2016: A Year in Review

This is one of those posts that probably won't interest too many of you, especially as I've blogged (not too well this year!) about many of these topics already... but this is more of a post for the books. For my memory. For my family... and especially for my daughter. 

Regardless, 2016 was good to us! It was less life-changing than 2015 was, but it did bring along a cross-country move and home-ownership for the first time. Each month was filled with many different events, and I want to remember as much as possible.

In January, we took our first family vacation to Niagara Falls, Canada (with a stop at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on the way) when Annabelle was four months old. 

In February, we had lots of visitors to our home in Ohio - my mom, followed by Lydia, followed by Michelle! 

March brought Annabelle's half birthday, Dan graduating with his Master's in Applied Physics from AFIT, and saying goodbye to good friends in Ohio before moving to Texas. 

We stopped in Missouri to see family for Easter on our cross-country drive and got settled in Texas in April. Annabelle went to her first air show and (kind of) enjoyed it. 

We traveled to Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and New Mexico in May, and Annabelle got to go on her first six flights, including one Space A flight on a C-17. We visited family and friends on that trip and even took Annabelle to our favorite places from our years in Colorado Springs. At the end of the month, Dan and I celebrated two years of marriage. Exciting! 

In June, Dan promoted to 1st Lieutenant and started pilot training at ENJJPT, signifying the real beginning of our life in Texas. 

July was hot, and we spent a lot of time walking around our neighborhood in the mornings before it was unbearable. 

August was spent with a trip to Branson for a wedding and a trip to Kansas City for a bridal shower and bachelorette party. Dan flew his Dollar Ride in the T-6, and Annabelle and I went to the airfield to watch Dan fly his first solo in the T-6 - how fun! 

September brought our sweet and sassy Annabelle's first birthday, which was a blast, and a family trip to Dallas to take her to the zoo for the first time. That month ended with a trip to Kansas City so I could stand by one of my best friend's side as she became a wife, and then Annabelle and I visited another best friend in St. Louis so we could meet Baby Huxley! I also finished my exclusively pumping journey, which was a long but well worth it year-long extravaganza for me. 

In October, Annabelle and I returned from our road trip, and we celebrated her second Halloween by taking her to a Trunk-or-Treat event on base. 

November was busy with Dan flying long hours, hosting a giant Thanksgiving dinner, and just living life. 

December brought about Dan completing his training in the T-6 and traveling to Missouri for Christmas and New Years! 

What a wonderful year we had as a family. Here's to 2017 - hopefully it will be even better!

Goodbye, Ohio!

Today, we are driving away from our house in Ohio. It was our very first duty station as a married couple. Once Dan graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2014, we got married and moved to Dayton, Ohio so he could get his Master's degree from AFIT, the Air Force Institute of Technology.

Last night, he received that Master of Science in Applied Physics degree (more on that coming soon), and we completed our time at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Thank goodness. We were not so much a fan of this town, but we also know it could be worse. There's nothing AWFUL about Dayton... there's just nothing exceptional about it either. In all fairness, we probably would have felt that way about any base after coming from gorgeous Colorado Springs.

Although we are not upset to be leaving Ohio behind for more exciting things (ie: pilot training and all the fun and craziness that comes along with it in Texas), we did make some special memories in Ohio...

We lived in our first house as a married couple. Sure, we rented it, but we worked hard to put it together to look and feel like a home, and I will definitely miss the layout of that house. It's also the home we welcomed Annabelle into, and while she will have many homes growing up, this one will always remain special because of the middle of the night feedings, sweet newborn cuddles, and many first milestones that took place in this very house. I'm happy to be leaving, but I'm also overwhelmed with sadness about leaving that part of Annabelle's life behind - she'll never remember it, so I'm happy that I at least captured her nursery in photos for her to have when she's older.

We went to many baseball games, went flying, and even made our own table for our patio! We're excited to move that one with us to Texas for all of the cookouts we see in our future.

We welcomed Smudge, Dan's childhood dog, into our home, and the kitties moved to their third state! Gilligan and Stormy are such well-seasoned travelers. 

Dan started his first Air Force job as an officer, going to school at AFIT. Those butterbars look so good on him. I turned my Etsy shop into something larger than I ever expected and shipped out a TON of orders for the holiday season. We took a family picture with all of our pets for our first married Christmas, and we celebrated our first year of marriage! 

