The Pics Speak for Themselves

Sonja did a mad editing scramble and got us our pictures before she left for the States for a month or so.  We are so grateful.  And we are so excited because they are fantastic.  The photos speak for themselves--even the ones with Ryleigh, who was not supposed to be in any that day and was a sweaty, sunscreen-laden mess.  Sonja definitely captured the essence of RJ--silliness and joy!

Now please, enjoy!

Happy Birthday, RJ!

We celebrated RJ's birthday in several ways today. RJ wore his birthday shirt.

We handed out peanut-free treats at preschool. We had our weekly Tuesday lunch with Jip. Then we headed out for swimming. While we were gone, Jip came home early and got the house ready.

We went straight to dinner at the Warehouse--RJ's choice--after swimming. When we returned home, RJ was very surprised to see the decorations and gifts. It was fun to watch!

RJ loved all of his gifts. I loved all the thank yous he dished out as he opened his gifts. He even thanked Ryleigh twice for his new Pigeon books. It was so cute!

We sang some Happy Birthday and enjoyed some cake. This year RJ asked for a firehouse cake. I tried. It wasn't pretty, but it tasted great!

Happy Birthday, Sweet RJ! Year 4 is going to be awesome!

The new and improved "cardboard city"

Amy is full of great ideas, and today was no different.  RJ has been wanting a "cardboard city" like the one we made him a while back.  Despite my best efforts to build sky scrapers and parking garages, what RJ really liked were the streets, intersections, and parking lots that we drew on the big, flat pieces of cardboard.  Today, Amy came up with a brilliant solution to his desires and made a series of roads and parking lots on a blanket using tape.  It's not the most durable, but it was exactly what RJ was looking for.  Out came the cars and imagination!

Welcome to RJ-ville!

RJ in his element.

Ry-Ry giving it a try.

Good job, Aim!

Performance evaluations--Navy style.

Not much super exciting to report today.  This morning, we hung around the house.  Amy and RJ went to the commissary right before lunch.  While the two kids slept on me, not with me, in the big red chair after lunch, Amy ran over to the Navy Exchange for a few things.  A trip to the playground later in the afternoon was good for energy burning and perfectly timed due to a quick thunderstorm that rolled through after we got home right before dinner.

This evening, I took a few minutes to start jotting down ideas and statements for two things:  my final SRF fitness report (FITREP) and my award.  I'm not sure what it's like in the other Armed Forces, other Navies, or in ALL the other commands, but during my career, I have always written the draft of my fitrep, which I get at least once per year, for every commanding officer changeout, and for every time that I move, AND I've written the drafts of the awards that I've received.  For a few of the awards, the draft has been mostly a bulletized list of everything that I've done that's worthy of being put on an award.  Well, it's that time again.  Time to get ready to transfer, and since part of transferring is getting another fitrep and (usually) getting an award, I have to spend some time putting my ideas down on paper.

I dislike doing it every time, too.  I'm not good at boasting.  I'm not good at flowery, fluffy writing.  And that just tends to make me spend a LOT of time wording and rewording statements to make them sound better.  I've done a ton at this command--from supporting a plethora of ship availabilities to supporting the ships and people after the bigearthquake to becoming a defacto radiological controls expert--so I have plenty to put in the drafts of my fitrep and award, but I dread spending the time to do it.  Is it like this everywhere for everyone else?  Wish me luck!

For the closeout of tonight's entry, here's a picture of RJ and Ryleigh "sharing" the iPad and snacks.  They go in cycles all day long where they are best buddies one minute and can't stand each other the next -- ahhh, siblings!

-Jip

Monsters

The title of this blog entry does not refer to our children...entirely. We opted, despite a few tears and mild refusals, to go to watch "Monsters University" today. The base theater was offering a sensory showing. It's not that it's a good option for us because of the lower volume and lights on in the theater. It's a good option for us because it's filled with young kids and no one is going to "SHHHHH" anyone. RJ and Ryleigh can get as wriggly and loud as they like.

RJ is still on his kick about not wanting to watch ANY movie because they are "scary." He'll cover his ears, turn away, and then turn right around and continue watching. Ryleigh isn't bothered by anything but has the attention span of, well, a one year old.

The movie was good. RJ went back and forth between being scared and intrigued. Ryleigh occasionally watched but spent most of her time eating popcorn. All in all, it was a success.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing at home since the outside temps are still in nineties.

Here's a photo of our movie outing.