Oklahoma or Bust!

For almost 4 years, my Husband (boyfriend at the time) waited for an Air Traffic Control bid. A bid sends you to Oklahoma City for X amount of months to complete the Academy program. The academy program is the final stage before beginning your career as an Air Traffic Controller. I think people thought it was a dream of his that would never come true, simply fizzle out. Thankfully, after completing the CTI school (a 2 year program in which he commuted almost daily from Lake Tahoe to Sacramento), he was able to work for his father's business, Sierra Tahoe Ready Mix, while we waited. The wait was due to an ATC hiring hold that literally took place directly after he graduated. Luckily, my husband is very strong willed and never stopped believing in his dream of finally becoming an Air Traffic Controller.

When he finally got the bid for Oklahoma, I think I had every emotion running though my mind. Life would no longer be as we've known it... We would have to move far away from our small, beautiful hometown and most importantly, our family.

(our entire immediate family)   

We had to be in Oklahoma City by June 9th, for the start of the ATC academy, June 10th 2016. Since I don't do that well on car trips (I get a little antsy), we decided to make a fun road trip out of it. 

Finally the day we had been patiently been waiting for had arrived. We put what seemed like our entire life in storage, packed the essentials in our truck (clothing, mountain bikes, lots of yummy snacks) and left Tahoe early on June 3rd.

Our first stop was Zion National Park, Utah. Driving in and seeing the huge rock formations was so surreal. It was even more gorgeous that i'd ever imagined - it was breathtaking. We arrived right as the sun was setting and immediately hoped on our bikes to start exploring. It felt so good to ride after being cooped up the car for 9ish hours. 

The next morning, we woke early, ready to adventure. We got some food, packed our backpacks and headed to hike up Angels Landing... a 1,488-foot tall rock formation. Angels Landing was an absolute thrill, especially the top, where chains were needed for gripping. I loved ever minute of it. After the hike, we explored some more by bike, and then headed to our next destination: Lake Powell, Arizona.

When we arrived, we couldn't get in the water quick enough, it was SO hot out! We swam and relaxed and soaked up the scenery. We decided to camp here, so after dinner and setting up camp, we decided to play some cards. The game of speed to be exact... and the rule was, loser takes a shot of Vodka. I was feeling a little off, so I decided not to drink, but it was a fun memorable night of camping!

We left early the next day for Pagosa Springs, Colorado, which was a gem of a town. It was definitely established, but kind of underdeveloped... like we were back in time. After getting settled, I was still feeling a bit off, so we decided to take a pregnancy test (both Chris and I have been wanting children for quite a while, but the timing never seemed right) and I think we were both scared as HELL while I was peeing on that stick.

And then we waited...

The pregnancy test revealed a + sign and at that moment (June 5th), our lives changed forever... we were going to be parents!!!! We nervously laughed, cried and hugged each other tight. We decided to go get some dinner overlooking the San Juan River and *cheers* to the good news (a much needed drink for the new dad-to-be and some water for me)! While at dinner we immediately started thinking of baby names and discussing the journey of parenthood. 

After dinner, we hit up the Pagosa Springs ice cream parlor for a little celebratory dessert we could both indulge in... and for the first time in my life, I felt so fulfilled. I was finally going to be a mom and that little baby we made was currently existing in my belly!

After an interesting bike ride that next morning, we headed up to Colorado Springs, Colorado. At this stop we enjoyed one of my favorite mountain bike rides i've ever experienced and drove the windy road up Pike's Peak (14,110 ft. elevation). We were both itching to get to Oklahoma, so we then continued on... but first we had to stop and see Cadillac Ranch in Texas! 

Cadillac Ranch was not what I expected. It's literally directly off hwy 40 and consists of 10 decaying Cadillacs in the ground, covered in spray paint. I'd never seen anything like it. 

And there we were, only a few hours from Oklahoma! As we got closer, I kept imagining what Oklahoma would actually be like and boy was I wrong. 

Now having been here for 3 months, I can say that we definitely should not have brought our mountain bikes because this place is as flat as a pancake! If you were to combine Sacramento, California and Gardnerville, Nevada you would get Oklahoma...however, the downtown area is very cute.

The road trip provided Chris and I memories to fill a lifetime. It was so fun exploring new places and finding out we are going to be parents! With only one month left of the academy here in Oklahoma, I think we will one day look back to the time spent here and be grateful it was only 4 months!! 

I am so proud of Chris and his determination to succeed. He's going to be the best dad in the world and I can't wait to watch.

Always. Shine. Bright.

xoxo