OSHKOSH!!!

If anyone knows anything about aviation you should know what Oshkosh (or EAA Airventure) is. Its kindof the Mecca for pilots. It is held in Oshkosh Wisconsin, and it is the largest gathering of aircraft enthusiasts in the world. The city of Oshkosh goes from a population of approx 100,00 during the rest of the year, but during that one week the population is anywhere from 250,000 to 300,000... so you get the point, its HUGE!

YEA, THOSE ARE ALL AIRPLANES

Anyway, I got the chance to fly out there in a seminole this past week and spend a couple of days in Oshkosh. It was awesome!!!


There was so much to do, and so many pictures to take I'll just include some of my favorite things from out there.

First we got the chance to fly over Nauvoo, then we stayed in Burlington Il, (which is right next door) so we went and visited.



Honestly, I wasn't really impressed with the place. It was really cool to see where everything started but i don't think I would ever plan a full trip around Nauvoo. Granted we were there on a sunday evening and nothing was open, it might have been different if there was stuff open for us.




Apparently "Jerrys one man band" is there every year entertaining on his accordion and "one man band instruments". I wonder if he sales many of his cassettes that are for sale... seriously, casettes.




I found the airplane that chad(my brother) and I are going to build some day. We both dream of owning a P-51 mustang but the 2.5 million dollar price on the retired P-51's is a little pricey for me. This is a 3/4 scale kit, that flies at 200 MPH. Realisticly it would take about 2.5 years to build, if I was doing it in my spare time. Hopefully in the next couple years!!!





HONDA JET



I tried to look at all the VLJ's (very light Jet) so I could decide what one I want to buy in a couple years. VLJ's are a really new, really cool concept to the aviation world. They are an airplane that offers the benefits of flying up high but doesn't have the same fuel cost as a regular "business jet" They are very small (some as small as 4 seats) but the price tag on them is anywhere from 1 mil to 3 mil. which is pretty cheap if you compare it to their bigger business jet brothers.

Cessna mustang interior


I got to ride a personal jet pack, just kidding, but they did a demo of this thing and it works. If you have a spare 100K laying around you could be the proud new owner of a Martin Personal jet Pack. They might even include a cool helmet like the guy on the movie rocketman had.



I also had the honor to be in the presence of Dr. Boseman Jr. and his family. They made a 4 hour drive to come to Oshkosh for 3.5 hours, then had to drive 4 hours back. Wow thats a lot of driving. THanks Pete and Liz for coming out, that was awesome to see ya. And peter let me know that his semi-annual blog update was getting a little to hectic, so it has changed to just an annual blog update. So I'll include some pics to prove they did leave the house for once!

Here is the photo proof that molly can show some affection... yea we are holding hands. Do you see the confused look on my face?




Getting out of Oshkosh was even more interesting than getting in. With 10,000 planes on the airport you can only imagine how hectic it would be to take off or land at any given time.

First off, there were about 60 airplanes waiting to get out at the same time as us. Once we got to the front of the line we basically were on the end of the runway with about 8 other planes. As soon as 1 would start rolling they would send the next one on his way.

So we took off, then directly after us there was a flight of three t-28's (WWII airplanes) barrelling down our way. We were able to get out of there safely though... which is better than some people!











On the way home we stayed the night in Cheyenne Wy, because we needed gas and it was about 2:30 am. So we decided to just throw out our sleeping bags there on the ramp next to our airplane.
















wow that was a long post, sorry!

So you think you can dance...

Last year Tennille became obsessed with the show "so you think you can dance" which eventually made me obsessed with it too. Anyway I wanted to surprise her last year, so I submitted for tickets. Well we never got them last year, but I got an email last sunday that said our name finally came up and we had tickets to the thursday showing, the live results show. Luckily enough, thursday is both of our days off and we fly for free so we decided we would go and try to get in. (last time we tried to go to a show, the price is right, we stood in line for 4.5 hours and still didn't get in; so we were a little weary about this one)

Anyway, we flew out there wednesday night and stayed at my cousins house. It was good to see Hadyn, Griffin, Steph and Tris. Apparently they do the live results show in 2 parts. So for the first part we had to be at the studio (same one as the price is right) at 7 am so we were on the road early. After a couple hours of waiting in line we finally got in to the studio.

