Ryan's in the Army, more specifically the Cavalry. Are there horses? Pffft, no. Do they still use riding jargon? Yes. Is that silly? I think so. Nevertheless, each year, soldiers and their spouses have the opportunity to earn their spurs in what is called a "Spur Ride" (go figure, yeah?). Soldiers earn them over a course of 2-4 days which include a road march, land navigation, other physical events, an obstacle course, let's not forget shooting things, and other tests of soldier abilities. Most pass but some drop out. All for the honor of wearing their spurs on certain days and to specific events.
But it doesn't just end there. The Army and soldiers encourage their wives to participate in the severely watered-down mock version of a Spur Ride so that they too can wear spurs. I earned mine when we were at Ft. Lewis, Wa.
Check it out. And while I could've gone through all the obstacles again for the fun of it, I decided not to. Instead, I proudly wore my spurs and took the girls to visit our Captain Mabry officiating.
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| They were so excited to see him. And I think he was happy to see his girlie girls too. |
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| This one cracks me up. Cora looks like complete and yet very trusting dead weight. |
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Elayna did not want to give up that water balloon, which would later be used to ambush a few wives moving from one cover to another while trying not to get pelted and soaked by a bunch of soldiers.
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| Playing a good ol' game of "Beat the Baby/Toddler". It's a favorite in our house. |
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Cora managed to finagle the Stetson from Elayna. It was probably while she was being beat.
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| She's such a Daddy's Girl. No really. |
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| And Elayna has her moments. |
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One of the perks of being married to the Troop Commander is getting to play with the big boy toys. There was some down time before the next group, so Ryan took me to the simulator so we could shoot things. It's a giant box with a tiny, tiny cockpit-like thing where we got to wear the gear and flip a bunch of switches. Folks, it was a giant video game. This is how it worked: I'd watch the screen which displayed a nightvision-like desert scene. It spanned what would be several acres and I had to find the one tiny target/moving vehicle, switch a bunch of controls I couldn't remember, and attempt to shoot it. I was really bad and only managed to kill one guy. Ryan is happy I'm not one of his soldiers. I too am very happy to not be responsible for the safety of our country.
It's a really bad photo because when I ask Ryan to take a picture, he takes it literally. To me, "take a picture" means take as many as you possibly can so that way there's bound to be at least a few good ones. To him, "take a picture" means take one. Literally "a" picture. That's the man I love.
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