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Kyle's birthday last month

He found Fig Newtons along his treasure hunt (and obviously we like to watch "House"). Unfortunately Kyle's big present, a new guitar, was delayed from the manufacturer so it didn't arrive until last week.

Seventeen candles and a carrot cake with yummy cream cheese frosting. I was a little "boo hoo" because next year he'll be at college for his big 18th birthday and I won't be able to celebrate with him.

And so begins the Burke kid birthday season marathon.

Still Here

Still in Poland. Still waiting for Tim's next assignment to be released. Still waiting for the rest of Kyle's college decision letters to arrive (UT Austin is a yes). Kind of frustrating to be on the brink of life-changing choices but not know what those choices are. Makes it impossible to do anything other than wait.

And wait.

And wait.

A new runner in the family!

I have a new convert! Michael and I were talking about what after-school activity in which he was going to participate in the third trimester. He wanted to do a sport and with tennis, softball, and track-and-field to choose from, he decided on track-and-field. Of course I am thrilled- what parent isn't secretly pleased when their child pursues a similar interest?

So we started with some slow walk-jogs around the neighborhood lasting around 20 minutes. Then the snow and temps fell again so he moved inside to the treadmill. He has faithfully done his Tuesday/Thursday after-school runs and then again on Sat/Sun mornings. I love it when we run together outside; so much fun to share an activity and have that time together to talk. I think Michael is really looking forward to the start of track and field in March. I'd love to get Katy and her long legs out onto the road, too!

A little something to remind you of warmer days

Twenty Years on...

Twenty years ago today I had my first mission in Operation Desert Storm. At the time I was a Captain in the US Air Force, stationed in Germany, but on duty in Bahrain. Three days later I ejected out of the F-4G when there was no more fuel for flying and the runway was invisible in the fog (see photo from the next day). The ejection story is long and can be posted another time. Suffice it to say for this blog that I think about the ejection if not weekly, then monthly; certainly any time I hear of other fighter pilots ejecting or crashing. But, back to the anniversary of the first day of the war. Some guys wrote diaries of their experiences, which in retrospect was brilliant. My memories of the events are faded and fading, although the experience is imprinted fairly deeply. There are individual experiences that standout and they tie the overall memory tighter. I remember being told to return to Germany from leave in England. I remember arriving in Bahrain and the scorching heat of September. I remember sleeping under a desk on the first night as the chaos was coalescing in a flying unit. I remember my 30th birthday in Oct 1990 celebrated at a pool somewhere between the air base and the capital city of Manama; especially that Debbie has sent cake mix and one of the guys had the cake prepared. I remember being downtown in Manama at a hotel bar on the roof; a place described in a Ludlum novel I had recently read. I remember Christmas in the dormitory; waking up amongst seven other sleeping warriors and quietly opening the packages from home. I remember the frustration that others expressed when the start of the war was delayed from early January 1991. I remember the gathering of the crews for the announcement of the start of the war from the Wing Commander. I remember stepping into the life support shop to get dressed for the walk out to the jets; in the previous 40 or so sorties during Desert Shield there was the regular fighter pilot jocularity. That first night (well, morning) in life support there was an eerie silence, brought on by anxiety I suppose, as everyone dressed and stepped. It was a time to focus on the mission and do our job. I remember being frustrated at not being able to see the airborne surface-to-air missiles after the sun came up; it was so easy at night to see the missiles and AAA (see video at bottom). I remember the rhythm of life as the war kicked off--for we night flyers: 2000 wake-up, 2200 arrive at squadron after "breakfast", 2300 mission briefing, 0100 take-off, fly until 0530, land just after sunrise, debrief, back to the dormitory and tent city for "dinner" at around 0800; then some normal downtime activities like exercising, board cards, writing letters, reading mail, reading books, watching a movie; then into bed at 1200 for 8 hours of 'sleep'; followed by the same daily routines; six days on, one off...for 40+ days. For those want a more detailed story of the war from an F-4G perspective, check out "Magnum: The Wild Weasels in Desert Storm" by Brick Eisel and James Schreiner. The authors do a very nice job telling our stories, to include my ejection story.

