Steel Commanders

    Today, September 4th, 2021, will be forever remembered as the first time we've seen military tanks in person!

    I being an avid lover of WW2 history, I've always wanted to see tanks in real life. I knew there were tank museums around the world, one of the largest and most famous being THE Tank Museum in England, but I never came across any near by. That is until we talked with a hobby shop owner and he told us that a tank museum in Virginia was having their last flamethrower demonstration on the 4th of September! As soon as I got home I googled the museum's name, The AAF Tank Museum, and found out they were less than 1hr and 45min away! And when Mom said we could go, I nearly lost my mind!

    Fast forward to today, we drove up to the museum with our neighbor and some friends who were meeting us there. Pulling up to it, we were immediately met with an M113 Armored Personal Carrier. After we parked and went to the restroom, the moment came. We walked down a short hallway and came into Room 1 of 3.

    If you were to walk into a warehouse full of gold that was all yours, you can imagine your reaction. Now replace the gold with over a hundred tanks and artillery, hundreds of small arms and machine guns, and literally tens of thousands of WW2 insignia, unit badges and photos...and have the same reaction. That was me. It was extremely hard to follow the "don't raise your voice" rule at that moment. I stood gaping, looking back and forth from a German Pak 40 Anti-tank gun, 3 US M3 "Long Tom" Howitzers, a US M18 Hellcat, and the other tanks to our left that, at the time, were to far away to be recognized accurately.

    Room 1 consisted of full sized dioramas of tanks and large artillery pieces, including the ones stated above, a Soviet T-72, a US Cobra Helicopter, an RC Tank arena, some '50s Cadillacs, photos from WW2, two or three M113s, an M3 Bradly Fighting Vehicle Simulator Turret that we could all go inside, and many other dioramas from various wars. 

    Room 2 was what I dubbed the "Hall of Tanks." It was lined on both sides with DOZENS of tanks, trucks/armored cars, and self-propelled guns. Some of my favorites were the German Panzer Mark IV, The only US Sherman M4A3E8 "Easy Eight" with an M2 bulldozer still in existence, a large 6in Self-Propelled Howitzer with a squirrel on the barrel😂, ALL of the over 10 M48 or M60 Patton Main Battle Tanks, a WW2 Soviet T34/85, and literally everything else in that room! This is also where we got to meet the "Bicycle Man," we guess he is a Vietnam Vet. He rides around in his 3 wheeled bicycle announcing when events are taking place, and also having fun directing us on how to pose for a silly photo!

    The flamethrower demonstration was coming up, but we had time to explore the smaller Room 3 before hand. This room had a WWI French FT17 Tank! Also in the room were M3 Bradlies, M113s, Jeep Willies, and other Cold War era vehicles. There was also a 14 or 16in shell in the room you could sit on, so we obviously had some fun with that!

    Finally, the moment had come...FLAMETHROWERS! This was done outside of Room 2. My first surprise was the 3 zones of viewing, warm, hot, and melt. I went into the hot zone and Titus and our friend were crazy enough to go into the melt zone. After the "If you get hurt it's not our fault" speech, the gentleman told us about the 2 flamethrowers showcased. One was WW2 era and the other was from Vietnam. He then told us that they would only be on 70% power, which I thought was strange at first, seeing the movies (which usually exaggerate everything) showed them being rather small. He then said, "Hey people in the melt zone, last warning. Bye!" And the flamethrowers were aimed at their target, a mannequin in a 'house' with a pink umbrella, cabinets, a few chairs and other items.

    If you've ever stood next to a bonfire, you know how hot it is. Now multiply that by 2 (if not more) and have that suddenly thrusted at your exposed face and eyes in a split second. And at the same time, a 20 foot tall fireball turns the 'house' into a smoldering ruin with just a few "only 70%" bursts. I've never been so scared in my life! I couldn't talk for a good 2-3 minutes after that😂! After the canisters ran out, we all got to take photos with the flamethrowers before heading back inside.

