The Keating Krew

Facebook

2009-06-13T08:48:00.001-07:00

Our blog is suffering since Ryan and I joined Facebook.

You'll have to look us up there to keep up with the Keating Krew!

brightroom event photography

2009-05-18T10:05:00.000-07:00

brightroom event photography

DISNEY WORLD SPRING BREAK!

2009-03-29T16:41:00.000-07:00

Plebe Parent Weekend

2009-03-29T07:12:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I went to our 4th formal of the year. This event was Plebe Parent Weekend. This is the time the parents and families get to come visit their Plebes (Freshmen) at the Academy. They attend tours of West Point and briefings from professors and Tactical Officers (Ryan). There is a formal dinner and "hop" on Saturday night. They had a great speaker (usually do!). The eye-popper of the evening was the dessert. The cadets chose their menu and they picked this HUGE chocolate cake. 4 thick layers. And it was not sliced thin! A pdf of the nutrition label floated around on email and each slice (yes, slice) was almost 2000 calories and some ungodly number of grams of fat!

On a sad note, we paid respects to Ryan's commander, LTC Jean Hutchison, who recently passed away of an unexpected illness. Ryan and I represented 2nd Regiment in her place in the receiving line at the hop. It was neat to meet all the parents and families and see how proud and excited they were. I imagine this is a fulfilling experience for the leadership to share in the cadet's successes and experiences with their families. It was a shame not to have Jean there.

Valentines

2009-02-18T23:05:00.000-08:00

Ryan and I went to Mohegan Sun w/another couple for Valentine's Day. We didn't strike it rich, but had a blast!

Yes, that's a guy on stilts behind us!

The Boy is ONE!!

2009-02-18T22:37:00.001-08:00

I guess it's been a while since I've updated the blog! What can I say - too busy living life to write about it!

The Keating Krew is doing very well. Colby is our little fat man. He has a great appetite and is now walking all over the place. He's been on a couple trips to Oklahoma/Texas and is a good traveler. Ryan was gifted a new truck by his wonderful wife for Christmas and drove the family home from that OK visit.

We were visited by Ryan's folks and sister for Thanksgiving and went to see the Macy's TGiving Parade in the City. That was pretty fun to see up close!

We had a fun trip to Lake Texoma for a Morrow family reunion. It was super fun to get all the little cousins together!

We are looking forward to DISNEY WORLD for Spring Break! The kids are beside themselves!

Haley and Jake are both doing gymnastics and basketball. We're trying to figure out what to do with ourselves over the summer. We'd like to travel a bit and visit friends and family while Ryan is super-busy with work.

He is finishing up his last year as a TAC (has a company of cadets to mentor and develop militarily) and will be the Brigade Executive Officer next year (which means he assists the full-bird COL who is the Brigade TAC). We had thought we might be going to ILE (school for Majors) this summer, but they still need him here. So, one more academic year at beautiful West Point, then off to KS or wherever the Army sends us!

Here are a few pics - just what I can quickly post.

Child of God

2008-04-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

Colby's baptism was yesterday. He's now 10 weeks old! He still has his own look, but people comment that he looks like Jake. He wore Jake's christening outfit. The Schmuckers stood in for Sandy and David as godparents. Poor Dad was under the weather all day, but toughed out the ceremony. Brother and Sister were excited and Mama was proud.

Jake got a shiner, actually 2 shiners that you see in these pics. The first he got in the bathroom @ Burger King. He came out wailing with a big goose egg on his head! I asked him about what happened as I applied ice to his bump. Through tears and some sucking of air, he told me about his urgent need to go potty and his pants being down around his ankles, then demonstrated the pee-pee dance he was doing when he lost his balance and hit his head on the toilet! I tried not to laugh! A few days later, he was weaving through tables at breakfast at a hotel and cracked his head on the corner of one of them - same spot, big goose egg again, with a little blood this time. Both whacks were in the same spot - his right temple. But now the blood is all draining down his face and it looks like he has a huge black eye. Hope it heals up for our family pics in a few weeks! He's playing Tee Ball, now, and doing pretty well. Haley is playing soccer and is still in gymnastics and piano. We're lining up what activities we're doing for the summer. It'll be new and great for Mom and kids to actually be home for summer fun!

