One way to be Farewelled!!!

Well . . . I guess this is one way to say farewell in Arizona!! Can you believe that this rattlesnake thought he could barge in on our dinner party on our neighbor's patio?! The nerve?!! Well . . . this will be one farewell memory that won't be forgotten!!! (And just so you know . . . he tasted like chicken! HA! No, we didn't even go there!)

ENJOY!!!

A Hole in the Wall

How's this for the blog today?? Didn't have a lot to say, so I thought I'd show you some of what I've been doing. I've been asked to take the "mollies" out of the holes. I absolutely can't believe that! I always thought you left them in because they would leave a much larger hole if you take them out . . . well, let me tell you, this is certainly true. The inspector told us that it was fine as long as the hole wasn't as big as my fist. Interesting!!! What is the world coming to???

ENJOY!!!

Kate's Beautiful Smile

Well . . . now you see them - braces - now you don't!!! Just thought I'd show you what the activity of the day was for yesterday!!! We have one happy camper in our house! Katelyn was thrilled to finally have yesterday arrive. She was so excited - for once - to go to the orthodontist. (Amazing, huh?!) She now is brace-free! I thought I'd include a picture of the retainers as well. She got to design the style and color, etc. She chose watermelon colors . . . pink and green. They have polka dots on them, too. Very cool, I think. Anyway . . . just wanted to share the excitement and the new BEAUTIFUL SMILE!!!!!

ENJOY!!!

A Funny Crate

So . . . yesterday when the second set of crates arrived for loading, my friend informed me that there was a crate with another one of our friends name on it. :o) It's funny because these people left Arizona about 7 months ago, and this particular crate had them coming from NY to here. It cracked us up that we would get to use the same one. Now that's good recycling!! Good friends, good crates . . . Can you believe the name that we found on it??? ENJOY!!!

More of the Same

More of the same today . . . a blah day with just more packing going on . . . Although, I did walk by the guest room last night after taking the other pictures, and wished I had taken this - way more crazy shot! So . . . today that's what you get! Isn't life exciting?

ENJOY!!!

They Came Anyway

Well . . . they came anyway . . . the packers, that is!! Just thought I'd show a bit of what was done today. We are fortunate to have some of the same guys that moved us from off post in Sierra Vista, to on post 18 months ago. They did a good job then, and are still doing a good job. We were certainly happy to see some of the same faces - I guess that's one nice thing about being in a small town. :o) Anyway, it's exhausting, and mentally draining, but moving right along! -- No pun intended. :o) ENJOY!!!

Packers on the Way and We're Flying by the Seat of Our Pants!

Just want to share an interesting story . . . one to make you go, "HUM . . . " Also, please realize that the packers arrive tomorrow for the first day of packing and we'll be literally . . .

Flying by the Seat of our Pants

Fly by the Seat of One's Pants
Meaning:
Decide a course of action as you go along, using your own initiative and perceptions rather than a pre-determined plan or mechanical aids.
Origin:
This is early aviation parlance. Aircraft initially had few navigation aids and flying was accomplished by means of the pilot's judgment. The term emerged in the 1930s and was first widely used in reports of Douglas Corrigan's flight from the USA to Ireland in 1938.
That flight was reported in many US newspapers of the day, including this piece, entitled 'Corrigan Flies By The Seat Of His Pants', in The Edwardsville Intelligencer, 19th July 1938:
"Douglas Corrigan was described as an aviator 'who flies by the seat of his pants' today by a mechanic who helped him rejuvenate the plane which airport men have now nicknamed the 'Spirit of $69.90'. The old flying expression of 'flies by the seat of his trousers' was explained by Larry Conner, means going aloft without instruments, radio or other such luxuries."
Two days before this report Corrigan had submitted a flight plan to fly from Brooklyn to California. He had previously had a plan for a trans-Atlantic flight rejected (presumably on the grounds that the 'Spirit of $69.60 wasn't considered up to the job). His subsequent 29 hour flight ended in Dublin, Ireland. He claimed that his compasses had failed. He didn't openly admit it but it was widely assumed that he had ignored the rejection of his flight plan and deliberately flown east rather than west. He was thereafter known as 'Wrong Way Corrigan' and starred as himself in the 1938 movie The Flying Irishman.
The 'old flying expression' quoted above (although it can't have been very old in 1938) that refers to trousers rather than pants does suggest that the phrase was originally British and crossed the Atlantic (the right way) prior to becoming 'flies by the seat of one's pants'.

ENJOY!!!

Walking on Stilts!!!

One last summer picture from the last 2 weeks . . . here's a video of Mac walking on the stilts that his Grandpa made for him. He's been asking for crutches forever - thank goodness he doesn't have a need for them, so anyway, they moved on from that to talking about stilts. So, Grandpa went right in his workshop and created something fun. I am amazed that he could even get up on them - it was incredibly HOT and tiresome . . . but as you see, he did it!!! Thanks Grandpa! ENJOY!!!

Summer Trip 2009

Here are photos from our trip to Altus OK to see Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Chris. Then on to Houston, TX to see Oma. And last but not least, a quick few days in San Antonio for a free trip to Sea World and seeing Shannon Duepner and her family. Oh, and of course, the Wax Museum and Ripley's Believe or Not!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The Best Brother Around

Well . . . I thought I'd add a photo of the best brother around!! One of the reasons we went to Oklahoma when we did - besides the fact that it was when John could get leave, AND the fact that Antenna needed to have an extended visit at her grandparents, AND since we'll be moving overseas - was to see my brother, Chris. It had been a while since he'd been home, too, so we all thought it would be fun to be there at the same time. Anyway, I took pictures of Uncle Chris with Kate and Mac. (Oh and by the way, doesn't Mac look really handsome in his updated haircut!!!??? I personally love it when he has his hair cut like this!) So . . . here's a picture of the kids with their Uncle Chris. Oh, and remember it's only fitting that he be featured here since it was his idea to start this blog . . . so we really owe it to him! (As do you! HA!) ENJOY!!!

Makeover for Antenna

So . . . it's been a few weeks since we've added to the blog. Sorry . . . I know you have all been anxiously awaiting a new posting so, here it is. Antenna got a makeover before her trip to see her grandparents. Here's a before and after shot. We tried to wait until right before her trip so she'd be beautiful when she got to Oklahoma. It worked!! She's such a cute dog!! The best miniature schnauzer ever!! We certainly miss her. In the one night since we've been back, the house is too, too quiet without her alerting us to people at the door - or asking for us to play with one of her squeaky toys! In the next few days I'll post some pictures from our 2 week long adventure. ENJOY!!!