Welcome to Rosehill Academy...
Where both living and learning occur 24 hours a day. This is the personal blog of the Cannon family, used to keep up to date on DDC3's actions in Iraq, and for him to easily see what his family has been up to while he's gone. I'm Joleen, your hostess.
I just got back from taking Devereaux, Nora, and Kate to the Alexandria airport. I had to wake up at 3 am for that little endeavor. Not fun, at all.
But, for the most part we all had a good time this weekend. They got in Friday afternoon and DC and Brian were thrilled to have them. Brian, despite the fact that he hadn't seen his grandparents in about six months went right up to them and gave them a big hug. Nora insists that I'd been coaching him. It's not true. He's just that cute.
Saturday was the big birthday day. We combined the boys' birthdays until one big party in honor of Dev leaving and the grandparents being here. To say that there was an abundance of presents would be an understatement. I don't even want to think about how much money we spent on the boys, much less the combined cost of all the presents and party supplies. It was a hit.
Sunday Dev decided that he wanted to show his parents "The Box." Now, if you've never talked to Dev about what he does down here in the Armpit of the Army, you have no idea what the Box is. Basically, it's where he goes and pretends to be a Palestinian, Iraqi, or other insurgent for the Army boys to practice on. The Box contains several small towns and other various things to make it interesting.
It gives him an interesting perspective. The Army has trained him to be a terrorist, basically, and now he's going off to fight terrorists.
Anyway, Sunday was Box day. We drove around, trying to show them Sugart-Gordan and letting them admire the signs written in Arabic and English. Dev had a great deal of fun pointing out where some of his more fun stories have taken place. Unfortunately, Shugart-Gordan was closed, so they didn't get to see much more than woods, wild horses, and the Geranimo Drop Zone.
And it's at the DZ that all the fun really happened. Dev, in his infinite wisdom, figured that if a Humvee can go around the DZ, our lighter van should have no problem. It slipped his mind that Humvees are meant to go off-roading and full-sized vans are not. Humvees, while heavier, also have tires that support their weight in sand. Guess what? Our van doesn't.
The first time... Yes, the first time, we got stuck, we got out pretty easily. Dev, who was driving, decided that we should try the other sand road, because surely the less steep of the two hills would be better. We, of course, got stuck. So, Dev floored the gas, trying to back out of the problem. Apparently, no one told him that that was the wrong thing to do. By the time he gave up on that idea, the rear axle was buried.
So, Nora, Kate, the boys, and I walked around the airfield, finding interesting things that the soldiers had left behind. Kate reminded her brother not to leave tabasco sauce laying around in Iraq, because that will tell the bad guys that he was there.
After an hour and forty minutes, they both had a nice little collection including something we thought was a gas cap, some type of practice round, and all sorts of artillery shells. And were very disappointed to find that they were allowed to take none of it out of the Box because it is all considered property of the US Army.
Monday, Memorial Day, was much more laid back, especially for me. I stayed home while the rest went in search of a swimming hole. They didn't find one, and the paddle boat rental was closed, so that frustrated Kate greatly. A lazy evening helped all around, though, and Devereaux greatly enjoyed the ginger chicken I had made for dinner.
And, that was our weekend. Doesn't it sound like we had fun?
I just got back from taking Devereaux, Nora, and Kate to the Alexandria airport. I had to wake up at 3 am for that little endeavor. Not fun, at all.
But, for the most part we all had a good time this weekend. They got in Friday afternoon and DC and Brian were thrilled to have them. Brian, despite the fact that he hadn't seen his grandparents in about six months went right up to them and gave them a big hug. Nora insists that I'd been coaching him. It's not true. He's just that cute.
Saturday was the big birthday day. We combined the boys' birthdays until one big party in honor of Dev leaving and the grandparents being here. To say that there was an abundance of presents would be an understatement. I don't even want to think about how much money we spent on the boys, much less the combined cost of all the presents and party supplies. It was a hit.
Sunday Dev decided that he wanted to show his parents "The Box." Now, if you've never talked to Dev about what he does down here in the Armpit of the Army, you have no idea what the Box is. Basically, it's where he goes and pretends to be a Palestinian, Iraqi, or other insurgent for the Army boys to practice on. The Box contains several small towns and other various things to make it interesting.
It gives him an interesting perspective. The Army has trained him to be a terrorist, basically, and now he's going off to fight terrorists.
Anyway, Sunday was Box day. We drove around, trying to show them Sugart-Gordan and letting them admire the signs written in Arabic and English. Dev had a great deal of fun pointing out where some of his more fun stories have taken place. Unfortunately, Shugart-Gordan was closed, so they didn't get to see much more than woods, wild horses, and the Geranimo Drop Zone.
And it's at the DZ that all the fun really happened. Dev, in his infinite wisdom, figured that if a Humvee can go around the DZ, our lighter van should have no problem. It slipped his mind that Humvees are meant to go off-roading and full-sized vans are not. Humvees, while heavier, also have tires that support their weight in sand. Guess what? Our van doesn't.
The first time... Yes, the first time, we got stuck, we got out pretty easily. Dev, who was driving, decided that we should try the other sand road, because surely the less steep of the two hills would be better. We, of course, got stuck. So, Dev floored the gas, trying to back out of the problem. Apparently, no one told him that that was the wrong thing to do. By the time he gave up on that idea, the rear axle was buried.
So, Nora, Kate, the boys, and I walked around the airfield, finding interesting things that the soldiers had left behind. Kate reminded her brother not to leave tabasco sauce laying around in Iraq, because that will tell the bad guys that he was there.
After an hour and forty minutes, they both had a nice little collection including something we thought was a gas cap, some type of practice round, and all sorts of artillery shells. And were very disappointed to find that they were allowed to take none of it out of the Box because it is all considered property of the US Army.
Monday, Memorial Day, was much more laid back, especially for me. I stayed home while the rest went in search of a swimming hole. They didn't find one, and the paddle boat rental was closed, so that frustrated Kate greatly. A lazy evening helped all around, though, and Devereaux greatly enjoyed the ginger chicken I had made for dinner.
And, that was our weekend. Doesn't it sound like we had fun?
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