2010 April - June

Week Ending 06/26/10

Nothing blogworthy to report.

Week Ending 06/19/10

Scott's been spending quite a bit of time at the airport these days. In addition to his routine weekend sorties with "The Breakfast Club," he's been at the hangar many an evening working on his latest project. 

After our traditional Saturday night meal of franks and beans (you can take the boy out of New England, but you can't take the New England out of the boy), Scotty and I headed back to KFTG.

Hubby drilled, cut, filed, and sanded his way toward a shiny new IFR panel for N339A while I read and tinkered with my new RootsMagic genealogy software.

The skies over Watkins, Colorado were an interesting mix of bright sunlight and brooding darkness interspersed with expanses of blue.

As the sun went down on another day, Scott put away his toys and we settled in on the couch to watch Kelly's Heroes on the BIG screen. Great Eastwood flick replete with big names and even a few flying scenes. Sometimes simple pleasures are best.

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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 06/05/10

You might be a redneck if ...

Gator spottin' on the meandering St. Johns in a rented pontoon boat is yer idea of a good time. Well butter my butt and call me a bisquit, cuz we sho 'nuff did enjoy ourselves on that thar lazy river on Sundy.

After returning to the Highbanks Marina four hours later, we lunched riverside on the deck of the Swamp House River Front Grill. A tasty sandwich of BBQ'd pork and a cold drink were just the ticket on a hot and humid Florida day.

Opting out of Orlando's over-crowded tourist traps on Memorial Day, we headed for Melbourne, Florida and the Atlantic Ocean.

Not ones for baking on the beach these days, we did an auto tour of the area and then stopped in for lunch at Sand on the Beach. After sampling the fare, which was OK but nothing to write home about, I'm guessing it's the atmosphere that makes this seaside eatery so popular with tourists and locals.

Scott was able to finish up his work in the Sunshine State on Thursday, so we boarded an early-morning flight back to Colorado on Friday. As fun as traveling always is, I have to agree with Dorothy ... "There's no place like home!"

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Posted by Riley 

Week Ending 05/29/10

Our extended stay in the land of sunshine and Mickey Mouse continues ... Not much to report, really.

After finishing up at the last of the DeBary sites, Dan-O headed home and Scott and I made the 50-mile move from Lake Mary to Kissimmee where we'll spend our third and final week in Florida.

While the Staybridge Suites we're staying at in Lake Buena Vista is much older than the newly-opened Residence Inn we were staying at, the atmosphere is nice--particularly in the courtyard area. Were it not for the almost perpetual din of screaming youngins playing in the pool, it would be paradise indeed; there's always the proverbial fly in the ointment.  ;-) 

While "on location" here, there, and everywhere at various job sites, Scott oftentimes has to work late nights and weekends. We've been fortunate during this trip to have evenings and weekends to ourselves.

We drove up to Brooksville on Saturday to have dinner with long-time friends the Spradlins and Coni. Though our time with them was brief, it sure was great to see 'em.

Mr. Mason Vern Pauliot, aka MVP, is just as cute as a bug!

More next week ...

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Posted by Riley

Week Ending 05/22/10

Scott and I boarded a flight bound for Florida on Sunday morning. In our experience, traveling Frontier is so much more pleasurable than flying the so-called "friendly skies" of United.

About 3.5 hours after departing Denver International, we touched down at Orlando International Airport. The first two weeks of our anticipated three-week stay in Central Florida will be spent at the Lake Mary Residence Inn Marriott.

Shortly after we had landed, retrieved our bags, and picked up our snazzy little rental car--a red 2010 Mustang, an early-evening torrential downpour commenced. If memory serves, the Sunshine State has a nack for welcoming Scott and Deb Mills in this manner. No matter ... aside from a couple days of intermittent showers, the weather has been just what one might expect for this neck of the woods: sunny, hot, and humid with the occasional downpour.

Our first week has been typical for this type of sojourn: Scott and Dan-O work while Riley lounges poolside or in her spacious room doing (or not doing) whatever her little heart desires. 

We wrapped up our week with a 16-hour day at "the perfect place," aka Walt Disney World. Although crowds were quite a bit heavier than I had anticipated for the pre-Memorial Day Weekend, we had a great time and managed to ride/see most all of the popular attractions. Not wanting to get soaked, I opted out of joining Scott and Dan-O on Animal Kingdom's Kali River Rapids.

Aside from yours truly enjoying the heck out of doing a whole lotta nothin' (compliments of my awesome husband and E2PSI), not much else to report.

More next week.

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Posted by Riley

Period Ending 05/15/10

My oh my, how time does fly ... where has the past three weeks gone?! Clearly, I'm a bit behind on my blogging.

