James had been gone for 104 days when he graduated on December 21st! What a wonderful birthday present to me for us to be together again! ☺ And…James looks adorable in his uniform…Ensign Gouger! The two-day event was very full, starting with the change of command ceremony on Thursday afternoon.
It was my second time seeing James at the ceremony, but this time, thankfully, he was being relieved of all duties! How exciting! ☺ We ventured around the quaint New England town during the afternoon before going to the Hi Mom’s dinner that evening. Hi Mom’s is a chance for every to meet everyone’s families, and for the families to meet the drill instructor and class team. We enjoyed dinner and wine and beer and then a fun slideshow of all the class has gone through.
Perhaps the funniest part of the slideshow was a before and after picture of James on their first evening of liberty. It’s crazy what being locked up for so long can do to those boys! (And, girls, as we were reminded by the Admiral at the dinner.
Thanks for your political correctness sir!) It was fun meeting everybody’s families and wives, and I was especially excited to meet Lisa, Carey’s wife. James and Carey became really good friends, and I only wish we were stationed closer so that we could hang out more.
The evening ended early, as graduation was happening early the next morning. My dad and I were lucky, because we were staying at the BOQ only two buildings over from the graduation in VIP rooms, which were nice! Our room and kitchen and living room and all was bigger than our apartment! Ha! It’s sad, but true.
The graduation ceremony was very nice, and it was great seeing everyone so excited. So, James is officially an Ensign now, along with 40 other young men and women. It was really neat to see them all commissioned together, especially since they all came from such different backgrounds.
We ate at the mess hall after graduation, and I must say that is the worst food I have ever had, and I have no idea how they ate it for four months. I mean…how do you mess up a cheeseburger? But, it was disgusting, so I ate a bag of goldfish instead. All in all, it was a great experience, but we are glad it is over. I do miss Newport though! Maybe one day we will end up back North…we’ll see where the Navy sends us.
James had been gone for 104 days when he graduated on December 21st! What a wonderful birthday present to me for us to be together again! ☺ And…James looks adorable in his uniform…Ensign Gouger! The two-day event was very full, starting with the change of command ceremony on Thursday afternoon. 
It was my second time seeing James at the ceremony, but this time, thankfully, he was being relieved of all duties! How exciting! ☺ We ventured around the quaint New England town during the afternoon before going to the Hi Mom’s dinner that evening. Hi Mom’s is a chance for every to meet everyone’s families, and for the families to meet the drill instructor and class team. We enjoyed dinner and wine and beer and then a fun slideshow of all the class has gone through. 
Perhaps the funniest part of the slideshow was a before and after picture of James on their first evening of liberty. It’s crazy what being locked up for so long can do to those boys! (And, girls, as we were reminded by the Admiral at the dinner. 
Thanks for your political correctness sir!) It was fun meeting everybody’s families and wives, and I was especially excited to meet Lisa, Carey’s wife. James and Carey became really good friends, and I only wish we were stationed closer so that we could hang out more. 
The evening ended early, as graduation was happening early the next morning. My dad and I were lucky, because we were staying at the BOQ only two buildings over from the graduation in VIP rooms, which were nice! Our room and kitchen and living room and all was bigger than our apartment! Ha! It’s sad, but true. 
The graduation ceremony was very nice, and it was great seeing everyone so excited. So, James is officially an Ensign now, along with 40 other young men and women. It was really neat to see them all commissioned together, especially since they all came from such different backgrounds. 
We ate at the mess hall after graduation, and I must say that is the worst food I have ever had, and I have no idea how they ate it for four months. I mean…how do you mess up a cheeseburger? But, it was disgusting, so I ate a bag of goldfish instead. All in all, it was a great experience, but we are glad it is over. I do miss Newport though! Maybe one day we will end up back North…we’ll see where the Navy sends us. 
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3 comments:
Congratulations! You both look great. Hope you're settling in nicely by now in Virginia. Keep up the blogs - they are great!
Kathy in Florida
dad pointed this out to me but in james' before and after picture - his after picture is a classic Colin face! he really is a little james (what mrs. parsons my parents neighbor calls him)
Congratulations! And, happy belated birthday. These pictures would make a great graduation slideshow, don't you think?
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