Fall Update

Wow! It has been a long time since one of us has made a post, so I will try to catch everyone up on the last couple of months!

First off, Kalen and I had a great weekend in Biloxi! We were able to do some shopping, lots of eating and even spent some money trying to win big at one of the casinos! Neither of us had ever been to Biloxi, and both really enjoyed a long weekend together!

Right after Biloxi, I began my 14 week AMOC course in Wichita Falls, Texas. Unfortunately, northern Texas has not grown on me but I have been learning a lot in school and have been taking frequent trips up to the house in Oklahoma City! Currently I am over halfway done with my class, I have already taken 4 tests! I have been, as Kalen said, learning the “ins and outs” of aircraft maintenance, lots about engines, computer systems, flight control surfaces, hydraulics (yes, I know what that is, even what pneudraulics is!) and various different airframes! The course has also given me a lot of hands-on experiences, such as getting to climb into F-15 and F-16 intakes, exploring B-52s and C-130s, even playing with the different parts of an F-100 engine (suck, squeeze, bang, blow!).

Kalen has also been working hard at school in Florida! He recently tested out of the longest block of the course (getting a 98%) and has been doing great at controlling! In early December, his class will be having their assignment night! At this ceremony, he will be given his base assignment (Tinker AFB!), a call-sign/nickname and of course a great opportunity to do some partying! A couple of weeks ago, Paula and Craig visited Kalen for about two weeks! They had a blast doing lots of fishing and relaxing on the beach! Today, Kalen and a few classmates went to Jacksonville to hold a large American Flag at the Jaguars game (we’ll put some pictures up eventually)!

The two of us are getting very excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas, they seem to be getting closer and closer!! We will be spending Thanksgiving in Florida and Kalen will be coming up to OKC for two weeks during Christmas!! After Christmas, we will begin counting down the days until Kalen’s graduation from his ABM school! Right after graduation he will be in Washington State for a survival school (there will be more to come about this!) and then moving to OKC in March! We can’t wait!

Finally, the two of us are extremely excited to welcome a new Stoddard to the family next spring! We will be getting a Chesapeake Bay Retriever puppy in March or April! We are very excited to get moved in and the house all settled, and get the puppy…and of course finally get to see each other everyday!

Jenna

August News

Hi everyone,

Its been a while since our last post, so I'll update you on what's been happening...

Jenna is busy in Oklahoma working at her squadron. She will be going to Aircraft Maintenance Officer Course (AMOC) at Shepard AFB next week. AMOC is a 3 month long course where maintenance officers learn the ins and outs of supervision and aircraft maintenance. Maintenance workers in the Air Force are some of the hardest working and best people in the Air Force. They also have a reputation for getting into trouble sometimes so I am sure Jenna will have a lot on her plate when she gets back to Oklahoma. Jenna has been busy decorating the house, and making frequent trips to Panera Bread!

I have been busy with training in Florida and am entering the "tactical control" part of my training. Tactical control involves learning MU-2, F-15, and F-22 tactics. Next week I will be getting my second flight on an MU-2 (small twin engine prop). We learn to control MU-2s first since they are slower - we call them Decafs! We will have our first live control mission the following week where we will control 2 vs 2 Decaf flights. I am enjoying the training so far and learning a lot. I have a whole new respect for fighter pilots after going through some of our lessons!

I have also been ffinding time to enjoy my new hobby - surf fishing! I found a nice fishing spot a couple miles outside of mexico beach called Crooked Island. I have caught many different kinds of fish including Ladyfish, Catfish, Whiting, Bluefish, Sand Sharks, and even a stingray! I managed to catch 4 nice keepers (Bluefish and Whiting) this weekend, and should be able to have 3 or 4 nice fish dinners! My next goal is to catch a Florida Pompano, which are supposed to be the best tasting fish in Florida. I will keep you posted on my fishing adventures in the future!

Jenna and I are meeting at Keesler AFB next weekend before she goes to AMOC. It will be nice to spend some time together for a few days!

That's all for now, hope everyone is enjoying the last part of summer!

OKC House Pictures

Living room...The paint does not look the best, but that is because of the flash on the camera.

Dinning room, with new table and wedding pictures. And new curtains I just put up!

Kalen, when he can up for my graduation from ASBC.