    There was one part of the museum that we had yet to explore, the uniform rooms. These rooms were full of authentic uniforms, boots, hats, helmets, insignia, badges, etc., from WW2. They even had a real uniform of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in one of the rooms! A startling moment came for us when we walked into a room filled with Swastikas. In the back was a diorama with authentic Schutzstaffel (S.S.) Officers' uniforms and clothing of Concentration Camp inmates. There was also a collection of a Brigadier General's complete collection of uniforms!

    The final room was the hand-held weapons room. This room had all of the major small arms from WW2, and even some from other wars in the 20th Century! My favorites were the M1A1 Thompson "Tommy" Submachinegun, the German Panzerschreck (their version of the Bazooka), the M1 Garand, and the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, or BAR gun.

    Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. We toured the gift shop (with prices that were actually just as good as online shopping🤔) and headed out. As we left, I looked over my shoulder at the smoke from the 2:45pm flamethrower demonstration, which was underway, and my favorite band's new single came up on my playlist... Sabaton's Steel Commanders!

Flers–Courcelette showed the way

Evolution leading to El-Alamein until today

We're the first ones into the fray

Steel Commanders

Rule the battlefield-

Spearhead Flanders

Tankers leading the-

Storm of panzers

Battle calling the-

Steel Commanders!

Written by Jared A. Otto

Old and New

Amber was given a great gift 33 beautiful porcelain dolls.  She has decided to keep 13 and to gift the others to her friends.  We are very proud of her generosity.

Update:  After she gave dolls to all her special friends, we gave the others to two families where finances were tight, to give as special Christmas presents.

On August 21st, we finally gave up the ghost of getting a used car and bit the bullet to get a new car, another Honda Odyssey.  We negotiated price before they found the car and we ended up getting much more than we paid for.  We are so thankful to have a car that is both reliable and safe.  The Beast sold quick.  We sold it for a little less than we wanted.  The reason we did, was the guy was able to come that night with a notary and pay cash.  Chris said that was so convenient to just let him have it, so we did.  Since its white and has the black antenna fin on the back, we have named him "Bruce", after the Great White Shark in Jaws and Finding Nemo.

Sylvan Bird Center

 

This park has been on my bucket list of places to visit for a while. It's a 1.75 hour drive so it takes a bit of a commitment to plan.  However, when we were watching the kids bowl last Tuesday my friend brought it up and suggested we go this week.  She called while we were at the alley arranged for the school discount and a field trip was born.

I'm extremely pleased to say we were not at all disappointed by the park.  Apparently, it started as the world's largest private collection of birds and his friends suggested opening it to the public and the park came into being (Like Leu Gardens).  I was amazed at the incredible variety of birds and how up close and personal so many of them were.  When we were in one aviary, this huge spoonbill came flying right at us on the fence and hung out for a bit. 

Chris thought he was making friends with the Crown Victorian Pigeons, ie "Crown Vics" as he called them in the one aviary but when we went to another, these birds will lift their wings straight up and then slap you with them when you come too close, an effective deterrent.  

I am always happy to sing to a Kookaburra and TooCans are fun as well.  

In this aviary Lance fell in love with the "cute little yellow birdy" hopping around the floor, Chris got one the birds to match his "dance" in here as well, much to everyone's amusement.

Titus enjoyed the variety of ducks (video link)and Amber liked the flamingos.  The cranes of various kinds made quite the racket when they started "yelling" at each other, they always remind me of a family favorite "The Wheel on the School".

However, the "Landing Zone" where you could hold and touch the birds was the obvious favorite. 

Jared was mirroring a Cockatoo in there as well and it absolutely drove the bird nuts.  Jared really misses having a pet bird, but understands a bird would not live long in our current house arrangements, so glad he got this time to spend with them.

Music in the Air

This Spring the boys tried something new.  They joined the Church Choir.  It was a unique experience and now they can check that box as done.

