*Drum Roll* Presenting....

United States Air Force Reserves Staff Sergeant Walker! Today marks the day we are no longer an Army family.

Trading in this -

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Chris swore into the Air Force Reserves as a Aircraft Electrical and Environmental Systems Mechanic. Basically (how it was it explained to me at least) is he will be responsible for maintaining the electrical systems on the big C-17 cargo planes at McChord. Just a small change from the Army :) We were lucky enough to have my Grandparents attend the swearing in. Grampa being an old Airmen himself enjoyed it I'm sure. To swear into the armed forces and officer must do the actual swearing-in. Chris' coworker (Rob) is a Captain in the AF Reserves and generously offered to come down to McChord with us today and swear Chris in. Chris enjoyed being sworn in by somebody he knows rather then just some random officer.

"Raise your right hand and repeat after me"

 Thanks Rob!

 Proud Grampa-

So I videoed the enlistment on my camera. However the disclaimer here is... I didn't have the idea to video it until after they had started. I didn't think it would be cool to say "can you start over, I missed that" so, what you get is what you get - tough luck :) I just missed the part where he states his name, not too bad for thinking on my feet I guess.

Happy Father's Day!

We just spent a great weekend celebrating Father's Day with one of the best out there. We headed back to Auburn for a weekend with the parents. Friday night was spent laughing over a pizza and we hit the hay early for our big Saturday.

Saturday morning Chris and I woke up early and headed to REI for their annual "garage sale" We stood in line outside, in the rain, for about half hour before it was our turn to go in (with our rain jackets and lattes - true Washingtonians). We managed to score some sweet deals, so it was worth standing around outside! For Father's Day we treated the father to the Washington Brewer's Festival in Kenmore. This festival hosted microbreweries from all over Washington (and a few out-of-state) and with your ticket you got a sample cup and tokens to sample 6 different brews. The rain held off and we had a great time tasting beers (some good, some bad. I think I won the worst beer taste award with a chili pepper lager - made with 5 different chilis!) and eating food.

Happy Father's Day Dad!

Chris and Mom2

Chris and Dad "sampling". Dad's face is not one of satisfaction.

Roasted corn - the highlight of my day!

The weekend was finished off with a dinner Saturday night with Kyanne and Ryan at one of my favorite Auburn hangouts, Athens. I forgot how much I LOVE their food. Sunday we had a great dinner/visit with Grama and Grampa before heading back home with full, full bellies. What a great weekend filled with family.

Have a good week! I'll leave you with this photo...

 

Summer?

What a great weekend!

The weekend started with a doggie playdate for Bear Dawg. Our friends Eric and Laura have a 7 month old puppy, Lucy and Laura brought her over for some doggie exercise. By the tongues hanging out I think we successfully wore both of them out.

Saturday we drove down to Tacoma (Steilacoom to be exact) for my friend Natalie's birthday bbq. We were roommates my freshman year in college and have remained close ever since. On our way down we stopped at McChord so Chris could go look at the airplanes. It was a beautiful clear day so there were plenty of views of Mt Rainier (and planes). McChord has a nice outdoor plane display, so that was fun to look around at. We also scoped out the campground on base...we'll be back to visit that later.

Natalie's fiance, Omar, got her this great birthday cake - he achieved his goal of embarrassing her. (It says "hotter then ever at 27")

Roommates + 2!

Sunday we went up to the Olympic Game Park in Sequim. We called and invited Mom and Dad last minute, luckily they could come. It's a drive through game reserve where you feed the animals - that translates to buffalo snot on your windows.

This yak had it figured out - pose as a road block...

Then collect a toll to let the car through.

Cutest bear ever  -

This guy looks like a bobblehead -

Ever wondered what a buffalo tongue looks like?

Hungry elk get snacks too -

Time to rest up this week in preparation for Father's Day weekend :)
(Big news has been postponed, but not forgotten. Stay tuned).