JAL Sayanora

It was a sad day last week when Japan Airlines last 747-400 flew out of Grant County International Airport, closing a 40-year run of flight crew training in Moses Lake.

The local JAL office had a great Sayanora ceremony, beginning in the plane with speeches by local dignitaries (city, port and JAL) and my former employer.

Colonel Clyde, who helped close Larson Air Force Base in 1967, is pictured here. He is now a sprite 90-year old. Clyde was a former B-52 pilot, and like most pilots has some great stories (especially the one where a plane crashed into a portion of the house Clyde and his wife Audrey lived in. They survived only because they were sleeping in the bedroom.) Clyde lived down the street from us on Castle Drive.

White handkerchiefs were passed out to people standing on the ramp so they could wave the airplane goodbye. This symbolized honor. There were a few tears this day.

It is hard to think the people and visitors of Moses Lake will no longer see the great majestic beasts flying with the red tails. It was a good run for all - citizens of both the United States and Japan sharing their cultures, the generosity of JAL to the community, jobs for locals and more.

Good news is there is a new FBO (fixed base operator) Million Air bring new types of business to the community. Goodbye for now - love to all Mo

Weddings and more...

Well, let's see...the weekend of the big hunt for the main line, Kaylee, Matt's youngest daughter, came to live with us. 3 days latter her fiance came to live with us, also. They were married this past Saturday, Feb. 14. We got to see all of Matt's children and grandchildren, that was fun! It was a small wedding in one of the multi-purpose rooms at our church. The kids really pulled it all together! Morgan, Kaylee's sister in law worked tirelessly, even though she is moving in 2 weeks! We were very proud of them! After the ceremony, and after naps all around for the grandchildren, we met at Tequilas for a dinner, and it was fantastic! Mmmm!!!! Kaylee and Braden are now sick with colds and coughs. We were able to meet Braden's dad, too, as he came for the ceremony (and stayed with us for the weekend). It just was all very nice, and no one's feathers got riled up, as often can happen when we get all of my honeys kids together! This week they are job hunting, once again, so if you hear of anything!!!

It tried to snow all weekend long, but today it is a sunny, beautiful day; a reminder that spring is just around the corner! I long to be out there playing in the dirt, but will have to wait a while longer, as we still have 5 inches of snow on the ground! Still, I have yet to see a Robin, heather! Love to you all! t

Birthday & Homecoming

Brady turned 25 on the 30th of January, and we celebrated last weekend with a birthday dinner. Brady wanted steak, potatoes and salad. I sent the Big Guy to get steaks, and he came back with the biggest steaks I have ever seen! Brady finished his, and Quincy ate most of his. Too bad Chris had to go to Montana to set up for a job, because I would have been curious to see if he would have finished his! (Chris being the smallest in the lot, but with a hole in his stomach)

Here is Brady with his steak:
It's hard to get all of Brady in a picture!

We waited until Quincy and Lexi got back from their trip to Mexico. A supplier from Q's job gave them complimentary tickets for airline and hotel, so off they went for five days of sun & fun. They both looked like aliens when they came in the house!

Aunt Alison stayed with Kesiah for the week.

Ten for dinner, and we didn't have to move the table, although it was noisy and crowded. I guess that is what families are all about? Kesiah has definitely recovered from her alergy to polka dots, as she has more polkas on! All in all - a great dinner and good family time! Hope you can sneak in some family time too! Love to all - Mo

Medical Emergency, Miracle & Miscellaneous

Two weekends ago, Quincy, Lexi and Kesiah came over to do a little project around my house. Kesiah was in the family room, and came running out saying "I'm sick!". Lexi asked her what was wrong, Kesiah said she was alergic to .............. polka dots!

It took some explaining to Kesiah that she couldn't possibly be allergic to polka dots, but she was convinced.

The next weekend, I had both Kharsyn AND Kesiah, and took this picture:

If you look closely, Kesiah has polka dots on. I asked her about that, and she said she was all better (miracle!).

Those two were quite funny, Kharsyn mimics everything Kesiah does. When Kesiah came in the front door, she ran up to me yelling "Grandma!!!!!" and gave me a big hug. Brady and I looked at Kharsyn, and he did the same. This is the same kid, the last time he was over, Brady said "go see your grandma". As he was sitting on my lap, he mumbled something, and Brady laughed. I asked Brady what he said, and as Kharsyn was smiling (hugely) at me, he was telling Brady "help me Daddy!". Guess I looked hungry or something?

Miscellaneous stuff is, thanks for digital cameras, you can take pictures of children and keep them occupied for awhile (let me see, let me see!). Then you have to do the Macaroni dance, as you wait for the macaroni to cook for Mac & Cheese. Then you have to do "Ears, eyes, knees and toes" for quite some time, followed by helping two little youngsters do somersaults. They bend - you flip. Hmmm... am I blessed, or what? Hope you have some happy memories of your own of young (and energetic!!) children, and hugs and wet kisses and polka dots! Love to all - Mo

Well, I hope we never have to dig this sewer line up again! We had a back hoe here for 4 hours digging up our alley trying to find where our sewer line was! Finally, we found it, 10 feet under our drive way. So, Matt has been playing ground hog all week end, tunneling under our garage! Today, he finally found and removed the plug, which was a minor tree with a trunk of 4 inches growing in our line! Actually, the further out into the alley we dug, the more tree roots we found, so were surprised when this root was found so far in. And, finally, I got to visit with Ms. Taylor, and her cousin! Forest came over for lunch, and brought my favorite girl with him! Forest was prepared to go digging with Matt, but there wasn't any room for a 6'4'' guy! We hope to have this fixed and back filled by dinner time tonight! Needless to say, we didn't get off to church, today. Well, I better go check on my favorite ground hog! (He wouldn't have seen his shadow, today). Hope you all are having a wonderful time. Nice pictures, Mo! Love ya, t

Another Special Event Success!

Part of my job is to help with special events. We have two fundraisers, and one donor event that either the college or foundation sponsors.


Last night, after months of preparation, we closed out Winter Serenade for another year. It's gourmet dining, wine tasting and dancing. We have to be extra grateful for the people who support the college during these trying times. One of our sponsors was Casey and his company!


Casey and Jen attended and had a great time. I made them take their picture with me:

You can tell a guy took this picture because my hair is messed up!

It was a lot of fun. One lady told Casey's friend (who is famous for doing the 'Gator) if he did the 'Gator, she would do a cartwheel. He did, and so did she! You gotta laugh at some of the antics at these parties! Before you think "office party of the '70's", it is really just a bunch of good people having fun. And you have to admit, it is something when the wife of one of the wealthiest men in the area does a cartwheel! (or you get a state representative in a line dance!)

I got to dance with Casey - he wanted to dance swing a little, so every time I had to do the arm over his head thing, I jumped up so as not to knock his head off.

I introduced Casey and Jen to the president of the college and his wife, my co-workers, and even the event underwriter, a nice, nice man who designed our two new buildings.

All in all - another successful event. I am still a little pooped, think I'll go soak my feet. Love to all - Mo