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March 2005           We were honestly too darned busy to notice whether March came in like a lion or a lamb. Since it wasn't noticable, we'll presume it was a lamb, and it'll go out like a lion!           One thing for sure, March attacked Deb like a lion with bared fangs and claws. She came down with some kind of horrible allergy or cold the last weekend in February, and it lasted beyond three weeks. (still fighting it!) She's still on the edge of panic wondering if she'll ever sing again. Or even TALK for that matter!           Emily continues to perform with some of her castmates at schools in North Pole, and singing the National Anthem here and there with the NPHS Choir, or as a duet with her friend Kirsten -- like at bowling tournaments and hockey games. Cool -- but awfully trying on our schedules. Oh well, you're only young once, so she's enjoying it all to the hilt. We will continue to do our best to adapt.           We woke up March 19th to find Emily's picture in the local FairbanksDaily News Miner as Student Artist of the Week. Please note: Emily thinks that her FRESHMAN (not freshmen) year... Bruce Hanson is her Music teacher. (And spectacular, btw.) She doesn't really plan to move to Oregon or California...       she aims to go to college there!           While you're visiting the News-Miner website, check out the North Pole Patriots Girl's Basketball news! Way to go! The link is only guaranteed for 14 days (from 3/19/05) -- after that, use the News-Miner's "Advanced Search" feature.           There's nothing like competition from siblings to get news out of Bill IV. In case you didn't get a reply e-mail, here's what he has to say: Hey all, Wow that's a lot of addresses. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Sergeant Dourte, Leader of Marines and all-around cool guy. The summer of '81 was a hot 'un, but there was one thing that kept the mercury down: That's right, me being born. It's not easy, staying cool enough to keep global warming under control, but I've gotta do my part to keep the planet from turning into another Mercury or Venus. But seriously. I am (still) in Okinawa Japan, valiantly defending weather equipment against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I'm about halfway through a seven-week training evolution called Sergeant's Course; it's pretty easy academically but a real butt-kicker physically. I'm looking at switching jobs into counterintelligence, which would mean a lot of hard work, but doing a lot more for Corps and country than sitting around waiting for resistors to short out so I can replace them. More on that as it develops. I recently bought a brand spanking new gaming computer, but I haven't put too many games on it yet... Sergeant's Course is on a different base than the one I live on, so I only head back to my room on the weekends, and there's a lot of studying to be done. That's about all that's going on with me, I guess. No family yet; I'm not ready to settle down, especially if I get approved for the CI job... I'll be bouncing all over the world doing Secret Squirrel type stuff, and that's a single guy's job. Well off to church and then back to Sergeant's Course. Keep it real folks. S/F Bill4           He's not ready to settle down yet, and it's good that he recognizes that... but when the time comes, he'll know. It's something special, and he's one of those "good guys" who realizes the best is worth waiting for. That's why one of my favorite tunes is "Somewhere in the World" by Wayne Watson.           Solo and Ensemble competition was on March 29th and Emily came home proud of three superior "1" ratings. The first was for her solo, Caro Mio Ben -- a far cry from the "4" she received her Freshman year with the rebuke, "If you don't speak Italian, don't sing Italian." She and Kirsten got a "1" for their duet, "Autumn Song" which they performed in German -- Herbstlied. And finally, the Treble Choir Emily sings with received a "1" for All Ye Who Music Love. She'll be going to the state competition in Anchorage on May 6th and 7th. Easter Sunday           Emily and Annie were all decked out in spring colors, thanks to Annie. She was a sweetheart and bought her little sister an Easter outfit. (Plus pretties for Prom Night.) Click to view more Easter pictures or look at           Summer-Heart dot Net.           It looks like March is going out like a lamb, clear and cold but none of the high winds that we had last week. Once it's gone, we'll move on to being April Fools! April Contact the Birch Grove: E-Mail

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Welcome Today is:      January  February  March Emily Daily News Miner Student Artist of the Week 3/19/05  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December  Home & Hobbies  Start  E-Mail It's not easy to battle Global Warming when you're this... uhm... Cool!? Wasn't he just as cool in 1982?!