Christmas Letter 2013
Dear Friends and Family-
I know you were probably waiting all year for a picture of Heidi a year older and one of me a year more distinguished, but it didn’t happen. It won’t either. I know some people will take a picture with their dog, but we don’t roll that way, on principle. We can still be friends if you do take pictures of your dog, but we have to take a stand on something. And, not taking a picture in a silly hat with my pooch is my principle. So, this year Christmas Cheer from the Hans family comes in this note. It begins now:
This year started much like it started in 2012 with Jeremy on a boat (really a ship named the USS John C Stennis) and Heidi back at home in San Diego. The Navy informed us that our next stop was back to Pensacola, FL and Jeremy was able to leave deployment 2 months early to move across the country. Within a week of getting back to the States in March we were packed and on the road. Honestly, the details are a bore, but the two of us have this moving thing down at this point (five times now).
We have learned some cool stuff this year. On our trip across the country, Jeremy rolled a Turkey while bowling. He is now retired from bowling; he never liked it and will probably never top this feat so he never plans to play again and instead leaves on top. You may have heard about the twerking craze spreading across the country, we have no pictures (the camera was confiscated by Heidi) but Heidi is pretty good at it. So good that she won an ugly sweater contest by using those moves. On vacation in July, we both picked up wake surfing as one of our new favorite things. Speaking of favorite things; we splurged on our trip to Las Vegas and now we are even more spoiled by our love of the club level (free snacks and drinks in the club lounge is where it’s at).
Life in Pensacola has been much better than we imagined when we left sunny San Diego. Jeremy is an Instructor Pilot at Helicopter Advanced (Flight School). Not having to deploy, much less stress, and getting to fly a helicopter that is like driving a go cart are only a few of the reasons that the HTs are a great place to be. Heidi was fortunate to find another job as a Nurse in a Cardiology practice, again working business hours. We joined the same church we attended last time we were in Pensacola. Heidi is working with special needs kids and Jeremy is coordinating FPU (Financial Peace University). We also found out that we don’t love the suburbs of Pensacola as much as we thought we would. We are already planning on moving again to be closer to Heidi’s office and to downtown.
We haven’t done everything great this year. We bought a second car in Florida that lasted 1000 miles and 2 months before it literally ate itself and had to be scrapped (actually we let PBS tow it away). That was a learning experience. We bought three lawn mowers in Florida before we found one that worked (two of them were brand new). We didn’t win any marathons this year. In fact, we didn’t enter any marathons this year, nor triathlons, nor mud runs. Also, Jeremy was humbled after deciding to apply for business school. Apparently, his ability to do simple math wasn’t as strong as he remembered; though his ability to create a top half by being a member of the bottom half was strong. Heidi has had to learn to share again with her husband, and that having him home means more laundry.
Next year we continue our adventures with Jeremy planning more cross countries in the TH-57 and Heidi saving more lives. Both of us plan on starting Master’s programs. Other plans include staying on top of all important YouTube videos, dance crazes, memes and most celebrity gossip (well maybe not). We hope this time of year finds you well and having a Merry Christmas with those you love. Until next year, stay classy and stay in touch.
Love
Jeremy and Heidi
