Memorial Day Weekend

We just got back from our trip to Dayton, OH to see our good friends Chris and Ashley, along with their daughter, Olivia.  We had a great time - Ashley prepared gourmet meals for our entire stay and we've been incredibly spoiled by her culinary talents!  Lunch upon arrival was homemade bean soup and dinner was barbecued chicken, corn on the cob, and the world's BEST potato salad.  The next day we awoke to gourmet coffee and gluten-free pancakes with organic maple syrup!  They were picture perfect - light & fluffy, golden brown, and OH SO TASTY.  After spending most of the day at the Air Force museum, we came home and had barbecued ribeye steaks on the grill that tasted so good they put Outback Steakhouse to shame.  Accompaniments of grilled zucchini and cheesy rice with broccoli made our tastebuds weep in ecstasy.  For dessert, Ashley modified her usual Tiramisu recipe to substitute gluten-free pound cake instead of ladyfingers so Dave and I could have some.  Once again, another culinary masterpiece of distinction.

This is one of the memorials outside the Air Force museum - the planes in the background are flying in the missing man formation:

 
After living in Hawaii for six years, this poster really struck home:

Dave was shocked to find one of his relatives showcased at the museum - Major Raoul Lufbery.  We made sure to get plenty of pictures to share with his family:

These were some artifacts recovered from his plane after it was shot down:

The cushion that fell from his plane along with Lufbery:

Melted aluminum from the engine cowl of Lufbery's Nieuport 28:

Lufbery's cigarette holder and case, given to him by a French Countess:

A full scale model of Lufbery's plane:

And the description plate:

Back at the house, Olivia thwarted all efforts to get a picture of her wearing sunglasses, timing it just right so that all shots ended like this:

D&K

Storm Part 2

Here is a picture as the first wave of storms came through around 3:00 in the afternoon - as you can see, it's broad daylight over the pool, and incoming darkness over the horizon.....

Wild Storms

Just a quick note to let everyone know we weathered the storms without too much damage.  I think my poor hanging plant is a little worse for wear, as I was not able to rescue it before the marble-sized hail began last night.

I got some pictures of the wicked looking sky during the first wave of storms - I'll try to get those uploaded tomorrow.

Hope everyone else is doing well also!

D&K

New Beginnings

Dave and I were married in 2007 after dating for almost four years.  The second marriage for both of us, we kept the wedding very low-key, with only my father in attendance. 

Ever the career-minded girl, I kept my maiden name this time around for ease of transition and familiarity in the business world.  An unexpected consequence of this decision was some confusion amongst relatives as to whether we were actually married or just living together.  Rest assured, not only did the marriage ceremony take place, but my father took video for posterity.

Four years later, we find the idea of blogging to be an easy way for family and friends to stay up to date on our current events and adventures.  Check back often for pictures and/or short blurbs of our "goings on."

We have several summer road trips planned this year, with places like Ohio and Virginia currently penciled in as final destinations.  After coming off the road as truck drivers in 2006, we really miss the open road and look forward to breaking out the atlas again and traversing the highways once more.  If time and vacation allotments were unlimited, we would add quite a few more destinations to that list, but as it is, we each only have a week's vacation to use and not enough time to visit all the people we want.  If we're not making it out to see you this year, please know that we still miss you dearly and hope to make a trip in the coming years.

So welcome aboard, fasten your seat belts, and enjoy the ride!

D&K