2009 Christmas Card & Letter

Hooray for Holy Wood! Amazing how removing one letter from a word can alter the meaning so significantly. Yes that really is the Hollywood sign, I just Photoshopped it a bit.

Thomas is in the fifth grade and turning eleven this month, officially a ‘tween. He is still having fun playing Little League and this year he played flag football. Thomas and his good friend Jack won “Most Original” as Santa and an elf in the school Halloween costume contest. Yes they knew they mixed up the holidays, and apparently that is hilarious. For years Thomas has been trying to pull a tooth out on December 24^th so that Santa and the Tooth Fairy collide. Thomas is still a minimalist and happiest hanging out with his friends playing Wii and Beatles Rock Band. He is as always easy to please and oh so much like his Dad.

Madigan is eight years old and in the third grade. Princesses are now history; hello Hannah Montana. The love of her life still remains her bunny Dusty. Her softball helmet has a picture of a grey bunny painted on it. Thanks to our friend Mark’s costume engineering, Madigan and her friend Nicole won as a runaway roller coaster in the school costume contest this year. Madigan’s new talent is playing Jingle Bells on her keyboard… but that’s it, over and over. We really need to sign her up for piano lessons.

Commander Wade is now retired. As of 1 November 2009, Patrick is a retired Navy Officer. For the first time since 1983, Patrick does not have a CO or an XO or a uniform – weird. As a member of the WD-40 Tribe, Pat is Vice President, Global Innovation Sourcing Management. Look for the many new WD-40 innovations to be introduced to the market during 2010. There are some in our garage and they are amazing.

In July, I accepted an offer for full time career employment for the first time in ten years. My new position is as a product manager for an analytic software product for McKesson Health Solutions. Yes, nearly the same title as my last full time job in 1999; working again for Rose. The job is challenging, but my new co-workers make it worth it. I am learning a lot from them. I work 3 weeks a month from home and 1 week a month in Boston. Perfect.

Our big project for 2010 is overhauling our backyard. We are planning on building a pool. We hope this will get Clare and her boys to come out more often. Kelly McDonald will come if there is a pool boy and no little boys.

I always wonder if people are sick of getting so many pictures from us. That question was answered by acquaintances of ours who lost their home in the fires of 2007. They told us that everything that they share or gave away came back to them after they lost their house. Every picture they sent to others they have today, but everything that they kept to themselves they lost. Yes, you are my back-up.

May the love that emanates from the Holy Family embrace your family this Christmas season.

Rebecca, Patrick, Thomas and Madigan (and Dusty) Wade

Christmas Prep

Christmas Card - Check... Shopping, not so much...

Well I am less than halfway done and I only have a week left before I need to start shipping. We did get the card printed, however the letter needs a lot of work. BUT that didn't stop us from having a FANTASTIC weekend.

First we went to December Nights at Balboa Park. Fun night, beautiful weather, the kids love it... Gordy loved it more. He and Patrick spent an hour in the international taster bar(s) and somehow Gordy came out three sheets to the wind. "Pat and I had a great time!" was said so frequently and with such zeal that our darling children counted how many times he said it... 22 1/2. Once was only 1/2 because he said "I had such a great time." Of course when he leaned over to me and said "Your wife and I had such a great time" Madigan nearly wet herself laughing.

Saturday was the best Christening I have ever been to... and I have been to more than my fair share. Fr. Steve put Thomas and Madigan to work as altar servers - my dream finally coming true. Although Thomas has finally reached the age to become an alter server, he refuses to sign up. I am going to send these photos to Deacon John. At least I had an hour to pretend. And the baby was perfect the whole day... I need to Photoshop a halo over his head.

Then Saturday night we went to Disneyland. Luck was on our side...at the hotel we were complimentary upgraded to a 1 bedroom suite. And then not only were we invited to a special "Family Gathering" event at DCA, where we got to see the Fab Five with no waiting... we wandered into Disneyland during their Candlelight event. John Voigt was the narrator and it was spectacular.

Sunday we met up with the Burg's at Dland and had yet another great day of fun. I'm sure I will regret ignoring all of the lists littering my desk, but sometimes you just have to say "What the heck!"

