My World Has Come Crashing Down: Grandpa Update

This is really hard for me to write.  I am just letting my fingers flow over this keyboard.  I'm numb.  But writing is a huge release for me.  I can't use social media because my cousin Melissa is still gone so this blog (which won't be published until she returns) is that release for me.

Today Grandpa had an appointment to see a specialist about the tumor in his jaw.  I wasn't expecting much from it after the last news.  I was feeling pretty confident in it all.  I was so wrong.

Right as I pulled into the driveway after work, my mother called my phone. When I answered, I could hear her crying and my heart sank.  "It's not good."  That's all I needed to hear to have to fight my vomit.  She then proceeded to tell me (which took a long time to understand through her sobs) the previous doctor was very wrong.  Grandpa's cancer was very advanced.  It was Stage IV and had already metastasized to the lymph nodes.  I seriously felt like my world was crashing down on me.  And I still feel that way.  I feel like I'm lying on the floor with the weight of a house on my chest.

This cannot be happening.  How did it get so badly before we ever knew??  How did the oral surgeon not see a tumor in the x-rays back in late February?  How did they not see anything in the MRI or scans from his mini-stroke in March?

I feel so lost.  I cannot imagine my life with my Grandfather.  He is one of the most amazing men I've met.  He's so strong, so witty, so incredibly intelligent, so supportive, so loving.
My grandfather and I are very close.  He's who I owe all my athleticism to.  Neither of my parents are into sports (they enjoy watching them, just not playing them).  Grandpa is the one who would force me into his backyard and spend hours with me (sometimes against my will) practicing my fast foot work.  He's the one who threw me grounders, fly balls, etc.  He (and Grandma) came to ALL of my soccer, softball, basketball, and volleyball games.  He was my biggest fan!  (and sometimes would give me money afterwards for some candy or nachos!).  When I reached high school, no one was more proud when I made the Varsity team

When I had cancer, Grandpa would drive between the hospital I was in and the one where Grandma was (she had just had a knee replacement).  Even though his own wife, whom he adores, was in the hospital, he still spent so much time sitting with me in those 14 days I was in the hospital.  He sat with me during my 8 hour chemo days.

Everyone who meets Grandpa loves him.  Our friends, neighbors, etc all love him.  The past two times he was in the hospital, the staff just love him! (and are amazed at his age.)  He's honestly such a phenomenal human being.

It's reasons like this, plus a million more that make this so hard.  I need you all to pray.  Pray hard.

Now, we're waiting for his PET scan results.  This is hard for me to type.  The PET scan will show if there is any metastasis.  If the cancer has not spread anywhere beyond his jaw and lymph nodes, Grandpa will receive surgery to remove the tumor and his lower left jaw, followed by radiation, and then chemotherapy.  If there is metastasis, there's nothing they can do for him.  They will do some radiation and chemo to keep him comfortable but there is nothing they can do for him.  I have never anything more devastating.  Writing this is hard.  I do not want to lose my grandfather.  I can't.  There's just too much I need him for.  He hasn't seen my brother, sister, or cousins get married.  I'm the only grandchild to marry.  I want him to meet my children.  I don't want him to be just a story and photos to them.  I want to see him holding his grand-babies.  I'm not ready to not hear his stories anymore.  My grandpa has some awesome stories and he's great at telling them.  I could hear his stories a million times over.  I'm not ready to stop hearing them and I know there's many more I haven't heard yet.  I'm not ready to not hear his silly jokes or hear his witty comments.  I'm not ready to not hear the adorable bickering between Grandma and him.

I'm not ready for the end of them.  My grandparents are a true pair.  There is no Grandma without Grandpa and vice versa.  They are the most adorable couple you have ever met.  Nick and I always say we want a love like theirs.  If we can have a love only half as great as theirs, I would consider it a successful life.  That's how amazing their friendship, love, and marriage is.  It's because of this, I cannot imagine my Grandma without my Grandpa by her side.  She will be so lost without him.  Honestly, I wouldn't doubt, and this is my fear if Grandpa can't beat this, Grandma will go quickly after from a broken heart.  They would definitely be one of those couples.
And I cannot fathom my life without them.  I just can't.  We are so close and they are so important to me.

