HAPPY HALLOWEEN

G'Day Mates

I can officially say that now. As of October 10, 2008 my brother and I are Australian Citizens. It just so happened that the certificates arrived in the mail yesterday, at my brothers address. Isn't that cool? Here is my certificate.

We are so excited. Now we can get our Australian Passports. Whoo Hoo.
We went to Alki for breakfast this morning. There is this cafe that is famous for it's omelets. There is always a line on the weekends and one person cannot finish one omelet by themselves. The weather was fantastic although a little windy. I think this guy is crazy.

But this view...is to die for. Isn't it lovely?

After we were done Shay and I went to the offleash park where friends were having a French Bulldog Costume Meetup. Nothing is cuter than a Frenchie in a costume.

We arrived in Seattle

But before we did we had to go through Idaho.


But then we arrived in Washington.


We arrived at Fairchild AFB and checked into our room and then drove to the local mall. Could not find anything there so we went downtown to Nordstroms. Shay LOVES Nordstroms.

Friday morning we went to the clinic to meet with Shays sponsor. Her sponsor had told her that she did not need to be in uniform but when we got to the lab she said that Shay needed to be in uniform. Shay was not reporting for duty. She only wanted to sign for her dorm room so we could unload the car. So out to the car to search for all of her uniform stuff. Which uniform to wear? I said she should just put on her ABU's but she wore her B's. Anyway, she got a short tour of the lab and then I got to meet her supervisor and sponsor. It is nice to meet the people who will be running her life for awhile. Then we went and she signed for her dorm room. We went to check it out and there wasn't a bed or a refrigerator and it was very dirty. So back to the office to get a different room. This one was clean and had everything. I did not get pictures though. I promise to get pics when we go back there next week. We finally unloaded the car, checked out of our room and headed to Seattle.

We passed over these.


Today I spent helping my brother clean and Shay went with friends to lunch and now she is out for the night at a party. My brother and I went to some friends house for dinner and now I am sitting here watching SNL and updating this blog.

Thanks for keeping up with our journey this week. It has helped to make time go faster by sharing it with you all.

Lastly, GO SOONERS!!!

It's Thursday so it must be Montana

It dawned on me last night that I had no idea what day of the week it was. I am so ready to be somewhere for more than a night.

Our trip yesterday was great.The weather was clear and you could see forever. We went to Bear County USA and saw this, right outside the car. No wonder they tell you to keep the doors locked and the windows up. This guy walked right around our car. Looking for our weakness I am sure. But we survived.


And we left South Dakota and made it to Wyoming.


Then we entered Montana. I had no idea that Montana was as wide as it is.


And last night Shay and I went to karate class with Sensei Mike. He is a member of our organization who moved to Billings and was able to start a dojo at the YMCA. Shay used to babysit for his two boys when we lived in Washington.

I was Blog Spammed

How the hell do you get spammed on blogs? It happened to my post this morning. Some excavator crap.

Well I promised better pictures and here we go.

Here is the Welcome to Missouri sign.


Here is Mt. Rushmore. I will also have some from my camera.


This is from the Arch of St. Louis.


What trip would be complete without visiting the Corn Palace?


And Wall Drug Store.




Tomorrow we are headed to Billings, MT. We are going to a drive through animal place in the morning before we leave the area though. So hopefully we will get some good pics.

To answer a couple of questions left in my comments.

I am flying back from Spokane to Tampa. I will not be ready for this drive again for a couple of years.

Eyebrow Threading is where they take regular thread (white) and the twist it. The gal keeps one end in her mouth while twisting the hairs out. She kind of jerks here head back a little to get a pull on the hairs. It was weird to watch. Shay says that is was painful but you don't get the after effects that you get from waxing.

Goodnight for now.

I've Been Everywhere Man, Across the..

So I went out to the car this morning to get some shoes and it was FREEZING!!!. Definitely need to hit Wallmart for some gloves before we go any further. I got my transfer thingy so here are the states we were in yesterday.

