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This was the day we were waiting for…perfect weather, lots of proud parents, and lots of nervous, soon-to-be plebes.  I-Day!  It makes even the strongest young men and women feel weak…

Mark was well prepared but anxious.  I didn’t take a lot of pictures as a result.  He wasn’t so concerned about what he knew was coming; he was very concerned about what he didn’t know.  As it turns out, the day was “easy” (his words).  I wonder if that’s still the case today.

Here’s an attempt to capture the plebes being marched in for their oaths and swearing-in ceremony:

It took about 20 minutes to get them all in — some looked better than others.  It was a day of screaming and yelling, learning about new things, and coming to the realization that you weren’t at the top of the food chain anymore.  You were now just food.  For these guys:

See those guys standing at ease?  They’re surrounding the plebes that just came in.  Those guys are called “cadres”.  The cadres have a job to do, and they’re very, very good at it.  They’re midshipmen that are leaving their junior year and entering senior year.  Three short years ago, they were plebes.  When they were plebes, somebody kicked their collective asses.  Now they return the favor.  They love their work.

The ceremony was short but “official”.  Just before the swearing in, they bring in some big boys for a fly-by:

Then the plebes get some time with families.  Mark asked that we not do a lot of pictures, but he didn’t look any worse for the wear, right?

We had fun for the few minutes we had.  Since I’m the proud Dad, I get to plug a couple of my own –

Okay, so we were screwing around.  Let’s get serious –

There.  A happy young man and an even happier Dad.  We’re thrilled for him!

I won’t have much information about Mark until mid-August.  He can’t have access to a cell phone or computer, and he only gets three, three minute phone calls over the next six weeks.  His Mom is taking the first one because I’m a nice guy.  That puts me about four weeks away from hearing his voice.

He can write, and in fact, the Academy makes him write before tomorrow (7/5).  If he delivers any news via snail mail, I’ll share it with all of you.

I’ve got access to other parent photos and to USNA “official” photos — if anything interesting comes up, I’ll post them here.  I’m also going to post a link to some news clips on a separate page.  The links will ultimately expire, so I won’t post them here as usual.  When they’re dead, I’ll pull the page.

More soon!

Yeah…this is a little late.  But it’s been a busy two weeks!  We delivered Mark to Annapolis on Wednesday; I’ll have pictures posted soon.

Mark graduated on June 25th.  Our experience since then makes the graduation seem almost insignificant.  Of course, it’s not insignificant at all!  He finished fourth in his class, he earned a ton of academic awards and recognition, he was a 12 season varsity athlete, and he was Captain of four varsity teams.  The Cross Country teams he led were County Champions twice and performed well at the State level.  The Track team enjoyed similar success in what was billed as a year of rebuilding.  And of course, his “part-time” sport of Fencing was a blast!  He finished 9th in the State Championship but ultimately was ranked 6th in the State.  It was a successful High School career.

Graduation marked the transition to the “real deal”.  We’re going to have some stories to share as the next few years go by.

But first, a side note: one of the coolest things about Mark’s High School is their bagpipers.  These kids are incredible!  Led by the bagpipers, the school band is so good, that every year they’re invited to march in the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade.  In fact, they’re so freakin’ good that this past year they were invited to take the #1 slot in the parade — that is an incredible honor!  They’re the group right behind the Grand Marshall.  Incredible!

Of course, the bagpipers led the way in and out of graduation.  I had to jump in front –

The young man on the left is a long-time friend of Mark’s (of everyone’s frankly…great kid).  He leads the bagpipers, and he received about $8 billion in scholarships because he plays multiple instruments very, very well.  He also earns $90 a quarter hour when asked to play the bagpipes at an event.  I wish I were him.

Okay!  A few photos –

Kristin was working, so she couldn’t join the family photo.  Next year it’s her turn!

Paris worships the ground Mark, Kristin and Cameron walk on — can you tell?

And of course, how could we finish without a nice picture of Mark and Susie?  We couldn’t…so here we go:

Congratulations Mark!  (By the time he’s allowed to see this, it will seem like a million years ago…)

It was a big day in the world of Pre-K today!  A few pix:

Paris makes her entrance.  The sunglasses were her idea…

Anxiously awaiting…

Finally!  After all these years of hard work!  Diploma in hand!

The girls celebrate!  Kristin still keeps her Nursery School diploma framed in her room…

On to kindergarten!