Where Has The Time Gone?

I don't know if many of our friends visit our blog anymore or not since it has been so long since I've updated it. I guess life just got busier and I neglected the blog. I have no other excuse. Plus, Facebook has made it easy to stay in touch with friends and family. But, I do miss writing my thoughts here somewhat.

A lot has gone on the past few months since I last posted. Some good, some not so good. I last posted in June 2009. The summer was busy but it was the Fall and start of 2010 that was challenging to say the least.

My oldest brother, Edwin, died in an auto accident on September 5, 2009...coincidentally, that was my birthday. I took the loss of my oldest brother quite hard. And, if that wasn't enough, my Grandmother fell right before Christmas and broke her leg. She never made it out of the hospital. And, she died on New Year's Day. For those of you who know me well, you can imagine how difficult losing her was for me. To this day, life just doesn't seem the same without her. I still find myself wanting to pick up the phone and call her.

I think the rest of 2010 has been spent trying to figure out which end is up and to recover from the losses. I also had to finish up Air Command and Staff College (ACSC); a requirement that I had to complete by April. My Lieutenant Colonel board met mid-June and I needed ACSC to be completed to get a promotion recommendation. It was hard to do on the heels of losing my Grandma but I hunkered down and got through it. In the end, I got a great promotion recommendation and now I'm waiting to hear the results from the promotion board. It'll probably be August before I hear the results.

I'm slowly but surely getting my energy back. Just in time for my 40th birthday!

15 Year Anniversary

This photo was taken at Sea World over 15 years ago.

Today, on our 15-year wedding anniversary, I thought it was appropriate to share.

Over 15 years later...I still think Jeff is a nerd....but, I still dig him too. :-)

I'm looking forward to the next 15 years!

Rachel's Summer Camp and Girls Day Out

Rachel was selected through the gifted program that she participates in at school for a summer college program at Mercer University. She is attending a math class in the mornings and a writing class in the afternoons. It is only for 1 week but she is truly enjoying it. We are so proud of her and her accomplishments at school.

I took the day off on Rachel's first day. It was supposed to be a day to get caught up at home since we've been traveling so much. Instead, I chose to spend the day with Anna. We ate lunch at the original Nu-Way hot dog restaurant in downtown Macon. I ate way too much there.

We tried to visit a couple of museums but we learned that they were closed on Mondays. I won't take another day off on a Monday again. I was so bummed about that. But, we salvaged the day by shopping at the mall. I had my camera with me since I had taken a picture of Rachel at her first day of class yesterday. Anna is really into cameras right now and she wanted to take pictures of me. She saw some prom dresses at one of the department stores that she wanted me to try on so she could take pictures. I think Anna has a promising career as a photographer. And, she made her Mommy feel like a princess getting all dressed up!

Summer Trip #1

Rachel and Anna were asked to be flower girls in a wedding that occurred in Waynesburg, PA. So, we decided to plan a road trip with the girls since they finished the school year at the end of May.

Washington D.C.

Our first stop was in College Park, MD. We stayed at Cherry Hill Park. It was our first time to camp there and I highly recommend this RV park for anyone who is looking for a place to camp close to D.C. You can either take a bus from the RV park or drive yourself to the Metro green line (which is only a few miles away) and conveniently tour D.C. The campground itself offers nice amenities as well.

We visited many of the monuments and the Smithsonian Museums while in D.C. I think we logged well over 10 miles on one day of touring. Anna and Rachel particularly loved touring the Smithsonian because of the recent release of Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian.

Elizabethtown, PA

Our next stop was to Elizabethtown, PA. We stayed at a KOA campground there. It, too, was a nice campground but we thought their rules were a bit too strict. A friend planned to stop by to drop off discounted tickets to Hershey Park. They were going to charge her just for doing that. I could see charging people if they were hanging out at the campground and using their services but we thought the requirement to pay a fee just to meet us to drop off tickets was a bit ridiculous. We met her in town instead.

We toured Hershey's Chocolate World, visited Hershey Park, toured Amish country (visited Lancaster, PA, and Intercourse, PA).

We also visited Lititz, PA, and stopped at the Wilbur Chocolate Co. and the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Co. I have to say that we equally enjoyed the Wilbur chocolate as much as the Hershey chocolate.

