Happy Halloween

My Halloween Essentials

Carving a pumpkin

Roasting the pumpkin seeds

Having candy in the house

'It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'

Hot drinks: spiced tea

Cocoa

Cider

'Arsenic and Old Lace'

Passing out candy to trick or treat-ers

Harry Potter

Caramel Apples

'The Ghost and Mrs. Muir'

Baking Halloween cookies

...

HaPpY hAlLoWeEn

It's time to move ... AGAIN

In three years of marriage we will have moved three times! In my humble opinion, that's a bit much. However, our next stop should be for about four years, and I'm hoping we'll both fall in love with sunny Northern California.

Today I finalized our PCS (Permanent Change of Station) with TMO (Traffic Management Office)! They will be packing us up on December 3rd, and possibly December 2nd. Since our shipment is going straight to storage they are packing for crating right away, and that may take them more time. They are picking everything up on December 4th! So after about 16 months, we are saying goodbye to Vance AFB and Enid!

The only downside to this move, are the 4 months of time that Jared has to spend at Altus AFB in Southwestern Oklahoma. That means, at the earliest, we wont have a house or any of our stuff until sometime in April and probably later than that. So on top of getting ready to move I need to make some giant master lists of things we need to have packed and with us for those 4+ months of limbo.

But not today!

This is Jared's last night in the field at SERE! Hooray! And judging by the weather channel he's having warmer and drier weather for it. Tomorrow is going to be rough as he gets captured and put through 'simulated torture'. However, at the end of the day a big meal, a hot shower, and a real bed await him! (And I will be waiting for a phone call)! Continue to keep him in your prayers, he's still got 8 more days of events left from tomorrow.

Orders

I am amazed! After nearly a week of fighting just to get one of Jared's RIPs, it took them less than a day to process everything and email the final orders to me! I called TMO (the moving office) this morning to find out what I needed to do to set up our PCS (move or permanent change of station). I went in this morning, filled out paperwork, and have an appointment for tomorrow afternoon. However, our requested dates are to be packed up on December 3rd (Thursday) and picked up on December 4th (Friday). Jared will be out processed by the end of that Friday and ready to start C-17 school at Altus on Monday. YIPPIE!

So it looks like we've got just over a month left in good old Enid, America. I will be heading to Ohio while Jared heads to Altus, but he'll be home for Christmas and I will be flying out to visit him at least once before he graduates. And then, it's on to California!

I called the housing office at Travis yesterday as well. Apparently we can't even get on the housing list until we arrive and Jared checks in. Sigh! Not the news I was hoping to hear. However, because Jared is doing a TDY enrout (going to stop at another base for his school on the way to Travis) our eligibility date for housing in California will be back dated. So once we get on the list in March/April we should jump up pretty high because our eligibility date will be December 4, 2008 since that's when we're leaving Vance. Confused?! Yeah, me too.

But anyway, barring another paperwork disaster, things are falling into place and getting organized. And all Jared will have to do once he gets back from SERE is golf and out processes.

Keep praying for him as he enters the evasion part of the field training. Today and tomorrow they split off from their element group into pairs and have to evade their captors! But he's only got two more nights in the woods left.

Wings and Woods

The past few days have been fun, full and fast; All good things. Andy's graduation guests all came in on Wednesday and I've been busy ever since. His parents flew back out, this time with his sister, his cousin Jack, and his Uncle Jim and Aunt Faith.

Thursday was Andy's red carpet day. We had breakfast at 8:00am followed by the base tour: the Tower, RAPCON and Aerospace physiology. Lunch was Chili's and then it was an afternoon full of simulator rides. I opted out of the sims as I've done them before and wanted the other to have more time with them.


My Thursday afternoon consisted of finding the Major in charge of MPF since after 4 days I was no nearer to getting Jared's RIP. Astonishingly enough the RIP appeared the next morning. I shall have to remember to hunt out Majors sooner next time. I have kept his number as insurance against further problems since I'm not done with that office yet.


But back to Andy. Friday was graduation day. His ceremony was just as nice as Jareds. Very special and touching. I was so proud! (And I was also missing my husband very much! I know both boys were pretty bummed that he couldn't be there). The pictures below are mainly the ones we took of family after the ceremony. Everyone missed Jared very much, but I took video of Andy getting his wings for him.


