From Sea to Shining Sea

We've had a party pretty much since I landed in Florida last week... It started off with George getting his PPL, so we had to celebrate. And with his birthday on the 15th, one party led to another and it turned into a week-long celebration. George is in between classes now so it's been like a vacation for us. It's been so nice and relaxing...and George definitely needed the break after studying his brains out for all the tests.

We thought it'd be fun to watch the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean and then make the drive to the other side of Florida to watch it set over the Gulf of Mexico. It was beautiful and we made a fun day of it in St. Petersburg (Tampa Bay area).

Cape Canaveral sunrise 6:50 AM

The early morning puffies. There were crabs EVERYWHERE...and I'm not talking about us :)

Not bad a 4-star for $40

Unfortunately this is what a lot of the day looked like...the pier socked in.

Taste the rainbow! It cleared up just in time for the sunset :)

This was hilarious...the lady bird was harassing the man bird for seriously 15 minutes! As she squawked away, he just stood there and took it. I should have recorded a video.

Liz the spaz, frolicking among the birds.

Making it up to the birds after scaring them off...

The Gulf of Mexico

St. Petersburg sunset 8:10 PM

I LOVE the huge grass at the beach.

Although it was fun to explore the west side, we decided we like the beaches on our side better...we get the waves so we can body surf, and there aren't as many seagulls. Two pluses in my book!

On George's actual birthday I made him a delightful breakfast of crepes topped with fresh peaches, strawberries, and blueberries. After that we went to the beach and played all day.

Crepes - and George's present was that rocking camp chair (and a new wedding ring since he lost his first one).

George proud of his big hole.

Just a second after I took the previous picture...a wave washed over him!

Relaxing on playalinda!

My husband, the pilot!

George on his first solo flight!

For the past month my George has been a very busy student. After two weeks of torturous waiting and no flying, George was finally able to get a check ride, which is the final 2 parts of a 3-part FAA exam that ultimately decides whether you get your license or not. There is a written, oral, and practical part of the test. He took the FAA written exam last week and ACED it...yea 100% I was so impressed!! Then he passed his stage check (pre-final flight check) which took two sessions of flying due to the weather (we're still enjoying thunderstorms every afternoon). The oral portion took about 1.5 hours and he breezed right through it. And last, but definitely not least, he had his pratical that took 2 hours. From start to finish it took 8 hours to complete, 4 of which turned out to be waiting and letting the nerves build. But he was able to stay relatively calm and show the FAA examiner his flying skills. I'm so proud of him...he's a pilot now, woot woot! This was all for his private license, so he still has more schooling for his instrument rating, commercial license, and certified flight instructor. It looks like we're on schedule for him to be completely finished by the end of Jan 2010. He absolutely LOVES flying, so we're happy with how it's all worked out so far.

George with his British instructor, Neil.

Kyson's Baptism

Kyson and his daddy Joe - 01 Aug 2009

I can't believe my sweet little nephew Kyson is 8-years-old!!! This past Saturday was his baptism and confirmation. I just adore this boy and am so proud of him. I love his energy and excitement for life. He had lots of family there to love and support him. It was such a great day!

Kyson, Joe, Kaden, Sadie and Sara Melling

I love you Kyson, thank you for bringing so much joy into our lives :)

Meet Suga Booga & Ding Dong

That's Suga Booga in front and Ding Dong close behind...

I'm not sure if this much fun should be allowed in one month...it just keeps going and going, I ♥ summers! This past weekend we drove up to Wilson, Wyoming (just outside of Jackson) and visited my little sister, Alethea. She's been working on a landscaping crew up there for the past 3 summers. She lives in a van down by the river (really an airstream by a creek, but still :)

The airstream is located on her boss' property and they have a couple of goats named Suga Booga and Ding Dong. They are hilarious, and since they are 'in training' to become pack goats we got to take them for walks. Kaden and Kyson were in heaven tromping around with their 'pet goats' playing king of the mountain and climbing all over the playground toys.

