What I Want My Son to Know...

When Collin was born I was overwhelmed with a sense of responsibility; not just responsibility for his care, but responsibility for the man he would one day become.  I knew much of that would be taken care of by Robert, but I also knew, that as his mom, time with me would be important, and our relationship would be the foundation for any to come.  I knew I would have a much different perspective on raising a man than Robert, and that would make us a great team.  So, here is what I want my son to know...

- He is loved, treasured and wanted
- WHO he is, and WHOSE he is
- Gentleness, peacefulness and kindness are not unmanly, and are much needed in our society
- Reach for the stars in all that you do
- Your Dad and I are ALWAYS on your side, we are your biggest fans
- You can ALWAYS come home, no matter what
- There is a consequence, good or bad, for every decision, so each decision should be made wisely.
- There really is life after high school, as a matter of fact, I would argue life starts after high school.
- Remember to treat each girl you date like you want the guy who is dating your future wife to treat her
- Take a lesson of what NOT to do from our pop culture icons.
- Just because a girl makes herself available, fawns over you for attention and acts inappropirately doesn't mean you should take advantage of the situation.
- Girls are manipulative, WATCH OUT
- ALWAYS be a gentleman, chivalry is not dead
- Treat everyone you encounter with respect
- Expect others to treat you with respect, including women.  It is just as important for a woman to respect a man as it is for a man to respect a woman.
- DREAM, and dream BIG, Then go chase them, chase those dreams wherever they lead you, whether you catch them or not you'll be happy with where you land and have had one heck of a journey.
- You can do anything you set your mind to
- Be happy, but not at the expense of someone else
- Respect your elders, not just because they have earned it (which they have), but because there are elders you love, and you hope when people your age encounter your grandparents that they treat them respectfully.
- Be grateful, grateful for what you have you never have to look far to find someone who has it worse.  Be grateful for what others do for you it is out of love, respect, admiration for you that it is done.
- Live with dignity in the way you act, the way you dress, the way you speak.
- Stand up for yourself, you are worth it
- Stand up for others, they are worth it too
- Learn how to cook
- Learn how to do laundry
- Respect people in authority, this will serve you well in many arenas of life.  This is not to say you never question, but question with respect and continue to respect them even when you disagree.
- Travel, see the world, see the United States, learn about other cultures and people.
- Do not isolate yourself from people in need, YOU may be just who they need.
-Know God, Love God, follow his guidance and direction for your life and you'll never go wrong.

                                               

Our First Visitors

Just as we finished settling into our 2nd home in Maryland we had company.  It's always great for family to visit, but it's even more fun when we're showing them around a new place.  Robert's parents and grandmother came to visit for his birthday in July.  We had a wonderful time...

Touring DC...Collin and Nana were planning out our day,

 which included a stop for hot dogs outside of the museum.

 Then we were in.  Collin was fascinated by all of the rockets and planes.

 He enjoyed looking through the telescope and learning about the stars and planets.

After a tour of the solar system, and the history of aviation we headed across the mall to the Museum of Natural History.  

 Collin couldn't wait to see the dinosaurs.  The look on his face when he saw the skeletons was priceless.

 He thought they were HUGE, and quite impressive

 Legare really liked them too.

 Though she did not particularly care for the drive home.  So, Grandma Mary Lou held her hand and sang lullabies the entire way home.

Robert was able to give everyone a tour of his new office/school spaces.  This is really neat because there is so much history in that building.  So many of our country's greatest have been through this school, but what fascinates the children the most isn't the names on the wall or the collection of airplanes in the cases, but the airplane they can "ride" that's in the lunch room.

Another neat part of our tour of TPS were the items from the space program.  Robert's grandfather was the maintenance officer for the squadron that was responsible for picking up the Mercury capsules when they returned from space.  Robert's mom was able to show Collin the patches and plaques from when his great-grandfather worked with the Mercury program.

After all of this the fun wasn't over yet.  Robert and Collin made breakfast for everyone.

