In the Army Now

Evan's new next door neighbor friend, Ryan, just turned 10 and invited Evan to his cool Army Boot Camp birthday party.  Ryan's dad was in the army and acted as their drill sergeant for the day.  The boys thought it was awesome and didn't even mind a little physical labor or the heat.  Evan has really gotten a taste for military life lately in both the army and the air force, and I think he likes it.  No, I am not sure how I feel about that as his mom.  Haha!  But honestly, I would be a proud mom if he chose to serve his country one day even if it did make me a nervous wreck.

First, the recruits are assigned the task of picking up rocks on the drill field.  It was a competition between the two teams, and Evan's team won because one of them collected a really big rock.  The Drill Sergeant got a little manual labor out of them because he needed the yard cleared before they began some major yard work to add fresh dirt and sod. 

Evan and his team racing to collect rocks for their bucket. 

Yes, they had their faces painted for Boot Camp training. 

Drill Sergeant checks and weighs the buckets. 

Drill Sergeant's assistant helps prepare the boys for pinning the medal on the soldier. 

Yep, they must accomplish the task blindfolded. 

I asked Evan if he was cheating because he pinned the medal in the correct location right away. 

The recruit.  Birthday boy Ryan is next to Evan wearing similar attire. 

Evan explaining to Drill Sergeant that he didn't cheat. 

Preparing to run the obstacle course. 

Army crawling

Evan got smart to complete this task because he has not developed strong enough arm muscles to cross the monkey bars.  We are working on that, but I have always had weak arm strength and could never really do this very well either.  He crossed it by climbing on top of the bars. 

Cooling off with a drink from his canteen. 

Drill Sergeant shows them how to throw a grenade from their knees. 

Ryan expertly throws his grenade. 

Evan does a good job throwing and aiming his grenade. 

Diving for cover from the grenade. 

The boys use their remaining water grenades for a little fight. 

Ryan hides from the other recruits. 

Evan takes aim!

And tries to elude another recruit with a grenade. 

Ryan is hungry and leads the way to the mess hall. 

The boys seek some cool shade to eat their lunch. 

Then, it was time for some yummy army camouflage cupcakes.  I took one to Brody, and he treated the ring like he was Gollum with the one ring.  It was his "precious."  Haha!  

Instead of singing happy birthday, they did a cadence. 

The boys learned how to be army medics and bandage up an injured comrade on the battlefield.  Evan was chosen to be the injured for his team because he was the smallest. 

Ryan was ready for action. 

Evan's injuries were serious, and he was bandaged from head to toe. 

Evan's team did not win this match because they were down one man. 

Carrying Evan on the stretcher. 

Evan shedding his bandages. 

Then, they had a relay race to fill their bucket with water first. 

Drill Sergeant says!

Sit ups. 

And finally, a water gun fight!

They are now Army Strong!