ICE and Gherkin Fun

In 2011, at a PWOCI Vision Weekend I was given a ballet slipper. This slipper reminded me to "Keep Dancing with God." The challenge was to keep our eyes on our partner (God), to follow His lead, to dance with confidence in places which seemed unsure, and to dance in the rain. I danced through a rather momentous 2011 - earthquakes, tsunamis, career changes.....and I learned if I trust His lead and remain focused on my Dance Partner I can dance.  Somewhere along the way this little charm was lost.....in Japan....and today it was found...4 years later, in America, in the back of a  van that was in storage in America when the charm was given to me. It is a reminder to continue to trust His lead, to dance in the dark places, to keep my focus on Him.

Michael had two appointments this morning....we stopped in at Mom and Dad's to see what Josiah and Jamin were up to and to pick up some wedding clothes.

We came back to the RV, where Michael spent 3 hours revising the script for CoRielle's wedding ceremony. With the 3 Gherkins in tow, we headed back to Mom and Dads. By this time Josiah had brought JaRissa over too. We all spent the afternoon playing games. This cold and ICY day was perfect for games.

 Somewhere along the line we realized tonight would be our last dinner with Arielle before she is MARRIED - she may not eat after that? I don't know why it seemed significant, but it did. We all went over to the Girl's and I made her favorite dinner - Veggie Pot Pie (one Chicken as a compromise).  While Krista, Larissa and I cooked....Michael, Josiah and Jamin went to retrieve Arielle and drive her car home on the icy roads.

She's always been mostly Arielle's dog! 

Chow line...

We had to start eating before Cory arrived. He was waiting for things to settle down at the airport so he could leave and then it took quite a bit of time for his car to thaw out enough to drive. We missed BreZaak tonight, but understand it's a very busy season for them as they try to finish this semester of their Master's program. OH - reminds me Krista took 2 tests and began research on her final paper of the semester. She has to have that done by Friday.....

JaRissa, Nolan, Michael, Alex, Arielle, Jamin, Krista, Josiah, Stacia

  We four looked at the flower materials Arielle had collected. Larissa is a whiz and is sprucing up bridesmaids bouquets and flowers. Krista had some various pieces from past weddings which were PERFECT for making Arielle's bouquet. Arielle bought the flowers and bows and such for $25 from a lady at Krista's church.  It was good to get an eye on what was there.

Not all bridal suggestions are great ones....and we're not quite sure how this one lone fern will fit into a winter wedding theme. 

The guys continued playing Nintendo....and the girls took the opportunity to do some odds and end shopping we needed done for both the bachelorette party and the wedding.

Nintendo Zombies

Check out the ice on this tree - but no SNOW. 

Michael shared the revised ceremony script with the groom and bride. 

 We were waiting up to hear what happened with Alicia's flights. Alas, she was delayed and then diverted to Portland and will take a bus down to Eugene. Praying Emily makes it in Thursday night with a bit less adventure. It is supposed to be a bit warmer on Thursday.

We got home around mid-night to discover the power went out and our tanks and pipes had frozen. That was a bit more adventure than we wanted to tack on to the end of the day....but all is well now.

Shopping, Cooking and Visiting

Yes, there WERE other happenings today.

Some went to Portland, after Krista's commissioning. JaRissa miss Chick Fil A....and off they went.

Michael and I spent the afternoon with things....baking, shopping, cooking dinner... we even got to bake with Bella and Bre.

Dipping the last of the buckeyes

Today's haul

Cooking with the big pans again - glad I had the foresight to give them to Krista when we moved into the Caboose. LOL  

Many Gherkins love Chicken Divan

Mom, Dad and Lorri came over and we had dinner, visited and played games.

Card playing Gherkins

Nintendo Playing Gherkins

A New 2nd Lieutenant in Our Midst

Krista came by the motor home bright and early! With DOUGHNUTS! 

JaRissa, Josiah, Jamin, my parents, Lorri and all five us us piled into cars and headed to Corvallis, OR. Home of the OSU Beavers. It turns out the nearest active duty Air Force Officer is assigned to the ROTC at OSU.  Krista had an appointment with Lt Col Brainerd. As they talked, Michael  couldn't help himself and had to straighten out the flag so it was laying right.