My family is rare.  My brother and I were talking about this.  Neither of us personally know anyone with a family like ours.  We get together for every holiday, every grandparent, aunt, uncle, or cousin's birthday.  We get together on random evenings to have game nights.  We spend hours laughing together.  We talk openly about anything and everything.  Our friends constantly tell how much they envy our family's closeness and say they haven't seen anything like it.  We are one unit.  We are all there for each other when anything happens.  If someone goes into the hospital, every single member (there are 17 of us) are there.  Keeping each other laughing and positive.  Our family also welcomes all significant others with open arms.  Nick is very much so a part of the family.  They all just adore him and he loves them, considers them family, and is so happy to have married into this crazy family!  But Grandma and Grandpa are the backbone of this family.  They've done an amazing job of raising their four kids and instilled in them the importance of family and love.  It's that importance that they've all passed down to us children.  And it's why we are so incredibly close.
People ask me all the time, "Did cancer bring your family closer together?"  My answer is no...simply because there honestly is no way our family could be any closer.  Pre-cancer we were already as close as any family could be.  My experience just showed us exactly why we're thankful for the relationship we have.  It reaffirmed why we know we're a strong and close family.
We do EVERYTHING together.  We fight together.  Anyone else's happiness is everyone else's happiness.  Anyone else's pain is everyone else's pain.  Which is why this is so hard.  We are all suffering from this.  So I'm not just carrying around my own worry and pain, I'm carrying 16 other people's pain and fear.  We're all worried and scared.  It makes it so difficult.

Yet, it's through these times that I realize how incredibly lucky I am to have this family.  I'm fully aware how rare it is and therefore, how lucky I am.  I am thankful I have 16 people to go through this with.  It makes things harder to carry their burdens, but it also makes it easier to know we have each other to lean on.  It makes it easier to know we aren't alone in our emotions.

So people have said, "Well, you should just feel lucky that he's still here.  Some people's grandparents don't live that long."  I'm sorry, but this a rude and inconsiderate comment.  I am fully aware that I'm lucky that both my grandparents are alive.  My husband does not have any living grandparents (lucky he views mine as his), so I do strongly recognize my blessing.  Just because I'm sad my Grandfather is going through and I might lose him does not all mean I'm not thankful and consider myself lucky to still have him at the age of 83 years old when I'm 28 years old.  No matter how old he is, this would upset me.  Grandpa could live to be 167 years old and I'd STILL be upset by this or the thought of losing him.  Why is that so wrong?  So yes, he may be 83 years old, but I am still upset by this.  I know I'm lucky he's still here but that will never mean I will not be saddened by ANY hardship he must go through.  So if that's what you're going to say to me, shut your mouth before I punch you in your face.

We need the strongest of prayers right now.  I need everyone to pray that this PET scan comes back with NO signs of metastasis so that Grandpa can get a chance to fight and BEAT this!!!!

Cancer Strikes Again: Grandpa

Can I just start out by saying how much I hate cancer????  I truly do.  I know I'm not alone.  I'm sure there's no one out there that says "Gosh, I sure do love cancer!"

Anyway...

Starting back in December, Grandpa was complaining that his mouth/jaw was hurting.  At the beginning of this year, he went to the doctor/dentist and they did some x-rays and decided to take out an impacted wisdom tooth. During this extraction, they saw a lump in his jaw (this was end of February/early March).  We didn't think too much of it but my mother called me today saying that the biopsy had come back and it was cancer.

My stomach flipped upside down and I was sick.  Not my Grandpa.  Please not him.

His primary doctor told him that thankfully we caught it early and when caught early, head and neck cancers (as they're calling this) are very curable.  That was great news to hear but hearing "cancer" just scares the crap out of me.  I felt better knowing this but I still had that nauseous feeling.

