November 2009

Thanksgiving 2009 has come and gone as we prepare for Christmas. The lights went up today on the house..... it seems like yesterday that we were taking them down after Christmas 2008. Olivia has been with us for two years and it seems as though she has always been here. She was, in reality.... here always in our hearts. She continues to develop her vocabulary and her academics are excellent. She asked to learn guitar as both her big brothers play. She takes weekly lessons and is doing well. She started gymnastics at the YMCA this past fall and has been advanced by invitation to join the "preteam". We are not sure really what this designation means as she will compete at level 3 (of 8) starting in January. She loves gymnastics and smiles constantly when she is doing her routines. The attached pictures include Halloween, Olivia and Emily at Disney last May, Olivia and Emily at "A Bug's Life (3D glasses), and Olivia and her brother Matthew. Fun times.

End of the school year

We are at the end of the school year. John's responsibilities are over for the time being. He will be judging DCI some this summer as well as teaching a research class.... but now has a few weeks off to pursue GOLF! Barb is gearing up to go to National Camp School for recertification as a BSA waterfront director, following which she will be running the pool for several weekends of Cub Scout camp as well as working her "hobby" job at Splash City. Emily and Matthew (with a freshly minted masters degree in International Relations and Commerce from the Patterson School for International Relations) are home. Emily for the summer and Matthew until his summer job starts, we think in Virginia. Emily will be working at Splash City as a lifeguard this summer while her boyfriend, Andrew, will be most likely working a roofing job in Connecticut. Olivia has a few weeks of school left but then will be attending summer school for six weeks half-days. We think this is good as she needs to continue to catch up. Reading is coming along but is a bit slow for what we thought it might be. She loves to have books read to her and we are most happy to do so. Spelling is excellent in school but sometimes retention several weeks down the road is a problem. We need to do more review with her on words she has already had. Math is fine.... she understands concepts well. She has been especially excited in school about space and the solar system. We later sawa book at Boarders that had an austronaut on the cover. She wanted me to buy the book because she said she was going to be an austronaut. Cool. She got the book. We believe that she is an exceptionally bright person with an amazing personality. Her guitar teacher asked if she was always this bossy at home...... to that we said , well, yes. She apparently told him he needed to clean up his studio. Olivia and Emily continue to bond. Emily is an amazing teacher and is very patient, explaining all that Olivia does not understand. Watching them do homework at the dinner table is a joy. Sisters. No doubt. We have a Disney trip planned in a couple of week. This is the girls 2008 Christmas present. We are hoping that it will be warm but not too crowded. The above photo is of Matthew and Olivia. What a pair. The other is Matthew and Ambassador Cavanaugh at Matt's graduation. Ambassador Cavanaugh is the Director of the Patterson School. Is anyone looking to hire a smart, politically savvy good looking 24 year old?

The Holidays

The holidays were very good for the Bell/Hunter clan. Olivia learned how Baba cooked rib roast. She wanted to wear his traditional chef's hat (Baba was given this hat as a gift several years ago). All of the kids were home for Christmas as well as John's Mom. Dick and Marie along with Barb's brother Van and the twins, Grant and Gwinn, came for a visit on the 27th. Emily's boyfriend Andrew was here as well. A full house. One day Olivia came downstairs saw Grandpa and hopped right up next to him for some snuggles. Grandpa thought this was about the best Christmas gift ever. Matthew, Emily, Andrew and Olivia went to the zoo one day resulting in a terrific picture of the three on a giant bug. The zoo is one of out favorite places. Matthew has been a Zoo Parent for many year for two bears, Greg and Gary. They were apparently quite animated this visit. Santa left one of his reindeer following his visit on Christmas Eve. He looks strangely like Bradley. Hope Santa doesn't miss him. Olivia was the "Christmas Elf" this year. This position is traditionally given to the youngest family member and is a most important role. The Elf reads the names on presents and passes them out to the correct recipient. A big responsibility. Emily has been the Christmas Elf for many years but this year passed the hat. We are now back to school (A+ on a big spelling test last week!) All is good.