Pie in the Sky

Zev's squadron hosted his going away cook-out on Friday at a park on base. They had all sorts of fun activities for the kids and Zev received a lot of wonderful, personalized and heartfelt farewell gifts which will always remind him of the professional and dedicated people he worked with during his time here at Barksdale. Zev will miss the men and women of his squadron, but we know that we are bound to run into some of them during our travels and Air Force career. The highlight of the picnic was the pie in the face contest- needless to say, the bidding for putting the pie in Zev's face raised the most money. He did smell like sour milk afterwards, even when he tried to wash it off! Mmmm, yummy ;-)

Fun at the courthouse

Fi will definitely miss practicing criminal law amongst some of the finest criminal trial lawyers she has ever worked with. She and her colleague Sarah, won a scholarship to attend the National Institute of Trial Advocacy school in Colorado. They will attend the week long course at the end of July (Zev will graciously pack up the house in Fi's absence- thanks hon ;-)) Fi is excited to "sharpen" her trial lawyer skills at the litigation school.

One last shoot at the range!

Amongst the favorite past times that Zev and Fi have enjoyed here in Trap and Skeet Shooting. We went out there one last time, earlier this week with some friends of ours. We hope to find a nice Trap and Skeet/ Rod and Gun Club in Germany to join.

Molly Ringwald

Zev surprised Fi earlier last week with a beautiful PINK retro bicycle which Fi has named "Molly Ringwald" ("Pretty in Pink"). She is a real pearla- the bike that is- and Fi can't wait to ride her into the little villages in Germany to pick up fresh bread for brekkie. (We might need to add a little white basket in the front. Zev can borrow the bike when he needs his dose of pinkness too.

Fi's running group

We had our farewell brunch with Fi's running group (the world famous "Slowbies") today. She has really enjoyed running with them, and pushing herself to new running limits. Berlin Marathon 2009, HERE WE COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our Sunday school class.

Our Sunday school class, who we have been with for the entire three years that we have been stationed here, threw us a wonderful going away cook out last night. Zev will certainly miss the wonderful food and hunting to be done here in the "Sportsman's Paradise."

Fi and the girls

Fi has been blessed to make a lot of dear girlfriends here in Louisiana. They are all so special to her and have shared many wonderful moments together.

4th of July

We are so sad to say goodbye to all our wonderful friends and colleagues here in Louisiana. We have definitely loved living in Louisiana and will surely miss the wonderful culture and experiences here. We will even miss the sweltering heat in the summer and the southern drawl of the locals. Zev's Change of Command ceremony is tomorrow and we can't believe that three years have flown by so fast. We are excited about our next adventure in Europe and hope that our dear friends here will come visit us in Germany!

Air Show Weekend

Our base hosted its annual air show this past weekend. As expected, the weather was gorgeous and it was the perfect weekend to witness some amazing air power and feel proud to be part of the military. We (especially Fi) especially enjoyed hosting some of our local friends on base to watch the air show and see what military life is all about. Zev had to work the air show but was still able to appreciate the amazing acts that were on display. Fi thinks his favorite part of the weekend however, was going out (off base!) to a movie and finishing the evening off with ice-cream. Ah, the way to a man's heart!!! Hope all are well. We miss you tons.

Up, up and away!

Blue Angels Commentators providing a detailed explanation of the different (and really, quite incredible!) aerial manouvers we witnessed in the sky.

Go Blue Angels!

3 Gun tournament!

Pistol. Rifle. Shotgun. And a bunch of ammo. Today Zev and Fi did as Louisianans do on a nice sunny Spring day, and entered a "3-gun" tournament which involved obstacle-course type shooting, using different weapons and different ammo. Fi wasn't sure about the tournament when she first started, but once she saw how things worked and actually jumped in and ran through the courses, she had a ball and enjoyed the challenge of different types of shooting scenarios. It certainly helped her become more proficient in operating the different weapons under different scenarios, and under "stress." Zev was very sweet and patient in showing Fi the correct way to handle the weapons and show her the best way to approach a course. All in all, we had a great day, not only was the weather great but the day was topped off with a traditional "Crawfish Boil"- Louisiana's answer to the "cook-out" where they boil big vats of "crawdaddy's" (also known as "yabbies" for our Australian friends), in tons of cajun spice, and throw in some potatoes and corn. For those of you who know us, Zev and Fi ate the corn and potatoes and left the locals to eat their crawdaddy's ;-)) We can't wait for the next tournament.

Getting set up

We were split into two teams and had to complete 5 different stands in total. The course of fire for each stand was mixed up in that some stands required you to use pistol and rifle, and other stands involved slashing the "bad guy" with your pocket knife and then firing your pistol and then changing to your shotgun. The element of surprise made the courses really interesting- our adrenalin was certainly up! We can't wait for the next match!

