We spent a week with my parents in Oklahoma before heading west to New Mexico.  It was really hot when we were there, but we did get out and try to see some sites.  We visited the Wichita MountainWildlife Refuge. The Refuge provides habitat for large native grazing animals such as American Bison, Rocky Mountain Elk, and white tailed deer. Texas Longhorn Cattle also share the Refuge rangelands as a cultural and historical legacy species. More than 50 mammal, 240 bird, 64 reptile and amphibian, 36 fish, and 806 plant species thrive on the refuge.  It’s a really neat place to visit. So if you are ever in Southwestern Oklahoma, check it out.  Oh and don’t forget to go to Meers, Oklahoma for a Meers Burger. You won’t be disappointed.

While we were traveling to New Mexico, we stopped in Dayton, Ohio and visited the Museum of the Air Force at Wright-Patterson.  It’s a really neat museum and a must for aviation enthusiasts.  We didn’t have a lot of time so we spent about an hour or so.  I got to see the helicopter my dad flew in during the Vietnam War. It’s called the H-43 or the Pedro.  It was really neat to see it in person since I have heard stories about it all of my life.  We also found a B-24 Bomber that has the squadron patch that Bill’s current squadron has.  That was a pretty neat discovery.  We really enjoyed this mini excursion on our third day of traveling. 

We are here! We have made it to the land of enchantment.  We started out on June 17 (which seems so long ago) and stopped in Pennsylvania to see some great friends.  We had a great time. Billy especially loved that their son had an X-Box. He ran into the living room and said, “Mommy, I am going to play with the big boy who has an X-Box.”  He didn’t want to leave the next morning.  We headed to Dayton, Ohio for our pit stop.  The next day before heading to St. Louis, we went to the Air Force Museum.  I am so glad we made the detour.  We got to see the helicopter my dad flew in during the Vietnam War.  I had only seen a black and white picture and this was the real deal.  After the museum, we headed for St. Louis and spent the weekend with friends.  I felt horrible on Sunday and slept most of the day. Then on Monday, we were ready to go and head for Oklahoma.  I don’t know what it is about Oklahoma, but once I crossed the state line and saw the huge sign welcoming us to Oklahoma, I felt great.  We spent the week with my parents. We went to the Wichita Wildlife Refuge and just hung out.  It was really hot, but cherry limeade slushes from Sonic helped.  Then yesterday, we made our way to New Mexico.  We are happy to finally be here.  We saw the house we are renting and it is pretty nice.  I am looking forward to getting settled. Living like a nomad has been fun at times, but it is starting to wear us down.  The boys have been real troopers, but I know they will be glad to get settled, too.  We will keep you updated plus I will post pictures of our different adventures along the way.  We appreciate all of the prayers and good thoughts that have been coming our way.

If someone gave you a geography quiz, would you be able to name all of the 50 states? Lately I have been wondering about this since we have been running into people that do not know where New Mexico is or that it is even a state.  Poor New Mexico or maybe good because then people won’t move there. Hmmm… Anyway, below are some exchanges Bill and I have had in preparing for our move.

This exchange was between one of the packers from the moving company:

Packer: “Where are you moving?”

Bill: “New Mexico.”

Packer: “Aren’t you scared?”

Bill: “No.”

Packer: “Well, they are having that swine flu problem right now.”

Bill: “No, we are moving to New Mexico.”

This exchange was between Bill and a customer service associate at Lowe’s:

Bill: “I have been fixing my house up since I am moving and this is stuff I didn’t use.”

CSA: “Where are you moving?”

Bill: “New Mexico.”

CSA: “Are you in the Air Force?”

Bill: “Yes.”

CSA: “My fiancee is going into the Air Force and I had no idea he could be stationed in Mexico.”

Bill: “No, it’s New Mexico.”

CSA: “Where’s that?”

This exchange happened between  me and a lady at the Children’s Aid Society:

CAS Lady: “Wow, that is a lot of food.”

