Cassie Graduated!

May 4th, 2008...one year after the Greensburg tornado, my niece graduated from high school. Remember that? When she had to give a speech because she was co-valedictorian? And she got her diploma from President Bush?

Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's been three years since that day. Three years since she graduated from high school with honors on her mom's birthday. And this year...she graduated (early) from college...with honors, no less...on my birthday!
That's my girl! For a few different reasons, I didn't go to this graduation...plan to go visit them a little later this year, and I'm really looking forward to that. But Mom and Dad drove out for graduation and I'm just now getting the pictures from the festivities. Let the record show, I'm pretty proud of Mom for the pictures she took. She's not a Bekah-razzi. But she did a good job.

(Although she did call me from her seat to find out how the zoom works on her camera. Seriously? I'm driving in the ghetto of Indianapolis because I'm not smart enough to trick my GPS and you're going to call from 16 hours away to see if I can mentally recall how to zoom your camera? Sigh of love.)

Here's the graduate with her parents, post graduation. Cassie told me later that the ceremony made her nervous. I would have thought speaking in front of President Bush would have ruled out any future of nerves, but then again, I was also threatening to throw up when I graduated from college. Too many people staring! So I felt her pain - on a smaller scale.

(Isn't Lori's shirt cute? I gave her that for her birthday.)

And the beautiful graduate with my parents:

She gets her height from me. :)

CONGRATULATIONS, CASSIE!!! I'm so proud of you for getting through in three years...getting through with honors...and just plain getting through! (Senioritis is a beast, isn't it?) You are going to LOVE adulthood and its lack of homework. (The trade-off, of course, being mornings.) Can't wait to see you soon. LOVE YOU and PROUD OF YOU!!