Dad the Grad!

One of the reasons I was so eager for Luke to go ahead and make his appearance was so that I could see this handsome guy walk across a stage in a fancy cap and gown.  And I'm pleased to announce that I made it!  Just 3 days after Luke was born, Ben graduated from the MBA program.

This is what our family looked like about three weeks before Ben's orientation in August 2011.  Look how little those kids are!

And here we all are on the big day.  The kids and I and Mema and Papa watched the ceremony from the stands.  I'm still amazed that we made it through the 2.5 hour ceremony without any major issues.  The hardest thing for Jack seemed to be that he wanted to see his Daddy and was frustrated that Daddy was there but he couldn't be with him.

All of the graduate school grads sat on the floor of the Marriott Center, with the undergrads in the stands.  The MBAs all have a gold sash, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the MBA program at BYU.  Pretty cool that Ben was in the 50th graduating class, huh?

Coming across the stage and shaking hands with faculty:

The moment we've been waiting for.  We are officially DONE!

We met up outside, and Ben was appropriately greeted by doting kids, wife, and parents.

Jack photo bombed all of the family pictures.  Little stinker.

My favorite picture of the day:

Jack and Eliza were so excited to be reunited with their Dad that they wouldn't let go of him as we walked to the car.

They both wanted to hold his hand, but Eliza settled for holding on to the long sleeve extension on Ben's gown instead.

We walked back to our cars together and Ben and I put Luke's car seat into Ben's car and Mema and Papa took the big kids home.  Ben and I walked across campus to a reception for the MBA grads at the Tanner Building, turning in the cap and gown on the way.  It was nice to spend a little more time with friends, peers, and faculty before we all go our separate ways.

When we came home, Ben and his Dad grilled some delicious steak and Cleo made mashed potatoes and vegetables.  We stuffed ourselves with an awesome dinner, then we had pound cake with berries and whipped cream for dessert and Ben's parents and I gave him our presents.  Mine was a collection of pictures from our time at BYU plus sentiments from a variety of people - the kids and I, immediate family members, a few close friends, and the teacher who has become a wonderful mentor for Ben.  I had a good time putting it together and can't wait to have it professionally printed one day, hopefully soon.

Luke was a trooper throughout the graduation festivities.  He was content in the sling all afternoon, which was good, because I had no intention of taking such a little baby out and risking close encounters with other people's germs.  I did feel bad about not introducing him to our friends at the reception, but the only way I felt comfortable attending the graduation at all was if I kept him relatively isolated.  I felt surprisingly good all day, but I fully expected to be extra sore and tired the next day.  I was very blessed to only have a bit of soreness the following day, though.  I'm so glad we all decided to attend.  The anticipation made me a bit nervous, but everything worked out just fine.

I'm so proud of Ben for accomplishing this goal.  Attaining a graduate degree is something he's been wanting to do since we were first married, though we didn't know at the time that it would take the form of an MBA.  Ben worked hard at learning in his classes and gaining insight from mentors and extracurricular activities.  He got as much out of this experience as he could and tried to really prepare himself to take on the business roles he would like to have in the future.  I'm sure it will pay off soon!

There were definitely some challenges that came along with completing this program, but overall, we've mostly just felt blessed for the experiences we've had, the people we've met, and the things we've learned.  I feel like I've earned a Masters in Life Experience in the last 2 years and it's been interesting to see the form that education has taken.  I'm sure we'll better understand the experiences we've had here once we begin our next adventure.  In the meantime, I'm thankful for all that we've done and learned and all of the people who have had an impact on our lives during the MBA program.  It's kind of hard to believe that it's over.