Makin' Moves

3 addresses in one year... Welcome to the Navy!
Oh, what an adventure it is!

Since Derrick and I have gotten married, we've spent about 3 months in Annapolis, 11 months in Pensacola, and now we are exploring Texas.  

Let's back up a little bit.  Derrick is flying through flight school (pun intended). In Pensacola, Derrick completed the first phase of training.   Let's explain what that entails:
Usually you start with IFS(Introductory Flight School) in which you learn how to fly a Cessna or Piper Warrior (a tiny plane at a private/civilian airport).  Derrick was exempt from this because of a summer program he had completed while at the Academy.
Next, is API (Aviation Pre-flight Indoctrination).  This is the intense academic portion where the only time you see friends is at study parties.  I'm mostly kidding, but it was like 5 weeks of finals with class all day and tests.  This also included land and water survival, the helo dunker, and the hyperbolic chamber.  Basically, what to do if anything bad ever happens.
Finally, we get to Primary.  Derrick completed this training in about 7 months, learning to fly the T-6B.  Go Red Knights!
At the end of primary, there's a casual selection ceremony in which you find out which aircraft you will be flying.  A lot of nerves, ending in... JETS!

Proud wife! 

Kirby was just as excited as Derrick was that Derrick selected jets! Romans 12:15 

So, off to Kingsville, Texas we go.
We're getting pretty good at moving at this point, and this is just the beginning.  The movers took all of our stuff, and we journeyed the 11 hours to Kingsville.  The best part was how well the pooch, Maggie, handled the trip! (We'll update on her later.)

Here we are now, in Kingsville, awaiting the moving truck and enjoying an air mattress in our apartment.  We start to complain about the wait for our stuff, but stop to realize how blessed we are.  A nice apartment with air conditioning and food, and people in our lives who love us! Derrick is simply thrilled to have the opportunity to study to be a Jet Pilot for the greatest Navy in the world.  All is well :)

Firsts in this First Year

The last few months have been such an amazing adventure as we journey through our first year of marriage! There's been so many firsts along the way, each of them a joy and a blessing.

We just spent our first Valentine's Day together as a married couple, and it was actually the first Valentine's Day that we've been able to be in the same location.  Nevertheless, we made a weekend of it and exchanged gifts Friday night because we were so excited.  Who knew roses and hot sauce was the way to each other's hearts?

 

I'm working my first real job in the "real world".  Teaching high school is exhausting, but I love my students.   There is never a dull day.  Oh, the stories I could tell... 

(Getting my first pay check was pretty exciting, too.)

Derrick has gotten to fly a T-6 for the first time.  And a few times after that.  While he studies hard, and even harder as he hopes to get selected for jets, he absolutely loves to be in the air.  Although I would never want to be in his place, I have to admit it's a pretty cool job! 

There's been other firsts throughout this year, which seem minor in comparison to new states and new jobs.  We went paddle boarding in the Gulf for the first time, went to New Orleans and ate beignets for the first time, and made decisions for the first time about who was responsible for laundry and who for dishes.  We have other married couples as friends, and friends that are choosing to have children.  We've been able to welcome other people to the area, and go to a couple of squadron events. I took my first aerial yoga class, and we've had a good friend visit.  We picked out a Christmas tree and become fans of minor league hockey.  We went to our first Brad Paisley concert.  We've loved being in a Bible study together, and been sad to see friends leave as they move onto their next station.  This is our first winter without snow and having to book flights to go home for Christmas.  It's also the first time that 35 degrees feels cold in the winter!

I could go on and on. We're trying to pack in as much as we can into Pensacola while the Lord (and the Navy) has us here.   We are thankful for the firsts. 

Friends-giving 2014 

Jones kids at Christmas

Of course we had to try out Katie's in NOLA. It was delicious!

Will loved seeing us in January!