Sunday, May 15, 2011

2011 National Public Gardens Day

On this auspicious day, Ben and I decided to take advantage of the free admission and make a quick trip to the Botanical Gardens of Cleveland. We weren't there for long, but Ben snapped a few good pictures.


My favorite was the butterfly room. They were everywhere.



Ben Says: Butterflies cannot fly if their body temperature is below 86 degrees Fahrenheit. I cannot fly no matter what my temperature is.


Sunday, May 8, 2011

Graduation


After flying out to Utah a few times this semester to take tests, I am FINALLY done with my degree! Hooray! I flew out to Utah for the final time at the end of April to take my final for Ecology, and then to walk for graduation. Because my final was on Monday and graduation (which included the arrival of my husband, parents, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law) wasn't until Thursday, I had plenty of time to play with my girlfriends that still live in Provo.


Commencement consisted of loads of pictures, goofing off, and a certain disregard for the rules. We decided that it was more important to sit with our friends than our colleges, and enjoyed each others' company maybe a little too much. It was really great to see everyone for what may be the last time in a long time.






Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was our commencement speaker. He gave a fabulous address, which I look forward to reading sometime soon. I was a little preoccupied during the ceremony, making it hard to stay focused on his words of wisdom.

These were our attendees. Aunt Christine, Ashley, Momma Cope, Kimber, Austin, Grams, Aunt Lynne, Uncle Dow, and Peter. What supportive family we have :)

I finally got to see my Benjamin after a week of separation. Momma Cope gifted beautiful leis to Lacey and myself afterwards. They smelled divine.

After Commencement, we all headed up to Le Hobble Manor where we had a fun grad party. We ate Italian food with yummy sauces from Gloria's on Center St. Mariah celebrated by playing her new Fazioli grand piano for most of the evening. My parents arrived from the airport and joined us for the celebration and the rest of the weekend's festivities.

My Convocation was Friday morning at 11am. The College of Life Sciences is HUGE, so it took quite some time.




The family fell asleep, but woke up in time to cheer me across the stage. Ben was on call with the camera, as usual. Love that boy.



Friday night we went to Zupa's for dinner, bowling, and to see a movie. Mom Cope and Kimber left Saturday morning, and we spend the rest of the day with my parents.

So that's it! I'm a college graduate! Back in Cleveland, and life is good.

Wing King of Cleveland


One of Ben's many talents is that he can eat remarkably fast. While at school the other day, he heard that there would be a buffalo wing eating contest held that evening at Buffalo Wild Wings. He decided to put his talent to good use and enter that contest. So when he got home he said, "Maggie! Don't cook dinner. We're going out!" We drove down to the particular location where this competition was taking place, Ben ate his heart out, aaaaaand he won by eating ~22 oz. of meat.


A few weeks later, we headed back up to Buffalo Wild Wings for the semi-finals. Unfortunately, Ben didn't "eat his best," but he was still able to pull off a 3rd place prize--a $25 gift certificate to Buffalo Wild Wings. Happily, that means we'll be back. Maybe next year he'll take the crown...