Blake graduates, finally!

Saturday morning we woke up early for Blake's graduation from UC. Yes, he finally graduated! Originally, he didn't really want to walk, but I told him that was not an option. Just because he was an older student does not mean it is not as important or significant! He worked so hard and I wanted to commemorate his accomplishment. We invited Blake's dad to go along with us since my parents had Caleb and Blake's mom is farther away. The ceremony was nice, but long. Over 2.5 hours and 1100 graduates. I am so proud that Blake took the risk of quitting his engineering career to pursue something that he is passionate about. It was a lot of work and extra stress, but we got through it together with God's grace and faithful hand. It has tested us both mentally, emotionally and spiritually and ultimately made our marriage stronger. There were times when it was hard financially as well as a cause for tension between us. But now Blake is done and the future is full of opportunity.
After the ceremony, Blake met up with his friends Andrea and Chad to take some pictures. Then we went out to eat at the Macaroni Grill. My mom brought Caleb home that afternoon. Blake decided against having a graduation party so we didn't have any plans for the evening. Doug and Katie invited us up to grill out and swim so we did just that. We brought an ice cream cake and grilled burgers. Caleb played in the pool until it was time for him to go to bed. Of course, this consisted of getting in and out every few minutes! We ended up spending the night there. A good thing because the guys all drank too much.