He's in the Army Now...

I spent all of Saturday
with my son.

We went through the few items he had
left here at the loft.

Then we started packing the box
that will be shipped to his new duty station.

Afterwards we sat down and spent a few hours looking through family treasures...

My kids started traveling at a very young age.

Pictured here are my kids baby brag books & passports from youth.

A pictorial reminder
 of all the loving moments,
adventures
 AND
 the ever chaining stages of our lives…

Saying good-bye will be hard.
I will look forward to visiting him
during the holiday season!

A Wonderful Day with My Son in D.C.

I spent most of yesterday
in Washington D.C.
with my son
who is on leave...

We drove around D.C. a bit
snapping a few pictures

The weather was wonderful
especially for a summer day
in July!

Once we finished driving around
we parked and headed over to
the
National Archives Museum

(Click on links throughout this blog post to visit ALL the exhibits I mention)

We had just finished viewing
 the
Declaration of Independence,
 Constitution of the United States
and
Bill of Rights

in the Rotunda

I really enjoyed looking through the

Making Their Mark exhibit

Then we walked over to
 the Smithsonian
National Museum of Natural History

My son takes good
iphone selfies!

There were ALLOT of kids at this museum
and
ALLOT of noise!
Especially at the African Elephant permanent exhibit!

Hey look who stepped into my selfie!

The Hope Diamondin the Mineral Sciences Exhibit

Sadly, I had no gum for

Moai Stone Figure!



Now we headed over to the
Smithsonian
National Museum of American History

We spent allot of time at this museum.

I actually remember going thru
Jack's drive-thru
when it looked like this!
Wow! I'm too young for memories
that are sparked by photo
in Smithsonian Museums...

This pictures above are from the

 FOOD: Transforming the American Table1950-2000

exhibit.
Click link above to see the exhibit online.

Very cool stuff here!



In the Flag Hall
(not pictured)

The Marine Corp String Quartet was playing

in front of

The Star-Spangled Banner: The Flag that Inspired the National Anthem

 We felt very fortunate
to have arrived during this
wonderful performance.

While viewing the flag,
we listened to live patriotic music.
It was deeply moving!

Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of the performers.
But I found

 their Facebook page

 full of pictures!

We spent a good amount of time
in

The Price of Freedom:Americans at War

exhibit

Part of the Berlin Wall

Upon exiting
look what I spied
in the

Artifact Walls - You Must Remember This

Harry Potter stuff!

Food Focused

It's interesting that after ten weeks
at basic training
food was such an important quest!

Once again
food being the central quest


It does make sense that food would be
such a treat
after having a limited intake for ten weeks!

A last quick picture
before we all say good-bye
for another long 15 weeks apart.

My son and his lovely girlfriend.

On The Road

Once graduation ceremony was over
and all the traffic had cleared out
we set out south...

We drove past the entrance to Hilton field
for one last look...

The off to hotel for some much needed RR…
Next stop
Georgia
my son's next post for 15 weeks of schooling.

My Son's Graduation Day

With recent time change
our early arrival was before
the sun had risen

So many folks here early
to grab nice seats too

The bleacher structure is huge!

Good morning!
We are ready for the chilly weather
this time!
However the sun is warming us up nicely.

What a sight to see, hundreds of soldiers
in their dress uniforms.
Very impressive.

My son's Company was Foxtrot.
He was in the last platoon
so that means his group is the last
to march off the field, no worries
We can wait until they all exit the field.

My son in his dress uniform...

I'm extremely proud of my son!

Happy Mail

I just received my first letter
from my son
who is in
Army BCT.
This is such a joyful moment for
this proud Mama!

A Mother's Love

My son was sworn in today.
A very proud moment to witness.

And then the bittersweet moment
when I had to say good-bye
to him.
On their way to bootcamp now.

Quiet Moments

My son will leave
for military training tomorrow
so today
we had time 
to spend a few hours
in each others company.
I'm very blessed.

Heading Home

Packing up...

Having a few blueberries
before heading out for the
airport.

Saying good-bye is so sad.
They are heading home today