It's unbelievable to think the US Air Force has been at war since 1990, non-stop: the no-fly zones in Iraq, the events in the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, all with pretty much the same equipment as we had back then. So, without too far going into a "It's a Wonderful Life" segue, it's been a quarter of my available life (probably) since the war started. My family has grown by three (now extraordinary teenagers), my gorgeous wife still likes to hang around me, my oldest has graduated from college, gotten married to a fantastic woman, and he is currently a Captain in the Air Force Reserve. Since 1990, we have have lived in Germany, New Hampshire, Arizona, Italy, Texas, Alabama, Greece, Virginia, and Poland. My career in the Air Force is winding down as I approach the 30 year mark next year (2012). Soon I will need to transition into something new!

Old clothes never die...

they just get passed to younger siblings! Ryan wore this sweatshirt for several years and then like many of his clothes, I put them away until they might fit Kyle, Katy, or Michael. I just sorted through that stack of hand-me-downs and Katy declared this sweatshirt to be just right for her. Styles change and the kids' body shapes differ so some saved pieces eventually end up in the donation bag anyway.

More Portugal

Vilamoura marina- Tim and I walked along the beach and around the marina. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant on the water where I had a yummy beef and Guinness pie served by a lovely British ex-pat. Many Brits retire to Portugal . There were hardly any tourists because this was the week before Christmas.
Me on the beach in Vilamoura- great waves and a handful of surfers.

Tim had taught Michael a code just before we left for Portugal. Michael became obsessed and kept a trip journal written solely in code.

Kyle continued to whip out his iphone every time I asked him to pause for a photo.

Katy enjoying Lisbon harbor. To the left is a tall statue of Jesus similar to the one in Rio and to the right is a bridge that looks like the Golden Gate.

I dare you not to smile

Portugal

As soon as school was out on Friday, we dashed for the airport and flew to Lisbon, Portugal. We spent one day exploring Lisbon before driving south to Vilamoura on the Algarve coast. We stayed there for six days before returning to Lisbon to fly home on Christmas Day. The weather was in the low 60's with not a snow flake in sight. After sleeping 10 hours every night, we drove to different beaches and cliffs along the coast, ate out, swam at the indoor pool (too cold to swim outside), and saw Harry Potter 7 again.

Michael atop an ornate, free-standing elevator designed by a student of Eiffel. Great views of Lisbon.

Another shot from the viewing deck at the top of the elevator. Kyle decided to take pictures of me everytime I took pictures of him. Katy does not like high places! St. George Castle can be seen on the hill behind them.

On the grounds of Lisbon's St. George Castle.

Katy, Tim, and Michael at the beach in Vilamoura (Algarve coast in the south of Portugal). We stayed in a near-by resort and most days Tim and Michael came to the beach to check the tides, collect shells and broken pottery (Michael thinks he found ancient Roman pottery), and play in the waves.

Standing on the most western point of Portugal. This was the "end of the world" for Europeans until the beginning of naval exploration around Africa and to the Indies.

Some last-minute Christmas shopping at the mall in Faro.

Christmas 2010

Back at our favorite nursery to choose this year's tree. While we are on vacation the week prior to Christmas, we'll hide the tree (keeping it safe from a curious cat) in the computer room and have the cat sitter keep it watered. Then when we return on the 25th, we'll move it to the living room for decorating.

This is the last EVER of the annaul hideous pile of boxes to be mailed to the US! No more Christmases overseas with mail delays, late packages, miles of bubble wrap, and those blasted customs labels.

Katy and Michael during the intermission of the school Christmas concert. Katy plays flute in the high school band and Michael sings in the middle school honor choir.

When we returned from Portugal, this was what remained of our Christmas tree. Evidently the cat sitter had been pouring the water into the part of the base that is open to the floor. The result is a dead tree, swollen parquet tiles, and a trail of needles out the front door after Tim dragged out the "corpse."

2010 Christmas Card

Simply Memories Christmas 5x7 folded card

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This is NOT shameless self-promotion! But I get a $25 coupon at Shutterfly if I post the card link here. Those of you who normally receive a Christmas card from us will receive this card in the mail in about a week so you can ignore this or, you can take a sneak peek.

