Cold Beers and Cheeseburgers

We decided to spend the day on the other side of the city, we wanted to go to bass pro, and we had some kitty's and a fish to check on. 

We were starting to get hungry and realized that we had a long drive home. 

While I was in personal training school, my teacher said when he went out, this was his favorite place to eat. We went for our anniversary last year, and we fell in love with some of the food. The burgers are AMAZING, but we really wanted to get some Tots. Ladies and Gents, I present: Cold Beers and Cheeseburger's. 

These are the tots, if you go you have to get them. Buffalo Chicken Tots are my life now. 

And of course, a bunch of people were dealing with snow at the time, so we had to grab a picture of that hilarious sign. 

Lake Pleasant:

Oh, Lake Pleasant.

I don't have any pictures from the first time we went, but C and I rode up on the bike, and it was amazing! We waded into the water, and had lunch at the BBQ place that floats on the lake. The only mishap was C stepping on a cactus!
The second time we went was for Fourth of July!
We rented a pontoon with our buddy Cyrus, and two camping spots, for fourth of July weekend.
The water was phenomenal, the boat was a blast. Camping...well camping included being run over by ants, seriously, it was like a horror movie, and smelling skunks in the middle of the night. All semi normal camping things, until you factor in the fact that it was JULY in PHOENIX and a million degrees.
It was so hot, we didn't even get any sleep. None of us. We eventually climbed in to the truck and turned the A/C on just to get an hour or so.

Once we got on the water though...it was all well worth it.



Look at those faces, those are happy faces!
We stayed on the water ALL DAY. Then we decided to make the drive back to our house to all sleep, so we would actually enjoy the rest of the weekend.

And enjoy we did. We were joined by a bunch of friends, and hung out drinking beer and chilling in the water. Then we watched fire works, from the boat.

Moose was not a fan though, and a storm was rolling in, and it was getting hairy. Cyrus was a total pro and handled the boat like no ones business,

That trip ended up being great, and one of my very favorite memories.
We also went with my MIL's side of the family while they were here!
It was not nearly as much as an ordeal, but the pictures are cute, so here.

Spouse Taxi:

The best day of my life. Er, second best day.

Yes, that IS me in a flight suit, thank you for asking!
Oh, you wanted to know about the silver hair in the background? That is my Dad, and yes, he does have the luckiest grey hair genetics in the universe.

Back to the flight suit though. When people with spouses graduate from B-Course they sometimes get to do a spouse taxi, the week of graduation. Since I was/am a spouse, I got a taxi.
No big deal, super casual.

Just kidding, super big deal, not casual AT ALL. (also, that is my babe of a mother, I know, we look alike).
I went through a go with my fellow B-Course spouses, so we sat through a briefing, learned about buttons to touch, not to touch, and definitely not to pull the lever that made the seat fly into the sky.

Afterwards I got all set up in my harness, and Chainsaw made sure I had ear plugs.

He is only a little invested in my long term hearing health.

You can't tell (okay, you can totally tell) but I was starting to get a little nervous. I wasn't the only one though, so it's okay. Mostly I was worried I was going to mess up my radio call.

I am going to take a moment and explain that the next three pictures are the best pictures from the whole day. It was time to buckle the bottom part of the harness.

"Okay guys, I can't get it myself"

Chainsaw heads over to assist, it doesn't go well. 
Alibi is forced to be the adult of the group and give us direction. While laughing hysterically.

Alibi was the IP in control of the jet, it was awesome, we had fun.


Dressed to Kill!

We taxied out to the runway, (I really hate rudder pedals) and once there, went into afterburner. That's fast y'all. It was amazing. 


Coming back from the taxi, it was super awesome, easily the best moment of my life. Well, second best.


Helmet Hair Hero Shot. (actual piece of artwork name)


Call sign:BARB. On my way to the danger zone.

Or Chainsaw and I's rehearsal dinner. Yes, our wedding rehearsal dinner was that evening, all the way across town. (our wedding was the day after his graduation.)

Bonus picture of him graduating, because YAY! 

Flying to Sedona:

You should know one thing about me, above anything else. I am afraid of heights. 
Yes, I, BARB, Wing Woman, girl who wanted more than anything to be a pilot when I was growing up, am afraid of heights. It is, quite honestly, my biggest fear, Ever.
I don't usually have a problem flying in airplanes, until turbulence is hit and then I am acutely aware how far we are off the ground.

So I decided to go for a ride in a Skyhawk II. Twice. 

Back seat, safe and sound, two Viper Drivers in the front, if something goes wrong, I am definitely safe.


Still in the back seat. Still safe.

Sedona! We flew into the airport and had delicious brunch. If you ever find yourself at that airport, eat, the, brunch.

This is where things get interesting.
I am obviously not in the back seat anymore.

If you are reading my blog, chances are, you know a little about air planes. Which means you also know two things. One, GA (general aviation) planes like this one, are small, which makes bumps seem big. Two, heat = bumpier air. If you did not already know those things, you do now,
We headed back in the afternoon, when it was heating up. It was bumpy. I was acutely aware of how far we were off the ground, and was breaking my husbands hand in the back seat. Still IT (the owner of that arm you see) let me attempt to fly. For about ten seconds before I had a heart attack.

Still, after that trip, I decided I wanted to go again for my birthday, and learn a little more. I freaking love air planes, so I will not be swayed.
I got to take off from the Glendale Airport, and it was the best day of my life (at the time, now its the third best.) I even got to fly some more. See:

There is a video of my take off, eventually I will post it, it's great.

However, soon my massive fear of heights kicked in, and I was done. IT got me to fly a few more times, briefly, but after a bit of a rough landing going into to Sedona, I had my fill.

It is safe to say I was not made to be a pilot, so my childhood dreams were probably right not to come true, but I love being up in the air, even if this post sort of makes it sound like I don't. I hope one day C and I own a plane. I love being in the sky and I hope I get to push myself a little farther.

Fly to Sedona, if you get the chance, eat brunch at the air port, it is a once (or twice) in a lifetime experience.

The Duce:

This is a blog about a bar. It is also about so much more than a bar. This is a blog about The Duce.
We first saw this place on Food Network before we moved to Phoenix, and dreamed of the day we would get to go to a place like that. (We lived in Enid, we had big dreams, okay?) Soon, we found out we would not only get to try a place like it, we would get to try that actual place, because we were headed to Phoenix for the F-16 B-course.

When we first moved here, we had to travel an hour across town to pick up a table for my craft room that I had bought off craigslist, and C surprised me by taking me here. We absolutely loved it, it was delicious!

After a while my cousin and her husband (call sign donut) flew out to visit us, and to take our engagement photos. We wanted to show them the awesome parts of PHX, so this is one of the places we took them too.



When you show up, most of the place does not have a roof, there is a little vintage air stream trailer you go up to, and order from. That is where they cook the food. The incredible, amazing, food. (meatball sub, chicken pot pie, that is all you need.) There are a couple different bars you can order old fashioned (through the decades) drinks from, a long with normal mixed drinks and beers.


On the other side of the building there are some old bleachers, a place to play cornhole, and some tables. There is also a genuine olde fashioned soda fountain. This is where you go to get an alcoholic milkshake.


When we went for our friend Magnet's birthday, D had a long table reserved for our party, right next to the boxing ring.
No, dear internet reader, you did not imagine that incredible sentence.

Yes, that is a boxing ring.

Where you can get.....

Boxing lessons.

Yes. Boxing lessons.

The Duce is not just delicious food, bar, and dance floor. It is also a gym. They have weights, yoga, and boxing lessons.

Go.