Randomess: Patric's iPhone

I just found this on Patric's phone the other day.

I'm going to go into those photos more often, because this is funny to me.

Boy Scout outing: Communications, local radio station tour

We arrived late, made about 10 minutes of the tour, and headed home.

Stuber communications fail.

February in Texas.

Found on my phone. 

Patric's phone is much more interesting and much less disturbing.

But, then again, I find things like this on Patric's phone.

Chess with grandpa.

I love this.

Fudge on a road trip.

My near vegetarian and car sickness king, inhaled it.

Mescherscmidt 262 Swallow

WWII Jet.

Only the Germans had jets  in World War II, and this one of them.  One of the few in the world.  One of probably the only two flying.

Funny.  Even though it was worthy enough for the air in the war, the FAA requires that it be marked experimental now after being put back together for flight since it was essentially home built by a team of private owners.

 One more piece of history the brood has climbed on after their daddy just happened upon it during lunch one day..



And the dirt pile outside, that proved to be as interesting as the airplane.

More From Mommy Away

While I was away recently to visit with my parents, daddy, grandpa airplane, and the crew went to the school open house.

So perfect here:

Ben, hating school

Alida, rolling her eyes

Nick, eager to please

Elaine, fashion forward in her own mind.

Elaine's teacher shared the following with Patric that evening.  Elaine had apparently let her teacher know during the day at some point that her grandpa airplane would be picking her up from school that day to take her to the airport.  When the teacher told her that was nice, but she couldn't let Elaine go home a different way than usual without a  note, Elaine turned and went back to her desk.  And she came back a few minutes later with this, her note: "I am going to the airport." 

Way to make things happen girl.

Sea World, San Antonio

 Been a long time since I contemplated one of these.

 But when Ben made the height requirement, even I couldn't resist going along for a ride with him on that thing.

The others, the shorters of the crew, didn't seem to mind the viking boat log ride that dumped us from 80 feet in the air to our watery splash-down.

And we saw the Shamu show, which was great except

that after staking out our seats in the splash zone an hour before, this sat down in front of us a minute before it began.  And then Ben was terribly offended that he didn't get wet during the show.

Much more entertaining, their other show.

During which Alida sat down not once.

And late in the day, the Stubers all agreed that a trip to Red Lobster to eat seafood was in order. 

 And that's just what we did.

Dress Blues in Different Hues

 Drug out from under cover a few weeks ago, and re-dressed with federal service awards, since it has been two years now in the Federal Reserves, which is different than the state National Guard, which doesn't mix I guess, although there are several federal service awards from his time in the National Guard.  This whole process still confuses me even sixteen years later.

 But, I will say, sixteen years later, it still fits handsomely. Even if this was taken at some awful early time in the morning, crammed into a hotel suite with four sleeping kids, and me wondering why everything military happens at the most unusual times of the day.

And Stuber family trips are taken around moments like this: the new DA photo, which you can't just get anywhere.

Interesting tidbits: The posture and pose of the hands are prescribed; there is a science to your decision to smile or not to smile (he claims there is an appropriately slight smile in there); the blue space between body and left arm is important. 

Questions from his wife:

"Why do they have such ugly pants?  They don't match.  Seriously, they're really wrong."

"I know Susan.  The Marines got the matching pants."

"Well, that sucks."

"What are all of the stripey things on the right arm?"

"Stripey things?" 

"Yeah, the stripey things."

"Those are overseas service stripes."

"What does that mean?"

"You have one of those for each six months of deployment to a combat zone."

"But you've been in crappy places far more than two years."

"But, I didn't get combat pay, only hazardous duty pay."

"Oh." (money talk registering with me, as he knows.)

"Why do you have two sets of airborne wings, and why is one fatter than the other?"

"What?  What are you talking about?"

(pointing)

"Um, because those aren't both airborne wings.  The top one is a Combat Action Badge." 

"Oh."

"See the knife in the CAB?"

"CAB?"
His eyes roll sometimes too.

"Hey, isn't that round, green thing with the rivers a Tennessee symbol?  That's National Guard."

"Yes, yes it is.  But I still wear it on this uniform.  The ribbons have to be federal."

"All of the colored thingies."

"Yes Susan, all of the colored thingies."

Him: "The red shoulder boards for the engineers are better than the old Cav ones though I think.  Don't you?"

Me: (lots of staring and blinking)  "You changed those?"

 Meanwhile, back at the suite....

We made a different spectacle of ourselves at breakfast.

More Blue Skies

Well I Just Wanted To Ask A Question He Couldn't Answer

Over lunch with one of Patric's Army friends named Nicholas (Nick 2), we listened to this with our kid (Nick 1):

Nick 2, Patric's friend thinking he had this all under control: "Well Nicholas, I know everything.  Go ahead--ask me anything, and I'll tell you the answer."

Nick 1: "Well, can you tell me how you ever get to see heaven without the help of God or Jesus?"

Nick 2 (and everyone else at the table): (silence).

Evil Eyes

Found on my iPhone.

To which the girls spent the rest of the evening after seeing this picture trying to re-creat the evil eyes at will.  

iPhone clean-out in order. 

Mommy Away

And so it was that feeding the children was inventive when I recently left town for a few days.

And going to school, well, that became optional too.

I don't think they minded at all.

Playing hooky with daddy to go to the fair and eat cotton candy, definitely worth-while memories.

Mutton Bustin'

Gear them up, and get them ready.

Ben's audio went out during his ride, so you'll get the feel of what it like to watch your child ride a sheep here.

But Nichol's was all the way Texas.

Gone Native

The Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show kicked off the other day.

And daddy braved the crowds with the crew (and maybe a bit of help from a friend) while mommy was away.

And there was Stuber Mutton Bustin'

(I WILL be figuring out how to download the video of this.)

Let's just say there is gear involved.

Boys Will Be Boys

Everything: Target brands, Children's Place, Levis, even  Carhart.

None survived a season of seven-year-old wrath in the knees.

Even the pajamas.

Thankfully, shorts season is getting pretty close around here.