Thanksgiving

We had a great time having a bunch of our friends over for Thanksgiving. Ben and I got the turkey cooked and carved on Wed along with the dressing and rolls done. Thursday morning was spent getting things in the oven to be reheated and making the potatoes and spoon bread. Everything turned out great!! Poor Kristina was put in charge of the kitchen when Aubrey mysteriously spiked a 103 temp. Kristina and her husband Robbie were friends of Rachel and Brian. We didn't know them before they walked through our front door. I felt so bad leaving her to make everything in a kitchen she doesn't know, but looking at the guys with their beer in hand didn't seem like a better option. Rachel and I had to run down to Walgreens on Thanksgiving Day to get medicine and Pedialite. It was quite the experience. Kristina did a great job keeping everything flowing in and out of the oven on time! The food was sooooo good and we even had some leftovers!

It turned out that even though Aubrey had a 103 temp she wasn't sick. She cut her first tooth! The next day she still wasn't feeling all that great. She spent a lot of time just lounging and chewing on my finger. She bit down and it actually hurt! That's when I felt her tiny tooth! Aubrey is feeling much better and hopefully will have a few more come through before Christmas hits. Our little girl is growing up. LOL.

FINALLY.....

It took me a little longer to find my camera cord than I thought, but after a few weeks of searching I finally found it. Here are a few pictures dating way back to Halloween. I hope you enjoy and I will try to get back on track with everything here soon.

Aubrey has a classic face for daddy while she's getting ready to eat.

This one was after Aubrey's dedication at church. We had a great time and she was adorable in her polka-dot dress.

A perfect picture of our little Gopher fan. She loves watching football and hanging out with daddy. (I think that's going to be their thing).

Any kind of flying and Aubrey is there. She loves to fly, "fly" around the house, and sit in the cockpit with daddy when she gets the chance (which has only happened once).

I love going in after her nap time and being greeted with a big squeal and a smile! She is so happy when she wakes up (most of the time!).

Happy Halloween! Here's our little Bumblebee. Daddy was in Washington for SERE training and missed Halloween. Aubrey still got all dressed up for pictures and to go out to eat with Mommy, Grandma Kim, and Grandpa Ken.

She loved her pumpkin!! At least I like to think so. I guess I made everyone a little nervous while I was carving it. Almost lost a few digits, but made it through in one piece!

Aubrey is getting to be such a big girl and loves to sit up on her own. She doesn't want anything to lean against anymore. This one was a test run to see how the dress fit for her 6 month pictures. I decided it was a little big still and had an excuse to go buy her another one. Now she just needs a little bit of hair to put a bow in!

This next picture needs a bit of explaining. After a couple of different conversations and trying on his Christmas present he decided he wanted to shave his head. I wasn't against it, but reminded him of the maintenance and that he would have to shave it everyday to keep it smooth. He decided it was a little much for him and went for the incredibly short cut. No guide on the trimmer for him. This is as short as we could go. I LOVE it on him!! No more high'n'tight cuts!

Thanksgiving is going to be so much fun this year. I am so excited to have our friends over and make dinner for everyone! Aubrey gets to have her first Thanksgiving and we even have Turkey and Veggies baby food for her to have with us! Since I'm not pregnant this year I get to enjoy a nice glass of wine with my dinner. Can't wait!!! I'll put pictures up after the party!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Ben and I have so much to be thankful for this year...

Too long...

Ok. I know y'all have been looking for an update and more pictures, but things have been a little crazy around here. Ben got back from SEER training all in one piece. He said it was the best/worst training of his career. Great training, but not something he would ever want to do again. That was about all he could tell me about his training...kind of the "if I told you I'd have to kill you" sort of thing.

After packing for the first week he was gone I headed up to WI with Aubrey to visit grandmas and grandpas. It was a long drive, but we had a good time. Ben was able to fly into Appleton and drive back down to MS with me. The day after we got back it was moving day!! We signed the lease and started making trips with our car. Getting everything weighed was a little tricky, but it all worked out.

We have been settled in our new house for almost a week now and things are finally getting back to normal. Aubrey has been sick for what feels like forever and Ben didn't waste any time getting back into the cockpit. He is flying and I am (trying) to keep the house working. :) The only thing I have left to go through is the few boxes we have of office stuff, but since we don't have an "office" anymore I don't feel very rushed. The only problem with that is that my camera cord is still in there. Hopefully I'll have a chance to get to it this weekend and get some pictures of my little bumblebee from Halloween and our new house up.

Keeping us busy....