Oklahoma City

A lot has happened since our last post... I have moved to Oklahoma City to Tinker AFB, and Kalen has moved into his next phase of training!

First, on the 20th of July I arrived to Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City, OK. Right away I was able to get an on-base house and have embodied the phrase “hit-the-ground-running” perfectly! I am assigned to the Maintenance Group for the AWACS, I have been attending many meetings a day, and learning about the planes as well as doing a lot of classes while I in-process to the base! So far I have really enjoyed the fast-paced job, hundreds of people also working in the group….and even the long, long hours!

Next, I have been working on getting moved into the new house. It is pretty bare, being my household goods are still somewhere between Superior and OKC… But I have been able to get the essentials, including a bed, table, 32” LCD TV and a weather radio! (I was even able to get some great deals on the furniture after a local store had its roof blown off in a storm!) Last weekend I took advantage of the lack of furniture and painted the living room/dinning room area! Even the local JC Penny welcomed me to the area with a window sale, so I was able to get some great deals on curtains! If you would like a better idea of what the house looks like, I would suggest watching the movie “We Were Soldiers” (a Vietnam War movie) the housing shown in the movie was build around the same time as our house…very similar…

Last Saturday, Kalen got another new car for us! A very pretty, red, 2010 Subaru Forester! Although I was sad to see our second old jeep go…Kalen was very happy to receive $4,500 for getting a vehicle with better fuel economy! (My tolerance for the current administration and Congress has been pretty high this week! Thanks guys!) By this time, the jeep has probably been crushed. Again, we needed to replace it and Kalen has already grown very fond of the new Subaru! When he moves up to OKC, it will be a struggle over which vehicle will get the garage! His Forester, or my Impreza!

Again, it has been very busy few weeks for us. Kalen has moved into his next phase of training to become an Air Battle Manager! He has already excelled at the numerous early-morning mission simulations he does for training a couple times a week! Working with the AWACS in OKC, I have even learned more about his training! We usually dedicate 10-15 minutes of our nightly phone conversations to talking about AWACS Mission! (Also known as “America’s Mission”)

This weekend the two of us are getting some R&R and preparing for the next week! I will be very busy with work, probably pulling 12 hour shifts the next two weeks (possibly even some night shifts!) and Kalen will be back to class and training simulations next week! I have already started my weekend with 12 hours of sleep, and Kalen is on his way to the golf course!

Hopefully we will get another post up in a couple of days and a picture of the new car…no promises though, our weeks are flying by!!

Jenna

Fourth of July

We hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! We both spent our Fourth in Mexico Beach, enjoying the beach and the local festivities!

Since we last wrote, Kalen has finished his academic block of Air Battle Manager training, this was the first big section of his training. While waiting for his second block of training to begin, Kalen has been spending a lot of time golfing and working out as well as expanding his horizons on YouTube...oh, and doing a little work at his training squadron! The last weekend in June Kalen was able to take a day of leave and head up to Montgomery, Alabama to visit Jenna at ASBC. Again, he was able to work on his golf swing while Jenna was in class! He will begin his next block of training on July 20th, he will be learning how to direct fighter aircraft! This will hopefully include a ride on a F-15 Eagle (fighter airplane)!

Jenna is still at ASBC (Air and Space Basic Course) at the Air University in Montgomery, Alabama. She spent her first week in the field, at a facility that simulates a deployed environment. Even getting issued a M-4 (weapon)! However, the last few weeks have been spent in class at the college learning about theory, doctrine, operations and strategy of the Air Force. She only has two more weeks, one including a large test and another in the field.

After ASBC, Jenna will be heading up to Oklahoma City to begin work in the 552nd Maintenance Operations Squadron. This squadron supports the AWACS, the planes Kalen will soon be flying on! Jenna will spend 6 weeks in Oklahoma before heading to Wichita Falls, Texas for more school!

Again, we hope everyone had a great Fourth of July!!

Kalen & Jenna

E-3 Sentry AWACS

Recent News

Not much new to report since the last posting.  I am still enjoying my training and will be finishing up the "console familiarization" portion of the course tomorrow.  It is difficult but we still find time to have fun too.

Mom and Dad and Jenna were here visiting last weekend.  It was nice to have everyone here at once.  We did a lot of beach combing, and even saw someone catch a shark off the pier!  We also had some great food, and enjoyed a tour of the base and the 325th Air Control Squadron.

