Dad's 80th Birthday!

This was taken last November when we held dad's 80th birthday party. It was a great party, and all the siblings were in town to help dad celebrate this special event. The oldest and the youngest grandchildren were also present to help mark the occasion.

Happy 80th Dad!

Antonov AN-225

Look at the size of this beast that landed at Fairbanks International Airport today. There is only one of these in the world, and these pictures do not truly tell the story of just how HUGE this thing is -- almost a football field long! It took Josh three pictures to get it from nose to tail:



This is another view that gives a better idea of how big the AN-225 is. The plane taking off is a 737, on the runway right behind the AN-225, and it is tiny in size.

This picture gives a good idea of how wide the wingspan is. Look at the size of the engine compared to the truck on the ground, and also that the tires are as big as the people walking next to the plane.

I think Josh would have given most anything to be able to go out on the tarmac to get an up close and personal view of this plane. It would be fascinating to watch it take off, but it is supposed to be closer to midnight. Josh was still so tempted (me too!), but it is a school and work night.
The local paper also had an article on this plane, which brought everyone out in droves to take a look see. Their article can be found at: http://www.newsminer.com/view/full_story/5884101/article-Huge-Russian-jet-lands-at-Fairbanks-airport?instance=home_lead_story.
Wonder if Josh will be piloting something of this size in the future?

Boeing Museum of Flight

Some pictures from the camp at Boeing Museum of Flight which Joshua attended last summer with his buddy, Sam. This is Josh on the first morning of camp. I was lucky to get this picture at all, as he was in such a hurry to get inside and start camp.



After the first day of camp we did some exploring inside the Museum of Flight. Here is the future astronaut.



As we were leaving, the Blue Angels started to arrive. They were at Boeing Field during the week Josh was at camp practicing for Sea Fair in Seattle. We were lucky to see lots of flying that week!


Josh and Sam cooling off in the hotel pool after a hot day at camp. Seattle was having record breaking high temperatures during our visit.


I really like this statute that is outside one of the entrances of the Museum of Flight.



Some pictures of just a few of the many planes that are inside the Museum of Flight. This is such a great place to explore, and is definitely worth a visit when you are in Seattle!




Yup, this really is a flying car that was in limited production!


The kids ate their lunches outside, watching the planes land and take off at Boeing Field.


While most of the kids are trying to get an autograph from the Blue Angel pilot, note that Sam and Josh are still sitting at the picnic table. They were trying to decide what their first planes would be. (Josh wants a J3 Cub.)


Before we knew it, the week was up and it was time for the closing ceremony. Here we are in the auditorium waiting for Josh and Sam to go up on stage with their group.


Here's Josh on stage (tall one in the middle) for his group's closing. The boys had so much fun we hope to do this again this summer. We'll decide for certain once the Museum of Flight posts this summer's camp schedule.

Bi-Wing Flight

Catching up on some of this past summer's adventures, this slide show is of a bi-wing flight Josh and I took while we were at Boeing Museum of Flight in late July. He and his friend, Sam, were to take the flight, but Sam opted out at the last minute. I decided to go in his place, and off we went for a 20 minutes flight over Seattle. When it came time to turn around and head back to Boeing Field, the pilot asked us if we wanted a gentle turn or a "high energy" turn. I opted for the gentle turn, much to Josh's displeasure. However, as we were on our way back to Boeing Field we circled at the end of the runway to wait for one of the Blue Angels to take off. As soon as he took off he immediately went vertical. It was impressive to see with the "front row" seats we had. Our pilot nosed our plane up to watch the Blue Angel, which did result in the high energy turn Josh originally wanted as he banked down and around for our approach. The flight ended all too soon, and I surprised myself by getting over my fear of heights while being in the open air cockpit. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again!

Summer Friday Evenings

Josh has been riding his mountain bike on local ski trails with other kids, organized by the Fairbanks Cycle Club. He is having so much fun at this that he is now talking about possible road racing next year. We'll just have to see about that.

During last week's ride I went for a walk and took these pictures. The last shot shoes how smokey it has been thanks to the fire which is 30 miles from town. Normally you can see the Alaska Range from this point. As much as I hate to say it, getting some rain would be a very good thing.

Summer Reading

Josh loves to read. His first choice is anything involving aircraft or military history. He also loves novels, and lately has become a fan of Clive Cussler's books. At our recent trip to the library he picked out this fun book:

Yup - "A Dangerous Book for Dogs." Notice in the top right corner it does state "a paraody."

It was at this trip to the library that Josh was to pick up the prize he had won in association with the summer reading program. The librarian gave Josh a choice: he could either have a $10 gift card to the movie theater, showing him the gift card in a nifty Harry Potter envelope, or he could have a book bag and pick out a first run book that has not made its way to bookstores yet. Even though Josh thought the librarian said he could have the gift card OR the book bag OR the choice of a book, he choose this nifty book bag.

The the librarian reminded him to pick out his book, and Josh was surprised he got to have TWO things. This is the book he picked out:

Ah yes, pirates, another favorite thing for him to read about. On second thought, I cannot think of much that he does not like to read about. Which is why we'll go to the used book store to purchase quite a few books to take with us on our upcoming trip. Nothing is worse than having Josh run out of books to read on the plane!

Phase II

Last weekend Josh was trying to enjoy a nice Ghiradelli chocolate bar with caramel filling....

...mmmm, that sure looks good!

The filling looks even better. He tried to keep it from dripping on the newspaper he was reading.

Now, are you wondering why I titled this post Phase II? Last week Josh had to have his second set of braces put on - Phase II as the orthdontist calls it. I dropped off Josh, and three (3!) hours later he was finally done and I picked him up. I had cautioned him to pick rubber band colors that he could live with for a while.
And the colors he chose?

Why, navy and gold in honor of the Blue Angels, who he'll soon get to see in a show at the camp he is going to at the end of the month at the Boeing Museum of Flight in Seattle and then get to personally meet. I am excited about it too as the families of the campers get to come to the air demonstration the Blue Angels will put on for the campers.
Josh looks like one happy camper already!