"I Will" by Thomas P. Wade

"Summer is over and it is time to get serious about my school work and how I will be successful this year. I am now in the 5th grade at Torrey Hills Elementary and I have decided to set certain goals for myself. These goals will be in the areas of personal, academic and family goals. Working on these goals will come before watching TV and playing video games. Setting goals and writing them down is one way to make sure I do my best and keep myself focused on what is important.
For my personal goal, I WILL learn to play the guitar at least at a beginner level this year. To achieve this goal I will get a guitar lesson book and video, I already have the guitar. I will learn the musical notes and I will practice the guitar for an hour at least three times a week. I really like playing guitar hero and I have become pretty good at the game, but I know that playing a real guitar is different and a little bit harder. It will take a lot of concentration and practice for me to learn to play the guitar, but when I do I will be able to play songs for myself, my friends and my family.
For my academic goal, I WILL get straight A’s this school year. This goal will show that I have done my very best in school. To achieve this goal I will be on time to class, I will do my homework every day, I will pay attention in class, and I won’t wait until the last day to prepare for tests and projects. I will work hard in all subjects even if they are not my favorite subjects. This last part may be the most difficult because sometimes it is hard to get excited about all subjects, but I will stay focused and do my best and I know I can get straight A’s.
For my family goal, I WILL take more responsibility as a member of my family. My Father works full-time at his job. My Mother recently went back to work full-time. Both my parents must travel for business and they need help to keep the house in good order. I will do more jobs around the house such as doing my laundry, cleaning my room, cleaning up around the house, clearing dishes from the table, picking up the mail, listening to my parents, being helpful with my sister and helping my family when needed.
Next year when I have finished these goals, I will make new ones. I will never stop trying to reach my goals and I hope to have fun while accomplishing them. When I achieve all of these goals, I will be very proud of myself and I will have made a difference for my future and my family. "

The First Day of School

Today was the first day of school! The most wonderful time of the year! Linda took Madigan to purchase her first day outfit - and it was a big hit!

The pool plan:

Surf Camp for the Wade Kids

Last week the kids went to surf camp. Yup, California kids go to surf camp in the summer. I certainly can't teach them to surf. They enjoyed it more than they thought they would... and they had five lessons on being water safe in the ocean. Here are some pictures and one little video clip.

I know I am WAY behind on the blog, I am planning to do a long review of the last few months as one entry as a way to catch up. Right now I am working on Madigan's birthday party. So look for an unbelievable comprehensive review of the last few months next week.

This is Thomas doing the "Board Walk". The counselors take the kids out beyond the breaking waves and they hold all of the surfboards together to make a long rectangular raft. Then the kids individually jump up and walk across it. Madigan went first, so I didn't get a video of her, but Thomas was last to go, so I got this video of him. It's not very clear; the camera is the size of a credit card and I was on shore.

Madigan's Note to her Dad

I love you daddy. You are great! I want to do lots of things with you. You are the best dad in the world!

1. You make money for our family.
2. You go to the Navy to make people safe.

SO YOU ARE THE BEST DAD IN THE WORD!

P.S. You are not only the best dad in the world, but in the galaxy. I LOVE YOU!

First Communion Invitation

I haven't done a post about our spring break trip to Las Vegas nor Easter... but I just finished the invitations for Madigan's First Communion so I wanted to post a picture of it. It's vellum on top of a sepia tone picture of Madigan in her dress and veil. The invitations will be going out tomorrow. I won't be sending them to everyone in Boston (they took a long time to make) so let me know if you want one for a scrapbook, I still have a couple.

Spring Break - Vegas Baby!

With prices so inexpensive in Vegas, we decided to head to the desert for a few days with our neighbors. A stop in Baker CA, home of the world's largest thermometer.

And of course, we had to stop at the state line to ride the log ride and the roller coaster at Buffalo Bill's.

Thomas was very relaxed at the pool at the Monte Carlo where we stayed.

The lazy river and the wave pools were fantastic!

Madigan's New Haircut

Madigan's new haircut... not that I will ever get it to look like Jennifer does...

Torrey Hills Open House

Tonight was "Open House" at the kid's school. Thomas' calss did reports on "Famous Californians". Thomas picked Walt Disney. I think this had to do with the fact that he legitamately needed to go to Disneyland to do research. He chose his costume, and he wore it for the whole 2 hours.

Madigan's class did many projects including a "Kid 'Casso" self portrait drawing in the Picasso format. she had a checklist to show us all of her projects around her classroom.

Picture for the Torrey Hills Yearbook

I needed to submit a picture for the kid's school yearbook of just the kids an I... come to find out there aren't many of those. So one Saturday night before Mass, Patrick took a couple in front of the school and a couple after Mass outside the church. Debbie (the woman's I am taking the yearbook over from next year) chose the one in front of the school.

Today is Pi Day

On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in an official (but non-binding) resolution declaring today, March 14, 2009 (3/14/09) as Pi day.The House periodically passes meaningless non-binding resolutions that frankly have no point, but they usually pass unanimously. This time 10 Republican Congress members voted against passing this resolution. Not sure what they have against Pi.

Basically the bill 1) supports the designation of a Pi Day and its celebration around the world. 2) recognizes the continuing importance of National Science Foundation math and science education programs. 3) encourages schools and educators to observe the day with appropriate activities that teach students about Pi and engage them about the study of mathematics.

