Graduation Day

I am beyond proud of my husband!  As you can tell from the previous post he wrote, he graduated pilot training on Friday morning.  He has worked so hard the past year and all that hard work paid off!  He received 3 awards.  The AETC Commander's Trophy, The Flying Training Award, and Distinguished Graduate.  But best of all, he received his pilot's wings!  Tanner did so well during the ceremony!  There was only one time where he got a little fussy, and we all soon found out why.  As the commander was announcing the distinguished visitors he let out a HUGE, EXPLOSIVE poop!  Nick was sitting several rows away and heard him.  I couldn't stop laughing, neither could everyone sitting around us.

After Graduation we were able to go check out a C-17 that arrived for some of the guys in Nick's class who will be flying it in a few months.  It was huge!

That's me standing there.  I'm 5 feet tall, so you can see how huge it is!

We had a fancy dinner that night.  It was the first time I left Tanner for a long period of time.  (I am so incredibly thankful for friends!  I didn't worry about him at all!)

The rest of the weekend we just hung out trying to relax a little.  It was a very long and busy week.

I just realized we were all wearing blue.

We have another busy week ahead of us!  We are leaving at 2:30 in the morning to drive to the city to catch a flight home.  We haven't been home to NC in almost 2 years.  My dad and sister will finally get to meet Tanner, as will Nick's grandparents and extended family.  It will be so nice to go home for a while!  At the end of the week, we are going to fly to Tampa to see my grandparents for a day before we head home!


Wish us luck...we're going to attempt to fly with a 2.5 month old and a cat.  Should be an exciting blog post. :)

Blog Hijack

Hi everyone, this is Nick, Lindsey's husband. I'm Hijacking Lindsey's blog for a post so I can say thank you to some people. 

Today, I graduate from pilot training and I'll officially be an Air Force pilot. This has been a tough year and quite honestly I could not have made it through without the help and support of several people. 

My friends and classmates here at Vance as well as their wives have helped Lindsey and I out so much. All the friends that came in to the hospital to see us and Tanner and bring us food and gifts.  And all the wives that have taken Lindsey in and enjoyed time with her during my long days at work. We are very lucky to have all of you. 

Lindsey's family has provided so much support for me as well. Lindsey's mom came out and helped a ton during the last weeks of Lindsey's pregnancy and first weeks of Tanner's life especially when I had my biggest check ride in all of pilot training a week after he was born. Her dad will finally get to meet Tanner for the first time in a few days. And we are so excited to see him again. 

My family has helped a lot as well. My dad was always helpful when I needed advice on pretty much anything. My mom has been my personal driving force my whole life. She's worked her tail off to raise my brother and me. Working two jobs and being a single mom for I don't even know how many years. Whenever I'm having a rough day, I just think about how rough she's had it her whole life and I realize I can't really complain, because, heck, I fly planes for a living. I've always made it a goal to be a positive role model for my brother and I'm glad to see how hard he is working in school and making good decisions for his life. 

To my wife. Lindsey, you are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. Ever since that day in high school when one of your friends came up and told me you liked me, you have made me a better person. You raised my self-esteem at that low point in my life and you have never stopped supporting me and my goals. You have sacrificed so much for me and I really haven't said thank you enough, but I don't know that I ever could.  I still can't believe you slept on the couch with a 6 day old in your arms just so I could get a good night of sleep before my big check ride.

I'm done now. I'm sure Lindsey will post some pictures of the ceremony and everything when she has a chance. Sorry, but I don't have any new pictures for you right now, but we will soon.  Thanks for reading. 

So Proud

I am so proud of my husband!  He has wanted to be a pilot since he was 4 years old.  He worked his way through high school to get the very best grades so he could go to the very best college to have that chance of becoming a pilot.  The 4 years at the Air Force Academy were very hard, but he made it though with flying colors.  He started pilot training one year ago and has since had 12 hour days at work and even more to do once he got home, all week long, including weekends.  It was a very difficult year but he made it.  I had no doubts.  

On Friday, Nick had his Assignment Night.  This is the night where everyone in his class find out what plane they are going to fly after Graduation from pilot training.  Nick's number one choice was to stay here, in Oklahoma, for at least 3 more years as an instructor pilot.  He would teach future Air Force pilots.  Thankfully, Nick was given his number one choice!  Of course, Oklahoma really has to grow on you.  We are out in the middle of nowhere and 2 hours away from anything.  But the pros to this choice greatly outweigh the cons.  

• Nick will have a ton of flying hours.  And this will look great on his resume once he retires from the military.
• He enjoys flying the T-1.
• He is an amazing teacher. He is very patient and understanding.
• He will be home for Holidays and Birthdays for at least 3 years.  Which means he can watch Tanner grow up.
• Best of all, he will be able to have a chance on getting the plane he really wants to fly when this assignment is over, whatever he decides that will be when the time comes.  

The rose Nick gave me, along with the bottle of champagne, my card, and  Nick's class beer mug.

After Nick got his assignment he was given a bottle of champagne and his new patches. (The champagne will probably be a decoration for our kitchen, as Nick and I both don't like it).  I was able to meet some very nice wives from the 32nd Squadron (Nick's new squadron).  They gave me a card.  It was very welcoming.  

"FAIP" stands for First Assignment Instructor Pilot.

This is Nick standing in front of the plane he will be teaching others how to fly.  It's the T-1A Jayhawk.   Too bad the weather was nasty that day.

So now we are waiting for Nick's dates for training.  We will be going down to San Antonio for 5 months or so so he can learn how to be an instructor.  We are hoping we can figure out a way to get our cats down there so Tanner and I can go with him.  

Nick will graduate on the 17th of this month.  He will finally have his pilot's wings!  I hope to have a few pictures from the cermony and dinner that night to post here.

In other news...

Tanner is wearing his pocket diapers!  He can pretty much fit in the Smartipants (with a lot of adjusting around his skinny thighs).  He doesn't fit in his Kawaii yet, though.  I love them!  I'm so glad I bought them and picked the colors I did!

This is the first pocket we put on him.  It looks huge in the picture, but it really looks better in person.

My favorite color diaper...black!

Tanner has his 2 month appointment tomorrow.  I can't wait to see how much he weighs and how long he is!  But he's getting his shots too. :( I'll update again tomorrow.