Goodbye, Jen and Danny

Earlier this month we had to say goodbye to one of Scott's co-workers. Jen and her husband Danny (both sitting on the other side of Scott in the picture) will be enjoying the gorgeous landscape of Alaska for the next several years thanks to the Air Force. The night before they left, a few of us met up for dinner to say our goodbyes. We will miss you, Jen and Danny, and wish you the best! Stay warm!

By the way, this is the second family we have lost to Alaska in the last 3 months. I hope it's not a trend...

Church typo

Scott and I spoke in church this past Sunday. Notice anything unusual in the program?

To be fair, I didn't notice it at all. Scott's parents who were visiting had to point it out to me. Apparently Scott is so awesome he is being thrown new callings without even knowing it. Despite being dubbed the dreaded "High Council Speaker" his talk was highly engaging and entertaining. :)

Dancing with the Stars

As one of the largest fundraisers for our school this year, PATHS, our parent organization, hosted a "Liza's Dancing with the Stars" event. Along with the dinner, silent auctions, and raffles, there were individual performances by a bunch of us teachers who agreed to be paired with some local ballroom instructors. They provided the dresses, the scary makeup, and the hairstyles. We just had to show up and dance - which was scary enough.

From L to R: 1st Grade, Drama, 1st Grade, Art, 3rd Grade, 5th Grade

My dancing partner was Chris from Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Ft. Walton Beach. We danced the international rumba. Here he is with me and the other teacher he was paired with. Look at our scary makeup!

As you can see, Chris fit right in with our personalities.

After the ballroom portion of the evening was over, us teachers decided to do one more dance as a surprise for the crowd. We choreographed a little ditty to the Jackson Five's "ABC" and called ourselves the "Liza Jackson Six." You can't really see me in this picture (I'm in the gold dress behind the black and white dress) but it's the only one I have right now of this dance.

We were such a hit that we did an encore performance at the pep rally last Friday. The kids thought it was hilarious.

Scott was out of the country for all this, but I know of several video cameras that were recording so hopefully I'll get a copy for him to see when he gets back.

Scott's 30th Birthday

These pictures are long overdue but better late than never! Scott turned 30 last October and requested that we celebrate with a low-key party. So we all gathered at a friend's home and spent the evening sitting around talking, playing games, and eating food.

At least until after cake. Then Scott was informed that it was time to be a human jungle gym and he was quite busy the rest of the night. The kiddies didn't seem to care that it was his birthday.

Uncle Paul's Wedding

A few weekends ago, Scott and I took a whirlwind weekend trip up to Columbia, SC to see my Uncle Paul marry the lovely Rosemarie. The wedding and reception were held at a beautiful old colonial home in the historic part of downtown Columbia. It was VERY similar to the place where Scott and I were married, but it was brutally cold outside so they had the ceremony inside. :)

Here are the few camera shots Scott and I managed to get.

Mom with the groom - her big brother, Paul

Grandma Smith - mother of the groom

My handsome husband!

Tessa was there!

Bradley was there!

Mom and Dad - they looked great!

Our new buddy, Ian. The poor boy was put at a table with all of us. He fit right in, as you can see.

Things got a little silly. We, the youngest table, were not the worst, though. You should have seen the table that wore their pink napkins on their heads like do-rags. Yeah, good times.

Is there really anything better?

I'll take two, please. Scotts, that is.

Field Training Graduation

Earlier this month Scott graduated from a difficult and exhausting six weeks of specialized field training for his squadron.  On the day of the graduation, they flew in on a C-130, having finished a week out in the field that left them all dirty, smelly, and exhausted.  We (their families) were waiting for them on bleachers that were set up in the hangar.  

Getting a pep talk before the actual ceremony began.    

After the ceremony, they finally got to greet their families.  Yay!

Scott with a good friend of ours from church.  Jared completed this same training about six months ago so he especially appreciated what Scott had been through.  P.S. That's Bart in the background.  We love Bart.

The entire class looking tough.  I wouldn't mess with them.

Scott noticed I was zooming in on him and so he flashed me a smile.  Joe (next to him) did not.

Posing on the Huey

Congratulations, Scott!  I'm very proud of you!

To celebrate finishing the course we headed to the beach for the afternoon...

...where Scott promptly fell asleep and took a very long, well deserved nap.  Luckily, no major sunburn ensued.