We decided to have a family fun day on Tuesday and we went to the lake with Kaki and Hachie (my parents). The kids and I had a blast! Skye and Jax both had a chance to drive the boat. That was thrilling for them, a little nerve racking for me. Nothing like and 8 or 10 year old gunning the engine enough to get the nose down and then have trouble puling it back a bit to slow down. They also had a chance to do a little lake swimming. We figured we would get them used to swimming in the lake and the next time we go, we will start working on skiing. Fun for all!

This past weekend Jared paid us a little visit. We had a really good time. He will be turning 17 the coming Saturday! We had a small birthday celebration for him. Nothing really exciting, mind you. I think at that age it is more about cake and presents than pomp and circumstance. What is so hard to believe is, I met his Dad just over 1 month before he turned 1. Believe it or not, at that time he was a tiny, chubby, blond baby. Absolutely adorable. He has grown into a 6'1" intelligent young man with great plans for the future! Needless to say we are super proud of him! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BUB!
Love Mom, Dad,Skye and Jax

He just looks cute. Well as cute as you can in 40 pounds of gear, carrying a large gun and covering your mouth from the icky sand. I think he looks adorable!

Josh's living quarters

This is interesting. Here are two shots of Josh's living quarters. Not as horrible as I thought it would be, but I can see why he calls it his "Trash Can". I think it is still a little sparse so I am going to get Skye started on some art work.

Here is a pic of Josh on his way to his new post. He took some pretty amazing photos and I really liked to one of the sword arch. I have no idea why the city has that built but it looks really cool.

Josh with Matt Roloff

This is a big deal for our family. Josh got to meet Matt Roloff while in Kuwait. For those of you who don't know, he is an inspirational speaker, and he has a TV show on TLC about his family. I strongly recommend that everyone try to catch "Little People, Big World" on Monday nights!

Enchanted Springs Ranch

OK........So what a really neat place!
Enchanted springs ranch is only about 30 minutes from the house. It is a small ranch that has only been up and running for about 6 years. They built it to be used as a movie set and then couldn't decide what to do in between movies. So they decided to allow large corporations to hold events there and then they opened it to the public.
So we get there, and we went in for a "cowboy talk". That is where Cowboy Ron tells us all about life on the trail, what they wore, what they ate and all types of trivia. After the talk,the kids had a chance to ride Mike, a 25 year old horse. They walked the kids around a bit so they could get the feel of what it is like to ride. Then we loaded up in the wagons and took a small tour of the ranch and saw some animals. They had some of the biggest catfish ever. I swear that they had to be at least 2 1/2 feet long. There were tons of longhorns and wild turkey. There were even some exoctics like zebra and gazzel.
After the wagon ride, we saw a short bank robbery and gun fight. Each of the kids got a bullet from it. It was a spent blank, very cool. After the fight we took a tour of the buildings. There is a really neat church that they hold weddings in. It has an antique organ that Mimi would love. There was an old firehouse and inside there were a lot of antiques including a Studabacher Wagon. We looked at a few more things including some Buffalo and then went to watch the Pistol Packin' Paula show. This is a woman that makes a decent living by spinning guns on her fingers. She also is the world champion. Hard to imagine. I leaned over to explain to Skye that this was how Paula made a living. She found it hard to believe. I think she was impressed!
We looked at a few more things, like the indian teepees and then loaded up to go home. It wasn't too hot and we had a great time. Skye's favorite was the wagon ride and animals, Jaxon's was Paula's show and the gunfight.

Pictures of Enchanted Springs Ranch

OK......Josh stopped in Maryland to visit with his Mother and Step-Dad before headeding over seas. He had an awesome visit and got to see most of his family. He flew out for Germany and was supposed to fly straight on to Kuwait. Of course, nothing comes easy with the military. LOL. They were told there would be a 40 minute layover when it was really a 2 hour layover. Then there was a sandstorm in Kuwait so they couldn't have landed there. While waiting for that to blow over, a lightening storm blew up around the airfield in Germany. After a good 8 hour delay, they left and headed down range. He has been in Kuwait for about 5 days now, doing more training. He says the instillation's there are really nice and that he was getting a little spoiled waiting there. He knows his camp/post will be far from swanky. He called yesterday to let us know that he was headed to the airport to wait for a flight to Iraq.
If anyone is interested, here is his address:

Capt. Joshua Tomchesson
1972 Medical Group
APO AE 09312

Farewell Lunch

We pulled the kids out of school early on the 2nd so we could spend a little family time before taking Josh to the airport. We headed over to Benihana's. We all love Chinese food and we knew the kids would enjoy the show. It was a lot of fun. Our chef was really nice and very talkative. Everyone knows that is what makes the experience.

This is exciting indeed! During the last pack meeting of May, they held the cross over ceremony. Jax has moved from Wolf to Bear. He also earned 1 gold arrow point, 6 silver arrow points, the World Conservation badge (the one badge you can earn that goes on the scout shirt itself) and a pin. He was really excite to have his face painted up like a warrior.
We are getting the new Bear Book soon so we can start working on the requirements for this level. He goes to camp in July and I know he will earn tons of things there.

Our new toy

You have to love a husband who is determined to make sure the children are occupied in the summer. Some of you may remember our first water slide. That awesome slide lasted 3 years until it developed 2 small holes. My brother showed interest in patching them, so that slide now is at his house. I have wanted a new one. They have so many really cool ones out now. This little number was on sale for quite a good price .......considering : )

The kids love it. I love it. That's what's important!