Nursing School Graduation

My brother and Alicia graduated from nursing school in May.  We packed up and drove down and I had 2 sleepy girls in the car.



 

Kinley was very excited that her uncle & aunt are going to be nurses, woohoo!

There were 2 ceremonys to attend and it ended up being a super cold, rainy day.  That made carrying 2 kids and an umbrella an impossible task, especially when running through a huge parking lot.

The first ceremony was pretty quick and the girls did great.  Laiken slept and Kinley just hung out on our laps.  The second one got pretty long and Kinley wanted to run the bleachers...lots of fun for mom, not! 

Family pictures with the new grads!

We went out to dinner to celebrate & have a few drinks.



We stayed in a hotel over night and it was less than pleasant.  Laiken did fine but Kinley woke up screaming like a night terror (probably because she didn't know where she was).  I decided that it would be a while before we stayed over night anywhere...   Even considering the circumstances, we had a fun day celebrating our new nurses in the family!

Cora's High School Graduation

I can't believe I'm typing this but we celebrated Cora's High School graduation on May 27.  Didn't I just graduate?!  Ha, yeah right!  Many family members came in from out of town so it was so fun to get together and celebrate Cora's accomplishments!

Here's my "baby" sis up on the big screen.  Seriously, she was the cutest baby with big brown eyes, dark hair, and brown bear skin.  And she's grown up into the cutest young lady, too!

Another picture from one of her homecoming dances - that even seems like forever ago!

Everyone gave great speeches and then the big moment arrived...

Waiting to walk up and get her diploma.

I think the last time Cora was on this stage was when she had a frilly dance costume on many, many years ago...I'm sure she's rolling her eyes at me right now.

Yay, she did it!

The ceremonial graduation cap toss.  I know I didn't throw my cap because I wanted to make sure I kept it.  I'm pretty sure I have no idea where that very important piece of history is right now though, ha!

Family pictures after the ceremony:

Kinley & Aunt Coco (not sure why this looks blurry on the blog)

 Awww, caught a sweet moment with her auntie.

Messmore family photo

We went back to my parents house for the big party!

It was a gorgeous day so we hung out outside a lot.

Ian, Dad, Uncle Jack; Michael & Kinley; Craig & Matthew; Abe & Louie

Ashley, Hadley, Nick, Cade, Cole, & Alexa's hair

 Uncle Mark, Aunt Audrey, Grandma Evelyn, & Ann

There were plenty of people inside, too!

 Aunt Laura & Presley

The Rock Island/Moline crew that drove down for the day!

 Grandma, Dan, Lisa, Ian, Grandpa, Char, Stan

Since we had so many kiddos together, we decided to try to get a group picture.  It's always a good idea but then this...

We had a wonderful day catching up with family & friends and celebrating that my parents successfully got 4 kids through high school!  What a feat, I'm not sure how they have any patience left.  ; )

Congrats & good luck at Edwardsville, Cora! We love you!