Then it was off to the pool so the kiddos could show off their new-found water prowess

Legare and Collin were able to end the week playing some board games with Grandma Mary Lou.  I think she loves to play as much as they do.

It's great time that they have together.

We had a wonderful visit and can't wait for a new round of adventures the next time they come to visit.

Football is Here....

...Flag Football that is.  Yes, Collin is trying out a new sport this fall.

He is playing for the Redskins, and yesterday was his first practice.  They started off with some words from the coaches,

and then warmed up with some jumping jacks and a run.

Legare enjoyed hanging out with daddy while Collin practiced.

Collin got to try his hand at quarterback...HIKE!

Then it was time for some defense

Legare wasn't too interested in watching the practice, 

 she thought the playground was much more fun

 So up and down she goes

 Collin stayed in the mix for the entire practice.  He was able to try 4 different positions.

 He was hot, sweaty and tired, but had a great time!!  He can't wait for his first game

Papa and Kaka are Here!!

Even though we are further away we have been getting visitiors. Robert's parents were able to come for his birthday in July.  It was a wonderful visit (post to come, yes, I'm behind).  My parents were here last week. It was so much fun to have them in our "new" home and show them around our "new" town.

Since Robert has started school we were able to show them where he is working as well as take them to the hangar.

There is a plaque for each class to go through test pilot school since it's inception.  What is really neat about this is that Robert's name will hang on a wall with John Glenn, Alan Shepherd, Chuck Yeager and the like.  It was so cool to walk down the hall and see all of the names of these great men.  

Then it was off to see the aircraft...

This is the Lacota (I have no idea if that is spelled correctly).  It is the 2nd aircraft Robert will be flying at TPS.  Yes, it is as small as it looks.  Robert says it is lots of fun to fly though.

Everybody got a turn in the cockpit.  Legare looks a little more apprehensive than she was.  By the end of our excursion she was telling me that she's going to fly planes when she grows up (just not in so many words).

  Our pilots in training.  

Our tour of the school was great and complete with a peak of the classrooms and Robert's desk, where he is spending lots and lots of time these days.  It's going to be a crazy year for all of us, but so worth it.

No trip to our house is complete without a drive to DC.  This time it was Georgetown, and a walk through the DC cupcakes store.

 Yes, this was the line...

And we were in it :)  It actually wasn't horrible.  We only waited about 30 mins, which I hear is not bad at all.  The weather was nice and we had some time to just stand and chat as we inched forward.

The kiddos (and the adults) thought it was well worth the wait. There was also some shopping and a wonderful lunch at Clyde's.  Can't wait to go back.  We also had time to show mom and dad around our new little town and all the neat things about it.  Collin and my dad caught a movie (Planes), with popcorn and a coke.  Legare and I showed mom the cool downtown areas here (Robert was studying).  

It was a great visit and we're so glad they were able to spend some time with us.  We can't wait for them to come back!

Playdate Fun

Two things I learned this week: good friends will always be good friends no matter distance or time and one great advantage to having children a little further apart in age is that they each get their "own" time.

After Legare and I dropped off Collin at school on Tuesday we headed toward DC to meet some dear friends of ours we haven't seen awhile.  We were off to a playdate, just the two of us.  After some adventure in finding a playground (please note that just b/c it is a park, does not mean there is a playground and young children don't find green space entertaining for all that long.  Melissa and I were able to find a good enough spot for our lunch at the park outing.

 

The kiddos ate and played for hours.  

They never got tired of the slide and found it very funny when they "ran" into each other coming down.

Legare would yell "wheeee" as she came down the slide.

See, girls like to sticks too :)

Up and down and all around...

Tommy even got to try out the monkey bars.  He did a great job!

Our crazy kiddos had a wonderful time, and Melissa and I got to enjoy a morning of catching up.  

We left in time to get Collin from school, while he was a little disappointed he missed the park, he said he had an awesome day at school.  Now, Legare and I are planning our next adventure.