December blessings

Our December has been filled with the blessings of being part of a wonderful family and community of friends.


Who'd 'a thunk it: Technology, what some people think is the the scourge of contemporary society, has helped us 'close the distance' that separates us from the people we love. Some examples:

Pix messages of (borrowing a Flaherty term) "Bright and Shinies". I got one from Judy from the Pops concert of Becca, Katie, and Celia, and just yesterday from Anastasia of Maddie, Toby, and a friend, enjoying an early Christmas gift.
Email I got an email from my friend Chuck. He was playing double bridge on a cruise ship near Bora Bora. I was debugging code in my cubicle. What a weird world.
Facebook Ok - I'm not an addict, or even faithful follower, but I do enjoy logging in and scanning to see what's happening. Last night I reconnected with an old friend I had lost touch with several years back. When she inquired about my granddaughter, I had news of three more kids for her!
Blogs Yeaaah! Anastasia wrote a sweet post about Christmas activities in SD. FYI: Maddie has no interest in being a mouse :) Christmas Cheer
**Skype** I totally forgot Skype. Richard's been telling everyone about his little growling contest with Toby over the web. We've gotta get Ani & Grey to Skype with us too. That's a goal for 2010.
Air travel for Face-to-Face visits We were fortunate to make back-to-back weekend visits this month. (Thank you Wheaton Day Spa Puppy Resort and SWA companion pass program). First, to DC:

Sean and Tiffany rock! They put together an awesome Christmas gift for us, which coincided with their 1st anniversary :) We joined Mike and Charlene Harvey to attend a performance of A Christmas Carol at historic Ford's Theatre. We flew to BWI on Sat a.m., had drinks on their yacht (yes yacht, as in really really big boat), dined at Rosa Mexicano where I had Pato en Salsa de Zarzamoras (translation - the best damned duck I've ever eaten in my life), then off to the theatre! I got a little teary, recalling how much Mom and Dad enjoyed attending the same Christmas performance there many years back. When I was sitting there waiting for the show to begin, for some reason, a line from an old Christmas song got stuck in my head, "Through the years we'll always be together, if the fates allow...." I felt like Mom was with me for a moment, and it felt really good. Thank you Sean and Tiffany, for a weekend I'll never forget.

Several days later we were off to Whidbey Island to enjoy Aniela Malia Shauck's debut in dual roles in the Whidbey Island Dance production of The Nutcracker. Ani was a small mouse that wreaked havoc at the party in Act I, and then returned as a butterfly at the end of the Act II winter scene. Richard and I got to be "room parents" monitoring the 6 and 7 year olds for the Thurs night dress rehearsal and the Friday night performance. It was a wicked fun time because we got to help the kids get ready, go through costume changes and have makeup done. It seems the buzz word now-a-days is "authentic." Well, Richard and I tripped right into the middle of an authentic moment this time. A bunch of little girls in pink leotards getting "into character" for the big moment on stage. Priceless!

Back out the house, Greyson is a trip. He's at that stage where he wants the same book read to him a hundred and fifty gillion times. I think Richard has it memorized. Currently, he is immersed in the "No David" genre. Hmmm....I hope that one doesn't backfire on us. I cannot wait to see Grey and Toby together next month.

Now, we're gonna rest up and get ready for Carlsbad. We'll all be together ...Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise.

Butterfly warmup on youtube

Mouse warmup on youtube

Grey dancing on youtube

DC pix

Whidbey pix

Christmas Cheer

This holiday season has been one of the most fun in recent memory. I love experiencing it with the freshness offered by a three-year-old's perspective. It's full of wonder and magic.

• Going to a youth production of the Nutcracker with Maddie, Grammy, Naomi and her mom Melanie at the Prado Theatre in Balboa Park. The girls sat on the edge of their seats for the entire first Act, with Maddie belting out questions about the story. I told her she would be such a cute mouse or snow angel, to which she replied, "I hate mice, I want to be THE girl." The girl Clara just so happened to share Madeline's real name, which she thought was cool. Naomi & Maddie start their Pre-Ballet I class in January (along with dear friend Milly)!

