Fallen Hero 5K

On October 15, 2009 we lost one of our pilots, Capt. Nick "Rev" Giglio, when he crashed his jet off of the South Carolina coast.  USC's ROTC held their first annual "Fallen Hero" walk and, even though our guys are currently deployed, we, in addition to members of the 55th and 79th squadrons, walked in memory and honor of Nick and in support of Leigh and their children.  It is a reminder of how much a fighter squadron becomes like family and how dangerous our husbands' jobs really are.  Fighter pilot wives are the only ones who truly know what we go through on a day to day basis and I am so thankful to have them around for support - through the good and bad.  I love my 77th girls.  I feel so blessed to be in such a tight knit community!!! 

Our group.  We had shirts made specifically for this 5K.

(click on the photograph to find the boys and me!)

The design on the back of the shirt (the front has our squadron patch)

The boys waiting to start the race.  What troopers!  We had to wake up at 5:30 am in order to meet everyone and be in Columbia by 7:00 am for the race.  The boys usually don't wake up until around 8:00 am so this was an early morning for all of us but so worth it!

My boys in their Air Force Academy shirts and American flag.  Daddy would be proud!

Yes Sir, Please

Instead of using "Yes" Gavin has now resorted to saying, "Yes Sir, please."  I am trying to teach him the difference between sir and m'am and occassionally it turns into, "Yes Sir, please M'am".  It's so cute.  His vocabulary has been growing in leaps and bounds.  There was a time when I was worried about his speech but he's now speaking amazingly well.  I can't wait for Brett to come back and talk to him!

Andrew loves shoes.  He's learned where I keep his shoes and will go into the drawer and bring me a pair, always matching, and want me to put them on.  When I refuse, he attempts to put them on himself and this is what we end up with - backwards sandals.  

Here he is all dressed and ready for church - with a belt!

The weather has been so nice ... not too hot, not too cold.  We love to go on evening walks and Gavin loves to wear his sunglasses!

I can't help it.  I love to watch the boys wrestle on the bed.  They are so cute and get so happy bouncing around.  Andrew has now learned a defense mechanism.  He drops to all fours when he sees Gavin charging him.  It is hilarious and I'll have to get it on video at some point.  Words don't do it justice. 

Friends from Korea, Melanie, Joe, and Tripp, drove through town this past week.  We met for Mexican food and tried to take a picture of the kids together.  As you can see from the following photos the Rurka boys were more interested in wrestling.  These pictures are in chronological order.

For the past few weeks, everytime I put Gavin's shoes on he asks, "Gram house?".  We had gotten so used to going to Savannah every other week that I think he missed spending time with Gram, Gramps, and their toys.  Luckily our schedules matched and we were able to go for a short weekend visit.  What a blast!  The boys got to jump (very briefly) in the pool, Gavin got his fill of Gram and Gramps, and we went to a festival at Forsythe Park.  So much fun!

Sunday evening we had a dinner playdate and had a couple of friends over.  Here are all of the kiddos sitting around the table eating pizza, apple slices, and cookies.  Yummy!

Lazy Monday Morning

It's spring break at the boys' school so rather than rushing to eat and be out the door by 8:45, we've been taking it easy in the mornings.  Here are the boys playing in our bed.  I just love them soooooooo much!

The Rurka Boys - Watch out world!