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August 2000 News

September 2000 News

October 2000 News

November/December 2000 News

Christmas 2000 Greeting

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, 
New Century and New Millenium
from Doug, Kelly, Rachel, ???, Gypsy, and the "Leaf Monster"

Hello!  We hope this holiday season finds you well.  It has been quite a busy year for us, full of amazing changes as Rachel (and all of us) continue to grow and learn.  With our advancing age, it’s hard for us to remember all that happen these last 12 months, but here’s a snap shot of our perception of the last year:

January found Doug in France leading an assault on Germany and later both Italy and England in an attempt to dominate all of Europe.  Actually, he started playing a game called “Diplomacy” via email with a bunch of friends from high school and college.

In March, we took a short trip to Lancaster, PA.  We got together with Doug’s Aunt Sharon and Uncle Bill, did some sightseeing of Amish country, and attended a woodcarving show (one of Doug’s hobbies du jour).  Gypsy (our Amazon Parrot) also enjoys carving (watch for them on “EBay” soon) but she had to stay home.  Rachel took her first official solo steps in the hotel room where we stayed!  Like most parents, we captured this milestone on film with the camcorder.  Now, of course, she runs through the house screaming, giggling, etc. and we think nothing of it.

Rachel celebrated her 1^st birthday in April with a cookout.  We were fortunate to have beautiful weather and the company of several out-of-town guests (her grandparents, great grandma Moore, Aunt Donna, Uncle Arch, and cousin Tyler)!

In May, we celebrated our 10^th anniversary with a Caribbean Cruise.  While Grandma and Grandpa Frietchen kept Rachel (and Gypsy), we sailed to Nassau, Coco Cay, Key West, and Miami aboard a Royal Caribbean vessel.  It was great going from port to port without having to plan the transportation.  We enjoyed the many activities on and off the ship, especially the dining.  To Kelly’s surprise, Rachel did survive without her and had a great visit in Ohio.

July brought us back to the Midwest to celebrate Logan Tyler Pope’s (nephew on Doug’s side) 1^st birthday.  We all went to the Toledo Zoo, ate cake, chased balloons, and enjoyed this occasion.  Then we made our way to Indiana to see Kelly’s family and attend her 15^th year class reunion.  Sadly, a day or two before our arrival in Indiana, Kelly’s grandmother lost her battle with breast cancer.  She was in her early seventies and had several rough years with late stages of diabetes, cancer, and other health concerns.  She was a strong, independent, and passionate woman, many traits passed on to my mother.  During this visit, our home in Virginia, unbeknownst to us, was assaulted by a hailstorm that would later result in the replacement of our roof and siding (aka winning the homeowner’s lottery).

Also in late July, Kelly officially quit her job at TASC where she worked for the nine years prior to Rachel’s birth as a communications systems engineer on a government program.  Eventually she plans to return to some kind of (paying) work, but for now she enjoys being tormented by Rachel and Gypsy in the privacy of our home.

We celebrated our birthdays in August by joining the newly built YMCA in Reston, VA.  Actually Doug bought a guitar while Kelly signed everyone up for the “Y”.   The free (to members) childcare means Rachel interacts with other babies and toddlers, while Doug and Kelly abuse the exercise equipment.  And yes, Doug actually enjoys the exercising so far.  Or maybe he enjoys being able to listen to the Discman while watching 6 TVs at once!  Kelly also started a Yoga class that she loves and takes Rachel “swimming” about once every few weeks.  It has been good for the whole family (except Gypsy, who’s stuck at home guarding the house).

November was a month of travel, starting with Doug’s 15^th year class reunion in Ontario, Ohio. He enjoyed seeing his classmates and looks forward to doing it again in five years.  Next, Rachel and Kelly were off to Kentucky to attend the West family (Kelly’s Dad’s side) reunion consisting of a house full of first and second cousins, aunts and uncles, as well as her immediate family.  After the trip to Kentucky, they stayed a few days in Indiana visiting her parents and her sister’s family.  Prior to her return to Virginia, Kelly took Rachel on to Grandma and Grandpa Frietchen’s house in Ohio where all were rejoined at Thanksgiving for a delicious feast.  Remarkably, Rachel again managed quite well without her parents for about a week!  Is it possible that her grandparents are doing a bit of spoiling? 