• Hosting a Christmas party for our teen mentoring group. The girls fought over who got to read what part in our Christmas story script from last year. Looks like we found a new tradition. Everyone really enjoyed being together. A few girls got salon treatments a la Carla (one of the teens), while the rest of us sang Christmas carols. Good times. (Pics forthcoming.)
• Maddie meeting Santa for the first time at her Preschool's Holiday potluck and being appropriately star-struck. He gave her a wrapped book. On the way home, she exclaimed, "On CHRISTMAS, Santa does not bring books, he brings TOYS." I decided not to debate with her on this one.

• Strolling through the Garrison Street lights with friends, followed by hot chocolate and cookie decorating at the g'parents. The kids LOVED it. They oooo'd and aw'd and managed to not get hit by any moving vehicles.

• Anticipating Christmas. One more week!

What's been special for you this season?

Priceless work of art

I just wanted to share with you a photo of me hanging a priceless work of art in my cubicle. Its priceless because all the money in the world can't buy something that means more to me than a custom birthday greeting from Madeline Grace! I am the envy of my coworkers!

thanksgiving 2009

We were about 40 miles outside Baton Rouge when Kate called us to wish us a Happy Anniversary. Thank you Kate - I totally zoned out. Since we got married the day after Thanksgiving, I constantly forget what the actual date is. November 24, nine years ago.

We have been on the road for almost a week: Starting in Houston TX, we spent a few days with our friend Doug. Then we headed up to Port Arthur, TX to meet Doug's family. Too fun. Since I've been good friends with Doug for over 20 years, I felt like I knew these folks, but this past week we got to meet F2F for the first time. In a word, delightful.

Tuesday morning began our adventure. We drove through Cameron Prairie, LA, a Wildlife Refuge, that was vast and untouched; quite a stark contrast to Port Arthur in many ways. In PA we were in an industrial town surrounded by friends. Once we were on our way, we were on our own surrounded by rugged landscape. With stops in Lake Charles and Baton Rouge we landed for the night at IP Casino Resort in Biloxi. A day of crazy contrasts. Richard won two hundred bucks at the casino, which was definitely the best part of our stay in Biloxi. I concur with Aunt Ann and Uncle Walter with their take on Biloxi. Casinos and nothing else. One day was enough.

Wednesday took us from Biloxi, through Southeastern Mississippi, up through Alabma and into Chattanooga. Driving a fancy car and wearing Red Sox caps left me concerned that we'd stick out like a sore thumb on this leg of the journey and maybe not be received well [read: mugged]. Untrue. Folks were very pleasant, welcoming and helpful. My big regret is blowing thru Alabama without spending any time. We got to Birmingham too late in the day to visit the Civil Rights Museum and Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. Seems silly to be in such an historically significant place and miss these sites. A reason to go back.

Thanksgiving day we traveled through Great Smoky Mountain National Park; far more crowded than we had anticipated, and colder too. We were mow'n down some turkey sandwiches by the roadside when a Korean tourist came by to ask us for directions. By the time I finished my conversation with him, the sun disappeared, the temp had dropped 20 degrees and we were in the middle of a snow squall. By Thursday night we were safe and sound in Asheville, NC on the east side of the Smokies.

Pix from trip:

http://picasaweb.google.com/closethedistance/RoadTripTXMD?feat=directlink

Kate90210

I just got a cell phone call from Kate. She's producing a photo shoot in LA and was sent off on a mission to find sprinkles cupcakes for a very particular client. sprinkles? cupcakes with jimmies? No. Sprinkles - some posh posh cupcake company in Beverly Hills. So, while she was cruising Rodeo Drive looking for very special cupcakes for very special clients she mentioned being at the same bar last night with Drew Carey, Kathy Kinney, and Ryan Styles.

Don't know the second two names? You know their faces. [Who's line is it anyway? and Drew Carey show] Small world. Matt and Amanda lived down the road from Ryan Styles up in Bellingham Washington. And believe it or not, I organized a morale-boosting "Mimi" day at one of my clients a number of years back (a rare "Ellen wears makeup" event).

