Air Adventure

Our adventure starts a couple days before our actual departure when the Northeast Wisconsin weather guys started predicting a "blizzard" to hit the day we were set to travel. Weather guys are often wrong though, so I wasn't too worried about it until the day before. They were predicting up to 12 inches of snow and schools all over the area were calling snow days. Some flights were cancelled, but not ours.

We wondered what would happen if our flight got cancelled since the airline we were flying (Allegiant) flies out of and into smaller airports. They also only fly twice a week. The whole point of going was to go to Roz's graduation and, if by some chance, we had to wait for the "next" flight that would be Sunday... too late. We were able to confirm that if the entire flight got cancelled they would try and fly out the next day, so that's what we were hoping for. I did a little internet research and came across a post about flying during what Allegiant calls a "weather advisory". The author mentioned they could send you to another airport and not provide transportation to your original destination, but I didn't think much about that since I just assumed our flight would be cancelled.

I did the only thing I could... went on Facebook and asked everyone to say a few prayers for us.

We stayed up late continually checking the status of our flight. At one point it said our flight was "invalid" but it later returned to "on time". I was just hoping that if they were going to cancel they would do it before we went through the trouble of getting everyone up at 5am and going to the airport. I didn't sleep well at all and before long it was time to get up. We checked one last time on our flight status and it was NOT listed as cancelled so we got everyone up, dressed, and headed to the airport.

We were told as soon as we walked in the door that they were not checking in the Appleton flight. We figured that meant we were going to be cancelled any minute. We sat to the side in a hallway and waited. Finally, they said they were going to check us in. They handed out copies of their "weather advisory" rules. I wish now I would have kept our copy but we passed it on to a fellow passenger.

We had two choices. 1) Not get on the plane and take another flight within the next 7 days. [Not much of a choice considering their only other flight was Sunday the 23rd. What do you suppose the chances of getting 7 seats on a flight 2 days before Christmas with 3 days notice would be? Um. Zero. Plus we would miss graduation.] 2) Get on the plane knowing that we may not be able to fly into our original destination of Appleton and go wherever they took us. They would not be responsible for any travel expenses or hotel costs if we ended up somewhere else. [The couldn't even tell us what our possible other destinations were. They said that was up to the pilot.]

So, since option 1 was really a non-choice, we went with option 2 and got on a plane (with 6 six kids) not knowing where exactly we might land! A quick Google search for other Allegiant destinations told us we might end up in Rockford, IL or Rochester, MN. We were hoping for Rochester since that was closer to Eau Claire.

By the time we got through check-in and security we had to rush to get on our plane. We didn't even have time to fill the empty water bottles we had packed in our carry-on bags. It was crazy!

Here in Arizona, you walk out to your plane and board on the tarmac. It was a beautiful, sunny morning. We were walking out to our plane just as the sun was coming up.

The boys, always good sports, were ready for an adventure.

Everyone except JD had flown before, but since we don't fly often it was still pretty exciting.

When we got on the plane the pilot introduced himself. His name: Captain Kirk. He must know the reaction that gets in the main plane cabin when he says it because after a dramatic pause he said, "Yes, that's right, Captain Kirk." He joked we were heading to warm and sunny Appleton where the temperature was 0º and then paused and said "Celsius". Ha! Then he told us what we really wanted to hear. We had a 95% chance of getting into Appleton. He told us the stats he needed for visibility and cloud ceiling, I don't remember what they were exactly, and they were just barely what he needed.

The flight was great. Completely uneventful. The kids were perfect! All of them. We got several compliments from those sitting around us on their behavior. Annabeth snacked a bit and took turns sitting on both parents laps. She even napped for a little bit. The boys watched movies on our iPads and before we knew it was time to land.

We could feel the plane descending, but couldn't see a thing even though it was mid-day. Captain Kirk must have been flying using instruments alone because we couldn't see the ground until right before we landed! What a difference a few hours and 2,000 miles makes!

