235th USMC Birthday Ball

Last night I celebrated a great birthday. Two hundred and thirty five years of a great tradition and an even better Corps. The ceremony was perfect, everyone looked great, and for 700 Marines, spouses and guests it was a chance to let down our hair and celebrate.

I never celebrate my birthday for just a day, so it was only fair that we made this birthday extra special by making a weekend out of it. Me, Danny, Natosha and Dan spent the weekend in Myrtle Beach. To celebrate the USMC birthday, we put on some pretty fancy dresses and went to our first ball!

I'm not that tan, darker skin setting on my camera was apparently on!

The ball started with cocktail hour, we got our professional pictures taken, mingled and took advantage of the free kegs. We spent $5 total at the ball on alcohol, which I was very excited about! Soon we were called in the ball room and took our seats for the ceremony. I was expecting it to be much more epic, but it was still great. We watched a video message from the commandant and listened to our (kinda boring) guest speaker. Cake was presented to the oldest and youngest Marines...and then it was time for the fun to start!

Dinner came out, seriously one at a time. Natosha had the chicken, the guys had amazing looking prime rib, and I had the vegetarian dish...mushroom raviolis. Apparently people think vegetarians are not very hungry people...I had a grand total of four raviolis on my plate! I literally looked at Natosha and said "um...where's my dinner?"

After dinner the dance floor opened up! We only danced to one song....The Cupids Shuffle. And the most amazing part of the night was seeing SgtMaj dancing with everyone. Seriously, the man never smiles...and I've been told to never look him in the eye...but seeing him dance made me want to give him a big 'ol bear hug!

As the night started to wrap up, of course we took the obligatory group photos!

The ball was a lot of fun, it just wasn't as...ball-ish...as I thought it would be. Apparently I've just watched Cinderella one too many times! And speaking of Cinderella, I can totally understand how she lost a shoe...my feet were killing me by the end of the night! I was told to expect some pretty skanky dresses, but I seriously thought everyone looked so classy last night. I saw all kind of dresses, short and long, and all different colors. So, now I know for next year...don't spend as much money and wear super comfy shoes!

I have never been more proud to be part of this great family. I will say this, Marines certainly do know how to throw a great party! In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt  “The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!”

Happy Birthday Marines!