Tepee Time Gal

My dad flew B-24's in WWII. He flew in the European theater flying in the 15th Air Force, 455th BG Heavy, 743rd Squadron. I have a picture of dad's crew in front of "Tepee Time Gal" (I need to upload it). Dad's crew flew their first combat mission together in Dec, 1944. Note: They all few a few mission on other crews to gain experience before going out on their own.

The best explanation I can come up with is THIS plane (shown in the picture below) was used on their first mission together as a crew. Tepee Time Gal was also a famous plane in the squadron because of the number of missions this plane completed during the war.

I found this picture on the Internet. I was probably taken near the end of the war. The picture I have of dad shows about 40 less missions (Dec 44) than pictured here. The picture above shows "Tepee Time Gal" completing 120 missions! In the picture with Dad's crew, the number of missions lines up with a Dec 44 timeline which would be consistent with it being their first mission together.

Great Alaska Adventure

On July 25th through August 1st, our family took a quick trip to Alaska. A few months prior we decided to surprise the kids and take them on a cruise (they are growing up fast). Our kids were unaware of the plan until we pulled up to the dock in Seattle. Madison couldn't believe and thought we were teasing her, Reagan was screaming for joy and Kennedy just thought she had been given a death sentence. Kennedy believed we were going to "capsize from a rouge wave" (Can you say Poseidon Adventure??).

Our trip started in Seattle (day 1) and we spent a day at sea (day 2) arriving in Jeanau (day 3) a day later. Next was Glacier Bay National Park (day 4), Sitka (day 5), Ketchican (day 6) and Victoria BC (day 7). Overall it was a great time with a few memories to last a lifetime.

The Amsterdam leaving Seattle on a nice day!

Our table for the week with a great view out the back of the ship!

Day 1 at sea. Kennedy spent the whole day in the pool and was the only one NOT sick! I think she thought it was natural that the waves in the pool were 3 feet!

Boise LIVE!

On August 28-30 marked our 2nd annual "Boise Live Draft" for the Inlaw & Outlaw Fantasy Football League. This year our fantasy draft was held at the Red Lion in Boise, Idaho. Boise seems to be a nice meeting place for the Washington and Utah Managers. This year, Brady (Texas), Jeff (Colorado) and Brett (Ohio) each made a special effort to make the trip to Boise. Only Mark (Family) and Marty (BYU football game ?????? $^#%&#^# Northern Iowa???) did not make the trip. We excused Ric who left on a humanitarian trip to Guatemala. Its tough to blame Ric for missing out, besides he doesn't manage a team anyway. I think Ric's boys only invite him for his credit card!!! :>)

Weekend activities included dinner (Goodwood and Fudruckers), a movie, the flag football game, wiffle ball, THE DRAFT. a game of Risk and a good time catching up on things.

Top: Ben, Jim, Jared, Trevor, Eric Brett, Mike Tom, Me (Rod)

Bottom: Brady, Jon, Matt, Jeff, Mike, Ryan

What a crew......

One of the theme's was 70's throwback. Jared's stash won hands down with Ben a close second.....


My brother Mike (the old man with the grey hair in back) traditionally buys lunch for the draft. This year it was a "Prime Rib Sandwich". Thanks Mike....... Eric ate his in 3 bites. Mike also announces the first round selections and then heckles.......


Complete concentration in the draft room! (Is Matt catching a peak at Jim and Ben's draft Q???)

Holding the "Secret" Vulgar Vulture Draft Book!

After three fantasy football drafts in six days, I think I'm burned out. I haven't even completed the first week of the season!!! This can only mean I will come home from church, check the scores and be grumpy the rest of the day because I didn't start the right guys!!! AAAAAGGGHHHHH, why do I play!

Boston and Bon Jovi with a little Red Sox

I'm a little behind on posting. This is from a trip we took in July.

This year is our 20th anniversary and we (Marilyn and I) decided to celebrate by taking a little trip.

Over the years I have traveled many times to the Boston area for business, but never took the time to do anything other than catch a few Red Sox games. Last year Marilyn was suppose to tour Boston during the American Heritage Tour with Madison, but never made it out of NY due to illness. I promised I would someday take her back to New England for a visit. Marilyn found some tickets to Bon Jovi at the Garden (Fleet Center) in Boston. The rest is history.

We managed to visit four states over six days. Vermont (Joseph Smith's birthplace), New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts. I think the highlight (besides Bon Jovi and the Red Sox) was the "Freedom Trail" in Boston. If you ever get there, take the time, and take the tour.

Vermont

Joseph Smith's birthplace in Sharon VT. It is a beautiful place, but out of the way. We spent a good share of the day driving to get there. Getting to Vermont was high on my priority list. I was able to cross off Vermont as my last New England state visited. It was killing me that I had been to the Boston area so many times but had missed Vermont.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire was just a "drive" through while going from Vermont (Joseph Smith's Birthplace) to Maine. It was beautiful country to say the least. Farming would be difficult due to all the hills.

While on the road we drove through Lee, NH. I worked with a company there for many years and it was kind of fun to show Marilyn. It was like merging two different worlds (home life and work life).

Maine

What would Maine be without a lighthouse? This is the Portland Lighthouse just south of Portland, Maine. I developed a new fascination with lighthouses on this trip!

Plymouth Massachusetts and Cape Cod

This is the place...... at least where the Pilgrims landed!

The Rock!

The enclosure which covers the rock was under renovation. The only way you could get a good look at it was climbing down to the water level. Good thing the tide was out. If the tide would have been in, our only view of the rock would have been through a scratched up Plexiglas window.

