Graduation Graduation Party Party

Sorry I haven't posted in the last week. Lots of activity going on, but no bus updates. My wife did graduate, and the boys and I were joined by her mom (Marianne) for the ceremony. We had a big ol' BBQ to celebrate with friends and then this was the last week of school for the kids. I hope to get out of work a little early tomorrow and hammer on the bus this weekend. The weather has not meaningfully improved, so we're still stuck in the mid-Spring like weather (highs in the low 60's, clouds with rain, etc).

D Graduates
The event lasted about 2 hours, and most of that was calling the 770 or so names of the graduates. It was great seeing her cross the stage and get her certificate. Unfortunately, we were so far away all of our pictures turned out blurry. An unexpected highlight was the school stage band cranking out tunes before the ceremony started. They rocked out some Led Zeppelin songs and a few modern bands' stuff.

Party
We've had lots of celebrations this past week. First, I was taken out for a welcome to your new job lunch. I love those. It seems like most places have a big party when you leave and basically say "welcome to hell" when you start. No party, just a bunch of hassle getting a computer or whatever. With the new job, though, came a welcome lunch at an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. Yummy. That was Friday, before my wife's graduation. That evening, we celebrated the graduation with a family ice cream.

Party Party
Sunday, we hosted over 65 people (including kids) to again celebrate D's graduation. I worked the grille flipping burgers and beer-soaked brats' for our friends. The weather was accommodating, staying above 60* with limited cloud-cover, and the beers were flowing. My wife and a few of the guests broke out guitars (and a flute) and sang us songs from the living room out through the bay windows. It being a school night, the party broke up to put kids to bed.

Party Party Party
Wednesday afternoon, T graduated from elementary school. The parent volunteers put together a great celebration day for the kids. They decorated the gym, created a DVD of their 7 years together at the school (tracing videos and still photos back to kindergarten), and planned a party at JJExtreme. I volunteered to chaperon, and rode the bus. Like so many adventures in my VW, the school bus broke down on the way there and we sat roadside for 30 minutes waiting for a replacement. The school bus has these auto-engage tire chains that went on and the driver couldn't get them to remove themselves. Great technology, eh? Once we got there, the kids had a ball. After about 2 hours of playing, everyone enjoyed pizza. We got everyone home safe afterwards, though the bus ride home wasn't as well behaved (albeit less, uh... interrupted) as the ride out. I guess some kids had a harder time calming down from the fun than others.

Meanwhile, I've been in near-constant meetings from day-start to day-end. I received a comment on that last post about all the meetings not being an anomaly. Becky, you're probably right. It is corporate America after all, but I really do think things will settle down. Like I said at the beginning, I hope to be cutting out of work early-ish tomorrow if all goes well, and I'll attack the remaining wiring bits. I did get the butt-splice parts in the mail, so I should be ready to roll on the primary electrical. I'm fairly sure the radiator fan circuit will fall into place as well. Just keep on keeping on, eh?