my military experience

Ok, so I've never set foot on a military base of any kind before last week

and

can I just say...holy buckets, I could get used to it there!! :)

Like I said yesterday, the boys and I traveled to San Diego last week

to see my little (can i call a marine little??) cousin graduate from boot camp

at Marine Corps Recruit Depot.

The base was actually quite something. 

At over 90 years old,

it was a sight to see.

Thursday was family day. 

These guys had been in boot camp for 13 weeks at that point...

unable to talk to anyone besides each other OR crazy drill instructors who basically

screamed at them the whole time.

So...needless to say, my cousin Alex was pretty excited to see us!

When we finally got to talk to him, all he said was,

"You guys have NO idea how happy I am to see you!!"

{graduation ceremony}

So, why did I like it there so much??

Well, let's just say that my OCD genes were in absolute heaven!!

The base was absolutely immaculately clean and tidy.

All the Marines were impeccably neat and ironed...not wrinkles to be seen.  Anywhere!

Before graduation, all the guys brought all their bags out and lined them up so they were ready when

the ceremony was over.  These 500+ bags were line up in perfectly straight,

organized lines....I LOVED that :)

(so mad i didn't get a pic of the bags...all you OCD readers would've loved it too!)

It took everything in my not to run like a crazy woman into the barracks and see all those neatly made

bunk beds with the best hospital corners ever!

The other thing was the manners...all those men were full of

"yes ma'am's" and "good afternoon, sir's" and "excuse me, ma'am's"...

The boys even caught on to this and have been saying

"yes, ma'am" to me!!

I have to say, I could totally get used to THAT!!

But besides my OCD euphoria, it was a great experience to see firsthand.

I was especially happy my boys were there to see it all.

Seeing how excited the new Marines were to have accomplished 13 weeks of over-the-top

training, was contagious.

  We all gushed over our new Marine :)

On Wednesday, we were lucky to spend a few hours at a very mellowed out Sea World.

There were no lines, no crowds, and perfectly coolish weather.

Could not have asked for a better day!

Before we went on this trip, I thought it would be so freaky if my kids signed up for the military.

But now, I've changed my tune a bit.

Not that I'd be super excited about war and all the dangers that come with being in the

military, but there is something very special about committing your life to your country.

So, if one of my boys (or girl, yikes!) decided that was the path for them, I'd be really proud

of their decision. 

I find it to be a very noble choice :)

So, congrats on graduating, Alex!!

And thank you so much for your commitment to our country!

Have a terrific day, fellow Americans :)

{alicia}