THE SHUTTLE IS LANDING HERE!

We are so excited! The NASA Space Shuttle, Endeavour, is going to land at Edwards. Starting at around 12:19PST we are going to start hearing the sonic booms(nothing new since we hear them almost every other day here) and then at around 1:25PST, it is supposed to land here. The commander of the shuttle is a Navy TPS grad and the pilot of the shuttle is an Air Force TPS grad. I need to go pack Joey lots of food and toys because we are going over towards the runway on base to see the landing. We will take lots of pictures and video!

UPDATE: Here are some pictures.

Notice the beautiful greenery in the background. That is Edwards AFB:)

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Today Joe and I are celebrating 5 years of being married! Time sure has gone fast! We did figure out that that in the 5 years of being married, we have spent atleast a year apart because of deployments and Joe's work trips. It has been a great 5 years, though! To celebrate, we went to LA and went to The Grove and The Farmers Market. Then we went over to Burbank to a mall. Right next to the mall, Joe saw an Ikea that he wanted to go in. That was a HUGE mistake because it was packed. And if you have ever been in an Ikea, you know that it is just a big maze. We couldn't find the exit. Joe was pretty calm about it but I just lost it. Not lost it like screaming mad, but I lost it laughing hysterically in the middle of Ikea because we wondered around so long. Joey was great the whole time, flirting with girls and eating his crackers. Anyways, here is a picture of Joe and I 5 years ago today on our wedding day.


Memories...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! Today was Joey's first Thanksgiving. We went to a friend's house and ate waaaaaaaaaay too much food! Even Joey was ready to pass out when we got home! We all pitched in and made some food. I made the turkey. Here is a picture of it



Joey had a few friends to play with so he was busy the whole time. Here are all of the kids(minus the 2 month old twins) watching a Baby Einstein video. Do not do this after stuffing yourself with turkey. You can fall asleep in less than a minute staring at bubbles floating around!

Our new car...

Ok, maybe it isn't our new car but it has been parked infront of our house so much lately that someone might think that we own that van.

It has been a frustrating last 4 days with Time Warner. On Friday night, Joe and I got home from dinner and our cable was out, which means that our tv, internet and phone were not working. I called Time Warner from my cell phone and they scheduled an appointment for Saturday 1-3. We sat and waited and waited and waited. No one showed up. Joe called around 2:15 and the person that he talked to said that the guy was running late. Ok, that's fine. So, at 3:45 I decided to call to find out what was going on. The lady that I talked to told me that in the computer it said that the guy came to our house and we weren't home. He waited for 2 minutes and then left. Then she explained to me that they have had these kinds of problems with this technician and that she would have her manager call me back. Uhhhggggg! I just want my cable to work! The manager calls me back and tells me that he will take more money off of our bill and that someone would be there tomorrow (Sunday) to fix the problem. So, Sunday rolls around and the guys show up and tell us that the problem is outside. They can't fix it, but someone will be here sometime on Monday to fix the problem. At about 5:30 on Monday, I decide that if he hasn't been here yet, he is coming so I call them AGAIN. The people were nice and apologetic but really, this is getting old. So someone came today to fix the cable/tv/internet. He gave us a new cable box and told us that someone would come tomorrow to fix the wires outside. The minute the guys leaves, I turn the tv to the HD channels and realize that they aren't working. I couldnt' get intouch with him to come back so I called Time Warner AGAIN. At this point, I know the phone number, I know what numbers to push as soon as I hear the recording start. Kinda pathetic. So, hopefully after tomorrow's appointment, our cable will finally be working 100%.

Because of that long story, here is a picture of Joey to make you smile:

50 Day Party and Spouses Farewell

I just realized that I never posted picture from our TPS 50 days until graduation party or the Spouses Farewell. Both were events that we were looking forward to...mostly because that means that this year is almost over! The 50 Day party was on November 8. It was kid friendly at the beginning and at 7, it turned to adults only. Luckily we have a great babysitter that Joey ADORES. He just kinda stares at her and smiles. Here are a few pictures of the party. After living in Minot and dressing up for every party that we had there, Joe and I decided to never dress up for a party again. I don't have any pictures because I didn't take my camera and haven't gotten any from anyone. Oh well.

I do have some pictures of our Spouses Farewell. It was this past Saturday, November 15. We had some really good food and played a prank (sorta) on the Commadant's wife(like a squadron commander.) Of course, it was my idea, and anyone that had fun with me in Minot knows that I love to prank people:)

After eating, we had the presentation of gifts. The junior class gave us our gifts and then we presented gifts to our class liason, vice commadants wife and then to the commadants wife. We all went into the backroom and put on wigs that sorta resembled Fran's hair(Fran is the commadant's wife.) Here is a picture of all of us with Fran wigs on:

I only wish that I had come up with this wig idea a few years ago for your farewell, Bonnie! Hahahaha...

10 Months Old

Joey is 10 months old today! Time flies! He is getting so big and he is so much fun. Last night, Joe stuck his tongue out at Joey and and Joey kept doing it back. Although that isn't something that we want him to do daily, it was still cute to see him imitating.

Now that Joey is 10 months old, we have been giving him mostly table food. He loves pretty much everything that we give him, including mandarin oranges, broccoli, and turkey meatballs. But, he still doesn't have any teeth. He has the strongest gums around though because he chews all of his food with those gums.