We went out to Andy's favorite Enid restaurant, the Rib Crib, for lunch. Then we ventured over to the base bowling alley where the boys beat the girls very badly! I had no idea that Scott and Jack could bowl so well. Kimberly and I, both 'husbandless', were Andy's dates for the big dinner. Dinner was lovely, decorated all in red and white. We had a fabulous time. Just like Jared, it took Andy quite some time to break his wings! That is the last picture.


After dinner Kimberly, Jack, Andy and I went out for ice cream and shut down the local ice cream shop!


The rest of the weekend consisted of football, pizza and grandma's birthday cake and spending time with Scott, Cathy and Barbara. It was nice not having an empty house to rattle around in and those few days sure did go by quickly.

Now we are down to 12 more days of SERE, just about halfway done! Jared left for the field on Saturday (after managing to watch most of the Ohio State game!) and wont be back until late Thursday night. So until them we incommunicado. That has been most depressing! I think the last time he was at training that he couldn't use the phone for was field training... and it's been a while. Not at all fun! I assured Jared we would all be praying hard for him and for good weather and for an easy execution of the bunny rabbit and chicken.

I know how much I am looking forward to Thursday, so I can't imagine what he feels like!

Andy and I: showing off those wings!

Andy and his cousin Jack

Andy with his Aunt and Uncle

Andy with his family, minus Jared :(

Andy finally broke his wings!

Tuesday the 20th

Another day of SERE done! Jared is an element leader (one of the finer perks of being an officer...) and so is responsible for the airmen in his group. He's thrilled. (Please note all the sarcasm). He and his roommate are currently on their way off base to find some "real" food after the finish of their day.

After thinking I had all of Jared's orders and paperwork in hand yesterday, we realized that they had changed Jared's C-17 school dates! So now I am waiting for yet another set of orders to come through. Once they do, I have to get them signed, turned back in and then we really should have everything in order!

Jared's new Altus dates are December 7, 2009 - March 24, 2010. At first he was upset they had changed things (again) and he doesn't have a nice big break between Altus and our report date to Travis. But, upon further consideration it gives us some time to be together and relax before several long months apart. He'll be home for Thanksgiving, instead of having to drive back and forth, and really what is three more weeks?

Apart from running all over base, I did the grocery shopping, worked, and got in some reading today. I'm just about done with Harry Potter #3 (for the third or fourth time) and at this rate I'll have the entire series re-read by the time Jared is home!

Not high on my list of super exciting events, but none the less, today was also my one year anniversary at work. It's also the start of my last month there... :)

19 days...

until Jared is home! He started academics today. He called me at lunch; sounded fine but a bit bored. Who can blame him? Anyone would be bored after endless power point slides!

I got hold of MPF today and got them to email me Jared new training RIP. Now I just have to take it into the flight room tomorrow, get it signed, and then figure out a way for Jared to sign it, and return it to MFP. Then, hopefully, everything will be in order and they can cut Jared's PCS orders! (PCS = permanent change of station aka. our move to Travis).

Once I have those orders then I can make an appointment with TMO (the moving office) and get the date(s) for our pack up arranged. Yay! Hopefully they can have us packed and into storage the first of December. And then it's living out of a suitcase until April, or thereabouts. (Not so yay, but if it gets us out of Enid...)

So please be praying that paperwork goes through, that moving dates work out, and that Jared has a good and fast week of academics!!

Another kind of homecoming

And this one is exceedingly more special! Today my brother in law, Ryan, comes home after serving 10 months in Iraq! He is an MP with the Ohio Army National Guard, and spent a lot of time training Iraqi forces. Both Jared and I are unable to be at his homecoming in person; Jared due to Air Force training and I due to the insane cost of plane tickets and the fact that Andy graduates UPT this coming Friday. However, although not there in person, we are in spirit! We are so incredibly proud of the service, sacrifice and selflessness that Ryan has shown while he served, and that his wife (my little sissy) Abbie has shown while she held things together back home on her own! It has been a long 10 months for both of them, and we just want to say THANK YOU for all that they have both done for our great Country. God has been faithful and answered all our prayers for Ryan's health, safety and return home. We are so thankful!

However, I know that the homecoming is just the start of another hard task; that of acclimating back to civilian life for Ryan and being together as man and wife for both Abbie and Ryan. We will continue to pray for you both in these coming weeks. We hope that God will bless you with much love, support and understanding as you each get used to having each other around every day. What a wonderful adjustment to have to make!