We saw Grandpa Keating in Saratoga Springs last weekend. He was there for a SGM conference, so we shot up there over the weekend and were able to see him Sat. afternoon/evening. We also ran into him at the Battle of Saratoga site on Sunday where he was on a staff ride. S Springs is a great little town with lots of restaurants, shopping and parks. Haley and Jake ran around and played in the natural springs there. The weather was gorgeous!

Feeling Blessed

2008-03-10T07:40:00.000-07:00

It is really wonderful to have so many friends and family who have brought us dinner, dropped off baby gifts and offered support and love with our new bundle. Thanks to Aura's mom who came out for crunch time (birth). And I had to get a picture of the kids wrapped in their blankets made by Aunt B. Thanks to all!

Columbia or Bust!

2008-03-04T09:47:00.001-08:00

News from the Keating Krew: Aura got accepted to Columbia University! She'll start her Master's in Computing in Education in the fall. It fits in as well as such an undertaking can: classes are online and program can be spread over 5 years. Wish her luck! (And send money, ha ha!)

Who Is This Kid?

2008-02-27T16:56:00.000-08:00

We're still trying to decide who Colby looks like. We dug up some of Jake's newborn pics. We had forgotten how he looked then and were surprised at the similarities. Man, though - Jake had some honkin' ears! I think they're the same size now as they were then! Jake left, Colby right.

Colby Ryan is Here!

2008-02-23T06:07:00.000-08:00

Our little bundle arrived Saturday, February 16 at 2:34am at Keller Army Hospital! Well, he wasn't really soooo little - 9lbs., 4oz. and 20.5 inches long! Labor and delivery were long, but not traumatic. Mom and Dad went to an OB appointment Friday morning. Mom had her hospital bag prepped, was showered with full make-up and hair done just in case this attempt at talking the docs into inducing was successful. His ultrasounds had him weighing in over 8lbs. already 5 days earlier, so she was anxious not to let him bake much longer! Mom had been told, "No" to inducing several times already, but things had progressed enough to tip the scales in her favor. The Keatings were admitted! Read on if you want the details...

As it happened, Mom started contracting on her own by the time she was hooked up to the monitor. They started the Pitocin drip around 10:40 to help things along. There were steady, but not too uncomfortable contractions for several hours. Finally around 4:30pm, the doctor decided it was time to break the water to hopefully speed things up. Mom got her first pain management, which was just in time. It was an Intrathecal, which is like an Epidural, but instead of having a drip through a line in the spinal column, it's a shot. The thought was that things would progress quickly enough to have this baby before the 4-hour life of the shot. Colby wasn't ready. Mom started feeling pressure and increasing pain from about 2 1/2 hours into the shot. Colby wasn't descending yet and dilation wasn't close to where it needed to be. Mom got an Epidural to ensure she wouldn't get stuck at the end feeling everything like she did in Germany with Jake! It's a good thing, too, because Mom didn't make it to the pushing phase until midnight! We pushed for over 2 hours when Colby finally decided to descend.

2008-02-22T21:54:00.000-08:00

He's a pretty good-looking baby (no bias, I'm sure), because he didn't stay in the canal long. No cone-head. And he doesn't have Daddy and Jake's ears :-). He has quite a bit of hair, which is dark with light reddish-blonde tips. It looks he's had it frosted! We really aren't sure who he looks like, but the consensus seems to be that he favors Aura's Dad. But then again all babies do!

One More Week!

2008-02-09T13:24:00.000-08:00

That's all we have until Baby Colby is due! Jake is very excited to have a little brother and Haley is looking forward to playing Little Momma with the new baby! I didn't work all week and have thoroughly enjoyed prepping for baby, baking cookies and putting my feet up! I haven't had much success in convincing the doctors that we should maybe induce before this kid gets gi-normous. 2 weeks ago he measured 7lbs, 6oz. Jake was 8lbs, 13oz! I have an ultrasound Monday, so we'll see if we can add some meat to my argument! Pun intended.

Ryan was made the Battalion TAC, which is just another hat he has to wear. It has kept him pretty busy, so far. There have been some formal cadet functions the last few weeks that I have missed, due to my condition. I am definitely at the uncomfortable stage!!

Things have settled down after the holidays. The kids have started lessons at the ski slope - Jake is skiing and Haley is snowboarding. They love it! The weather didn't cooperate last week, but it's snowing now. Hopefully this week they can pick it up again.

