graduation and mother's day

What a weekend!  Between Mother’s Day, Graduation, and family in town, we had a weekend FULL of celebrations.   Receptions, brunches, dinners, and pizza nights with wine in solo cups gave us plenty of time to catch up and enjoy Chapel Hill, but as my sister, Rebecca, put it… we all need to eat only veggies and water for the next few weeks.  Before I go any further, please excuse the somewhat blurry iphone photos and the length of this post.  There was just so much packed into the weekend, I couldn't fit it all into a short, quick blurb.  

The weekend truly began on Thursday when my parents and sister and Josh’s parents arrived in town.  While we had dinner with my Dad’s Godparents on Thursday night, Josh’s parents spent some time with their grandchildren and Cotton and May.

no pictures from thursday night, but my dad, me, and my dad's godfather, sherwood at the reception on friday

Friday, we did a little packing in the morning before a reception at the Law School.  The reception was beautiful and gave the entire group a chance to meet some of the students, faculty, and administration that have shaped my law school experience.  After the reception we enjoyed the first true spring day in Chapel Hill and enjoyed dinner on the patio at Glass Half Full. 

dean kasprzak

brightly colored sheath dresses with meriwether

class of 2013 with josh after dinner on friday night

Saturday morning, the graduation ceremony was held in Carmichael Arena.  (For all you sports fans, that’s where Michael Jordan played when he was a student at UNC.)  The ceremony was wonderful, but the highlight of the day was milling around with friends in the hour or so before we officially began.  With the chaos of the weekend, that turned out to really be the last chance I had to see everyone and give hugs and say goodbye.  Though goodbyes are always sad, I think it is safe to say we were all elated to walk across that stage and know three years of hard work (and more than 20 years of formal education) had paid off. 

class of 2013

with dad post-ceremony...two law degrees exactly thirty years apart

traditional self-portrait with josh

with mom post-ceremony

one last time on the steps of van hecke-wettach

with whitney in the madness after the ceremony

Saturday night we had a fun dinner with the entire group (including Cotton and May) at Crook’s Corner.  It was delicious and a fun chance to celebrate with ALL of my family in Chapel Hill.

a rough shot of the entire group

For Mother’s Day on Sunday, Josh and I divided and conquered.  Josh went to lunch with his parents and Cotton and May’s family, while I went to brunch with my parents and sister.  We had a great (though much larger) than anticipated meal at Weathervane and shopped at Southern Season afterwards. 

mother's day brunch

Sunday afternoon, we all shifted in packing mode, and the Bryans took a full carload and our puppy, Mac, back to Florida.  My parents stayed for an extra night and we spent the day packing our final boxes and securing large pieces of furniture.  One of my favorite parts of the entire weekend was eating pizza amidst the boxes of our living room and drinking wine from solo cups.  Although it wasn’t fancy, it was so nice to spend the last night in our house with the family. 

All in all it was an incredible weekend and I feel so lucky to have such amazing friends and family.  Though I'm sure you stopped reading ages ago, thank you to everyone for the love and support over the past three years – I am truly blessed.  

xo,