Basic Training Graduation

Well, he did it. Paul finished basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. We left Friday, Feb 5 to drive to my Aunt's house. We spent Saturday & most of Sunday there & then left Sunday night to go to Paul's Grandparents' house. We were able to see all of his Aunts, & Uncles, & cousins, & parents, & siblings that night. Monday we hung out at Joy & Alan's house (Paul's parents) and went out to eat with them & Joycelyn & Patrick (Paul's sister & brother) that night. That was fun & the girls had so much fun playing with their cousins.
Tuesday we just hung out & got things ready to leave on Wednesday.
Wednesday morning we headed over to Columbia, South Carolina. It was about a 4 hour drive. We went straight to Fort Jackson & drove around & found the building that Paul had been living in for 10 weeks. We went to the PX to buy something for Paul (we beat the crowds by going on Wed) & to just wander around. It was weird being on the phone with Paul & being right outside his building but not being able to see him.
That night we had dinner with my uncle who lives just outside of Columbia. That was very enjoyable.
Thursday morning was Family Day. We got there early & had pretty good seats. It would have been nice except it was chilly. The ceremony was neat. The soldiers were all hiding in the woods across the field. When it was time for them to come out they threw smoke grenades out & then ran out through the different colored smoke and then formed up into their companies. It was really cool! They were all lined up in front of us & I was able to pick out Paul & get a few pics of him in formation. There were a handful of soldiers who were sworn in as United States Citizens (one guy from Paul's platoon who he really liked). Then they let us go down onto the field & find our loved one. I had ordered shirts that say "He's not just my ______, he's my hero!" for me & the girls, my mom, Paul's grandparents, & parents. Mine said "husband", the girls' said "daddy", etc. We all wore them that day & we got so many compliments on them! My uncle came to the family day ceremony & hung out for a while with us. He went to Fort Jackson when he was a Guardsman back in the early 70s. That was fun for Paul to talk to him about things. Anyway, after we "found" Paul we all went to his barracks so he could show us where he'd lived for the past 10 weeks. Then we all went to the Soleman Center which was a big gym with exercise rooms all around the main building. In the gym they had lots of tables set up for families to hang out. There was a concession stand area with food, an inflatable jump house for the kids, a basketball game, a football game, & a rock climbing wall. They also had several tvs set up with various games like Wii & play stations. Oh, there were even some board games that you could use. It was very nice. Not crowded & crazy. We hung out there for quite a while. That afternoon/evening we all had dinner at the NCO Club. Then we went to a reception at the church building that Paul went to. We got to meet the missionary couple that printed off emails from me & gave them to Paul. That was nice. By the time we were finished there it was about an hour before Paul had to be back at the barracks. His parents, grandparents, & Aunt all went back to the hotel & we went to the PX to hang out for a little while longer before we took him back.
Friday morning was Graduation day. We got there a little earlier than we did on Thursday but it was COLD that morning. SO COLD!! The graduation ceremony was nice but not quite as neat as their entrance on Thursday. It was pretty moving to see that many soldiers marching in formation though. I was so proud!! When it was over it took us LITERALLY 71 minutes to meet up with Paul's parents & grandparents because of the traffic!! It was horrible! We said goodbye to his grandparents & aunt Lori & went to lunch with his parents. After lunch & they left we stopped at a store that Paul wanted to go to & then went & got his stuff from his barracks & to get him all signed out. Once that was done we headed to Augusta to Fort Gordon. We'd been on the road for about 30 minutes when it started snowing; significantly. I couldn't believe that we traveled to Georgia & it was snowing. As a matter of fact it ended up snowing about 5-6 inches! Crazy!
We were planning on going to Fort Gordon & driving around, but because it was snowing we decided to just go to my sweet friend, Lisa's house. She lives in Augusta (not too far from Fort Gordon) & was out of town that weekend & offered to let us stay at her house. It was SO much better than being confined to a small hotel room. Lisa has 4 kids, 3 little girls, so our girls were able to play & run around comfortably.
Saturday morning Paul & I went to Wal Mart for a few things & that afternoon we all loaded up & went to sign Paul in at Fort Gordon. We were able to drive around a little bit after getting him all squared away & getting him a pass for the night. That evening we got take out from a Mexican place & just hung out.
Sunday morning we got everything cleaned up, washed the sheets & towels, & loaded up the van. Paul had to be back by 12:30 so that stunk. After saying goodbye we headed back to my Aunt's house in Tennessee (about a 5 hour drive).
We spent all day Monday at my Aunt's house & then headed home on Tuesday morning.
It was a long but fun trip. It was wonderful to get to see so much family throughout our trip!
Thank you for all of your prayers in his behalf!!


Family Day: Here they come!!

I really couldn't see much through the tears at that point. It was really neat.

I picked Paul out of the group. Can you?

Getting hugs from the girls. They were so happy to finally get to see Daddy!

Alan (his dad) congratulating Paul.

All of us (except Uncle Ken) there for Family Day.

Paul & the girls.

Walking to Paul's barracks.

Paul's sweet Grandparents.

Paul's barracks at Fort Jackson. Cozy right?

Abbie sitting on Daddy's bed.

Joy and Paul on the rock climbing wall.

Uncle Ken & me getting ready for a shoot out.

Alan & Paul playing the football throw with the girls.

Poor Lillie asleep at dinner.

All formed up for Graduation.

Marching by on Graduation Day. Can you find Paul?

Last picture before leaving Fort Jackson.

Paul's new "home" at Fort Gordon. Bravo Bulldogs.

Saying goodbye. Never gets easier.