Family Day and Graduation - Part 3 of 3

Thursday Nov 4th, Graduation day! With the midnight phone call I slept through my 6am alarm. Graduation was to start at 9am and they anticipate having twice the number of people. Needless to say my father-in-law, sis-in-law, and I didn't leave until about 7:45am. Fortunately getting on base still didn't take very long. The day brought much rain, so instead of at Hilton Field it was held at the Solomon Center's gym. It felt/looked like a high school gym and very small. There was standing room only. We were fortunate have gotten there early enough to find seats near the bottom of the stands and it turned out to be right in front of Brett's company. We even got to sit next to the family that I had dinner with the night before. The actual ceremony lasted about 30 minutes. They awarded the top soldiers and drill sergeants from each company. They even had a small group of the Army band providing the music. Made me miss band a little. We ordered the DVD of Graduation and it will arrive in about 4 weeks from that day. So when you come over ask if we have it and I'll show it to you. Below are some pictures of the ceremony. I didn't take many because I knew we would have the DVD.



After the ceremony we were told 3 different things on how to find your soldier, so confusing. However, we stayed put and Brett found us. It was a sweet moment witnessing Brett see his father and sister for the first time in 10+ weeks. We then went back to Brett's barracks to pick up his stuff and for him to be signed out to me. It was a little weird to be told that I was in charge of Brett and that I had to make sure he didn't drink, consume tobacco, or drive. The first two I wasn't worried about, but not having him drive was hard. He always drives when we are together. Any who, we then left the base and Brett was very happy to be leaving those gates. We got back to the hotel and changed into dry clothes. It was raining so hard all morning that we were soaked. After watching some tv we went to Taco Bell for lunch and Wal-mart to get Brett a light jacket. Apparently I was suppose to bring his. Totally forgot, but I did remember his contacts and jeans. A note on the contacts, he wasn't allowed to wear contacts during basic had to wear BCGs (birth control glasses). Brett's prescription is strong and magnified his glasses. (He'll probably be miffed that I wrote this) He got made fun of a lot with those glasses. Then Brett and I spent some much needed alone time. When it was close to dinner time we found out that Brett's phone died from the rain and so we had to get him a new phone. During our earlier trip to Wal-mart I noticed an AT&T store across the street. My phone was due for an upgrade and I let Brett use it instead and got him an iPhone 4. Now I have to wait until April to get mine and I'm good with that. Once we got squared away with the new phone we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. One of the AT&T guys was making fun of us because we are from Texas going to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. If you are a Texan then I think you understand why we went there. However, you could tell it wasn't a Texas Roadhouse in Texas...the floors were CLEAN!! I mean, where are the peanut shells people???? Plus NO PRIME RIB, which is sold only Fri, Sat and Sun. That is the main reason we went there, the Prime Rib is Brett's favorite. We also saw one of the lamest line dances from the wait staff. Nonetheless, it was still Texas Roadhouse and the food was so good, especially the rolls. YUM!! After dinner we all went back to the hotel and hung out until be time. It was so nice to fall asleep in the arms of the man I love.

Friday Nov 5, woke up early to have breakfast with Brett's dad and sister before they hit the road. Apparently they got up an hour earlier than us and had breakfast without us. :( We talked a bit and then said our good-byes. Brett and I had breakfast and packed up the car. Brett's next training is AIT (Advanced Individual Training) where he will learn how to be a Small Arms Repair man. His orders are for him to be in Fort Lee, VA. The drive from Fort Jackson to Fort Lee is only about 6 hours and since Brett wasn't allowed to drive I had to drive. This turned out to be not so fun. For those of you who are married you might understand that it is hard to get used to someone sleeping in the same bed as you, i.e. getting kicked in the night, punched, elbow to the face, etc. Needless to say I didn't sleep well. Usually an audio book helps be stay awake, not this time. We only stopped twice, once just outside of Fayetteville, NC for lunch and a second time because I needed to get a 5 hour energy drink, which I have never consumed an energy drink of any kind in my life. It was a life saver. Let me just say that it was weird to drive 6 hours and go through 3 states (SC, NC, VA). Back in August, Brett and I drove from CS, TX to South Padre, TX and that was 6 hours. Well, once we got to Fort Lee we found our hotel and checked in. Then we went to the base. His orders said to go to A company, so we found them and started the check in process. Come to find out that he is really in F company. We found that out after the soldier helping us told us that the training is 20 weeks. About gave us a heart attack because we were told it was only going to be 6 weeks. (On Nov 8 we found out it's really 15 weeks) Then we head to Foxtrot and since I was staying in town for the weekend they gave Brett a weekend off-post pass. So grateful for that. After a while we were released and went back to the hotel after stopping at the grocery store for some food. The next two days were blissful. Almost seemed like a second honeymoon.

