Giving blogging the good old college try!

***Due to computer problems and the formatting not being able to be fixed, I had to repost this blog. This is the same as the original first post, just moved up the page a bit. :)***

I have always wanted to blog so that I had a more detailed record of life that I could look back on and read when I need to smile, or cry, or just muse at how fast time goes by. I figure now is as good of a time as ever, especially since a lot of changes are about to take place in our lives!

Be warned...this is a super long post that pretty much explains everything you need to know (and more) to understand any subsequent blog posts. I tried to summarize, but I'm a talker. :)

Let's play some catch-up...

On July 24th, 2011, Mitch and I got hitched! We had a really simple but amazing day with tons of friends and family. We did the ceremony and the reception in the Banquet Room at Wright-Patterson AFB's Club. It worked out very well that we planned it that way because it rained persistently and heavily that day. I remember that when I was driving with one of my bridesmaids from our hair appointment to the club, I was the only person actually still driving on the highway because all the other cars had pulled off to the side to wait for the worst of the storm to pass. Well, they say it is good luck for it to rain on your wedding day...right? Anyway, we went on a wonderful, week-long honeymoon to Sandals Whitehouse resort in Jamaica. When we got back we moved to Vandalia (a northwestern suburb of Dayton) and I took a job with J.P. Morgan Chase Bank as a personal banker and Mitch started working for Honda in their inventory department in Troy. We were there until Mitch for orders to go to Pilot Training in Columbus AFB, MS in February 2012. I left my job at Chase and wasn't able to transfer since there are no locations in this region. It actually ended up working out really well because I was able to take advantage of my time off work and go back to visit my mom in Ohio every month.

Right after the ceremony :) Mitch had set aside a couple 
delicious beverages for us to have when we got back to the
rooms after the ceremony. I'm pretty sure that I have never
 loved him more!

In beautiful Jamaica! We had our honeymoon at a Sandals
all-inclusive, adult couples only resort. All-inclusive is the 
way to go, people. The weather was great and we had such
 an amazing time!

When they came to pack us up at our apartment in Vandalia,
OH. Don't worry, the truck was shared with another family's
belongings! The movers were super efficient and very nice 
to work with. All in all our first moving experience went 
pretty well!

Mitch in front of our old building when we left it for the last
time...bittersweet! We lived right across the street from the 
Dayton Airport and a Dairy Queen...we had it made. :)

That February we made it safely down to Columbus, MS and started our new life at Columbus AFB. Mitch began USAF SUPT (specialized undergraduate pilot training) in April 2012 after he got back from a month of IFS (initial flight screening) in Pueblo, CO. There are three phases of SUPT -- 1. Academics, 2. T-6 (propeller plane everyone flies to start training) 3. Specialized training on either the T-38 (fighter/bomber track) or the T-1 (cargo/tanker track). The first phase was pretty busy and time consuming as they learned a ton of information in such a short time. The second phase put them on what they call "formal release", which means that they were at training for twelve hours a day, Monday through Friday, sometimes on weekend days too depending on how weather had been. Then they would about eight hours worth of study material or flight prepping and be expected to get eight hours of sleep also...ridiculous. Not enough hours in the day was an understatement for them. Mitch and I had dinners together, sometimes. The hours could be anywhere from from 4am-4pm to 11am-11pm, or later. The third phase was varied in their schedules...sometimes they would get home after a couple hours, sometimes it would be formal release. All the students in T-1s (what Mitch tracked) went on cross-county flights which meant that they were gone for one weekend during phase three. Mitch did his to San Antonio and had a great time! It was a crazy schedule but we got through it together. Looking back now it all seems like a blur; a very busy, exciting blur.

Our house on base! The housing in two of the three villages 
on base had been redone in the last 5-10 years so the houses
are decently nice. We have about 1400 sq ft, 3 bedrooms and 
2.5 bathrooms. It was a good house except for all of 
the cockroaches that also wanted to live there!

Mitch in the DA-20 he flew at IFS. This picture was taken
after he completed his first solo flight EVER! Such an amazing 
accomplishment since he only had a few flying hours
previous to going to Colorado.

