Duathlon at Lowndes Lake

My friend Lindsey forwarded this email to me last month telling me to sign up for a Duathlon. It is a 4 mile run and a 13 mile bike ride. I was like yeah right, me run 4 miles! I can do the 13 mile ride only because I have been riding around perimeter road for the last 3 months. I knew I could run the 2 miles before the the bike ride, but wasn't sure about the 2 miles after. So, I ask Cecilia if she wanted to do it with me and she said "yes!" Cecilia asked Tara to join us as well and she agreed.

Well, the race started at 8:15 and we (Cecilia & I) finished at 9:53. I think Tara was 10 or 15 minutes ahead of us. I didn't finish off the last 2 miles all that great and I totally took a wrong turn on the last mile of my bike ride. So in all reality I finished last and probably should have been disqualified! But what the hell, I did it for fun and the exercise! My first 2 miles weren't bad considering all the hills, when I got going on the bike and started up my first hill it wasn't to bad. It was halfway through when I thought I was going to fall off and have to lay there for a while. On one hill we went down we got up to 34 miles an hour, so that kind of tells you how steep they got. When I got back from the bike ride, I totally talked myself in to walking, but ended up running half and walking the rest.

I am really proud of myself for even doing it!

Here we are after everything. Cecilia is on my right and Tara is on my left!

This is us getting ready before the event started
All of the runners

Cecilia and I taking off

Coming back from my bike ride

Crossing the finish line!

All in all, I had a really good time!

Packing

Today has been a productive day so far! We have managed to use all of the 15 boxes we bought from Lowe's , plus a couple that were just laying around from our last move.
I am actually surprised at how excited I am to be moving, even if it's down the street and around the block. It will be something different and we'll have painted walls! I also wanted to share my thoughts about today's packing!
It's all so over whelming and as I stand in the rooms, I wonder where I should begin. This all goes back to my New Years Resolution, being ORGANIZED! I do feel I have organized my life some what, but there are definitely somethings I have slacked on. My picture printing and filling the empty albums I desire to have. We have managed to go through a lot of stuff and toss it as we're packing, so I do consider this part of my organizing. So my thoughts for this move will be organized packing!
I have also enjoyed packing up all of my pictures. Looking at our wedding pictures and Jackson's baby pictures bring back such great memories. I also can't believe that Jeff and I will be married 5 years this October. It really seems like we just got married after looking at all of our pictures. I am so blessed to have married my high school sweet heart and my very best friend!
Now, the rest of the house is another story!
I wish packing the rest would be like packing my pictures!
I know this is a random post, but what the hell! That's why it's called blogging!

We Are Moving

Today we finally decided on a house to move in to! Cecilia and I went walking this morning from 8:30 to 10 o'clock trying to find houses that are basically up to our standards! LOL While we were doing so, Jeff was driving around doing the same. The funny part is that I didn't know he was looking and vise verse! So we ran in to each other and found one!
Cecilia is a friend I have been bike riding with and our boys are in the same class at the CDC. Well, to make a long story short, she is taking the house next to us, so we are going to be neighbors!
Our house is pretty much around the block from us! We will have the updated kitchen cabinets, beige painted walls and all the tile is now white. I will post pictures when we move in!
We move in August 7th, so it is very soon!

Dates...

As most of you know, CAFB is doing some renovations around our neck of the woods. We received a 30 day notice on Thursday telling us that we have to move out and to be quite frank, we aren't to happy about it. Jeff graduates September 4th and we will be moving from Mississippi to Phoenix in December. We have decided that we will pack up the house and only unpack what we need. I will do a separate post on the moving situation!
Why am I telling you this? Since receiving the 30 day notice, Jeff and I have been questioning our future as far as schooling dates and over all dates for the next year on active duty orders. Jeff contacted his unit on Friday to see if they had any news for him and they said they would try to have something for him by Monday. They left a message last night giving us Jeff's IFF dates and the dates of when his next class is to start in Phoenix. We haven't gotten any information or dates as to when he will attend Water Survival School. (5 days long)
So here are Jeff's class dates!
Combat Survival Training: 14 September to 2 October (Washington State)
IFF: 16 October to 21 December here in Columbus
Phoenix: 15 January to 20 October
We will let you all know what we decide to do on the dates in between and if we will be able to come home. As of now were are just trying to figure out where they are going to move us and packing!
I hope I answered some questions as far as when and where we will be going. People keep asking and so do we. So that's all we know for now.......

