A Trip To El Paso

I nearly always take a picture of what I eat when I am on a trip.  I am not completely sure why.  Perhaps a subconscious fixation with food? 

Here is what I had on the way to El Paso.

aaahhhhhh ~ coke with no ice of course.  It would have been better with an actual snack but I'm not complaining.  Well I guess I kind of am but I don't mean to.

We arrived at El Paso.  I felt welcomed.

Due to the flight delays mentioned in my Not So Mysterious Disappearance post that detailed me losing my Nancy Drew book, we arrived after lunch.  My brother and I hadn't eaten and we were starving!! 

We decided to stop and eat at El Taco Tote.  We'd eaten there before and it's mighty tasty.

After our tummies were filled we headed to the house to visit.

Dad, Mom, Aunt Belia and Gramma

After my Grampa's funeral service we went with my cousins to eat at Barrigas.  We were at the Sunland Park location that is right near the mall.  They had a big screen tv and they were showing a concert by Vicente Fernandez who just so happens to be one of my favorite Mexican singers. 

Here is Mom enjoying her decaf coffee at Barrigas.

There's my cousin Gabriel on the left, my Mom in the middle enjoying her decaf coffee and part of my sister on the right.  We had such a good time!

The next morning it was breakfast time. 

Now that we were fed it was time to head to the airport and back home. 

Notice the Christmas decorations?  Either they're STILL up or they are just getting a head start for 2010.

At the airport there was a map and here's a pic of me pointing to where my Dad is from in Chihuahua.

Now on the way home guess what I had.....

My favorite - coke with no ice.

Now remember earlier in this post I mentioned we had eaten at El Taco Tote?  Yeah well my Mom had an extra burrito leftover from that lunch and she put it in her tote bag.  ~~haha!  I just realized she put a Taco Tote burrito in her tote bag....okay that was funnier in my head~~

Anyway.....

My Mom managed to carry it ALL the way through security and home to Dallas.  What the heck?

Technorati Tags: El Paso,El Paso International Airport,El Taco Tote,Barrigas,family,Chihuahua,coke,travel

The Air Force Parent Pin

Not too long ago I thought I'd lost my Parent Pin.  I normally keep it in a bowl and I always put it on right before I leave the house. 

I looked in the bowl and it was not there.  A momentary panic set in.  Where was it?  Did I lose it?  Did someone come in during the dark of the night and take it?  The pin was very special to me because my Airman son gave it to me during his BMT graduation weekend and I've worn it every day since.

I looked through my purse.  No pin.  I looked on the end table.  No pin.  I looked where I keep my earrings.  No pin.  Where was my Parent Pin?  I then looked everywhere I had just looked a second time.  No pin.

Finally I went to the dirty clothes hamper and started looking through my work clothes.  No pin in my pants pocket.  I pulled out the shirt I had worn the day before and on the lapel of my shirt.  ::sigh::   I found my pin.  I pinned it on my jacket and headed out the door.

And as I always do when I touch the pin it reminds me to pray not only for my son but all who are serving. 

Thank you again to all who are serving and those that are supporting them!  I am grateful.

If you'd like more info on the Parent Pins as well as other lapel pins for Air Force supporters you can visit Your Guardians of Freedom.

Technorati Tags: Air Force,AFWingMom,Parent Pin,Your Guardians of Freedom,Air Force supporter pins,BMT

Remembering BMT

Nick joined the AF in September '08.  His graduation weekend dates were October 16-19.  If you've never had a child join the military it is definitely a life changing experience for all involved.

Since my son and I already lived in different states I was used to there being a geographic separation.  I wasn't fully prepared for not being able to call and talk when it was convenient for one of us.  That was hard.

We arrived in San Antonio Wednesday night.  I always love visiting there so being able to experience the BMT graduation in one of my favorite cities was a plus. 

Thursday morning was full of excitement and anticipation.  We were finally going to see Nick.

We lined the streets in preparation for the Airman's Run.  Nick was not participating as he had to complete some miscellaneous things but we stood there to encourage and cheer on the other Airmen. 

Over the hill came the first flight of Airmen.  Even though they were a ways away you could hear them singing their Jodies.  I was so excited even though I knew Nick was not there.

These are the Warkhawk Award recipients.  They have the honor of leading the flights in the Airman's Run.

This is the 331st TRS - Wolfpack.  May God have mercy on the Wolfpack's prey.

