My brother is AWESOME!

My brother just graduated from the fire academy on Thursday and we are SO PROUD of him!

Twenty two weeks of early mornings, late nights, hard work, and dedication (sounds like motherhood). His academy is one of the most prestigious and difficult ones in the state and lots of other academies think they go way overboard.

His platoon outdid all the platoons of fire fighter recruits their chief had worked with before them. They are the cream of the crop.

When awards were being given out, Jesse got passed up for scholarships, best academic skills, most improved, most dedicated, and best manual skills. But then he got awarded TOP GUN!

Top Gun is the best all-around recruit and it was the highest award you can earn at the academy. That's my bro. Just call him Maverick. Or Goose. He loves it. ;) Not really. Actually, it pretty much embarrasses the crud out of him. It's loads of fun. We keep putting his plaque on display around the house and he keeps hiding it.

This is Jesse making his "I'm too cool" face with his gorgeous fiance.

This is Jesse's fabulous cheering section. We were the best cheerers in the audience.

My kids adore him. And at over 6' tall, he makes a great jungle gym.

This is the aptly named "misery log." The recruits had to use it in lots of their training excercises. They had to carry it on runs, pass it backwards over their heads and then run to the back of the line to catch it again when their turn came back around, do sit ups as a group holding it across their chests, and other such misery-making drills.

I'm so very proud of him! It's quite an achievement, and I look forward to watching him progress through his career. Good job, Jesse!!! You're awesome!!