Mother's Day

Mother's Day was spent doing what mother's do: cook, clean, run errands, get backpacks ready for school, etc. Duane is at Benning for a school so it was just me and the girls which is usually the case. I think Duane has been home for 2 Mother's Days in the 6 years we have had children which gives him an average of 1/3. Considering his averages for Valentine's and Our Anniversary, he's doing pretty good when it comes to Mother's Day! Of course he usually makes it home for Father's Day.....hmmm......;)

In any case, Kaitlyn is now old enough to write and make her own little Mother's Day gifts. This year she filled in the answers to a little book called "Top 10 Reasons Why I Love My Mom." Her little answers included:

I love my Mom when she makes me laugh by......being silly

I love my Mom because she taught me how to........cartwheel

I know my Mom cares because she.......plays with us.

I know my mom is smart because......she helps me with wrds (words)

Kaitlyn also filled in a "Mom Quiz" by answering things like:

My Mom would like to go to.......Oluv Garden (Olive Garden)

I believe this answer means that my daughter recognizes my appreciation for food cooked and cleaned up by someone other than me! :)

My Mom's favorite thing to do is.....polesh her tonelse (polish her toenails)

I'm not really sure what this particular answer says about me.........apparently that the most exciting thing I do is self pedicures??

My Mom would wish for .....sisters and more polesh (polish)

Kaitlyn told me that she thinks I wish for sisters since I have all brothers and she loves her sister so much she thinks it must be what I wish for. How sweet! The "more polish", again, I have no clue......

Overall, it was a very good Mother's Day. No expensive gift or pampering really compares to sweet words on construction paper and handprints in paint. We got to talk to Duane inbetween his studying and he is doing well at Pathfinders- just a few more weeks and many more tests....and he'll be home in time for Father's Day! :)

RLTW

Anyone in Ranger Regiment knows that RLTW is shorthand for "Rangers Lead the Way!" - the battle cry of the United States Army Rangers. This week and weekend, Rangers definitely led the way here in the panhandle of Florida. We hosted our annual Ranger Camp Open House where we invite the public to come out to Camp and experience what being a Ranger is all about. On Friday, everyone involved participates in a huge rehearsal of the whole event. Last year and this year I have brought my 7th graders to view the rehearsal. The soldiers here have fun rehearsing to a live audience and the kids have a blast seeing everything up close and getting to talk and hang out with Rangers. Of course, they know that my house is somewhere on Camp and beg incessently to see it.

This year one of my students designed the T-shirts that we sold at the Open House on Saturday and did an amazing job. Unfortunately, she also passed out from heat stroke during the actual event and got to take a trip to the medics clinic here on Camp. She was fine after some TLC and hydration and felt very cool to have gotten the "behind the scenes" tour. And of course being treated by some pretty good looking guys made her the envy of all the other pre-teen girls, nearly resulting in an epidemic of small maladies that might require extra attention from the medics.

On Saturday, the day of Open House, the girls and I were up early, ready to go. I was still sunburned from Friday because, while I dutifully reminded all of my students to liberally apply the sunscreen, I of course forgot myself. We headed down to the Ranger Run just in time to see our friend Yohanna cross the finish line in the 5K. Considering that she has a 4 month old and a 4 year old and made darn good time on the run, Yohanna is my hero. All the money from the run goes to Fisher House Foundation, a foundation that provides homes for families of soldiers being treated in military hospitals for extended periods - think Ronald McDonald House for the military. With all of our wounded trooops, these houses that provide the comfort of home are even more important now. We raised $6000 this year for Fisher House. If you are interested in finding out more about Fisher House, visit http://www.fisherhouse.org/.

After the run, my friend Carrie and I dragged our kids to the FRG (Family Readiness Group) T-shirt booth and set up for a full day of sales. Her two boys, my two girls, and their friend Jasmyn all ran around the lawn and eventually convinced Sgt. Burke to let them watch cartoons on the big screen in the Gator (our restaurant/lounge/all purpose meeting room that serves up food and entertainment) and give them free chips. Once things got underway we went to watch the Reptile House Show featuring every type of venemous and non-venemous snake native to this region, two baby gators (Tyrone and Billy Bob) and our two adult gators, Stumpy and Vincent (one of the largest males in captivity). The Reptile House was followed by the Ambush Demonstration, the Hand to Hand Combatives Demo, the Repel Tower Demo, and finally, the Downed Pilot Rescue with parachute jumpers and fast ropers. By the end of the day, we were sunburned and exhausted. Duane is TDY at Ft. Benning for Pathfinders School so we didn't get to see him do anything but let me tell you, we worked that t-shirt stand like nobody's business which tells you something about being a soldier's wife: it isn't just the soldier who works for the Army! :) All in all, a successful weekend that I need a weekend to recover from.

Hot Chicks!

OK, all of you whose minds are in the gutter.....not THAT kind of hot chick! Kaitlyn's kindergarten class has been learning about the life cycle of chicken eggs and for 21 days they have been incubating various types of chicken eggs. This week, some of the eggs began to hatch. Because Kaitlyn and her friend Annemarie have mommies who are teachers, they are in the building long before the other kids and get to peek in on the eggs before anyone else. On Wednesday, we found 3 little chicks that had hatched during the night! By Friday, most of the eggs had hatched and the Kindergarten is now home to a wide variety of little chicks, kept in cozy little homes and awaiting adoption by a local farm.

What Little Girls are Made of

Last Saturday was formal recital pictures for the Eglin Ballet School. There are about 15 or so classes of girls in different age groups so the studio is quite chaotic. Because the commute off Camp is so long, I had the girls wear their tights and bathrobes so they wouldn't ruin their costumes. They felt quite "Hollywood" arriving in their "dressing gowns" with their hair all done. The room was crammed full of girls and their mommies, hair bows, tap shoe bows, costumes, curly hair pieces, and the pungent smell of hairspray and glitter in a can. The older girls had brought curling irons and straightning irons, makeup bags and lip glosses with them and they spent the majority of their time in front of the mirrors, adjusting this or that. The little girls ran around the room in improvised games of chase or hide and go seek while their mothers, the class moms, and the photographer tried to corral them long enough to snap a picture. The room was a study in all things little girl and I couldn't resist a few pictures of Kaiti and Sam's class lining up......