What the..........

This is the most random post ever and who would of thought we would be posting about ceiling fans. Well, we are! God forbid we live in a normal well put together house, these kind of things probably wouldn't happen.

So let me tell you about our little episode this morning at about 4 a.m. We were sound asleep and out of no were our ceiling fan falls and lands on my foot and then falls to the ground. What the..... was what came out of Jeff's mouth and he hadn't even realize what had happen. He thought lightning had struck the house and broke the window. So he jumps up and says the ceiling fan is on the floor. I already knew that, that's the first thing my eyes looked at after it crashed on to my feet. So he gets up and takes a look and finds that nothings broken, so we left it to clean up this morning.

Oh, and by the way it did hurt after landing on my foot. I told Jeff that to bad one of us wasn't standing under it when it fell. We could have totally made some money! LOL

So here is the attachment in the ceiling

Here is our beautiful ceiling fan on the floor

We layed in bed this morning well after the sun came up. Jeff's adrenaline was going and I was hungry! Jackson was of course in our bed and it didn't even bother him! Luck guy!

What Was He Thinking?

Sooooooo, yesterday started out like any other day in the Blaufuss home. We got up ate breakfast, went for a bike ride (13.75 miles) and we came home to shower and run some errands. Well, Mr. Jackson decided to flood the kitchen counter and spray the wall with the sink sprayer. He also likes to fill one glass up and empty it into another. He finds great pleasure in the small things in life!

Yeah, right!

So here he is playing in the water

Here he is after I caught him and the water is running off the counter and down to the floor

He managed to get Bella's dog food bag and feed her. Don't ask how much the poor dog ate, but it was in her water bowl. So she had some mush for her second breakfast yesterday!

I'm surprised she didn't throw it all up!

I didn't get a picture of the dish soap he smeared all over the ottoman in the living room. This kid was on a rampage yesterday and it was all while I was in the shower! Oh, and not to mention that he escaped and slipped right passed Jeff yesterday and decided to ride his bike out in to the road. Jeff was putting a water bottle holder on my bike and said he didn't ever hear or see him come outside. So all I could say to Jeff yesterday was "what was he thinking?"
It's like they get something in their little brain and a compulsion comes out and they can't be stopped. Well, at least not while your in the shower!

Still Here

Just wanted to let you all know that we are still here and not much is new. Jeff is cross country this weekend and is headed to Dallas. So it's just Jackson and I this weekend! I have some things planned and hopefully they workout. I want to take Jackson to see the New Ice Age movie, but might have to drive 30 minute to see it in 2D instead of 3D. We will see how that goes and we will pretty much spend most of our time in the water.
I will have Jeff write about his weekend when he gets back!

Me Want Some Cookies

Hello all! I have been following this blog called "The Cookie Mama" for sometime now and absolutely love her cookies! I haven't had the chance to swallow one yet, but I am patiently waiting! She is offering 1 dozen cookies to someone who posts a blog, leaves a comment on her blog and publishes her button on their blog! Well, I am doing all three and want to win me some cookies! If you have a chance to check her blog, I suggest doing so. Her cookies are fun and cute! Hopefully I can get her to make me some cookies for Jeff's graduation! Shannon if you see this, I am requesting you!!!!!

http://thecookiemama.blogspot.com/

I ordered these for Jeff's graduation and just to send some cookies in. I know the F16 guys will love these, but the wings will be great for all of those who will graduate with him!

Hopefully I win!

