Next Airplane

So, next up.... the Texan 1. This is an older version of what Iain flew last week, the Texan 2. He will be flying it tomorrow and he is very excited. Today he was back up in the glider doing all kinds of fun stuff!! After this it sounds like the next airplane to hit the runway is the T-1, but I will keep you "posted" haha

Military Wife

My friend, Dina, sent this to me today. It tugs at my deepest heart strings and pushes one of my most sensitive buttons. I cry every time I read it. Not just because it rings so true in my life. But it is true of my mother's life and so many, many of my dearest friends lives. I am honored and blessed to have learned from the finest military wife I know, my mother. I cherish my girlfriends who are military wives. They are amazing women, so if you know one, tell her what a great job she is doing.

What is a MILITARY Wife?
A Military wife can be tough to describe. She is a southern belle, a northeastern Mets fan, a California 3rd generation recycler, a Pacific Islander.
She is short or tall
a tomboy
a fashion diva
a physician's assistant
a Republican
a Democrat
A Military Wife is a career gal
a home-schooler
a scrap-booker
an accomplished cellist
an auto mechanic
What IS a Military Wife?
WHAT is a Military Wife?
What is a MILITARY Wife?
They may look different and each is wonderfully unique But this they have in common. They have THIS IN COMMON!
lots of moving---
moving
moving
moving
far from home
moving two cars, three kids and one dog----all riding with HER of course
moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house
moving curtains that won't fit
moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours
moving away from friends moving toward new friends
moving her most important luggage; her trunk full of memories
often waiting-
waiting,
waiting,
waiting for housing; waiting for orders; waiting for deployment; waiting for reunion; waiting for phones calls; waiting for the new curtains to arrive; waiting for him to come home for dinner----AGAIN!
They call her 'military dependent', but she knows better
she can balance a checkbook
handle the yard work
fix a noisy toilet.
She is intimately familiar with drywall, anchors, and toggle bolts.
She can file the taxes, sell a house, buy a car, or set up a move, -- --all with ONE Power of Attorney.
She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her.
Reinvents her career with every PCS;
locates a house in the desert, the arctic, or the deep south and learns to call them all 'home'.
She MAKES them all home.
She is fiercely IN-dependent
Military Wives are somewhat hasty
They leap into decorating, leadership, volunteering, career alternatives, churches and friendships.
They don't have 15 years to get to know people.
Their roots are short but flexible.
They plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them.
Military Wives quickly learn to value each other. They connect over coffee, rely on the spouse-network and accept offers of friendship and favors and record addresses in pencil.
Military Wives have a common bond.
The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands his commitment is unique He doesn't have a job, he has a 'mission' he can't just ,
decide to quit he's on-call for his country 24/7 but for you, he's the most...
Unreliable guy in town!
His language is foreign: TDY, PCS, OPR, ACC, BDU
And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.
She is the long-distance link to keep them informed the glue that holds them together.
Military Wife has her moments----
She wants to wring his neck, dye his uniform pink, and refuse to move to Siberia.
But she pulls herself together.
Give her a few days, a travel brochure, a long hot bath, a pledge to the flag, and a wedding picture.
And she goes.
She packs.
She moves.
She follows.
Why?
What for?
How come?
You may think it is because she has lost her mind.
But actually it is because she has lost her heart.
It was stolen from her by a man who puts duty first
who longs to deploy
who salutes the flag
and whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her Military husband, She will remain his Military wife.

Next Airplane

Today Iain flew the Texan 2. He said it was a fun and easy little plane to fly. He mentioned something about sending it into a spin (on purpose). I didn't get all the details to that, but I will let you know. All I now is that he is safely on the ground and had a good time. Emma asks her daddy everyday if he flew his airplane. Then she ask if it was a "daddy" airplane (a big plane); a "mommy" airplane (I like to think she means the sleek, toned, young looking airplanes, but really I think that means medium in her world.); or a baby airplane (small). She also wants to know if he flew "uppie-side down". She digs this flying stuff.

Memories....

