Disneyland

We were at Disneyland and California Adventure last week from Thursday-Saturday. Steve had a conference, Society of Experimental Test Pilots (sounds a little geeky, huh?) that was held on Disney property. So, with the help of the Conference/Government rate and the travel per diem, staying on the property only cost us a small fortune! Ridiculous isn't it? Especially, in the wee hours of the first night when someone decided to do maintenance on the pipes running through the walls beside our heads! For 2 1/2 hours, 2-4:30am, we heard a mix of banging on pipes with a hammer and the "snake" running through the pipes to clear a clog (those of you who've ever lived in Gov't housing know exactly what I am talking about). So, I had to march my little self right on down to the front desk at 3:30am, pajamas and all. See, I didn't want to use the phone conveniently situated right next to Landon's head, because miraculously, he was sleeping through all of this... he did wake up promptly at 4:30am as soon as the noise quieted.

Despite the very unrestful night of sleep on Thursday night (Steve said he could sleep better in a 12 man tent with bombs going off than this place), we had a blast! Landon and I adventured to the parks with our friend, Joey and her 2 kids, Kate and Jayden. Steve was able to join us in the park on Saturday afternoon, once the conference ended. Landon was able to see Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Litenin' McQueen and Mater. His favorite ride was the ladybug boogie in California Adventure (imagine, the teacups on crack). He rode that thing at least 6 times! He would laugh before it even started up.

Enjoy our trip through a few pictures.

Long Time Gone...

Has it really been a month since I posted anything? It's not that we haven't been doing anything, I guess I just haven't had much to share. However, this week is worth sharing!

Steve went TDY on Saturday morning at 7am... the desktop computer proceeds to crash promptly 8 hours later. I thought no big deal, I'll shut it down -- that always works-- and we'll be good to go. Umm, NO! I had the black screen of death. It of course gives me options, too bad none of them actually work! So, I did the next rational thing, call someone who is computer savvy, they'll certainly be able to tell me a few keystrokes and I'll be back on track. I called, and this is our conversation:

Computer Guy: "No problem, you had a backup of your data right?"
Me: "Yeah, some of it, not the pictures from the last 6 months? Oh, and I'm not sure about Steve's thesis he's been working on for 1 1/2 years..."
Computer Guy: "Yeah, umm, you have a BIG problem!"
Me: "What do you mean?"
Computer Guy: "We're just going to hope we can save your data by taking out the hard drive and getting the info on another computer. You haven't noticed any strange sounds have you?"
Me: "You mean like this one (hold phone up to computer)?"
Computer Guy: "That's not a good sound to hear, there might not be any data to save..."

So, I just finished ordering a computer and according to Dell, it should be here in 3-5 business days. Steve is pretty sure he has a backup of his thesis (and a backup of the backup), oh, do I pray he does! Moral of this story, backup your data! So, I've been using the laptop (which is quickly running out of memory) to bring this story to you today!

So, after the crash, we were doing good, until... the cordless phone fell in the bathtub and I hear Steve saying (from the phone) "Am I under water?" I replied, "Yes, yes you are!" Editors Note: expletives are deleted. Don't worry, I didn't electrocute my child, I was just checking the temperature of the water before I rounded him up. Lucky for me, the phone after drying out and a few "Work, you stupid %&^%(&*^)*(&(", the phone came back to life!

Oh, did I mention I also managed to blow up the hot pack for the Pyrex Portables container. Let's just say it makes a pretty decent mess in the microwave.

Good thing this is only a week TDY (and we have 3 days left), I don't want to imagine how much damage I can do in 2 weeks! Guess we'll find out really soon...

A BIG Weekend

We had a BIG weekend in sunny CA.

We started things off on Friday by receiving our next assignment (where we'll be for the next 3 years) and ................................. we're staying in CA! As most of you know, this is not our first choice for assignment, but we know that there is a reason for everything. Steve will be flying a myriad of aircraft since he will be assigned to the Test Operations Squadron at Edwards. So, get your bags packed and your air travel reserved! We LOVE visitors!

On Saturday, we transitioned Landon's crib to the toddler bed. We were going to do this for a few weeks to let him get used to the feeling of not being closed in and then move to the big bed.

Notice the screwdriver, Landon "helped" with the bed

Just as we finishd with the crib change, we learned that his new "big boy bed" was in. So, we went to town Saturday night to pick it up. Knowing we only have 7 days to change our minds, we put it together on Sunday night and Landon promptly jumped in. It's a little taller than I expected, probably because of the mattress I chose, so we have a dilemma. We bought safety rails for the sides of the bed, but they don't fit (apparently you can't have side rails on your bed) so, for now, the crib/toddler bed is pulled up to the side of the bed to keep him from rolling off. Landon had a great night's sleep in his big boy bed and we awoke this morning to a little boy staring us in the face! I am not sure I am ready for this....




Looks like I now have a "big boy bed sleeping toddler!" What happened to baby Landon???

North Carolina Visit

Landon and I spent 3 weeks during July in NC. We had a great visit with family and friends. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Landon and Sidney enjoying ice cream

Cheesing with "Unc Chris"

Gardening with LaLa

Exercising with PaPa

Halfway "nakey" dancing baby

Loving "Brandi-doggy"
Hanging out with "T" (Aunt Tammy)
Amy's college friend's wedding

(l to r): Beth, Amy, Mike (groom), Amy B (bride), Kristin

Layover in Phoenix

On our flight to NC, we stopped off in Phoenix to see Aunt Jenny and Uncle Dave. Actually, we had a 4 1/2 hour layover in Phoenix and Jen and Dave rescued me! I figured if we stayed in the airport for 4 1/2 hours, Landon (or I), might be riding on the baggage carousel before it was over. So, instead, Jen and Dave picked us up, took us to lunch, took Landon swimming and deposited us back at the airport with just enough time to clear security and make it to our gate. It was fantastic! Thanks Jen and Dave, you saved me!

Steve's TPS class chose the class name "The Best Looking TPS Class EVER," therefore, below are the "Best Looking TPS Wives EVER!

4th of July

Landon enjoyed the fireworks display on base. The base actually celebrated on June 30, but who's counting. We watched from the Golf Course (when I was growing up, we also watched them from the golf course), and since they started at 9:30, Landon enjoyed them while wearing his PJs (firework PJs, of course)!