Old friends are the best

Old friends are the best and Marcy is one of my oldest. She knows all of my dirty little secrets and she loves me anyway.

We met Marcy, Bob, and their four kids in DC and stayed for the weekend. Then they followed us home. I think we were all a little concerned about 10 people in a 3 bedroom house, but it couldn't have gone smoother.

We laughed a lot, too much to write about. Here are just a few of the highlights;
Bob and the hot sauce incident.
1st roller coaster ride.
Using 2 bottles of ketchup at one meal.
Digging for fossils in our back yard.
VIMS touch tank.
Creating wii characters of our guests.
Seeing the White House.
Riding the Metro during the Cherry Blossom Festival.
The look on Bob's face after going for a motorcycle ride.
The look on Krystal face when I came out the dressing room. Her expression was priceless. I didn't have to ask her how I looked. It was a definite NO.

I could go on and on.

We miss you already. Come back soon.

"Aaaaaarmy training Sir"

Since most of my military knowledge comes from movies like "Stripes" and "Private Benjamin", it was cool to see the real thing. My FC (Favorite Cousin), and his battalion have been training at Fort AP Hill, which is only about an hour from my home. FYI, Fort AP Hill is a war training facility.

I haven't seen FC since GG pasted about three years ago. We spent the first part of the visit catching up. Then I got the grand tour. There wasn't much to see. I counted six or so white cinder block buildings. The buildings were just as plain on the inside as they were on the outside. I am considering turning them into HGTV for a makeover. Next we took a drive around the base. We made a quick stop at the artillery range. I attached a video. I hope it works.

The experience was really cool and I felt privileged to go see FC and meet some of the men that work so hard and have given up so much for our country. I don't think I could do what they do.

On a lighter note. The strangest thing about my visit was seeing FC in action. As kids we ran around the farm and acted stupid together. Since I don't know who will be reading this I wont be giving any details. I don't want to undermine his authority. You just have to trust me that we were good at being stupid and getting into trouble. Now he is in command 800 men! And I would like to add that he is good at it. I could tell that his men not only respected him but they liked him too. But whats not to like?

Thanks again for inviting me. Stay safe.

ps I could not get the video to work. Try back later.

Chance of Snow, Snow Day

I thought all you snowbound Yankees would get a kick out of this. I know I did. Last night there was a chance of 3 to 5" of snow. Before one snowflake fell the whole Eastern Seaboard went into lock down. The grocery stores were stripped bare. It was announced on the 11:00 news that schools, colleges, and some factories would be closed in the morning. V-Dot was out all night putting brine on the roads. The best part is we did not get any snow. In fact I don't recall seeing a snow cloud.

Drill Baby Drill

Tuesday our well went dry.
Wednesday we called a plumber hoping it was the pump. We weren't so lucky.
Thursday we called a well digger and got and emergency well permit.
Friday it rained all day. Did you know you can't drill in the rain? Either did I.
Saturday the big drill rig sunk in the mud and had to be towed out.
Sunday is Holy Day.
Monday we had a logging road put down so the trucks could get to the back yard.
Monday night about 8:00 we had water!

We were able to take showers at the fitness center and our neighbor, Jerry, let us fill containers so we could flush. It was interesting to say the least. All in all it wasn't so bad. Every time I got frustrated I would think of my family members who were going far worse situations and it helped keep things in perspective.

A Great Day For Art

What a fun day. Two of our favorite things, dogs and art. Our local library sponsored a free art class "All Gestured Up with a Dog." The artist, Kendra Wadsworth, was awesome. But as you can see her assistant Cassie Mae stole the show.

I sat in on the class because the girls were feeling shy that morning. I'm glad I did because I enjoyed watching the children create. They didn't stress out about what others think, staying in the lines, or what colors to use. They we just happy to be there.

The class was made up of about 10 high school, middle school, and elementary school age kids. Kendra did and excellent job of teaching to every age group. The teens in the class were very polite and a great role model for the younger kids.

We'd love to see Kendra and Cassie Mae come back for more classes.

Going For Gold

My friend Katie and I won best couple at a Halloween party last weekend. We were dressed as gold metal synchronized swimmers. We had a lot of fun putting this costume together. My favorite part is the vintage swim caps Katie found on line.

Chalk Fest '08

Better late than never. I am so far behind on my posts that I can't remember if Goo (Goo is a nick name her best friend gave her) got 2nd or 3rd place. Bad mommy. She won 2 movie tickets with popcorn and drinks, plus one free art class of her choice at the Bay School for the Arts.

Neptune Fest 2008

For the other kid's birthday we went back to VB just to hangout. We were all very surprised to see that the sandcastles from Neptune Fest were still intact. The week of the fest we had a nor easter come through. It lasted 3 to 4 days and had sustained winds of 60 miles per hour. Not exactly sandcastle weather. You can see more at these links.file:///Users/Tony/Desktop/davidnotes.com:2008:09:30:neptune-festival-2:.webloc
file:///Users/Tony/Desktop/www.metacafe.com:.webloc

Birthday Wishes Can Come True

My #1 recently celebrated her 11th birthday. Some of you may not know this but she is a huge Billy Idol fan. So, what could be better than getting tickets to a Billy Idol concert for your birthday? How about going to see him on your birthday!

