The Hills' Adventures: BIG after school suprise!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

BIG after school suprise!

It's not every day you come home from school to a

HUMVEE

parked in front of your house.

When and if this ever happens, it's very important to ask all sorts of questions, which is what Dallas did.

Although, he missed one very important question...

"Why is there a HUMVEE in the driveway???"

If Natalie could talk I'm sure that is what she would be saying in this picture.

The answer... Mike is joining the

ARMY NATIONAL GUARD

I guess it is never too late to go after a dream or whatever it is driving my husband.

Yep, Mike is going to be a CITIZEN SOLDIER!!!

Our life is about to change and believe it or not I'm on board with this. A lot of thought and... thought and worry and wondering and pondering and prayer and faith has come with this decision on both of our parts. We know it will come with great sacrifice, but we also believe the benefits and blessing will outweigh the negatives... or at least break even.

Sergeant Fischer (one of the recruiters) was so nice to come to our house to sign some papers. It was a fun way to announce to the kids what dad was doing . Sergeant Fischer, Nick, was a really good sport. At one point Jake put Natalie on his lap, Dallas was wearing his hat, Katie and her friend Lilian were doing push-ups for him and Jake started to juggle apples. They were so fascinated with him and it helped that he pulled up in a HUMVEE!!

We did answer one question that you all might be wondering...

HOW MANY KIDS CAN YOU FIT IN A HUMVEE???

Well, at least all the kids we had around. Jake, Dallas, Katie and Lilian (who lives next door, but seems to be one of the family now).

7 comments:

Anonymous said...: WOW! Big news at the Hill house. That is pretty exciting. What a new adventure for you all.
Melody :); October 24, 2008 at 12:52 PM
The Royce's said...: Wow! That is Great, We better plan a shopping day soon eh?? Love the pics! Love ya! Kim; October 26, 2008 at 9:01 AM
Payne Acres said...: You never know what you will learn on someone's blog. Way to go Mike -- we salute you! :); October 26, 2008 at 10:59 PM
Emilee said...: Wow! That is big news. We support you all the way. We love you guys; October 27, 2008 at 9:12 AM
Sally said...: Wow, that is a big announcement! Good luck! Be prepared for your boys to want to do the same - at least that might happen, but that is so neat! Congrats!!; October 27, 2008 at 9:47 PM
Sydney said...: Congrats! Proves you're never too old to make dreams come true!; October 28, 2008 at 7:28 PM
Erik & Marcie +3 said...: What?!! Ok, so what exactly does this entail? I'm honestly a little nervous right now. But I'm glad you're still chaising your dreams Mike! Love you guys!; October 30, 2008 at 10:56 PM

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FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES

"Work is no fun." Jake 9 years

"Candy." Natalie 22 months

"Oh mom, could you change her diaper somewhere else, it's making this taste disgusting." Dallas 7 years

"I know the answers to everything!" Katie 5 years

"The prophet says if you don't spend time with your kids, you'll regret it." Jake 8 years

"Mom, I wished you lived on Jupiter."
"Dad made me change my mind."
"What do you want to do before you die?"
"Mom, I dropped my hot wheels in the toilet." Dallas 6 years

"Come on husband, you need to read our daughter a story...I'll do it myself."
"When will you be able to go? I'm exhausted with you."Katie 4 years

"Dad, Mom lets us get one choice. You just get us what we need." Katie (4) and Dallas (6)to dad at the store

"No", "Toe", "Nose", "Hi mom" "Hi Dad" "a-da-no?" Natalie 19 months

DREAMS DO COME TRUE--Mike's New Job

Mike was recently selected to fly AH-64 Apache attack helicopters for the Idaho National Guard! We'll be in Alabama for flight school for two years, then back to Idaho where he'll be a part-time Apache pilot(this video is from the Utah Guard, but you get the idea).

[Mike] I recently embarked on a great adventure. My whole life I’ve been fascinated with military aviation. As a kid I could name any jet or chopper flying. I studied them, built models of them, drew them. But I never pursued my dream of flying because I didn’t think life in the military would suit me and my future family, and I thought that passion was something I'd grow out of. So I chose a career I considered more practical. In my 20s, though, I began regretting not taking that path. That regret grew worse and worse.

Long story short, in the fall of 2008 I put it all on the line and finally went for it. I joined the Army National Guard here in my home town, with the long-shot hope of flying the AH-64 Apache helicopter (the best attack helicopter in the world). The training just to be considered was tough and required quite a commitment: nine weeks of Basic Training, 8 weeks of Officer Candidate School, academic and physical tests, a 6-year commitment regardless of the outcome, plus the preparation on my own time. All that, just to qualify to go before a "flight board" that selects future pilots. The field is very competitive, but failure was not an option—given the wars we’re fighting, I didn’t want to be in the Army, stuck on the ground. I had to succeed.

By some miracle, everything lined up perfectly and I was selected for flight school, despite my lack of experience and prior service, and despite being 3 years over the age limit (I got an age waiver).

In the spring of '10 my family and I moved to Fort Rucker, Alabama for two years of flight training, after which I’ll come back home to Idaho and be a part-time pilot. I’m so excited I can hardly stand it. Getting selected to serve my country, flying the world's best attack helicopter, based right in my home town, is incredible. It still blows me away.

I have the best wife in the world for supporting me in this adventure. She initially told me to do something about this ache in late summer of '08. She encouraged me every step of the way, even while I was gone for months on end, leaving her to manage the home, business, and take care of our babies. And Army pay is not good, especially considering my life may someday be on the line in Afghanistan, Iraq or who-knows-where-else. Thank you, thank you, Cass, for all you are to me.

We may not have it all together...But together we have it all.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

BIG after school suprise!

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DREAMS DO COME TRUE--Mike's New Job