The beautiful, frosty, amber-colored concoction you see here is Zappel. We've been dying for this since the last time we were here two years ago. There are many imposters in the States, but nothing beats the Zappel. We purchased these beauties 5 minutes after leaving the airport.
More coming soon...
Rather than focusing on the deep sorrow, we've decided to cherish the memories. Here are a few select gems so you too may share in the joy that is Speedy. We remember...
The times Anthony, Pete and Speedy would go for a good time of fish-tailin' after visitation at NJBC. Since Speedy's got no junk in his trunk, he'd just slide to his heart's content on the church property grass by the Trout River. These were his rebellious years.
The day he received his name. Cliff was there.
The day his horns started growing in... he head-butted a yield sign (through no fault of Anthony's whatsoever) and received a nasty scar on his left temple. Cliff was there too.
The day Speedy and Sharon first met. He loved going to the beach with us. He likes dolphins.
Speaking of dolphins, we remember how happy he was when we surprised him with a Miami Dolphins license plate. He loves wearing Dan Marino's colors (we had quite the argument when he wanted a big "13" air-brushed on his tailgate).
And all the times we had to turn him off in the McDonalds drive-thru. He talked so loudly that the attendant couldn't hear us over him (he has voice-immodulation problems with his muffler).
We love you SpeedyGoat. Miss ya. Miss you everyday.
His only request was that he be a Chik-fil-a Chicken and not a 'Cap'n D's Chicken Plank'...a bird's gotta die with honor.
I'm not sure what is more disturbing...the fact that we're posting this or that the kid's hands in the picture are motioning how to cut it's neck. We must say after witnessing it, and other than seeing grown men get queasy, that it was less exciting than we had hoped. None of the fabled "running around like a chicken with its head cut off" kind of stuff.
The entrance to Chinatown (which is only 1 block long and not really worth spending 20 min to get there). But here's a picture...and the "Discover DC" sign proves we were there. We also visited the Sackler Gallery of Asian art which is part of the Smithsonian. It was free and we didn't have to wait in a block-long line to see it.
This is Grandmother** shooting in her backyard in Florida. Just a couple observations that make this particularly special to us- 1) My cousin Bobby's expression. 2) Grandmother is wearing her pearls. 3) Its my grandmother. Apparently she hit whatever target she was aiming at...atta girl! Props to Bobby for sending this snapshot our way.
This next one is a neat. My Uncle Jeff took this at the Braves vs. Devil Rays game in Tampa last week.
...can you see the family resemblance? (MattE Diaz is #23 holding the bat down on the field. Zach, in the red hat, is his brother. Jeremiah is his nephew).
And like any good Floridians, a couple weeks ago we found the closest thing to a "theme park" and tried it out...There were 2 slides at the place. Here's Anthony on unnamed slide #1, the one we called the "tall tube slide"...
...riveting
And here's me on the other slide which we called "the slide that goes around"
...if you hold your hands up its funner.
**Grandmother insists on being called "Grandmother." Would you expect anything less proper from a woman who wears pearls whilst shooting?
And Jeremiah went down into waterski history as he skied all by himself at age 3! Oh wait, sorry, apparently his way cool aunt Sharon did it when she was 18 months old...my standards are high, what can I say? He gets points for style though. Apparently he fell on the skiis today and as the boat came around to get him he said "Oh man! My trick didn't work!" Funny kid. If he keeps on trying the tricks, I'm sure it won't be too much longer before he finds a limb in a cast too.
In case you haven't figured it out, the extremely proud voice you hear in the background is Jeremiah's mom.
I got a "Dora the Explorer" bandaid...apropiado, no?
Here's Anthony showing some extreme hiking moves on the washer and dryer...
And me with a lower grade hike, simply from the window sill to the top of the dresser...
Although according to the "Extreme Hiking Rules" ratified in the summer of '04, my hand touching the ground would have cost me a point and I would have had to buy a six pack of "Zappel" soft drink for the winner.
Sharon being a good girl.
Sharon showing off her battle wounds.
Anthony not being a good boy.
Anthony showing off his battle wounds.
We're here safely and have unpacked (or have we?). The next few weeks we get trained and oriented to what its like to live life in another country, etc, etc, etc. We have already met a ton of wonderful folks (there's a family living in an adjacent apartment that has a son and daughter around Jeremiah and Kaelyn's age...then a bunch of other folks that have 2 year olds- Jen, they act just like Kyle!:)
We spent most of the day Tuesday visiting friends in New Port ("is that in New Port?") Richey. That night we watched the final round of American Idol. My text-message cell phone bill says that Taylor's gonna win.
On Monday Sharon and I shelled peas. Earlier that day I helped Sharon's dad take some cattle to the market - both firsts for this city boy. I now have a greater appreciation for steak and peas. It was sorta like a circle of life day but without any singing lions.
We told you when we started this blog there'd be many niece and nephew pictures. Here's proof that we're not liars.
Kaeyln, Jeremiah, Mommy Heather and soon-to-be baby sister making cookies. Jeremiah was very helpful. Kaelyn helped by eating the excess dough and baby sister just sat there in Heather's tummy.
