We had our on post celebration this afternoon and evening. I got to sleep in and had fun playing with Robbie when we got up. I brought him to day care around noon – just in time for lunch – and then I headed out to post to help load and set up and for the sound check. Once that was done, I went and picked Robbie up and went home for a while. After Ryan had gotten home from work and relaxed for a bit, we headed back out to post. We wandered around and looked at everything and ate dinner, listened to the Salsa Band for a bit, and then I went and changed into uniform. We went back and listened to the Rock Band, and then it was time for our concert. It went really well and it was VERY WELL attended – probably 2000-3000 or more. After the concert were the fireworks, and WOW were they ever good!! I didn’t have to help tear down/load the truck so I got to go watch them with Ryan and Robbie! By the end of the fireworks, I had 3 boys on my lap – Robbie, Chandler Bree, and Nathan Placker. It was fun, though. Robbie did really well with the cannons firing during 1812 Overture at the end of our concert, and with the fireworks, he just stared wide-eyed at them the whole time. I’m off to bed now. . .
Monthly Archives: June 2005
Afternoon PT test and Winning!!
Yesterday afternoon I took my record PT test. I did 40 pushups for 88%, 68 situps for 85%, and ran my 2 miles in 17:54 for 82%. I scored a 255 overall. It’s a little lower score than I had on my diagnostic last month, but I haven’t done much PT in the past month and it was MUGGY out for the run. I’m happy with my score, and I have lots of room for improvement in future months! Yesterday evening was a class night, but we didn’t have class because of the holiday next week. We did have an online assignment to do though, so I worked on that.
Today I was CQ and had to be at work at 6. I actually had to be there a bit earlier because in the aftermath of the PT test yesterday, I forgot my uniform in my office so I had to change at work this morning. It was ok though. We had concert band rehearsal this morning and for an hour this afternoon and all of that went really well. When I wasn’t in rehearsal, I worked on some more homework for class. I finally got home from work about 5 (stopped to pick Robbie up on my way home) and then made tacos for dinner. Ryan fed Robbie so I could cook.
Oh yeah, the winning part of the subject. I got a phone call today from a lady at Fox Sports Net in Atlanta. I had entered a contest at the Dodge dealership last time I had the van in for an oil change, and I actually was drawn as a winner!! I won 2 tickets to the Pepsi 400 NASCAR race at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL, this Saturday!! So the 3 of us will be going to that – me and Robbie’s first NASCAR race. I finally managed to find a hotel in St. Augustine, about 50 miles north of Daytona. We’ll be leaving Friday after Ryan gets home from work and coming back on Sunday. Should be fun!!
Six Flags Over Georgia
That’s where we went yesterday! Here’s the story:
We left home about 6:45 in the morning and drove out to post to get gas and meet up with my friends from work (Phil & Kaori and their sons Tristan & Kei and also Briana). We got the vans all full with gas and also bought ice for our cooler. The drive to Atlanta was uneventful other than Tristan having to pee alongside the road a couple of times.
Got to the park at 9:45 – just before it opened and got our FREE tickets! Ryan picked up a park map and we headed off. Our first rides were in the Bugs Bunny area for kids. Robbie went on the semis – I went with him. Tristan went on a few other rides because he’s a little bigger. We rode the train around the park and Phil and Ryan and I went on a roller coaster. Then we all walked back to our vans for lunch – sandwiches, chips, fruit, etc. Robbie had baby food carrots. After a nice relaxing (and cheap) lunch, we headed back to the park for more fun.
The 3 of us went on a few more roller coasters (Kaori & Briana watched the boys) throughout the day, and we all went on a water ride – we were in big round boats and went around a river with rapids and got soaked. Well, Robbie and Kei were too little (and too asleep) to go so Phil and I stayed back with them and everyone else went. When they got back, Phil and I went. That was a nice bit of refreshment from the heat of the day. All of us except Kaori went on the carousel – the daddies held Robbie and Kei. We ate at a restaurant in the park and the guys and Kaori had chicken fingers and fries and Briana and I had salads. Robbie had baby food peaches. Then we drove “antique cars” around a track. That was fun. Robbie and I drove and Ryan sat in the back seat. Our last ride was a hot air balloon ride. Robbie and I went on that and it was fun. Robbie didn’t mind the up and down or the going in a circle.
