One Big Update!

It's been busy lately, haven't had much chance to update things.

Riley's been doing PT for his knee injury. We got the all-clear this week so he's really enjoying being back on full workouts at school. He can run and lift weights again, so he's happy.  He got an invitation to a Naval Academy Admissions Forum in Houston last weekend, so he and David went for Friday night, spent the night with David's cousin Jimmy, and did the admissions forum on Saturday. It sounded like they got a lot of good information, and Riley came home with a renewed determination to keep those grades up!!

For Regan and I, cookie season is on in full force. I have done the big cookie lottery, the cookie mega-drop, and we've completed our first week of cookie sales. I think we've sold around 300 boxes so far, but I need to do a good count.  Her science fair is over, and I couldn't be happier. I hate science fairs almost as much as I hate spiders. There's no need for either, really.

Today we had a SNOW DAY! Really, an ice day. It's been hilarious watching everyone on Facebook make fun of us wussy Austinites, but really, there were over 250 car accidents in the last 2 days with all the ice on the roads. So, we've just stayed home, eaten soup, and slept in. Can't complain! (Well, I can, because David keeps the house so cold, I have taken to wearing my jacket and scarf, and ear wrap, and gloves, INSIDE!) I'm a true Texan. I am ready for summer!

Tonight, David is at a men's conference at church, Riley is at Sea Cadets, Regan has 2 friends over, I have people coming to pick up cookies, Hunter ate a bag of powdered sugar, and it looks like a cocaine bust gone bad in my living room!!

US Naval Academy

I know I'm late posting about the boys trip, but David just gave me the pictures to post! David took Riley over Labor Day weekend to Baltimore/Annapolis/DC for a boy's weekend.  Riley has always wanted to go to the Naval Academy, so we figured letting him go see the place right as he's starting off his high school "career" might light a fire under him to do well in school.

They left on Friday afternoon, flew to Baltimore, I think that's where their hotel was. They went on Saturday morning to Annapolis and met up with one of Riley's old motocross buddies who goes to the Naval Academy now.  Jordan gave them a tour of the place, and it was nice because they got to go a lot of places that aren't open for "public". They got to see the dorms, meet Jordan's roommate as he was preparing to go run with a 40 pound weighted vest, and just got a really personalized behind the scenes look at things. I asked David to take a lot of pictures, but I meant with Riley in them, and I got a LOT of pictures of buildings and cannons. Lots of cannons.

They went to DC the next day, spent most of the day at the Air and Space Museum, and then went to see the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (he didn't take ANY pictures there, GRR!) And all the pictures at the Air and Space Museum are of planes. (Boring)

Anyway, they went  back to the Academy on Monday, I think to take more pictures. They ate some crabs, and came home super late on Monday night. Here are the best pictures, the ones with people in them :)

Naval Academy Trip

Navy Sea Cadets

Riley had Sea Cadets this weekend, they have drills once a month, and we had to finish getting all his gear. David took off early and we got his bags packed (what an ordeal!) and they headed up to Ft. Hood early to meet with one of his Commanding Officers to get what he needed, belt, socks, all the little things that have to match everyone else just so. David met up with an old friend who is on base and got a good deal on some Army cots, and then he dropped him off for the weekend.

Riley was so tired and sweaty when we picked him up, and you can tell by the pictures, he wasn't in the mood for a photo shoot! But he looks so stinking cute in his uniform, or BDU's, that I couldn't resist! The drills this month included (I don't have all the technical military terms for this stuff) breach and they had to clear the room, and sleep with their guns (fake guns) and they had people come in the middle of the night to try to steal their guns, and Riley's got stolen, he was asleep hard he said! But he really enjoyed it, and he was exhausted!

We had a parent's meeting on Sunday to go over next month's drill, which sounds like it is going to be awesome! There will be a camp out at a lake, and they have a helicopter coming, and Vietnam reenactors, and they will be ambushing the cadets! They will have target practice with at least 5 different weapons, they will get to eat an MRE, learn basic survival skills, and learn how to make a tent out of their pancho, and a floatation device out of their "blouse". Sounds like it's going to be a blast. David is going, Regan and I have a Girl Scout campout the weekend before, so I'm not sure if we will go or not, but it is a family thing and it sounds like fun! Also, I know if I don't go, there will be no pictures!

So here's just a few pictures from the day, Riley in formation with his group, a couple of new people came to check it out too, that's why they aren't in uniform.

All About Hair!

Regan has been wanting a perm forever, but I got her some of those pink sponge rollers that I used to sleep in when I was a kid to have "Shirley Temple" hair! They now come in different sizes and colors, so we've been playing around with her hair. The first night, we used the smallest size rollers and she ended up with a short, tight, white afro! She hated it. So, as we were rushing out the door for school, I pulled it back into two ponies and said she looked like a curly Princess Leah! As the day wore on, the curls dropped, and it was much cuter. But then we tried the bigger rollers and she liked that much better.

 

And, miracle of all miracles, Riley decided to go for broke and cut all his luscious locks off! I think he thinks he is Sampson and his power is his hair! He hates getting it cut and even though he asked for it, it was pretty traumatic for him to get it cut. There was almost enough hair to donate to Locks Of Love! But, I think he looks much older, and much more military-ready with the short hair!

Sea Cadets

Riley is now an official member of the U.S. Navy Sea Cadets! As soon as I heard about this program, I knew it was for Riley. He got to go spend the weekend at Ft. Hood, and drill, he will do that one weekend a month now. David took him to Ft. Hood and learned all about it, and got him signed up and he is so excited about it. His first step was to take an XDivision test, which he took immediately. While other kids were watching a movie, he was hunkered down studying for his test. They asked David if Riley had 10 more brothers just like him at home, they would take them all! The next step is to take a BMR test, which is like 1,000 questions about Basic Military Regulations (I think) and then in December he will do a 2 week boot camp. There are many summer training programs, where he can go to a Coast Guard ship for 3 weeks, get his pilot's license, STEM programs at Annapolis, and even train with Navy Seals. He's raring to go and wants to do all of it! The good news is he has to keep his grades up to be involved, so now we have some good motivation! And another good thing, he has to have short hair! He came home and wanted his hair cut right away! Here is a picture of him in his BDU's that they gave him, we still have to get him some more uniform stuff. I am totally clueless when it comes to all this military jargon, so I need to study some of that BMR stuff with him!