Lauren's Graduation

On May 16, my niece Lauren graduated from University of Illinois with a degree in International Studies. We are so proud of her and all of her accomplishments! We all made the trip to Champaign for the graduation ceremony. I was nervous that Mia would be difficult during the ceremony, but in true Mia fashion - she was awesome! There was a large lobby area that Mia explored while we were waiting for the ceremony to begin. It definitely helped that she could run off some of her boundless energy. Once the graduates started walking into the auditorium, Mia was content sitting on my lap and watching. In fact she made it through almost the entire ceremony and helped cheer for Lauren as she walked across the stage to receive her diploma. Afterwards, we went out for a nice family dinner. Then it was back to Lauren & Adam's apartment to help them pack up. They both decided that they wanted to pack up (neither had really started) and leave that night, so there was a little craziness as they packed and we made trips to load up the car. On the way home, Jake and I both agreed that while we enjoyed our college days and have many memories that we cherish, we are glad to be where we are in life. (I guess we really are getting old!)