Alethea's boss is married to a guy that builds his own wooden boats and does private trips down the Snake River. He offered to take us, and it was fabulous!! The boat was much more comfortable than a raft and they're designed for white water as well, although we just did a quiet section with the kidlets along. We saw 7 bald eagles and a beaver on our float trip. The boat rocked all the kids to sleep, it was wonderful!

The wooden boat designed and built by AJ

The whole gang floating down the Snake River

The boat rocked Sadie to sleep so we had to stow her in the bow

Above is Captain Cosmo

If the winters in Jackson weren't so cold and long I would love to live there...it's the most beautiful alpine climate. The smell of pines as I walked thru the forest was intoxicating, the cold lakes were refreshing, and the view of the Tetons, incredible! The only downers were the zillions of skeeters and of course the 8 hours of driving with kidlets, although they did amazingly well.

String Lake

The landscaping wheelbarrow was the perfect kid karrier!

Alethea's boss, Carol-Malia, volunteers at the Raptor Center - this owl was born with a small wing (kind of like Nemo) and is used for educational purposes.

Another great weekend, thank you Alethea. We love you!

4th of July - Tusher Lake

Happy 4th of July...and 1st of July to all you Canadians :)

Once again we had a wonderful weekend full of outdoor splendor. The Melling clan let us crash their family reunion this year and we (36 people, 4 camping trailers, 5 trucks, 7 tents, and 1 dog) headed to Tusher Lake on Beaver Mountain. It was great fun with a lake just a short jaunt from our campsite stocked with canoes and paddles, teeny fish, and leeches (we'll get to that). It was quite the production and although it was rainy for the first day, it was a very relaxing camping trip with yummy food and great company.

Each family took turns cooking meals. We were in charge of breakfast and I was a little worried because I've never cooked for that many people while camping, but George and I worked as a team and with the camp chef it was no problem.

We enjoyed a lot of dutch oven which is a personal favorite and there was also the treat table fully stocked, mmm :) George introduced the Mellings to sobe bombs which were a hit with all the children and even a few adults ;) It turns out 'star-brulee' was more popular than roasting marshmallows! If you are unfamiliar with star-brulee, quite simply it is roasting starburst candy over the fire. Grandpa and Grandma gave great devotionals every night around the campfire; teaching about prayer, ancestors, and some history of Utah. There were many different activities to enjoy:

Canoeing

Water fights - as you can see Sadie was a top contender storing water in her cheeks.

Liar's Dice

Sleeping

Widdling sticks was the activity of choice by many producing fancy chains, sliding balls, and spoons.

Eating, of course :)

The wonderful candy bar game

Badmitton

So on day 3 it was nice and sunny so Sara, Katie, and I decided to take a dip in the lake. We headed to the dam and crawled down thru stinging nettle (without touching it) to the rocky shore where we jumped in. It was SO freezing it made it hard to breathe, but we managed some good screaming before we got out 3 seconds later. We then went back to camp to rinse off, and that is when I hear Sara yelling my name. I go to the trailer to see what's up and there was a leech attached to her leg, EEK!!! We stripped down to make sure there were no other lil boogers creeping around. Eww it gives me the heebie-jeebies just to write about it now. It made the dip not quite as refreshing, but hey no serious damage was done. Later that day George and I found a clear stream and tested out our bare-hand fishing skills...yea we're pro. Two trout for each of us :)

I know I look a little nervous...it was quite slimy!

Misty did her three daughter's hair before they came up to camp...a lot of people were jealous so she had to give all of them similar hair-do's.

Grandpa Shrek :)

We got back to town Saturday afternoon. After some work on our house in Cedar we parked the truck up on a small hill and sat on the roof while we watched the local fireworks in Cedar City. It was the perfect way to wrap up such a great weekend. We think the Mellings are such a wonderful family and are so grateful they include us in all their fun. Thank you!! Also I just want to add how grateful I am for our country and the freedoms we enjoy each day.

God Bless America!