Brave Girls

This past weekend Ryan and I watched Sydney and Haylee, Aaron and Jenn's girls. We had a blast! We watched them Friday night so Aaron and Jenn could have a night to themselves. We had a slumber party! Haylee was funny and kept saying "there is no room for me!", as she'd look at the twin trundle bed. (The bed underneath had not been pulled out - she didn't like that). I let them sleep in the big queen bed and they thought they were in heaven! They got to sleep in the BIG bed! What fun!

Saturday Aaron and Jenn came over and then we all, minus Ryan, went to Grandma and Grandpas for swimming and Pei Wei for dinner! They all spent the night at our house and joined us for church on Sunday. After church Ryan was putting away some of his police stuff and Sydney thought the handcuffs were pretty neat! Ryan handcuffed her and showed Haylee the proper way to lead her around - all through the house like she was under arrest! It was pretty funny. Haylee wasn't sure she wanted to be handcuffed but then she said, "I will be a brave girl!" She got handcuffed. They decided they'd rather cuff their ankles though and take turns letting each other out with the key.

We had a fun time all weekend! We are so happy to have family close by! We love you guys!

My best tan ever!

This is what a fair skinned person's tan looks like when you fall asleep in the sun...

Fearsome Foursome Reunite

So, Amy, Tiffany, Amy and I all planned a fearsome foursome reunion! We hiked down to Havasuipai and it was amazing! We had such a fun time together! Can't wait to do it again!

The Cook

So, we've been busy... But, just so you don't have to keep looking at the pancakes, here's the guy who cooked 80 lbs. of bacon and a million pancakes and his cute wife!

Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser - April 26th

Ryan and I would like to invite you ALL to the academy Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser! I am putting on the event with the help of some people on the family support group. Stacey made the cute tickets, which you'll have to see in person. We are selling $5 tickets for individuals and $20 family tickets. We realize you all won't be able to attend, but we'd love to have you if you can! (Or you can just make a donation even if you can't attend!)

The Pancake Breakfast will be held at RUSH PARK in Rossmore on Sat. April 26th from 9am - 10:30am. Please let us know if you would like to purchase ticket and/or attend.

All proceeds will go toward Academy functions and events, including graduation.
THANK YOU for your support through the academy thus far! Only 14 more weeks to go... ;)

Ryan's Academy Update

Well, I have been so busy taking photos and updating the academy site that I have neglected our own. Ryan has been doing great in the acadmey and he really loves it! He is currently ranked 4th in the class! He really wants to move up, but the adivise of his mentors is that he shouldn't be in the top 5 otherwise they will expect too much out of him when he starts working, and that isn't realistic... Hard to not want to be at the top when you can do it!

Anyway, here are just a few pics of the 5k run he and his class did this past weekend. They did great! They ran in their formation the entire time! Ryan often ran in the very front or very back as a road guard - to protect their group from the traffic. They did great and looked pretty good too!

 

Elephant Seals in December

These are Elephant Seals. I was inspired to write about these huge and amazing creatures when I heard that a whale had washed up on the beach here in Huntington. Last December Ryan and drove up the coast to Cambria and Morrow Bay for a little vacation. We visited some neat places like Hearst Castle, and this beach which is a known breading area for the unusual elephant seals. There were SOOO many elephant seals. My parents had been several months before us, and advised us to take binoculars to view all the seals. We weren't sure what to expect, but we sure didn't need binoculars! There were so many of them, and a lot of babies - which were still quite large for a baby.

Well, while we were there we witnessed a fight between two of the larger males. The photo above is the beginning of the fight. They both reared the heads back and made these horrible noises that sounded a lot like a huge belch. (Maybe Sydney can swallow some soap again to show us how it sounded...) Anyway, it was pretty amazing to watch and the only sad thing was that a little baby got trampled under the large males as they scurried back and forth at each other.

Amazing animals, huh? Wish I was brave enough to get scuba certified to actually go into the ocean and take a closer look at those amazing ocean animals! Next time you drive up the coast, make sure you stop to take a look at the elephant seals. You won't be dissapointed!