Marine Ball 2010

Our third and final Marine Ball- here we are at the head table with Alon Redlich of Sikorsky Aircraft and the guest speaker, Marine Col John O'Hey. Ambassador Feinstein and his wife Elaine were on the other side of Tim.

The marines who guard every American embassy around the world, host a ball in November. This year we were at the Sheraton Hotel and enjoyed many hours of good food and conversation. The music was not as good as in previous years.

Official ball photo. Just like on a cruise, there's a photographer taking pictures which are ready for you to buy before you leave.

Other than the attache ball in February, this could be the last time Tim wears his mess dress as an active duty officer!

The Atlanta House

This is where I spent two weeks this summer scrubbing walls, woodwork, appliances, windows, and floors. Early morning hours were spent outside pruning, edging, weeding, and mowing (there's a steep hill in the backyard) before the summer Georgia temps rose above 90. A new tenant moved in soon after so the work was worth it.

It's a cute house in a peaceful neighborhood but Atlanta would not be my first choice for full-time living- too many hot, humid months. Some day the real estate market will recover and we'll sell it but until then, we'll continue to navigate the scary world of rental property ownership.

First Day of School 2010

Doesn't everyone look excited?! Kyle is almost smiling, perhaps because he realizes this is his last first-day-of-school photo? My observation is that either Tim is shrinking or the kids are growing.

And no, we don't live in a prison. The bars on the windows are remnants of earlier years when Warsaw wasn't so safe for Americans.

Polish Independence Day 10K

Our third, and final, running of the annual Polish Independence Day 10K. This year the weather was perfect- 40's and cloudy. And instead of, "Shit, the race is next week, we had better do some running," we were still coming off the marathon training and in good shape.

Waiting for the tram in Plac Konstitucji. We like this area because it's very representative of Warsaw under communist rule. I am freezing.

Waiting for the race to start. All the runners are issued either red or white shirts to wear during the race. Then we line up with red on one side of the street and white on the other. As the race moves, we look like a long ribbon of Polish flag. Very pretty and you can kind of see the effect on the monitor in the picture above.

Before

During (I'm blurry because my camera man is also in motion and not because I'm so fast)

After. We are actually very happy because we set a personal record. Also, nice to have lived somewhere long enough that we were able to run the same race three years in a row.

Tim swears he is giving up running because he hates it but two days later, when I was headed out the door for a Saturday run, he ran upstairs to throw on some shorts and join me. His competitive nature probably won't let him stop!

Tim's 50th Birthday

All during the month of October, I surprised Tim with small gifts and cards as we worked up to the big day on the 22nd. Little did he know what I had in store for him!

The ODC staff threw him a surprise party on the afternoon before his birthday (they knew he was taking leave on the 22nd).

An Aston Martin was not his surprise gift (unlike our friend John Kregar who did get a car for his 50th). BUT- Tim did get a trip to London for the weekend and was able to gaze through a window at an Aston Martin.

I decided to recreate his 40th birthday which had taken place in San Antonio, Texas. We had seen Les Miserables for the first time and then had eaten dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House ( an expensive splurge for us then). For this birthday, I added some panache and did the re-creation in London. We stayed at Claridge's (saw Whoopie Goldberg), ate dinner at Scott's Bar and Restaurant (haunt of James Bond), and saw Les Miserables in its original theater. And all the remaining free time was spent doing fun "Tim" things like the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, seeing the Rosetta Stone, and eating, eating, eating (and no running, running, running).

Riding the London Eye, new since our last visit.

Viewing the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum.

The old man is tired and had to rest while I framed a shot.

In front of Buckingham Palace.

At the Greenwich Observatory.

Lots of cool astronomical history and we straddled the eastern and western hemispheres.

Another "masculine" shot for my collection. I have a global series of Tim and his "cannon."

And finally, a cake at home with the kids.

Running in Scotland

For me, this is perfection- a quiet path, beautiful scenery, and cool weather for running. This is my new "happy place."

All these photos were taken with Tim's Blackberry as we were running on the outskirts of Inverness, Scotland.

I kept stopping and saying, "Quick, take a picture of this!"

I want to live in that house, with that view, surrounded by fields and forests for running.