another way to say mother in japanese? I realize that now that Ani is 17, and that he can drive, i am now (i always have been) the kodomo (child) of the kazuko (family) anyways, Sayonara! ~Anime Tink-chan

The Old Man Speaks...

My first real Sunday in the Bishopric - - Today I sat on the Stand as a full member of the Quantico Bishopric. It was Fast and Testimony Meeting since last week was General Conference. I found out that my Sunday mornings are supposed to start at 0600 each week, not 0700 as I thought (and the time I arrived at the Chapel this morning). The members already treat me like I have been in the position for ages...either they trust the position or they trust the man (maybe a little bit of both?). I accepted gray envelopes, did Recommend interviews, assisted in a setting apart...all as if I had the slightest clue what I was doing! My first full day back after my trip - - I returned from my 'round the world in 8 days whirlwind yesterday. Doing all 25 time zones in 8 days is not, I repeat NOT something I am itching to do again any time soon. I moved 4 hours to the west last Friday; I moved another 6 hours (7 time zones) further west on Sunday morning, and a further 2 Monday afternoon. Wednesday moved us another 2 in the same direction and Friday moved us another 6. And finally, yesterday (Saturday) we returned home, 4 additional time zones westward. I have absolutely NO idea where my body THINKS it is right now. - The time warp wasn't the only thing tiring about this trip. When we landed at Novosibirsk on Wednesday, the Maintainers discovered a bent part in the starboard flap mechanism, downing the plane. A LOT of phone calls and coordination later, we were still unsure how long it would be before a replacement part could be delivered and installed; we feared it could have been 3-4 days before the part, which was sitting in Offutt, NE, would make it out to the middle of Siberia. Fortunately "the system" kicked into high gear and the part was hand-delivered Friday morning at 0500 and we were fixed and off the ground by 1100. My twenty-first Anniversary - - It is hard to believe that yesterday marked 21 years since Angelina and I ran off to a small, out of the way chapel on the shores of Lake Tahoe to get married. Who would have thunk that we would have lasted this long?! And of course that means MORE than 21 years in the Navy. Ten duty stations and major schools, two children and a few pets later and here we are. I am not always sure where "here" is...but that IS, in any case, where I am. Okay, that is all for now... More later....

World of K

-->We live in a world that gives Saturday Night Live way too much ammunition. The fact that SNL commentary on the election has permeated my government class is proof enough of this fact. My posts on this blog are definitely stream of consciousness. So, I went to homecoming stag, and it turned out all right. Evidently I was born in the wrong decade, though, because the way that teenagers dance is not dancing IMHO (in my honest opinion). Whatever my personal thoughts are, it is the consensus of the student body that these dances are too controlled by teachers and security. I have half a mind (I've lost the other half, please send it express if you find it) to file a complaint with the administration on behalf of my peers, and they've offered me support. I don't know how well it will go, but we'll see. -->A lot of girls that I want to ask out seem to think that it is virtually impossible for a guy and girl to have a platonic relationship. What I've been having a hard time getting across is this: When I "ask you out" I am simply asking one of my friends if they want to hang out, the fact that you are a girl is secondary. That isn't to say that I'm not going to treat you accordingly, but it means that I don't have ulterior motives. And I'm also having a big problem with the feminist movement. I have girls jumping down my throat for common courtesy things like opening doors. So I've resigned to a "if it bothers you, I won't do it" mentality. I don't know if its right, but hey...such is the way of things. -->And that train took entirely too long. For all those who weren't aware, I ended up on CSPAN the other day. My AP Gov class took a trip to DC to participate in a show that comments on the state of politics. The topic was the presidential debate, and I was able to ask the last question. I asked about whether there should be more questions about the personality of the man getting elected, as opposed to the oft-rehearshed rhetoric of their policies. -->That last one wasn't too bad, huh? Verbosity (fun word) is a phase with me, and you seem to have found me in one. Otherwise, things are pretty good. My Disneyphilia continues, so at least one thing is right in the world. I have two more field trips coming up, details to be posted. The Disney Store is taking pre-orders for WALL-E, and as soon as I get behind the register again, I've made a goal of selling at leat 3 a day. That should catch everybody up thus far. I close with the word's of Walt Disney, and my new axiom: "Why be a governor or a senator when you can be king of Disneyland?" -K

