I Have WINGS!!!

It seemed like this day would never come, but after many early mornings, long days, and late nights of studying, flying, and planning to fly, That ClayWardCrew finally got what they were working for; a shiny new pair of silver wings!!!
Below is a picture of Clay with his first pair of wings.....broken into two pieces! No this wasn't the result of a tragic fit of rage, but a longstanding Air Force tradition. It's considered bad luck to wear your very first set of wings, so to ensure that none of that bad luck finds it's way into an Air Force Pilots coffin, he is to break that first set of wings into two pieces. One half is to be kept by that pilot, and the other half is to be kept by a friend/relative, and the two halves are never to be rejoined until after the pilots death.

All around Vance

The day before graduation, Clay was able to take us (Amy, Stan, Vera, Laura and CJ) around to the different areas on the base - the tower, simulators, planes, etc. It was fun to see what Clay has been doing for the past few months!
Here is Vera after she successfully flew a T-1 simulator! She took off and landed and didn't crash....how hard is it really? (Ok, ok...Clay helped just a little!!!)
Here is Amy and Stan Ward inside an actual T-1 cockpit.

Happy Birthday CJ!!

Since CJ and his good friend Ty have birthdays within 2 weeks of each other, we had a combined birthday party for them!
Here is a picture of the whole party clan...from left to right, Zach, Brian, Lisa, Clayton, CJ, and Ty. The boys were busy painting trains, which is a favorite of most boys here in Enid because the train goes right behind our houses!

CJ loved to blow out the candle!! Luckily Clay was right there with the lighter to relight the candle as many times as was needed until the air in the little lungs ran out!
Stan, Amy and Vera Ward (Clay's parents and grandma) were able to be here for the big party since they were still here from Clay's graduation!
A picture of the proud parents, who can't believe they have a 2 year old, and the man of the hour!

Laura, Clay, and Amy Ward (Clay's Mom) helped make the airplane cake!

Who Are the REAL Animals?

In between finishing flying and graduation, Clay had a few days to "chill." So, we decided to head down to Oklahoma City Zoo and spend an afternoon looking at all the fun animals. They had anteaters, flamingos, and a HUGE Gorilla (he was sitting on a swing and just stared at us...he was great!!! We could hardly believe he was real!). Since the Ward Family was having Kilgore Family withdrawls since they have now moved from our neighborhood to Oklahoma City, we met up with them at the zoo and had a wonderful afternoon together!!

Assignment Night Results!!

We have had a few exciting weeks in the Ward home!! We found out what aircraft Clay will fly for the Air Force and where our first duty station will be! If you have good eyes and look closely at this first photo...you can see that we got KC-135 (tanker) to Fairchild, AFB in Spokane, WA. We are all thrilled. We will be heading back to the Northwest sometime this fall!!!