Motorcycle Gang

October 31 - Monday - Happy Halloween
The departments upstairs at Smith Dairy decided to dress as a Motorcycle Gang. As you can see by the picture, we had a good time.

Happy Halloween

The boys really had fun with Halloween this year. During the day Owen was a Bat, Jackson was Spider-Man & Owen's friend Sam was Scooby-Doo!
In the evening for Trick-Or-Treat, the Owen changed to a Tiger and Jackson turned into FRANKENSTEIN!!!

everybody went trick-or-treating around the neighbrohood.

That evening Michael and I joined the fun and dressed as a Gladiator & Roman Goddess!

Weekend in Maryland

October 21 - 24 Charlie and Nancy visited with Keith and Natasha for the weekend. We arrived on Friday evening a little before Keith or Natasha got home. After going to IHop for a bite to eat we visited for a while before we all decided it was time for bed. By Friday evening the working class of people are whipped. On Saturday, it was raining and dreary so all outside activities would need to be put on hold. After some discussion we agreed on one of Nancy's favorite activities, a CASINO. http://www.ctownraces.com/home.php3. On the way Keith said Natasha had never been to a casino. We arrived and gave ourselves an hour to gamble. We all went our seperate ways, Nancy, Keith and Natasha on the gambling floor and Charlie exploring the grounds and people watching. Nancy headed toward the designated meeting area stopped to play just one more machine. Keith and Natasha joined me and the three of us played on a quarter machine. I know....Charlie is waiting and our time is up, however, a lady on another machine told us that machine was doing good.....so we had to try it. Natasha is now getting the hang of betting the max and pulling the handle and I tell her I want two symbols and a 7. Natasha bets the max.....pulls the handle.....the reels spin.....and stop on two symbols and a 7. Quarters begin to flow into the tray and we cash out for $265!!!!! With money in our pockets we went to a mall in Hagerstown to do some shopping. On Sunday we went to Natasha's to help with some chores that needed done before the realator comes to list her townhouse. Monday, on our way home we stopped at Cabela's then Wheeling Downs.....yep....you guessed it.....another Casino....this time....only 1/2 hour....but I had fun and came out with more than I went in with. Thank you Keith and Natasha for a nice weekend.

Happy 60th Anniversary!

Good Eats, Good Company, Good Party! It was all Good Saturday night at a dinner with Grandma & Grandpa Holt to celebrate their 60th Anniversary! James and Rosalie were in town as part of the surprise! We went back to the house afterward for cake and Walter, Doris, Willy & Pearl joined everyone. Of course, we all missed Keith & Natasha!

TGIF

October 14 - Friday. I am so happy the weekend is here, my plan is to catch up on some much needed rest. We got back from Albuquerque on Sunday evening around midnight. I didn't have any problem getting up on Monday morning, however, every morning since I have hit snooze. Today, Charlie played chauffeur/tourist guide for cousins in from WVa. Then, this evening he crewed for Shannon for the balloon. Tomorrow we are taking Grandma and Grandpa Holt to TJ's restaurant to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary. I will take pictures and post one this weekend.

Bored in Maryland

It was a rainy and dreary weekend in the big state of Maryland. Keith and Natasha watched football all day on Saturday (both of their teams lost), while watching the down pour. Of course on Sunday they had cabin fever and ventured out to do alittle shopping. They decided to go to PetsMart because Natasha felt that Piper needed a new pair of shoes and Keith thought that she needed treats and toys, of course!! Natasha felt that the shoes were more practical, but Keith thought they were quite "gay". Keith went as far as going to the farthest check-out counter away from Natasha purchasing the dog shoes because he was in disbelief. Piper had no choice in the selection; however she was forced to parade around in front of the house while wearing her new shoes. They are soooooo cute or at least Natasha thinks so. Next, Piper needs a new outfit to go with those shoes!!

Flight from the gravel pit

October 8 - Friday. Our morning started at 4:15am. Karen and I went to the field with John Moran and Becky went with a group to Acoma. Known as Sky City, Acoma Pueblo was strategically built on top of a 357-foot sandstone mesa many hundreds of years ago for effective defense against raiders. Spanish conquerors learned of this defensive stronghold when they entered New Mexico in the 1500s. Acomans claim that their 70-acre village is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the U.S. Johns sponsor and his family arrived from Alaska. The special shapes fly out of the field and all other balloons fly to the field for a money grab and golf. The cloud deck was low and the pilots in the gravel pit was put on hold till after 8:30. John piloted the balloon with the husband wife sponsor and Karen in the basket. After a safe landing, refueling and champagne on the field with the sponsors we met Debby and her crew for lunch.

