The Great Adventure

Denali Aurora 09-17-2010

>> Tuesday, November 23, 2010 – Alaska

After driving through Denali National Park on 09-17-2010 (Justin's Birthday) we stayed up to enjoy the show. Justin set our camera for a long exposure and we were pleasantly surprised when this is what we got.

Justin's Birthday Gift 09-17-2010

>> – Alaska

Burke Turns One!

>> – burke

Happy First Birthday, Burke!

We celebrated Burke's birthday on Saturday, October 2nd. My mom flew in right before the party and Justin flew out the next day for Sri Lanka and The Maldives.

Burke quadrupled his toy stash and didn't really care for his birthday cake. He had a blast following all the big kids around.

On Burke's actual birthday we were sick as dogs. Thank goodness my mother was here to care of us. Burke and I took a three hour nap and we woke up to some homemade chicken noodle soup...definite goodness.

Burke's one-year stats:

20 lbs 7 ozs --10-25%tile
30 inches -- 50%tile
Head: 45.7 cm --75%tile

Definitely Not Alaska

>> Sunday, October 3, 2010 – Travel

Beer tasting in San Luis Obispo

Off on adventure at the California Science Center

Our gracious hosts, Chris and Karen

Look a bird

Time to get dirty

Burke's winning!

One of our favorite pictures

SoCal

>> Sunday, September 26, 2010 – Travel

Thank goodness I had the forethought to join Justin during his TDY to California. Burke and I desperately needed to actually experience summer. This summer in Alaska was rainy. Gray and wet. We found the sun in Southern California.

We spent a week at Port Hueneme near Oxnard. The sun was out and the temperatures were perfect. Justin was out around 2 or 3 pm daily which gave us plenty of time to take Burke to the pool or time to drive to nearby towns.

After our week at Hueneme we moved southward to stay with our friends, Chris and Karen Hetz, in Santa Monica. And then we all turned right around and headed back up north to experience Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispol. the Hearst Castle and some wine tasting.

Santa Barbara is absolutely beautiful. With the help of Google Maps we pinpointed our lunch stop - Three Pickles. The food sounded amazing. We found our destination and the place was closed. Lesson learned - check the hours before driving all over. Maybe next time we go we can try Three Pickles. While in Santa Barbara we went to the Old Mission and walked the busy downtown shopping district. Then we drove to Vandenberg AFB. That place is so out of the way! But it was $39 a night compared to $180 at nearby hotels.

Sunday morning we headed to San Simeon to explore the Hearst Castle. Absolutely stunning. My favorites were the outdoor and indoor pools. We ate lunch at Moonstone Beach Bar and Grill where they served complimentary sparkling wine. The buzz hit quickly on an empty stomach. After checking out our dream home and getting tipsy we headed to Paso Robles in search of wine. We found yummy wine. That area is gorgeous and full of many wineries. You could spend a week tasting wine. Maybe we'll go back for a 21+ vacation.

On Monday it was back to Santa Monica via Solvang to check out a bit of my Danish heritage. We had our famous persons sighting - Adam Goldberg at Paula's Pancake House. Justin and I were on our own to explore the area until Friday. We hit up the beach and the pier, walked in the sun, visited the Getty Villa, drove around looking at gates shielding the view of behemoth mansions, and relaxed.

Fabulous time with great friends. Thanks Chris and Karen for the wonderful hospitality. They were nice enough to show us Settlers of Catan. Fun!

Shock and Prayers

>> Wednesday, July 28, 2010 – Army

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Earlier this evening I was feeding Burke his dinner and felt the earth move and my house shake along with a very loud boom. I thought we were having another earthquake. I turned around and saw an enormous fire ball escape into the sky followed by a tower of black smoke. I was in shock. Did I see what I thought I saw? Immediately prayers were said and I turned to the local news station. I waited to hear the news that a C-17 crashed with four crew members on board. My heart sank even more.

My heart is heavy and sad for the loss of our country's servicemembers. My prayers are with their family and friends.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Almost two days later I am still in shock. Sometimes when I close my eyes all I see is the fireball that shot up so high into the sky. The Air Force confirmed all four aboard were killed. The crew was practicing maneuvers for this weekend's air show. The crash site is under meticulous investigation. The air show will go on and this is what Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson had to say: "We do this to both honor the loss of our four Airmen and also to pay respect to all servicemembers who make the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms." I agree with this statement and I hope the sun will shine upon all who attend and honor our servicemembers, both past and present, and all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.