Still Holding On

Well, thanks to my secretary for filling in for me last week, but I really thought I would have a lot to report this week. Unfortunately, I don't. I failed my flight on Monday and it threw everything off a few days. I am now scheduled for my checkride on Tuesday.

This flight is probably one of the most important flights I have had in a long time, since it is what gives me my qualification to fly the A-10 (that and the emergency procedures simulator and three tests), so I want to wait to write anything more. So, with that being said, I will leave you all and hopefully have something really great to report on Tuesday. I could use all the support, thoughts, and prayers you can pass along.

JJ and Candi are doing well. I think Candi may have added more pictures, so go check them out. At least they don't fail things!

A Big Week Ahead

This is Candi...Jeremy is busy studying. Last week, Jeremy had one flight on Wednesday (his 4th flight) and did well. This week, he has 3 flights, one of which is a checkride that is a HUGE deal. He also has some academic classes and some sims (one is also another checkride) mixed in so it will be the busiest week so far.

The checkride on Friday will qualify him to fly an A-10 on his own without an instructor shadowing his every move. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he will definitely need them this week.

On a brighter side, I went to dinner with the wives' club and met some lovely ladies who are married to the instructors in Jeremy's squadron. In his class of 10 students, 3 others are married and another has a serious girlfriend, so we already hang out together. It was nice to meet some new friends at the wives' club as well. They get together each month and plan all the parties, etc. for the squadron. I went to a few events in San Antonio as well, and I have to say, that the wives at both bases are some of the most friendly and caring women I've met. It really helps to have friends here since Jeremy has been studying practically every night of the week and some on the weekends as well.

I posted some more pictures of JJ this last week, so check them out at www.picasaweb.google.com/candijeremyp. He had his 2 month well-baby visit and his 1st immunizations and handled them both pretty well. We had a few restless nights, but hopefully, we are back on track. He is sleeping most of the night- getting fed before I go to bed, then again during the night (3ish), and then again early morning (7ish). We've had some 5-6 hour stretches between meals so it's definitely better than it was (eating every 2 hours when he was born).

That's pretty much all I have to report. Sorry, I'm not as comical as Jeremy is. He'll surely be back next weekend to make you chuckle- after this stressful week is over!

Third Flight, Supercross, and a J-O-B

Not a lot to report this week. I had a few tests, a simulator, and a flight. They all went well and I continue to spend massive amounts of time studying and it still never seems to be enough.

Candi and I celebrated seven years of wedded bliss by watching Supercross (dirt motorcycle races) in Phoenix. I think we might have got a few people's "Worst Parents Awards" by taking a two month old to a very loud indoor event. In my defense, Jarrett asked to go to see all the chicks and I did make him wear hearing protection. We also used JJ to average our age so that we weren't too out of place since that is definitely a younger crowd. We were one of the few without tattoos, an energy drink shirt or hat, or holes in our clothes. I love watching it, but I hope Jarrett doesn't take up that sport more than just casual riding, because that is one expensive sport, not to mention dangerous! I guess if he only rides as fast as his dad, it isn't too dangerous and at slow speed, you can't jump high enough to kill yourself.

It was a good time and we did have fun. Candi spent a good part of the race in the bathroom, feeding Jarrett because he apparently doesn't like concession stand hotdogs.

The Supercross race really wasn't an anniversary celebration and we plan on doing something for that tomorrow night. The best thing to report is that Candi will be able to keep her job and work part-time from home, until we get back in June. This is a huge answer to prayer and we are so thankful that her work afforded her this opportunity...not to mention, I won't have to sell any of my motorcyles now.

Well, as I said at the beginning, I don't have a lot to say, so I will do what I did when I was in school and I needed more pages on my report...add pictures. The teachers never bought it, but maybe you will. And maybe if I would have had these cute of pictures instead of a few Far Side cartoons, my teacher would not have given me a poor grade.

Did it work or do I still have a bad grade? I also tried the repeat technique in school and I was actually able to stretch a 17 page paper to 20 and not get caught. Jarrett has really changed a lot this past week. He is smiling now and making a multitude of sounds, besides the normal WHAH-WHAH-WHAH. He is such a baby sometimes. Oh and the top picture of this group is where we were trying to figure out together what some big long, five letter word was. Turns out, that author doesn't like my picture technique and chooses words. I wonder how old JJ will be when he learns his father is illiterate?

Home for the Holidays and 1st A-10 Flight

We were fortunate enough to be able to go home to Idaho for the holidays. We left Tucson on Christmas Eve and returned on New Year's Day. We got to show off our latest addition to the rest of our family and friends. It was very much like "show and tell" in elementary school, however, Jarrett was much cooler than little Jimmy's frog he found on the way to school. We have a bunch of new pictures of Jarrett and our family that you can check out at http://picasaweb.google.com/candijeremyp. For that reason, I won't put a bunch of pictures of JJ up, but I have to post a couple.

We got to visit with a lot of friends and had dinner plans each night we were there. It was great to see everyone, although there were many we did not get to see, but when we got home we felt like we needed a week just to rest. I did manage to find time to go shoot at a bunch of ducks, unfortunately most of them wore bullet proof vests.

Once back in Tucson, I wanted to get some rest, but instead I had to hit the books and study. I had to get ready for my first flight. I was able to get ready for my flight and finally the day came and on Wednesday, I had my first flight in the Hawg. It was the first solo flight I have had in over four years, not to mention a more complex jet than the T-6 I flew solo, back in pilot training. I was so stressed and nervous that I didn't realize I was by myself until halfway through the flight. There was a lot going on and I was doing mental gymnastics just to keep going. In this first phase, we are leading our instructor and everything is on us. The radios, the navigation, the planning, the pacing, and everything in between, is all up to me. The instructor follows and offers suggestions, but for the most part we drive the profile.

The Hawg has a lot more gas than the last jet I flew and the flights are an average of two and a half hours (as opposed to the .9 to 1.1 hour flights in the T-38). That is a long time, even if you don't have to go to the bathroom. Anyway, needless to say, the first flight was as messed up as a football bat. The flight wasn't fun and as soon as I got home, I went to bed exhausted. However, Candi did get a couple of pictures of me taking off on my first flight. It is hard to see, but I am the lead aircraft in this picture. And if you zoomed in, you would be able to see the fire coming from the inside...I had a severe case of helmet fire.

When you do take your first flight, they present you with this patch. It means you are officially a Hawg driver! Now I just have to pass the check ride in four more flights and I will be an initial qualified A-10 pilot.

Then, I had my second flight two days later. It was a ton better and I had a lot of fun. I still screwed up about everything possible, but at least I had fun messing up. It is a pretty easy jet to fly, but they got to put a softer seat in this thing. I feel like someone punched me repeatedly on the backside by the time I get out of the cockpit. And there isn't a lot of room to get up, walk around, and stretch out in the A-10.

Well, it is onward and upward. I am studying for my initial qualification, which is required before you can go on in the program. It involves a test this next week, an emergency procedures checkride in the simulator, and finally a comprehensive flight checkride. Once that is accomplished, then we are back to being a wingman and learning to employ the weapons systems.

I apologize for the break in posts, but I think the contract I signed said I could take a few posts off. Anyway, we are back in Tucson and doing well. JJ only had to get up once last night, so we are loving life. He is doing well, but seems to be a little cry baby when I get home in the evenings. I think he gets that from his mom, but don't tell her I said that. He tends to think he needs to be held all the time and is usually pretty crabby in the evenings. We usually tend to agree with him on the holding part, but the crabby part makes studying a bit more difficult. Candi is doing well, too. She continues to be a great mom and really does a great job with the baby when he is crying and I have to hand him over to her because my one trick didn't work. Until next time, see ya!