Catching up

So, I got a little behind with my blog - as many of you may have noticed. I blame that partially on the fact that Kelly didn't have internet available for me for a few months. Plus, she keeps running off with the computer so she can do her homework after work. Since about six months have passed since I last wrote, I'll just summarize - at least up to the point where we went to Greece - that deserves its own entry.

We spent Christmas in Arizona - mostly in Sun City with the Vilvens. Kelly flew in a couple days before everyone else, which turned out very nice. We had a few days with her grandparents before everyone else got there. Grampy Wallace was in the hospital with a broken arm, but got released a few days after we left. We ventured up to Sedona for a couple days after Christmas, which is just an hour away from my hometown of Flagstaff. For Kelly's birthday, Ryan took her to a nice Thai place in Seattle. The rain was pouring down outside, but the food, tea and company were warm enough to counteract that. It was quite appropriate that Ryan's gift was an umbrella. The lining is a happy sky spotted with white clouds. It makes Kelly smile when she is using it, knowing that she has the only patch of blue sky around.

Washington had record snowfall this year and really bad avalanche conditions. Nevertheless, we managed to get a few hikes in. Kelly bought and used an ice axe for the first time on Anaconda Peak, in January. The hike was icy and she was still scared at times, despite my encouragement from her backpack. The top was cold and windy, but it felt really great just to be out doing something. In February we hiked Iron Mountain. An ice axe wasn't necessary, but Kelly still used hers a couple times on the way up. At the top, it was gorgeous. The sun was out and the views were spectacular. We laid at the top for an hour, like we were on a beach - not a mountain. Only, on a beach you can't make giant snowballs and roll them off the cliff. We heard a couple avalanches go and decided to head back before the snow got too soft.

Kelly's first solo Dale Carnegie course started at the beginning of February in Auburn. Travis sat in for the first few sessions, in case she had questions. She was so nervous the first couple sessions, but finally settled into a routine. I even got to go to her graduation in April. (More on that in a later entry.) In week two or three Kelly made an offer on a townhouse on the Kent/Auburn line.

On the 29th of February, Kelly took a big leap and moved from IDS to BCA. Stress to flight test engineering. AEW&C to the 777 Freighter. Kent to Seattle. The commute is longer, but she says being able to walk around the planes and do some hands-on work is totally worth it. This group also does weekly hikes, so we've been on a few of those. With the iffy conditions, they've all been lower elevation walks, generally through muddy paths. Some days it feels like the sun doesn't exist.

Spring break and Easter came early this year. During the week off, in March, Kelly's cousin flew out from Texas to stay with us and see Seattle. Since he couldn't rent a car, and Kelly needed hers to drive to work, Kelly's mom came up to help him get around. Since the townhouse was supposed to close at the end of March, they helped us pack after hitting the museums.

The first couple weeks of April were a little stressful for Kelly. She was finishing up two classes and starting another. Between taking and teaching classes her time was spent trying to wrap up the townhouse deal and get ramped up in her new job. She spent about a week up in the factory in Everett waiting for a test to happen and building up hours to flex time for vacation. Somehow she managed to fit in 62 hours of work and almost all of her schoolwork the week before we went to Greece. She said it wasn't that hard, though, because she was enjoying everything she was doing. I guess it's not as hard to work for 62 hours if you get to be around an airplane all day. And the paper she had to write - was about Greece. So, in the end, it all worked out great and she was able to catch up on sleep during the plane ride.