Gary & Cortney: Time For A Big Update

Well I think it's finally time for a big update for the last year (for the few of you who actually check our blog once a year!)! So here goes!

January - Gary quit working at Wells Fargo to work for my dad during tax season (January until April). This worked perfectly with the timing of his Air Force training, since he was suppose to report to Maxwell AFB in Alabama on April 19. About 2 weeks after he quit Wells Fargo the Air Force called and informed us that Gary's date was being pushed back to September 13th (due to the high number of Officers for that calendar year), something that hasn't happened for like 16 years. At the time we were pretty disappointed, seeing how Gary had been applying for a year and then waited another year to start training. And since he'd just quit his job at Wells Fargo. This date change, however, would be such a huge blessing in the future, something we couldn't see at the time.

April - Gary finished working for my dad and started looking for a job that he could do for the summer until September came around. Meanwhile I was still working full time at the hospital. April 19 - My little brother Cody passed away. This has been the hardest thing for me to deal with #1 because losing a loved one, especially a close family member, is extremely hard; and #2 because my parents had just left for vacation and I was playing "mom" when he passed away. Our family saw so much love from everyone and we are deeply grateful for all the kind words, meals, and hugs from everyone. At this time we saw so many blessing - one that I mentioned earlier was that Gary was suppose to report to training this day. We are so grateful his date was changed so that we could spend the summer with our family.

June - Gary and I celebrated our 5th anniversary!! Gary also got a job with Stukenholtz (sp?) running soil samples and reports. They wanted him to work every weekend (2-10pm!) so we decided we'd rather spend time with our families than have Gary take this job.

July-August - During the summer we had so much fun with our families! Also, my brother Curtis and his little family moved from San Jose to Bountiful (I can't remember exactly when) and it was so much fun to see them more!

September - Gary and I sold our apartment contract and moved in with my parents at the beginning of September. I was so glad we made this decision because I didn't have to stay in our apartment thru Gary's training and be alone, but I also got to spend a lot of time with my family, especially my sisters - yep we're BFFs! Haha! On the 8th we started our long road trip from Rexburg to Montgomery. 2400 miles is a lot of driving! We made it fun though by stopping at a bunch of cities and doing some fun things! On the 13th Gary reported for training and I said goodbye and flew home - that was the worst! 3 months is a long time to say goodbye!

November - I flew to Montgomery over Thanksgiving to visit Gary. It was so great seeing him after 10 weeks! And I think he enjoyed the break from studying! And Thanksgiving dinner at Ruby Tuesdays wasn't too bad (nope no turkey :( we had chicken). The only bad parts were riding the shuttle (longest ride to/from the SLC airport EVER) and saying goodbye AGAIN.

December - On the 9th I flew to Montgomery for Gary's graduation. I flew down early so we could have a fun weekend together. Gary's mom, my parents, and my little sister Erin flew down on the 14th and Gary graduated on the 16th. He graduated #3 of 10 in his group and #12 of 50 in the whole class! It was a great graduation and the best part was the stress relief! We toured around Montgomery on the 17th and our family flew home early the 18th (ps Popeyes biscuits are THE best). Gary and I drove the 3 hrs to Pensacola, FL (our next assignment) and checked out where we were going to be living. We left our car at the airport and flew home. On the 21st the movers came and loaded up our stuff in the storage unit and at my moms. We spent the holidays with our families and enjoyed every minute of it. We also spent some time with our friends, Colt and Mei, Derek and Hailie, and Jessica and Tyler. We always have so much fun with them and we miss them! On the 28th we loaded up our car, said our goodbyes (I cried my eyes out until we were well on our way!), and started the 2200 mile drive to Pensacola. We stopped at Gary's brother Monte's house in southern Utah to spend a little time with them and crash for the night. We spent the next 4 days driving and seeing the South. We love the South!

And now we are staying in our new apartment (which we love - and have plenty of room for visitor *hint hint* click here to see pictures) with only a tv, box furniture, and a blow up mattress. Hopefully our stuff will be delivered soon, they told us not until the 13th but we are crossing our fingers it will be sooner! We love Pensacola so far and cannot wait until the weather warms up so we can spend all our free time at the beach! In February Gary will be flying to Pueblo, Colorado for a month for flight training and I will be flying home to visit family. After that its another 11 months of training here in Pensacola. We are excited for the adventures that await us!