Another Sunday.....by Me

Hello Everyone! Another Sunday had come and gone. Scott got home late yesterday. He looked so tired. The kids and I went to the commissary before we went to pick him up. We bought a pumpkin. And it was only $4.50. Which for here isn't a bad price. Next door at the pumpkin patch next to the exchange they were selling them for $12.00. Pricey buggers. Anyway, we picked up Scott and just hung out the rest of the evening. Kieran went to his homecoming dance. He looked very sharp in his suit. He wore a blue shirt, which brought out the blue in his eyes. Very handsome. Said he had a good time. But I guess you might be reading about it from him. The week was busy. Kieran had a field trip on Thursday to the Newseum. His class got to participate in a program called Up Close on CSpan. Kieran even had the opportunity to ask a question. The last one as a matter of fact. It was interesting watching the kids ask the panel questions about the debates. They are very informed students. Kieran had a couple of Academic Team practices. They have a meet in a couple of weeks. School is going okay for Kieran. Brenna had one particularly bad day. Things just weren't going her way. But she recovered okay. She is playing on the church basketball team. I'm glad that she is having fun. She's not the best shot, but she does give it a 100 percent. Her Drawing club met for the first time. She loves it. Not too much instruction, but it gives everyone the opportunity to draw and visit with other kids. Kieran calls in the doodling club. School is going okay for Brenna too. As for me, did a lot of picking up of the house. I promised Scott that I would pick up the mess in the dining room. It's been covered with all my projects for about 10 months now. It's not like we use it, but I did promise. Now there is only one project out at a time. And currently it has the pictures and pins for our disney wall. Also there is a Mickey puzzle on the floor that needs to be fixed because Tchai had a blast sliding all over it and thus dismantling it. Needless to say, I was perturbed. Oh well, I did want an active cat. He's sleeping on Orion's pillow right now. Scott has been home from church for a few minutes. I'm not liking this calling he has to much right now. Not only has it changed his schedule, but it pretty much missed up my life and schedule. It's funny, I normally handle change very well, heck the Navy moves us every 3 or 4 years. But this church calling of his has totally put my life into chaos. I guess I need time to adjust. A lot more time. We got a busy week. Kieran has to work on his Stanford application, he has a field trip too. Brenna has her first meeting of the yearbook club this week. The kids have a youth temple trip on Tuesday. The first Touch Base of the school year is on Friday. The high school gives parents the opportunity to visit all their students teachers and check on how they are doing. Scott and I like the chance to meet Kieran's teachers. This week, I'll be the first to post. Everyone have a great week. We love you all and we miss you guys too. Till next time......

The Old Man Speaks...

Here is a random entry of random thoughts that I may or may not get to post in a timely manner. It is Wednesday morning, 08 Oct 2008, 0515 in the morning, Ulan Ude, Russia time (Greenwich +9 hrs).

Does this make our blog worldly?

To give you an idea of what this job can do to you physically and psychologically, allow me to share a taste of the time line of this Mission for you. This trip started Friday morning (03 Oct) and will end Sunday afternoon (12 Oct). In those 10 days I will have traveled around the world, though all 25 time zones (yes, there are 25, if you don’t know why, Google it). Anyway, just to give you an idea of what is happening to our circadian rhythms, since Ulan Ude (next to Lake Baikal) is 13 hours ahead (later) than my home, if normal sleeping hours for Monday night in Ulan Ude were 11pm to 6am, that would be going to bed at 10am and getting up at 5pm Washington, D.C. time. My body absolutely refuses to adjust that fast. So… I am missing my family terribly. I have gotten used to being away, but at the same time will never, could never, get used to leaving. Such is the life a Sailor.

I love the Navy, but sometimes the Navy is a demanding master.

As has been mentioned, I was called to be Second Counselor in the Quantico Ward Bishopric. The timing is rather complicated…, being called just days before leaving for this trip. There was/is MUCH to be done, and I am not there to do any of it. I hope this does not become just one more thing for me to fail at. I’d like to think that the Lord would not set me up for failure, but I know He sets us up regularly to “grow”. If a tree grows properly it will be strong, yet flexible; if it does not, it will fall or snap during the first storm, at the slightest adversity.

…I really don’t want to end up as driftwood.

