Homeward Bound

        We survived. After 48 hours and over 3,000 miles in a tiny Nissan Versa, with two adults and two dogs, Bryan and I can successfully confirm that we can get through anything. Granted we knew this all along, but between pilot training in Del Rio, and then a drive cross country in a confined space and lack of sleep, we are still alive, and married. =) We had such a great time up in Ohio. It's true, you never really know what you've been missing until you return. I love the cold weather, I love the snow, I love all the options for food, and I absolutely love the fact that English wasn't the second language. Even though we were up north for over a week, it seemed like it flew by. We were constantly busy driving around, trying to stop by and see as many friends and family members as we could. Luckily Bryan's sisters live so close to each other, and were gracious enough to not only put up with Bryan and me, which as you all know can be a handful, but they put up with the pups as well. We also were able to stop by both my Grandparents in Celina. I hadn't seen them since January, and even lucked out and was able to see my Aunt and Uncle from California who were visiting as well. Later on in the week, our High School in Sylvania had their boys alumni basketball game that Bryan wanted to go to. Although I convinced him not to play, (we are so close to being done with Pilot Training, that I didn't want to chance him getting hurt) it was a lot of fun to be able to see some of our friends and teammates. In Sylvania we were then able to stop by and visit Bryan's family...Grandma Nancy, the Loyer/Ritson family, and the Weickerts. I always forget how much fun we can all have together.

                Our good traveler. Finn gets car sick, but he was fantastic on the trip.

Finn's first experience with snow...he loved it!

         Our main reason for going up to Ohio though, was in hopes to catch the birth of our niece, who also will be our Godchild (the ultimate Christmas gift, we are thrilled!) Unfortunately we were able to catch a glimpse at her stubbornness, as she decided it was not the right time to make her grand entrance...maybe it was too cold outside. But regardless, it was fun to anticipate with Kendra and Matt, and Todd as he came in a couple days before we left. No new baby news yet...but I have a feeling today will be the day. Keep the Giblins in your prayers for a speedy/easy birth of Elaina Nicole.
         Normally, I do OK saying goodbyes, but being around so many loved ones was really difficult for me. As we pulled away from Kendra and Matt's house I started to get teary-eyed. I love being a military family most of the time, but times like this, when you realize what your missing, it's a very hard lifestyle. We were so blessed to spend Christmas and open the New Year with family, and as we unpack the car, do loads of laundry, and take down the Christmas decorations, I can't help but smile in remembrance of memories from 2010, and excitement for what 2011 will bring.
            We hope you all had as great of holidays as we did. Love and miss you all

                           xoxo
                                     e.

       My ugly sweater, courtesy of my mom, at the Holiday social I co-hosted for the Spouse  Club. (Bryan says I look like a 40 year old lady)

                 At the base Christmas Party....probably after a few drinks =)

Kali's Christmas gift to us....clearly knowing the rumor mill on our base states that if you have gnomes in your front lawn, that is the sign for a swinging couple. These little guys will be hidden somewhere clever, and I guess we will see what happens. ha ha thanks Kali

Tis the Season

Well here it is....December. But it's hard for me to get in the Christmas spirit (not that I am a huge Christmas fan to begin with) when we still have the AC on. I ran yesterday in a t-shirt and shorts. Come on now. It's December. Who would have thought growing up in the Midwest and the endless amount of snow we lived through, I would be missing it now? Also, it's hard for me to get in the spirit because my adorable husband who has been playing Christmas music since November, and has kindly reminded me everyday of how many days there are till Christmas. Thanks dear. On our DVR currently, we have at least 10 Christmas movies that are purposely being stored until the week before Christmas. However, it's really putting a cramp in my reality TV show space. It's absolutely crazy how different Bryan and I are when it comes to Christmas. He is like Buddy the Elf and I'm like Ebenezer Scrooge. It's all Bah Humbugs for me.