In Ohio, we found out we were expecting, found out the baby is a GIRL, went through my entire pregnancy, and welcomed sweet Annabelle Kathryn. Life wasn't so bad in Ohio, after all. ;-) 

We bought our new car (the Dadmobile), spent our first Christmas with a baby, watched Dan defend his thesis (and graduate!), and took Annabelle to the polls to teach her the American way. 

While we're hoping never to be stationed in Ohio again (and as a pilot, Dan shouldn't be assigned there - but you know the military...), we will definitely miss some small aspects of it. And our small handful of great friends there. We will definitely miss them.

Now onto the adventures of pilot training! 

Do you ever feel sentimental when leaving a base, even if you didn't particularly care for it?

A PCS is Upon Us

When Lieutenant Lovemuffin graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2014, he was all set to head to pilot training. He's been flying for YEARS and can't wait to train in Air Force planes.

... but then he was offered a slot at AFIT, the Air Force Institute of Technology. A free master's degree? Heck yeah! Dan will be graduating in March as a Master of Physics, and his ladies (Annabelle and I) are pretty proud of his hard work while writing his incredibly long thesis.

He is chomping at the bit to be in the air again, though. His old flying team teammates are finishing pilot training in waves, and he is just stuck in Ohio going to school... still. But it'll all be worth it!

In fact, it'll SOON be here... because we are moving to TEXAS! Sheppard Air Force Base, here we come!

We've actually known since before heading to AFIT. These were his original orders... but we didn't know if the Air Force would mess anything up. Dan received his official orders about a month ago, and he'll be flying down soon to look at houses. We'll leave Ohio at the end of March, and Dan is SO excited to start flying again!

He'll be at ENJJPT (Euro-Nato Joint Jet Pilot Training), where he will start out flying the T-6 and move on to the T-38 before finding out what aircraft he'll be flying for his career. We are so ready to be there!


    

Our Ohio Bucket List

We have been living in Ohio for less than a year, but I feel like we have already done a lot of the things we wanted to do. However, we still have several things to check off of our bucket list while living here... and we have about 10.5 months to do so before we move all the way to Texas.

Today, I thought I'd share some of the things we've already done here and the things we still want to do! If you live in Ohio or are visiting the area (specifically Southwest Ohio), you'll recognize some of these items!

We have seen a lot more things since moving here that aren't in Ohio as well. We are so close to some pretty cool places that we've spent some time traveling out of the state... but I want to really focus on accomplishing the rest of our list!

OHIO BUCKET LIST

1. Cincinnati Reds game in Cincinnati

2. Jeni’s Ice Cream in Columbus

3. Cedar Point in Sandusky

4. Columbus Blue Jackets game in Columbus

5. Hocking Hills hike/camp

6. Bike along the Buckeye Trail

7. Try Skyline Chili

8. Donato’s Pizza

9. Piada Italian Street Food

10. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland

11. Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton

12. National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton

13. Underground Railroad Museum in Cincinnati

14. 2^nd Street Market in Dayton

15. Cincinnati Zoo in Cincinnati

16. Columbus Zoo in Columbus

The only things we have left on our list are the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Pro Football all of Fame, the Underground Railroad Museum, and both zoos. Hopefully we can make it to those before we leave!

Do you have any suggestions that we should add to our list?
What is on your bucket list for your current location?


    

Brrrrrrrrr... It's Cold!

I don't know about you all, but where I live, it is COLD. The windchill here in Ohio was -26 last week. Seriously. This is on the verge of being colder than Colorado, for crying out loud.

At least in Colorado, we had the gorgeous mountains to look at - which were so nice covered in snow. Here, it's just cold. And it's a wet cold, so it feels even worse. And I totally wasn't expecting it for whatever reason.

We got a decent amount of snow last week (about 4-5 inches), and my husband's classes were even canceled for a day. We had fun trying to stay warm together and even enjoyed a pizza buffet. I love that he has a big truck with four wheel drive - we can do anything!

And overnight tonight, it's supposed to sleet and freeze over. I'm glad I don't have too much going on this week. You'll catch me all bundled up inside with the three fur-babies. It takes a lot for me to get cold (yes, I'm one of THOSE people)... but this weather has even gotten to this winter-loving lady!

