PIR 10/15/10

I'm curious - I booked a room at Spring Hill Suites and called back today to extend our stay until the 18th, in the hopes that we'll have Sunday to visit with our sailor. Both times they are quoting me different prices than what I'm seeing others post online. $89 for King with sitting area, $99 for 2 Queens with sitting area. It's not a huge deal but it is different than I've seen others quote. It is the Navy graduation rate per the confirmation email. Anyone have any further info, suggestions?

tracie--be sure to tell them you there for graduation, so you can get that special

deemedic--you're so welcome. I tried so hard to plan for our weekend and just wanted to help others so they could account for travel times. remember all attractions in chicago is free to your sailor, so go online and purchase tickets to avoid lines :-)

djloch - The confirmation email notes it's the navy graduation discount. Maybe I'll be able to use AAA on top of that when I get there.

We stayed at the Navy Lodge, its 65.00 a night with no tax and we had a kitchenette in our room. Theres no shuttle though but its just 5min drive to base.

DIV 344... I just spoke with my husband! They're getting calls... stay by your phone!

Hi Tracie - I am staying at the Spring Hill Suites too and being charged a bit more... I think the charge depends on how many people is staying in the room -- in my case: We are four adults...

congrats on the calls...be sure to ask when Battlestations is so you can make a schedule

YES YES YES! YAYYYYY! Got my phone call from my baby! Good luck everyone!

my heart is racing... come on phone RING!

Also, I asked my son if he got my letters and he said thanks....I asked if I sent too many and he said no. I can send a letter everyday and he is good with that!

I GOT A PHONE CALL TOO!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!

Details ladies, what they say? :)

Got a phone call!!!!

So Dana, what did your recruit say?

Ok... my son sounded pretty serious and was talking quite softly. Don't know if there were lots of people around or what. But he doesn't sound homesick! He's on a bottom bunk which surprised me! He said they are easier to make or something like that?! The connection wasn't the clearest. He said his division is having some trouble with marching. He also said there was one other tall guy there - about 6'4" and otherwise everyone else was about 6'1 or shorter. (he notices this because he's 6'8!) We talked about graduation - he didn't know what PIR stood for! And who he should put on the list when that time comes. He said they were done swimming and he did well. He didn't pass the push up/sit up portion of the pt, but he didn't sound too worried about that. He listed all the people he got letters from. He said he's just trying to do what they tell him too and not get into trouble! Then all of a sudden he had to go so I got to tell him I loved him but he didn't get to tell me that - but I already know it! It was SO good to just hear his voice!!

Regarding SpringHill Suites - I think the rates they are quoting now are $10 more than what we got when we booked early. I think this is still a graduation rate because the normal rate is like $109. They do have pull out couches in the living area.

Did any of you remember to ask when Battlestations is?! I totally forgot because I was so happy to actually talk to him!!

I am so happy for all you that are getting calls!!!! I hope your SR's are doing great! Let us know what they are saying. OK....that only leaves ship 2 div 948, right? We must be the last ones!

Got a call too!! Sounded Great. Loving It. Health, well fed and likes the guys he is with.

i didnt receive a phone call.. that worries me!

I've seen some preprinted questionaire thingies to send to our recruits.....now I can't find them. Someone help! Thank you!

@ Pink....I'm sure they will get the marching down. My son doesn't sound homesick at all...My son was on the plane with yours when they left San Jose...How long did you get with him on the phone? I got 4 minutes.

Oh Missy : ( I'm sure you will probably get one in the next hour or so. There is probably only so many phones they can use at once.

My husband sounded homesick. I cried the whole time! It was hard to hear his voice like that. He said it is so hard...and so hard going through it w/o me. We did everything together, we even worked at the same job. I know he is looking forward to PIR. He said he doesn't get much sleep...they wake them up a lot. He said he felt so much better eveytime he gets mail from me.... I got really sad but happy to hear his sweet voice. It made my day & I hope everyone else gets theirs! I've been praying & that's the only thing that gets me through. 30 more days!!

Got my first phone call today! Anthony sounds wonderful and very happy. The division voted him as an honor grad but I guess the RDCs have to approve it so we'll see. Very exciting. It was so good to hear his voice. They're getting their dress uniforms this week. He said all he wants the weekend we're there is to shower by himself, eat a pepperoni pizza and watch movies! He's still doing everyone's laundry which is really the perfect job for him. And he does road watch while they're marching - wearing an orange vest and stopping traffic - a grown up safety patrol! I cannot wait until PIR to see him and to meet all of you and your kids.

missy--dont worry, if anything is wrong he would HAVE to call. He could be on watch duty. One of the guys in my son division was on watch when they got calls and missed it. His mother was worried sick til she got the letter explaining. Sorry, hang in there!!
Pink- if yours is that tall you should spot him at PIR easy..LOL..he will be in back cause they line up from shortest on front line to tallest in back. And dont worry the RDCs will keeping working with him and everyone else till they pass all physical training (they want look good too). And yeah they only call it graduation during boot to the recruits. They dont hear PIR til after BS21.
KSmom- they are on your discussion page, just click on view all to get there. My son loved those

He was crying... and coughing cause he was so choked up. All the homesick feelings rushed in on him when I answered. It was loud and kind of hard to hear.