I continue to be SO proud of my children. They both have extremely full schedules, in and out of the schoolhouse, and are thus far keeping on top of their lives quite well. I know that it seems to them that all they ever do is go to school, do homework and attend Church activities, but they are taking it all in stride and keeping a good attitude. I just wish I were around more to support them and encourage them and wrap my arms around them. As Kieran is fond of reminding me…

“If life were easy, it wouldn’t be hard”

Angelina seems to have most things at home well in hand…as she usually does. Operating in single parent mode is hard enough without having to switch it on and off a dozen times a year. She is amazing. I love her and appreciate her in countless ways (which is not to say she isn’t a pain in the derrière on a regular basis, as well…but that is another post…although I must admit publicly that I am probably more of pain to her than she is to me…probably). Unfortunately, that is going to be it for this rambling…perhaps I will be able to write more at some point… More later….

K over the last few weeks

I missed a week, bummer days! Anyways the last 14 days have seen my dad leaving, again. It also has been marked by a girl taking four days to tell me that she does not want to go to Homecoming with me. Oh well, :) her loss. I think I'm going to ask another girl though. Everybody cross your fingers. Worst case scenario is I'll go to homecoming solo. Which isn't actually all that tragic. Also I have taken by SAT Subject tests. I signed up for Math II and Physics, but upon inspection of the Physics sample problems, and noticing that they made my scalp even more itchy, I decided against it, and took English Literature instead. My AP exam last year was marked by a 4, and that was with not finishing all my essays. I am confident that a completed essay would have led to a 5. Anyway...other things that are new....there's more I know it. Oh yeah... I'm number 4 in my AP Physics class, and I am becoming quite successful in Academic Team. I am enjoying government; having the teacher that I do is really good for me. I'm making final arrangements for the next step in my life, and boy is it tough. I'm crossing my fingers for Stanford, bringing the kind of style that only I can bring. Actually most of the schools I'm applying to are in california. USC, Berkley, Stanford, etc. I am always tired nowadays, but such is the way of a High School student. Otherwise things are going good. All the Best to all of my engrossed readers :) Love, K

Well... another week gone... 'Ello, it's Tink.

Hello world and all who inhabit it (or at least those who are deciding to read this thing, special hellos to you all) another week gone by and i'm still alive! (well it is something to be thankful for isn't it?) anyways, well as 'Me' as told you, i gave a speech on thursday, but she made a tiny mistake, last minute they had another eighth grader go up with me, but his speech wasn't as long as mine... none of them were.... and yes, i was scared, my entire body was shaking while i was up there! I felt like i was going to collapse at any minute... 'Me,' mom, whichever, also told you guys about wednesday and my flute playing, i played "I'll Try" by Jonatha Brook[?] from Peter Pan 2. Awesome song. I'm also trying to take back up the piano, i am trying to learn how to play a nine page song that a friend of mine (she is in high school) from our church played on Wednesday, it is called Cristofori's Dream and i have already memorized the first page... i started yesterday. Very cool sounding song. Gosh i hate homework... drives me nuts.. anyways, i am drawing as always, and being bored out of my mind. Ya know, i have no idea what i am doing this week... let's see, signet tomorrow instead of band... what else? um... school, school, school... am i doing anything but school this week? i don't remember... man am i out of it, went to bed around 11, 12, woke up at 10 am... haven't had much sleep at all since school has started, i don't think any of us have... well, i better get off, i am rambling again -_-' got to stop doing that... Sayonara! ~TinkerBell

It's Me

Another week has gone by. Scott left on Friday. So far, so good for nothing happening. Maybe this will be a trip with no curse in action. One can hope. Scott of course will be gone for Kieran's birthday and our anniversary. Nothing totally new for our family. As my Dad likes to say, "You weren't issued with his seabag." Kieran wants to go to Fuddruckers for his birthday, so Brenna and I will be taking him. As for our anniversary, Kieran has training that day. He is going to be an election page, and they have 2 hours of training. He is really enjoying his government class. He'll be going to the Newseum on Thursday. He received his second academic letter on Friday. School is going okay for him. Brenna is doing well. She had to give a speech at the pep rally on Thursday. It was about bullying. She was one of 4 who gave speeches. One sixth grader, two seventh graders and her, the only eighth grader. She told me she was nervous, but she did well. She also player her flute at the Young Women in Excellence program at church on Wednesday. She sounded great. I also presented my jalapeno plant and made salsa with my peppers. It was a nice evening. The girls presented me with flowers and thanked me for being there. I'll really miss having that calling. Orion, Tchai and Six are all doing fine. Tchai truly enjoys watching Six. In the morning when Six is the most active Tchai is right there waiting for any opportunity to get his paws in the tank. I think he really wants the crickets that are in the tank. It's starting to get cooler here. I've been wearing long pants all week. When I take Orion outside I can see that the leaves are starting to turn. I really don't care for winter here. I don't care for the cold. Fall is pretty, but raking leaves is not fun. Thank goodness that the trees are far enough away from the house that we don't get gobs of leaves. We do need to check by the basement because leaves do blow and clog our drainage system to the basement. Orion likes to chase the leaves that blow around the backyard. It's funny watching this 100 lb. dog chasing leaves. Well I better go. Scott called and he's on his way into Russia, he's been in Alaska these past couple of day. Cold. Be good everybody, and hugs to everyone.....

