Ted Says Goodbye To SkillsUSA

Although Ted didn't make it onto the Skills floor on the last day of competition, he was there in spirit!

Here is the carpentry competition, an old favorite for us because my grandpa was a carpenter and a wood shop teacher.

Masonry is one of my (Julie's) favorite competitions to watch. Some of the students handle their mortar with such grace, its mesmerizing!

Ted made a stop at the Knute Rockne memorial in KC. I am told that someone we are related to knew him!

The sight of this Kansas rainbow had Ted singing "Somewhere...over the rainbow...way up hiiiigh!"

Ted stopped for ice cream at Braum's. You can read more about Braum's history and even get recipes at http://braums.com

As Ted left KC for home, he stopped to pay his respects at the Oklahoma City National Memorial

• The memorial honors those who lost their lives in the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19,1995
• The Memorial features eleven different segments:
• The Gates of Time: Twin bronze gates frame the moment of destruction (9:02) and mark the formal entrances to the Outdoor Memorial. 9:01, on the eastern gate represents the last moments of peace and 9:03 on the western gate represents the first moments of recovery
• The Reflecting Pool: Visitors seeing their reflections are seeing "someone changed forever by what happened here"
• The Field of Empty Chairs (pictured below): 168 empty chairs made of glass, bronze, and stone represent those who lost their lives, with a name etched into the glass base of each. The chairs represent empty chairs at the dinner tables of the victim's families. They are arranged in nine rose for the nine floors of the building, with each person's chair on the row(floor) on which the person worked or was located when the bomb went off. The five westernmost chairs represent five people who died but were not in the actual building. 19 small chairs represent children who died. Three unborn children died with their mothers and their names are listed beneath their mothers on their chairs.
• The Survivors Wall (also pictured below): The only remaining portions of the building are the southeast corner and part of the south wall. The wall includes several panels of granite salvaged from the building itself, inscribed with the names of more than 600 survivors from the building and surrounding area, many of whom were injured in the blast.
• The Survivor Tree: an American elm on the north side of the Memorial was the onyl shade tree in the parking lot across the street from the building. commuters arrived early to get a spot under its branches. The tree is over 100 years old and survived not only the blast, which ripped most of its branches off, but also the investigation, when workers wanted to chop it down for evidence. Seeds from the tree are planted and the saplings are distributed each year on the anniversary of the bombing.
• The Memorial Fence: A chain link fence was erected around the Reflecting Pool and Field of Empty Chairs to protect them from damage. Mementos left by visitors at the fence are periodically collected, cataloged, and stored.
• Rescuers' Orchard: A grove of Oklahoma redbuds, Amur Maple, Chinese Pistache, and Bosque Elm trees are planted around the Survivor Tree
• Children's Area: 5,000 hand painted tiles form all over the US and Canada were made by children and sent to Oklahoma City after the bombing. Most of the tiles are stored in the archive, but a sampling is on the wall in the Children's Area. Chalkboards are provided where children can express their feelings.
• And Jesus Wept: St. Joseph's Catholic Church erected a sculpture of Jesus weeping on a corner adjacent to the memorial. The church, one of the first brick-and-mortar churches, was almost destroyed by the blast.
• Journal Record Building: North of the memorial is the Journal Record building, which used to house the offices of The Journal Record. It now houses the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum. Staff of the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism work here to spread knowledge of terrorism and its prevention.
• ALfred P. Murrah Federal Building Plaza: The plaza is an original part of the federal building which includes a garden and seating areas and a playground for the daycare center. The original flagpole is still used for the American flag.

Ted is almost home! I am almost caught up, so bear with me!