Bootcamp and Basketball Bloopers

For nearly two weeks Nathan has been at U.S Naval Sea Cadet boot camp. He learned to make his bed every morning with military precision, to answer each question with "Yes, ma'am," or "No, ma'am," and to respond to each command with, "Ay, Ay, Sir."

The entire family drove to Camp Perry for the graduation Thursday afternoon, and were pleasantly surprised to see Nate as the guardsman for the American flag.

The reunion was sweet. Mom got a little teary-eyed, and we all laughed at Nathan's raspy, coarse voice, that seemed two tones deeper after shouting for days on end.

The Navy whites suited him well, and he looked super-handsome all dressed up.

We went out for dinner after the ceremony, and had a great time laughing and catching up- hearing crazy stories about fellow cadets trying to run away from camp despite being caught by commanding officers before they even exited the building; or listening to Nathan tell all about the rigorous physical training they went through twice a day.

We had a lot to fill Nate in on too: Michael Jackson died. Shaq joined the Cavs for a year. Obama's still president. He missed a lot.

While discussing the basketball situation in Cleveland, Angela looked surprised and said, "Wait, so we have Shaq and Michael Jordan?"
We laughed at her- even Dad, and corrected Jordan for James. "I'm sorry!" Angela laughed, "I just don't know baseball that well."

(Nate's the solider with the gun standing to the left of
the flagsman with the American flag)