The Phil Parlock family of Barboursville -- father, mother and 10 children -- likewise made the trip as a family. Rachel, 13, said it was the second time she had seen Bush.
"It was really good that we got the president on the 4th of July," she said.
Her older sister, Pam, 22, said she has seen Bush so many times she has lost count.
"You hope to get closer each time. Hopefully someday we’ll get a handshake," she said.
Pam Parlock said she be-longs to the Marshall Young Republicans, and she could have sat with them, but she wanted to be with her family, even if it cost her the handshake. She is a member of the West Virginia Army National Guard and was called to duty last year. The 1257th Transportation Co., to which she belongs, spent some time at West Point, but it never went overseas, she said.
Alex Parlock, 11, said he shook Bush’s hand four years ago during a campaign visit at Harris Riverfront Park in Huntington. Alex said he was sitting on his father’s shoulders and wearing a Bush mask when then-candidate Bush saw him and shook his hand.
I think it would be a nice gesture to send little Sophie and her family a nice card or something! However I had no luck finding a mailing address!