Into the Wild Blue Yonder

The Story of God

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 14:31:39 -0500

The Story of God

Fall, Flights, and Fun

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 13:54:57 -0500

Three weeks ago, Tyson started Phase 2 of pilot training. The beginning of Phase 2 means that Tys is officially flying and not just taking tests. Phase 2 also means long 12 hour days where he isn’t allowed to leave the flight room. Before beginning this long, tiring schedule, we decided to visit Austin, Texas.

Austin was a great city and reminded us a lot of Athens. We walked around campus, visited a few local shops, and scoped out the University of Texas stadium. I mean, you can’t be a “Texan” without paying respects to one of their beloved football teams.

That night we visited Target and enjoyed a little Starbucks (luxuries we don’t have in Del Rio). We also grabbed some delicious BBQ for dinner at Salt Lick. It was absolutely delicious!

Since our trip, life for Tys has gotten quite busy! Here’s a few pics to recap what we’ve been up to.

Buying pumpkins at our local pumpkin patch.

Tyson’s Dollar Ride (His first ride in the T-6 with an Instructional Pilot)

I made a trip to Georgia to see Tara cheer and attend Homecoming!

It’s been a great month with lots of fun. We are definitely looking forward to next week when the Hills come to Del Rio for Thanksgiving!

UP Next: Tyson’s T-6 solo!!

DEEP in the Heart of Texas!

Sat, 06 Oct 2012 12:05:00 -0400

After months of anticipation, we are finally residents of Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio, Texas! We arrived in this quiet little border town on August 19th and have been slowly making our way through the of boxes of stuff. The movers were supposed to arrive on a Monday with our furniture…but didn’t actually show up until the following Friday! Needless to say, I was very annoyed. In the end, our items arrived in this unconventional way. (I was expecting a semi, not a truck with crates on the back).

Luckily, Tyson’s mom and dad were able to drive his car, along with the pups, to Texas. They were such a huge help and I’m so glad they were able to visit.

After a day of unpacking, we were headed to San Antonio for a little weekend exploration. We stayed right on the Riverwalk and enjoyed visiting shops and tasting the local cuisine.

If we are going to live in Texas, we might as well learn about the rich history of this prideful state. So, we visited the Alamo which is a block away from the Riverwalk.

Sadly, we had to drop off Mom2 and Dad2 at the airport the next morning, but were excited about heading back to our home in Del Rio. Although we were very skeptical about this tiny boarder town, we are really growing to love it here. They locals are so nice and really support the base. Tyson is currently in the “Academic” portion of his training, or Phase 1, and will begin flying in a few weeks. (A big congrats to him for making a 100 on his test the other day!)

Someone in the Hill house is turning 26 today! Happy Birthday...

Sun, 16 Sep 2012 15:42:57 -0400

Someone in the Hill house is turning 26 today! Happy Birthday Tys!!!

The Rest of our summer...From New York to AZ

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 14:05:37 -0400

I did a horrible job of posting our adventures this summer, so here’s a little recap of where we’ve been.

While hanging out in New Jersey, we decided to take a day trip to New York City. The best thing about our location in New Jersey is that we can hop on a train and be in the big apple in an hour.

The train to NYC stops a Madison Square Garden and is a few blocks away from Times Square. We spent the day strolling through Central Park and ended up in the shops on Fifth Avenue.

After our trip to New York, we made the drive back to GA for a 4th at the lake. It was a beautiful weekend with both families.

Tyson headed to Colorado on July 8th for a month of Initial Flight Screening. While he was gone, I had the opportunity to spend a month with my family in Statham. Here are a few pictures of the fun I had at home.

Even though Tyson was gone, I had a great time with family and friends. At the beginning of August I flew back to Arizona for some quality time with Destin and April in the desert. It was a whirlwind summer, but we enjoyed every minute.

