Summer Vacation

Last time I wrote that it was our 15th anniversary. Vicki and I didn’t get to celebrate beyond a trip to Captain D’s and Wal-Mart as we were in that mad scramble to get everything done before leaving on vacation. You know, that begs the question of why we give the house an extra cleaning before leaving for a week. Is it because if someone breaks in we want them to have a good impression of us before they trash our house looking for valuables we don’t have?

Our vacation was not a one destination trip. There were several legs to the journey. Actually, we had reserved a place at the beach several months ago and then got too busy to plan much else until the week before we left. The trip was as much about seeing family as it was about having time for ourselves.

MARIETTA. We left a week ago Friday (19th). Our first stop was in Marietta to visit the Yergler family. We got there mid-afternoon and went down to their community pool to swim. Afterwards they grilled hamburgers for supper and then we got on the road again. It was nice catching up with everyone even though the visit was too short. Sarah introduced us to a new recipe she had found on the internet -- Oatmeal Carmelitas (recipe available from Pillsbury). They’re good plain or a la mode!

ATHENS. We pulled in to Athens late Friday night and enjoyed spending the weekend with the Jones family. The only time we went anywhere was to church Sunday morning and then Cici’s Pizza for lunch. The rest of the time we stayed around the house where we all enjoyed playing games together. Cameron and I had an Axis & Allies rematch with Will participating. I played the Axis forces again and got off to a strong start but lost. Jenna and I also taught everyone a new card game called MAU. This was a game I learned back in college which is frustrating for new players to learn because the rules stipulate new players must learn by experience.

I also need to give credit in the ongoing Scrabble competition. Three games have been played between the two visits. Darice won when they were here in Cross Plains the previous weekend and again when we were in Georgia. I don’t know who won the third game.

SIX FLAGS, MORE FUN. Monday morning we loaded the van and drove to the other side of Atlanta to spend a day at Six Flags over Georgia. This was the first visit to Six Flags for all of us. The kids earned free tickets through a reading club at school. We stayed all day and got to our van almost an hour after the park closed. Vicki and the kids rode the raft ride three times and didn’t have a dry spot on them.

MUSEUM OF AVIATION. We drove to Macon after our day at Six Flags so we could make an early appearance at our next stop, the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia. If you are in the area this is a fun stop. It’s also free! They have quite an impressive collection of military aircraft on display with all but the largest inside air conditioned hangers. Of special interest to me was their B-29 which is being renovated (for display, not flight). This was the first time Vicki and the kids got to see one. The interior of this Superfortress is not open for tours but I got to talking to the volunteer working the information desk in this hanger and he let me climb on the scissor lift that was next to the left gunner’s position. The floor had so much debris from their renovation work it was impossible to crawl in, but this was the closest I’ve gotten to the position where Dad flew. After leaving the museum we headed for our final destination -- Ormond Beach, Florida.

SUN, SAND, AND SUNBURNS. We arrived at the beach Tuesday night and got two full days in before leaving on Friday. Wednesday we headed out for a morning of fun in the surf and sand. Jim, Dianna, Alex, and Chris drove over from Orlando to spend the afternoon with us. When we got out to the beach that afternoon the tide was out and it was a lot more fun to play both in the water and the sand.

Ben enjoyed boogie boarding the most of our family as you could barely pry the thing out of his hands. He got pretty good at it too. Nate took to playing in the sand. He gave up on building a castle and settled in to simply digging a hole. What was so funny was that he eventually became the unofficial foreman of a hole digging team. I looked over and he was giving orders to to Ben, and some other boys from Ocala, all of whom are older than he is and seemed more than happy to take direction from a six year old. They got about 30 inches toward China before giving up. Jenna was somewhat between these two extremes. She enjoyed both the ocean and the beach but most of the time was content to sit at the water’s edge with the waves lapping over her legs.

It’s never hard to find our kids at the beach, or the pool for that matter. They are the whitest people out there. I told Vicki we looked like polar bears. It doesn’t matter how much sunscreen we put on the sun still burns. Fortunately none of us have bad burns, but we had a few tender spots.

That night we all headed north up the coast to eat at Betty’s A1A. Vicki found this restaurant on the internet. It had good reviews and when the lady at the front desk of our condo made an independent recommendation we tried it. It was worth the trip.

