Life in general

Well, my faithful readers, I suppose that it's about time that I got on here and posted some of those things that I have promise to post over the past month and a half or so. I could give you a million and one excuses for why I haven't gotten around to this sooner, but I feel that once I get this thing written you will be able to see why.
I think that my last post of any substance was probably right around the end of the school year, and so that is where I shall start this narrative. My first year of education is over and done with now, and I have to say that I was about ready for it. Actually, I was more than ready for it. My last quarter at EvCC hadn't been the best, for which there are several reasons, the first of which is that I was horribly sick during the first week and a half of the quarter. I probably should have stayed home from classes and work for at least a couple of those days, but my stubborn nature would not allow me.
Another contributing factor was the passing of Samuel Joseph, the much anticipated eighth little Wilson. This affected our entire family very deeply, but noone so deeply as it did my mum. It was a very trying time, balancing school and work on top of this, but thanks to all of our wonderful friends efforts and prayers, and the ever magnificient Fr. Reichmann, we were able to put together a funeral and reception.
As if all that wasn't enough, I also had two incompetent teachers. One was my math teacher, and the other was my physics teacher. My math teacher often struggled with explaining concepts during class, and there were also occasions where we would ask questions related to the material and he would just sit there trying to explain it, getting nowhere. We would also stump him with homework problems, problems that he had assigned to us. We would ask him about a problem the day after it had been assigned, and he would start to demonstrate it on the board, think about it for a minute and then stop because he couldn't figure out how to work the problem. Grrr! It was very frustrating. My physics teacher was similiar. He was a chemistry major attempting to teach physics, plus it was only his second quarter teaching the class. He read straight out of a book most of the time, but when asked questions, couldn't explain them all the way in class. What frustrated me even more, is that I was paying these people to teach me something, and I was getting incompetence. Anyway, I managed to get passing grades in both classes, which I guess is what really matters. Sigh!
After my last final, I busily started making preparations for my trip to Wisconsin , which I was to leave on in just under a week after my last final. It had been just about 10 months since I had last seen my girlfriend, Suzanne, and that had been in Germany. Now after 10 months of phone calls, emails and letters, I was finally going to see her again and meet her family. Needless to say, I was rather excited for this trip.
The day of my flight arrived and I was off on my way. After some slight delays due to weather and uneventful flights, I made it first to Chicago and then to Green Bay. There I was picked up by Suzanne and we made the short drive from the airport to her house. I started to get a little bit nervous on the way to the house, as I was going to be meeting the rest of her family, but that was all set aside once we arrived. I felt immediately comfortable and at home, the way you feel around family or good friends. I was introduced to her family, with the exception of a brother that was over in Germany.
The next day, She and I went to the EAA (That's the Experimental Aircraft Association for those of you who are not aviation savvy) air museum. It was fun to see all of the exhibits, which included several homebuilt aircraft from members of the organization, war planes, as well as some replicas. They had a partial replica of the cabin of the Voyager, the first aircraft to make a trans-global flight without refueling. A replica of Space Ship One, the first privately funded craft to make a space flight, was being constructed under exclusive permission from Burt Rutan, the same man who had designed and piloted the Voyager. They also had a little grass strip next to the facility, and you could go outside and watch a couple of WWII era biplanes that were giving rides takeoff and land. All in all, it was a very fun day.
The next day, She, I, and most of her younger siblings took a trip down to Six Flags in Illinois. We got down there right as it opened and spent the day going on assorted rides, roller-coasters, and playing in the waterpark. We went on two different roller-coasters that day; the first was an old wooden style one called the American Eagle, which Suzanne and I went on, and the second was called the Whizzer, which Suzanne, I and her sister Elizabeth went on. I had not been on a wooden roller-coast before, and so that was fun to go through all the steep drops yelling (or screaming ;) at the top of our lungs. The Whizzer was a slightly more modern steel roller-coaster which included lots of steeply banked corners and such. We all went down several slides at the waterpark, but decided that one of the best rides, was a river like ride that too you around the entire perimeter of the waterpark at a nice relaxing pace.
