Daddy Graduates!!!

Big news in our house this spring...Paul graduated with his Masters in Electrical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology! It has been a long road, taking one night class at a time, but he persevered and graduated! We are so proud of him. I decided to take Ben and Abbey down to the ceremony to watch while Juliette went to a friend's house and I got a sitter for Matthew. It was going to be a very long and hot day and I just figured the younger two might not handle it so well. I wasn't even sure how the older two would handle it, but they were amazing. We got up early to head downtown with Daddy. Once we got parked, we separated so Paul could get to where he needed to be to line up and we could go get seats. But first, we took some pictures with him in his regalia.

The ceremony was outside on the baseball field.  So before heading in, we stopped at a gas station to use the bathroom and grab some drinks.  Then we found seats and settled in to wait for it all to start.  We were there early, so we had lots of time to wait!  The kids had brought books and coloring stuff though, so we were prepared!

After sitting for a while, we decided maybe the kids should get some energy out before the ceremony began.  So I had them run laps between our seats and the fence and back.  They had a lot of fun doing this - running from opposite directions and slapping hands as they passed.

Then it was time to see Paul process in....he didn't see us at first.

But he was on the look out for us.

Finally he saw us and everyone was so excited!!!

The main ceremony was very nice, although a little long.  It started to rain a little, but they had ponchos they handed out so we were fine.  After the main ceremony, there was a short break (kids ran laps again) and then the Electrical Engineering ceremony began.  This time he saw us right away!

This ceremony got really hot as the rain stopped, the sun came out, and the whole field got steamy.  But the kids did so well and we loved watching Daddy get his diploma!

Afterwards, the kids could not wait to go give Daddy huge hugs!

So very proud of him!

Time to go to the reception to celebrate!

Way to go Paul!

After a quick snack at the reception, we noticed there was a park next to the reception, so we headed over there.

While other graduates were munching on goods, this one was pushing his kids on the tire swing at the park.   That is the awesome kind of Dad he is!  The kids really deserved it though - I just can't even tell you how excellent they were during the whole thing.  I was so proud of them too!

What do their futures hold???

We stopped for ice cream on the way home and then Paul grilled some steaks for dinner.  We had a carrot cake and champagne (and kids sparkling grape juice) to celebrate!  I got Paul a very nice bottle of Bourbon as well (based on a true Louisville native's recommendation - thanks David!).

 Ben helped pop the champagne!

It was truly a fantastic day and a wonderful memory both for us and for the kids.

CONGRATULATIONS PAUL!!!