The Khaki Ball

Sorry for the poor quality, but I forgot the camera and took all of these with my cell phone.

The Khaki Ball is a dinner party for the Chiefs, held annually at the close of each Selectee Season to celebrate the new additions in particular and all the Chiefs in general.  Ours was a week after the pinning ceremony, though some commands hold theirs the very same weekend.  I was glad for the week's delay, it gave us all a chance to catch our breath.  In addition to dinner, there were several speakers, and all of the new Chiefs were presented again, and awarded with plaques to commemorate the occasion.

Not sure how he was chosen to help cut the cake, but I'm glad he was.  :)

They had a photographer on hand doing prom-night style portraits, which I think was amazing.  Especially for us, since we've been doing photos like this one together for 15 years now.  (zomg, I'm going to have to come back to that one....)  

I am absolutely in love with this photo.  I scanned in our printed copy, but I've contacted the photographer to try to get the full digital image.  She doesn't seem to be too great at communication, though, so we'll see.

We both had a good time, but Brandon in particular was on cloud nine all night.  It was his night, and he spent it reveling in his accomplishment.   The hard part was over, the stress was off, and he had the opportunity to mingle with his new peers in a relaxed, social setting.  The food was good, the drinks were flowing, the company was great...I'm sure he'd have been happy to stay all night long, but there are risks associated with bringing a pregnant lady as your date.  I made it to about 11, and then had to call it.