San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo - Rodeo and Concert

We finished off the long day at the fair with the rodeo and concert. The rodeo was a lot of fun. Most of the competitors managed to get their 8 seconds. There were only a few mishaps and no one needed to be carted off.

Then to finish up, we stayed for the Brooks and Dunn concert. That was really great. Nate wasn't really into it that much, but it was a fun night anyway. Marshel and Kellee crashed about 1/2 hour before it was over. We didn't get home until after midnight. Mom decided the next day would be a sluff day. We all slept in and hung out around the house to recover.

Marshel and Kellee loved their cowboy/cowgirl hats. They wanted real ones, but Mom and Dad were too cheap ($5 was better for something they won't take care of anyway). Dad did look at a Stetson, but we decided we'd wait a bit on it.

San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo - Not the rides

There were 2 petting zoos and we spent so much time there. The kids loved feeding the animals, hugging them and petting them. There were a couple of wallabys, but there were behind some fencing, so we could only look at them. There were some baby pigs also. The alpacas were so great, because they would just come up behind you and stick their face in yours, just to surprise us I guess.

And then there was the CSI show. Starting with a magic show, the magician's assistant was injured and CSI showed up to solve the crime. We all had to help solve it, but there were a few in the audience who came up as suspects. Nate was chosen as the loser rocker who had been fired (motive) and looked the part. They gave him a polygraph (which was inconclusive) and fingerprinted him. Fortunately, the clean cut guy came out guilty. It was fun to watch Nate on stage.

Another thing Nate and RAchel did that we don't have pictures of, but that they wanted to do again, was the Army Experience. They had to earn t-shirts and hats by doing push-ups. They they did this virtual war where they had to protect their hummer by shooting things around them that could blow them up. They said it was a lot of fun, but they still don't want to join the army.

San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo - The Rides

On Presidents Day, the kids were out of school and the Fair was in town, so that's where we spent the day. The kids had an all-day pass to ride the rides and they rode everything they could and some over and over. Marshel got to ride some of the big rides and he kept wanting to go again and again. We had to direct him to a different ride constantly. Kellee even got to ride some of the big kid rides. Everyone had a good time. The weather was a bit overcast and chilly at times, but it actually turned out to be a perfect day for the fair.

Our Ward Sweethearts Dance - The Decades

We had a really fun Sweethearts dance, adults only, for Valentines Day. We all got to dress up in our favorite decade. The majority of the people were either in 50s, 70s or 80s. The 80s were my favorite decade, of course. So, we went all out. Marty wore his pants folded up, white socks, penny loafers and the wrap-around sweater. I wore leggings, leg warmers, headband with the hair up in the ponytail (off to the side), big red earrings, bracelets and necklace. The outfit wasn't complete without the 1/2 ton of makeup, including the bright blue eyeshadow. I surprised the kids when I walked out of my room all decked out, and Nate was like, "Wow, Mom. I'd have dated you!" We laughed about that one.

We had a great time at the dance. It was hilarious trying to remember how we all danced back then. We were doing Thriller, moshing, the worm, breakdancing, conga lines, YMCA, and more. We laughed all night watching people and wishing we had as much energy as we used to. Great Fun!

Michael's Travels

I never know exactly what Mike is up to because, being in the Navy, he can't tell me when he'll be somewhere and exactly where he is at the moment. You know, security risk! So, it's a little challenging not knowing where my son is all the time, but I'm learning to handle it. The best way for me to figure out where he is, is to watch his bank account. I can see where he's withdrawn money, so at least I know where he was on that specific date. But, I have to wait until he leaves that area before he can tell me what he did there.

