Hawkeye Greyhound Ball 2015

This past weekend was our annual Navy ball! I always get so excited when October rolls around because that means it's the month of the ball! We have attended various formats of the ball each year, but they are always so much fun. In the earlier years (and before Parker officially commissioned), we attended the Navy Marine Corps Birthday Ball. These past two years, we have attended the Hawkeye Greyhound Ball. This ball is specifically for E-2 and C-2 pilots, so it's a little more intimate and you end up knowing more people. 

We always have fun at these things, but this one definitely ranks at the top of the list. It was just a blast with each other and friends that we love. 

I recycled an old bridesmaid dress and Parker of course wore his uniform. Is there anything better than a man in a uniform? He looked handsome as always!

The Commodore kept the speech portion of the evening short and sweet compared to previous years, and for that, I was grateful. 

We had a fun group at our table, including my DG friend Elly! We were both Delta Gammas at different colleges and jumped on the opportunity to take a DG picture together. Those opportunities are few and far between in the post grad days!

Hanging out with our friends Andrew and Katy is always a good time. Parker snapped this picture below... and then 25 more just like it. Have you ever given your phone to someone to snap a picture and they just keep snapping?? Said someone will not be your favorite after those antics. That husband was on my list after that stunt. Good thing he's cute.

One last picture before we changed into our after party attire. I have mixed feelings of changing for the dance portion. On the one hand, you spent so much time getting all dolled up and bought a nice dress, so you want to stay in it as long as possible. On the other hand, said nice dress is rarely very comfortable, and you welcome the excuse to change clothes. So long, fancy clothes...

It's party time! This year's theme was black light/rave, so we wore all black and a semi-obnoxious amount of glow sticks. Yall, I am hear to tell you we have been attending dance parties all wrong. Looking cute is overrated, and after dancing the night away in nike shorts and bright pink sneakers, I may never go back. Dancing and comfy clothes go together like peas and carrots. I'm pretty sure that's what Forrest meant to say.

It was a wonderful evening spent with friends and my favorite forever date. We didn't want it to end! Just for grins, I put together a little collage from past Navy balls. Can't wait to add more to this list!

The Verdict Is In... (For Real This Time)

About a month ago, I wrote about the plane Parker was going to fly for the duration of his time in the Navy and what that meant for our family. Quick recap: he was going to fly the E2 delta, and living on the west coast was no longer an option. We had a 50/50 shot of staying in Virginia or going to Japan. We were really excited about the possibility of going to California, so finding out that was no longer in the cards was upsetting, and knowing we had a 50/50 shot of Japan scared the heck out of me. I know Japan would be such an adventure, but being so far away from family was just not ideal. The E2 was not Parker's first choice (he was hoping to fly the C2), but he had the best attitude about it and was really excited to be flying such a cool plane. We hadn't gotten exactly what we wanted, and the location was still up in the air, but we were at peace with it. Everything was going to be just fine. 

 

Fast forward, we find out they are moving Parker to the next class, and this class has both E2 and C2 slots. Suddenly, we are back to square one, and C2's are once again a possibility. We thought the E2 delta was a done deal, so we were shocked when Parker got the call. He just selected yesterday, and he is going to be a.... C2 PILOT!!!

We are beyond excited for this next chapter, and I cannot wait to see Parker fly the plane he was hoping to get to fly. The guys in his class are like family, and every single person selected the plane they want to fly. The aviation community is such a team effort, so getting to celebrate with everyone last night and seeing all of these pilots so excited was awesome. 

We feel so blessed and excited for this next chapter. We still don't know where we are going after this, and Japan is still a possibility. But you know what? So is San Diego, and so is Norfolk. We love it here and have some amazing friends here, and we also have some amazing friends in San Diego. We also have wonderful friends in Japan, and anywhere we go will be an adventure. We can't lose at this point, and we also can't seem to wipe the smiles off of our faces. God has been so faithful to us, and we feel so privileged that Parker will be flying the C2. Throughout this process, we have learned to accept the good with the bad and adapt when things don't seem to go our way. We both feel really confidently about where we are and the plane Parker is going to fly. We can't wait for this next chapter to start! God is good, yall.

our cheesy attempt at a celebratory C2 picture... so happy!