Homecoming

No, Jared isn't magically home. Yesterday I took a trip to Stillwater, Oklahoma with a friend (and fellow 09-15 wife) whose husband is also gone at training. We went with some women she worked with last year at the elementary school on base. Since they are local Oklahomans they knew about a big annual event called Walkaround Stillwater. It is part of a big homecoming weekend for the Oklahoma State University. Here is a link with information and a few pictures.

http://www.stillwater-newspress.com/local/local_story_290000753.html

We ate at a local pizza shop called Hideaway Pizza. It was pretty good! I got a Mediterranean pizza with sun dried tomatoes, spinach, and various herbs/oil. Very tasty. From there we proceeded to walk all over the (wrong) OSU campus. It is beautiful! All old, red brick buildings, lots of large green areas, trees and flowers. Even a lovely little pond. The town surrounding the main campus is also very sweet and quaint.

The big attraction is the massive decorations set up in front of the various fraternities. They construct huge metal frames, cover them in chicken wire, and then stuff the wire with tissue paper. The finished product looks somewhat like carpet. This years theme was 'branded for life' and each decoration follows this theme, but they are all different. I know it sounds odd, but it is really quite impressive! The students work on these things from the first day of school on. There were also street vendors, fair food, carnival rides, etc. It was very fun!

We left about 2:30 and I was home by 9 o'clock. It was just nice to get out of the house, spend time with some lovely ladies and have fun!

Jared survived his parachute training yesterday, but is sore from being hoisted, dropped and dragged. He went out to dinner at a local steak house with his roommate and two other people who were in his UPT class that were already at Fairchild. One just came out of the field yesterday (he did not enjoy it, was very cold, etc.) and one enters the field today. Jared has the weekend off and is headed back into town with his roommate to watch college football today.

One night down

And only (only?!) 22 to go. Jared made it safely to Fairchild last night after 3 flights, one of which included a screaming baby in his row. He even managed not to lose any bags or paperwork. He and his buddy from Vance are rooming together which is nice.

Today they have a one day course in emergency parachute procedure. Since Jared just did this at water survival it shouldn't be a big deal. Just a boring day.

Then they get the weekend off and are hoping to camp out someplace to watch football and get some decent food.

My plans for today are to be lazy and indulgent, and then to head out to Stillwater with another wife from our class (well, our old class I guess... that's a bit sad actually). It's homecoming weekend and I guess they decorate and open the big, old home and have vendors and food. I'm hoping it proves to be a fun and distracting night out with the girls!

I am the back up nurse on call this weekend, so I'm waiting to see if I have to work Saturday or Sunday. I should since I haven't really worked lately (we've been a tad busy!), but I don't want to.

Also waiting to hear on the status of our orders to Altus! I emailed Airman Smith yesterday, no reply. I called first thing this morning, no answer. I guess I'd better call again! They'll get so tired of me they will push these orders through eventually ... ;-)

One down, one to go

An update on our Air Force dates: Land survival or SERE is 10-16-09 to 11-6-09 (Jared flies home on the 7th). C-17 co-pilot school is 11-17-09 to 03-03-10 (it's in Altus, OK. approx. 3.5 hours south of Enid). Our report no later than date for Travis AFB is still April 16, 2010. We are working on arranging the orders so that the Military will pack us up, put us in storage and we'll be out of Enid by the beginning of December. That means Jared will be at Altus and I'll be in Ohio until we head out to Cali!

On to today ... What a crummy day it is here. First, I had to leave Jared at the OKC airport so he can go to Fairchild AFB, WA. for three weeks of SERE (Survival Evasion Resistance Escape) school. I know it's a necessary thing, but I really do not relish the thought of my husband spending 5 days in the cold, wet woods of WA. having to kill a bunny and a chicken so as not to starve, or spending 36 hours in 'evasion' training getting screamed at and beat up. Pilot training was a long, hard 14 months, but at least I was here and I could do little things at home to make sure he was comfortable, rested, well fed, and loved. This business of handing him over to strangers so they can be mean to him while he's all alone, it's not a nice feeling. November 7th can not get here fast enough!

He already has completed water survival though. So that's one survival school down! He went to Pensacola the Monday after graduating and was there 5 days. He actually enjoyed the training: 20 man raft exercises in the open ocean, being dragged behind a boat and dropped from a para sailing line, as well as a single man raft drill. His funniest story was the day of his single man raft exercise, he was floating around waiting to be 'rescued' when he saw a fin in the water and almost panicked! Turned out to be a pod of 6 dolphins however and he had fun watching them.