I asked Kate if she was enjoying herself and she confessed she likes her boss way better when she's drunk. [the boss - not Kate] i think.

I'm on a boat!

Tiffany and I closed on a boat today! We purchased a 1987 40' Aft Cabin Silverton motoryacht. We are very excited to be making this transition that will take a few months at least before we are able to live on board full time. This is due to several reasons, 1) We want to live at Capital Yacht Club, but the application takes a few months and they are limited on slips. 2) There are no other slips available on the SW Waterfront that are available for full time liveaboard. We will be able to keep our boat nearby however and be able to stay on board a maximum of 4 nights per week.

We are going to keep our condo as well until we determine what works best for us. So come visit!

Tobias Scott #1

Toby's first birthday

WORKING ON THE RAILROAD
Tobster was working on the Rail Road at San Diego's Balboa Park where we celebrated his first birthday.
The extended Brewster/Finnegan clan got to enjoy a ride on the railroad followed by a pizza picnic. For dessert, Anastasia served cake decorated in keeping with the rail road theme. Toby didn't know what to make of it; at first thinking it was playdough, he mashed his piece all up into a ball. Big sister, Maddie, saw this and fed him some of her cake. Wow, did his eyes light up.

Toby loved playing with his balloon bouquet until he fell on one and it popped. He appeared not sure whether he should cry or not. He chose not to. He is one of the "chillest" kids we've ever met. He's an observer and an explorer. Wobbly standing on two feet, he's making progress slowly but surely. On all fours, he's a force to be reckoned with, challenging the land-speed record for crawling babies.

Before heading back to Boston Monday night, we attended Maddie's pre-school Halloween party. It did seem every little girl there was a princess. Madeline stood out as the cutest flower evah! Parents hosted games and activities for the kids. Her favorite was the face painting. When we arrived, she parked herself steadfastly in the queue for face painting and wouldn't budge until it was her turn. She is growing fast into a strong, beautiful little girl.

Ellen & Richard

South Dakota

South Dakota

Richard's Post: George, Cooper and I (Ellen texted “Go George Dawgs”) set out from the heat of Phoenix to the cool north, making the move for George to begin his new position with the US Bureau of Reclamation. Most of the trip from Phoenix to Rapid City, SD was a view of the vastness of the American west, but we also got to do some sight seeing. Really enjoyed seeing the Crazy Horse memorial, which has vastly improved from the pile of rubble I saw 35 years ago, with the completion of the face and the addition of the Native American Museum. We also got to see Mount Rushmore which is majestic, and the old west town of Deadwood. There are a lot more attractions within and near Rapid City. Aunt Jeanne was there for a week about a year ago and she had such a good time she would like to back again. George has rented a very nice two bedroom townhouse, so he should expect quests. His new address is:

118 Hillcrest Drive
Rapid City, SD 57701-3656

think inside the box ?

Got this from Amanda today!

Kate's promotional material

Hey - Check out Ms. Becca in Kate's promotional material. Cuteeeeee!!!!

>>>KateVPhotographyPromo

Grey turns 1

Wow. It's a little like Joni Mitchell's Circle Game (hopefully not that fast). Last year we flew to Seattle for the birth of a yet-to-be-named baby boy (the kids wanted to see what he looked like before settling on a name). During our visits over the past year we watched him grow from an infant to a cruiser.

Now, Greyson Matthew is officially a toddler (a very well-dressed toddler thanks to Anni and Josh), running around the house much to Guinness's chagrin. He's developing his own little personality including a crazed obsession for fresh fruit, actually squealling with delight at the sight of chopped melon or mango!

Ani, the tallest girl in her first grade class, is reading everything in site. She is super-helpful, watching out for Greyson.

I think the most fun things about the trip were:
* Taking Ani to a matinee of "Aliens in the Attic" (we laughed and laughed)
* Eating all Matt's amazing cooking (fresh caught salmon, smoked barbeque :)
* Our joint creation of Grey's first birthday cake (Ani designed, mixed and frosted; Matt decorated)
* Ani reading her Amelia Bedelia book
* Greyson toddling around enjoying being the star of the show

Here's some pictures. I'll add a few more soon.

