The Phrog

After our big Thanksgiving feast we took the family to Camp Pendleton to show them where Zane works and the CH-46. The kids had a blast playing around in the cockpit and checking out all the cool gadgets and Zane enjoyed teaching everyone a little bit of what he does on a day to day basis. My hat goes off to Grandma for being such a trooper and climbing up in the the helo to check it out. Those are some big steps and she handled it like a champ.


Grandma climbing aboard

Chaz checking out the cockpit

Michelle and Amaya

A Thanksgiving Reunion

This year we were blessed to be able to share Thanksgiving with family. We had all of Zane's family come from all sorts of different parts of the country and we all gathered together at our house to share a wonderful meal and catch up on lost time. Mary, Zane's mom, along with Geraldine, Zane's grandma, drove down from Coos Bay Oregon while Michelle, Zane sister, and her 3 kids Amaya, Chaz, and Mylee followed. Michelle's husband Greg flew down a day later from Oregon and John, Zane's dad, flew in from Tennessee. We also had Bev, Zane's aunt, and her family Scott, Rachelle, Faith, Brandy, little Scott and baby Aj drive up from Yuma for the big get-together. All in all there were 16 of us total and although a bit chaotic at times it was great to have everyone together. A huge thanks to Mary who pretty much took over the kitchen and Thanksgiving dinner, I couldn't have done it without her.

Zane, Mylee, Michelle and Greg

Mary working hard

John carving the turkey

Part of the fam getting ready to eat dinner

Michelle listening to one of Grandma's stories

A Table for 4 Please...

After having such great success with the construction of the cabinets, I quickly put Zane back to work and asked him to build me a cocktail style dining table that we can use on a day to day basis. So we put our heads together and designed the perfect table using some left over granite tiles that we found in the house when we moved in. It only took Zane but a few hours to put it together and I couldn't be happier with it. I'm so lucky to have such a talented husband...

My Very Own Handyman

When we bought our house I fell in love with the layout of the kitchen. It was definitely one of the selling points for me. It has a ton of cabinet and counter top space, a large island, beautiful granite counter tops and a great open feel. The only problem was that the cabinets were not only horribly stained in a two-tone color but done very poorly. So my only concern and condition when buying the house was that we must replace the cabinets as soon as we could. Well Zane being the handyman that he is suggested that instead of purchasing them, that he would build them instead. I must admit, I was a bit hesitant at first because I'm a bit of a perfectionist and had a certain look in mind but he convinced me to let him take a shot at it. After picking out the type of wood and color of the stain, I stepped back and watched my very talented hubby create his masterpiece. The deal was that I was supposed to help him with the project and we together would do it, but I have to admit that he did most of the work. Yes, I sanded and stained a bit but I have to give Zane all of the credit. He worked many long hours and did an amazing job. I absolutely love my kitchen now. We still need to paint the walls, and redo the flooring but the cabinets are done and I couldn't be happier.

Tearing down the old cabinets

Putting together the cabinet doors

Some of the cabinet doors

Refacing the old cabinet structure

The handyman

Getting closer

Adding the fancy crown moulding

The finished look

2008 Marine Corps Ball

Another ball came and went and as usual we celebrated with our fancy dresses and stunning uniforms. This year the ball was held in Anaheim, CA. Anaheim is located about 1 hour north of where we live so I anticipated my "ready time" to be about an 1hr and 10 minutes from when the ball was to begin.However, as I was coming back from my hair appointment Zane called me and said that there was a huge wildfire and the road we would usually take was closed and that we would have to take another route therefore we'd have to be leaving as soon as I got back. Of course that was gonna be impossible given that I still had to put on my makeup and get dressed. Well I hurried as much as I could and we where on our way. After being on the road in stop and go traffic for an hour we realized that the route we decided to take everyone else had decided to take as well so we decided to turn around and go back another way although after such frustrations we were tempted to just go home. Three hours later we arrived at the ball, in the middle of the guest speaker's speech and just in time for dinner. We ate, danced one dance, and we where on our way home once again. After all of that, I was exhausted and my feet where killing me in those heels. All in all it was a good time, but short one at that.