On our way out of the park about 8:45 we stopped at a couple of shops for some souvenirs – Robbie got a SuperBaby outfit! We got back to the cars and changed diapers and Robbie got his jammies on. I made him a bottle and we headed home. Robbie was asleep within 20 minutes of leaving and slept most of the way home except for when we stopped at a rest stop. It was about 11:15 when we got home and Robbie went straight to bed and Ryan and I followed shortly after that.
You can see pictures of our day here: Six Flags Pictures
Concert, ceremony, and Home Alone. . .
Thursday morning we had to be at a briefing with our new Garrison Command Sergeant Major at 0600. They did have donuts and fruit and coffee and juice for us. It was actually pretty good and our new CSM is very nice and has a good sense of humor. After that was done, I came home (Ryan had already brought Robbie to day care) and did some cleaning around the house, took a nice long uninterrupted shower, read a week’s worth of newspapers, and relaxed. Ryan got home about 1230 and we talked for a bit before I left to go get Robbie. Ryan was home early as he left to go to a battle reenactment with one of his living history groups. I picked Robbie up from day care and brought him out to Suzanne’s. We had a concert Thursday evening and Suzanne had said she would watch Robbie since Ryan was out of town. The concert went ok – not great, but still ok – and Robbie had a great time at Suzanne’s. She was glad to see him again as were her two boys, Chandler and Jacob.
Friday morning we had a change of command ceremony, and boy was it hot out – about 80 degrees at ceremony start time of 0900. We made it through it though, and no one fell out. In the afternoon I went to Sam’s Club to get some stuff for the snack bar at work – it sure is nice going shopping during work hours. After I picked Robbie up, we came home and played and ate dinner and played some more and then after he went to bed I stitched.
Today was a long but fun day. Ryan’s still gone, so it was just me and Robbie. We played for a while after we got up and had had breakfast, and then we went downtown to the Saturday Market on Broad. There are vendors set up selling home-grown produce (I bought a pint of blueberries – they’re good, but not as good as wild Michigan blueberries), crafts, and other stuff. It was pretty neat, and Robbie enjoyed the ride in his stroller. After that we went to my cross stitch store to buy a few things for a project I’ve been working on. Then we came home and he fell asleep in the car. I put him in his crib when we got home and he slept for almost 2 hours. I got some stitching done. After he woke up, we went out again, and I got my nails (fingers and toes) done. He was a really good boy the whole time we were there. It was dinner time when we got home, so I ate and fed Robbie and then we played until bedtime. After he went to bed, I finished the aforementioned cross stitch project and now I’m here doing stuff online before I head off to bed.
Rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal
Yup – that’s what I did today! We had drill band (marching band) first thing this morning. That went well. After about a 20 minute break, we went into sectionals for concert band. Us trombones worked on some intonation stuff and then on bits of 1812 Overture. During lunch I came home and got the table set for dinner (which was already cooking in the crockpot) and cleaned the house up a little bit. Then after lunch we had concert band all afternoon. We have another concert tomorrow night so we just touched on the more difficult pieces to freshen up on them. After doing cleaning details, I left work, stopped and picked up Robbie, and then came home and played. Once Ryan got home I finished dinner and got Robbie fed and then we ate. Robbie got a bath tonight and that’s always fun. He sure loves to play and splash around in the water! After he went to bed, I sat down and crocheted for a bit and watched some TV.
