The first event that I forgot to cover was Jaynee's day as a Soldier. I started writing the blog the day after the event, but never finished it because of issues with the internet, and time. I even had a title which was called "G.I. Jaynee". In a nutshell, Jaynee got all dressed up and played Soldier until a thunderstorm arrived which caused the afternoon's activities to be canceled for safety. In the morning Jaynee learned about the communications equipment that a headquarters would have deployed, saw what living quarters look like when training in the field, practiced close quarters firing drills with blanks, and then practiced clearing rooms. She was on her lunch break when the announcement came that thunderstorms were approaching. She missed out on a simulation of a vehicle roll-over, paint ball shooting at pop up targets, and weapon qualification on the electronic version of a weapons range. Jaynee looked the Soldier by wearing a set of my combat uniform, and then she was issued as part of the activity a Kevlar helmet, an armor vest, knee and elbow pads, and a rubber mold version of an M-4 rifle.
My parents made their way from Missouri to spend 2 weeks with us. They were able to participate in some of the activities for both Sofia and Emma. While my dad was here Jaynee put the two of us to work. We were assigned to install a ceiling fan in our loft which required a complete rewiring of the upstairs electrical outlets for all the lights and to install a garbage disposal under her kitchen sink. As part of the kitchen sink we also installed a new faucet. Jaynee wanted us to do more, but I think my dad appreciated just having time to read and play with the girls.
After visiting with the judge, the next big step was have Sofia sealed to us in the temple. That occurred with my parents present in Columbia, South Carolina. Sofia is now ours for all time and eternity.
On the way home from the temple, Jaynee saw a sign for the Columbia Zoo, so for Sofia's 2nd birthday we returned to Columbia to visit the zoo. The girls loved the animals. The only negative thing was our timing. We happened to be at the zoo when lots of school age children were attending. It made it a little crowded. Besides the crowds, the girls loved all the animals, especially the elephants, tigers, and monkeys. Sofia loved the gorilla exhibit, but the gorillas were not out at the time we visited.
For Sofia's birthday party, we just had a simple party with my parents. We had tacos which recently is a favorite meal of Sofia. After dinner we had cake, rather an ice cream cake that we picked up after returning from the zoo. Sofia's gifts were a whole different story. How do you give gifts to a 2 year old, but not to her younger sister? So we picked up things that they could both play with but which Sofia would have more interest. She got some building blocks, a wagon, a flashlight, an old fashion wood game, a bike helmet, a sprinkler head to run through, Mr. Potato Head, and some clothes. It seemed like Sofia and Emma enjoyed this day.
Emma did have a day in the spotlight. Unfortunately for her, it required surgery for her to have 15 minutes of attention. We have tubes placed in her ears to help drain liquid that has been having problems draining. A few months ago as part of a hearing test she could not hear due to fluid in her ears. The surgery was a success, and the results are coming in. The afternoon of the surgery, Emma was able to actually say Sofia's name and it sounded like Sofia, not "Soso". Each day since her surgery she has been saying words clearer. Now all we got to do is get her to participate in speech therapy so she doesn't have to attend any more.
Well, I guess that is all from Georgia. I will do better over the next couple of weeks. Here are a couple of pics of the girls being themselves.
Congrats! Looks like you guys are keeping busy! Cute girls!
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