All I want for Christmas...

...is my two front teeth!!    

MEWWY KWITHMUTH!!

(Aaron had some tooth extractions this last summer)

Feagin Christmas Letter 2010

Hello Everyone,

     What a wonderful opportunity it is to extend our warmest wishes to everyone that we know and love! Whether you are in Maryland, California, Nevada or all points in between and outside of the United States, we extend our love, thoughts and warmest wishes for a happy and prosperous 2011! We are grateful for our associations with the best people we know...you!

     In January, Brooke travelled to Reno on the one year anniverary of her younger brother Jason's death to be in attendence for his Temple work. It was quite an emotional time for the Bergam clan and an incredible bonding experience. As January progressed, Maryland was belted by two major blizzards...the largest in history! We were stuck for over a week and over three feet of snow kept us indoors.

     Following the great melt-off, the Feagin's transitioned into Spring by witnessing the Orioles lose on Opening Day (of course) and by going to the "Phantom of the Opera" at the Hippodrome. Attending live events is always quite edifying! The remainder of the Spring and Summer consisted of a ceaseless battle with our garden and minor home improvement projects. John and Cacilda visited from Beijing in June as we revelled in United States World Cup pandemonium. Unfortunately, the circumstances of the visit were brought upon by a life-threatening stroke of my father (this is Jim writing :). There were several instances where we thought he would not pull through. However, he has partially recovered and is back at home.

     The remaining of the summer was...well...hot! In July we celebrated 7 years of itch-free marriage, and Elena turned four. September, Aaron (aka Ehwen) hit the ripe old age of three. Despite their maddening disobedience at times, having two young children is absolutely a fun and rewarding experience. Our black-and-white feline Spooky takes the brunt of their attention. She took our her frustrations on the local mice and rabbit population, (not to mention currently wreaking havoc on the Christmas tree). An impromptu road trip to Ocean City and the Eastern Shore towns of Trappe and Easton was a much needed break that helped ring in the beautiful Maryland fall. Elena also started preschool!

James had some professional success in achieving national media attention for a consignment he negotiated and was also promoted to the position of Head Writer. Brooke is still doing well at Central Maryland Rehabilitation Center. There are big plans for 2011 so keep in touch!

James, Brooke, Elena, Aaron and Spooky the Cat

   

A Few Pics

Elena's first day of preschool- October

 Pumpkin Patch- October

 Christmas time

 Putting the star on the tree!

Ocean City, MD (Part 2)

I know everybody's been on the edge of their seats!! Finally, part 2 is here! Days are getting busier now that it's the holidays. (yippeee!)

We spent the next day on the beach and boardwalk- which we had never done before. (Only the beach part.) Simply a gorgeous early October saturday.

Aaron had a blast making sand castles, although he still hasn't figured out that you have to fill the bucket all the way to the top in order to have a successful tower. He still had fun stomping over all the sand hills he made. Elena helped by gathering seashells and adding the decor to the sand kingdom. They didn't care that there were no shells like they see on their cartoons- they were all just pieces.

We all had fun wading in the surf as well. At first Aaron was a bit afraid of the little waves, but we turned it into a game of cat and mouse. He squealed with delight as he ran as fast as he could away from the surf.

Elena discovered that if you stay put and let the wave wash over your feet, it pulls the sand away with it when it goes back out, and tickles! But it sure gave her vertigo when she stood backwards. She kept falling down. At one point she was running backwards into the ocean, helplessly, along with a receding wave. We could all see it coming before it happened. She was going to fall- right under a large coming wave. Thank goodness Jim was right there to grab her upended foot before she went under! And thank goodness I had an extra pair of clothes for her. She got soaking wet. I don't think she got very close to the waves after that- shook her up a little. (Me too, I might add!)

She found something else to do instead! We saw a woman throwing crumbs into the sky and the seagulls would hover in a big flock and catch them, and she was photographing them. Elena thought that was the funnest thing ever! The nice lady shared some of her crumbs with the kids, then I realized I had an old muffin that had fallen in the sand ealier. So I tried the same thing and got some shots with the kids among the gulls.

Aaron preferred to simply scatter them. Aw, heck, that's crazy wicked fun!

We enjoyed the boardwalk, and walked all the way to the end (a couple miles, I think). Picked up some saltwater taffy and chocolate licorice. Mmmmm. I wish I had brought some walking shoes though. Flip-flops are not the best when it comes to that.

And Jim couldn't resist the haunted house ride. I guess he wanted to get into the spirit of Halloween a bit early! Can you spot him??

I think he's right under the devil bat thingy.

 I'm just glad we were so lucky to have such great weather! And that we all made it out of there intact.