Ah, they had  a set of the material he has been talking to Jamin about - diplomacy, DOD et al. 

BUT the purpose of our journey and meeting was for Krista to be sworn in as a 2nd Lieut. She's been licensed, ordained, serves on staff at a church and is 1/2 way through her M Div....now she's also an officer in the Air Force Reserves, accepted into the Chaplain Candidacy program, and will be attending OTS (Officer Training School) this summer.

Lt Col Brainerd was GREAT. He took the time to explain the oath she would be taking so that all attending understood. Her oath is not to a man or a service....but to a piece of paper...the Constitution of the United States of America.  He also had some kind words for the Air Force chaplaincy.

"I, (name) do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God. "

The journey comes full circle as Michael watches Krista begin the journey he has ended. 

Kirsta shared words for Michael, myself, her siblings and grandparents. There may have been some wet eyes in the room.  

Lt Col Brainerd gave Krista a pocket-size copy of the constitution and there was paperwork..... 

While we took photos, Michael and Lt Col Brainerd established that they had been at Malmstrom AFB at the same time. He grew up in the area and graduated from Thurston high school. It's a small world.

2nd Lt, Chaplain Candidate  Krista G & Me 

G'ma, Krista and G'pa

 Seven Gherkins

Jamin, Nolan, Krista, Josiah, Jared, Stacia, Alex

2nd Lt, Chaplain Candidate Krista G and Chaplain, Major (Ret) Michael G

  

Josiah, Nolan, De'Etta, Jamin, Krista, Michael, Alex, Stacia, Jared, Larissa

Monday AGAIN

Trying diligently to capture the fleeting days. 

Two medical appointments today....one for Michael and one with Mom. 

A trip to Costco with Lorri. 

Dinner for all at Mom and Dad's.....I'm reawakening my crowd cooking abilities. LOL 

Boys tried on their wedding finery! 

It doesn't sound like a lot - but it was! 

All the Gherkins are Here

Michael had a rough night and got very little sleep. When he fell asleep at 0500, I simply couldn't wake him up for church....so he slept.   

The girls and Cory asked us to meet them for lunch. A funny thing happened on the way to lunch. Krista saw a car which looked like Josiah's and had Washington plates on it. She jumped on the bumper and shook the car, and then ran to the front for her brother hug. You guessed it! It wasn't Josiah! ::snort:: 

Jamin flew into Seattle last night. JaRissa flew into Seattle today.  Josiah and Jamin picked up JaRissa  at the airport and drove on down. We met up at Krista's and had a bit of time to talk before Krsita had to leave for a soccer game. 

The Gang - minus BreZaak, Bella and Dakota

We went over and saw my parents and then headed out to Coburg to show the "kids" our new home on wheels.  Have I mentioned lately how much we enjoy having  a seating area for visitors?

Stacia, Jared, Larissa, Nolan, Jamin, Michael, Alex, Josiah 

The kids left to go visit BreZaak. JaRissa will be spending the week at their home. Jamin hadn't met Ms. Bella yet, so this was high on their priority list.  Josiah and Jamin will stay in the trailer at my parents.

Jamin & Bella - can't go wrong with food

Jamin, Jared, Bre & Bella

Bre, Izaak, Jamin, Jared and Bella in the center

Wedding week is upon us!

Inner Tubes and Vapor Locks

When BreAnne was just a baby, we went on a road trip with Grandma and Grandpa G.  They drove their Arrow motorhome and we drove our Nissan Stanza.  We were going to Colorado for a vacation.

Via Google Images

Our route took us across eastern Oregon through Winnemucca.  It was August, and it was hot.  The highway is through some very barren land.  There is a place where it appears to be heading straight into the base of a towering cliff, but at the last moment, the road turns to the right and takes a slanting, uphill direction to reach the top of the cliff.  We occasionally changed up drivers in the vehicles.  For this leg, I drove the motorhome and G-pa drove the Stanza.  On the way up the side of the cliff, through the waves of heat, you could see the occasional wrecked car laying at the bottom of the drop-off as a reminder of the unforgiving nature of this section of roadway. It was a narrow, two lane road with a hint of a shoulder on both sides.  It was as I noted these things about the roadway I felt the barest hint of a hiccup from the engine.  We were about halfway up the incline.  I pressed on the gas harder hoping to clear the top before any more hiccups occurred.  Within seconds, more hiccups, readily discernible, no-nonsense hiccups were coming.  There comes a point in time when a person has to admit that plan A is not going to happen, and a plan B is necessary.

