Fancy That

Week 28 and 29

The weeks continue to fly by here. Last weekend we decided to get out of the house and visit the B&O Railroad Museum. We made in time to see them perform a demonstration of the turntable in their roundhouse. It was quite amazing to see. I caught a bit of it here. Just watch at just how they manage to spin this huge engine!

Obviously, we had loads of fun there.

Thomas’ class wrapped up a unit on the water cycle and invited parents to a mini presentation of what they had learned.

John has been rolling along with his cello playing. He is going to participate in a 5th grade recital later in the year. We got a notice from his teacher that they would like him to try a piece that the 6th graders will be doing for their recital. It is amazing to hear his teacher’s thoughts about his progress:

So we are excited to see where things are going this spring. Onward!

Week 27

More big news to share from last week. First, Thomas again competed in the US Chess Center Elementary League chess tournament. He won both games, which interestingly were both the longest and shortest games played that day. We are super proud of his efforts.

Andrew managed to sneak in during the long game and captured a few pictures. Here is the round up article from the US Chess Center: https://chessctr.org/2022/03/06/elementary-team-league-2021-22-round-8-results/

The other big news is that the Army finally released the Lieutenant Colonel promotion board results. We are all very happy to announce that Andrew will soon (hopefully by the end of the year) no longer be MAJ Giesey but LTC Giesey.

Week 25 and 26

Oops, things have been a blur. Big news though - drum roll please!

I have accepted a position as a math teacher and STEM program director at a K - 8 private school in the area come August. I am super excited about the position. I will have a bit of freedom to do interesting investigations with the STEM program. The program has small class sizes because of how quickly the students will be moving through most of the material.

Other big news is that the boys will be able to attend the school as well. I have had some concerns about behavior issues at their current school and I know that this new school is much more proactive in instilling good values.

Other than that, we are happy that the weather is starting to turn around. It means we can spend a lot more time outside. Less screen dependence and more action.

Til next time!

Week 24

Another week down, and boy it was exciting. Not much to report on the school front except that the boys are still doing their best, as usual. The pugs had dental work done early in the week. They did well for a few days, so we thought we could celebrate Grandpa Nick’s birthday in NJ. Unfortunately, Walter got super sick. Emergency vet visits are so much fun. Thankfully, he seems to be on the mend now. At least we got to celebrate a birthday together.

Week 23

Another quiet week. Nothing much of importance to note. My big news will have to wait a couple of more weeks until it is official-official. We did get a box of Christmas things in the mail because we missed seeing Aunt Kathy and Uncle John.

We have been working on some Bible stories with the Bible app for kids and our other faith formation work. We also enjoyed the Super Bowl this weekend. It may have been even more enjoyable if we had received some of the snow that was forecasted. But that is alright.

Oh, Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

Week 22

Another week complete. It was a rather busy one. One car had to go in to the shop for a scary red engine check light. We got it back in working order at the end of the week. Thomas started the spring session of chess club after school. He is really enjoying it. John got invited to participate in an after school club for the spring as well. He will get to explore a few different activities with a focus on social and emotional learning during his club.

There is other news but it is not quite official yet. Papers need to be signed before the ball gets rolling. Maybe next week it can be shared.

Oh lastly, Thomas finally decided to participate in one of the Elementary School Chess League tournaments this weekend. He was a bit hesitant about it.

Boy, oh boy, he came home jazzed because he won both games. He will be playing again during one of the other league meetings. This picture came from the US Chess Center blog as parents are not allowed in the room while the kids play. You can read more about it on the US Chess Center blog, Notate.

Week 21

Things are moving right along. Another school week down. There are some other things going on as well but nothing to note that is confirmed. We continue to work on the house but feel a lot more settled. I have been enjoying playing on the piano. We managed to get our entertainment system set up in time for the football games.

Maybe there will be big news next week. Either way, more than halfway done with the school year.

Week 20

This turned into a very short week. The boys had off for MLK Jr. day. We had a rousing game of What do you Meme? Family style at dinner.

The following day they went into to school but I had to pick them up for appointments in the middle of the school day. I did manage to get them back in time for John’s cello class and Thomas’s Chess club.

Wednesday was a big day. Our final shipment from Fiji arrived. All of the important things that we placed in our air shipment are back. All of the kitchen accoutrements, our projector, my piano, and most importantly, the LEGOs are home.

Even at this moment, despite having gotten all of the moving boxes broken down and out of the house, we still have to shuffle and find the right homes for everything. That said, we are almost feeling settled. We might need to get one or two more furniture things but at least we know where all of our stuff is.

Thursday was supposed to bring another snow storm. Since the school district already used up all of the snow days, the boys had a virtual school day. The storm left us with nothing more than a bit of rain.

I took John and Thomas to PA to spend the weekend with Grandma Carol and Grandpa Ron. This gave Andrew and I some time to get at these piles. We still have some piles in the kitchen and the “playroom” area. Oh well.

Despite all of that, it is really nice to finally cook with our nice pots and pans after the past 6+ months.

Week 19

Everything returned to some sort of normal routine this week. The boys had a full week of school. That left us all feeling a bit tired but we worked through it. The government put out guidance that everyone should be teleworking for the next few weeks. So, Andrew joined me at home for the week. We had a few medical appointments, so it seems like we are catching up on 3 years of minimal medical screenings from Fiji. No major concerns to report just working things through the system. I did finally get a new pair of contact lenses so I am seeing the world a lot better now.

We did receive a bit of sad news this week. Our housekeeper in Fiji, Niria, passed away on 13 Jan. This was a bit shocking but we believe it was due to breast cancer that did not properly diagnosed. I spent some time trying to find a picture of her but I suppose that is the sign of a wonderful housekeeper. She was an amazing lady, loyal and trustworthy. She loved the boys like they were one of her own.

The good news for the week is that our air shipment from Fiji will finally be delivered next week. Finally, we will have LEGOs, kitchen tools, the piano, and the projector. The items that should have been here the fastest are the last to arrive. I hope that its arrival will put our general unsettled feeling to rest. We can really feel at home now for the next 2.5 ish years.

We are gearing up for another yucky winter storm system to come through the area. We spent Saturday clearing the downed branches from the previous snow storm. We got out our new fire pit and enjoyed the warmth of some of the burning wood while being outside for most of the day.

We also had a big adult Christmas present arrive. Andrew and I decided to purchase a Peloton Tread. Fiji sort of broke me. I have been having a difficult time running outside. Surprisingly, I got quite attached to having a treadmill in the house. I am excited to try the bad boy out and get more runs in.

I’m sure as spring rolls around I will get outside more frequently. But I like that this will give us a bit more flexibility to get exercise in.

I leave you with my fortune cookie words of wisdom for this week:

Week 18

The new year has begun with an explosion of white. The boys were supposed to return to school this week but Mother Nature had other plans. Because of the size of the county where we live, all of the schools stayed shut down despite the fact that our area could be traversed with relative ease. We will just call this an extension of our winter break.