Fun on Dad's Segway

Papa CT bought a Segway a few months ago and we have had loads of fun riding it around. All of us except for brent who ended up breaking his arm and putting a golfball sized lump on his head.

Celebrating the first day of school & other good news

The girls are excited about the first day of school and so is their mama. Our son doesn't look that excited but inside he really is, it's just not cool to show it. The K4 is not open til next week, so little one will still be staying home. I hope her teacher is resting up.

In other news I just heard via email that my security clearance is now "in adjudications pending review." This is new wording from last time I checked the status, when it was "investigation still pending." There is much discussion on the A-100 yahoo board about how these emails are worded, and what they might mean. People are always discussing and comparing the wording of emails while trying to figure out how they might fit into a time line of some kind. As best I can tell the security clearance goes through several phases: (1) security interviews starting June 12, (2) paperwork processing, (3) rechecking through a case manager, (4) adjudication by the adjudicator at which point there could be follow-up information to be obtained, and (5) granting of the security clearance via a letter. Then you go through final suitability review. After that you can reach the exalted register, hopefully at a high enough number to obtain an offer.

I am hopeful for an offer to begin training in October or January. Just to keep you on edge, there was an A-100 yahoo post of someone who reached the adjudication stage and then was rejected because of a past gambling problem. How disappointing to get that far and then be rejected.

Waiting waiting and more waiting

I requested an update from security clearance customer service. The investigation is still pending. I am trying to keep this in perspective. This picture shows where we were last February (Colorado). That was six months ago. Doesn't seem all that long. In six more months we should know a lot more.

The waiting is getting harder as I get closer to the end of the process.

Morning Flight

Monday evening I flew my wife and three children down to Myrtle Beach. I decided to stay the night and get up the crack of dawn to fly back. This morning was beautiful for flying despite the low clouds and reduced visibility.

Twin Falls

We rode up here on the motorcycle. Twin Falls is about 20 miles north of Pickens, SC. You hike along the river a short way and then come to these falls. There are two here but the second is behind our heads. The water is very cold. Usually it's not crowded. It's a great place to go on a hot afternoon.

Lighthouse at Cape Florida

We climbed up inside this lighthouse and looked down to see a giant iguana laying on top of a tree. The other side of the lighthouse had a view of the Miami skyline. We walked through the keeper's house. It looked like a nice place to live, except no indoor plumbing. We do take that for granted these days.

We are having ongoing discussion of whether we should include our names in our blog. It's awkward to write without using the names. But if we put the names in, will we lose our privacy? Then forevermore if someone does a search under our names they will find all our vacation photos. So for now no names.