Last, but not least, we found out just before Thanksgiving that Kelly is expecting!  We are expecting our second (human) child near the end of July.  Coincidently, Donna is also expecting and is due in late July too!  Let the race begin!  Both sides of our extended family are growing in leaps and bounds over the last few years.

Happy Holidays and if you’re ever in the neighborhood (virtual or otherwise) please stop by. 

December 2000 - January 2001 News

February/March/April 2001 News

May 2001 News

Aug 2001 News

Nov 2001 News

Pictures Added:

Christmas 2001 Greeting

We hope this finds you well. Obviously, this has been a year of extreme highs and lows in addition to plenty of in betweens. For those of you with short attention spans, here's the short form: heart attack, birthday, birth, birth, national tragedy, wedding, turkey, shopping…

The year began rather calmly with us relaxing and recovering from last year's holiday tour of the Midwest. But the calmness was rudely interrupted in early March with news that Kelly's Dad (Jim West) had a heart attack and needed triple bypass surgery. We were able to arrive prior to his surgery and stayed several long days for his initial recovery. He is doing excellent and is looking forward to retiring from his work sometime early next year. (The exact date still remains unspecified!)

In April, Rachel officially entered the "terrible-twos" after months of practicing. We celebrated with a trip to Ohio for a birthday party with family and a U2 concert in Cleveland for Doug & Kelly. Actually she has had a magnificent year and seems to have passed through this stage rather quickly. Or perhaps she's trying to lull us into a false sense of security? She began the year speaking tersely and has steadily progressed to issuing all sorts of commands, declarations, questions and nearly non-stop commentary on her universe. She's an incredibly social child enrolled in art, music and tumbling classes as well as attending various playgroups. She always picks out a best buddy at each activity whether the buddy knows it or not! She also has a strong connection to her extended family and often begs to get in an airplane or car to visit her cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc…

As many of you know, we are proud to welcome a new member into the household this year. Our new bundle of joy arrived this summer, weighing in around 7½ lbs and measuring 18". After having her around for only a short time, we don't know what life would be like without her. Of course, I'm referring to our new DirectTV system.

OK, OK. As you can see, we've had an even bigger addition to the family than the DirectTV system. We've been blessed with the birth of our second daughter, Samantha Michelle. Samantha was born on the 27th of July and arrived at the hospital shortly after we did. Very shortly. We hobbled into the hospital around 7:35 am, got to the room around 7:45 am and Samantha came at 7:55 am. That's right folks - no drugs, IVs, prenatal monitoring, cameras, etc… and almost no doctor. Good thing we passed on the Dunkin Donut drive-thru on the way to the hospital.

Samantha was a bit fussy the first month or so - probably because her attempt to make the local news was thwarted by some pretty fast driving - but has now decided to make it big with her charming smile and melodic coos. We can scarcely remember life without her, but we attribute that to sleep deprivation.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Rachel & Samantha) are both getting along quite well. Rachel seems to enjoy her new status as "big sister", but wait till next year when Sammy goes mobile. And of course Gypsy, our 3-year old Amazon parrot, thinks she has another flock member to rule over.

Also in July, Donna (Doug's sister) gave birth to her second son, Spencer Austin Pope. Since Rachel and Tyler (Donna's oldest son) are so far apart in age (3 months), we decided to have the second set of kids much closer together (3 weeks).

In October, we flew to Kansas City to attend the wedding of Jenny Moore (Doug's cousin) & Rick Holmes. It was great to get all the little ones together and to see everyone. Flying was a bit of a challenge for many of us between the extra security, extra kids and the start of the bombing campaign on the same day that many of us flew back (Sunday). We seem to have a propensity to fly from Chicago to Virginia when our country first launches major air strikes against our enemies. In Jan 1991, we flew from Chicago -> Virginia the day the bombings started against Iraq in Jan 1991. I predict bad news for some 3rd world country ~ 2011 if we keep making those trips.

In November, we were off Indianapolis to spend Thanksgiving with Kelly's sister's family and her parents. Rachel was again overjoyed to spend time with her cousins. The food and hospitality were excellent. Grandma West got lots of cuddle time with her newest grandchild. Rachel and Nick jumped on beds, chased cats, played balloons, drew pictures, and occasionally interested a very poetic Kelsey (niece in 6th grade who is a big Shel Silverstein fan) in their pursuits. Grandma and Grandpa Frietchen stopped by to see Samantha and Rachel (exhausted at that point) on the way home from a baby shower for Jenny.

