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Can You Find Spencer?

This was on Saturday when they got beat for 8 hours straight. Rolling in the mud. Lovely. Take your guess at which one Spencer is.

Bad News

Spencer failed his inspection. I got to talk to him for a long time today. He got rolled to the next class, which means one week longer at OCS. It's so frustrating! This time if he fails, he'll definitely get rolled for at least 6 more weeks. The DI that inspected him is going to be his new DI for his class. I think he failed him on purpose because he wanted Spencer in his class. He also happened to fail the other Navy SEAL that was in Spencer's class. That to me is just a selfish DI. Maybe he wasn't aware that Spencer has already been cheated several times since he's been there. He's a tough cookie, and is hangin' in there. Maybe I'll type out another one of his letters one of these days. Thursday will be a big day. He'll have another inspection. We'd appreciate an extra prayer or two if you think about it. We really are grateful for all of those who have had him in your thoughts and prayers. I told him that he has a fanclub, and that more people are joining every day. Who's in?

I did get this mighty fine picture of him in his white uniform. That's reason enough to make me smile for a while :)

The Results Are In.....

Here is the email I got from Spencer last night:

you're really not going to believe this and i dont have time to explain all the details. but schafer and i both passed and then we all failed... all 42 in the class. i'm more angry and hurt than perhaps i've ever been in my life. after the inspection, we get beat in the sand so they make us change into our khakis. well, we have 3 nice sets and 1 for beatings. so we put that behind the drawer in the room to change into. everyone does it all the time. well, one guy threw some other crap back there and the DI found it and asked if everyone had put their khakis back there. because that's illegal, we all failed, even those who passed. schafer had been in the room hugging for 5 minues straight and so excited to call our wives and then they ripped it away. then, we have been getting beat like never before. all day. seriously all day we did pushups, 6 inches, bear crawls, sprints etc. we were put back into poopie suits and chrome domes. plus when we rested it was either at attention or he made us stand and stare directly above us, neck bending back as far as possible for an hour straight. very frustrating. please pray for sat. it's going to be a lot tougher. i've had 3 hours sleep in the last 65 hours. how crazy. i was up all night ironing mine and schafer's stuff. keep praying. my body and mind need it. i will explain what happened on the phone. it's going to be funny. talk to you later. maybe sat.

RLP

If you find yourself complaining tomorrow while you are sitting at your desk at work, thinking that life is horrible, and you can't wait to get home, take a break and watch this video. This is what Spencer will be doing tomorrow. He's been preparing for this for the past 3 weeks. Notice the name on the t-shirt. He's been stamping his name on every shirt, towel, etc. The name has to be perfectly placed in the center, and as you can see, the DI's make sure they measure everything out. It's the most common thing people at OCS fail. If he fails twice in a row, he gets rolled(again). Crazy how they prepare for so long, only for a 15 minute inspection. I know that he is really nervous about it, and from what he's told me, that video doesn't even do it justice. I know I've posted a lot of these videos, but I think this one portrays just how insane OCS is! So make sure to watch it.

He has also had some recent problems with his knee. Last week while they were running, he started having some pretty bad pain. He started limping, and the DI made him go to the hospital to get it checked out. Thankfully, there was no damage - but the doc said it was because his shoes were so old and not giving him enough support. It broke Spencer's heart to find out he had to go buy a new pair of shoes :) But now he's doing well. Just be thinking about him tomorrow and hope that he passes this dreaded test!

Our sweet nephew Joseph

Congratulations to Jason and Rebecca! Joseph was born July 16, and is the sweetest little baby. 7 lbs. 15 oz, 20 1/2 in. long. I can't wait to meet him in a few weeks. She ended up having a long day of labor - but she was a trooper and pulled through. It was definitely worth it- just look at that little guy :)

Because you asked for it...

I have had several people asking me how Spencer is doing. From now on I'm just going to guide them to this blog so they can read all about him. Sorry for those of you who get bored reading about Spencer's life. Trust me, it's a lot more exciting than mine at the moment. Below is a journal entry Spencer wrote about his first official week there, which was actually last week. If you want to see the video that shows what he did, watch this. You may notice that Spencer fits right in with his lovely glasses.


7.3.08-7.6.08

Okay, now it's kind of fun. Wake up Wed. yesterday. Rough! We were up at 4:30 doing push ups, up downs, 6 inches, etc. etc. They beat us for 2 hours straight! We did bear crawls back and forth, more push ups. Holding push up position = tough! Everyone was suffering. Some more than others. After that we tried to go to breakfast. He (the drill instructor) teaches us how to line up, walk, what to say. Every time someone screwed up, back in the grass for push ups, ab work, etc. Chow hall procedures were done over and over. People kept screwing up, so we repeat the 1-8 steps over and over and over. Well this pattern continued all day long. We were probably told to get in the grass 15+ times yesterday. Each time lasting from 5-12 minutes. My shoulders were hurting and abs are terribly sore today. But every time we entered the bathroom (the one place we can kind of talk) I was smiling and laughing. I tried to cheer people up and encourage them. But, to me, it really was fun. It was like practice. We also did several sprints. I liked that, finally get to work on speed. Zero mistakes for me yesterday. I'm sure they are coming. We also really got beat because someone fell asleep. Anyhow, I was pretty tired by the end of the night. I slept well.