My Grandpa is 83 years old.  Which is "old" to some, but if you've ever had the pleasure of meeting my Grandfather, you'd be shocked to find that out...as most are.  At a glance, he most definitely doesn't look 83 years old.  And he's incredibly active.  He was still playing soccer at 65 years old!  He was bench pressing up to about 75ish years old (give or take).  He still currently golfs and is in a bowling league.   If you read one of my previous posts, you'll remember me talking about how he's always been so active and that's what has kept him healthy for so long (he's our motivation to keep ourselves active and healthy as well.)  So to hear he has cancer is devastating.  But I also know he's strong and he can handle this.  He's not your typical Grandpa.  This should be easy for him.  Or easier than it is for most.

Am I worried?  Of course I am!  Whenever you hear "cancer", your mind jumps to the negatives.  Cancer is a scary word.  It's the second most leading cause of death (behind heart disease).  And the older you are, the most scary it is.  While Grandpa is healthy, he IS older.  And his body has been through a lot lately.  If you followed that link above, you'll have read, or you might remember if you're an avid follower of mine, that in February 2012, Grandpa had his aortic valve replaced.  But even that proved how strong he is.  His valve had a defect; a defect that should have given out on him in his 40's, as it most commonly does for people with this defect.  But his lasted 40 years beyond that!!!!  And all because of how healthy and active he is.  At the beginning of March, Grandpa had a mini-stroke.  (I never mentioned this in my blog).  They think the stroke was caused from the heart, so they switched up some meds and he was good to go.  So he has had some issues, and while they seemed major, he battled it like a champ.  He recovered like a boss from them and completely amazed his doctors.  He's a true fighter.

It's reasons like this that scare me, but also give him confidence.  I'm scared because in the past two years, his body is proving that it's not young and not invincible as he appeared up until the age of 81.  I'm scared because it means his body is weakening and aging.  I'm scared this weakening and aging could hinder his progress.  But I'm also confident.  This recent past shows how quickly he can bounce back from things.  It shows how strong of a fighter he is and how determined he is to remain healthy and strong.

Talking to Grandpa, you'd never know he was told he had cancer.  He sounds amazing!!!  (I'm told he looks amazing too but I'm stuck here in Florida and they aren't the technology kind of folk so all we have is the phone).  He is still the same 'ol witty Grandfather I know and love.


While the doctor said this was caught early and things look good for him, I still ask for prayers.  He will need surgery to remove the tumor and we're unsure about treatments.  Right now they're thinking just some radiation.


Note:  I am writing this as dated on this blog, but will be posting it late.  My cousin Melissa is currently in Spain and won't be back for about a week, so we're waiting until she returns to go public with this news.  We don't want to worry her or ruin her trip.  It sucks to not use social media to ask for prayers, but I'm still typing this and will post it as soon as I can!  Until then, I'm spreading the word through texts and emails to ask for prayers.

Mother's Day 2013

Happy Mother's Day to all my mommy friends, the soon-to-be mommies, the moms to fur babies, and to all those wishing to be mommies but having difficulties.
I want to give a special shout to the best Grandma ever, my amazing aunts Anne, Janet, Joann, and Debbie, Nick's second mom (his sponsor mom) Lisa, and of course, my own amazing mother!!!!

I'm not a mother yet, but my sweet pups did get me a Mother's Day card :)

Other than that, I spent my day sad that I couldn't be at home celebrating with my family.  But I did get to FaceTime with everyone when they were all gathered at my Aunt's house.  Thank goodness for technology because it definitely makes days like today soooo much easier.  Major props to you milspouses before we had all this technology!

Grandma wanted to FaceTime with Yadi lol

It's really hard for me to be away from my mother on Mother's Day.  She's my world.  My mother is literally my best friend.  I know we have a unique relationship and I am so grateful for it.  When I think back on my childhood, I can't remember a time when we didn't get along.  You always here people talk about how they went through that phase with their moms (early adolescents) but I never did.  I thought maybe I blocked it from my memory but when I asked my mom, she confirmed we never experienced that phase.  I honestly never fought with my mother.  We never didn't get along.  I never disobeyed her.  If I ever did lie to her (like sneaking out to Danny's house with Julie or attending a sleepover where boys were sleeping over too), I would tell her withint 24 hours because I felt sooooo guilty lying to her.
I've always talked to my mother about anything and everything.  I'm sure she doesn't want to hear 85% of what I tell her (I'm a TMI person lol) but she puts up with me (with lots of eye rolling, numerous gasps followed by "Melanie Ann!!!" and constant "You are so bizarre!" comments.  I really have no idea where I get my weirdness or obnoxiousness from!  She's much the opposite!)