Up Next: Moving to Texas

Philly

Sat, 04 Aug 2012 11:31:45 -0400

During our month in New Jersey, we were determined to visit a few famous Northeastern cities. Philadelphia, which is only an hour away from McGuire AFB, is a city I’ve always wanted to visit.

After an hour drive, several wrong turns, and paying to go across the same toll bridge twice (oops), we began our day with lunch at Campo’s for a Philly Cheesesteak.

After lunch, we walked to Philly’s historic district to see some pretty famous attractions.

One of my favorite stops of the day was Independence Hall. This building, formerly known as the Pennsylvania State House, is where many historic events took place. This local government facility was the meeting site for the Second Continental Congress from 1775 to 1783. It was also here that George Washington was appointed commander in Chief of the Continental Army in 1775. Most importantly this building was where the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776 and the U.S. Constitution was drafted in 1787. (I learned all of this historical information from our handy-dandy tour guide who is shown below).

One non-historical fact that we learned about Philadelphia is that they are vicious when it comes to parking meters. Tys and I left Independence Hall and realized that we had about 10 minutes to get back to our car before our time was up. When we arrived at the car the meter reader was standing there watching the clock so he could write us a ticket. Next time, we are definitely taking the train into the city!

After cooling down from our race to the car, we visited the Liberty Bell!

Here are a few more pictures we caught throughout the day.

Philly, you lived up to the hype! I can’t wait to come back and see what else you have to offer!

Jersey

Sat, 28 Jul 2012 12:27:18 -0400

Because Tyson is in the Air Force Reserves, we know that after pilot training we will be moving to New Jersey. I have to say, I NEVER thought I would be living in New Jersey one day. Lets be honest, I probably couldn’t have located Jersey on a map two years ago. Since talking about our future moves, we’ve realized that a lot of people think New Jersey is a mixture of this…

this….

and this…

However, after living there for a month, we found out that New Jersey is a lot more like this….

…which is perfectly fine for us.

As an alumni of the University of Georgia and an avid Dawg fan,...

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 11:55:00 -0400

As an alumni of the University of Georgia and an avid Dawg fan, I’m so proud to see our coach giving his testimony on ESPN. All the glory be to God!

Heading to Jersey

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 11:02:00 -0400

After Memorial Day weekend, Tys and I headed to New Jersey. Tyson is currently on active duty military orders. This means that he is getting paid for working whether in training or not. After OTS, Tyson had a month of no training before Initial Flight Screening in July. In order to fulfill his active duty orders, we had to be at McGuire Air Force Base (our home base) for the month of June so that Tyson could work around the base.

Here’s an interesting fact for you…The distance from Georgia to New Jersey is equal to the width of Texas. So, we had about a 13 hour drive ahead of us. To make the most of this trip, we decided to enjoy the beaches in Ocean City, Maryland.

We loved spending the afternoon walking the sandy beaches of Ocean City! Later, we grabbed some yummy seafood for dinner and visited a few surf shops on the boardwalk.

The next day we were off to New Jersey. Before leaving we had to visit The Fractured Prune, Tyson’s favorite donut shop!

Guess who ordered the sprinkles. Yep, this guy!

Graduation Celebration

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 11:01:29 -0400

After OTS graduation, we were off to the lake! Lake Oconee is one of our favorite places to be. We have so many great memories there and it was our first “home” as a newlywed couple.

On the way to the lake, I started noticing that everyone was acting a little strange. We had bought groceries at the commissary for the weekend and most of the groceries ended up in Tyson’s car. After dinner, everyone started taking the groceries out of our car and putting them in Tyson’s mom’s car. I was so confused about the situation because we were all headed to the same place, or so I thought. Little did I know that Tyson had planned a surprise visit to Ritz Carlton at Reynold’s Plantation. I was absolutely shocked!

Everything about this hotel is beautiful. The entrance was breathtaking and the grounds were spectacular. Although it was the Ritz Carlton, the architecture of the building was very appropriate for our lake setting.

Tyson is one of the most thoughtful people I know. He is so loving and knows exactly what I need. This mini-vacation for the two of us was perfect, especially since we had just spent three months apart.

