Our Trooper

Our extended family has quite a few graduates this year to celebrate. One of those graduates in particular I want to honor and celebrate in today's post - my future brother-in-law.

Though most graduates are walking across the stage this June, Brandon finished his program at the Police Academy this past December right before Christmas. I have been itching to write a post about him and his accomplishments, but the holidays hit, then the loss of my dad, and after that just one thing after another to blog about. I hadn't forgotten about this guy though. We are so proud of how hard he worked to get where is as a Virginia State Trooper. 

Brandon definitely has a passion for the career field he's chosen and was anxious to get into the Police Academy to begin his training. There were so many other young men and women signed up that originally he thought he would have to wait until the next term to begin his training, but they put him on a wait list just in case. They told Brandon that they may call him at the last minute and to be ready if they did, so the days leading up were filled with a little uneasiness as we all waited (probably especially for my sister knowing she'd have to go a week without seeing him as he completed his initial training session). To his excitement and ours, they did call the morning of and off like a flash he went headed for Richmond in his Caprice. 

After two weeks of training down there, they sent him home to do the second phase of his course work in our area - some on the job learning while riding along with a seasoned Trooper. This opportunity also offered a trial basis for the guys to make sure they really wanted to do this type of work before they completed the more intense program to come. 

At the end of his shadowing, Brandon definitely wanted to stick with the course he'd chosen and back to the Police Academy he headed for a few more months. During the week he went through intense physical and academic training, but the academy was closed on the weekends so he got to come home to us, which definitely made my sister happy but the rest of us as well. You could tell that he was wore out from all those long days, but he stuck it out and did well.

After all that work, the members of 120th Basic Session was ready to graduate including our favorite trooper. Though there was no way my family could have gone because of the kids, I really wanted to head to Richmond to be there for the ceremony as they celebrated not only the ending of his training but also the beginning of his career. However, there were quite a few others who did make it to show their support and pride for him. 

Brandon with his Nanaw (Grandma) - A strong lady who's been there with him from the beginning and helped shape who he's become. 

Hands off ladies; this one's taken.

Courtney and Nanaw pinning on his badge.

Brandon loves cars but especially old police cars now. They could't pass up this photo opt.

Courtney was so happy for him to complete his program (and that he'd be coming home for good).

I'm not sure my mom could have been more proud of him either. He's already like a son to her. She made sure to be a part of this special day.

His dad was able to be there to support him as well.

Standing with his former roommate Sean (his future best man)

My grandparents couldn't be left out either. They headed to Richmond with the rest of the crew. Brandon sure is marrying into a family that already loves him and thinks the world of him.

Can't you tell?

Another one with Nanaw

When Brandon was little, he met this captain while in Sheriff's camp. How cool is it that he was there to shake Brandon's hand at the Trooper graduation?

As part of the graduation, the troopers are given their patrol cars to drive home in. My grandma talked about how impressive it was to see all those vehicles lined up behind each other, especially as they blared their sirens as they pulled away.

A couple big kids got their turn sitting in his police car too!

Watch out here comes NaNa!

Citizen's arrest!

We are thrilled for you Brandon and glad you are ours!

Soccer Season in Review

If you keep up with my blog, you might remember me talking a couple months ago about signing Caleb up for soccer this spring. And, if you look back to his birthday post in April, you'll see some pictures of his first game.

While Caleb's still a little young to get too involved in sports yet, the soccer program for four-year-olds here is designed so that there are no practices and they only have games once a week which was just our speed. We may not be willing to take on running out multiple times a week, but we could handle once a week for a couple months so that our boy could try something new.

Though you got the low down on how his first game turned out, I wanted to do a post showing how the rest of the season went as well. So here it is....

4/12 - At his first game it was so cold out that Caleb didn't really want to stay out there and play. Plus, he was on the hungry side since they play right at lunch time, which meant things didn't go great for our first soccer experience. However, the second time around went much better thankfully. It was a beautiful day, we got there early and ate concessions before he played, and he got a good pep talk about what he was supposed to do. We felt better prepared this go around and Caleb knew a bit more what to expect.

Even from week one to week two, we could see some improvement in Caleb's attentiveness and participation. Rather than just being in his own world like he was at his first practice, he knew what to do this time and actually got in the huddle. When the coach told them to do things, he tried to do them. We didn't have nearly as much complaining or frustration, which may have been partly because it was warmer than the previous practice and his belly was full.

The coach had the kids pretend to be airplanes.

Caleb still didn't understand that the whole "touch your toes" thing is supposed to be a stretch. See him on the end squatting to grab his feet?

It was so funny to watch the kids do jumping jacks. 

Guess he got tired....There he is sitting on his soccer ball. At least he made us giggle.

Hadley may have been the one who should have been signed up for soccer. She really enjoyed herself kicking around a ball we brought from home to keep her entertained.

Reid was there to support his brother too. He was glad NaNa showed up this time.

This parents were invited to join the practice at one point. Anyone who wanted to help was supposed to stand with their legs apart, letting the kids kick a ball through them and crawl through them before kicking a goal. Dave's coworker was one of the participants.

Caleb getting ready to crawl through Dave's friend's legs.

Good job, Caleb!

Look where he was in this huddle - front and center to hear the coach explain a warm-up game.

Every week they played a game where they pretended to be on a ship. The coach would yell different phrases and they had to react. For example, if he said, "THE CAPTAIN'S WIFE IS COMING!" They had to put their foot on the ball, their hands on their hips, and say "ooo la la." If he said, "swab the deck," all the kids were supposed to move their ball from side to side with their foot.

