It has been a while and that is because things have been crazy for us recently!! I want to start blurting out all the changes in our life, but I will attempt to keep everything chronological so I don't miss anything.
The last post we made, we were quarantined because of getting COVID. That was quite an experience and we have both fully recovered and not had any permanent health concerns from it so for that we are very thankful! Not only were we quarantined, but also the people we flew with during the week prior to feeling symptoms were quarantined as well. So with both of us flying with different instructors, we put about half of our squadron down. Not only is it uncommon to have a married couple in pilot training at the same time, but then we had to become one of the first people on our base to get COVID. Needless to say, we are pretty well-know because of that. Whether that is a good thing or not I am not sure, but it makes for a pretty awesome story! The craziest part of it all is the fact that once we returned to work, our leadership decided to put Jen and I in the same flight room. This means that we will be getting our assignments and graduating at the same time! But it also means if we get COVID again, we will not take down half of the squadron again because we are around the same people.
We were cleared off by our doctor just in time for my brother's wedding July 18th and we are so thankful for that!! It was a great wedding and I am so happy for my brother and absolutely love my new sister-in-law!
Shortly after the wedding my family made a trip to Pickwick lake for some lake adventures! We had a great time wakeboarding, skiing, knee barding and of course cliff jumping! The funniest thing that happened that day was thankfully captured in a video and will forever be ingrained in my memory. We just happened to find a ramp in the middle of the lake and my brother Josh wanted to hit it. Not only did he have the wrong skis, but also has never done anything like this and we sent it full speed. Enjoy:)
Not only did my brother fail miserably the first time, but he tried it again and failed miserably again! It definitely made the trip and I had a six pack from laughing so hard. That six pack went away shortly after:( Anyways, it was a great trip and we were so glad to have our Pilot training friend from Japan with us, Ishi! He said it was his greatest American experience so far!
During Labor day weekend Jen and I took Jolene (our van in case you forgot) to Birmingham for an outdoor extravaganza. They have a great state park where we can mountain bike, road bike, and kayak. Jen did an awesome job documenting it and making a video of our trip.
September 18th we headed out for road trip that resulted in one of the biggest changes in our lives! We had been looking for a doodle to rehome and we found not only one, but two! And they are sisters! Lola and Maggie. They immediately stole our hearts!!
They have brought so much joy to our lives and they are loving the RV life as well. Mostly because they don't have a choice, but we will be giving them a big yard and a house very soon! They both make great running partners and love the dog park as well. Not to play with other dogs, but to just play with each other and get as dirty as possible.
Other than those events we have been flying like crazy. As of November 5th I am done with pilot training! As of the 10th Jen is done as well!! Not only did Jen crush UPT (Undergraduate Pilot Training) but she also did not hook (or fail) a single ride!! I have not heard of anyone else doing this. I hooked one ride and even that is rare, but to not hook a single ride?!? WOW!! When I was leaving for my last flight Jen gave me a hug and started tearing up. That made me tear up as well, because no one knows how hard the journey has been for us, except us. 5 years ago we were mechanics on the U-2 talking about becoming pilots in the Air Force and now I am about to do my last ride in Air Force Pilot Training. This 5 year dream of ours is becoming reality and it just hit us at that moment. I think the tears were not only from the fact that we were achieving our dreams, but that we have stuck beside each other through the whole experience. It has been a crazy and long journey, but we are here now and we love each other more today than we ever have. It is unbelievably surreal to be at this point in our life and to see how much we have grown. I love this beautiful lady so much and am so proud of the woman that she has become.
WARNING: The rest of the blog is a bunch of pictures since the beginning of us dating until now.
Thank you for your time! Next blog will be about where we will be spending the next 4 years of our lives and how we feel about it!! So excited!