Serene

September 7, 2012 ~ Piet Van Waarde is a son, a father, a husband, a pastor, an author and a photographer. He is a very inspiring man who is approachable, down-to-earth, genuine, kind and in my opinion simply brilliant. Piet is the senior pastor at Woodcrest Chapel in Columbia, MO.  Woodcrest is a non-denominational church with Southern Baptist roots. For me personally, I love their style as I can relate to things in current day teaching. I also appreciate being able to attend church in comfortable clothing rather than the traditional dressing up. (I completely understand and respect anyone that has other opinions)

Piet has created a Facebook page titled "Piet's Pics!"a place where amateur photographers can participate in photo contests. I love this idea as so many people really enjoy taking pictures of things important to them or simply things they like. They may have an inexpensive one shot style camera or they may have a professional camera. It doesn't matter as long as they are having fun and using their artist ability trying to catch a unique shot or perspective on an object. He recently created an annual photo contest that ended September 3, 2012. We had recently gotten back from Colorado and I wanted to enter a photo in each of the 10 categories. They were: Melt, Happy, Replenish, Serene, Holiday, Cute, Cooling off, Fun, Style and Breath-taking.

The rules were that a winner will be selected in each category, with honorable mentions also noted. A grand-prize winner will also be selected and the winning shot will be displayed on Piet's Pics wall and the winning photographer will be given a framed 8x10 of their beautiful pic with a official certificate commending their work. I just got word that my photo "Serene" (pictured above) won first place for this category! How awesome is that! This is such a fun event and the first time I have entered a photo and can't wait until the next photo contest! Thank you Piet for creating this and I am honored that my picture made it! Awesome day!

Chief Master Sergeant Dr. Robert M. Malone

September 4, 2012 ~ I had an amazing day! When I got off the plane in Kansas City, MO on Sunday night I had a voice mail and text from my good buddy Sarah Hill! The Central Missouri Honor Fight was going on their 20th Honor Flight on Tuesday September 4, 2012 and there was 4 veterans that were unable to go because of their health. She asked if I would be able to help with a Virtual Honor Flight via a Google+ hangout. (Chad LaFarge had something come up which allowed me to be a special part of this) I was super excited! If I couldn't go on the real Honor Flight then by golly this was the next best thing!

I headed to Jeff City with my gear loaded in my car on Monday afternoon. I wanted to be sure that it would work and if it didn't I had time to find something else to make it work! When I arrived at Jefferson City Nursing Rehabilitation Center I found Mr. Malone in therapy. I introduced myself and told him what I was doing. I started carrying everything in to his room and getting it set up. Just as I got done he came back to his room. I had sent a few requests to some awesome G+ peeps and Bruce Garber from Boston logged on to help us test everything! With his help we needed to get some speakers and a power strip as some of the outlets weren't working in the room. (I needed more than one outlet for all my stuff!) So we chatted with Bruce for a bit and then I ran to Best Buy to get what I needed.

Chief Malone (I called him Mr. Malone until,with the help of Chad LaFarge, did I find out how he would like to be called) was so sweet and so understanding. I was able to install speakers and the power strip and was ready to hang out again to make sure we were good to go in the morning. (You ever tried to find stuff at 7:00 am when you need it by 8:00 am?) We hung out with Chad and then Sarah Hill popped in! I think we were all ready to go for in the morning! I spent nearly 3 hours with Chief Malone and found out some great things about him!

He was born on November 14, 1926 to parents Irene Wilson Malone & Michael Robert Malone. He was born in Phelps County or rural Newburg. He had 9 brothers and sisters: Lloyd, Minnie, Alta, Reba, Molly, Patrick, Charlotte "Cookie", Jimmy and Linda. He "enhanced" his age and went to the US Navy when he was 15 and he couldn't figure out why he wasn't getting any mail. Well people had to know you were gone to get mail so he wrote his friend Blondie Kaiser. Chief Malone didn't know that Blondie couldn't read so he took the letter to Chief Malone's aunt to read it to him. Once she knew where he was she told his mom and she contacted the government and they kicked him out. It wasn't long after that he turned 18 and re-joined. He enlisted in the US Army Air Force until September 1947 when the Army broke away from the Air Force. Then he was in the US Air Force. He served 24 years in the military and served in 3 wars. World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War. He quickly moved up the ranks and was one of the youngest and fastest men to move up the ladder earning Chief Master Sergeant. Something he is very proud of and should be.

He went to a dance one night in St. Louis, MO and saw a lady across the room. He told his buddies that he was going to marry that woman and she would be the mother of his children. He went over to her, leaned in and told her that he couldn't dance a lick but he would love to hold her while she danced. The rest was history. Sarah & Bob Malone married on December 2, 1950. They have 4 children: Michael Malone II, Beverly Benton, Pamela Malone & Terrie Jo Elliott. He holds degrees in Liberal Arts (Biblical Studies), Business, Education and has a Doctorate in Economics.

