It's that time of year....

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, it's that time of year again in our 435th squadron!

It is MUSTACHE MARCH!

Enough said! :)

Cruisin!

Well, Kyle and I decided we did not get quite enough relaxation in the mountains so we decided to try the Caribbean. We had been planning a cruise with our dear friends, The Boulets, for over a year. So, the first week in March, all the planning came to fruition! Kyle's parents kept Gatlin and the Boulets left their four children with their parents. We met up in Florida the day before we sailed and spent the night in Port Canaveral. We went to the Kennedy Space Center before boarding the Carnival Glory for seven glorious days in the Eastern Caribbean. We went to Nassau, Bahamas, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten. We snorkeled, laid on the beach and played a ton of board games while at sea. The highlight of our trip (besides reuniting with our wonderful friends) was racing on the very sailboat that won the America's Cup called Stars and Stripes. While on the boat, we were assigned jobs. Andrea and I were the primary grinders, Kyle was the main sheet trimmer, and Jon was a wench grinder. Andrea was also named the Captain of our mighty vessel and, I am proud to say, led our team to VICTORY against the other boat, the Canada II. All in all, it was a wonderful vacation and we can't wait until we can all be together again.

Our home away from home, the Carnival Glory

A view from St. Thomas

The sail on our boat

Where's Waldo? Can you find Kyle and I? And, no, I am not in the bikini!!!

The mighty Stars and Stripes!

The Goldstein's 2nd Annual Ski Trip

In February, we went to Winter Park, CO to ski and get some well deserved relaxation. We went with Kyle's parents and stayed in a wonderful house owned by some friends of the Goldsteins. We played in the snow, took a sleigh ride and celebrated Valentine's Day and Mike's birthday in the winter wonderland. We also did plenty of skiing (well, most of us skiied). I am not sure if you can call what I did as skiing since I barely made it off the bunny slopes for the second year in a row. Gatlin was beside himself with excitement and spent every day riding on his sled and throwing snowballs at Doc and Gigi! We missed Kyle's brother and family this year but hopefully, they can return for the 3rd annual ski trip next year.

Our snow drift snowman/woman complete with mop hair!

Making snow ice cream! Yummy!

FFFFFFreezing on the sleigh ride

The whole family!

Spouse Taxi Day

This past Friday we had a spouse taxi ride day where the wives get a high speed taxi ride in the T-38 that their husbands fly. We got specific training on how to flee the aircraft in case of danger, we got fitted with gloves and a helmet, and we made radio calls to each other in the planes. We had to carry the parachutes out to the plane and, let me tell you, I have a new appreciation for Kyle and the stress his body goes through. Those dang parachutes are HEAVY and then, it becomes six or seven times that heavy when he's pulling G's! Yikes! Anyway, once we got all settled into the plane, we taxied out to the runway and Kyle kicked in the afterburners and we shot up into the atmosphere.. OK, not really. We just "drove" fast down the runway, remaining on terra firma and taxied back to the hangars. We then got to play around in the flight simulators, dropping bombs on imaginary buildings and shooting at harmless planes landing on the runway. Kyle and I even landed on 281! All in all, it was great fun and I look forward to the next taxi ride day. Who knows, maybe we'll "accidentally" get off the ground next time.

Folks, presenting the next American Idol

We in the Goldstein house like to have dance parties in the living room from time to time. We have quickly discovered that our son is a true ham for the camera and potentially has a future in showbiz! He may need a little help on his wardrobe but, at two years old, he has his own opinion on fashion so, we let him wear what he wants.. (around the house, that is).

(you will need to hit pause on the music at the bottom of the blog in order to hear the video clearly)

Birthday weekend

Last weekend we took a trip to Marble Falls, TX. to celebrate our twin nephews' birthday with Kyle's parents and brother and his family. We had a great weekend fishing and playing with the boys' new Nintendo Wii. Happy birthday Jacob and Hunter!!!

Gatlin in his favorite attire!

The twins opening their gifts (Hunter on the left and Jacob on the right)

Hayley reading to Gatlin, enjoying the lake view

The whole family!!

Zebra attacks!

Yesterday we went to a wild animal park where you drive through and feed the animals from your car. Many of the animals were friendly but this one was downright ravenous! As he reaches his head in the window, note that I scream "Help me, Jesus" in fear of my life. When the incident was over, we both could not stop laughing. I commented that "I am just thankful that I didn't let him steal my bag" and Kyle's quote was "I am just thankful I got it on tape!" Note: no animals, men, women or children were harmed in the making of the video

(you will need to hit pause on the music at the bottom of the blog to hear the video clearly)