July 2018 - How I Spent My Summer Vacation

When we last saw our stalwart heroe, they had landed in Moorhead, MN and welcomed a new family member.  Then they seem to fall off the face of the Earth.  Yeah.

, While we were gone for the winter, our house suffered significant weather related damage.  Once we got home, we both started our local jobs and started to work towards opening the house and trying to get a handle on the future.

A lot has happened, and there is little photo record of most of it.  I was torn between a number of posts without pictures and then just being busy all the time.  I finally broke my blog inaction by deciding to just talk about all that has happened and what all we've been doing.

Just after we got home, Eliza and her family came to stay for a few weeks. They were moving into a new house, but the timing left them without a residence for a bit.  It was really nice to have them here and we put both sets of bunk beds into Eliza's old room.  The kids had a small pool in the yard to play in, Brett had the four-wheeler running and there are lots and lots of LEGOs.  Alexander even came up from Texas for a bit.  "Uncle Alex!!, Uncle Alex!!"  Part of all that was us helping them move out of their old place and then into their new one.

Devils Lake High School had it's graduation and we attended the graduation party for Micah Cox whose parents helped us raise our kids as well.

There were a few events that we participated in this summer.  We participated in a Flag Day ceremony at Roosevelt Park in Devils Lake put on by the local VFW.  We both became honorary lifetime members.  You don't have to be and old guy to be in the VFW....

Memorial Day found us home instead of in Arlington, VA for a change, and we attended a program at the Memorial building in Devils Lake and helped laying wreaths at the cemetery in honor of the fallen.

A third event we participated in, was the Independence Day Parade as we often do.  We had work looming over us so we were unable to stay for the night at the Lake that we normally get to do. 

Family in June, including Laurie's birthday.  Patriotic and personal events in July, including my birthday and Eliza and Brett's anniversary.

Now it's August.  we've been working on the house and watching and following the Boston Red Sox who are having one of their best years ever.  More work on the house hangs over us and there is still the possibility Laurie will take a short travel assignment between now and when we leave for our October assignment back in Imperial County, CA.

For me, I always define The end of a blog season as when we hook up the fifth-wheel and hit the road.  Hopefully, between now and then, i'll be a little more attentive here.

April 6th, 1985 - Hero's Birthday

Thirty-one years ago, a boy was born. It would be almost 4 years before he became a solid part of my life.  He grew up a fine man.  A leader, and a fierce friend.  We miss him constantly and I constantly see his effect on the personalities of his brother and sister.

I Remember

I remember chasing him around our apartment building and catching him and us falling into a giggling pile.

I remember I remember his often battles with his brother until I told them, "Friends come and go, you two are family.  You two have to be there for each other."  They took it to heart and they were a pair from then on.  For better or worse.

I remember T-ball, soccer, hockey, and football.

I remember watching him grow from a wannabe punk to a strong warrior for God.

I remember getting a tattoo with him.

I remember playing pool with him.

I remember teaching him chess, playing it with him.  His favorite piece was the knight.

I remember going to Promise Keepers with him.  and Newsboys concerts, and Spirit Fest.  His excitement over the band, Skillet.

I remember his graduation from boot camp.

I remember and still have his beat-up Ford Ranger.

I remember many struggles, tears, joy, Christmases, fun, love, pride, successes, and most of all, I boy who wanted to be a hero, who was never embarrassed to kiss his mother in from of his friends, even in high school.

I don't have to remember much, he is with me everyday.  And I miss him.

Happy Birthday, Jeremiah.

March 17th - St. Patrick's Day

It was a date!  It was a gathering!  It was an excuse to eat Corned Beef and drink Irish car bombs.

Our son, Alexander was in town, and we arranged to go sightseeing with Francine and France and included some time with Alex.

There had been an Irish festival in Balboa Park, but it was the previous weekend.  Still, the couple from Colorado hadn't been there, so we met them there outside the famous Air & Space museum. We took a tram to the plaza and walked around a little.  From there, we called a Uber for a ride downtown. Our driver, Michelle, was stunning.  Tall, in a great dress, and very polite as well as having a french accent and quite obviously a male.

GEOCACHING ; While waiting for the UBER, we picked up a quick find right there in the parking lot. "Balboa Park and Cache", GCQJMH

Once downtown, we walked down the street to The Field.  A local Irish Pub.  One of he oldest in San Diego with furnishings and such brought over from Ireland itself.

The Field

There was a 40 minute wait, so we walked a couple of doors down to The Blarney Stone Pub for a quick pint of Guinness.  By then the table was ready and we were seated.  Yes, the place was very crowded as you can imagine any place connected with Ireland on St. Patrick's Day would be.  We immediately ordered Irish Car Bombs from our nice Dubliner, Garrett.  For a meal, Laurie and I decided to split the mixed plate.  It was plenty of food for two.  It featured Shepard's pie, Guinness beef stew, corned beef and cabbage, and rasher and cheese.  For appetizers we had sausage rolls and Irish potato skins.  

When we were done, we walked down the street to a place called The Neighborhood.  There, we had great service from Jealous who had more tattoos than I did. We sampled some craft beers as our awesome dinner settled.  Then we caught another Uber back to our cars.

The Neighborhood

We drove up to Mira Mesa and visited the Green Flash brewery for a very informative tour.  We had samples and enjoyed the company of friends and family.

Green Flash Brewery

Finally, we said goodbye and left for home.  Just about the best St. Patrick's Day ever.

San Diego Air& Space Museum

Friends and Family

There was no way I could get to an area for a better shot, but  I loved how the Coronado Bridge just runs off into the fog

Plaza Del Mundo

Canyon area with walking trails.  Laurel street bridge in distance.

Balboa Park, at 1.875 sq. miles is larger than NYC's Central Park of  1.137 sq. miles.  The San Diego zoo uses 99 acres within the park.

Gaslamp District of Downtown San Diego

The Barney Stone Pub 

Down the street, the back of Petco Park, home of the SD Padres, showing the historic Western Metal Supply Company building which was the foundational corner of the ballpark.
http://www.si.com/mlb/2014/07/21/ballpark-quirks-san-diego-petco-park-western-metal-supply-company

The moon says hello

The Neighborhood

Jealous

Green Flash main brewery Check out the old Chevy panel truck

Our Tour guide, Mike

December 26th continued - The great Lego challenge.

Our family has always been a lego family.  The kids have always gotten Legos for Christmas. The Grandkids got them this year as well, continuing the tradition.

Of course, we had to get something for Alexander as that is just what we've always have done.  This year had a twist.  We bought two identical Lego kits. The kits could be built in either of two ways to create two different construction vehicles.

We gave the two kits to Alexander and Dustin.  They had a challenger where they would agree on which thing to build, and they sit down and race to see who could complete theirs first.

The race began, with Legos flying and hearts pounding.  After a little more than an hour, the dust settled and the bulldozers were completed.  Dustin Jordahl had won the first great Lego challenge.  Good work, Dustin.