Father's Day

I know this is way over due.

Jeff's Father's Day was really nice, but super hot! We ventured out to Huntsville, Alabama to explore the Botanical Gardens and the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. We had the pleasure to spend it with Jeff's mom Kathy. She visited us for a week and it was so nice to have her here with us. Jackson thought it was the best thing ever!

Jackson and I are very proud of Jeff and all the things he has achieved this last year. We sent Jeff off last year to AMS right after Father's Day, so this Father's Day was even better knowing that he wasn't leaving us.

I love you so much Jeff! Jackson and I can't even tell you how proud we are of you. Jackson is going to be a lucky a boy when he can comprehend that his daddy is going to be a fighter pilot! I can just see him saying that's my daddy when you fly over the house or we venture to the base to see you take off.
I love to watch the two of you play together and I love to hear Jackson ask where you are through out the day "where's my daddy." You guys are like two peas in a pod and I know it's only going to get better from here. To the love of my life and my best friend, you are the best daddy and we love you so much. Happy Father's Day!

*Sorry I didn't post any pictures, but I did include this link to my photobucket account. Just click on the link and it will pop up as a slide show! I hope you enjoy it!


http://static.photobucket.com/flash/rss_slideshow.swf?rssFeed=http%3A%2F%2Ffeed430.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fqq26%2FCiners00%2FFathers%2520Day%252009%2Ffeed.rss

Space Shuttle Altantis Lands In Columbus

Yesterday, Jeff came home to get the camera and said that the Space Shuttle is going to land here and refuel. I was like yeah right, last time it ended up going to Louisiana.

Well, he wasn't kidding! What a day, it was awesome to see the whole base lined up along the roads and watching with excitement.

Thanks to the Air Force for such a memorable experience. We are very lucky to see such a historical and amazing air craft land here! It landed here around 2 and took back off around 4 after filling back up. It was awesome and kind of a overwhelming feeling, knowing that we are very lucky to see this!

The Space Shuttle came in from California and was anchored to the top of a Boeing 747. It landed in California on May 24th after a 13 day mission to repair and enhance the Hubble Space Telescope.

Here it is coming in to land

I wonder how many times they have to change those tires

Awesome

Remember you can click on the picture and it will pop up larger!

Hope you enjoy the pictures! I know we will never forget this!

Hello New Truck, Goodbye Motorcycle

It is with great sadness that I inform you of Jeff's loss. Sniff, Sniff & a another Sniff! NOT!!!!

Yay!!! We finally sold the damn thing (Bike) and can now pay off some bills!

I know Jeff is sad about down sizing to the Tacoma, but we never used the Chevy and it was just starting to be more of a problem then we wanted. So he traded it in for this little guy and he is happy, but sad at the same time.

Boy is it fun to have a stick shift again, I can't wait to drive it!

Happy Father's Day to Jeff!

Potty Training

So last weekend we decided to try and see if Jackson was ready for potty training. We were very surprised to find out that he was and is still going strong!
We started on Sunday and he's been wearing Big Boy Underwear since! The only problem that we have so far is: he doesn't want to poop in the potty, so I have to put a diaper on him and then he goes. When he went to school on Friday, he had a sub and she will be there for the rest of next week, so she isn't his normal teacher who agreed to work with me while he's potty training. He did end up in a diaper on Friday while he was at school and other then that he did tell me that he wanted to wear his diaper on Tuesday and part of Friday.
Other then that he wears a diaper at nap time and at bedtime. I have taken him to the grocery store in his underwear and to a couple of other places and we haven't had an accident yet. He also told me while we were out for a walk on Wednesday that he had to go potty and so we stopped by the park and went pee pee in the grass.
I know it's going to take some time, but he is doing so good and I thought this was going to be so much harder.

Pee Pee In The Potty!

Jeff and I were getting Jackson ready for bath tonight and I told Jackson after taking his diaper off to go pee pee in the potty. I was thinking yeah right, well boy was I wrong. He sat down on his potty and went. I was literally jumping up and down and saying GOOD BOY!