Thanks to my college roommate Nancy for bringing this important news item to my attention!

Madigan's Softball Team

Madigan's softball team is very entertaining to watch. This is one of my favorite cheers that they chant from the dugout. Sorry about the wind noise in the background.

I tried to get Madigan up at bat, but I missed the hit and only got the run.

81st Annual Academy Awards Party

This year's Oscar Party was a lot of fun... although we missed KO, Kathleen, and Elizabeth. No costumes this year took some of the pressure off the attendees. Of course, Miss Karen dressed in India garb... costume contest or no costume contest Miss Karen dresses the part! Big hit on the drinks. As usual we served champagne with gold leaf. As a nod to Slumdog Millionaire we had Bombay Gin and Tonics. And a new entry... The Tropic Thunder which was a mix of tropical fruit juice and Malibu rum. We thought about making a Dark Knight, but it just seemed to morbid. Meri made footprint cookies again this year, and some red velevet (carpet) cupcakes. Gordy and Linda won the Oscar pool, with Patrick as runner up.

Dark Ages Ball

Saturday night, Patrick and I went to a Naval Academy Ball. Annie and Mark stayed overnight with the kids and we stayed at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in downtown San Diego. It was a very nice dance, and we met some of Patrick's classmates.

Sunday morning we had lovely breakfast on the water at a restaurant called "Busters". But we had to hurry back home to set up for our Oscar party.

Shopping for Madigan's First Communion Dress

Yesterday I took Madigan shopping for her First Communion dress. Linda came along to help with the decision making. We picked up Selma and her mom and they took us to a dress shop down in Chula Vista. It is called "Little Kids Wear" and they had the largest assortment of First Communion dresses I have ever seen. Madigan tried on 9 of them. Gram, click on the gray arrow in the bottom left of the box below, and it will start a slideshow.

The very first one in the slide show was the one she originally chose to purchase until Linda had her try it on again. The first thing she said was that the arms were "itchy". So we had to go with her #2 choice (but the one that I think I liked best).

This is the one she chose, but Mrs. Penolio is going to add some more embellishments. I have a claddagh applique for the front. And we want to replace the buckle with a claddagh pin. I'm hoping to add some trinity knots to the veil as well.

Madigan's Patriotic Performance

Madigan's class had a Patriot Performance today. She is the first one on the left in the first row with the pigtails.

The Soup Taping

The Soup Taping started by meeting Michael & Liza at the Marie Callender's for a couple of happy hour drinks.
The taping started promptly and there were at least 40 more people there this time. Apprently they have a bit of a cult following. After the taping, we posed for pictures with the host Joel McHale. That's Annie, Joel, me, and Sally (Annie's sister). This is Annie and I posing in front of the background used for E! News.

Special Guest Star Evan Rachel Wood staying after the taping to pose for some pictures. She was absolutely delightful and teeny tiny. Her waist is the size of Madigan's!

On the way out of the parking garage, we spied a fleet of E! vans... so of course we had to stop and take a few pictures!

My New Favorite Charity

A friend from junior high school and high school, Erik Klaver, started a charity a year or so ago. I think it's a brilliant idea. Basically you sign up to donate a $1/month through PayPal and Erik forwards the money to the charity of the month. Fantastic. Here's the website:

http://www.charityamonth.com/

Clint Eastwood is a WD-40 Fan!

OK, maybe Clint isn't a fan, but his character in the movie Grand Torino is part of the WD-40 Fan Club! In the movie Clint Eastwood's character Walt Kowalski gives his student Tao his version of a basic tool set: a can of WD-40, vice grips and a roll of duct tape. "Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." Click ont he link below to watch Clint:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMKVDib76Vg

Hike turned golf tour

Today after Mass, Patrick and I decided we should get out and really enjoy the beautiful San Diego weather. We drove over to the Torrey Pines State Reserve to go hiking. The parking lot was closed so we drove up to the driving range and parked on the side away from the driving range. We had a lovely hike.

The kids found a cool cave, and we took the path all the way down to the beach and back up to the top.

Well, 2 hours had passed and when we got to the car the gate to the range was open, but the gate on the side was closed. We were locked in to the maintenance side of the Torrey Pines golf course. There was a back gate open in the rear of the lot, but that led out to the course. We waited for a threesome to tee off and tried following the path to get out going around the building. It was not an exit. BUT fortunately one of the employees was there. Larry told us that finding the keys to gate would take too long, so he told us to follow him in his golf cart across the course to an exit on the other side. Can you imagine what the golfers were thinking seeing a black Suburban following a golf cart around the course? I couldn't help myself, I had to take pictures.

What made this even funnier was that they are setting up for the Buick Invitational. So we had to drive through scalfolding and around platforms and tents.
They will need to add to this sign to watch for large black vehicles careening it's way towards the exit.