Missouri is on Shays camera so it will have to wait. My transfer thing does not work for her camera.

But we did go here and Shay got some cute sweaters for the cold weather.



While there she had her eyebrows threaded. Do you know what that is? It is really weird to watch but can be cleaner than waxing.



Not much after that. But we finally got to Iowa.


And then MUCH later we got to South Dakota. We will spend all day here. We are staying at Ellsworth AFB tonight. This is near Mt Rushmore.


We should have some great pictures tonight. Have a great day!!

Sioux Falls, SD

We are finally in Sioux Falls! This has been a loooong day. BUT we did go to the mall this morning and we did stop in St. Louis to see the arch. I left my thingy that allows me to take pictures off my camera in the car and I am just too tired to run back out there to get it so no pictures tonight. Tomorrow is a lighter day. We are staying at Ellsworth AFB tomorrow night. We plan to stop in Mitchell to see the Corn Palace, Wall to see Wall Drugs, Mt. Rushmore and what ever else we can see on the way.

Thanks for all the comments and Ness I am sorry I did not realize you lived so close. I would have gladly made arrangements to meet you. Bummed!!!

Until tomorrow!!

2 Days Down and many more to go

We made it to Montgomery, AL last night. Hubby was a very sweet man and went out and got Chinese Food so it was there when we got there. He has a cute 2 bedroom apartment in a gate complex with lots of walking paths and lakes. Molly was soooo happy to see us.

Can't you tell from looking at this picture?


This was actually taken this morning before we left. Shay, Hubby and I went out to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then Shay and I hit the road. I told Shay yesterday that I always wanted to take a trip where we stopped at each state line and got a picture of the Welcome to ______ sign. Well, we missed Alabama yesterday but we got them all today.

First came Tennessee.


Next state was Kentucky. We sure did notice a difference from Tennessee with the tree lined rolling hills and then Kentucky with some flat lands.


And finally we are in Illinois.


We are staying at the Scott Inn on Scott AFB, IL. Pretty nice for $39.00.Only problem is the tv remote takes AAA batteries and they are out at the front desk. This is the old gate. It is lit up and looks very pretty at night.


Lastly, I leave you with a couple of other random shots from this morning. Here is Shay and the doggies. She won't see them for awhile.


And this is Shay and Hubby in front of his fireplace. Notice the picture of Brutus sitting there? We know who is who in his world don't we.


Tomorrow morning we will get up and get going. We need to stop here before we get out of town and they don't open until 10am and they are about 45 minutes from the lodging but on the way.

Off to bed. More to come tomorrow night.

Hugz

Off We Go....

Today is the day we depart on our long journey. Our tavels have us stopping in Montgomery, Alabama tonight. I am dropping off the 2 other dogs (Binde and Brutus) with my husband. He has had Molly for the last week already. She sure is missing her dubbies and I am sure they are missing her.

Tomorrow we will end up in St. Louis, MO. We are actually staying in lodging at Scott AFB. Very Cheap!!

Monday I think we end up in Sioux Falls. That is one of our longest days. But the next day makes up for it. Since there is so much to see in that area we are only making it to Ellsworth AFB (again staying in lodging).

Wednesday we make it to Billings, MT where we will stay with friends. I am hoping to make it in time to attend karate class with him. Mike is one of our black belts from Seattle who moved to Montana. He started s karate class at the local YMCA. He works for Boeing and he gets to work from home. He travels to Seattle about once a month. Him and his wife, Denice, opened a Pizza Parlor so I am hoping to get to try that out.

Thursday we will arrive in Spokane and stay in lodgin at Fairchild AFB. And then Friday morning Shay will get her dorm keys, we will unload the car with what stuff we won't need for the next week and then head to Seattle. We will stay in Seattle through Halloween and then on Novemeber 1st we head to Portland for a big karate even. Many of our friends are testing for their first level black belt and a bunch of others are going for their 5th level. And there are some in between.