After watching all the flights pass the next event was the Coin Ceremony.  My family went to save our seats and I ran to the other side to try and get a picture of Nick.  This is my first glimpse of my Airman.

How handsome and grown up he looks!

After the ceremony was complete we were able to run and greet our Airman. 

The next day was the "official" graduation day.  We tried to get there early to get a good spot and there were 13 of us in all that were there to celebrate Nick's special day. 

Once the ceremony was complete we were again able to run and greet our Airman.

All around us we could see people hugging, crying, laughing and talking.  Everyone was happy to be reunited once again.  There were some Airmen that were still standing as no one was coming for them which led me to my AFWingMom idea.  But that's a story for another day.

We were given a guided tour of the dorms and were able to get a glimpse into the life of our Airman while in Basic Military Training.

The neatly made beds...

The tidy clothes....

The organized areas.....

Were all things we were able to see.  We were also able to meet some of the people responsible for transforming my son into an Airman.

My siblings, their spouses and Marvin and I were able to enjoy some time in San Antonio while Nick spent some time with his Dad and the family.

On Saturday we went to SeaWorld and we had a blast.  You can barely see it but on my shirt on the side closest to Nick I am wearing the Parent Pin that he had given me the day before.  :) 

Sunday was our final day.  We went to Chapel with Nick. 

We bought Nick a case for his coins.

We said our final goodbyes.  We were so moved by the whole experience and so proud of Nick.

Technorati Tags: Air Force,AFWingMom,Wolfpack,BMT,Basic Military Training,San Antonio,Lackland,Airman

A not so mysterious disappearance...

We boarded our flight to El Paso to attend my Grampa's funeral and settled in our seats.  I had brought along my Nancy Drew book #2 "The Hidden Staircase" as I was planning on reading to catch up on my Random Resolutions. 

We started to back away from the gate when the plane stopped.  We sat for about 20 minutes not knowing if something was wrong.  We just guessed that there was some sort of issue.  The pilot came on and explained they had heard something odd with the engine and it needed to be checked out.  It should take about 30-45 minutes and then we'd be on our way again.  Swell.

An hour later the pilot announces that indeed something needed to be repaired.  It would take maintenance about 20 minutes to fix it once they retrieved the part from the hanger.  Hmm - we weren't sure about the timing as we were wanting a chance to get something to eat before the service.

I put the book in the seat pocket in front of me and my brother and I got off the plane to talk to the gate attendant.  The decision was made to rebook our flights.  We went back on the plan and told Mom and Gina of our plans, grabbed our carry-ons and ran to catch our new flight.

As we were making our way to the new terminal I suddenly remembered something.  I forgot my book.  This book was one I had had since around age 10 or 11.  Maybe younger.  Also the bookmark holding my place was one that was given to me by my Airman son.  Double sadness.

Luckily I had written my name and address in the front cover.  Unfortunately for me it was my name and address from about 32 years ago when I lived in Virginia. 

I tried various ways to retrieve my book.  I called the Lost & Found department at both airports.  I had my Dad stop by and ask when he was flying out.  I even tried calling the person that lives in my old house in Virginia.  Then I went into super stalker mode and called the lady next door and the lady that lives across the street.  All those attempts were in vain.

My book is lost and I am sad......

Technorati Tags: Nancy Drew,Random resolutions

My Grampa

My Mom, brother, sister and I took a short trip to El Paso, Tx to join my Dad in saying goodbye to someone very special to me - my Grampa. 

I only had one Grampa while growing up and he was my Dad's dad.  My Mom's dad (Bernard Nicholas Walsh) passed away when my Mom was only 14 so we never had the opportunity to get to know him. 

Every summer we would visit my grandparents in El Paso.  And every summer we would have fun.  My Grampa was a stone mason and their house was one that he had built himself. 

This picture of the house I think was from the 70's.

This is a picture from just a few years ago.

When we learned of my Grampa's passing we quickly began making plans - flight, hotel, car rental etc.  We decided to fly out mid-morning and arrive with plenty of time to spare. 

After a couple of glitches in our quickly made plans we arrived at my grandparents house and visited a bit before the service. 

Arriving at the funeral home brought a mixture of emotions.  I don't think one is ever quite prepared to face the reality of death.

Seeing my Grampa lying there, looking as though he was resting, made me think about how I will remember him.  He was a strong, hardworking man.  He built things.  He fixed things.  How I wished I could have one more of his famous strong hugs. 

He was a good man....and I will miss him.

Gabino Armendariz

12-23-22 ~ 01-13-10