Carpenter Weekend

This was work weekend at Kris' house as we replaced the floors in the kitchen and entry/hallway. Charlie works for a commercial flooring company were they got the cork interlocking floor that we installed. The worst part of the job was pulling up the old tiles that gave the place that 70's look. This was made easier with the rental of a power hammer and the arrival of two of Charlie's friends. Between them the floor was up in less that four hours. The only problem with that was that the installation crew was not yet ready as the senior partner ( Barb's Dad ) was not yet on site. This didn't slow us down any and, with his arrival before noon, by Saturday night the kitchen floor was installed. We arrived again early Sunday morning and by early Sunday afternoon the entry and hallway were completed. It looks like this will be the last major project before the wedding as I again put on my Martha Stewart assistant hat.

This is how the Kitchen looks today.

This was the kitchen two years ago. All work was completed by the family construction crew.

Back From The South

We just returned from a short trip to visit with Keith and spend some time seeing the sites in South Carolina. We ended up spending three days in Charleston and could have spent a couple more to be able to visit all the places we wanted to see. If you are looking for a great vacation spot this is one of those places.

For history buffs we visited the place were the Confederate submarine Hunley is being restored after it was found in 1998. We also toured Ft Sumter and went aboard the carrier Yorktown and the destroyer Laffy, both of which served in WWII. While we were on our way back from Ft Sumter the boat we were on was visited by some of the local dolphins. We also spotted a couple swimming around next to the Yorktown. What a great extra to a fun day.

An entire day was spent touring the downtown area admiring the architecture of the buildings, most of which date back to before the Civil War. Our first part of the day we just walked around looking at many of the old buildings including many old churches. We also took a horse drawn carriage ride through the old section of town, learning a lot about the history of the town from our tour guide. For lunch we went to the "Bubba Gumb Shrimp Company" for a little seafood. We also spent some time in the local open air market that is in the same buildings it started in over 100 years ago.

On Sunday evening we went down to Folly Beach and took a walk out the fishing pier which extends into the ocean for about 1000 feet. It was a great way to relax after a long day of site seeing.

Looking down one of the many streets in Charleston lined with Pre-Civil War houses.

Barb and Keith looking out at Battery Park.

The Angel Oak Tree is estimated to be over 1500 years old. http://www.angeloaktree.org/history.htm

Looking down Folly Beach from the fishing pier at sunset.

The carrier Yorktown is anchored in the Charleston harbor and open to the public.

Four days went very fast and before we knew it the time came to say goodbye and head back home. It was great to spend time with Keith and we never get tired of saying how proud we are of him and what he is doing.

On the way home we took some time to stop at one of the local vineyards in North Carolina and picked up a couple bottles of wine (why not add some time to a nine hour trip). I guess we should share them with Kris and Charlie.

Insight Into Design

Some of you have been asking about the design for the wedding and about all the projects that we have been working on over the past year. For those of you who have been wondering what the decor at the wedding is going to be here is a little look at what we are doing.

Kris and Charlie have a huge Curry Willow tree growing next to their patio. The tree has grown much larger than this picture shows. Since it needed some trimming anyway some of the cuttings have come home to our basement were we are hanging them to dry. These will then be used as an element in some of the design for the wedding.

That's all you get for now. Just a little tease into what we are doing.

( What? You were really thinking I was going to give away some big secret? )

More PDOJ

While out and about yesterday we found the new Bee Movie PEZ giving us another reason for the PEZ Dance of Joy. That leaves us looking for the Lowe's NASCAR helmet. Well if we don't find it around here we might be able to trade for it. The Penn State football is a regional release and we have already traded a couple of those thru the mail for PEZ we needed. We might have to go to the PEZ list again.

On the wedding front we continue to make great progress. Yesterday after some shopping with Kristin most of the decor for the chapel was decided on . We still have some supplies to purchase but need a couple more of those 40% coupons we love to use. We also spent some time with her friend Dustyn who is giving her a lot of input into her decor etc. He had some more good ideas and is as excited as we are to see everything coming together.

Now we need to spend some time getting ready for a small vacation. We are leaving next Friday for a few days in South Carolina with our Airman. Can't wait to get away for the first time this year.

