No Floatie!

Dear Altus AFB,

You may have heard alarming shrieks and screams coming from the pool last night around dinnertime. Don't worry, nobody was being attacked or murdered. It was just my daughter refusing to put on her puddle jumper and throwing an epic tantrum.

See this? This is her exact floatie:

What's not to love? It's pink and purple with a seahorse. So cute, right?

But Scarlett has been swimming for a long time now, and only in the last couple of weeks does this thing finally fit her. So she's had a lot of freedom in the water until now. Oh excuse me, "freedom" meaning must be held at all times.

But now she's bigger and stronger and more independent and the dang thing fits, so guess what, SHE WILL WEAR IT. I'm pretty strong-willed. But so is she (stupid genetics). 

Last night's tantrum at the pool was every parent's worst nightmare. She screamed and cried and pouted for almost an hour. She was not allowed to get in the big pool without it on. And she has deemed herself better than the baby pool, so screaming and crying she did while we sat on a chair and watched her.

We finally wrestled her into it and made her get in and surprise! She was so happy! She swam around saying "I'm swimming! I'm swimming!" and nobody was allowed to touch her. 

I really really really wanted to say to her "I told you so."

Altus AFB is the best base in the world! Literally.

You can't make this stuff up. Altus Air Force Base recently won the 2014 Commander in Chief's Installation Excellence Award! (If you want to get all military and acronym-y, it is generally referred to as the CINC IEA.)

Translation = the best base in the Air Force this year.

With such a high honor comes some serious cash for base improvements, which are desperately needed. The Altus Chamber of Commerce hosted a big party on base to celebrate the occasion, and in the spirit of finding fun, Scarlett and I had to attend.

We got there really early, so it looks totally empty from the picture, but I assure it was NOT. There was free lunch, bounce houses, a dunk tank, and music. They announced the new projects on base, which are actually very exciting. We're talking mini-golf and a splash pad, people. And remember how I hate the kids area in the gym? They're making improvements there too.

Unfortunately, two things happened that prevented me from properly documenting this with my camera phone. Scarlett was high on sugar from that morning's National Donut Day celebration and refused to eat her lunch. So she 1) ran around like a wild banshee and I could barely keep up; and 2) as it approached 1 p.m. (her nap time) she started throwing rocks around other kids. Time to leave.

Hooray for base improvements! If you need me next summer I'll be at the splash pad.

Christmas Tree Lighting on Base

So I know I was a buzzkill on the whole "do one Christmas activity a day" phenomenon, and I apologize. I hate being a downer. The thing is, I do really love the idea of making an effort to enjoy the season as much as possible. I want to do ALL THE THINGS and make the most out of it, but it's just not realistic with our schedule.

But in the spirit of finding fun and celebrating the Christmas season, we headed out to the Christmas tree lighting ceremony on base.

There were cookies and hot chocolate to enjoy while Scarlett ran around and we waited for the program to start. They had a choir from the chapel (I think) come out and sing some Christmas carols to start off the festivities. They passed out sheets of music for everybody to participate, so that was fun. 

Then the wing commander and his family invited the family of a deployed member to light the tree. So fun!

=

And then, Santa arrived by fire truck....

 ...and took his place next to the plane for pictures.

Scarlett couldn't have cared less about Santa. She was busy fastening the buckles on her stroller.

And running on rocks.

Super comfortable for mom to chase her on too.

But she did discover the joy of the Christmas "yights." I'm pretty sure we photobombed a lot of pictures that night because she didn't want to leave the tree, and of course it was the hottest spot for pictures. Who wouldn't want a picture of this cute kid anyway?!?

One Year

One year ago today we arrived in Altus as its newest residents. In some ways I still feel like the new kid, but there are other days where I can't remember what life was like before we lived here.

The one thing I have learned about moving in the military is that not all moves are created equal. All bases are different, all towns are different, and even though I generally know a handful of people wherever we go, all communities are different.

I thought I had it all down to a science -- how to unpack and organize all our belongings,  how to navigate a new base, how to make friends. But this move proved to me that I don't know anything and I have to reinvent the wheel again.

