Part two of the travel series...
Bud, Scott's older brother, recently retired after 22 years of service in the Air Force. I think it is so special Scott is from a military family. Bud was the first person to salute Scott after he became an officer, and Scott was able to preside over Bud's retirement ceremony. Thinking about how special that is makes me smile. There is just something about the service of his family that makes me so proud.
And speaking of proud, can you find the two proud grandparents in the shot below? Before the ceremony, we were able to spend time together as a family...
The day was made extra special, because Aunt Josie rode to the ceremony with us. She and I were in the back of the Pilot together, and it was such a treat to get to visit with her for over an hour each way. She is actually the one who started calling Bud, Buddy when he was just a little guy. To non-family he is Andy or Andrew...but to us, he is, and will always be Bud.
For those of you who were at our wedding, can you believe these are the same little angels who were wore matching while dresses with the sweet little green sashes? Pre-teens...but still just as sweet as the day I met them.
Natalie and Nathan...check out the grin on that guy!
Bud's whole family...Tyler, Chris, Balenda, Jayden, Bud, Devan and then Kayley and Lexi in the front.
All the guys in their military uniforms...aren't they handsome?
And a proud mom and dad with their boys.
Richard led the invocation...
And Scott presided over the ceremony. He kept it light, but you could still tell how much he loved his brother and how proud of him he was/is.
And if you have ever been to a military ceremony, you know there are lots of things to give out. Scott pinned an award and gave Bud his certificate of retirement.
Balenda received a certificate of appreciation.
And Bud got lots of cool doo-dads for his wall from the unit where he served.
And then Bud gave a short speech.
But his favorite "present" came from Balenda and the kids. They framed a collection of things for him that he was absolutely surprised by. I'll spare you the rest of the presentations, but know that mom, Balenda and the girls got beautiful flowers, the boys got coins, dad got an engraved coin made from the base of a 40 mm shell, and Scott got an engraved bowl made from the base of a 105 mm shell from the cannon the airplane he worked on fires.
And since we are ALL so rarely in one place, we took the opportunity to take a quick family picture.
After the ceremony, we were able to explore one of the airplanes Bud worked on, but unfortunately no pictures allowed. The kids all took turns in the pilot seat, and you know the boys were intrigued with the guns/cannons. I was amazed with how much technical information Bud knew. He was a huge asset to his unit, and I know they will miss him.
