Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everybody.  All of us are finally back in Alaska and doing great!  I started work with my new squadron, the 90th Fighter Squadron last week and it looks like I'll be pretty busy.  I hope to fly a Raptor in Alaska for the first time this week.  The weather has been Alaska standard with a mix of negative temperatures, ice fog, and snow.  We are really loving it though believe it or not.

The kids love being back in their rooms and enjoy littering the house with toys on a daily basis.  Crystal has had time with me being back to get the house in "order," which has put her mind at ease this holiday season.  Unfortunately we won't be around family this season, but we are looking forward to a quiet white Christmas in our new home.  

We pray for everyone to have a joyful holiday season and give praise to the Lord for the birth of his son, Jesus Christ.

Back to Alaska (Almost...)

Wow, it has really been awhile since any posts on the blog.  I am sorry about that, but my life away from the family isn't really that exciting.  It is for me flying wise, but that is about it.  Hopefully, more stories will get posted on here regularly again starting this Christmas.  For now, the big story line is Crystal and the kids finally getting back home in Alaska.

They returned to our house (vacant for 5 months) and are enjoying getting everything working again.  It's a bit like moving in, but Crystal is pretty excited to be back.  Trinity's fish is still alive due to some friends feeding it and no waters pipes are broken from the cold.  Also, Jack's room that he left behind is serving as his own world to explore now that he has grown.  I am looking forward to getting back myself, but will be in Virginia for a couple more weeks.

I have two flights left to complete along with a simulator mission.  The 94th squadron is doing a great job at getting us Alaska guys through MQT and the guys are all awesome.  It will be a little bit of a bummer to leave the squadron as I am just getting to know most of them, but I am looking forward to flying with the 90th in some Alaska Raptors.  That's it for now, I'll get a new post up once this TDY is complete.

New Pictures in our album (link to the left)!!

Virginia anyone?

Hello to anyone that still keeps up with our blog (which has not been very active as of late). Hopefully we'll get more regular with the posting once back in Alaska. Right now, our family is split up with me on the way to Virginia and Crystal (w/kids) is in Palm City, FL with family. I will be starting Mission Qualification Training for the F-22A at Langley AFB, VA and should be done around Thanksgiving. Crystal will be in South Florida until the 28th of November flight back to Alaska (finally).

First Flight

Well, I have finished with two flights in the F-22A Raptor...and let me just say, you all are getting your money worth. It is a pretty sweet jet and is very overwhelming in terms of how different it is from "older" jets. My first flight was pretty unique because my old squadron, the 19th FS, is down here at Tyndall on a deployment. So, on taxi back I saw a few old friends in their F-15Cs along with driving past the 19th Flagship on the ramp. It was just a strange feeling to have the exact jets I flew right there next to me even though I am in Florida. Anyway, the jet is great and I am looking forward to learning more every day with it.

Crystal and the kids are doing good and enjoying the beach. We have started Trinity in a homeschooling Pre-K program that is going great. She and Crystal really enjoy they're "school time" during the day. Jack is the same crazy little man and is getting more personality by the day. It is great to have them here, but it's a little tough to not have the usual Alaska network of friends around.

Gator football is around the corner!!! We'll get some new pictures posted soon.

Something about Mr. Wooster

Well...

I just found out about the passing of a real close family friend, Mr Fred Wooster, @ 73 years of age, and feel that I need to write something about the uplifting impact he had on my life. He was a man that had a real part in why this blog is named "Quiet Place." Back when my Grandfather had this plot of land called "Quiet Place," we always had some huge family/friend gatherings that were nothing but fun memories (ones that last a lifetime). The friend he planned these with was Mr. Wooster.

This guy was one of the most sincere & nicest men I have ever met. He had this handsomely gruff look to him that just made his humor and smile come through with an amazing originality. He was really the type of guy you want on your side and that you want to learn from each and every day. Sounds a bunch like my Grandfather...which is why I probably respected him so much. His family is really amazing and I hope we get to cross paths in the future. He was a real fighter and battled a fierce uphill fight as of late. I think God really had a hard time pulling such a great person away from so many loved ones, but I know that Mr. Wooster was needed. It's a great feeling to know that Mr. Wooster is looking down with a smile seeing how many people he touched in such a positive way. Thank you Mr. Wooster and we'll be seeing you again!

Raptor Training

Hey All!

I am knee deep into Raptor training now at Tyndall AFB in Panama City, FL. I have had two weeks of training and so much information has been put into my small brain that is feels over filled...but stuff is finally beginning to sink in with some simulator training starting up. Myself and the McLeeses just moved into our rental house on Saint Joe Beach about 20 minutes East of the base, so it will be a much better living situation thru November.

