I finally graduated

Well, it was a very long journey, but I finally graduated. You can call my Dr. Kristen now ;)  It took awhile to really sink in, but I feel it now. And it certainly helped when about 15 family members decended into town to celebrate with me. Graduation was on a monday, so we had a pre-celebration weekend, which included a lot of fun and even in the rain. We ventured out to the big arts and crafts fair down the street - equipped with about 9 umbrellas. I had hoped we could take little ones in the paddle boats, but it turned out to be pouring rain all day, so we just splashed around outside of the pond. The boys BBQ'd out in the rain. We ate some good food and chilled in town. It was a lovely weekend, despite the rain, and I enjoyed all of the love.

When Monday arrived, we all packed into a bunch of cars and drove down to campus. Graduation was exciting (also long and very hot...). I sat in the very first row, with my friends, the other 7 Phd graduates. All of those years of studying...and I finally walked across stage to get that diploma.

Thank you family, for helping me celebrate this giant milestone in my life.