Christmas Parade
I forgot to post these pictures last time. T and I went to our first parade in Pensacola, the Christmas parade. We got some hot apple cider and looked at the downtown lights until the parade started. Then, we only stayed for a float or two and a band, then we headed home. It was way too cold! Plus, Tobin’s a little sick and we were both tired.
Lights downtown!
The street before the parade. There was a Christmas Dash before the parade, we got to watch all the crazy runners go by, some in fun Christmas outfits and lights…and lots of kid runners.
Here’s a little of the parade. We left pretty soon after.
I love the holidays! Merry Christmas!
Cookie Exchange
I’ve been attending a weekly book club (this time we’re reading “Marley and Me”…which has turned out to be a very good book), and this Monday we’re having a cookie exchange. I made candy cane cookies from one of Jacque’s recipes. Tobin helped with the candy cane topping; these are ready to go into the oven!
While I was doing that, Tobin made some homemade root beer. It was really good, although we were nervous to try it at first. The root beer concentrate smells very strongly! But it turned out pretty well.
Tobin fixed the tree a little, adding a blanket around the bottom that helped to make it look not too crooked. Oh, and my project at work wasn’t canceled after all, so I will have something to do over Christmas shutdown. 
Tobin’s doing well and will report for muster on Monday. And on January 2nd, I’m getting my wisdom teeth removed. 0o
Hope everyone is doing well and ready to celebrate Christmas! We’re getting the last of our shopping done and the bottom of the tree is looking better and better. Time for dessert, I’ll update more later.
ASBC
We’re all done with ASBC. Tobin’s graduation should be completed by now, and he’ll be heading home in a couple of hours.
Musings
Some people you just want to kick in the head.
And some things you wish had heads so you could kick them.
So, one of my projects at work may or may not be canceled for the moment. I’ll find out tomorrow. It was basically what was going to get me through Christmas shutdown, so now I’ll have to be creative. I bet I could get that long hallway really clean and slippery and wear some thick socks. Yup. That has definite possibilities.
I’ve been house shopping lately. Not because we’re moving, really. Just because the prices are so good right now. And because I think I inherited Mom’s thing for houses. I’ve also been dog shopping lately. Not that we’re allowed to own one right now. Just because I love them and they’re cute. And because I think I had to balance out Mom’s thing against dogs. And all those people who are allergic to them.
Big toys at work:
It’s totally glowing, isn’t it?
I’m bored.
In Which We Give a Chubby Little Tree a Good Home
One might think that in the warm southern climate of Forida, no Christmas trees can grow. But, after a nice long drive into the country (we were almost in Alabama…), we found ourselves at Whispering Pines, a cute little family-run Christmas tree lot. I was so excited! We were walking through a lot full of Christmas trees growing in what looked like pure sand, and we weren’t even freezing! However, it didn’t take us long to realize that all the true Floridians had arrived well before us…months before us…to put a hold on their trees. Their perfectly straight, no-gaps in the branches, fully-grown trees. We were sadly unprepared for this turn of events. So, we Northerners wandered the lot from corner to corner until we found a suitable, slightly dwarfish specimen. Most of the other trees were so thin, that even at 6 feet tall they looked pretty small. But this tree was actually roundish and filled out, and I liked him. So we cut it down and balanced it on our Prizm’s roof with some straps to haul up front. Isn’t it beautiful? My little Prizm’s a beast!
Once we got it up front, this little guy that acted like a fully grown man hauled our tree away and shook the needles free and baled it for us. He was so cute! This is our baled and shaken tree, tied firmly to the roof. Now we just had to get it home without all the needles blowing off.
It wasn’t until we got the tree home and upright in the tree stand that another flaw stood out. See if you can tell by the picture.
If you can’t, I’ll just tell you…our little tree is a tad lopsided. But there he is in all his glory! It was very fun to put the decorations on it; we had more than I thought, since Tobin has a small collection from all through his childhood. A few of my Mom’s ornaments and some from Carol went on the tree as well. Oh, and we bought some cool new LED lights for the tree. They’re so bright and fun! Below is our festive fireplace.
And this is a shot that Tobin took. Isn’t it pretty?? We used some of our wedding candle holders to decorate with.
And here are the lights from the outside. It’s a blurry picture, but it was the brightest of all the ones I took. It was quite a fiasco to string the lights, since we didn’t have quite the right electrical connections. But Tobin figured it out, and it turned out pretty well.
In other news, Tobin is almost done with ASBC (FOUR MORE DAYS!!), then he will be home for quite a while. I’ll be so glad to have him home. We’re looking forward to Christmas already!
Montgomery
I spent the last weekend in Montgomery with Tobin in his little apartment. It was mostly an uneventful drive there and back, except for the part where I got lost and had Tobin directing me over the phone while I was driving a stick and trying to look at my paper directions. I made it, though! After that, all was going well until the Ohio State-Michigan game, which as you all know didn’t go very well for us. Tobin was happy, though. Maybe next year, guys!
Despite what I was told, there really are some very cute parts of Montgomery, and Tobin and I got to see them a bit on Saturday and Sunday. We went to the movies one evening, and we watched Bolt. It was hilarious! I loved it, and the picture was absolutely amazing. We are even more tempted to get a big screen, hi def TV now. And a Blu-ray player. Again, maybe someday.
There were Christmas decorations up and Christmas music playing…sure gets me in the mood for the holidays! We have some pictures, but I don’t have the camera with me, so that will come later.
I can’t wait to have my Tobin home and not in a tiny apartment miles away, microwaving pizzas for dinner.
Looooooong drive coming up tomorrow; fam, we’ll be seeing you soon!
Holidays
Tomorrow, ALABAMA! I’ve never stopped in Montgomery for any length of time. Tobin and I are going to go exploring to see what we can find; and I’m going to live on my first Air Force base for a few days. We did stop in at Eglin once to get Tobin some rank, but that’s the only other AF base I’ve ever been on.
I have been in green belt training all week, and tomorrow is our catapult competition. We have been reducing the variability in our shots for both training weeks, so tomorrow we get to compete and then present. Our catapult is the least altered, but we were tied for first in the trial run yesterday. We’ll see how tomorrow goes! It is also the company Thanksgiving lunch. Mm mm, turkey and ham!
And in a few days, I will drive up to Montgomery again, pick up Tobin, and drive on up to Michigan for Turkey Day.
Project Update
Wow, what an awful, awful presentation. Hopefully the next stage will go better. I don’t feel like I know how to fix it, but hopefully I will.
Weekend #2 with Tobes
Although I seem to feel every minute and hour go by oh-so-slowly during the week, it sure makes the time on the weekends I get to share with my husband feel significant . I don’t want to take for granted even a minute that I have with him. I’ve learned how inadequate a phone is; it sure is nice to not depend on one conversation to set the tone for the rest of my night.
Another Wonderful Weekend
ASBC is located on a base so close to me that Tobin can come home on weekends! He came back this weekend on Friday night; I was late coming home, because I was at a “girl’s night” event for the girls in our Bible study. We had an amazing weekend, getting lots of things on our to-do list done. Plenty of laundry/ironing/polishing boots and shoes, for Tobin’s uniforms (he does it all himself…isn’t he pretty much fantastic?). He gets his completed new uniform on Tuesday, so he won’t have to wear the borrowed one anymore. Oh, and Tuesday is Veteran’s Day, so he gets a day off from ASBC. He won’t be coming home, since it’s only a day, but I’m glad he’ll catch a break. Maybe he can go exploring in Montgomery.
Ok, on Saturday, we went to an O.A.R. concert that we won tickets for from a radio program. We were reeeally low on gas, so we got off the highway early and ended up in a shady part of town, but eventually we found our way. The pictures we took of the aircraft carrier (or maybe it was a battleship??) didn’t turn out because it was too dark, but I posted one of the band. It was fun, and some guy who knew Tobin sat next to us! It was another person from the military who went to IFS with T. Random, huh? We run into a person we know in Mobile, AL, and I never see someone we know, from work or church or anywhere, even when I’m shopping in good ole Walmart back home!
This week is kind of looming in front of me, since I have to finish up the next part of my project and give a presentation not this Monday but the next. Yikes!
It was hard to let Tobin go today, but I’m so thankful I’ll see him again this weekend. Thanks for all of your support, family!
Oh boy
We got a phone call yesterday telling Tobin to be in Montgomery, AL today for ASBC (don’t remember what that stands for, except another 6 weeks of training). We’ve been kind of in shock since then, and he’s leaving very soon to drive up there. It’s a 2 hour 45 minute drive, so we are planning on seeing each other this time on the weekends, hopefully. We have that concert to go to this weekend that we won tickets for, and the next weekend is the air show that Tobin is supposed to be working. And Thanksgiving is nestled in there somewhere. Ah, the Air Force. It runs so smoothly. So anyway, just wanted to keep you all updated. Hope you have a chance to get out and vote today!
Happy Halloween
What a great weekend! We started off the weekend right after work, cooking for a Halloween get together with two other couples. One of the couples we know from training, and the other was Jesse and Melissa from Rose (Jesse was one of Tobin’s roommates). It was so fun! We handed out candy to trick-or-treaters (not too many though…we were surprised at how few), ate dinner, and played Cranium.
Jesse and Melissa stayed with us for the rest of the weekend, and we spent most of Saturday at the beach. We decided to hike to Fort Pickens, and actually didn’t get too many pictures of the fort; we were a little more preoccupied with the 14 mile hike. It wouldn’t have been too bad, but as you can see in one of these pictures, the road wasn’t exactly where it was supposed to be. So we hiked through miles of sand, and that wore us out! But check out the crab we found and the huge bird that I was convinced wasn’t real until it started walking! Also, we found a horseshoe crab skeleton.
Jesse bought a Crossfire, which is what the car picture is all about. It’s a pretty little car! Anyway, after our hike, we had a picnic at one of the pavilions. There’s a picture of us, but we’re all pretty worn out, as you can see.
Sunday was (is) relaxing, just going to church, heading to the beach and the base for a quick tour, and going to Applebee’s for dinner. Now the weekend is winding down, and we’re looking forward to a busy week. Tobin has a stash job now from 8-1 every weekday, so he will be pretty occupied. I have a presentation to give in two weeks and have to have a major portion of my project for work done by then, so I am kinda stressing about that! I think I can do it, though, so tomorrow will really be important for me in making some headway on this project.
Let us know how everyone’s Halloween went. We’re looking forward to Thanksgiving pretty soon here!
Welcome Home
Tobin is finally home from Colorado. I picked him up at the airport at about 7 PM on Wednesday night. He’s already finished his paperwork and found out that the next training date (for API) is February 23rd. So he has a nice, long break! He’ll probably have to get a stash job, but that’s a good thing, since it will help to keep him busy for those few months.
On Friday night, Tobin and I headed to Skopelo’s, a nice restaurant right on the edge of the bay. I wore the dress he bought for me in Italy – it was the first time I’d had an occasion to wear it! You can see the pictures of us below. Doesn’t he look good in his new clothes? Thanks, Em and Dan! I was glad to have your help picking those out.
The next two pictures are of the gifts Tobin got for me in Colorado. Aren’t they ADORABLE?? I love tiny shoes.
And, last but not least, we spent Sunday evening carving our pumpkins. Tobin’s way better at this than I am…sadly, our pumpkins are already dying and it’s not even Halloween yet! Enjoy the pictures…isn’t Tobin’s pumpkin SWEET?!
Oh, and this weekend, Jesse and Melissa from Rose are coming to visit us, YAY! We’re excited to have them for the holiday weekend.
He Passed!!!!!!
Tobin is officially DONE!!!! He completed IFS today by passing his check ride, and he’s planning to head to Colorado Springs tomorrow to fly back. He’s almost home!
Thanks, everybody, for all your support over the past five weeks. (that doesn’t mean you can just forget about us now, haha!)
Rumley side, can’t wait to see you for Thanksgiving!
