Graduation Day...

May 11 was the big day!  We headed down to USC campus early for the Main University Commencement.  Mitch sat up front (and 9 seats away from Arnold Schwarzenegger), while we sat in back.  After, we headed over to The Ostrow School of Dentistry's Graduation ceremonies.  It was such a party - the band came in playing, followed by the graduates - it was an awesome experience.

 Mitch recieving his diploma.  Woot! Woot!

 It was a loooong day, and our kids were such troopers.  They just napped on the go.

 Posing with the band.

 I think someone's excited for her daddy!!

 Us with the Salmons.  I think its safe to say these were our first dental school friends.  We met up with them for a fun trip to Big Bear early on in our first year.  We hit it off, and are so grateful for their friendship.  I know we'll stay in touch with these people for-ev-er!

 The Graduates...

...and the ladies behind the graduates!

Congratulations Mitch!  We are all so proud of all the hard work and sacrifices you've made over the past four+ years.  We love you and will follow you wherever you take us.  Can't wait for our next adventure in the state of New York.

Senior Banquet and Awards...

The night before graduation was the Senior Banquet downtown in LA.  It was a fun night to celebrate the last four years, the hardwork, the friendships and everything our husbands have accomplished.

 Me and "Lindsey Polemans".  Finnley always calls her by her full name...its the cutest. This girl is THE BEST, and made my experience in South Pas a complete blast.  I'll miss her and her sweet little Maya.

 Mitch and some of the ladies from USC's Dental School.  

USC's IV Team Dinner...

During Graduation week, Mitch's IV Team got together for a Senior Dinner at Maggiano's Little Italy.  It was fun to meet the people I've been hearing so much about the last two years, and to see Mitch recognized for his work in Anesthesia.  

 Me and Jamie with our new babies.  We went through many, many nights and weeks without our husbands due to school, and have lots of great memories together.

 Mitch with Drs. Lee and Gotschalk, Dental Anesthesiologists of Solis Surgical

Mitch with the "One and Only" Dr. Stanley Malamed.

USC v. Oregon...

Last Saturday, Mitch and I left the kids behind and headed to USC's homecoming game against Number 1 ranked Oregon. USC took a beating, but it was still fun to be there with my man, cheering on the Trojans in the Coliseum, watching all the drunk fans and students, and flashing our "Fight on for Victory" signs.

They were having a "red out" but honestly I don't have much red in my closet. So, I decided to go with the gold. Well, I guess it was more green than gold and my man was very disappointed that I looked like I was rooting for the other team. Whoops!

Fight on Trojans!

Honey Comb Your Hair Cause We Goin' Dancin'...

Mitch asked me to a dance.
I said yes.
It felt like we were dating.
I. Loved. It.

Seriously, last weekend I had a blast dancing the night away with my main squeeze. We left the kiddos behind (Thank you Kate and Pehrson!) and took a trip back in time - The pre-dance primping and a few jitters, a photo on the way out the door, the entrance tickets, the awkward what-do-we-do-now as we first arrived, and then the laughing, dancing, and falling for Mitch all over. (I think it had something to do with his bootie shakin')

Thank you Adcox and Poelmans for being willing to join us for this fun night!
Mitch and a few of his fellow USC dents. Next year the rest of you 2012'ers are joining us!

Oh, and let me just say this - Josh stole the show.

USC Homecoming...

We had a great time at the USC Homecoming game last Saturday. It was the perfect day for a football game...75 degrees (although it felt more like 90) and sunny with a slight breeze! The Colosseum is ginormous! It was so much fun to be there and cheer on the Trojans. Mitch and I aren't sure we are true USC fans yet...well we are, but the fact that they lost didn't put a damper on either of our days. That didn't happen for Mitch until the Utes lost later that night! :)

Gooo Trojans!

G & G Duckworth Come for a Visit...

Mitch's parents stopped off for a quick visit on their way home from warm and sunny Hawaii! They packed their bags thinking it would be the same in California, but were greeted with cold and rainy weather. (Some of the yuckiest I've seen yet.) They were good sports though. We toured Mitch's school and the USC campus (adding a few USC sweatshirts and jackets to our bods along the way), walked in the sopping rain, and even tackled California Adventure Park. Finn loved hanging out with "MaMa" and "Doug" (yes, she called him Doug) for a couple of days.

California Adventure was fun. We thought it would be empty since it was supposed to rain all day, and were surprised at how many people braved the wet and cold along with us. Finnley was a great sport, besides going through a no-looking-at-the-camera phase for the day. We showed G & G all Finnley's favorites...the carousel, Playhouse Disney, Bug's Life land, and Monsters! We took in a few newbies too, like Turtle Talk w/ Crush - very cute!

Yes, I looked like a boy the WHOLE day, and was even mistaken for one while in line at Toy Story. Argh! What can I say, I have limited clothes here (we still haven't moved any of our stuff down) and am working with my summer clothes I brought down in August. Mitch lent me his large jacket, I threw on a hat to avoid "rain hair" and some tennies for comfort. Oh well...what do you do!

Of course we had to snack on one of these suckers. Finnley loved it, and ate most of it herself. What a champ! She was so cute, dipping it in ketchup, taking a bite, dipping it in ketchup, taking a bite. All in all, it was a really fun time with Doug and Diane and we are so glad they were able to take an extra long lay-over in LA and visit us. We hope they'll be back again soon.

Go Cougars...(and trojans)

We were excited to watch BYU Men's Volleyball take on USC last weekend. BYU had a lot of fans come out to cheer them on (more than USC) so it made it a lot of fun. Unfortunately, they couldn't pull off the win that night and lost 3 matches to 1. Finnley loved the game, the band, and pulling every last item out of my purse. She is such a cheese-ball (as you'll see from the picture below) as well as a mover and groover (take a look at the video). Everyday Mitch and I look at each other and crack up at something Finn has done. Then we usually say something like "We are so lucky" - "She is the CUTEST" - "We love her SO MUCH". Anyway, we loved the game, and Gooooooo Cougars!

Air & Space & Science Museums

Right next to USC are a few great museums. We drove up to LA with Mitch one day and checked out two of them. We went to the Science Museum which was really cool. They had insects, and brains, and hearts, and chickens, and all sorts of cool scientific stuff. They even had a "surgery" room where they projected an image of a surgery onto a mannequin (below). The surgery they were doing in the film was an ASD closure - something Finnley may have to have done one day - so it was really interesting (and a bit scary) to watch. After Mitch headed to school, Finnley and I walked over to the Air & Space Museum. Finnley is obsessed with airplanes and helicopters. She can pick them out of the sky before Mitch and I even hear one. She is so cute about it. So, she was really excited to sit inside an actual helicopter and loved fiddling with all the pedals, throttles, etc.

Finnley checking out a little lobster. She loved watching the mice in the toddler area. They would run on their little wheel, and she would just sit and watch them. It was so cute. Next time we'll have to check out the Natural History Museum. We hear its pretty awesome!