Happy Birthday to One of the Happiest People I Know

(One more post....
then officially on BLOG BREAK :)

Today is my husband's birthday, one of the happiest people I know. He is incredibly blessed to have achieved so many of his dreams. He really is a happy man, and he would be the first to admit this if you were to ask. I know I am in there too somewhere (blush, blush), but that's a another topic for another time. 

Favorite photo of Vince and me, and the RV8. St. Maries, Idaho

Foremost on his mind has always been his desire to fly and a passion for aviation, as a young boy, a teen, and as the man I married at 19 (he was 20). It was a long struggle getting his pilot's license, interrupted by jobs, school, raising a family, home repairs, remodels, car, boat and RV repairs, etc. He also reads and edits the fiction I am writing and hope to publish one day. He has a heart for middle grade and young adult fiction, especially for troubled youth who were unfairly treated and are struggling to overcome the odds. To give you some idea, he read the Harry Potter series twice!

So is it any wonder it took twelve years to build an airplane in our garage? (Yep....that's right, in our garage :-).

But as the pilot's license eventually became a reality, so too did the plane he labored over and eventually flew. He soloed in 2009.

Here is the RV8 in 2007. The wings are hanging upper left. I helped with the riveting and did the upholstery, but Vince did everything else. It is still amazing to me an airplane was built in our garage. The boys in the neighborhood would stop by to visit and just drool. One boy even went on to get his pilot's license and became an instructor. He is now training in Montana to be a missionary pilot 

 

Vince at 14

There have been other accomplishments of note . . . finishing his
degree in his forties, a university career (he is about to retire), teaching computers in Malaysia for one year, and playing classical guitar, but flying and owning an airplane have always been somewhere at the top. If you have ever doubted that dreams can be achieved, he is the perfect example they can be.  

Happy Birthday Vince!!

Copyright 2014 © Sharon Himsl 

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

Day Trip to Joseph, Oregon

Vince and I took a day trip to Joseph, Oregon with friends on Sunday, a 30 minute flight from where we live (three hours by car). Vince built this RV8 in our garage over a twelve-year period and flew it for the first time in 2009. It was quite a project and I even learned how to rivet!! Someday (hopefully soon) it will be painted blue and white.  

Joseph Airport is one mile from the town of Joseph. 
We saw this old barn along the way.

Joseph is named after Chief Joseph, a famous Nez Perce Indian chief. (me on left)

Vince with friends Cathy and Mike (they have an 
RV7 that Mike built!)

Wallowa County Museum. ~Sigh~ CLOSED

 

Vince and me (Joseph has beautiful bronze statues everywhere). Too bad most of the shops were closed. After walking around, we ate dinner at a restaurant in a nice outdoor setting and flew home.

Weather was great, but a little bumpy flying in!

Be sure to check out Cathy's blog for more pics! http://wordsworldandwings.blogspot.com/