Happy Holidays!  

2013 was the year the boys ‘discovered’ Star Wars and became obsessed with everything related to that universe.  From light saber duels throughout the house, recreating Star Wars vehicles and scenes with Legos, devouring related books and stories, and epic Lego Star Wars III video game sessions, we may need to start looking for help with this addiction.  

Thankfully Torin and Ronan continue to cultivate other interests.  For Torin, playing soccer, basketball, and piano.  For Ronan, progressing in Taekwando and chess club.  With all these activities we’ve officially hit the taxi parent stage of life and finally became a two car family, bummer.  Now if only a company would hurry up and deliver the self-driving car to the masses.  Bonus points if you can communicate with the car via your smartphone, “Ok Google, pick up Ronan at Taekwando and deliver him home”. 

“Rieke is for Ronan” where he is now in the 1st grade and loving the independance.  Torin started a new school in the fall, Class Academy, where he has been assigned to the 5th grade and is facing academic difficulty for the first time.  Its nothing he cannot handle but is having to work hard and focus.  We believe the adversity is fantastic because learning how to fail gracefully is as important as learning how to succeed.  

Jamie has taken a new position this year as the Science Educator at Rieke Elementary.  In this role she is developing a science curriculum that meets required academic standards while hopefully sparking student interest.  One project that was written up in the local newspaper had the students investigate energy costs to create units of protein for various foods.  It concluded with a tasting of roasted mealworms (kind of nutty) and cookies prepared with some mealworm flour.  Jamie’s project to create an outdoor classroom space at Rieke was completed this year thanks to the help of a few sponsors and many volunteer hours.  Teachers in all grades have taken to the outdoor classroom to cover topics in geography, ecology, and zoology.  Its also an excellent spot to sit on a log and just read.  

Matt took on an expanded role at Schrodinger this year that includes more travel.  Multiple trips to the east and west coast were fun and a great chance to catch up with old friends in the industry.  A trip to India though was the highlight.  Matt will be attending ACS meetings more regularly now so if you’re planning to attend give a holler and we can get together.  

Trips to Florida for Matt’s sister’s wedding and California for the funeral of Matt’s Grandfather continued our travels.  We also got out more locally with an amazing trip to Olympia National Park which is a site we’d recommend to everyone.  Matt also took the boys overnight backpack camping in the Mt. Hood Wilderness and came back alive with only minor trauma from wasps (there is a wasp season here - who knew).  But perhaps the most exciting event this year was we celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary.  

 

We hope you had a great 2013 and wish you the best in 2014.

Matt, Jamie, Torin, and Ronan

Like travelers in a new land 2012 was chock full of interesting experiences.  Ronan started Kindergarten this year, joining Torin (2nd grade), at Rieke Elementary.  They both love school and are taking advantage of after school experiences including a Mad Science program for Ronan and an Engineering with Legos class for Torin.  Its amazing to watch the school extract the most from them.  We were to excited when Ronan’s teacher indicated he was an excellent reader after years of resistance reading to Jamie and I.  Turns out they are both rapacious readers who will gladly devour all kinds of book. 

We had a wonderful FL Repasky family reunion this year at Crater Lake, OR.  Its an awe inspiring location with sweeping views of the Milky way at night and the crystal clear, snow-fed lake surrounded entirely by rugged cliffs during the day.  Everyone enjoyed a day trip to Wizard island by boat which was highlighted by the four cousins in their skivvies jumping into the frigid water for a ‘refreshing’ dip.  And who could forget the adult boys jury-rigging an industrial griddle back to life or “mahna mahna”.  I suppose it is better to ask forgiveness than permission. 

Both boys have become obsessed with Legos this year after a trip to Legoland in FL during spring break and being given their first Ninjago kit last Christmas.  2012 also saw the boys first visit to Disneyland in CA with their Emiley Grandparents.  Torin probably would have ridden Space Mountain all day if we had let him while Ronan loved the diversity of rides.  Matt dutifully avoided any ride that spins while Jamie took it all in stride. 

Early spring saw Torin making his first ski runs down Mount Hood Timerberline and Meadows with Matt.  He likes taking ‘massive jumps’, though his form of stopping tends to be accompanied with doing a slow motion 180 turn.  So still much more to learn.  We’re hoping Ronan will be ready to leave the bunny hill after a few more lessons and join in on the mountain.  Another outdoor highlight was our first serious camping trips.  The family stayed in two historic fire-towers on Indian Ridge and Mt. Hood and Jamie bravely camped alone with the boys at Saddle Mountain.  After getting over an initial fear of heights, the boys quickly came to love playing on and around the fire towers and exploring their private ridge.  Who knew pully-lifting various objects 50ft from the ground to the fire tower could be so entertaining?  Given the positive experiences this year with camping we plan to try hike in/hike out camping next year. 

