Volume 14 Ped & Eggy, Jax & Mackie’s TIMES December 2008

Max’s Life Inside Stories (told by Daddy)

I can’t believe that I am now in first grade. I have a really neat and caring teacher, and she is helping me a lot. It sure is different than kindergarten! Now we have more homework, reading and math problems, and longer days. But each day at dinner we say what our favorite part of the day was and my answer is always “school”!

I played spring and fall baseball, and my Dad is super proud of the way I step up to the plate. I got lots of hits, and played various field positions. I love the game and plan to play even more next year.

I’m still doing gymnastics which is continuing to help me with my coordination and strength. It’s fun.

I’ve become an excellent swimmer, and I think my parents think I am a fish, not a boy. Give me water and I’ll swim and swim forever! I loved swimming at Catalina, and tubing with my family was the most fun I think I’ve ever had.

Jackie’s Life Inside Stories (told by Mommy)

Jackie’s live dictation to Mommy: “I started Kindergarten, that’s it.”

Okay, she also played baseball, soccer, gymnastics, and joined Daisy’s. Her Daisy group has many of her preschool friends who will later be in middle school together.

I should mention Jackie was 4 entering school and even though she tested with all the knowledge she should have at the end of the year, we still have things to work on. We have been informed she is somewhat squirrely, coming from a Montessori school; public school is quite a different routine. She is settling down and enjoying herself.

Jackie continues with dictation: “My favorite part of last year was camping, catching catfish, tadpoles and frogs and letting them free. Sitting and playing in the muddy pond with my shirt on was also great and fun.”

Peggy’s Life Inside Stories

It’s already time to write Ped & Eggy, Jax & Mackie’s Times…… This last half of the year has been especially busy for me. I started a new job September at University California Irvine Medical Center in the Radiology Department. My primary role is conscious sedation, which means, keeping the patient comfortable and happy with medication. I guess that makes me “nurse feel good”? The best part of my job I feel like I’m working with my friends. The only drawback this year was I kept my other job just for a little security with the economy being so poor. However this translates to Ed being the primary care giver and homemaker. I’ll have to admit he does a great job and the kids are happy. I’ve already asked him for some tips!

Santa Clause is surely going to be busy this year. If your house is anything like ours, we have big hopes and dreams. Ed and I decided to ask Santa Clause for some help. We converted the shed out back to a playhouse, and we are hoping for Santa will furnish it!

Our year will be complete with a final vacation to Big Bear. In the last two days we have had 4 feet of snow! The best part is the 5 days we will be there it’s forecasted for sunny days and some clouds! Can’t wait!!!!

Wishing everyone has a Cherished Christmas and a Cheerful New Year with family and friends.

Ed’s Life Inside Stories

This year went by pretty fast. I started out on the right “tack” and fast tracked my way through sailing school. I am now certified to be able to charter sailboats. Sailing is really fun, and I hope I get some time to go along on races so as to get better at it. The nice thing is that the club I belong to has a wide variety of sailboats to rent. Compared to owning boats as we have in the past, the rental aspect makes a lot more sense. This is a good way to keep connected on the water without a huge financial burden.

Work has been busy and our company keeps setting sales records each quarter. The economic slowdown hasn’t affected us very much, and likely won’t. The doctors are telling us that they are even busier than before, which is good news for us.

Thankfully nothing health wise other than it’s good to not have to report anything!

Chmiel’s News

We had some nice family events this year.

First off, we bought a popup tent trailer. That has been a total blast. We spent time visiting Peg’s cousins up a Lake Tahoe, revisited Mt. Palomar, and even survived a literal blizzard up in the LA mountains over Memorial Weekend. We also hung at some of the local campgrounds, and the kids love it. Many places have pools, and the two fish we call kids are there all day long.

With Ed’s sailing completed, we took a couple of day sailing trips, but we also went to Catalina Island for a week. The whole family had a terrific time swimming endlessly off the back of the boat, jumping on the water trampoline, hiking, and water tubing around. We all can’t wait to get back over.

We also spent Thanksgiving at Pechanga Resort, an Indian gaming hotel not too far away. We celebrated (belated) Gene and Elaine’s 50^th wedding anniversary. We all had a great time, and of course, the kids loved the pool

! @Catalina