Las Vegas: all the amenities of modern society in a habitat unfit to grow a tomato.

For those of you who haven't visited, here are a few shots of our neighborhood.

Our house and the cloudless sky.

And, how it relates to the rest of

the drab-colored neighborhood.

Little Lady.

Sorry for the lapse! We just updated our computer and had to re-install a few programs before a new post could be created. Plus, nothing very new or interesting has happened over here ~ so there wasn't much to report.

Ashton has been keeping us busy, as usual. She has been so involved with her 'babies' lately that we think she's pretending to run her own daycare. She loves all shapes and forms, as long as it resembles (even only slightly) a human. Even Ms. Potato Head gets to be pushed around in the stroller... Here are just a few recent pictures from earlier this week.

Adj. 1. grouchy - annoyed and irritable

The day started like a lion and ended like a lion... Did our girl wake up on the wrong side of the bed or what?! This was one of those days where I can't even fathom what it must feel like to have such extreme temperaments. One minute everything is funny, the next minute involves throwing yourself to the ground in a devastating fit. That exhausting emotional roller coaster would cause anyone to sleep for 12 hours ~ which, is what we're hoping for.


Here is a small sample of the moods we enjoyed this evening...

Ignoring the camera and pretending to put a puzzle together.

Playin' with Mr. Potato Head. No smiles.

... save the drama for yo' mamma...

By the end of the night, her world started getting better. The smiles were still securely locked away, but at least she humored us so we didn't feel like terrible parents before tucking her in to bed.

I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where it was always June.

103 and still climbing. Living in a land where there are no clouds in the sky, it's hard to imagine the mess that our families are dealing with 'back home'. The news reminds us that it's not this blissful and summery for everyone. Our hearts break to think of the destruction caused by flooding and tornadoes. If I could, I would send a little of this dry heat and ample sunshine to Iowa and Indiana...

We did make it to a watering hole for some reprieve from the heat. Every time we take Ashton swimming, she amazes us with her bravery. Today she plugged her nose and went all the way under. She tries to be so independent, but since she refuses to wear a life jacket we're never far behind.

Our leisurely swim was cut short. What we thought was just a break, turned into 'pool closed'. Apparently the urine content in the baby pool tested high. We were disappointed to leave after only an hour of swimming, but who could argue? As tempting as the crystal clear water looked, it was no longer as desirable. Some things are best left unknown.

Happy Father's Day, ya'll.

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million.

Our temperatures topped off at 105 yesterday ~ which meant we had to find creative ways to stay cool. Our local park is litered with children every weekend. Between the duck pond, the dinosaur sandbox, lots of bright-colored slides, and oodles of kids - our girl gets worn out just watching everyone!

Yesterday they had the 'water park' portion opened up. It's just a fancy sprinkler system, but it was the place to be in the sizzling sun. She LOVED it. By far, she was the littlest one tromping around in the puddles. She's not afraid to be social with any and all humans shorter than 3 feet tall.

I think we'll hit up a pool today. It's already 95 degrees and it's supposed to climb to 107. HOT.

The reward of a thing well done is to have done it.

I’m hoping to some day say that this blog is rewarding. For now – I can only say that these ‘early days’ of the blogging adventure are challenging. I can’t help but feel that I should have something profound to say. I don’t, so please just bear with my musings.

What is my purpose with this blog? I thought it would be a great way to keep the family, friends & rest of the curious world up to speed on what we’re doing over here in the desert. Sending pictures on occasion is great, but without a description, it’s hard to visualize what we’re “saying”. Ashton is changing faster than I can get photos uploaded. I hope, by sprinkling the pages with bits and pieces of our lives, we can close the gap on the distance that separates us, and help make our world meld with yours.

