james' mba graduation.

james has really been done with school since december, but didn't officially graduate until last week. we'd planned for him to walk in logan at that graduation but it wasn't until may and we found out that the graduation in brigham city would be sooner, so with baby girl coming in may, we opted for the brigham city one.

we had a great evening celebrating james' success and accomplishments over the last two years.

we're proud of this guy! and i told him when we got married i'd find a way to make him an aggie!

the graduation was a lot smaller than it would have been in logan so it made it short and sweet. and with kids, that was nice!

my parents met up with us before and treated us to dinner at maddox. we stuffed ourselves silly and then waddled over to the graduation. it was so nice to have them there. my mom basically had kendall out in the hall the whole time letting her run some energy off. their support meant a lot too.

we also had support from the jeremy ruesch clan. james was glad to have his brother there for this momentous occasion. it was so nice of them to make the trek up to brigham city to support us.

man it felt good to have this night come. the two years james was in the mba program really did go quickly. but having him gone two nights a week was hard on this weak mama. i like having him around. we've definitely enjoyed the fact that he's not working on projects or papers anymore when he gets home from work or on saturdays. as good as it feels for me to be done, i can't imagine how he feels! after all, he did do all of the school work.

he surprised me with roses and one of my favorite treats that night too. i loved both and felt bad that i didn't get him anything. he wins for being most thoughtful.

brooklyn was obsessed with the flowers. as soon as we got home she wanted some put in her room.

i'm so grateful for james' example of the importance of education for our girls. they won't remember him being in school, but i can promise you we'll tell them about it. i hope it gives them the desire and motivation to pursue and love education as they grow up. they'll never regret it.

i really am so grateful for the opportunities that have allowed james to gain an education. we truly feel so blessed and are happy to add this chapter to the book of our lives together. it's something we're proud of, grateful for, and obviously happy to have finished.

lastly, it was fun to reminisce about james' road of education as we drove up to brigham city. pictured below shows that i was basically pregnant any time something momentous happened:

left to right: pregnant with brooklyn when he graduated from the u with his bachelor's degree, pregnant with kendall when he started the mba program, and pregnant with #3 when he finished the mba program.

and with that, a bump pic that is a little outdated now but taken the day after the graduation.

h a p p y  s a t u r d a y 

haley's graduation.

friday night, the last of the holmes kids graduated from high school. my parents can now consider themselves empty nesters. such a crazy thought!

but the graduation was nice. north summit does a great job of keeping their graduations to about an hour, and that was perfect for brooklyn. she was so good the whole time, and thankfully, made it through the whole thing. 

we had dinner at my parents' beforehand: cafe rio burritos and salads, and some brownies, cookies, and ice cream for dessert. it hit the spot!

haley had lots of support and it was fun to have everyone there. there is nothing quite like the support of family and friends.

and brooklyn was so excited to get to spend time with her aunts and uncles. 

^^^she adores these two.^^^

^^^the goofy brothers-in-law^^^

^^^the whole crew^^^

the whole weekend was great. it was super relaxing and we just enjoyed time spent at my parents' house. brooklyn loved all of the attention she had, and james and i enjoyed relaxing. 

and like i said, my parents are now empty nesters.

so, why not buy a motorcycle and plan a trip for the fall?

^^^the girls loved taking a little ride with grandma and grandpa on the 'hog'. obviously, they did not ride like this. it was just the easiest way to get everyone in the picture.^^^

as for baby girl and me. we're now at 35 weeks and we've grown to capacity. i'm really not sure how she can get any bigger. it's not possible. i can tell she's experiencing tight quarters with every one of her little movements. but we want to keep her in there until her scheduled c-section date. we really do. as uncomfortable as i am getting, i really want her to stay in there until she absolutely has to come out. and it's hard to say that with how anxious i am to meet her and have her here. because really. i am so anxious!

h a p p y  memorial  d a y

p.s. 2 months from today and that little girl ^^^ will be 3. THREE. i can't hardly stand it.  

aunt tori's graduation.

Last night my SIL Tori graduated from high school. The Class of 2012. That just seems crazy. Seriously crazy. It makes me feel old. Anyway, her graduation was nice and air conditioned thanks to the Dee Events Center. Brooklyn was glad to walk around with grandma and check the place out rather than sit and listen to graduation speeches.

Brooklyn was a trooper. She had no second nap of the day (and that is crucial ya'll) and hadn't been nursed for four hours by the time it was all said and done. James and I hurried out to the car as quickly as we could to get that babe fed and put down for a nap. We found a shady spot, I nursed her, and then we were off. Brooklyn...not asleep. She screamed the whole way back to my in-laws. She was not a happy camper. As soon as we pulled up to the house, I raced her inside, took her upstairs to a nice quiet room, and put her to sleep. Everyone ate (some delicious food) and not even ten minutes later she was awake. She hates to miss a party. And she especially didn't want to miss seeing her Aunt Tori on her graduation day.

We quickly took pictures and then ate some more. Chatted. Ate some more. Enjoyed the beautiful summer evening and then it was time to head home. But not before I got the chance to visit with Tori about her upcoming freshman year at BYU this fall. Such an exciting time of life. So much ahead of her and so many possibilities. Just don't love it too much Tor, you'll need to come and visit on the weekends.

The drive home wasn't as bad as I anticipated it being. With such a mixed up nap/eating schedule, I thought for sure that little Brooklyn Jayde would be a monster on the way home. But thanks to a nice hot pink glow stick from her daddy, she was juuuust fine. Thank goodness. This thing entertained her the whole way home. I did add a little bit of tickling and animal sounds in there as well, but the glow stick gets all the credit. Thank you glow stick.

h a p p y  w e e k e n d i n g 

...we'll be spending it pool side. hopefully. that is if brooklyn doesn't turn into a monster today. fingers crossed.

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oh. and welcome june. i love you.

Class of 2011

This cute, fun, bubbly girl graduated last night.

She had a lot of family and friends there to support her. Everyone who knows her loves her. Now she's onto Utah State to be an Aggie!

(the Holmes family minus Dad - he had principal duties)

After work we're off to Spring Haven for the WHOLE weekend! Wahoo!