Posting Colors

Ryan's getting to do some very cool things during his Freshman year. In baseball, he's getting to play ball in Baum stadium, and having a locker with his name on it. Pretty neat for a boy who grew up cheering for the Hogs. And with ROTC, he's recently been chosen to be on the color guard for a few events. Saturday he got to present the colors during the last home football game. Which, in any Hog fan's mind, would typically be the pinacle of all events at the UofA, if we weren't having a horrible year in football. Which we are. No matter that we lost only by 4 to the #7 team in the nation. We'll have a new coach by next week. Even though the game was cold, we got to see our little boy out on the field, sat in the most comfortable seats we've ever been in, and put away at least one whole bag of Kettle Korn!

 

Quote of the Day

 

Ryan had his first training exercises with ROTC this past weekend. We didn't know exactly what it would entail but we all were under the assumption it would be like a short, hard adventurous boot camp with little sleep and hard conditions outside for the weekend. I was happy to get this first text on Saturday afternoon....MAYBE I was trying to be too encouraging.

 

Missing Ryan

The blog is getting lopsided with posts about the girls. Ryan doesn't sleep here but he sure is on our mind alot. The day before we moved into our event he was put in an ice bath after near heat exhaustion on the baseball field. When you 18 year old calls you in tears at 9pm, it's just about all you can take. My mind and emotions were already in a tailspin readying for our move in and all that entails. Richard rushed to Fayetteville and met Ryan and the baseball trainer at the ER. Ryan was dehydrated, possibly from taking some meds for mono that could have altered his body temp or possibly for catching for 3 straight hours in the bullpen with 100 degree temps. He was given a 4 day reprieve from physical activity. Richard put him in bed around 1am and then met the ROTC commanders a5 5am (Ryan's PT time) and explained the situation. They were understanding, but stoic, since Ryan hadn't revealed he had been sick at this point.

 

It's been two weeks now and from my point of view the scare on that Tuesday night has kept Ryan resting more than a normal freshman boy and hopefully making some good choices with food, drink, etc. He's still fighting fatigue (I say that's from walking up and down from Pomfret) and seems to be more susceptible to colds and crud. OR, this could all be because he's a slightly germ-a-phob and now lives in close quarters with so many. In fact, when he first got diagnosed with mono he huffed, "Someone must have drunk after me!"

 

I'm thrilled that he's visited at least 3-4 Bible Studies and guys groups, and is making the "party school" exactly what he wants. When people ask me about him I tell them, "He's having the time of his life." I'm so thankful. Really, he's grounded and knows what he wants and it won't keep him from all bad decisions, but it will help him make a lot of good ones.

 

This picture is from his last night in the Upper Room. He spoke on being prepared. Interesting choice of scripture with the 12 virgins...but the point being, we need to be ready at all times for the Lord. I couldn't have asked for a better message from anyone.

Missing my boy.

Quote of the Day

From Lauren's FB page:

Lauren Rogersposted toRyan Rogers

August 19 via mobile

Brush your teeth. Wear deodorant. Don't smoke. Go to class. Be nice to Seth. Clean your room. Do your laundry. Don't steal. Don't let others steal from you. Keep up with your stuff. Be nice to girls. But not too nice. Work hard. Don't eat too much. Wake up on time. Call me. Text me. Have fun. Come home. But not too often. Your bed is comfortable.

I love you.

Ryan Rogers You just made me smile so much! XOXO

Curly goes to College

We loaded up and drove Ryan (and Curly) to Fayetteville on Wednesday. We took a family vote on whether or not Curly would make the trip and well, our hunk of a son didn't think he would cramp his style too much. Maybe he doesn't realize just how small a twin bed is, either way, they're both now at home in Pomfret Hall on the U of A campus.

We made a day of it on Wednesday, moving him in with the help of his assigned "buddy" (I'm sure there's a more military-sounding word for this) from the ROTC. Jeff is a senior from Westfork. He helped us unload in a record 20 minutes and then stayed around to answer questions from Richard and Ryan. Seth moved in at the same time, and we got to meet his dad and brother too.

We hung out in Fayetteville most of the day and then met our dearest friends for a 2 hour catch-up dinner that night at CFA. So thankful they had a back room that we could fit the 12 of us in. It was a great ending for the day before we had to actually drop Ryan off and say "goodbye." Really, it kind of feels like he's at camp. Afterall, he's one hour and 15 minutes from our front door. We did get a little choked up, but know that he's close and in good hands.

Thursday Ryan had ROTC meetings from 7-3. I wasn't sure if he would call us and tell us he had no idea what he had gotten himself into or not, but the only words we got were, "I have so much to tell you about today, it was 8 hours but seemed like 10 minutes. I loved it but I can't talk now, I'm busy." Yep, that was our first phone call.

Friday Ryan had his official PT test and he did great. What a blessing that it's not 100 degrees like it's been all summer. He not only survived the test but passed. A second phone call included times and stats from the test with Richard and an explanation that he couldn't talk more because he needed to shower, eat and be in uniform and out the door back to ROTC in 30 minutes...

