Our Time in Soda City (2017):

Back with another installment of updates and what we got up to while we have been living in Cola.
This was a pretty good year (by pretty good I mean amazing) I started Wing Woman Designs and fell in love with creating things for other people to enjoy. I also climbed the incline in Manitou Springs for the first time, served on the scholarship committee for the Shaw Officers Spouse Club (now the Shaw Spouses' Club) and we went to River Rat to watch the eclipse!

The best photo backdrop.

We did a lot more hiking and exploring this year, including more time at Congaree National Park. where we spotted a couple families of wild hog, several deer, some snakes and a lot of little critters. We really like it there.

I'm sensing a theme here. 

 I took my first Fini flight photos through Wing Woman Photography, they are my favorite, I get to take photos of the jets and capture priceless moments for a family.

"Rail"

Hochi took a few trips, one of them being to Florida to shoot his first AMRAAM, then we turned right around and went back to Florida so we could check out Universal Studios. I am obsessed with Harry Potter, so we spent a LOT of time in the Harry Potter sections. I rode my first roller coaster (yes, at 26 years old) and I am not sure I would do it again. I also rode The Mummy and it traumatized me, can you believe I am married to a fighter pilot? We ate WAY too much food, drank way too much Butterbeer and of course got a giant pink donut and some Duff Beer!

peep that patch!

Look, I really love Buffalo Wings, okay?

Hochi did a lot of cool stuff this year, including getting to do a flyover for his Alma Mater USAFA. A Thankfully One Mile High Photography caught some photos of him taking off and landing at Buckley and was kind enough to send them to me. 

McEntire had an air show this year where I took some of my favorite pictures ever, most of them you can see over on Wing Woman Photography but I basically have to share this one because *heart eyes emoji*.

Easily the best thing to happen this year though? Sydney, Australia. It was amazing, and we absolutely fell in love with Australia while we were there. We visited the Opera House and took a tour, we went to the zoo and aquarium, we went to a few museums (saw some airplanes, of course), toured the Royal Botanical Gardens (and got locked in after they closed..whoops), we drank some AWFUL rum (thanks Glock, never trusting your recommendations ever again.) and went on an amazing wine tour through the hunter valley. We ate at the revolving tower for the Fourth of July, and had a donut as big as our faces for breakfast, on the last day we went to Bondi and it is just as beautiful as you would expect. We ate so much, explored so much, and can not wait to go back to Oz as soon as possible (next year!) and hit up New Zealand too!

We celebrated our second wedding anniversary by going to Asheville! We explored Biltmore, checked out Wicked Weed, and then went hiking in Dupont State Forest (which is beautiful and I highly reccomend!). We fell in love with Asheville and it always makes me feel a little better when I am homesick for Colorado.

Hochi did a flyover for the Panthers...this time instead of being on the score board he was flying the Viper. My MIL came down to watch him too, so we took her hiking through Congaree and to the Greek Festival!

Go to this, get the baklava cheese cake.

Exactly one month (to the day) after I had surgery on my knee we did a Tough Mudder Half. It was amazing and I can't wait for us to have a chance to do a full together, Hochi has already done one, so he is a great coach to get me through them. 

We finished out the year with more hiking, a trip to New York to visit Hochi's family for Thanksgiving and then Texas to spend Christmas with my family for the first time in four years... It was so great to see them all, I missed them a lot. I am not sure Hochi will want to relive the experience though, since we made him do a polar plunge with us. 

 Whew, thanks for sticking through that. I did not update at all during 2017. so there was a lot to fill in, I promise none of my other blogs will be this long! 

Fly Safe, Barb

P.s. I got my braces off at the end of June in this year, YAY!