GRADUATION!

Michael graduated!

He finished his oral and maxillofacial surgery residency and we LOVE him.

(Though he does have to keep going to work for about two more weeks haha.)

This was not the graduation we pictured. But it's just fine. We're just grateful we're healthy,

and that we have a job lined up, and a new home and city that we feel really good about.

The Cannons came up for one last weekend visit. Moving further away from them is the saddest part of leaving Fresno. We have so much fun getting together with them and I'm said that quarantine life slowed down our get togethers during our last months living in the same state. But I know we will still visit each other even when it's Colorado to Cali :)

I'm so glad they came up so that we could have fun at Shaver Lake together and feel like Michael's graduation was celebrated a little more. He chose a Mediterranean meal (falafel & the works) and sticky toffee pudding for our graduation dinner with them. We spent the next day on the kayak at Shaver and we sent it home with the Cannons so that we can have fun at the beach with them when we visit them! We need to get some kayaks in Colorado that don't let quite so much cold water in.

Oh this week. It's all still surreal.

Camden has been waking up with good hair.
It's so cute to walk into his room (ahem, our closet) and see him so happy,
in his flying squirrel outfit rocking his bedhead.

Just staring at daddy. Wondering why he's home. Saturdays are confusing like that.

Studying. Michael: for his test. Camden: his toy car.

Packing always comes with some pauses to go down memory lane.
Kindal made me this journal after we graduated high school,
and I used it from then to right after marrying Michael.
It's full of bits of BYU, Alaska, London, Jerusalem, DC, Indianapolis.
This journal is such a treasure to me. Sometimes all of those experiences seem surreal.

YouTube art lessons and furniture turned boxes.

Bennett turned Kitty's scratch post into an "Animal Catcher"
and I laugh every time I walk by it.

Michael's sweet parents sent him some graduation cookies,
complete with COVID masks! So cute and thoughtful.
Such a strange time to hit a milestone.

The boys and our babysitter Ashley helped me put up a little memory wall so that
we could look back on the hard work and happy times that have gone into getting here.

We watched Michael's graduation by ourselves, eating scrambled eggs for dinner.
I think that might look and sound really sad. But honestly, this moment. I just loved it.
We ate a lot of dinners alone at this table. We ate scrambled eggs for a lot of them too :)
From when Westin was tiny to adding Bennett, to adding Camden.
This moment was not the graduation I pictured but this moment was really sweet.
Michael watched by himself in a lounge at the hospital having just gotten out of surgery.
We were all in our element :)

"There's daddy!!!"
So grateful my kids have so many examples of hard work in their life.

Shaver Lake day with the Cannons! I loved this day so much.

Bennett fed ducks like it was his job. For quite some time.