Graduation Time - Five Grandkids + 2 Spouses

With 25 grandkids, that means there are lots of ceremonies and gatherings to attend.

Baby blessings, baptisms, priesthood advancements, school programs, musical programs and plays, dance and piano recitals, sporting events,  graduations, missionary farewells and coming homes, showers and weddings, to name some of them - we have lost track of how many of these we have driven to - it is either a 4, 5, 7 and a half or a 10 hour drive from us to any of our grandkids.

This year there has been a Bonanza of graduations! 

That makes us so happy! A happy and a successful life is all about education. I would make a simplistic statement that most, if not all, of the world's problems could be solved with better education. At the root of prejudice and hatred is lack of knowledge and understanding.

These graduations of our grandchildren from high school and college are a good start for a life-long of learning.

Socrates said, "Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel." I believe in each of these great kids and I think they will each spend their life filling up their vessel.

Granddaughter Sadie, and her husband, Joe, graduated from BYU.

Grandson, Jake, graduated from BYU.

Grandson Josh's wife, Jaylene, graduated from BYU.

Grandson Ben, who has served as Student Body President this past year, graduated from Mountain View High School in Mesa. He delivered a fine speech at Baccalaureate.

Ben's cute and supportive family are so proud of him!

Ben and Maddy have always been best friends/best cousins, graduating from the same big high school. Their class is over 600.

Seminary Graduation was also wonderful. We were in Mesa for Londyn's wedding the week before Maddy and Ben's graduation, so we were able to attend these special events, and we also drove to Sedona for a couple of days and nights between events.

Following Seminary Graduation, we met at Ryan and Emily's home to  confer the Melchizedec Priesthood to Ben and ordain him an elder.

My girls always make a special display for their kids when they graduate. Like father like daughter on the mountain goat abilities!

Our beautiful Maddy was a cheerleader, a scholar and was on the tennis team. She will be attending BYU.

Sydney, Jake and kids, who live in Florida, were able to stay over the week after the wedding and attend Maddy's high school graduation.

We were invited over to Ryan and Emily's to cook hamburgers before the graduation ceremony.

Ben was so very busy that last month of high school. He will be attending BYU in the summer, then BYU Hawaii in the fall. We were excited that we got a two fer with Maddy and Ben and that Abby's graduation in SLC was held a week after this one!

Best Buddies

We took pics on the football field, where the graduation took place, after the ceremony.

Ben and Maddy stood appropriately in the end zone, marking the end of their high school years.

Now skip ahead a week.

Abby posed with her mom and dad in their backyard before we left for her graduation ceremonies, which were held at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

Best Buddy Blake

It's Miss Abbs' turn at last! 

We're so proud of this cute graduate! She was a scholar, on the WCHS tennis team and they took first in State!

Rick took us to Union Grill for a yummy meal after graduation.

We so enjoyed being with so many loved ones during these trips to attend graduations. I'll next post about being in Arizona in the interum of Londyn's wedding and graduations and also running up to Logan, then South Weber, to decorate graves for Memorial Day. I hope we stay healthy to attend many more of these special occasions with our family. Such a blessing!