Photo Credit: i Kandi Photography

My mother has always supported me in anything I wanted to do.  She's always believed in me.  When I was diagnosed with cancer, my mother stepped forward and exhibited a strength that still amazes me to this day.  She was my rock, my smile, and my strength.  She refused to let me give up when life became too painful for me.  She still remains to be that for me on my weak days.  She let me go when it hurt her too much because she knew it was best for me, and was there for me when I had a rough time with it.
When Nick came into my life, she accepted him and loved him as her own.  (Sometimes I think she loves him more than she loves me.)  When we got engaged, she couldn't have been happier for me.  Throughout wedding planning, she helped me more than I could ever thank her.  She offered her opinion but never, ever tried to take control or convince me to do as she wanted or thought best.  She's a huge reason why our wedding turned out so beautiful and so fun.  Because of our incredibly close bond, I chose to forego tradition and had BOTH of my parents walk me down the aisle.  My mother is just as important as my father and I wanted them to both have that great honor.

Photo Credit: i Kandi Photography 

Moving away from home was so incredibly hard.  Saying goodbye to my mother was honestly the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.  And each goodbye since then has been almost as hard.

I've lived out of state for almost two years now, but our bond has only gotten closer through the use of technology.  We finally convinced Mom to get an iPhone so we can FaceTime.  She's also completely mastered texting and Facebook so she's able to keep up-to-date.
My mother and I speak every single day.  Yes.  EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.
Some days, (before I was working) she would call on her lunch break if she was bored.  And we talk every single night before bed.  Some nights, it might be a one minute conversation that consists of "I'm going to bed."  "Okay, goodnight. I love you."  "I love you, too.  Goodnight."  But most nights, we talk for quite a while.  About our day, any thoughts, venting, etc.  We don't talk because I have a mother who can't let go.  We don't talk out of obligation.  We talk simply because we're best friends and love talking to one another.  There have been some nights where we don't talk (because I'm out with friends) and that's okay.   We aren't distraught over it.  It doesn't hurt us or make us upset.  It just gives us more to talk about the next day!!!

I am so grateful for the relationship I have with my mother.  It most definitely makes the distance harder, but I wouldn't trade our relationship for anything.  My mother is my world.  She is honestly the most amazing person I've ever met.  I know people say this about so many people, but my mother truly is.  She's beautiful inside and out.  She's the most selfless, caring, funny (without evening trying), clumsy, loving, supportive, emotional, hard working, and dedicated person I have ever met.  My siblings and I are lucky to have her as a mother.  And anyone who has ever met her should consider themselves just as lucky.

I love you, Mom!!!  I'm sorry I couldn't be there today but I hope you enjoyed your gift, card, and our FaceTime session.  You deserve the best day not only today, but every day!!!!  I can't wait for you to be here again in 44 days!!!!  HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

MSAD 2013

A lot of you might be saying, "What the crap is MSAD?"  I'm lazy so I'll only type this once; it stands for Military Spouse Appreciation Day, which occurs every year on the Friday before Mother's Day.

This is only my second "official" MSAD seeing as we've only been married just shy of two years. But previous to our wedding, Nick would still send me a sappy email about how even though we weren't married, he still appreciated the sacrifices and support I provided him.

Yesterday morning, I woke up early and found a card awaiting me on the kitchen table.  I opened it up and inside was of course a sweet message from Nick along with a Starbucks giftcard!!!!!  Now, this might not seem like a big deal, but it's HUGE!  Nick despises Starbuck's.  I mean, he hates coffee (anything even remotely coffee scented or flavored...even a mocha candle!), but he truly hates Starbuck's because he thinks they charge WAY too much for their drinks.  And I agree....they are pretty expensive when you think about how little you're actually getting for that amount ("I could get a 24 pack of Mountain Dew for what you pay for one drink").  But the sad truth is, there's just not an alternative.  I definitely cannot make frapps as great as theirs (which is what I order 95% of the time).  And there are no other coffee places around here, except gas stations, which are not anything to brag about.  That being said, I don't get Starbucks often because when I do, I hear his voice and see my medical/student loan debt and then I'm overcome with guilt.  "If I add up all these coffees, that's a monthly payment."  (Not to mention, I try to not have coffee more than three times a month.)
So anyway, all that to say him getting me a giftcard to a place he LOATHES means a LOT!