Jenna is finally in Alabama, and should be receiving her first paycheck shortly!  She spent most of last week sleeping in a tent for some psuedo-deployment training.  So far she is having a lot of fun there, and the best part is that we can see each other on the weekends!  

It has been very hot here lately and might even get to 100 degrees this week.  I don't enjoy the heat and humidity here much, but it sure beats 30 below zero!  Hope everyone is doing well, check back in a couple weeks for more!

Jenna Coming to Town!

Hi everyone,

Just thought I'd check in and write a little something about what's been going on lately.  First of all, Jenna is coming to visit for a couple weeks here in Florida!  We are both very exciting to see one another again after being apart for about 2 months.  We plan on spending the long weekend doing some shopping and spending some time outdoors.

I just finished my third academic test today for Air Battle Management school.  The course is split up into 5 different blocks.  Right now we are in the academic block (Block 1) where we have 5 of our 8 tests for the 9 month course (one test each week for the first 5 weeks).  There is a lot of material to memorize, but so far the workload hasn't been more than I am used to.  Most of the time we only have classroom lessons until around noon and then they set us free for the rest of the day so we only end up at "work" for about 4 or 5 hours each day.  Thank you taxpayers!

Anyways, that's about all that has been going on lately.  I enjoy being in Florida, and the base is great.  We see F-15s, F-16s, and F-22s fly over everyday.  It is like having our own private airshow.  Hope everyone is doing well.  I will try to write again in a couple weeks!  

Kalen

Recent Events!

Hi everyone,

Since I last wrote I have been very busy.  First off, I graduated ASBC (Aerospace Basic Course) on April 17th and was awarded exceptional performer at the end of the course.  After that it was on the road to Florida.  I arrived here the same day and began the long process of getting settled in.  The first thing I needed to do was check in to my new job.  I am currently assigned to the 325th Air Control Squadron at Tyndall AFB, FL.  After completing a long checklist of inprocessing items, I finally started class this past Tuesday.  

Unfortunately I sliced my left middle finger while cutting a potato on Wednesday evening and received 6 stitches in my hand.  It was certainly an exciting evening!

I love my apartment in Mexico Beach - I walk down to the beach just about every day.  It is only about 3 blocks from the front door of my apartment to beach access!  I bought a few pieces of furniture for my apartment including a desk, couch, and bed.  I am enjoying my first venture into adulthood so far.

Recently I've been studying materials for class a lot and hanging out with my new classmates.  They all have interesting stories to tell and lots of neat experiences.  One was a navigator on an LC-130 ski plane that flew to Antarctica regularly!  I have learned a lot so far.   Just in case anyone is interested here is my new mailing address:

3706 Hwy 98 Unit 303

Mexico Beach, FL 32456 (32410 for UPS packages)

I would love to hear from you.  Give me a call, email me, or send me a letter anytime.  Hope everyone is enjoying the Spring weather!  

Cheers!

Kalen

Happy Easter!

Hello Everyone!

I know it has been a long time since my last post, but I've been very busy with ASBC and all that goes along with it.  I am currently preparing for my last exam this Tuesday, and I am anxiously awaiting our graduation this Friday morning.  It has been a long 6 weeks, but well worth it at the same time.

After ASBC, I'll be moving on to my next location which is Tyndall AFB.  A couple weeks ago Jenna and I went apartment hunting in the area.  We managed to find a wonderful apartment in Mexico Beach Florida.  It is only a couple blocks from the beach!  The town is very quiet and has a lot of small town charm with a relaxed beach atmosphere.  I am really looking forward to living so close to the beach and experiencing all that goes along with the beach atmosphere.

While in Montgomery, I've been enjoying some of the local eating establishments and even took in a Montgomery Biscuits baseball game.  I can't say that Montgomery is my favorite place in the world, but the base is very nice and I've met some great people.  I will try to have Jenna post some pictures along with this posting of my new apartment.  If any of you would like to visit, just give me a call - I have plenty of space!

I hope you all had a spectacular Easter and are enjoying the Spring weather.  I'll try to post again soon.

Kalen

Red River Flood

Since returning from visiting Kalen at ASBC, I have been dealing with icestorms, lots of snow and the flooding Red River! As of right now the University of North Dakota has been closed until Tuesday to allow students to help prepare for the flood. Right now, the river is pretty bad down in Fargo, being the Red flows north all of that water is going to be heading to Grand Forks later this week.