I guess not too many people come to the morning part (this is where they tape the opening group dance) so we got front row right in front of the judges.


After the first filming session we had a 3 hour break before we had to be back. When we got back there was a huge line formed,

but luckily we got to go right to the front because we went to the morning filming session. This session was the actual live results show, and we got to see One Republic perform as well.

Watch at 2:22 for proof of us being there!

Anyway, they didn't let us take cameras into the studio for obvious reasons so we didn't get any pics inside. But this was a blast and if anyone gets the chance to go you should, it was well worth the time.

Tennille's First ride of the season

So as we get older and my friends start to have kids, I hear them say that they would almost rather watch their kid do good at something they love then to do it themselves. We I can tell that will totally be true when we have kids. Tennille was able to finally get off work and make it to the lake to try out her new wakeboard set up!




Last year, after many-o-hard falls she finally started clearing the wake (for you non wakeboarders, this is a big plateau most people face, so its a big deal) Well I thought it would take a while for her to get back in the groove, but after 5 minutes she was hitting wake to wake jumps without even thinking about it. The moral of the story is: Tennille is AWESOME, but also I was so stoked to see her do it, I just wanted to fore go my turn to keep watching her ride.




Our next step: We need to buy a boat!!!

Also my buddy Josh made this video of me riding, so I would feel guilty if I didn't thank him properly. Josh, I'm always Downfortheride!

Find more videos like this on myWakeUtah

THANKS CHAD and RORI!

We had such a good time the other night at the Tim McGraw concert. The weather was absolutely beautiful and the music was awesome...the people watching wasn't bad either! People do the craziest things at concerts.
Anyway, thank you to Chad and Rori for hooking us up with tickets. It was fun to go to dinner with you guys and hang out for a bit. It was also good to spend some time with Amy and Jer...we all haven't been in the same place at once for a long time. Good times with the fam!
Cody and I love going to concerts during the summer. It's so romantic to sit underneath the stars together and listen to good music. (Cody will probably gag when he reads this.) We also ran into some friends from Logan (Mitch and Natalie)...it was good to see them!


Jer, Amy, me, Cody, Chad, and Rori


Me, Cody, Mitch, and Natalie

First Ride

So I finally got out on the water a couple weeks ago for the first pull of the year. I was a little bit rusty but it was a good time anyway. Tennille and I tried to get back out yesterday, but it didn't end up working out... we are stuck bumming rides off of friends and can't stand the fact that we don't have a boat at our disposal!!! O Well, that will come some day.
So, here is a little video my buddy put together. Its me riding at 1:20-1:45, I know I'm real rusty!

Find more videos like this on myWakeUtah

OLD MAN CODY!!

Yes, its true...Cody is now a quarter century old! Since we both had to work on his birthday (so lame) we celebrated it last week with his family. I have a tradition now with Cody that for every birthday I make him a special birthday cake.
This year, I decided to make him an airplane cake and I have no idea how it turned out looking like an airplane because it literally started out as a pile of broken cake...but with a little frosting you can fix anything!




We had a yummy barbecue in the backyard while cute Olivia (our niece) took Kusaba on about ten different walks around the neighborhood. Cody and I told Addie and Olivia that we would pay them $1 for every time they take the dog on a walk...they are smart kids...they'll leave for five minutes, come back, and then leave again. I think we owe them about 15 bucks by now! Anyway, it was a fun night to hang out with the fam. Happy Birthday babe...I love ya!

Summer fun.....and Summer SCARES....

