Graduation day at last!

Thursday was graduation day. They had a really cool ceremony planned for an outside stadium, but then it rained all morning, so they had to move it inside and dumb it down. We followed Bubba’s directions and got there early and found good seats. 

These pictures are all courtesy of Papa. 

It was a short ceremony, so that’s kind of nice. And then families had time for pictures. 

Papa, mom, and baby boy. 

Just two Army guys, hanging out. 

My only baby boy. Love him so much. 

Jeanne has been so good to him since he’s been gone. She’s a nice girl. 

Christian was able to have 4 people, Matt, papa, Jeanne, and I. 

They tried to gather all the guys from their troop, but this is as far as they got. They were missing around 8 soldiers. These guys went through hell together, they fought, and learned, and sweat, and cried together. And now they’re all off their own separate ways. Christian is the only one from the group stationed at Ft. Drum, so that’s kind of a bummer. 

After, we had the best lunch at the Black Cow. Fried green tomatoes and goat cheese, pimento bacon cheeseburger, and finally the perfect apple pie ice cream in a waffle cone from Kilwins. I’m not even the biggest fan of apple pie, but it was so delicious. 

After lunch we walked down to the river. All the rains had made it very muddy. Almost hard to believe the water that summer had been so clear and refreshing that I wanted to drink it. 

Bubba and Jeanne came over and visited before they headed on their road trip home. Matt and I went and walked our cool trail and then found a good spot to drone. 

Flat rock park complete with a lake, trails, and rocks to climb. So fun and interesting. 

That night we packed up, finished off our food from the grocery store - which I planned perfectly - if I do say so myself, and tidied up. 

Friday morning we left our cute little house by 5:30 and had an easy drive to the airport and back through the maze of the rental car lot and trains. The whole trip was easy and smooth, and I’m so glad we were able to go show support and love for Christian. 

And papa made a friend at the airport. He was taking pictures, like he does, and got to chatting with the lady in pink. I tried to get a shot of them chatting, but masks make it hard to tell. 

We had a turbulent flight home which is always nerve wracking, but we made it safely and we’re grateful for that. We had an easy drive home, where everyone was healthy and happy with Aunti Alli. A+ quick jaunt to Georgia!