Me: “Well, we are moving to New Mexico.”

CAS Lady: “Are you sure you will be okay there? I don’t think I could live in Mexico.”

Those are just a few of the exchanges.  I have heard and read about stories about New Mexico and it being confused for Mexico and students applying for college only to be told they are international students.  I look forward to sharing more as we continue our journey to the Land of Enchantment.

Bill had his fini flight yesterday.  A fini flight is the last flight in a particular aircraft or the last flight with the squadron. Bill’s falls into the last category.  He will still be flying in New Mexico, but the helicopters aren’t as pretty. 🙂  The other difference is he will be sitting in the back instructing and not at the controls.  I think he dreads that part, but he still gets to fly so that’s good.  We will miss him flying over the house so we can run outside and wave.  Bill got hosed down with water and his favorite drink, Diet Coke.  Billy got to help spray water at Bill, but he wasn’t sure why he was doing it.  Bill was getting his gear off of the helicopter and Billy said, “Daddy, why do you still need your helmet?”  Bill told him he would need it to fly when we get to New Mexico.  Billy replied, “Well, why did I spray you with water?”  Tradition, my boy, it’s all about tradition. 

One of our favorite places to go while we have lived here is the Westmoreland Berry Farm in Oak Grove, Virginia.  The big attraction is not the miles of berry fields that can be hand picked no that’s not our style. We love the goats.  Billy wants a goat, but since that isn’t happening any time soon we head out to the berry farm for some fun.  It was the last day of the strawberry season, so Billy and I shared a loaded strawberry shortcake (strawberries, shortcake, ice cream, whipped cream and cherry on top) and Bill and Baden had a raspberry sundae.  The goats know what it means when a quarter is placed in the machine.  There is always one waiting and another one to butt the goat being patient out of the way.  Billy loves the goats and Baden just laughed and laughed. He didn’t really like his hands all yucky after they would eat the corn from them, but he got over that quickly.  The boys also enjoyed playing on the playground. After getting a few treats from the country store, we headed down to the road to the George Washington Birthplace National Monument.  It closes at 5:00 pm and it was 4:30, but we got to walk around and the let the  boys run.  It was a great day with the goats and General Washington.

On Saturday, we were out in the yard when Bill found a toad.  Billy was excited to see the croaker, but Baden was not sure about Mr. Toad.

Yesterday, we headed up to Camden Yards on the train.  The skies were overcast, but as long as it didn’t rain we were good. It didn’t rain and the sun came out! The Orioles played the Toronto Blue Jays. We had great seats seven rows behind the O’s dugout and they won! It didn’t look good for the O’s. Going into the seventh inning, they were trailing 8 to 3. Then they answered with  5 runs in the 8th inning.   Jays and O’s tied until the 11th inning. Aaron Hill of the Jays hits a two run homer, Jays lead 10-8. Then Nolan Reimold, who has only been in the big leagues two weeks, steps up the plate an hits a three run homer! O’s win, O’s win. 12-10! It was an awesome game.  I feel sorry for the people who left.  Billy kept asking is it time to go and when I would say no, he would point to the people heading to the exit. I explained to him a true baseball fan stays until the last out.  The boys were great.  Bill took the boys to play on the playground for a little while and for bathroom breaks all so I could bask in the glow of Camden Yards.  Baseball – I love it!

On  a beautiful, sunny Friday at the Dallas, Texas Temple, Bill and I were married.  The day was perfect. There were no clouds in the sky and the humidity was low. Just a perfect day to get married.  It is hard to believe that it has been 15 years.  Sometimes, especially the last few months, feels like we have been married for 30 years,  but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.  We can finish each other’s sentences and we can each be thinking the same thought.  The last few months have been stressful with our impending move, but they only serve to make us stronger.  We have been blessed with two beautiful boys and they provide joy beyond measure.  So on this day, Happy Anniversary,Bill! LOVE YA BUNCHES & BUNCHES!

*Sorry for the lack of wedding photos, they are packed. 🙁