Tonight, Jared's Spring Recital couldn't be held at the normal location, so we had it at a local community center.  Good thing we arrived early, as Dad and Lance had to lift the piano up onto the stage.  The piano was old but Jared still managed to make it sing.  Click here to listen to him play "The Old Rugged Cross" and "Fur Elise".

He Went Yard! It's a Dinger!

Whatever slang you want to use it was incredibly awesome and a long time in the waiting!!!!

Today, during a Canes tournament against a Florida Juco team Lance didn't just hit his first HOME RUN but he hit a GRAND SLAM!  I was in shock at first, I couldn't follow the ball well with the cloudy skies, then I saw the outfielder stop running and slump.  I asked to the general audience "Did it go over?!" and got back a loud "YES!!!!!"  I felt silly but I started dripping tears of joy!  Here's the video of the whole event.  He looks so professional, like he's done it a million times before, but it you look closely you'll see my little boy, in his big body, skip and do a small fist bump as he rounds second base.

Chris was listening to the game on the computer and he calls to get the details; totally overwhelmed with emotion as well.  Since Frank had come to the game I joked with him he was now required to attend all games.  Chris estimates that it went about 350 and he only scooped it.  One of his teammates who wasn't playing at the time went and found the ball the brought it to him.  

When we came home the house erupted again, they had made posters and Jared had already texted a bunch of people, we were all so truly excited to see him step ever closer to his dream of playing the MLB today!

Memoir and Movies

Jared's "Sweet 16" involved spoiling him with all the favorites we could think of during the week.  His choice in food each night (special treats included) and control of the evening entertainment.  I must say he chose very well.

Movies we watched:

• Sully
• Aladdin
• Darkest Hour
• Ford v Ferrari (Fabulous movie that was an instant family favorite)
  
• Here Comes the Boom

Memoir '44 was the center piece of game play.  Everyone played him at least once at his favorite game and he was in hog heaven win or loose.  

This wasn't the Sweet Sixteen I originally planned, but everyone seemed to be sick this year so we came up with a Plan B.  In the end, Plan B may have been the better choice after all.  Jared had a wonderful week and so did we all.  Everything about or around Jared has always been super special and this birthday was no different.  We pray the Lord will bless him with not only health but success in all he desires in the coming year.  We thank the Lord for the Blessing of precious boy.

 

 

Turn-about Can Be Fair Play

We hit the ground off running, after we got back from vacation on Friday we had an airsoft party at our house on Saturday.

Airsoft is the one time its okay to turn on your friends...that is assuming they are on the other team (Poor Bush - "Fire at Will").

Kimberly came over to keep Amber entertained and to balance out all the testosterone flowing around the the house.  The battles started around 10am and waged into night, ending around 8pm.

At one point some of the boys got a little nutty and went "Vietnam Style" ie. shirts vs. skins.  The later quickly realized their decision was painful. Jared added to the fun with a sign marking "The Ruins" in Russian.

HH Spring 2021

We left Sunday after services in our fancy rental car, a huge roomy Suburban. The Beast nearly stranded us the last two trips, we weren't taking another chance.  Going from 2003 to at 2021 was a huge technological jump and Chris had a lot of fun with "Look kids No Hands" as he tested out the "Lane Assist" option.  We also brought another family member this year, Holly. 

As soon as we arrived, the kids quickly unloaded, were greeted by the carp and then they headed off to Miss Beth's; Chris and I left to get pizza and groceries.  At the grocery store, Chris was accosted and given a fist bump by a perfect stranger for being man enough not to wear a ridiculous mask.  At Miss Beth's, Titus picked up a skim board (it had been on his bucket list for a while).  After dinner we enjoyed our first of many enjoyable walks along the beach.  We saw a lot of wildlife, Cannonball Jellies, Blue Crabs, Horseshoe Crab and Great White Egrets. When we rejoined the kids Chris helped Amber with her Boogy boarding.  Then we returned home to chill out to watch "Over the Hedge".