There are things about Altus that have grown on us. I'm still trying to find my niche here. When we lived in Grand Forks I had a full time job across the river in Minnesota,  so I put most of my energy into that. I worked on and off in Illinois, but my main outlet was my church responsibilities. And I've gotten more involved on base here than I did anywhere else. We actually eat dinner at the club on occasion! Who knew we'd ever do that?!? My interests are changing and growing and I'm figuring out how to deal with that.

Here's to another two-ish years here in Altus! May they be deployment-free! (I think I just jinxed myself).

5 on Friday

--ONE--

I had a birthday! I am now 34! That is terrifying. We spent the weekend in St. Louis with some of our favorite people. The day of my birthday was Sunday, which is nice and blah at the same time. But we had delicious smoked meats and a birthday cake, followed by girl time with a couple of my besties and popcorn and Sister Wives. Success!

--TWO--

Remember this post? I got the beautiful cookie jar! Hoorah!

I came home from a Walmart trip to find Todd making gingersnaps to fill the cookie jar. 

Happy birthday to me!

--THREE--

I also got the greatest invention in kitchen appliances -- the Whirley Pop. With my 52" tv, Amazon Prime and Netflix, and delicious movie theater-style popcorn, I will never leave my house ever again.

--FOUR--

Happy Fall Y'all! Can you even read that banner? I don't think I can.

Over the last couple of months I've gotten more involved with the Altus Spouses Club on base. Last night was our monthly social, planned by yours truly. People decorated table centerpieces with a fall theme and then we voted for Best Theme and Best Decorated. As the party planner, I didn't want to compete, but I also didn't want to miss an opportunity to decorate. My original plan was to do a football table, but somebody else was already doing that, so I opted for Plan B. I have loads of pumpkins, so I created a pumpkin patch. I love my pumpkin with lights. It's always my favorite.

--FIVE--

Ahoy me hearties! Yesterday was also International Talk Like a Pirate Day! I never remember until halfway through the day, so I hurriedly tried to get pictures of Scarlett before naps. As always, the necklace was her favorite accessory. I tried to put the hook on her hand and she freaked out.

Yarr matey! She be walkin' t' plank!

Finding Fun: Base Cattle Drive

It's rodeo time in Altus! This is a big event every year, and I've been looking forward to the festivities for awhile. This morning was a cattle drive on base! How cool is that!

Guess what -- cattle are slooooowwww. One of the organizations on base was set up with drinks and donuts so we could snack and mingle while waiting for the horses and cattle.  All Scarlett wanted to do was run into the road, so that was good times.

Finally -- here they come! Base leadership also got on some horses and participated in the cattle drive. I thought it was so fun to see a bunch of guys in flight suits up on horses.

I told Scarlett that technically we hated seeing the longhorns because we are Sooner fans.

I took her over to see a horse that had stopped along the way and she SCREAMED. If you've ever had the pleasure of hearing Scarlett cry, it is definitely shrill and alarming. I was worried the horse would freak out and buck the rider off or something, so we got out of there as fast as possible.

Sadly we will miss the rest of the rodeo festivities this weekend, but we're already looking forward to next year. Maybe by then Scarlett will have her first pair of cowboy boots to wear!

Thrift Shop Prom

Kelly's Korner is talking about thrift shop finds today. Most people are showing their great craft projects with thrift store finds, but this is something completely different. No upcycling involved here. It's the Thrift Shop Prom -- A Night in Altus, courtesy of Todd's squadron.

We had this fundraiser back in May. We were told to buy our clothes from the thrift store -- the less money we spent, the cheaper our ticket would be. This is code for look as gaudy as possible.

This sign was obviously a labor of love.

I couldn't decide between two dresses at Goodwill, and I think I should have picked the other one. The one I chose was this green chiffon that I wore with a black shrug. It was fine, but not the 80s look I was going for exactly. The one I wish I'd gotten was a crushed red velvet overlaid with some cheesy lace. I went back the next day to see about an exchange and it was gone. Wah wah.

