It Finally Happened!
Shanonn has found a job! It is though our church and will be mostly part-time, with the possibility of becoming full-time temporarily. One of the teachers (2 year old) is having a baby in November, so Shanonn will take over her shift for the 6+ weeks the teacher will be gone. Also, she will be working as a substitute whenever a teacher needs to take off work. So that is exciting for us!
Also, Tyler (finally) has a SERE date... for Monday! We got the good news yesterday, so he will at least have a few days to make sure he has everything purchased, packed, and ready to go. He will be gone for 3 weeks without any contact with anyone other than his classmates and and instructors, so it will be a challenge for both of us.
Other than those two major things, life has been pretty laid back and uneventful. We hope all of you have been doing well and we appreciate all of your love and support as we go through this phase in our lives!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Rolling With The Punches
Hello to All!
Well it has been an action packed few weeks since we have updated everyone. Tyler was supposed to go to survival school last week but had a hang up with his flight physical and they wouldn't let him go until it is sorted out. Turns out that he is a little too tall according to the Army's requirements and requires a special waiver to fly. He had to be measured in a helicopter to make sure he would fit (he does) and so now we are just waiting for the doctor to sign off on it and he will be back in training. The next class will start either August 1st or August 8th so he should be able to get into one of those. In the meantime he hasn't been doing much other than going to physical training, meeting for a couple of required "check ins" and studying. This week and next week he is helping out at a course for senior Army leaders and gets to sit in on some of the classes, an opportunity that he is excited about. Today a few officers from the Pentagon spoke, as well as the top general in Army Aviation, so he enjoyed that. This past weekend it rained almost the entire time, so we just ended up going to nearby Dothan, AL and shopping, as well as playing some card games with friends Saturday night. Tyler has been working on building a small apron hanger for Shanonn as well as a pen/pencil holder for his desk in his free time. Kahlua has been good but has been sad she hasn't been able to go to the Bark Park and has been going a little stir crazy. Tyler takes full-advantage of antagonizing her at every opportunity, which actually is funny. We're both doing well! Thanks for the recent phone calls to check on us- we miss you all!
Well it has been an action packed few weeks since we have updated everyone. Tyler was supposed to go to survival school last week but had a hang up with his flight physical and they wouldn't let him go until it is sorted out. Turns out that he is a little too tall according to the Army's requirements and requires a special waiver to fly. He had to be measured in a helicopter to make sure he would fit (he does) and so now we are just waiting for the doctor to sign off on it and he will be back in training. The next class will start either August 1st or August 8th so he should be able to get into one of those. In the meantime he hasn't been doing much other than going to physical training, meeting for a couple of required "check ins" and studying. This week and next week he is helping out at a course for senior Army leaders and gets to sit in on some of the classes, an opportunity that he is excited about. Today a few officers from the Pentagon spoke, as well as the top general in Army Aviation, so he enjoyed that. This past weekend it rained almost the entire time, so we just ended up going to nearby Dothan, AL and shopping, as well as playing some card games with friends Saturday night. Tyler has been working on building a small apron hanger for Shanonn as well as a pen/pencil holder for his desk in his free time. Kahlua has been good but has been sad she hasn't been able to go to the Bark Park and has been going a little stir crazy. Tyler takes full-advantage of antagonizing her at every opportunity, which actually is funny. We're both doing well! Thanks for the recent phone calls to check on us- we miss you all!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
We May Not Have Had Fireworks But We Still Had Fun
Hello Everyone
It's been a few weeks since our last posting and a lot has happened! Tyler finished up Basic Officer Leader Course just in time for the 4th of July weekend. He has been trying to build a bookshelf but progress has been slow since he hasn't had much time to work on it. We have hung out with our neighbors (Ben and Stacey) a few times and stayed up late playing cards and watching the dogs play. They have a 9 month old Weimeraner named Chloe that Kahlua has become friends with. They have gone to the Bark Park together a few times as well as hanging out around our house and our neighbors house. Tyler got to go to the flight-line and see all the helicopters up close. It's a good thing he will be flying Blackhawks since he is far too big for Kiowas and Apaches. Today he completed the Helicopter Overwater Survival Training course, where he learned how to escape a helicopter if it crashes into the water. It involved lots of getting flipped over in a cockpit simulator underwater and learning to breathe with a small air tank.
