Countdown

10 more days of work

9 hundred miles or so to travel to our new home

8-ish months til UPT graduation

7 thousand to-do items

6 teen nights on Edwards Street

5 states to drive through

4 weeks til Seattle

 3 days til December...what?!

2 weekends in Oklahoma

1 week or so left with Peter in town

We have gotten orders and are preparing to close our chapter in Enid and move down south. Being a military family is interesting. This time around we know what to expect, but we are definitely still adjusting to this lifestyle. It takes a whole lot of faith. We are so excited to see what comes next. 

Some things are exciting - like looking at our new house possibilities. But it's sad that our own home already looks like someone else's...all the walls are white again. 

Some things are stressful - trying to find a new job. But having a stay-at-home husband for the time being is awesome.

Some things are scary - like pretty much all the unknowns. Almost everything about this move is unknown for us. I have never been to Alabama. Zack has never flown in a helicopter. Neither of us have lived on an Army post. But I love our adventures together, and we have been looking forward to this one for awhile. 

Life is a little crazy right now. I feel like we spend more time counting down than we do counting up. We're always looking for the next step. Marriage. Graduation. Commissioning. Moving. Moving. Graduation. Moving. It is important to remind ourselves to enjoy each moment. To take advantage of what we have in the present and stop worrying about our future. As a planner...this is practically impossible for me. Fortunately, the wait for this move has been way less stressful than the last-I hope this trend continues.

Thanksgiving

Things we are thankful for, especially this Thanksgiving:
 

wonderful family to spend the holiday with

 

 

cute traveling puppies

 

a reliable new car to make our trips with

and last, but certainly not least, a new brother-in-law. Congratulations Trent & Zhenah

It was a fun, but tiring weekend :)

Love-enworth

Three years ago today, Zack proposed in Leavenworth. It was a wonderful trip in such a beautiful place.

This Christmas (which is soon--crazy, I know) we are headed back to spend a few days in a cabin in Leavenworth. Let the countdown begin!

Hello, Tulsa

For our anniversary we were blessed with a wonderful gift from an even more wonderful, friend. Thank you, Zandra, for making this weekend possible. We had SO much fun relaxing, enjoying the holiday, and checking out Tulsa. 

Steps to enjoying a Veteran's Day weekend with the husband:

1.) Get rid of the pups.

2.) Start with massages.

3.) Stay at a fabulous bed and breakfast.

4.) Note to self: a B&B where you don't have to awkwardly spend breakfast with strangers at the crack of dawn is the best kind of B&B

5.) Eat delicious food.

6.) Watch Bond.

7.) Sight see.

8.) Eat FREE food. Love Veteran's Day.

9.) See Noah Gunderson!

Best. Weekend. Ever.

P.S. - Tulsa is beautiful.

Track Select

The day finally came. Congratulations 13-10! You are T-6 complete and are ready to begin the next step in your careers!

Zack got HELOS!

I am so proud of him. He has been working so hard in UPT and I am so excited he has the opportunity to have this Air Force career.

Track Select day was really fun. My dad made it down to share in the festivities, which made it special.

What this means for us now, you might ask? We will move to Fort Rucker, Alabama in the near future. Zack will start pilot training there for about six months, working hard to hopefully get an HH-60. No matter what bird he gets, though, we'll head to Albuquerque, NM for more training afterwards.

It's crazy to think about leaving some people here in Oklahoma. It definitely makes it bittersweet. But, we are confident that this track is what God had in plan for us. We know that wherever and whenever life takes us, it is always in His hands.

Now we play the waiting game for orders to come.

10.11.12

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

We are celebrating your birthday by not going to work tomorrow!

Wish we could celebrate it with you. Miss you. 

Nub nu.

Also, yesterday was Jed's birthday and tomorrow is Zoey's. So many in a row!
 

 

T-6 Complete

I'm not really sure how October has already come and gone, but I am so excited November is here! There are so many things to look forward to in just the next couple weeks.

Here is a quick little blurb of updates. Just for you, Alicia! :)

Last Week:

Halloween on base housing was pretty fun. We totally ran out of candy and had more trick-or-treaters than we have ever had before. It's fun when you know most of the faces behind the costumes. We were totally the lame house on the block. We had luminaries outside and fall decor inside, but no Halloween decorations. We went to a pumpkin patch last weekend, and they were out of pumpkins. Those are the moments when we totally rag on Oklahoma and wish we could live anywhere else. But I did carve pumpkins with Brian when I was home. His = Awesome. Mine = good effort, at best. 

I had to work my first night shift last week--of course, once it is finally cold weather. I froze out there with all the guys till well past midnight.

Zack completed formation last week, which was his favorite block and the one he performed the best in.

We had a lovely weekend with friends--13-02 Assignment Night, bonfires & s'mores, a 25 mile bike ride, BBQ Joint, and a church potluck. A classmate of Zack's has moved in with us for the next couple weeks...so we always stay in good company around here. Weekends in Enid aren't so bad after all.

November is a month of many family birthdays (just so you're prepared with all my blog posts about them in the near future). I got birthday organized yesterday afternoon so we're prepared through the rest of this year. Phew!

Yesterday we thought of Papa Bob celebrating his first birthday in heaven. 

Today is Rudy's birthday!

This Week:

Zack is T-6 COMPLETE! As much fun as he had in the T-6, he is glad to be done and is ready for whatever comes next. Only 8 more days till we find out.

The only other noteworthy news in our lives is our new camera. We got a new digital SLR, finally! And we love it. Here are some pictures from our bike ride. We've just began practicing, so be prepared for much better pictures on this blog in the near future!