After our night at the Ritz, Tyson and I headed back to his parents’ lakehouse for the weekend. It was definitely a fun filled weekend that included everyone. We spent every day on the lake and had some awesome food! The best part was getting to spend quality time with so many people we love and don’t often see.

Unfortunately the weekend came to an end and we all had to go our separate ways. We always cherish time with the everyone and had an awesome weekend!

Up Next: Our trip to NJ!

OTS Graduation: Introducing Lieutenant Hill

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 16:30:00 -0400

May 24th, 2012 was Tyson’s last day of Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base. He had survived 61 days of training and was ready to become a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. In true military fashion, Tyson graduation began at 8:00 am which meant all thirteen of us had to be at the base around 7:15. Needless to say, we were a little tired.

It was truly a special day to see Tyson, his mom, and his dad all in their dress blues. Being new graduates, Tyson’s classmates were quite intimidated my mom2 and dad2. OTS put a “fear of those who out rank you” in them. Let’s just say there was a lot of saluting going on.

The main portion of the OTS graduation ceremony is the commissioning of the officer trainees, making them 2nd Lieutenants in the United States Air Force. Since Tyson’s dad had the opportunity to perform Tyson’s “swearing in” at Christmas, Tyson’s mom was able to perform his commissioning ceremony.

After being comissioned, Tyson’s dad and I got to “pin on” Tyson’s new rank.

There were a total of 12 Officer Trainees in Tyson’s flight who were commissioned.

We were so glad the entire family was there!

Next, we were off to the Graduation parade where the new Lieutenants got to show off their marching skills.

I am so proud of Tyson for making it through this intense program. The road along this journey has not been easy and Tyson has trusted the Lord through every step. Since arriving in New Jersey earlier this month, so many people have told us how lucky we are to be in this position. Many airmen dream of being a pilot and the KC-10 is a favorite as well. It is rare that someone gets to live their dream and I’m so thankful that God is allowing us to do so. There is still a long way to go, but our prayer is that we may make the name of Jesus known along the way as we experience life in places we never dreamed of visiting.

OTS Graduation: Part 1

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 21:46:00 -0400

For three months Tyson was in Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. Officer Training School is a 13 week program that teaches both enlisted airmen and civilians entering the Air Force what it means to be an officer. Only those who hold a college degree are eligible for this rigorous program. Although it is similar to Basic Training, the program for enlisted airmen, OTS requires the Officer Trainees to attend rigorus classes on little sleep and pass both academic and physical tests.

(He was supposed to be “dead” during a field exercise).

On May 21st, our one year anniversary, I finally made it to Montgomery. Over the next few days I attended different events that explained a little more about what the Officer Trainees did while at OTS. Tyson showed me around the OTS complex, giving me a better idea of what he had been through.

The night before graduation, Tyson and I attended Dining Out, the Air Force’s version of a formal dinner. A few days before the event, Tyson received a list of rules we were required to follow while at the event. Here are a few of the 19 rules we had to follow:

#5. Thou shalt not leave the mess whilst convened. Military protocol overrides all calls of nature. (No bathroom breaks during dinner).

#13. Thou shalt alsobe painfully regarded if thy clip-on bow tie rides at an obvious list. (Bow tie straight at all times).

#16. Thou shalt express thy approval by taping thy spoon on the table. Clapping of thy hands will not be tolerated.

If these rules are broken, by the OT or their date, the Officer Trainee has to visit the grog. The grog is a disgusting drink that is mixed in a punch bowl which is placed in a toilet. If an offense was noticed, the offender had to take a drink from the grog while doing a very specific routine of turning, saluting, and placing the cup on their head. If the routine was not followed precisely, the OT had to start over.

Luckily, we kept all the rules and Tyson didn’t have to visit the grog. We had a great time and really enjoyed getting to know everyone. The OTS instructors had a little fun by wearing their “new” tuxedo shirts.

