Day 1 of Graduation!

Yes BYU Graduation is a 2 day event! The first day is the commencement with ALL the 6,001 graduating Students in the Marriott Center, which my cousin Vern got us 3 sisters tickets up close and personal down on the floor of the Marriott Center. The ceremony didn't start until 3pm but we first went up to BYU at around 11am to attend a luncheon in the Dean of Student's office (AKA: My cousin Vern's office).  And since Vern was so nice to get us these amazing tickets we came up early to campus for the luncheon. We ate in is office and since he left us alone in there we decided to make our mom try on his robe for the graduation that was just hanging there on the back of his door begging to be tried on! My mom liked his robe so much better then her's that for maybe a second she considered continuing on in her education...but just for a second!

After the luncheon we went to the bookstore and my mom got us each something from there. Yes I know it is her day and we got gifts...but we are still Cole girls at heart! It was so much fun going through all the BYU apparel with my mom and sisters. I picked out a BYU sweatshirt. Celeste's feet were in pain from the shoe choice that she made that morning so Cory and her rested while I took my mom over to the Maeser Building all the way on the other side of campus. I wanted to take her picture on the steps there because she has a picture of her back in the day sitting on the steps that I wanted to reenact.  Now I know I should of taken the old picture with me so I could of gotten her in the same spot but...this is me...so we winged it! This is the picture of her before, and it is sort of cropped funny because we cropped out an old boyfriend that was sitting next to her, because I didn't want to remember that part...

And this is the picture today...She is still as amazing as ever! (and I know that she just rolled her eyes at this point!)

Then we had to get some with her cap and gown on! I loved to walk around campus with her and have people give her a double take. She got many congratulations, and way to goes also as we walked back to Celeste and Cory.

As we were walking my mom would tell me about different spots on campus that we would pass. Different memories old and new. This spot is where she and my dad were sitting one day (they weren't dating yet) and a friend of my dad's came up and was talking to my dad and asked who my mom was...well my dad told this friend, "Oh she is just one of the girls!"  Well if you can imagine that didn't go over too well with my mom ...she has never and will never be "just one of the girls"! So in honor of that day I had to get a picture of mom in "that" spot!

It was FINALLY time for us to drop off mom and get to our seats. This was right before we left her. She was meeting a friend of her's that she meet in a class this last semester, so that they could sit next to each other. I love that about my mom, she ALWAYS makes new friends where ever she is!

The ceremony was amazing. Elder L. Tom Perry spoke, there was this piano duet that...words can't even describe...and seeing my mom walk into the Marriott Center brought tears to my eyes. I am so proud of my mom. She did not want to do this whole walking thing, and the whole day before we dropped her off for the ceremony she kept saying how embarrassed she was to be there. I am so happy that us girls did not let her off the hook and pretty much made her do this, because this has been the best day!  And even though my feet and body hurt more then words right now I have loved spending the whole day with my mom and sisters. I can not wait until tomorrow to see her walk up and have them call out her name!