Thursday, June 28, 2012
A Super Simple, Super Yummy Summer Salad
Wow! Try saying that title three times fast! I was browsing pinterest the other night and came upon this delicious looking salad from Paula Deen. I immediately pinned it and decided to give it a try tonight for dinner. I'm all for a simple, quick to fix salad and this one did not disappoint! The verdict: definitely a keeper!
Cucumber, Tomato, & Onion Salad
2 cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 Vadalia onion, very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Chill for at least 10 minutes, preferably longer.
I'm sharing this over at Kristen's Share Your Creations party.
Until next time. . .
Thursday, June 21, 2012
A Visit to San Antonio - Part Two
Day two of our visit to San Antonio was a very exciting day - GRADUATION DAY!!!! We boarded a bus near where they guys and gals did their Airman's run on Thursday and were transported to the parade grounds. We got an early start so that we could get good seats and we were rewarded by this beautiful sunrise on our way to the base.
Once there, I got my Mom settled and then took a little self guided tour of the parade grounds.
There were a lot of these big, old planes around. I guess that makes sense, this being an Air Force base, huh? :)
On the back of the building sheltering all the dignitaries and special guests, this was what I found.
"I am an American Airman, I am a Warrior, I have answered my Nation's call"
"Integrity First, Service before Self, Excellence in all we do"
The back of the grandstands were lined with all these colorful flags and plaques.
Soon it was time for the graduation ceremony to begin. The Airmen marched out onto the parade grounds and lined up in formation. Each flight group was recognized and all the MTIs (Military Training Instructors) were introduced. Brandon's flight, along with his brother flight, Flight 350, were chosen to carry the American flags and all the US state flags. What an honor! Brandon carried Hawaii's flag.
After hearing from a few keynote speakers, including one of the highest ranking Generals in the Air Force, the graduates were pronounced Airman Basic! No more trainees! Woohoo! They then marched around the entire parade grounds in front of all the proud family members. After reciting the Airman's creed and taking the Air Force oath, the graduation ceremony concluded with a fly over from a fighter jet. I didn't get a picture of that due to the fact that my camera is not a very high tech one and that plane flew by pretty fast!
My newly graduated Airman Basic, Brandon Scott Rash!!!
I love this child with all my heart and I am so very, very proud of him and all that he has accomplished these past few months!
In a future post, I will share some of the fun stuff we got to do during our visit to San Antonio, so stay tuned!!
Until next time. . .
Once there, I got my Mom settled and then took a little self guided tour of the parade grounds.
There were a lot of these big, old planes around. I guess that makes sense, this being an Air Force base, huh? :)
On the back of the building sheltering all the dignitaries and special guests, this was what I found.
"I am an American Airman, I am a Warrior, I have answered my Nation's call"
"Integrity First, Service before Self, Excellence in all we do"
The back of the grandstands were lined with all these colorful flags and plaques.
Soon it was time for the graduation ceremony to begin. The Airmen marched out onto the parade grounds and lined up in formation. Each flight group was recognized and all the MTIs (Military Training Instructors) were introduced. Brandon's flight, along with his brother flight, Flight 350, were chosen to carry the American flags and all the US state flags. What an honor! Brandon carried Hawaii's flag.
After hearing from a few keynote speakers, including one of the highest ranking Generals in the Air Force, the graduates were pronounced Airman Basic! No more trainees! Woohoo! They then marched around the entire parade grounds in front of all the proud family members. After reciting the Airman's creed and taking the Air Force oath, the graduation ceremony concluded with a fly over from a fighter jet. I didn't get a picture of that due to the fact that my camera is not a very high tech one and that plane flew by pretty fast!
My newly graduated Airman Basic, Brandon Scott Rash!!!
I love this child with all my heart and I am so very, very proud of him and all that he has accomplished these past few months!
In a future post, I will share some of the fun stuff we got to do during our visit to San Antonio, so stay tuned!!
Until next time. . .
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
A Visit to San Antonio - Part One
Last month, my son, Brandon, graduated from Air Force basic training in San Antonio, TX. I was fortunate enough to get to fly out for graduation weekend. I flew out on Wednesday and flew back home on Sunday.
The graduation festivities began early Thursday morning with the mile and a half "Airman's Run". This is a run in which all the flight squadrons run in formation for a mile and a half. The families are invited to line the road side and cheer them on. A lot of us made signs to show our support for our Airmen.
This picture is Brandon's flight, Flight 349. They were the "Bulldogs". Don't ask me which one he is. They ran by at a pretty good pace and I had no idea where he was in this picture. The only way I knew it was his flight is because each flight had a "bear", which is the person who carries a flag in front of the group. The flag has their flight number on it. The run was an awesome thing to watch. All the guys and girls running were singing "jodies" as they ran. A jodie is a chant or song. They did the run at 7 a.m. due to the hot temperatures in San Antonio.
A bit later in the day, we attended the coin ceremony. This is where each Airman is presented with a symbolic coin, signifying their transition from a trainee to an Airman Basic. My son is the Airman in the center of this picture.
After all the Airmen were presented with their coin, they were dismissed by their trainers to spend the rest of the day on the base with their families. But before they could be allowed to break formation, they had to be "tapped out" by a family member. This means that they had to be tapped on the shoulder by someone before they could break formation. Here's me tapping out Brandon. By far,the BEST moment of the entire weekend!!! There were lots of tears from me and from him since we hadn't seen each other in over two months.
The rest of Thursday was spent on base doing fun things. We went bowling, caught a movie, shopped at the BMX and mini mall on base, and ate a LOT of junk food! This was the first junk food they had been allowed to have since they arrived for the beginning of basic training. I think Brandon ate just about everything you could imagine. It seemed like he never got full!!
It was hard to leave him on base on Thursday evening. But I took solace in knowing that I would get to see him on Friday morning, all dressed up in his dress blues for the actual graduation ceremonies. Check back tomorrow for a post on that! I'll leave you with this picture of my Airman with his very proud Momma!
Until next time. . .
This picture is Brandon's flight, Flight 349. They were the "Bulldogs". Don't ask me which one he is. They ran by at a pretty good pace and I had no idea where he was in this picture. The only way I knew it was his flight is because each flight had a "bear", which is the person who carries a flag in front of the group. The flag has their flight number on it. The run was an awesome thing to watch. All the guys and girls running were singing "jodies" as they ran. A jodie is a chant or song. They did the run at 7 a.m. due to the hot temperatures in San Antonio.
A bit later in the day, we attended the coin ceremony. This is where each Airman is presented with a symbolic coin, signifying their transition from a trainee to an Airman Basic. My son is the Airman in the center of this picture.
After all the Airmen were presented with their coin, they were dismissed by their trainers to spend the rest of the day on the base with their families. But before they could be allowed to break formation, they had to be "tapped out" by a family member. This means that they had to be tapped on the shoulder by someone before they could break formation. Here's me tapping out Brandon. By far,the BEST moment of the entire weekend!!! There were lots of tears from me and from him since we hadn't seen each other in over two months.
The rest of Thursday was spent on base doing fun things. We went bowling, caught a movie, shopped at the BMX and mini mall on base, and ate a LOT of junk food! This was the first junk food they had been allowed to have since they arrived for the beginning of basic training. I think Brandon ate just about everything you could imagine. It seemed like he never got full!!
It was hard to leave him on base on Thursday evening. But I took solace in knowing that I would get to see him on Friday morning, all dressed up in his dress blues for the actual graduation ceremonies. Check back tomorrow for a post on that! I'll leave you with this picture of my Airman with his very proud Momma!
Until next time. . .
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