Ya for Jackson!

Our Mother's Day/ Father's Day Gifts

Here they are! I am so excited about this gift and it was just completed on Monday when our helmets came in the mail. This is my first nice bike as an adult, so I am going to take good care it!

Since we've gotten our helmets, we have ridden our bikes every day and Jackson loves to sit in his trailer. I know I posted on Facebook a few weeks back that I was going to attempt riding a friends bike around the perimeter road here on base. Well, I did it and let me tell you it was so hard. I did it with a mountain bike that had the clip on shoe pedals, mind you I borrowed the bike so I wore my tennis shows. Jackson sat in a bike chair behind me and he liked it so much he fell asleep.

I have been wanting a bike, but wasn't sure how Jackson would like it. After riding the perimeter road, I was more persistent it my want for a bike, but I had to have a fat lady seat! Not a long distance seat like the one I borrowed. Do I need to tell you how bad that hurts! I don't think so, especially when the perimeter road is over 10 mile long and it took me 2.5 hours to ride and I burned 1180 calories! Ok, then! LOL

So now I sit comfortably on my seat and my pedals are perfect! So long gas, I have been riding my bike pretty much every where on base. I even road to the grocery store this morning, but they were closed. I guess I will take the car!

My bike is with the bike trailer and Jeff had the nice all black beach cruiser! No beach, but a cruiser!

Thanks Jeffrey, I love my bike & I hope you like your Father's Day gift!

Changes for Mr. Jackson

Let me introduce you to our 2 year old, make my own decisions, sentence talking, showing interest in going potty little man. Saturday was a rainy day most of the day, but we did manage to make it out side in the morning. It was so hot and muggy that Jackson did need a bath before his nap. When Jeff was getting him dressed, Jackson told him what he wanted to wear and what shoes he wanted. The bad thing was that we weren't going anywhere. Well, he stayed in his PJ's all day and when we did decided to go to the book store he insisted that he wear this and his crocks! The only thing I could say is, "I guess we'll fit in!" My little okie!

(Fire truck pants, white t-shirt & crocks with socks)

Here is our newest purchase! Jackson is showing a lot of interest in going potty, but it's always after that fact. We just have to get him to tell us before he goes or not when he's going. I have made an effort to flush his poop in the toilet so he sees that this is where it's suppose to go. (Wow, never thought I would be talking like this!)

So we aren't stressing the issue, but we are willing to let him try!
Last but not least! Jackson is just talking up a storm and saying some pretty funny things! Jeff was calling Jackson "Sugar Lips" all weekend and now Jackson says it. I need to record him saying it a find a way to put it on here, It is so funny and cute.
He is also starting to fill in the ABC's when I am saying them to him. If I say "A" he'll say "B" this is something I am really excited about because I don't think the persistence and hard work sometimes shines through. I know it does, but this one (ABC's) seems to take the longest. At least I have a well mannered kid. He says "please" and "thank you."

Last, Jackson is sleeping by himself now! I know you're probably, "saying again," but this is the last time. Nap time isn't that great, but bedtime is getting pretty good. Ya, for Jackson!
(Sorry for the random post, just wanted to share with you!)

This one is for Papa

Last Monday Lindsey & I took our boys to the Hands on Museum in Tuscaloosa, AL.
It's about an hour East of Columbus. It ended up being a good day to go because it rained all day, and we all know these kids can get stir crazy! We were there for 2 hours and it was perfect for them. The upstairs area was for older kids, but the down stairs area was just right for any age. It was also really nice due to the fact that they got to run around with their heads cut off, but they were learning at the same time!

Here is Jackson at the boating area. They had a dock with fishing and a tug boat that was pretty realistic. It even had controls that moved and the whole boat vibrated as if it were moving. There were life jackets for the kids to put on and a Captains Log. Jackson was more interested in fishing. He takes after his Papa.