On the way home we HAD to stop at Sonic (boy, we missed that place!) in a small town called Easton, on the Eastern Shore. It was probably close to the halfway point, so we decided to have a little break for the kids. We asked the girl on roller skates who had brought us our food, where the closest park was. It wasn't to hard to find, and the kids had so much fun there. You could tell it was a popular place to go. It was quite an awesome park, and it was packed with people. We almost seriously considered moving to that tiny town solely for that park! Also the neighborhood looked so cozy.

But, after finally rounding up the kids, we made it back in time for a little nap!

*Sigh* It's so nice to just get away sometimes...

Ocean City, MD (part 1)

We had not had a vacation all year long. Not even for our anniversary. So by the end of September we were really feeling cabin fever. Therefore, the very first weekend in October we took a short road trip to the eastern shore of Maryland- to the beach! The weather was still nice, and we had not been to the beach since Aaron was a newborn and my family was in town. I am sure he did not appreaciate it then. The kids did well in the car, but for some reason Aaron got really nervous going over the bay bridge. I don't think that kid likes heights! Elena? No problem! Here she is enjoying a juicy apple on the way.

 Here is a bit of the drive through the bridge. Nice structure! So glad we didn't hit any traffic!

Priceless.

Done with the bridge! Now, that's more like it!

Of course, my husband being the complete baseball nut, we had to stop over in Trappe, Maryland- hometown of Frank "Homerun" Baker- and check out the town. (For those unaware, he is a baseball hall-of-famer for being the champion of home runs- until Babe Ruth came along.)

Somehow we found the park dedicated to him- we didn't even know it was there- and the kids got to run their sillies out in the muddy baseball fields.

Running the bases is good exercise.

Then we drove the rest of the way to Ocean City, got a room, then went straight to the beach. Just in time for a spectacular sunset!

 The best part was watching the dolphins out in the bay. Breathtaking, I tell you! I could live here. No problem whatsoever.

Except, good food seemed hard to find. We had no places recommended to us, so we found a place of the main road. We said as we pulled in "we've either found a gem of a place, or a nightmare". Well, folks it was a nightmare. Horrible service (slow as molasses), did not smell appetizing, dirty fish tanks, and other people were complaining too. Our food took about an hour at least, and just as long to get the bill. Luckily it was within walking distance to the hotel so I could go put the kids to bed, while Jim stayed behind to pay the bill. I don't think he tipped much. Later we researched the infamous Salvatore's restaurant online and found a whole bunch of horrible reviews. A lot of them related to health code violations. Yep, so don't go there! At least we got some delicious and overpriced ice cream at Dumser's Dairyland Ice cream parlor for dessert. The day ended well, and the kids had a great time sleeping at the hotel.

September Birthday

On the 17th, our little BIG Aaron turned THREE! We celebrated at Grandma & Grandpa Feagin's.

Of course, it was pretty much all trains and Thomas related. So, perhaps instead of a Spongebob themed party, we should have gone with Thomas the Tank Engine.

And Elena got a present too! Just for being the big sister! (What a fun toy! Thanks Gma & Gpa)

And then the cake....ooohhhhhhhh, the cake. What a stressful affair that was. I borrowed a spongeBob-shaped cake tin. Needless to say, it did not turn out right. Even after meticulous greasing and flouring, it came out in pieces. Nooooo!

Soooo, I hit the easy button and bought one. But only at the store who said they had SpongeBob cake toppers on hand. Or so they said. I got there and ..."Oops! I could have sworn we had some..."

As you can tell, nobody really cared anyway. At least we have SpongeBob plates, cups and napkins!

And...by the way...Elena no longer looks like Garth. She had her first school haircut! She started the haircut herself, and Cartoon Cuts at the mall finished it for her.

August 2010

I am just a wee bit behind on posting. All apologies! In August we went to the county fair with the kids...

 There was the petting barn for the little kids, food and rides galore! There were firemen with their BIG and very real fire truck that they let kids climb up and sit inside. Elena the fearless was gung-ho, but Aaron not being a risk-taker opted out. A little too high up for him! ("I too scared.") All the kids got to keep their very own firefighter's helmet.

So, the kids may have been free to get in, but they sure get you on the rides! Not cheap. Luckily we had saved up a little...sheesh! The look on their faces was worth it.

 

What did we do the rest of the month? Not much, other than my planning and running a ward activity/party. We did a back-to-school game night the end of August. I was definitely pleased at the turn-out, and happy when it was over! So stressful...but fun.

Photo Session

Elena at 4 yrs old...

We went to JCpenney again this year, since we had a 50% off coupon. (I love me some good deals!) They have always done such a good job with the kids and I usually like how they turn out. This time was no exception. The older the kids get, the easier it seems to get.

Here are just a few...

...of our favorites.

My sweet thang!

Big Four Year Old!

Elena turned 4 on the 6th of July, and we celebrated by throwing a HUGE block party! Just kidding, it was only us and Grandma Feagin. We did a Hello Kitty theme, as Elena feels like she is her own personal friend. (Don't worry we don't promote fantasy worlds beyond the norm with our children.)

