Jeff's graduation

We are all very excited about Jeff's graduation! He graduated with his Master of Arts in Teaching from USC! We are very proud of him and all the hard work he put into obtaining his degree!

I talked Jeff into going to graduation in California... although it was a SUPER quick trip, here are some pictures from the event (there are other, better pictures, but I haven't gotten those from my dad yet, so these'll have to do!).

on the shuttle to get to campus from the parking lot, Kara & Grandma

on the shuttle, Gerald and Judi (Jeff's parents)

Jeff on the shuttle on the way to campus! Look at his new USC tie!



Jeff and my parents in front of the bookstore

waiting to get into the ceremony... it was hot!

Brooke was looking at the hibiscus flowers and being very patient!

Kara was trying to beat the heat by hiding

we found Jeff's name in the graduation booklet

Jeff marching in!

Jeff heading up to get his diploma!

the band came in at the end of graduation and played the fight song and the school song... it was fun!

Kara's orchestra concert

 Last night was Kara's final orchestra concert of the year. We are so proud of how hard she's worked and of how much she's improved! This was only her second year of playing and she was in advanced orchestra with mostly 7th graders (and she made 1st violin!).

Some pictures:

IronMan!

Today the IronMan is being held in St George... we decided to take some time to watch some of the racers on the bike portion. I can't believe they bike for over 100 miles!

We went to a viewing area in Ivins that had a lot of booths set up, including one for the Biggest Loser Fitness Ridge. Last year we saw a lot of contestants who had been on the show in past seasons. This year we met a couple of them (Sione, who we met last year, and Denise). The former Biggest Loser contestants hosted a hula hoop competition.... good thing my kids are good at hula hooping! Kara & Brooke were easily the last two in the competition... so the rules changed to try to get a winner. They asked the girls to spin around while still hula hooping... no challenge! Then they were asked to put their arms in the air... still no challenge! Then when they were asked to balance on one foot while still hula hooping... that's when Brooke's little hoop fell. Kara was the winner! And her prize... the full attention of the crowd! :) Hahaha!

Some pictures of the fun we had:

 

 

My Graduation from Nursing School

I graduated from nursing school! All I have left is to study and take my license exam and then I'll be an RN... then I guess I'll need to find a job, but for now, graduation is exciting enough! :)

Thanks to my parents and sisters as well as Jeff's parents for travelling so far to come support me at graduation! I loved my cheering section! :)

We skipped the big morning cermony, and only attended the afternoon ceremony for the School of Nursing and Allied Health. It was a much smaller and quicker ceremony, and the kids didn't have to miss much of school to attend. Then after the graduation ceremony, we went out to eat at Chuck a Rama, then headed back to campus for my pinning ceremony. A lot of work went into planning the pinning ceremony. I was on the graduation committee and served as a student representative for the semester. I worked with a couple of amazing and on-the-ball girls, and the ceremony was a success!
Below are some pictures from the day:


me with my family at graduation

filling out the name card for the ceremony

waiting for graduation to start

in line to get my diploma

on stage

finally!

me with my parents

me with my family and Jeff's parents

me with two of my sisters! :)

getting my RN pin

speaking at pinning (the worst part about being on the committee!)

me with Jeff