He had some company, but wasn't bothered one bit. He just kept on trying to catch that fish!


Here he's filling up the farm truck. He sees Jeff and I pumping gas all the time, he should be a pro at it!
Driving the tractor in the farming area of the museum.

He had a lot of fun with his friends Owen and Brooks. It was a Columbus Mom's day out with the kids!

Memphis Zoo

This last weekend was Mother's Day. The one thing I've been wanting to do since I've gotten back from California was to take Jackson to the Zoo. My friend Lindsey and I wanted to go together, but we couldn't think of a better weekend to do it. We chose Mother's Day weekend, well to be honest, it was better for the hubby's schedules! LOL

This Zoo was great! They had lots of animals and the one thing that was awesome was that they have day rooms for the animal that aren't in their exhibits. So if they don't feel like coming out, you can see them in their rooms. The Panda Bears weren't in the exhibit, so we got to see them sleeping in their rooms. We also got to see baby Giraffe, a pregnant Elephant and a 1 week old monkey nursing off of it's mommy. I also got to see an Armadillo alive! I've been wanting to see one ever since we've moved here, but they are always dead! LOL

Here is an actual family photo! This is a rear sighting so please enjoy!

A Silver Back. This guy was funny and giving a pretty good show.
Tigers! Jackson loved these guys, they were pretty close!

The main entrance. It really was a pretty zoo.

Jeff & Jackson riding on the choo, choo!

Do you see a resemblance?

Here is the Mommy monkey nursing here baby. This was so sweet and my favorite animals are the monkeys. I could have stood there all day watching her handle her baby. I think I should work at the Zoo.

Jackson & I on the carousel, this picture reminds me of the Jackson, MS state fair picture! I should totally do a before and after! He loves these things!

All in all, we had a great day with our little family and the Stimets family. We ended our day with dinner and relaxing. I did get great gift for Mother's Day, but I will post it when it's all complete! I am still waiting for one more thing in the mail and Jeff needs to put it all together!

The Vocabulary of a 2 yr old

I just want to give you all an update on Mr. Jackson Blaufuss. He is getting to be such a big boy and talking up a storm these days. He is starting a MWF program at the CDC here on base (9-12). I think I am more excited about it then he is, but he'll survive! I never thought I would be putting my child in a half day program, but I need a break too!

Jeff did ask me last night if it bothered me that someone else would be raising/taking care of him. I said no one else is raising him and No, it doesn't bother me that someone else will be taking care of him. So, I asked Jeff the same and he simply said, "No, you need your breaks!"

So here are the things I want to share with you. As we all know, kids can say the darnest things and Jackson surely does surprise us sometimes. He's been telling me that there's a MONSTER in his closet. Where in the heck did that come from and where did he get that?

Lately, Jackson has been laying in bed and pretending to be asleep and snoring. It is the funniest thing ever and all I can do is just laugh. Most days we just laugh, but boy have the terrible twos hit! That's a whole different topic and blog in it's self! LOL

He has also been watching the movie Cars a lot. So now when we get in the car, he says "go fast" and I say, "what happens if you go fast" he says, "wu get a ticket!" It is so freaking cute!

Today they had a fire drill at the CDC and Mrs. Jessica said that Jackson was so excited to see the fire truck and the firemen. She said he stood right by her while they were all lined up at the fence and kept saying, "fireman." Ever since I picked him up, all he's been saying is, "I wanna be a fireman." Fireman, Pilot, which one is it!

I also love that now he is figuring out his body and is trying to figure out the whole potty thing. He says he wants to go pee pee in the potty, but when we go and undress and stand there, he says "all done!" So, I will keep trying! He also wants to tickle Jeff and I. He says tickle, tickle, tickle and tries to tickle us. I guess you can say we tickle to much!

I just can't believe how much they change after they turn 2. Jeff was just saying last night that he wishes he could freeze Jackson at this age. They are just so fun and so cute! I can't wait to see what his vocabulary expands to and how creative his imagination will be. We truly have been blessed with a beautiful, loving, smart and just a great child.

