Commencement Weekend

Daniel and Sarah came down on Friday evening with Jake and Andrew in tow. We started out with dinner at Bruno's (which kind of got broken up when Andrew decided that the root beer he loved so much didn't agree with his tummy and he spewed some serious chunkage at the dinner table). I had to attend institute graduation so I separated from the family and rejoined them about 8:30. We had some serious printing to do (both Daniel and Rosalyn's dissertations) so we spent a fair amount of late night time at the office.
Saturday morning dawned clear a cool and the graduation processional was quite spectacular. Bubby got to her favorite vantage point and brought everyone with her. She captured this great image of Tony as he marched by. He is now the official holder of an MBA degree from SUU. We are proud of him.

Andrew was amazed by the pipe band and contrary to earlier reports he was not frightened but truly enthralled. He talked about the event repeatedly that afternoon. It was fun to be able to take him to see all of the pomp on campus.

Following the march, we slipped back to the Science building and did a little elevator riding. Of course the major issue was who got to push which buttons, and Bubb wanted to capture her boys at the scene of the competition. Jake wanted to look at some rocks, and since we have a few, I took him down stairs to have a look. Of course, he didn't want to leave but Andrew was ready after a few minutes. Jake likes all of that science stuff. He had a great time looking at rocks under a microscope. Maybe he will be a science nerd, too.

Sarah and I went to Tony and Nate Wells' commencement exercises while Andrew had a nap. The festivities seemed unnecessarily long, but that was my second "sitting" so I am probably not a fair judge. We all gathered at UP's afterward for dinner. I was taken with how much Marcus looks like Uncle Dave at the same age. They share the same face shape, skin and hair coloring. It was uncanny, so I had to take this photo. Raymond was telling me they have noticed the same thing. Genetics are really a funny thing.

Of course, one of the stars of the show was Mr. Vince who is so large and very much in charge. He is cute and sweet and doesn't complain much but is so big I am sure he wares his mom out. I got several photos of him and this one is not the best, but it was pretty cute anyway.

Mikey was in charge of the BBQ and cooked some nicely marinated chicken. He posed for this photo while slaving at the grill. We had a lovely dinner of Dutch oven potatoes and beans, salad, and grilled chicken with graduation cake for dessert. It all tasted grand to me and we had a great time visiting. Jason, Mike, Cindy, and of course Tony were there along with Jaye's sister and family, Melissa's parents, and Jaye's Mom and Dad. It was lots and fun and a wonderful way to enjoy the post commencement let-down.

Bubby got a chance to get close to "My Ted", actually "Jasper's Ted", and had a fun time showing him around the garden. He is a really cute, but rather unsmiling, little friend. Since he is a favorite of Sarah's girls, Bubby wanted a photo-op with him.

The final photo is one of purple tulips from our front yard. There is a story associated with them, but I will leave it to Bubby to tell and not post it on the internet. You will just have to ask her.

Buboppy