However, as of December 1st I was completely done with all my Christmas shopping (including wrapping), had the decorations up, and my Christmas cards out. I don't want to sound like I'm gloating, but I am pretty proud of myself. (It's pretty easy to get all my shopping down quickly when we are limited to three shopping locations...Walmart, JCPennies, and Ross). No, I did a lot of my shopping online as well, which caused a delay in the wrapping process due to the shipping time =) I do loving getting gifts for people during this time thought. I love watching their faces opening things they weren't expecting!

I am pretty excited about how our house turned out.

                                             Spoiled puppies...already have their stockings full!

                                          Hard to remember it's December with skies like these!


We are planning on driving up to Ohio in two weeks to celebrate Christmas. Hopefully we get a taste of a white Christmas. I hope everyone has a great holiday season!


                                                  love,
                                                            e.

Happy Thanksgiving

      This year, celebrating Thanksgiving is a little different then the years in the past. Living on a military base really puts into perspective what exactly I should be thankful for. Currently, there are 92 soldiers deployed on our base. That is 92 families that will be celebrating Thanksgiving without "Dad, Mom, Aunt, Uncle, Brother, Sister,etc" and that breaks my heart. Everyday as I listen to the news I grow more and more frustrated with people's comments about the war issues. I can't say whether I am for the war or not, and that's a whole different blog topic, but right now, around the holidays, we just have to remember that these people, who so selflessly signed up to defend our country, are members of someone's family. Who would give up these special moments with their loved ones to make sure the well fare of our freedom isn't messed with. So as you all are sitting around with your family and friends, I ask that you take time to really think about those soldiers out there sacrificing their life for your freedom, for your Thanksgiving dinner.

         As I was running today, I came across a song on my Ipod that really touched me. Actually found myself getting a little teary-eyed...which probably also accounts for my rant above. So if you haven't already heard or listened to John Rich's "Good Lord and the Man" I highly recommend you do! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NXUS8yypgA

        Bryan and I aren't going to be around family this holiday, but we are spending Thanksgiving with the next closest thing. Our friends have so graciously invited us to their home, and we are so blessed to have them in our lives. Please know that we love and miss all our family and friends, and wish you all a wonderful, family-filled Thanksgiving. Also, I want to thank all our soldiers, and their families, because without either, our lives would be much different.

We Made It One Year

     First and foremost...I apologize for my leave of absence. Things have been crazy here. Bryan has started in academics for the T-1 where he was appointed as the SRO "Senior Ranking Officer" (because we've been here for so long.) So he is in charge of making sure the class knows what's going on for the next day and is kind of the go-to person between instructors and his class. I'm actually really (pleasantly) surprised at how well and how seriously he takes this responsibility. It's so good for him.
     We also had a couple visitors come our to experience the Del Rio lifestyle and all it's glory. Bryan's parents came out and finally got rid of alot of his junk that I'm sure has been piled up since he went to college. It actually was kind of fun to see what "goodies" he still had. Then we had Jeff, one of our friends, come out to visit us during Halloween. It was so good to see a friend outside of Air Force for a couple days, and to catch up on life back in Sylvania. I can't reiterate enough, PLEASE COME AND VISIT US!
     As for me, I have been trying to sub as often as I can. Need to make as much as possible with the holidays coming up. Especially if we make the track up to Ohio to hopefully see the birth of our 1st niece!!! Also, I am in a sewing kick again. I am making my own Christmas cards which include some minor sewing. Then my newest creation I've been working on is a quilt that consists of  Bryan and my old high school t-shirts/sweatshirts. I couldn't bare to part with them just yet, but some are so old there are holes everywhere, or they just have gotten so small, but there were taking up space in my closet, and therefor my idea formed. It's coming along slowly, but I will post pictures when I am finished.
     And then for the biggest news, Bryan and I have successfully been married for 1 year! Gosh already? I can't believe it's been one whole year. It seems like yesterday we were walking down the beach to say "I do." And honestly I want to be there right now. Del Rio just doesn't compare. I was at a lost for ideas for gifts for Bryan, so I looked up what the 1st anniversary was and it was paper?! So brainstorming I came up with a signed picture of Jim Tressel and the Horseshoe. He was surprised...hopefully he liked it. It fits well in his man cave. He got me a pair of genuine leather cow(girl) boots. He claims that it's his way of keeping me around for another year. =) I am so blessed.