First solo in a fighter jet!

Today I had my first solo flight in the T-38C. This is our life support equipment room where all of our gear is stored. We get suited up with everything we need to fly and then step to the jets.

The T-38 ejection seat does not have a parachute, so we have to carry one. It weighs about 45 pounds and is a pain in the ass to haul around when it is hot. It isn't too bad in the plane, but it pulls you down in the seat when we pull g's.

Once we get to the jet we do a full walk around just to make sure everything looks normal. On this flight I noticed the jet had some old tires on it, so I had the crew chief change them since my landings are not that great right now. A blown tire on landing is not a good situation to be in.

It takes almost 20 minutes to get strapped in and ready for start. There are a ton of checks that need to be completed, and you definitely don't want to miss any step, so I am constantly rechecking what I already checked twice. And I still miss checklist items.

This is a good picture of our up front control panel (UFCP) and heads up display(HUD). It takes a while to get all the info in it, but once you do all of our primary flight instruments are all there at eye level so we don't have to look down while flying. When we pull a lot of g's looking down is not very comfortable, so this is a tremendous help. This is the exact same HUD that is in the F-16 fighting falcon.

Once all the avionics stuff is set up and radio calls are made it is time to check all the control surfaces. Here I am checking the flap-elevator (slab) inter connect to ensure it is working. If this were to fail on approach to landing I have 3 seconds to apply the correct procedure before the plane flips upside down and I am going to eject straight into the ground.

Taxiing out to the runway. This jet has afterburners so take off happens pretty quick and the airplane accelerates like a bat out of hell, nothing compared to what I will be flying in a year, but it hauls ass. We pull the burners out only half way down the runway, and we are at 300 knots by the end of the runway, which is 12,000 ft long. It's fast! It is a constant acceleration that shoves me back into the seat, and never stops until I pull the throttles back.
The flight went well, had a couple of really nice landings and some really crappy ones, but I am back safe. I almost GLOC'd myself (G induced loss of consciousness) in the practice area doing aerobatics. Pulled too many G's with no anti g straining maneuver ( flexing your butt) doing a cuban 8, but I recovered the jet at the first signs of high G and everything was cool after that.

T38 Dollar Ride

My First take off in the T-38 going 300 knots (350 mph) My first attempt at landing, getting a little squirley

The wings on this plane are very small and produce very little lift. More people have been killed landing than any other phase of flight. The plane on approach is always about to stall, so it shakes violently all the way down to the ground because of the separation of airflow over the tiny wings. It makes landing interesting. Our IP's are always telling us to be careful and maintain airspeed or the plane can flip over instantly and we would both be killed. I love this job!

Approach to land at 170 knots (200mph)
Things happen pretty fast in this jet! My first couple of landings were pretty bad, but I started to get used to it. We land so fast that any mistakes are multiplied and you can't salvage a bad landing. By my third flight I am not able to land that great, but safely. I finally had a good landing, but I almost took my IP and myself off the end of the runway because I did not get on the brakes soon enough. Definitely had the pucker factor! (Anus Clenching)

FYI

We just want to let you all know that our computer has been down. We think we had a virus or something, so Jeff deleted everything off of our computer and updated the Anti-virus stuff. Jeff still has some other stuff to do to the computer, but we should be up and running this weekend.
Don't ask, I have no clue where we got it!

Yearly Family Vacation

Here we are again to celebrate and remember my Grandpa Less who died in January of 04.

We spread his ashes in Cayucos, CA in 2005 off the pier as he wanted it. This place has been a vacation spot for our family as far as I can remember. The ocean is where my heart is and hopefully one of these days that's where we will settle.

Morro Bay Rock

Jackson playing football with his Uncle Scott and Uncle Jeff.

Looks more like keep away!
I wonder what he was thinking about?

Little toes
I think this is what he was thinking!
He eventually fell in and was soaked!

to be continued..........