Name that tune!

"Row the goss from chinny in a wok......."

This is what Jack was singing in the backseat yesterday afternoon. I knew what it was because he had sung other more intelligible parts of the song before he sang this part. I thought it was hilarious though. I was singing the song along with him and then we got to this part. I was like, "The tune's the same, but he is not singing the same thing I am." So, I stopped and asked him to sing it again. And this is what he said over and over, "row the goss from chinny in a wok." Do you know what song it is? Think about it.......









Here's a hint: It's an old school Bible song.















"Roll the gospel chariot along,
roll the gospel chariot along,
roll the gospel chariot along.
And we won't tag along behind."

Psyche, not really

Okay, so I'm going to make my blog private. Well, I already did but I'm undoing it and then will redo it in like a week or so. Basically, I thought that if it was private then my email address would pop up and it would say to email me your address and then I could make it where you could read my blog. Apparently, Blogger has changed some things, so that instead of giving people who aren't invited a way to contact me so they could be invited, they are just told they aren't invited. So, I am writing a post to let anyone who reads this blog know that I'm about to make it private and to send me their email address. My email is rileyroo@rocketmail.com.

Email me with your email address. Thanks!

Congrats Grad!!

Not your typical graduation of the season, but I wanted to give a shout out to my sister Lauren who completed 12 weeks, I think, of Officer Training School. Her graduation was over a month ago, but I still wanted to post about it. I can't really give any true description of how OTS was for Lauren, because I wasn't there, but I do know it was very very tough and not everyone made it through to graduation. At one time Lauren described it as prison...........not fun. But, it trained her and put her in the position that she is in now: Second Lieutenant Naylor.

Her rank is in the top 15% of the Air Force, which I think is pretty cool. The coolest part to me though is that she now lives in Panama City! We've already visited once and plan on visiting frequently. Our last visit will be it's own post entirely, coming soon. Anyways, good job Lauren, and we are proud of you! ...........And you need to update your blog by the way............... It's almost been a whole year.

Lauren and Mamarine on graduation day:


Waiting for the shuttle to take us to the ceremony. It was freezing outside, mainly because of the wind. (That's Jack under the frog blanket):


"Will this be over soon?" (just kidding):


Family and friends:


Second Lieutenant Naylor:


Mom, Dad, and Lauren:


Graduation Parade:


Family and friends freezing while watching parade:


First salute:


Getting pinned:

Twilight was so good I'm still talking about it

I was gonna sit down and write an interesting post, but I don't really feel like it any more. I also remembered that I was going to write a little (ha!) review about the Twilight series after I finished reading all of it, but I never did. I can't sum it up in words. That's how good it was. If you talk to me about these books I will be like "Yeah, I loved the part when Edward....oh, but then there was how Bella....wait, do you remember how she......" and so on and so forth, continually interrupting myself and tripping over my words trying to explain all the best parts and how good it is and how well written it is.

Anyways........it was great, and I can't wait for the next movie to come out. By the way, has anyone read the first part of "Midnight Sun." For the one person who might not know, this is the book that Meyer (the author) started writing as a part of the whole Twilight thing. It's the first book, rewritten from Edward's perspective. Well, she postponed it indefinitely because a copy of it leaked out. She says that after one whole year goes by and she hasn't heard anybody say anything about it, then she'll pick it back up again and finish it and publish it. I guess she figures that everyone will have forgotten about it by then? Not likely.

She did end up putting what she had written on her website, and I succumbed to the temptation and read it, and it's so good. So much more stuff happened in the beginning of Twilight on Edward's side as opposed to Bella's. It's so interesting and actually gives you even more information about the characters and vampires and such.

Well, I really could go on and on about this, but I will stop now because I have to make Riley's invitations for her 2nd birthday party. Will share later.

Crickets in the Head

Jack wanted me to take his temperature the other day because he wanted to have a fever so he could take some grape tylenol. I checked his head with our temporal lobe thermometer, which makes little chirping noises. At the doctor's office they say, "Let's listen to those crickets in your head." So, I always say, "Let's check your crickets."

His temperature was normal, so I said he was fine. Later, in a final attempt to get some tylenol, he came back up to me and said, "Mom, I think the crickets are biting my head."

A Quiet Man Who Spoke Volumes

My Granddaddy (or as I called him, Papaw) passed away a little over a week ago. It still doesn't seem real. He started having strokes just a little over a month earlier. They finally got the best of him. I'm almost at a loss of words for it all, but I did want to share how great of a man he was. In my own words that is. I hesitate to write anything about him because I know that whatever I write just won't seem to be enough. Words aren't enough. Much more could be said, but here is a small taste.

One of the preachers that spoke at his funeral said this about him: "He was a quiet man who spoke volumes." My Papaw didn't ever say too much, but he was a great influence and example for so many. I always felt a connection with my Papaw because he reminded me of myself in a lot of ways (or vice versa). We're both pretty laid back, quiet people. I hope one day, people will say about me what we say about him. I want to be known as a quiet woman who spoke volumes.

When he did speak, though, it was something you would want to listen to. He could make the funniest jokes. He could even make lame jokes funny. One of my favorite stories about him was one from when he was a young man selling insurance. He was out seeing a client or something with his insurance partner. They knocked on the door and this woman opened it up. They introduced themselves and the woman said "He knows my name." So, my papaw and his partner kinda looked at each other and were waiting for the other to tell them her name, but clearly neither of them knew her name. I think she said it again, and they were confused so they went ahead and went into the whole insurance spill or whatever. As they left the house and got in the car to drive away, they looked at her mailbox and it said "HEINO." She was saying "Heino's my name." I'm sure that lady tricked a lot of people with that one. Every time I hear someone say the phrase "He knows" in any context, I automatically think to myself "Heino's my name." It always brings a smile to my face.

Papaw and his favorite girl:



My Papaw was not only a great man, but a great Christian. That's probably what made him such a great man. I never heard him raise his voice or say a mean thing about anyone. He was great at crossword puzzles. He loved sweets and good food in general. He was very, very handsome. He loved wearing his red shirt. His hair always looked great. He was great at growing lemons and oranges. He would have and did do anything for his children and grandchildren and more. He always entertained us with Roman candles on the Fourth of July. He was so cool. I love him.

My mom, the kids, and I were down in Florida with him that whole last week of his life. I cherish the time we got to spend with him. Even though he was not able to speak or move much that last week, he could hear us and let us know that he loved us. Just today Jack pointed out our first tulip that's bloomed and told me it was Papaw's. Riley called him Paw Paw. The day of the viewing, my mom was getting Riley dressed and out of the blue she said, "Pawpaw's singing." From the mouths of babes. I'm sure he is singing.

I found a video of him on my computer from one of the last times he was up in Montgomery. I wish I could share it, but my computer won't let me for some reason. He's rocking the kids and is singing "I've Been Working on the Railroad." It's so sweet.

None of us were ready to let him go. He's having a blast right now though. He's okay now. He's graduated to glory. We're the ones who need the prayers.

Dear Ryan,

Since you have officially switched over to the dark side (meaning cats over dogs), I thought you'd enjoy this hilarious video:

"Kittens, Inspired by Kittens"