GRADUATION! Hooray!

After two years of constantly taking 2 or more classes per semester, on May 5, 2010 John officially graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a Bachelor of Arts in Business and Technology. We couldn't be more proud of him!  The last two semesters were annoying and I'm bursting with pride to say that John stuck it through, got good grades, and ended on a high note! 

John waving to us from the graduate seats as we were up in the nose bleeds - luckily James has a REALLY good lens!

As a side note - I didn't even know you could bedazzle the cap - I wish I had!  I would have added something really crazy to John's.  Any suggestions?   

On campus with the famous Daniel Boone statue

John and Lil' D

All three of us

Lil' D wearing the Happy Graduation Hat

Grandma Dee, James, Mom, Dad, Lil' D, and I all got to go to the graduation ceremony at EKU.  It was memorable enough that when we drive past the Colosseum  Lil' D goes "Daddy - Happy Graduation!".  He also likes to wear the "Happy Graduation Hat!" and play with the tassel.  All in all, graduation went well and John is taking a well deserved and well needed break from school for a while! 

As a bonus, we went to Orange Leaf and ate delicious frozen yougurt as a special treat AND we got to keep the cap and gown!  :) 

Bloomington Bound

The last weekend in April we traveled to Bloomington, Indiana to see my sister (Jen) and her husband (Dan) before Dan graduated from IU and the headed to Utah for Dan's job the second week of May.  The weekend was a lot of fun, but WAY TOO SHORT! We got some great Chinese food our first night there, help Jen and Dan pack the next morning, walked around IU's beautiful campus and went in the art museum, and then helped Jen get somethings packed up from her classroom.  Mom and Dad showed up and we did a little more packing, ate dinner at this fancy-but-tasty burger joint, played games, went to church the next morning, and then came home.  It was a busy weekend, but one I'm glad we got!  Who knows when we'll get to see them again! We were really busy, so there aren't a ton of pictures.

On another note, Uncle Dan and Aunt Jen taught Lil' D the Stormtrooper's March (now he's really ready for BYU football games) and he's still singing it 4 months later!  

Clock on Campus

One of the statues on campus

Lil' D figuring out how the revolving door works - his favorite part of the Art Museum

Beautiful IU Campus!

Trip to Vinceness, Indiana

The second week in April, John, Lil' D and I went to Indiana.  John's mom (Grandma Dee) and grandma and multiple generations back are from Vinceness.  When John's grandma (Grandma Shouse) died last summer, she wanted to be buried along with Grandpa Shouse at a time when the most people could make it for the burial.  The burial was held in conjunction with her high school class reunion.  It would have been their class's 75 reunion.  The entire Schlesser clan and the entire Cochran clan (John's cousins) were able to be there for both the burial and the reunion.  Lil' D LOVED being around his aunt and uncles and around family.  It was a quick trip, but a good one for the family.  I finally got to meet John's cousins! 

The extended family: John, me, Andre, Becky, Dorival, Grandma Dee, Lil' D, Fatima, James, Nancy, Jeffery, Renee, Aunt Joey, Nancy's son

Grandma and Grandpa Shouse's burial was very interesting for me.  They were part to the Masons and Order of the Morning Star, and Grandpa was part of the army.  Grandma Dee, Becky, Andre, and James were in full military regalia.  Becky and John played Taps and Grandma Dee, Andre, and James were 3 of the 4 flag bearers. 

Trying on Uncle Andre's hat

Adorable!

Uncle James' is TOO BIG!

 John's Dad is also buried in the family cemetery.  Lil' D was fasinated by the headstone because it he recognized the last name and the letters.  You can see him pointed them out to Uncle Jim (who he never let get far away from him the entire day).

 Lil' D also enjoyed playing Aunt Becky's trumpet.  We all enjoyed seeing Aunt Joey! 

Mama and Aunt Joey

Easter 2012

We had a great time this Easter.  Lil D' was at an age where he really understood what was going on.  There were two Easter Egg Hunts, one that our neighbor threw on the Saturday before Easter and then the small one we had around the house Easter morning.  He loved finding the eggs and opening them up.  We also dyed eggs for first time (no pictures - sorry).

Finding eggs at our neighbors

So happy to find another egg!

Finding one of the eggs we dyed the night before. 

 

We got a book from the library Here Comes Peter Cottontail and read it ALL MONTH!  Lil' D thinks every bunny rabbit is Peter Cottontail and will sing the song for you if asked.  The Easter Bunny did visit our house this year and he went really simple on the Easter Basket.  He included some finger paint ("paint the library?"), some eggs with goldfish and raisins, and a couple of very tiny toys.  I think I am going to continue to encourage the Easter Bunny to bring a similar type basket each year.  I really don't like the big commercial baskets that I've seen around (some of them are more expensive than everything we spent on Christmas.).  As Lil' D gets older, I'd also like to encourage to have the Easter Bunny bring something that relates to the Savior and the true meaning of Easter.  Lil' D loves the word resurrection and understand that Jesus was resurrected and that we will all get resurrected (Mommy resurrected?  Daddy resurrected?  Grandma Dee resurrected?).

 

Lil' D with both of his Easter Baskets - one the Easter Bunny left and one for gathering eggs. 

Our silly boy!

Trip to Berea

In the beginning of April, our crew took a trip to Berea, Kentucky.  Berea is a quaint little town about 25 minutes south of us.  It host an amazing little college where all the students WORK the entire time they are at school in exchange for tuition.  X had been considering going there (no longer, unless as a backup) and we enjoyed walking around the beautiful town, the campus, and the parks.  The town also hosts a bunch of shops and artisan boutiques.  There was a great toy store that we all enjoyed! It was a great morning!

Lil' D laughing with C!

"In the gazebo... running in the gazebo"  Lil D' also learned how to blow a dandelion.

First signs of spring!

One of the pretty buildings on campus.

Saint Patrick's Day!

This year we had a special treat for St. Patrick's Day - a trip to my dad's hometown: Tennessee Ridge, Tennessee.  For the past 50 years the county (Erin County) has a huge parade to honor the predominately Irish heritage in the area.  I haven't been for AGES and John and Lil' D have never met my dad's extended family, so it seemed like a great time to go!  We also took the new van on it's first long road trip!

Going to catch up....

Okay - my 2 month hiatus as a 2nd grade teacher has ended and now I'm able to catch up on my blog.  Plan on seeing all about our various trips and life over the last couple of months!