As you can see from her pictures Kelly has been smiling ever since she was old enough to smile.For the most part Kelly has been a good kid all these years.She does display some of the same traits as her brother.They both showed signs of being extremely hard headed.
Growing up Kelly was one of those kids who didn't believe in breaking the rules, no matter what.I remember once right after she started school, she was getting ready for school and moving very slow about it.I told her to hurry or she would miss the bus.Well Kelly being Kelly missed the bus but just baely.The bus after stopping in front of our house would stop again a half block down the road.So I took Kelly across the road and told her to run so she wouldn't miss the bus again.Kelly would not run but did manage to get on the bus before it continued on it's way.When Kelly returned home that after noon she informed me that it was against the rules to run going to or from the bus and that's why she hadn't ran that morning.She went all thru school without ever getting in trouble.She didn't even get her name put on the board in elementary school.Of course when Jesse entered school he made up for Kelly being so good.
As Kelly grew up she didn't fall in love with camping like her brother did but they did share the love of riding 4 wheelers.Kelly still rides every chance she gets, and when she does ride she really gets into it.She comes home covered in mud most of the time.
In Kelly's younger years she did get intersested in beauty pageants for a while.She won several titles before moving on to other things.She did tell me once that what she really liked about being a queen was riding in the parades.
Well Kelly has once again changed here mind about what she wants to do,now she wants to join the navy. She now says she wants to go into navigation.I guess that's ok and she'll probably be very good at. She's pretty good at anything she decides to do so I figure this won't be any different.I'm not real happy about the thought of her leaving me but I know I can't keep her close forever although I would like too. Well today,11/28/01 Kelly officially joined the Navy.She ships out to boot camp on Feb.27,2002.She will be going to Great Lakes Illinois for boot camp and from there we don't know yet.I will keep this page updated with news on where she is and how things are going for her. I would like to say that I'm very proud of her for making this decision.She has been faced by alot of opposition lately, everyone has tried to change her mind about going into the service but she held strong to her decision and has taking action on that decision.As a mom I wish she would have been content on staying close to home so I could look out for her,but also as a Mom I'm proud to say my daughter is going to do something with her life and she too will join the millions before her to protect our country and to be called a hero. |
On February 27, 2002 Kelly left Raleigh-Durham airport headed for Great Lakes, Illinois and basic training for the Navy. As you may know, once in basic training your time is no longer your own which means time for writing only comes once a week.So I haven't heard much from Kelly since she left but she has written to say she is having a blast. Kelly worked very hard before she left to complete her PQS which puts her in a higher classification bracket. Instead of entering the Navy as an E1 she entered as an E2 because of her successful completion of her PQS.This of course means a higher pay for her along with the pride of taking the first steps towards a great career. Of course as her Mom I couldn't be prouder and I couldn't miss her anymore.Kelly and I have never been apart for more than 2 weeks.Not ever, so I have had a lot of adjusting to do, but I'm getting there. We don't know yet if Kelly will go straight to school after graduation or if she will be aloud to come home for a few days.Kelly will be going to OS (Operations specialist) school in Va. at some point we just don't know when. Hopefully she will get to come home.My mother and myself will be attending her graduation so I will get to see her rather she comes home or not.
March 25th,2002
Here is a picture of Kelly in what they refer to as their dress blues.
As soon as I receive her pictures from basic training of her all decked out in uniform I will be posting them. I can't wait to see her in uniform.
I received my first phone call from Kelly today from basic training.She says "She's having a blast." She seemed to be in really good spirits even though she has gone thru a bout of Bronchitis and now has a hair line fracture in her foot from stepping in a pot hole while marching.She say's she doesn't recomend the food there but the desserts aren't bad.She also said they aren't very good at taking blood either. They bruised her arms so badly trying to take blood she didn't have to do push-ups for two days.Now that's bad.With everything happening the way it has for her, being sick and getting hurt she still hasn't fallen behind in her studies so her graduation is still set for May 3rd,2002.I'll write more when I talk to her again.
Now that Kelly has reached the age of 20 she has decided it's time for her to make up her mind what she's going to do with her life or at least the next few years of it.At this time she is seriously considering going into the airforce.At first she thought she might go into Air Traffic Control, but she has now decided to go into the communations field.This is probably best for Kelly because like her mom she loves talk.