Grey turns 1

Ani's first day of school & Greyson's smiling face

I just got this photo from Amanda. Ani started first grade yesterday. Here she is riding the school bus for the first time :)

Here's happy little Grey. I definitely see a resemblance to Matt when he was a baby, but then again, there's more than a little Shauck in this kid too!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Maddie!

Madeline Grace Brewster turned three last week. We flew out to S.D. for the festivities which morphed into a 4-day series of events, including a concert at Balboa Park, a play date, shopping at Build-a-Bear, a beach picnic, and a dance party. It was alot in a short period of time. We landed in Boston Monday morning exhausted!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Madeline

WAAHHOOO!

Amanda just sent me this email message: WAAHHOOO! I just got an e-mail notification that I passed my last task for my Math and Science course. I am in the clear for student teaching! It feels so amazing.

She will be starting her student teaching assignment on Sept 8 at South Whidbey Intermediate School/ She has worked so amazingly hard over the past few years. Ani starts first grade at the same school. Unreal!!!! Hooray Amanda. I am so proud of you.

Whidbey Island July 2009

Hello All !
I'm doin' some braggin' today... I've got a beautiful daughter-in-law, gorgeous grandkids, and an amazingly talented daughter. Put the combination together with a lovely day on Whidbey Island, and Voila! Check out the latest photos from Katevphotography - the up & coming photographer from the Bay area.

Kate's visit to Whidbey

Belated Honeymoon

Tiffany and I went on our belated honeymoon a few weeks ago and it was terrific! With our initial plans of going to Mexico being canceled due to the Swine Flu "H1N1" Virus, we decided to checkout a place both of us have never been, Montana! The weather was beautiful and the scenery was fantastic.


The trip started out with a bit of embarassment. When checking our luggage, the Southwest employee asked us several times why we were going to Spokane and we finally told her that it was our belated honeymoon. She congratulated us and told us she would try to have champagne ready for us on the flight. We laughed and told her that would be great expecting nothing of it. Later as we were standing in line to board the plane, the ramp agent made an announcement over the loudspeaker, "folks we have some very special passengers riding with us today, would Mr. and Mrs. Finnegan please come on down to the gate please!" We both don't like the spotlight, but we weren't going to go unnoticed so we went ahead and walked down to the agent. She let us board the flight early, red faces and all. Once onboard, the flight attendant asked for us over the loudspeaker and proceeded down the aisle with a bottle of Champagne! It was a very nice gesture from Southwest and a great way to start the trip.



After landing in Spokane, we picked up our rental car and met up with Tiffany's cousin and husband, Bri and Max. Max is active duty Air Force and stationed nearby. They hosted us for the night and we headed out on our 5 hour drive to Glacier National Park. At Glacier, we went white water rafting, horseback riding, and even skydiving. Skydiving was a blast, but we both agreed that we wouldn't be doing a tandem jump again anytime soon. The week flew by and we were on our way back to Virginia. I gave my two weeks notice a short two weeeks after our trip and now we are headed back up to DC to start our new jobs. We both are both very excited. We'll be subleasing for the next month or so until we can move back into the condo. Hopefully, over the next year, we will be able to make it back out to the west coast, especially now that I have a job where you get a reasonable amount of vacation days. Check out the photos on Picasa. There are about 4 albums so after clicking on the link you can go back to the albums page and check out the others. A big thanks to Don and Judy for the timeshare and to Richard and Ellen for helping with flights!

Glacier National Park

Road trip!

We just got back from our summer road trip from Phoenix, AZ to Houston, TX. 99% of the time we were on secondary roads so we got to see small towns and a variety of scenery you don't get from I-10 or I-40. The shear vastness of the Southwest is humbling. We had cell phones with patchy service and a laptop computer that didn't come out of its case the whole trip. Although it was just a long weekend, it was kind of liberating to be a bit out of touch for a bit.

