Arkansas Brass

Chris started a blog for his quintet last weekend. Check out what's going on with the Arkansas Brass!

Graduation Day

Mother's Day couldn't have been any better. We were in Arlington for Nick's graduation from the University of Texas at Arlington. We're so incredibly proud of him - especially for his perseverence to complete his degree in music education. Now for the fun part - finding that first job!

The weekend was great. Natalie and Brandon got to Paris on Thursday and took care of some wedding stuff on Friday morning before going to Frisco. They shopped at Sam Moon and Stonebriar and the surrounding shopping centers until Nick met them to drop off Ethan. Nick and Angela had a some things to do Friday night and Saturday night, so we volunteered to keep Ethan for them. Nat and Brandon did well driving home with Ethan...or should I say that Ethan did well in the car with them. Anyway, they made it in safe and sound. It certainly got fun around here pretty quick!

Nat and I took Ethan to the Paris Art Fair on Saturday morning. What fun! His first order of business was the inflatables. He climbed almost to the top of the big slide before the older kids crowded him which scared him. Aunt Natalie to the rescue! She climbed the ladder and took Ethan down a couple of times. He loved it. Next was the bounce house. We were sure Ethan would have a big time, but when a well-meaning dad latched the "door," Ethan got scared and wanted out. No problem...there was still lots to do. He rode in a buggy pulled by a miniature horse, shot basketballs, picked up ducks, ate a corn dog, and picked out prizes. We also took in some of the art and exhibits in the Civic Center. We had a great time.

Graduation day arrived and we were eager to get to Arlington to see Nick and Angela. My mom met us here and rode with us. Daddy and Evelyn spent the night in Dallas, so they met us in Arlington. Nick found us in front of Texas Hall and gave us our tickets. We got in and got everyone upstairs to the balcony so that we'd have a bird's-eye view of the stage. Besides, Ethan could roam around without distracting too many people. Nick was all smiles as he and his classmates processed onto the stage. The preliminaries were pretty short, so we didn't have to wait long for Nick to walk across the stage. We clapped and yelled and made sure that Nick could hear how proud we were of him. Chris did a great job capturing Nick's walk across the stage on the camera.

After the ceremony, the whole gang met in the courtyard for pictures and then went to a great Mexican restaurant for dinner. Soon we parted ways - Nick, Angela, and Ethan went to Bedford; Natalie and Brandon went to Marshall; Daddy and Evelyn went to Texarkana; Angela's mom Diane went to Cedar Hill; Chris, Mother and I went to Paris. It was a long day, but it was wonderful.

Here are a couple of pictures of the day. We'll get to do this again next May when Natalie graduates. We can't wait!!