Random Pics

So I know I am a little biased, but isn't she the cutest???

Learning how to sew with Grammy. We are starting her young because her momma hasn't had the tolerance for it until recently... Addie will probably be a much better student than I ever was!

Water fight with Grammy. Addison had lots and lots of fun playing with the hose. And truth be told, it was more a water fight of Addison vs. the hose. The hose won because she was DRENCHED!

I love this picture because there is almost an idenitcal picture of me doing the same thing on our wedding day - fully beautified! I will have to down load it and put the two side by side...

Addie went to cross country practice with Papa a couple of days when we were home. On this day the girls had a light work out and while they were cooling down in their circle, Addison walked around the whole circle and gave them all high fives. What a ham! But I like it! Getting that Kelso pride started young. (Too bad she will probably never be a Hilander!)

Canon Beach, OR

While I was home with Addison in August, one of the things I really wanted to do was go to Canon Beach, OR. It is one of my favorite places in the whole world and I would love to live there when Chuck gets out of the Air Force, I would love to have at least a home there. That is a long way off, but in the meantime, I love to visit there anytime I am home. The day we went was really chilly and drizzly - a perfect Oregon coast day. We had lunch at a great brew pub, walked around town, and of course went for a stroll on the beach. Addison had a blast walking in the "surf" with Grammy - even though it wasn't the warm water she is used to.

Finally complete

Pretty F-22 on the runway at Langley. This was taken in the spring before we moved down here - but this is Chuck's jet.

Thankfully, Chuck is finally done with his instructor upgrade. He finished today and it sounds like it went really well. This is great for us because now he will hardly ever have to work on the weekends. Yippeeeeee! Now he will be "molding" young pilots... Starting Monday, he will be flying with young pilots teaching them the jet. And they have him running next week. Four flights and four sims. Busy busy! I think he is a little nervous about it so it is probably a good thing to get him going and used to the whole teaching thing. He says he is really excited about this new challenge and I think he will be really good at this job.

Beach Time

My friend Tara, her husband, Troy and their son Quinn (Cappelli) came to Florida. They were here for some training that Troy had to do and were here just shy of two months. It was great to see them as they have spent the last year in Korea and are now on their way to Kadena in Japan. They lived in base housing like we did at Langley so we have a lot of great memories from Langley with them. Anyway, while they were here, we did lots of fun things with not only her and Quinn, but Kelly and Emily who were also at Langley with us. It has been great getting us all together because none of us had kids when we were all at Langley together. Now, not only do we all have little ones, they were all born within a year of each other. (Emily, Jan 08; Addison, May 08; Quinn, November 08) The Cappelli's left Florida last Friday, so we had one more little outing to the beach before they left on Wednesday - just us girls and the kiddos. Here are some pics from that...

The Bears

I am not a professional football fan. I never have been, but Chuck loves the Chicago Bears. He grew up a Bears fan and it was something that he and his dad used to do together. I think it is something that he would like to have to share with Addison. So who am I to stand in the way of this? Last year for Christmas, Addison got several Bears "outfits" to wear for this football season. Chuck made sure she was in one of these shirts for the season opener a few weeks ago. Now, like I said, I am not a pro football fan, but Addison looked so cute in her shirt, I couldn't help but take a few pics. Also, the picture of her and her daddy in their Bears shirts is MIGHTY cute! I could ALMOST be convinced to be a fan. Almost!

Pool Time

One of my very good friends from Langley lives here as well. Kelly and her husband Mike moved down here almost three years ago and had a baby about four months before we had Addison. Being here with them has been great, not only because we love Mike and Kelly, but because their little one - Emily - is a great play mate for Addison. We have lots of play dates with. Over the summer, we would meet at the pool here on base. These pics are from one of those meetings.

Pump it Up

There is a great place here for kids called "Pump It Up." It is a big room with "bouncy" castles, slides and obstacle courses. Addison has been there twice. Both times she has done great and had a blast. The most recent time we have gone, she was climbing up the big ladder and sliding down the slide BY HERSELF. Made me so nervous but I was so proud of her. Below are the pictures from the first time we went.