What a week.....

Depending on what part of the world you are on, it's either the first day of the week or the last. For me it is the last. It's been very eventful. Scott was called to be second counselor in the Quantico Ward Bishopric. The bad part about this calling for him was that they released me from my second counselor calling in the Young Women's. I was really starting to enjoy that calling. The family will be making adjustments with this new calling. Scott will probably mention this to you all later when he writes. We had a parent info meeting this week about graduation announcements and cap and gowns. Boy I didn't realize that having a senior has a lot of outgo. Oh well, he's the first. He also had his Senior pictures taken on Friday. They got a couple of good shots. David's are still better and those will be the one's we use, but I think I might buy a couple of the ones the school took. Kids had a lot of homework this weekend. That is pretty much all they have been doing. Kieran is working so hard on his questbridge scholarship application, which is due on Tuesday. We went to a Stanford informational meeting today up in Bethesda. It was interesting, and it made Kieran more determined to apply and try to get accepted. All Scott and I can do is help him get all the paperwork in and make sure he meets deadlines. Scott leaves on Friday for another trip. He'll miss Kieran's birthday and our anniversary. Nothing that hasn't happened in the past, and will probably happen again. Kieran wants to go to Fuddruckers for his birthday dinner. Brenna and I will take him. We bought a new terrarium for Six. He likes that he is able to spread out. Brenna is enjoying the snake. I find myself in the morning watching and seeing what he is up to. Tchai really loves to peek in the tank. Well I guess that's it for now. Chat at you guys later. Love you all...

Konnichiwa! It's Tink!

Konnichiwa World, It is the rambler, aka Tink. So i am just sitting over here, waiting for my Dad to finish helping K with his homework and i figured that i would update this thing since the rest of my family has seemed to forgot to blog... I will remind them in a minute. So anyways, yesterday was an all work day (yep... haven't had one of those in a while, reminds me why i hate them and like them at the same time...blech) And i still had to do some of my hw today. Went to my friends house after church, i shall dub her Fish on here cause i can. Anyways, me and Fish just pretty much hung out and watched the Addams Family on her computer (i like that show, it is hysterical!) Reason we were watching it is because Fish didn't know what it was and i had to show her, i am being Morticia Addams for Halloween. I have managed to convince Fish that she might be Wednesday Addams... That would be awesome. Well, i still have math to do from Thursday, funny how i finished Friday's hw before Thurday's... Six is doing well, Tchai the cat keeps annoying the heck out of him and causing him to retreat under the aspen but... ya know. He likes to spend most of his time under the aspen we put in there, it's funny how you will see part of his nose next to part of his tail and then realize that the rest of him is buried somewhere in there. Tchai and Orion are doing good too, and things are normal (as they ever are in this house) Joined the Yearbook club and the Drawing club, those should be fun, my old science teacher won't talk to me because i didn't join NJHS, i forgot to fill out the forms and things okay? (kinda funny and childish though that my teacher won't talk to me like that, and also very very weird...) I have a basic idea who will be with me in Drawing club, but i have no idea who will be with me in Year book... hope there is someone i know! Anyways, i am rambling again, and i got to finish that math homework! Until next time, Sayonara! ~Tinker Bell

The Old Man Speaks...

Hello, People! Here another Sunday has come, and is almost gone, and I barely blinked. Fun really does fly when you are doing time...