We found a ridiculous jacket and shirt and tie for Todd. We were both old school in our clothing, but not quite as old school as I'd hoped for. I did curl and tease and hairspray some big bangs, a la 1990. I thought, I haven't done this in 20 years, I hope I remember how. Turns out it's like riding a bike!

Black trash bags as carpet runners greeted us at the doors. There was karaoke, which Todd participated in. He sang "America" by Neil Diamond, which if you know Todd, you know that is not anywhere near his preferred genre of music. The karaoke was part of the fundraiser, you donated money to make people sing, so that's what Todd got.

What I learned from this experience -- more people buy cheesy formal gowns from Goodwill than you would think. I went to Goodwill several days in a row and they had new merchandise almost every single day, and if I tried to find something one day that I'd seen previously, I couldn't find it. I thought other people in the squadron were buying this stuff for the prom, but I never saw anybody wearing any of it. Soooo...where is everyone going in Goodwill formals that I wasn't invited to?

5 on Friday

It's another 5 on Friday!

--ONE--

I found this at Walmart and got very excited. I took it home and tried it and then I wasn't as excited. It left a bacony film in my mouth, which was super gross. I didn't even finish the bowl, and I'll eat the burnt kernels if I'm hungry enough, so that's saying something.

--TWO--

We've been watching X-Files on Amazon Prime for the last couple of weeks. I never really watched it when it was on before. The only episode I've ever seen all the way through was the one where a circus tent covered a house and some creature gassed the people inside. What's weird is I've seen this episode a few times because I always seem to catch it in syndication. I swear, if I ever randomly catch an episode of X-Files, it will be that stupid circus tent episode. EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. But now we started watching from the beginning and I'm hooked.

--THREE--

The ONE thing Altus needs more than anything is a gym with childcare. There's a room in the base gym that has treadmills and ellipticals and an enclosed area for kids to play. The kids area has lots of big soft toys to jump on and play with and it has a tv in the corner. Scarlett's attention span is approximately 10 minutes before she needs to move on to the next big thing, so I knew taking her with me would be pointless and I'd never be able to work out. But then I thought, maybe she'll surprise me and have a good time in there, so I finally took her yesterday. Just as I predicted, she lasted 15 minutes. Grrrr.

--FOUR--

Scarlett still needs an OU outfit for football season. Last year Etsy was full of them. This year there's nothing. I know there is famine and war in the world, but the season opener is in two weeks and I will be so sad if she's not properly outfitted for the occasion. :( I follow various OU facebook pages and instagram feeds and I've been living vicariously through the pictures of rush, er, recruitment and moving into the dorms. I started college SIXTEEN YEARS AGO. That's a whole person who can drive!

--FIVE--

McDonald's Monopoly ends today and I'm a winner! I have to redeem my two medium fries and breakfast sandwich before August 26. I had all game pieces but one in every single category. I thought for sure the Extradition Agent would put me over the top. Until next year McDonald's...

Where is Altus Air Force Base?

Photo Credit: kswo.com

Have I mentioned we're stationed at Altus Air Force Base in Altus, OK? Oh, you've never heard of Altus? It's okay, most people haven't.

To be honest, it's not an assignment that most people seek. When people do want to come here, it's so they can be home more and have a more stable family life. We came here for a number of reasons, but first and foremost, it just felt like it was where we were supposed to be.

Most of our Air Force friends will say they hate living in Oklahoma because they equate Altus with the rest of the state. Oklahoma doesn't suck, people!

Now, it's true. There's not much to do in Altus itself. We have a sweet base pool that's open in the summer, some cute downtown shops, and I think there's a story hour at the library. We also have dead grass, dilapidated buildings, and the worst drought I've ever seen in my life.

So I'm on a mission. A mission to find something to do with my day and keep my very busy and super social one-year-old entertained.

I'm getting creative and exploring all the nooks and crannies of the state and featuring our discoveries here. Will they be awesome or a disappointment? Let our Finding Fun Tour commence!