When Nick got home from work that evening, he offered to make dinner.  (Thankfully this wasn't just a MSAD thing.  Nick makes dinners for us about 50% of the time.  I just got lucky like that.)  After dinner, we watched the Cardinals game and he played with my hair AND scratched my back!!!  I don't know about you all, but those are two of my absolute favorite things!!!!  Again, he does these things often but this night, I got it for a good solid hour!!!!

After dinner, Nick took me out for dessert and drinks!!  And unbeknownst to us, it was 2 for 1!!!  As always, we had great conversations and I just love talking about our exciting future!  I still get butterflies and all giddy just as I did when we were dating and we first began talking about possibly getting married and having a forever together.

I feel blessed that Nick remembers this day and does something to make it special.  But I feel blessed that I married a man who constantly appreciates me.  Almost daily, Nicholas will tell me how much appreciates all that I do for him and the support I provide.  He truly understands that while I'm loving this life with him, it's incredibly difficult for me to be away from my family and friends.  He understands the struggle with nursing school and that I've had to delay that next step for my professional future.  He understands my concern and worry with not having my doctors just down the road.  He understands the hardships associated with finding employment.  He recognizes all the little things I do for him, our dogs, and our house so that it's one less thing for him to worry and stress about, spend time doing, or occupying his mind when he's flying.  He knows I do these things to make his demanding and exhausting career easier and worth it.
I know I am incredibly lucky to have a man who not only recognizes these things, but thanks me daily for them.  Sure, today I got a gift for it, and I'm grateful for that.  But every other day, I get his random from-behind-hugs while I'm doing dishes, his random pull-you-off-the-couch embraces, his random forehead kisses, etc accompanied by a "Do you know how much I Love you?" and "Thank you for everything you do for me and our family."  Not a day goes by that I don't thank God for giving me such a loving, caring, and appreciative man.
The thing is, I don't do these things for the praise. I do them simply because I Love him.  I'm proud of him.  And I love our life together.  I'm dedicated to making this life as easy and as best as it can be.  He works so hard to support us and I want to do all I can to show HIM how much I appreciate his hard work and dedication to our family and our country.


And now, I'd like to wish a VERY Happy Military Spouse Appreciation Day (okay, so I typed it twice) to all my fellow wives (and fiances, girlfriends/boyfriends, and husbands) out there!
Some of you have become my best friends and you make this crazy life not only bearable, but enjoyable!!!!!  You've helped me turn an unknown town into home; a place I've come to love and will be sad to leave.  Others of you, some I've never met, (yet someday hope to), have offered support and advice on anything and everything, been there for me during the rough times, and prayed for me in my times of need.  I feel blessed to call you all friends because you are by far some of the strongest, most dedicated, resilient, and independent women I know.  It's most definitely not an easy life, but you all handle it with such ease and grace that civilians might wonder why some complain about it!  I hope you all know how special you are and that your support and love to not only your spouses and families is appreciated, but your friendship is appreciated as well!!!!