Sunday Nov 7, in the morning we drove out to Richmond, VA for church with my Mom's best friend Olivia. I haven't seen Olivia in almost 3 years and she has never met Brett. It was good to see her. It was fun and interesting to have people in her ward come up to Brett and thank him for his service (he was in uniform since he doesn't have church clothes). Then Brett had to be back to base around 17h, aka 5pm. We said our heartfelt goodbyes before leaving the hotel so I could cry with just the two of us instead of an audience. It was so hard to leave him there at the base. The Sergeant in charge let me stay for a while, but then it got too difficult sitting there just waiting to be told to leave. So Brett and I said our goodbyes again and I left. Boy was that difficult. Funny thing though, around 7:30 Brett texted me saying that he could have a laptop and I brought his with me for the trip. So I packed it up and drove back to the base and got to see him for 5 more minutes. :) That last night though was hard. After spending so much time together in the last 5 days I felt weird being alone again. Again I didn't sleep well.

Monday November 8, since I did not know exactly the timing of Brett reporting to AIT I had my parents so graciously book me a flight home in the evening. My flight was at 6:30pm and I had to check out of my hotel at 11am. So what to do in the mean time?? I asked the person at the front desk of the hotel for a pamphlet of places to visit near by. There were so many historic places to choose from. The winner was Shirley Plantation. It is the first plantation in Virginia and the oldest working plantation left in the country. The plantation was founded in 1613. The family has been there for 11 generations and they still live in the main house. They have the 1st floor open to the public for tours, but the basement, 2nd and 3rd floors is used by the family. For the tour there was a discounted price for active military and since I'm the wife of active military I got the discount. The tour was pretty neat. Most of the furniture is original. The family is connected to many influential people of our history. General Robert E Lee's mother was born and grew up on Shirley Plantation and she raised Gen. Lee there during his childhood. One cool thing about the house is that the windows in one of the rooms you will see Gen. Lee's mother's name etched in the glass. It was customary for girls who recently got engaged to test the diamonds in the ring by etching their names in glass.







After leaving the plantation I headed towards the airport looking for food and found a KFC. Since I still had lots of time to kill I grabbed my new book written by my unknown relative Deanne Blackhurst. It's a sweet little story about a young sister missionary who postpones her wedding to serve a mission. The books is her entire mission and is pretty good. After awhile at KFC I decided to go ahead and go to the airport (it was only 3:30pm and still had 3 hours to go). I turned in my rental car, which the worker there weirded me out. He pointed out where I should park and waited for me to step out of the car. When I did he called me by name. Surprised me, until I noticed the scanner gun in his hand. Once in the airport there was this nice sitting area just out side of security. So I sat and read some more. I saw a big group of missionaries arrive. It was so fun to see all the new greenies. Then went to the gate and read some more. On the flight there were several new recruits for the Air Force. I sat next to one and talked a bit. They were headed to San Antonio. It was interesting to see these new recruits before they start basic after just seeing several new soldiers after basic. I had to chuckle to myself when looking at some of the guys with pretty long hair.

I arrive safely in Dallas a little after 8 (finished the book on the plane). My dad picked me up and took me to see my mom at her studio. Then to their house for sleep. Got up early the next morning to go to my dad's work, that way he could take me to the airport later in the morning. The great thing about my dad's work is it's the Dallas Temple. I was able do a session. What a wonderful way to end a nice long trip, though it would have been nice to have Brett there. Then my dad dropped me off at the airport and I flew back to College Station. Shortest flight ever! One of my co-workers, Tammi, was nice enough to pick me up and take me to work for the afternoon. Meredith Murdock was gracious enough to get me from work and take me home. Meredith also took care of our puppy Ruti, who is not so much a puppy anymore. It was very nice to come home, but again would be nicer if Brett was there. That evening is when I found out about the actual length of training. Needless to say since then it's been hard to adjust back into life without Brett. However, I do know that the Lord is on our side and is watching out for both of us. I'm very grateful for the gospel and to have the Holy Ghost by my side all the time protecting me and comforting me.

So there you have it. Hope you enjoyed reading my very detailed trip.

Family Day and Graduation - Part 2 of 3

Wednesday Nov 3rd, it was finally the morning of Family day and I actually slept well so I was refreshed and so excited. Family Day Briefing started at 10am and they said to be there 2 hours early. Well, I had to go find a donut shop first per Brett's request. It took awhile but I found a Duncan Donuts. Then made my way back to the base. Let me just say driving on a base is confusing and a little scary. The map they gave me was not very good and I was scared to make a wrong turn into a restricted area, which did happen once. It didn't take as long as I thought to get on base nor park once I found Hilton Field, which is where the briefing was to take place. It was a very cold morning and overcast. I wished I had a heavier coat or a blanket. They had booths set up to buy t-shirts, jewelery, etc. I found an Army Wife t-shirt and it's pink. I know, I know, I know shocking. Brett likes me in pink so I bought it for him. Anywho, I went into the stands and found where D company was and got a seat in the 3rd row. I talked to a few family members near by. One family was from Minnesota, could tell from the first word they said, and another for Corpus Christi. Us Texans were cold. Finally the commander Lt. Col. Allen started the briefing. Told us a little about what went on during the 10 weeks, introduced us to all the Drill Sergeants, and rules for the day and what to expect for graduation the next day. Across the field was a line full of trees. We could see movement behind the trees and I texted Brett to find out if that's where they were. He won't tell me. I'm glad that he had his phone so that way I knew where to find him in formation. He is in the very back about 4 soldiers in from the right when they are facing the stands. Lt. Col. Allen told us that the person we dropped off 10 weeks ago is no longer a civilian, but an American Soldier. After that smoke grenades went off and shots were fired.



