Olivia's graduation in words

Olivia's graduation was a complete success. Friends and family celebrated with us and the ceremony was done to perfection. PGCA graduations are the best. They're small and personal and special to the ones that it means the most. Lydia presented Olivia with her character trait which was Compassionate and Dale did a great job giving a special word just for her. I love that he called each family member and got a few words that expressed Olivia to them. They were all accurate and wonderful. And then the moment arrived when Olivia had to deliver her speech and.........she did a fantastic job! It's possible some people in the room had just about never heard her speak at all but she looked relaxed and was funny and a little sassy. It was excellent.

The slide show that took about 50 attempts to complete, and ended up taking me, Melanie, Emma and Carlie to make happen, was perfect. The video that Melanie worked on with help from others was also completely perfect. And thanks to Jared for running the sound board and Carlie for running the screens and Melanie and Carrie for setting up the stage. It was definitely a family affair and for me, and especially for Olivia, it was a memory made that will never be forgotten. I think she's glad it's over since she's no fan of the spotlight but I really believe she enjoyed herself immensely.

After the ceremony all 22 of us took off for Ernesto's and had a blast there as well. I think most of us ate about 40 pounds of chips and we were all still full today; but the time spent together was great. We finished off the night with ice cream and Glee at Melanie's and then people began to pass out from exhaustion. And now I'm pleased to announce I have 3 high school graduates with just one more to go. It'll be 4 more years til the final high school graduation of this generation.......and I think we may need that much time to recover. It may be a good thing that Olivia's was the last Pine Grove grad because I'm not sure it could be topped. Again thanks to all that made it so special. It was a job well done.

These are the words that each of the family used to describe their Olivia. Because we are all something special to each other, but very rarely the same thing to all.
Billie June – compassionate, peace maker, server
Becky –gentle hearted
Keith – sincere, focused
Dale – Deborah
Lydia – gentle, patient, calm, does not panic
Jared – quiet waters run deep, serious
Whitney – steady, strong, never seen you mad
Mollie – sneaky (way funny) great dance playlist maker
Carrie – gentle, is willing
Melanie – helper, considerate
Randy – passionate (shy) but strong
Lindsey – peaceful
Bill – mischievous
Austin – quiet, meek, easy going
Carlie – trustworthy, reliable, keeps her word, takes care of whatever is needed
Maggie – accomplice, selfless
Lisa – tender hearted, compassionate, patient, sneaky
John – reserved, inquisitive,
Caitlin - clever
Emma – everyone thinks she is quiet BUT she can talk a lot
Owen – caring and devious