We picked Shawn up late Friday afternoon at the Dothan airport, about a half hour away from Fort Rucker. We also saw a soldier straight from Basic Training and gave him a ride to Fort Rucker, kind of a pay it forward since the Secretary to the General gave Alex and a few of his friends a ride when he had just got out of Basic. You can pick out the ones out from Basic because they look like a deer caught in the headlights! After we dropped the soldier off next to the nonexistent building his orders were at, we headed home and I had a lasagna, Parmesan rolls and salad ready.
We invited quite a few people over from Alex's class so they could all meet Shawn, of course, they all really liked him and got along great and had lots of fun! The next day we had everyone over again for some breakfast: coffee, eggs, fresh strawberries, pancakes, and Rob's biscuits and gravy and watched... you'll never guess "National Lampoons Christmas Vacation" (in July!!) Alex and I made two batches of everything, and we were in the kitchen from 8:00am to 1:00pm cooking breakfast, but it was so great having everyone over! Later in the afternoon we layed out and swam at the pool the rest of the day! What a relaxing Saturday!
Sunday we made our way with another group of friends to Destin Beach! Imagine 98 degree weather (add buckets of humidity) clear blue skies, white, cool sand and a clear blue-green ocean and that was how we spent most of our day! In paradise! Some of the guys rode their motorcycles down, and some brought the game "cornhole," although by the time a game was finished, it was more than necessary to take another swim in the ocean because it was HOT!
After the beach, we made our way to the pier, where there were shops, boats, and restaurants. It was such a cute place! We ate dinner at a restaurant on the water then had to head back home, but not without making plans to go back again! We are pretty excited that it's only a couple hours drive from our home! It was also really fun to get to introduce Shawn to a warm water ocean- he had only been to the Oregon Coast!
The next morning Alex had swim training, where you have to float in all your gear for approximately 10 minutes, he was a little nervous about this since he is not a great swimmer, and has trouble floating, but he easily passed with flying colors, although he said it just seemed really strange and backwards to have to first shower in all of your gear (boots, uniform, helmet, etc.) then go into the pool. After that we were able to go, again with a bunch of friends to see the new Batman movie- which was so great because the weekend before Alex and I had a Batman movie marathon and got all caught up and pumped for the newest one! It did not disappoint!
The next day Alex had dunker training, where you are put in different helicopter-type contraptions that go underwater, and you have to unbuckle yourself and swim out. This is repeated several times until it become really no big deal. Alex was a little nervous, because again, he's not too partial to water, but he did great! Here's a very short video (1:33) of what it's like! Imagine doing this, 15-16 times!
When Alex got home, we were able to take Shawn to the awesome Aviation Museum on post! We had been there a couple of times before, but it is always so cool to see all the different planes they have!
This French airplane was used in a film in the 1930's, it's now worth a couple million dollars!
The Army used to share the responsibility of flying the President's helicopter with the Marines, this was one of the planes that used to fly around the President and First Lady. Nobody knows why the President decided to solely have the Marines fly Army One (now Marine One). 
Look at those FlyBoys!!
The next day Shawn had to go back home, but we had such a great time having him visit and look forward to more and more visitors and company!
Not too long ago, I made the Pioneer Woman's Homemade Mac and Cheese for some company and got rave reviews! Not too long after, I had leftover corn, red bell pepper and black beans in the fridge and had an epihany! Make Southwest Homemade Mac and Cheese!! The results were so awesome! Way better than the original! So here it is, and I am so PROUD of this!
Sothwestern Mac and Cheese:
Preheat oven to 350. Cook the macaroni until still slightly firm, a little undercooked is fine. Drain and set aside.
In a small bowl, beat the egg. In a large pot, melt the butter and sprinkle in the flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Whisk for a couple of minutes, whisking constantly. Don't let it burn. Pour in the milk, and whisk until smooth. Cook until very thick, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low.
Take 1/4 cup of the sauce and slowly pour it into the beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking the eggs. *(This is an important step, DO NOT just add the egg or it will scramble!) Whisk together until smooth. Pour the egg into the sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth. Add in the cheese and stir to melt. Add spices, black beans, corn and red bell pepper.
Pour in the drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine. Serve immediately (while it's still very creamy) or pour into a buttered baking dish, top with extra cheese and bake until bubbly and golden on top, 20 to 25 minutes.
Yum Yum! Hope you enjoy!
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