Jack's Graduation Weekend

I thought I'd have this post written on Friday, giving me several days to recover from the weekend before hitting "publish."  We got home late Monday night, and it feels like we've been on the go ever since.  We hit the ground running with furniture shopping, as well as organizing all the stuff that Jack moved home.  So it has taken me awhile to collect my thoughts (and energy) for this post!

We have had a wonderful experience at Auburn as parents, and Jack seemed to enjoy every minute at the university both academically and socially.  Auburn continued to shine with a memorable graduation weekend, and we were certainly sad to say goodbye to this place and this era!

We rented a Suburban-style SUV to drive over to Auburn.  We really enjoyed the luxury of a brand new Wagoneer - so smooth and spacious.  And we ended up needing every square inch of that space!  Jack has lived in an apartment for 3 years, but most of the furniture was his roommates.  He had a full size mattress, his clothing, and lots of music equipment.  So we were prepared with this big SUV.  We left town around 5am, and met everyone at the Air BnB around 4pm.  It was a long day of driving, but the last one like that we will do for awhile.

We don't have a huge extended family, and we were thrilled that so many relatives could come.  We had a house with 5 bedrooms that was a perfect fit for our group.  Wes and Suzette came from Dallas, Sharon and Judy came from Houston, and Grace and Bryant came from Nashville.

Jack opened some graduation gifts when we all arrived.  Grace made him this beautiful quilt, and everyone just loved it.  

Driving to dinner, Auburn decided to show off with a rainbow.

Originally we were going to order pizza for the Friday night dinner, but we decided to go to one of Jack's favorite places - Auburn Drafthouse.  This was lots of fun, but I probably would have ordered in if I were doing it over.  The wait was really long for our big group!

Now on to Saturday morning.  The ceremony started at 10:00, and we left the house about 8:30.  When we entered, we got programs and lots of fun buttons.  Everything was organized and ran smoothly.

These were the fun guys in our group!

Fun fact - my uncle is almost 80 and just rode a bike across Iowa in the Ragbrai!

We had great seats for the ceremony, and enjoyed watching the pictures etc on the big screen.  I can't imagine how high energy and exciting this arena is during a basketball game!

We spotted our grad!

The summer graduation was much smaller.  I can just imagine how crowded the May graduation ceremony is.  We were lucky to get 8 guest tickets with no problem, and there was plenty of seating.  The ceremony was over in less than 2 hours!

So proud of Jack!

We heard the president of the University speak, 

as well as decorated veteran and alumnus Dr. Gordon Sumner.

Jack earned his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering Magna Cum Laude.

We are so proud of him!

After everyone received their diplomas, Aubie came out with confetti cannons and fun music.  The photos above are from the Auburn University Instagram account.  Jack looks so excited and happy in the last picture!

We met outside for some photos.  It was hot and very bright outside, but we tried our best to get some good shots.  Here is Jack with his grandmother Judy.

Sharon, Judy, Jack and Michael

Jack with Uncle Wes and Aunt Suzette

After the ceremony, we went over to the restaurant Botanic for lunch.  

We had a great view of their lake from our table.

Michael and Jack were twinning.  Our lunch was really nice, but it didn't quite live up to my expectations.  We had previously dined here for dinner, and the food and service were exceptional.  Their lunch menu has more of a "bar and grill" vibe, so it wasn't quite what I had anticipated.  But it all worked out, and we enjoyed the company.

Grace couldn't get enough of holding the baby bunnies they had in an enclosure at the entrance to the restaurant.  After lunch, we relaxed at the house and played the game Hues and Cues.  We also watched the movie Project Hail Mary and ate snacks.

On Sunday, Judy and Sharon headed back to the Atlanta airport to fly home.  The rest of us went to church to see Jack play one last time in the worship band.  It has been such a privilege to watch him play at church for the past few years when we visit Auburn!  I was honestly more emotional during church than I was at the graduation.  Lots of memories of worshipping here and meeting Jack's friends while attending.

One last photo outside of church in our traditional spot.

After church, we ate at an Irish Pub and then said goodbye to Bryant and Grace.  From there, we headed over to the condo where Jack was staying to pack up the truck and SUV.  His lease ended at the end of July, and his roommate's family generously let Jack stay in their gameday condo (with all his stuff) for the week until he graduated.  

Wes and Suzette left Monday morning, and we started our drive home.  We had an uneventful journey, and rolled into Houston around 8pm.  We always talk about the beautiful sunsets in Auburn, and Jack must have brought one home to Texas.  This was our view driving into Houston.  Welcome home!

We are so proud of Jack's hard work at Auburn and are thankful we could all come together to celebrate his accomplishments!