To and From Oshkosh

We had nice easy trips to and from Oshkosh. The car ran great after all the replacements, repairs and preventative maintenance Jason has done on it. We stopped at two capitol buildings --for those who don't know, my goal is to see all 51 capitols and I have started a scrapbook where I put a picture of the front and of the rotunda for each building on a page along with various information about the state. It is a fun little project. Thank you for your prayers for safety!!

Look what I can do!

We got to Indianapolis before the capitol building opened, so Patrick decided to try to take matters into his own hands.

Indianapolis, IN capitol

We stopped at the Jelly Belly factory after Oshkosh and before staying at a guest house in New Albany, IN.

We stayed at a guesthouse owned by a church and hosted by a sweet woman, Mabel, who used to volunteer in the hangar at JAARS. It is a beautiful, restful area, and we so appreciated the opportunity to meet Mabel. We plan on staying there again on our way to MN in October.

Waiting to eat at Cracker Barrel with Mabel.

The capitol in Frankfort, KY--absolutely gorgeous inside and out!

EAA Airventure 2007!

On Saturday, July 21, we headed off to Oshkosh, WI for the Airventure show there--largest aviation get together in the world, and second only to heaven for Jason! We had a great time and here are the pictures to prove it....

They have a children's hangar where there are all sorts of activities for kids--it was a huge blessing for a tired out mom! It also gave Jason a chance to go out 'n' about by himself for a little while.

Patrick in a Tiger Moth that is just his size.

Patrick's favorite airplane is a DC-3 named Duggy..."the smile in the sky." You can see part of the black "smile" line in this picture. Here is Patrick barely reaching the prop of Duggy.

Completely worn out!

Jason with his friend Nathan (from MN)

We had the opportunity to meet Kent Pietsch, a wonderful airshow pilot and very nice guy.

We also got to quickly meet Patty Wagstaff, an excellent airshow pilot.

Us by a stinkin' huge airplane...the C-5.

Hangin' out by a helio with our friend James (from MN)
Patrick is a monkey!!!

" Ouch...the airshow is so loud I have to plug my ears!" Believe me, when the Harriers and F-22s did their shows and fly-bys, I was plugging his ears! Those things are so loud!!

Weeeeeeee!

Patrick fell asleep right in the middle of his snack

Like I said, he's a monkey!

That is talent!!

We got to go right up to the Goodyear blimp

Jason sitting in the Quest Kodiak--an airplane that JAARS has purchased and will soon be receiving. It is the ultimate mission aviation/bush flying aircraft. He could very likely be flying one of these in Papua New Guinea.

Jason took two classes while we were there--one on fiberglass/composite airplanes and another on making wood ribs to build airplane wings...here he is working on the rib. It is now hanging on the wall in our dining area.

On our last night there, a storm was heading our way. Since we were camping in a tent, a very kind family that we've known of since last year's event invited us to stay at their house near the airport. We stayed here, in their son's room, which was such a blessing! It was so peaceful to have a good night sleep and relaxing shower the day before we headed back to North Carolina.

More Wildlife

Here's a spider with a very different looking web that lives right outside our door.

These 3 baby birds nested in a bush right outside Patrick's bedroom window. He was too fidgety to see what was going on, but I watched the mother come with a bug and feed it to the babies. The birds have now grown up and left, but Patrick still asks to look at the birds.

Random Pictures...

Patrick is such a big help!! It only takes me twice as long to do dishes when he "helps"!!

Us with our friend Scott on the 4th of July at a little block party

There is a great family here that has two goats that they milk. Here is Patrick checking them out with Tyrell, Addison and Katie (their dad works with Jason in the hangar).

Patrick is learning how to play frisbee.

Watching remote control airplanes is a favorite pasttime for these guys.

Actually flying the R/C planes is even more fun! Here is Jason with his co-intern/friend David flying a "homebuilt" of David's.

Singin' in the rain!

Patrick is a water addict. That's all there is to it! We let him play out in the rain one day, and although he was shivering, he screamed when we brought him in!

Mmmm.....yummy rain water....