Flight to & from Utah

Here are some photos from the flight to Utah and back in the airplane. There were many highlights on the trip- getting to see Bryan and Leah and go to a day of training with Bryan, spending time with my Mom before she died and being with her as she left this world, Dad's birthday party, being with my brothers and sisters and their families as well as Kathy's family, and giving family members rides in the airplane. A special surprise was to be able to see Jeff, Elise, and Reid the day before I left to come home. Thanks to Bryan & Leah, Dad & Maxine, and John for letting me stay with them.

Short Trip to Atlanta

Kathy and I took a short trip to Atlanta to visit Jeff, Elise, and Reid. We flew the RV down on Friday morning and it only took 90 minutes compared to 6 hours of driving. Jeff picked us up at a small airport outside of Lawrenceville. The clouds were really pretty- this photo was taken at 11,500 ft. as we stayed above the tops on our route. We returned home on Saturday.




On Friday afternoon, we went to the Georgia Aquarium. It was really cool, especially the biggest aquarium in the world. Reid was facinated by the swimming fish and had big eyes the whole time.





It was way way hot there and Reid liked to cool off with some mist. Thanks to Jeff, Elise, and Elise's Mom for letting us stay the night.

Pud Follows Eppie to the Next Life

This evening after I got home from work, Pud was not doing so well. She has not been acting right since Eppie died, but she was really in bad shape tonight. I think whatever she has had finally ran its course. She couldn't walk well and was meowing as if in a lot of pain. Her breathing was erratic and she was showing a lot of swelling back by her tail. I did one of the hardest things I have had to do and put her out of her misery. We buried her next to Eppie. So, here is a little tribute to our ol' cat "Pud".

Saying Good-bye to our old friend Eppie

This morning, Eppie's old body finally failed her. She just layed down on the grass and couldn't even raise her head. Her breathing was very labored. Kathy & Britney called me at work and I came home and lifted her into the truck and took her to the vet. They gave her a sedative and I patted her head for about 10 minutes until it took effect. She still had that affectionate look in her brown eyes until she closed them. The Vet then injected her and her breathing stopped after just a couple of minutes. I brought her home and we buried her in the back yard.

It was pretty hard to see her go. She has been such big a part of our family for almost 15 years. From going on runs to her fetching obsession, she was the best pet ever. She brought lots of people joy and was known by park visitors as the Rockeater. We will miss her a lot.

Visit to the Airport

On Saturday, we made a visit to the airport. Britney and I took a ride among some big puffy clouds at about 7000 ft. and Ezra got to sit in the airplane and fool around with the controls and go for a ride in the tug and the tractor.

Tree Cutting

We noticed that there was a very large dead tree at the back of our property this summer. It was actually on Karl Kalber's property, so I asked him if I could cut it down for the wood and he said "go for it". The night before Jeff and Elise left for Atlanta, Jeff suggested we go and try to cut it down. It took about 45 minutes of cutting with the chain saw, but it finally fell. It is a hickory and is so big in diameter, that I had to cut the wedge in three segments with my 16" saw and use the end first to make the final cut in the back. The video at the bottom shows it actually falling.

Skydivng Experience!

Since I didn't get to go to Jeff's graduation, we decided it would be good for us to go on a little adventure together. Skydiving seemed to be just the thing. We flew in the RV to Jonesville, NC on Friday, 6/11. After 15 min. of training and waiting for our turn to come around for a couple of hours, we took off in a Cessna 206 with our instructors. We climbed to around 11,000 ft. (10,000 ft. above the ground) and then prepared to exit the airplane. Jeff and his instructor went first and we followed shortly. The first step was a big one. We got to free fall for the first 5000 ft. and then rode the canopies down the rest of the way. It was awsome!!!





Flight in RV to NC to go Skydiving


Skydiving plane leaving the grass strip


The Landing

Britney & Ezra Arrive

We went for a hike to the Indian Grave and did some dead tree tipping while we were at it.

Getting to know each other........Reid is much more "forward" than Ezra.

Reid caught in the act pulling Ezra's ear until he cried. Reid was just trying to be friendly.

Jeff & Ezra on the scooter.

Visit from Jeff, Elise, & Reid

This is Reid in the wagon Grandma bought at one of the many yard sales she has visited lately.

Reid thinks he is Eppie's best friend. Eppie doesn't really know what is going on anymore, so it works out good for both of them.

A little attitude!

Photos of the Homestead

The Front Yard

The new electric fence to keep the deer out.

The side yard. If you look close, you can see Jeff, Elise, Reid, and Eppie.

The back of the house.

The front with Elise and Reid in the wagon.

Kathy's Flower Class

My dream has been to work with flowers. This class provided a small glimpse into the floral world. It was a blast! And the arrangements didn't turn out so bad.