Graduation Night

The tale that follows is the result of the hard work (a relative term) of the smiling beauty above.

And, as any good story, it involves best friends.

So, yesterday was graduation night. I left work a bit early and everyone met at our house so we could caravan over to the stadium. That was a very good idea because traffic was crazy by the stadium. Not only were all the Glendale high schools using the stadium for their graduations, but there was also a concert nearby.

Leah had to be there at 6pm. She would don the cap and gown after being patted down (no phones, cameras, horns, alcohol, etc). We came later. And since we would be arriving as another school would be finishing up a graduation ceremony, we were to enter at gate 3.

Keith joked about wanting to buy a pretzel as we pulled up. Once we were inside the arena, we found the concession line. Too funny.

Keith and Justin posing for the camera.

Grammy and Pappy

Grams, Jill and Zella

We arrived at 7:00 so we had some time to kill. Emma and Zella played with some of Emma's littlest pet shop toys from home. Later, Zella was taking pictures with Jill's camera. I love how this pic turned out and I can't wait to see how Zella's turned out.

But all of this is just a prelude to the real event of the night.

We were seated up in the stands quite a bit, so we took pictures of the big screen which most of the time was a better view.

Leah let us know that she was in the 10th row. They arranged the kids by height and then alternated girls and boys. So Leah was in the back with all of the 6ft boys and all the boys her height were in the front. Knowing this, we tried to watch for her so we could get a picture of her getting her diploma.

We think Leah is the second to last girl here. The girls were wearing red gowns and the boys silver.

And this is where pride is a good thing. It is a wonderful feeling to accomplish something difficult.

It was not easy trying to zoom in to catch this shot. I tried to get another one after this, but that girl hugged a teacher and then sat down somewhere unexpected so we figured that it wasn't Leah. Its amazing that we even got the shots we did.

We all missed the throwing of the caps and then we were ushered outside, into a nice drizzle. We found Leah and took a few pictures. Leah was beaming and she should.

The students were given these medallions.

Keith and Leah

Me and Leah

Pappy, Grammy and Leah

Leah and Grams

Emma, Leah, and Justin

Leah and Aunt Jill

Leah and Zella

Zella was quite adventurous all night, talking to me and showing me her drawings. But when Leah wanted a picture, she got shy all of a sudden. This was the best that we got (and its pretty darn cute if you ask me).

I am very proud of Leah. Life is not always easy and the easy path is not always the best path to take. But, Leah is a smart, resourceful, loyal, beautiful (inside and out) woman. I am proud to be her mother and I can't wait to see the wonderful things she will do. I mean, who has ever heard of a hairstylist who becomes a lawyer after a stint in the navy. Well, you will shortly.

Do not go where the path may lead;
go instead where there is no path and leave a trail
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson