MIss USA | My Awesome Olive Shoots

Chuck Norris hangs with the cadets.

Many important people have come to West Point.

Chuck Norris

and Miss USA although not on the same day…

Someone seems pretty happy to be near Miss USA!

Geraldo Rivera has stopped by WP and

so has The Prince of Orange.

“Hey everybody, I’m the Prince of Orange! How you doin?”

Of course Presidents have traveled to WP and

so has Aunt Em all the way from Ohio!

Yet, I think that if you asked my oldest OS who was the sweetest person to recently stop by USMA, he’d say Cupid.

Cupid brought greetings from El Salvador!

February 14, 2011 was Nate’s first Valentine’s Day as an official “boyfriend” or as they say in Spanish “novio.”

Nate and Lu began their official dating relationship about seven months ago.

If you haven’t read any of the background story and you like modern-day fairy tales, click here and here.

I respect their relationship because it is based on the right things and they are trusting in the Lord as far as their future together is concerned.

Long distance relationships are difficult but Nate and Lu seem to make it worth. Can you say, “awww”?

From the moment I met this young lady (and I remind my OS that I met her first so he owes me BIG time), I knew she was special. You know your son has a great gf when she asks YOU for Valentine’s Day ideas. We conspired and came up with a plan. Since it is hard to celebrate this day with thousands of miles separating a couple, we enlisted the help of friends at West Point.During the day, Nate got a message that he had a package to pick up. He arrived at Central Guard Room and here’s what he received.As we all know, nothing says “Te amo“ more than a flashy Spanish Valentine’s Day card.

Interestingly, our WP Cupid connection doesn’t speak a word of Spanish but according to Lu, the sentiments were just perfect. In addition, my oldest OS from the world’s great parents got a gift certificate to Sushi King, a sushi restaurant that also serves deli sandwiches located in bucolic Highland Falls.

If love alone could have flown Lu to West Point, I know she would have delivered her gifts personally. We pray my OS’s gf’s visa is approved in the near future. Nonetheless, we are thankful for good friends who believe in nurturing relationships between two awesome people. Last year for Nate’s 20th birthday, he also went to Central Guard Room. After hearing his name blasted over the loud speakers announcing he had a special package. We sent him this…

He traipsed back to his room with this cheerful bouquet.

I don’t know, which is better, teenybopper balloons of Miley Cyrus or the sweet love and friendship of a beautiful Salvadorena? DUH!

: What makes tulips more beautiful? A beautiful girl from El Salvador!

Speaking to my OS and hearing joy in his voice is cause for year-round celebration.Check out the pretty tulips Nate sent Lu!Incidentally the Hubs gave me tulips on Valentine’s Day when we were dating.Good thing Cupid is a world traveler!

Even Nate’s Great Aunt Em stopped by WP!

The look of love? EW!

Happy Valentine’s Day 2011

The Hubs and me with our good friends who are also Cupids in disguise

Last year Nate celebrated his 20th b-day with Miley – HA!

I look at my life as a series of blog posts. If you are a blogger, you know what I mean. I scrapbook, although not as often as I’d like and I recall just prior to taking a picture, imagining the scrapbook page I would create. If you are not into that sort of thing, I have already lost your interest. My bad.

But going to Plebe Parent Weekend (PPW) was so bloggable. Poor Nate probably felt

like it was kindergarten all over again as we took pictures with nearly everyone who cheerfully greeted him including his teachers. I’m glad he indulged me, I don’t think he had much of a choice.

Since he is the first child I’ve ever had to attend college, I don’t know what things are like at other institutions of higher learning but it seems that a lot of famous people drop by West Point. During PPW, we got to hang out at one of the celebrity hot spots…the Mess Hall.

We enjoyed lunch in the Mess Hall on Saturday and as our OS gave us a tour around the facility, Nate told us that Trace Atkins had stopped by the Mess Hall the other day. Members of the Glee Club sang with him and apparently recorded a video with the Glee Club cadets that will be appearing on the American Country Music Awards show. They will be performing the song “Til the Last Shot’s Fired.” Click here to see the link. You will also be able to download the song at iTunes and all the proceeds will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project. I really appreciate this man’s loyalty to the troops and the military. I have never been a fan of country music but I like this guy and might even watch the ACM Awards on Sunday, April 5th.

He also said that recently Miss USA visited and gave the cadets a big “huah!” Btw, huah means “I’m pumped!”, “wow” and “yes” and is often used as a verbal exclamation mark at West Point. Seeing a pretty girl not in a uniform was a sight for sore eyes. Nate also said her assistant was just as gorgeous as she was! Miss USA was on the Poop Deck. I’ll just let that sentence sit with you for a moment… What’s a Poop Deck, you ask? It’s a balcony area overlooking the Mess Hall and I guess she encouraged the Corps with her beauty and charm. I will soon be blogging about Nate’s new gf so stay tuned. You don’t want to miss it.

As we sat down for lunch, our Soldier/OS told us about how during Beast, his plate had to be a thumb’s distance from the edge of the table. Things are more “chill” (relaxed) now in the Mess Hall and that’s a relief for many plebes.

Nate instructed us also on how the milks all had to line up in a certain fashion. Can you believe it?

And somehow when the numbers 1-4 flash, it signifies who can get up from the table. I think this light system could have been very useful when my OS were little. Many moms would be interested in purchasing this light system for their squirmy toddlers.

He also said it gets frustrating when people don’t pass the food around. DUH! This I found particularly interesting because this is the EXACT SAME THING I’VE BEEN TELLING HIM around our family table for years! I can’t tell you how many times I have to ask my OS to pass ALL the food around the table. It took my son eating dinners 10 hours away for him to finally figure that out!

West Point feeds about 4,000 cadets breakfast and dinner in less than 25 minutes.

The famous and the worldly, the popular and the patriotric, the lowly plebes and the revered firsties have dined in this nostalgic place. Wow.

And on this Saturday afternoon, the United States Military Academy fed us, how humbling.

We had more time than the average cadet and had lively conversation with everyone around the table.

We enjoyed a family style lunch with other plebe parents and cadets. We sat at a 10 person table right near the giant mural which depicted many military and historic facts. The history and majesty of it all is impressive and seeing Nate in his element was positively delicious.