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