Bolt of Lightning

These are the three boys in the clan.

2008-01-29T22:29:00.000-08:00

What a beautiful (double) rainbow Santa Clarita had right in a parking lot. Look hard you will see it above.

2008-01-29T22:22:00.000-08:00

Little Elli broke her arm, She's so cute even with a broken arm.

2008-01-29T22:16:00.000-08:00

Eli's first hair cut.

2008-01-20T20:59:00.000-08:00

Eli has his first haircut never flinched a bit.

Locks of love

2008-01-20T19:12:00.000-08:00

My dear Julie just donated her locks for love. Good job Julie

Old Volkswagon

2008-01-20T17:56:00.000-08:00

This reminds me of a rack my dad did for a trip to South Caroline years ago.

Pollock Pines Visit Jan. 2008

2008-01-12T13:43:00.000-08:00

Here it is 2008 and I was able to visit Diane and Dad

Soccer Game on

2007-11-13T12:54:00.000-08:00

Kaylee with the score

Josh at the ready

Sport Fan's

MVP

Lunch Time
This is game day in the Castaic area. Josh and Kaylee played like pro's.

Napa Trip 10/2007

2007-10-30T22:13:00.000-07:00

Gilbert and I took Napa by the horns and had a great time. Not one winery was safe while we were on the trail. Thanks to Gilbert who had a windshield to fit my bike, which made life good. Thank you Gil. I hope we can do it again soon.

Fire in Saugus

2007-10-22T21:22:00.000-07:00

This is what I woke to Monday morning at 6am. I had a hose on bouquet canyon squirting the hillside when firemen said, "keep it up and keep the tree tops wet".

San Jose 1/2 Marathon race.

2007-10-15T10:47:00.000-07:00

Here is the group that competed in the race. Everyone finished and it was a lot easier than the Vegas run. I was proud to run with three of my girls. San Jose did a great job on the organizing, water and mileage markers were plentiful. All in all good time's had by all. Dave and Julie drove down. Joy, Eli James, Debbie and myself drove up and Jenifer and Dave drove up later that day. To complete the gang Mike flew in Saturday night.

Living the dream? Maybe to sail or sale?

2007-09-27T23:49:00.000-07:00

This is the boat I am half owner of until it passes a survey, then I will own all of it. A 27' Catalina.

My Mom's hip replacement.

2007-09-17T15:34:00.000-07:00

This is my Mom getting thru hip replacement. Way to go Mom, were all rooting for you.

Beach Trip 9\2007

2007-09-09T19:21:00.000-07:00

Here is my Mom at the beach two days before her surgery. Way to go mom hang in there a new hip is coming.

Trip to the LA Fair- Click on the link in list

2007-09-08T10:23:00.000-07:00

The Doors, both of them.

2007-09-01T21:57:00.001-07:00

Thanks to a friend and a little coaxing I decided to put these French doors in. A before and after look at the window removal and door add. Got a deal on these and could not say no. Each door weighs about 80lbs each. Steve Killian helped in the final install. Thanks Steve

Darcy in the Diaper Derby

2007-08-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the diaper derby. There were two rounds. The first round was with 5 other babies. Darcy smoked every kid on the first round. The picture where she is coming to me and there are no other babies around is the first round. I am holding the "bate" in my hands. (Bottle). Dave is holding Darcy at the start line. By the time Darcy got to me all the other babies only went a couple feet. The second round is the championship round. She went against a little boy who won the 2nd heat. He is wearing the orange shirt. He started off super fast, and then when he got 3 quarters of the way he turned around to look for his mom again. He crawled all the way back to her. By this time Darcy was already half way there. Then he saw his dad again and crawled toward him. He got half way and realized that his mom wasn't following him, so he crawled back to her again. By this time Darcy was about 2 feet from me. The little boy raced toward his dad, but he didn't make it in time and Darcy touched me first. We got so excited. The prize for the second place boy was a pack of diapers. The prize for Darcy was a new washing machine and a pack of diapers. We definitely got our moneys worth going to the fair! Woohoo! We have the video, so next time we see you we will try to remember to bring it. Love you,
Julie

2007-08-15T08:58:00.000-07:00

Dads Birthday Celebration

2007-07-24T18:28:00.000-07:00

Sea World Trip

2007-07-19T18:44:00.000-07:00

This was a trip to Sea World with Josh Gwenivere and Kaylee. I think the pictures tell the story. Gwen actually touched a shark.
A terrible thing happened to Gwen when she tried to feed the Sea Lions
a bird stole her fish and she said, " the bird is not sharing". It was a fun day.

Congrats to Debbie.

2007-07-13T18:18:00.000-07:00

Debbie finished her Massage Therapy class mid July 2007 and aced her test. The next couple months she will be working in the clinic to build time. If you want a massage you should set up an appointment she is getting good reviews.