Time for a PEZ break

As most of you know Keith has been collecting PEZ for many years now and has over 800 of the little toys. Since he has been in the Air Force we have been helping keep the collection up to date. Tonight we went out in search of some of the new PEZ that have been released. After a little looking we did what is called the PDOJ (PEZ Dance Of Joy). We came across the new release of the set of Disney Princesses. This set includes 6 that were released over the last two years and 2 new one that are only released in the set. Not only were we happy to find this but we found it at AC Moore were we had a 40% off coupon. Gotta love the savings.

Now if we can just find the new Lowe's NASCAR helmet and the BEE Movie it will really make our day.

A Day Together

Over the last few weeks we have had very few days when both of us have been off from work. Well today was one of those days and it just happened that Kris had the afternoon off as well. We started out going to Park City Mall in Lancaster to look for a couple items that we needed. At lunch time Kris was able to join us so we decided to stop for some Chinese before continuing our journey. The trip finished up around 7 o'clock when we dropped Kris off at her house and headed home. Now, anyone want to guess what most of the afternoon was spent doing? The first person with the correct answer will win a prize package worth....DRUM ROLL.........$0.00. That right, we spare all expense here so get those answers in ASAP. Just leave your guesses in the comments section.

New website

Kris has used some of her free time (little as it is) to get her wedding website updated. You will find a lot of new and useful information so take a few minutes to look around. For those of you who may have had it bookmarked please note that there is a new address http://www.savko.net/wedding/ The old one is still there for now but has not been updated.

As for the rest of us it is much the same. Off to work, come home, work around the house, sleep, repeat.

New blogger

Alan's brother has begun a blog (something he was never going to do) which is linked above. If nothing else it gives you one more site to put in your favorites folder. Who knows as he goes forward you might learn something exciting.

On the wedding front, Kris has decided on how she wants to do her hair and the on staff stylist, and our dear friend, ( who's blog is also linked here) no longer wants to hurt her for having most of her hair cut off :) Kris has also asked one of her friends from work to do the photography and he has agreed. They have already made one trip to the chapel and he has a lot of great ideas for photo opportunities. If you have never seen the Masonic Chapel and the surrounding grounds it's hard to explain how photogenic the area is.

We have also completed some more little projects for the reception. Last night we made a trip to Lancaster to meet up with Kris and do a little shopping for some small needs. It's starting to feel good to see the list get smaller as we are finally to the point were we check off more than we add.

Still Keeping Busy

News from South Carolina..... Keith received his promotion to Senior Airman and spent some time yesterday sewing on his new strips. It great to see him doing so well and we, of course, continue to be very proud of what he is doing. Today he went out to find hotels around his home so that we could make reservations for our trip at the end of the month.

Lots of things continue to keep us busy as we get closer to the big day. Last week we joined Kris and Charlie to make the final decision on the tuxes for the wedding. This didn't take as long as we had planned so we spent some time after that at the local Wendy's having a snack and discussing more plans. Kris is now working on her Save The Date cards which are the next major thing that needs to be completed.

We spent yesterday and today doing some shopping for ourselves but also picked up some more items that were on the wedding to get list. Seems that we just can't get away from these things.

Lots To Do

We all continue to be very busy between work chores and wedding planning. With all this we have managed to take some time for ourselves. Last week we took a day for ourselves and went to visit with some old friends, Norm and Teresa, who we had not seen for some time. It just happens that she also is going to be our staff hair stylist for the wedding so along with catching up we managed to complete some more wedding plans. (just can't seem to get away from that !) Along with this we also completed some more wedding crafts bringing us closer to completion before the Christmas season makes finding free time almost impossible.

Meanwhile Kris took a couple days vacation to visit Keith in SC. They had a great time and visited many local attractions including a local zoo and amusement park. They also visited the Old City in Charleston and even found time to get to the beach. We look forward to going down for a few days at the end of September.

Working Vacation

Keith just returned to South Carolina from Florida were he and other airman from his base spent a week on a TDY (temporary duty ) at Eglin AFB. They were there to assist during some F-16 pilot training. The first weekend they arrived there was no base housing available for them so they had to stay at a local hotel. Unfortunately it happened to be a resort hotel on the beach. Since they were off for the weekend they were able to spend two days enjoying the sun and surf of the Gulf coast and the many fresh seafood establishments before moving onto base and getting down to business. I understand he is ready to volunteer to do this again. One can only wonder why.

