I just realized I don’t have my MIPs (Most Important People) on my website : my family! I really do have a family, and they are so important that they changed my whole life/career path. I moved to eastern Oregon for, of course, my husband Kevin. I taught him to fly years ago when I was living in Troutdale, Oregon. He and his two buddies were quick studies and learned to fly in record time. Turns out, Kevin started driving tractor as a fifth grader and the plane was just another piece of machinery.
- Lake Louise, Canada
My girlfriend, Cathy, from Minnesota came out to visit me years ago. We sat in the living room talking while Kevin moved every truck, combine and tractor. They were perfectly lined up afterwards, and Cathy asked him if he was having fun with his Matchbox toys. He said he was changing the oil, but it looked as if he just drove them around all day for fun.
My daughter, Darcie, studied Marine Biology at OSU. She married Chris Eckert at the Newport Aquarium in 2007. My girlfriend from Japan, Akiko, and her family even came from Japan for the festivities! Darcie was over at the coast at the Hatfield Marine Science Center. You can check out her activities at http://hatfield2007.blogspot.com/
Then she and her husband, Chris, went to Vanuatu with the Peace Corps. Vanuatu is near Figi – one of the Survivor episodes was filmed there. Now she is in New Zealand milking cows.
Colton, our son, loves four wheeling, basketball, basketball cards, pole vaulting and working on his pickup. Oh, and don’t forget video games, the internet and friends. And building things in the shop, like scooters and gas-powered cars. He’s online, welding, on PGE’s website: roadtobiglow.com. You can see the windtowers being trucked to our place, and if you click on the farm it shows my husband and our farm. Now he’s at OSU studying engineering and having a great time, but not too great I hope 
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My mom lives in Florida, as do my two brothers, Jim & Ken. They’re both married with great wives, but their kids are dogs. Seriously. Jim and his wife, Carla, have a pug named Rudy. Ken and his wife, Bonnie, have wiener dogs. My mom has a Cairn terrier named Ruffy, so family reunions are, well, different!
The rest of my family is scattered around the country, along with all my friends. Flying domestic was always fun, too, because I had friends in every city. When I was a flight attendant for rock groups years ago it was great because I could get my friends and family backstage passes! It was so fun to be backstage, even though I was never a groupie. I flew with America; Crosby, Stills & Nash; Poco, Commodores; Elvis Presley‘s band (on the day he died) and Bad Company. I wish I had flown Dan Fogelberg and I am so bummed that he died this month (12/2007). I loved his music.