This is how you do it!

Watch and learn- Zev had good form and good range safety- he is a great instructor!

Who ever said girls can't shoot?

Although Fi was a little bit nervous being the only girl shooter at the tournament, she soon got her groove on, after going through the first couple of stands, and by the 3rd stand, was knocking down steel targets and making her husband proud! A very fun day indeed! Great experience.....

Mardi Gras Half Marathon!

On Sunday, February 24th, Fi ran the New Orleans Half Marathon with her running group, the "Slowbies," made up of 6 girls and one guy. It was the "perfect" run and we enjoyed the experience of running through New Orleans and then sampling some delicious local creole and cajun cuisine afterwards! Zev was home to greet Fi when she returned and was her biggest and bestest cheerleader!!

Running through the French Quarter

Our half marathon took us through the historic French Quarter, and then up to the picturesque Garden District of New Orleans on Saint Charles Avenue, with it's beautiful oak-lined trees and gorgeous Louisiana houses with wrap-around porches and great gardens. Truly a wonderful run!

Vegas, baby!

Zev and I took a wonderful trip to the Southwest of the US recently, and we had an absolute blast. I had always wanted to visit the Grand Canyon, and Zev had many fond memories from his time stationed in Arizona, so he was the perfect tour guide! We flew to Las Vegas from Shreveport and caught a Cirque du Soleil show before heading out to the Grand Canyon via Sedona and Flagstaff, Arizona. We also did the "Dam tour", the Hoover Dam that it, but Zev enjoyed saying "Dam Tour" all day. We then looped back to Vegas via southern Utah and the magnificent Zion National Park. All in all, it was a great holiday and we felt so rested and refreshed afterwards! We hope that all our family and friends are doing well and that you enjoy our pictures!

Route 66 or bust, baby!

Our Southwest Road Trip took us through Prescott, Arizona, a quaint and historic town with a very cool historic hotel downtown; Sedona, Arizona, with it's gorgeous red rocks; and then up to Flagstaff through Oak Creek Canyon. We stayed the night at another historic hotel in Flagstaff, a college town but also a cool ski town, and spent the night playing pool, eating awesome pizza at the "famous" Alpine Pizza, which our friends Monty and Lebette should be able to relate too?!! We also HAD To stop at this quaint and rather cliche but cute Route 66 diner, that served malt shakes, great burgers, huevos rancheros and home made root beer. Apparently Oprah stopped there last year during a special on Route 66 diners, and now has the root beer shipped to her house. So I guess if Oprah stopped there, it must be good, right!??

Grand Canyon!

I can see why they call it the "Grand Canyon"!! I (Fi) have never seen anything like it! It certainly is Grand, there is no other way to describe it. We were lucky to arrive at the Grand Canyon on a gorgeous day. We had awesome views and then we enjoyed lunch at one of the lodges. It was such an awesome day. The funny things is, once we finished our lunch, we went outside again and we couldn't see the Grand Canyon any more! It had been "snowed" over. We were glad we got there just in the nick of time! Zev got my heart racing a little when he threw a snowball into the Grand Canyon- (I was afraid he would lose his footing! I didn't let him get carried away with his shenanigans too much though!)

Thanks for the visit, Navajo Nation!

We loved our experience in Navajo Nation, in the northeast part of Arizona. We saw some amazing natural beauty, including these beautiful mountains that were as pretty as picture, and of course, breathtaking "Antelope Canyon", a slot canyon in Page, Arizona, that has been featured in National Geographic and other publications, and "Horseshoe Bend" which is part of the greater Lake Powell. Zev was a little hesitant for me to go this close to the edge of the cliff overlooking Horseshoe Bend (he'll jump out of airplanes just fine, but walking up to the edge of cliffs? No thanks!!) Zev enjoyed taking lots of pictures this day!

Zion National Park, Utah

We drove through spectacular Zion National Park in Southern Utah on our way back to Vegas. Wow is all we could say as we drove through the beautiful, winding road that snaked through the gigantic mountains. We saw some amazing colors on the mountains, due to the sandstone and granite that has been deposited there over the centuries. Definitely a "must do" detour! We kept saying "ooh" and "ahh" as we saw the beauty of this region.

In-N-Out Burger!

Double double- burger fries and shake!!

We went to "In-N-Out" burger- a burger chain that is modeled on the traditonal 1950s/ 1960s style of simple menu, great burgers and fries made from a cut up potatoe right there on the spot and good service (old fashioned, I know!!) Zev was a happy man, so happy he even got an updated In-N-Out T-shirt!