Jackson, Adalynn and I had a fantastic time in Arizona... thanks again to Mom and Dad Fish for letting us stay with you!! We had such a great time laughing and visiting with family, playing an endless amount of Phase 10, and, of course, spending Christmas with everyone. I can't believe how many Christmas presents Adalynn got this year! Seriously, I think probably four fifths of our tiny car was packed with stuff for Adalynn. She must have made a good impression on everyone in order to get so lucky! We also got to visit a lot of our old friends in Phoenix and surrounding areas, and we seriously had a blast seeing everyone! Thanks for making time in your schedules so we could visit you all!! (also, sorry we don't have pictures that we can post..like I said, we're not that great at remembering our camera.)
So after visiting the sunny and beautiful and sunny Arizona (oh, did I mention it was sunny?), we made our way over to San Diego, California. San Diego was also beautiful and so warm.. I loved it!! The reason we were in San Diego was because my second youngest brother, Cody, was graduating from the insanely difficult and hard core Marine Boot Camp. It was a really awesome experience to be able to go to his graduation, and we are soooooo proud of him!! I do have a lot of pictures of his graduation, so brace yourselves.
The first day of his graduation was "family day." It was really interesting to be able to get a glimpse of what the last couple of months of Cody's life has been. The first thing all the Marines did was a five-mile "motivational run." Doesn't it look fun? Cody is the third one back in the second picture.
The next item on the agenda was a "parade." I put the word parade in quotation marks because this was not the type of parade I was used to.. you know, the kind with floats and candy and fun things like that.. but it was still cool to see. The Marine Corps band played some songs and then all of the Marines marched out. It was a rather short parade.
The first picture is us waiting for the parade to start. The second one is the Marine Corps band, and the third picture is when we first start to see the Marines marching out. It's pretty cool to see, for those of you who have never seen anything like that.
So the funny thing is that to me Cody looks really angry in all of the pictures. Surprisingly, he isn't even mad. He just claims this is his "serious" face. I actually believe him though, because when I put on my "serious" face for pictures or something everyone always thinks that I'm mad. It must be a Terrill trait or something.
I wish that pictures could really show the sharpness that the Marines have when they walk, turn, or even verbally respond. It's insane. They are all so in sync with one another. It is really amazing how every one of those guys can have such impeccable timing. Cody told us that they practice things like turning and standing at attention for hours.. so long, in fact, that it's not uncommon for somebody (or somebodies) to pass out because they've been standing there so long.
So after the parade the Marines got to enjoy a few hours of some well deserved leave time. We were able to attend the LDS lunch that the Church put on for the members of the branch and their family members. It was delicious. The only negative thing was the walk to get to the luncheon was honestly like two miles.. or at least it felt like it. I was also carrying Adalynn, because she had fallen asleep, so that really made the walk seem long. Toward the end I was fully convinced that my arms were about to fall off.
The next day was the actual Marine Corps graduation. It was really cool to be surrounded by all of these men who are loyal to their country to the point of being willing to give their very lives in defending America and the freedoms and values it stands for. The average Marine going through boot camp is 18 years old, and it's astounding to me that they are willing to give up anything and everything to protect what has become most precious to them: Their country and their brothers (aka fellow Marines).
Being able to attend this graduation really made me think about how fortunate and blessed I am to live in a beautiful, though imperfect, country where I have fundamental human rights. I am so thankful to all those in the armed forces, regardless of branch, and their families for the sacrifices they make protecting me, my family, and my rights. I am so proud to be an American. I think sometimes it is so easy to focus on what is wrong with our country, the government, and the society we live in in general that it's easy for me to forget how great I've got it. I'm really proud of my brother and the determination that he's had to get through this. Yea Cody!!
So now that I'm off my serious-toned soapbox...after Cody's graduation he had a 10-day leave and he wanted to start it off by.................can you guess??...............eating at In-N-Out Burger!! haha.. it was random, but that's what we did. I love the In-N-Out Burger. You basically have the choice between a hamburger or cheeseburger, fries, and a shake. It's rad.
So now about two weeks have passed and Jackson and I are home.. It's so glorious to be able to have a whole house that we can stretch out in. We are also so lucky because we have closets at our house and we're not living out of a suitcase anymore!!
The last thing that I have to blog about is this cute chair that Adalynn got for Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa Fish. It is too cute!! Here is Addy enjoying her very first chair that is just her size (well, it's still a little big, but you get the idea).
Oh, and I love the second picture, because to me she totally looks like she's got this attitude like, hey, you wanna fight?? She even has her fist clenched.. haha..
