Change of Command

Today Ryan took command of Delta Company 1-145th. In true Army fashion, this provides another excuse/opportunity for a ceremony. I am sure that the 130 lieutenants who had to spend their afternoon in formation for the ceremony were so appreciative.

No ceremony would be complete without a speech. Here is Ryan giving his "thanks for welcoming me to this job" speech

Here is Kaci giving her "why do I have to sit through another thanks for welcoming me to this job speech" look

On the drive to the ceremony, I thought I had given a successful lesson on the definition of "ceremony behavior". I know my teaching points included being silent while people spoke, sitting on your bottom , standing when I did, clapping when others clapped, etc....

Here is what my children heard:

Kaci thought it meant she should whimper for her Daddy during the entire ceremony and use the flowers she was presented with as a sword to jab her brother.

Jared heard that he should try to balance the military coin he was presented with on his nose and list all the things he planned on buying with the coin.

Lucas heard that he should experiment and see how many ladies will still hold him even when he is having obvious gastro-intestinal issues.

Once the ceremony was complete, it was time to meet, greet, and eat. Here are the kids post-ceremony. Guess which one was tired of meeting and greeting?

My first attempt at posting a video is below. It is really just for the parents- it's a snippet of Ryan's speech. But now that I see how easy it is to do this, I see many more silly videos in my future!