Bradley got to take swimming lessons with his cousins on base. It was a two week program for 30 minutes 4 times a week. He did really well. On the first day he kept jumping into the pool without listening to his teachers, so they finally let him go clear under the water. When he came up sputtering they told him he had to wait until they told him it was his turn. That was all it took. He decided to listen! He was the only one they didn't have to talk into getting into the water the first day.
Bradley with his swim bag, hat and jacket. The wind blows a lot here and it can be a little bit cool if you are wet. He has recently started posing for pictures. You gotta love the cheesy grin!
This is Bradley with his teachers and Jake and Seth. There were two little girls in their class too, but one was gone this day.
Grandpa & Grandma Shirley came to visit and got to come watch one of his lessons. Angie was so good to help us get Bradley to a from lessons.
Our Dad even got to come one of the days. Daniel was a little bit sad he couldn't get into the water too, but a couple snacks and his own chair fixed the problem.
The boys practiced kicking their legs on their stomachs and one their backs.
This is from their last day. They got to play in the water after passing off certain requirements.
The teachers tied the noodles around their waists. This worked great and the kids felt so big to be able to swim/float all alone!
Seth & Jake
Occasionally they had to go back to the side to retie the noodles.
Anna had lessons at the same time with another class. This is one of her teachers.
Daniel and Ben loved hanging out on these chairs and sharing snacks!
Anna swimming in the deep end!
Bradley stole his teachers sunglasses because he thought they were so cool!
It was really windy the first day of lessons and the last day as well. The kids all had a great time and they all got some prizes from their teachers for passing. Bradley, Seth & Jake had their teachers wrapped around their little fingers. These boys did some serious smoozing! When your that cute you can't really help it can you?
June 15-25, 2009
This is our group getting ready to go up to the control tower.
Bradley of course found his "ladies" to walk around with. Our group consisted of the AEGD residents and their families.
This is a picture of the control tower from the base. It was a really hot day and very windy. We got to watch two F-15s land while we were up there and got a great view of base and the surrounding area. Due to the sensitive nature of things on base this is all we are going to post from that portion of our tour.
Since it was very windy no one had to wear their hats while we were out there. They don't want hats blowing into plane engines! Usually everyone in uniform must wear their hats whenever they are outside.
Standing next to one of the big engines.
This is Bradley in the boom operators pit at the back of the plane. The boom operator refules other planes in the air. He let us sit in the seats and let some of the kids listen on the headphones. They use the headphones to communicate with the pilots. The guy turned on the radio so the kids could hear things. When it was Bradley's turn he said, "The guy is saying..." then he started repeating numbers. The boom operator realized Bradley was listening to the control tower talking to some incoming planes about which runway to use. We really enjoyed the tour!
These are the stairs going down to the boom operators pit from the cargo area.
This is the safety net used to keep the cargo from smashing the passengers in case of an emergency. 
For long trips they have these little bunks that the crew can use to get some rest.
This is the passenger seating area. They can add lots more seats when they transport troops, but these are the only permanent seat. We also got to go into the cockpit. They boys loved sitting in the pilots seats. It gives us a whole new respect of our pilot friend.
