Shaunessy's Graduation

So now that Shaunessy has already started college I guess I should post her high school graduation pictures ;) To be fair, after my hard drive crashed I had a million and 2 things to do so these have been edited just not posted! Shaunessy's graduation was at the beginning of this summer and we had driven from Texas to Washington to see our families and her graduation! ( How was that drive you ask? Long. VERY LONG. 3 days on the way there and 2 on the way back. Chase is like  a super human driving robot.) PS how cute is this board that McKae put together?

I was really hoping to post more pictures than this....but blogstomp and I are getting to know each other and it keeps telling me I have too many pictures in one email. It's very unfortunate (but maybe fortunate for you, because you have less pictures to go through! ) We started off with a little pre-graduation party. Food, friends and family: the only things you really need! Danielle made homemade eggs rolls and they were AMAZING. I had far too many. 

So Shaunessy's graduation was a super new and fun experience for me because as many of you know I did not grow up in a small town. Small town things are always new to me and blow my mind in their various traditions and such. For starters, they walked down the football field. What?! How fun is that? No rented stadiums? Crazy! And they were allowed to decorate their caps. Yay creativity! 
We all sat on the concrete bleachers (is that what they call them? Chase isn't around for me to ask, so that's what I'm going to call them) and took some pictures afterwards. Then they have a after graduation lock in party sort of situation so we said "seee yaaaaa girl!" and walked back to the house. Walked. With our feet. And it took like 5 minutes. *BBWWSSHHHH* That was my mind being blown at the idea that you can walk home from a graduation. onomatopoeia's yo.

Grandma Chase is just as cute as can be. She doesn't always remember everyone she hugs, but she still hugs them anyways. That's a loving woman right there. 

 It's such a blast to get together with family! It makes me wish we lived closer.

Shaunessy started school this fall at Utah State and (from what I can tell) loves it so far! So excited for all her new adventures and here's to hoping we get together again soon!

More pictures will be up on Facebook soon!

Madi's Graduation

wooooohooooo! I'm finally blogging all the madness that has happened this past month! ( month and a half?) Trips to Utah, Washington and San Antonio will take over for a bit. Starting out of order (what? who am I? I know. I'm progressing) Madison's Graduation!

Yes. This was outside the Alamo dome. Madison's graduation was a LOT like mine so I was ready for this one! Large graduating classes in large buildings: TEXAS STYLE. Her class was made up of some 700 or so people. We had to sit on the second level so I went ahead and put some arrows in there for good measure. You know, so you could find her easily.

If you've ever been to a large graduation you know the drill. A speech from a valedictorian going to an Ivy League, a few teachers telling everyone this was a great experience but real life and real work start after this moment, and many jokes about crushing student loan debt. Ah yes, this was all familiar and comforting to my ears and took me right back to high school graduation. Also, watching the jumbo screen for your graduate!

Miss Smartie graduated with Honors! So proud of that goob face. And this ^^ was us trying to exit the dome. Nightmares. I felt like I was in a herd of cattle. We walked around the outside for about an hour trying to find each other and it was about 100 degrees...  On the plus side, they sold snacks during the graduation!! so I made my way downstairs about half way through and picked up some popcorn ;) one of the best treats in the world..

Heather and Madi lookin spiffy!

Madi is applying to BYUI for winter track and I'm SO excited for her!! I LOVED the time I spent on the BYU-I campus and for all the fun experiences she will have up there! We don't come from a family where everyone goes to BYU or BYUI so I feel we share this special bond ;)

We celebrated that night with family, friends and delicious food. I tell you what, San Antonio is HOT. Hotter than Dallas ( I SAID IT) and that's saying something. The people make up for it by being a little more fun, a little more crazy and a bunch sweeter.

James Avery ^^ The trend of the south. Wearing your James Avery out west at school made you immediate friends with other southerners. You will spot a girl with a James Avery ring from across the room and have an instant connection. 

I tried to keep it short and sweet here on the writing side but I had such a blast spending this weekend with my little cousin and I could not be more proud of her! She is one smart cookie and she's working till next year so she can pay her own way to school in January. What a rock-star. I love you Madi squirrel!