Our Christmas Miracle

2008-02-09T13:01:00.000-08:00

I am happy to write about this, now that all is well. We had quite the scare on Christmas Eve. Ryan's Mom and Dad visited for the holidays. They had a hotel room, but were going to stay overnight with us for Christmas Eve/Morning. The kids, Grandpa and Ryan were playing on the couch and watching the Grinch when Ryan's Dad went into Sudden Cardiac Death (we now know that's what it was). He kind of seized up, then slumped over. Ryan administered CPR for a minute, then scooped him up as I was calling 911 and stuck him in the car and drove him to the hospital. So many things happened just right that night. The hospital is virtually across the street from us. And had they been at their hotel or at home in the boonies of Oklahoma, we'd have lost him for sure. The folks at the hospital shocked him 5 times to get him back. He was flown to a hospital off-post with cardiac specialists once he was stabilized. We spent the next week worrying, praying and hoping as he struggled with memory issues and some drug-induced dementia. He did get progressively better, with one setback when he went under anasthesia to have his defibrillator put in. By the time he was cleared to fly home, he seemed mentally the same. His chest hurt like heck when he coughed or moved the wrong way and he tired a little more easily, but he's now almost good as new!

His heart was healthy - the muscle is fine and there are no blockages. He's the healthiest man I know for his age! SCD is some sort of electrical short or arrythmia that is difficult, if not impossible, to predict. It may never happen to him again. If it does, his new machine will give him a shock to get things going. SCD has genetic roots, so we're investigating what we can do to have Ryan tested.

Thanks to everyone for all the prayers and best wishes! We believe in the power of prayer and are blessed to have such great family and friends!

May?! Are You Kidding me?!

2007-11-15T02:11:00.000-08:00

Wow, last post was in MAY!! That's an indicator of the pace of our lives. I'm hoping things slow down a little - they just have to! I am entering my 3rd trimester this week! The pregnancy hasn't been without its complications, but all is going well now. I'm reducing my hours at work after Thanksgiving, which I am very much looking forward to. We're having a boy who is due around Valentines Day. We are VERY excited! Haley and Jake talk about him and to him all the time.

So - summer. What did we do? Lots of work. Once Ryan graduated, he had 2 weeks off, then immediately started work as a TAC Officer. That's basically a mentor for a company of cadets here at the Academy. In the summers they have training programs for the cadets (Beast and Buckner) that is like them being out in the field and doing ranges. There are also competitions (Sandhurst, etc.) between the cadet companies. Ryan was very busy and I'm pleased to mention that his company won Sandhurst and other awards for the summer activities. The kids and I were busy, too. I was working and Haley and Jake were having a ball at the CDC/SAS summer camps. They took lots of day trips to see the sights around here. I still can't get over how beautiful it is. Our big trip during Ryan's summer leave was to TX to see my folks. We all headed down to Galveston to spend a few days at the beach. It was heaven! Ryan got some fishing time in with his Dad in OK, too. Oh, and I went to visit my best good friend in Germany before our TX trip. That was much fun! But it did give me some closure on leaving Europe when we did. Things seem so different in Graf/Vil now. And the dollar to euro rate - OUCH!! Plus, my BFF is now here at WP, too, so I'm good with not living there for a while. Doesn't stop the occasional itch to visit.

We have had a beautiful, unseasonably warm Fall here. It's breathtaking when the leaves change! Haley is in 3rd grade and is doing very well. She seems to be enjoying her schoolwork more and more, especially reading. She is continuing Gymnastics and has taken up piano, too. Jake is going to a full-day Pre-K program at the Catholic School in town. He loves it and so do we!! The academics is very good and it's so cute that he comes home wanting to say his own prayers at the table. Love what all he's learning. Wish money grew on trees. I'd send both kids to that school next year. Jake just ended his football season. To see him in full pads was adorable! He was in the Mighty Mites league for the Junior Black Knights. They played against other Mites in the surrounding towns. It was fun to visit these places for his games and get to see more of the area. We're only an hour from the Big Apple, but it's very rural around here. Gorgeous. The league had their championship game, The Mighty Bowl, here at Michie Stadium where the big Black Knights play. Our Jr. BK's won the championship!!! It was VERY exciting!

