Wednesday, December 17, 2008

my instructor Hodges, Examiner Matt, and me after the check ride

Well today I passed my helicopter instrument check ride today. While the oral test had some bumps in it the flying went very smooth and no problems there. I always do the flying part better than the book work. So for those of you at home that are keeping track of my rating that I have here is the complete set

Commercial Certificate
Airplane single engine
Airplane multi-engine
Helicopter
Instrument airplane
Instrument helicopter

So what is next? Well I do not know. The game plan is instructor rating but I have not decided if helicopter will be first or airplane. Only time will tell.

Friday, December 12, 2008


On June 12th Kasi and I started talking to one another. Since we knew that our first few months would be apart we decided that this would be our first "date". Well that was six months ago and here we are today deeply in love with one another and looking forward to many more six months together. Hopefully the two of us will be together with one another sooner than originally planned. Then we can stop talking on the phone every night and actually get to spending some face to face time. So Kasi happy six months and I cannot wait to see you in 10 days.

Friday, December 5, 2008


Today I did my long IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) flight to help finish my instrument rating. I flew the helicopter over to Winter Haven airport to get gas and then flew back to Titusville. Total flight time over three hours. These helicopters are definitely not made for speed. The check ride is scheduled for Tuesday morning.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving

To all of our friends and family,
Kevin and I would like to wish you a happy Thanksgiving! You all have played very important roles in mine and in Kevin's lives and we wouldn't be who we are today without you.
We are extremely thankful for each of you this holiday season and always!

Kevin and I will be in Kansas City this week to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family. I can't wait to meet all of you and see how your families' cooking compares to mine. :) Just kidding!

Thursday, November 20, 2008


I have debated whether or not to write this post for a week now. Last week I received a call that will forever change my life and that someone that I loved and admired was killed in a plane crash. Jerry Smith was not a normal pilot, but truly an exceptional pilot and the best pilot ever. Some people would disagree with me on this saying that Chuck Yeager or Bob Hoover or some other famous pilot was the best ever. But these two pilots were military pilots and flew for the military. Yeah they broke the sound barrier and flew faster than almost everyone. This never benefited general aviation. Jerry never flew for the military but every pilot that has ever flown a Stormscope or a Garmin product had Jerry's blessing. Jerry always has been at the tip of leading edge avionics and flew them because he knew other pilots would have to rely on them.

While I got to fly with Jerry on several occasions in his Cardinal and Super Decathlon these are not the only memories that I will treasure. Jerry enjoyed the outdoors and invited me several times to go hunting with him. Jerry was there for my first turkey and if you ever heard me tell this story you would almost not believe. Jerry always laughed when I had to tell this story to someone new. Jerry and I were out again this spring for Missouri turkey season and while we disagreed on how many we actually saw (I still think we only saw one close enough to shoot).

While I only got to know Jerry for only about 6 years it was 6 years that I will never forget. Jerry was like a father to me but he was also like a father to many others just not Scott and Chris. I will truly miss Jerry. Scott and Sandy you are in my prayers. Many people have been saying blue skies to Jerry but Jerry liked gray skies and I know that he enjoying those right now.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Kevin is a Certified Helicopter Pilot!

That's right! Kevin passed his tests today and is now an official helicopter pilot! I'm soooo proud of him! Congratulations honey! Next up, instrument rating then certification to be a helicopter instructor.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

On this day...


the most amazing man I have ever met was born!
Kevin, I could not have asked for a more perfect person to spend my life with!
Happy Birthday honey!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Whirlwind Trip Part II


After dropping Malikia off I took Kasi over to Amber and Kris house so she can do their family photographs. I went home to make some sushi and then headed over to Scott and Kristy house for the evening. The evening was another perfect October night and Scott had a fire going on the patio. Hamburgers were on the grill and drinking was well under way. After the burgers were eaten there was one little treat that I was not aware of. Kasi worked with Scott, Kristi, and Amber who turned the evening into a birthday party for me. Scott got all the people gathered while Kristi got the food ready and Amber baked a cake for my 32nd birthday. While the cake was a huge surprise the best part was when Kasi walked out of the house and the wind blew out all the candles. The look on Kasi's face was priceless and everyone got a pretty good laugh out of it. As the night continued the temperature was getting cold and we all retreated indoors to play some Rock Band on the Wii. Everyone took turns beating the drum set, plucking the guitar, or trying to do there best impersonation of Bon Jovi.


