11/5/16 - Museum of the American Railroad in Frisco, Texas

This is the train museum in Frisco.  We visited it with Matthew yesterday afternoon.  They are always working on it and though it's not finished, there are lots of cool trains now.

Hallie Claire's first day of preschool

She is attending Creative Playday Preschool at First United Methodist Church in Allen.

It is the oldest preschool in Allen, as this year marks the 40th anniversary of the school!

Hallie Claire already loves her teacher Mrs. Kim.

August memories - Grandad's birthday, a woodchuck, and Hallie Claire at her preschool's Meet The Teacher.

 Happy Birthday, Grandad!  We love you so much!

 This is Roxy, a woodchuck!  She lives on a farm with other exotic pets  at the home of the head nurse at Prosper Pet Clinic named July.  July works full time, and her husband stays home to take care of all of their animals on the farm.  My beautiful friend Allie (pictured here) is an assistant nurse.  I enjoy getting to work with both ladies when I sub in for the owner at the clinic.

 Quincey loves to sit on the legs of whoever is going to night night.  He usually visits Hallie Claire first, then moves to Matthew since he stays up to read later.  

Doesn't this remind you of the scene when E.T. hides next to the stuffed animals in Elliot's closet?

 Hallie Claire loved meeting her teacher, Mrs. Kim, today at her preschool.  She will start school next week.  Mrs. Kim has been teaching at this school for 13 years!

This is Mrs. Lisa who has been a teacher aide, substitute teacher, and the music teacher for the past 11 years.  She's an Aggie, too!

First day of third grade for Matthew!

Matthew's best friend and next door neighbor Mason sits right next to him in Mrs. Hogsett's class!  

Dr. Olson was there in the front hallway, proudly wearing his Olson Elementary Otters t shirt to greet the students on the first day.

Hallie Claire enjoyed meeting him!  

We came straight from Taekwondo class to Meet The Teacher last week.  Mrs. Hogsett is so sweet!  Matthew loves her already.

How to view videos

Photos are easier to view than videos.  If you are on the email distribution list, photos all show up in the email.  If the announcement is for a video, you cannot view the video directly from the email.  You just need to click on the link at the bottom of the email and it should take you to the blog where you can run the video.  Usually the link shows up in blue and it will always look something like this:

Posted By magersfamily to Magers family photos/videos at 6/22/2015 04:46:00 AM

 

Inside the 9/11 Memorial, NYC 6/10/15

We took a few interior photos, but they really don't do justice to the enormous amount of work put into the Memorial.  It has information about each attack, including the Pentagon, New York City and Flight 93 that was brought down Pennsylvania by the acts of the heroic people on the aircraft.

Outside the 9/11 Memorial, NYC 6/10/15

We thought it might be easier to break the photos into two parts.  This is a short video of the outside of the Memorial Building.  It is a very respectful and well done area.  The "Survivor Tree" is probably not labeled for security reasons, but this is a wonderful story of its own.  It looks like all the other trees on the grounds, but has a very interesting background.  Here is text from the 9/11 Memorial website about it: 

A callery pear tree became known as the "Survivor Tree" after enduring the September 11, 2001 terror attacks at the World Trade Center. In October 2001, the tree was discovered at Ground Zero severely damaged, with snapped roots and burned and broken branches. The tree was removed from the rubble and placed in the care of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. After its recovery and rehabilitation, the tree was returned to the Memorial in 2010. New, smooth limbs extended from the gnarled stumps, creating a visible demarcation between the tree’s past and present. Today, the tree stands as a living reminder of resilience, survival and rebirth.