What else? We have explored the local farms, doing some apple picking, getting pumpkins, sampling the cider and fresh produce. We enjoyed "Blaze" this year, which is an annual display of thousands of ornate Jack-o-lanterns. Words don't do it justice. If you're curious, check it out on www.hudsonvalley.org. They do it where the Legend of Sleepy Hollow originated. It was really neat! Ryan had his 10-yr USMA reunion, which was all kinds of fun! He got to see alot of his buddies and it was fun for me to meet some folks I've heard stories of. Suz and Jud stayed with us that weekend, which was great. We won a very exciting football game in OT that weekend, too! There were lots of class reunions going on that weekend, so we got to see the Todds, who were here for their 20th. JP and Bullocks from Germany were also here for the festivities. So fun to see everybody! We're excited for JP - his girlfriend is wonderful (and very pretty)!

Ryan took me to Broadway to see Wicked for my bday. Can't leave out the dinner at Ruth Christ's prior to the show. Both were amazing!

Ryan's company won the Brigade Sprint Football Championship last week. They also made it to the Championship game for Frisbee Football, but didn't clench it. Very heavy theme of football this time of year for the Keatings.

I'll have to come back and edit this post to include a slideshow of all this. Out of time for now. I won't bother to guess when I'll be able to post again. ;-)

Hope all is well for all of you!

T-Bone!

2007-05-27T16:26:00.000-07:00

Jake's Pre-K teacher uses Clifford the Big Red Dog in her classroom as a teaching tool. For example, when the kids are good and listening, they get to give Clifford a bone. At the end of the day they count the bones together. Clifford's sidekick, T-Bone, gets to visit a child's home each weekend. T-Bone is at the Keating's this weekend. Jake shared some Triple Chocolate Cherry cake Mommy baked with him. I snapped a pic for T-Bone's journal and thought I'd share here. The chocolate face and the shirt make it too cute not to!

May Days

2007-05-27T03:33:00.000-07:00

We had a few big events in May. I'm struggling to find good pics to post, b/c we're breaking in a new camera. I'll add more later. First big May day was Haley's 1st Communion. She has been to religious education all year to learn about reconciliation and the eucharist. She was very nervous about sipping the wine, but did it like a pro when the time came (uh, oh). It was a special day and again, fun to have her participate when going up as a family on Sunday. Ryan's folks, her godparents, were in town. We celebrated with Spidey 3 and dinner at Schlesinger's (outstanding). Another big day for Haley-girl was her performance in the number "Steam Heat" in the annual Broadway Revue at school. She had great rhthym and looked very comfortable onstage. Dance lessons may be in her future.

Ryan graduated from his Master's program mid-May. So proud of my Ivy League man! He is officially a master of Organizational Psychology. It has been a GREAT year for him and the family. His folks were here to attend graduation. We left the kids at home and spent the night in the city. There were soooo many people attending and his folks and I were about as far up in the balconies as you could get, but I managed to find him in the crowd. It wasn't hard, b/c it was the Teacher's College graduation, so I just had to scan for the group of non-metrosexual guys in the midst of all the gals, etc. I leaned over the balcony and waved and he actually spotted me. The weather was gorgeous and we went to the outdoor reception afterwards for a bit and met some of his professors. His folks treated us to Tavern on the Green for dinner after. It was amazing (and so was the bill - yikes)!

Mother's Day was the weekend prior to graduation, so Sandy and I got to go shop together at the outlets - always fun! We also had brunch at the Thayer Hotel. No shortage of dining out during their visit! My Mom's Day gift was over the top, this year! I got a trip to Germany to visit my Jenna! She is PCSing HERE in June and we wanted a last few girl's days in our old stomping grounds before she moves. It was a short trip (one day shorter than original itinerary - "what do you mean my passport expired?!"), but a fun one! We had our fave Greek meal at Athens in Grafenwoehr, went shopping in Regensburg, I had lunch with my old boss and dinner with our 2-2 Bn Cmdr's wife, my other fave redhead. FUN! More about that trip on my blog. More trip posts coming...

