Hello all,

It finally came.  Her first letter home.  She had some free time to write a couple letters on Sunday April 2nd and it arrived in Washington on Thursday April 8th so that should give you some time frame of postal transit.  

She wrote to me and her boyfriend and his family.

She said week one was a tough one because they are processing so many recruits.  She is not a fan of showering with 85 women but she finally was going to get to take a real shower now that…

Son now at Boot Camp (left WA 4/2 and reported in IA last week to go to GreatLakes).  My heart is full as I wait for his package to arrive.  I think about him each time my phone rings (and more).  I know he will be fine but my heart skips a beat hoping it is not a "bad" call.  I worry that I have no idea when he will graduate (other than around 8 weeks).  I am a little leery to purchase plane tickets without knowing when.  It is a lot of money to fly 3 to Chicago. I fear purchasing for the…

My son is on the USS Stennis.  He's trying to send us an internet link to the forms for the Tiger Cruise when they return this summer.  We are unable to open the link, even though it's just a .pdf.  Is there another source for accessing Tiger Cruise forms?

Today is April 7th and my son's for letter just came. I was so excited to see it my stomach  was in knots.  It has all information you will need for graduation  and if you want to  write letters  along with some other valuable information. It feels good to finally receive  this information! 

Hey all,

I forgot to add this link.  It has a break down of what the recruits are doing in weeks 1 - 8.  It may not be exact but I liked it.

http://www.greatlakesnavalmuseum.org/en/the_museum/exhibits/basic_training.aspx

Loves,

Mama Howdawg

Hello all,

Mama Howdawg sharing some of her day with you all.

Well my girl has been in the Navy for 15 days.  Only 39 days left.

I still haven't heard from Sami but the Navy says that "No news is good news" and I am happy with that.  I miss her everyday and this is the longest we have gone without talking.  I pray for her safety and courage and determination each day and that she is focused and becoming the woman she desires to be.  I am very proud of her.  

Since…

My son's PIR is scheduled for 4/15.  Any gift suggestions?  Also looking for "Proud Navy" Mom/Dad gear.

Recruits can buy phone cards at the RTC NEX adjacent to the phone banks. No one misses a chance to call home for lack of a phone card.

Hey all,

One thing I did not do when my daughter left was to make sure she had a phone card to call home.  After the initial arrival phone call your recruit will need a phone card to call home.  I live in a small community and most places do not carry them anymore but Fred Meyer carries them in all their stores in the electronics department.  Your child can bring $20 worth of calling card.  That's 300 minutes of phone time.  Please look at this link to familiarize what you can send.…

Our story.........This is my one and only daughter(my lil Princess), she left for bootcamp on March 15th. Her PIR is 5/13. When she graduated high school she went to college(in Illinois) for 2 years on a full ride volleyball scholarship, she also was a cheerleader there as well. She loves loves loves volleyball, but when you get on college level you need height. She was an outside hitter mainly and a setter. Anyway after her 2 years she didn't get picked up by any other…

Ah yes here we are again...

So far I've sent off my recruit to boot camp, received the phone call and also received the "The Box".

It was P-4 and I was so excited to get the smelly clothes and contraband from the kid.  Just like college...sending laundry home to mom. LOL...

I have forgotten to mention the NavyforMoms.com website.  I spent so much time on the website getting familiar with how the process goes, getting links for all my family and friends to look at and to…

Hello all again...

So my girl shipped out 7 days ago today at 1:45 p.m. PCT on March 21st, 2016.

Her plane left Washington State, changed in Colorado and finally arrived in Chicago Illinois about 10:30 p.m. est.

She still had her cell phone on her so she called as soon as she landed and before she could get on the bus while it was still "safe". LOL.

Once the recruit gets on the bus they make their way to the RTC.  It took about an hour and a half.  Once they…

Oh boy!! Here it is - shipping out...

I previously wrote that after the final swearing in the recruits got finger printed and got their packets.

Recuits can only take a minimum amount of items.  The closes on their backs, their wallets, an ipad if they want for the flight and their cell phones.  In the next blog "The Box" we will talk about all these things.  Most important if you are a Navy recruit remember you have to ship this stuff home so only take what you are allowed.…

Hello again,

I hope you are all well and making it through.  This blog will talk a little bit about my girls final MEPS day, official swearing in and shipping off to the RTC in Great Lakes, Il.

Sami had to be in Spokane the day before to ship.  She was required to be at the hotel provided by MEPS in the afternoon.  She had to check in with the MEPs reps at the hotel and be assigned her room.  There seemed to about 15 kids there for signing up and shipping out.  Some of the kids…

Hello all,

My name is Hallie and I am a proud mentor/friend/step-mom of a new recruit.

This is going to be quite the adventure.  The adventure has already started.  Every persons journey is going to be different. I can only share what ours has been so far.

Once my girl signed up, and because she was 20 she pretty much handled everything on her own.  Our kids want to be adults and handle as much as they can on their own.  The decision to go into the Armed Forces is such…