Friday afternoon Richard got the third call. His commanders had chosen him as the squadron leader for his new class to attend a "leader's meeting" with the colonels, and upper classmen leaders to evaluate the first two days. He also let us know that his baseball tryout was at 1:15 at Baum Stadium. After his tryout he went to the football stadium and watched the HOGS scrimmage...like he owned the place.

On Friday night we Skyped with Ryan, he changed shirts while talking to us because he and Seth were headed out the door to a Friday night party at the union with other students. And the reason he was busy on Thursday night...they had game night in their room with 10 other people, including their RA. He was offered the job by the Razorbacks to be a bullpen catcher. He had to catch RHP Stanek (which, as I've been told, throws in the mid 90s). He visited with all the coaches and the other players that were there and he's pretty much having a BIG TIME at school.

All this, 3 days before school starts! Richard reminded me that our fun in college pretty much didn't have anything to do with classes either. True.

So, the transition hasn't been hard for him, he's thrown himself into the mix and is having a blast. What more could we ask for?...a phone call where he acts like he's missing us maybe?

Packing up

Packing for our trip to the Hill.

ER trip

Getting one last trip to the ER before going off to college...

Ryan was biking for a few days with Trey and being all boy decided to take the ramps on the trails around town. He cleared a hard one on Lauren's bike and then tried it on Trey's bike. Trey is a foot taller than Ryan, and the bike is quite a bit heavier...evidentally it didn't go over as well. Richard was in Texas, I was in Russellville when the wreck happened on Monday. Trey wrapped his shirt around Ryan's head to stop the bleeding and then helped him get home (they were pretty far from their car and in the middle of town) and clean it up while I was wrapping up my work and getting home.

They don't know what he hit his ear on, but it cut the ear right in the crease. The biggest blessing of the day was that our doctor and friend was in the hospital at the time. She called us back after I text-ed her to say we were going to be waiting over an hour to get it stiched up. Just a little painful cleaning and then some glue and he was good to go.

Our biggest concern is his baseball tryout, putting a helmet on his tender head. ...Just because we needed more excitement...Ryan had lost his wallet last week. One of the first things he needs to do hen we get to school is get a student ID. With a big scrape on his face. To use for the next 4 years.

Road Trip

Ryan goes to college next month. 

This month he stretched his wings and went on a roadtrip with Luke to the Grand Canyon. They also got tickets to an Arizona Diamondbacks game on the 12th row! They plotted, planned and saved for this trip. They did get our blessing, but I admit I was a little nervous.

More Grad pics

5-18-12

Diamondbacks 2012

Cannot find adequate words to express my feelings about these boys. The Diamondbacks were a competitive baseball team from age 7 - 12. Five years of going to weekend tournaments and summer vacations spent at ball parks from Orlando to Kansas City made a lot of wonderful memories and good friends. All these young men are good guys, have stayed out of trouble and have been making good decisions. All but Jordan are seniors and this may be the last time we are all in the same place at the same time. I hope not but I started envisioning this senior picture last semester and this is exactly what I had in mind. I'm so thankful that our family got to be a part of something so special.

It's Official

Fortunately his picture goes with the Commencement article and not the Sheriff's Report.

Spring Sports

It's been a really fun semester watching Ryan play baseball, Lauren and Erin play soccer together and Sheridan play soccer on the weekends. These last months have flown by with games and tournaments all running together. Neither the baseball team or the soccer team made it past the first round in the state tournament and Sheridan's team didn't win a game all season, but it didn't devastate us at all because everyone enjoyed their teams and their accomplishments. I like it that way, and I'm sure glad we're done driving to Mena!

High School Sports - Senior Year

Can't put into words what it means to know Ryan is wrapping up his sports as a high school senior. Last night was Senior Night, it was a simple ceremony but meaningful for all involved. 6 of these boys have played ball together since they were seven years old. I've got to say that although we have district, regionals and state tournament to go, it will be good to continue closing the door on high school for my very determined son.

Last week we learned he won one of the ROTC scholarships to U of A. He interviewed and applied for this scholarship at the end of last year. We've been "on hold" waiting for news about this full-ride scholarship. When he got the official offer, we learned it is a three-year scholarship.  We'll continue applying for what we can receive for his first year. School fees for a year are around $21,000. We're all relieved and happy that he has chosen to pursue an education in Fayetteville. It's one hour and 15 minutes from our house, and he'll be a third generation graduate from the University.

PROM - Ryan 2012 - Senior Year

Ryan deserves his own post for Prom. He asked a wonderful girl to go with him, independently chose a tuxedo in silver, and had a fabulous time! Most importantly, I did not have to fix his hair or glue his nails on. Because of that, I happily offered to return his tux on Monday.

The Mockingbird Lane guys...

DBACKS - Trenton, Andre, Trey, Ryan, Michael and Dillon...all playing CHS baseball this season together. Ahhh.