Well I hope you all had a great Halloween, and I promise to repost before Thanksgiving.

                  Miss you all.

T-1's Here We Come

So without further ado, Bryan tracked T-1s. This was his first choice and we couldn't be more excited. Again, for those non-military groupies following here, this means that we will stay here in Del Rio for another 6 months, and then about a week or so before he graduates Bryan will find out what he drops (drops means finding out what aircraft and base we will be going to next). Some planes that he could possible fly are the C-17, C-5, C-130, KC-135, etc. Anything large, with a crew, and primarily carries some sort of cargo. I'll let you go on a google scavenger hunt for pictures on your own, and possible bases we may be moving to. However, Kendra, I will let you down easily...I am not sure if we will...I believe C-5s fly out of there. So there is a possibility, but we probably won't put that as our number one choice. (SORRY!!)

Enough with military updates (that's all we speak here) I want to talk about myself for a moment. =) So every month our squadron that we are apart of has a monthly spouse social. This month, being October, had a Halloween social where we had to dress up in costumes. Below is my costume...

I was FLO from Progressive!

I made my entire costume myself...well I didn't like sew up my pants, shirt and apron, but I did iron on the lettering, dye my hair with WASHABLE brown, and make my own name tags. I ended up be a winner on the costume contest, so my creativity paid off. I had a great time, I love all the girls here, but truly miss everyone scared around the states.

I hope everyone has a fun, safe Halloween!

<3 e.

HE DID IT!!

Bryan passed his formation check ride....which means "see you later T-6's!" For those of you who are unfamiliar with Air Force lingo, I will try my best to give you a brief lecture of how Pilot Training works. (For those that do know what I am talking about, you may bypass this next paragraph.)

Pilot training is broken up into three phases. Phase 1 is academics. This is where they sit in class and learn about planes, weather, and a whole lot of math/science. Then Phase 2 is where they learn to fly in a plane called the T-6. They fly about everyday and have four checkrides divided amongst the six month time frame. They learn how to fly by reading their instruments, by looking at physical objects outside as markers, and to fly in a formation. When they complete all their checkrides they have a "track." This is when they find out what kind of plane they will fly next at pilot training...T-38 (fighters) in Del Rio, T-1 (heavies) in Del Rio, T-44(C-130) in Corpus Christi, or Helicopters in Ft. Rucker. When they find out, they then start Phase 3 where they go through another academic portion and then again with checkrides. This phase lasts about six months as well....I am just counting down the days.

I am so proud of Bryan. He is doing a fantastic job...just keep us in your prayers. Him to continuing to do well, and me to not go insane. His dad came out to visit us yesterday and his Mom is coming on Wednesday. What a great way to celebrate completing T-6s. I wish I could explain what a great accomplishment this is. But words don't do it justice, you really need to come out and experience the lifestyle!

We hope everyone has a great rest of the week, and feel free to have a drink on Bryan's expense!

Here we go...

After much debate, and some swaying from friends and family, I have decided that I will start a blog to help keep our loved ones up to date with our crazy life. Please bare with me, for I have never done anything quite like this, other than maybe a diary when I was younger. I can't promise that there won't be periods of time when I am not quite up to date, but I will do my best to keep everyone posted.

With that, I look forward to writing here, if not for you, but for me...it will be a great way of letting stress and nerves out, however we are having my In-Laws come and visit for a couple days here, so I need to get back to cleaning our house. I hope everyone has a fabulous week, and I'll talk with you all soon.