2012

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I've written. SO MUCH has happened. Goodness gracious.

Right now I'm in Pensacola waiting to learn about my job IN THE NAVY!!! :)

Goodness..I'll try my best to catch you up and not make it too boring!

So I'll just start from December where I left off. My best friend left that month for France. She will be there for a year being a nanny for a missionary couple. She's awesome. I miss her very much. Around the time she left I started thinking about how long it would be before I saw her again. My conclusion: A LONG TIME. So I began saving money to go visit her before I left for boot camp. 

Since she didn't get to say a proper goodbye to her older brother, I had the bright idea to drag him along as a surprise! It was AMAZING!! We had such a good time. Some highlights of the trip are at the end of this post. To see the whole album of France pictures, click HERE. You won't regret looking at the whole album :)

She was surprised. A LOT surprised. It was so awesome! The fact that her birthday was during our trip made it even better! View the video HERE

Several people got married. 

I worked some more as a valet. I'll post pictures of some of the coolest cars I drove at the end too.

 Rebecca and I went to visit our friend Andrea and her husband. We visited Florida while with them. That was FUN!

We went on a family vacation! It was a lot of fun!! We went to King's Island, Shipshewana Indiana, Shaker Village..I think that's all. It's been so long. You should be able to see my mom's album HERE as long as she doesn't have it set to private.

Then on Friday June 1, I had my annual check up at the OBGYN. While there, she found a lump in my right breast. Oh, I should tell you that June 6 is my ship date for boot camp at this point. So she wanted me to go have it checked out. Unfortunately I couldn't get that done until Monday. So I was fretting over this thing in my body all weekend. My poor friend Ali went with me on Friday because we were going shopping afterward. So she had to deal with all my emotions. At that point I didn't even care what it was. I just wanted to be in the Navy. 

Saturday one of my good friends got married. That evening we had my going away party! It was SO much fun!! :) (pictures at the end) Click HERE for the whole party album.

So the following Monday I went to the place to get whatever..an x-ray or something, I'm not sure. They decided it's nothing to worry about-just a fibrous mass. Awesome. But I needed to have a check up in 6 months to make sure it didn't develop or something. Had that part not been printed on my medical record, the drama would have ended there. But that would have been entirely too easy. I had to tell my chief (my recruiter's boss's boss) about this whole ordeal. I called her as soon as I found out about the mass and told her I had an appointment on Monday. She wanted me to call her when I got the results. So I did. I had to take the paperwork over there. So I did. Well, because he put I would need a check up, they thought it would be a problem. Awesome. So they sent it to the processing station to see what would happen. So on Tuesday, I went to my recruiter's office to get ready to leave (before you go to boot camp, they take you to a hotel and make you stay there before you go to the processing station at the butt crack of dawn the next morning). I was sitting there and he told me I wasn't going to leave the following day. Ok, so I called my friend and told her I would need a ride home. I had to wait there until she was off work. As I'm sitting there, they found out I could leave. I called her back and told her I was leaving. So they took me to the hotel. The next morning I got to MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) around like 6 or 7. Since I was going straight to boot camp that day, I was one of the first to be seen. Well. The doctor there said I couldn't go because of that little note. The Navy assumed that meant I had to see that specific doctor again in 6 months and they aren't about to take me from wherever I would be in October to send me back home for a check up. So I would just have to wait to go to boot camp. The doctor knew there was nothing wrong with me. He saw the results. But his hands were tied because of that one sentence. So I had to take my paperwork to the career office and have them do something with it. The guy in there was SUPER nice and he was completely beside himself that they were doing this to me. So he called up headquarters and asked them if we could get a waiver. So he sent in the paperwork. I sat outside of that office crying on and off for 3 hours straight. It was one of the most stressful times of my life. I just wanted to be in the Navy. That's all. My family and friends showed up to see me sworn in. At that point I still didn't know for sure if I was going or not. I looked terrible. My nose had been running, my eyes were red. I was gross. Then at the very last minute-literally, the guy came out and said "You're going!" So I had to do what everyone else had taken 3 hours to do in 15 minutes. It was crazy! I got sworn in, talked with the fam for a little while. (Pictures at the bottom) Boarded a bus and left for the airport. That night I arrived at Great Lakes Recruit Training Command. 

Boot camp wasn't as bad as everyone makes it out to seem. I wish it had been harder. It didn't challenge me all that much physically. Not as much as I had expected it to anyway. It was more academically focused than I thought it would be. I really enjoyed it. Somedays I wish I was back there because I liked it so much.

I graduated on August 3. And guess who was there! That's right, my best friend! She came with my family!! I was so glad she got to come! I missed her desperately. (pictures below)

Two days later I left for Pensacola. Nothing all that exciting has happened since I've been here. I've just been waiting around to go to class. It's different here from other A-Schools. They seem to go to class almost immediately. Here, certain jobs have to wait longer because the needs are different. I don't know, it's weird and I don't completely understand it. I went to an intro class for 8 days (which included FIVE MARINES!!!!) and now I'm waiting to go to real class. Oh, I did learn what I'll be doing as an aircraft mechanic. I work with safety equipment which translates to EJECTION SEATS! Holy canoli. That's pretty awesome. My job requires perfection. If I mess up, someone dies. Goodness gracious. I'm excited to start learning about it!! 

I lied. We've been evacuated since I got here. Thank you, Isaac. It was quite an adventure, that's for sure. We went to Georgia. Before we were even halfway there, the tropical storm had already passed Pensacola and hadn't caused any damage. But we still had to continue on and stay there 3 days. It was...interesting.

That's about it for now..If I left something totally awesome out, I apologizes profusely.

VALET

Yes. That's PURPLE.

Standard Transmission. Sigh. :)

I didn't drive this one either.
It was for a wedding.

I didn't drive this one. I wish I could have.
It's a Maybach. 

It has eyelashes!

I was pretty disappointed that this
was an automatic!

a miata!

Yes. That's a Porsche. :)

Trip to Florida!

I made this hair! :)

Last wedding before I left.

PARTY!

ali pants

Stef!

Jenn!

Awe Parker Wayne

Best best friends

Sisters!

Brooke! She got married!




SWEARING IN!

After crying all day...

I've been sworn in!

Love him!

They got married while I was at boot camp!

Jenn!

FRANCE!

Top left: Carissa and Kyle at a Parisian cafe!, Kyle with Vivi
and Adelin (she called him Taco and it was adorable!)
On Carissa's birthday with Vivi, Carissa and I on the train
on our way back from Paris, us again at some point..

Top Left: Kyle and I in front of Napoleon's Armory,
the three of us in front of the Eiffel Tower,
Kyle and I not sure about these bikes.., Carissa and
Viv-the birthday girl with her favorite present, Kyle
impressing us with his musical inabilities :)

Carissa and I at the Arc D'Triumph, Kyle Vivi and I on her
birthday, Carissa and I on the subway in Paris acting goofy,
Kyle and the statues at the Louvre-SO funny, the girls with
newly painted nails!

Kyle and Vivi on her birthday, (the best photo I've ever taken),
The girls on Carissa's birthday!, at the Louvre...we're really good
at taking awkward photos! haha, me in front of the Notre Dame!







THE NAVY!!

first time in civies in 2.5 months!

graduated :)

NSUs

for more photos from graduation weekend:

1, 2, 3