Junito's Graduation at Parris Island, SC!!!

Junito finally graduated!!! We arrived at Parris Island that morning and we were all soooooooo excited to be there. Steven and I had not been able to be present during the Family Day during the day before. We were very sad about it, but Steven had to work. Mom took some pictures during Family Day. She was so shocked to see how thin he was. We started taking pictures the moment we got there and couldn't wait to see Junito. Everyone that saw him during family day kept raving about how much weight he'd lost. The night before, when Steven and I got there, we met Titi Diana, Abuelita, Tio Junior, Jose, Dad, and Mom for dinner at Applebee's. We had a very nice dinner. Once the parade started, we were ready to go. It was all sooo unnecesary, but, I guess it's the way they do things.




Steven and Dad saw Junito first. Steven took a picture of him and showed me in the digital camera. I couldn't believe it was him.
Once the parade was over, everybody started walking towards the graduates, and I kept looking and looking for Junito. He was standing right in front of him, and I didn't recognize him. He is sooooooooo thin. He was surprised to see my belly. We were all so happy!!!













Junito's Drill Instructor became really attached to Junito because, aparently, Junito reminds him of his dead best friend. Isn't that great? Anything to help Junito get through. He really helped Junito out, and when they said goodbye, he gave Junito his first Drill Instructor belt. It looked like it could fit a 12 year old girl. He must have an 18" waist. When we left the Island, we all went on a hunt for a restaurant. It was aweful because everyone was following Steven and we had nooooooo idea where we were going. When we got to Applebee's, AGAIN, it was super full with graduates and their families. It must be like the ONLY restaurant in Beaufort, SC. Steven recommended to drive all the way to Savannah, GA because that's where Titi Diana and Tio Junior had to take flights out of to go back to Chicago. We found Ruby Tuesday after we'd almost given up. Junito was eating all funny. He called food Chow, and everything had a diffrent name to it. He was already acting tough with Jose and everything was a big deal. On days to come, we were to see just how far that toughness was going to lead him. He got into several fights with Jose, and they even physically fought. Gotta love the brain washing!!!