Today was outpost. We got rid of our poopy suits and got khakis now. We had inspection. Basically everyone fails. The officers come in and drill you on the Big 5. Stupid me screwed up on one. I got Chain of Command and General Orders, but I screwed up on the 6th Code of Conduct. I kept combining it with the 1st. But my uniform was squared away. THen we packed all our stuff and headed to the kill zone for about 10+ minutes of pushups, ab work, run in place, etc. Then on to the sand pit for more. Then to the PT field for more. Then to the new kill zone for a lot more. We were all drenched in sweat.

At this moment let's talk about food. It really is pretty dang good. Pancakes were awesome this morning. Pasta the last few days have been incredible. Mashed potatoes too. Either they've started adding to the rice, pasta, and potatoes, or I no longer need salt. But it's all good. Veggies still suck with no seasoning or salt. Meat is up and down. Sometimes really, really good. Other times horrible. I guess for the next few years I'll have my dream of eating at a cafeteria.

We did more push ups etc. We worked on marching a good bit. We actually did pretty well with it. So not too many beatings. We had class elections tonight. Results to come.

My knee has been hurting. But I believe I can push through the 12 weeks. Then I'll get an MRI and figure out what's up. Free medical, what a blessing.

Black Saturday tomorrow b/c of the holiday. Back to back to back. Rough. Hopefully it won't be too bad. We'll see.

Well, it's been bad. We woke up at 4:30 and did a solid 1.5 hours worth of beatings. Welcome aboard is a tour of sand pits and the dorm. But every step we get beat with push ups, in-outs, and jog in place. To get to every point, we bear crawl there. We packed our pockets full of sand and unloaded them in the hall. We buried ourselves in sand as the DI hosed us w/ water. It was fun and tough. At the end we ran out and 3 other classes (150 people) were out there cheering and clapping. It felt so good. I almost cried. But I just kept smiling. Week 1 really is an accomplishment. Pretty cool.

Well fast forward to the end of the night. We were looking forward to the Newport fireworks show over the bridge. Instead the DI took us outside (I thought to watch them) and had us sit and face a wall for 40 minutes, sitting at attention. Madness I say.

Today we got beat again throughout. I started laughing during one of them. Not sure if that was wise. Well, we moved again at the end of the night. I am a genius. I did some shuffling and worked it so I'm with Schafer (LDS guy) and the 2 worst candidates are together. Priceless. Church tomorrow. No donuts :(

Church was worth it. After 4 weeks of no church, it really felt good. Fast and testimony meeting was good. No crazies. Sunday School was really good. Priesthood was okay. Most of the body was ODS or OCS guys and we were falling asleep throughout. Lunch was provided and it was awesome! Chicken stew w/ rice. It was the best I've ever had. Thick w/ potatoes, onions, carrots, and some kind of hint of cinnamon or something. Really good. Fruit salad was ridiculous. Strawberries, blueberries, bananas, grapes, and watermelon. Rolls and bread....Amazing!! Cold water and then BAM Snickers Ice Cream bars! I had 2 plus some PB cookies. Everyone is cool. It was spiritual and good food. A great break indeed.

I've been assigned as PT Body. Scheer is in better shape. He's amazing. But I got it. (By the way, he knew I was in pretty dang good shape, but his respect for me sky rocketed when he learned I was 30.) Hopefully I can mail this tomorrow. Not sure. No privileges yet.

Waters Reunion

We just got back from a nice weekend at Fort Yargo State Park for a family reunion. The Waters are actually my Granny's family. We have reunions with them about once a year, or every two years. Instead of it being in South Carolina, we got to stick around here for once. Basically since I didn't know half the people there, I stuck by the pool working on my tan, or played tennis, volleyball, horseshoes, etc. It was great. I mean, I had fun with my family, don't get me wrong. I did miss Spencer at times, but I'm sure there will be more for him to attend in the future. It was a bummer that they didn't allow fireworks at the park, so we didn't get to see any on the 4th. Oh well. Next year.

For all of you who are going to write Spencer letters, he is now officially in a class. Instead of H Class, he is now in Class 23-08. So change that on the address. He is doing really well. He got through the first week, which was the hardest one so far. He's been doing push ups and bear crawls like you wouldn't believe! He did pass his PT exam this time, only getting 77 push ups (but at least if they switched the numbers again, he still would've passed). Apparently some guy was talking to him and it slowed him down. There is another guy in his class who is going to be a SEAL. He maxed out on all the exercises, but Spencer was still chosen as the PT body(whatever that means). So that is definitely a compliment to him.

Spencer has told me some pretty funny stories, but I just don't feel like writing them. They are better to tell in person. One of them is about how he embarrassed himself in front of his entire class because of his lack of knowledge about the flag pole. The other is what he got to do for the 4th of July. Oh, and he also takes a lot of pride in the fact that he rearranged the roommates so that the 2 weakest people are now together. That's it for now. I'll be expecting my next phone call on Sunday, so until then, I wait for the letters.

Now, if you want to see a really great picture, go to my parent's blog. The first picture is my little brother(although he is NOT the little one) on his mission in Bolivia. I think that picture is hilarious, and everyone needs to get a kick out of it!