Dayton Josiah Richard 5lbs 13oz July 6th 2007

2007-07-13T17:58:00.000-07:00

Here he is number three grandson and number nine grandchild. Another blessing to both Jamie and John.

Dayton Josiah

The Richards

Deb Richard and Josh

Deb and Josh

Kaylee and Dayton

This is a Hollywood lunch

2007-06-13T16:03:00.000-07:00

This is a lunchtime shot of the Simpson's crew. It is truly a glamorous moment.

Memorial day 2007 1st Lt. Jared Landaker, a Marine helicopter pilot from Big Bear

2007-05-28T17:31:00.000-07:00

Diary Of A Last and Final Flight Home

Although this is heartbreaking...the message at the end is so true...
The narrative is true.

It was written by Stuart Witte, a former Navy pilot who is the manager of the Mojave airport in Mojave, California. He titled it Final Flight. He was in Maryland on February 16 to attend a Navy ceremony. He happened to end up on a flight from Washington D.C. to Los Angeles that was carrying the body of 1st Lt. Jared Landaker, a Marine helicopter pilot from Big Bear, California.

Witte also attended a memorial service for Lt. Landaker that was held at Camp Pendleton in California in March.

Diary Of A Last and Final Flight Home

February 17, 2007,
0350
I was at curbside at 24th and M, Washington DC . 16 Degrees with a light breeze. Going home after my second week of freezing temps to my warm home in SoCal. Take a walk on the beach, ride a horse, climb a mountain and get back to living. I'm tired of the cold.

0425
paying the taxi fare at Dulles in front of the United Airlines counter, still cold.

0450
engaged the self-serve ticker machine and it delivers my ticket, baggage tag and boarding pass. Hmmm, that Marine over there is all dressed up in his dress blues a bit early this morning... "Good Morning Captain, you're looking sharp." He says, "Thank you, sir."

Pass Security and to my gate for a decaf coffee and 5 hours sleep. A quick check of the flight status monitor and UA Flt 211 is on time. I'm up front, so how bad can that be? Hmmm, there's that same Marine. He must be heading to Pendleton to see his lady at LAX for the long weekend, all dressed up like that. Or maybe not. I dunno.

The speaker system announces "Attention in the boarding area, we'll begin boarding in 10 minutes, we have some additional duties to attend to this morning, but we'll have you out of here on time."

The Marine Captain has now been joined by five others. BINGO, I get it, he's not visiting his lady, he's an official escort. I remember doing that once, CACO duty. I still remember the names of the victim and family, The Bruno Family in Mojave - all of them, wows, that was 24 years ago.

On board, 0600:
"Good morning folks, this is the Captain. This morning we've been attending to some additional duties, and I apologize for being 10 minutes late for push back, but I believe we'll be early into LAX. This morning it is my sad pleasure to announce that 1st LT Jared Landaker, USMC will be flying with us to his Big Bear home in Southern California. Jared lost his life over the skies of Iraq earlier this month, and today we have the honor of returning him home along with his mother, father and brother . Please join me in making the journey comfortable for the Landaker family and their uniformed escort. Now sit back and enjoy your ride. We're not expecting any turbulence until we reach the Rocky Mountain area, but we'll do what we can to ensure a smooth ride. For those interested, you can listen in to our p
Click Channel 9: "Good morning UA 211. You are cleared to taxi, takeoff and cleared to LAX as filed."

4 hours and 35 minutes later over Big Bear MT, the AB320 makes a left roll, a steep bank and then one to the right-Nice touch. Nice tribute. Five minutes out from landing, the Captain comes on the speaker: "Ladies and Gents, after landing I'm leaving the fasten seatbelt sign on, and I ask everyone to please yield to the Landaker family. Please remain seated until all members of the family have departed the aircraft. Thank you for your patience. We are 20 minutes early."

On roll out, I notice red lights, emergency vehicles approaching. We're being escorted directly to our gate, no waiting, not even a pause. Out the left window, a dozen Marines in full dress blues. A true class act by everyone, down to a person. Way to go United Airlines for doing things RIGHT, Air Traffic Control for getting the message, and to all security personnel for your display of brotherhood.

When the family departed the aircraft everyone sat silent, then I heard a lady say,"God Bless you and your family, and thank you." Then a somber round of applause. The Captain read a prepared note from Mrs. Landaker to the effect, "Thank you all for your patience and heartfelt concern for us and our son. We sincerely appreciate the sentiment. It's good to have Jared home."

After departing the a/c I found myself along with 30 others from our flight looking out the lobby window back at the plane. Not a dry eye. It was one of the most emotional moments I've ever experienced. We all stood there silently, and watched as Jared was taken by his honor guard to an awaiting hearse. Then the motorcade slowly made it's way off the ramp.

I realized I had finally seen the silent majority. It is deep within us all. Black, Brown, White, Yellow, Red, Purple, we're all children, parents, brothers, sisters, etc - we are an American family.