In front of the "dunk tank" the students get thrown in after
 flying the T-6A solo for the first time! This water would only 
get changed before each class used it and it was horribly 
disgusting and stinky. The tradition allows that if you are
able to make it back to the flight room after your flight 
without anyone catching you, you can avoid the dunk AND 
everyone must buy you beer. Most get dunked either way. :)

With the T-6A. Every student will start by flying this plane 
during their second phase of SUPT. Based on your '
performance, academics, and your preference, 
you track into your third phase airplane. (See below)

The T-1 that Mitch flew in Phase 3 of SUPT. This is a 
business jet essentially. It is meant to prepare students for 
flying cargo or tanker missions, learn how crew concept
 works, and how to drink your coffee without spilling it. ;)

Before I get too far ahead of myself on the catching up, it is important that another big change in our life be focused on for a bit. On April 6, 2012, we adopted our puppies! We went to Tupelo, MS after we saw some cute puppies on the Humane Society's website. When we got there we made a beeline for the cute pups we found online and had the volunteer help us. She opened the cage and the little tan one darted out straight to Mitch; it was love at first sight. :) Then she asked me which one I would like to play with since none of the others were enticed enough to get up from their naps. I asked her to let me play with the little black and white puppy and I immediately fell in love with his tiny spotted tummy. She told us that they had been dropped off in a box with their other brothers at a local business in Nettleton, MS (just south of Tupelo) and the humane society was called to get them. She left us to play for awhile and when she came back she asked us if we decided if we wanted to adopt one and I told Mitch that it was his decision. To my surprise and delight, he told her that we would take both of them! :) :) So now we have Dexter and Eli, and they are a huge part of our little family. :)

Baby Eli (black and white) and Dexter (tan) playing at the 
Humane Society when we met them for the first time! They
 were only a little more than two pounds each and about 7
 weeks old! And because I get asked this question ALL the
 time, yes, they are brothers. And no, we don't know what
 mutt mix they are, but we are planning on doing a breed
 DNA test at some point!

The ride home :) The first picture I ever got with them 
looking into the camera. They are so little here!

In their first buckeye gear t-shirts :) 
These no longer will even fit over their heads haha

This is the first time they met my mom! This is 
probably my favorite picture of them and of her. 
They loved her so much and I know she was 
so excited to have some grand-puppies :)

As for some other random changes...
Just to keep things interesting we decided to trade Mitch's Nissan Sentra in for a Honda Fit, then eventually we sold the Fit and bought a Chevy Silverado, huge and diesel. We ended up giving my Honda Civic to Mitch's parents and I took over my mom's Ford Escape. I think we are settled on the car front for now, except for maybe buying a cheap, gas-efficient, commuter car for Mitch when we get to WA.

Mitch's parents passed on their Fleetwood Mallard travel trailer to us after purchasing their lake house, so we will be toad-tripping in style on our way to WA. :) We are super excited to be able to explore lots of places around WA when we get there and be able to take the pups with us!

Despite Mitch's inflexible schedule, we have been able to explore a lot of the surrounding areas. We have now been to New Orleans, Nashville, Memphis, Jackson, Starkville, Tuscaloosa, Tupelo, Birmingham, Pensacola, Ft Walton Beach, Panama City Beach, Dothan, and a few state parks. We are definitely going to miss being so close to the Gulf, but we are excited for a whole different outdoor life with mountains and lakes!

The Fit! We said we didn't want another red car and we 
didn't want a hatchback...yep. It served us well for our 
many trips to Ohio and back, though!

The huge truck and camper combo! Bring it on, road trip!

At the Superdome in New Orleans, LA for the Final Four

At the Navy museum at NAS Pensacola, FL 
for Labor Day weekend '12 :)

At the Mississippi State football game in Starkville, MS with
 our friends Alex and Shaylee Berry! Luckily for us the game 
was a "white out" because we weren't prepared 
for the fancy ways of SEC football ;)

In Tupelo, Ms for my first Disney on Ice experience! I had 
only been hinting (and flat out asking) about wanting to go
 for 5 years ;) It was so much fun and we had a great time 
being children at heart :)

At a bar in Nashville, TN! We met Mitch's parents there to 
celebrate Mitch's Dad's birthday :)

At the 'Color Me Rad' 5k in Jackson, MS with my friends 
Christy, Kristina, Jayme, Lindsey, and Josh!