Happy Holidays and if you're ever in the neighborhood (virtual or otherwise) please stop by.

Love, Doug, Kelly, Rachel, Samantha and Gypsy

August 2002 News

It's been a while since we've updated the website, so there's lots of new Pictures (about 100!).  Also here's a brief recap on what we've been up to this year:

This year's been busy and is flying by.  In March, Kelly took a trip with her sister to Hilton Head via Indianapolis:  Kelly & kids went to Indy via the train, Samantha stayed with Grandma & Grandpa W while Grandma & Grandpa F drove to Indy to pick up Rachel for a week at their house.  Doug had grand plans for getting some stuff done around the house, but promptly got sick the day after they left!  All met in Ohio for Samantha's baptism and Rachel's 3rd birthday party.

In July, we headed to Toledo for a few days to celebrate Samantha and Spencer's 1st and Ty's 3rd birthday.  All were born in July! Afterwards, Grandma and Grandpa F "volunteered" to watch Rachel and Samantha for a week while Doug and Kelly took a Caribbean cruise for a week!

In between, we've enjoyed visits from the relatives, lots of gardening (or more correctly, weeding), plumbing/flood control, and chasing the kids around the house.

Christmas 2002 Greeting

Happy Holidays!

We hope this finds you well or at least finds you.  It’s been an eventful year for us here in Northern Virginia so we thought we’d share a few highlights; some of which are actually true. 

In March, we designed and implemented our most complicated trip yet: Kelly & kids went to Indianapolis via a train (yes, they still exist), Samantha stayed with Grandma & Grandpa W while Grandma & Grandpa F drove to Indy to pick up Rachel for a week at their house.  Meanwhile Kelly and her sister flew to Hilton Head for a week.  All were sick by the time we met in Ohio for Samantha's baptism and Rachel's 3rd birthday party!

In July, we headed to Toledo for a few days to celebrate Samantha and Spencer's 1st and Ty's 3rd birthday (Donna’s kids).  Afterwards, Grandma and Grandpa F "volunteered" to watch Rachel and Samantha for a week while Doug and Kelly took a Caribbean cruise for a week.   (We didn’t get sick and had a blast!).

Also this summer, Kelly’s Dad retired from a distinguished career of civil service as a Naval Systems Engineer at Crane, Indiana (yes, the Navy has facilities in Southern Indiana).  His punishment: 6 months of hard labor redoing their family room.

This fall we able to participate in 3-week urban combat evasion training course (e.g. how to gas the car and avoid getting shot by the DC sniper).  Luckily, we had another new addition to the family that required us to stay indoors anyhow (new computer).  Thankfully, the snipers got caught before Halloween, resulting in an appearance from a “scary witch” (Rachel) and the somewhat reluctant return of the Leaf Monster (Samantha).

This fall/holiday season also brought more reunion trips to visit the families in the Midwest.  In September, Great Grandma Moore (Doug’s Grandmother) celebrated her 90^th birthday in Ohio with a big family gathering.  We’re already planning her 100^th birthday celebration.  In November, Kelly’s relatives in Kentucky had a reunion and then we were off to Ohio for Thanksgiving.  Christmas will see us in both Indiana and Ohio (thank goodness for portable TV’s w/ built-in VCRs).

We’ve had some more adventures in home ownership this year.  After years of ‘subtle suggestions’ fr om Kelly, we decided to have a shower redone.  The day and half project concluded a month later.  Glad we hired someone to do it!  Doug has been periodically re-plumbing the house (a.k.a. non-voluntary flood control) and we’ve both noticed an unusual phenomenon causing our house to shrink as our kids get older?  

We also survived a break-in this fall as Doug was able to apprehend the suspect armed with only a flashlight!  OK, actually he also had a bucket and a pair of gloves as the offender was a 12’ python (cleverly disguised as a 6” baby guarder snake) stalking the basement stairs (to the untrained eye, he appeared to be sleeping on the bottom step – but Doug is convinced he was just pretending).  The suspect, having a good lawyer, received probation and was paroled to the garden.

The kids are both doing great.  Rachel is now 3½ and started preschool this fall at our church.  She goes three days a week in the afternoons and especially enjoys music, recess and her teachers and classmates.  Samantha is almost 18 months and is into everything.  She is beginning to speak, bite, throw, climb, run, etc…   The girls exhibit typical sibling behaviors – alternating periods of playing, fighting, giggling, chasing.  Gypsy also enjoys weighing in with her opinion.

