WebWalker's Blog

David is certainly getting a certified Tour of the mideast, although it's not the recommended way to sightsee. He's been moved to another location *again* -- this time he does have some email access, so you can write to him using his old seymourjohnson.af email address... I think he is getting lonely - he called on a sat phone the other day "just to hear [my] voice" so any emails you can send will be appreciated I am sure, especially with the holidays fast approaching. Here's what he had to say in his last email: Hey, use this address from now on... david.whetstone @ seymourjohnson.af.mil Well, at least for a while. I'll let you know when I can use my BIAP address again. Lance, I'm representin back in M-City dude! Talk to you all later. -Dave [I added spaces in his email address to foil spammers; when you send an email just delete the spaces from the email address.]

The letter hanging above PFC Joshua Sparling’s bed at Walter Reed Hospital isn’t very long. It appears to be from a kid, but you know it really isn’t. Quoted below, it reads verbatim: Dear, Soldier Have a great time into he war and have a great time dieing in the war from Solider Miguel P.S. DIE. Fox News reported that this letter was the only thing hanging on Joshua's wall. Miguel doesn’t speak for many of us. Well, for Cindy Sheehan perhaps and the Code Pink sickos who hate soldiers. But even those who oppose this war cannot possibly echo such cruel and insensitive sentiments as this, can they? Here’s the deal. When you are sending out your Christmas cards, why not add these wounded warriors to your address list to remind them we do give a damn and have not forgotten what they do for us. Better yet, drop them a note along with the card. Send your get well and holiday wishes to: Joshua Sparling C/O Walter Reed Army Medical Center 6900 Georgia Avenue NW Washington, DC 20307-5001 ...

The following is just in from Rickey. We are all doing the "Happy Dance." Miracles still happen! This evening, Lori suddenly woke up and stayed awake. The doctors took advantage of her being awake to give her large doses of medications to reduce the ammonia level, and it apparently worked. You can imagine my surprise when the phone rang around 9:00 tonight and it was Lori on the other end. I cannot express my delight. She's still quite weak, and still a bit unsteady, but she's back with us! Lori has a full time sitter with her in her [hospital] room, and is never being left alone, at least not for some time to come. We understand even the doctors celebrated Lori's return. Thanks to all of you for your prayers and well wishes. It's time to go get some sleep.

This is just a quick email to let you know what’s going on. We finished with Mahmudiyah (or FOB St. Michael) on the 6th of December and arrived here in BIAP (Baghdad International Airport – Center of Operations for the Air Force). While waiting here for a convoy or flight out of here back to Ali, SrA Acosta was involved in a tragic accident. He is still with us, and is rapidly improving as the days go by, but he is obviously unable to continue here in BIAP. SO, obviously they needed a replacement for him and I volunteered to stay. It was a rough few days starting out because of the general mood everyone had, plus the shoes I had to fill. Everything is running smoothly now; I have an outstanding team chief and life is good. I will not return to Ali and am now assigned to the 447th so that means just use this email address from now on. More as it comes, love you all, bye! -Dave ((To send Dave an email, us the address below but remove the spaces... I put them in to foil robot spammers.)) ...

Our good friend Lori Gans is currently in the hospital with a very serious condition, and is fading in and out of consciousness. Everyone is praying for her that she will have the will to live, and that God will help her hurdle the obstacles placed in the path of her health. Rickey and Lori, know that you are in our thoughts and hearts every hour of the day!

This is a poem written by my good friend Frank Zellner, who lives in Pagosa Springs, CO. Click on the image to see the photo larger. I thought you all might enjoy pausing and reflecting with him. I did. A WALK IN THE WOODS by Frank Zellner 2005 I awoke this morning to a beautiful fall day, and decided a walk in the woods would be like play. I put on my winter coat as I walked through the door, My eyes feasted on the woodland beauty and my spirits did soar. I chose a path littered with red and golden leaves, as I walked the wild roses grabbed at my sleeves. I took a deep breath and sucked in the fall air, and suddenly had not a worry nor even a care. And after I had walked for almost a mile, I came upon a bridge that had been there for a long while. The bridge reminded me of God's hand, held out to help us as we journey this land. As a lingered atop the bridge that day, I saw a small chipmunk scurry away. I heard the scream of the eagle as he flew overhead, and I watched a small s...

Great News. We have a new email address for Dave, plus a new snail mail address for him. So if anyone wants to send him a card or package, just give me a phone call or email and I will give you the address!!! And thank you all for supporting our great troops, David included!! It's the land of the free BECAUSE of the brave.

Here are some new dates to add to the Calendar. Just learned about them! December 24 -- Rickey Lynn's birthday December 25 -- Lori and Rickey's anniversary Jan 3 -- June's surgery

A big Happy Birthday goes out to: Colleen Lahey - December 2 and Cheryl Wroten - December 14 Thanks for being a part of the family, Ladies... (like you had a choice)... but you know, you both look younger than ever!

Hi All, I will be moving yet again on Dec. 1st! The following will be my address for the next 1 to 3 years. Please make a note of it if you plan to keep in touch...which I hope you do! 1473 Seahouse St. Sebastian, FL 32958 The house I am in right now is an investment home and will be sold (hopefully!!) in the next couple of months. Sebastian is a beautiful bedroom community about 40 miles north of Port St. Lucie, where I am now. Wide open spaces, very little traffic, and gorgeous beaches within 6-10 miles. Better real estate deals there now, as prices have risen drastically here in PSL. We're banking on the same happening in Sebastian over the next 1 to 3 years! My son will be moving into our next investment home in Sebastian around the end of Jan. He will then be 5 minutes from me! You can continue to email me at the yahoo address, although I may be out of service for a short time while arranging my new Internet service. My cel...

As most of you know, David (W.) no longer has any email access because they sent him "forward." However, he's been calling us weekly so we'll know he's okay. He said it's a very "active" area so they have lots of work, but he's glad to do it. He works a 24 hour shift, and then has 24 hours off to catch some sleep, and go to all the briefings etc before going onshift again. Thank you ALL for continuing to keep him in your prayers and thoughts. PLEASE SEND HIM MAIL, even if it's just a Christmas card with a signature on it: just ask me for his APO address.

November 6, 1981 = Paul Lowe joined the World. November 6, 1991 = Nicholas Tate added his voice. November 26, 1941 = Jimmy Walker graced his parents with his presence. All three have been wonderful additions to our extended family, and we wish you all a very happy birthday !

Hey, not much going on. The picture’s of the ride over here from Kuwait. Lance is the guy taking the picture. We’re stationed together back home and we have the same personalities/senses of humor, so we’re pretty tight. I wish we would have waited a minute or two to take that picture so you could see the sweat pouring out of every pore’s pore. That ride was pretty fun. It was pretty short (about 45 minutes) and had a wild landing. Mark, I’m sure you know exactly what I’m talking about; you too Grandpa! The video is just our first shot when we first got here. I think that one was about 400 pounds net explosive weight. [Editor's note: the video is not included in this blog... I can email it to you upon request, ok?] Anyway, this might be the last general email I send out for quite some time unless something cool happens within the next few days. Feel free to email me though, and I’ll be sure to answer. I just don’t know for how much longer I can reply. Alright, I’m sure I’ll talk to...

I can't believe no one has screamed at me for not getting the October birthdays posted yet... guess it just means that our October celebrants are just incredibly modest and humble people. Here's the lineup, folks, with BIG apologies to Tracey for not getting this posted till now! October 06: Tracey Tsosie, beloved of Randy Walker. October 07: Brett Westerfield, childhood friend of Dave Whetstone. October 17: Randy Walker, our Number One Son! October 23: Vernon Whetstone, Sherry's Number One Hubby. October 23: Kerry Lowe, our Number One Daughter!! October 30: Bill Gray, the best neighbor we could every have. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALL !

Well David now has an Air Force version of instant messaging, and it's so nice being able to "chat" with him. Not quite as good as a phone, but hey, I'm not going to comlain! He's doing well and in fact sent this photo. That's him on top of the bunker... OK, Half way on top of the bunker, over the doorway! The stuff that looks like duct work is exactly that... Jimmy said it is exactly the same kind he used 30 years ago to cool their equipment when he was in the Air Force. Some things never change...

In a message dated today, September 22, 2005, David writes: Hello all, Well, we officially took over the flight today, and I have standby duties. So we are rolling right into things and it’s great. For those that haven’t heard, the shop here is great. We don’t have to stay in Tent City with everyone else, we have our own bunker we acquired from the Iraqis. It’s very nice and very cool underground. Most leadership have their own rooms, and the airmen have a roommate. I have one roommate - a guy from my home shop. We are in a semi-central location on base, so traveling is usually on foot. I keep finding things out about this base everyday that I LOVE. Just a few: laundry is FREE with a ONE day turnaround, we have an awesome relationship with everyone around base (we work with everyone from the Brits, the Italians, to the Army and the Marines), and I love standing on top of our bunker and looking down on the lowly mortals living in Tent City! If you didn’t know, we have plenty of computer...

Here's what David had to say in his first email from Iraq: Sept 21, 2005: Hey, I FINALLY made it here to Ali Air Base! We had to go to some training in Kuwait before coming here (completely worthless crap that we all already know) so that’s why it took so long. And let me tell you: THIS PLACE IS HEAVEN COMPARED TO WHERE WE WERE! Mark, the Army B L O W S !!!!!! Of course I already knew that after that CST training in Colorado, but this was ridiculous. So on an up note, this place rocks and as long as I am stationed here (I will be going forward to another base soon to support units that are swamped with work) I will have email contact every day right here in the shop. I don’t have some email addresses, so maybe you guys could help me out ASAP. Mom, I need Karen’s work one, and a CURRENT one for Jason. Grandma and Grandpa’s too. Mark or Dad, could you get Bethany’s and Faith’s? You guys were the only ones I could remember from heart. Well, I’m pretty tired so I’m outa here. Oh! FYI, ...

Well I can breathe again. Finally heard from David last night, by email. He's been deployed since the beginning of September but could not contact me till last night. He is presently located near An Nasariyah at the Ali Air Base, but will be moving to a forward operating base (FOB) soon. Even after he moves, though, his mailing address will remain the same. Here's his address for any family/friends wishing to write him: SrA Whetstone, David 407/AEG/ECES/EOD APO, AE 09331 If you want to send him care packages, I'd suggest you use the flat-rate priority mail boxes which cost $7.70 to mail, no matter how heavy they are. The boxes are available for free at your local post office. I will of course be sending him care packages too!! But most important will be letters - that means so much when you are deployed far from home, just to hear a word of encouragement from someone who cares. Many thanks to everyone for their love and prayers during his deployment, as he serves his C...

September 09 -- Efrat Whetstone September 12 -- Scott Allen Tate September 22 -- Janice Weston September 20 -- Deborah Whetstone

August 25 - yep, the day of the party... Jimmy had an angiogram, then angioplasty with placement of a few stents in his heart. Brought him home and he was conked out asleep in the back bedroom throughout the whole party! September update: he's doing fine, wonderfully recovered, and grateful to Dr. Ravi for adding some years on to his life. August 30 -- Everyone misses Sherry now that she's gone home, and we hope she'll comeback to visit real soon. Let's all make sure that Sherry doesn't forget about us by sending her emails - often.

Wow! Did we have a wonderful party. Everyone showed up, and had a fabulous time. Sherry shared her time among all, and entertained us with some wonderful pictures of back home. It was great to "see" Ariel, Efrat, Daphna, Deborah, Eran, and Adi... even if it was by the proxy of high tech digital photography! (Thanks, Ariel, for sending the photos with your mom!) We had excellent food, in huge quantities. There are people in third world countries that don't have as much protein in a year as we had in one night. Kind of makes you think a little about others less fortunate than we are. So many people connected and re-connected it felt like an extended family reunion. We gotta do this again, and soon. About the only one who couldn't be here was the one lady who actually made it possible: Beverly. It was thru HER generosity that Sherry was able to be here. Bev, we just wish you could have been here too. >

Sherry arrives on the evening of the 25th. Hmmm that means we've gotta have a party on the 26th, right? RIGHT! We'll have an Open House style get together at Susan and Jimmy's - meaning no sit-down dinner, just some snacks and lots of gossip. Drop on by as soon as you get off work Friday, sit and chat a spell and check out how great Sherry is looking these days. If you can't stay too long that's okay but at least you'll get to see her, she's only in town for a few days and it might be another decade before she returns! You can post a comment to this message so we'll know you plan to show up, how's that for a painless RSVP system?!

Hi Everyone! As most of you probably know, I'll be in the US for a very short trip at the end of August. Bev's Mom has died and she has invited me to accompany her to the memorial service in Oregon and afterwards for a few days with mutual friends in Indiana. She has also graciously added a few days to the beginning of my ticket, so that I can see all those I love in Arizona... So here is the intinerary: Arrive at Sky Harbor Airport Phoenix on August 25th at 9:25pm on Continental Airlines flight #1835 from Newark NJ. Depart from Sky Harbor Airport Phoenix on August 30 at 9:00AM on Continental Airlines flight #2309 for Houston TX. In between those two dates -- I'M YOURS!! I love you and can't wait to see everyone! Love, Sherry

I am a *bit* tardy on posting this month's events... but if you'll read the post that appears just under this one, you'll understand why. Might not forgive me for it, but at least you'll understand why, hehe.... Here is the lineup for August!! Aug 1: Jonathan Tate started out the month by turning 21 on August 1st, yaaay! (Furthermore, rumor has it that he will be soon attending ASU...) Aug 2: August 2nd heralded Acacia Walker's 16th birthday... More congrats on another milestone! Aug 3: Our good friend Brent Weston is now a mature 38 as of August 3rd... Wow, Brent, didja ever think you'd make it?! Aug 8: Roxanne and Ricardo celebrated their 6th anniversary on August 8th. Life is a lot more hectic for them with the arrival of little Julian. Aug 18: JP and Melinda are still categorized as newlyweds, with their 4th anniversary on August 18th. Aug 22: Another good friend, Ernie Geschke , celebrates his birthday on August 22nd, and I'm thrilled to pass along...

My son David was here for a week, and I am exhausted. *big grin* It was worth it, though! On the afternoon he arrived we went to his Uncle David's house for a BBQ; then took out for Carlsbad NM to see the Caverns and of course the BATS too. Had a fabulous time. Then came back to Glendale where David spent some time with his Air Force buddies - some of whom are stationed here locally at Luke AFB.. and one even drove down from Nellis AFB near Las Vegas to spend time with David. Now David's off to Washington state to visit Arlie et al, including David's stepbrother Mark who has already done a tour of duty in Iraq as part of the U.S. Army. Then he goes back to his home base to be deployed to Parts Unknown. We will of course hear from him and will have an APO address which we can supply to any family member who requests it.

Mark your calendars - Sherry will be in town from August 25 through August 30th! It will be a bitter-sweet trip. Sadly, she will be accompanying her good friend Beverly on a trip to the States to take care of the affairs of Beverly's mom, who just recently passed away. Beverly has no siblings or other near relatives, and asked Sherry to join her, as Sherry is as close as a sister to her. They will be in Oregon, but Beverly graciously allowed Sherry to book an extra four days in Arizona so she could visit with all of us.

Dave and Loni Tate will be hosting a BBQ on Sunday, July 31st... Mom (Emily) is scheduled to show off the aquatic exercises she's been learning. As part of the physical rehab after her hip surgery, she's been going to a rehab center for exercies three times a week, and is doing quite well. Nicholas has been visiting from Utah and this will be his last weekend in Arizona, so it will be an added bonus to get to see him. David (son) will be arriving that same day at about noon... Jimmy and I will pick him up at the airport and then go directly to Dave and Loni's house for the BBQ so he will have the opportunity of visiting with family members. The next day we will head out for New Mexico to visit Carlsbad Caverns... !! Might stop at a winery or two on the way home...

Life is perking along... with the heat we've been having lately, all you have to do is sprinkle some coffee grounds on your skin and walk outside... Instant Coffee! Here are some of the latest news items in the family: DAVID IS COMING HOME FOR A VISIT!!! July 31st, for a week... he will leave again on August 8th, then will go up to Washington to see the rest of his family, and then back to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, thence to go to the places Uncle Sam needs him. Please keep him in your prayers that he will be safe; the actual deployment into harm's way will only be for four months... but the actual deployment will be for four months. Emily is walking without her walker now, and growing stronger each day!! YOU GO, GIRL! 85 YEARS OLD AND STILL GOING STRONG. The hip surgery was a success and though she doesn't like to do the exercises, she is getting better and better every day. Sherry called from Israel the other day and spoke to her, a nice long conversation which ...

Here is a photo of Jimmy and I with our grandkids, Acacia, Nakaia, Paul and Nathan (clockwise). Photo taken at Randy and Tracey's house a few weeks ago when Kyle and Kerry et al were visiting Arizona. Kerry, you are turning in to quite the photographer! Kudos, my lady! (er, unless it was Kyle who took this photo, ha!!)

Here are this month's celebrants: Tom and Emily Tate celebrate their 62nd wedding anniversary on JULY 3 2005. 87 and 85 years old respectively, they happily sipped Cherry Cokes in their Mesa AZ home to celebrate the event... Back in 1943 they had walked from the wedding ceremony to a local soda fountain and ordered Cherry Cokes to celebrate their union. I (and four other siblings) are certainly glad they chose each other! Congratulations! On JULY 9 2005 Aviva Whetstone will celebrate her 83rd birthday. Residing in Israel with her hubby Arthur and son Vernon et al, she is right where she wants to be. God bless you, Aviva. "You Go, Girl!" JULY 14 2005 will ring in year 52 for Tom R. Tate (aka T-2). With both kids grown, he only needs to find a babysitter for the dogs and he can go on that long-awaited trip to... ? Whatcha gonna do for your birthday, Bro?? Congrats, and have a great year!!

Tom and Emily Tate on their 62nd wedding anniversary, July 3, 2005. Congratulations!!

Emily Tate walks without cane or walker!

OK For all you who know I have been gone for just about Forever and who think I am NEVER going to post anything on this blog again.... Gotcha! Things have really been wild around these parts, and I'm not talking about the coyotes, but I have GOT to get stuff posted in a timely manner again. Let's start with JUNE CELEBRATIONS!!! Here's some folks we certainly don't want to miss: June 4 - Ariel and Efrat Whetstone celebrated their 9th wedding anniversary. June 10 - Tom Tate aka Alpha Daddy wins with 87 years under his belt. June 12 - Aubrey Jessica Tate turned 17 - Look out World, here she comes! June 14 - June Rebecca Tate turned turned 24 - Look out World, She's HERE! June 23 - Matt Walker turns the corner on 30 years.... and finally, rounding out the month... June 26 - Edith Tate-Hern turns a wonderful 83 years young!

Early Sunday morning we received word that a good friend's son, Michael, was killed in Iraq on Saturday... at the same time his mother and I were at an Albertsons store collecting food donations to send to the Troops. He was in a Marine combat unit and there was some fighting with the terrorists. As I understand it, there was an explosion set off by the terrorists, and Michael was killed. Michael could have just as easily been killed in a car wreck on American streets; a victim with a meaningless death. Instead, he died a hero. He had volunteered to be a Marine, to fight for freedom and to help keep the terrorists off American soil. He was doing what he wanted to be doing. But the pain for his mother is not eased, her young son is still gone. I and many of my friends us joined PackagesFromHome.org as a means to give support to our troops. Many of us have found it becoming a strong support group for each other as well. About half of the volunteers have relatives or friends who are ...

Cuervo is Cheryl's beloved golden spaniel. At 18 years of age, he passed away this morning. Cheryl sends the following note to all. There are no words that can replace this dear pet who has been her companion for nearly two decades, but I hope you know, Cheryl, that all of us send you love and condolences. I just wanted to take a minute to tell all of you that Cuervo passed away this morning. He was scheduled for some treatment today at the vet, but had a rough night. Progressively worse over the past week until yesterday when he was no longer able to pick himself up off the floor. I knew that he was trying, but it was getting to hard for him to keep going. He is now waiting for me at Rainbow Bridge and I will see him again when I get there. Thank you all for everything. Love, Cheryl

Here it is, the anxiously awaited May Birthday Blog Entry... May 02, 1988 - Daphna Whetstone May 03, 1920 - Arthur Whetstone (Sr) May 09, 1986 - Nathan Lowe May 24, 1982 - David Whetstone May 25, 1994 - Nakaia Walker Happy Birthday To YOU, Happy Birthday to YOU, Happy Birthday to YOU-U, Happy Birthday to YOU !!

Taxes ...........AAAAAAAAAAArrrrrrrrrrrgh. 'Nuff said.

A beautiful 74 degree day in the Valley of the Sun, gorgeous blue skies with clouds looking so perfect they look like they're painted on the sky... Where do you go? To the BALL GAME, of course! -- Wow, betcha never thought you'd hear those words from ME, huh. Well, best-buddie Janice Weston succeeded where many brave folk before her have failed... and that is, she got me to go to an Arizona DiamondBacks baseball game at BankOne Ballpark. And the D-Backs WON, 5-4 against the LA Dodgers!! WOO HOO!! I had so much fun, it was great. We didn't have peanuts, but we did have popcorn, lemonaide, and I had to have my dose of COTTON CANDY followed by a celebratory dinner and milkshake at Fuddruckers. So how did Janice talk me into going? Hmm, I wonder if her promise to go to the Botanical Gardens with me NEXT Sunday had anything to do with it... Photos coming soon, watch this post.

Click to enlarge a pic Just who ARE the Martiniz, you ask? Why, don't you recognize our own Dianne ?!! Yep, in addition to her real estate ventures, here she is Live and in Color, appearing with her partner at local Valley gigs. Di gives the following comments about their upcoming events: Hi all! Just a note to let you know where I will be performing this month with my musical partner...collectively known as "The Martiniz"...here's the next few week's schedule: Friday, April 22 2005 Uncle Bear's Bar and Grill 825 S. Cooper Suite B-6 Gilbert not sure of time yet, but most likely 8:30pm to 12:30pm Friday, April 29 2005 Lone Butte Gila River Casino just so. of Chandler Blvd. off 52nd St. 7pm to 1am (whew!!...who said this wasn't work?!) We are performing once, and soon twice a month at the casino. Kind of a wierd gig as everyone is gambling...but they dance in their seats and give thumbs up and yell "grunts" of appreciation!! And the pay is very goo...

You all know how I volunteer for the charitable organization Packages From Home and also how Mary Wroten has been a wonderful assist by involving her church group to collect donations to mail to our deployed troops. She shows up on my doorstep every now and then with a whole carload of things to send to the troops. Well, I just want to make it known that she hasn't stopped there. We had a huge event called Hearts to Heroes in Anthem recently, and the result was an 18-wheeler truck full of donated stuff for care packages. But we needed volunteers to help us pack it all into boxes and mail to the troops. Mary showed up with a bunch of her friends to help us pack boxes at the Anthem UHaul facility!! The troops are all so deserving of our support, but it nonetheless takes a lot of angels to make an effort like Packages From Home work, and Mary, you are definitely an angel! God bless you.

We've got a few Family celebrations this month... if I've missed anyone, just let me know and I'll post it right away. Congratulations and best wishes to all!! Carrie Tate's birthday is April 4th.... 20 years old! Loni Tate's birthday is on the 13th and she claims to be 29... again... Jason Whetstone's birthday is the next day, on April 14th - 26 years old already?! Wow! Sherry and Vernon Whetstone will celebrate their 38th wedding anniversary , on the 29th. (KUDOS, YOU TWO... "Kol ha'kavod lachem!") Ariel Whetstone's birthday is on the 30th... He'll be a ripe old 36.

Mom (to me, Emily to others) went to an orthopedic surgeon today to investigate possible hip surgery. She walks with a cane now as most of you know and has been having quite a bit of trouble with mobility. After viewing her xrays, the doctor (or SawBones as Dad calls him) seemed surprised that she wasn't in a wheelchair. He advised she needs both hips replaced; she requested that the left hip be done first. She really liked the doc - partly because he's Italian, and partly because he's "cute." (Dad interjects, "I KNEW she would say that!") In any case, she needs to get a chest xray, blood work, etc. before they will actually schedule the surgery... so it may be late May before she actually undergoes the surgery itself. The doc told her to expect a 4 week recovery period; then Mom called one of his patients who told her it was a year recovery time... Mom is now vacillating on whether or not she wants it to be done, but at the end of the day she said she r...

This just in about June's new job: This was June's first day at Pegasus Solutions. She spent the day gettting oriented, having a picture taken for her access badge, and in general learning about her employer. They have already labeled her the "Computer Guru", and she jumped right in helping with the work. The worst part of the job was fighting the traffic on the 101 coming home. Yaay, June! You go, girl!

Daphna's first ID photo. Does YOUR driver license pic look this good?? (Click on the photo to see it larger.) Sherry sends this note with the above photo: Dear Family, Daphna got her first ID card yesterday and I thought you might like to see her photo ... Ahhh, if we could all look like that.... Her proud Mom, Sherry

Scott's graduation from Marine Corps basic training was fabulous, and he looks SO GOOD. Semper Fidelis!! He has lost an incredible amount of weight, has an absolutely concave stomach, and has buffed up muscles... In a word, WOW. He got 10 days leave time after his graduation on March 4th so will be home with his parents a few days more before having to report for further training. Anyone wanting to contact him to offer congrats can call Dave's number 623.326.1001 -- (We didn't stay in California as long as we'd planned because it rained almost constantly... except for the ceremony, when the skys parted and the sun shone beautifully! So we didn't get to visit with family there, but will go back in a few months to visit all the Californians.) On his first morning back in Phoenix, Scott... I mean PFC Tate... went to visit Grandma Emily, and I happened to be on the telephone talking to her when he arrived. You should have heard her squeal with delight!! Of course, ...

