Aloha! Sorry for delay. This is such a great way to keep in touch, as long as I actually get around to it! As usual, we think of all of you far more often than we let you know that we are thinking of you! Also, check back in the next few days, as I am going to update the photo pages ASAP!
We are all doing great as we are nearing 2008. We have recently added a new member to the family, a 8 year old Boston Terrier named Bug. He was rescued from a puppy mill by the UF vet school and desperately needed a loving family. Despite the fact that we didn't need a dog, he needed us. He is a very mellow old fellow with a comical personality and an even more comical look (his tongue permently pokes out of the side of his mouth!). The school year is already flying by, and, since it is nearing the halfway point, we are already looking forward to its end! This year all three of "my girls" moved up: Gabrielle to Kindergartern, Kelly to middle school, and Lynne to high school. I am still comfortable in the little niche that I have created at Ft. Clarke and am not motivated to leave it anytime real soon.
Gabrielle is doing great! She is really enjoying Kindergarten and her teacher, Mrs. Linde. She is really loving learning and is off to a great start on her educational journey. The only real "transition" problem was in the afterschool program. Gabrielle does not like big, noisy crowds or chaos, and the afterschool program had both the first few weeks as things got into the routine of a new school year. Now that things have become more organized, she is enjoying the afterschool program as well. Gabrielle just celebrated her 6th birthday with a trip to the Magic Kingdom. We had a great time, and Gabrielle even rode her first roller coaster (Goofy's Barnstormer)! Gabrielle is really looking forward to Winter Break; not only does it mean lots of new goodies, but lots of her favorite people are coming to visit as well!
Kelly is doing great as well! She has really enjoyed her first quarter and a half of middle school. Despite the fact that Lynne & I hand-picked her teachers and she has a lot more work than she did last year, she has had very few transition issues (1 missed HW assignment & a few frustrating evenings, but that's about it!). Kelly even managed to get straight A's for the 1st quarter, a feat that not many of her peers accomplished! She is still friends with several of her elementary school friends, has made a few new friends, and is keeping in contact with a few of her buds who went off to other middle schools. Kelly was especially excited with Gabrielle's birthday choice, as she loves the Magic Kingdom as much as, or even more than, little sis! Kelly is still obsessed with the Harry Potter books, having read each of them multiple times! She reads lots of other stuff, including a few dad-approved Stephen King novels, but she still goes back to Harry after a while!
Lynne & I are doing awesome. We are both looking forward to some time off during Winter Break and (maybe even more so) to our annual MLK cruise in January. We have both had a good start to our school year, although Lynne's has definitely been more work than mine. Since she took the job at our neighborhood high school, she has been busy with the new challenge and two new preps. She is teaching Honors and AP English to 9th graders. It is a lot of planning and a lot of grading; she is already looking forward to next year, which should be only a lot of grading! I am only teaching 6th grade this year. I was not too happy when they took my 8th grade classes away (they were trying to have less "cross-team" teachers, teachers teaching multiple grade levels) as I liked both the class, U.S. History, and the variety of teaching different subjects during the day, but I am enjoying my students (mostly) this year. I am teaching regular and gifted World Cultures, so at least I am not teaching the same thing 5 times each day.
I hope that you have enjoyed our latest cyberspacial communication and the new pics. Email us soon to let us know how you are doing. We love and miss you all!
Geoff
PS- We miss you Poppi.
