Pugly Sweaters

I put some real effort into this year's Ugly Christmas Sweater party. I made things, I organized 3 games (with prizes) and I went to 4 stores to find my Bah Hum Pug sweater vest. This is not typical for me. I'm pretty lazy and don't volunteer for much but it worked out well this year.
All 3 games ended with something or someone broken, so you know it was a success. Caution: Large marshmallows can hurt if hit directly in the face. Also, they will break a ceiling fan light bulb.
Janna is the one who really organized this party. I merely helped with 2 things. I don't know how people do it. I can barely plan a group outing with less than 8 people. The second someone starts asking questions or complicating the plan, I'm out. I get kind of combative too.
The entire weekend was great and I am so happy with my Alabama group of friends. It's terrible living so far away from my husband, but it definitely helps to have such a great support group.

Cute girls, ugly sweaters :)

Rivals

I flew to Tucson for Thanksgiving this year and met up with my whole family. It was a perfect trip; seamless and easy. Everyone had a great time, everyone was happy and we all ate a lot of food. My bro-in-law, Dave, organized a trip to the UA vs. ASU rivalry game the day after Thanksgiving. It was awesome and like always, we sat next to some very enthusiastic fans :) My favorite! Emotions ran high that day and there were some near altercations.
The 3 days flew by but I did manage to get some nephew/niece time, In-N-Out, Lindsay time, great weather and relaxing with my baby. I'm pretty sure that this cold I have came directly from the mouths of babes, because this exact same scenario occurred 3 years ago. Totally worth it though. My immune system always seems to get dominated by little children ninja germs.

Seats in the shade thanks to Dave's research!

2 of my sweet nieces. One of them ran away for the pic.

These guys were okay with sitting still :)

The pure joy of a 3 by 3 and animal style fries.

Day 2 of Being Sick and All is Lost!

Please tell me that everyone falls into deep despair and absolute anguish when they get a cold. Hahaha. I am on day 2 of this chest/head/nightmare cold and have lost all hope in life. I have missed 2 days of flying so now I'm launching down the imaginary road of what I'll do with my life since I'm going to get kicked out of flight school. Luckily it's Friday and I have the weekend to kick this thing.
I am now at the end of my Instruments phase and can't believe I've made it this far. My next phase is Basic Warrior Skills and also the most exciting part of flight school. I can't wait! I also can't wait for Christmas vacation because Corey and I are going to Ecuador and Peru for 2 weeks. It's been a whole year since I've traveled and I can't wait for some crazy adventures. I speak a little espanol, but not even enough to figure out how to type an enye.
Since I am sick I was feeling nostalgic, (just another symptom from the total desperation of feeling ill) I am posting old travel pics.

Belo Horizonte, Brazil 2003

Waterton, Canada 2005

Phuket, Thailand 2006

Chichen Itza, Mexico 2008

Metz, France 2011

Wewelsburg, Germany 2011

Amsterdam, Holland 2012

Lugano, Switzerland 2012

Florence, Italy 2012

Cinque Terra, Italy 2012

Cinque Terra, Italy 2012

Athens, Greece 2012

Santorini, Greece 2012

Mykonos, Greece 2012

Salalah, Oman 2013

My Mom Came to Visit Me!

Paula is the greatest woman to ever live and I finally coaxed her to the south. When I was a kid I used to trick her into my bedroom by saying that I was hurt or needed something, then I would close the door behind her and trap her in my room and make her pay attention to me. That's kind of what I did here recently. She secretly loves it.
First thing you need to do when visiting lower Alabama is go to Florida. I took her to Destin for a day of sun, beautiful sand and clear, perfect water. We also hit up the outlets ;)

Ft. Walton Beach

She was blinded by the sun

So I gave her some sunglasses

I showed her the peanut capital of the world, the Boll Weevil and all over Fort Rucker. There's nothing better than having your mom's full attention when you're the third child out of four. It was heaven! 

The mighty Boll Weevil ate all the cotton and forced the area to plant peanuts. Now they're the peanut capital!

The Diner in Daleville, AL

Downtown Dothan, AL

Redneck Riviera

My friend, Faith, recently retired from the Air Force and moved back to her hometown of Tallahassee. This is great news for me because she is now only 2 hours away! Also, she is the world's greatest tour guide. In 2 days we saw more of Florida than I would have in 2 weeks. Following this the proof:

Window from an old slave church

Boat ride at Wakulla Springs

Lodge at Wakulla Springs

It was freezing!

We saw manatees, alligators and so many birds. Absolutely beautiful!

Light house on the Forgotten Coast

Apalachicola Sea Fest

Best food and a Craig Campbell concert

Me and Faith

So many butterflies

Falling Waters State Park

My friend and I went on an impromptu hike today to Florida's tallest waterfall. I guess there wasn't much water so it didn't really produce the expected reaction but it was such a great day to get outside and enjoy this perfect weather. Just driving around down here is always fun because it is so green and lush. Plus, Brittany has a Jeep and who doesn't like to drive topless? 

Falling Waters State Park

I love ferns!

The Camelbak wasn't necessary but it sure does make me look more hardcore.

Nature!

Exposed roots...how embarrassing!

This little turtle was showing off for us.

Cotton fields on the drive home.

It's crazy that cotton grows like this!

I especially love flying over these fields. They are beautiful.

Family Day at the Flight Line

Corey drove all the way to LA (Lower Alabama) for my family day on the flight line. I was so excited to have him here that I flew my best flight so far. We took off like normal and the families met us at our stage field and watched as our buzz numbers flew by. We had great weather and I had so much fun. I flew first and then we shut down so our IP could meet our families and have lunch. Then he and my stick buddy left while I got to hang out with my baby and show him all around. 

Our Commander flew out a static display so I got to explain the controls, the start up procedure, all the maneuvers we're learning, etc. Corey was under the impression that we flew out to fields with mounds of dirt to land on so he was impressed that we actually had lanes to land on. There's also a pilot's lounge to hang out in while we're not flying. It's not nice, but it's better than a mound of dirt.

Steep approach

Autorotation (I think)

Action shot!

Meeting up with Corey :)

The static display

All my gear. Corey told me to look tough...

I was so happy to finally see my baby again!