Here is our plane in Appleton:

You'll notice you can't see much past the plane. Captain Kirk and crew were going to turn around and fly right back to Mesa. We watched them de-ice the plane for the return trip. The weather was so bad that by the time they got all the way around the plane they had to start over. We didn't know this until later, but apparently all but two flights were cancelled. Ours was one of the two that made it. Good thing we flew into Appleton and not Green Bay because Austin Straubel shut down completely.

I got a picture of JD by the plane since it was his first flight ever. And what an adventure it was!

Little did we know our adventure wasn't over! Since we didn't know if we were going to be leaving until the last minute and we weren't really sure where exactly we'd be landing (and since Grandma Linda doesn't like to drive in bad weather), no one was at the airport to pick us up! My dad was on his way when we landed, but his car alone was not enough to transport all of us. We asked about renting a larger capacity vehicle to just get us up to my parents in Oconto, but only one rental agency had one. A Suburban. They wanted over $500 for one day. No thanks! We ended up renting a little sedan for one day. (We returned the rental in Green Bay the next day on our way to Eau Claire.)

Then came the hard part driving from Appleton to Oconto in a blizzard. We split up. Wesley, JD, Annabeth, and I rode with my dad. Everyone else rode with Jerry in the rental car. It was slow going but we finally made it!

Christmas Ornament 2012

Every year we give the kids an ornament. When they decorate their own trees, I hope they enjoy looking back at all their ornaments as much I enjoy looking at mine. Some years I buy the ornaments, some years I make them. This year I made them.

Earlier this year I finally gave in and joined Pinterest. I have really enjoyed it. I have found lots of crafts and recipes to try out (some more successful than other). This year's ornaments are one of the projects I came across in my "pinning". I chose different colors for each child except the girls. I liked the brown and pink combo so much that I made two of those!

These were simple to make and very inexpensive (pretty much free). The hardest part was cutting out the little felt pieces! I hand stitched them with embroidery floss I already had on hand. I also had the ric rac trim and most of the felt. I think they turned out really cute.

I wanted to take a photo of all seven owls together, but Annabeth took a liking to hers and carried it off. I couldn't find it anywhere. Thankfully, it turned up later. Just use your imagination and pretend there is another pink/brown owl on the bottom right.

If you come across any cute ornament patterns, send them my way! I've already started looking for the 2013 ornament.

Queen Creek Holiday Parade 2012

Saturday, December 1st, was the Queen Creek Holiday parade. Despite my not-so-glowing review from last year, we were there again this year. This year we went to cheer on Wesley who was in the parade with his 4-H group. This year's parade was a lot more fun. Not only did we get to see Wesley, the weather was beautiful, we had great seats, and the candy tossers weren't stingy! (Candy throwing is technically prohibited in the official parade rules. Guess that explains last year's lack of candy tossing.)

Wesley and I made his costume on Friday. He was a big walking present. We just wrapped a big box we had from the move and added a big dollar store bow. He also wore a Santa hat and some of my Christmas socks. 

Jerry took him to the drop off area and then went to save us some seats. Grandma Molly and Grandpa John came out to our house and rode with us to watch the parade. Unfortunately, the prime parking lot was blocked off and inaccessible by the time we got down there. It worked out okay since we found a decent spot at the library, but next year I need to remember to go around the other way.

Annabeth rode in the stroller, but once we stopped she wanted to be a big kid and get out. As you can see here, she was crying to get out of the stroller.

We got settled. The kids on a blanket in front of the grown ups who had chairs. We were happy to see the side of the road was now paved and landscaped so we didn't have to sit in the dirt like last year.

The parade started. We caught candy and waved.

Annabeth enjoyed her first candy cane.

We saw the SRP light bulb guy and an Arizona snowman.

I took this picture of a pretty draft horse for my mom.

Annabeth was so good. She didn't run off even once. She just sat, or stood, and watched the parade go by.