Marilyn was pretty excited about driving out to Cape Cod. One of her favorite authors uses Cape Cod as a setting for the book. We (I) made the big mistake of planning to drive out to the cape on the last day of the 4th of July weekend. Can you say traffic jam! For the most part, we were inbound when everyone else was trying to get out. The traffic jam on the freeway was 20 miles deep.....

Chatham Beach on Cape Code. Hawaii it is not!! The fog was thick.

Chatham Lighthouse. Did I say I have a new fascination with lighthouses?

Not as bad as it looks. Once you get to the edge you realize it's not a drop off.

There was a "links" style golf course near the lighthouse.

Boston and the Freedom Trail

A must do while in Boston is tour the Freedom Trail. You can do this at your own pace, but the way to go is take a quick tour. Everything starts at the Boston Commons and weaves its way to such sites as the Old North Church, site of the Boston Massacre, Granary Burying Ground (Paul Revere, Sam Adams........,....), USS Constitution, and Bunker Hill just to name a few. It is well worth your time. Marilyn and I actually took 2 days to look things over. When on the North Side, you need to eat at a local Italian Restaurant. The picture shown above is while we in the Granary Cemetery.

Paul Revere's marker in the Granary Cemetery.

Old North Church!

The Green Dragon Tavern. A popular hangout for the leaders of the Revolution.

USS Constitution (Old Ironside). The Constitution is oldest warship afloat that is still commissioned!

Boston Red Sox
For me, no trip to Boston is complete without seeing the Red Sox play. I have been a Red Sox fan since I can remember. I remember watching the 75 World Series and seeing Fisk hit the famous HR to send the series to a game 7. I hated the Reds, and I hate the Yankees, so being a fan of the Red Sox just fit. I also have a soft spot in my heart for teams which can't get over the top. Being a fan of the Jazz for all these years has probably taught me to pull for the underdog. I'm also a big Mariners fan and would pull for them over anyone. Fenway Park should be put at the TOP of the list for places to see a ballgame. We took a tour of the park before the game which was pretty interesting. I was surprised to find out that a good share of the seats were from a 1930's remodel. You would think they would have replaced them after 70+ years. They are not very comfortable!

Manny jacks one out to tie the game in the 8th!

A "manual" scoreboard update inbetween every innning (other games in progress scores)

Papelbon comes in to close the 9th. I think this is one of the thrilling moments in any close game when the home team sends the closer in to finish the game. The place was going nuts!


Marilyn and I after the game at the famous "Pesky Pole". The pole was named after a light hitting second baseman for the Sox. It is 303 ft down the line. You can follow this link to read more about the pole: http://www.redsoxconnection.com/peskypole.html

Bon Jovi

When it was all said and done, this is the reason we came to Boston! This is Marilyn's "hobby". Here she is standing in the Fan Club line waiting for their tickets. I can't figure out why they(Fan Club) are all female????

Jon and Richie doing their thing....

Overall it was a good time had by all

Marliyn came all so close to getting to "touch" Jon, but she was denied by a security gaurd &#^$%^^#.

Great ending to a great night and a great trip!

May, June......... Dance, Camp, Tryouts, Track.....

May and June are typically very busy in our family. Usually our Spring is consumed with dance competitions, dance recitals, piano recitals, end of school activities, tryouts for and then a month filled with Girls Camp and Youth Conference..... Before you know it the summer is over.

Here is the May and June rundown in a few pictures......

TRACK

Raegan decided to go out for track at school. A little war paint for the first city meet. She ran the 100m, 200m and the 4X200 and 4X100.

4X200 relay. You quickly find out the 200 is a hard race! Raegan did real well. Way to go!

PIANO

All of our kids have taken piano from Patti. This was Kennedy's last Piano Recital with Patti. She is moving on to Clay who has been teaching Madison and Raegan.

Dance, Dance, Dance.......

Hey Micky! Kennedy with her dance team.

Kennedy is a foot taller than most of her grade. (Basketball anyone?). She always gets cast as the boy! She is in the center holding the dancer.

Raegan with her dance team.

This year Raegan's team did "Thriller"... It was a crowd favorite.

Snow White

Madison has helped out at "Princess Camp" over the past few years. This little girl thinks she really is Snow White. The girls family was moving out of town so Madison dressed up as Snow White and invited her over for a "Snow White Night". It even came with a "Prince".

The real reason the "Prince" came over!!!!

Choir

Raegan's school choir

FPO!

Marilyn was the FPO (Franklin Parent Organization) President. They raised lots of money, put in new blinds at the school and overall did a real nice job. She also found out that many volunteered, but few helped. Marilyn was a BIG hit with the staff at Franklin since she actually did something! The recognized her at the final school assembly and gave her a plant. The plant died :>(

Memorial Clean-up at the Henefer homestead


My fire pictures are bigger than Mike's!

Cheer!

Raegan tried out for cheer and made the team. Congratulations Raegan!

Comet Holmes

Late last fall, Comet Holmes gave a surprise show becoming visible with the naked eye. Due to the view angle of the comment, it appeared as a blob as opposed to a nucleus with a tail. I tried to capture the comet with a newly purchased camera. Taken November 2007. The comet is the blob left of center.

Comet Holmes

The next image is a corp of the same picture above. Sorry about the blurring on the background stars. I didn't have a bulb to start the exposure, so the initial tail on the star is due to me starting the exposure manually. The elongation of the star is due to the long exposure and the star actually moving.