Saturday, we did something I had never done before. We went paintballing. I had been told by countless people about how much fun it was, but I had never had the time to do it before. Well, after spending a hot, humid day running through a ravine, dodging being shot at while trying to shoot at the "enemy", I am inclined to agree with what I have been told. It is definitely a load of fun, and I can't wait until I can do it again. To borrow a phrase it was "heckatight".
Sunday came, and with it a low Mass at, oddly enough, St. Joseph's chapel. It was also the day set for the "Grand Inquisition". After Mass, we headed back to the Kohlmann household to finish preparations for a party which a good deal of their family was invited to. I was told that this was going to happen, as well as the fact that I would be put through an interrogation session. All of the questions revolved around my family, where I go to church, where I work, what I was going to school for, and what my future plans are. I was also the designated pinata worker for later that day, which I rather enjoyed. We finished up the day by playing a rousing game of keep away out in the front yard.
The last couple of days there were spent walking around Green Bay, where we visited the local candy factory, Lambeau field, and the cathedral. She and I, along with most of her younger siblings also went on a nature walk, despite a slight downpour just as we were getting ready to set out.
Then the day for my departure arrived. Relunctantly I packed up my bags, and when the time arrived, we headed for the airport. Green Bay is a small airport, so I was able to get checked in very quickly, only to find that my flight was being delayed. I must say, I wasn't all that put out by it, as it meant that I could spend some more time with Suzanne. I ended up waiting for about two hours before I had to say goodbye and go through security. It was hard to leave, but I knew I would be seeing her in about three and a half weeks. I boarded my flight to Chicago and had one heck of a ride due to thunderstorms in the area, but the flight from Chicago to Seattle was extremely uneventful.
I finally got home at about 10 pm that night, and immediately set about to doing my laundry and making preparations for a road trip I was going to be taking the next day. I was heading for the east side of the mountains to go take a look at a college over in Moses Lake, after which I was going to meet my parents, who were over on the coast, at my Uncle Tom's house in Walla Walla.
All of this went fine until we started on our way home. It was then that my dad and I both started having car problems. The motorhome which my parents were driving was running really rough, and my dad was having to take it extremely easy. And then the radiator in my pickup went kaput, and I couldn't do any driving without it overheating. After some road side repairs, we started on our way home again, only with my taking it extremely easy to try and keep my engine from overheating again. Imagine doing just 45 mph going up the pass, and you will have some idea of how I was having to drive.
Anyway, the rest of the time inbetween then and when Suzanne would be flying out here to Seattle was spent doing multiple things: Replacing the radiator in my pickup and doing various other work to it, busisly trying to get things in line for school and moving over to Moses Lake at the begining of September, and various other things of a lesser degree. The nice things about keeping busy, was that it helped the time to go by quickly, and before I knew it, the day had arrived for me to pickup Suzanne at the airport.
After we arrived back here at the homestead, we got her settled in Alex and I's room, whilst we got relegated to the motorhome for the week. We then proceeded to stay up late talking with my family before we decided to turn in for the night. I think we all slept well.
The next morning we got up early and went to Mass down in Seattle, after which I was able to introduce Suzanne to my grandparents, the Kennedys, the Curtii, the Russells and a couple of other people. She and I then went to go and visit her godmother, where we had a brunch of fruit, muffins and coffee. We stayed there for about an hour and a half talking and then we decided to go and join the rest of my family at the zoo, where we spent the rest of the day. I hadn't been to the zoo in awhile, and it was fun to watch Emma and Iain ooing and awing over all of the animals. After returing that night Mom, Alex, Suzanne and I decided to go and see Lady in the Water which is a highly recommendable movie.
On Monday, we journeyed up north to visit Deception Pass. Emma, Conner, Suzanne and I spent the day walking the beaches, looking at rocks, playing in the water, and enjoying the scenic views. I ended up having to go to work that night, but afterwards, we all sat down and watched Cinderella Man which Suzanne had not yet seen.
