graduation

Seeing my smokin hot husband graduate was an incredible experience.  I'm so proud of him and all the work he has done.  He excelled in his coursework and his dissertation was a well done, impressive quality, contribution to the field.  He has high standards for himself and I know he pushed himself hard in this process.  But most impressive to me is that he managed to raise a family, be diligent in his church calling and thrive at his job (with significant management/leadership roles) at the same time.  He really might be superman.

 My parents arrived early to save our seats while we dashed down the canyon with a car full of little girls (all dressed in black in red of course).  Husband left earlier with his dad while his mom helped me wrangle girls.  We arrived at campus, found a sweet parking spot (Ladybug is my parking good luck charm--I always find the best parking with her in the car) and herded the girls inside.  The bounced around and explored our seats as we waited for the processional to begin.  The professors entered, followed by the graduate students and then bachelor students.  My handsome husband looked so distinguished in his black and red robes.  However, little Butterfly disagreed.  They watched eagerly, searching for him and cheering when they spotted him, with an adorable "Daddy!" chorus to get his attention.  Butterfly turned to Papa and asked, "He looks like a girl, why is he wearing a dress?"  :)

We settled into our seats as the graduation began.  It took a few tries and a brief meltdown from Ladybug before we found the right combination of toys and snacks from my magic bag to keep them happy and quietly content.  I didn't get to hear much of the professor awards or the first speaker but the student speaker was fantastic.  Then the presentation of the diplomas began.  Husband was about two-thirds of the way through the pack and I thought I would burst with pride as I watched him approach the table and then step forward to meet his professors.  He received his diploma and then two professors stepped to each side of him to drape the graduate robes across and lift them over his head for the hooding.  Then he preceded down the row of professors for more congratulatory handshakes.  I am so, so proud of him.

After the graduate students were finished, they continued with the BS students and soon, the recessional.  There was brief happy chaos as we gathered our things, found Husband and gathered outside for some family pictures.  The girls spotted a U statue and headed straight for it, wanting to climb and play in this perfect picture spot.  Then we (Husband, me, the girls, both sets of parents and Husband's sister) went out for a celebratory dinner at a Japanese steakhouse.  The girls thought the hostess was Mulan (our latest Disney movie obsession) and loved the fish tank.  The food was fantastic and the girls were well behaved as we celebrated our way through the meal.

Finally, we headed home with our overly tired girls and spent the evening cuddling, watching movies and making a quick trip to the ice cream shop.  What a fantastic day.