Elliot turned 10 on February 26th. He is in 4th grade. Eric turned 8 on September 2nd and is in 2nd grade. Both boys are schooled at home by mom and attend the E-zone enrichment program. At E-zone they study foreign languages, drama and take sports. Elliot also attends the gifted class, one day a week, at the public school. Elliot will earn his black belt in Taekwondo in a few months. Eric played baseball in the rookie league this fall. They both take piano lessons and attend the Awana club.
In March Grandma Rita visited with us in Florida. We all went to SeaWorld and bought the annual passes. The kids took in a rabbit named Flip-Flop from some friends who couldn't care for him anymore. We let him roam on a leash in the back yard. He passed on while back in his original owners care while we were away in June.
In June we combined a business trip to California with a week at the Grand Canyon. It was a great trip that we hope to do again sometime. We also took another trip to Iowa and Colorado at the end of July. Monica and I escaped to the cool mountains, leaving the kids with Grandma. I hiked to the top of Pike's peak again this year with my good friend, Gerry, from Chicago. Monica stayed with Aunt Millie, while the boys climbed the mountain. We also visited with my sister, Linda, and her family in Denver.
Dad joined the school boys this fall by going back to school to finish a Masters in Business Administration (MBA). This summer, I was laid off and the Tampa GE office was closed. I figured the job market was lousy so I’d spend some time as a full-time student. I’m glad it’s finished, and can begin looking for a job.
We met a Romanian girl attending the school, who unfortunately had her sponsorship canceled after the 9/11 attacks. The school was good enough to let her finish the fall term. We helped out by having Ramona live with us, while she finished the term.
Elliot and Eric both performed in the Christmas show at church. Elliot played "America The Beautiful" on the piano. Eric showed some superior acting skills in a Christmas play.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Elliot and Eric performed in the Community School Christmas pageant
Elliot played "America The Beautiful" while the choir sang.
Eric was the best actor in the skit. We were very proud of him.
Before we left for Oregon we opened our presents.
Elliot and Eric really liked the gift from cousins Eli and Ethan.
We met Crummer MBA students Cetin and Hulya at the airport as we were
boarding our flight.
They were on their way home to Turkey for the holidays.
We arrived in Portland, "the city of roses", we actually found a rose
in the winter rose garden.
Elliot and Eric at Mt. Hood, Oregon.
There was 10 feet of nice dry snow on the mountain.
Dry snow is a nice alternative to the "Cascade Concrete" usually found
in Oregon.
Elliot, Eric and Andrei
Eric with Andrei's Grandma, she made us all kinds of good things to
eat!
Eric lost his two front teeth before Christmas (with some help from
uncle Tim).
He's got a jigsaw puzzle smile.
We also opened presents in Oregon with Uncle Timotei, Aunt Cocoa and
Emmanuel.
All the boys tried snow boarding, even dad, who got "slammed" face
first into the snow.
Uncle Tim took us to his favorite lake.
Elliot and Eric enjoyed the Portland Children's museum.