CLIMBING A LIGHTHOUSE. Given our sunburns we decided to take a small sightseeing trip to the Ponce de Leon Inlet Light Station. At 175 feet this red lighthouse is the tallest in Florida. We climbed 203 steps to take in an incredible view of the area. Unfortunately, all our camera batteries died at the top. There is a lot more to see at this museum than the lighthouse. All the original buildings are still there and have exhibits about the life of lighthouse keepers. It turned out to be an interesting morning. On the way back we ate at Racing’s North Turn Restaurant.

CHARADES. Before leaving our condo in Ormond Beach we made a call for everyone to use the bathroom. We were waiting for Ben to get done and Nate started a game of Charades. Not one to be left out Ben was shouting his guesses from the bathroom with the door closed and down the hall from where we were sitting.

MORE FAMILY FUN BACK HOME. We left for home Friday morning. We made the trip with an overnight stop in Kennesaw, Georgia. We rested a few hours before heading back out for a Hancock family reunion in Orlinda. This was a lot of fun even if we were tired from our trip.

It has been nice to get away from home and the normal routine, but it’s good to be home too. I think Nate summed it up for everyone when Vicki asked the kids what their favorite part of our trip was. He said, “Just take everything and smash it all together and that was my favorite part.”

YARD WORK. One thing I have discovered over the last two days is that I am out of shape. Now that we are home we’ve been spending time trying to catch up on all the laundry and yard work. We’ve mowed and trimmed all three yards and weeded the strawberries. I have also hung a new storm door at our back door. Three of the four hinges had given way on the old one.

Vicki and I also got radical and took out all the shrubs from in front of the house. Digging up the roots is what let me know I need more exercise. We don’t know what we’re going to put back there yet so if anyone has any suggestions feel free to drop us an email. Whatever goes back must be short, pretty, and low maintenance.

Joe

Fifteen Wonderful Years

Vicki and I were married fifteen years ago today! I could not have found a better woman to share life with. Even so, I cannot imagine where all the time has gone.

MISSION TRIP. Last year Jenna and I, along with over 40 people from church, went to Cumberland, Kentucky, to help with some projects at the Club 180 Ministry. This year I took Ben along with me. We rode with Rick Robinson. We left Monday and came back yesterday. There were eight from our church who went this year.

Terry and Angie Burkeen do and incredible work up there. Cumberland is a coal mining town with a closed coal mine. It is remote and there is little else for people to do. Club 180 is one of several ministries operating in the area. I’m not going to list all the Burkeens do at Club 180 (see their web site in the link above to learn more), but suffice it to say they work as the hands and feet of God, living completely on faith, to reach people for Christ in an economically depressed area.

This year our project was to install a drop tile ceiling in the upstairs room at the club. It is a large room. A lot of it is used for storage right now, but they do have their computer lab set up in one end for their after school tutoring program. We wound up putting in the grid but not the ceiling tiles because the wiring for the lights had not been put in yet.

We also brought up six old computers with us to add to their existing lab. I spent the whole time getting the operating system reloaded and software installed for them to use. I also repaired a couple of computers that had failed since last summer and did some maintenance to their computer network. When we left they had fifteen units running and able to get on the internet.

I think Ben enjoyed his first mission trip. He was a lot of help to me when I needed someone to pull wire but more so when he handed things to the guys up on ladders as they were putting up the ceiling grid. He also killed me in air hockey, but, I dominated in foosball.

OFF TO THE MOVIES. We went to see the new Disney/Pixar movie UP last night. It was really good. What made this extra fun was that Vicki had scheduled this to be an outing for any families from church that wanted to go, and to make the deal even more fun we went to the Franklin Drive-in. We wound up having six vanloads of folks there, and we all sat out in front of our vehicles and enjoyed the movie together. (Our kids sat in style because I pulled the rear seats out of the van!)

There was some debate about whether to go to the drive-in. We’d had a lot of storms move through in the last couple of days (one on Tuesday afternoon brought 50 mph winds and blew down several trees) and there was a big thunderhead looming on the western horizon when we met up at church. In the end we all decided it wouldn’t come our way and headed to Franklin, however, we watched some impressive lightning in the distance behind the movie screen throughout the entire film.

This was the first time Vicki and I had ever been to the drive-in. She has mentioned going several times over the years and I will admit dropping the ball on that one. It was a lot of fun, and we will go back.

