U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Three daughters. 

Three sisters. 

Three in the U.S. Air Force Academy's long blue line. 

Second Lt. Amanda Tamosuinas, Class of 2008, joined sister Cadet 2nd Class Alexis Tamosuinas Wednesday to welcome their sister Cadet 4th Class Ava Tamosuinas into the Cadet Wing during Acceptance ceremonies on Stillman Field. 

The more senior Tamosuinas sisters installed the fourth-degree shoulder boards on their sibling. 

"The main reason I looked forward to coming to the Academy was because both my sisters were here," Ava said, now of Squadron 19, the Wolverines. 

One factor in influencing Alexis' decision to attend the Academy was seeing video tracks from sister Amanda's Basic Cadet Training. 

Ava said she received little or no coaching from her sisters before embarking on her own BCT adventure. 

"It was different," she said of The Beast. "I don't think I knew what to expect." 

Roughly 20 percent of the Class of 2013 are women. 

Their father, Darrell Tamosuinas, was generous in praise of all of his daughters for their accomplishments. He described Amanda as "independent, a trail blazer and an adventurer." 

Alexis, he said, is "very precise, compassionate, and rigorous academically and physically." 

Ava has many of the same traits as her sisters but is uniquely contemplative and reserved. 

"She has a lot to look up to," Mr. Tamosuinas said of his third daughter. 

Their mother, Linda Tamosuinas, recognizes having three daughters as Academy cadets is very definitely unusual. 

"It was a unique experience for all of us," she said. 

Amanda, who majored in biology and minored in Chinese, is now stationed at Cannon Air Force Base, N.M. Alexis is leaning toward a humanities focus, and Ava business and management. 

Growing up in Medina, Minn., outside the Twin Cities, the sisters shared many of the same activities, like student council, National Honor Society, dance and sports--basketball, soccer and track. 

"We were pretty close," Alexis said and noted they played on the same teams and as youngsters used to make up and present plays. "We always got along." 

Squabbles pretty much limited to small things, like clothes. "We're all the same size," Alexis said. 

Also as the girls were growing up, sister loyalty extended beyond the family ties. 

"We were always sticking up for each other," Amanda said. 

Following the Acceptance parade, Alexis presented a custom-made bracelet to Ava with her initials and the year 2009 engraved on it to signify completion of BCT. 

The sisters give their parents high marks for helping them on the way to the Academy. 

"They gave me a good foundation for morals and values, or I wouldn't have been as interested in the Academy," Alexis said. 

Ava stressed their parents gave them a great deal of motivation to always do their best and try different things. 

"They gave us the drive to never give up and finish things once we start them," Amanda said. 

The sisters are the Tamosuinas' only children. Saying good-bye to each at the Association of Graduates during in-processing became increasingly tough for Mrs. Tamosuinas. 

"It got harder because now I have no children at home," she said. 

There may no longer be children full-time, but undoubtedly the Tamosuinas' household will fill-up from time to time with talk of hopes, dreams and Air Force blue skies.