Bill's promotion to Major

Bill's promotion to Major has finally arrived! We had a nice (and exciting, thanks to the kids!) ceremony, where the entire family got to participate in his "pinning-on" of the new rank. Russ James was the emcee and Lt. Col. Canlas, Bill's commander, gave a wonderful speech - talking about the history of the rank of Major... and commending Bill on his performance in the Air Force.

I was the first to be called forward to help pin on the new oak leaf. And when they called me up, Mary decided she could jump out of her seat. And that gave her brothers the "O.K." to do the same... and so the chaos began!

Here you can see some squadron friends in the audience, laughing to the point of tears, at what was going on behind us on stage...
This picture gives a glimpse of our young entertainers! It does not show them crawling around behind the curtain... Bill's face turning red... My occasional, "Ivan, Grant... stop that." ...only to start laughing myself and give up on the issue!
The boys settled down once it was their turn to put the rank "boards" on Bill's shirt.
Then it was Mary's turn. The oak leaf we helped her put on "Daddy's" hat, was the one Bill's grandfather wore in WWII, so it held special meaning for Bill to use today.

Bill gave each of us gifts. Flowers for me and Mary, and pocket watches for the boys. Mary loved seeing her reflection in the back of the balloon... that entertained her in her seat towards the end!
Congratulations, Bill!

Bill and some of the squadron pilot friends
Afterward, we went down the hall for a reception and all of the kids met up with us there (we had a babysitter for all of the squadron kids during the ceremony - except for ours).

Serious board meeting going on here...
Mary and her buddy, Rockie, shared carrots and dip together. They were so cute.
Bill gave Mary a silver bracelet with a heart on it. She's admiring it in this picture!
After a while, the guys all went upstairs for a "meeting" (a.k.a. beer and Foosball!). The women and children stayed below deck! It was an exciting day and I think everyone had fun. We even got a few comments on the ceremony - "Wow, that was the best ceremony EVER. Your kids are GREAT!" I'm just thankful we have a family-friendly squadron!