Time to Retire...

You know it's time to retire
when you have to tape your rolling toes together to stop the pain!

CATCH-UP ... Birthday Party & Viral Internetness

If all goes well, this post will show first for anyone looking, of several today, playing calendar catch-up.

In March, I traveled to Jewel and Johnny's to celebrate Hayden's birthday #9 - birthday breakfast pancakes (tradition), bowling, and gift opening/cake sharing with local relatives. (His favorite, I'm guessing, an XBox chair.)

While were were there, the festivities compounded with multiple devices accessing the various webpage links to an article written about a 1,800-year-old Egyptian soldier's letter home, papyrus found 100 years ago, never translated, and given to Grant at a papyri institute he was invited to participate in at BYU the summer of 2011.  The Rice Video which was made in honor of his achievement has (end of May) had almost 6,000 views.  Some of the others were Yahoo.com, Fox News, NBC, Huffington Post, as well as a number of them on other continents.  The original article has had close to 11,000 likes.

Lastly, of note, these are the last photos of the Norma's swingset.  Took them almost 10 years to finally get around to removing it, alas without any grandkid photos since I had it painted late last summer (which, human nature being what it is, no doubt accounts for their desire to finally move it, but I made them cover my expenses).  Oddly, the slide was new when Daddy moved the swingset over from Lehi (on a flatbed trailer then lowered it over the fence with a crane), but they took both.  Oh well.  Two grandsons came, sons of Robert, the oldest of the two BYU VPs, now retired.  They wanted a tour, and even asked to see the new shed when I said I used it as a playhouse, and I said my grandkids don't get much use out of it especially Grant's since they are in Houston.  How was Grant, and I said almost done with his PhD at Rice.  What was his field, and I said Religious Studies.  Is he coming back to the Y, and I said apparently he wasn't good enough for the Y, and the younger of the two said, "TELL me about it!!!!"  (Apparently they have family members in the same boat.)

Spring has sprung at the District Office!

CATCH-UP ... Hooding Ceremony

I got there on Thursday afternoon.

Larry got there Thursday evening and tended while Grant and Ruth

took me out to celebrate Mother's Day.

We went to Thai Cottage and they gave me this

(as well as Bath and Body Works lotion - Twilight Woods - ummmm):

The spring edition of the Rice University magazine included Grant's papyrus translation.

The book is the Rice's first 100 year history (1912-2012).

The Sunday before I opened the most beautiful card from Jewel.

Also had the pleasure of seeing her the week before that

when she was up for Women's Conference with her friend Kennedy,

coworkers in YW. 

They used the bedrooms upstairs, and I tried out my new and improved

hide-a-bed (had it for a week or so but it took company

for the courage to spend the night in the basement *wink*). 

It has no springs nor crossbars.

So ... School's Out Forever as Ruth lead with on her blog post (more pictures).

Didn't get any decent pictures of the Hooding Ceremony

other than the brass band

(which Grant took pleasure in imitating the rest of the weekend).

Hazel's rendition of the event.

(One of Grant's friends commented that the likeness was remarkable

and Brenda agreed with our assessment that it looks like Gru from Despicable Me.)

 Another one she's proud of:

CATCH-UP ... Graduation - Commencement

Commencement was outdoors and it couldn't have been a nicer day.

Ruth and Grant pointed out that the best part was the lack of normal humidity.

This is a picture of the same event but not this year's,

to give you a feel for the lay of the land (podium up front, not included).

That morning's chair set-up.

This arch is called the Sallyport, and all the graduates passed through at the end

of the program and conferring of diplomas (verbal not literal).

We went around the building to meet up for congratulations and pictures.

More pictures, wending our way back to the car

(took a shuttle part way):

That evening Grant and Ruth took Larry out for his birthday dinner,

and it was my turn to tend.

We parents went to church with the family and left for home on Monday.

CATCH-UP ... More Graduations

It's been awhile.  And if I remembered correctly,
if you're going to post more than one the same date,

you start with this, the latest first:  Graduations.

 Taken from the video which accounts for the blurriness -

Hazel, second row from the bottom, arms in the "crane" pose,

black dress, white bow, as they sang with Celine Dion,

"...you gave me wings and made me fly ... because you loved me."

Makes me cry just thinking about it.

I didn't get to see the program, but she performed it the last night I was there,

singing it inches from and face-to-face to her mom. 

I missed Lucy's program as well, she's in the blue. This is her favorite dress, she tells me.

(And the handsome young man at the front of the line

is the son of Grant's friend, Fermin, who came to Houston for political asylum

from the Congo and has brought four of his children over.

Mom's permission failed but they elected to send the kids anyway

and are hoping she'll come soon.)

Lucy's program was performed to Eye of the Tiger.

When she performed it while I was there, she mouthed the words to the music,

not quite brave enough then, but not that shy when the rest of the class performed it.

Didn't get to go to Raygen's graduation either
but had the pleasure of watching three video clips.

The kids recited a poem about the continents as Raygen pointed them out on a map.

Her teacher said they do Montessori math, which is challenging,

and Raygen mastered it very quickly.

Last but not least, of course is Hayden,

whose class isn't having a program this year but an awards ceremony,

which won't be until June.

Yes, I should post the videos, but every homemade video

I've ever added to my blog no longer works,

and I'm done with creating that sad scenario!