Graduation!

So three weeks ago, we loaded up the car and headed east for my graduation. My kids were such good travelers! We left at 6 in the morning, stopped in Wendover to change out of pajamas and into travel clothes, and drove straight through Salt Lake City, stopping in Evanston to get fuel for both humans and vehicle. Shortly after Evanston we came to Fort Bridger and had to stop. When Braxton was in fourth grade, he spent a great deal of time researching Jim Bridger and did a big presentation on him, coon skin cap and all. Fort Bridger was a neat little place and Braxton loved the museum. This is Braxton with a bronze statue of Jim Bridger.

After Ft. Bridger, we pushed on trying not to stop. I thought all the windmills across Wyoming were interesting.

We finally arrived in Ft. Collins at 5:30. Amazingly, I have no pictures of Ft. Collins, which is beautiful, or of the campus, which I am proud to call my alma mater. Thursday morning we went over to campus so I could pick up my cap and gown and the much-coveted hood. Randy's hood has been hanging in our closet for five years now being my motivation to get my own! Well, CSU is fairly large (okay, it's just plain BIG) and after finally finding the right building, I had to ask the information people for help in finding the rooms for caps and gowns. The dude behind the counter just looked at me and said, "You must be a distance student." Who else would show up the day before graduation and not know where to go? After collecting my graduation uniform, we took the kids to the bookstore and everyone got new hats. I collect shot glasses (don't ask why because I don't know) and of course, they don't sell them on campus. We had to go to WalMart for that.

By 11:00 we were on our way down to Denver. Randy had managed to snag some great seats at a Colorado Rockies game (not hard to do when they're having a losing season, I guess). 11th row, right above 3rd base. The kids loved the game. We were hoping for a foul ball, but they just didn't come our way. We had a great time at the game and I'll go to a professional baseball game again if I ever get the chance. Note to you, we got to the game really early and I was kind of bummed that all those seats filled up! Notice the family decked out in their CSU caps.

Thursday night brought my parents and my two sisters to Ft. Collins. After a wonderful family dinner, we went back to the hotel and went swimming. Well, Papa and Randy got to take the kids swimming while the rest of us ironed clothes for Friday. I showed up in time to take pictures.

Friday was full of graduation activities. The Adult Education and Training (AET) graduates were having a luncheon at 11:00 at a restaurant near campus. My crew and I (all ten of us) went. I finally got to meet my advisor, Dr. Kaminski, on the left, and another one of my instructors, Dr. Kaiser, on the right. Dr. Quick was also there.

We took a group photo of the AET graduates. This was fun for me to meet the people I've been in class with for the last two years. L to R is Shelley, Rick, Kim, me, Angela, Deanna, and Jacqueline.

Then it was time to head to campus for the big event! CSU has several graduation ceremonies, and one specifically for the graduate students. Only the Ph.D.s and the Masters were at my graduation. I thought that would make it go faster, but I was wrong. Before the ceremony, we took photos: My family and me, my sisters and me, my parents and me (and yes, it is correct to say "me", not "I").

Then it was hurry up and wait for this.

Here we are waiting, by the way. The 5th row back - full of blue hoods (look close, we're in between rows of yellow hoods) - is where I am sitting. The Ph.D. candidates are on the far side of the arena; the masters studenst are on the near side of the arena.

The Ph.D. students got to go first, of course. Then about a billion MBA students who will never find jobs (one of them told me he'd been looking for FOUR months!). Then finally, we got this:

If you watch the above video, you'll hear my two sisters doing our "call." My parents live on 11 acres, which isn't a lot, but it's not exactly shouting distance. My mom learned this call when she was a teenager and worked at a summer camp. That was how they called from mountain side to mountain side. We used it growing up to call each other in from the orchard (this was all before cell phones, of course). Now the call is more sentimental than anything. We probably did it at my older sister's graduation (she earned her M.Ed. a few years ago). I know we did it when we sent my youngest brother on his mission (nothing quite like boarding a plane with that send-off).

Following graduation, we celebrated at Rodizio Grill in Ft. Collins. The next day we came home. I can't believe it is over and that I actually finished. It was worth all the hard work and stress. Would I do it again? Oh- I plan to. Watching all those Ph.D. candidates go by gave me hood envy.