Overall, it was an awesome night and we really enjoyed getting to spend time with everyone, especially our new friends Meg and Josh (congrats to them for recently getting engaged)!

Up Next….Graduation Day!

Our first year together!

Tue, 22 May 2012 12:15:24 -0400

Yesterday, Tyson and I celebrated our one year anniversary! I can’t believe it’s already been a year since we became husband and wife!

In case you didn’t know, Tyson has been in Officer Training School in Montgomery, Alabama since the end of February. He will FINALLY graduate this Thursday and be sworn in as an officer in the United States Air Force! I am so proud of him and will definitely post pictures of the graduation festivities!

Last night we celebrated our one year anniversary in Montgomery at a cute little restaurant named Roux. This dapper tribute to everything southern was absolutely delicious! Their menu of shrimp and grits, mac and cheese, peach cobbler, and so much more, was splendid.

Recently, Tys and I have been reflecting over the past year. It’s been absolutely wonderful and insane. After talking it over, we’ve realized that in the past year we’ve experience…

- 5 jobs: Megan-Publix and Kindergarten at Madison Camelview and Tys-The Yesterday Cafe, Arizona Sports Medicine Clinic, and The US Air Force.

-A move across the country- from GA to AZ

-3 drives across the country- Georgia to New Jersey for Tyson’s AF interview, the move from Georgia to Arizona, and from Arizona to Georgia to take Tys to OTS.

and

-3 months of separation while Tyson was in Officer Training School.

To me, this list is a testament to God’s provision and faithfulness in our lives. We have no idea where this life will take us, but the God of the universe knows exactly what’s going on.

”The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still.” -Exodus 14:14

Time flies when you're having fun!

Thu, 03 May 2012 00:05:45 -0400

Although an old saying, it’s so true! The past few months have flown by and I can’t believe we’ve lived in Arizona for over 10 months! When Tys and I moved to Arizona, we talked about so many fun things we wanted to do. Even though an official “Arizona Bucket List” wasn’t made, we knew we wanted to experience “west coast life” while we were here.

In the midst of moving and settling into jobs, the days, weeks, and months seemed to fly by and we still hadn’t checked anything off our list. After hearing that Tyson’s Officer Training School would begin February 28th, we decided we needed to at least check something off the list. So, we headed to Sedona.

Sedona, AZ is a city about two hours north of Phoenix. The city is known for it’s beautiful scenery, breathtaking hikes, and “supernatural powers.” Yes, you read correctly. People from all over the world visit the city to experience the powers of Sedona’s vortexes. Although we researched the topic, Tys and I still aren’t sure what vortexes are.

Saturday morning, Tys and I decided to hike a trail recommended to us around Bell Rock. This hike led us to a beautiful view with a rock cross someone had made.

After the hike we stopped for a delicious lunch at Red Rock BBQ. As we were pulling out of the parking lot, a girl ran out of the restaurant and flagged us down. To make a long story short, the girl was from Georgia and graduated from UGA! She recognized my Georgia tag and actually student taught at Winder-Barrow High School. Small World!!!

That night before dinner, we found the best spot to watch the sunset. It was absolutely beautiful!

Sunday morning we woke up and had breakfast at the famous Coffee Pot Diner then decided to do a little more sight seeing before heading home. We spotted a beautiful church, which is built into the mountain, and decided to check it out. This little church was beautiful. Although services are no longer held here, visitors can go inside for prayer or to view the beautiful architecture.

Sedona was absolutely beautiful and a great weekend getaway. After experiencing the city, we decided it’s the Athens of Arizona. A little strange, but easy to fall in love with.

Military Life

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:37:00 -0400

I know I’ve only “officially” been a military wife for a few weeks now, but I’ve gained a new respect for anyone who lives the military life. In the years following 9/11, everyone seemed to give their support for those in the military. Since then, it seems as if support for those defending our country has waned. Before Tyson joined the military, I found myself not giving much thought to those in the military either. It became normal to have soldiers overseas and I didn’t really think about what their families went though.

