Parties, parties and more parties!

The last month has been filled with lots of excitement!  Rory celebrated her first birthday on November 28th.  We didn't have a large party, but family came over for lunch and cake to celebrate the occassion.  Rory was more enamored by the balloons than by the cake or gifts - figures! 

My folks (Warwick's) celebrated their 40th anniversary and to celebrate, Yuri, Jesse, Petra and I threw a "surprise" party for them.  I put suprise in quotations as it actually didn't turn out to be a surprise (many people let the cat out of the bag - oh well).  They were married in 1969 when my mom was a stewardess and my dad was a young accountant.  We decided that this was a great theme so we asked people to come dressed as stewardesses or accountants...it was great.  It's hard to believe that they got married after only knowing each other for 3 months and they have been together 40 years - Congrats!

We had a Christmas open house/housewarming party on December 12th.  It was fun to show off the remodeled house, catch up with friends and family and meet some of our new neighbors.

Finally, Rory has just begun to walk.  She can stand on her own and takes a few steps...I suspect in a few weeks she will be running around. 

Hope you all have a merry Christmas and a safe New Years!  Enjoy the pictures.

1st Birthday
Little miss queen-for-a-day on her throne.  Below are a few pictures of Rory on her big day.

L to R - Aunt Genevieve, Grandma Linda, Great-grandpa Bud and granddad Andy enjoying the festivities.

Warwick 40th Anniversary Party
Below is a group shot of the anniversary party guests.  We did a sit-down dinner for just under 30 friends and family. 

Jesse, Petra and I posing with good friend Renee Limoge (next to me) who was acting chef for the evening.  She did a great job putting together a sit-down dinner for 30 people...we couldn't have pulled off the party without her.

My folks enjoying their anniversary party!

My uncle Randy came to the party dressed as a stewardess - that man has fantastic legs!!!!!

Yuri and I enjoying the party once the work was over.

Miscellaneous Happenings
Ella and Symone (right) Bailey pose with Rory at our baby gate.

Enjoying some quite time after our open house.  Rory was very well behaved and as cute as can be in her tutu.

Halloween and Hawaii

Temperatures here in Fairbanks have been very low; as I write this it is about 25 degrees below zero out. Aside from the frigid temperatures it is a beautiful time of year.

Rory celebrated her first Halloween last month. She was "Roary" the lion and if I do say so myself, looked adorable. Rory had a great time over the Halloween weekend with her grandparents, Sid & Karen Morgan, who came in from Juneau to see the little squirt.

Shortly after Halloween, Yuri and I left for a week vacation in Hawaii. Rory stayed behind with her grandparents and from all accounts, all parties enjoyed themselves.

Enjoy the pictures below...

Our little lion, "Roary", with Uncle Fester and Grandma and Granddad Warwick.

Grandma Joyce had just given Rory her first baby doll. Look at the adoring expression on her face.

I probably shouldn't admit this but Rory loves to suck on corks...mainly given to her from her Warwick Grandparents.

Yuri and I in an underwater cave out near Hana in Maui.

While in Hawaii (Maui) we went on a zipline trip. Yuri and I had done it before and this time was just as exciting as the first (although the first time was in Mexico so this one felt a little safer). Below is Yuri on one of the lines. It doesn't look like it but he is quite far off the ground.

We brought back a ukulele and a tambourine for Rory from our Hawaii trip. She hasn't quite figured out the ukulele but below is a video of her jamming on the tambourine.

Coming up next - Thanksgiving and Rory's first birthday!

Finally...an update

Well, I am finally getting a chance to update the blog as I am quarantined in my room. I've been told by the doctor that I have H1N1 but I really don't feel too sick...just feeling like I have the common cold. Regardless, it is giving me a chance to get back on track with this blog.

A lot has happened in the past few month. We have remodeled our new home, moved into the new home, Rory has learned to crawl and has become very vocal, with her favorite word being Dad (and dada, da - you get the drift).

Hope you enjoy the pictures and videos...I promise to start updating this blog on a monthly basis again.

Picture: A recent, albeit blurry, picture of Rory.

The quality of this video is poor (dark) and it was filmed sideways (we don't have the software to rotate it) but if you strain your neck and eyes you are sure to laugh. The Sadlers gave Rory a John Deer radio and she loves to dance to the farm music.




Apparently she doesn't like to have food stuck to her face...

Blurry picture but I wanted to share it - Yuri and Rory with Tim and Jeanne Benintendi...our friends from Anchorage/Juneau.

Sydney (not looking all that rested) and Rory with Grandma Linda Anderson (center) and close family friend Cheri Ashby. For those of you that were at our wedding and remember all the beautiful flowers, they were Cheri's handiwork.

One of Rory's daycare workers likes to put her hair up in ponytails...here she is looking very Bohemian with her dad.