I made the cake. It was a risk I had to take after searching several stores who had no cake mold, and I can't afford the lady at work who makes cakes as a side job.

So what did I do? Improvise!!

I went online and got some ideas. I made the cake on a rectangle pan and then froze it overnight. Then I drew the outline on a regular piece of paper and cut it out. The next day I put it on top of the semi-thawed cake and cut around it. Success! Then I used those hand-dandy frosting-in-a-bottle thingies. And voila!

I was very proud of the results. Every time something turns out right I feel more confident to try something else new! And it was right tasty too! Lemony inside, and cream cheesy outside.

However, we did not eat the cake until after our little scavenger hunt. I placed little wrapped Hello Kitty goodies all around the house, inside and outside, along with instructions as to where to find the next present. Aaron and Daddy had a blast helping her find everything. As did she, of course. Here's the loot--

The final prize was a new Hello Kitty bicycle! It's her first bike of any kind, so we get to learn on some training wheels! She loves it to pieces.

We got to open some other frizzits too! (frizzits=presents)

I can't believe my baby is FOUR! **sniff, sniff**

Next year she'll start school!!

crazy, crazy...

A Vision and High Temperatures

One day in May I woke up with an idea in my head. Something I had been pondering for a time and a vision formed. I did a little reasearch online, then headed for home depot. You see, I have been wanting for years to have a successful vegetable garden. But because of many factors; abundant wildlife, poor soil, awkward location, etc etc.- I have been unsucessful. Until now! This is the result...

...

Drumroll please!

...

A 4'x4' raised bed garden! Fully enclosed with a net to keep birds and vermine out (supported by pvc), and underneath the box is a fully reinforced steel mesh to keep out burrowers who like to munch roots, as well as a mat of burlap to keep weeds at bay. I must say, I was incredibly proud of my efforts and the results. It took maybe 4 hours tops, and the kids splashed in the pool while I hammered and poured dirt. Jim was pleasantly surprised when he got home from work, expecially since he had no idea it was brewing. This photo was taken a month ago or so, and the plants are doing really well. I do my best to keep it watered in this 100 degree weather.

Which brings me to the next topic at hand. The Heat! They say in the month of June, our area had 16 days of over 90 degree weather. 2 of those days were over 100. So far July is pretty much the same. Yesterday it reached 105, hotter than Vegas, baby! Hopefully today it will only be 100. So we've been doing a lot of swimming.

Ahhhhh, sweet relief!

We don't have a membership at our pool, and it would cost like $16 for all of us to go swimming one time. So I am grateful to have a good friend who lives in an apartment with a pool!

Here are the kids on the 4th of July, waiting for it to get dark.

We had fun watching our local fireworks display. Hope everyone had a happy holiday weekend!

More Ketchup!

Early in April, James and I enjoyed my Christmas gift by going to Baltimore and spending te entire day there. The first event was an Orioles game at Camden Yards. One of his co-workers had tickets so he hooked us up- even though it was in the nose-bleeds.

It was also extremely frigid with the wind blowing right at our backs at the top row. I knew I should have grabbed that sweatshirt in the car. Jim was a gentleman and let me use his new t-shirt as a blanket of sorts. What a selfless guy!

This was his new shirt, and his optimistic early season grin. Those of you who follow baseball will understand why he's no longer grinning.
 

But we had a good time. All we had to pay for was food and parking! I can't remember whether we lost the game or not, but I'm fairly certain it was a loss.

   

I love the atmosphere of a good baseball game, during warm weather at least.
   

Next we went back to the parking garage and changed into our fancy, night-on-the-town clothing, and headed to the Hippodrome a few blocks over. I might add that it was quite a few blocks, and wearing heels did not exactly make me a happy camper. Thankfully, the crazy man on the corner blowing me kisses raised my spirits immensely. Needless to say, I forgot about my aching feet entirely.

These are professional photos of the historical theater. Much better than mine turned out. Is anyone curious as to what show we saw?? Some of you probably already know...For Christmas Jim presented my with two tickets to see Phantom of te Opera. The show was excellent, very enjoyable! I realized I practically have the script and score memorized myself. I could be an understudy! (Yeah...right.) Although, my father received a callback to perform as the Phantom in San Fransisco a while ago. He chose not to be away from his family. He would have done a killer job! (Happy Father's Day, Dad!)

I had to walk back to the parking garage barefoot because my feet were killing me. I have learned to keep a pair of flats with me when going out on the town. Since I'll be doing that so dang often. Oh, here are my pics:

I am so grateful to live near family who can help watch our children, so we can make memories like this together and have some alone time to keep our marriage fresh! Speaking of the family near us, Jim's father just suffered a major stroke and is currently in the hospital, so we are praying and hoping he'll have a quick recovery and be home soon. Please keep him in your prayers!