Easter

2007-05-27T02:53:00.000-07:00

Easter was a neat weekend for the Keatings! For one thing, we have been sponsoring 4 cadets and we had the pleasure of having one of their girlfriends stay wih us for the weekend. Haley gladly gave up her room and princess pillow from "Aunt" Jenna. I cooked up an early Easter dinner Saturday afternoon. 3 of our cadets, 2 of which were football players, joined us along with a mom, brother and sister who were in town. I can't remember the last time I cooked so much food! Something that was special to me was using my Grandma's china that my Grandpa had bought her while stationed in Germany. I also used her silver for the first time. My Aunt passed it along to me when we moved back to the states last year. I remember admiring the china and silver when I was little. It was a treat for us kids to ever get to use it.

Easter vigil was that night. I did my 1st Eucharist and Confirmation. I had never been to a Catholic Easter Service. It was really beautiful! We "candidates" gathered around a firepit outside. Father Hurley said a few words and some prayers. The congregation waited outside the chapel for us to enter first. We had candles and lit them as we entered. The chapel was still dark. The pulpit was the only dim light, and there were scriptures and readings following the story of Christ's crucifixion. At the point where he was resurrected, the lights came on and you could see the multitude of flowers and the beautiful baptismal fountain. It has been a gradual, deliberate process for me to join this faith. It felt good and right, especially when we went up as a family on Sunday to take Eucharist together. We are blessed!!

Our Nation's Capitol

2007-03-28T16:06:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to DC for a few days over Spring Break. It was such a great family trip! The weather wasn't perfect, but it was better than the snowstorm they got here in NY that weekend! We stayed with the Deans, who live in a beautiful neighborhood in Annandale. He was Ryan's old roommate and close friend in the Springs who has gotten out of the Army and until next week worked for Exxon. I met them in CS while dating Ryan. They now have 2 little girls. We had a great time with them each day while recuperating from all the sightseeing! Our first day was gorgeous, so we went to the DC Zoo. It was a nice-sized one to go to with kids in tow. Not too big, not too small. The next several day was rainy and cold, so we headed indoors to the Smithsonian. We hit the Museum of Natural History and the Air & Space Museum. At our kids age, they were more impressed with the dinosaurs than the airplanes. We had a hard time trying to hook up with Ryan's former Bn XO from Germany, but found a window in the traffic Saturday afternoon after seeing Mt. Vernon. THAT was my favorite sight we saw! The tour was nice, the mansion and grounds and view over the Potomac were really pretty and the museum there is really well done! Of course, the whole thing is owned and operated by a ladies auxilliary. Go, girls! They have really neat displays, a whole room for kids to dress up like that time, play games from then, read books, etc. and several mini-theaters, including one that has seats that vibrate along with the movie. We hit the Mall quickly on the last day. It was sunny, though windy and cold. We didn't get to go to everything b/c of weather and time and energy, but saw more than enough to be satisfied! There are more friends of ours in the area that we couldn't begin to coordinate a hook-up with, but we are close enough to go back or import them to NY. Great, great trip!

My Snow Bunnies

2007-02-24T04:59:00.000-08:00

I have no pics of this, but wanted to tell about our 1st ski adventure of the season. We went skiing as a fam last weekend here at the West Point ski slope. It was Haley's second time (first time was in the Alps, poor girl) and Jake's first! Jake wasn't too sure about it before getting his skis on, but was a natural! The boy has got balance! I'm sure it helps that his center of gravity is so low to the ground. He got off to an amazing start, then burned out quickly - attention span. I took him and the sled over to an adjacent hill on the golf course to do some sledding. We, of course, had to go all the way to the top right to the treeline. We had 3 good rides before sledding got old. We went to the lodge for some hot cocoa and cheese sticks. His friend was in there watching Aladdin, so we thawed out for a while. Meanwhile on the slope, Haley had a slow start and was getting frustrated with all the falling and trying to navigate the tow rope. But by the time Jake and I headed back out for more skiing, she was whizzing up the hill and shooshing down like a pro! Mom and Dad switched off staying with the kids while going up on the lift for one run down. Lessons learned: don't buy lift tickets if you're going to spend the whole day on the bunny hill and buy used equipment instead of renting for 4 every time! We're looking forward to going again soon.