Our next stop was in Charleroi, PA. We stayed at the Pine Cove Beach Club while there. I highly recommend this place as well for anyone looking for a place to stop in this area. This campground is extremely family friendly including an awesome pool and tree house for the kids to play in. We chose this place because it was close to Waynesburg, PA: the location of the wedding that Rachel and Anna were going to be flower girls in. Our only complaint was that we didn't have more time at the campground and that the weather was too cold for us to enjoy the pool while visiting. We did take some time to eat at one of the local pizza restaurants; Armando's Pizza. Armando's is located in Charleroi, PA. That was some of the yummiest pizza we've had in a while!

Harold and Gail celebrated their 15-year wedding anniversary on the same day as Lauren's wedding. Happy Anniversary!

Tennessee

We joined Harold and Gail this past weeekend and camped at the Treemont Resort in Townsend, TN. Luckily, we only had rain part of the day on Sunday.

We arrived in the afternoon on Friday. We ate dinner at the Little River Bar-B-Que restaurant in Townsend which is one of my favorite bar-b-que places to eat. They have a screened back porch so you can dine outside and it borders the water flowing around the mountains. The food is wonderful and it's just a nice, relaxing place to eat.

On Saturday, we did a little bit of hiking during the morning in the Tremont area and then had lunch in Townsend at the Apple Valley Country Store. We returned to the camper for a while and then Jeff brought the girls to play in the water and I took a long nap....something I desperately needed. That night we enjoyed a free concert at the Wood-N-Strings Dulcimer Shop in Townsend. We enjoyed the dulcimer music. It was a perfect compliment to an already enjoyable day. They offer these free dulcimer concerts every Saturday evening throughout the spring and summer months.

On Sunday, we decided to head into Pigeon Forge to the Wonderworks Museum. We had a great time there but it was a bit too crowded for our liking. My favorite part was the rock climbing wall. We had lunch at Tony Roma's and then returned to the camper. It was our first time eating there and the food was O.K. It wasn't really good nor really bad. It was just food. We returned to the campground afterwards. We took the girls to the swimming pool before the rain started coming down. After that, we relaxed at our campers for a while.

Overall, we had a great weekend. I love that area. But, what I enjoy the most are the mountains. I prefer to stay away from the people and enjoy the beauty of nature the most. But, we have to mix in other things for the kiddos.

We are going to watch the new Night at the Museum movie tonight which has been released just in time for our next trip. We are taking another trip leaving this coming Friday. Rachel and Anna are flower girl's in our cousin, Lauren's, wedding. So, we decided to make it a vacation trip for them since the wedding is in West Virginia. We are leaving Friday evening. We'll arrive in College Park, Maryland on Saturday. College Park is very close to Washington D.C. So, we'll be doing some sight seeing in that area including visiting the Smithsonian. And, that is why the release of the new Night at the Museum movie is timely. We loved the first movie and the newly released version is set in the Smithsonian. After spending a few days in D.C., we are then heading to Pennsylvania where we plan to visit Hershey Park. And, then, the final stop will be in West Virginia for the wedding on June 6th before we head back home. It's going to be a busy trip and and an end to many busy weekends throughout the month of May. I think we'll be crashing at home for several weekends to recoup after all of our trips in May. We need a vacation from our vacationing!

High Falls State Park, GA

Anna and Julianna

(Left-Right) Jeff and Anna, Jonathan, Collete and Kaylee, Me, Rachel and Chloe (top), Naura and Julianna at High Falls State Park

(Left to Right) Rachel, Chloe, Julianna, Kaylee, and Anna at the Enchanted Forest located behind the Village at Indian Springs

Rachel and Chloe at High Falls State Park

We went to High Falls State Park, GA, this past weekend. Originally, we had not planned to travel this weekend but Anna and Rachel really wanted to plan something with friends and this was the only weekend we had to do it before the school year was over. Rachel's friend, Chloe, camped with us over the weekend. And, Anna's friend, Julianna, came with her Mom on Saturday and the spent the day with us.

We were worried that we'd get rain on Saturday but we were spared. We were thankful for that so that everyone could enjoy the plans we had. We met Chloe's parents and sister and Naura and Julianna at one of our favorite restaurants: Pinky's. We would have just planned to have a picnic but we were afraid that we would get rained on. Before everyone arrived, Jeff and I brought Rachel, Anna, and Chloe to Indian Springs State Park and we walked around for a bit. We even enjoyed some of the fresh spring water. Although, I will warn anyone considering trying some that you will smell the sulphur which doesn't exactly enhance the experience. We were told by some people who were collecting the spring water in jugs that the rotten egg sulphur smell evaporates from the water after a few days. The girls had a great time catching tadpoles, frogs, and a turtle before we joined our friends for lunch at Pinky's.