Phoenix
Cleaning out the storage unit in Phoenix turned out to be easier than anticipated. George was there to help get some stuff organized and shuffled around. We shipped some stuff, hit Salvation Army a couple of times, and crammed the rest into the car. Friday around 3 p.m. after a fun-filled session at the DMV to get the car registered we were heading N.E. out of PHX.

Show Low, AZ
Our first stop was Show Low, Arizona. The weather was cool (anything is cooler than the valley anyway) and the people were friendly. I got a big kick out of the morning rush heading out of town. Real cowboys herding their flock of sheep across I-60 delayed our exit Sat a.m., much to my delight. All in a day's work for them, but it was like something out of the movies for city-folk like us.


Socorro, NM

We had an abrupt, unplanned stop about half way between Magdelena and Socorro when the left rear tire blew out. The biggest pain was emptying the truck to get to the spare. Richard handled it in short time. And although there's very little traffic on that road, the people that did come by all stopped to offer help.

Shortly after that, we went by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO site http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/ I didn't know what the heck all this equipment was at the time, but suspected it had something to do with the aliens that are known to frequent the area; after all, we were only 3 hours out of Roswell!!

Roswell, NM
Yeah! We arrived in Roswell with one hour to spare before the Discount Tire placed closed for the weekend. Four new tires made me much more confident about facing the entirety of Texas the following day. The International UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswell was pretty much everything I had expected. It reminded me of my pilgrimage to Graceland about the better part of 20 years ago. They 'curator' told us they get about 165,000 visitors a year, which is nothing to scoff at considering it is located in the S.W. corner of New Mexico pretty far off the beaten track.

Lubbock to Houston, TX
We left Roswell on Sunday morning with the intent on getting at least as far as Austin. Seeing the landscape filled with oil rigs and cotton fields was no surprise, but we didn't expect to run into one enormous wind farm that seemed to run from Sweetwater all the way to Abilene. These giant white turbines were a thing of beauty set against a clear blue sky. Based on the articles I've read, Texas ranks #1 in Wind energy in the U.S. This wind project is the epitome of how they do things in Texas.
Big. Really Big!
http://www.seco.cpa.state.tx.us/re_wind.htm

R&R in the Houston area
It was great to get into Houston and see Doug again. After spending a few long days in the car, it was nice to go walking at Buffalo Bayou. http://www.buffalobayou.org/
The next day we took a trip down to Galveston. There was a lot of damage but a lot of rebuilding going on. Walking around on the Strand, the high water water was well over six feet. Many of these buildings had survived the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900 and were being renovated once again in the aftermath of Ike.

Wednesday morning we were flying home, leaving the car with Doug. In the fall we'll be back to visit Doug and a few more friends in Houston and then resume our road trip. Next stop - Florida.















Here's links to a complete set of photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/closethedistance/Roswell?feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/closethedistance/PHXHOU2009?feat=directlink

Moving back to the Nation's Capitol and our 310sqft condo

So Tiffany and I both have official offers from new companies in the DC area!


Tiffany has been hired on as a research Audiologist at Gallaudet University where she is currently completing her PhD in Audiology. Her responsibilities will include working on 3 separate cochlear implant projects.


Sean has been hired on as a project manager for SkyBuilt Power. A rapidly deployable renewable energy company. His responsibilities will include meeting and assisting costumers with developing requirements for their energy needs. Developing electrical designs for a suite of renewable energy systems that utilize off the shelf components to improve efficiency and able to withstand environmental factors. Working creatively with fellow team members to improve current products and develop new initiatives.

We are both very happy that everything has worked out such that we can both start our new careers in the same week, move back to a city we both know well, and find careers that offer us the desires we seek with the work-life balance that affords us time to grow in our relationship.

Fun in the Sun (Part 1)

Happy days are here again. Once again the sun has decided to grace Whidbey Island with its wonderful presence. And when you are as Vitamin D deprived as us Western Washingtonians tend to be you don't waste a minute of it.