COFFEE GIRL. Vicki and I are not coffee drinkers. When Jim and Dianna come to visit Jim packs his own coffee maker along as a matter of survival. I’ve often wondered if he thinks we are uncivilized. That’s why I had to laugh the other day when Jenna came in from Pauline’s and announced that she now likes coffee. I don’t think Pauline gives her much, but she’s had enough to develop a taste for it. As far as I’m concerned she can have it.

SWANN AND SON LAWN CARE. I now have a mowing partner! Ben had been begging me to let him mow for a long time. I knew his was capable because I’d let him mow sitting in my lap. Of course, he was wanting to solo. The other week I was letting him mow while I was there with him and something just said to me, “He knows what he’s doing. Get off the mower,” so I did. When I hopped off he stopped and looked back at me and I motioned for him to go on. Ben is not one to betray his emotions, but I could tell he felt really big.

I’ve let Ben mow several times since then. So far he is obeying all my safety rules and being very particular about doing a good job, and I can get the trimming done at the same time. I got a smile listening to him sing as he mows. I don’t know what he was singing, I suspect he was making the song up as he went along, but he was belting it out at the top of his lungs. When I asked him about it later he didn’t want to admit to singing, but he finally said he was singing because there was nothing else to do.

Joe

Catching Up

I did not intend to be this long in writing. The last two weeks have been busy for us.

I’ve been watching a lot of activity out in the fields. Now that most of the rain has tapered off farmers have been able to plant their corn, set their tobacco, and cut their hay. At any time you can top a hill or round a corner and meet a tractor that takes up three quarters of the road. They’re rushing to get all this done in time to cut their wheat.

WARSHINGTON, DC. I have intentionally misspelled that because one of the people that went on the trip with Vicki and Jenna has a serious Southern accent and kept mispronouncing the name of the city as I have spelled in just now. This has become an inside joke with us.

As I mentioned last time, Vicki and Jenna had just left for a tour of DC with a group of about 50 people, parents and students, from our school. Vicki played mom to two other girls, Meagan and Victoria, while they were gone. From the sound of it they had a great time. Vicki said that having the bus take them everywhere they were scheduled to go was especially nice. I think the only drawback to this was that they felt a bit rushed in a few places. Here’s a quick rundown of their trip highlights:

Monday (June 1) -- Upon arrival in Baltimore they were bussed to DC for a photo stop in front of the White House. They had dinner in Union Station and then saw the FDR and Jefferson Memorials.

Tuesday -- They got an early start from their hotel and spent the morning at Mt. Vernon. After lunch they took a walking tour of Arlington Cemetery. Later then saw other memorials such at Iwo Jima, Lincoln, Washington, World War II, Korean War, and the Vietnam Wall.

Wednesday -- This day started with a tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Then they saw the Daniel’s Story exhibit at the Holocaust Museum and the Smithsonian’s Air and Space and Natural History Museums. That evening they went to the Medieval Times Tournament dinner show.

Thursday -- This morning they packed in a trip to the National Cathedral, the National Zoo, and the Library of Congress before flying back home.

Their tour guide also worked in visit’s to the Capitol, the Archives, Ford’s Theater, Peterson House, etc. which weren’t on their original itinerary.

CUB SCOUT DAY CAMP. While the girls were gone I had to work and Ben had Cub Scout Day Camp all week in Springfield. Nate stayed with Pauline all week.

Ben’s Day Camp sounded pretty fun although he is not the type to ever admit he was having a good time. All the activities are geared toward helping the boys earn belt loops and such as well as work toward their next level in Scouting. They played sports (including soccer, baseball, kickball, and volleyball), had craft time (he brought home a picture frame and a bird house), and, his favorite, got to use the firing range (archery and BB guns). He also came home singing the following song (sung like an Army marching song).

Cub Scouts don't wear no socks.

Saw them when they took them off.

Threw them in the washing machine.

That's how the laundry all turned green.

Cub Scouts don't wear no socks.

Saw them when they took them off.

Threw them in the garbage can.

Killed three rats and the garbageman.

Cub Scouts don't wear no socks.

Saw them when they took them off.

Threw them up into the air.

That's why the birds need Medicare.

MISCELLANEA. Last time I reported on Operation Ethan that happened back on May 30. I had mentioned then that the total collected was over $50,000. Last Sunday at church we had an update as they thanked everyone for all their help. The total collected has now topped $70,000! Ethan and his family also got to come to church to thank everyone. It was good to see them all together. Unfortunately, Ethan didn’t get to come to his own benefit on the 30th because he was in the hospital.

