I haven't mentioned my little brother, Monte, too much. And really, he isn't my "little" brother anymore. He is much taller than I am. But he is my younger brother, and I love him very much. I don't know if I'll ever stop calling him my little brother. I guess I use the term in more of an endearing manner than a literal one.
Monte worked hard in school and graduated as a Doctor of Chiropractic from Life University in Marietta, Georgia in June. It has been fun watching and learning of his success in school. It's a wonderful thing being able to see your brother find his passion.
We knew that Monte's graduation would be mid-June, but we weren't sure if we were going to be able to make it. One reason was the cost. We knew it would be expensive with gas, hotel, and food. Then once I got pregnant and was sick all the time, a 12-hour road trip (one-way) didn't sound so appealing. But there were several reasons why I (we) wanted to go. Clearly, this was a big achievement for my brother. I really wanted to go and celebrate with him. Also, I didn't know where he would end up practicing, so I didn't know when the next opportunity to see him would be. My mom and dad were going to go, along with my sister and her family and my brother, Nathan, and his daughter, Caidance. I hadn't seen my mom in awhile, and I hadn't seen Nathan in two years. I knew I'd be seeing my parents at the end of June when we went up to Washington, but I had no idea when I'd get to see Nathan again. Ultimately, we decided that going was the right decision. And we ended up getting to stay on a military base with my sister's family (her husband is in the Navy), which was much cheaper than a hotel, for two nights, and then crashing in the same hotel room as Nathan and my parents for the last night. The cost was definitely decreased by those two options, so the only obstacle during the trip would be my nausea.
Jared is truly the greatest husband. I felt bad, but we left on his birthday and drove through the night. Nothing says, "Happy Birthday" like a 12-hour drive. He was a great sport about it. I took the first shift driving and actually felt pretty good for much longer than I expected. I think I drove just more than half-way. Then Jared took over and got us to Marietta around 6 or 7 am. The girls did pretty well on the trip, too.
We took a short nap, got breakfast, showered, got ready for the graduation, and met up with Monte and his girlfriend, Alex, for an early lunch. Maria's family hadn't had breakfast, so it was breakfast to them. And since I was pregnant, I was ready to eat again. Then we all headed to campus for the ceremony. My mom, dad, and Nathan had been saving seats for us. People kept trying to take them, but we got some front row seats in the back section. Our group had the front two rows together.
2nd Row: Nathan, Caidance, Taylyn, Alex, Breya, Bella, Grandma Bobbie, Allie
Front Row: Maria, Nathen, Nikki, Rachel
(Grandpa, Jon, and Jared are absent from the picture.)
Rachel and Grandpa
Grandma and Rachel
Grandma and Allie
Monte with his diploma cover.
Unlike any other graduation ceremony I've been to, all of the graduates went up first and were then followed by the speakers. When all of the students had gone up, I thought, "Awesome, a short graduation." But I was wrong. The speakers then got up and talked, and talked, and talked. The girls kept themselves busy by playing with Barbies and baby dolls.
They didn't always play nicely. (Rachel is a millisecond from hitting Allie.)
Then Rachel crashed.
When it was finally over, we got to go outside. It felt good to get out of the crowded gym. We found Monte outside with a yummy drink. He was super sweet and shared it. A few others took sips, but I got to drink most of it, for which I was most grateful. Monte did not know I was pregnant, yet.
Monte got both is Bachelors and his Doctor of Chiropractic
Monte with nieces and a nephew:
Bella, Allie, Rachel, Monte, Breya, Caidance, Nathen, Taylyn
(Rachel was not ready to wake up and was therefore cranky and crying.)
Grandpa, Nathan, Maria
Jared, Allie, Alex, Monte, Nathen, Jon
Grandma, Rachel, Nikki, Breya, Taylyn, Bella, Caidance
The Siblings - A Huge Reason for the Trip
Maria, Monte, Nikki, Nathan
Beautiful Caidance, who had really grown up in the two years I hadn't seen her.
Grandma and Grandpa Bobbie (My Mom and Dad)
Cousins
Nathen, Breya, Allie, Caidance, Taylyn, Bella
(Rachel absent due to crying. We got one with her, but this really is the better picture of everyone else, too.)
After the ceremony and pictures, we went to the hotel where Nathan and my parents were staying. The kids all went swimming. I shared the news with Nathan and Monte about me being pregnant. And then I took a nap because I was exhausted and nauseous. We really didn't get too many pictures on the trip, but the girls had a great time with their cousins. We all had a good time visiting with family.
The next day, we went to Kennesaw Mountain, which is one of two "mountains" in the Atlanta area. It is the site of the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain in the Civil War. There were cannons placed in position as they were in the war. It was a neat and fun little outing.
While waiting for the bus, we visited the gift shop.
Taylyn, Rachel, and Caidance
Going up the mountain
View of where the cannon would have shot
Climbing and running on rocks
Rachel and her trusty cousin/helper, Bella
View of Atlanta in the distance
People who are somewhat familiar with Marietta know about the "Big Chicken." When I told a friend that Monte was going to school in Marietta, they responded, "Oh, the home of the big chicken." I had no idea what she was talking about, but I learned on this trip.
The Big Chicken
The drive home was much harder than the drive to Georgia. It felt like the never-ending drive. We had more potty breaks, meal breaks, bad weather (scary storms), and were already exhausted from the weekend. But we made it home safely. Again, I felt bad because this drive took place on Father's Day. I was feeling miserably nauseous just about the whole way back, so Jared drove more than half-way this time. He is the best!
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