The next day, we decided to head up to the San Juans. We got up there and payed for our ferry admission and then proceeded to wait for the next ferry. It arrived and then we were on our way. We had had every intetion of getting off and going to Friday harbor, but due to how late it was we decided against it. Instead we stayed on the ferry and continued to ride even as it turned and started to head back for Anacortes. It was a clear sunny day and we had a wonderful view of Mt. Baker from the ferry. We also ran into some YFLer's who had spent several days out on Shaw island helping the nuns who live there. We talked with them almost the entire ferry ride back, then we parted ways and headed home.
Suzanne, I and the rest of my family (excluding my dad and my brother Alex) went out to Jetty Island on Wednesday. We had never been there before, and it was a lot of fun. It was a little three minute ferry ride out to the island, which was essent-ially a mile long sandbar. But the beach was sandy and the slope of the beach was rather shallow. We spent a good three hours out there walking the beach, building sand castles and sculptures, and watching the kite surfers. If you've never seen kite surfing before, which I hadn't, it is a very interesting sight. The people have what looks like a huge semi-circular kite which, almost has a winged shape to it. They get this airborne, attatch it to their body, grab what looks like a wake board and head out to the water. They control themselves with two handles that remind one of a parachute and use the wind to skim across the water. Definitely a very cool sport. We then caught the ferry back and headed home.
On Thursday, Suzanne and I headed up north once again, this time to tackle one of the trails up in the Mt. Baker area. We made a quick stop at the ranger station in Sedro Wooley to ask for a suggestion as far as what would be a good trail. They recommended several, and after choosing one, we headed on our way. After an hour's drive, we came to the trailhead and started on our merry way. We had chosen the Scott-Paul trail, which the rangers had rated as moderate, but after the first 15 minutes we decided that that was a liberal use of the word. We pressed on making it to the higher ridge area where we enjoyed breath-taking views of the the Cascades as well as Mt Baker. After we finished hiking, we headed home and awaited the arrival of my Wilson grandparents. They showed up and we stayed up fairly late talking.
The next day, we pretty much stayed at home and helped with the preparations for the party that was happening that night. We did manage to go for a walk around the property though and find several blackberries, though they aren't quite in season yet. And then, the party.
Several people showed up, and we spent the night eating, talking, dancing, and just having fun in general. For most of you who will be reading this, that was probably your first time meeting Suzanne, though she was also able to see people she hadn't seen since last summer in Germany, such as Andrew and Cow. As the hour grew late, several of the guest started to leave, until finally all was quiet at the Wilson household. So, despite the late hour, Alex, Suzanne and I decided to stay up and watch Singing in the Rain. It was very late when we went to bed.
The next day we pretty much spent around the house again. My Uncle Tome came over for a little bit, as well as our friend Albert. I think that the only other things we did that day were to go for a walk and then we stayed up and watched Hoodwinked and Syriana.
The next day had come to fast. It was already Sunday. Where had all the time gone?!? After going to Mass down in Seattle, Suzanne and I headed out to find something to eat. We attempted to go to the Spaghetti Factory in Seattle, but they weren't opening until noon, and that was going to be too late for us. So instead, we stopped at a Jack in the Box on our way to the airport and grabbed a quick bite to eat. Then, relunctantly, it was off to the airport to get her on her flight. Check in was a breeze, for SEATAC, but I was bummed that her flight wasn't delayed. I spent the last little bit of time with her that I could, and then watched as she walked through security.
Since then, I have been busy with continuing to get ready for school and my move to the east side of the mountains at the end of the month. I have also been trying to finish the requirements for my private pilot's license. I have my written test out of the way, so now all I have to do is to finish up logging the required time and to take my oral and practical exams. So, needless to say, but I will more than likely be staying pretty busy between now and the end of the month. So there you have it readers, life in general.