Check Ride Please! February 13, 2011

There are no photos for this entry, but it is certainly newsworthy! Congratulations to Ron for FINALLY getting his check ride done!! He tried and tried and tried to get it taken care of weeks ago, but the Michigan weather just wouldn't allow it. You know the old saying "Where there's a will, there's a way". The will was strong and Ron found the way. He flew out to Santa Fe, New Mexico this past weekend and finally got that check ride so he could fly the L39 all by himself! Ron said "I had to do a practice "rapid decent" from 26,000 feet to 16,500 feet simulating a pressurization failure...a very fast nose pointed to the ground maneuver! Then on the final landing, the check pilot hit a switch that kept the landing gear from coming down. At 205 mph and a minute from landing, it made me pucker, hit the switch again; figured it was time to go to the emergency gear extension switch which was the action he was looking for me to take. Whew!!" Well thank goodness! So, if you notice something blue streaking through the skies above, it just very well might be Ron Staley, L39 Pilot.

And by the way, Happy Birthday to Cary Stork who celebrated his birthday the same day Ron got his check ride!

Savannah Getaway, 2010/2011

After much contemplation on what to do with the week between Christmas and New Year's Day, I ended up setting up a little trip to Savannah, Georgia in hopes of having a nice relaxing, much needed getaway for Ron. The weather was perfect and the Ballastone Inn was very nice. The first night, we had a wonderful dinner at the Old Pink House and then an entertaining night out at the Savannah Theatre. 10:00am New Year's Eve morning, we had a private walking tour around Savannah, then went off on our own until 5:30 when we took another tour via carriage ride. After a quick stop for a couple of glasses of wine and a bouquet of roses for me, (neither of us ordered them, but seems we were getting the royal treatment!)we finished the tour and were dropped off at The Sapphire Grille for another delicious dinner. After our dinner we walked around River Street to enjoy the New Year's Eve festivities. It was only around 7:30pm and we both thought for just a moment, that we just might make it to midnight to see the fireworks. Right. We were in bed by 10:00 and passed out by 10:30. Yawn. (The night was foggy so no one saw the fireworks anyway!) Our third day, we took off in our rental and drove over to Bonaventure Cemetary and toured the grounds. What a beautiful cemetary!! We also stopped at the Laurel Grove Cemetary, but it just didn't compare to Bonaventure. Next, on to Tybee Island. Enjoyed a nice lunch, a little stroll and a quick stop to see the Tybee Lighthouse. We got back to the inn around 5:00pm and decided to relax in our room and read. We only left the room briefly for some hors d'ouvres and then back up to read until we both fell asleep. Yawn again. I do believe I succeeded in giving Ron the relaxed and enjoyable trip I set out to. Love you Honey!

Ho Ho Ho! The Staley 2010 Christmas!

This year the Staley Christmas was on Sunday, December 19th. Dustin and I put our heads together and decided we should have a white backdrop filled with snowflakes and, of course, lots of colorful props for our Christmas photos. Everyone was in the Christmas spirit and really had fun in front of the camera - even Mike! After our lively picture taking session, we all headed upstairs to open gifts, which is always a good time! After gifts and snack time, we played Hedbanz. Just how did Aunt Norine get "Nude Beach" Logan??? And how about Uncle Ron getting "The White House"? See photos.

So glad everyone was able to come. We'll start right now planning our next Christmas get together, hmmmmm.....

Kelsey's Feeding School, 9/1/10

This past fall, September 1, 2010 to be exact, Kelsey entered the Helen DeVos Childen's Hospital Intensive Feeding Therapy program. While Logan and Olivia went off to their school, Kelsey, with backpack in hand, went off to her school, "Feeding School". She has been completely dependent on G-tube feedings since she was 5 1/2 months old, but not anymore!!! She graduated from "Feeding School" on November 1st! She is completely independent of her G-tube!!! Yea Kelsey!!!!!! We're all so proud of her and Cheryl for all their hard work!!

She'll have to maintain her weight for 6-9 months before the doctors will remove her Gtube. The program Kelsey was in, is the first and only one of it's kind in Michigan, as well as only one of a handful in the whole United States. She received multiple feeding therapy sessions on a daily basis for eight weeks. The program offers a multidisciplinary approach to feeding therapy. Lead by a psychologist, the team consisted of speech and occupational therapists, a nutritionist, a medical doctor, physician's assistant, a social worker and of course, the parents. The goal was to improve eating through feeding sessions and behavior modification. Through all of the tantrums, fits, food refusal, spitting, throwing and everything else imaginable, the end result was all well worth the effort! Everyone remaining patient and calm, well, that was a tough one too! This program was a huge effort on everyone's part and it was truly a very grueling and trying time for Cheryl. We salute you Cheryl for your stamina and love for Kelsey to see it through!! You are an awesome mom!

Kelsey had entered the program eating mostly yogurt and would only eat in front of the television. Now, Kelsey eats at the dinner table with the rest of the family. She eats over 72 different foods and drinks her liquids from a squeeze bottle. There is every reason to believe that once she becomes more aware of the connection between hunger and food satisfaction, she will feed herself and initiate meal times. Until that time, there may be more time spent at the Helen Devos Feeding Clinic. But, for now, a huge milestone has been met. What a great accomplishment! Congratulations to both Kelsey and Cheryl! We love you!

Thanksgiving, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving! This was the first year Ashley wasn't home for Thanksgiving. She and Jonathan were in Indiana. There were only 10 of us here this year, but we really had a great time! The Ohio kids were able to sit at the grown-up table!! Dinner was yummy and playing Hedbanz was a hoot! We missed the rest of you! See you all on the 19th for Christmas!

L39 Comes Home to Papa, December 5,2010

The L39C Aero Vodochody Albatros N139VA, now with a new tail number of N139VS, arrives in Mason after a 2 hour flight from Gadsden, Alabama.

Ron and his instructor Richard Hess flew back at 27,000 feet with an air speed of 425mph, but unfortunately also had a head wind in excess of 50 knots. Ron's final check ride is scheduled for Thursday, December 16th and Ron will be licensed to fly the newly restored jet.

Good friend Dan Schiffer is hosting the plane to be stored in his hanger in Mason, Michigan for a time until a home can be found large enough to store the 9900 pound bird.

This plane typically will be tracked by radar, so you can watch the latestest at flights online.

Riders anyone???

Chicago Visit, 10/28/10

This past weekend Ron and I went down to Chicago to support Carol at her biggest event of the year, San Miguel School's 4th Annual School of Rock concert at the House of Blues. Featured was Jim Peterik & World Stage playing music from the 1980's. (Think "Eye of the Tiger", "Working for the Weekend") What a great time we had! The music was fantastic! We even stayed up past our bedtime! We were very impressed watching Carol in action executing her job brilliantly! Nice work Carol!!! Our favorite photographer was off duty and enjoying the concert with us, so no photos of the evening, but the next day, he had set up a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's home for Ron and brought his camera along for some great photos. It was a beautiful day and the tour was very cool! We ended the tour with a walk up and down the street seeing several other homes designed by FLW. Couldn't have picked a better way to spend the day! We enjoyed spending time with Dustin and Carol and their friends! Great company, great restaurants and great city! Thanks for a really special time Dustin and Carol!