Oh what a month!!!

Hello all-

Oh what a month, late September back in 09, what a very special time for us, 'cause i remember what a month...

well modifying Frankie Valli's lyrics a little summarizes this month.

To start with Collin started 1st grade. Kindergarten was 1/2 day, so this is his first year in full day school. Mya also started Pre-school. She is going 2 days a week for 1/2 a day. EK is also teaching at her school, so she started up as well. (she is teaching a different class, but same days and time, so it works great). Collin also started soccer and is playing on his first "team". It is a U7 league he is in and he really loves it.

Then on the 13th, i ran the nations triathlon. It was an olympic distance race and i had the best bike and run i have had in a tri yet. I was very happy and finished in 2 hr 39 min. (1500m swim, 40KM bike, 10KM run).

Then the week of the 14th...it started out with the message that i got selected for promotion. So within the next 6 months or so, i should pin on Lieutenant Commander. The best thing is by getting selected, i am basically "tenured". Retirement is guaranteed.

Then on Friday, the 18th, I got word that i was chosen to go and take command of CG Station NY. It is the largest station in the CG. it is also off-season, so i will be moving up the week of 5 October and then the change of command should be either the 14th or the 15th. I have been dreaming about an opportunity like this for 5 years. I can't express how excited/honored i am.

If you thought that was a good enough month, EK ran the North Face Endurance Challenge on the 19th. This was 50 mile trail run. She finished in 9 hrs 28 min. She was 37th overall, 5th female and 1st in her age group. She also got to meet Dean Karnazes (http://www.ultramarathonman.com). He is the legend in the Ultra Marathon Community and she has been reading his book over and over during her training. I think that made her 50 mile race all worth it. We are all so proud of her and what an accomplishment. Next big thing up for her is the Boston Marathon in Apr 2010.

Lastly, we adopted a puppy. She was at a rescue in S. Carolina. With the upcoming move, i know that we can't bring the cats. We are finding a good home for them, but to help the kids, we got them the puppy. They named her Bella. She is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel/Dachsund mix.

So, enjoy the photos and videos and we will talk to you all soon.

Jason

EK and Dean

Finish Line

on the trail...about mile 44

Aide Station

Looking strong

The "new" haircut

First day of Pre-school

Soccer

He amazes himself

Waiting for gametime

The bus stop

Brushing the chompers

Swim, Bike, Run

Hello-

Here is the update on my tri. It was a beautiful course through the Shenandoah Valley. It was my first race that wetsuits weren't allowed...man is the buoyancy of the wetsuit an awesome advantage. (the water was 80 deg. and wetsuits aren't allowed in any water over 78). Anyhow, here are some pictures.

Jason

Luray Caverns

Hello all-

Wanted to share some photos of our trip to Luray Caverns today. We were down for a tri I am doing. We came down today (sat the 15th) and my tri is tomorrow morning. Since we had time to kill, we decided to visit Luray Caverns...What an incredible place. It is one of the largest caverns in the US and the largest on the East Coast. There was also a "Garden Maze". It was pretty expansive and the kids really enjoyed running around finding the different stamps. Anyhow, here are some photos and i will get an update on the tri results tomorrow. Enjoy

Jason

Luray Caverns Stalactites

The Family

This was the coolest, what you are seeing in the bottom of the picture is a reflection in water of the stalactites on the ceiling.

The Garden Maze

Surprise, Vacation and Biking

Hello-

Hope this finds you well. To update everyone what we have been up to... The last weekend of June, I threw a surprise 30th birthday party for EK. I have to get some photos from my family to share, but it was a lot of fun and both EK's and my family came down for it and almost all the neighbors were there. She was really surprised and I am grateful to everyone who helped me with the party. After that was the 4th of July weekend. We headed up to CT for a few days as well as to LI. Fun tip from the trip--if you want to drive north on a friday, go up through MD and PA. It is about 35 miles longer, but avoids I-95. It also allowed me to stop by the Fireworks store in PA which sell the "good stuff"... Needless to say, we had a great show on the 4th. After the visits we headed back to VA and this is the first weekend in about a month we had nothing going on. The weather is beautiful and we took advantage of some family time. We have been working with Collin on riding his 2 wheel bike this summer and today he did it all by himself. He was super excited and is doing really well. I am glad because now i don't have to run next to him, but EK is scared b/c now he is ready to be out by himself (so he thinks). When he passed by me one time, he told me he was doing a trick. When i asked what, he told me, "riding with my eyes closed". I asked him to work on riding without wrecking first. :) Well, that is about it. Enjoy the photos and videos and hope you all are having a great summer.

Collin and his "Uncle" TJ

EK and TJ

At the beach

Gabriella, Mya, Collin and Thomas after the Surprise Party

9 years, Fair and Recital

Hello all-
Wanted to update everyone on how we are doing. EK has been busy with her new part time job. She is working doing dog walking and pet sitting locally. It works out really great because she can take the kids with her and they think it is the coolest thing. She walks a few dogs each week and on some weekends does pet sitting for people while they are out of town. Nothing too stressful, but some nice extra change in the pocket. My work has been good. My boss left and joined the Secret Service and the new boss doesnt start until June 29th, so I have been doing 2 jobs. At the same time i got accepted and am going to night class in a Masters of Homeland Security and Emergency Management program at GWU. I really enjoy the class.

May 28th was our 9 year anniversary. I was into work at 6am and got home after class around 9:30p that day, so needless to say, we went out to dinner the next day to celebrate.
We attended a fair in one of the near by towns and the pictures are of EK and the kids doing crafts as well as Mya and her lunch. Lastly, today Mya had her first ballet recital. Her studio does the Pre-k kids seperate from the rest of the studio so it was really cute and only 30 min.

Well, enjoy the photos and hope to see you all sometime this summer

Easter Egg Roll

Well, we had the opportunity to attend the Easter Egg Roll at work today. It was extremely crowded, but we had a good time and got to be part of history (this is one of the longest standing traditions at the White House). Enjoy!

Florida

Happy Easter to everyone. We got back from our trip to Florida yesterday and wanted to share some of our experience. We visited with Grandpa Joe and Grandma Karen for 2 nights when we first got there. We then headed to Walt Disney World. We stayed at one of the properties and spent 2 days at Magic Kingdom, 1 day at Animal Kingdom and 1 day at Epcot. It was a great trip and i hope you enjoy the photos and videos. They pretty much speak for themselves

Epcot

Animal Kingdom

Magic Kingdom

Grandpa Joe and Grandma Karen's