August Beach Pictures

Weapons School

I forgot to mention in my last post the BIGGEST news of all.

As many of you know, in May, Chuck put a package in to go to Weapons School. (Weapons school for those of you who don't know is the Air Force's version of "Top Gun.") It is really hard to get into as they only take 8 pilots a year - four in January and four in July. (He was trying to get into the January class.) It is six month class and it is at Nellis Air Force Base outside of Las Vegas.

It was a very long wait for us. But we did find out last week that he didn't get into this class. However, he is the first - and only - alternate for this class. At first we were disapointed, but we have come to terms with this. It is after all a huge vote of confidence for him to even be considered - and to be chosen as an alternate is awesome! Obviously if someone who was chosen can't go, he is in, but we aren't anticipating this as an option because very rarely does it happen that someone gives up their place at Weapons School. We are told, also, that it is very rare for an alternate to NOT get into the next class. So here's hoping that proves true!

Luckily, he has two more chances to get in to Weapons School - which means we start the application process as well as the wait game all over again. His application has to be in on December 15th and we should have an answer, hopefully, by the end of March. (Honestly, though, I do not understand why it takes so long for them to make the decision.)

Schuck Summer

We have had a really busy summer, and I can't believe we have found ourselves in fall all ready. Although, the weather has not cooled off at all here in Panama City, so it doesn't really feel like fall to us here. It is supposed to "cool" off this week, whatever that means, here!

It has taken us a while, but all the boxes are finally unpacked and for the most part everything is put away. (Out office, however, is another story.) I really like this house, but I feel really unorganized here. I made myself a "to-do" list and it is very long. So maybe this feeling of un-organization isn't just a figment of my imagination. The house is still not decorated the way that I want, but that cost money and takes time - so I am working on it little by little.

Addison and I have met lots and lots of people in our neighborhood. Addie has a very busy social calendar. It seems like she has a playdate of some sort every week. We - try - to go to Stroller fit three mornings a week, we have MOPS every other week - with "play groups" that are associated with MOPS frequently, we go to the playground across from our house a lot and we hit the beach as often as we can. We also meet up with my friend Kelly and her daughter Emily weekly as the girls are only a few months apart. We keep busy - Chuck likes to say that Addison has a better social life than he does and he isn't wrong.

Addie isn't talking yet - but probably will be any day. She babbles a lot and sometimes some of the"babbling" sounds like real words. We hear a lot of "Daddy," "mama," and "doggie." Those are the only words for sure we know she is saying. I could have sworn she said "cookie" last night - a girl after my own heart - but she didn't say it again, so I can't be sure.

Chuck continues to stay really busy at work. After tomorrow, he will be done with his instructor upgrade, so that will relieve a lot of the stress he has been under since we got here. They don't give him much time either - on Monday he has his first flight with a student. Him flying with very inexpeirenced pilots makes me incredibly nervous, but I will just have to put it out of my mind. After all, that is what we are here for and it will be a long three years if I worry about him everytime he flies with a student. Maybe with time, I will feel more at ease about it. My new motto needs to be "out of sight, out of mind."

There is no new news with me. I stay busy with Addison and try to keep up with the house. I am not especially good at being a house wife, but I do enjoy it. And for our family, it is the best move we could have made for our little one. I am trying to be better about getting out and about and taking some "me" time because I believe that will help me become a better mom, wife, person all around. So with that in mind, I have decided to run another half marathon. (It isn't until March, so we have lots of time to get ready.)

Addie and I went home to Washington for two weeks in August. It was a great trip and it was soooo nice to be out of the Florida heat. We were really busy and the trip went very fast - they always do. But Addison had a great trip playing with all the "cousins" and especially had a lot of fun with Grammy and Papa. We went to the beach three times, Mt. Hood, we "swam" in the "pool," went to cross country practice with Papa, and much, much more. It seemed like Addison had so much fun. It was hard to leave.

I will be posting some pictures from our trip home, along with some from our summer "adventures" over the next few days. Please keep checking back.

What can I say?

What can I say? I fell off the wagon again. I have become even worse about blogging than I was before. How is that even possible? From now on, I am making a point to blog at least twice a week. I WILL I WILL I WILL