Just wanted to share some things like some of the other moms for all to know for upcoming PIR graduations:
1. First off, a special shout out to the following: Lora Mc Intosh at unique memory makers. Com for her beautiful ribbons she made for my family. I did not have time to create my own, which many of you can do but if you need something beautiful she does a great job and is very reasonable and she is also a military mom. Her business is by word of mouth and I highly recommend her. She also took the time to talk with me about some personal problems when I needed to hear from someone and we had never met and I am so grateful, thank you Lora!! ... Second a special "shout out" to Sarge for all he has done and will continue to do. Meet and greet was fantastic PLEASE PLEASE make sure you go it is free with lots of info and is so beautifully prepared you will never regret it. I also wish to thank him for our family, we rented a car but the weather was so bad Friday night we had him take us to and from the airport at Chicago so we could see our daughter. They knew had to get us there safely and they made us feel at ease. Sarge is sarge and tells things like they are but he is a wonderful man with a very kind heart and I deeply appreciate all of his help he gave to our family and everyone else. Pease use his taxi service if you can you are supporting a retired vet and he gives great discounts to the military families. Last... I would like to thank people like Kathy DeCarlo, Lemonelephant and all the administrative staff who kept us going and answered all of our silly questions and concerns, you all have been amazing and I will never forget your kind words of wisdom and knowledge to help us get through this!!

All this said now, here's a few suggestions I learned from this experience: If you are going to rent a car, I would recommend Ace Rentals. They were courteous and knew exactly what we needed. We got a dodge Durango with a navigation system and the rate was half the price of the other companies. You have to give them the military promo code when you call but you will find that in your pamphlet that gets mailed to you from your sailor. I checked all other rentals and they were a lot more. They DO NOT charge a separate fee/deposit if you use your debit card like others, we had no problems. They will go ahead a nd process your charges once in while you are there, so be prepared for that to come out right away. Definitely get a car with navigation it was a life saver for us!! If you are not going to be there long and don't wish to drive then please use Sarge was mentioned above. We wanted to be able to travel around and see things so rental was was better for us. We stayed at the Springhill Marriot which was
great very convenient to everything and again no problems with debit cards for payment.
You need to know that if you park in the back entrance where Sarge tells you to go, you still have a long walk, as you CANNOT GO directly into the graduation hall, you have to go to the next building near the museum and check in first and then walk over to the other building. I was very limited do to my disability so it was really hard. You might want to consider the parking garage instead. Get there early to get good seats and the upper balcony is the best!! Hey don't give a lot of time for pictures afterwards in the building so make sure you ARRANGE AHEAD OF TIME with your sailor where you will meet them after the ceremony as it is very crowded.
The Navy exchange is across the way and that's where most people wait for their sailors. You can purchase your photos of your sailor there in the next building but it is a mad house and quite crowded. If you are going in bad weather be prepared, we had to walk clear across the property to get back where we started and we were knee high in snow and almost fell the wind was so bad!!
When you bring your sailor back know that you go to the main entrance near the exchange and you can only drive as far as the chapel if you do not have military ID. Also, your sailor needs to sit up front to show their ID to get on the base. Get them there at least a half hour early so they have time to walk and get back on time. My sailor was flying elsewhere, sow e went to the airport at midnight to meet her and see her off. Make sure you get flight numbers and airport info from them so thou go to the correct place!!

Finally... They all meet at the USO at Chicago O Hare not sure about the other airports, but if their flight should get delayed or potentially cancelled like my daughters was, if you want to see them off DO NOT LEAVE!! We were told to go home to the hotel at about 6:00 am that they were going to be taken by bus back to base and would leav out on Tuesday. It was so hectic we told our daughter to call when she got back to the base and we would come get her to spend time with us. On the way home, we got a call that they got a flight somehow and would be flying out and NOT COMING BACK!! I was so upset, I had all of her things and did not even get to say goodbye. I cried my eyes out for hours and was so mad at myself for not waiting. So, when in doubt use your best judgement regardless of what the USO might say.
I hope this will help some of the newbie moms and I'll be glad to answer any questions you might have. God bless you all and thank you PIR group 1-24-14 moms for all of your help and we are truly a unique group of sailor moms born to be proud!!! HOORAH!!!!!!