Sunday has us traveling back to Spokane where Shay reports on Monday and I fly back to Tampa. WOW! I am tired just thinking about it. When all is said and done we will have driven over 4000 miles. That is not counting any driving that is done while we are in Seattle.

We plan (hope) to take lots of pictures and hopefully will have computer access each night so we can post/blog about our journey.

Wish us luck and safety in our journey. (Shay got a speeding ticket yesterday on the way home from Costco :-))

Hugs
Michelle

I am alive

I am sorry I have not been blogging lately. I have been so busy at work and Shay and I really haven't done anything worth mentioning. We work. Me until 5pm everyday and by the time I get home it is 6 and then we try to go to the gym, eat, shower and get ready for the next day. Shay works at the recruiting office from 10 to 3. I wish I had those hours. She has a Dep meeting tomorrow night so she may actually be later than me.

Friday we are going to see Martina McBride. That should be fun. Maybe I will finally have something fun to post about. Hubby is coming home on Friday too. Then Saturday night we are going to Universal Studios Scary Halloween.

I have been trying to keep up on my blog reading though. Don't forget me!!

Finally - Pictures from my Ohio Trip

I am finally getting back on track and able to post some pictures from the Ohio Trip.

Shay and I in my room



I took Shay and her friend, Natalie, to The Melting Pot. Because Dayton still did not have power we had to drive to Cincinatti to find one. We had a good time. And now we are all on diets.


I just loved this old barn. We took a drive on Sunday afernoon and this is what we saw.


We met John. His mom is airman mom and I asked if we could take him out to lunch. We went to the Olive Garden and spent a couple of hours just talking about stuff. He is a nice boy. This is Shay and John.


Here is Me and John.


Sunday night there was a Graduation Dinner of sorts at the Red Robin and I got to meet Ava. Ava was born on September 16th (or maybe it was the 17th). Her momma was in Shays basic training flight and they continued on to Tech School and their Internship together.


Isn't she a cutie? She was over 8lbs (OUCH)


Here are the graduating students. A1C Burgess (momma), Amn Cardwell, A1C Shay, A1C Fuller and A1C Johnson. Congratulations to all of you!


This is me getting to pin Shay with her Medical Tech Pin. I askaed if I could do blood pinning but they said "this is not the Army".


Last picture of Wright Patterson taken from the side vewi mirror. See the plane?


This is what I saw when I looked in the passengers seat. I know she is there because I see her hands.


Do you see this? This is something that no driver wants to see when they are on the freeway. The car is not moving. We sat like this for about 15 minutes before we started moving again. Did not have any trouble after that.


Thanks for letting me share these with you. I will be posting some more pictures from our Halloween at Disney. I am sure you can't wait.

Wednesday Hero

This Week's Post Was Suggested And Written By Kathi

SSgt. Renee A. Deville
44 years old from Webster New York
401st Civil Affairs Battalion
September 1, 2008


SSGT Renee A. Deville was an Army Reservist who deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom with the 401st Civil Affairs Battalion from Webster, N.Y. She arrived at Walter Reed August 10, 2006, after being injured in a mortar attack.

While at Walter Reed, Deville was assigned to Chosen Battery, Warrior Transition Brigade, and was among three graduates of the Army's first Basic Noncommissioned Officers Course Stand Alone Common Core offered to Warriors in Transition.

Deville, who successfully completed every aspect of the course from a wheelchair, was lauded by SGT Major of the Army Kenneth O. Preston as exemplifying the Army's 'Warrior Ethos', at the graduation ceremony for the course on March 28, 2008.

Deville was also the impetus for a new playground being built behind the Mologne House at Walter Reed in 2007.

An October 2007 Washington Post article about the opening of the playground says that SSGT Deville's mention of her children's limited recreational options to Col. Bruce Haselden, the garrison commander, helped set in motion the playground project.

Staff Sgt. Renee Antoinette Deville died September 1, 2008 in her room at the Mologne House at Walter Reed. She was 44.

She is survived by her husband and 4 children, her mother, a brother, and two sisters.

SSGT Deville was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery on September 19, 2008.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

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