Scene Change

We left Phoenix and our lives as we knew it just after new years.  Our cross-country travels took us through 7 states with a long visit to Texas, where my parents ranch is and a shorter visit to Baton Rouge, LA for John's uncle.  My mom just got a new SLR camera for Christmas so I had fun with her just messing around and showing her a few things about what I've picked up the last couple years in photography.

While John and my dad took a tour of the Lockheed Martin plant where they're building the F-35 (in Fort Worth), Mom and I palled around Graham and did our girl day- shopping and crafting.  We had a wonderful visit but when the time came to go, we were ready.  Texas was tough on us since both our car and our dog got chewed up.  I'm not at all hating on my folks dog.  Sam is seriously one of the sweetest dogs...  he's a border collie- ever met one of those that isn't sweet?!  He actually played with Riley which my little man just ate up!  Cana's good with Riley but by that I mean that he tolerates him but Sam actually interacted and enjoyed Riley's company.  The tiff stemmed from the fact that neither Cana or Sam have been snipped and Sam was VERY protective of his place.
I forgot to take a picture of our car but it looked like someone took a screwdriver to every panel...  What did this, you may wonder.  A pack (herd, gaggle?) of horses!!  Apparently when they can see their reflection in something, it sparks their curiosity and the want to EAT it.  Who knew?  Be warned- don't park your shiny, clean car anywhere by  horses less you want to drop $3500+ (a time when insurance is definitely handy) in repairs.

 While in Louisiana, John took a day of testosterone and went hunting with his uncle and friend.  I stayed back with the women folk and we did just fine. 

We got a tour of the LSU stadium from the equipment manager of their sports department...  Reminded me how much I loved (and hated) working in that setting. Did you know that John is an LSU fan?!  He is.  I'm fine with it, till they play The Ohio State University in, say...  a National Championship game...  Then it's annoying.

 So now we take up residence in Florida.  We live just a few houses away from a little beach park where we can enjoy the water without much fuss to get there.  Of course we'll still drive across the bridge to Destin to get the gorgeous white sandy beaches known around the world.

 I took the kids to a beach in Destin and this is just a "taste" of what I have to look forward to as the temps rise!

Destin to go

Assignments just came out for our VML (layman's terms- our time to move) and we are pleased with our next move.

As some of you may know, I've been really pushing for an over-sea's assignment like Italy (especially now with my brother and family there) or Germany. No such assignment was given to us. We are staying state side for another 3 years, at least. So why am I still pretty stoked with the news??

Well... two reasons really.

1.

and 2.Pretty cool, huh?


OK. To clarify:
1. We'll be living in a vacation destination that I am familiar with from my childhood spring break ventures. In the area of the beautiful, white sandy beaches of Destin, Florida is an Air Force base (Eglin AFB). That gorgeous area I will be calling home in about 4 or 5 months! Truth be told I'm not crazy about the humidity and have become quite accustomed to (and enamored of) the dryness of the west but the excitement of living so close to such a beautiful beach definitely wins out.

2. My husband will be switching jets from flying an F16 to flying a brand spankin new F35 (Joint Strike Fighter) which is pretty hot stuff! It's a pretty prestigious selection since he will be among the first cadre of pilots flying the plane, the pioneers. We will be joining up with some of our friends who have been selected to head up the first JSF squadron and I'm excited to get back in touch with some old friends. I sense he is feeling excited and anxious of the news and hopefully the JSF is good to us. We both feel that it is a total "God thing" since he's certain it's not his merit nor anything he's done that has landed him the spot. So without further ado- Thank you God for the coming adventures!

Reunited!!

Ahhh.. It's over. All that stress for nothing!

Ya see, back in January when I returned from my Ohio trip and John from the mission trip to Ghana, Riley did not take too kindly to being away from daddy for those 1o days. Not too kindly at all!! It took almost two weeks for Riley to stop running away crying from daddy. He was extremely needy on me and it was rough for everyone. That was only 10 days... this time it was 2 months- and I was worried!! I imagined a repeat of that little boy attached to my hip, only this time I'd have a brand new, totally dependent baby when daddy arrived home. It might have kept me up on some nights, worrying about how that reunion would go.

