Mike....
Mood:  cheeky
Well, Mike signed his life away today.....HA HA!

He had to extend his enlistment a month. Me, being cheeky, said, "Do you get a bonus for that?" ha ha ha!

The reason we had to do this was, because we extended our tour here till June 1, 2006, that would put him under a year left on his enlistment, and THAT would mean, we'd have to stay here for the rest of his enlistment! I DON'T THINK SO!

SO, he extended a month, and we're leaving this country in JUNE, and he will be re-enlisting in June of 2007!!!!! Well, possibly may...but, definately on or before June 1, 2006.

Just thought I'd share! I will have Mike put his good news on here when he gets home, or this weekend. He's had a GREAT week....well, it's been a long and hard week, with inspections going on, but, he came out smelling like roses!

Lots of Hugs,
The McDowells

THIS STINKS!
Mood:  irritated
Topic: The BIG Move!


OK, Mike went into work, and yeah, we got our extension! So, we are here till June. AND, that also puts us in a different cycle, so we will find out our choices IN APRIL! That will be TWO MONTHS BEFORE WE LEAVE!!! SO, that freaks me out. The cycle that we WERE in, we had 6 months before we were due to leave when we found out what our choices were! SO, as soon as April gets here, I will let you know what our choices are. OR, if there is any new news, it will be posted on here.

I knew I was getting my hopes up! OH WELL, I just PRAY our next choices will be BETTER! I still like Cannon for a base, but we shall see! We DO know people there....hmmmmm. LOL

Atleast now, Ireland will get her final grade for 1st grade, and we won't have to enroll her into school as soon as we get back to the states. BUT, now, our DEROS has changed...which will mess things up for a couple of months. SO, I have to have Mike get some orders so I can notify Tri-care, the school, ect.

As I said, any more updates, I will let you all know!

Huggies,
The McDowell's

UPDATE on the Equal List (base choices)
Mood:  d'oh
Topic: The BIG Move!
OK, Mike just e-mailed me, seems we had more than just 4 choices!!! UGH!

OK, the choices are...

Cannon, New Mexico
Offutt, Nebraska
Ellsworth, SD
Minot, ND
Dyess, TX
Dover, DE
Sheppard, TX.

SO NOW, he is putting Cannon at the top of the list, and Sheppard below that. Sheppard is in Wichata Falls, Texas, which is 7 hours away from home. YES, Offutt is closer, Nebraska, but, the planes that are there, he'd be gone most of the time. SO, we're still with Cannon, eventhough we heard there isn't anything to do around there, and it's REAL SMALL...but Mike and I are looking for a small town type place for Ireland. And, Sheppard has been added. Of course, if we go to Sheppard, I get to go see AT LEAST ONE Dallas Cowboy game a year. HEEHEE!

Anyways, that is the update. Only a couple hours after I put the first update on here! HA!

Take Care!
MCI MCDOWELL

WE GOT OUR CHOICES!!!
Mood:  surprised
Topic: The BIG Move!
YEAH! We found out yesterday what our base choices are for our next base! Our choices are...

Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota
Minot AFB, North Dakota
Dover AFB, Delaware
Cannon AFB, New Mexico

Mike and I have decided that Cannon is our #1 choice. Weighing all the options, it was either Ellsworth or Cannon, and since Mike doesn't want to work on the planes in Ellsworth, we decided Cannon would be best. We'll be about 11 hours from home, which is about what we drove from Little Rock, so, I am happy about that!

NOW...some nervous news...IF we get our extension to June, this may change! I have my heart set on New Mexico, but, if we stay till June another listing will come out in April. Mike is going to do some hunting, and question asking today, and see what can be done.

As it is now, he doesn't think we'll get the extension, since it's out of cycle, and it may interfear with his re-enlistment time and retainability.

SO, now we wait! I just wanted to share the news, I don't even know if anyone really reads these! lol

I will let you all know ASAP what we find out and when!

Huggies,
Candi, Mike and Ireland

News on when we leave...
Mood:  silly
Topic: The BIG Move!
Hello All!

Thought I would share the newest news. Mike put in papers last week to get our moving date changed. Instead of moving April of 2006, he put in papers to move June 1 2006. Yes, don't get excited, we're going to be here 2 more months. BUT, it is because we want Ireland to finish 1st grade, so we can take leave and she can enjoy seeing family and not have to worry about school.

Not that we want to stay any longer than we have to, but, it's for Ireland. She'll be able to have a birthday party before we leave, and get her final grade for 1st grade. She won't be here till the end of school, but long enough to get her final grade.

It still has to be approved, so, if it doesn't get approved, I will post it on here. If it doesn't, we'll have to figure somethign else out, and we'll be leaving in April!

As for "Where are you guys going next?" The million dollar question.

We should find out here in the next month or so, what our choices of bases are. This depends on what bases have jobs open for Mike's rank and job.

I will post what those choices are, and what we choose.

Then, I am guessing, we'll get orders either in December, or beginning of 2006. When we find out FOR SURE where we are going, again, I will post it.

That is the latest BIG MOVE NEWS!
Thanks for reading!

Hugs,
Candi, Mike, Ireland and Charlie (the cat) McDowell!