Halloween and other updates

Another gorgeous Fall day in NoVa (more pics below the post)

Audrey survived her first year of trick or treating.  She wore a classic costume worn first by Emma and then Alena.  Grandma Kroeckel has been responsible for so many great costumes, this one she did when we were in Kansas City, Emma was 1.5yrs old at the time.  I remember her round little face sticking out of that flower and her walking around my HayGroup office (actually, she was still doing her one-foot drag crawl if anyone can remember Emma's unique scooting style).

Any way, can you say deja vu' all over again with the round, cherub like face of Miss Audrey. She didn't do much trick or treating, mainly rode in the wagon eating the first pack of Skittles she was given.

Quick update:  Emma is swimming year round now, for Snow Swimming or local USA swimming club.  She's doing well, has great form off the blocks and through most of her strokes, still needs to work on kick and getting some power on those long  limbs (i can relate since she has my body type--i still don't think i have forearm muscles!)   But she loves it and this was her decision to focus on swimming.

Alena is doing dance and gymnastics and really prospering in school and with friends.  And we just finished her 3rd session of skating and she is finally getting on her edges and moving out. We hope to have her back swimming in the spring.  

Hugh progressed in skating and made it to his first "stick and shoots" w/ owen and I, skating in full gear and shooting shots.  He is doing great in school and Spanish which he takes twice a week.  He is a rascal. But behaves at school like an angel and is smart as a whip.  He is learning to play video games on his own, so we now have another thing to take away from him when bad.

Owen is doing well in school, really liking all day, we just need to get a little neater on our printing--which seems to have deteriorated since kindergarten when he use to take forever to print.  Hockey is going well in his first season of Mites.  He's starting to get a little more aggressive for the puck, but also likes watching his teammates skate around and shoot while he skates side to side.  Oh well, it's 6 yr old hockey.  He also started Cub Scouts this year, is in an 8-boy troop.  We've hiked, done a corn maize, collected food for Thanksgiving food drive and sold the world famous Scout popcorn.  The kids love the outdoors and Owen more than anyone likes bugs and critters and knives and guns...so we thought Scouting would be perfect!

Kathie and I celebrated our birthdays and 11yr anniversary the past 3 weeks.  After her summer of Triathloning, Kathie is working at working out at Lifetime Fitness.  The only problem:  Audrey has major separation anxiety.  But when she can go they have workouts ranging from boot camp to aerobic yoga to pilates and weightlifting.  This winter she will start swimming and Tri training again.  Most of her day is running kids around.  I try to pitch in now that my office is only 10min a way, but the schedule is a challenge.  I know everyone claims their busy and we certainly aren't looking for any badges--but c'mon people, save your sob stories for another family, 5 kids under 10 and 3 labs--you can't compute!

BusinessElite is doing better, now that we hired our own local development team along w/ a really strong database architect and a designer.  The product itself is looking outstanding and it will launch Dec 1st w/ one of the best Beta interfaces of any job site ever launched.  We fired our team in India after 5mos of slow response and inadequate design and development work. Next time Glenn and I hire Indians, they will have feathers!  The timing couldn't be better for us, because going against conventional wisdom, hiring of professionals and executives usually goes up in an economic downturn, not down.  I started w/ a new hockey team this winter and moved up from C to B.  I am now Left Wing for the Chiefs (of Slapshot fame).  The summer team made it to the semi's before we were knocked out.  I won't give you my point totals as it embarrasses my bro-n-law Scott...well he gets embarrassed for me!

The best part of this year is we have 4 season tickets to the Capitals behind the Caps bench about 20 rows up in the lower bowl of the Verizon center.   Been great fun for our kids and our business associates.

We are looking forward to Holdiays here, even though these are leaner times than we have experienced before--no matter--by early next year I think any financial worries will be gone w/ the pending success of BusinessElite.com.

Cheers for now,

Tom and Kath

The wizards and the flower

The kids and neighbors

We get turned a way for going over the family/house quota, so we split up into two groups

The Knight and his maiden

Owen hasn't quite grasped the meaning of 40+ season ticket games.  One night he was really upset I was at the game w/o him, he called my cell and could barely talk.  After I explained that the game was a work thing and that he could look for me on TV, he calmed down, ran to his room and put on his "rooting gear."  I snapped this pic after I got home that night.  Hockey is all about passion!!!!

 

Dad's getting older birthday!

Hockey players don't need front teeth!

Kathie's friends from High School and earlier were in town for a visit (Lori--to Kath's left--and her husband Mark and fam just moved to Winchester, VA about 40min west of us).  It was nice to be around midwesterners for a change, I forget what it's like to have an ego-less, agenda-less conversation.

She fell asleep on her doll one morning while I was working, all of the sudden I heard what sounded like snoring.

Proving Caps fans are made not born! This one went to the owner of the Caps, Mr Ted Leonsis whom i know from AOL--I haven't seen it on his blog yet, but expect it on the Verizon center big board one game.