Cessna Ride, 1994

I was recently going through boxes of old photos when I ran across pictures of my first plane ride. In October 1994, my aunt and uncle (who live in Pella) arranged for me to ride in a Cessna 172 Skyhawk piloted by a friend of theirs. The flight was only about 30 minutes long, but it was a lot of fun and very memorable. It was a on a very still autumn evening just before sunset, perfect for flying and taking pictures.

My Grandma Brackin and my sister Abby are in the lower right corner of this photo:

I'm standing in the doorway of the plane and my dad is right behind me. My uncle rode along with me and my dad stayed behind. He's not a fan of flying.

My mom taking pictures of my dad taking pictures of the plane taking off. Everything was documented in full detail, we got it covered:

During the flight I saw a barn burning, so we circled it for a few minutes so I could take pictures:

Then we flew out over Lake Red Rock:

And that's it; those are the only surviving pictures of that experience. If I remember correctly, there were at least two rolls of film with pictures from that evening, but this is all that's left. It's enough, though! We buzzed around over Pella and along Highway 163, before circling back and making a steep landing on the small airstrip. We made a very rapid descent onto the runway; I think the pilot was having fun with us. It was worth every minute.

Goodbye, Old House

We'll miss you and all the memories we had there over the past 10 years...

Remember

the curled paper stares back blankly
oxidized pictures bent and ugly
a dull gleam as the colors flow
into the ether of long ago

their fading faces conjure up the sound
where the sun still sets in the same old town
bicycles flash against the sun
a flurry of memories wherever they run

thoughts jolt past as my mind is turning
watching the birthday candles that keep on burning
a torrent of days and if i dare
proof of the adventures that i had there

and it's still not over! we've more to see
and a glimpse of whatever there might be
right now or tomorrow, who can say?
just don't forget to live today

Christmas 2015

What a year! I can say without a doubt that 2015 has been a very fun and memorable year for us. I'm very thankful for the good times we've had and the new friends that we've made. I hope that I will always remember it all.

Our family Christmas at home:

Justin and Abby came to stay with us for a week and we went to my parents for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Justin played alto sax and I played guitar during the Christmas Eve service at their church.

Christmas at my folk's house:

We drove up and visited my grandpa in Ankeny on the afternoon of Christmas day:

Daphne came up with some creative game ideas. This game involved two people each taking the ends of two rolls of tissue party streamers and unraveling the entire thing and wrapping it around our arms as fast as possible while the rolls stay on the floor. Whoever could unravel both of their rolls the fastest won. Guess who won?

I did. I won.

Justin and Rose tried to see who could singlehandedly remove every single Kleenex the fastest. (Completely pointless, but really funny to watch.)

Then Dave attached two teabags to a hat and we took turns seeing who could get both teabags to land – and stay – on the hat in 60 seconds. This is a great way to look like a complete idiot, so I naturally won that one, too.

And last, but not least... SLEDDING

Emily catching snowflakes on her tongue: