I went to Indianapolis late last week for a meeting with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation about the annual stair climb that we do. We are about to take it across the nation….more on that another time. We met in Indy because everyone was already there for the annual FDIC conference – the largest firefighter conference in the nation. Each year it’s held in Indy (I have been twice before) so they have quite the set-up since it can be used year-to-year. I had about a hour to browse the exhibits before the meeting and was able to visit the exhibit annex at Lucas Oil Field (new home of the Colts) as well as all of the exhibits at the convention center. The stadium is huge, and looks like a gigantic old-school fieldhouse. Needless to say, it’s a different venue for fire trucks than you normally see.

Nov 23, 1931 – April 20, 2010. My Great-Aunt Jodie passed away as a result of a fall last week. She had only been a treatment or two away from beating cancer and was suddenly taken away due to a simple slip. She lead an amazing life of many things, including being the first woman in the state of Georgia to earn a firefighter certificate. She also drove tractor trailer trucks, had an Indian motorcycle, and flew in a 1929 bi-wing plane. She and my Uncle Bob lived in Woodbine, Georgia where they have a fire museum and an antique shop. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it to the funeral, but she was honored with full fire service tradition, including crossed ladders, a honor guard, and a fire truck procession. The photo below is from Christmas a couple of years back…

Sorry for the extremely long delay between postings. Since we last spoke, we have traveled a couple of times (for business), worked a lot, dealt with all three of us being sick on and off, had a family emergency, lived through a tornado outbreak, and made it around 16 inches of snow. So….I am finally getting around to sorting through some pictures and finding a way to share them with you.

an Easter gift

Dad tries out new camera stuff while Ezra eats

Easter Sunday brought a really enjoyable day to us. The three of us traveled to church in Denver for the early morning service, where two (at any given time) of us were not paying as close attention as we would have liked – including a point where Ezra made a b-line right up the center of all of the pews and to the front of the church.

Following church and a too-short nap during which Ahna and I made lunch, my parent’s and friends Mark, Kendra, and Sydney came over for a meal. We enjoyed split-pea soup, a spinach and gruyere quiche, a broccoli and swiss quiche, and a strawberry and mandarin orange salad. The kids enjoyed each other’s company (as did the adults), and after lunch we did an egg hunt in the front yard. PS – this egg hunt was a ton more satisfying that the mass hunt done on Saturday at the park.