Blowing Bubbles, etc.....

I am loving my Mother's Day gift - a new Canon Rebel. These were the first photos I took. It just took me 6 weeks to get the pictures on the computer. Aren't they great?

Herndon - finally!

You didn't think I'd show pictures of the Naval Academy with out at least one of the Drum&Bugle, did you?? That's Ian on the far right. This was noon meal formation. Sorry there's no sound!


Some of my wonderful new USNA mommy friends!

Ian and Kiley carb loading before the big climb. McDonald's delivery compliments of Grandpa!

The monument! It is much taller than it looks in this picture, especially when coated with lard!

Getting started.

Making progress. They used their whiteworks from plebe summer to wipe the lard off the monument. They also scooped up handfuls of lard and flung it to wherever it might land - sometimes on the spectators. I was lucky, me and my camera stayed grease free.

Ahhh - the top, at last. Just when it looked like we would be there for hours, a young mid from Wyoming scaled the bottom layers of the pyramid to grab the dixie cup from it's perch. It happened so unexpectedly that noone had the Navy cover needed to replace the dixie cup. All ended well and the class of 2012 finished in a respectable 1:14:38. Just the right amount of time if you ask me.

Some happy plebes-no-more!

The aftermath! They brought in some heavy machinery to clean the whole place up. New sod was even in place by that evening and everything was ready to go for commissioning at the end of the week.

Here is Ian, no worse for the wear, after the climb. I never saw him during the whole event. He and his friends were on the bottom layer on the opposite side from where I was sitting. I am sure I wouldn't have seen him in that mass of midshipmen anyway.

Ian and Austin, after the climb, all decked out and ready for a celebratory dinner. Plebes No More, Plebes No More!!!

Of course, after all of the hoopla's over, somebody's still got to do the laundry and for this time it's not ME!!!

I will return.........

There is a whole lot going on at Table for Eight, and surely some of it is noteworthy enough to be blogged, it is just that I can't seem to grab enough uninterrupted time at the computer while all of the kiddos are home.

The Waldo sightings have been put on hold for now as well, because Waldo is currently residing under the very same roof as the rest of his siblings. His 4 week leave ends Sunday and then it is off to spend a little time learning about the Navy while aboard the USS Monterey.

More Waldo sightings to follow once football season begins. Go Navy!

Marching into Herndon

Here is Ian and friends, marching into Herndon. He is right behind the flag bearer. More photos to follow, once I figure out how to operate my new camera. This photo is compliments of Navy Mom Nushi. I never even caught a glimpse of Ian until after the mission was accomplished. He tells me he was at the base on the opposite side from where I was standing. Avoiding more photos ops by Mom, no doubt.

Induction Day 2008

The finals are over and the class of 2012 can see the end of their plebe year drawing near. Sea Trials are on Tuesday, followed by Herndon on Monday and then...... PLEBES NO MORE!! Here's at look back at how the journey began.

Ian's I-Day @ Yahoo! Video

A Week at Disney - in 5 minutes or less

I'm so glad I have a techie family! This one is by my husband. And yes, number two child was missing due to winter percussion competitions. She'll travel to Disney next year with band, so her time is coming, but we still missed her. We went during Ian's spring break since the Naval Academy isn't too flexible. We used the military discount that Disney is offering until Dec. 23. It is a HUGE discount. Check it out.

Plebe Life

Here is what my boy has been up to lately. During finals week :) The year in review, as seen by a plebe:

Update

It seems my blog life has fallen off dramatically lately. It is not that I haven't had anything to say or any news to share, but I am frustrated by the fact that I still have trouble figuring out how to work my computer. Just when I had figured out how to download my pictures in less than seven steps, my husband decided to hide our photos in something called Maxtor. And some of our photos were taken with Carly's camera which for some reasons puts them in another location from the rest of our photos. I'm getting old, and I'm tired, and I just don't have the energy to fight with my PC anymore!

So, you'll have to take my word for it - we went to Disney for the first time. Picture my family, minus Carly, standing in front of Cinderella's castle, or at our favorite park - Animal Kingdom, standing in front of the Tree of Life. Steve's three months of studying paid off and we had a relatively stress free and relatively inexpensive (for Disney) trip. We are very thankful for the military discount that Disney is offering. We wouldn't have made the trip otherwise. If you have an active duty or retired military family member, you should really check this out. The military special runs until December 23rd. Check it out: http://tinyurl.com/disneymilitary

Had to Share - #10 on NY Times this week!

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