The kids and I started out the week with a trip to Maxwelton beach accompanied by my sister, her son ,Pearson, and my mother. Maxwelton is a nice little public beach with a park, a boat launch, and a little league baseball field. We started the trip with a quick ride on the swing for Greyson while Ani made a sandcastle. Pearson was taking a little catnap in the car.

Once Pearson woke up and the kids got tired of running around near the playground we decided to walk out on the beach. As luck would have it the tide was out which means that the water is extremely shallow for hundreds of feet out into the bay. The sun quickly warms up the shallow water which makes it perfect for wading or swimming if you're an adventurous kid. Things started out with all of us simply getting our feet wet, but quickly degenerated into a half-naked rompfest for Aniela and Pearson. As you all know things can quickly spiral out of control when you take two young kids with cabin fever and add some sunshine and a large body of water. Mayhem always ensues!

Eventually, Ani and Pearson got so wet that the shirts came off too. All this left me wondering why I hadn't brought Ani's swimming suit.....or a towel......or sunblock for that matter. But what can I say. I like to live life on the edge.
In the end my mom and I sacrificed our sweatshirts (if you can call it a sacrifice in 60 degree weather) and bundled Ani and Pearson up for the trek back to the car. By the time we got home we had three exhausted sand covered kids and not a single hint of a tan to show for it. So much for worrying about sunblock!

Grey April 2009

Just received these photos from Amanda today.

Grey is getting big :-)

Click link for more:

http://picasaweb.google.com/closethedistance/GreyApril2009?feat=directlink

13.1 - Been there Done that

We were out on the west coast for the second time this March. The alleged purpose of the trip was to run Whidbey with Mike and his friend Lisa, but our ulterior motives had more to do with more with visiting the grandkids again.


First stop was San Diego. We didn't get to see much of Chris, who was busy working on his thesis draft. But we did have one lovely evening dining with Chris and Anastasia's small group. Great food, great company. Other highlights of the trip included visiting Ms. B's Hive (Maddie's preschool), and a playdate to Balboa park with one of Maddie's friends, Naomi.



Its totally impossible to pick favorite pictures, so here's a random sampling from the first couple of days of the trip.

Ani turns 6

Happy Birthday Aniela!!!!

Richard, Kate and I just traveled to Whidbey Island to visit Matt, Amanda, Ani and Greyson and celebrate Ani's 6th birthday. Highlights of the trip included a birthday bash for Ani with 15 friends, learning all about Webkin world, and some crazy Wii Fit competitions. Kate brought her camera, and that's always a good thing (see below!).

Go Dog Go

It's nice to have a big sister who reads to you!

I just got this picture in the mail from Amanda and Matt. I had recorded a video of Ani reading to us in November but the file is really large to upload, so I figured I'd combine the audio with the photo. We're going to be out for you-know-who's 6th birthday in a few weeks. We can't wait.

Visit to Ocala

Richard & I had a great visit with Aunt Ann and Uncle Walter in Ocala this past weekend. We dropped Paws off at the Wheaton Day Resort and Spa on Thursday night and made an early trip to the airport first thing Friday morning. We got into Ocala just in time for lunch. Aunt Ann treated us to home made pizzas. That pretty much set the tone for the weekend. We were fed and catered to the whole time with some wonderful home cooking. Also, they treated us to dinner at the Royal Oaks Restaurant on Saturday night, where I had a piece of grouper the size of my plate. I gained two pounds in 2 1/2 days!

Aunt Marie dropped by for a visit Friday after we got in, and we got to see some folks after church that are becoming familiar faces to us.

I got a kick out of watching part of the Eukanuba dog show on TV where "Noodles" the Basset picked up third place in the Hound Division. The dachshund didn't place, so Uncle Walter didn't have nice things to say about the judges :-)

Here's a few photos from the trip. (The last shot is at one of the pools where an unfortunate resident drove right in. Its kind of funny because nobody got hurt.)

Visit to Aunt Ann and Uncle Walter's

The boys

The boys

Click the photo to check out the latest pix of the new arrivals.

Richard and I decided that we better start labeling pix of the boys. A few years from now, we're going to have a hard time with who's-who!