Foiled Again
The weather decided not to cooperate once again. All flights were canceled for today. T’s check ride is rescheduled for tomorrow. I’ll let you know how that goes. Please keep him in your prayers!
Check Ride
Friday’s flight went well, so on Monday, Tobin has his final check ride and he is DONE!!!! We are slightly concerned about the weather; the forecast calls for a slight chance of rain that day. I really hope that isn’t the case. He’s almost home!
My green belt training week is over (the first one), and I won’t have the second for a couple more months, as we get going on our assigned projects. I should be an official green belt in about eight months!
This weekend should be fun. We have our Corporate Cup Games, a YMCA sponsored event where local businesses compete against each other in games and races. I’ll be piloting a raft or something like that….I didn’t sign up for it, kinda got roped in, but it’ll be a good time. And on Sunday, another military wife and I are meeting to make a dessert for a dinner the captain’s wife is putting together for us pre-API/API couples. (API is Tobin’s next training assignment) I’m excited to see Ashley again, since she headed off to IFS with her husband about 3 weeks before Tobin left, and I haven’t seen her since she left.
How’s everybody else doing? Sorry the weather’s so cold up north. Are all the pretty fall leaves out yet? That’s one thing I miss; not sure when any of the trees turn colors down here. About the only thing my trees are losing is their branches. They’re a tad on the rotten side.
I hope to have good news for you all on Monday!
Good News!
I had no idea, but Tobin double-turned again today! He also had a quiz. If he doesn’t need any extra practice flying, he will just have two flights left, the 605 on Friday and the check ride on Monday! I am SO excited! I wasn’t expecting to hear that he had flown twice today, but I am so glad he did.
Work is going well, and I am staying busy. This weekend, I was dragged into filling in for someone at our company games, so I will be at least piloting a raft on Saturday. I was also supposed to swim for the lady who can’t be there, but I told them I would drown, so hopefully I don’t have to do that.
Our company has both 6Sigma green belts and black belts, and I am going throught the green belt training. It’s manufacturing lean stuff, not office lean stuff, in my case. I am manufacturing support, so for my project I will be working on reducing scrap (we manufacture membrane, so the rolls produce a lot of scrap…it’s my job to figure out how to reduce that scrap for a specific belt/process).
How’s that weather up north? Are you still getting summer-warm temps? We’re definitely in the 80′s still, but occasionally it cools down to the 50′s at night. Hoepfully, T and I will still have a few visits to the beach left when he gets back. Later!
Another Solo!
Tobin did fly twice today. The second flight was another solo! He did well on both flights. We think he just has one flight tomorrow…but that means just five flights left in all, including the check ride. I’m hoping for at least one more double-turn, so that he gets done by Tuesday of next week. The weather looks ok out there, as long as the wind stays down. Another group came in a couple of days ago, so hopefully that will be good for expediting T’s group’s flights.
As for me, I’m in 6Sigma green belt training all week for work, trying to fit in my other projects around that training. It’s interesting, and I’m glad to be staying busy.
There’s your quick update! Let me know how you all are doing.
28 days and counting
Up, anyway. I don’t really have a countdown going anywhere, since I don’t know when Tobin will be coming back. But it’s officially been four weeks now…working on day #29. I’m ready for it to be over.
We got some disappointing news today. The weather decided to act up; Tobin was scheduled for a double-turn, but both his flights were cancelled. Everyone’s were, for the entire day. The guys have had a four-day weekend so far, and not of their own choice. But, tomorrow Tobin is scheduled to double-turn again, which is great! He has seven flights left. Please keep him in your prayers!
Family Weekend
This past weekend, Mom, Zach, Elyse, and Emily came to visit me! They drove down on Thursday and left Monday morning. It was so great to see them all! Emily had never seen my house before, so I got to show her around where we live now. It was a surprise to me that Emily was even there; Mom kept it a secret from me until she rang the doorbell of my house. Isn’t she wonderful???!!
Anyway, we spent a few days together, and the pictures below are from those few days.
#1: Emily and I at the park, sporting our shades. (Sorry, you northerners, it still gets in the mid 80′s during the day…we even hit the beach!)
