Christmas

This picture turned out blurry, but I thought it was so cute. Abigail snuggling her teddy in front of the Christmas tree.

Time with Daddy

I am still in the process of looking for a job, so I have been home a lot. That equates to lots of time with Abigail. If I play it just right, by sitting with her after a nap, I get a little snuggle time with her. Most of the time though, she is pretty active, and into everything.

Teddy Bears

Abigail loves her teddy bears. She very frequently gives them hugs. I just wish I got half as many hugs as the teddies do.

More Snow!

Snow was in the forecast even for the west. Here in Monroe we had nearly 18 inches on the ground at Christmas. It also got down to the teens for about a week. Very abnormal for this area.

Christmas tree

On the Seattle side of the state, rain is more likely then snow. As was the case when we cut down our Christmas tree.

Snow!

After I completed the basement I had a little deterrent to my plans of leaving. We got two feet of snow! So I spent the day shoveling and helping people in our neighborhood get their cars back to their driveways after failed attempts to traveling. The following day I put chains on my truck and headed out, for what I thought would be a long journey home. But once I got to the freeway it was smooth sailing. The road was bare for most of the trip. In all I was gone for 12 days, but it felt like forever.

A Completed Project

Well, from start (Nov. '07) to finish (Dec. '08) that basement was a lot more work that I thought it would be. But it feels so good to be done. The only problem? We don't live there anymore to enjoy it!

Dusty mess

After my Dad left I spent another five days down there sanding. That was a job I am glad to be done with. Even looking at these pictures brings back bad memories. In the midst of this we were also trying to pack for our move back to Monroe, WA. We wanted to be moved before Thanksgiving came. We did get moved, but I still had much to do in the basement before it was complete. So after Thanksgiving I went back to Spokane to finish up. Things like panting, putting up trim, installing a few windows and an interior door, among many other small projects still needed to be done.

Taping and mudding

Our days were spent in the basement, taping and mudding, while listening to numerous Ranger Bill episodes (an old radio drama)http://www.rangerbill.zoomshare.com/. Though the work is not something I enjoy, I very much enjoyed the time I was able to spend with my Dad.

Dad pays a visit

Well it was more like work than a vacation for my Dad who came out for five days to help me get our basement finished. We have rented out the house, but wanted the basement finished before they moved in. Though my Dad and I did put in long hours every day, he got a little time to be with his grandaughter.

New Flight Instructors

The beginning of November brought the end of a challenging course. Fran Burgess (left) and myself, instructed by Bill Kilgore (center), passed our final check ride to receive our licenses.

Learning how to recover from a spin

This fall I elected to get my Flight Instructors License. It was not a required portion of my training, but is recommended by the Mission we plan on serving with. Part of the training required me to practice recovering from a spin. This is a maneuver that we normally do not do intentionally, but as an instructor I need to be confident and ready to recover from if a student accidentally enters one.