We kept an eye on the entry numbers. Wesley was walking with parade entry #57 (aka at the very end). Finally, the moment we had all been waiting for!! Here he comes!

Look at that cheering section. The crowd went wild! :)

And there he goes!

We waved at Santa a few minutes later and then it was time to go home.

Once we were home, JD wanted to try on Wesley's costume. Actually, all the boys, and even Annabeth, took turns wearing it for several days after the parade. It finally fell apart and went out to recycling.

Happy Bird-day Hayden!

Hayden's birthday was November 20th, but we had his party Saturday the 24th. He still loves Angry Birds, so that's what we chose for a theme. I made Angry Bird cupcakes: Red Birds and Green Pigs. They weren't my best work ever, but the birthday boy liked them and that's all that matters.

The Red Birds were chocolate cupcakes with red frosting and red sugar crystals. The belly was a third of a marshmallow and the nose was a third of an "orange slice" gummy candy. The eyes were a mini marshmallow cut in half with a dot of black frosting. I used black frosting for the eye brows too.

The Piggies were funfetti cupcakes with green frosting. A half of a marshmallow made the snout and the nostrils were mini chocolate chips. The eyes were the same as the birds. I just used black frosting to make the mouth and eye brows. I should have gone to the trouble to track down some green jelly beans for the ears, but I was too lazy. I thought about frosting mini marshmallows instead, but I had so much trouble frosting the big ones I gave up on that idea!

We used one of Hayden's favorite gifts from last year's birthday for table decorations! Cardboard bricks and Angry Bird plush toys. For dinner we had a Taco/Nacho bar with all the fixings. We splurged on a big can of the real snack-bar-style nacho cheese from Costco. Everyone enjoyed the food!

Hayden loved his gifts... Angry Birds (of course!) attire and games... and Legos!

Annabeth seemed to take an interest in the gifts, or at least the wrappings, this time. She also showed off her new walking skills and found time to sit down and play a little bit with her cousins.

Hayden loved his new Angry Bird pajamas and wore them to bed that very night. They spent one day in the laundry and they were back on! I thought he looked so cute (and colorful) the next morning during breakfast that I had to take this picture.

Happy 7th Bird-day Hayden!

Off She Goes

Annabeth finally figured out that walking is better than crawling! This video is from last weekend and she is already more confident than she was last week. Way to go Boo Boo!

Game Day

Since the Packers were playing the Cardinals this past Sunday we let the boys wear their Packer jerseys to church. Unfortunately, we didn't have a little Packer jersey for Annabeth so she just wore regular clothes. Wesley wasn't particularly fond of the idea (he wanted to wear a polo as usual), but he was a good sport and went along with it anyway.

We get plenty of stares on a regular week, but dressing everyone in Packer attire really gets you noticed! We thought about Cousin Carter wearing his Cardinal gear at Lambeau while we were wearing our Packer gear here in Arizona! Go Pack Go!

Seasonal Decor

Way back when, I used to decorate a lot more for each season/holiday. But through the years we lived in Wisconsin I seemed to do it less and less. I always thought it was because I was so much busier than I used to be. I have discovered it wasn't that at all!

In Wisconsin, the season's change and the "decor" automatically changes with it. I didn't need a million little snowmen in my house when my whole yard was covered in 18 inches of snow. I didn't need fake fall leaves when we had piles of them.

Now that we are back in Arizona, I find myself wanting to decorate again. Why? Well, the calendar says it's fall, but it doesn't feel like fall and it sure doesn't look like fall. So let's pretend!

I dug out my fall box and pulled out some fake leaves. Please ignore the palm trees to the right of the front door. They don't really help with the fall look I'm going for here!

Outside: Cornstalk garland, fake leaves, and floral picks by the front door.

Inside: More fake leaves and a pretty fall wreath my mom made for me!

It's not quite the same, but it made me feel a little bit better. Now if only I could make some chili and not have to eat it wearing shorts!