He said Battle Stations is 6-5 day, but they are a "push" division... so the days get kind of messed up. They have had several "holding" days so that doesn't help to make sense of when they will actually do Battle Stations and what day they are actually on. I'll try to make sense of it from his letters.

He said they got the rest of their uniforms yesterday and got to try them on to see how they fit. He likes the Dress Blues best and thinks their 200 year history is pretty neat.

He has watch from 0200-0400 in the morning. He's on Light Limited Duty because his ankle has been bothering him... but they gave him meds and no PT for a few days and it's doing better.

Mostly he just wants letters from us and can't wait for graduation!

I feel the same way!!! I miss my boy!!!

Dana-- you just made me cry all over again remembering my boys call. When I said Hello he said "Hey mom, its so good to hear your voice"..yeah I lost it!

So happy for all of you getting your calls!!! I will catch up with you ladies tomorrow

My son did not sound homesick at all either. How long did all your phone calls last? I got 4 short minutes. My son sounded great. I asked him how his health was and his answer was "everyone gets sick." I asked him about the peanut butter shot and he said it did hurt for a short time....I asked him if he was passing all his tests and he said he just took his first one....I asked him if he was going to graduate and he doesn't know at this point...didn't seem discouraged and he didn't seem too concerned. He is not going to church because he said he needs the time to study. I did not ask about battlestation...I did not have enough time to ask all the questions because he was told it was time to get off the phone. I did tell him that I love him and miss him! It has been a good day!

Well im glad more people got phone calls.. am i the only 344er that didnt receive a phone call... (neither did anyone else in my family)

I got my call at 3:00pm. It was for 15 min.
OMG it was so good to hear his voice but I did not recognize it at first.
He does not know anyone of your sons or husbands he says. Of course they only go by last names so fist names did not do any good. He says his division is mostly older men.
He did not pass his diver test he is ok with that. He can change his job. He is going to try for Air traffic controller. i think thats what he said.
He misses home so much. he says it feels like he has been there his whole life. He said he gets really sad and depressed when he realizes that he is never coming back home to live only visit. He cried which of course made me cry.
He told me about a dream he had.
he said he was dreaming about wrestling with our puppy Ella and playing and she was licking his face. He was laughing in his sleep and it woke him up. He realized he had slobbered all over his pillow and it was not Ella licking him. He said that was the most depressing day to wake up from such a good dream and then remember he was in HELL.
I hurt for him. I so just want to hold him.
He says he misses me so much and wanted to know if I was getting his letters.
He says...mom I am getting a lot of letters from you. Is that all you do? Write to me...LOL
He loves it though and wants me to keep writing all the time. He says the RDC finally let up on him when he found out that his recruiter is his good friend and former ship mate. THANK YOU JESUS. He said they were VERY mean to him.
But now its better.
Thank You God for letting me hear my baby's voice today and for letting these other women hear from their loved ones as well.

Dillon's mom - Anthony did not say why he got to call today. I'm sorry I didn't think to ask. I don't know if he did something to earn it or how they determine when they will allow them to call. I hope you hear from Dillon soon - the wait is difficult!

My son said they didn't earn this call. It's one of the 3 they are allowed to make... the "I'm here", one in the middle and the "I'm a Sailor". I got to talk to him for about 13 minutes. I don't know if he called someone else first or not. While we were talking all of a sudden he said he had to go.

Rebecca - I'm sorry to hear Marions having a hard time. Hang in there... it will make PIR even sweeter for both of you!

Dana, I cried when I read that your son was crying. Mine didn't cry... but if he would have, then I would have too... Hang in there! Only 30 more days... we can do this!!

I asked my son if they have to earn phone calls and he said it was one of the three....I asked him why I did not get the first arrival phone call and he said he could not figure out the phone.

Got a phone call too! But I missed it...can't believe I didn't take the phone with me into the bathroom! He talked to my husband though...passing all tests, sounded good. Least favorite thing...watch at 2:00am, but other than that not too bad...lots and lots of marching!