Official Report: February 7, 2007, Anbar Province, Iraq .. 1st LT Jared Landaker United States Marine Corps, from Big Bear California, gave his live in service to his country. Fatally wounded when his CH-46 helicopter was shot down by enemy fire. Jared and his crew all perished. His life was the ultimate sacrifice of a grateful military family and nation.

His death occurred at the same time as Anna Nicole Smith, a drug using person with a 7th grade education of no pedigree who dominated our news for two weeks while Jared became a number on CNN. And most unfortunately, Jared's death underscores a fact that we are a military at war, not a nation at war. It has been said that Marines are at war. America is at the mall.

1st LT Landaker, a man I came to know in the sky's over America on 17 February 2007, from me to you, aviator to aviator, I am unbelievably humbled. It was my high honor to share your last flight. God bless you.

Semper Fi

Paso Roble Wine Fest. 05/07

2007-05-22T14:22:00.000-07:00

This is a shot from the Venteux Vineyards B&B. It was a great weekend for wine tasting. We joined Venteux totaling four wineries. Bobbi and Scott were wonderful at Venteux. We even met up with Ann and George from Voladores it was a blast.

My Mom riding in style to Cold Springs Tavern.

2007-05-14T22:18:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken on our way to Cold Springs Tavern. We toasted with mimosas on the way, and finished with a great meal at the tavern. Good times were had by all. Tracy and Jordon ate wild boar, as well as Mom and I. Larry had the short ribs, and Debbie had the rack of lamb. We celebrated mothers day in style.

Group Picture

2007-05-13T19:02:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken while Pete and Dot visited during mother’s day. Julie gave us her first mother’s day with Darcy, she really missed Dave and so did we all. It was a very busy day for all of us.

Julie and Darcy visit

2007-05-11T11:06:00.000-07:00

Julie and Darcy had a chance to come visit us. It is always great to see Julie and Darcy, although we do miss Dave. The goal was to visit their new cousin Eli James. We are so blessed to watch all our grandchildren grow. We are now up to eight grandchildren, Eli, Darcy, Elli, Ashlyn, Kaylee, Joshua, Emma and Gweniever.

Eli James Escen- April 22, 2007

2007-04-26T23:15:00.000-07:00

This is Eli James Escen. Born April 22, 2007. He was 7lbs 10ozs 19in long. He is the 2nd boy in the Bolt clan from eight grandchildren. He is the first grandchild for Debbi and Dean Escen. Debbi has one thing to say about Eli James, " he's perfect". Joy and Mike make us all proud with Eli James Escen.

Birthday in Palm Springs

2007-04-16T21:14:00.000-07:00

This is a photo of Debbie in Palm Springs on her birthday celebration

Sign Sign Everywhere A Sign

2007-04-11T17:19:00.000-07:00

This is a sign Debbie found at the mall, She wanted a copy of it for Christmas gifts. I told her to hold it up from inside the store and I would take care of the rest. So being the geek that I am I happen to have my camera with me that very day and took the shot.

Joshua the Pilot

2007-04-11T15:45:00.001-07:00

This is Joshua; he is really looking forward to being a pilot one-day. It was a sad year when Papa's airplane was sold in 2006. Anxiously he waits for a new and faster plane. Together with his cousin's they will all make great pilots.

Easter Day Sunday April, 8 2007

2007-04-09T17:50:00.000-07:00

This is the bounce house that kept us busy all day.
The Easter egg hunt was a success. $$
The food was excelent if I do say so myself.
Thanks to everyone, good time’s were had by all .

Skip, Donna & Jim Oldest to youngest. (lol)

2007-04-09T12:22:00.000-07:00

Here are the three amigos. Skip Donna and Jim. Oldest to youngest. I was able to travel to New Jersey to surprise Pete for his birthday. Skip pulled off the most excellent mission on this surprise. Everything was taken care of between Skip, Laurie, family and friends. great Job, Happy birthday Pete.

Mark and Sandy (Keynote speakers) Mine are better

2007-04-09T11:37:00.000-07:00

Mark and Sandy have been our close friends longer than I care to admit. Adventure describes our relationship. Trains, planes and automobiles, well maybe not trains,not yet, there could be a future in them. Motorcycles are one of the adventures we enjoy together. Although my home theater system, being far more capable of bringing the audience member to the total sound experience, still has not hampered our relationship. Palm springs is another favorite, as well as Hawaii. I'm sure there will be many more times to come, here is a link to his blog.

Steve and Linda (They wine really well)

2007-04-09T11:11:00.000-07:00

Steve and Linda have been our extended family for a long time. Our children grew up together here in California. Steve and Linda have a knack for finding good wine in the wine country of California. They have been our favorite Paso buddies for a while. If you look up the words bad example you should see Steve’s name there. Every time we travel to Paso or Napa there is a few hundred dollars spent on good wine. This picture should explain it. I had an opportunity to help Steve in Hawaii. We worked our tails off. Finally one day we hiked out on a live Volcano Here are some pictures, what a great trip that was.