We all had a great lunch at Pinky's and then we walked through the garden area before heading to the Art Gallery for a quick art class. Then, we went to Dauset Trails. All of the children enjoyed seeing the animals there.

We returned back to High Falls and we took a brief walk to the falls area and the kids played along the waters edge.

By that time, it was getting close to dinner time so we all returned to our camper and we grilled hotdogs and hamburgers and then had s'mores for dessert.

We had a full day with our friends. The kids were ready for bed that night with no complaints!

It was really fun having Chloe with us this weekend. She had never been camping before nor spent much time on trails. It was so refreshing to see her excitement at simple things like catching tadpoles in the water. With Chloe, it was like Christmas for the first time but on the trail. She was a bit nervous at first on the trail but then she was jumping on the rocks like our daughters. She found all kinds of animals too: a frog, a turtle, a squirrel, and baby ducks.

Mothers Day Weekend

We traveled to Skidaway Island, near Savannah, for Mother's Day weekend.


On Saturday, we enjoyed the beach at Tybee Island during the day and then visited Savannah that evening for dinner. We ate dinner at the Pirate's House which was absolutely delicious. I highly recommend that place for those who haven't tried it. We arrived around 5 and we didnt have a reservation and there was no wait. I would recommend making a reservation if planning to go during a peak time. Then, we visited the river front area and browsed the shops.


On Sunday, we went out for breakfast at the Original Pancake House in Savannah. I've never eaten at one before but learned a valuable lesson; one item is enough for at least two people. I ordered the ham and cheese omelette. It was huge; made with five eggs. And, we also ordered pancakes; that came with five pancakes. If you ever go to one, go hungry!


We went to Fort Pulaski to work off some of our breakfast. We watched the film at the visitor's center and then took a guided tour with a ranger. Rachel and Anna earned a Junior Ranger Badge by completing a booklet where they had to perform activities to learn about the Fort. Later, we were ready for lunch and we stopped at the Crab Shack on Tybee Island for lunch before returning to the camper to pack up and head home. We enjoyed this restaurant too. Very casual atmosphere and perfect if you've got kiddos. They also have an enclosure in front with young alligators and Rachel and Anna fed them.


Rachel and Anna gave me the best home made gifts and hugs for Mother's Day. And, I had a wonderful weekend on the GA coast with my family. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

The next few weekends will be spent traveling. I will definitely be ready for a break to just collapse at home when we are done but we are certainly getting our money's worth from our new fifth wheel. This weekend will be a local trip to a state park. The following weekend will be to Townsend, TN. Then, the next weekend will be our roadtrip up the east coast. Rachel and Anna are in a wedding on June 6th so we decided to take the opportunity and do some site seeing. We'll be going to Washington D.C. for a few days and then we are heading to Hershey, PA, for a few days before going to the wedding.

Air Show 2009

Me and Tora. Tora is an old friend who is a navigator on C-130s. He flew in a C-130 yesterday at the Air Show.

Me, Mick and Jeff at the Air Show

We had a beautiful day of weather in middle Georgia for the Air Show. Mick (Jennifer's Dad) traveled all the way from the U.K. to enjoy the Air Show. We sure do wish Mike and Jen and the kids could've been here too! We spent the day touring the aircraft, watching the aerial performances and eating way too much junk food.

Jeff and I also took the Marine Corps pull up challenge and won t-shirts. I did the female version (flexed arm hang) for 70 seconds. And, Jeff did the 20 pull ups required to earn a t-shirt. We may be knocking on the door or already at the age of 40 but we still can hang with the youngsters. :-)

Anna sitting in the cockpit of a C-130 at the airshow

Rachel at the Air Show

Rachel, Anna and Me standing in front of a C-5. This is the aircraft that I work in support of for the USAF. The C-5 motto is "Size Does Matter." :-)

Jeff knocking out the 20 pull ups to earn his t-shirt from the Marines. The Marines don't have nuthin' on P90X. :-) My husband rocks!