Drop Night is Coming!

Drop night is QUICKLY approaching, and I just wanted to write about it and what it means to us.

First and foremost, it is set for Friday, June 2nd, 2017 at 7:00PM for Dan's class at ENJJPT.

What is drop night? I get asked this question ALL. THE. TIME. Drop night is when the student pilots from one class (my husband is at Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) at Sheppard Air Force Base, but there are three other Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) bases too - Vance AFB, Laughlin AFB, and Columbus AFB) find out IN FRONT OF EVERYONE what plane they will be flying for their Air Force career.

Dan is specifically in class 17-06, but there is a drop night every six weeks here at Sheppard. The dates vary with the other three UPT bases, but drop nights happen at regular intervals.

How are the student pilots selected for their aircraft assignments? I also hear this one a lot. The student pilots are ranked within their flights and their classes (each class has two flights) based on several factors from their training, check rides, etc. throughout the year-long program. They also get to submit a "dream sheet", where they rank each and every aircraft the Air Force has to offer, starting with their top choice and going all the way to last place. Based on their ranking AND what they hope the fly, the people who choose just kind of go down the list.

What does Dan hope to fly? This is probably the most frequent question I get from family and friends - ALL THE TIME! While he certainly has preferences (and I'll get to those), he has longed to be an Air Force pilot for so long that he will just be happy to get paid to fly anything! He's not one of those people (and oh do they exist!) who will be super upset and unable to function if he doesn't get one of his top choices. But, hey, Air Force Gods... it wouldn't hurt to give him one anyway! ;-) Dan's top three planes on his dream sheet are the F-35, F-22, and F-15E. We really struggled to place those in any kind of order, though, so if he gets ANY of those top three, it'll be like winning the jackpot! His next three are the F-16, A-10, and F-15C, which would still be cool but aren't AS desirable. Then, he skips down to the heavies - or cargo planes - C-130, C-17, C-21, C-5, etc. After the heavies come the bombers and finally FAIPing, which is what we absolutely do NOT want (staying here at Sheppard and him being an instructor pilot - he's already a 1st Lieutenant, prior enlisted, and pretty old for the average student pilot), so we're hoping to avoid this step, but each drop has at least one and sometimes two in the mix... so we know it's still a possibility.

No matte what the outcome, we are just excited to KNOW so we can start planning our next move! That's right - whatever plane he is assigned also tells us what specific base we will be moving to! We won't know EXACTLY when, but we'll have a pretty good idea, and the planner in me is just dying to start looking at houses, activities for Annabelle, an OB and hospital for Baby Cookie #2, etc. I NEED TO KNOW.

This journey really has been a long time coming. When I met Dan in 2008, he was already in the Air National Guard and pursuing a degree in Aviation. He had always dreamed of flying in the Air Force, but that didn't seem like a reality until he was accepted into the Air Force Academy shortly after we started dating in 2009 and went active duty. Basically, our entire relationship has been focused on this one long-term dream and goal. He has poured every little bit of himself into being the best cadet, then officer, then Master's student, and now student pilot that he could possibly be in order to achieve his dreams. No matter what aircraft he is assigned to, we know it will be the right fit for our family because you just don't work this hard for nothing. It's all coming to fruition NEXT WEEK, He will still have three more weeks of pilot training after drop night before graduation, but I can already tell those three weeks are going to be so amazing because we'll KNOW everything we need to know. No more guessing. No more fretting.

This studly husband of mine has worked his tail off for NO JOKE eight years to achieve the goal of becoming a pilot in the world's greatest Air Force. And here we are... about to watch an absolute DREAM COME TRUE. (I'm not proud or anything... ;-) )

Please pray, send good wishes, positive thoughts, crossed fingers, etc. our way next week, as I know we will both be an anxious, nervous wreck!

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!

