Meet and Greet the Troops - Veterans Day 2009

Nearly every day a flight arrives at DFW International Airport bringing home troops for a two-week R&R (Rest and Recuperation) and they are greeted by groups of enthusiastic and patriotic volunteers.  We decided to volunteer on Veterans Day this year. 

    

I searched online to find information about greeting the troops and found the information here.

You begin by calling 972-574-0392 for a recorded message of an estimated time of arrival.  The flights arrive anywhere between 7 am and 9 am.  On our particular day the flight was scheduled to arrive at 8 am so we headed out and made it to Terminal D, Gate 22 by 7:30 am.

We parked in the lot located on ground level and made our way to the Arrival Hall.  Parking passes are issued as you arrive by one of the volunteers so there isn't even a parking fee.  I was so excited that we were going to be a part of this!

 

There were already quite a few people gathered and waiting to welcome the troops.  There are flags available for volunteers to wave or you can bring your own.  You are also encouraged to wear patriotic colors. 

One of the first things we noticed was a poster that people were signing.  It was going to be sent to Ft. Hood as an encouragement to them.

You can bring treats and goodie bags.  Keep in mind that no home baked items are allowed, only those that are prepackaged.

There are also lots of people that make signs and can leave them and the onsite coordinator will see that they are displayed.

As the time drew nearer for the troops to begin arriving my excitement and anticipation kept growing and so did the crowds!

There was one volunteer who was so nice and took time to talk to a lot of the kids that were there.

If you'd like to bring balloons to help decorate only Mylar balloons are allowed - no regular helium balloons. 

Once the troops started arriving the flags began waving and the crowd began cheering and clapping.  Here are some pics as the troops were making their way through the crowd.

You are also able to offer troops the use of your cell phone to call home as they arrive.  The best place to do this is outside as they are waiting to get on the buses. 

~M~ decided he wanted to go and do that. 

He offered his phone to a lot of the troops but only one needed to use it.  After he was through he asked ~M~ which patch on his uniform did he like.  ~M~ said that he didn't need to do that but the soldier said no, which one do you like.  The soldier pointed at one and said that this one signifies 1st Calvary.  ~M~ chose that one. 

I spoke to the soldier after he had finished his call and he was telling me about how he would soon be reunited with his wife and would get to meet for the first time his 1 month old daughter.  How awesome is that?  I was so happy that ~M~ was able to be a part of that special moment. 

Finally all the troops had been greeted and the last few were boarding a bus headed to their next destination one step closer to being with their families again.

All in all we had the most amazing time and plan on participating again soon.  It's an awesome opportunity to encourage and thank those that are serving our great country. 

Technorati Tags: military,troops,Welcome Home,volunteer,DFW Airport

A Fun Day at the St. Fair of Texas 10.18.09

We waited until the very last day of The State Fair of Texas to attend.  Not a bad day to choose all things considered.  First on the agenda was to have our picture taken together to remember the moment.

We then walked a little further in and since we entered on the midway ~M~ wanted to start our day off by playing a game....  

 

....and then he won.

Yes he won this large Bevo.

At the beginning of the day.

And we carried it around...

.....all day. 

But it really wasn't that bad.  He only knocked a couple of people in the head with it.  And as far as we know there are no pending lawsuits.

One of the things that we enjoy doing is tasting the food.  The State Fair is famous for the variety of fried foods available but we chose to make the gordita our first food adventure.

Delicioso!

The new cars are always fun to look at. 

They also had a monster truck that I stood next to to take a picture.  I am 5 foot tall and the tires were taller than me.  And yes, I am standing up. 

Those of you that know me already know about my son's theory of the high five that I have adopted as my own.

Basically the theory is that no one can resist a high five.  Just imagine yourself walking somewhere and you walk up to a random stranger and raise your hand as if you are going to give them a high five.  Their response?  They will raise their hand too, to return the high five.  It's like a reflex.  Don't believe me?  Try it.  We tried it at the State Fair and it worked. 

Isn't that awesome?  I thought so. 

We then moved on to the Centennial Building that sells various items.  Inside one of them we found these really cool planes carved out of wood. 

This is a wood carving of a B-1 Bomber Lancer which is the plane that my son Nick, who is in Backshop Avionics, works on.  And just for the record, no carving was touched in the shooting of this picture.

Who's hungry?  We were and we headed toward the food court.  This time we shared a humongous baked potato.

Another favorite stop of ours is the Children's Barnyard.  I love seeing all the animals.

Not sure why he's trying to eat the bars.  Maybe he's planning his escape?

This poor guy is covered in the stuff they place in the stalls.

These little piggies were so hungry they were chewing on Mama's ear!

We saw a kangaroo with a baby insider her pouch.  I didn't get a good picture of it but it was sooo cool to see!

After the fun in the barnyard we were off to buy more coupons.

~M~ decided to give away the large Bevo that we had won at the beginning of the day so I wanted him to win another one so we could give it to my niece.  He was successful.

Finally, to wrap up our day we decided to try one of the fried foods featured that year.  The 2009 Most Creative Big Tex Choice Awards was Deep Fried Butter.  According the State Fair website, Deep Fried Butter – 100% pure butter is whipped till light and fluffy, then specially sweetened with a choice of several flavors.  The tantalizing mixture is surrounded by a special dough and quick fried.  Located on Nimitz Drive.

Now our State Adventure was coming to an end.  It was a fun day but I can't go the Fair without having some cotton candy.

 

We took one last look at the Ferris wheel at the State Fair of Texas. 

Technorati Tags: State Fair of Texas,travel,Dallas,Texas,B-1 Bomber,food,Ferris wheel,Big Tex