Well- no more worries! It went AWESOME!!! Of course I was thrilled to see my loving husband's face as our eyes met and he strutted toward us through the airport. And turns out I wasn't the only one bursting with excitement!!! Riley didn't skip a beat! We got him out of the stroller and he ran, not walked, but ran over to daddy to get a great big hug!!!

The anticipation...

Two happy boys!Daddy meeting his daughter for the first time!

Looks like the daddy story time and skyping helped out a lot! Daddy was always in Riley's conversations and on his mind! Phhhhew!


Once home, the play began and they picked up right where they left off!

After the exhausting play (not to mention the jet lag that John had), it was time for a much needed nap. John swooped Ri up in his blanket and laid down with him on the couch. Let me tell you that our son does NOT sit still. The only time that he has really spent time cuddling with me (or anyone) for more than minute increments was when he broke his collar bone. It doesn't happen. However, my little busy body must have made an exception for daddy. He laid on daddy for 20 minutes, eyes open and just enjoying the moment then finally even nodded off.

Pure Bliss!Needless to say, we are so happy that daddy's home! We are now a complete family again and boy does it feel good!!!

Gone Daddy Gone!

It's been a couple weeks now. Daddy's been gone and I have had to replace the daily interactions Riley used to get with a DVD that we made (thanks to the MAC- big plug! Love it!!) of John reading books to Riley. It's actually pretty great!! Riley brings me the remote control saying, "Daddy!? Daddy?!" So I turn on the TV and play him a couple of books from a good selection of maybe a dozen books. Riley climbs up on the couch and gleams from ear to ear as he watches Daddy during story time.

Here are a few pics of our last get together- a little going away party before my honey left.




Our romantic slow dance to complete the night! I am so in love with my husband!!

That was then....

This is now.



And now begins the crazy month prior to my due date with visits galore!! My brother and family are here at Luke for a course he's taking before they move to Italy. Yay for me!!! So I anticipate being busy hanging out with my sis-in-law and the kiddos for the next couple weeks! Then my mom is coming out in 2 weeks for my niece's baptism and to get prepped for baby Wilson coming. It'll be a whirlwind but because of this beautiful storm, time is flying by and daddy will be home before we know it!!!

A Dropped Bomb

So I've been talking about changes and one is quite obvious. We're going to have a new body to feed and care for soon. There are a couple others that aren't as obvious.

1. My beloved John is taking a solo vacation to the big sandy beaches of the desert. If you're not sure what I mean, I'm talking about Iraq. He's deploying with the New Jersey Guard to head over there for 2 months.

The Good:

• Normal deployments for the f16 community over there are twice as long so 2 months seems like a very quick trip.
  
• We will be able to communicate while he's over there which is great!
  
• He will be flying over there, which is what he loves and feels like he finally get's to put to use all the "practice" he's done.
  
• I have always felt that I am happy my husband is a pilot since I feel that it's much safer in the air than on the ground. Couple that with knowing that John is in God's hands, I can rest in God's peace even though there is inherent danger in the assignment.
• This is an opportunity to grow, both in faith and strength. I always hear of how military wives are a strong breed!! I feel pretty spoiled thus far since John has not had to deploy when so many other families (my brother being one of them) are dealing or have dealt with much higher quantity or quality of deployment.
• He'll be with some good guys and he'll be doing some great stuff to support and defend our nation!

The Bad:

• Timing so has it that he won't be present for the birth of our daughter... Guess his up close and personal approach last time seemed to scare him off. So, rest assured, there is NO CHANCE that John will deliver this one.

2. We have a new roommate! Several months ago our friend, Carissa moved here from Missouri to finish an internship for her masters degree. She was staying with her brother and sister-in-law while her brother (a friend of ours in the f16 community) was himself deployed to the desert. When she first moved out here, I made it known that if she needed anywhere else to stay, she was welcome at our home. Well, her brother got back this month and she has moved in with us. Timing couldn't be more perfect, with the whole above news. She not only is a good friend but is so helpful at being that extra set of hands that I long for when John is gone! She's adventurous and fun (amazing rock climber), kinda hippy like me, but somehow organized and neat too. I still don't get how that combo works.. I'm hippy, but I always thought that my disorganization when hand in glove with my laid back outlook ... Maybe there's hope for me after all. Here are some not so recent pics of her from last year, but you get the idea.