I'm just one month shy of being a two year Navy Wife.  While I do not define myself solely as a "Navy Wife", I am damn proud to be one!!!
When Nick and I began dating, I was hesitant to take the jump and fully commit to him.  I kept saying "I don't want to marry a military man and live that lifestyle."  (Thank goodness for my best friend, Jessie.  Had it not been for her knocking some sense into me, I would have lost the best thing to ever happen to me!)  I finally decided to take a risk, knowing this life would be far from easy.  I wish I could report I was wrong, but I was right.  This life has been difficult at times.  It's never easy to leave a family that you're ridiculously close with, the best friends on earth, a city you adore, and a job you love.  I left the only life I knew behind to start a new (and somewhat scary) one with Nicholas, in a whole new city where I knew no one.  In just these two short years, I've come to love this lifestyle.  Sure, I miss my family and friends, St. Louis, and my old job, but I no longer cry when I think of them.  Committing to Nicholas was most definitely the absolute best risk I've ever taken!
The experiences I've had, the places I've lived, the amazing people I've met, and the knowledge I've gained have made this all worth it.  My marriage has grown stronger than I ever imagined possible and we have a Love and friendship I did not know could truly exist.  Although I did not think it was possible the day we left St. Louis in a moving truck, I can honestly say there are an infinite amount of positives to this lifestyle.  My pros now outweigh the cons.  Both of them have made me a better person and I cannot imagine my life any differently.  I know we'll hit bumps here and there, and things will test my strength, our marriage, and my faith, but with Nicholas and my amazing military wives, I know I can overcome anything the Navy throws our way!  Our journey is far from over, and I look forward to seeing where our next chapter will be!!!!

Family Visit Down South To Alabama & Florida

If you're friends with me on Facebook or Twitter, then you know my family came to visit (I was only counting down for the two weeks prior!)

We had an awesome time!!!!  The weather wasn't ideal but we made the best of it and had a great visit.

Saturday morning Nick, the pups, and I headed to the FinDick's House (that's how they're known to us until they get married (a combination of their last names)).  The girls were all so happy to be reunited (as always), the boys did their boy thing (as usual) and Leah and I headed out to buy food and supplies before the family showed up.

Dad, Mom, and Ben showed up that evening and we just hung out all evening on their back patio.   We called it an early night (I'd like to say it's because we all had an early morning, but let's be real....it's because we're all old and can't hang like we used to.)

Sunday we ventured out to play some mini-golf and ate some oh so bad for you food at a diner just outside base (Ft. Rucker.)

(for the record, Nick doesn't pop his collar...he's not a douche like that.  His neck was getting sunburnt so this was his only fix for that lol)

After we got back home, Nick and the pups headed back to Florida (he had to work) and we again just hung out all evening on the patio.

Monday we headed to base and walked around the Aviation Museum.  Then we drove over to Kyle's airfield and saw all the various helicopters (Apache, Chinook, Kiowa, Blackhawk, Huey, Cobra etc).

Inside the Chinook.

This is the Chinook.  It's a massive helicopter.  (The helicopter that Nick wants to fly (pending open slots because they don't select often for them, the MH-53) is even bigger than this!!!!)

I could be very wrong, but I believe this is the Apache, the helicopter than Kyle is hoping to select at the end of July.

Okay, in this picture I can totally see how people say Ben and I look alike.  (I just much larger eyes lol)

This is the TH-67, the helo Kyle is currently training on.  It's the EXACT same Robinson helo Nick flies, except the Navy calls it the TH-57.  It's pretty cool that Nick and Kyle are so close (friendship/family-wise and are pretty much in the same place of training on the exact same helo.  With the same love and fascination for it all.  It's pretty cute.)

It was rainy and a pretty gross day so we all headed back to Enterprise and ate lunch at a hole-in-the-wall amazingly delicious place, Annie's.  Then us ladies walked around a bit at the shops while the dude's headed home.  That night, we decided to head to Maggie Moo's for dinner.  I mean, it's vacation so you're allowed to eat poorly, right?  So ice cream for dinner it was.

Kyle's banana split and my hot fudge mint sundae

Then more patio sitting until we all went to bed.


Tuesday we headed to Dothan and visited their botanical gardens.

In my dream home, I will have a beautiful Japanese Garden like this and the picture below.

You're supposed to place a lock on this fence with your loved one.  Cute idea.  Too bad my loved one had to return to Florida for work.

Beautiful rose garden.

More of the Rose Garden

Then we headed over to Landmark Park which was an old town.  It was really neat.  Call me a nerd, but this old school stuff truly fascinates me.  It's amazing to think about how simple life was back then!