Rory's first visit with Chrissy Michaels' girls. They came over for a visit after spending the day at the fair - lucky girls! Note: This picture is several months old.

This video is a few months old...early on in Rory's crawling days.

Below are some pictures of our new home. I'll post more (of other parts of the house) in future blog postings. We still have a lot of unpacking, picture hanging, room organization, etc. to do but it truly feels like a home!

Before and after pictures...in the kitchen looking towards the back deck.

Before and after pictures - looking into the kitchen. You can see that we removed some walls, basically opening up the kitchen to the rest of the upstairs living area. Major improvement!

Dyanne and Betty posing in the new living room. We still have a few pieces of furniture to purchase but we are thrilled with how it is all coming together.

L to R - Dyanne, me, Lanie, Renee and Betty sitting on the new couch in the new living room. Dy, Lanie and Renee flew in a few weeks ago for a girls weekend...it was a great weekend of doing not much more than watching movies, eating a lot and partaking in a few alcoholic beverages.

Next up...Halloween pictures!

Con Frank's Passing

It has been several months since I have updated this blog. I am working on putting something together but first, I wanted to share with you all that we lost Yuri's Grandfather, Con Frank in August to heart failure. He was loved and admired by many and we miss him already. Below is a nice write-up from the funeral program.

Conrad George Burns Frank passed away peacefully on Monday, August 24, 2009 of heart failure at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. He was 87 years old.

Con was born on April 11, 1922 in Granum, near Calgary, Alberta to George and Helen Burns Frank. His father had immigrated from Germany and his mother had moved west from New Brunswick. The family farmed and had a ranch. There were four children: Marguerite (Margie), Con, Dorothy (Dawn) and Katherine (Kay). Con’s father, George, died in a farm accident when Con was just seven. In the mid 1930s, Helen moved the family to Vancouver, where Margie and Con attended Kipsilano High School, graduating in 1939. That fall Con's mother moved the family to Ellensburg, Washington, because they had close family friends there and the economy was improving more quickly in America.

During World War II, Con served in the U.S. Army in the European and Asian theaters. While in the Army, he became a United States citizen. In the summer of 1945, Con married Helen Dimm, and a year later they moved to Fairbanks, because they felt there were "a lot of opportunities for a young man" here, and he knew the university had a good school of engineering. Con attended the University of Alaska on the G.I. Bill and earned a degree in Civil Engineering in 1949. In the meantime, sons Randy and Darryl, known to all as Darry, were born. Andrea, Mary and Steve followed in the 1950s. In the early 1950s Con built the family home on Sunset Drive and they moved in and lived there as the children grew up. In the late 1950s the family acquired a lot at Harding Lake; Con, with the help of the "big boys" (Randy and Darry), built a cabin where the family enjoyed spending many happy summer days and nights. In 1968 tragedy struck when Darry was killed in a motorcycle accident. Just five years later, in 1973, tragedy struck again when Con’s wife, Helen Dimm Frank, passed away.

In 1975 Con married Helen Atkinson. They met when Con escorted Helen, who was then writing an article on the Yukon River bridge project, to the worksite. They enjoyed 34 years of shared interests in construction, travel and their children, grandchildren and great- grandchildren. Over the years Con attended countless sport competitions, concerts and graduations of his children and grandchildren, always cheering them on in their endeavors and accomplishments.

During the 1950s Con did construction work, and from 1954 to 1956 he was Fairbanks' city engineer. In 1959 he joined the contracting firm GHEMM Company, Inc. as its engineer and managing partner with Clyde Geraghty, Carl Erickson, Bob Mitchell and Harvey Marlin II. The GHEMM families became close friends and have remained so through the years. By the time of his retirement, GHEMM had completed hundreds of millions of dollars of construction in Alaska, including, perhaps most notably, the Yukon River bridge in joint venture with Manson-Osberg of Seattle. Over the years, GHEMM Company offered many Fairbanks youth their first jobs and supported countless families throughout the state through employment on their construction projects.

Con contributed to the development and well-being of Fairbanks and interior Alaska in many capacities. He served on the Board of Directors of the Municipal Utilities System, the University of Alaska Board of Regents, the Board of Directors and as president of the Association of General Contractors of Alaska, the Board of Directors of First National Bank of Fairbanks, the Fairbanks Development Authority, and for twenty-five years on the Greater Fairbanks Community Hospital Foundation Board. Con received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Fairbanks Chapter of the Alaska Society of Professional Engineers in 1996 and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in2001. Con and his wife Helen Atkinson received Fairbanks' Heart of Gold Award in 2002, and they were jointly honored by the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce in 2008 for their outstanding contributions to the Fairbanks community.