Friends & Ft. Stewart
Yesterday morning Robbie and I took the van to the car dealership for it’s 18,000 mile check up. They changed the oil and rotated the tires and checked a bunch of other things. Then after coming home for about an hour or so (Robbie took a nap), I brought him to day care and headed out to post for formation. We went to Ft. Stewart (near Savannah, about 2 1/2 hours south). I got some stitching done on the bus, and then after we got checked in (I had my own room because there were an odd number of females and I’m the senior female) and relaxed for a while, we went to Ruby Tuesday’s for dinner. There were 8 of us at our table, including the bus driver so we didn’t have to worry about if we took a little longer than the allotted time. It was good food and good conversation. When we got back to our hotel (Army lodging on post), the whole band (well, most of the band) met in front with glasses, and our First Sergeant poured champagne. We toasted one of the guys in the unit to celebrate him and his wife getting pregnant. So the cycle continues (we joke about not drinking the water at the band hall because we’ve had so many pregnancies/babies). . . After that was done, some people went back to their rooms and some of us went to the courtyard area (there were some picnic tables and stuff there) to hang out for the evening. I had brought 5 cross stitch projects (several were close to being done) and had fully intended on getting 3-4 hours of stitching in, but I decided to hang out with my friends instead. We had a great time talking, joking around, poking fun at other band members (all in fun, of course), and drinking (of course – what’s a band get together without beer?). I only had one beer, so for most of the “toasts” we did (to all kinds of silly things), I used my imaginary glass. I finally went to my room about 11:15, but most everyone else stayed out until about 1. It was TONS of fun, and I’m really glad I didn’t go be a hermit in my room with my stitching.
The reason we went to Ft. Stewart is because their band is deployed in the “sand box” and we covered a change of command ceremony for them this morning. The ceremony was really easy. We were seated to begin with, and we only had to play pre-music, the National Anthem, and their division song and the Army Song. After the ceremony was done, we went back to the hotel to change and then we headed for home. I did get a little more stitching done on the ride home, but I also took a nap for part of the way.
Robbie sure was glad to see me when I picked him up from day care this afternoon!! And I was glad to see him. This was my first night away from him and I sure missed him. I missed Ryan, too, but I’ve been away from him before.
I’m going to finish up online now and get to bed. I’m tired.
Happy Father’s Day!!
Happy Father’s Day to my wonderful Dad and to my Grandpa!! And of course to my husband Ryan, wonderful Daddy to Robbie!
We got up this morning and relaxed around the house like we always do on Sunday mornings – Church isn’t until 11, so we always have time. Church was good and then we went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch. Good food there as always. Then we went to Walmart to get a few things and then home to watch the NASCAR Race. Our driver (Jeff Gordon) didn’t have a very good day, but that’s alright. You win some and you lose some. I got a bunch of stitching done as Robbie took an almost 2 hour nap this afternoon. When he woke up and had his dinner, we all went to Cold Stone Creamery for our “dinner” – yes, we had ice cream for dinner. It was very good! After Robbie went to bed, I called my grandparents and the Rick (my brother) called me and we did a conference call to Dad (& Mom) to wish him a happy father’s day. We had a nice long chat, and then I stitched some more.
Off to bed now. . .
The rest of the week. . .
Well, it’s been a few days again. Sorry about that. I have no idea what we did at work on Wednesday, but at lunch we held a Hail & Farewell to say goodbye to 5 outstanding soldiers from the unit and welcome 1 new soldier. In the afternoon I took Robbie back to the doctor because he had woken up with his eye stuck shut from so much eye gunk. The doctor confirmed he wasn’t contagious (good thing or he couldn’t go to day care) and he also put in a referral for Robbie to see the pediatric allergist to see if maybe it’s allergies that’s causing Robbie to be so stuffed up all the time. In the evening I played with Robbie until his bedtime and then after he went to bed, I stitched and watched TV. Thursday morning we had a change of command ceremony, so it was an outdoor marching ceremony. It was already about 80 degrees out be ceremony start time at 0830. At least the speakers kept their speeches short. The ceremony went well and no one fell out from the heat. I practiced my scales and stuff in the afternoon and then after work I went and helped our neighborhood association’s treasurer balance the checkbook (she’s 81 and kind of forgetful about some things and likes help for balancing). Then when I got home, Ryan left as he had Men’s Group at the church. Robbie and I played until bedtime, and he must have been super tired. I put him in his high chair and went to make his oatmeal, came back about 2 minutes later and he was sound asleep. I put his oatmeal in the fridge and took him and put him in his crib – he didn’t even wake up. I finally had some dinner (about 7) and then I went and stitched until Ryan got home (about 9).
