So my bro, or Uncle Kevin to the kids, shared with us a couple of good online laughs for the holidays. He turned himself into Uncle Scrooge, and shared his dance with us. And then, apparently having found his Christmas spirit, he turned himself and our kids into Christmas Elves.
Good fun. Try Elf-ing or Scroog-ing yourself.
You’re already in bed after your first day as an 11-year old. But while there’s still some minutes left of your birthday, I thought I’d tell you here in my blog how much we love you and are proud of you. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of you, is fun. You are a fun person to be around. You like to play games (are a wicked backgammon player), and you are also very funny (not looking, I mean humorous 🙂 You’re very curious (yes, like the monkey) – always wanting to learn new things, adventurous (yes, like a pirate) – always eager to try new things. And you are also friendly, kind, and quite a looker too!
Happy Birthday, Colleen! We’re very excited about being with you all of your 11th year.
BTW, the CUBS won tonight!
Ah, where does the summer go? Ours was full and fun, but now September is here once again, and this week was time for heading Back-to-School.
We’ve now left elementary school behind, as Colleen enters middle school as a 6th grader, and Will is now our second child in high school. For the last twelve years we’ve had one or more kids attending Henderson Elementary School, and I’d like to say thanks for the great job they did for each of them.
This morning, Colleen and I walked to our respective bus stops together. My pickup is just across the street from hers, and just a few minutes earlier. It was kind of strange, standing across the street waving at each other. Her to catch a school bus to take her five miles to school, and me to catch a commuter bus to take me 30 miles to work.
Tonight I rushed home from work to make it to Back-to-School night at my daughter Katie’s high school. The parents there followed their children’s schedule from class to class, spending 10 minutes in each for a quick introduction and overview from the teachers. I have to confess, it made me glad that high school is far behind me. She will have a heavy workload in classes that I hope will engage as well as challenge her.
If we continued counting years as grades in our ongoing education of life, then this fall I’m a 37th grader. I’m not done learning, but the degrees I work for now come bi-weekly and have dollar signs on them.
Oh yeah, and looking back at last year, we can’t forget what else going back-to-school brings next.
Look for us on ESPN tonight. We’re directly below the scoreboard, first row of the upper section.
Update: Damn, the Cubs lost. So we’re still a game back, and I owe Lou a few lunches. Not to mention the grief I’ll get from Nick. Damn.
We still have a few hours to kill before tonight’s game between the Cubs and the Mets, but time is easy to kill here at The Cubby Bear!
There was something different about Katie when I got home from work today, but somehow I just can’t quite put my finger on it. Must be the necklace.
Colleen made the leap out of Elementary School today, advancing out of the 5th grade. She is our last to complete her Elementary years at Henderson, the school that is literally next door to us. We’ve been very lucky to have our kids start their educations at such a great school. Colleen was recognized with two awards; an Academic Award for earning a straight – A average in her whole 5th grade year, and the Principal’s Award for having the highest grade average in her class.
Congratulations Colleen! We are very proud of you.
A few months back, Katie had a school assignment that required her to submit a stage play to the Student 10-Minute Play Competition sponsored by the Arena Stage in Washington, DC. Katie has described her entry as ‘cobbled together’ from a couple of other pieces, and edited down to meet the time requirement. Her entry, Dream a Dream, was one of ten honorable mentions selected in the High School category from among a total of 595 entries.
Each of the honorable mention plays was performed in a reading by Arena Stage actors. I was there with the family video camera, and have finally got it online. So now, for the first time online…
Dream a Dream, by Katie Casey
My dad recently shared this photo from a slide he digitized. From the age of my sister and our clothes I’d guess it’s from the spring of 1973. From Left to right are my brothers Sean, Kevin, myself, Jennifer, and our wonderful and loving mother. Happy Mother’s Day Mom! You’re the best, and we love you.
Here’s a flashback from the Casey video archives, the 2002 Pinewood Derby. Over the years I’ve participated in a half-dozen or so of these scouting events. Some kids show up each year with finely crafted hot-rods that their fathers have obviously put many hours of work into. I’m not that Dad. Even if I put many hours into it, I’m just not a woodworking type. And so typically, a night or two before the race, when the the task couldn’t be put off any longer, my son Will and I would hack our pine block into some kind of shape, get some paint on it, glue on the wheels and some weights and hope for the best. But in 2002 we found some inspiration by decorating Will’s entry with a sponsorship from my company, casey.com, and maybe that was what was needed (or maybe it was the well placed bolts in the passenger seat), because our close fourth place finish was our best ever in a Pinewood Derby, and only Ludwig Von could capture the feeling. Please excuse the herky-jerky camera work, the adrenaline was flowing strong and I just couldn’t keep still.