I'd prefer not to put dates of John's deployment on my blog, but if you're the praying type maybe you could say a little prayer for us when we cross your mind.

Snow Day!!!

It was our squadron's Flagstaff weekend and John and I decided to head up for a day to get our annual dose of fun in the snow! We stayed in a log cabin with our friends, the Unks. While we were there, we did a little snow shoeing and sledding. It's so strange, really. Yesterday we played in the snow and today we're back down in 70 degree weather.

Unky Kids
Enjoying the snow!
Good Friends!

And for the sledding, Riley got to partake in his first real sledding adventure!
Up they go...

Then down they come.. Daddy's having a blast but Riley thinks otherwise.


Maybe he'll like it better if Mommy takes him... .... or not. Sigh. Maybe next year.

No Crud for Me

Last Friday came and went one of the bi-annual Women's Crud Tournaments at the O-club. Oh how I love Crud. But sadly, I was merely a spectator at this event since it can be a kind of rough game and I'm carrying precious cargo. Our squadron had to plan and throw the event since last tourney we brought home the big "V"!






"Congratulations! You won the Tournament. Now you have to go through the huge butt pain to throw the next one!".... Huh?


Anyhow, the amazing Squadron Commander's Wife (kinda known as our head wife in our little wives group), Colleen planned quite the event. Not just a crud tournament, as it's been in the past, but a multi-event "Old School" party. We had 4-5-6, beer pong, a cigar and scotch room, we bussed in single chicks for our single pilots (which since 9-11 is virtually unheard of getting a bus full of civilians on base), quite the food spread, live music with the Juvat Boys Choir and even ended the night with a good ol' piano burning!



Good times! I was just excited to get into my Flight Suit Jumper that I made before I won't be able to!

Fighting 'till the End...

We are the Champions.
We are the Champions.
No time for losers, cuz we are the Champions...
(duh duh)
Of the World!!!

To be totally honest- It was a great night for us but it could have been any of the teams as they were all very good! We played really well and seemed to gel and of course we got some lucky calls and the ball just rolled our way! None-the-less, we were the victor's of the Spouses Crud Tournament! Don't we look tough?
I'm competitive- as you may be able to tell by this fierce picture. But being competitive, I don't think there is room for grudges. I take no notice if someone is tough and knocks me on my butt (in the spirit of the game) and I hope that my competitive nature doesn't make other's angry either.

The ceremonial Champagne toast!

This win means that guess who is in charge of setting up the next tourney in the fall (blah). Oh well, I'll just bask in the win a little longer before I start worrying about that!

I ♥ Air Shows

When I was little, my dad would drag my brother and I to the Cleveland Airshow every year. He worked the C-130 Hercules static display all day so Travis and I would wander around all day long, checking out other air plane displays, rides, vendors and of course finding a spot in the shade to watch the Thunderbirds! I remember one year being miserably rainy but that didn't stop the fun! We just had to get more creative with shelter but because of the gloom, it just meant more free romping room for us!
I still love when it's time for the air show! I love the excitement. I love the smell in the air. I love the crowds that come out to see what's happening. It brings a tear to my eye watching the little kids boiling over with excitement, run up to the pilots (ie: my husband) to have a word with them and get a picture. It reminds me of my brother back in the day. And now he, too is among the F16 pilot community!

Well, I've got a busy couple hours ahead of me. I'm packing Riley and my camping stuff for a 3 night camping adventure to Joshua Tree, CA! So I'm slapping some pictures up and calling it quits!

The obligatory Riley pic

Riley's buddy, Duncan

Ahhh- the Thunderbirds...
I had a childhood crush on the Thunderbirds, and it's still kinda there.. even though I know a few and I think my hubby is more handsome and talented (*wink)

The F22 is SICK!

Gorgeous Budweiser Clydesdale's!

Our own personal Air Show- they day before the gates opened.