Since Operation Ethan and the trip to DC Vicki has been busy trying to catch up at work. Next month she is taking a group of kids to camp (Centri-Kid) and then we have Vacation Bible School. All this is going to be here before we know it.

FAMILY VISIT. The Jones family has been on vacation this past week. They spent the first half of the week in Gatlinburg and then came here Wednesday night. Vicki and I both had to work while they were here, but we had a really good time visiting together in spite of that. I have no idea how the Scrabble games went, but we got in a little croquet competition in the evenings after supper. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time for a tiebreaker match so we don’t know which couple, the Jones or the Swanns, are the better players. Given our lack of experience and the condition of the court it was a pretty comedic experience anyway.

Cameron helped me relive my college days to some extent. He saw my old Axis & Allies game sitting on the shelf and asked about playing it. Don’t be surprised if you aren’t familiar with this game, you’d have to be pretty serious into board games and the like to know about it. This game simulates the global battle strategies of World War II. You can think of it as Risk on steroids. Back in college several friends and I would play this and similar games until the wee hours of the morning on winter weekends. Cameron tried his hand at commanding the Allied forces but lost the war Friday night as I used the German army to eat his lunch.

Joe

The Jet Set

When I said last time that we’d be adopting a whole new routine I wasn’t kidding.

REUNION. I had the opportunity to attend the 73rd Bomb Wing Reunion again this year. This time it was in Oklahoma City. It was a quick trip. I flew out there Thursday and came home Saturday. The only tour I went on was of the Tinker Air Force Base. It was basically a windshield tour from a bus as we drove around the perimeter of the base. We did get out at the gate to walk around planes on static display and again at the end for lunch at their Officer’s Club.

I say this each time, but the biggest attraction for me is talking to the veterans. This was the smallest reunion I have been to with about 170 attending and only 61 of these being veterans. I did see more wheelchairs and wheeled walkers than ever before. But then there were two veterans who drove in from St. Louis on their motorcycles.

I got to renew acquaintances with a lot of friends and met a few more new ones. Bob Stangland and Achilles Stathas (along with his wife Janet) were there from Dad’s crew. They are doing well. I spent a lot of my time with them as well as Carl Barthold (and his wife Nancy). Mr. Barthold shared the Quonset hut with Dad and his crew. Mr. and Mrs. Krantz were also there with several members of their family. It was also a pleasure to see Bill Agee (and his wife Joan) as he was unable to attend last year. There were also several new faces, veterans and legacy members alike, who were there. It was really fun to watch them get information for the first time and make new connections like I did in Memphis three years ago.

OPERATION ETHAN. I really, really hated to miss this, but by the time Ethan was diagnosed with cancer and this event was organized my trip to Oklahoma City was scheduled and pretty much set in stone. Saturday the community in Cross Plains pulled out all the stops and had a huge fund raiser for Ethan at Kilgore Park. The event started at 10:00 am and ended eleven hours later. They had food. They had kids activities (inflatable bounce toys, pony rides, train rides, jewelry making, crafts, a petting zoo, face painting, a dunking booth, etc.). They had an auction (both silent and with an auctioneer). And they had music. They had an all day concert with a mix of local talent and artists like Lesley McDaniel, Jessica Frech, and Sierra Tomlin. A local Christian radio station (94 FM The Fish) also partnered with us to have a large concert from 6:00-9:00 (after all the other activities had closed down). At this time Building 429, 33 Miles, Pocket Full of Rocks, Britten, and Mila Mason took the stage. What made the whole thing even better was that God provided a perfect day for the event. The last I heard there has been over $50,000 raised for Ethan so far.

Vicki has been on the planning team for Operation Ethan (chaired by Sherree Totten) so last week it seemed like every waking moment for her has been consumed with preparations for Saturday. On top of all this Jenna came down with pneumonia and then I went to Oklahoma City. It’s a great thing we live close to grandmothers. I really didn’t see much of Vicki all week when I was here. I don’t think the kids saw much of her after I left either.

A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY. We never had organized trips when I was in school. Well, we did have short field trips to places like the Hermitage (the home of Andrew Jackson) and the State Capitol, but never anything big. That’s why when we received information last year about a trip to Washington, DC, for kids in grades 5-8 at East Robertson I told Vicki, “We’ll find a way for you and Jenna to go.” They left this morning and will return home late Thursday night. They have gotten there safely, and are thoroughly enjoying themselves. I’ll save the rest of the details for when they come home.

Joe