Via Google Images outside of Winnemuca, NV

As the engine hiccupped and died halfway up the side of the cliff with no way to turn around and no civilization within 75 miles, plan B was only a wish.  G-pa and DeEtta pulled up and stopped behind us.  It was an easy guess that we were the victims of vapor lock - that condition where the fuel vaporizes in the fuel line, but the fuel pump cannot push it through.  So, you have a couple of choices. You can wait for the vapor lock to clear on its own, but this usually requires it to cool down - the sun was not going to be setting for many hours. Or you can get a tow truck to pull you into town and to, well, do nothing that time and cool temps wouldn't already do.  After a few vain attempts at starting the engine, we realized we needed to hunker down and wait. Yes, we could send the women and BreAnne on ahead to Winnemucca to get a hotel for the night, and we would catch up with them later, but they decided to hang out with us on the side of the cliff overlooking some car wreckage as the sun blazed down, a hot wind assaulted us, and there was no one in sight - except for a semi truck going in the opposite direction, there would be no one, at all.  We sought the occasional relief in the A/C of the Stanza, but the baby needed far more than we did - as nice as it was. At times, we would try the engine - no luck.

Via Google Images - none hanging from gas tank

As we waited, G-pa and I talked and thought. Sometimes this is dangerous, but in this instance, it was nothing short of synergistic brilliance, if I may say so myself.  😉What was needed, I said was some way to push the vapor lock on through the fuel line.  Maybe we could get some air pressure on top of the fuel?  Well, we were not going to blow into the tank, that was for sure, but perhaps we could use an air pump to put some pressure in the tank.  It would not take much pressure.  Maybe 10 psi or 15 at the most.  G-pa had a tire pump in the back storage compartment, but we could not get a good seal.  Then G-pa remembered he had an inner tube in the back.  It was for floating down rivers and such, but how to get it to seal around the filler tube.  Well, this is an old school type of vehicle with a filler tube that protruded out the side of the vehicle. No smooth, aesthetically pleasing lines for this RV, and it was a good thing.  G-pa also found a large hose clamp in the back storage compartment.  We cut a one inch hole in the side of the inner tube, fit it over the mouth of the gas filler tube and clamped it with the hose clamp.  We then began to pump up the inner tube.  Once the inner tube had some shape and a bit of pressure, I hopped into drivers seat and gave it a try. After a couple of tries, the engine roared to life in a very satisfactory manner.  The inner tube hung out side the window of the driver's seat.  I grabbed hold of it and put us into gear. We were off, inner tube clamped to the filler tube hanging off of the side of the RV zooming our way to the top. 

Moving On

Fourteen days at Armitage County park and we're "outta there." It is the norm for state/county parks to have a stay limit of 14 days/30 days.  We've stayed at Armitage quite a few times and loved it...but this time....women were assaulted, odd men in the bathrooms, a man screaming incoherently outside our window, arrests....we're happy to move on.   We've landed at a nice RV park for the week. We'll miss the river and trees at Armitage....and the highway noise isn't a favorite, but it beats screaming odd men. 😀 We do like state parks over RV parks - but Michael has 5 o 6 appointments this week, we have kids coming in, and a daughter getting MARRIED this week -  being close to Eugene is needed.

Our cozy site

 I 5 is on the other side of the far trees in the photo above. We choose to look the "other way." 😉 The kids, Yuuki and I went exploring, while Michael proofed one the girls' papers.

The amenities are really nice here. Fitness room, lounge, duck pond, several clean showers and laundry rooms....We checked out the town of Coburg. I thought this was a great find. We may take a couple of books back as we aren't sure there is a book swap at this RV park.

We ate, took care of some family business, the kids and Michael headed for the hot tub, I dried a couple of things that didn't dry well in our RV, Michael met me in the laundry room, we played a couple of games of Farkle and called it a day.