Nick A Local Celebrity

Nick was interviewed by a local newspaper in Red Oak, Iowa when we were back home for the holidays. It was published last week.
(They haven't updated their website with the article, so I had to scan it and then try to piece it all together in order...sorry about the different size text)












Following that article, another local newspaper in Council Bluffs, Iowa called him wanting to interview him as well. You can read that online version HERE.
(Correction: Kim is from Colo, Iowa....not Colorado)

A Walk in Their Shoes (Or Jackets)

With Nick's deployment soon approaching, he has been busy packing and sorting through all the gear he will need....and won't need. He has brought home a TON of gear that he's been issued to him these past couple weeks.

He was showing us all how heavy the new FLAC jacket was...and we also tried on the kevlar (helmet). The jacket was H-E-A-V-Y!

The jacket was AS heavy if not heavier than Trevor's body weight. It dropped right down to his feet once Nick let go.

So, Trevor just stuck to wearing the helmet.

And we couldn't let Mom go without a fashion show.

McKenzie was actually the first to try it on...doesn't she look tough?!

We just about lost Addison inside the helmet. I couldn't believe how cooperative she was!

And my sister Meridith wins "Most Energetic" while modeling Nick's gear!

X-Ray

I called the doctor's office and fortunately Addison's chest x-ray was clear. However, I'm still frustrated that I don't know why she is sick. Probably just a bug going around! Let's hope tonight is better than last night!

McKenzie and my sister Meridith are flying in tonight after 11PM. Their flight was originally scheduled to land around 9:45PM. However, due to the lovely blizzard going through the midwest, their flights have been delayed. They have been lucky enough to have consecutive delayed flights and have not missed any connections! They are a few short (long to them, I'm sure) hours left until they land.

McKenzie is so excited to be home again. She has enjoyed staying a couple extra weeks to spend more time with her family!

I am lucky to have my sister stay with me during this upcoming deployment. The three kids alone are enough to do me in some days, so now that I am pregnant, she will be my saving grace!

I'm sure they will be exhausted when they arrive!

WELCOME HOME GIRLS!

Update on Addison

I took Addison to the doctor this morning. She is sick again. This time she has had a fever for several days and a cough. Her appetite has decreased and she is just NOT sleeping as well as she normally does. She was up last night at 3am and didn't sleep much the rest of the night. Neither did we.

Her doctor is a bit stumped. So we went to the hospital to get a chest x-ray. Just to be sure it isn't walking pneumonia. They tested her for RSV, which we won't get the results back from that until tomorrow.

I should be getting a phone call from our doctor about her chest x-ray soon. I just don't like it when she's not feeling well!

New Kitchen Countertops and Sink

Nick's mission this weekend: Paint the House

He had to finish up caulking around a few windows before he could start painting, and would you believe that moments after he finished the last window it started pouring down rain!? Go figure. So painting was out.

Good news for Kim though. He promised to replace my countertops and sink if the weather didn't allow him to paint! Yay!

Nick found a great deal on craigslist for some brand new countertops... so we had picked them up the night before.

The demo was fairly easy. The countertops weren't always held down with too many screws in some areas. And for those of you who have been in my kitchen....my Methodist Church serving window bifolds are GONE! Whoo Hoo! We'll figure out how to close it up later...for now, my curtain is back up on the dining room side!

This is Nick's thinking pose.

Trevor is assisting Daddy with something, but I don't really know what.

After pounding in a row of nails into the old countertop for daddy, (Nick always finds some 'very important' jobs for Trevor when he wants to help Daddy) he put on his safety glasses (Dad's cool shades) and brushed off all the sawdust that Dad made on the new countertop.

Here is the finished product. (Notice the curtains are up instead of the church fellowship window)
And I won't even mention, or put up a picture of the slight blemish I have on my countertop where Nick used a screw that was just a little too long. Whoops!

Here is the other side with my new sink!

The faucet pulls out to spray, and you'll notice a handy little built in soap dispenser to the right.

Now all Kim needs to do is figure out a color to paint the kitchen, and finish painting her cupboards a fresh clean white and replace the hardware......ok, and put back all her appliances and kitchenware. Ugh. It's nice having clean BARE countertops though. But I'm sure everyone would appreciate having the table back so we can eat at it! *sigh*

Early Morning Wake Up Call

This morning just before 6:30am Nick and I were awakened by a screeching fan belt just down the street. Moments later, we heard a strange crashing noise and we jumped out of bed and saw some commotion a few houses down. We could hear someone hollar something about calling 911, then a neighbor went running down the street.

Nick ran down there as well to see if he could help with whatever just happened.

What happened? Well, apparently an elderly man stepped on the wrong pedal and went driving through two sets of fencing and dropped down a few feet into the neighbors yard! Whoops!

Luckily no one was hurt. But due to all the excitement, we were very much awake at that point. The sirens from the fire truck moments later didn't help either!

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Trevor had an eventful day at school today. His class got to go on a bug hunt! He was very excited about describing all the bugs he and his classmates found out on the yard. It must have really warn him out as well. Upon returning home, he ate his lunch and became very tired. He protested a nap, but we finally compromised with a "rest" on his jelly sack (bean bag) while he watched Bug's Life.

Moments later:

Flying to the Big Island...twice

Nick is flying with the other squadron today due to their shortage of pilots. He is making two trips to the big island. he has one trip down and is currently on his way back for the second trop. He sent me some pictures from his phone and I thought you all would like to see them.

Snow on the Big Island of Hawaii

Molokai in the distance during flight

Lanai in the distance during flight

Shipwreck North of Lanai

Kaho'olawe

Haleakala (East Maui Volcano)

A little whale splash. Nick said he saw about 40 total on his two trips.

Low clouds on the big island.

He was at work by 5am this morning and was scheduled to be back by 3pm. He just let me know they are a bit behind schedule and won't be landing now until closer to 5pm. It's a long day for Nick.