I MISSED IT!

Natasha: I'm as bad as my brother....I missed your birthday. My mother even reminded me to send a card and I forgot. I'm so Sorry!! I trust my brother made it a happy one. Happy Belated Birthday to you - Love, Ammey

Weather

October 6 - Thursday. 4:15am. The winds are howling at 60mph. Our pilot called and said the flight was cancelled, we get to go back to sleep. We are on the fifth floor of the hotel, the wind was whistling through the heat/air unit and the temperature was 41....factor in wind chill.....it was COLD. The Sandia Casino was providing breakfast for the pilots and crew so we headed out there around 10:00am. After making a small contribution to the Indian reservation, we went to the Balloon Museum with some of Debbys crew and a member of Ken Myers crew. Debby called and said they wanted to go to the Cheese Cake Factory which is just down the street from our hotel. Becky, Karen and I decided we would walk, about 1/3 mile......yippie....I can eat a piece of cheesecake!!! The Glowdeo for the special shapes is tonight, we are going to ride the tram to the top of Sandie peak to see the sunset and watch some of the glow.

Balloon Fiesta

October 5 - Wednesday. Greeting from Albuquerque. The Holt girls are having a wonderful time. The last two days the flights have been cancelled due to high winds. Although the small balloons do not fly, the BIG ride balloons will. On Tuesday, after the flight was cancelled we headed to a Jackalope store for some shopping. After shopping, the Holt sister decided they needed a GREAT ADVENTURE. Last year Mike and Debby told us about a dirt they traveled on the back side of the Sandia Peak to Bernilillo and how nice the drive was. We followed the directions Debby was able to give us and ended up finding the road. The road goes from a paved road to a dirt road with a sign stating, Travel At Your Own Risk. The road had some large rocks and some rutts, but I have traveled worse roads in WVa. I was a little concerned when we stopped to read a roadside memorial. We continued and ended up on the main road that goes to the top of the Sandie Peak. There was a weather front moving through and it was very cold, however, I am happy we made the trip. Becky and Karen survived the adventure. On Wednesday, Karen told me she was going to take me for a ride with John in the basket. The ride balloons launched without much difficulty. However, after watching several balloons launch with the winds picking up, I went to Karen and told her I wanted to decline my riding. Before we started cold inflation, the Zebra launch directors closed the field. We returned to the hotel then went to Old Town shopping. After that we went to the ZOO party for the balloonist. We returned to Old Town for a little more shopping then back to the hotel to shower and rest our tired feet. Yep, you guessed it......Oh my gosh, we are going to get up at 4:15am to leave for the field at 5:00am.

FAREWELL!

Tonight, Dad took one more ride to town and gave the boys a ride, here's Dad driving Old Blue back to Smithville. She gave one more big puff of blue smoke when he started her up!

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

October 3 - Monday. Greetings from Albuquerque NM. Becky and I arrived on Saturday afternoon, met up with Karen at the Hotel and 45 minutes later we was headed to the balloon field. Karen is registered as second pilot with John Moran flying FUNSHINE. John is registered in the Fiesta Challenge, there are task and glows throughtout the week they participate in. The task on Saturday evening was cancelled, however, he was required to glow. We watched the gas balloons launch, went to refueling then to Applebees for dinner. We finally got to bed at 11:00pm. Oh my gosh, we are getting up at 4:15am to leave for the field at 5:00. On Sunday morning Karen piloted the balloon, launched from the field with John and Becky in the basket. Karen did a dunk and dash in the Rio Grande river. We went for an early lunch or late breakfast after the flight then went back to the hotel for a short period of time and back to the launch field for an evening glow with 400 other balloons and the fireworks. We returned to the hotel at 10:30pm - it was too late to get any dinner. Oh my gosh, we are getting up at 4:15am to leave for the field at 5:00. Monday morning we launched off site, with John Moran as pilot, John(a student pilot of Johns) and Teresa(another crew member) in the basket. After a safe landing we met up with the IC2 team for breakfast at Murphys Mule Barn. As of Monday evening Nancy has 25.86 miles on her pedometer. We are having a GREAT time.