Hi Western Washington!

We arrived home from our trip to Washington State safe and sound. It was a wonderful trip beginning with getting to Jon and Karen's to stay the weekend on Thursday evening, to Friday when Don and Jon went to Ellensburg to help Lauren move some things back to Federal Way while I went to visit my girlfriend, Phyllis. I had a wonderful visit with her and Roger that day. Friday evening Don and I went up to University of Washington area and finally got to see Andrew's house; Daniel and Andrew were playing a Karaoke game of some kind (sorry I am not technical at all and really out of touch of all these things). After they finished we took them to dinner to Outback as they have a gluten free menu.

Saturday was the big day for Andrew's graduation. Don and I got up early and had breakfast, then spent 30 minutes with Phyllis and Roger as Don did not get to see them the day before, and off we went to make our way to the parking garage and the stadium. It was a beautiful day on the campus with much excitement in the air.



We managed to see Andrew as he marched by to get his seat for the ceremony. All the professors came marching down the middle of the chairs in the field, it was impressive. Robert Gates was the speaker for the ceremony, and finally what all those students were waiting for to happened finally came true.
Andrew is somewhere in this midst of all these students. After it was all done, we went up to the Rose Garden and waited for them so that we could take some pictures.


.
We are so very proud of Andrew and he has much to be proud of. Andrew graduated top in his class and is headed this fall down to the University in Santa Cruz, California, to get his doctorate, another 5 years of school for him!

We got back to Jon and Karen's house around 7:00 and they had dinner ready. It was good to sit back and just visit with them. We watched a movie about a young woman moving from Florida to Minnesota after Halloween, and the adventures that she went through, especially the cold.

On Sunday, our last full day in Seattle, we spent most of it with our church family in Bremerton. It was so good to see everyone, we were so welcomed. I am so grateful for these people and their support throughout Don's career as a student. It is such a humbling experience. It was good being back there as it felt familiar and felt like we were back home if only for a few hours.


The rest of Sunday was spent visiting with Don's youngest brother, Tom and his family.

Monday morning we were out the door before 5 a.m. to catch our plane. It was wonderful weekend, one we will cherish in our hearts. Thanks to all in Seattle who made our trip as special can be. See you soon!

Blogged by Anna