• This last week was a busy one at work, we had a Passive mission out (the Russians were here exercising their Treaty rights) and at the same time we were preparing to launch an Active crew Friday (the Americans going to Russia to exercise OUR Treaty rights). On the one hand, Friday was way quiet with only 8-9 people in the whole office, but that meant there was plenty extra for me to do...
• I leave again for MY next Active mission soon...two more left for me this calendar year; once with the Italians, and once with the Romanians. Hopefully I will be home for three months (maybe even four) after that. We'll see.
• I have pretty much decided to have the eye surgery...probably right after Thanksgiving. It will make me Med-down from flying for 90+ days, and there apparently will be a lot of "discomfort" because my eyes are so bad (they will have to cut pretty deep), but the results should be worth it.
• I am pretty proud of the Kids this week. They are doing so well in school and both have pretty impressive/aggressive class schedules. B-girl is doing well in high-school Geometry and is looking at joining two after-school clubs, and Kieran is now a part of the Forest Park Academic Team...nice, huh?

All you all get today... More later...maybe...

K

Well, here I am again. I am working diligently on my scholarship stuff, and striving to keep up with school. I was accepted onto the Academic Team this last week; think Jeopardy-like trivia and buzzers. I helping with homecoming, so I need to ensure that things go smoothly there. I can't seem to keep track of my thoughts, so I'll start publishing them here. 1) There are a lot of attractive girls at my school 2) There are a lot of intelligent girls at my school 3) There are a lot of kind girls at my school 4) The three categories above are not mutually exclusive 5) The reason you can't discuss politics at the dinner table is because inevitably names come up, and that is where offense occurs. (There are definitely a few taboo subjects, but generally speaking it is names that cause arguments) 6) Taking Vector Calculus online and taking Geometry online are very different beasts, and I prefer the latter. 7) I am constructing a country of Multimedia Web Desing...first item of business is the most boring part of a country: Department of the Treasury. Such are the Natures of Being Kieran, PennUltimate1

Me again....

Well another Sunday has come and gone. Church was nice, had to be there early because Brenna had orchestra practice at 730. She enjoyed even though she complained endlessly on the way there. Our week was busy. Had a Senior Parent information meeting on Thursday. They were telling us about making sure your child has all the credits they need to graduate, how to send transcript requests, future events like homecoming etc. And there were examples of graduation announcements and such. Very informational meeting. Kieran had to work on Saturday, so we didn't do to much this weekend. Oh Kieran is on the Academic team. He was exciting about being on it. Classes are challenging for him this year. He's still working on those college application essays too. We have a new family member as Brenna has mentioned. His name is Six. Why did I name him Six? Because our family nickname is Tbasko. And on our family car, the license plate is TBASKO6, only because Tbasko was taken and Scott added a 6. Thus we needed a Six. Yeah, Yeah, all of you have lived with me forever so just go with it. I don't even know why I'm letting the girl keep the snake, but oh well, it's a pet I'm not taking care of that is for sure. Next week is another busy one. Fundraiser for Brenna at JoJo's. It's a great place that serves soft serve ice cream. Another senior parent info meeting. Kieran has make up senior pictures. And the middle school band, which Brenna is a member of is playing at the football game at Forest Park on Friday. And on Sunday, we will be attending a information meeting for Stanford at Bethesda. So until next Sunday, everybody have a great week and we'll chat at you next weekend.

Hey. It's Tinker Bell

Well hey everyone, it is the girl again. Ya know, as I watch everything going on around me, I really wish it was a couple years ago. I mean, i am in eighth grade now which means loads of hw and 'preparing to go into high school' and my bro is a senior so he will be going to college soon.... Everything just gets harder to get better huh? Sometimes i wonder what would i be like if my life was different... i am perfectly happy with my life, but ya know i am a girl who likes to change subjects very randomly so my mind tends to wander. Unfortunately, wandering minds isn't always a good thing. But hey, i try to concentrate on one subject. It is a Sunday afternoon and i am doing homework... i would have finished it yesterday, but we got a new unexpected pet, my new pet snake, Six (hey, my mom named him not me -_-') He is a Northern Black Racer, and my dad found him in a box they were unpacking for some friends.... Anyways, Six is still kinda uneasy being around so many people so he doesn't do much yet, i think he is just scared and is trying to see if waiting will make everyone go away. Kinda reminds of the 1st Harry Potter book, the Brazilian Snake at the zoo, trying to sleep but bunches of kids kept poking at the glass.... well we don't bother him that much, we would like it if he would eat though... i mean we got him yesterday like i mentioned, but it would be comforting if we knew he was eating. Well, i guess i will find out huh? Got to finish my homework (English, science, etc etc @_@) . Until the next time, ~Tink

The Old Man Speaks...