Keeping Busy

As the days of summer continue to speed by it seems we have more to do and less time to get it completed. Who said it gets easier?

Over the last couple of weeks we have completed more wedding plans including ordering the cake. This was the part we were all looking forward to. Who doesn't like to taste test cake? The cake that was chosen is some of the best we have ever tasted. ( And we tasted a lot at the wedding shows ) With that task behind us one more major item is checked off the list.

Meanwhile back in South Carolina Keith is spending this week in Florida on a temporary assignment. We are not sure what he is doing but we know he spent the weekend basking on the beach. When you are in the Air Force sometimes you have to put up with this type of hard duty.

Looking at our calendar we seem to have about 1 day this month that we have nothing to do. Maybe we could just sit back and relax but I don't think so!

Wedding Weekend

After a lot of planning we finally spent a weekend getting things completed for the wedding. We began Saturday by meeting Kris and her Matron of Honor Karen at the dress shop for Kris' first fitting. While we were there Mom found and ordered her dress for the big day. Well, that's a couple things checked off the list. But we were not done yet. From there it was off to a couple more dress shops in search of the attendants dresses. With Karen along to try things on, mom's eye for fashion and Kris' basic idea of what she was looking for we found a style that Kris felt worked very well for her theme. That's another one off the list.

Sunday turned into another day of progress as Karen was still in town and along with Kris spent the day here working on decor for the reception. We managed to complete a lot of projects and make final decisions on others. We now really feel good about were we are in regards to preparation. Thanks Karen!

Some Free Time To Post

It's been a month since our last post mostly because we just have not taken the time to do it. So let's see if we can get caught up with all the things going on in our little corner of the world.

As the clock ticks down (as you can see above) more time is being given to wedding planning. Alan has completed most of the major tasks that needed to be done in the shop. Meanwhile Kris has been working on her web page and the save the date cards that need to go out this summer. Barb has been keeping track of everything that is done or still needs completed and continues to help shop for those missing items. For some strange reason as more tasks are completed and more supplies are procured the spare bedroom seems to be getting smaller. Go figure.

Keith is getting settled into his new apartment and seems to be finding his way around town. It's a lot different from Mt Home as he is working Tuesday thru Friday 10 hours a day. Makes for a nice weekend. He has been spending some of his time redoing the double barrel shotguns that belonged to his Great Grandfather Wells. He replaced the stock on one of them with a new one made from walnut. Anyone who has done woodworking knows how hard walnut is and even with a power sander how long it takes to sand it down. Can't wait to see the final results.

With all this we still made some time to get things done around here. A couple of weeks ago we spent the day power washing the house. Didn't realize what color our white siding really was. After that was completed Barb spent last Saturday cleaning all the windows. In between all this we somehow managed to hit a bunch of the local yard sales were we found some goodies to help decorate and furnish the recently completed basement.

Now we look forward to our yearly trip back to central PA to attend a 4th of July party at a friends house. It's one of the few times we get to see a lot of old friends at the same time.

A Busy Two Weeks

The last two weeks have been very busy for all of us leaving very little time to work on these updates. With that in mind we will try to keep this short.

The last week Keith was home he along with Barb's dad helped Alan get the last of the work completed on the basement remodel. It nice to be finished after a year in the making. Now it's on to the next project whatever that may be ( wedding stuff? )

Keith left for South Carolina on the 15th making the trip in about nine hours. Since he is moving into his first apartment he needed to take a lot of things with him. This included such things as his bed, dresser, tables and chairs and even his weight bench. With all this stuff he ended up renting a truck and car carrier to make this move. He is still working on getting settled and completing all his paperwork for the transfer to his new base but hopes to have that all done by the end of this week.

Help At Home

Keith has been very busy helping out around the house over the last week. After he finished doing all the maintenance he wanted on his car he turned to ours for something to do. He has waxed and detailed Mom's car as well as changing her brakes. He also helped cleaned and waxed Kris' car and did some needed wiring for her XM radio.

We have also been spending time getting things together for his move to South Carolina. Since he will be living in an apartment within the next few weeks he needs a lot of thing to help set up housekeeping (such as it will be). We have been hitting the flea markets and yard sales were we have come across some great deals. By the time he is ready to leave we should have everything he needs to get started in his new place.

