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The Dixons - An Overview
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Hello again friends and relatives both far and near. This has been another good year for the Dixons. We welcomed our first grandchild, William Patrick Dixon (5lb 4oz – 18 inches long), who arrived 6.5 weeks early in Lubbock, Texas on December 21, 2011. Will was basically healthy and able to go home to New Mexico two weeks later. We made the trip to NM in March to visit and enjoy holding Baby Will. While there, we made a very enjoyable short trip with the family to Santa Fe and Los Alamos. The huge distance from our only grandson has been tolerable only since we use Google Hangout to video chat with Patrick, Brittney, and Will in NM and Dan in Seattle each week.
Patrick, Brittney, Will, Daniel, and our two Chicago nieces, Carolyn and Amelia all came to Indiana for a weekend in August. The immediate family was also together during Thanksgiving week in New Mexico during which we made a day trip to Palo Duro Texas State Park for a 6 mile hike to the Lighthouse formation. And, all the family will be home for a short visit sometime over the Christmas holidays too. So we have been fortunate to have some good family time this year and be able to see, hold and enjoy our new little grandson.
Getting older is a challenge, but on the whole, Jim and I are in good health and enjoying our lives. Jim continues to build and service computers. For health and exercise, Jim still runs three miles twice a week and plays tennis. I am still thoroughly enjoying my full time job in International Services at Ball State University in Muncie, IN. I try to walk during lunch three times each week for exercise and take the dogs for a walk on the weekends when the weather permits. I enjoy listening to many audible books during my drive to and from work and on my walks. Life is good.
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| The Dixon family hiking together at Palo Duro Canyon, TX | Peggy and Jim reading to Will |
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| Jim and Peggy Dixon | The Dixons in August 2012 |
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Daniel and Universe Sandbox
Dan continues enjoying his life in Seattle. Ready for a change, he moved into a new apartment near the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Seattle. Dan continues to have good success with his astronomy software, Universe Sandbox. He is working with an international team he hired to rewrite and improve his original work and make it available on more platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux, and mobile devices). In August, Dan traveled to Amsterdam to meet up with his team (in person for the first time) where they presented a live demo of their work at Unity 3D's annual conference. Unity is the game engine they are using for the new version. In November, Dan joined up with Valve (a major video game distributor) to offer Universe Sandbox for free to any school anywhere in the world via their recently announced 'Steam for Schools'program.
The photo on the left is of Daniel with Mt. Hood in the background.
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| Daniel Dixon reading to Will with Patrick |
Dan and Jim getting ready to take Will for a run in NM. |
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| Daniel and Will getting ready for a bath. |
Daniel Dixon at Indy airport |
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| Daniel in Amsterdam | Daniel Dixon presenting Universe Sandbox at the Unity conference in Amsterdam |
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Patrick, Brittney and Will
We would say that Patrick and Brittney have had a very good year too. They brought William Patrick Dixon into the world on December 21, 2011 after a worrisome early beginning. Will was 6.5 weeks early and caused Brittney to have a harrowing emergency helicopter ride to Lubbock, TX before his birth. Will was 5lb 4oz at birth and 18 inches long. But all was well and they took him home to NM two weeks later after he learned to breathe and eat better. Will is a very cute baby and continues to grow and thrive and we will be celebrating his first birthday together in Indiana this December. He is a joy to us all.
Patrick and Brittney's other big news this year was that Patrick got a very exciting new assignment. He has been assigned to fly the C-17 transport plane out of Hickam Air Force Base (a joint base with the Navy's Pearl Harbor) just outside of Honolulu, Hawaii for the next few years. (And, in case you are interested in seeing and learning more about the C-17, here are two very informative videos about the C-17. Video 1 - A Day in the life of a C-17 and Inside a C-17 Aircraft from Gary Airport.) Patrick has almost a year of training before the move, but we are really looking forward to visiting them in Hawaii each year they are stationed there. Before the move, Patrick had leadership training in Alabama for Air Force captains, land survival training in Spokane, Washington, and water survival training in Florida. After the first of the year, they will temporarily live at two other bases so he can renew his T-38 flying and then train to fly the huge C-17 transport aircraft. We think they will be able to move to Hawaii sometime in August of 2013. They are very happy and we are happy for them even though they will be even farther away from all of us. But what a wonderful place to visit them.
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| Patrick Dixon holding new little William Patrick Dixon in the hospital in Lubbock, TX. |
Brittney holding Will in the hospital. Will is almost two weeks old in this photo. |
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| Capt. Patrick Dixon holding Will | Brittney and Will |
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| Patrick with Will in a backpack ready for a hike at Palo Duro Canyon. |
Patrick, Will and Brittney Dixon |
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William Patrick Dixon
Here are some more photos of William (Will) Patrick Dixon for you all to enjoy. Our little grandson has come a long way since his premature birth December 21, 2011. We will be celebrating his first birthday together in Greenfield, IN. As of the first of December, he was standing alot and will soon be walking. We all love him so much. A grandchild is tres precious.
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| William Patrick arrived 6.5 weeks early 5 lb 4 oz - 18 inches long |
William Patrick healthy, but needing a little help with oxygen and food for awhile. |
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| Will in owl costume Halloween |
Patrick & Will in Colts jersies - ready to watch a Colts game |
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| Will enjoying Thanksgiving Dinner | Will is Mommy's Little Turkey |
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| Will in rocker | Will meeting Santa Not too happy |
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Our Pets
Our pets continue to thrive. We still have Brigit and Reesy, our two cocker spaniels. Our four house cats – Isis, Gaia, Kali, and Athena - seem happy and contented. We added a small outdoor feral cat colony to our menagerie, since we had a cat come with kittens last year. We have had all the cats neutered or spayed and provide a warm heated dog house, lots of beds and food and water for them all year round on our front porch. Two of them will let me pet them a little now.
We are hoping this newsletter finds you all happy and healthy and able to enjoy life to the fullest. We would love to hear about your year too. Blessed Be.
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| Brigit - 7 yrs | Reesy - 2.5 yrs |
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| Isis - 12 yrs. | Gaia - 10 yrs. |
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| Kali - 8 yrs. | Athena - 4 yrs. |
| Base Design and header by Bryant Smith |