Time

The school year is just about up here in Fairbanks. School starts pretty early (2nd - 3rd week in August) and gets out early as well. You can imagine trying to get through a high school football season when it's -20F in November (games I think wrap up in October in the snow). Anyway, Carol had me snap a few photos of the girls as they went to school at the beginning of the year and then I grabbed a few more last week. It's amazing what happens in a school year. The girls have both grown and learned a ton. They really enjoy their school and friends and each other. I continue to be amazed at the capacity of the human mind for learning. I feel inept at my lack of talent in adequately filling those minds with the stuff they need to grow, but I'll keep trying. Owen has also grown a lot in the past year. We watched family videos tonight (a great Sunday tradition from the Cooks) and saw Owen when we first arrived in Fairbanks at a wee 9 months old. He was crawling around and babbling and crying. The crawling and babbling have now been replaced by running and talking. I wish I could say the crying has also been replaced, but I fear it has just gotten louder although it is somewhat less frequent.

Anyway, time does go by quickly. The individual minutes can occasionally tick by slowly when I'm reading the same story for the 9th time or rounding the train track for the 21st, but looking back it really does fly.