Visiting Dad (and some dolphins) in Florida

This is when me and my mom played and touched Echo the dolphin. He felt like soft rubber. I threw a basketball into the water and Echo got it in his mouth and brought it back to me. We also kissed him and he splashed us. I was the only one who got to throw a fish into Echo's mouth. It was fun. (By Evie.)

The kids and I enjoyed a mini-vacation to Ft. Lauderdale and Miami to visit Poppi this week. We had a wonderful time and created a great memory, especially our day with Echo, the dolphin, at the Miami Seaquarium. If any fellow UM alums out there are reading, the campus was more beautiful than ever (did we appreciate it that much when we were students?). Evie is going to apply in the Spring for early admission.

In Florida, we swam in the pool two times because the water was cold. The second time, Poppi came in with me. He was cold

and scared. We played a game. When we came in, Poppi and I made a story. It was called "The Tropical Mermaid." It was about a mermaid named Sea and two boys that went into the ocean with Sea and explored the ocean. (By Evie.)



We came home to this...

Ron's beard

I thought you all might like to see Ron with a beard. He kept it for about 2 months. I think he looked great--but then it got old. Maybe next winter. . .

Winter '08

...at the Sundance Film Festival with Krista and Sam. The Sundance resort and Park City are beautiful, situated high in the snowy, snowy mountains. It was cold but bearable- the excitement of the weekend kept the fires burning. We ate well and saw four compelling movies in the 3 days we were there. No, we didn't ski. No Bob sightings either, but we did see Quentin Tarantino. A quick review of the movies we saw:

A Japanese movie about stillness...zen-like and gorgeous filming, nice story with moments of humor; Dinner With The President, a documentary that converses with all strata of Pakistani society in trying to answer the question, 'what is democracy in Pakistan?' and gives a glimpse into Musharraf's thinking; Incendiary, about a terrorist attack in London that takes away a son and husband from a wife. Emotional, Michelle Williams was great. Dealt more with grief than anger, so I don't quite get the title.

Our last night there we saw Anywhere, USA, which won a Special Jury Prize at Sundance for 'independent spirit. From the Sundance website: "the phrasing of the explanatory language in that award says almost everything you need to know about his film, and at the same time doesn't say nearly enough...Anywhere, U.S.A. feels more like a modern art project than a film. Haney-Jardine's film mixes striking still photos, text overlaid the images on the screen, a wry sense of the absurd in the everyday, the capacity to see the banal in the extraordinary, and the capacity to find the extraordinary in the every day." Quirky and funny but with depth.

All in all, we'd love to go back. Great atmosphere, lotsa places to eat and drink, beautiful scenery. Park City is like Manayunk, but more extensive. And expensive. Still, a great time.

Holidays '07

Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's were all a whole lot of fun- family, friends, food. Thanksgiving was in Atco, we had our 4 Christmases (with Mommom, with Annmarie's family, with Poppi, with the Jensens); we spent New Year's with Pete and Elyse and Katie Crawford, downtown at First Night. Saw the 9pm fireworks, went home and hung out with Evie until the ball dropped. She, of course, out-partied her parents.

Nate and friends at the Beechwood Holiday Party.

Halloween, as usual, was a blast! We spend more time preparing for this holiday than we do for Christmas. Evie was a perfect rendition of the Samantha American Doll (thanks, Pam). Nate wore a costume, for approximately 60 seconds, of Sportacus from the kids' show, Lazytown. He stayed in it just long enough for me to grab the camera and take this shot. People still gave him candy, though.

Our grown-up party was a bunch of fun, too. "Half-Price Halloween" was this year's theme, since the party came the weekend after Halloween. We were surrounded by great friends and had a terrific time. Stay tuned for next year. . .

Ron was a Kung-Fu Master. Can you guess what I am? Click 'comment' to answer.

Fall, 2007

Fall
September was an exciting time for each one of us: Annmarie started back in the office, Nate started pre-school at Beechwood, Evie began 1st grade and for me it was the start of another school year and soccer season.


Nate didn't much like school at first- or at least he didn't like the part when Mommy dropped him off. He came around, though and enjoys his friends and projects and seems to like his teachers Miss 'Kewey' (Kelly) and Miss 'Coween' (Colleen). He's a very popular pre-schooler now.
Evie loves school, loves being a 1st grader, loves Mrs. Miller, loves her 5th grade buddy- all of it. She's an excellent reader, wants to be an author when she grows up (among about a dozen other things...a mom, a dress designer, an artist), and she seem to thrive in the classroom environment. School gives her an outlet for her creative and social talents. As her teacher says, "you never need to ask what's going on with Evie!"

Eve also did Cheerleading in the fall, but didn't love it. She's been taking piano for a few months now and has picked it up quite nicely. We were surprised when, at her recital, she was the first to volunteer to do an encore. Not surpirsed that she wanted to play, but surprised because we thought she only knew one song.
All this school keeps Annmarie quite busy as well. She works the 3 days a week that Nate's in school and puts in additional time many days too. In the Spring of '07, she was asked to be on the Board of Governors for the Haddonfield Civic Association, a group dedicated to raising the dialog about town issues. She also serves as a PTA rep and maintains an organic fruit/veggie co-op. Yoga helps her keep her sanity.


I started my 5th year at Seneca (my 13th overall). I love it there, teaching US History and Sociology, advising the Student Council and coaching the girls soccer team. We finished 10-6-4, ranked #11 in South Jersey. I've been energized this school year by the grad courses that I'm taking in educational technology (how tech impacts learning). I'm in a program at GCU- Grand Canyon University. Haven't heard of it? Probably because it's in Arizona. It's an online program. Er, Go Jackalopes...*shrug*

Summer 2007

Our summer was very relaxing- lots of time at Crystal Lake pool, grilled food and cold drinks with friends, soccer camp and playing outside. The XPN music festival fell on a perfect July day. As the day faded into night, we watched terrific performances by the Cat Empire, Los Lonely Boys, and Grace Potter with the Philly skyline sparkling across the river. Speaking of great nights, we took the kids and grandparents to see the Phillies v Mets. At the time the Mets were 7 games up on the Phils. Howard hit a homer in the 10th to win as part of an exciting Phillies run to division title. It drove my father-in-law crazy. Throw in a 2nd place finish for Trueman Ave in Haddonfield's 4th of July parade, a Wiggles concert, a Dave Matthews concert, and a surprise 60th birthday 'Do-wop' party for Mary, Ron and Lynn and-wow- what a summer!

Evie became a better and braver swimmer each time she was in the water, swimming the length of the pool (well, almost) and plunging herself underwater. Nate loved the fountain pool, as did Annmarie and I. Nice, lazy days in the sun... Above: In the waning days of summer, Thea, Eve, Nate, Leah and Ethan mug for the camera.