School House

Inside the school house

Headland Presbyterian Church

Inside the church

Blacksmith workshop

Inside in the blacksmith shop

House

Inside the house

Inside the house

After this, we headed back to Leah's, packed up, and we all drove to our house in Florida (minus Kyle, who had to stay behind to work.)

Wednesday we headed to Navarre Beach.  It's my favorite beach down here so I definitely wanted my family to experience it.  Unfortunately, the weather was crappy.  It was soooooo windy and cold.  We sat around in hoodies the entire time.  We didn't last more than an hour and a half before we decided to head back home.  There was sand in every crevice of our bodies (we felt like we were eating sand for the next 2 days....we just couldn't get it out of our mouths!) and it was all over all our bags.  It was insane.  The wind covered my flip flops in sand in a matter of 5 minutes.  That's how strong the wind was.  My legs were so sore from the sand beating against them!!!!

That night, we took my family to McGuire's Irish Pub, a Pensacola staple.  As to be expected, everyone loved their dishes!!!

Nick and my mother in a chugging contest with their signature mason jar drinks.  NOT a brilliant idea.  Looks like I'm DDing!  (Nick won).

After dinner

Thursday we waited around the house for the rain and storms to pass and then headed to Pensacola Beach.  We had better weather this day but not fantastic.  The water was still cold with there not being much sun.  There were some pockets of sun and the wind was nowhere near as bad so we were able to lay around in our swimming suits.  It ended up being a pretty good day (with Mom, Dad, and Ben getting pretty burnt).

After the beach, Nick met us across the street at Flounder's for dinner (another Pensacola staple).  Everyone in my family (except Nick and I since we were driving) ordered their signature (super strong) mason jar drink, the Diesel Fuel.


Friday we all headed to NAS Whiting Field.  Nick took my family to North Field to show them where he did Primary.  He showed them the hangar and the flight line.  He also took them in and showed them the two various simulators he had in Primary and explained a lot of that to them.  (they weren't able to actually do the sim, but looked at it all and Nick explained a lot of it.)

T-6B Texan II cockpit simulator.  This is what Nick flew in Primary Training.

Then we ventured over to South Field.  He took us in the hangar and explained the difference in the two helicopters he flies in Advanced Training (both TH-57s but one is the Bravo model and one is the Charlie model).  Dad and Ben took turns getting in one with him while he explained it all.

TH-57 cockpit.  MUCH different and much older than glass cockpit (computerized) T-6B he flew in Primary

Then we headed to the academic building where he showed them and explained how a helicopter actually works.  It was super cute to see Nick in his engineer/professor mode, explaining every tiny detail of how the helicopter operates and what controls what and how it all works together.

(I learned what a "Jesus nut" was this day!  Basically, if that nut falls off, you're going to meet Jesus.  It's the nut at the very top of this contraption.)

The engine of the TH-57

Then we went to the simulators and he showed them those as well but not pictures allowed.


Afterwards, we headed to NAS Pensacola.  We stopped off at the NEX for my family to pick up some Navy gear and then we went to the Aviation Museum.  We hung out there for about 2 hours and my Dad was like a kid in a candy store!

Ben in a Blue Angel

Afterwards, we ventured to the lighthouse.  We didn't take a tour but walked around and took some photos.  Then we headed down to the beach on base in the hopes of seeing some dolphins.  Unfortunately, that didn't happen because we were there around 6pm and they usually come in the cove much closer to sunset.  But it was worth a shot.

Saturday morning was the sad part.  They left bright and early.  I always hate saying goodbye. But things are always easier when I have a countdown and know when I'll see them all again.  My mother is coming back at the end of June into July.  Ben (and possibly my aunt and cousin) might be joining her as well.  (They heard she was coming again and wanted to come...and I will never object to family coming to visit!).  I will also be heading home for two weeks in August.  AND then some members of my family will be coming back for Nick's winging at the end of August!!!!
So while it's sad to say goodbye, I'm so thankful for this trip.  I'm thankful for technology to get me through until we see each other again.  And I'm thankful I get to see them all again soon!!!

[This is not all of our photos.  As I'm sure you can guess.  If you'd like to see more of our beautiful faces or outings, check out my SmugMug site HERE.]