My Mom sent me this picture this morning. This is me, my brother and my Dad out camping. :)

I crack myself up

So, I pretty much make it my mission to be as annoying as possible.....

Here is a picture of my good friend Kelly and her adorable family. And me. Too bad, would have been a great Christmas picture.

So, Charlie and Helen are the sweeties in this picture. Charlie had some complications early on in his little life and has had to wear this helmet. As you can see by Charlie's onsie, Kelly has a friend a whole lot more annoying than me!! Nice Kerry!! By the way, he is the sweetest little guy ever!!

What's that in the sky?

It's a bird.....it's a Test Pilot......NO!! It is a 08A Spouse Water Balloon!!

So, let me try to explain some Air Force tradition. There is this thing, this tradition among Air Force flying squadrons (particularly fighter squadrons) called Roll Call. What is Roll Call? Well, Roll Call is a time sent aside after work hours when all the military members get together to reflect on the month. Apparently there is quite a lot of hard alcohol and embarassing stories involved at Roll Call. It is a chance for everyone to blow off steam. It is NOT, under any circumstances, a place for a spouse......

And then there is US!! The wives of class 08A. We are rule breakers. We are rebels, trouble makers......... and now, WE ARE LEGEND!!

This month's Roll Call was held in my friend Kerry's backyard, not far from our friend Maria's backyard. Oh yeah. We saw the opportunity and took it. We bombed 'em. We hit them armed with water guns, water balloons and hoses! We even brought our kids so that they could absorb the counter attack for us. :) I mean so that they could join in on all the fun and learn a few new choice vocab words all at the same time!

I love that the gals in our class are so fun and spontaneous and crazy. We are currently trying to plan our next girls night out........Prom Dress Bowling. I will keep you posted, or is it "blogged" now?

Our Family Camp Experience

During the first week of Iain's 2 week semester break, we had the opportunity to go to Forest Home Family Camp. Forest Home is a Christian camp located about 2 hours from us in the beautiful San Bernadino Mountains. What an amazing time we had. I can not say enough about how well they run the camp! They offer endless opportunities for fun family and couple time.

So, here is how the day went. In the morning after breakfast Iain and I dropped each of the kids off at their own class and then attended a morning seminar together. The afternoons were spent together as a family enjoying many different activites. They had mini golf, swimming, play grounds, art, fishing, a merry-go-round, a cafe, a game room, a zip line, a rock wall and a GREAT Christian bookstore. Each family was assigned a personal babysitter for the whole week!! So, after dinner, the kids went with her. She took them around camp to continue playing until about 8:30. Then she brought them back and put them to bed. Iain and I had the whole night to ourselves until 11:00!! Normally we went to the evening talk and then afterwards hung out in the cafe with our friends. There were 4 couples there from Test Pilot school, we had a BLAST hanging out with them.

I enjoyed the whole week, but a few things stick out as my favorites. One night at about 9:00, we went and got the kids from the sitter and took them on a night hike down to the creek. We had so much fun, flashlights out, light sweaters on and plenty of bug spray..... Once we got down to the creek we spread out our blanket, turned off the flashlights and took in the amazing night sky. Afterwards we headed to the cafe for hot chocolate and snacks! It was 11:30 before we got to bed that night and I loved it. Another thing that I loved was the Christian bookstore. This was a fully stocked bookstore, and we don't have anything like it in our area. Abbie and I spent way too much money in there on books. One afternoon we all went in there during free time. Iain, Abbie, Will and I all grabbed books and headed to the couches to read. Mollie and Emma grabbed some stuffed animals and played next to us. We stayed there for a good 2 hours just hanging out together relaxing. Finally, I loved the FOOD! Yes, this was not your typical camp food. They employ a gourmet chef and he was really wonderful. I even got to attend a cooking class of his while I was there!!

It gets even better (if you are military, that is). Forest Home offers a military scholarship where enlisted families can go for just $100 for the whole week and officers go for 50% off! WOW!! We were so thankful for this week away and we look forward to going again next summer. Who wants to join us?