On Friday we took the kids to the Kennedy Space Center to watch the launch of the Dragon, a rocket with a mission to carry about 1,268 pounds (575 kilograms) of supplies.

On March 2, Expedition 34 commander Kevin Ford and Flight Engineer Tom Marshburn of NASA grabbed the capsule with the station's robotic arm and attached it to the Harmony module, where it will stay for about three weeks. 

Dragon is scheduled to return to Earth on March 25, bringing home nearly double the amount of supplies it brought up -- about 2,668 pounds (1,210 kilograms). Returning investigation samples will demonstrate how life in microgravity affects the growth of plant seedlings, changes to the human body, the behavior of semiconductors and detergents, and more.

So cool to watch it!  Here's the video.

 

Merry Christmas!

We weren't able to get Christmas cards & letters done in time this year, so we decided to do an electronic one instead.

We started 2012 living in Anchorage, Alaska, and now find ourselves at the opposite side of the year, living at the opposite side of the US in Clearwater, Florida.  To say it's been a year of extremes is quite the understatement!

Andy went from the extreme of having a busy, demanding job to getting laid off and spending six months on "vacation" in Florida searching for another.  He's had a few nibbles lately and hope an exciting Human Resources Manager position is right around the corner for him.

Debbie also experienced an extreme change. She went from homeschooling five kids in Alaska, to having four kids attending school in Florida and preparing to go back herself. That's right folks, she's applied to University of South Florida's PhD program in Composition and Rhetoric and plans to start in the fall of 2013. 

The kids have enjoyed their extreme move. They spent five months swimming on a daily basis, playing with cousins, and exploring the beach.

Katherine is in the gifted program, got straight As on her report card, and is applying to the gifted middle school program this fall. She is still fascinated in all things space and is excited to be going to the Kennedy Space Center (and EPCOT) this year for school field trips.

Sarah loves school and is just shinning in chorus. She dreams of working with dolphins (rescue & rehab) and would spend every minute at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium (home of Winter) if she could. I can't wait to take her to Sea World for the first time!

Benjamin is also enjoying school. He was tested for gifted and his scores were off the charts (takes after his papa!). He is applying for the gifted elementary school program for the fall which is also a Spanish immersion. This boy needs a challenge!

Christian is in pre-K and absolutely loves his teachers and school. He's a bright and social boy who delights in telling his friends all about Alaska. He has become quite the swimmer and a fan of all things Spiderman.

Little Sammy is 2 1/2 now. He's the only one home with Debbie now. His favorite thing to do is go with her on her 3 miles walks along the beach each morning. Well, that and playing with cars, trucks and airplanes. He is a boy after all.

So that's our update. We are extremely grateful that we're together this Christmas, and wish you and your family and extremely happy and healthy 2013!

5,000 miles down, 0 to go!

I've got my toes in the water, tush in the sand
Not a worry in the world, a cold drink in my hand
Life is good today
Life is good today.

4700 miles down, 300 to go!!

We are only 4.5 hours away!  A mere 300 miles!!  Can't believe we're almost home and our trip is coming to an end.  For our last night on the road, Andy treated us to a king suite at the Hilton with a jetted jacuzzi tub!  I love my husband!  We also stopped early because he knew I still had a ton of papers to grade and he didn't want me staying up to 1 or 2 am any more to grade them, but instead, wanted all of us to get a good night's sleep. Such a good guy!

Conversations today covered a wide variety of topics.  My personal favorite:  you don't need to tell mom every time you're hot.  You're going to be HOT!  Here are some tips to help keep yourself cool: then I gave them some tips on how to stay cool - drink lots of water, keep your feet bare, slow down and relax - it's OK to take a break, etc.  Of course, that led to a discussion on swimming and the family rule that there must be an adult present to swim - no adult, no pool.  So many little things to learn when you move 5,000 miles!
Anyway, that's all for now. I'll post more tomorrow when we make it home, but right now I need to grade some more papers then take a nice long soak and snuggle up in this deep down-comforter bed!  Pictures with my family will be coming tomorrow!  Yeah!!

4200 miles down, 800 to go!

We are getting so close! Even with our late start this morning we cranked out the miles, finishing up IL, cutting through a smidgen of KY (another lovely state!), and are now just south of Nashville, TN (ANOTHER lovely state)!  I just love the south!  The rolling hills, so many green trees, lakes, so very, very pretty. Of course I love New England for those very same reasons!

Andy and I had a good chuckle when we passed our first Waffle House exit sign.  Even though I lived in Atlanta for 6 years I never did acquire a taste for it. Cracker Barrel on the other hand, oh yea, bring it on!  Dinner there again tonight.

Tomorrow we'll finish up TN,drive through GA and hopefully hit the tip of FL.  I'm excited to be seeing Atlanta again, even to just drive through it.  So many good memories of living there, good friends, and my career really skyrocketed there.  Looks like we've got one more night in a hotel in front of us then we'll be at my dad's on Sunday.  SOO excited to see the family again! I get happier and happier with every mile that's bringing me closer to home!

Andy here - got the engine checked out.  Found a dealership just down the road from where we were staying.  The wiring harness was very old and had worn out so the engine was misfiring.  I thought it felt like a timing issue.  The symptoms are the same but the harness is a more permanent fix.  The good part was that the dealership was able to diagnose and fix the problem without any notice.  I was in and out in three hours and we are now loading up again.
Can I just mention how absolutely beautiful Wisconsin was?  At least the part we drovew through was astounding.  Wisconsin has a new fan.

3540 miles down, 1460 to go!

Today marks one week on the road. Our schedules are so messed up that when the waitress at IHOP told me this morning that kids eat free on Thursdays my first thought was, "oh, we'll have to remember that for tomorrow."  Then it dawned on me, today is Thursday.  I didn't feel so bad when I looked at Andy and realized he had to stop and think about what day it was too.

Today things got, well, a little silly.

The name of this town got use singing the Fraggle Rock theme song - menomonie, ba-ba-da-da-da, menomonie, ba-da-da-da... and yes, this lasted ALL DAY!

We drove through Wisconsin today - LOVELY!  My dad was born in WI, his parents grew up there, lots of family from Rinelander, WI.  All those rolling hills and gorgeous farms, and oh so many trees, yes, I could totally live there too.

Our highlight today - Cracker Barrel for dinner!  It's been about 2 years since we've eaten at one and it's our favorite place to take the kiddos.  SO glad to be back in the CB part of the world again!  It was good timing too, we just finished our third unabridged book on CD and needed some more.  We picked up Lost Hero (Andy hasn't read it yet) here and can return it at any CB we choose when we're done with it.  It's a beautiful thing!

We are resting our weary heads tonight in Rockford, IL.  Our check engine light came on after dinner so we decided not to try to push it to Springfield and get it checked out in the AM.  I need to get some laundry done and of course, grade papers, so we'll get out of here late tomorrow morning (hopefully) and then push it hard for the last 1400 miles. We hope to be in FL no later then Sunday evening.  My toes have a date with some sun, sand and surf on Monday, can't miss it!