When last I put digital ink to paper, I was awaiting hubby's return from Florida. A swath of inclement weather across his planned flight path resulted in a 9-hour FBO stint in northern Florida to await a break in the weather that didn't materialize til next morning. In spite of 30-40 knot headwinds, making for a long and extremely bumpy flight back to home base, Scott made the trip in one day. His stay at home was short and sweet before he boarded a commercial flight bound for the Hoosier State.

(screen capture from the Weathermeister site)

The next noteworthy event was Li'l Man Kota's first birthday. Whew ... hard to believe that an entire year has passed since he took his first breath. Although a birthday party had been planned for May 8th, Great Grandma Pam & Great Grandpa Larry hosted an intimate family gathering on Cinco de Mayo to mark the actual day of his birth. 

Having been there and assisted his mommy in bringing him into the world, commemoration of the event took on special meaning for me. Birthdays come and birthdays go, but how often do we genuinely ponder the miracle of birth and life?

I so enjoyed watching Kota open presents and experience chocolate cake for the very first time. My thanks to Pam & Larry for including me in their celebration.

My sister Toni came out for a visit, arriving on May 6th and leaving on the 15th. As always, we enjoyed our time together, though it passed much too quickly. It was a special treat to have Auntie Toni  present at Dakota's birthday party. As happy as I was upon her arrival, I was twice as sad when she headed back home. I'm already looking forward to her next visit. Colorado in the fall perhaps?

During our Mother's Day venture to the Denver Zoo, a unique photo opportunity presented itself. One of the gorillas came over and plopped himself down in front of the viewing glass. As throngs of people jockeyed for position to capture a Kodak moment with the so-called "gentle giant," he just sat there nice as you please and allowed it.

There were young kids standing on the ledge looking eye-to-eye with him, which made Toni and me just a bit uncomfortable. There's something quite disconcerting about staring into the eyes of such a powerful animal, even if he is behind glass.

With Toni being our special guest, we thought it only fitting that she be the one to pose with the "little man" and the "big guy."

On May 12th, Dakota Scott made his first trip to the barber, aka hair salon. Tyler had delayed getting his own hair cut so that he and the man could have it done together. Mom says he (Kota, not Tyler) sat there like a big boy while a good two inches were shorn off the top of his curly golden locks.

Well, that about gets me caught up on all the major happenin's in Millsville over the past few weeks.
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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 04/24/10

Following Scott's ManVenture at Sun 'n Fun 2010, he stayed on in Florida to do about a week's worth of work in Intercession City.

Aside from the mundane, I've nothing particularly noteworthy to contribute to the blogosphere. The highlight of my week was dinner and a movie with Cass on Friday night. After savoring a tasty meal of chicken fajitas with chips and quac, we settled in on her couch to watch Avatar. The movie, Cassie's choice, was one we had both seen; but it wasn't really about the movie--it was about enjoying life's simple pleasures in the company of someone you love. :-)

More next week ...

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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 04/17/10

Not much going on around the homestead ...

Scotty set out from Front Range Airport en route to the Sunshine State at sunup on Monday morning. He joined a group of three other RVators led by Denis Walsh. After flying with them as far as Oklahoma, he went his own way and continued on to Meridian, Mississippi where he spent the night. Next day, he continued toward his destination of Brooksville, Florida where the bird would be hangared for the duration of his two-week stay. Total flight time was about 10 hours.

On Wednesday afternoon, Scott drove to the Tampa International Airport to retrieve Dave P. and Calvin, who were flying in from Colorado, and David K. flying in from Iowa. The four of them then headed over to Lakeland for a week of Sun 'n Fun.

The Cuatros Amigos enjoying a brewski with a couple of their cohorts

More next week ...

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Posted by Deb

Week Ending 04/10/10

Sunday, my/our last day visiting with Stevie and family, was a laid-back kind of day as we watched a movie, ate delicious foods prepared by Stevie, and played with the Wii gaming system.

One of the things you do before playing your first game on the Wii is set up an avatar. With a little input from me and Mio and Jade, Stevie created a Mii digital image of Scotty that looks amazingly like actual Scotty.

At around 4:00, we said our sad goodbyes and headed back to Gettysburg for one final week at the very presidential-looking Courtyard Mariott in Pennsylvania. Many thanks to Stevie and Mio and Jade for making me so comfortable and welcome. It was such an enjoyable visit. Can't wait til next time.

Scott and Dan-O finished up on the job a little earlier than expected, so we were able to catch a Friday evening flight out of BWI. In spite of the heavy Baltimore traffic, we made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. The flight was smooth and uneventful--just the way we like it!

After an exceptionally restful night's sleep in our own comfy bed, Scott headed out to Front Range Airport for a bit of flying on Saturday morning.