On Sunday night we took a break and went to the local dirt track. These races are always a good time but the final event was completely different , a bus race! This alone was worth the price of admission. What a great way to bring an end to the weekend.

At The Range

It has been a busy week since Keith came home on his way to South Carolina. Last weekend we all attended the wedding of one of Kristin's friends in Danville. Kris and Karen have been friends since elementary school and it was great to see all our old friends. Keith has also been helping get some projects completed around the house and even helped Kris with a few things.

On Tuesday however Alan and Keith took the day off and headed to the rifle range along with Alan's brother to sight in a couple of Keith's rifles. It didn't take very long to get this accomplished allowing more time to put some serious holes in the poor paper targets.

Made It Home

After 4 days on the road Keith made it home Monday afternoon. He left Mt Home on Friday around 3:30 and made it about half way across Wyoming before stopping for the night. The second day he made it to Missouri and by Sunday night he was in Youngstown OH. I guess when you get into a grove you just don't want to stop.

One of the first things on his list was to get all the Idaho dirt off the car and out of the wheel wells etc. So most of today was spent get the car cleaned up. He even found some Tumbleweed stuck in the front.

He will be home for about three weeks before it's off to South Carolina. Not only will he be in the same time zone as we are he will also feel like he has returned to civilization as it will no longer be an hour drive to get to town.

Been Busy

A lot has happened since our last posting. The big reason that we have not put anything new up here lately is because our PC decided to begin a slow but agonizing death. To make a long story short the old PC has been relegated to the shop and has been replaced by a newer version. I didn't realize how many programs and files we had and even now still have some that need to be moved. As soon as Keith comes home, along with a load of extra parts, we plan on doing some major surgery on it, however the prognosis is not very good. It looks like it might be the processor in which case it to the parts bin for it. It has however lived a good life and we should not grieve at it's passing.

Speaking of Keith, he called today and should be leaving Mt Home on Friday afternoon. The movers are scheduled to pack his stuff on Thursday and his final paperwork for out processing is set for Friday morning. It looks like he will need to report to McEntire on the 16th of May so we should see him for a couple of weeks. We're just glad we don't have that 4 day drive ahead of us.

Besides that and going to work everyday, last Saturday we attended the 25th Anniversary party for some friends of ours from Central PA. It was great to see a lot of our old friends as we just don't seem to get together as much as we should. We spent a lot of time catching up on what was happening in every ones life and in fact had a hard time leaving.

Well it back to moving files and tracking down program files. Should be completed soon...we hope!

Happy Birthday

We called Keith today to wish him a Happy 21st Birthday. It's hard to believe he hit that milestone already. The bad news for today is that because of his change in orders his date to process out has been pushed back to at least the 20th. The problem seems to be that they cannot get his goods packed for delivery to McEntire by the 13th. So that leaves him and the other airman who are going to McEntire another week at Mt Home with no planes to work on. We just hope that he get some leave before he has to report.

Busy Weekend

With the nice weather on Saturday and rain returning on Sunday the gardener the carpenter and the wedding planner were all busy trying to get things done. Saturday we took some time to make a trip to Masonic Homes to take a look around the grounds. With the wedding this time next year it seemed like a good time to see what might be in bloom and how things would look for the big day. Well we were not disappointed as there were many spring flowers and quite a few trees in bloom. Hopefully this is a preview of things to come next year. We also spent some time checking out the local nurseries looking for some plants to add to the gardens.

Sunday the weather turned to rain so after running some needed errands the carpenter got to work on some of the wedding projects that were waiting for him in the shop. Although these were not completed he made good progress and should be done with these soon. A good thing since there are more projects waiting to be started.

Update from the Airman

Keith always complained about the tumbleweed, especially when they had to clean it from the flight line, but this is crazy. According to the Mt Home Air Base News: Hundreds of tumbleweeds clog the entrances of several base housing units behind the base hospital here following two days of sustained heavy winds March 29. The base dealt with sustained winds clocking 40 mph with maximum gusts reaching 56 mph over a 48-hour period. Tumbleweeds packed against some fences across base caused them to collapse under the sustained wind pressure. Keith told us that along the roads it is piled up as high as the bottom of the road signs.