We got a four day weekend for the fourth of July and went to New Orleans. We got to see the French Quarter, Ninth Ward, Bourbon Street, Canal Street, the national WWII museum, and eat some beignets at Cafe Du Monde. Even though it was hot and packed everywhere we had a good time. On the way home we stopped in Mobile at the USS Alabama memorial and toured a WWII battleship, a submarine and lots of aircraft. Unfortunately we didn't see any fireworks for the 4th. Fort Rucker had theirs on Saturday and New Orleans were on Monday, so we just missed both. This week should be an easy one. Tyler is supposed to pretty much have the week off to prepare for his next training event SERE (survive evade, resist and escape) where he will learn to survive and avoid capture. He begins that on Monday and will have no contact with the outside world (including Shanonn) for 21 days so feel free to give Shanonn lot's of phone calls to keep her occupied. That is about all we have for now, we hope everyone had a good 4th of July weekend and we miss you all!
It's been a few weeks since our last posting and a lot has happened! Tyler finished up Basic Officer Leader Course just in time for the 4th of July weekend. He has been trying to build a bookshelf but progress has been slow since he hasn't had much time to work on it. We have hung out with our neighbors (Ben and Stacey) a few times and stayed up late playing cards and watching the dogs play. They have a 9 month old Weimeraner named Chloe that Kahlua has become friends with. They have gone to the Bark Park together a few times as well as hanging out around our house and our neighbors house. Tyler got to go to the flight-line and see all the helicopters up close. It's a good thing he will be flying Blackhawks since he is far too big for Kiowas and Apaches. Today he completed the Helicopter Overwater Survival Training course, where he learned how to escape a helicopter if it crashes into the water. It involved lots of getting flipped over in a cockpit simulator underwater and learning to breathe with a small air tank.We got a four day weekend for the fourth of July and went to New Orleans. We got to see the French Quarter, Ninth Ward, Bourbon Street, Canal Street, the national WWII museum, and eat some beignets at Cafe Du Monde. Even though it was hot and packed everywhere we had a good time. On the way home we stopped in Mobile at the USS Alabama memorial and toured a WWII battleship, a submarine and lots of aircraft. Unfortunately we didn't see any fireworks for the 4th. Fort Rucker had theirs on Saturday and New Orleans were on Monday, so we just missed both. This week should be an easy one. Tyler is supposed to pretty much have the week off to prepare for his next training event SERE (survive evade, resist and escape) where he will learn to survive and avoid capture. He begins that on Monday and will have no contact with the outside world (including Shanonn) for 21 days so feel free to give Shanonn lot's of phone calls to keep her occupied. That is about all we have for now, we hope everyone had a good 4th of July weekend and we miss you all!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Pictures!
We finally have pictures!!
Sorry it has taken so long to get these up for you all- but we finally got our act together and took some pictures of the house for you all! They're not very good, but you'll get a general idea.
Sorry it has taken so long to get these up for you all- but we finally got our act together and took some pictures of the house for you all! They're not very good, but you'll get a general idea.
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| View from the living room |
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| The Kitchen view from the back door |
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| Living room from the Kitchen view |
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| Living Room |
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| View from the TV |
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| Front Door Entryway |
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| Hallway |
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| Extra Bedroom #1 |
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| Office/ Weight Room |
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| The Desk Tyler built |
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| Closet and the beginnings of a bookshelf |
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| Kahlua's Room |
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| Extra Bedroom #2 |
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| Bedroom #2 |
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| Bedroom #2 |
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| Master Bedroom |
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| Tiny Bathroom |
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| Tiny Bathroom |
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| Weird Closet/Hamper |
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| Another Strange Closet (left) and Heater, etc. (right) |
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| Shed #2 |
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| Backyard |
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| Backdoor/ Washer and Dryer |
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| Washer and Dryer |
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| Shed #1 |
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| Our House |
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| Trashcan/Recycling |
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Field Week
Hello Everyone! It has been a few days since our last posting. Last week Tyler had a busy week of studying and classes. He took two tests and is now done with his testing for this portion of his training. He has 3 more weeks of Basic Officer Leadership Course and then he will move on to the next block of training. This week is his "field week" although he'll be home every night. So far they have done a land navigation course and some classes on weapons and convoys. Tomorrow their class will convoy to and from the weapons range and qualify with their rifles. The next day they will be qualifying on pistols. Friday there is a change of command ceremony so that is throwing a hitch in the schedule, but it means a short day for everyone. Monday he will finish up field week with some more convoy exercises. Last weekend we stayed around the local area with a trip to Dothan, Al to shop and eat and hanging out with friends around Fort Rucker. Tyler was also able to finish his desk, so he now has a place to study. Shanonn has been looking for jobs and hanging out with new friends as well as taking care of the house. The house is finally looking in order, although some of the rooms are lacking in furniture since we have gone from 1 bedroom to 4. This weekend we plan on going back to Montgomery to see the Rosa Parks Civil Rights Museum and see the town for the day. It's looking like Tyler will get a four day weekend for the 4th of July so we might be going on a trip then. Kahlua is doing well and just got a new small rubber tire looking toy which she has been enjoying. I think that is about all that is new in our lives, hopefully we can get everyone an update after this weekend.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Long weekends
Hey Everyone!!
