Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth...

Thanks to getting the internet back last week, my hiatus from blogging is over! After moving Becka and the boys to Nampa last month it's been a roller coaster. Actually it's been one long continous plane ride for me. I stay part time in Seattle and part time at home in Nampa while I wait impatiently for my transfer to the Boise Airport.
My normal work week is Saturday through Wednesday. I try to work as much as possible in this period of time, picking up extra shifts whenever possible. Lately, overtime has a been a little harder to come by. So what do I do in my spare time? Naturally, I fly...home...then come back...an hour or two later.
When I can't pick up extra hours in the evening I try to fly home even if it's only a couple hours. Then, every Wednesday night I fly home(warm weather), stay two nights, then fly back to Seattle (cold weather, I know, it's July, summer lasted two weeks...that's not a joke, it's a fact).
Then it's back to the grind of working and flying.

Now, I figure I fly a minimum of 2-4 round trippers per week. That's up to 8 individual flights per week (I know everyone can add, it added emphasis). The catch is I don't always take the direct flights. I fly standby and flights between Seattle and Boise are busy. It's not uncommon to go through Califorina, Eastern Washington, and Northern Idaho before finally making it home. Or back to Seattle for that matter. As you can imagine I've read a lot of books in the last month due to all the flying, including a 600 page bonzer about the Bin Ladens. I barely finished it, I'm proud of myself.

To top things off, Horizon Airlines serves one speficic snack for an entire month before switching to something different. I am so tired of Bruschetta. Remember, this is airplane food, so it's more like stale bread chips. The first 12 times or so I had this bagged stale treat I thought they were "ok". Now, I put them in my back pack until I have a huge collection then give them to my boys on one of my trips home. They devour several bags in minutes like a pack of hyenas over a dead antelope.

Through this unusual grind I remind myself how lucky I am to be fortunate to spend so much time with my family despite working 500 miles away from them. Hopefully I will get my transfer soon. Then we can get back to "normal".

Family Picture!

My Uncle Duane and Aunt Pam visited us yesterday. They decided to take a family picture of us before we leave for Boise tomorrow. It's our first full family picture in...uh.....a long time. See, it proves my point, I can't even remember the last time. Oh, wait! Just kidding, our last family pic was taken last summer. If you scroll down a little you can see it!

Anyway, it's a good picture. Except my cheeks are really red and I have quite the chubby face!



Here's Duane holding our 2 month old Michael. Duane and Pam have been so good to our family. They have helped Becka and I so much. Every time they come over, they always bring treats for the boys and whatever Becka and I might need at the time. They've been so good to us since we've been in Tacoma and throughout our whole marriage. We will miss them lots but fortunately they will only be a flight away!

I'll miss some things

As much as I love Boise but there's some things you'll just never experience there. One of them is a suspension bridge (or two of them together). I'll miss the beautiful scenery you can only experience in the Puget Sound.

Seeing two suspension bridges paired together certainly makes them unique.

Jump Creek Falls

There's a cool waterfall hidden deep in the southwest part of the Boise Valley. Jump Creek Falls. It's about 85 feet high with a nice big, deep pool at the bottom perfect for swimming and cooling off.

A couple years ago Becka and I took Brent's family to this waterfall to cool off. Brent, Brent Jr., and myself all climbed to the top of this waterfall (which was no easy task). As I stayed at the top of the waterfall, Brent and Brent Jr. proceeded to down climb the wall so they could jump into the pool at the bottom. Watching them down climb this wall, which was almost completely vertical was enough to make you sweat profusely from nervousness. Finally, they picked a spot to jump from and I captured a picture of both of them before they took the plunge. It had to be about a 35-40 foot jump into a pool of water they had never been to before.

After they both jumped, I wildly screamed, "You're still alive!!" Later I asked Brent how it felt and he said, "I had some serious endorphins going!"

Indeed, he did.

Kickin back

This is me taking a little break at work. I'm sitting on a vehicle called a "lektro" used to push back the airplanes onto the taxiway. The seats on the lektro happen to be more comfortable then our couch. When given the chance I love to kick back on the lektro for a while. The seats are comfortable but most of all I love the view.