Con was known by all as a man of integrity. Advice Con shared with his daughter, Mary, gives insight to the type of man he was - “Small people talk about people. Mediocre people talk about things. And great people talk about ideas.”

falling asleep

I'm sure many of you have seen babies sleeping in highchairs before...I had never encountered it in person so I had to get it on film. Please note that her hair is sticking up like horns because daycare had her in "piggy tails", so they sort of stayed like this after I took the rubberbands out.

Hope you enjoy the video.

June/July update

I hate to be a bummer but I can’t talk about activities in the month of July without mentioning that July 8th marked the 3rd anniversary of Zach’s death. We miss him as much as ever and think about him every day. He would have loved the weather we are having and would be living at the lake right now.

The last month has been filled with many activities and fabulous weather. A coworker spent last week in Guam where it was colder than Fairbanks (we have been hitting 90 degrees).

A group of friends and family got together to surprise me on my 35th birthday. The night began with dinner at Lavelle’s followed by champagne and cake at my friend, Heather’s house. Heather, Megan and Betty did such a wonderful job decorating and putting together the party - they are so thoughtful and I feel fortunate to have such great friends.

Two weeks ago, a group of 16 of us hit the road to float the Gulkana. It was a wonderful trip that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for an adventure that doesn’t require being an avid outdoors person. Immediately upon returning from Gulkana, Yuri showered, kissed Rory hello and goodbye and headed to his grandparent’s cabin at Healy Lake for a guy trip.

All in all, it has been a fun filled summer. Enjoy the pictures.

Rory hangs out with her second cousin Barbara Gelvin who was in town for a month this summer. Rory took a liking to Barbara, who happens to be a natural with babies!

Syd about to blow out her birthday candles on the yummy strawberry cake that Betty (holding the cake) made while Megan Burks watches on.

Jesse Warwick getting a kick out of feeding the messy baby. This is the one and only time Jesse will do this as he prefers to not be involved in the "gross" parts of child rearing, and let me assure you, feeding Rory is gross. He has yet to change a diaper.

John Sadler holding his daughter Sandy at Megan Burk's birthday party. John and Sydney grew up together on Riverview Drive, so it's pretty special that Sandy and Rory were born just 5 days apart.

Rory and her dad passed out.

This wonderful picture was taken by our good friend Bill Bailey (yes, he is a professional photographer). This is the gang on day two of the Gulkana trip. Yuri and I win the contest for best hair (ugh). From left to right (back) - Yuri, Sydney, Melissa, Trish, Mary, Elenor, Josh Burks, Scotty Husband, Rodger and Megan Burks, and Bill Bailey - From left to right (front) - Bonnie (Megan's mom), Heather Husband, Betty & Bruce Tangeman (making out) and Meadow Bailey.

Bill Bailey holding Rodger Burks in the boat while Yuri checks out his surroundings and Josh waives to his adoring fans. This ragtag group had just gotten off the rock in the middle of the falls.

The Healy Lake gang - Paul Kirsteatter, who lives at Healy Lake, is driving the boat. His passengers from left to right are: Yuri's grandpa, Bud Anderson, Leon Morgan (Yuri's brother), Kirill Maurits (Yuri's brother in-law), and Glen Anderson (uncle).

Rory is scooting around well and rolling over all the time but is not yet crawling. She much prefers to be on her feet so we suspect that walking will come immediately after she decides to crawl.

June update

May ended on a tough note for our family. My grandmother, Emma Warwick, passed away on May 31st at the Pioneers Home at the age of 93. Emma was a true Alaskan Pioneer and she had a significant impact on my life. I am thankful that she got to meet Rory and that I was fortunate enough to have her in my life for over 34 years. We will miss her a great deal. Following is a short story about my grandma that was written by my Aunt Sis.

Emma Miller Warwick would have been 94 years old in July. She
preferred to be called “Em”; some people called her “Emmy”. At the end of her
long life, she kept the same tough spirit that had always guided her. Her life
was not an easy one, but that wasn’t what she sought. Emma was a striver, and
fully engaged with the world around her. Her aim in life was to be the best she
could be and to always do the best she could do, improving as she went along.
These are the qualities she most admired in others. And it was in this regard
that Emma inspired her friends and relatives.

Emma was a child of old-country immigrants, and welcomed
the challenge to solidly establish her family in this new country. She saw the
necessity of family support and loyalty in surviving the harshness of Alaska.
She knew that to “get ahead”, an education was imperative, and Emma never
doubted what she needed to do. Her mother, Mary, was unable to get an education
but encouraged Emma. No doubt Emma’s striving for success was on behalf of her
mother as well as herself.

In all the many photographs taken of Emma throughout her
life, she smiles and laughs, displaying her love of life for the official
record. Just as telling are the friends and family she continually photographed,
smiling at her and her camera, their love and affection forever captured on
film. These photos are a testimony to the strong bonds shared by those in the
Alaskan community, and their warm friendships. Emma traveled far and wide, but
her home was always here. She documented as much of her 93 years as possible and
made sure to share those pictures with as many people as she could. Emma was
still working on her photographs at age 90.