Here is the latest update:

Michael's ship has been in Thailand. I believe it was Chonburri. Here's his email about his time there:

"It was fun. I didn't do much but I did go to the mall and go to a ripleys Believe it or not museum, haunted house, mirror maze and 4-D movie. All for 300 Baht, which was like 20 bucks. The whole floor was ripleys. Then I went and walked around a lot and looked at stuff, bought a "From Russia With Love" "Zippo" just for looks. Almost some bootleg movies, but decided against it since I can download better quality ones for free. Played with a taser on the street. They had them and nightsticks, butterfly knifes, chinese fighting stars. Swords.
Anything you want there you can bargain it down for much cheaper on the street vendors.

Other than that, I mainly stayed on the ship and ate out in town.


Oh and I recorded two friends eating fried scorpions, that was on a cart along with grubs, grasshoppers, beetles, frogs, and something else which looked like a long huge stink bug.

It was funny.

They said it tasted like chicken."

Mike can't download pictures while on the ship, so I've asked him to send pictures after he gets back to Sasebo. When he does, I'll load them here.

Don't forget to keep in touch with him. I know he would love some contact from those he knows and loves. His email is cortesem@lhd2.navy.mil.

Until next time...

An Update on Michael

Okay, well here's the latest that he has told me:

They were in Sasebo and left there, went to Okinawa and picked up a bunch of Marines. The day they picked them up, there were so many sea bags in the chow hall, they could barely get to the food. They have now left Okinawa and are out at sea somewhere.

He says he requested a job in the pump room, because there is a lot of down time there. He is planning on doing some college courses, so he knew he'd have plenty of time to study there. A typical day for him is as follows:

He wakes up, gets dressed, shaves, and heads to the Pump Room. He then runs some bottles containing samples of fuel to get tested for water and sediment. Then back to the pump room, where he sleeps, reads and jokes around with the other guys and then sleeps some more before heading off to lunch. After lunch he runs more samples, and then can sleep or read until dinner. After dinner, he has to run more samples to be tested, then more down time. When he gets off work, he does his email, or just hangs out with the guys. He also says that during the day at work, at random times, he has to turn a valve to allow fuel through a pipe, and then turns it off again.

Sounds like a really crazy exciting job, right? He says it's not exactly what he had hoped his navy career would be like, but the money's good, he can get his education, and he's excited to visit some other countries.

He has met a few guys from the church, but they are still waiting for permission to use the chapel, so they just meet in the galley and have a lesson. There are very few members on board right now.

Here's how he described a few of the guys he's friends with:

Erskine - tall, asks a lot of questions
McPherson - short, funny without trying, speaks German
Joe Felmett - nerdy, picks up Jap girls like they are easy

The latest is that right now, Mike is doing indoc (indoctrination). It's a 3 day class where he gets out of work and they talk about things around the ship. He says he just tries to stay awake. He told this story:

Today (the first day), some kid that thought he was being helpful actually hurt himself instead. He decided to tell the XO (Executive Officer - second in command to the commanding officer) that his right shirt pocket was unbuttoned. This embarassed the supervisor. He got yelled at and then had to write a 4 page essay/speech/apology to the class and to her. It took him about an hour and a half. He says this guys job is to read all of the outgoing e-mail to make sure there are no secrets going out. Mike thought it was funny that he would probably have to read this particular email about himself and be even more embarassed.

So, that's the latest from Mike. If you would like to mail him letters, let me know and I'll get you his address.


His email is:
cortesem@lhd2.navy.mil.

I'm sure he would love some news from home.

Nate's AFJROTC Military Ball

Nate's Military Ball was held at Lackland Air Force Base on January 30, 2009. He and a group of other cadets chipped in to rent a Hummer stretch limo. They all met at one cadets house and loaded up the limo. It was really fun. They had an open bar (soda) and the music cranked up so loud that the driver had to close the divider window. The limo had a hard time getting onto the base as it had to maneuver through the security columns, but it made it.

At the ball, they enjoyed good food, dancing and a slideshow of the seniors. They partied into the late hours of the evening. They all looked so nice in their uniforms. Nate decided he didn't want to have a date so he could dance with a bunch of girls. He had a good time.