Crystal is having a blast with the kiddos down in Martin County with all the family. I of course miss them all, but work is keeping me from about 7 am to 9 pm daily...so not much time for family anyway with academics. They will be arriving up here this weekend though...so we are all excited about being together again! That is about it right now.

We are all enjoying Florida weather while getting some much needed tans. I love learning about the Raptor and can't wait to fly it in a couple of weeks (God willing)! It is truly an engineering marvel. Hope everyone is doing well, thanks for the read.

-Tyson

Florida Fun

Well, we all arrived in Florida safely last week after an exhausting 12 hours of traveling with two children, 7 checked bags, 4 bags of carry-on luggage, and a double-jogging stroller. It was fun. Actually, the kids did great & slept most of the way with Alaska Airlines doing well with good service the entire way...much smoother trip than anticipated.

Since back at Florida, we have been seeing all of our families before I go up to Panama City tomorrow. As of yesterday, I think we have finally made all the "rounds." Trinity & Jack love it here and have been outside every day not able to get enough playtime under the 90 degree sunshine. I think it will be difficult for Trinity to leave in December!

I have begun a new hobby since arriving with some interest in R/C Planes. I couldn't start out with the slow beginner Cessna, but had to go with the F-27B military style plane that can go nearly 50 mph. I fly fighters...should have no problem, right? I have had two outings so far:

- First one with 4 flights (3/4 ending in crashes). The first two crashes weren't bad, a poor hand launch right off the bat, then a hard landing followed by a good landing. But, the final crash was a head-on collision with a tree trunk going about 20 mph. Oops. End of that day with repairs needed.

- Second flight just happened this morning (1/1 ending in spectacular crash). It was going great after reading up online about how to improve upon some lessons I learned the first time. Unfortunately, I am a fighter pilot and felt after 4 minutes of flying that I needed to make it more exciting. After a simple roll, I lost the orientation on my plane and did a spiral dive into the roof of the park restrooms breaking every piece of plastic off the plane. Oops. End of day two with repairs needed. Luckily she still runs fine, but I need to do some gluing.

Time to pack up for Tyndall...again.

Pictures Added

Well, over on the left side are some links to our online picture album. I've uploaded 3 sets of pictures so far. One cool thing you can do in the album is click "view map." That will show you exactly where I took the picture!! Pretty sweet. The first is of our camping/hiking trips this summer in Alaska. They are self-explanatory. The 2nd was just taken yesterday of the 1st King Salmon I caught just before filleting it at the house.

As mentioned in the previous post...I was going fishing that evening and the Lord provided me with an awesome fish. We were at Sheep Creek and it was about 1:00 am (and twilight) when I hooked it. Immediately the line took off...so I slowly tightened the drag up being careful not to let the line break. After reeling him close to the bank, he took off again across the stream. This happened twice more (and many jumps out of the water later) before I finally brought him in. I knew then that this King was the best fish I had ever caught. Oh...and I caught a rainbow trout for the first time prior to the King. That is one beautiful little fish (but felt like a minnow on a King pole).

The 3rd set of pics so far is from my final("fini") flight in the F-15C on the 22nd of June. It was a glorious flight and many Alaska mountains enjoyed the sounds of the Eagle as we passed by. After landing and taxiing back to park, the family and squadron was there to greet me. Then the tradition of spaying down the pilot with Champagne and H2O commenced. It was a great memory, but bittersweet. The Eagle is a phenomenal aircraft and I REALLY enjoyed flying it. Everyone says "yeah, but the F-22." Well...it will be different and I am VERY excited/blessed to have an opportunity to fly it. I compare it to a brand new corvette (someday maybe it will happen) where as the Eagle will always feel like my first '68 Mustang (unforgettable & first time accomplishing a real goal).

Wow...long post. I guess I need to get back to work, obviously have too much time on my hands now.

Our New "Blog"

Well, this will be the first short "post" on our family blog. It is named "Quiet Place (Internet Edition)" due to a memory I have of some land my Grandfather owned that was named the same thing. It was somewhere I always wanted to go and explore around! Crystal & I will be updating this weekly-monthly in hopes of updating family/friends more frequently on our lives. Right now we are enjoying a period of 20 days vacation for myself in between assignments. We have done all the camping we're going to do in Alaska this summer and are getting ready for the trip home next week. We'll be in Palm City, FL starting July 6th...can't wait to see everyone. Alright, need to go catch a King Salmon with Wild and Burn.