Cody and I just got back from Orlando which I will comment on in a sec. (Orlando is part of the "summer fun") I first have to comment on the "summer scares"...we now live in Bluffdale, UT which for those of you who don't know on the far southwest side of the Salt Lake Valley. The house we live in borders a desert-like wilderness (Do you see where I'm going with this?) Anyway, the other day I took the dog on a run right behind our house on what I thought was a really fun trail. NO way! Toward the end of the run, I yelled to Kusaba to come get a drink out of the canal that parallels the trail...he comes trotting over. I look down at our feet and there is a freakin huge rattlesnake one foot away from us. I have never yelled so loud in my entire life...in fact a few swear words might have slipped out. Kusaba and I took off running. My heart was beating so fast because my life had flashed before my eyes! I am absolutely terrified of rattlesnakes. Needless to say, I ran down the middle of the street the entire way home.

Well, the story does not end there. My parents came and stayed at our house while we were away in Orlando. They came to tend the dog and have a nice, relaxing time away from Logan. Well, the second Cody and I get off the plane, my phone rings and I answer...it's my mom. "YOU HAVE GOT TO MOVE!" were the first words out of her mouth. She went on to tell me that she found another rattlesnake right on our back porch next to the door. Are you kidding me? These disgusting creatures are invading the neighborhood and to tell you the truth, we might move because of it! A gruesome side note: My dad went outside and fought the snake with a shovel. My dad won the battle thank goodness...he ended up cutting it in half. Yeah, that's pretty gross. So, now I am looking in every corner and crevice when I go outside. You just never know!




Now on to the summer fun!! As I mentioned, Cody and I went to Orlando this week to celebrate his 25th birthday. A quarter century....wow! We had a really good time down there after we got finished dodging a near hurricane/tornado. Our first day, we went wakeboarding at the cable park.
I had never been to a cable park before and it was awesome! Instead of a boat pulling you around a lake there are a series of cables that are attaching to ropes and handles. It took me a while to get used to the cables and I have a sore neck to prove it (I face planted too many times!) We had so much fun enjoying the sun and watching the little kids school us in wakeboarding. There were some 8 year olds pulling out tricks that we would never even attempt!

Cody and I also took a tour of the Correct Craft factory (a huge boat manufacturing company) and I actually really enjoyed it. We felt like we were on an episode of "How it's made".
The guide showed us how a boat is made from start to finish. I am amazed at the manual labor that is put into those things. It was cool to see the chopper gun and how fiberglass and resin combine to make the boats. No wonder they are so expensive!

Our trip was short and sweet and we did things that most people wouldn't do when you go to Orlando. We didn't do the Disney or Universal thing, but maybe next time!

Ryan and Lindsey got hitched!

Wow, it has been awhile since we have updated this thing. I promise to do better. Well on May 22nd, my friend, Lindsey, and Cody's best friend Ryan got married up in Logan. It was a beautiful wedding besides that fact that it rained all day. Ryan and Lindsey are so happy together.

Cody was one of Ryan's best men and looked pretty handsome if I do say so myself! We had a really good time seeing old friends and catching up. Cody, of course had to break out his orange suit at the reception...too bad I didn't get any pics of that!

Wow, it sure has been awhile since we've updated this thing! Currently, Cody works at Skywest Airlines down in Salt Lake and I am up in Logan working three jobs. On the off chance that Cody and I actually get to see each other, we like to go on mini-vacations (to take advantage of his free flight benefits!) So, since we recently celebrated our second wedding anniversary (yay!) we decided to fly out to Kauai with our friends Dave and Jenn. Although we had a rough time actually making it out to the island (we have to fly standby and got snubbed on a couple flights), we finally flew in just as the hot, Hawaiian sun was setting. We were in Kauai for only four days because of Cody's hectic work schedule, but this trip goes down as one of our favorites!