Last night, I went down town to look at the Red. This is the Sorlie Bridge (on Demers Ave), it was closed down yesterday morning. Across the river, the dikes have been put up and are being depended on to protect the town up to 60 feet of flooding. As of today, we are almost up to 50 feet and have been expected to crest around 54 feet next week. That was prior to getting almost a foot of snow in the last 48 hours!!

In a few minutes I will be going to help sandbag and hopefully work on building some dikes with a couple of guys from Air Force ROTC. Grand Forks is currently filling up as many sandbags as possible, because it is below freezing we can't put build the bags up because they will freeze. The city is working on having sandbagging go 24 hours a day, and have already set up a shelter at the Alerus Center. We have also been asked to try to conserve water over the next few days(which has been loaded with chlorine already to insure that it is safe to drink, yuck!)

My apartment is a ways away from the river, so I am not too worried about any flooding (even though I am on the bottom floor). Luckily, I have my parents pickup truck so if I need to leave town I will be able to pack up and head north to get around the river!

This is another picture from downtown. It is a marker along the Greenway that was built following the 1997 record flooding. The top line is where the river crested 13 years ago, we are expected to get close to passing that record this year. About half of the tower is already under water!

Please pray for this area, I am sure it is going to get much worse for Fargo and possibly Grand Forks.

Jenna

ASBC So Far...

It has been a long time since my last post, but I have been so busy since I arrived here at Maxwell AFB. So far my time here has been great. I've managed to play a few rounds of golf, take a trip to Georgia, and check out some of the local eating establishments.

Our days here are very busy. Usually we start class at 0730 and finish at 1630 (4:30). Since my job for my flight (think of a flight as a team) is the Academic Officer, I am responsible for making sure my flight has the materials they need to pass one of our two academic tests. That means I often have a lot of homework.

We do a lot of fun things here too. My favorite is a game called Icarus. The game involves a lot of strategy, and is kind of like dodgeball. It is based on a lot of the principles of airpower. My position on the field is Offensive Counter Air. That means I have to go into "enemy" territory and try to knock their cones down while their "Defensive Counter Air" throws "ordnance" (dodgeballs) at me to send me to the "Graveyard". Anyways, it is a really fun game, and our flight won our first campaign yesterday.

We also play some wargames on the computer that are a lot like video games. THey are also very fun. I got my first paycheck yesterday. It is nice to finally have some money now!

That's about all I have for now. I'll try to post on here more often if I get some time.

Exciting News!

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Tomorrow Kalen and I will become proud new owners of a 2008 Subaru Impreza! As of right now, we both have Jeeps. Unfortunately I spent a good about of time on Thursday getting mine towed and waiting at Sears Auto Center to get fixed. Luckily it was a quick (and cheep) fix, but I decided not to take the chance that my jeep would not make it across the country this summer! I had looked at this car last August, and because Superior does not have a big market for Subaru’s it was still for sale when I went to our friend’s car dealership on Friday.

After sleeping on it, a little wheeling and dealing, and a few test drives I settled at a price $2,000 less then the sticker price and will be getting a good trade in for the Jeep! As I mentioned, it is a 2008 Subaru Impreza with around 2400 miles. It is a black-ish gray, and very pretty!!

Jenna

Finally Here!

I finally made it to Maxwell AFB near Montgomery Alabama at about 10:00 A.M. yesterday. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to check into my room until 2:00 P.M., so I decided to play 9 holes of golf to fill some time.

After playing golf I had a quick bite to eat and then checked into my room. The room is nothing special, but I do have my own bathroom (where the faucet was leaking!). I managed to move all my stuff in just in time to go have a bite to eat at the DFAC (dining facility) and make it to my 7:00 P.M. meeting. After the meeting I was able to ask my commander, Captain Helton, about joint spouse issues (military spouse information). I received a lot of good info from him and the other officers around. Everyone has been really helpful so far.

Today we had a bunch of paperwork to do. We got done at 1:00 and I went to the grocery store to grab some snacks and needed items. Tonight I am going to go to the officer's club for free dinner with some of the guys I met.

Well, that's about everything I've done since I've gotten here. I'll write again in a couple days. Hope everyone has a safe and fun weekend!