For Mother's Day Sharon and I painted my mom's bedroom and got her a new bedding set. The wall's are very light purple (the picture doesn't really do the room justice) and mom loved it.
In Jacksonville we spent the day at Hannah Park with my side of the family. From left to right, starting in the swing: me, Mom, Sharon, sister Jennifer, niece Katelyn, brother-in-law Greg, nephew Kyle and brother Jason.
Also in recent days, I have found a couple pictures brought a smile to my face and a chuckle. We have a pet "Squirt" which was a stocking stuffer for me this Christmas. He usually stays velcro-d to my bathrobe, but somehow he made it out the window without us knowing (we live on the 3rd floor and don't have screens on the windows). We rescued him after who knows how many days out in the elements...we'll be great parents...
The next is Meagan Rampley...she loves Africa. She commandeered (Nautical term) my camera...
Mom (Tracy) and daughter (Sarah) Millican posing with the, not-so-much basket but more Easter tub of goodies. 
Banana Pudding with festive toppings...this picture doesn't quite capture the 15 lbs of banana pudding in the bowl...
Nat (Millican Dad) chasing me with his new "Toro" lawn mower...
And of course no Easter Sunday, or event at the Millican's would be complete without...
...shooting balloons tied to trees with BB-guns from their upstairs deck. (This picture is not an invitation for my cousins or any males that I know to critique my shooting form...nor was there any danger involved as the hand-gun you see in the picture was as effective as Micah throwing the BB at the balloons himself...seriously, Anthony actually walked right up to the tree they were tied to and shot them point blank...the BB's simply bounced off the balloons with no-harm to the balloons at all). Later that evening Nat took all of us out for a movie. Thanks Nat!
Now, on to the "Going-Away" party Friday Night. We teach college students at our church and so they wanted to send us off well. It was a great night once Norm finally cooked the burgers all the way through (Keep him in line Pam!) It was a nice dinner where we got to hang out and some of our friends said a few words about how they were going to miss us. It was great and we left feeling humble and grateful...
Meagan and Laurie Millican (Micah's wife)...Meagan was the cake maker/designer... good stuff! (although I'm seeing a pattern develop of creative desserts in this post)...
Something that touched the crafty side of me was...
...the awesome scrapbook that they put together for us! Couple observations here: 1. Ladies, particularly Laurie and Jennifer, props on the quality of the scrapbook. It was REALLY cute (trust me, I have an eye for these things and its difficult to impress me) and I know that "REALLY cute" comes at the price of several hours of hard work of "where do I want to put this sticker?" and "where would this picture best go?" Gracias. 2. Speaking of pictures. I'm pretty sure that the picture on the front of us posing at Micah and Laurie's wedding, was the ONLY flattering picture in the book. That's either a testimony of what get-togethers are like with this bunch or the picture on the front was the only flattering picture that anyone had of us...both of these theories are probable. Your thoughts?
NEXT was Saturday and "THUNDER OVER LOUISVILLE"- The largest fireworks display in North America. (I know, we thought the same thing..."Why Kentucky? Shouldn't like Disney or New York have this?) Anyway...there was a record setting 800,000 people in only a couple city blocks (for our Jax friends, this downtown is about the same size as Jax's so imagine that many people wanting to be near Metro Park for a spot to see the fireworks on the St.Johns) They have an airshow, food, music, and of course, fireworks LOTS of fireworks...like 60 Tons of them....all for free...pretty cool...
The Navy's "Blue Angels" were the most impressive part of the airshow...all the way from sunny Pensacola, Florida.
The fireworks are launched from several barges in the Ohio River and from one of the bridges crossing the Ohio. Here is some of the action...
oooooooooooooooooo....... (from the barges)
aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....(off the bridge)
...Rounding off the busy weekend...Sunday. After church this morning, about 8 of us went to an Ethiopian restaurant. Its kinda in a shady part of town, but to my boss's encouragment we went. There was no silverware on the table, so that was the first sign this would be great. The hearty lunch buffet, baklava, and authentic Ethiopian coffee were all we hoped they'd be and we left satisfied with dirty fingers and full tummies. Sorry, we didn't bring our camera in!
... And finally tonight we surprised Nat with a party at his daughter Sarah's apartment. Nat just got promoted to "Captain" at UPS. He is a pilot for their international flights (if anyone wants to send us something little just hand it to Nat and he can bring it to us! We told him to include us in his flight plans). We celebrated by going to the Homemade Ice Cream and Pie store. There were about 35 folks...Nat, you're loved!
Cap'n Nat
And that was our week. For 60 Tons more pictures of this week go to shutterfly...
Here's Kate with her Mommy and Daddy.
This is 3 month old Kara Lynn Durrance. She happily slept in Sharon's arms during church. This was taken at Grandmother's... not during church (although the happiness level was the same in both places).
This is Kyle figuring out that "KK" (how he says Katelyn) is no longer inside mommy's tummy...
Anthony's rock-climbing prowess...