It never fails...the Air Force always has a way of keeping us on our toes. Ben left last Thursday for Land Survival Training out in WA so Aubrey and I have been on our own. That afternoon we were served with our notice to move. If y'all remember we aren't moving to OR until April so I had to read a little further. Our house has been added to the list to be demolished so we have to move. I went down to the office and got the last house available for Field Grade Officers. They wanted me to move this week, but I said no since Ben wasn't going to be here. He returns from Land Survival on the 31 of Oct. and we sign the lease on Nov. 1. Nothing like short notice. I have this week to pack up the house since I am planning on visiting my dad when he gets back from Philly. I promise to try and add more pics of Aubrey soon, but my camera stuff is all packed already so it might not be until after we move. The rain is making it perfect packing weather since I don't want to be outside. :)

Ben's RIP

No, this does not mean "Rest In Peace". His RIP is the "unofficial" orders we get with the "tentative" dates for the rest of his training. Everything with the Air Force is subject to change until the official orders are in his hands. I promised to keep y'all updated when we found out more information, so here it is:

Sept. 28-30 is Centrifuge training at Hollomon AFB in NM.

Oct. 8-30 is Parachute/Land Survival training at Fairchild AFB in WA.

Dec. 8-10 is Water Survival at Pensacola NAS in FL.

Feb. 4-April 9 is IFF at Columbus AFB in MS.

After all this is said and done we have to report to Klamath Falls ANGB, OR no later than April 30. He starts his F-15 training on May 10 and finishes fully mission qualified on November 26, 2010.

All of the above training things are done as TDYs so Aubrey and I will stay in Columbus. We get to be with him while he is doing his IFF training since it is here. Only seven more months and then we get to see a new part of the country...Oregon, here we come!

SUPT Graduation

Well here it is, the end of a long year. Ben graduated from pilot training on September 4, 2009. The morning started out with a breakfast and then a briefing by Col. Watkins (the base commander). After that we headed over to the base theater for the official ceremony. This first picture is right after Col. Watkins pinned Ben's wings on and gave him his "diploma".

After the formal ceremony they have the traditional "Breaking of Wings".

"Since man started flying, he has taken to the air with a certain amount of risk. To counter that risk, a tradition was established years ago when the Army Air corps first started issuing pilot wings to their young aviators. This tradition is called 'Breaking of Wings'. At every UPT graduation, the Air Force issues the pilots their first pair of wings. As tradition has it, that first pair of wings should never be worn by the pilot. To bring good luck, the pilot should break the wings into two parts. One half should be kept by the pilot, the other half should be given to the pilot's best friend or relative. To preserve the good luck, the two halves should never be brought together while the pilot is still alive. After death, the two halves are once again united with the pilot for good luck in the next life." -Annonymous

This picture is of Ben breaking his wings. They have to hold the two halves over their heads to prove they broke them. It's always a joke to see who the last (weakest) person will be.

Ben came and found us pretty quick and wanted to hold his favorite girl! We just had to make sure she didn't spit-up on his uniform.

After the ceremony we went over to the wing plaza and I got to pin on his first official pair of Air Force Silver Wings!!

This is Ben's Flight Commander, Capt. Venable. Ironically enough his name is Aubrey too! This is where they received their actual "diploma". It is their Aeronautical Ratings saying they are a pilot!

After all the stuff in the squadron was done we got to head out to the flight line and see a static display of the T-38. I think Aubrey is going to follow in her daddy's footsteps. She is already mesmerized by the jet.

This usually doesn't happen, but there was an F-15 Eagle there for Ben's graduation so we had to get a good picture of him in front of "his" jet. Now you can see how much bigger this jet is from the T-38.

It's official...1st Lt. Benjamin C. Kempen is an F-15 Eagle fighter pilot for the greatest Air Force in the world!!! We couldn't be more proud.

Aubrey's Adventures

The other day Ben and I were sitting around wondering what to do. It was a beautiful day outside, but we were getting tired of our usual walks on base, so we decided to venture out to the River Walk downtown. It is a really nice new path that is two miles long. We probably walked about a mile and a half out so we did three miles. It was a lot of fun.

This was the bench we stopped at with the sign right before we turned around and headed back.

Aubrey had a good time laughing a smiling most of the way.

Aubrey had her 4 month check up at the Dr. on Monday, and we started her on rice cereal! Here is the perfect picture of her after our first try. She is getting so much better at eating from the spoon, but now she wants to help and tries to grab at the spoon before I can get it in her mouth.

Now that Aubrey is moving around a little I'm not comfortable leaving her on her boppy on the couch without me right there so we pulled out her Pack'N'Play. It is the perfect place for her to be while I'm in the kitchen or cleaning up the living room. She has a bunch of toys in there and I know the dogs won't step on her. In this picture she was busy having a conversation with her Bunny-Bear.

Life is changing everyday with our little family. Aubrey is now eating rice cereal and we introduced Sweet Potatoes tonight. She seems to like them. And....she rolled over!!! It took a few times of coxing, but she was on her tummy and when I turned around she was on her back! I was so sad I missed the first time, but I put her back on her tummy and she did it again!! I am having so much fun with her and I can't wait for her to wake up from her nap in the afternoon to play with me. We have a great time together. I hope you enjoy watching her grow through our pictures!