America is out to lunch.

"I thought I would share this. It is pretty cool (and actually happened). For me it just drives home the fact the America is not at war the military is at war and America is out to lunch. "

Luke AFB is west of Phoenix and is rapidly being surrounded by civilization that complains about the noise from the base and its planes, forgetting that it was there long before they were. A certain lieutenant colonel at Luke AFB deserves a big pat on the back. Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near Luke AFB wrote the local paper complaining about a group of F-16s that disturbed his/her day at the mall.

When that individual read the response from a Luke AFB officer, it must have stung quite a bit.

The complaint:
'Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base:

Whom do we thank for the morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 A.M, a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyns early bird special?

Any response would be appreciated.

The response:

Regarding 'A wake-up call from Luke' s jets' On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly timed four- ship fly by of F-16s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the grave of Capt. Jeremy Fresques. Capt Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day.

At 9 a. m. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and friend. Based on the letter writer's recount of the fly by, and because of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun salute, the playing of t aps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the President of the United States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they have endured..

A four-ship fly by is a display of respect the Air Force gives to those who give their lives in defense of freedom. We are professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects.

The letter writer asks, 'Whom do we thank for the morning air show? The 56th Fighter Wing will make the call for you, and forward your thanks to the widow and parents of Capt Fresques, and thank them for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable formation of their lives.
Lt. Col. Grant L. Rosensteel, Jr.

USAF

Race Photos

Rebekah running
Then she decided to pose for the camara Looking out to sea

At the end of the race, really tired

Then she may have lost her lunch or something? Bryan at beginning, those sexy legs to the right are Ryans

Running fast

More Running, slower Nice arms

I have a big head, and my leg is probably cramping up

I am tired

Finally the end, after 4 hours, rain, wind, sand, sea shells, a dead dolphin, some logs, oil wells, lots of running, walking, water, gatorade, and power gel that did nothing

I'm going to go take a nap now.

House Update

So our Kitchen is mostly finished now. We got granite counter tops put in a few weeks ago. That is the only "help" Bryan has needed during the whole renovation process. He doesn't quite know how to bull nose, however, he plans on learning because it is very expensive. Lets just say the labor is twice as expensive as the cost of granite.

























Our nice Tropical Brown granite. Bryan had a hard time with the sink at first. It leaked at the beginning, but has since been fixed. I love the deep side. You can fit a lot of dirty dishes and a baby inside that thing!

The kitchen is rather a small compacted area, but with the window to the living area, it makes it feel less "stuffed."

My beautiful Valentines flowers. I had a path of roses leading to my bed the day before Valentines because I worked the night before and drove all the way to Houston. I was WAY tired! Definitely not the safest thing to do. It was very thoughtful. I love you Bryan!

Our really tall base boards. They are going to look so Nice when completed!

A few of my really nice dining room furniture. I love that I spent less than $200 on the whole thing and its from Ethan Allen.

This is the better part of the house. Free couch and coffee table from the Whipples. Bryan can now have a permanent pinched nerve in his back! Yeah!

The house is really coming along. I am now excited to go to Houston and not deal with the No Kitchen and washing bowls in the bathroom sinks upstairs. Tell us what you think? or your ideas?

Surf Side Marathon and 1/2 Marathon

The relief society president invited sisters and brethren to get physically fit and compete in the Surf Side Marathon February 14, 2009. Bryan decided to try the full marathon and I was only going to try the 1/2 for now. We had started training in early October. We also invited some of our friends to compete in the race. We had a good turn out- the Scotts, the Harveys, us, the Whipples, the Whipples friends, Ben, and the 2nd counselors wife (can't remember their name!)
The course was suppose to be pretty challenging because it was on the sand just 40 minutes south of Galveston. The course was remapped due to Hurricane Ike, but still ended up being a challenge because of the rain, wind, and thunderstorms.
The night before the race, we had friends and there family over for a pasta dinner. Bryan cooked a mean spaghetti dinner with meat balls.








Bryan and I before the race.





Ben before the start.














I didn't have much time to take pictures and I wish I did because we needed one of the whole gang! I also had to find a quick spot to hide the camera before the race started.















Ryan in an awkward position before the race.



I didn't get any pictures taken of me because I was the first to come in out of the group. Darn.
Then it started to rain so I didn't get any pictures until it stopped.

This is Ryan coming in before Bryan, strange huh? What happened to Bryan?



Bryan states that he did the whole thing wrong. He started going to fast and shouldn't have worn the backpack. He hit a wall around mile 13. He still did well though. I am proud of you babe for finishing strong! I really was worried something may have happened!




Ben just finishing. Bryan took this one because it started raining again!














Just thought I'd put in the 26 mile point. Fun stuff.









Overall, our group did very well. We had fun despite the bad weather and wind. We will do this again soon and hopefully the weather will cooperate!