At least he will not have to deal with these in South Carolina. Speaking of which he has been told they will be out processed on Friday the 13th ( somehow it seems fitting) and he will be leaving on the morning of the 14th. If his leave is approved he will stop here before going on to McEntire to meet up with his old F-16's. The last 5 to be assigned to McEntire left this morning so he will not have too much time before he sees them again. They spent all week getting them ready for the flight so hopefully the pilots don't break anything on the way there.

Craft Approval Received

Kris stopped by today on her way home from a meeting in Camp Hill to borrow the truck so she could pick up some slat board for her store. The company is in the process of remodeling the interior and upgrading their photo processing equipment. She also borrowed Dad to drive the pickup, help load it at the lumberyard and unload it at the store. All in all seems she had a very good plan.

While she was here she gave the go ahead for some wedding projects that have been in the shop waiting for her final approval . With the colors and finishes selected for these projects the carpenter can begin final assembly. Hopefully within the next couple of weeks these can be checked off the list of things to do. I guess it all depends on what else "the carpenter" might decide to do. After all there is a lot of work to do outside and he is a part time gardener.

New Links

Today we added links for web sites of our Family and Friends . The first one to be listed was for our friends Teresa and Norm. Please take a few moments to visit them and read about the adoption of their son. On a side note Teresa owns a styling salon and Kristin has ask Teresa to do her hair for the wedding. Just one of the many friends we are involving in the affair.

We also added a link to the site were Kris has posted pictures of all the DIY projects they have done on their home. There are some major upgrades that were completed.

If you have a website please let us know and we will add it to our links.

Base Change

Keith found out this week that instead of going to Shaw AFB he is being transferred to McEntire ANG base. The McEntire Air National Guard base is also located in South Carolina approximately 16 miles southwest of Columbia. As part of the 2005 BRAC Recommendations the 366th Fighter Wing at Mt Home, where Keith has been assigned for the past two years, would distribute nine assigned F-16 Block 52 aircraft to the 169th Fighter Wing at McEntire. So first they sent the planes, now they send the maintainers.

F-16 Mishap

One of the F-16's that Keith used to work on at Mt Home crashed during a training mission at Nellis AFB. You can read about it at
http://www.f-16.net/news_article2230.html

The aircraft crashed at 20:50 hours local near the end of the runway, while on approach to the Tonopah Test Range Airfield, approximately 20 miles southeast of Tonopah. The aircraft was flying a night training mission over the restricted Nevada Test and Training Range when his After Burner was stuck. The pilot tried to make an emergency landing but the lights at the airfield didn't come on, so he tried it with his Night Vision Goggles. Right before he came in, the runway lights came on and he was blinded. He then saw he was short and after he took off the NVG's he ejected safely.

This is what happens when you let them out of your sight for a couple of weeks.

More shopping

What do Mom and Dad do on a Sunday afternoon when they have no plans? Work on the wedding of course. Yesterday, after we cut the coupons from the paper, we were off to the local craft stores to pick up some more supplies. Love those coupons. As many of you know we hate to pay full price for anything.

When we returned home we spent the afternoon finishing up some of the table decor and getting it packed away so it would be ready for the big day. BTW if you think that we might give away some secrets about the decor here your wrong. We are running this show on a "need to know" basis.

Didn't your Mama tell ya....

when you are home alone and the roof is wet you should not be up there trying to fix a radio antenna? Well Alan's brother Gary didn't listen because that is what he did a couple of weeks ago. To make a long story short he fell, broke his right leg in numerous places and had to craw into the house through the bathroom window to call 911. ( maybe now he will learn to keep his cell phone in his pocket) He now has a plate and 14 screw holding his lower leg together.

The good news is that the Doctors say it should heal with no problems. The bad news is the antenna never did get fixed and if it was not for his walker he would be back up there trying to fix it again. Netti needs to keep him on a shorter rope.

Last Flight

The last F-16 mission flew at Mt Home AFB on Friday March 16. As you can see in the photo, after the plane landed it was sprayed with champagne by the ground crew. The F-16's have been reassigned to other air bases and are being replaced by F-15's which have also been flying at Mt Home for many years. Most of the Airman that have maintained these planes, including Keith, are being reassigned and will be leaving by the middle of April. We look forward to having Keith back on the East Coast. After all a 9 hour drive is a lot easier than a 4 day one.

The video below is of the last F-16 and the first F-15 doing a flyover during the last flight. For those non-military types the F-16 is the plane flying in the lower position.