Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Guess what I got last week at work?

Business cards! Isn't that cool? I feel so official now. :)

We've got about two and a half weeks until Tobin leaves for training in Colorado. Until then, he reports for muster and has lots of medical visits (dental, vision, various physicals) and some briefings to attend. Yesterday was a PT test, which he did great in. You have to run a mile and a half, do pushups for a minute, and do situps for a minute. There's a time or number to beat in each.

We have been watching Hurricane Gustav closely at work, and if it gets bad, Tobin will have to evacuate with the rest of the military. If Pall closes, I will evacuate with him. If not, I'll stick around. But it's not likely the military will evacuate unless absolutely necessary. Right now, it looks like Gustav will hit Louisiana and head west, so we're ok. Hanna is right behind Gustav, however, and there are two more depressions out in the Atlantic. This hurricane stuff is a little hard to get used to. Check out the National Hurricane Center for the best info. It's a pretty neat site.

We get a long weekend thanks to Labor Day! We are thinking about renting a canoe or kayak for the day. Better head to breakfast. Keep in touch!

Fay

We're expecting some rain soon! Today and Sunday is when we should get the brunt of it. I don't think we will get enough for closing any schools or businesses, but it will be our first time going through a tropical storm, so I'm excited! We have water and canned foods just in case, although we didn't really go out and prepare for anything, it was just what we had on hand. We're going for a bike ride soon so we get some time outside before we get stuck indoors.

To answer your questions from the previous post: the Yaris is a four-door, and it's an '08. Here's a video I forgot to post earlier:



There are ginormous bugs down here. Yikes. Here's one example, although the picture doesn't do him justice. When he crawled out while I was putting stuff in the recycling box, he scared the stuffin out of me. He's taller than me, I think.



















And last but not least, we have the final news about Tobin's training. He will begin on September 17th with IFS, and the S stands for screening, not school like I said before. IFS is in Pueblo, CO, and it lasts for about seven weeks. After IFS, he has some time off before API (Aviation Preflight Indoctrination) starts; API should last about eight weeks, and it is in Pensacola. Primary is after API, also in Pensacola, and we're not sure how long that lasts, but there will be time off between API and Primary as well. So...it's GREAT that he is finally going to be starting, and that he gets to fly planes so soon; but I think seven weeks is an awfully long time. We know Jesse (one of Tobin's old roommates) went through IFS in about three or four weeks, though; so there's a possibility it won't take all seven weeks. And we know T will be stationed here in Pensacola for at the least two years, maybe more.

Getting ready for rain! Keep in touch.

Reporting and Car Shopping

We celebrated Tobin reporting on Thursday night with some red velvet cake, balloons, and streamers. It was the first time I'd made the cake, so the frosting didn't really turn out (you can see frosting running down the sides because it's not very firm). Tobin helped me out with frosting it. Mmm, man that frosting's good. Lots of cream cheese.

So, on Friday, T reported at the base. It didn't start out so well. He drove my car, and the security guard wouldn't let him on base at first because the windshield was cracked. T let him know he was going on base today, he had to report. So, the next half hour/hour was spent getting a vehicle pass; during the course of getting it, T found out my insurance card was expired and had to have the 'rents insurance company fax him a current card. Arg. Finally, he got on base.

He spent a lot of time asking where to go, since his orders didn't say, but got to the right place eventually. There was lots of paperwork and some powerpoint presentations, but we have a better idea of what to expect day to day. He'll start with IFS training in a month or so, which is Introductory Flight School. We're excited to not be in the dark so much anymore, and we'll find out more next week after T gets a medical exam and begins reporting to muster every morning at 7:30.

AND, over the weekend, we spent a long day car shopping and came home with this little cutie:

He's a Toyota Yaris, and his name is Petrie. :) Since we will be down to just the Prizm after we return the bug to Ohio, we needed a reliable car for T to drive to work every day in. He has an hour round trip, depending on traffic, so we made the decision to go ahead and get this car. It's a stick, so it takes some getting used to for me. I love it, though! We'll let you know more as we figure some more things out in the next week. Later.

Watchin' the Olympics...

Tobin starts on Friday! It's so exciting, I can't wait to see where he goes first and what training he will be doing. We've been assuming all along that he will do the classroom stuff first, but we aren't too sure of anything. We'll find out in a couple of short days!

Also, we think we have found a church we really like. It's much larger than either of the churches we used to go to back home, which takes some getting used to...but we love the small group we have been going to. There are lots of couples our age, and the group is very active in organizing activities and ministries.

Work is going well for me. I am working on a project that costs waaaay more than anything else I've ever worked on...yikes! I sure have a lot to learn still, too. I've heard it takes six months to really get adjusted to a new job. So, in a little more than four months, maybe things won't be so overwhelming!

Aaaaaand, we are looking for a car now as well. We are basically replacing the truck for the near future. Any bright ideas on what car to get? Gas savers would be great...but it has to be cute, too. ;)

Videos of Our House!

Finally, I got around to posting the pictures (videos) of the house! I was attempting to put them on the website, but it doesn't like my password for some reason, so you get to see it on the blog instead. :)

First, we have the living room...the sofa is finished and, as you can see, the couch is not. Check out our wedding picture on the wall!

Second, we have the kitchen. Say hi to Tobin! He's working on that unfinished couch.

Next is the guest bedroom. It's ready for occupants. Don't worry, there'll be pillows in those empty cases when you get here.

Now we have the master bedroom. That's our new comforter; we still need to get drapes, that sun gets BRIGHT.

Followed by the master bath, with new shower curtain and candles and towels!

Then, finally, the study.

We love our new house! Tobin starts work in a week, and I'm about a month and a half into my job. Oh, here's a final video of the completed couch (doesn't he work fast)! We'll have new throw pillows for it soon. Hope you enjoyed! Sorry for those of you with dial-up, this wasn't a very friendly post.