This fall Torin has started piano lessons and has found a hobby that fits him perfectly.  As soon as he comes home from school he races to the piano to practicing for an hour a day!  He has also started writing his own songs, following in Grandpa Repasky’s footsteps.  Ronan has enjoyed the one-on-one time with the parental-figures while Torin is in his music-mode but has announced that when he turns seven, he wants to learn how to play guitar.

For Matt and Jamie the year was largely a continuation of 2011.  Matt continues to work at Schrodinger and his 2012 highlights included another year of no serious injuries playing recreation league basketball, more publications, and further progress on the boy’s club house that required learning how to make a mortise and tenon jointed door.  This has been Jamie’s ‘year of volunteering’ at Rieke Elementary.  She is the PTA Volunteer Coordinator, EcoThink Club and Student Council Eco-Action Team coordinator, and has written several grants to bring additional resources to our money-starved school and created the vision of an outdoor classroom complete with a bridge and covered classroom area that is rapidly becoming a reality. 

We all look forward to what 2013 will bring!

Hello to all our far-flung family and friends. During this time of thanksgiving and community your absence leaves a hole that is impossible to fill.

Torin and Ronan had an adventurous 2011. They climbed mountains (Saddle Mountain, 2.5 miles, 1600 ft vertical), visited with cousins in CT, explored NYC, and grown physically, socially and academically. Its hard to believe Torin is now 6 years old and in the 1st grade while Ronan is 4 and in his last year of preschool. They get along quite well most of the time and we’ve been told their interactions are similar to Matt and his brother when they were young. Hopefully this closeness can be maintained throughout their lives.

Ronan has started to blossom in preschool where he really enjoys playing with and discussing dinosaurs, working on puzzles, and “creating” with legos/blocks/boxes/whatever he can grab. He continues to demonstrate a strong ability to focus and concentrate on the activity he loves and we suspect it won’t be too long before he is drawn to puzzles with 200+ pieces and creating with a more diverse set of raw material - hello glue gun. Ronan is very interested in the natural world and has become the family’s caterpillar, slug, bug, unique stick/rock, and bear spotter while on hikes.

Torin started skiing last year at Mt Hood and has indicated he loves, “skiing backwards and taking big jumps”. He is going down green and some blue runs now under his own power though I don’t think the parents will be able to relax until he masters the art of stopping. There are similar heart-stopping moments as he learns to bike as well. With any luck he’ll avoid damaging his newly dropped adult front teeth in either activity. Torin has been bitten by the writing bug and will happily fill every piece of paper in the house with his musings and related illustrations. He was recognized in the spring during a tea where one student from each class was given the opportunity to read one of their stories to the principle and school parents. We are very proud in this self-motivated accomplishment and hope his interest in learning remains strong.

Matt and Jamie had an adventure in 2011 as well, summiting Mt. St. Helens in the summer with Jamie’s brother and sister-in-law, Mark and Emily Emiley. We were lead by an experienced Sherpa, our neighbor Mark Seker, who ensured a safe and fun trip. We had wonderful weather and superior visibility; I’d strongly recommend checking out the video. While the hike was awesome and destined for legend, its summarized below:
- A leisurely stroll through the forest to get to the mountain base.
- A vigorous climb around knee sized rocks as we went up the foothills.
- Rock hopping as soil gives way to a zone of human to car-sized rocks. This was wildly fun.
- Navigating a transition layer with smaller and less frequent rocks. The wind begins to pick up and goggles go on. Ominously fine ash is becoming more prevalent.
- The final push to summit a steep slope of fine ash. The wind is doing its best to sand blast you. Every uphill step gains only a few inches due to slipping in the ash. Time to dig deep and find some motivation.
- Paradise at the summit followed by drinks (thanks Mark!) and dancing
- Race you down the mountain!

Happy Holidays from the Repasky Family!

Dino Time!

The boys took their favorite dinosaurs on our trip to Connecticut and NYC. It was fun finding silly places to pose them.

Dinos on the East Coast from Jamie Repasky on Vimeo.

Autumn on the East Coast

We took a family trip out to the East Coast for work, to see Matt's brother's family, and to see some of our favorite spots in Connecticut and NYC. The boys had a great time playing with their cousins and visiting the Big Apple.

CT and NYC photos

Fall Adventures

We had a beautiful fall here in Oregon. The boys are enjoying school, soccer, and exploring around Portland during the season.

Fall 2011 photos