Class of '58!

I began in the post below to tell about Navy football games. Jeff and I have gotten season tickets each year and are privileged to sit at the very top of the A in NAVY which is printed on the seats. When you drive by the stadium you see the large than life letters. This is a nice way of saying we are in the cheaper seats! The best part of where we sit is who we sit with! Surrounding us are alumni of the class of 1958. Yes, the classmates of John McCain! They seem much older than he does for some reason and are quite entertaining! You'll see the gentleman with his bullhorn who leads the cheers. They pass out printed sheets with the cheers to all of us who sit there. Bill sits next to Jan and tells some great stories. The week that the Stockdale statue was dedicated he told about times when he interacted the with the famous admiral. For those of you who don't know, Admiral Stockdale was the longest held Vietnam POW. We've also become good friends with the parents of other mids, retired Marine and his wife, and a present day Commander and his family. He teaches at USNA. We get to watch the mids cheer from across the stadium!

Parent Weekend at USNA

Parents Weekend has been traditionally held for Firstie Parents (seniors) but this year it was changed to include the second class parents to honor the midshipmen who signed their 2 for 7 paper. Jeff and I got to go to class with Tim and eat lunch in King Hall. Eating with 4,000 midshipmen and their parents was quite an experience! We also got to go up on the 5th deck to see Tim's room. Otherwise, we are not allowed in these places. Another tradition that happens each fall and spring are dress parades which happen weekly I think. We just happened to be standing where the Brigade forms and begins the march over to the parade field when along came 10th Company (Tim's) and there he was! Usually, we sit in the stands to watch but this day we chose to get a different view. As you will see all eyes are on the boat! Football games are a blast! The march-on of the Brigade always creates a lump in my throat. All 30 companies march into the stadium before the team enters waving the US flag. The brigade turns to face the visiting crowd...that's where we sit! They do a cheer for the visiting team and tip their covers. Then they turn to the cheers of the Navy crowd and do an enthusiasic Navy cheer! Then they head to the stands where they all stand and cheer the entire game! Always before the game is a fly over. And it's great when we win!

September Trip to Oregon

As you will see below Jeff and I flew to Oregon in September to celebrate (late) Josiah's 4th birthday and Katie Eick's wedding. Jeff and I LOVE to spend time with our kids and grand kids!!!! The day we arrived we babysat for Dan and Anna. A trip to the park was followed by bath time! A joyous occasion!!! Josiah is a Star Wars fan so I was able to find a vintage Yoda puppet (thanks to Michelle Steiner!) on Ebay. What a cool gift! You'll see our other gift on the head of Uncle Mike...a Storm Trooper helmet. Aunt Jill has taught the boys a fun song and motions to go with it. Uncle Nolan is always fun, too. Dan and Anna are wonderful parents. Anna is always busy cleaning, doing laundry and making fun times for the kids. She's amazing! Dan is super Dad! The only sad part of our time was that Uncle Tim didn't get to join us.

Eick Wedding

As you'll read below we had the great honor of attending Katie Eick's! Great friends!

Katie Eick's Wedding in September

We flew to Oregon for Katie Eick's wedding. Lee and Vicki Eick have been our very dear friends for 30 years. Vicki and I were pregnant with Katie and Dan together and Katie is 2 months older. We were honored to be there for this very special day honoring Katie and her new husband, Adam. As you can tell, our photos were from before! Sorry Adam! Our kids came and even Cambria! She was a very good girl!