Matt's "graduation"

Last night we celebrated Matt's graduation at Blackwater Grill! Both of our families were there, and I surprised him with his cap and gown (he missed his graduation this past Saturday)! Last week before my mom and I left Evanston we went by the school to pick it up, and Matt had no idea!

I also asked the school to mail me his diplomas and awards, which I presented to him! He received a Dean's Distinguished Service Award, that he was nominated for, for making an outstanding contribution to student life at Kellogg. He also received an award for Beta Gamma Sigma, which is the top 10% of his class (which is OUTSTANDING!). He would have participated in a special awards ceremony before graduation to get these two awards - I was SO proud of him!

Then I gave him his two diplomas - he got a Masters of Engineering and a Masters of Business Administration!

Will wouldn't smile but he was wearing his Kellogg hat to show his support!

Then I have him a graduation gift...an ipad! He hasn't stopped playing with it since he opened it!

After dinner we went back to Matt's dad's so that Matt could model his cap and gown for him and show him his awards!

He was very proud of his son!

Casey, Will, and Matt in the backyard

The handsome graduate!

Two years ago Matt had the choice of a full ride to Emory or a spot at Kellogg in Chicago. Being that we are southerners through and through, and given that we owned a house a mile from Emory, it seemed the obvious choice. But my husband is anything but predictable - he saw Kellogg as an opportunity we couldn't pass up, and thought moving up north would be an "adventure" for us. So although I wasn't quite as confident about this move as he was, I followed him.

And what an adventure it has been! We moved from a 3 bedroom home with a yard to a small condo in the city...and loved it! We went to Croatia with 20 other students and had a blast. We learned that you CAN survive without central air. We spent countless days just laying on the grass by Lake Michigan. I learned to parallel park. I learned that fall colors are AMAZING in Chicago. I bought a Northface Arctic parka and some Uggs and thought I was prepared for winter. We experienced digging our car out during a snowstorm. We learned that the hardest month to live in Chicago isn't January...it's April - when it is still freezing and there still isn't anything green in sight. We've discovered that there are some really cool areas in Chicago and the northern suburbs that are a lot of fun. We learned that we were expecting a baby...BOY!!! We went from having everyone in Chicago comment on our southern accents, to having people in the south comment on how our accent has changed! We joined an awesome church that we love. We've made amazing friends. And we've grown as people, and experienced another part of the world. So, even though in a couple of months we'll be in the "real world" again with something we've been dreading: school debt, we know that it has been every bit worth it!

I love you Matt and I am so incredibly proud of you!!!