I got my call !!!!!! OMG Can you believe I was talking to him and tried to call my daughter on 3 way and I DISCONNECTED HIM!!!!!! I have been crying for the last 5 minutes!!! I did get to talk to him for a while though. He sounded really good. OK, I just thought I would let ya'll know....I have to go finish crying now. : )

I got my call too! It didn't even sound like him when I answered....I asked "why do you sound like that??" and his response was, "Because I am in boot camp". HA HA!

I asked if he was grad & go or not and he said NO...but he does not know if his flight to GC will be saturday or sunday and also said that he would have to be back at night sometimes between 8 and 11 but it hasn't been decided exactly when (which I knew). He made it sound like he might not know until PIR. As long as he isn't leaving right after PIR!!! I am excited about that! I am hoping to get to spend even a TINY bit of time with him on sunday as it is his bday!

He confirmed that his division is having a few problems. He said they keep getting in trouble for too many of them being out of bed during lights out (I guess it is only supposed to be 10 at a time). He said they got fitted for all their other uniforms and that he couldnt wait to be done but I guess he is doing better now than initially. It was such a messy phone call....we were both just asking each other questions and then all of a sudden he was like "I have to go!" :( I am glad I heard from him though. I was going crazy!

@ Vincent's mom...that is so messed up!! I guess he couldn't call back? I'm sorry.
@ LC, I'm glad you got a call. Did he say he passed all his tests so far? My son said he only has had one test and he did not know the score....I'm thinking he is not including the physical tests....who knows.....

Ok....I'm sorry for crying to all you earlier.....my son called me back after I disconnected him. Thank God!!! I was so sad that I didn't get to say I Love you. I said it to him at the very beginning of the conversation...just in case we were disconnected again. Hugs to everyone that got calls. Prayers that everyone else gets their call very soon!

did anyone get a letter today? (: i did, Tim said they were allowed to write for labor day so start checking your mailboxes if you haven't got yours yet, its coming (:
Exactly a month left ! He also said bootcamp is slowly getting better so they are hanging in there,.

whats a 3rd class swimmer?

OMG.. .Rebecca_Marions mom's --- I can’t stop crying… “He said he gets really sad and depressed when he realizes that he is never coming back home to live only visit.” This statement adds at lot to the difficult time I am having seeing my children become independent and most of at all letting them go on their own……
On the other hand the dream with the puppy it is too funny.
I am so proud of my son, of your son, so proud of all the sailors and so grateful to the all military men and women that give so much for the rest of us, but our lives will never be the same anymore….what an emotional rollercoaster this is… and I don’t think it will get better any time soon…..

ARebecca_Marions mom - what ship and division is your son in?

Well what a welcome suprise to come in from work and see so many of you got phone calls.....that's just GREAT!! to the puppy dream sorry can't remember which mom's son it was but that's to funny....and I don't know why Springhill is givin such different rates...we have 2 queens for $89.00...and I guess I better start a plan of what attractions Desiree might wanna see just incase she wants to get out....I'm sure if there was a sports game going on somewhere she'd be all over that...!!

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/navy/l/blnavyswim.htm here ya go missy I asked in open chat....I was curious too

@ tims mom....I know he missed his run by 35 seconds...but he is a good student so i am confident he passed any kind of written tests...it was the run that we have been concerned about the whole time

Winniesam....Ship 12 Div 344

Thanks Rebecca. I thought if my son were in your son's division, I'd have him talk to him. My son is older and he said alot of the younger guys look to him for advice and just to have someone older to talk to is comforting to them. He's in Div. 342. I feel so badly that your son feels the way he does. I don't know if divisions ever meet one another. I wish I could help.

Stevie that's wonderful!!! I'm so happy for you. It sounds like she is getting used to the routine and doing well!. Hugs to you!!!!

This is what was in my daily devotional yesterday. I just wanted to share with the moms.

Heavenly Father, today I affirm anew that the gift You gave to me - my children--I fully give back to you. I place them within Your hands and Your keeping. Continue to give me the wisdom I need to guide their steps on Your pathway and to help them know Your plan and purpose for their whole lives.
Knowing that I can bring to You the prayers of my heart--carrying with them the deepest longings and strongest desires--is a great blessing. You have heard my hearts cry for a family and you have given me, through my children, more than I could ask or dream. Thank You.
What a Blessing and joy each one is to me. They help me in so many ways to see and understand Your heart more clearly.


I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what i asked of Him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord. I Samuel 1:27-28
Realizing that our children are not ours but Gods is not easy to accept sometimes. Giving them back to God is not easy but at least you know they are in Good Hands.

I was sitting in my car reading this while waiting on my 8yr old to get out of school when my phone rang and it was Marion calling me. Just wanted to share with ya'll. Have a Blessed day

My hubs got paid today everyone!!! keep a look out.. they might get calls home to check to see if there accounts were set up right and that they received pay!!!! :)