Friday morning there was another ceremony, but I wasn’t on this one as it was indoors in the orchestra pit at the theater where we do a lot of ceremonies. So I took care of a few things for Reenlistment and then practiced some more. When they got back from the ceremony, First Sergeant told us all to do really good details (our cleaning inside and lawn maintenance outside) and enjoy the rest of the day! So after details were done, I went to the PX to get some new shorts and a few more shirts – they’ve changed our travel clothes policy and we can wear shorts now, but they have to be dressy and all my shorts were too short to be appropriate and then I went home and took a shower, ate some lunch, went to my cross stitch store to pick up a few things that had been ordered for me, and then picked Robbie up early from day care. We came home and played until Ryan got home and then we went next door for our quarterly neighborhood association meeting. The meeting was short (I’m the secretary, so less writing for me!) and the food afterwards (everyone brings something) was wonderful as always! We’ve got some good cooks in our little neighborhood.
And now for Saturday. I had a parade and a ceremony for the Ridge Peach Festival in Trenton, SC. It was a small town parade/festival, but VERY well attended. They had donuts, juice, milk, and coffee for us when we arrived and after the parade (about 1 mile long) and ceremony (started early! and then we played about 20 minutes of patriotic music and marches after for a little concert) were over, they had BBQ sandwiches, chips, coleslaw, peach cobbler, and ice cream for us. It was all really good – I didn’t have any peach cobbler though. They had made so much that a lot of the people that live in the barracks and even some others took a bunch of sandwiches home with them for later. Once I got home, Ryan and Robbie and I went to the Commissary to do our weekly grocery shopping, and then home to play, eat dinner, sleep (Robbie), stitch (me), and watch TV. Ryan and Robbie had a guys day out and ran a few errands before going to a flea market to just look around.
Half-way done!!
I had my mid-term exam for my class tonight. Yes, already. It’s only an 8 week course and this was week 4. There were 20 multiple choice questions and I’m fairly confident that I got all of those right. And there were 2 essay questions. They were worth 10 points each and I’m sure I got at least some points on each of them. I don’t know about all 10 on either – they were wierd questions. One was a comparison one and the two things I was comparing was like comparing apples with horses. Oh yeah, the exam was open-book, too, so that was nice. I used the book for all the multiple choice questions, but I always picked an answer before I looked it up and I did about half without the book.
Today was Flag Day and the Army’s Birthday. The Brass Quintet played at the Army Birthday ceremony on post this morning, but I’m not in BQ anymore. Then the full band played at a Flag Day celebration at the Mall this afternoon. That went well and when we were done with that, we could go home for the day. We all had to drive there as there was no busses available for us. Once I got home, I took a shower and studied some for my exam and got mid-month bills paid. Then I went and got Robbie from day care and we came home and played for a while before dinner and class.
I’m going to go stitch now and actually get to bed at a decent time tonight!
Oh yeah!
I guess I’m starting to take after my Dad and his journal – and forgetting important things!
I had a phone call from my BROTHER last night! Now, he hardly ever calls me. It was about the time I normally call my parents (I call them each Sunday evening). Strange, but ok – he’s my brother and allowed to call me. So we chatted for a bit – talked about Robbie’s upcoming birthday (about 2 1/2 months away) and Rick (my brother) asked if we were planning on having a party and stuff. I said, yeah I had thought about it and he asked if he could come. I was like DUH!!!!! And then he started asking if I was going to invite anyone else. I said maybe some people from church or work and that I had been hinting to Mom & Dad that it would be nice if they could come down. And then Mom & Dad said hi. Rick had done a conference call and they were on the line too!!!! What a neat surprise. And then the even bigger surprise – Mom and Dad are coming down for Robbie’s birthday, too!!! The 3 of them are all flying down together and they’ll be here for almost a week over Labor Day weekend! Woohoooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Robbie’s gonna have a FUN 1st birthday.
armytbonegirl 