Graduation DAY!!!

The traditional, and final, "Walk Across Campus". Can you see Chris?Find him yet?
There he is!!!
Don't worry... he doesn't usually walk funny. This was his "I'm slowing down to a very awkward pace so my pregnant wife will stop 'running' ahead of me to take this picture" walk. =)
The graduates filing in.
Chris is actually in this one. I think.
Can you see him? He's wearing a black robe. So is the guy next to him. He's right there in the middle. Can't you tell?
The graduation for Chris' major was supposed to be in front of one of the prettiest and oldest buildings on campus... and then it rained. Which is why this picture of his department graduation is in a gym.

Graduation Saturday

This pose is reminiscent of my "childhood" trips to Louisiana, especially in the French Quarter... Chris hasn't gone yet... but we're gearing him up.

My dad apparently needs no guidance when it comes to posing with a statue. He even knows how to give the guy his own "props" like a glass of punch.

My mom likes to take "candid" pictures (aka mid-bite, mid-word, mid-expression-change, etc.). My siblings and I have a tendency to tease her about how bad some of the pictures turn out, so I felt the need to post both of the pictures of us in our garden. My mom took them and they turned out quite well. =) Go Mom!

Graduation lasts two days at some schools... or maybe just Chris'? My mom & dad came up on Saturday for the parent-student picnic (...inside due to rain), and then we walked all over campus and onto DoG St.

Will Graduate… Will Not … Will…

Chris is due to graduate in May (government/political science major), but there have been a few hiccups in getting paperwork and formalities taken care of that have given us a little cause for concern.

The credits from his semester of study abroad in Turkey are essential for graduation (or else he would have to take summer school to make up the 7 credits needed for the total credits necessary for graduation—which would completely botch all tentative plans for this summer). Chris was informed that the official transcripts for his courses were unacceptable because they weren’t in sealed envelopes. It apparently wasn’t an easy task getting original transcripts when Chris was actually IN Turkey, so the likelihood of getting original transcripts mailed/shipped to us in the States wasn’t good, and even if we could get the transcripts it would cost an arm and a leg (… they don’t accept Mastercard or VISA, so there goes paying for it over the phone…).

Chris happened to mention the transcript dilemma to a faculty member in our ward, who recommended he speak to the head of the study abroad center. Chris was able to schedule an appointment with the director for Tuesday. When he arrived he was informed that the director wouldn’t be in the office and all his appointments had been rescheduled to someone else! Eeiikk! Chris managed to reschedule the appointment and off he went.

We are pleased to announce that after his meeting Chris is a little closer to actually receiving that diploma! The director looked at Chris’ work and the transcripts and gave him some instructions (get the transcripts translated and certified by the Turkish professor, bring them back, etc.) but said he anticipated Chris should receive 3 credits per class (for a total of 12 credits). We are so pleased and grateful!!

The final hurdle has been more of a waiting/follow-up game… the Russian minor assigned when applying for graduation was the wrong one (apparently there are 2)… for which he didn’t meet the qualifications. The paperwork has now been processed and he has a valid Russian minor!

Our (Not So Certain) Future

In light of Chris’ upcoming graduation we are often asked what our plans for the future are. Such a simple question, there’s a simple answer, right??? Perhaps there usually or normally is…

Considering the future and our situation makes me think of a specific instance that I teased Chris about over a year ago… When Chris flew to Turkey he did so without any kind of language manual in tow and no arranged plans for travel from the airport to his destination. He had no ability to communicate in a foreign land. I remember him telling me before he went that he thought it would be fun… it would be an “adventure.” (Some of us would call it a nightmare) He sent out a mass email/newsletter a few weeks after arriving in Turkey and mentioned the chaos and disorientation from that experience… And then he returned to school in January, on the second day of school, without being enrolled in any classes (apparently, that was a common thing as he didn’t usually have a set schedule until the 2^nd week of school). I specifically remember telling him (and thinking I was being cute/clever) that he was, “an adrenaline junkie with a peculiar fix.”

What IS Certain:

-We are eagerly anticipating Chris’ graduation in May and the birth of our first child in June. How fun!

-Chris will spend the summer doing his pest control sales job. This will be his third summer working in this lucrative, if not exciting, field.

What is Uncertain

-We are also still waiting to hear back on Chris’ research grant… the one that would take us abroad in September for an academic year. The earliest we’ll hear back about it is tomorrow. The latest would be June.

All things considered, we are both looking forward to making actual, rather than tentative, plans.