The first day there we went kayaking up the beautiful and calm Wailua River. Cody and I rode in a two person kayak and I have to say that I did most of the work! :) Okay, just kidding, but I looked back a couple of times and my hubby was just chillin as I was working up a sweat! Anyway, we parked our kayaks about two miles up and then went on a hike up to an 80 foot waterfall. There, we ate our lunch and then went swimming underneath the falls. I'm pretty sure I have some good welts on my back from the water hitting us so hard. It literally took our breath away to try and swim up to the falls, but it was so worth it.

The second day of our adventure started in a small Cessna airplane. One of the activities that I wanted to do the very most was see the island from above. Since about half of the island can only be seen by the air it only made sense to go for a ride! I have to say that Kauai is the most beautiful place ever!
We flew over the turquoise waters just in time to see a couple humpback whales breach (my favorite part of the whole trip) and then flew over the staggering cliffs of the Waimea Canyon and then finished our tour off by flying over the colorful Napali Coast. I took about a hundred pictures.



On the third day, I woke up at about 6 am and couldn't go back to sleep so I got up and went running on the boardwalk that parallels the beach right next to our resort. Just as I was leaving our condo, I could tell that the sun was just coming up and so I grabbed my camera. I ran out and started snapping pictures and then noticed that there were about twenty other people doing the same thing! The sunrise was spectacular and full of vivid orange and pink color. My morning even gets better. As I was running, I looked out and saw three whales breaching. At that moment, I stopped and just watched. It was so peaceful to be so close to the ocean and these large creatures. Yes, I am a little obsessed.

Besides hanging out on a couple beaches for our third (and last) day, we all drove up to the North Shore of Kauai. We visited a cool lighthouse that stands out on a huge cliff. There were a lot of tourists taking pictures next to the light house and what have you.
I had my eyes glued to the ocean. Yes, more whales! It was awesome! Cody and I had so much fun together. We both love traveling and like to get away anytime we can (especially right now...the inversion in Logan is comparable to the skies of LA).
I told Cody that if he quits Skywest, I'm definitely getting a job at the airlines. You can't pass up free flights!

WHAT A STORM!

Tonight we got hit with a huge snowstorm (It's about time!), but definitely at the wrong timing. My piano recital was scheduled for tonight, but the roads were so bad that I couldn't even make it up the huge Cliffside Hill to the church where it was supposed to be at! My car got stuck at least five times on the opposite side of the road...it was pretty scary. Finally, I decided to swallow my pride, quit burning the rubber on the tires, and get myself turned around. I had to cancel the recital...boo! Anyway, when I got back home I needed to relieve some stress so I made Cody go outside and play in the snow with me. We might as well make the best of the situation, right? Cody was reluctant to go play until I called him a "party pooper". No one calls Cody Boseman a party pooper! We ended up having a ton of fun playing in the snow with our dog, Kusaba, until he ran off and almost got hit by a car. (That is a whole other story that I won't get into).

Anyway, after the dog was safely back in the house, Cody and I ended up making a SEXY SNOW WOMAN! Yes, she does look pretty good in a swimsuit I must say! Enjoy! We hope everyone has a Merry Christmas....make the best of it!

Wow! This might be the longest post ever...Cody will be so proud of me. I promised him that while he was gone that I would keep the blog updated, so here goes! Hopefully I won't procrastinate this much as time goes on. First of all, back in September, Cody and I were invited to a cheer and aggiette reunion held at the Copper Mill in Logan. About 250 people showed up from 37 years of cheering up at Utah State. It was so awesome to see everyone again. We were able to catch up and hang out for the night. The current cheerleaders and aggiettes put on a fashion show of all the costumes used over the years. Oh my...some of them were awful! It was hilarious to see though. The most hilarious of all, however, was the outfit that Cody decided to wear. Leave it up to him to wear the most ridiculous outfit...his orange tux! He did look pretty sexy...but who wouldn't look sexy wearing an orange tux?? Anyway, it was so good to see Linda, Jenny, and all the girls I danced with. It made me miss it a little bit, but it made me glad that Cody and I were able to participate in something that we will remember forever!


Me & the girls at the Aggiette Reunion





Cody looking ever so sexy in his orange tux!!












