My Mississippi Pictures

One Mississippi...

When the time came for our family to leave Hawaii last year, we had a choice of two places to go: Vance Air Force Base or Keelser Air Force Base in Mississippi. Since Keesler was still recovering from Hurricane Katrina (which hit it full on in 2005 and practically leveled the base), we ended up going to Oklahoma. Since then, the Air Force and the local residents have dedicated themselves to rebuilding the base and making it better than ever; I was excited to get the chance to visit and see the results of all their hard work.

Miss Grace was waiting anxiously for me to arrive in Biloxi and she wasted no time in liberating me from my box! She had planned lots of fun stuff for us to do (after I rested a bit from my long trip, of course). First up, was a visit to Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park. Yes, Yogi, Cindy and Boo boo really live there and I can understand why after seeing all the fun things there are to do. They had camp grounds, pools, fishing, mini golf (okay, it wasn’t quite mini enough for me), volleyball, a theater, a playground, Bingo and my favorite thing of all…crafts! Grace helped me out so I managed to be creative and keep clean all at the same time! They have Jellystone Parks all over the country; if there is one near you, be sure to visit.

I got to see lots of Biloxi (including the WalMart, which made me kind of homesick since it looked just like ours) even though it rained and rained and rained. I especially enjoyed my long awaited trip to Keesler Air Force Base. In fact, I got to be honorary commander of the 336^th Training Squadron, also known as the Red Wolves! (They have the coolest patch. I got my picture taken by the sign so you could all see it.) That was no easy job, either, since the 336^th trains more than 6,000 students a year from all branches of the U.S. active duty and reserve military as well as civilians and military from overseas. It’s a job that requires lots and LOTS of coffee. (According to Miss K’s dad, everyone gets a ginormous coffee cup when they graduate from Command School.)

I was sad to leave Miss Grace and go on to Georgia but I left just in time – Hurricane Gustav is headed their way and this weekend families and non-essential personnel have been evacuated from Keesler. I will be watching the news and praying that all my new friends and everyone at the base and the surrounding area stays safe and weathers the storm. Please keep everyone in the path of the hurricane in your prayers!

My New Mexico Pictures

Hello from The Land of Enchantment

I was a little worried when I found out I was going to visit an Air Force Base in New Mexico, since Miss K’s dad gets a really funny look on his face when he talks about “being held captive in southern New Mexico for six years.” (Supposedly, the only thing that made life worth living then was “his baby.” I thought he meant Miss K or one of her sisters but it turns out they weren’t born yet and the baby was an F-117A, which I’m pretty sure is an airplane. It’s a guy thing.) I got lucky, though, and didn’t have to go to Holloman Air Force Base; instead I visited Cannon Air Force Base near Clovis, New Mexico! Cannon is the home of the Air Force Special Operations Command.

Miss K’s sister is a big fan of Josefina and I can’t wait to tell her all about New Mexico! It is so beautiful, with rose coloured deserts, snowy mountains, and rivers, including the Rio Grande. I got to see sagebrush, cacti (that’s the plural of cactus…cool, huh?), and yuccas.

I was lucky enough to get to make a trip up to Albuquerque with my host family for a swim meet at Kirtland Air Force Base. Jess and I hung out together and cheered and had a great time. Then Jess talked me into taking a ride on the Sandia Peak Tramway, the world's longest passenger aerial tramway, which goes from the edge of Ablbuquerque up, up, UP over 3,800 feet to the top of the mountain. The view was incredible; you can see Albuquerque and 11,000 miles of the New Mexico countryside. It was a little scary, being up so high in a little car held up by a few cables, but it was worth it for the view!

Back in Clovis, Jess and Kit took me to Ned Houk Memorial Park to look for buffalo! We found the donkeys right away (or rather, they found us, then wandered off when they realized we didn’t have any food) but the buffalo took a little longer – and we didn’t get nearly as close! We got our picture taken together in a Zia, too. You see lots of the Zia, a sun symbol of the Zia people, here in New Mexico; there is even one on the state flag. The four lines extending from the ring represent the four directions (north, south, east, west); the four seasons (spring, summer, winter, fall); times of the day (dawn, noon, evening and night); the four stages of life (childhood, youth, adulthood and old age). The circle represents life and love, without beginning, without end. Isn’t that neat? My kind of symbol.

I also got to spend lots of time in the gym while I was here and got gymnastics lessons from one of the girls in my host family. (She placed 5^th in trampoline at Nationals so I got some great tips from her and got to try out a trampoline that was just my size.) I can understand why Ivy loves gymnastics so much. Flying through the air and standing on your head (okay, my teacher gave me a little spot, but still, I loved it!) is so much fun!

I had the best time here and know now why they call New Mexico the Land of Enchantment. I hope I’ll get to come back someday!

My Pictures from Tennessee!

My Visit to Tennessee

My visit to AmericanGirlRescue’s doll hot – er, house, is over and I will really miss my new friends – especially the male ones! Visiting with the 26 other dolls there (yes, you read that right…26!) was fun but being around real boys was even more fun! We don’t have any boys at home, just real girls and dolls (and one very understanding dad), so it was fun to hang out with guys for a change. I got to go so many places while I was in Tennessee, too!

The first day I hung around the dollhouse and made friends with the other dolls. The dollhouse is HUGE; no wonder K wants one just like it! And guess what? THERE IS A DOLL THERE WHO LOOKS JUST LIKE ME! I mean, it was like looking in a mirror. Her name is Lily Flower (isn’t that a beautiful name?).

I didn’t rest for long, though; next thing I knew, AGR’s family (including three of the dolls) and I were on the road to Indiana! I got to stop at Krispy Kreme (I love the glazed donuts!), and White Castle (the burgers are almost my size, and even if they are square they are sooo good) and I had my picture taken as we entered Kentucky and Indiana. And, of course, I had to have a picture in a corn field, too! Good thing I don’t have hay fever. We also stopped at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (the boys said I should call it “Indy”) but they wouldn’t let me drive a race car. Nuts.

The boys made it up to me when we got home, though…they took me for a ride on a dirt bike and a go-kart! They made sure I wore my helmet and glasses so I would be nice and safe and went r-e-a-l-l-y fast (well, it seemed fast to me!). I had the best time. The other dolls and I also got to hang out in the tree house (of course, Kit was there. She has a thing for treehouses).

Have you ever been to a hotel with a water park in it? Well, for middle-brother’s birthday we went to the music Road Hotel in Pigeon Forge, TN and they have one there! I spent a little time hanging out by the pool but my favourite place was the NASCAR Speedpark. I got my picture taken with a NASCAR race car! (But they wouldn’t let me drive it. Nuts.) The boys got to drive racecars around the track, though, so I got to cheer them on!

AGR’s Kit and I went to see the Kit Kittredge: An Ameican Girl movie while I was there, too. Grace came along (she sat in our laps and was very quiet like a good dog). I LOVED the movie, even if it will make our Kit hard to live with now that she is a star!

My trips in The Box on my way to my next hosts won’t be as boring now thanks to AGR; I have my very own little Rubik’s cube to keep me busy! Did you know the Rubik’s Cube was introduced at the 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville? We visited the World’s Fair Park and I got to see the first (six foot!) cube and the Sunsphere, a beautiful structure built for the fair.

I had the best time in Tennessee, and will miss all my new friends…especially the boys! I really wish we had some of our own at home. (That would make K’s dad happy, I bet, but he says he and K’s mom are already outnumbered, even without the dolls, so I’m not holding out much hope.)

If you get a chance to visit Tennessee, GO! You’ll love it!

My Colorado Pictures