MAJOR Promotion

2007-02-14T20:40:00.000-08:00

I had to add these pics I just got from Ryan's Dad. By the way, if you want to see what Ryan will look like in a few years, check these out - one of the many reasons I married him! Ryan's Dad has been able to pin him at every promotion so far and this was no exception. CSM Keating is the OK Nat'l Guard State CSM, and as we were visiting OK on 1 Jan., we got to have Ryan's ceremony there at his office. MG Wyatt officiated. It was so nice, b/c several family members were able to attend. I think Ryan cheated a bit, though, with the ACU's. That means velcro rank instead of actual pinning w/possiblity of drawing blood! I pinned his beret later at lunch, but he wasn't wearing it at the time, dang it!

Christmas at Granny's

2007-02-13T17:17:00.000-08:00

Okay, bouncing around a bit with the dates, here, but have some time to catch up on my blogs. I HAVE to pay tribute to our trip to OK to Granny and Grandpa Keating's for Christmas. Sandy (Granny) goes Christmas crazy each year, especially if we come to visit. (Really I'm sure it's mostly for the grandkids, but Ryan and I love it, too!) To hit some highlights: we did some shopping, always a highlight for me, we went to Christmas mass together, had Christmas dinner at Granny's and got together with all the Aunts and Uncles and others at Patsy's on Christmas Day, visited the Morgans in Dallas and went to Build-A-Bear for Haley's 8th Bday, had another party at Granny's, I met Ryan's sister's fiancee, Brian, visited Ryan's grandmother in her new digs (nice!), played some Texas hold 'em, saw the Sutherlins, and had some of Granny's chocolate chip cookies!

Valentines Formal

2007-02-13T16:57:00.000-08:00

These are a couple of pics from the EE&CS Winter Formal from the weekend. ELDP people don't look - will probably recycle this dress for the April BS&L formal! It felt like too long since going dancing with Ryan. We had a really great time. I think we set a record for how early we left, but it was only because of fatigue. They did a fun murder mystery to kick things off. The music was good, food was good and obviously, we're sitting at the cool kids' table! ~;-)

Flashback to Progressive Dinner Oct06

2007-02-13T16:48:00.000-08:00

I never posted about this shindig - one of the many get-togethers we've had with the ELDP gang. We had a progressive dinner, going all together from one house to another (5 people hosted). Looking back at the pics, maybe there should have been a limit to how many stops included beverages! It was a fun evening and something we should do again! Looking forward to better weather, too, for another bbq and boat ride at Lake Poppolopen!

MAJOR PARTY!!

2007-02-13T16:05:00.001-08:00

We joined forces with our friends, the Meerts and threw a "Major Holiday Party" in December for the ELDP cohort to celebrate Ryan and Robb's promotions to Major. It was much fun with lots of food, fun, drinks and karaoke! Jeff VanAntwerp kicked off the singing and many others followed suit. We have quite the number of crooners in our group! I expect to see Wyatt on Nashville Star someday. Ryan was a great D.J./M.C., treating us to a bonus couple of David Allen Coe songs. Haley and Katie Howell practiced for American Idol. Speaking of Idol, Lesley Hoyman was the proud winner of the American Idol Hits CD in our Dirty Santa game! I apologize to whoever wound up with the jingle bell boxers and not-so-matching redneck beer T-shirt. I did NOT pick that out! Jake was outnumbered by all the cute little girls to play with. A great time was had by all! Quote of the evening, "Those Keatings are just a party in a box!"

Merry Christmas 2006!

2006-12-13T17:27:00.000-08:00

Wow, is the year already nearly over?! And, yikes, I haven't posted what we've been up to since September! Well, the kids had a really good first half of the school year. They are both blossoming! Time has just FLOWN since they started.

In October, we had a special day. Ryan and I had our marriage blessed in the Catholic church. It was a simple, beautiful ceremony at the Most Holy Trinity chapel at West Point. Ryan's folks came out and we took the wedding party to the Thayer Hotel for dinner. It was a wonderful evening!

The rest of Granny and Grandpa's visit was alot of fun. We visited Orange County Choppers, went to a football game (A-Boy helped us win!) and played baseball in the yard. Oh, and Granny and I hit the huge outlet mall nearby!

We spent Thanksgiving at my sister's in NC and had a ton of fun! She and Seth have a baby, almost 3 mos. and my brother and sis-in-law were there with their 4 cuties. My folks made it, too. We did alot of cooking, eating, playing games, a little shopping and we visited the National Whitewater Center. The kids climbed on the rocks and Ryan took his first off-road bike ride with Seth. There was a rock climbing wall or 2 and you can rent rafts or kayaks to ride the rapids. We didn't get in the water this time, but enjoyed the scenery and watching others. The kids and the Dads also went to the Nascar go-kart race track and had a blast!

