David's Graduation!

We had the BEST time going to David's BCT (basic combat training) graduation. Here are all the details!:

We left on Monday September 22 at 10:30 PM. I was so anxious and excited all day. I was so so excited to see David but so nervous about the plane ride with Austyn. We got to the airport, got all checked in and got on our flight. Austyn was a little restless at first but as soon as we took off she fell fast asleep and slept the entire flight. I know that this was a tender mercy and I'm so grateful she was so good on the flight. My mom and dad and I didn't really get any sleep but all in all it was a good flight.

We landed in New York City for about an hour then got on the plane to fly into DC. Again Austyn slept the whole way. Yay! The only hiccup of our trip is that we had a mix up with our rental car. We booked our flights through a travel agent and we thought we were landing at one airport but it was really a different one about 30 minutes away. The problem was our rental car was at the wrong airport! Luckily my aunt picked us up at the airport and took us to get our car. She is the best! She also brought my sister, Erin, so she could come David's graduation too. 

Once we got the rental car we headed for SC. It was a lonnngggg day of driving. About 8 hours. We were so exhausted from flying all night then having to drive all day but we finally made it. 

The next day (wednesday) was family day. For me this was the best day of our whole trip. It was so incredible seeing David after being apart for so long. The soldiers were presented to us and the commander said a few things, then we got to go find our soldier. David couldn't move until I touched him. I had to fight through the crowd but finally made it to him. It was such a sweet reunion with tears from both David and me. It was the best moment.

 We spent family day bowling, went to a little church social, and just hung out. David and I talked and talked and talked. It was such a great day! Austyn was a little hesitant at first to David but she warmed up very quickly. She gave him lots of kisses and wanted to be with him. It was so sweet!

David with his drill sergeants. 

His comfy bed!

This was at the church social.
The tall guy on the right is Kirby.
He is from Utah too!

Thursday was graduation day. Although we left the hotel in plenty of time we were just a few minutes late. I had plugged the address in my phone but we ended going in completely wrong direction. Oops! We were only a few minutes late though. The ceremony was about 35 minutes long then we got to see David again.

David is in the front row, on the far left.

David's two good friends, Weatherford and Rasor

We are so proud of him!

Playing with daddy's shiny medal. 

We left right after graduation and drove back up to my Aunt Tami's house in Virginia. We spent the night then David, Austyn and I left on the 3 hour drive to Fort Eustis the next day. David had to report to his AIT (advanced individual training) where he is learning how to become an Apache helicopter mechanic. - A side note David had to wear his camo ACU's while we were traveling- During the drive we stopped at a Burger King for lunch. We went to pay for our meal and the employee said that the guy ahead of us had already paid for it! I was so touched by his kindness. We were able to thank him and give him back his change. Also while we were eating another lady came up to us and thanked David for his service. She also said if she had caught us while we were in line she would've paid for our meal too. I was so touched by the generosity of these strangers. It was a really great experience, and not just for the free meal but by their kindness and generosity. 

When we got to Fort Eustis David reported to his sergeant and we learned that David had to be back to his bay every night by 8pm but could spend all day with us. The first night Austyn and I stayed at a hotel right off post but we were able to stay on post the second night. We spent Friday night, All day Saturday, and Sunday morning together. We had a great time being together in just our little family. We went to a museum on post, drove all around exploring but spent most of our time just hanging out at the hotel. We also went to the PX about 30 times it felt like haha. We just kept thinking of more things that we needed. 

Can you see David's scar on his head? He got this at basic when he hit his head on a hook in the van. 5 staples later here is the scar.

I want to share a funny experience we had while we were there mostly so I can remember it in the future. We had just checked into my hotel off post and were coming back on post to go to the PX before David had to report back. I had to drive the whole time we were there because David wasn't aloud too. When we went through the gates David and I both showed our military IDs to the MPs and went on our way. We hadn't been to the PX yet and we were kinda playfully arguing on where it was. I was sure it was a certain direction and insisted we went that way. Well I was wrong and I drove us right off post through a different gate. I was mad that we had to go through all the hassle of finding a place to turn around and get back on post. As I went to get my military ID I couldn't find it anywhere in my wallet. We ended up just using my drivers license and David's ID to get back on post. When we finally got to the PX we found my military ID in David's wallet. He must've put it back in his wallet when he got his ID out the first time. Anyway the moral of this story is that it was a huge blessing I drove us off post. If I hadn't realized I didn't have my military ID I wouldn't have been able to get on post the next day when I went to pick up David. I had to pick up david at 6am and I don't know what I would've done if I didn't have my ID to get on post. I'll just add that to my testimony that Heavenly Father is always looking out for me. 

We had to leave David on Sunday afternoon. It was a very sad moment. I cried and cried and David even cried a little too. Austyn and I said goodbye and we headed back to my Aunt Tami's home. We spent the night and left for the airport bright an early the next day. We flew home without any problems. Austyn slept the whole way on the first flight and was an angel on the second flight. 

We had such a great trip. I'm so grateful that my family could come with me. It was so great to have them there and to have their help with Austyn. It was so incredible to see David and even though it was hard to leave I know that he is where he needs to be.

He is loving AIT. He loves that everything is aviation and he is soaking up the information. He has made a good friend and he has a lot more freedom. We can talk every day which has been amazing. We are currently planning and booking flights for Christmas and then he'll be home for good in February. I am so proud of him for everything he has accomplished and I'm counting down the days until I'll get to see him again.