Robin and Jerry flew to Arizona to celebrate Robin's birthday and visit their children as well as Tom and Emily over the past week. Left Sunday morning 3/6/05 just as Dave/Loni/Mark/Glen/Susan/Jimmy were returning from California with PFC Scott Tate.... Sorry we missed you, guys!! But now you have an excuse to come visit again, right?!

A big salute to "Recruit Tate, Scott Allen"... who becomes a full-fledged United States Marine today at his 10:00 a.m. graduation from basic training in California. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE, SIR!

Are you a Tolkien fan? Know what the acronym LOTR stands for? Then log on to www. thehobbitfilm.com and lend a hand in getting The Hobbit film made under the capable direction of Peter Jackson. This message brought to you by David Whetstone, a self-admitted Ringer fan...

Here's a big Shout-Out to the March Birthdays in the Clan!!! ROBIN DION -- MARCH 4 EMILY TATE -- MARCH 4 *by a surprising twist of Fate, the same day as Robin's birthday!* The two Arizona Tate siblings (Susan and David) will be in California on Emily's and Robin's respective birthday, but Robin and Jerry are here to make festive on the Big Friday together with Emily and Tom. Meanwhile, Susan/Jimmy and David/Loni/Mark will be wishing both Birthday Gals a beautiful day from Camp Pendleton as we watch Scott cross the Parade Deck to become a real live United States Marine. Talk about mixed feelings! We'd love to celebrate with Mom and Robin, especially since we only get to see Robin once every Blue Moon, but at the same time we'd promised Scott many months ago that when he graduated, we would BE there. It was just one of those quirks of Fate that the graduation date turned out to be the same date as Mom/Robin's birthday. Nonetheless, we wish you both a VE...

I must be having fun, because time sure has been flying by! Life has been pretty hectic the past little while... I have taken over the webmaster job for www.PackagesFromHome.org and it is a HUGE undertaking. It's a volunteer position (some of the work I get paid for feels like it is volunteer work too though) and the website is really a mess in its present state, plus I am responsible for answering a whole slew of website-generated emails every day... Then on top of that I am trying to get my own business (paid) work caught up because we are leaving town tomorrow to attend Scott's graduation from Marine Corps boot camp in California. YAAY SCOTT AND CONGRATULATIONS !!! We'll be away till Tuesday because we will also be visiting some of Jimmy's relatives in California.... Jenny and Ray/Pam and Roxanne/Ricardo et al. And of course you don't think I will let Jimmy take me to San Diego without taking me to Sea World and the Wild Animal Park, do you??? Let's ge...

I'm pretty sure everyone in the clan is aware by now of my involvement with Packages From Home... the organization that sends care packages to our troops overseas. But did you know that our cousin Mary Wroten has become an integral part of letting our troops know we support them? Yep. She lit the fire under the seniors group at her church (St. Luke's) and they have been collecting donations like crazy - everything from shaving cream to oreo cookies. She brings all the goodies over to my place and then we package it up for mailing and Kathy Lewis (founder of PFH, lives about a mile from me) trots it off to the Post Office and mails it to an American Forces trooper in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. If anyone wants more info on Packages From Home, or if you want to make a donation of supplies or money for mailing the packages, just point your browser to: http://www.PackagesFromHome.org God Bless You, Mary, and all the patriotic people at St. Luke's who have so generously donated!

Happy Birthday to the following family members!! (If I've omitted someone, please post a comment to let me know!) Dave Tate - Feb 9 Mary Wroten - Feb 10 Dianne Moore - Feb 15 We also want to take this opportunity to honor the memory of Dianne's dad, Mike Rizzo, who was born on February 11, 1922, and passed away in the summer of 2001. We miss you, Uncle Mike!

Pagosa Springs Colorado Here's what the mountains around Pagosa Springs look like.... pretty enough to make ME want to go back, for sure!! (Photos compliments of Frank Z. Thanks, Frank!)

