Wow, there is much to say, and the girls think I've already spent enough time on the computer today (I have to post all the pictures first, so even though you see this first, it's actually the last thing I do). So let's get right down to it, shall we?

We had some birthdays this last month! Ed hit the big 3-0 on the 14th (I know, wow), and Kimberlee turned 4 on the 18th. Kimberlee decided she wanted a Dora party, so on the 11th we had a couple friends over. Kimmee thinks her party was the best ever, complete with balloons, Dora crafts, presents, a big Dora cake, soda, juice, sandwiches, one of her friends throwing up, and lots of playtime. We had a good time and were grateful the throwing up happened in the kitchen on the tile.

Shortly after the birthdays Ed and I headed to Jamaica!!! I was surprised at how easy it was to leave the girls with the neighbors, and even more surprised at how much I missed them while we were gone. The non-stop flight was one of my favorite parts of the trip - flying IS nice when you don't do it with kids! After a little wait in the airport in Montego Bay, we got on a bus heading to our resort in Negril, about 90 minutes away. The scenery was gorgeous - on one side of the bus we hugged the coastline the whole way, and on the other side we saw the "real" Jamaica - huge disparity between the wealthy and everyone else. And there is a lot of "everyone else." On the busride back to the airport at the end of our trip our driver said something very interesting though. Someone asked him if they had much damage from all the hurricanes last year. The driver said, "No, Jamaica is a very blessed country. The Lord does not give us more than we can take." That seemed to be the feeling of many in Jamaica - they were happy. Anyway, our resort was an all-inclusive couples-only resort on Seven Mile Beach. Our room was only a short walk from the beach, where we spent most of our time. We got some nice tans (I sunburned a little), ate at gourmet restaurants, swam in the ocean, drank LOTS of non-alcoholic pina coladas, searched for shells, Ed went waterskiing (when they realized he was a "serious" skiier they took him on a special early morning trip behind a Mastercraft, which will only mean something to those who know boats) and scuba diving (I had a certain medical condition that kept me from going with him). We also enjoyed a Catamaran cruise, a small paddleboat, a Hobie Cat ride, and Ed forced me to go snorkeling with him - I was mad at him until after we were done, then I admitted that I was glad he made me go. We met some fun people from South Africa (now living in London), and from Australia (now living in New York), and others from all over the country. It was extremely relaxing and beautiful and very hard to come back from, but like I said, I really missed the girls. Apparently they were "angels" (Jody's own words) while we were gone, and they more than made us pay once we got back. Now we're all pretty much back to normal, and Ed and I dream of the day we can do something like that again.

Ed found out not too long ago that his C-21 squadron is being closed on Sept 30th. That worried us for one big reason - Ed needs a lot more flying hours in order to qualify for an interview for the U-2, which is the next plane he wants to fly. Ed's commander, Col. Cheek, approached him on a Thursday afternoon saying he had a great deal for him. A KC-10 (a refueler) to Travis AFB outside of Sacramento, CA had just become available. Ed would have to leave the next Monday for 2 1/2 months of training at Travis, then come back to Ohio to move his family. Oh, and by the way, he only had one hour to decide if he wanted to take the assignment. Ed came home and we talked about it and prayed about it. The KC-10 is the plane (and the base) that we've wanted since Ed decided he didn't want to fly fighters in pilot training. C-21s were a good deal, so we took it with the idea that we would go to KC-10s once this assignment was done. Ed started looking into the U-2 because he heard there might not be a KC-10 available. All this went through our minds in that scary one hour we had to decide our future lives. In the end we decided to turn it down. Ed feels really good about the U-2, and hopes everything will work out for it. People thought we were crazy (we thought we were a little too) to turn down such a great assignment, but we felt better after making the decision, so I guess we're U-2s all the way now. Ed is now trying to fly 5 days a week (very ambitious and tiring), and we enjoy the time we still get to see him.

The last pictures on here are of the sqaudron Easter egg hunt. Not much to say there. The girls had a great time.

Well, Keira just bit Kimberlee, so I guess it really is time to go. Oh, one last thing, I'm thinking of starting to do all my scrapbooking on the computer now. Does anyone have any experience or heard good things about any particular program or software? I've seen the Scrapbook Factory Deluxe in stores and read a few reviews online, but I just wondered if anyone had ever used it?

Dinner's done, girls are screaming. Love to all!!
~Ed, MaryAnn, Kimberlee, Keira, and baby #3