Uh oh! Whose that kid laying down on the job?

At the end of each "practice" was a short actual soccer game. The coach divided up the team into two groups so the kids could compete against each other and gave one team orange pennies to wear. The kids with the pennies were called the "Smashing Pumpkins" and the other side was known as the "Rotten Bananas." Caleb liked the names, and he definitely wanted to be a Smashing Pumpkin. I was hoping that he'd get one of those coveted orange pennies, but we gave him a little pep talk that it was okay if he didn't get one just in case. Thankfully, he got up there in time and got the team he wanted. Shew...sigh of relief.

Game time was the portion of soccer Caleb didn't care for. He didn't like giving up the ball he was using and everyone chasing after the same one. He also got discouraged that he couldn't run as fast as the other kids because they'd kick it before he could get there. I think being younger than everyone else may have had something to do with this frustration. He played longer at the second practice than he did the first game though, so I was happy to see we were making a bit of progress.

4/19 -  By the third week we were seeing even more growth with Caleb. Now that he was more comfortable and knew what to do, he was doing even better at the warm-up activities. Flying like an airplane, stretching, and the normal games were part of the routine. And, despite the fact that another team joined us that week because their coach was out of town, he stayed pretty focused.

Kick it!

Their coach really worked well with this age group.

Since it was the day before Easter, they pretended the cones were eggs and dribbled their balls while they hunted. Caleb liked this part and did well. 

Next it was time for the ship game. If the coach yelled, "The sea gulls are coming," the kids were supposed to cover their balls. If they didn't protect theirs in time, a coach would come swipe it. Caleb, the little ham that he is, would purposefully not cover his because he liked when they took it.

Hadley was once again brushing up on her skills too. When she turns four this girl will be ready; that's for sure.

Then came the dreaded actual game part at the end. Caleb got to be a Smashing Pumpkin again thankfully, but after that things went downhill. He was just so discouraged that he couldn't keep up and kept running off the field upset.

We encouraged him from the sidelines to keep trying, but his coach was wonderful at coming to check on him too and make sure he was included. 

Eventually though, he just needed a little Mommy time. It was a hard to know whether to just hold my sweet boy or push him to get back out there, but we tried to do a little of both. Maybe we just started him too young...

4/26 - The third week was basically the same routine.

One warm-up activity they played was when the coach yelled out a body part, the kids quickly had to touch the ball with that part.When the coach said "hands" though, the kids hand to jump up waving around and yell NOOO! Caleb didn't have a problem with keeping his hands off the ball, but there were a few kids who did.

Aunt Courtney bought him this dino water bottle as well as his shin guards and a ball his size for his birthday. She was happy to see him following in her footsteps by doing soccer.

Granny  had gotten Hadley a Mickey Mouse soccer ball for Easter the previous week so she was set this time. 

 

Though Hadley might have been too busy to watch sometimes, Caleb always had a cheering section. 

That week they also did a game where the coaches were crabs and the players had to try to dribble by them without getting caught. I don't think Caleb got the concept (or maybe he just wanted them to get his ball again), but he was the first one caught I think. That was okay with him though, and he became a crab too.

There was still some upset moments, but he was doing better and we stuck with it.

5/3 - On my birthday, Caleb played better than probably any other time. He told me he was going to stay on the field the whole time without any crying and he pretty much did up to the last couple minutes. Even during the actual game time he stuck it out and kept getting right back in there with just a little encouragement. I was proud of him and his good attitude was a good birthday present for me.

On no! Seagulls! (Caleb is the one near the net.)

Watch out for those crabs!

He never wanted the coaches to tie his penny so it was always huge on him. :)

The other spectators who were cheering on Caleb and enjoying the game with me made my day too. 

5/10 - I forgot my camera for one of the games, but it was the day Caleb had team pictures so I do have a couple pics to share with you still. It rained that day anyway and they called the game for lightening, so I guess it wasn't that big of a deal anyway. Granny had come to watch him though and he was not too interested in playing after they'd had to wait around so much for the pics beforehand. Grandma and Granddaddy came too but they were late and the game had already been canceled by the time they arrived. 

For comparison sake (and a giggle), I'm also including a "like father like son" throw-back pic of Dave's soccer pic when he was a kid that his Dad emailed me.

Who wears short shorts? :)

5/17 - The last game Dave and I got to see him play in this year did not go well. He cried that his legs were hurting and didn't want to play at all. He went out on the field long enough to get his penny and that was about it. Not a great end to the season, but what are you going to do?

At least I got a few good pictures of this cutie while we were just sitting around.

We were out of town for the last game, and Mom didn't end up taking him to his final practice because I packed the wrong shorts, he couldn't get his shoes on right over his thick socks, he was tired, and he said he didn't want to go. I told her just to skip it; it wasn't worth the fight, especially when he wasn't interested anyway. Hopefully in the fall though he'll be a little older and ready to try again. 

Overall, I think it was a good experience for him to be with other kids and have to listen to a coach directing him since he hasn't had any type of preschooling really yet where he's had to keep his attention on a teacher. He may not have understood all the rules and had some frustrations, but he made improvements so that's something. Next spring he said he might like to try t-ball so we'll see how it goes, but either way at least we get to enjoy the beautiful weather and have time together as a family on Saturdays.