So I guess the idea here is to send our thoughts out into the ether, accomplishing the dual goal of sharing our lives a bit with those who read this (the intended audience being immediate family only), and "forcing" us to be a little better about some form of Journal writing. We intend to write after Church each Sunday (AT A MINIMUM)...we'll see how well we do. Angelina is committed to driving this project, so we ought to do okay. I have no idea how long these entries will be...I imagine that some will be a few sentences, some a few paragraphs. I just got back from one of my Open Skies Treaty trips to Russia. This was a shared one with the Germans on the Swedish Saab. We came back a bit earlier than expected because we couldn't come to an agreement with the Russians mission execution. First time we have ever gone home early for failure to reach a meeting of the minds. Hope it is the last. That was my first time flying on the Swedish Saab. It is a very comfortable plane to fly in and work in, but it IS pretty slow compared to, say, the US OC-135 or the Russian TU-152, and doesn't have much in the way of legs (its flying radius is fairly small). They only use one camera, as opposed to the US plane, which uses one to four, or the Pod Group (another subject) which uses one to three. I really enjoyed my time in Germany on the way in and out of Russia. (My German Language proficiency started coming flooding back...unfortunately at the expense of my Russian. I'll have to put in some extra language study this week.) Germany is SUCH a beautiful country, in every time of year. The last couple of days were pretty rain-filled, but that didn't bother me much. No matter how much I love traveling, seeing new people, new places, learning new things and having new experiences, there truly is no place like home. And the actual coming home is often "The Best"! That first hug and kiss from your beautiful wife, that bearhug from your teenage boy, the jump into your arms by your not-so-little-anymore little girl...there really is nothing quite like it. And remind me to tell you how comforting (how awesome!) it is to be married to a good Navy Wife. They just don't come any better than Angelina. I will try to remember to talk a little about that topic in a future post.... More later...

Me here...

You have heard from the children, I guess now it's time to hear from the adults. The week was busy, trying to get Kieran's ROTC physical done and mailed. Of course questions arise and Scott is deployed. Such is the curse. Of course that was not the only thing to happen. Our basement flooded when Hannah came through. Tchai decided to lock us out of the house that same day. And of course the TV went on the fritz. Everything eventually calmed down, but it really isn't any fun at the time it happens. Brenna had her "back to school" night. Teachers already love her. It looks like she has some good teachers. Kieran worked on Friday, while Brenna and I volunteered to help the church clothing drive. It was hard work, on a hot and humid evening. But we had fun. And I heard that the event was a success. Got a surprise from Scott....he came home early. YEAH!! You'll be hearing from him next. Well until next week...hugs to everyone.

Tinker Bell here...

Hey, Tinker Bell here. Sometimes I will be Tink or B-girl so, you might see different names. It's a lovely Sunday today and I am just waiting for tomorrow. I mean, school is alright but honestly, I'm already ready for summer vacation again. I'm in eighth grade and in geometry so, i have to go to a high school for my math class... I thought it would be alright, because I previewed the material before school started but two weeks in and I am already worrying! I got a 77 on my first worksheet and at first I was really upset, because my friend who is also eighth grade got a 90 something, but then I learned that most of the ninth and tenth graders in my class got the same score... so I felt a little better. We get homework about every other day but it is quite a bit... I am taking Spanish which is actually really fun, got a 100 on our first quiz, not many did... most of the class got lower than a B I think... Can't wait for October, because once that month hits, then everything gets funner ya know, Halloween, Thanksgiving and (for those of you who celebrate it) Christmas. Then comes 2009... seems not to long ago that it was nearing 2008 and here is that year almost over... Ah well, as I ramble on. I'll type later, ~B-Girl

K's Thoughts

1st born of Scott and Angelina speaking.... Everything is going okay on this end. College course is tough, especially when I don't understand the program I'm supposed to be using. I got a 91 on my last AP Physics assignment, better then most of my peers! I have a pretty good senior class schedule, and after two weeks have nothing major to complain about. @ home things are doing fine. College prep stuff is stressing me, but that will be over soon enough. I'm driving now, so "Yay Freedom." Otherwise not much else to report. I pop anything interesting on here for you guys to see. Love K