Alabama or Bust - Day 2

Today I arrived safely in Paducah, KY. The trip was fairly uneventful, and driving through Illinois reminded me much of driving through North Dakota. The first 5 hours of the drive were boring, but the end of the drive actually wasn't too bad.

I am staying at the Holiday Inn again tonight, and since I am in the Holiday Inn "Priority Club" I got upgraded to a suite with a hot tub! I had a great dinner at the restaurant near the hotel - ribs and mashed potatoes. Tonight I plan on relaxing and watching the Biggest Loser. People in Kentucky seem nice so far, and I haven't seen anyone with missing teeth................yet.

Tomorrow I'll be going to Trussville, Alabama. It should be a shorter trip than the last couple days, so I might sleep in a little tomorrow. I miss everyone and will write again tomorrow to let you know how things are going.

Alabama or Bust - Day 1

I started my trip to Alabama early this morning from Hibbing. Eight hours and 450 miles later I have arrived in Beloit Wisconsin. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the Wisconsin region, Beloit lies on the southern border of Wisconsin - about 100 miles northwest of Chicago.

The trip went well for the first 6 hours. The last two hours were complete hell. I thought the trip would never end, and the best part is that I get to do it all over again tomorrow. After watching all the other drivers in the southern part of Wisconsin, I think that I might be the only person left on earth who actually drives the speed limit. On a brighter note, the drive was actually quite scenic. I would put a picture up, but the internet at the Holiday Inn Express leaves something to be desired.

I just got done eating at Applebees by myself. Eating by myself in public is one of those things that I hate doing, but I do it nonetheless. I think I memorized the drink and dessert menu at Applebees while waiting for my food. Luckily the food was pretty good for the price.

Well, that's about all I have for now. The destination for tomorrow............... Paducah Kentucky! Hopefully I'm not the only person there with teeth. I think I will relax for the rest of the night and maybe take in a movie. Check back tomorrow, I'll be writing again!

Just Married

Well, we finally tied the knot last Saturday, February 21. It really was a great weekend. From the rehearsal dinner to the end of the reception, everything ran rather smoothly. Some of you may be wondering what we've been up to since the wedding. Well, here it is...

We left the reception at about 11:30 while the dance was still in full swing. We had a penthouse suite at the CanadInn which had an outstanding view of the modest Grand Forks "skyline". Our parents had made a basket for us containing champagne, Widman's candy, bottled water, and even some Tums. That was some of the best tasting water I've ever tasted!

On Sunday morning we woke up and went to the Hilton to open our gifts. We received a lot of great gifts, and enjoyed the company of a lot of our family as well. Later that afternoon we returned to the CanadInn for blackjack, a movie, and fun at the waterpark. It was a very relaxing day.

Since then we've been back to the grind. We went to Target yesterday to buy some luggage and other things we needed. Today, Jenna is back at class and I have a couple of last minute errands to run before I leave Grand Forks for good tomorrow :(

Jenna will be coming to visit me in Alabama early in March, so at least we won't have to spend too much time apart. Lastly, we really want to thank everyone for being so kind and gracious to us this past weekend. We hope you had as much fun as we did!

Kalen

One Week Left

Well, there is only one week left to the wedding, and everything seems to be going rather smoothly. Unfortunately one of the groomsman, Danny Vitali, will not be able to make it because of a work conflict. A close friend Luke Johanneck will be filling in to take his spot, and an ROTC friend Luke Sandbeck-Moriarity will be taking Luke Johanneck's spot as an usher. Hopefully that isn't too confusing.

Both of us are getting very excited for the wedding now. It is getting really close now! I am staying with Jenna until the wedding and for a few days after. We've finished most of the important details for the wedding on Saturday.

On top of all the wedding tasks, I've been getting ready for my move to Alabama and then Florida. I'll be leaving Hibbing on March 1st or 2nd depending on the weather. It is crazy how fast life is moving at the moment, but hopefully it will all settle down soon! Can't wait to see everyone at the wedding! Keep checking for more updates...

First Blog

Hello Everyone!

This is the first post of my new blog. I will be updating you on my life as often as possible. This blog is meant for family and friends to keep up with my latest antics. Hope you like it!

One more thing... I probably will be posting more once I move away from home in the beginning of March, so don't look for much until then. Feel free to leave comments if you would like!

Kalen