Phil's Fini Flight

I've been flying for...well, almost ten years (Wow! It doesn't seem that long...). Heading to this next assignment for school means I'll be out of the cockpit for at least a couple of years. The Air Force has a tradition to "wet-down" their pilots after their last flight and I got the full treatment yesterday.

The girls were excited to meet me on the flightline after my flight--and "spray Daddy with water!" Katie and the best wives network in the Air Force got things organized for a Tommy Joe's BBQ celebration at the squadron bar--I mean "Heritage Room"--afterward.

I flew my last C-17 mission with two good friends, Matt and Steven; we flew the winglets off the jet, saw some sights and may have even "buzzed the tower" on the last approach. It was something special and fun to see my three girls and boy at the end of the taxi lane marshalling me in for parking.

The Rat Pack and a (bigger than expected) group of my coworkers and wing leadership were out to meet me, too. I think my fellow pilots took a lot of pleasure in making sure the girls knew how to use the fire extinguishers.

(Click any of the pics for bigger...and more!)

Mangum Rattlesnake Derby

The Mangum Rattlesnake Derby is quite an experience. No, they don't actually race the rattlesnakes, like that other derby you may have heard about. In Oklahoma when we have a derby, we round up the critters and fry 'em!

Yes, we attended the derby this year (wouldn't you???) and no, we didn't eat any fried rattlesnake. We did, however, pay our $1 each and go into the snake pit. There were way, WAY more snakes in there than I would ever like to be in a room with again. And the girls LOVED it. Colin didn't seem to care one way or another. At any rate, we can now check THAT off of our list of things to see and do in Oklahoma. Of course, this blog post would be completely useless without pics, so...

Flower girls

Lookie who got to be flower girls last weekend! Friends of ours from church got married and the girls were so excited to be able to help with the wedding by making a carpet of flower petals for the bride.

Maddie's surgery

About a year ago we noticed a lump on Maddie that we were a little concerned about. A trip to the doctor confirmed that it was an inguinal hernia. He told us to watch it. After watching it for a year and deciding that it was a bit bigger we took her back and got ourselves a referral to the surgeons at the children's hospital in Oklahoma City. They told us the repair would be a quick outpatient surgery and that she'd be up and running the next day. That didn't really stop us from worrying, but what can you do? We had to schedule the surgery quickly to fit it in before our move. Which makes me wonder: why do we always have a kid in need of surgery right before we move??? Anyway, we scheduled the procedure during Grandma and Paw-paw's visit so that we could both be with her while Claire and Colin got a little grandparent time.

Because her surgery was going to take place in the morning, we spent the night in OKC. We thought it might be a good idea to let the girls burn off some energy the day before so Phil found a bouncy house place. In case you're not familiar with the concept, it's about about a 10,000 square foot room, filled with all sorts of ridiculously huge bouncy houses and other kid-fun items. Or heaven for my girls. They had a favorite--well actually, we're told, four favorites. The fire truck, the pirate ship (with kraken), the Batman, and a playhouse with a door.




The next morning Maddie went in for her surgery:


She was so brave! Maddie took her Lily-doll with her into the operating room and I was able to go with her while she went to sleep. She was nothing but smiles for all of the doctors and nurses who prepped her.

When she woke up she asked for a purple popsicle, which she devoured! The pain medication they gave her made her a little sick in the car on the way home, but otherwise she did very well. And she was, in fact, running around the very next day. Such a little trooper!


So here's hoping that no one needs surgery before our next move!

Paw-paw goes to Ft Sill - voluntarily this time!

While the folks were here we made a quick trip to visit Ft Sill, the Army base where my dad was stationed for a couple of weeks when he was called up in 1972. I think things looked quite a bit different from when he was last there -- the old stockade he worked at no longer exists. And when Dad was last there he didn't have a car so he was limited to seeing things that his feet could carry him to. We took advantage of our set of wheels to see some sights. We took a quick spin through the base (fort? I don't know Army lingo...), checked out the Ft Sill Museum, walked around the historic fort, and saw Geronimo's grave.


After a couple of hours at Ft Sill, we continued through rural Oklahoma to the children's hospital in Oklahoma City so Maddie could have her surgery (more on that in the next blog post!).

Gramma and Paw-paw's last Altus visit

My parents managed to squeeze in one more Altus visit before our upcoming move. They were here for Easter, which was SO wonderful! We hardly ever get to be with family (other than the five of us) on holidays, so it was a special treat. The girls even got to dye Easter eggs with their Grandma. They were around for three of our five aforementioned egg hunts, so they got to see their granddaughters in action!

One of the girls' favorite things to do with their grandparents, though, is to snuggle up with a book. You'd think we never read to those girls! They pounce on Gramma Bethie as soon as she walks in the door to get out her story book and start reading. I think Gramma Bethie is usually hoarse by the time they leave here.

Colin has taken his own approach to getting grandparent-bonding time. He managed to not take a single nap in his crib the entire time his grandparents were here! I can see how it would be nicer to be snuggled up on your gramma or paw-paw instead of in that boring old crib. And his grandparents weren't complaining too much about the extra snuggles, either!

Click on one of the photos to see more pictures from their visit!

Egg Hunt, Takes 2-5

I know it's common practice for parents to complain about how good their children have it. Things were always tougher when we were kids. Seriously, though. My kids went to five Easter egg hunts this year. Five egg hunts!!! When I was a kid we got ONE egg hunt. And we really had to search for our eggs. Up hill. With holes in our shoes. In the SNOW!

Anyway...

#2 Squadron egg hunt

From 2010-04 egg hunts

#3 Base housing egg hunt

From 2010-04 egg hunts

#4 Church egg hunt

From 2010-04 egg hunts

#5 Easter bunny egg hunt (with traditional hard-boiled eggs)

From 2010-04 egg hunts

If that's not enough egg-hunting for you, feel free to click the above links to see them in action!

Egg Hunt, Take 1

The girls both had their school Easter egg hunts today. The temperature was good outside, but we had the signature Oklahoma wind - about 25 mph. The kids all brought eggs to school and the parents got to be "bunnies" and hide the eggs. They were mostly on the ground because the wind kept blowing them off of our more clever hiding places! I think the girls had a great time:




Next up: squadron egg hunt tomorrow!