We had another visit from Granny and Grandpa the next weekend for Army/Navy. We all met up in Philly and rooted the Black Knights on! The weather wasn't tooooo bad and Army played better than they did against Air Force. We had a great time! And somehow, our hotel was right next to Macy's! We drove by the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center on the way home and stopped off at the Palisades for some Cheesecake Factory and some quick shopping while we waited for our table.

We are headed to OK for Christmas. Ryan is really ready for the break! He's pulling a late night at his office as I type this, trying to knock out the rest of his papers. He just has a few more days before the end of the semester. We'll be spending New Year's in Dallas with the Morgans. We are all excited to see everyone!

We'll kick off the New Year with Ryan getting promoted to Major. I think lots of great things are to come in 2007!

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and many blessings with the New Year!

Baby of Family has a Baby!

2006-09-13T19:06:00.000-07:00

My sister, Karen (Kirsten) had her first baby! Autumn Elise was born September 3rd! To me, she looks like her Dad, Seth, but that's a red tint in her hair. Can't wait to see her grow!

September

2006-09-12T19:15:00.000-07:00

Big month for the Keating Krew! We attended our first USMA football game - Go Black Knights! We won in overtime against Kent State. The weather was great and the kids were more attentive to what was going on than I had expected. It's so neat to be in a community with an NCAA (and Army) team to walk over and root for!

Jake had his fourth birthday party on Sunday. He turns 4 tomorrow and I have a bday this month, too. Never mind how old Mama is! Cap'n Jake Redbeard Keating's pirate party was a hit with the other swashbucklers in the neighborhood. They popped balloons, dug for treasure and had some Jolly Roger cupcakes - with black icing, of course.
Even the old pirates got in on the fun and had a who-can-hang-on-the-longest contest on the jungle gym. Dread Pirate Ryan was one that had to walk the plank!

I'm loving my job, being an EECS Geek! Having the nanny has totally reduced the frazzle factor that comes into play when we're both working. We're busy, but having so much fun with what we're involved in! Life is good! P.S. Make that THREE Fantasy Football leagues for Ryan! Go Hillbilly Buttstompers!

What's New - Mom & Dad

2006-08-31T18:38:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official! I start back to work on Tuesday! I'll be an IT Specialist in the Computer Support Group in the Electronic Engineering and Computer Sciences Department at the Academy. I look forward to getting back to what I do! We hired a nanny/housekeeper - a first for us. There are lots of families with nannies in this area. I think it's going to work out very nicely. It'll be great to have the extra help that a nanny can provide that you just don't get with other day care options. We couldn't find the young Swedish babe for Ryan or the tall, dark Italian guy I was hoping for, but our choice will do just fine. ~:-)

Ryan is loving that we finally got our cable hooked up! He's not much of a TV watcher, but is in 2 Fantasy Football leagues, so the internet access and ESPN (in High-Def, of course) is key.

What's New - Kids

2006-08-31T18:20:00.000-07:00

Jake started Pre-K and is LOVING that he's going to the same school as big sister! His backpack is almost as big as he is - my little man! Ryan and I have enjoyed walking him to/from school this week.

Haley and I went to High Tea at American Girl Place in the Big Apple on Sunday! We went with 2 other mommy/daughter pairs and had a ball! Our first visit to the city. We did some shopping first and managed to visit all four floors before tea time. I, of course, caved in and bought her a doll. She wasn't interested in one of the character dolls, or one that necessarily looked like her. She picked a blonde, blue-eyed one and named her "Crystal." We also picked up Crystal's dog, Coconut. High Tea was just precious! The girls had their dolls with them - they have little doll chairs there that attach to the table. There was a harpist playing music, mostly songs from musicals, and a wait staff bringing out the treats and drinks. The girls went home with the napkin rings/hair scrunchies and the flower from the pot holding the chocolate mousse that was dessert. AGP does lunch, brunch and dinner and I've heard there are great goody bags for birthday guests. Hmmmm.....

Alive & Kickin'!

