Defense has arrived

Doug's dissertation defense has finally arrived.  We have waited for this day since he started his graduate program in 2007.  Doug has been working feverishly since January.  He has been taking public transportation as much as possible to and from work to maximize his working time.  Sundays have been our family time.  We've even hired out our lawn care! (Thanks Dallin.)

Last night, Doug did our gorilla walk to their beds, which we do every night.  Since being fully pregnant and now recovering, Doug's been the only 'gorilla' for a few months.  Sydney has gotten creative and now rides the 'gorilla' by holding onto Doug's pants and sticking her nose (literally) into Doug's bum.  It's quite hilarious.

I called my mother a week or so ago and asked if she would accompany me down to BYU to surprise Doug as he walked out from defending his dissertation.  It was tough to keep it a secret.  I woke up with, what seemed like, mastitis this morning and thought I would have to cancel.  I had a babysitter over so I could go up to my work for an hour.  My mom picked up a prescription of antibiotic for me to take down to campus just in case.  She also picked up the balloons.

It was so fun to wait outside--Matt came over to wait with us as well, as he lives closeby.  Doug's sister, Michelle, came to wait with us and Doug's cousin happened to be on campus and we had quite the crew!

Ethan and Sydney had asked to bring their musical instruments and I thought that would be a great idea to play while Doug came out.  Well, it proved to be entertainment the entire time!  There were a dozen or so EFY groups that passed by and Ethan and Sydney loved serenading them as they passed.  We sure attracted a lot of attention.  They are performers through and through.

Funny enough, I ended up nursing Lyla in a camp chair when Doug came out of the building beaming (with a pile of books 12 inches high) that he had passed his defense with very minor revisions!

I had one more surprise in store when we had family waiting for us at home after stopping for a celebratory dinner at Cafe Rio.  We had ice cream and Michelle had made a carrot cake.  It was so fun to share this moment of excitement with those who had supported us the past several years.