First quarter 2008

Well 2008 was off with a bang, I celebrated at a local club called Level 5, and had an absolute blast with my friends Lisa and Lena. And still was able to send a "happy new year" to Dan, in my own creative way.






In January I simultaneously got the most wicked case of bronchitis these lungs have ever seen, and got surprised by my father. I was so happy to see my dad and I really had a good time. You see, dad has been working on Elevators for 25+ years, and one day decided to drop a 1,000+ lb piston on his foot. So needless to say, he had a little time off from work. Despite his shattered foot, dad insisted we tour the Battleship (USS North Carolina that is Docked here in Wilmington) which is about a 2 hour walk through little hall ways and up and down stairs, but it didn’t phase dad at all, basically it had something to do with history, so I don’t even think he realized he had a shattered foot. The on the 21st the most amazing, wonderful, beautiful, (can I fit any more adjectives into this sentence?) little man came into the world. My nephew Noah. I love him more than I ever knew i could. Soon after he was born, dad made a surprise trip to Naples to meet Noah, he knocked on Janet’s door and asked if Noah could come out and play, needless to say, Janet was happy to see him.







February was pretty much uneventful, except for the constant sheer anticipation of March and Dan’s return home from Iraq. I made him a nifty sign that he would see from the busses as he drove in (this is a regular occurrence when people return to the states). It was so nice, bright green, with blue lettering and sparkles! Who doesn’t love sparkles! I worked SO hard on it, I even got it laminated. But the night before Dan got home there was a really bad storm, and the sign blew away, along with a good portion of the other signs that had been hung on the fence. The sign was nowhere to be found, I was so mad. At least I got a picture of it.

Dan went home to Kansas to visit with his family and friends, also to pick up his mustang that his father and he re-painted (it turned out SO nice!) .



In April Dan and I headed for Florida. This was Dan’s first time to Florida and the first time I would meet Noah. I instantly fell in love with my nephew and just couldn’t get enough of him. I really enjoyed spending time with my family, and was very happy to introduce Dan to everyone. We all took Noah to the beach for the first time, and Dan had his first look at the gulf. I got to see a ton of friends and introduce them to Dan as well. While in Florida, Dan and I hit up Key West via the Key West express. We rented bicycles and rode around the island, stopping at the Hemingway house, the southernmost point, the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, and we ate at Sloppy Joes. All in all it was a good trip, and it was hard for me to say goodbye to my family and Noah, but Dan was really great, and drove most of the way home.





On a sadder note, right as we hit the pine ridge road exit ramp onto I-75, I received a phone call from my boss telling me that my co-worker, and dear friend Wayne, had been killed in a motorcycle accident. If ever there was someone who went before they should have, it was Wayne. He was that friend who was always there to help when you needed it. He saved me many times; when Beth and I moved into our apartment, he was there with his truck and trailer, when my car acted up, he fixed it, no questions asked. He coached hockey for all ages and was well known around town. There were no strangers when Wayne was around, and he had everyone’s back, especially his son’s Nathan (19) and Devon (15). I have never seen anything like Wayne’s funeral, it was standing room only and after the first 3 hours of the viewing, the line that was still wrapped around the funeral home had to be sent away, because the funeral home couldn’t stay open any later. He will be truly missed.