Virginia Beach & Massachusetts

This is a little late in coming, but I've been a little myspace phobic lately and busy with the holidays and new work schedule at the clinic. 

After I graduated from the Flight Surgeon course in Alabama, we (Malisa, Collin and I in one vehicle and Mom-mom, Chris, Tab and Lucas in their car) drove back up to Virginia Beach.  It was about a 14-15 hour drive and pretty boring as far as road trips go.  We did the usual routine of stopping at Cracker Barrel and renting the audio CD's to listen to enroute, so we got a couple of good "reads" in. 

We arrived at the Marriott in Virginia Beach and as we pulled into the parking garage, we could see the 2 grammies waiting for us in the lobby...who knows how long they were just sitting there waiting, haha.  Probably hours. 

I guess Pam and Debbie (my mom and Malisa's mom) went down to the beach before we arrived...here are a couple shots of them enjoying VA Beach after their own long drive down from Mass. 

We were pretty tired and just crashed out for the night after getting there.  Collin spent the night with his Mimi and Grammy Pammy whom he had missed so much.  The next morning we ate breakfast down in the lobby and then headed over to my brother's house. 
Here's Collin and I at breakfast in the lobby...

When we arrived at my brother's place, we could hear the LOUDEST music ever as we opened the car door.  I thought there was a concert going on..and it turns out there was...in my brothers backyard where he was playing the drums and accompanied by his IPod that was hooked up to a huge amp.  He sounded good though! 
Collin and Lucas were all too eager to pound out some percussion themselves....

 

They took a break and did some mini 4-wheeling around the yard.

Meanwhile, Christopher and I sang a little Green Day while Tabitha played the drums.

After hanging out with family all day, we headed to our favorite restaurant in Virginia Beach, Harpoon Larry's for some Oysters and Crab legs.
Mom and Mom Little at Harpoon Larry's...

 

Debbie likes Larry's so much that my mom bought her a shirt for her birthday which she proudly modeled!

3 photos demonstrating the silliness of seafood...

We had fun and mom and Collin danced their little hearts out, oblivious to all around (haha).  The next morning, Malisa and I got up early and went for a run on the boardwalk and then did some lunges while Collin hung out with the Grammies.

We headed back over to Mom-mom's where Dad really enjoyed spending time with his 2 grandsons.

 

Candy and dirt...a boy's dream...here's messy-faced Lucas

Funny picture of dad...

 

    We headed back to the hotel in the afternoon.  Collin got to go play on the beach and later some people came over and we rocked out to Guitar Hero!

Chris and Jess...Guitar gods..

The next day we left Virginia and headed up to Massachusetts to visit everybody else.  Here I am with Mom and Dad, saying goodbye...

It was good to visit with everybody when we got back to Mass.

Here's Todd and Collin (or CJ, as only Todd is allowed to call him)..

Collin demonstrating proper thumb-sucking to his cousin Josiah..

Malisa's birthday is November 13th and mine is Nov 14th, so we stayed at one of the cottages at the Hotel Northampton and went out for dinner and drinks in NoHo.  We were supposed to meet a friend but due to some miscommunication we didn't...maybe next time?  Anyway, we ended up having an amazing time, it's really beautiful there. 

I was spreading Guitar Hero addiction like crack.  Here I am at my sister's house getting James involved in the spirit of ROCK. 

One of the last things we did on our trip before heading back to Germany was play golf with Malisa's brothers Tim and Todd.

As we left the golf course, there was a styrofoam skull leftover from Halloween and the guy working there asked if I still wanted it for my son (we had gone golfing with Collin a few days before and he said Collin could have it but we forgot to take it).  So, I said sure...and took it home...wearing it on my head to try to spook Collin.  As you can see...it didn't bother him in the least. 

 

It was a good visit and we're back in Germany now, about to enjoy the new year!

Flight Surgeon Graduation and Alabama Visit

It's been a long time since I've posted a blog....I almost forgot how.

I graduated from the Flight Surgeon course on 09 November.  It was nice because my brother Chris, his wife Tabitha and their son Lucas as well as my Mom-mom came down for the graduation (a long 14 hour drive!) and Malisa and Collin flew over from Germany. 

Here's my squad, 3rd squad.  We had quite a mix..Coast Guard, Air Force, Army and civilians. 

And the class photo...we absolutely couldn't get organized...nobody really cared enough to have a nice class photo, so it was just a pile on right before lunch.

Fort Rucker, Alabama has the US Army Aviation Museum, so Collin was thrilled to be able to check out the different planes and helicopters that have evolved in Army aviation history.  Here's some pictures of him at the museum.

Here's a couple of pictures of Collin and Malisa checking out the Sikorsky, a cargo-lifting helicopter.

 Some photos of Collin and his cousin Lucas.  This was the first time they'd seen each other in almost a year and they had fun playing together.  Collin calls Lucas "Yucas". 

 

I had a few days of class left when everybody arrived, but on one of the mornings, we were doing some "water crash survival training" where you have to be flipped over in the water and learn how to unhook yourself from the seat and egress from the helicopter out the window.  I brought my brother Chris with me and he was able to participate in the training, so that was pretty fun to do some "army stuff" with my bro!  Here he is getting out of the pool after learning how to come up for air if the water surface is on fire from burning fuel.

Here I am in the "SWET" chair, which is what they flip you over in to train you for the DUNKER chair which is an actual simulated helicopter that flips over into the water.

Me and my brother Chris!  A couple of handsome bastards.

My Mom-mom....I love her so much!

Collin and Lucas hanging out and playing in Alabama.

When I graduated, I was handed my Flight Surgeon wings that are worn on the uniform.  I asked Mom-mom to pin them on me, and part of the tradition is that when they are pinned on, they have to be "punched" onto your chest hard enough to draw blood, aka "blood wings" so that you don't forget that you got them.  She thought that idea was pretty funny, as you can see here.  I had a hard time convincing her to punch me, I'm sure there are plenty of volunteers out there that would have jumped at that chance......

Hope you enjoyed the pictures...keeping this one short and sweet.