#2: A cool action shot of Zilla catching the football. If you click on the picture, you can see the ball in the air still. He was playing catch with another kid from the park.
#3: Mom and I finished up the puzzle T and I have been working on forever. Guess we needed her help or we never would have finished it!
#4: What we saw at park #2 that we visited. Yes, those are two guys dressed up like knights, fighting each other. One was using a road sign as a shield. Hmm.
#5: A MOVIE of two guys dressed up as knights fighting each other. Doesn’t get better than this, folks.
Thanks for coming to see me, fam! I missed you, DadDanLukeLaceyGraceCalebAvaBetsey! Hope to see you for Thanksgiving.
September 27, 2008
Congratulations, Brian and Angela Sherman!
- Picture #1: Mr. and Mrs. Brian and Angela Sherman
- Picture #2: The ceremony was at a Catholic church. Isn’t it beautiful?
- Picture #3: Mike and Jacque, ready for the wedding.
- Picture #4: Sherman really likes Top Gun, so they played that theme music while the wedding party walked in to the reception, and they all were wearing aviators.
- Picture #5: Tobin went to Pike’s Peak, Garden of the Gods, and some caves this past weekend. Isn’t the scenery just beautiful?
- Picture #6: My guy. He’s pretty good looking, too.
Walking on the Beach
This week, I am attending AutoCAD classes downtown instead of going in to work. So, after class today, I went to the beach and took a hike towards Fort Pickens. That’s a seven-mile hike one way, so I didn’t make it (I’d be out there all night!) all the way, but it was a beautiful walk anyway. I saw little fish in some puddles, a crab, pelicans, and seagulls. The road that used to go to the fort was ruined in one of the hurricanes, so no cars are allowed back in the sand. However, an SUV passed me while I was out there; and, I walked by a white truck labeled “explosives” all over. Hm.
I am so proud of him! His ground school practice test is this Friday, and the final test is on Monday. After that, it’s mainly flying for him. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers!No rain and a little college football
The bug got washed, too, but I didn’t have pictures of that.
While I was at the post office today, there was a super long line. There was a guy waiting because something got messed up with his mailbox, and he was irate! He acted like a little kid, accusing some girl of cutting in line (which she didn’t), ranting while he was in line, then verbally attacking the lady he finally got to speak to while she tried to settle him down. Some people are babies, I swear. I waited in line, too, and got my package sent, and I didn’t cry even once! Sheesh.
This weekend, I am trying to fill every possible second with activity, so I am hoping that tomorrow it doesn’t rain, cuz then that means I have to do housework to stay busy; and it kinda feels like I’m in jail when that happens. I mean, the showers need cleaning…but who wants to really do that? Instead, I want to go hiking tomorrow down at the beach. Hope it stays nice out! Did you know Michigan doesn’t play this weekend? I may have to try to watch Ohio State get beat again, though. Sure was fun last weekend! Ha, I had to make sure T wasn’t watching that one, because I didn’t want him to be in a bad mood.
Next week, I don’t go into work even once! I have training classes downtown M-Th, then I’m off Friday to drive back to Ohio for a wedding. That weekend, I’m with the Bolton side; the following weekend, some of the Rumleys (Mom and the kids) are coming to see me!
Tweny-five(ish) more days until my baby comes home!
IFS
Tomorrow morning, I drop Tobin off at the airport for his flight to the IFS training camp. He’ll begin with ground school, which I’ve heard keeps the guys pretty busy. Then he gets to fly! He’ll learn maneuvers and how to take-off and land. The whole thing lasts about six weeks. It will be a great experience for him.
We spent this evening getting his bags packed. He has the coolest flight jacket, I will post pictures of him in it when he is in full uniform. Oh, and he got a pair of sunglasses…I’m not quite sure if they are aviators or not, but it’s good that he got them. He lost the last pair in the ocean this past weekend! He’ll be keeping me updated on what goes on at IFS, but only when he has free time. I’ll try to remember to post. He’ll have his laptop with him if you want to email him!