I really enjoyed this one on one time with him and could have listened to his stories for days!

So I arrive in Jeff City, MO around 7:00 am. Chief Malone was still in bed, awake but not ready just yet. I talked to the nurses station and they were so kind to get him up and going by 7:45 am. It was pouring down rain and I was afraid we would have issues with the wifi connection but it was good! We got started and in came Terri Jo, his daughter! He did great throughout the whole Virtual Flight and even commented on a few things. It was amazing to be there virtually as the 68 veterans got off the plane, visited their memorials and we got to see the beaches of Normandy, France through Laurent Jean Philippe as well as a tour from Michael Tucker in Australia. Truly was amazing that this was really happening in the comfort of Chief Malone's room! When I asked him what he thought he said "I've got one word.... AWESOME!" So great to allow our veterans who are to sick to travel to do this as comfortable as possible.

His daughter Terrie Jo sat right next to him and held his hand while he went on his virtual tour.

He really enjoyed seeing and hearing everyone. I couldn't believe I would hear the waves on the beach in Normandy, France. I love this idea and I think he did too! 

This is how we watched. A mini net-book with a computer monitor (to make it easier to see) and speakers! It worked like a dream!

Right after the hangout ended in walked his wife Sarah! She came to spend the day with her sister for her 90th birthday but not without giving her hubby of almost 63 years a few kisses! It was so sweet to see him interact with each other! They were like two teenagers so much in love! It was wonderful meeting her and to see him light up when she walked in the room was perfect! (He had a pacemaker put in recently which is why he is there)

This young man knew early on what he wanted in life.... now that he has her he won't let go! These two love birds are precious and I am so thankful I had the chance to meet them!

A special thank you to all the men and women that make the Honor Flights for our veterans possible. Today a new platform has been used to get all veterans to their memorial.... technology is a truly amazing thing that's able to take you from your living room to anywhere in the world with the click of a mouse and Google+! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Heading home....

September 2, 2012 ~ Well the time has come for us to head back to Columbia, MO. We wanted to spend a little more time with Paul, Whitnee, Damon, Elaine & Connor before we left at 11:25 am so we decided to have brunch!

We went to a great little place in Montrose called Camp Robber. They served different breakfast style breads and had some of the best pancakes I've ever tasted. (Ok not better than Grandma Ruby's but 2nd best) Connor wanted to come back to Missouri with us and if it hadn't been for school he probably would have! (Paul's mom, Becky, was heading out next week so she would have brought him back)

We said our goodbyes and headed to the airport. Little did we know that our flight would not leave until 12:30 pm instead of the 11:25 am original time!

(Ok here goes another picture I can't get spun around as my blog is acting up again!) While waiting in the gate for our delayed plane to show up I met a sweet man. His name is Mack Jacobs from Texas. We started making small talk and he was a WWII Veteran. He said he had 5 brothers and they all went to war and all came home alive which was something very rare. I asked him if he had been to see his memorial in Washington, DC and he said no. He had lived it and didn't want to re-live it. He was up in Montrose to attend his grandson's wedding. They had four generations together yesterday and this would be his last flight. He was talking about how much things have changed as it had been 30 years since he had last flown. He said that he was in the construction business and in the 1980's when it dried up he headed to Paducha, Kentucky and bought and worked on a coal mine. He then built a Safeway store in Delta, CO about 30 years ago. It was really neat talking to him and you could tell he had so much history I would have listened to him for days! Super sweet man and his son stayed close to him making sure he was ok and steady. It was so nice to see him being taken care of the way a daddy should by his children!

Once we got to Dallas/Fort Worth we wouldn't catch our plane until 7:00 pm. That's a whole lot of people watching in a huge airport! We finally made it home around 11:30 pm.... Thank goodness for Monday off to sleep in a little! 

Black Canyon National Park

 

September 1, 2012 ~ We took the kids to a museum in Montrose. It was really neat seeing a lot of the older things that wasn't used anymore by the time I was born. Interesting how you remember things being told to you by your grandparents or teachers and Whitnee's kiddos have never seen (or maybe even heard of) things like a telephone booth, operator booth/switchboard for example. What will be things they remember as they get older that would be in a museum? It's sad only because history as we know it will soon be gone as we now know it. They couldn't help that they didn't know what it is because we live in a world of technology that is throughout our schools starting in Kindergarten. It was fun watching them and trying to imagine a mother and 5 kids living in a one room shed. (Makes me appreciate the things we have now but if you didn't know better you probably thought you had it pretty good... ya know!)

