Mess Night 2010

buddies from school :) I wont use names k
Mess Night 2010

When members of the 1953 3rd Marine Regiment combat swim team were invited to have dinner with their British rivals in the midst of an annual competition, they did not realize the following events would lead to one of the Marine Corps' most honored traditions.

During the competition, Marines from the swim team were invited to attend what the British Royal Marines call a mess night. It was a tradition that dates back to the days of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

But, as Gunnery Sgt. Johnnie C. Watkins, Sergeants Course staff noncommissioned officer in charge, SNCO Academy, Camp Hansen explains, the event has evolved to how U.S. Marines conduct it today.

"The purpose of today's mess night is to recognize and pay homage to the Marines who came before us," the Brunswick, Ga., native explained. "It also gives us a chance as a band of brothers to socialize with one another in our best dress uniform."

Here it is 1 year in the Marine Corps

roses from Bryan

Can you believe it.. One year today Miss Erica arrived at Parris Island for Boot Camp.

Real sorry there has been no pics but when they are so far away and they don't send any :(

I have even asked for one a week :(

I fully expected though she would forget it was Mothers day this last weekend. But she called :)

I was so bummed because I missed the first time she called I was working.

Finally I got to talk to her, again she said she was sorry that had not been calling lately.

It's warrior week (I don't know if it was or is)

She has been working on the mural for the shop. It was 2am her time and laughing said she has Japan insomnia... poor thing can't sleep and when she does it's not a restful one.

Got the, love you miss you's and "of course I knew it's Mother's Day."

Well that made my day of course getting the phone call and when I got home from work my son Bryan had some lovely pink roses for me and a crystal angel, then my dad made a lovely tri-tip dinner and the four of us went to the Plateau for a nice picnic.. but it got real cold up there and now I'm sick :( but at least it was a nice day.

Hope your day was nice as well and I'll try to keep you somewhat posted.

ps I'm a great aunt .. my nephew Jonathan had their baby..

Robert James Allen Frenette born May 2nd 2010

phone call

Miss Erica's units patch :)

It is funny that such a simple thing like a phone call can totally make your day, and she did.. she called before 0400 (4am) here, of course it was night time there. She actually called to thank me for the box I sent.. first time for everything.. so I talked to miss Erica on the way to work and when I got there I hurried to TDR (team dining room) so Bryan could finally say hello, he had not talk to her since Christmas :( Sometimes your kids amaze you how smart they are. Miss Erica had lost her home state ID and had only her military one but that doesn't help when you need to do your taxes and the government made a mistake with your residency... luckily when your over seas you automatically get an extension for your taxes. I tried to see if I could get her a replacement, with no luck she had to be precent. So she went on line and looked up our state, then our county, then went to the voter registrar and that has a list of voters and of course to vote in your state you have to be a resident.. so they excepted that to change her state to the correct one LOL I would have never thought of that one.

She sounded real good and was hanging out with a friend from 29 Palms, her friend is married to a Marine thats deployed so they are hanging out a lot .. and this friend is PG'er so of course she was thrilled with the box too, which had special cookies in it from work.. I thought they would be hard as rocks but Erica requested them.. but they said they were good.. shocking LOL

I am doing a cancer walk next weekend, last year this time Erica had walked it with me I was a little Mad at her because we thought she was leaving for boot camp the next day and she had walked/run 35 miles in 24 hours... thank goodness there was a delay in her leaving and she didn't go until the next week. May 11th she will have reached her one year mark in the Marine Corps. I am still amazed, and still a Proud mama. I tell her every time I talk to her ... I know things have not been perfect along the way for her but she tries so hard to make it all a positive experience, all during boot she never wrote one negative thing to me.
Even some things that happened to her along the way that I happened to find out about, she was more upset because she didn't want ME to have any stress. What a kid .. not perfect .. but I'd have to say pretty close ;) love ya Erica and miss ya too *hugs love mom

no erica is NOT in this pictures but they are from her unit and I thought you'd like a little idea of what she's up to.


I like this site .. helps me feel a little closer to miss erica, it also tells you the time here and there, which I find helpful when I'm confused LOL for example it is 7:22 am here in CA and in Japan it is 11:22 pm, so you see how many hours ahead they are, its almost tomorrow there. The site also tells you a little history and of the supporting units there... which Erica is a supporting unit..

http://www.1maw.usmc.mil/

Molly Marine 5K
MCRD, Parris Island, SC
The Celebration of 66 years of Women in the
Marine Corps was held on Thursday,
February 11th through Sunday, February
14th 2010, at MCRD Parris Island, SC.
The weekend kicked off with a social
gathering on Thursday evening; Friday
morning colors, recruit graduation, and a
tour of the Depot. On Saturday morning a
5K run/walk began at 1000 on board
Parris Island. Runners and walkers of all
calibers were present.
On Saturday evening a banquet
was held to honor Women in the
Marine Corps, followed by a goodbye
breakfast on Sunday morning.

earthquake in okinawa

second good size earthquake since Erica arrived in Okinawa, last one was just over a 5 and she slept right through it...see its good to be from California :)
Some say todays was a 7.3 other reports say a 7.0 with tsunami warnings..warnings were canceled so all is well :)

Magnitude	7.0
Date-Time	Friday, February 26, 2010 at 20:31:27 UTC Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 05:31:27 AM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location	25.902°N, 128.417°E
Depth	22 km (13.7 miles) set by location program
Region	RYUKYU ISLANDS, JAPAN
Distances	80 km (50 miles) ESE of Naha, Okinawa, Japan 455 km (285 miles) ENE of Ishigaki-jima, Ryukyu Islands, Japan 665 km (415 miles) SSW of Kagoshima, Kyushu, Japan 1530 km (950 miles) SW of TOKYO, Japan
Location Uncertainty	horizontal +/- 4.4 km (2.7 miles); depth fixed by location program
Parameters	NST=281, Nph=281, Dmin=104 km, Rmss=1.16 sec, Gp= 14°, M-type=teleseismic moment magnitude (Mw), Version=A
Source	USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID	us2010teb2

okinawa japan present

a sacred place across from erica's barracks

sunrise over okinawa
in front of erica's barracks
erica..one of the guys took this pic
flowers in okinawa
mail box in okinawa ..lol r2d2
serious
okinawa sunshine ... says erica :)
pica car
vending machine
1st maw marine air wing
a few pictures from erica