Ever since we moved to the Chicago area, we've been aware there is a Naval base nearby. Every now and again we'd see sailors downtown and people in our ward are called to serve in the Naval branch regularly. All in all, it's not much exposure so we were pretty excited when we were invited to attend J's graduation along with Julie.
Like the amazing girlfriend she is, Julie not only traveled across half the country to be there, but she prepared well in advance. Brent and I aren't prone to being late, especially for important occasions. Even so, we were up bright and early on graduation day at Julie's urging so we would be at the very front of the line. We did get to see a pretty spectacular sunrise!
Being on base gave me all the patriotic feels!
Did I mention we were early? TWO AND A HALF HOURS EARLY? With nothing better to do, we kind of got caught up with some families around us which made for some serious entertainment as a first wife and her mother chatted with the ex-husband and his new wife. I got up to stretch my legs and came upon a teenage girl and her mother when she got sick on the floor. That made for some entertainment for Brent as I urgently relayed the news to a commander who radioed medics who went flying up the stairs on my heels. Then there was the woman who tried to shove in on our new friend for a last-minute seat at the front. Brent and I practically screamed at her with a legion of angry people right behind us until she left. A military graduation is not the place to flout basic rules of human decency and we had secured those seats TWO AND A HALF HOURS EARLY!!!
Finally, it started and oh my how I love men in uniform and straight lines!
Julie was positively glowing and loving her seat right there on the front row.
Apparently they no longer throw their hats in the air. Not gonna lie, I was super bummed about that. They do however give a rousing Hip Hip Hooray!
They should go back to throwing hats.
I was able to capture Julie finding J in the sea of sailors (pun intended).
They were both so happy and relieved to see each other!
Long-distance is not for the faint of heart.
I was also a bit bummed there wasn't a more passionate reunion (I've watched Pearl Harbor wayyy too many times, apparently), but J said they were given strict instructions-- nothing more than a peck was allowed. They aren't even allowed to pick up their girlfriends off their feet.
Once they were outside, they found a discreet place to really say hello:
While Julie and J headed to Chicago to enjoy the city, we headed home for a nap. Passing these guys in fatigues and kevlar, I asked Ireland if she and her sisters would take me more seriously if I dressed like this:
Roll of the eyes was my answer but she perked up quite a bit when we treated her to pancakes for breakfast. She was a really good sport at graduation. J only had a limited number of tickets and we shuffled through so many different possibilities for babysitting. Ireland is extremely allergic to dogs so if we took one child, it had to be her. She was perfectly well behaved!
We had a great weekend getting to know J more and seeing him and Julie interact. They really enjoyed their time in the city with lots of people treating them to (non-alcoholic) drinks and discounts wherever they went. J sure made a sharp addition to our bench at church!
My parents have asked us to store their Mustang for the summer so they have extra garage space for the Model A they are sprucing up for antique car tours. I haven't been as good as I should about getting this beauty out and dusting it off. Sunday afternoon seemed like the perfect time.
They're so cute together but even better is the fact they were wearing matching shirts. My parents often wear matching shirts but especially so when they are out with one of the old cars.
One of J's favorite homemade meals is a shepherd's pie so Brent hunted down a good recipe. It was really good and J had three large helpings so I'm guessing he liked it!
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