So Proud

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Daniel (The Great!)

Daniel made the Honor Society in 7th grade.  This is an accomplishment regardless of other activities or life experiences.  The fact that he kept his grades up while participating in every sport the school offered, in addition to club sports and church activities, says a lot about his work ethic and character.  When you add in that this is only his fourth full year of school, it’s nothing short of a miracle!  Here’s a picture from the induction ceremony – click it to see a few others.

California Visit

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Mid-winter break was awesome!  Here’s basically a day-by-day account:

Daniel, our own “Ethiopian Super Natural”

We took our time enjoying the waterfront and the Exploratorium, which is similar to the Pacific Science Center in Seattle.  On the pier next to the Exploratorium is an exhibit that records sounds and then plays them back 12 hours later.  Since our visit was shortly after the football season and the Seahawks won the Super Bowl (43-8 in case any Denver fans forgot), David went by the microphone and yelled, “Go Seahawks!”  Unfortunately, we weren’t going to be around at precisely midnight when it played back.

I get so much joy out of watching the kids interact with Science exhibits, and this place had so many interactive exhibits!  It was incredible to watch in wonder at their exploration.

 

Sarah & Caio joined us on a tour of a couple wineries.  The first is an incredible Italian castle, Castello di Amoroso.  It’s an amazing place and well worth the tour.  The second is the winery that produces my all-time favorite Merlot (and now my favorite Zinfandel, and a couple other reds).  We sampled a significant number of wines and discover
ed that Sarah and I have a very similar palate.  We both signed up for the Markham wine club.  The first place was for the tour; the second for the wine!

Chef Ryan

After the wineries, we went back to Ryan and Janel’s home for a rather-impressive tri-tip dinner (and some good wine). Ryan’s parents made the drive and it was great to spend time with them.  Then we played games and the kids goofed off!

A bit conspicuous

Next,  we wore our Seahawks’ gear and got pictures with the San Francisco skyline.  We toured Alcatraz (yes, it was actually the first time for many of us and it was very interesting).  People made jokes but treated us very well, especially considering this was just a few days after the Super Bowl!  Even though Allison and Eileen are 49ers fans, they indulged us with the pictures.

Cal-Berkeley

One of the things we enjoy while traveling is touring college campuses. We went to Berkeley and had Ryan as our tour-guide. As an added bonus, Janel and Ryan had done their homework and found an excellent Ethiopian restaurant near the campus. Dinner was awesome. The next day we went to Stanford and caught up with Sarah Howard and kids.  What fun!  Then we visited Janel’s school and classroom.

Click on any picture to see the rest of that gallery.

At Stanford

Daniel – Wrestling

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Daniel has been making the most of Junior High.  He is doing well in his classes, enjoying the social aspects, and participating in virtually every sport.  He wrestled this season and, even though he says he probably won’t return next year, learned a lot and did quite well.  His unbelievable balance and quickness allowed him to succeed at both Junior Varsity and Varsity depending on what the team needed for each meet.  He lost some, but won most of his matches.  Here is a selection of photos, including from the end-of-year banquet.

Quick Visit With Peter, Eileen and Allison

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Allison under pressure

Our friends from Lincoln, California remain close in our hearts even though we don’t get together often enough.  This January, Allison had a hockey tournament in Portland, Oregon the same weekend that the boys had a basketball tournament in nearby Longview, Washington.  We headed down to Portland early since Allison’s game was at 8:00 am.  We had a great time watching her game and then spending a bit of time with them.

Click the picture to see more.

Christmas Day!

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Celebrating the Lord coming to save us is always THE highlight of the year.  We love to get together with family, eat, open gifts, eat, visit, eat, watch football, eat, play games and, occasionally, eat.  This year was special for a number of reasons, including Sarah & Kyle joining us AND it was Ermias’ first Christmas in America!  We always take a lot of pictures and video.  This year, I organized the video into gift opening and other highlights.  I tried to cut it down to the essentials, but we had so much fun that I just couldn’t cut it too far.  Click on the photo above and enjoy both videos below.

More highlights:

Christmas Morning Musical Interlude

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Predictably, the boys were up and anxious to come out for Christmas morning before the adults were ready to go.  We had them practice their instruments – David on the euphonium and Danial with his drums.  Since Sarah, Kyle and Caio were here, Daniel let Caio jam on the drums a bit.  Daniel has been playing the drums just over two years and David has only had the euphonium for a couple months.  They’re both pretty good.  Enjoy this brief video.

Christmas Eve 2013

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Missing Janel & Ryan

Sarah and Kyle were home for Christmas, which made it extra special. We enjoyed great food and fellowship at Richard & Margie’s home. We put some of the video together for your enjoyment. Sarah & Kyle bought Daniel & David a fart gun from the movie, Despicable Me, which provided a fair amount of (disgusting) entertainment throughout the evening (and way beyond). Caio (Kyle & Sarah’s awesome exchange student) got to handle a crab for the first time. Enjoy the pictures and the video.

Early Christmas

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Sarah managed to get 4 tickets for the Seahawks game being played the Sunday before Christmas.  She was taking all the boys – Daniel, David and Caio (who has become a big Seahawks fan during his stay).  Caio’s cousin also came over from Bremerton on the fairy and joined them for the game.

So we bought jerseys for all of them (and Sary-Jo and Randy).  Of course they needed to be opened before the game.  Both the tickets and the jerseys were huge hits!  Click the picture to see a few more.  They captured the whole experience including hair and makeup.

Click the picture below to see pictures of their game experience.

Daniel’s First Wresting Season

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Daniel is always adventurous.  One of the things we admire about him is his willingness – actually – to try new things.  If those things are athletic in nature, he is virtually certain to sign on.  This year he tried wresting.  Sary-Jo made it to most of his meets, and Randy made a few.  We’ve included a sampling of pictures and some video.  As you can tell on the video, Sary-Jo is a pretty excitable mom when her son is on the wrestling mat!  I don’t know exactly what Daniel’s record was, but he won more than he lost.  More important, he gained some additional confidence and was part of a different team.  We’re very proud of him.  Click on the picture to see more.  Enjoy the video below.