Baylor Graduation

Where to start! We left home Thursday & headed to Llano where my brother & sister-in-law live. We just spent the afternoon & evening having a great visit. Hubby just want to get out of town for a day of nothing. It was accomplished! First time in a long time we got to just visit. No bunches of people at a wedding or graduation. Just quiet time to catch up before they, too, headed to Waco. We missed their daughter's graduation from college last spring, and I have felt guilty ever since! My younger brother stopped by for a few minutes, too. He works nights as a sheriff's deputy for Llano county. It was good to see him, too.
Friday morning we drove the 2 hours to Waco, arriving around 11. We drove to Amanda's apt & guess what? No packing had occurred yet! Amanda had it all sorted & ready to pack. She's OCD like that! She had a plan of action & directions for who would do what. We decided on lunch first, then Wal*Mart for some more storage totes & U-haul for a wardrobe box & big box. We got a lot done Friday afternoon. Moved a 4 runner load full to the storage unit. Got the food for post-graduation ordered. Took a second load to storage unit. Called it a day.
Saturday we started with breakfast; the most important meal of the day! It was cool & rainy. Ran a few errands. One for a cake. We went to this little cake place, off the beaten path. The owner is a member of Amanda's church. We picked a cake & she went to the back to write congrats on it. When she came back, it was great! Then when Ted went to pay, she said it was her gift to Amanda! Thanks, Patsy. There were so many graduates this year, Baylor had to divide it into 3 commencements. Amanda's was the last, on Saturday at 2:30. We took the cake & tea by the church. We were going to use the Backside for after graduation. Thanks, ubc! Took Amanda back to her apt & we went back to hotel to change. Back to the apt. The plan was to have everyone park there & walk the 3 blocks to the Ferrell Center for graduation, but the rain was a little much. We got everyone to the Ferrell Center & sat just 10 rows up from the stage. We also were by the entrance Amanda actually came out of during the processional.

It only took 2 1/2 hours for the whole ceremony! It was still long! I know my cousin's girls were so bored by the end. When my niece graduated last spring, it was from a very small school.
After the ceremony we took a few pics & gave everyone directions to ubc. They beat us to it! We had a great meal from Risotti's. A couple of Chicago brothers who do pizza right. And the pasta, and the meatballs, and the Italian sausage! We ate til we popped! And then there was cake. And more pics.
3 of Amanda's best friends from college came to graduation & to eat. It was good to see them again. They are all A & M students or grads. Thanks for coming to enjoy this moment with us!
I am so blessed to have such great family and friends to enjoy this time with us. Cherish all the time you can. It goes by so fast!
Sunday morning we went to ubc. It was a little on the low side for attendance without all the students! dc*b rocked the house with 1 new song (hope it's from the new CD) and 2 older ones. Hogan plays such a soulful violin. Love that element in the dc*b. B-wack was really intense. Loved Mark's guitar. There was a baby dedication-5 new babies. The sermon was on finding joy in all days, good or bad. I got teary-eyed several times. She spent so much time in this wonderful place the past 4 years. Got to say good-bye & thanks to so many ubc friends. She has made us so proud.
Back to the apt to finish packing & moving the last load to the storage unit. It was 3 when we finished and got on the road home. I cried. Didn't cry when we left her at Baylor 4 years ago. Amanda is trying not to cry. I couldn't help it. I am so excited for her and so proud.
I am thankful for the friends she has made these past 4 years. She does know several in Austin. She is sub-leasing this summer while she looks for her own place. Friends I don't know, but trust. They met through iWitness, so I know they have a common love! It's a new phase of life & growing up. For all of us. Hope I didn't bore everyone!