It’s hard to believe we just returned home from our third Parents’ Weekend at USAFA! Where has the time gone?

This year was a test of logistics: Jeremy, Ruth, my parents and I embarked on the 15.5 hour drive before the sun rose on Thursday morning. Meanwhile, Jim, Derek, and Peter stayed back for the WA football game Friday night and flew out to CO on Saturday.

My dad and I tag teamed the drive, while my mom kept us all fed and the van clean.

Friday morning, Jake’s fan club sat in the grandstands waiting for the parade to begin.

One of my favorite things about Jake attending USAFA is getting to see fly-bys! The F-16s flew overhead to mark the beginning of the parade.

When Jake marched in, Grandma waved to him from across the parade field.

Once the parade was over, we joined the multitude of parents to find our cadets. Once again, I am grateful for Jake’s stature.

It was nice to have Tiffany join us!

Ruth snagged Jake’s hat as soon as she could.

We hung out in Jake’s new room in the new squad in the new building.

See everyone sitting on the beds? I reminisced over two years ago when even leaning on the beds was strictly verboten. Ruth and Jeremy had fun trying on all of Jake’s uniforms.

While Jeremy was more of a goofball, putting hats on backwards and such,

Ruth really got into character.

But her goofball brother was never far from the picture.

We enjoyed touring the library. Jeremy got some studying done in one of the comfy chair pods.

My dad found the archive section and declared he would like to spend the rest of the weekend right there.

And Jake couldn’t resist giving an upper level math lesson on the white board.

Later, we joined the new squad for a cookout lunch.