Where to begin... I guess today really began last night when Ryan shaved his head with a razor instead of the buzzer... Yes, he "bic'd" it. I am not going to lie about this... it looks weird and feels even more strange... As the night continued on, we both hurried around the house trying to get everything he needed together for the big day. (Man there is a TON of stuff he has to take). He has so much stuff that he has 3 lockers! 1 outside locker and 2 inside lockers. We finally got to bed around 11pm... I woke up at 4:30am when Ryan was tossing and turning, anticipating the alarm going off any minute.
The Academy Class has to meet as a group before hand to make sure they look ok, and to march in together. They met at 5am and then the class began at 6:40am. I woke up to an alarm Ryan had set for me to come watch. (They invite friends, family and previous academy graduates to come at watch the torture of these poor boys and girls on their first day). So, I got up, and ran out the door to get there by 7am. As I was driving to the Goldenwest College campus, I looked at the clock and it was 6am!!! I am sure Ryan didn't mean to but he set the alarm for 5:30am rather than 6:30am! Oh well. Back to the house for another 45 minutes of restless sleep, or just rest...
So, I finally arrived at the academy and there they were - all 37 members of the Goldenwest Academy Class 135. They were lined up in 4 lines and they all looked so tense. They had about 12 RTO's (Recruit Training Officers) walking around yelling at them, and asking them why they were unprepared, why they looked so horrible, what they were there for, and on and on. I took the camera and just took as many pictures as I could.
I was hesitant to go just because I didn't want to see Ryan having to do push-ups or pull ups, or be yelled at. They seem so mean! However, he didn't have to do any of that! He was so well prepared that he didn't have to do any push ups! I am sure he was glad too! There were a few that just couldn't get anything right...
The head RTO asked me if I was doing ok, as he walked by a few of us just watching. I said, "yes.... sir!" He laughed and said, you aren't part of the group, you don't have to say 'sir'! It was funny and everyone around me laughed too... I had to say that the RTO's seem to be very nice, just not when they are yelling in your face...
Well, the morning has passed, and now I suspect that he is eating his lunch and feeling a little relaxed as the first day is about 1/4 of the way done... They told them he probably won't be home until 8pm tonight... Makes for a long day!
Well, I took a TON of pictures, so check out the Police Academy blog I created for his class to see updates on the class. (I added it as a link on our blog) I will post personal updates about Ryan on our blog but most of the posts will probably be on his Academy Class Blog!
The 6 month journey has begun! Start counting down, and mark your calendars - July 25th is graduation!!! Already looking forward to it!!!
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. 