Two weeks ago, Cody and I were able to fly out to beautiful San Francisco for the weekend for one last hoorah before he left for training. Jerald and Sherrie were out there for a dental convention so we were able to hang out with them which was so much fun. The city is absolutely breathtaking (Literally...there are lots of hills!) No, just joking...San Fran is one of the coolest cities I have been to. We were able to cram in just about everything in the two days that we were there. On the first day, we took the trolley down to Fisherman's wharf. There, we had the world's best bowl of clam chowder.
No kidding...I still think about how good it was! It came in a bread bowl and I'm pretty sure that all three of us (Cody, me, and Sherrie), ate every last bite. We also saw the seals at Pier 39. This was quite a site to see about two hundred seals just chilling on the docks barking at each other. This was probably one of my favorite things about the trip because it was so random and funny to see!


The seals would fight for their spot on the dock. If one seal came up and the others didn't like that particular seal, they would pretty much send it right back into the water...how mean!
After the seals, we took a ferry out to Alcatraz! The second we got off the boat, I got the chills...it was so cold and windy out there...and creepy. Once we got inside, the audio tour was pretty rockin.



It was cool to hear about all of the crazy prisoners that once lived there. You really could get a good feel for what it was like to be a prisoner. As the saying goes, "You break the rules, you go to prison. You break the prison rules, you go to ALCATRAZ!"




Back in San Francisco, we went to the original Ghiradelli square (yummy chocolate) and to Alamo Square. I was so adamant about visiting Alamo Square because that is where Full House was filmed and I just had to see it. Cody wasn't so excited, but I dragged him there anyway. The view from Alamo Square was beautiful. You could see the entire city from this hill, it was awesome.



The actual city was cool, too. There were a ton of high end department stores with homeless people living in boxes right outside. It made for some great sightseeing (besides the fact that Cody almost got beat up by a scary guy who was playing in a chess tournament)! He was just wanting a few pictures...oh well!
Overall, San Francisco was a blast. It was good to get away from Utah and see some amazing sites. Cody and I love to travel, so any chance we get, we hop right on. I think the Air Force was a good choice for us...we will get to see so many cool places and make good memories together.





A week before Cody left, I threw him a "surprise" going away party at Winger's (yum...wings!). At least 25 people showed up to give support and say goodbye to Cody. We all had such a good time hanging out and eating wings...our friends are so awesome. Some of them drove up from Salt Lake only to drive right back after the party was over. Thanks to everyone for coming!










And now, Cody is about to start training in Montgomery, Alabama...tomorrow in fact. He is so excited to finally get started and I couldn't be happier for him. I know he will do so well at Officer Training School. He is so talented and smart...I just know that he will end up at the top of his class. As for me, I think I'll be okay! I'm keeping my time occupied and doing a lot of craft projects (I know, so nerdy). For everyone who reads this, I hope you are doing well and please keep in touch. Have a wonderful day!

YES, that is my Accordion!!!

For those that are fortunate enough to never have heard my Weird Al stories, I won't ruin your well being with long boring stories... but it makes me happy everytime I see him playing my old accordion!!!

Weird Al came to SLC on Friday sept 7th, and of course Tennille and I made the trek to the big city to see him. Even though it had only been a month since we saw him in Canada, I figured I couldn't let him come here without seeing him.
Well, I never thought I would say this... but I might be Weird Al'd out. After seeing so many shows and "chillin" backstage with him for so many years, I think he is totally absolutely burned out. He used to be excited, fun, and entertaining (yet shy) backstage, but now he is just tired, old and burned out. I guess when you are so incredibly popular, and famous you eventually get tired. Not to mention having to fend off all the beautiful women that come with playing the accordion. Its no wonder he is beat!



Anyway, we went to the show with our friends Ryan and Lindsey. He always puts on a pretty good show and this was no exception. Maybe I'm just a little byist(?) though, because I like to see my accordion on stage.