2006-08-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

The Keating Krew is back online!! We have internet hooked up to our house - finally!!

Soooo...quick update....

We are almost completely settled in our new house. We got New Brick quarters on post. It's smaller than where we lived in Germany, but they are completely renovated and really nice. We worked our tails off painting over the weekend before our household goods arrived. We got 6 rooms done and love how it turned out. We were first-timers at painting, so it was quite the feat. I opened the last box the other day and now we are moving piles around, getting organized, hanging curtains and other last details (oh yea - like cleaning)!

Incredibly enough - we STILL have not been into the city!!! But Haley and I are headed in for High Tea and shopping at American Girl tomorrow. I believe it's near Times Square and FAO Schwartz, etc., so we're hoping to look around some.

Haley has started 2nd grade at West Point Elementary. Her teacher is really nice and seems very with-it. Haley is walking herself to and from school! Big girl! She also started soccer and will be doing Gymnastics as well. She did Horse Camp and swimming lessons this summer. I'm going to start teaching her piano soon.

Jake will be starting the Pre-K program at the Elementary School at the end of the month. It's just 2 1/2 hours Mon-Thur, but I've heard great things about it. He is enrolled in Ice Skating and Smart Start Baseball. He was too young for the swimming lessons, but has enjoyed many a day in the shallow part of Delafield Pond.

We broke Moody out of the kennel after her 80-day sentence at Morgan Farm. She is enjoying the back yard and loves to bark at all the hikers going up the trail behind our fence (and our neighbors love that, I'm sure)! Haley put her bed in her room and hates to go to bed without her.

Ryan has been working hard on his Master's. He has just finished off the summer term with a 25-page paper on top of a big test (of course all due right in the thick of unpacking). Now that I have most rooms in order, he has a week off before the fall semester begins. So, we'll spend a couple of days knocking out the rest of the move-in stuff and RELAX for a few. It has been quite the busy, exhausting couple of weeks for both of us. But we're all enjoying our new home. Love the Hudson Valley, love the neighborhood, love the people, love the house, love the family time....love it all!

I am probably starting back to work soon - waiting for the official job offer. I found a great position. More on that later.

I'll be uploading pictures to Ofoto and putting some in future blogs soon. Shoot an email if you want to be on the distro list for the pics. More soon......really!

Special Visit

2006-06-02T19:11:00.000-07:00

On Aura and the kids' whirlwind tour, she made a special visit...

The Long Gray Line

2006-05-26T17:58:00.000-07:00

We went to the graduation parade today (Class of '06 graduates tomorrow). It was cool to see all the cadets lined up and marching by to salute the graduating class. Ryan kept zooming in with the camera to get a closer look at something odd on the field. We were pretty far away, so if I didn't know any better, it looked like several cowpies scattered around. He talked to his sponsor tonight, who is a TAC and in charge of a company of cadets, and apparently, some of the seniors thought it'd be funny to leave their shoes on the field. Needless to say, precautions are being taken to avoid antics tomorrow at graduation! Pretty harmless, though, in the scheme of things. There was no mooning......yet!

I'll be adding pics when I can get to a computer for more than 10 minutes or so at a time....

USMA ROCKS!

2006-05-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

We've done a little exploring of our surroundings here at West Point. It's just breathtaking! Ryan had some inprocessing to do this morning, so Haley and I went for a walk down to the Hudson. We raced each other on the track at Shea Stadium and jumped some hurdles (didn't even split my pants!) and blazed our own trail through some of the woods (what does poison ivy look like, again?). Ryan brought the latest housing list home and it looks like we stand a really good chance to get into a 3 bdrm in the New Brick housing area. There are a ton of brand new ones on the housing draw list this year and Old Man Keating is in a fairly good position on the list. We're going to try to peek in some windows later today. Most of the housing opens up sometime in July, so the kids and I should be back from our cross-country adventures before we move in. That'll be good timing for our household goods to be arriving, too.

Ryan seems to really be enjoying being at his alma mater NOT as a cadet! Haley is excited about her friend from the German kindergarten moving here soon, too. I have met some wives already, one of which just got out of the Army and was in Ryan's company at USMA. Everyone is really nice and excited to be here. We're making some progress adjusting to life in the States. We just had our first round of Mickey D's and it was sooooo much better than the European version, despite the absence of McBier on the menu.