Since Tyson has been in training, I’ve had a lot of time to think about what these families go through on a daily basis. Even now, when many deployed solders have been able to return home, many more are still deployed or completing missions that take them away from their families for days/weeks at a time. Regardless of where their husbands are, military wives know what times of deployments can bring.

I thought this picture was a good reminder of what many military wives still go through daily.

Via: Your Local Security

If you know a military wife, she may be going through more than you think!

Also, this post by no means is a pitty party. Tyson is currently in Officer Training School and I have come in contact with some of the spouses of those he’s training with. These women have been through years of deployment and I can’t imagine what life has been like for them.

Oh, what a year!

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 22:52:15 -0500

As I expected, there’s a trend on this blog of posting things late. You can’t say I didn’t warn you. Although we are well into March, I thought last year was too epic not to recap. So, here’s a little 2011 in review.

January: Passion 2011

February, March, April: Wedding planning, student teaching, and driving to see Tyson.

May: Graduation and Wedding time!

June: Road trip to New Jersey

July: Move to Arizona

August: First day of teaching

September: Tyson begins work as Destin’s Medical Assistant

October: Enjoying life in the desert

November: Tyson is officially hired by the Air Force

December: Hill Christmas in AZ!

So, there you have it. 2011 was a busy and wonderful year. Tys and I began life together and we absolutely love it. God has truly blessed us and we can’t what to see what 2012 has in store. It’s been quite a ride already.

Merry Christmas from the desert!

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 10:50:22 -0500

Merry Christmas from the desert!

Texas Forever

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 22:20:29 -0500

It’s almost been a year since I started this blog. This year has been absolutely crazy but we are so thankful for every door the Lord has opened. You might recall this post I wrote explaining what “Into the Wild Blue Yonder” means to us. At that time, we had absolutely no idea where we were going. While waiting on the Lord we learned what truly trusting Him means. Little did we know we would get married, find jobs, and move across the country.

Just when we thought God was finished showing off, he again provided. Although we knew Tys had been chosen by the New Jersey unit, he was not officially hired by the Air Force. Since being chosen in June, he has been through months of stress as he’s tried to send in the necessary paper work and schedule his physical. After finally getting his military physical scheduled, Tys headed to Ohio for a few days. When he arrived, he found out the physicals for that week were supposed to be canceled, making him the only physical that week. If not for the generosity of the medical staff, this cancellation would have made it impossible for Tyson’s paperwork to be in time for the hiring boards. If not for this little mistake in communication, we would be waiting another 7-8 months for Tys to begin training.

A few weeks ago we got word that Tyson had been officially hired by the United States Air Force. This week we found out his specific dates and that training will take us to the beautiful and big state of ……

Yep, that’s right! Del Rio, Texas will be our new home. Oh, and where on earth is Del Rio? Here’s a little picture to help you out.

That’s right ladies and gentlemen, Del Rio is as close to Mexico as you can get. I’m sure you’re thinking, “Is it safe there?” (We thought the same thing) And….we don’t really have a good answer for that. We will be living in military housing on base which is one of the safest places you can be! If everything goes as scheduled, Tyson will begin flight school in September so we hope to move sometime this summer.

For now we are enjoying our time in AZ. We are looking forward to the time we have left here and want to take full advantage of everything Arizona has to offer (especially hangout time with Destin and April). So, over the next few years home won’t be a city or state, instead….

Finally, as they would say on Friday Night Lights…

Blume Photography's Couple of the Year

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 21:41:04 -0500

Blume Photography's Couple of the Year:

Simply leave a comment mentioning Tyson and me so we can win a free 16x20 gallery wrapped canvas!

They are wonderful photographers, so take a minute to look around. You won’t be disapointed!

Even the Muppets know who to cheer for. Glory, Glory to ole...

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 13:15:33 -0500

Even the Muppets know who to cheer for.

Glory, Glory to ole Georgia!