With Samantha napping in the afternoons and Rachel in preschool, Kelly has rediscovered the luxury of personal time.  She has enjoyed doing crafts, trying new recipes, talking on the phone, practicing Yoga, even cleaning the house!  She volunteers at church and is active in the preschool parent’s association.

Happy Holidays and if you’re ever in the neighborhood (virtual or otherwise) please stop by. 

Love,

Doug, Kelly, Rachel, Samantha and Gypsy

May 2003 News

Nov 2003 News

Dec 2003 News

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, 
from Doug, Kelly, Rachel, Samantha and Gypsy

This years holiday letter is in two files (requires Adobe Acrobat):
Front of 2003 Christmas Letter
Back of 2003 Christmas Letter

July 2004 News

Christmas 2004 News

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, 
from Doug, Kelly, Rachel, Samantha and Gypsy

‘Twas The Year Before Christmas

‘Twas the Year Before Christmas, When All Through Our Home,
Not a Creature Was Stirring, There Was No Place to Roam;
The Toys Were All Stacked On the Fireplace with Care,
A Kids Playroom Was Needed With Closets to Spare; 

The Children Were All Nestled All Snug in One Bed,
Fighting Over Sheets While Getting Kicked in the Head;
Out-of-Town Relatives, Asleep on the Floor,
A New Bedroom Would Help, But Wait - Let’s Add More; 

So Kelly in Her Dress and I in My Jeans,
Sat Down at Our Desk to Sketch out Our Dreams;
We Expanded the Basement, Added Rooms Here and There,
But When We Figured the Costs, It Was More Than We Dare! 

So Back to the Computer, We Hammered Away,
Only a Thrifty Design Would Secure the Day;
So We Stretched the Family Room and Split it in Two,
Added a Some Bedrooms Plus a Great Room With a View; 

We Lined up Some Contractors, to Bid on Our Plan,
And Went With Our Gut, Choosing the Big Irish Man;
Having Finished the Design - Quick as a Snap,
We Just Settled Down For a Long April Nap; 

When Out on the Lawn There Arose Such a Clatter,
I Sprang From the Bed to See What Was the Matter;
A Large Contraption Was Destroying Our Deck
Knocking it Around, Rendering it a Wreck

With the Big Red Man Calling Out to Them All,
“On Frankie, On Donnie, On Teddie and Paul,
Order That Material, Tear Down that Wall,
Let’s Get This Job Rolling, To Finish by Fall”!

So Bright And Early They Toiled Each Day,
Never Allowing the Slightest Delay;
First the Great Room Looking So Bold,
We Started To See Our Vision Take Hold;

But With Doug on Travel for ‘Bout a Fortnight,
The Plumbers - A Month Early, Gave Kelly a Fright;
With The Roof Partly Gone, the Skies Looked Stark,
Left Kelly Plugging Leaks, Well After Dark;

When Doug Finally Returned, the Exterior ‘Bout Done,
Meant It Was Time for Us to Have Some Wiring Fun;
Coax and Ethernet Were Strung With Care,
In Hopes a New TV Would Soon Be There;

Next It Was Kelly’s Turn, to Escape the Mess,
Off to Her Relatives, With the Kids No Less;
While Doug Stayed Home to Strip Paper from the Walls,
The Old Rooms Need Painting - Including the Halls; 

One Last Trip for Us All to Escape the Fray,
To Visit Doug’s Family for Sam’s Birthday;
We Returned to Find the Contractors ‘Bout Done,
On Schedule They Finished Their Twelve Weeks of Fun! 

Unfortunately For Us, Our Work Had to Resume,
Two More Months of Painting Ere Putting Floors in Each Room;
And The Kids Must Get Ready to Learn the Golden Rule,
Rachel Starts Kindergarten and Sammy Preschool;

So Most of Our Fall Was Spent Like the Rest,
Laboring Away Attempting Our Best;
Finally We Finished (Well Not Quite),
Our House Almost Brand New – What A Sight! 

So as One More Year, Winds Down to a Close,
It is Time for Us, to Wrap Up This Prose;
But Not Before We Wish You Some Holiday Cheer,
Happy Christmas To All, And To All A Good Year!

Doug, Kelly, Rachel, & Samantha Frietchen

June 2005 News