Since he's been home several eventful things have happened. His brother, Andy, got his assignment; a KC-135 to McConnell AFB, KS. Not what he, or we, were expecting, but we are so proud of him! We also spent a day down in OKC shopping and went out to lunch. Otherwise it's been more running around on base, trying to get orders cut, and getting the supplies he needed for SERE. Picking uniforms up form the cleaners, and getting POAs signed so I can (hopefully!) set up our move while he's gone. In short, we've been really, really busy around here.

Please remember Jared in your prayers these coming weeks! It's going to be a rough go.

JSUPT Graduation Photos

Graduation Morning: Pinning on Jared's pilot wings!

Andy measuring to put on the 'real' (non-magnetic) wings after the ceremony

Jared and my Grandpa & Grandma Lyons

Jared and I with my side of the family

The Scherffs

Graduation dinner: Jared trying (really hard) to break his wings

Everyone from my family at the dinner

My Momma, Sissy and I

My husband the pilot and I

The twins and I

JSUPT Graduation

I've been so incredibly busy I haven't had a spare moment to write. Somehow graduation already seems a million years ago which is a ludicrous thought. It seemed like it would never come. But the good things always go by too fast.


This time last week (last week?!) I was cleaning and organizing, cleaning and shopping, cleaning and cleaning. By Tuesday the house was spotless and I'd had a pedicure and my Grandma and Grandpa Lyons had arrived in town.


Wednesday morning was spent in a flurry of baking; devils food cake for a four layer chocolate torte, cupcake batter for the most delectable little spice cakes, meatballs for dinner, crusts for a fall apple pie. Jared was also in a flurry of his own; running around base like a mad man trying to get orders cut and plane tickets reserved and end of course details done so he could leave for Pensacola, FL. on the following Monday for his water survival school.


The best part about Wednesday was everyone arriving; Dad and Jared's parents, and last (late) but not least, my Mom and siblings. Having everyone around all weekend, playing board games, watching football, challenging each other to corn hole was spectacular. In a way it made me almost unbearably homesick. Once we're away and on our own for long enough it gets bearable, but having everyone around, having the house bursting at the seams, listening to people talk and laugh and eat reminds me how much we miss at home.


Starting Thursday morning it was non-stop! We had a breakfast in our flight room at 8:00am (urgh!) and being the one who had organized it Jared and I were there bright and early to set it all up. Then we got to see the class video, which our families quite enjoyed, and Jared got a coin from the squadron. After that it was a frenzy of tours: Aerospace Physiology, The RAPCON, the base bowling alley for lunch, the Vance Tower, the flight line and the planes, the simulators. All very fun, and with beautiful, if not windy, weather, but slightly exhausting.


For dinner we cooked out at our house. Nothing fussy, just hamburgers and hot dogs and beans and salads. The wonderful part was having my Momma and sister helping me in the kitchen.


Friday was graduation day. At 10:00 o'clock we were assembled in our Sunday best to watch class 09-15 get their wings. I got to pin on Jared's wings, and did so perfectly! What a moment! It was a really special ceremony and a great morning. The whole gang went out to lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings and then most everyone came back to our house to crash for the afternoon; nap or play corn hole, or just sit and visit.


The graduation dinner was later. Jared and I were the first ones there so we could go through the formal receiving line and get it over with. The food wasn't great, but the cake was! The speaker provided ample amusement. I got recognized for being a spouse and awarded a certificate designating me as an honorary pilot in command. It was fun seeing everyone all dressed up and decked out. But also sad knowing that we were together as a class for the last time, and that it would be the last time we saw some of these people ever again. Driving home I think it finally sunk in that this was it, it was over.


Saturday some family had to leave, some stayed. The Scherff boys went golfing, and I made tea and scones with my family before a shopping trip and afternoon of board games. Once the boys were back though, it was all football! Then we took everyone out to the local Italian favorite, Napolis, before the Ohio State game. It was a restful day and I'm glad we got to spend it with family.


Sunday was bleak; nasty grey weather, everyone else leaving, horrible airport problems, and running around packing Jared up for water survival. I hate the feeling of an empty house after something big and fun and full of people. And then Monday Jared left as well leaving me and Christopher all alone. Utterly depressing. And the weather has been rather dismal since. In fact, it is grey and chilly and damp after a thunderstorm this very moment.


But Andy has been good company, and has gotten dinner every night this week. He had his last flight before his assignment night today. So now the next big event will be Andy's assignment night and graduation! All of which Jared will miss, but I will be attending!