Graduation...ish.

So even though I don't graduate for real until December, we did the ceremony a few weeks ago. (BYU doesn't have a ceremony in December, which makes sense because of Christmas, but that means December graduates either have to walk a semester early, a semester late, or not at all. Since we won't be living here in April, I decided August was better.) My parents and sister came up from New Mexico and Ian's parents came down from Washington.

My mom and Clarissa look so excited, which they really should be. There isn't anything more exciting then watching several hundred people walking in.

My dad, Ian, and Ian's dad. They look thrilled too. I think my dad actually read pretty much the whole time, though it looks like he was taking a nice little nap here.

Ian had a great excuse to leave for a bit.

Grandma Debra had a great reason to leave too.

It finally ended and we were free. Until the next day.

Here are the obligatory pictures. The gown is humongous. Some of my friends from the nursing program told me I looked really good for having a 2 month old, but since I was wearing a tent, I don't know how they could tell.

 The next day was the ceremony for just the College of Nursing. This one was much, much better.

The family ended up sitting right next to where we walked and waited to get our names read and receive our empty diplomas. So Clarissa, my mom, and Debra are in some of my friends pictures on facebook. Here's Clarissa with me.

Their seating location also meant that between my mom and Ian's mom, I got a thousand or so pictures taken while I was waiting.

When they read our names, they also put up a picture of us and our favorite quote. Mine was "If you judge people, you have no time to love them" by Mother Theresa and quoted often by President Thomas S. Monson.

It was good to walk and very good to have family come and visit. I think they enjoyed it too, though maybe not the graduation part of it. Ian's favorite part, hands down, was going to eat at Tucano's afterward. (Probably my dad's too, though he did tell Ian that the book he lent him (Unbroken) made the big graduation the best one he's ever been to-- and since there are nine of us, he has been to a lot.)