Here is a video of what happened after that. During the video I'm focusing on Brett's company the whole time. He is in the very back row. Sorry for all the movement, I stood up in the middle of it and then trying to find Brett over the camera.

Let's just say that I couldn't cheer during that moment. You can see Brett in the back row in the center.



After the song was over Lt. Col. Allen released the families to find their soldiers. They were all pushing down the little stairs onto the field. Thankfully I spotted Brett before heading down there. Once on the field I walked as quickly as I could and grabbed Brett's arm, we hugged for I don't know how long. I started balling too. I'm not sure if Brett cried because it was raining by this point. I won't go into all the details on what we felt, but let's just say it was the best feeling in the world to be in the arms of someone you love so much. I wonder if it will be the same feeling we have when we return to our Heavenly Father and our family members who went on before us. Well, the rest of the day Brett and I were able to spend together. We drove to the Solomon Center, a.k.a. the activities center, in order for Brett to get his picture taken as you see below. If you want copies of this just go to http://prophototogo.com/, click on Fort Jackson, then November 3, 2010.

E2 Jones, Brett
November 3, 2010

Isn't he HOT!!! hehe Well, while trying to find the center we spotted a Burger King, Brett was so excited. After the picture we got food and then found a little park next to lake to feast on our lunch. I'm not sure how long we were there, but it was so nice to finally talk face-to-face instead of through letters. We decided to head to Brett's barracks, because I had to pee, and try to find some of his buddies. I got to meet some really great people. Since it was family day they opened up the Officer Club and that's where we got to have dinner. The food was tasty and two of Brett's Drill Sergeants even had dinner with us. We also had dinner with the family of one of Brett's battle buddies. At the dinner they had videos playing of each company during BCT. We bought the DVD for Brett's company, so if you come over feel free to ask to watch it. It is pretty interesting. After dinner we headed back to the barracks and hung out until about 20h or 8pm. It was hard to leave Brett there, but just the knowledge that we would see each other the next morning made leaving not as bad. I then headed back to my hotel (This is when I drove the wrong way into a restricted area before leaving base). It was a long, emotional, wonderful day that I went to bed a little after 9pm. During both these days Brett's dad and sister were driving from Dallas to Fort Jackson and they arrived around midnight. I got a lovely call from the hotel's front desk since their room was in my name.

To be continued.....

Family Day and Graduation - Part 1 of 3

(I've been working on this post for a few days now and it has turned out to be very lengthy, so I'm splitting it up a bit.)

On Tuesday Nov 2nd, I flew from DFW to Columbia, SC (Thanks Mom & Dad for the airfare tickets). I got there a little before noon and had a few hours to kill before I could check into my hotel. So I got in my rental car, a Nissan Versa (it was a good car, but would never buy one) and drove to Fort Jackson. In order to get on base I needed to get a pass and thankfully they offered passes the day before all the festivities. Upon getting my pass I headed towards my hotel to know roughly where it was in relation to the base and found a Chick-Fil-A and decided to stop for lunch. It felt so surreal knowing that I was just within a few miles of my hubby. Well, once I got my food I asked for a phone book and looked up the Columbia Temple address. Got back in my car and found the the temple, which was only 15 minutes away. By the way, I love our TomTom. I would have gotten lost with out. Once I arrived at the temple I really wished I could go in. I don't have temple clothes and the temple is pretty small so they don't rent clothes. I was actually surprised on how small it was. In any case I could still walk around the grounds and found a nice little bench to sit on. Just being on the grounds you can feel the Spirit so strongly. After about an hour the cold was too much and I decided to try to find the LDS bookstore near by. Turned out to be directly across the street. I walked around the store very slowly trying to pass the time and found two items to buy. A cookbook of recipes 2 people and a novel called Turning Hearts by Deanne Blackhurst! I was so shocked to see my maiden name on a book that I just had to buy it. I'm sure we are related somehow, but I don't recognize the name and neither do my parents. After leaving the bookstore it was past the time that I could check in my hotel so I head straight there. I finally got in my hotel room after a small mix up at the front desk, mostly because the person's English was not very good. I was pretty tired so took a nap, then woke feeling hungry. I didn't want fast food again so I tried driving around looking for a grocery store, my hotel room had a fridge and microwave, and after while had to go back to get the TomTom. There are so many trees in SC that it was hard to drive around looking for stores. Finally found a Wal-mart, got a few things then went back to the hotel. It was a little weird staying in a hotel by myself, but it was good and I am so grateful to even have gone. Brett got his phone back and we were texting the whole day. It was good to converse with him. Finally around 10 I went to sleep and slept pretty well.

To be Continued...