A few last videos from the Hoosier State

I found some videos that I had forgot about.  The first is Grace in our old house with the video camera.  Note at the end when she is saying "Cheese" and then is concerned about the camera not working.  The second is G and her daddy dancing (my favorite!).  And the final one is G at the Indianapolis zoo "racing a cheetah"--she's going to be a runner like her daddy!

 

 

'nastics

After Grace's fascination with the dancers at New West Fest, I knew we had to get her into dance lessons.  Unfortunately, everywhere I called told me kids have to be 3 and/or potty trained.  Grace is neither.  So, we're doing the next best thing--gymnastics lessons, or as Grace likes to call it "'nastics."  Our classes are on Saturday and Mark and I get to participate with her.  She loves it!

Butterfly Pavillion

A few weekends ago we headed to Denver to check out the butterfly pavilion.  The butterfly part was amazing.  If you don't like insects (who does?!?!) the rest can be skipped!

ABCs

Yes, Grace has been saying the ABCs for quite sometime now but check out how she's added a little attitude on the side now.

First Day of School

Grace started at her new school on August 15th.  She seemed a bit apprehensive the week before and I was really worried that she thought that she was going back to her old school and would be very disappointed.  So, that Saturday, I took her to Target and we picked out a new back pack.  She was so proud of that backpack that she totally overlooked the fact that she was going to school.  She was a bit shy when I dropped her off but after a few minutes she was fine and told me I could leave.  She is such a big girl!

 Backpack is as big as she is!

My mom ALWAYS made molasses cookies on the first day of school.  We didn't get them made for Grace's first day of school but we did make them the first day that I taught.  They turned out terrible (I'm blaming it on the altitude!) but Grace and I had fun making them.

Professor Williams

I became official in mid-August...

There is a sign on my door that says I'm a Dr.

and I have an official headshot for our department's website.

Crazy!!!

New West Fest

Mid-August brings the New West Fest to Fort Collins.  It's a weekend of free bands, an art fair, and lots of fun activities for kids.  We headed down on Saturday and loved it so much that we went back on Sunday!

 Dressing up for our photo shoot in the kids zone

 

No autographs please!

 

Choo Choo!

 While this all looks like fun, I think the best part was when we stopped to watch the dancers from a local dance studio perform.  Grace was absolutely captivated!  I think dance lessons are definitely in our future!

Fun with Alice and Richie

A few months ago my Aunt Barb and Uncle Jim were in town so we had them and my cousin Joey and her family over.  Grace LOVED playing with Alice and Richie!  I'm pretty certain that every toy in our house was out!

County Fair

After we returned from our trip, we had one week before school started and we were determined to make it a great week.  First on our list was a trip to the County Fair.

 Watching the diving dogs"

 "Choo Choo!"

 Notice the pink patent leather shoes that someone insisted on wearing :-)

 Dumbo ride

 

 

 

We were able to plant sunflower seeds at the fair.  Over the next week we watched them grow and eventually they got so big we had to transplant them!

Daddy Snuggle Time

Graduation Weekend!

On Thursday, Grace and I headed to Indy with my mom and dad.  Unfortunately, Mike had to be in Florida for is son, Shea's graduation (yay!) from a Harley Davidson program.  We had a nice (long) drive down and despite realizing forgetting Dad's oxygen in Saginaw and having to do a detour to get some (we had all the bottles, just not his regulator and luckily were able to pick one up in Fort Wayne), we still made it in time for dinner and an evening swim.  Mark flew in that night and the festivities began!

The next morning G and I went for a quick hair cut.  It was the first time I had taken her any where but my stylist in  Lafayette.  We went to a kiddie hair cut place and despite all the cool chairs, Grace insisted in sitting in the "big girl chair."

My mom and dad joined me on a trip to West Lafayette to pick up my cap and gown, have a sushi lunch with Jenn, and run a few other errands.  That night we headed to Amy and Greg's for happy hour and then my mom treated us to a fantastic graduation dinner at Harry and Izzy's.  It was a really special night.

A pre-dinner piano recital!

 

Singing "If you're happy and you know and your face will surely show it..."

Grace and Anna had dinner at home and got to stay with a baby sitter

 

 With the greats!

Two beautiful ladies in white!

My mom--I love her so much!

The next day was EARLY!  Graduation was at nine and I had to be there by 8.  This wouldn't have been bad if you didn't include and hour drive in the mix!

Ready to walk!

The "official photo"

 

Purdue does a processional--graduates walk from the armory around campus to the auditorium.  

This is the official shot of me during the processional.

 

 This is a video from the movie screen during graduation.  It shows me being hooded :-)

 

Receiving my hood from the Dean of the Graduate School

(unfortunately my fantastic advisor, Dr. Stacey Connaughton, was in Saudia Arabia during commencement--we missed her!)

 And getting my degree from President France Cordova

Those were the highlights of the 2 1/2 hour graduation ceremony.  It was long!  I had a hard time staying awake!  Luckily for Grace, Nana took her outside after she saw me graduate.  Here is what they did.

 Fountain

Boiler Up!!!

After the ceremony, we met by the fountain for pictures.  My favorite part was when Grace saw me and bounded towards me for a big hug.  I know that both she and Mark sacrificed a lot as I finished up this degree and although she won't remember this special day, I hope that as she grows up she looks at what I did and knows that she too can do anything she wants to do.

 Of course we had to play in the fountain!

After the ceremony, we had a fantastic party at Mark's parents house.  They were such gracious hosts and allowed up to invite many of our friends and family members over to celebrate with us.  Mark and I were both overwhelmed at the number of people who came and how blessed we are to have such fantastic people in our lives.  Unfortunately, I wasn't too good with the camera so we don't have a lot of pics of the day but here are the few I got.

The next day was a low key, shopping and pool day with the family...perfect!

"Photography by Grace"

"Photography by Grace"

Project Runway with Nana and Mama

We didn't leave until late Monday evening.  My mom and dad left Monday morning and Craig had taken off for a convention Sunday morning so it was just us, Nana, Amy and Anna.  We had a fun afternoon at the zoo.

Overall, graduation weekend was exactly what I had hoped for.  A lot of time with friends and family.  Spectacular!