Sunday morning I helped mom with some yard work while Kasi went to go get her hair done. For three months all I heard about was getting the hair done. Well when she got back I must say that I was impressed with what was done. After her return Janelle showed up with grandma and we all ate some of mom's chili. After awhile it was back to the airport to head back to our other lives. While there Kasi took a beautiful picture. I suggested that she submitted it to avweb.com where she won the weekly contest. Now the two of us have won picture of the week.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Whirlwind Trip Part I

Kasi and I traveled back to KC this past weekend. We both arrived in KC just minutes apart to start what was going to be a busy weekend. After my mom (she was not at the gate when I arrived, but sis was) picked us up we visited my friend Nancy who was in the hospital. Then after a short visit with Nancy we were off to the Lenexa Chili Cook off. The evening night air was perfect for October weather for hanging out with friends from Garmin. My friend Ben and his wife Jennifer were there along with their daughter Isabella who has gotten so big in four short months.

The following day Kasi and I went to pick up her little sister Malikia and the three of us went out to lunch. Malikia picked the Pizza Shoppe as our destination and soon we were enjoying pizza and salad with the pink stuff (which is one of the best dressing ever). After that we hijacked a golf cart at Suburban Lawn and Garden to check out the pumpkin patch there. Needless to say driving a golf cart around 40 acres can be lots of fun.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Goin to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come

I never really thought about that song but it really has a new meaning now. Tomorrow I leave the swamp and Kasi leaves the Windy City and we both will be heading to KC to visit family and friends. This will be my first trip back to home since I have moved down to Florida so I am overly excited and it will be the first time Kasi has been there in some time. Kasi is just as excited because, first she gets to see me but also she gets to meet the family and friends. We are both excited to hang out with our friends. So for all of you in Kansas City here we come.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

4 Months


Tomorrow is our four month anniversary. Yes four months that the two of us have been going out and we have seen each other a total of 3 times (I had to get creative to get Kasi to come see me in Florida a second time). For those who do not know how we met then let me tell you this interesting story.

First it started well over a year ago when my friend Scott announced he was leaving Garmin. Since Scott got a better job and a plane his wife Kristy wanted a new house. So in the span of one day looking at houses, they bought one south of Olathe. The following weekend there I was helping move stuff out of the old house and into the new one, when across the street you here this guy yelling Scott's name. I thought Scott already had met his neighbors, but how could he, this was the first day he was there. Well come to find out this guy across the street was actually Kris who Scott went to school with in the middle of nowhere Missouri. Don't ask me how this happened but it did.

After moving in Scott, Kris, their wives Kristy and Amber, Ben, and I all started talking and hanging out. From the beginning Kris' wife Amber said I should meet one of her friends who was just here and I missed her. Amber started saying the two of us would be perfect for one another. Now in the beginning we all think the same thing, this will probably go nowhere and I should not get bothered by this. So for nine months Amber kept hounding me about her friend. Everytime we saw each other she mentioned her friend. The problem was her friend lived in Chicago and no where near KC. So there was no way I was going to be able to meet her.

That winter I decided I needed a change of pace and Garmin was not my future. I figured I should follow a life dream of becoming a helicopter pilot and decided Florida was the place to be. With my class start date of July 7th my days in KC were numbered. After hearing about my decision, Amber really went into over drive. So finally in the first part of June I got this mysterious woman's email address. It was a late night so I figured I would wait until tomorrow to send her an email, however I got home and here is an email which matches the one I got earlier in the night. So this girl wants to play ball, I think. So I read through this email that was signed Kasi. I knew from the email things would be great and I have not been disappointed since.