Pomp and Circumstance

On June 8, Andres's little sister, Mariana, graduated from high school.  When Andres and I met, Mariana was 10 and in the 5th grade.  What in the world happened?  I was so excited to watch her graduate, and even more excited because Max's bizabuela and Tia Angela were visiting from Colombia!  Max is so lucky to have had a chance to meet 4 of his great-grandparents.  

We arrived at the school (in North Carolina, most graduations are held in the school gym, which is so strange to me) a few minutes early (miracle!), so we had an opportunity to talk with family. Here is Bizabuela meeting Max for the first time.

She couldn't stop staring and kept saying "lindo, lindo" over and over.  Max is an attractive guy!  Finally, the music began and the graduates entered.  What is it about Pomp and Circumstance?  It makes me feel so nostalgic and I was fighting back tears for the entire song! Does that happen to anyone else?  No?  Oh.  Ok.

Thankfully, Mariana is a Frowow, so we only had to wait for the "Fs" before leaving the auditorium.  The native was starting to get restless.  We took him out to play in the cafeteria, aka Germ Heaven.

He practiced strutting his stuff around the high school, in preparation for being the big man on campus one day.  Not that he's going to date any girls.  He only loves his mom.  Forever.  On a side note, we would really like for Max to attend Cardinal Gibbons for high school.  Andres likes it because "it's Catholic" and he went to a Catholic high school.  I want him to attend Cardinal Gibbons because I like the sound of the name "Gibbons."  
After the ceremony, we gathered in Germ Heaven for more pictures.

 Oooooo.  A tassel.

The principal herded everyone out of Germ Heaven to the humid, sticky outdoors.  Humidity Purgatory?  Nature Limbo?  Is it an upgrade or downgrade from Germ Heaven?  I don't know.  I'm distracted by the sign over the door that says, "It's possible."  I feel like there is something to say there, but I'm going to refrain.

Doesn't Mariana look cute in this picture?  I've known her for seven years, and she never had a moment of awkwardness in adolescence.  Freak.  I hate chu.

We learned that Max doesn't like hats and by that point my native wasn't restless, he was DONE.  So, where do parents go when their children are fussy?!?  RESTAURANTS!  We's so smart.

 It actually wasn't that bad, because you see the woman on the left in the dress?  She's Max's grandmother.  She's also a baby whisperer.  And Max's favorite person on earth.

 Upon arriving back at the house, we played our favorite game.  It's called "Child Labor." 

After mowing the lawn, Max resumed his normal activities.  Namely, torturing the cat.

And playing with the remote.

It was so fun to celebrate Mariana's accomplishments with family near and far.  Mariana is so cute and smart, and we're going to miss the free babysitting her greatly when she moves out of state for college later this month.