Joey's First Word and Joe's Big Test

Joey has been saying a lot, but most of it is just baby jabber. He has been saying "dada" but not at anyone. This morning I was on the phone AGAIN with Time Warner because our internet and phone were not working. Joe was here and while I was talking to Kathy (the lady from Time Warner) Joey looked and Joe and said "Dada". It was a great moment shared by Joe, Joey and I and Kathy from Time Warner:)

Yesterday, Joe had his comprehensive test. He was tested on material from the whole year of TPS. The test was alloted 4 hours, Joe took 3 1/2. He thinks that he passed so that is good news! Now all he has left is a 2 hour oral exam/presentation and a check ride to pass and then he is done!


Joey helped Joe study this weekend. Here is a picture to prove it.

Joey's 2nd Eye Appointment and a Celebrity Sighting

Joey had his follow up appointment at the eye doctor today at UCLA. Joe has a big comprehensive test on Wednesday, so he was unable to go with us. The drive only took about 1 1/2 hours because I drove in the commuter lane(for cars with more than one person in them)--I figure that Joey is a person so how can they give me a ticket? We skipped all of the traffic that way. His appointment was at 11, we got there at 10:30 and the doctor was ready for us. The doctor did notice a little crossing of the eye, but nothing major. Joe was sooooo good during the exam. He just sat on my lap and looked at everything that we needed him to look at. He kept waving at the stuffed animals that light up and make noises. The doctor wants to see him back in 6 months to follow up again to make sure that his eye isn't getting any worse.
We were back in the car and done with his appointment by 11. So, we (mostly Joey) decided that we wanted to get cupcakes at Sprinkles. Yum. I had a pumpkin cupcake that was so good. I brought Joe home a banana cupcake with chocolate icing and I can't stop staring at it. I just want to eat it.
Now for my celebrity sighting...I wish that it was someone good, but oh well. So, I decided to walk the cupcake off. I was walking down the street looking into the really expensive stores right by Rodeo Drive and I noticed a man checking out his tire. He stood up and I realized that it was Horatio Cane. I don't know his real name but he is the annoying guy on CSI:Miami.

Joe's Field Trip

Joe was gone for 2 weeks in October. Every TPS class goes on a field trip near the end of the course. The class splits into 2 groups, both groups went to the Navy TPS in Maryland and Eglin AFB in Florida. Each group also went to another country to visit their testing facilities. Joe's group went to Brazil while the other group went to Australia. While on his trip, Joe flew 7 different airplanes and ate lots of good food:) Here are some pictures of the planes that he flew:

Joe standing next to a F-15E at Eglin AFB, Florida

Joe in the UH-1 helicopter in Eglin AFB, FL

Joe standing with his instructor next to the AMX in Brazil.

Joe, his classmate Chris, and their instructor standing next to the CH-55 helicopter in Brazil.

Maria vs. Time Warner

On Saturday night, I put Joey to bed and was looking forward to laying on my couch and watching tv. Well, that didnt' happen because the cable wasn't working, which meant that our phone and internet also weren't working. So, I decided to go to bed at 8:30, while looking forward to Joe getting home during the night(his flight landed at 12am). On Sunday morning, we all woke up and it still wasn't working. I called Time Warner (our cable company) and they said that they would have someone come out on Monday afternoon between 1-5. Ok, that made me a little mad, but I didn't put up a fuss.
Yesterday(Monday), the man came and saw that the wires were flooded (they can't handle and ounce of rain here) and it was affecting about 6 or so houses nearby. He had to get someone else out here to fix it and by 4, we had our cable back.
Last night around 7:30, during the Steelers game, the cable started acting funny. By 8:30, it was out again. I called Time Warner to schedule an appointment for TODAY(Tuesday.) Unfortunately, the Time Warner man told me that they wouldn't be able to come out until Wednesday. I about jumped through the phone. I insisted on talking to the manager, who was convieniently on another call. Long story short, I have the name of every supervising person in that office and after getting all of those names(first only, customer service reps aren't allowed to give last names) they somehow found an appointment for us today from 1-4.
We woke up this morning and the cable was back on. When I asked Joe why he thought it came back on, he said "maybe you scared them on the phone and they came out last night."
My point to this blog post is that if you try to call or have tried to call our house and you get a message saying that the call can't go through, it is because our cable is gone again. I am able to check my email on my cell phone. We are moving to a new house in a few weeks and you can bet that we won't have Time Warner as our cable provider!

Joey's Month of October

We have had a good October, even though Joe was gone for half of it! I can't believe that it is already October and Joey is almost 10 months old! Here are some pictures of Joey from this past month, along with his first taste of grilled cheese(he LOVED it!) Joey October

More Halloween Pics

Here are some more pictures of Halloween costumes. Joey looks cute in his costume. Not funny, but cute. However, I do know of someone(or something) that dressed up for Halloween that did look funny. First, here is another picture of Joey:



Well, if you know me, you know that I can't let Halloween go by without dressing CeCe up. Some people thought that it would pass after Joey was born, but she is still my kid too, right? I had originally bought her a rooster costume. She hated it, of course. But, on Friday while Joey and I were out, I found a mullet wig for a dog. I couldn't help myself. My brother thinks that CeCe secretly hates me. I wonder why.





I know that she loves me and appreciates being part of the family:)

Happy Halloween!

Joey had a great first halloween. Unfortunately, Joe wasn't home...maybe next year. Here is Joey dressed up in his lion costume. I got him the lion because he has been doing this "roaaaar" noise. This picture was taken with my cell phone because Joe has the camera in Brazil. My friends sister took more pictures so when I get them, I will post them.



I woke up this morning to let CeCe out and the outside was an orange color. I looked up into the sky and saw a rainbow! I think that it would look better if I had a camera that wasn't my phone, but I guess it is better than nothing!