The fresh snow was SO pretty first thing in the morning! Love it!

Dan took Smudge out to play in the snow... and Gilligan was jealous. He kept meowing loudly and scraping the window/door with his paws... so we decided to let him out too. He wasn't a huge fan and hasn't begged to go back outside since.

Stormy is much smarter and enjoys watching it from the inside instead. 

• Are you a winter person?
• Do you like the snow?
• How cold is *too cold* for you?

2014: My Year in Review

2014 has been incredible. So many things happened this year - I got to play with lion cubs, Dan found out he's going to pilot training at ENJJPT, we spent 100's Weekend in Estes Park, I trained for and ran my first full marathon, had a bridal shower and bachelorette party, attended Dan's graduation parade, commissioning, and graduation, got married, spent a month in Europe for our honeymoon, said goodbye to Colorado and moved to Ohio, road lots of roller coasters at Cedar Point, watched the Kansas City Royals go to the World Series for the first time in my life, started volunteering with 7th and 8th graders at our new church's youth group, expanded my Etsy shop and sold many items at a craft fair, hosted Thanksgiving for the first time, and traveled back to Kansas City for the holidays.

2014 is definitely a year that I will remember forever! So many memories were made... and I absolutely cannot wait to see what 2015 has in store! 

5 Things to Do in Dayton, OH

September 23rd Prompt: A guide to your city! Share some of the hot-spots and hidden gems of where you live.

This one is a toughie since I have only been living here for two months... and much of that has been a blur with a spontaneous last minute trip to Washington DC, a week home in Kansas City, a weekend away in Denver for a wedding, and another weekend camping in another part of Ohio. It feels like I have barely even been here! BUT I tried my best to come up with some fun things I have already done.

FIVE THINGS TO DO IN DAYTON, OHIO 

1. National Museum of the US Air Force - it's huge, it's full of planes, and it's FREE... what's not to love?

2. Riverscape MetroPark - it's outdoors, it's pretty, and you can do lots of activities there! You can walk, run, bike, swing, people-watch, paddle-board, and more. It's a fun place to hang out with a view of the river AND the city!

3. 2nd Street Market - it's a farmer's market where you can buy fresh produce, but it's ALSO a venue for unique foods. People have booths inside (and sometimes outside, too) where they sell the food they make, including Thai and Colombian (and more!). It's fun, and it is what you make it!

4. Taylorsville MetroPark - There are SEVERAL metroparks to choose from in Dayton, but this one is our favorite so far. You can bike/walk/run on the North County Trail, which eventually runs through seven states and is the longest continuous trail in the entire country! It's nice, it's not crowded, and there are lots of fun pieces of nature to observe while out and about.

5. Dayton Festivals - seriously, there is at least one festival every single weekend! There have been so many since we got here. I have only been to the Greek one so far, but I plan on checking out a couple more this weekend when a friend visits! Dan went to the Beer Festival and loved it, so it seems like they're all great!

It's nice having so much to do for so little. We thought we were going to run into major problems when moving here from Colorado Springs, CO (where there is SO much to do), but each location is what you make it, and we've really enjoyed Dayton, Ohio so far!

What are your favorite things to do where you live?

A New Adventure (Thanks, Air Force)

Recently, I alluded to a change in our plans when I posted this post last week.

I wasn't trying to hold back information, but nothing was 100% official yet. Actually, it still isn't because it's the Air Force... what can I say?

As some of you will remember, I posted at the very end of January that Dan will be going to pilot training at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas, his top choice. Well, that is still true... but it has been pushed back a bit.

It's been pushed back 18 months, to be exact.

That's because Dan has been honored with a graduate school slot at AFIT, the Air Force Institute of Technology, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. He will get his Master's degree in Applied Physics through the Engineering Physics program.

Nothing is set in stone yet, and I feel like we're in limbo. His report date is currently July 31st, so we will pack up and move there immediately after we return from our honeymoon this summer. If funding falls through for whatever reason, though, this will all be off.

As of now, however, we are confident that we are moving to Ohio in July rather than to Texas next March. Goodbye, Colorado... in a couple months!

• Does anyone have experience with AFIT?
• Has anyone ever been stationed at Wright-Pat?
• What do we need to know about Ohio?