The other intention of this online ‘journal’ is so that Brandon can keep me and YOU in the loop with his travels. This past year he has had many incredible experiences. In November he spent some time in Dubai, with a short stop in Amsterdam. Next exotic stop – Korea, for two weeks in May. Though, he may argue that it wasn’t exactly ‘exotic’. And, as you see from the post below, his most recent escapade was in Sweden. Not all of his travelling is overseas. Last September he spent two weeks in South Carolina. January included a few days in Reno/Lake Tahoe and Oregon. Finally, the end of February and ALL of March was spent in Montgomery, Alabama, for Squadron Officer’s School. I did a little travelling, too. In May, I made the trek to Iowa. Which, is a little like a foreign country – without requiring a passport and a much shorter flight.

With dedication, and allotting the appropriate amount of time to keep this thing current, I hope that Ralph Waldo Emerson’s words quoted above hold true. Without at least trying, I will never know.

Amsterdam Dubai Korea Oregon

Sweden

A tremendous opportunity fell into my lap. The Swedish Air Force, in conjunction with the U.S. Air Force Research Lab, wanted a pilot from Nellis to come to Sweden's Air Force Combat Simulation Center to brief a Grippen squadron on flying at Nellis and in Red Flag. They will be bringing a squadron of Grippens, their brand new front line fighter, to Nellis to fly in Red Flag for the first time ever. It was my job to get them as acquainted as possible to flying at Nellis and in a Red Flag before they left for the U.S. So, off I went on Tuesday, 27 May, to stay in Stockholm for a week and a half, coming back Saturday, 7 June.

Stockholm is an amazing and beautiful city. Unknown to me, it is actually built on an archipelago. Which means when you combine Scandinavian architecture and culture with the beautiful water and many islands the city is actually built on, you get an amazing experience. The inhabitants are taught English by law early in elementary school, and I never once found a Swede that didn't speak English. Most of them speak it better than I do. Needless to say, it wasn't too difficult to get around. Some of the signs are only in Swedish, but some have English on them as well. In the end, I lived by myself there without any problems. Sweden is an expensive city though, but no one seems to mind. But the most beautiful part of Sweden are the people, literally. I don't know what genetic code has been triggered in this country, but the stereotype of a tall, blond hair, blue eyed slender population holds remarkable true, almost disturbingly so. I felt almost as much of a stand-out as I did in Korea.

I had the opportunity for some great sight-seeing during my off days. The city has nearly 70 museums that cover every aspect of life. The Vasamuseet, or Vasa Museum, was the first on my list. It is a museum built around a 95% original warship from the early 17th century. It was remarkable that a ship built almost 400 years ago is still around, but the story is even more remarkable. The Vasa, built in 1628, was going to be the pride of the Swedish fleet. Twenty five minutes into its maiden voyage, still inside Stockholm harbor, a gust of wind tipped the vessel over slightly, and water poured into her gun doors, causing the boat to sink within 30 seconds. They later realized the main engineering failure was the length versus width of the ship, making her extremely unstable and top heavy. There it laid for 333 years before a group found the remains and drug it up from the bottom of the water in the late 1950s/early 1960s. Magically, the boat could still float and 95% of it remain intact. Quite a sight to see.

The LA Zoo.

We visited the Los Angeles Zoo over Memorial Day weekend. It wasn't our first choice, but due to lack of cooperation with the weather (why does it always seem to rain during this particular holiday?) it was the only option that seemed to make sense. In the end, we were glad we went. Watching Ashton interact with all of the creatures she previously only read about was way too cute. She seemed to be drawn to the loudest animals and the loudest kids. I think it's safe to say, she doesn't take after her mother...

philosophy.

how you climb up the mountain is just as important as how you get down the mountain. and, so it is with life, which for many of us becomes one big gigantic test followed by one big gigantic lesson. in the end, it all comes down to one word. grace. it's how you accept winning and losing, good luck and bad luck, the darkness and the light.

ok, so those are not my own words. it is hard to disagree with the widsom boldly printed on my shampoo bottle, though, isn't it?