Photography might have been Emma’s second great love. Her
first great love was Andy Warwick, and to judge from the photos the feeling was
mutual. Emma would never seem as content and happy as she did in those years
with Andy. They mined at Livengood and Yukon Territory and Emma embraced the
life with energy and commitment; whether it was cooking for the camp, driving a
truck, killing a bear, or changing diapers. She most likely kept the books, as
well. Andy’s sudden death in a small plane crash was a devastating tragedy. She
soldiered on. Any decision thereafter was made on behalf of her children and
their future, and any adversity made her tougher. She found strength in her
Catholic faith. She didn’t forget how to laugh and have a good time. Emma was
one determined individual, and even time didn’t diminish that.

In between work, family, and church, Emma focused on things
that held an abiding interest for her: reading and keeping informed, politics,
and fashion and design. An acknowledged clothes-horse, she eventually saved 194
of her favorite blouses, and tried to take as many as she could to the Pioneer
Home when she moved.

Emma loved hearing about what and how her children and
grandchildren were doing, and was proud of them all, whether they took her
advice or not. The same can be said for the rest of her family and friends; they
were all very important to her, and she looked forward to all the get-togethers.

Toward the end of her life when Emma reluctantly admitted that she
needed assistance, she moved her residence to the Pioneer Home, where she not
surprisingly got along well. She made a point of putting the staff through their
paces, demanding that they adhere to her particular wishes-within reason, of
course. They rose to the occasion as the consummate professionals they are,
engendering appreciative respect from Emma. That respect was apparently mutual,
as indicated by a note at the bottom of Emma’s chart: “Marches to her own
drummer”.

We will miss you, Emmy.

Aside from this sad news, life is moving ahead for us. We finally closed on a home after spending the last two years searching for the perfect place. The home is in the neighborhood that I grew up in; so much of my wonderful childhood was spent in the “hood” with my lifelong friends and I hope for the same for Rory. It is also just down the road from the Warwick Grandparents, the Anderson/Frank Grandparents, the Anderson Greatgrandparents and losts of friends! We move in on August 1st which will be about the time that Rory is starting to get seriously mobile.

In addition, Yuri and I just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. Time really is moving quickly...I know that lots of people say this but, minus the deaths of my most cherished loved ones (especially Zach who went much too early), we couldn't be more fortunate.

Love,

Sydney

FSW Water Walk and Run. Top Picture: Rory and I posing with my dad. He pushed Rory and they sprinted at the end of the race (even though we were supposed to be walking) to beat me by over a minute. Bottom Picture: Rory and I (again) posing with Jimmy Dodson and Heather Husband - they were the "run" portion of the "walk and run".


Rory about to take a big bite out of the tissue paper that I was using to wrap a baby shower gift for Courtney Roberts (Harter).

Petra left for Juneau this weekend and Rory wanted to go with her. Petra is spending 5 weeks in Juneau to attend classes for her Master's degree in Administration (I'm not sure that I have this right...I know that it is focused on education and will enable her to be a principal).

Yuri and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary on the bank of the Chena River last weekend. Yuri packed a picnic and even though it was quite cool, we had a great time just hanging out. Rory had her first sleepover with the Warwick Grandparents and we took advantage of not being responsible for another human being. This picture was taken after each of us polishing off a bottle of champagne...ugh...felt terrible the next morning.

This picture was taken as Jesse (my brother) and Petra were leaving for the airport to go to Europe for two weeks. They cut their trip a week short when our Grandma passed away but regardless, I understand that they had a great time visitng our great friend, master glass artist- Martin Janecky and his girlfriend, Rockstar - Lenka, in Prague.

I am convinced that Yuri thought he had Swine Flu...here he is hanging out with Rory...wearing a mask that wouldn't even keep the flu from spreading anyways!

Ok...you will all think I am crazy but...

Sometimes when I am really tired I hold my arm in the air (just like Rory is doing here)...I have a "sweet spot" that allows my arm to float without actually holding it up. So...Rory must have inherited this from me...very strange.

We attended my cousin, Philip Warwick's graduation last month. Rory loved watching all the people at the Carlson Center, but, after about two hours she got a little restless. Philip is taking off to play college football in Texas in the Fall - we are all very proud of him.

I bought Yuri a pinapple corer for Christmas last year...he is still amazed at its ability. Here he is taking an "artsy" shot of Rory through the remains of the pinapple...boy...we are a strange bunch.

And, finally...Rory is a very vocal baby with lots of coos and giggles. Unfotunately, she goes totally blank when the cameras are around. Here is a short video clip that I was finally able to capture...her laugh, albeit short, is adorable and makes us smile a hundred times a day.