Monday, May 16, 2011

Lo hicimos! (Graduation)

Last weekend we were back in Pocatello for Ryan's graduation! He is now officially Ryan Nielson, DPT. (Doctor of Physical Therapy)

I got into town Friday afternoon and the first thing we did was go to a park to meet our friends who we had missed very much and let the kids play together.Cora and Savannah.That night there was a dinner reception for the PT and OT students and families. My dad was able to make it for the dinner. He drove down from Montana where he was on a business trip. Eric and Elise also drove out to be with us.

At the dinner, Ryan received the Outstanding Academic Achievement award - which means he got the highest GPA of his class! We were (are) so proud of him!

The next morning we went to graduation. Ryan's dad was able to drive up from Salt Lake for graduation and we were so glad to have both of our dads there and Eric and Elise and their families.

Dad and Elijah in the stands. Dad looks like such a grandpa! Which is very surprising to Elijah, apparently. Thanks for coming Dad.
Here is Ryan being hooded. Notice Eric's echoing cheer?

The graduates.
The guys left room for Phil - he wasn't able to make it and he and Kelsey and their girls were sorely missed.My girls - I had to hold back tears - I'm going to miss them so much.All of our friends (except the McCombs.) We were so blessed to have such a great group of friends, all going through the experience at the same time and living so close to each other. When we started school, only four of those kids had been born. Now there are so many more of us!
Our family. We were so grateful they all came out to celebrate with us. They gave us so much support during school and have always been there for us (including the ones who weren't able to be there). We love you all so much! Our little family doubled in size while we were in school.Our dads. Cora was done with pictures at this point.Eric and Elise. Thanks for coming! We're going to miss visiting you whenever we want.After the ceremony we went to Golden Corral for lunch. Here is Cora with Noelani - such a cutie.
We said goodbye to my Dad and Eric and Elise after lunch and headed down to Salt Lake to see Johnny and Ryan's mom. John had surgery on Thursday so he was still recovering in the hospital. Grandma and Grandpa Nielson were also in town so we were able to see them as well, and Aunt Marilyn, at her house.

Here are some pics of Ryan and his mom on his graduation day. Poor John! He's doing much better now than he was then, thank goodness.Whew, there are a lot of exclamation marks in this post. I'm guess I'm still pretty excited and very proud of my husband. He has been so dedicated and put so much hard work into these years of school. It hasn't always been easy but he is an inspiration to me and through it all has been such a wonderful husband and father.

So what's next for us?

Ryan has accepted a job at Kahuku Medical Center and we will be moving to Hawaii in the beginning of July. We are so excited for this next chapter in our lives.

2 comments:

  1. Congratulations! I can't believe how grown up all the kids are! Good luck with your exciting new adventure!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, congrats Ryan!! What an amazing accomplishment! We are so excited for you. Congrats on the job in Hawaii...I bet your mom is just thrilled. Good luck to you guys!

    ReplyDelete