Sorry it's taken so long to get updated!! With all the little things we've been keeping up with, the blog ended up at the bottom of our list. No worries- we're back!! Things are still going really well. Tyler's schedule is mostly the same, with the exception of a few days of either getting out early or late. Shanonn has gotten the house set up and everything finally has it's own place (even if we don't know exactly where that place is!). We've been hanging out with 2 couples from church who are also going through flight school, so that has been a definite blessing for us! We had dinner and a game night Saturday night with them and that turned out to be lots of fun, for sure a night filled with laughs! Sunday has been pretty boring around the Sharpe household today- Tyler worked on building a desk, then Shanonn helped him paint it black. It's looking pretty good so far and Tyler is looking forward to finally having a place to study that isn't a workout bench.
Memorial Day weekend was good as well, Tyler was out of class Friday and Monday, so the extended weekend was nice. Friday we went to Montgomery, took a tour of the Rosa Parks children's wing, ate THE BEST ribs... EVER at Dreamland BBQ, then looked around the city at all the beautiful buildings and did some shopping. But, the big event for the day was getting our new washer and dryer!! They're wonderful and so much more convenient than going to the laundromat. They came mid-morning Friday and installed them, started a cycle, then we were off to Montgomery for the day! When we came home, we walked into a kitchen filled with about a quarter inch of water. The guys that installed the washer had cross-threaded the water to the actual washer, so it was shooting out water when we walked through the door. Thanks, guys. Saturday was spent in Destin, FL at the beach and driving around town. As great as it may sound, the beach was terrible. The water didn't look very clear and when we got in, there was seaweed, kelp and not very many waves to body-board on. The rest of the day was spent driving around Destin, looking for other beaches that might be better, but didn't seem to find any. Sunday we went to church, then to the Ellis' for dinner at their house and some fellowship. Monday was filled with errands and relaxing.
That's us for now! Now that the place is cleaned up, (hopefully for good) we should be taking and uploading pictures soon. Thanks for checking in!!
P.S.- Cara Melvin- I hope this gets e-mailed to you!! Let me know if it works.
Sorry it's taken so long to get updated!! With all the little things we've been keeping up with, the blog ended up at the bottom of our list. No worries- we're back!! Things are still going really well. Tyler's schedule is mostly the same, with the exception of a few days of either getting out early or late. Shanonn has gotten the house set up and everything finally has it's own place (even if we don't know exactly where that place is!). We've been hanging out with 2 couples from church who are also going through flight school, so that has been a definite blessing for us! We had dinner and a game night Saturday night with them and that turned out to be lots of fun, for sure a night filled with laughs! Sunday has been pretty boring around the Sharpe household today- Tyler worked on building a desk, then Shanonn helped him paint it black. It's looking pretty good so far and Tyler is looking forward to finally having a place to study that isn't a workout bench.
Memorial Day weekend was good as well, Tyler was out of class Friday and Monday, so the extended weekend was nice. Friday we went to Montgomery, took a tour of the Rosa Parks children's wing, ate THE BEST ribs... EVER at Dreamland BBQ, then looked around the city at all the beautiful buildings and did some shopping. But, the big event for the day was getting our new washer and dryer!! They're wonderful and so much more convenient than going to the laundromat. They came mid-morning Friday and installed them, started a cycle, then we were off to Montgomery for the day! When we came home, we walked into a kitchen filled with about a quarter inch of water. The guys that installed the washer had cross-threaded the water to the actual washer, so it was shooting out water when we walked through the door. Thanks, guys. Saturday was spent in Destin, FL at the beach and driving around town. As great as it may sound, the beach was terrible. The water didn't look very clear and when we got in, there was seaweed, kelp and not very many waves to body-board on. The rest of the day was spent driving around Destin, looking for other beaches that might be better, but didn't seem to find any. Sunday we went to church, then to the Ellis' for dinner at their house and some fellowship. Monday was filled with errands and relaxing.