Election Q&A with Jerry

I thought it might be a fun blog post to ask my in-house political expert a few questions about the election. In case you didn't know, Jerry is very into politics (when we lived in Wisconsin he wrote a political blog). He reads and researches and doesn't let emotions get in the way. (I think he's part Vulcan!)

Q: Are you upset by the election results? Why or why not? 

No. The result was not at all surprising at the presidential level. Gains by Democrats in the Senate were more surprising (especially in places like ND and MT).

Q: You have said repeatedly that if someone went into a coma this year and woke up in 2015 they wouldn't be able to tell if a Democrat or Republican was president. Are they really that much alike? 

Yes, but no one believes me when I say this. If you watched the debates you may have come away thinking there are sharp differences between the two major parties. This is impression is due entirely to the way the debates are formatted and presented. Consider the fact that it was a GOP Congress and President George W. Bush (gasp!) who expanded Medicare to include a prescription drug benefit. And who, exactly, do you think gave us TARP and the auto industry bailout? (Hint: NOT President Obama.)

Q: Did third party voters lose the election for Romney? 

No, this simply wasn't a factor. Even in the most famous example of this in recent history (1992) Perot did not cost GHW Bush the election.

 Q: Is a vote for a third party candidate a wasted vote?

At the level of the individual every vote is a waste. When millions of votes are cast no single vote matters, third party or otherwise. An individual may be wasting their time voting but they are not wasting their vote by casting a ballot for the Left Handed Vegans with ADHD Party. ("But what if everyone thought that way, then no one would vote" you object. Allow me to retort: They don't, so it doesn't matter.)

Q: What can/should Christians do (politically speaking) to help this country? 

Pray. Generally be subject to the authority of our government (1 Peter). Be informed on policies AND personalities. This is harder than it sounds. You have to seek out this information. It does not come in 20 second soundbites on any cable news channel. You may "know" Obama was born in Kenya, but do you know who the Secretary of State is or anything about US policy in Africa?

Q: Is there too much money in politics? 

No. The antidote to money in politics is informed citizens. It is not new/more/better rules about money in politics. I'm for unlimited personal spending on political campaigns combined with full disclosure of donations.

Q: Is our country too polarized/partisan?

No. See above on differences between the parties. We need a greater diversity of ideas among (and within) the major parties AND we need to articulate those differences in a way that is respectful. Simply put, we need polite partisans.

Q: If you believe we need a smaller federal government does that mean you hate Big Bird/the interstate highway system/victims of super storm Sandy?

No. The federal government does too many things and too many of them not well enough. Even if we ultimately disagree, we should be able to have a discussion about what are the appropriate roles of the federal government, state and local governments, and individuals. We should be guided by the principle of assigning roles to the lowest level of authority that makes sense (for example, the city shouldn't be in charge of interstate highways and the FBI shouldn't do animal control). The fancy name for this is subsidiarity, but it's really just common sense. There is no credible spokesman for this approach on the national stage today.

If you have a question for Jer, leave it in the comments!!

What's Cookin'

Annabeth is underfoot every second I'm in the kitchen. Hopefully someday she'll be a great kitchen helper! She loves it when I turn on the oven light so she can see what's inside.

This time she was happy to see it was one of her favorite things... cookies!!

Brotherly Love

All my boys love babies. Annabeth doesn't know how lucky she is to have five big brothers who think she's the sweetest baby around! Here are a few moments of brotherly love I captured recently.

Hayden leaned in towards Annabeth while she was sitting in her high chair at dinner, so she did the same.

Not wanting to be left out, Justus took a turn next.

Annabeth loves her brothers too. Here she is watching them through the back door.

She was so happy when someone noticed her! Soon enough she'll be able to run around with them, but not just yet.

Here she is trying on Wesley's sunglasses. Whenever we put sunglasses on a baby we always tell them they are "too cool for school". At first she wasn't too sure.

But in the end, I think Annabeth agreed with that!