Billy came to Virginia Beach, and preformed right on the beach. The sponsors,Beach Street USA, set up a full size stage right on the beach. We were able to get about 30 feet from the stage. We all had a blast.

I don't know how we'll ever top this birthday.

ps we met a photographer at the concert and she forwarded us some pics from the big night.
file:///Users/Tony/Desktop/flickr.com:photos:ragefoto.webloc

Back on line

I have been having technical difficulties.
Please stand by for new posts.

As the Nest Turns

After watching the eagles for a year my Mom and I finally made the trip over to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. It was a little chilly and over cast, but not too bad. We could see the nest immediately, and the female resting on a branch. We watched from the ground for a few minutes, then went up into the observation tower. It was so cool to be there in person instead of looking at a small video screen on my computer.

Channel 13 did an update story, here's the link. It's a must see. Let us know what you think.

http://www.wvec.com/video/topvideo-index.html?nvid=221426

If the link doesn't work copy and paste into your browser.
Wait for the fat dog bit to finish.

Eagle Update

http://www.wvec.com/video/topvideo-index.html?nvid=219190&shu=1

This is a link to the local news story about the eagles.

Our Eagles are in Distress

Last Spring we were on the edge of our seats as we watched three eagles hatch and fledge their nest. It was awesome! This year the Eagle Cam has recorded the eagles build a new nest and lay three new eggs. I just read that our eagles were attacked by a third eagle. They were forced to leave the nest for long periods of time. It is not know if the eggs are still viable.

You can read more and see a slide show of the attack at www.wvec.com.

That's our girl!

She did it again! The 5th graders were all asked to design an anti smoking t-shirt. You are looking at the winner!!!! It says "Don't Smoke. When you do you kill."

It's hard to see the details. If you look closely you will see that these aren't just any old ground squirrels, they are thirteen line ground squirrels. You will also see that the words "don't smoke" have fire on them. My favorite part is the baby. She is so cute. She is covering her eyes because the entrance to her home is filled with cigarette butts and the ground is also littered with cigarettes.

Click photo enlarge.

Her message is clear. Smoking not only hurts the smoker, it hurts everyone.

To order please send $19.95 in a self addressed stamped envelope (sase) to.... :)

Our new favorite place

Over Christmas break we went to the Virginia Air and Space Center. We bought a season pass so any and everyone who comes to visit this year can count on dropping in. There is an ice skating ring, an Imax theater, and lots of flight simulators, just to name a few things. I also found out that I only weight 7 lbs. on Pluto. Maybe I'll try to get weight wathchers to have a meeting there.

We had a total blast, and have even been back for a second visit. We are planning our next visit soon because Jelly Belly is sponsoring a traveling exhibit called "Candy Unwrapped."

BIGFOOT IN GLOUCESTER?

Click photo to enlarge.


Here is the actual photo of the WaWa in question. This is an artists rendering of the sighting. Who knew that Bigfoot is a live and well and living in Gloucester? We are not alone......

COMING SOON!

Our best Strange Stories blog update ever! I am gathering information as you read this. This one is going to get hairy.

I've got the joy joy joy joy.....

Nothing brings me more joy that finding a great deal.
My motto is "retail is for suckers."
Peebles had a one day only sale and this is what I got;
3 shirts @ $18.00 each
1 shirt/jacket @ $22.00
1 pair of capris @ $36.00
&
1 pair of capris @ $50.00

Retail price $162.00.
I spent $17.32.

That's right.
I got 6 items for less than the price of one.
Damn I'm good.

Some rules are meant to be broken.

We have been trying to enjoy our last few weekends at Busch Gardens before it closes for the winter. We all love to ride the coasters, especially Anna. There are three big coasters that she has not been able to ride, Apollo's Chariot, Alpengueist(Alpine Ghost, help me out FG), and Griffon. It's been hard for her to watch everyone having fun while she waits. That was until now. I wont go into the details of how it came to be but Anna got to ride Apollo's and Alpine Ghost. As you can see by her giant smiles she loved every second of it.

Happy Halloween

Why didn't the skeleton go to the ball?
because he didn't have any "body" to go with.

Why was the ghost wearing a bra?
To hold up her booooo-bies.

Why wouldn't the skeleton cross the road?
Because he didn't have any guts.

Where do baby ghosts go for the day?
The dayscare center.

Who did Frankenstien take to the party?
His ghoul friend.

What do you call it when a ghost makes a mistake?
A boo boo.

How do you fix a broken pumpkin?
With a pumpkin patch.

What is a monsters favorite treat?
Ghoul scout cookies.

What is a mummies favorite type of music?
Wrap.

I hope you enjoyed our jokes.
These pic's are from Hallow-Scream at Busch Gardens.