That's us for now! Now that the place is cleaned up, (hopefully for good) we should be taking and uploading pictures soon. Thanks for checking in!!
P.S.- Cara Melvin- I hope this gets e-mailed to you!! Let me know if it works.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Settling In
Hello to all!
It has been a few days since our last post. I'll just pick up right where we left off. Saturday we made the drive down to Panama City Beach, FL. We didn't exactly know the best way to get there so it took us a little longer than planned (about 2 hours) but we made it! We decided to go eat first and ate at Margaritaville and shared a plate of Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos. Tyler actually ate the fish and enjoyed it! (he doesn't ever eat seafood). After that we decided to hit the beach for a bit and Tyler did some body boarding while Shanonn jumped the waves. The ocean was extremely rough that day (red flags) so the adventure was somewhat short lived. Panama City Beach has a very nice Pier Park with lots of shopping and restaurants so we walked around that some and drove around the area before heading home. Sunday we attended our first church services since moving. The church here is smaller than we expected (around 100 members) but everyone was very friendly and it is predominately people who are retired military or work at Ft. Rucker (or are both). Sunday we also did laundry, which was a bit of a hassle since we don't have a washer and dryer yet and have to use a local laundromat. Monday and Tuesday were pretty much normal days. Tyler in class and Shanonn doing chores around the house and looking for employment. Tyler is currently learning how to identify different combat vehicles as well as some aviation and general military doctrine. Next week he has his first test so he is starting to devote some time to studying. He has also been building some shelves and straightening out his shed to create a little wood working shop. He'll post pictures when it's all done. Wednesday Tyler went to class while Shanonn painted some shelves for one of the rooms. We went to church again and met even more people, including another Lieutenant who is going to be about 2 weeks behind Tyler in school, so they should have a lot in common. This weekend is a four day weekend for us with Friday and Monday off. We plan on going to Montgomery to see the sights on Friday and to Destin, FL on Saturday to see the beach. Sunday and Monday we will try to get some stuff done around the house, including hopefully building Tyler a desk for studying. Well that's about all for us right now. Tomorrow is our Friday and then off to have some fun!
It has been a few days since our last post. I'll just pick up right where we left off. Saturday we made the drive down to Panama City Beach, FL. We didn't exactly know the best way to get there so it took us a little longer than planned (about 2 hours) but we made it! We decided to go eat first and ate at Margaritaville and shared a plate of Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos. Tyler actually ate the fish and enjoyed it! (he doesn't ever eat seafood). After that we decided to hit the beach for a bit and Tyler did some body boarding while Shanonn jumped the waves. The ocean was extremely rough that day (red flags) so the adventure was somewhat short lived. Panama City Beach has a very nice Pier Park with lots of shopping and restaurants so we walked around that some and drove around the area before heading home. Sunday we attended our first church services since moving. The church here is smaller than we expected (around 100 members) but everyone was very friendly and it is predominately people who are retired military or work at Ft. Rucker (or are both). Sunday we also did laundry, which was a bit of a hassle since we don't have a washer and dryer yet and have to use a local laundromat. Monday and Tuesday were pretty much normal days. Tyler in class and Shanonn doing chores around the house and looking for employment. Tyler is currently learning how to identify different combat vehicles as well as some aviation and general military doctrine. Next week he has his first test so he is starting to devote some time to studying. He has also been building some shelves and straightening out his shed to create a little wood working shop. He'll post pictures when it's all done. Wednesday Tyler went to class while Shanonn painted some shelves for one of the rooms. We went to church again and met even more people, including another Lieutenant who is going to be about 2 weeks behind Tyler in school, so they should have a lot in common. This weekend is a four day weekend for us with Friday and Monday off. We plan on going to Montgomery to see the sights on Friday and to Destin, FL on Saturday to see the beach. Sunday and Monday we will try to get some stuff done around the house, including hopefully building Tyler a desk for studying. Well that's about all for us right now. Tomorrow is our Friday and then off to have some fun!
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