Monday morning Lance was up bright and early and managed to hook the 30lb Carp "Of Knowledge" outside our condo.  It was so heavy it bent the hook and spit it out.  Then it was off to the beach where Titus quickly mastered his skim board.

 

It looked like so much fun that the big boys had to get their own boards at Miss Beth's after we ate lunch at our favorite Greek restaurant. We carried the boards over to the Pirate park, where my kids entertained all the other kids :-)

Back to the beach to try out the skim boards and fishing.  Even Chris gave the boards a try and managed not to hurt himself.  Lance caught on like Titus, Jared decided it was more fun to float with the fishies.

Lance caught a Whiting and a Sting Ray.  A well meaning woman tried to help flip the Sting Ray over with her hand, luckily Lance stopped her in time.  (Lance has to put it on its back, step on the tail to remove the hook, then use his pole to flip it back over to keep distance between him and the barb).  After that excitement we went back to the condo for a movie (Secret Life of Pets 2) and game time (Uno).

Tuesday, was the beach again in the morning, lunch at the Sandbar, a visit with Miss Beth, Pirate Park, back to the beach, and watch a movie (Secret Life of Pets 1)....do you see a trend. 

Wednesday, we decided to try out Legendary Golf, a family run put-put place that had a neat biblical quote at every hole.  We split into two groups:  Chris and the Ladies vs. The Boys.  One group was there to have fun Yin/Yanging their way through the course, the other group was a bit more competitive, I'll let you guess which group was which.

Afterward, we filled up on Greek food and returned to the beach, where we walked and played with the Coquinas.

Then we returned to our condo and watched Ice Age.  This was followed by returning to the beach for some night fishing (caught another Whiting and 3 Catfish) and star gazing.  As we were walking along, Jared voiced he didn't realize how much he needed vacation.  The beach is so healing.

Thursday, we were back at the beach playing walking and fishing.  Lunch at the Sandbar and "Goodbyes" to Miss Beth and Maverick.

After the park we took a break indoors to watch Mary Poppins and then went back to the beach for an evening ball game, walking and fishing.  This time Lance caught a Sharp Nose shark and an actual Scalloped Hammerhead.

Friday, we did our exit from the beach a little different.  We'd met the manager of a breakfast restaurant and decided to eat there for breakfast, rather than to scavenge for left overs.

We did well disconnecting for the week.  I hope to keep the momentum going when we return home.  Frankly life is better without a lot of electronics.  Highlights of the week voiced in the car on the way home were:  Learning to skim board - kite surfers - cute kids at park - loss of speech "fire farters" and "taco cranes" - jets and coast guard.

She's Blooming!

My peonies is not the only thing blooming and beautiful at my house this week.  Amber (who took the photo above) had here Ballet III recital today.

She is growing into such a beautiful young lady, she is learning pose and self control but she's still my joyful little girl.

 

She performed wonderfully on stage today.  She is so proud to be moving up to Ballet IV in the fall.  Here's the video of her performance.....

 

Progress, Festivities, and Field of Dreams

Chris fixed the front faucet! This may seem like a little thing but it was a big deal, we haven't had a working faucet out front in a long, long time.  This will make so many things from gardening, to cleaning stuff so much easier.

GP-Frank's birthday was a great excuse for lasagna and spice cake, but also to celebrate friendships.

The theme of the Spring Dance was - Narnia.  This gave Jared an excuse to wear the costume he'd gotten for a play he never performed last year, Chris dressed as the professor, Lance and Titus as cowboys "to take care of horses" and Amber and I just dressed up :-).  The result was the best family picture we've had to date.  

Progress was made on the train room, new trains, tracks, electricity and details.  Lance worked with and helped out Mr. Dill too.  Looking forward to what they do next.

Baby birds were born and fledged from two our nest boxes; Wrens and Bluebirds.

All these activities led up to today, the last day of the Homeschool State Tournament and the last day of the Storm 2021 Season.  Chris is an awesome coach and they both enjoyed being with the Storm this Spring.  Three years down, only one more to go.