Our results from deep sea fishing in Panama City Beach, FL 
with our friends Alisha, Mel, Jon, Trey, and Christy. 
We went over Memorial Day weekend '13 and had such a
 great time! We stayed at Hurlburt Field in 
Ft Walton Beach, FL and visited PCB for the day to fish :)

Another major event in our lives happened in January when my mom lost her five and half year battle with Multiple Myeloma. Adjusting to life since then has been really difficult and we are definitely heartbroken to not be able to share our new adventure with her. We find comfort in her not being in pain anymore and know she is watching over us with my dad. I wrote a lot about going through that experience with her in Hospice for those last weeks and losing her, which I will post separately. It is an emotional and detailed account of that time, but I have always worn my heart on my sleeve.

Me, my mom, and Kaitlyn on Christmas Eve. I really love
 this picture of the three of us. It is probably the last really 
good one that we got. Mom looked so beautiful and found 
so much joy in having family around during the holidays.

This was the three of us on New Years Eve at Kettering
 Hospital. Since my mom was not doing well, we all brought
New Years celebrations to her. She was the life of our
 little 'party', as usual. :)

When mom was still coherent and feeling okay in Hospice, 
we did puzzles together. This was the last picture we ever 
took together and it is so important to me for all that it 
reminds me of during our last couple weeks together. Up 
until she wasn't able to communicate anymore she was 
constantly comforting me and was so incredibly brave. 
To be half the woman she was would be an
 amazing accomplishment.

Well, all of this basically brings us up to the present. We recently celebrated our second anniversary! It just blew our minds that it had already been two years! We didn't do anything special because we had a lot going on with pilot training coming to an end, but we hope to take a vacation once Mitch is finished with all of his training sometime next year. Mitch finished pilot training in early July and on assignment night (a ceremony at the club where the class members each get roasted and find out their assignments) we found out that Mitch's next assignment will be to fly the C-17 at McChord AFB, WA!! :) We are so happy that Mitch got his first choice of aircraft and we are super excited to explore a whole other part of the country that we have never been to before. Finally, on July 26th Mitch graduated from SUPT and I got to pin those shiny, beautiful, hard-earned wings on him! We had both sets of his grandparents, his brother and girlfriend, his parents, and my sister all come down to celebrate the occasion with us! Pilot training for the Air Force is difficult enough without going through what we went through during the last year and a half, which makes Mitch's accomplishment even more impressive. I could not be more proud of him and I am so blessed to be able to call him my husband. A few years ago we had no idea that this would be our life, but we have kept faith that God has a plan for our lives, even if it isn't how we pictured it.

Right now Mitch is at survival training in Spokane, WA at Fairchild AFB. He will complete field survival training there for three weeks and then fly down to Pensacola, FL to complete the water survival portion of his training. He gets back with only a few days to spare before we make the move to Altus AFB, OK for him to start initial training on the C-17. We will be in Oklahoma for about 4-5 months and then move to WA late February or early March 2014. Hopefully I will continue to keep up with the blog while we are in this next phase of transitions before we get settled in WA!

At assignment night after we found out his assignment! The
 spouses in his class all wore personalized t-shirts that said,
 "remove before flight" across the front and they had wings
 on the back with our last names. Pretty cool :)

Mitch officially becoming a USAF Pilot!

The wings that they put on at the graduation ceremony are 
just magnetic and aren't the 'real' wings. I got the wonderful
honor of pinning on his real wings after the ceremony! :) 
So exciting!

All of us in front of the wing headquarters building on
 Columbus AFB with our new pilot!

Mitch and I in the T-1! They had the T-6, T-1, and T-38 all on 
static display for the families to get an up close look after the 
ceremony. It was ridiculously hot, so please excuse our 
sweat dripping everywhere :)

Before we went to the formal dinner Mitch's dad pinned on 
his mess dress (formal wear) wings! I just love this moment
 between them! And of course Matt's reaction ;) His dad was 
also a USAF pilot and trained at Columbus AFB where Mitch 
was actually born! :) Full circle! ...minus having a child ;)

Mitch pinning on my 'sweetheart wings' at 
graduation dinner. :)

Finally, I just wanted to thank everyone for all the support we have received through the pilot training process and the struggle of losing my mom. We have only been able to survive because of the selfless love from our family and friends, old and new. For the food delivered, trips made, memorial donations, shoulders to cry on, watching of our dogs, studying help, listening ears, and memories made, thank you so, so much.

Stay tuned for more blue adventures of the Greens :)