Going to see dad

Monday, June 1 I spent repacking, doing laundry, and getting ready for the 6 hour trip (plus stops) to South Carolina. We also went to see one of Clay's uncles who flew model planes for the kids. They really liked that and kept talking about uncle Jake flying planes. It's amazing what they remember sometimes.

Tuesday we left around 10:45 am and drove to the Atlanta where we ate lunch and drove over to the temple. We then finished the drive to South Carolina, arriving at Fort Jackson about 7:30 pm. We went to the commissary to get a few groceries, and then headed over to the other side of Fort Jackson to Weston Lake where we stayed in a cabin. I wish I would have taken a picture of the cabin. The kids had a ball with the cabin. It had a bedroom in the back, a small kitchen and bathroom with a shower, and a front room with a futon. There was also a sleeping loft where the 3 oldest kids slept that was over the kitchen. The kids had a ball sleeping in the loft. The trick is getting them to sleep.

Wednesday we spent the day driving around Fort Jackson and showing the kids all there was to do on post. I really wanted the kids to get a good idea of what it will be like living on post.

Thursday was the best day. We were able to all get up and out of the cabin just after 8 am, arriving at Hilton Field for Family Day by 8:30 pm. We found seat and waited for 30 minutes for it to start.

Here is Audree (in the purple hat), Daniel is on the row in front (Jonathan got a good hold on his glasses on the drive over and I didn't dare try to fix them myself), Christina holding Samantha, Sarah, and Jonathan. Clay's mom and sister. Ty is next to Daniel and Amanda and Jonathan are on the row between his mom and sister.
Still waiting. That was the longest 30 minutes I've had in a long time. We all were anxious.Across the field. If you look under the sign, you can see the soldiers. And then it started. They threw out grenades with different colors of smoke.
And finally, they came running out. Sorry it's blurry, I was having a hard time being still.


In formation. I have to admit I was a little worried about being able to spot him but it wasn't a problem. He's towards the back, second row from the back, about in the middle (9 rows from the left). His company had a lot of people not make it so they joined with C Company just days before. I think he said there were only about 15-20 out of 38. Tw0 guys got in trouble that morning and got caught sleeping on CQ duty so they weren't able to participate.