Graduation

Our 3 years of Law School finally came to an end when Chuck graduated on May 9 (now he's onto passing the Bar Exam and finding a job). I am so proud of Chuck and all the hard work he put into his law school education. Our time at Chapman University and Washington & Lee University have been wonderful. We have sacrificed a lot, but have had a lot of fun, and have made some lifelong friends.

I had mixed feelings during all the graduation festivities. I was so excited for Chuck's accomplishments, but also sad that it was all coming to an end, having to say goodbye to friends and the reality of leaving Lex is approaching.

The first event of the weekend was the Awards ceremony and presentation of the walking sticks. (Read about the history of the walking sticks here.)


Afterward, we had a BBQ at our house for all that came to celebrate with us. We had Chuck's mom and dad, his niece Denim, my sister Christine and her family, my sister Suzanne and her family, my mom and her husband, The Croft family (Chuck's good friends from Stanford), and our friends the Rufeners. We had a lot of fun, all the kids (13 of them) ran around inside and out and we had lots of yummy food.

After the BBQ, we headed to the school for fireworks and dancing. Rain had been on the verge all day long, but had been holding off. The moment after the first shot of fireworks went off, the sky opened up and the rain poured down. There was a huge party tent set up, so everyone scrambled to get under it. The fireworks show continued and soon after they ended, the rain stopped. We danced and the kids enjoyed playing in the puddles and trying to catch the rain on their tongues.

Some of the pictures include - Chuck and his Mom and Dad - Chuck (& Lucy) and one of Chuck's best friends from Stanford, Tyler Croft (& Pierce). Also notice Chuck's crazy dad jumping in the picture in the background. He gave me a hard time about wanting to 'Photoshop' him out, I decided to leave him in for the blog. Hale, Leland, and Emily dancing. Leland trying to catch the rain in her mouth. Chuck, Lucy, and I dancing.

Unfortunately, because of the forecasted rain for the morning, the graduation ceremonies were moved indoors. So instead of graduation on the historic colonnade and Lee Chapel lawn (picture to the left), it was here in the stuffy, non-air conditioned gym. Needless to say, we were very upset about the move especially since it was actually a gorgeous day, with no rain and the clouds clearing about the time the ceremonies started.

The ceremony was nice and the commencement speaker was actually pretty interesting. We are so grateful for all those that came to support Chuck in his accomplishments. It was a wonderful weekend.

My mom brought little graduation caps for all the kids. I love this picture of Leland and Chuck.


Chuck and I with my Aunt Barbara and Uncle Rick who have been our pseudo-parents and grandparents for our girls while we have been in VA. The rest of the graduation party. Thank you to all who came to celebrate with us. It meant a lot to us both to have your love and support.

Just hours after graduation ended we started our celebration week, by packing up our family to head to Orlando for our 10 day Disney World and Florida vacation. Several more posts to come regarding all the fun we had once I take a nap and do several loads of laundry.