disneyland day 2

for our second day in anaheim, we visited disneyland. after stopping for a kodak moment, we headed over to tomorrowland to ride a few rides and grab fast-passes for space mountain. we made stops at the rockets, star tours, and buzz lightyear, while we waited for it to be our turn for space mountain, which did not disappoint!

the whole vacationing family!

my brother and nephew - aren't they cute?!?!

my best friend and i split off from the rest of the group for a little while so that we could ride all of the rides that she wanted to on her last day in the park - we hit up all the great rides - fortunately, the park wasn't too busy and we didn't have to wait very long at most of the rides!

the chiefs

one of the highlights was riding the jungle cruise. we sat right near the front of the boat (all 12 of us!) and heckled the poor boat captain as he was making his silly puns. he had a pretty good sense of humor about it, and i think the kids are still not certain whether the animals on the jungle cruise were real or not.

on the jungle cruise 

 i had to take a "disneyland break" to take my best friend to the airport, and barely made it back before the park closed. the tram operator made sure i knew the park was closing soon, before driving away from the parking lot and towards disneyland. i got back to the park just in time to ride space mountain again - perfect timing!

sweet celebration vacation

after the bbq, we gathered up the family and headed out to anaheim. we arrived at the hotel a bit later than we had hoped, and were just excited to unload the car and settle in after a long day. unfortunately, that is not exactly what was in store... 

when we arrived the hotel desk clerk informed us that there had been a gas leak in a pipe on the grounds, and as they fixed the problem, the gas (and thus, the hot water) would be shut off. to make matters worse, because it was saturday, the water would be off until at least monday morning, when the plumbing crew would finally arrive to fix the problem. they offered to help us find alternative accomodations, or to give us a small discount on our room if we chose to stay. they did call a few hotels to find all 12 of us a new place, but since we had reserved months before, we had gotten a really excellent price that was not available for similar accomodations for a dozen people at 9pm on a saturday night a block away from disneyland. so, my gifted sister talked to the manager and got her to give us a bigger discount (because, really, 25% is not enough for not having hot water and not letting us know until we arrived to check in), and we decided to stick it out. other than the hot water situation, the hotel was nice, and the breakfast buffet the next morning was delicious! it really helped for us to fill up before hitting the park for a day of fun.

 on the tram:

my nephew and brother in the back row (middle and right),

boyfriend, brother, niece, and me in 2nd row (left to right),

and best friend and gifted sister in the front

we decided to go to california adventure on our first day, and we had a ton of fun! the kids got to meet and greet some of the disney characters, i got my niece to ride california screamin' and i think everyone enjoyed themselves. the best part was that the kids were so well behaved! no meltdowns!

my niece and i are brutal in the bumper cars - even if we're going after my brother!

 california screamin'

we're there, if you can see us!

after a long day in the park, we headed back to the hotel for sponge baths and a good night's sleep.

post-ceremony bbq

i decided to have an evening bbq after the hullabaloo of the the graduation ceremony, so that i could celebrate with all of the friends and family that helped me reach my big day. part of the family hung out at the park and held our spot, while the rest of us split up the errands and got all of the supplies. i was surprised at how well the set-up went!

we had a couple of little bbqs (which maybe weren't as great as we hoped, but everyone ate eventually!), a bunch of snacks and drinks, the bocci ball set, badminton, frisbees, and everyone just relaxed in the park, chatted, and enjoyed the beautiful day. it was a great way to celebrate my big accomplishment - and everyone's support and encouragement!

my favorite family away from family

towards the end of the day, my mom walked towards me, acting a bit suspicious. i noticed the cupcake in her hand, so i took off running. what i didn't know was that she paid my nephew $10 to catch me so that she could shove the cupcake in my face. although i could definitely outrun my mother, my college-track-star nephew is a very different story. i didn't stand a chance (seriously, he won a medal and went to division finals last year!). i offered to double his fee if he let me go, but it's was no deal.

yes, that is a cupcake. on my face.

post-smush. messy, but tasty.

the big day

i had to get up at the crack of dawn, but somehow, i actually made it to the school relatively on time. i met up with friends, and we stood around waiting for the next hour or so. the ceremony itself was pretty boring, and really long. the PhDs get their degrees at the very end, and by the time it was our turn, i was surprised there were still people there! fortunately, i didn't fall as i walked across the stage (whew!), although i did walk off the stage the wrong way (oh well).

after the ceremony i rushed off to the bathroom (2 hours is a long time without a bathroom break!), and planned to meet my family just down a short set of stairs outside the bathroom. i walked to the staircase, and saw my family waiting below. "i get to make an entrance!" i said. and the words had barely left my mouth when i lost my balance, and started to trip down the stairs. fortunately, i was able to grab the handrail and keep myself from tumbling all the way down (what a sight that would have been!). i stood back up, announced that i was okay, and started laughing my butt off. and everyone below joined me.

the hawkins family

we took some photographs outside (i felt like a target of the papparazzi!), and headed inside for the SBOS luncheon and party. as soon as i walked in, four people came up to me saying, "they've been looking for you!" apparently, the dean had been waiting to make his statement (and present me with my award) while we were outside taking 350 pictures. oh well! the dean, my advisor, and one of my professors all said wonderful things about me and my work, and i accepted my award, and thanked my family and friends. i had actually prepared a little statement, but by the time i got the microphone, we had all been standing around awhile, so i scrapped it and just said a quick thanks to everyone who helped me reach my goals. i am so incredibly blessed to receive the award (for the best psychology dissertation this year), and genuinely can't believe that i was selected. i am still in shock!

we stayed a while longer at the SBOS party, enjoying the cake, snacks, and generally celebrating.

the boyfriend - wouldn't have made it without him!

my favorite sister - so glad she could celebrate with me!