Adler Planetarium sends Peep astronaut to edge of space!

Of course, they put the Peep astronaut candidates through rigorous training first, including a "centrifuge"...



Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Uncle Shannon!

Big birthday greetings to Uncle Shannon! We hope you have a great day!

Lawn mower-driving man charged with DUI

Alaska State Troopers used lights and sirens to apprehend a North Pole man accused of leading them on a slow-speed chase that covered several lawns.

Read the story here.

Part the Second-Camping with the Pucketts

We spent a long weekend camping with Gran, Gramps, and Uncle Jeff.  Although severe weather made for a few interesting nights, we all had fun!

Maia and Daddy enjoying the playground at the campground

What is this green stuff?

Maia loved crawling into this cubby in Uncle Jeff's trailer

Taking a dip in the lake

Our campsite

Summer Vacation 2008- Part the First

3 different hotels, 3 different rental cars, over 10,000 total miles traveled. Here are some highlights:

Maia's favorite in-flight entertainment: putting stickers on her head

Feeding the goats at Grant's Farm

Checking out the Clydesdales at Grant's Farm

FindAGrave.com

On our recent trip from Gulf Shores, Alabama back to the St Louis area, we decided to take I-65 up through Nashville. I realized as we were on the drive that this took us very near to Lincoln County, Tennessee, where my great-great-great grandfather John Washington Puckett was supposed to have been born (in Fayetteville). Not having any of the details, I decided that on our next trip down or back from Gulf Shores I'd have to stop by to track down birth certificates or grave sites.

Well, I was poking around on the Mormon genealogical site FamilySearch.com tonight, and discovered more details on his father, George Washington Puckett, my four-times-great grandfather. Namely, he died on March 30, 1888 in Blanche, TN (in Lincoln Co). Blanche was about 10 miles off of I-65 at the AL/TN border. So close! But, is the cemetery actually in Blanche itself? So I did a little more searching...

Lo and behold, I discovered the website FindAGrave.com. Or more specifically, I found this entry linked to the following picture:



That's right, I managed to find the headstone of my great-great-great-great grandfather in southern Tennessee, without leaving the comfort of my living room in Anchorage, AK. Click on the "Blanche Cemetery" link and then search for surname Puckett, and you'll find 3 others there, including his second wife, Martha E. (James) Puckett. However, my genes come through his marriage to Eleanor Jane Van Hooser (Elenorah Von Houser?), who died two years before he married Martha. Where is she buried? Good question. Someone else's family tree says she also was buried in Blanche, but I can't find her gravesite.

Aren't the internets amazing?

It's 2am, I should be mowing...

So, how bright is it here in Anchorage in the middle of the night? Well, last night the sun got its farthest below the horizon (5.5 degrees) at around 2am. The same situation was true for y'all in St Louis at about 9pm last night, or 5am this morning! In other words, the darkest it gets up here is what you Midwesterners are seeing about 30 minutes after sunset, or 30 minutes before sunrise!

Updates to come

We've returned from 4 weeks in the lower 48. We have a ton of pictures to post, so stay tuned.