Dan's T-6 Solo Flight at ENJJPT

Just a couple weeks ago, I shared about Dan's T-6 Dollar Ride, where he flew with an IP (instructor pilot) for the first time at ENJJPT (Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training). Well, he's been flying nearly daily since then, and last week, they trusted him to take this $4+ million dollar plane up in the air all by himself!

Annabelle and I were so fortunate to be able to head to the airfield to watch the big event - major thanks to a friend who is a few classes ahead of Dan who escorted us out there and explained everything to me all morning.

I hope we are also able to watch his first solo flight in the T-38 when he transitions to that jet in January or February.

We arrived and headed inside to his flight room, and we had to wait to make sure winds were low enough for them to let Dan solo. He was already out with his IP flying, so I couldn't talk to him and was so nervous we wouldn't get to see him solo. (We had a really rough night the night before Annabelle couldn't sleep from her teething pain and late nap, so I was up with her for quite a bit of the night and ended up with significantly less sleep than normal... I would normally cancel all plans for the day and just chill around the house with her after a night like that, but we just couldn't miss this!)

When Dan's friend was sure he would be able to solo, he took us outside, and we took  the shuttle out to the flight line and found the plane Dan was flying in the hangar. He looked thrilled to get to go out on his own, and it was amazing seeing him in his element. It was neat seeing him taxi out all on his own, and Annabelle was the most adorable waving at his plane as he left the hangar. Heart. Melted.

Annabelle's shirt says, "Dad is my wingman" - she knows she's the real boss around here. And that's sweat on her, not pee. She was in the Ergo for a long time in the Texas heat and humidity, so homegirl was pretty hot. She did great overall, though, and she looked adorable as always in her Baby Banz ear protection. (Not an affiliate link - I just really love these, and they're perfect for stadiums, air shows, Space A flights, etc.) 

After he landed, we were able to take some pictures with him, and the one with us up on the wing and Dan still in the cockpit is probably my new favorite family photo. 

I was able to get a few more pictures of him with the plane and then with his IP (who recently finished IP training, so Dan was his very first solo student - how cool is that?!) 

And after all of that, Dan was tossed into the dunk tank by some of his classmates. The tradition is that you get chased down and tossed into the water after your initial solo in an aircraft, but if you're able to make it all the way back to the flight room undetected, everyone owes you beer. This moment was kind of anti-climactic because Dan WAS able to make it back to his flight room because SO MANY STUDENTS were soloing that morning, so no one was able to catch him... but I was disappointed, so I told everyone in the flight room that they needed to toss him in anyway because that's what kind of mean wife I am... and because I carried an extra pair of his heavy boots to him to change into when he forgot his that morning, and I'll be darned if that was for nothing while also juggling an almost one-year-old and all of her stuff as well. 

I'm SO glad he was thrown in the dunk tank because I got some pretty great action shots that he will love looking back on.

His class is called Shark-NATO... they all have different names, and they will have a patch for their flight suits that match the theme. It's cheesy, but it's sort of clever, and it's fun. That's why there are sharks in the dunk tank. There are students from Italy and Germany (as well as several others from the USA) in Dan's class, and it is SO cool to me.

Have you ever watched your spouse do something super cool?

Dan's T-6 Dollar Ride at ENJJPT

After yesterday's more serious post, I wanted to share something fun today!

Dan officially started his ENJJPT pilot training in June, and a couple weeks ago, he had his Dollar Ride - aka his first flight in the T-6 with an IP (instructor pilot). (He will also have a Dollar Ride in the T-38 in January or February, so stay tuned for that post in the future!)

He has flown many times since then, and it's amazing what that change means. He comes home in a much better mood and has SO much to talk about - compared to when he was in graduate school and doing the initial academic phase of pilot training.

Soon, Dan will solo in this aircraft, and he can't wait! This is a dream that's been a long time in the making, and I am so proud of him for sticking through it all. I am hoping to have the opportunity to go watch him when he does his first solo flight, so expect some fun photos sometime soon!

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!