A Graduation

Last weekend a few of us headed south,  AGAIN!
There has been a lot of traveling lately.
Now we had a graduation to attend.

After spending all those days driving to Texas, completing an average of 750 miles a day... what was a little jaunt to South Cal and the University of Redlands?

That is where the Graduate has spent the last four years earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Sciences ............ and being a track STAR !

Living the life of a college student with all that entails;-)  Learning book stuff and learning life stuff. Joy, fun, pain and agony in hopefully, the appropriate doses.

After over-nighting at Casa Quist where they always graciously put up with us all, Ralle too, the big bunch of us, less the  usual photographer / breadwinner (who was at home making sure the "presses kept running"), load up and head to Redlands on a Saturday morning with two dogs and two young children.  Future University graduates.  The kids that is.

Not the dogs!  Although Ralle just earned his Therapy Dog Certificate and that is almost like getting a BA degree at the Canine U!

Redlands University grounds are beautiful!

It is a scorching hot day and those 650 some students, in the black robes, black hats with those yellow tassels, must have sizzled!

The mother of the future graduates (Annika), kindly took care of the dogs during the major part of the ceremony and the speeches, trying to hang in the shade, the trio caused quite a stir on campus.  With a super cute Havanese and a Great Pyrenees, she was at one point  approached by a policeman who said: "I have heard there is a bear on the University grounds" and he had been looking for it ;-)

With the ceremony over, we had a very happy graduate to hug!  His parents presented him with the keys to a car.  That made the graduate even happier!

A family celebration followed in the evening.

A new life starts.

Best wishes to the Graduate.  Well done!  High 5 or should it be High VI? (as we are college educated and all.)