Following a month away from home, Nina was in serious need of a Kota fix. The little man and I enjoyed Saturday together, and then he spent the night with me and G-Dad. It's amazing how much he changed in such a short period of time. But one thing remains the same ... he's still just as cute as can be!

More next week ...

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Posted by Riley

Week Ending 04/03/10
It's A Jungle Out There: Our Visit to the National Zoo

We spent another quiet day with Stevie and his family before Scott headed back to Gettysburg on Sunday evening. I stayed on for week two of my extended visit. That night Stevie and Jade and I watched the second installment of the critically acclaimed BBC series Life, a visually stimulating and interesting nature series; I feel compelled to interject a bit of a rant here ...

In spite of the focus on fewer calories and less fat, we didn't sacrifice taste. Stevie, quite the gifted cook, prepared low-fat versions of meals like chicken parmigiana, General Tso's chicken, and tomato crusted tilapia by using an oven faux-frying method found in the book Now Eat This by chef/tri-athlete Rocco Dispirito. He also threw in a few of his own creations like lemon shrimp fettuccine and gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches.

We rewarded ourselves mid-week with light desserts like sherbet or yummy roll cake with fresh whipped cream and strawberries, the latter prepared by Mio. We incorporated a free day into our regimen so as not to set ourselves up for failure. We have, however, been mindful not to go berserk on free days and undo all the good that's being done throughout the week. Add a bit of walking to the mix, and and you've got yourself a healthy and manageable way to drop poundage. Now if we can just keep that momentum going!

Last week was epic movie week at 102 Fieldcroft Way. Flicks being one of my absolute favorite pastimes, I enjoyed watching our way through the likes of 300, The Patriot, Master and Commander, Kingdom of Heaven, and Gladiator. Aside from over-the-top blood-and-guts battle scenes, which war movies are bound to have, these are all good stories.

Stevie had Friday off, so we combined exercise with errands and took a three-mile round-trip walk into town. It was a nice little jaunt and an absolutely glorious day to be outdoors. I have to say that we've been quite fortunate in terms of weather. Although we've certainly had chilly and rainy days, it's been exceptionally nice overall. And no snow!

Scott, who was able to drive back over from Gettysburg on Friday afternoon, joined us for a delicious dinner of grilled pork chops topped with apple-raisin sauce. Stevie and I saw it on this episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. The recipe can be found here.

On Saturday, after Stevie had treated the family to Dunkin' Donuts (on our free day, of course), we all piled into the rental and headed for the National Zoological Park in D .C. 

Tim the-tool-Man Taylor's elusive neighbor Wilson has nothing on our son when it comes to dodging the camera--can't imagine where he picked up that phobia. ;-) Ya, that's the rarely photographed Stephen hiding behind the headrest.

Fortunately, Saturday was another glorious spring day. UNfortunately, this had not gone unnoticed by throngs of other homo sapiens. After finding our way to the zoo, our next challenge of the day would be snagging a parking spot since all lots were full by the time we arrived shortly after 11:00 a.m. Traffic was bumper to bumper and street parking was at a premium. Scott finally found a side-street spot about a half-mile from our destination.

I did manage to snap a Kodak moment between father and son dressed in similar blue shirts and khaki shorts.

As camera shy as her grandma and dad might be, Jade is more than willing to strike a pose. And the camera is very kind to that cute little face.

An hour or so into our zooventure, we left the park in search of lunch. The long lines, combined with a hankering for something tastier and healthier than the fast-food-style fare being offered up inside the gates, prompted us to go on food safari. We found Nanny O'Briens Irish Pub about 0.4 of a mile up Connecticut Avenue. As is often the case with non-chain-type eating establishments, the food was quite good.

We spent the next few hours competing with the masses to see all that the park had to offer. While we didn't get to see the apes,  octopus, slothbear, or elephants, we did see (among other things) the pandas, a komodo dragon, and King of the Beasts.

In my humble opinion, our zoo in Denver is every bit as nice as this one. Stevie says the same is true of the one in San Diego. While the over-crowded conditions might've contributed to our assessment, I guess I somehow expected more of our "national" facility. But with an entrance fee of $0, we can't really complain, can we?!

As we drove up Connecticut Avenue on our way home, I saw this bus-stop sign that aptly sums up the current financial condition of our country. It reads "12 Trillion $$$  of DEBT. Please HELP." Too bad the folks working at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue have turned a deaf ear. But that's a rant for another post.

 
(click here for more pictures)

A few short hours after leaving the zoo, we were home enjoying delicious chicken fajitas a-la-Steve and settling in for our evening movie. Life is good!

More next week ...

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Posted by Riley