Graduation!!!!!

We had to go pick up Jeremy's cap and gown on campus downtown, so since we were there- we went exploring!

We found this little treasure: The Wizard's Chest.

You can tell before you even walk in that this is no ordinary toy store :)

The favorite thing they had were hats and costumes.  Grandma tried this pretty pink flamingo to help lighten the kid's up after Jeremy found the masks.... I'll let you figure it out :)

Nathan decided to be a fuzzy bear :)

Lots of treasures and sparkly fun!  After we finished exploring there we went over to the Old Spagetti Factory for lunch.  Ever since we told Nathan we were going to have lunch there (and then didn't cause he and Hannah fell asleep before we got there!) he has wanted another chance to go- and since we were downtown anyways... today was the day!

We got to sit in the Caboose and everything!

The next morning was the long awaited day of graduation!!!!!

We got there nice and early to get some great seats, and daddy had some time before he had to go line up, so he came by to say hello!  Doesn't he look handsome?!

Hannah especially liked "Daddy's pretty"- i.e the tassel :)

They had the stage set up on a large field right in front of the Tivoli building, which made for a lovely backdrop.  They also set up a large screen so we could get an even better view :)

Every now and again Jeremy would turn around so we could see him, and I snapped this on one of those occasions!  Congratulations Hubba!

The kids mostly sat in the grass next to our seats and played during the ceremony.  Hannah decided she needed to go potty 10 minutes before Jeremy would be crossing the stage :(  The pottys were a little walk away and had quite a line, so after jogging over there, seeing the line and noting that it was not moving, we ditched that idea and ran back to our seats.  She was NOT happy about having to wait or being plopped back into a chair, but we made it just in time!

You can probably tell from the lack of focus in this picture that I was in a bit of a frenzy to capture the moments we had been waiting for ... but as he reached the end of the podium, Jeremy put up the "I love you" sign for us!

After waiting, watching and shouting vigorously for our grad, the ceremony concluded.  Overall, the weather was absolutely lovely with breeze and cloud cover.  We had a couple spells of harsh sun that made us all grateful for the weather otherwise.

We met our guest of honor for a few pictures before he had to return the gown (we got to keep the cap, tassel and honors cords)

Here he is!  Look how great he looks!

Such a proud brother!

And papa!  Great work son, you did it!

Last but not least, we were so proud of our daddy!!!!

Jeremy even shared his hat with me!

He also got me a special "Stole of Gratitude" that he wore through the ceremony and presented to me afterwards.  It was such a lovely token of appreciation for my support in earning his degree.

So proud of out Grad!!!

Just for fun we did a little playing around with the graduation regalia :)

Just like me daddy!

Just thought it was worth a shot :)  

Not bad, eh?

Next, we went over to the Business School reception, where they had cake but no forks!

The use of sticks as chopsticks was both impressive and messy :)

On the way to the car, Jason was able to convince Nathan that he was skinny enough to hide behind the trees along the way :)

Good thing daddy knows how to play surprised really well :)

The walk to the cars made us all hot and hungry for....

Little Man Ice Cream!!!!

Jamie had to work that morning, but she and Dan met up with us for ice cream!

The kids shared happily :)

And the slide was a big hit, as always!

Nobody warned me that slide was so fast!!!!

Unfortunately, before long Nathan tripped on the stairs and busted his lip open.  After a few minutes of clean-up, talk down, and ice... he had a nice fat lip to sport for the rest of the weekend :)

In addition to coaxing anyone she could to catch her on the VERY fast slide, Hannah enjoyed dancing with grandpa,

and playing mommy to dousing Victoria!  Kisses!

She liked rocking her and adjusting her sunshade, teaching her peek-a-boo!

We had planned to go to Cinzetti's for dinner, but were all still stuffed from lunch and ice cream, so we went back to our hotel to play a game, open presents.  By the time we got hungry the kids were in no condition to be out and about so we ordered pizza!

By this point in the day I was wiped and was a complete slacker about pictures of presents, but hubby was spoiled by his parents and siblings for his big achievement!  Thanks all!!!!

What a proud day for our family.  I was surprisingly emotional about all of it (started tearing up just seeing Hubby all dressed in his cap and gown!).  Four years of hard work and dedication later, and Jeremy has graduated with a Bachelor's in Business Information Systems, with a 3.98 GPA! Now that's impressive.  Here's my big shout out to my Grad! Love you! 

The big question everyone has been asking: What's next?

First, a little R&R.  Our graduation present to ourselves is a weekend without kids for the long holiday weekend!!!!