Once the boys got back and got showered (seriously... we don't want no stinky boys riding with us!) and headed up to Black Canyon National Park. It was our last "real" day out and about as tomorrow we would fly home.

It was really pretty too! To get to the bottom you drove on a 16 degree grade around several hair pin curves. It was neat to see this place and amazing how they built roads within this!

The kids had fun! 

We worked up an appetite so we went to The Red Barn (the name did it for me) for dinner. It was so yummy! The fresh rolls were awesome and the prime rib was good! It was nice to sit down for a good meal with them!

Loved the door decorations that were painted on!

It was another great day in Colorado! It's crazy how you wait forever for your vacation to get here and then it goes by so fast! It was worth it and I got a lot of writing done while I was here!

Boys trip & Girls trip!

August 31, 2012 ~ Today the boys headed up to Paul's Elk Camp. Once they drove back into Ridgeway, CO they took horses about 3 miles back to his camp. They would spend all of today and come back tomorrow around noon.

Whitnee and I took the kids to school....

and Damon was ready to head to the Colorado National Park in Fruita, CO!

The views were amazing! Pictures can't even capture the beauty! 

See... told you it was pretty! 

Since we weren't very far I wanted to see the Utah state line.... so we did! 

Damon did a pretty good job for being trapped in a car most of the day!

We went back to Whitnee's work (in Delta) and took advantage of the pretty flowers to get some pictures of the kiddos! I can't believe how beautiful they were considering any flowers in Missouri were burned up or dead.

Connor!

Elaine! 

Damon! 

It was a really great day getting to spend time with Whitnee and Damon throughout the day and then spending time with Elaine and Connor in the evening! We made dinner at their house and just had a nice and relaxing evening! We talked to the boys a few times and they were having fun!

A blast in Ridgeway & Ouray, Colorado!

August 30, 2012 ~ So the first place we headed to was Ralph Lauren's 17,000 acre ranch in Ridgeway, CO. (On the back side is the meadow where Paul and Whitnee got married) We drove up on another drive off his property to see a different view. Not very far into our drive we saw a bear!

It was so cool to see a bear that close to us. He was eating leaves and didn't really mind us taking pictures of him. He was maybe 100 lbs. total. We knew momma had to be close.

It was so pretty out there... 90 degrees with a nice breeze was wonderful! 

We had an adventure trying to set up the redneck tripod rather than asking people that were camping to take our picture! So much fun! 

We then headed into Ouray, CO. (I call it "Your Way".... locals didn't understand but knew I wasn't from their neck of the woods!) Ouray is known as "The Switzerland of America" and was full of great little shops and places to eat! (When we came out 2 years ago we stayed down the street from Paul and Whitnee's bed and breakfast. They have hot springs here!)

Since it started raining we decided to go take a mine tour. We headed to the Bachelor Syracuse Mine that was known for having silver in it. We only got to go 1,500 ft inside but next year they will take you 3,000+ feet deep inside. It was interesting to see what people did before the fancy technology we have today.

We then took a little hike up Box Canyon Falls. It was so pretty up top! (After we caught our breath we took a picture... we were happy because it was all down hill! Ha!)

Paul and Whitnee were laughing because the ol' Missourian's (who were out of shape) were able to keep up! (Mental note to self.... exercise more... eat less! Ha!)

We ate at an awesome steakhouse called The Outlaw. It's a must next time we go back out there! After dinner we headed to Delta, CO to go pick up the kiddos. Whitnee's mom, Cricket, watches them on Thursday's so it was perfect to have a day to relax and un-wind!

Colorado here we come!

 
August 29, 2012 ~ It seems like forever ago that we decided to head back out to Colorado to see Paul & Whitnee Lear but today's the day! Our flight would leave Kansas City, MO at 7:25 am  taking us to Dallas, TX and then on to Montrose, CO where the Lear's live. Thankfully they only live about 10 minutes from the airport (which is about the size of our Columbia Regional Airport in Columbia, MO) so it was easy to get in and get out!

Once we arrived we took the shuttle to our hotel. (Thank you Wayne Washburn for letting us use your Platinum Ambassador card to score an upgrade to a 2 room suite for no additional charge!) Paul and Whitnee were going to work until that afternoon so we told them we would meet up for dinner but until then we were hungry! We had a quick snack until Paul and Damon (16 months) came to pick us up and meet the rest of the gang at Chili's for a simple dinner.

What a little cutie he is! Such a happy baby and I just loved his giggles! 

It was so nice getting to see these guys again! Last time we were out there was when they got married 2 years ago! Whitnee has 2 children (Elaine & Connor) that were there too. Gosh they have gotten so big since the last time we saw them! They are a pretty cute little family!