Chillin' in the Hood(s)

It seemed time for a road trip.

We could tell because there were signs and wonders in the heavens.  

Or at least in the Leonardo in SLC, where our trip took us for some graduation fun.

After hours of ironing and steaming, Terisa did not want to set the gown down. It gets wrinkles from sideways glances. So she carried it on Trax and all morning

Whenever I go to a graduation, I always think about the stories of people around us more than our own.  Who had to work hard?  Whose graduation was a miracle? Who's family came from far away to see the very first college graduate of the family?  Anyway, there were lots of other stories baking in the sun, while we waited for our split second turn in Kingsbury Hall..

If you are a master, you come with your graduate hood already attached.  If you are a doctor, your department head helps you put it on, on the stage.  Elaine and Bill did the honors for Terisa.

Here are a bunch of newly minted U of U Docs.  Except Dr. Clark, on the right, in her BYU livery.

Doctor Mother Terisa, looking snappy and sassy in her U of U robe.

Not long after this, she got an offer to be on the BYU School Psych faculty.  So from now on, she'll be a flaming red beacon of Uof U-ness at every BYU graduation ceremony!

Terisa's Mom was proud enough to pop vest buttons, if she had a vest, and graciously threw a reception in the Leonardo Museum in Salt Lake.  Much receiving was received.

While we were on the road trip, coincidentally Dan King scheduled the blessing of the fourth generation King, Titus.  Ellen and Wade came out from Philly, too.

A spare picture frame provided photo ops. Here, Aunt Ellen has outgrown Grandma Grace.

Gabe and Lynne have outgrown the picture frame.

If you bend your knees, you can change your altitude. 

The road trip continued to Socorro, where granddaughters and more graduations awaited.

It was an occasion that seemed to require real cowboy boots, so we stopped at the Boot Barn in Albuquerque to westernize.

Grace graduated from pre-Kindergarten.  Alice and Gabe went along and hung out with the little scholars one day.

Grace shows off the family life skills gained.

Alice is apprenticing in the kitchen.  Watch out Iron Chef!

Awaiting a New Mexican thunderstorm, Alice points out local points of interest to Grandma Terisa.

Although one of our reasons for going early to Socorro was to help Paul and Bethany pack, we took one day to go out to the Very Large Array radio telescope. Very cool.

The sun was too bright for Alice, so she adopted the desert nomad look in Grandma's sweater.

We got up close and personal to one of the dishes.  

So very mechanical.  

So very cool.

Back in Socorro, the neighbors and at least three unidentified kids wandered in to help.

Graduation Day in Socorro!  How cool is it that a whole bunch of the graduates got to wear hardhats instead of mortar boards.  Both loosely related to construction, I guess...

No keynote speaker, but this brave professor gave a poem in Klingon.

No, really.

Very symbolic of the universal nature of truth.

Also very symbolic of how geeky technical universities can be.

She got an enthusiastic response, though.

It's okay with me.  Geeks embracing their inner geek can be pretty clever.  For example, the processional was "Pomp and Circumstance,"  but the recessional was the Darth Vader theme.  Hey, it's very heroic music, and everyone is wearing black capes.

Because we were all out standing in a field, it was hard to get clean photo angles.

But here is the happy grad, gripping a hard-fought-hard-won Master's degree in Hydrology.

The smile is one of relief.  And it is a death grip on the diploma.

Mission accomplished in New Mexico!

Family friends, Junior and Skyler, came to honor the grad..

The three grads from Paul's department got lots of attention from the faculty.

After driving back to Riverton, two new grads suit up for photos...

just chillin' in the (graduate) hoods.