After a wonderful visit with Tom and Jan, we traveled southwest to Pagosa Springs, Colorado to visit Frank and Elaine Z. Childhood schoolchums of our mutual friends the Bruehls, Frank and Elaine left Buckeye some years ago for California and finally retired in Colorado... but the friendship persisted. (Buckeye did produce some FINE folk!) We "met" them a few years ago via the Bruehls and the Internet, but had not physically met them till today. What a wonderful couple, they are active in both church and community, from Scouting to enhancing the environment by helping their local river to be more attractive to both fish and fishermen. We had a great visit with them, and left the next day wishing we'd had more time to tramp in those wonderful snow-filled woods (Dagesh adored the snow!) and swap stories in front of their warm hearth. This was our view from Frank and Elaine's deck...

January 27th we set out from Glendale AZ to visit Tom, Jan, and Jonathan in Northglen CO (northern section of Denver) so Jan and I could once again celebrate our birthdays together. Took the dog (Dagesh) with us as an experiment to see if she and Jan's two dogs (Angel and Buster) could get along. It made for an interesting weekend to say the least!! After meeting in a neutral dog-park, Angel and Buster agreed to let Dagesh stay in their house, but it was a constant power struggle as to who was going to get to be the Dominant Bitch. (All they really had to do was withhold my estrogen for a couple of days and I'd show them who's the REAL Dominant Bitch...) Anyway, we decided to simply keep the dogs apart and not let them influence the enjoyment of our weekend. Jan and I exchanged gifts and then we had a marvelous birthday meal of pork crown roast compliments of Chef Jan, topped off with Birthday Root Beer Floats. What else could a Now-Officially-Middle-Aged-Gal ask for?!...

A sampling of the damage done by Hurricane Ivan to Kerry and Kyle's condo in Destin, Florida. Kerry sent me this photo some time ago but I just today figured out how to post pictures on this blog!! (Click on the photo to see it larger.) Sorry it took me so long, Kerry. This shows some of the damage Hurricane Ivan did to their vacation condo in Destin, FL. How are the repairs going, Kerry?

Received a note and these pics from Ariel about the kids' birthday parties: ...thought you might like to see some Pic's of Eran(6) and Adi's(2) Birthday... We just celebrated both of their Bday's last week - A little late due to the fact that we were waiting for the Year memorial for Efrat's father to pass... so enjoy the pic's and drop me a note if you get a chance! ((PS -- Click on a photo to see it a bit larger.))

Adi and mom Efrat 

Eran and Dinosaur Cake 

Eran is Six ! 

Efrat, Eran, Ariel 

Eran 

Happy Birthday Sherry! We've got a run on birthdays going... let's all get out there and Celbrate Having Survived This Long!!

Happy Birthday, Janice!! May you have a marvelous day and a good year. (Be sure to save up your appetite for our Double Date next weekend!) ee

My new year resolution OUGHT to be to keep this blog more up to date... But if I make such a resolution, it's sure to never work, so I'll save myself the guilt. So, what's been happening at our end of the world? Quite a bit. As stated in my November 12 post, Tom and Jan came to Arizona to visit while Jimmy and I went to North Carolina and spent two weeks with son David. Tom had the bad fortune to be here during one of our rare rainstorms and of COURSE our roof leaked like a sieve! But at least he and Jan got to have a nice turkey dinner with June and Rickey Lynn and Lori et al over Thanksgiving. Meanwhile we were galavanting about the countryside, tramping down hiking trails along the Tar River and having a grand time. .. and oh yes, we got to watch David and his Air Force Bomb Squad unit blow up some stuff during a training session! I have a new respect for these guys who keep us safe from things that go Ka-Boom. On January 8th, we went to see Cosi Fan Tutti, perform...

I am going to attempt to post family birthdays and any planned events at the beginning of each month. If you know of someone I've missed, let me know! Jan 2... Mark Tate's 17th birthday. Happy Birthday, Mark! (These kids are just growing up too fast.) Jan 5... Speaking of growing up too fast, Adi Whetstone turned 2 on January 5th. Jan 6... Gary Ryan Whetstone is a ripe old 24. Aaaw. Jan 7... Melonie Schollmeyer turns... well, let's just say she's 29 again. Jan 11... Melonie's twins Robert and Brittany turn 11. More kids growing so fast. Jan 23... Janice Tate turns 29 again, as does Kyle Lowe! (Remarkable how no one in our family gets any older than 29) Jan 24... Sherry Whetstone joins the 29-again crowd Jan 28... Susan joins... you got it! the 29-again crowd too! Jan 28... is also Rickey Lynn Gans' Bat Mitzvah. Mazal Tov!