Graduation Party!

While we spent some time in the pool during the week, we were able to hang out with the family on Saturday for a graduation pool party.  Kim got this picture of hubby and I...  I actually think it is pretty great.

 Everyone was happy to be able to hang out together one more time.

 And the kids, of course, enjoyed hanging out in the pool!

 The added bonus of the dock and fishing right off the back yard makes everything even better!

 Dylan also thought it was pretty cool to find a turtle

 Surprisingly, it ended up being a mostly family party.  Again, I was impressed that Taylor was willing to hang out with family when he clearly had other options.  And his girlfriend Krissy was part of most of the celebrations also!  Not too much later, Taylor left for basic training.  And he and his girlfriend (who was a year younger and still in high school) stayed together for about another year.  Stacy and I had a few conversations while we were there with Taylor and Ashley.  Taylor was struggling with his relationship with his mom.  She can be fairly strict, but her intentions are good.  And Ashley was struggling with teenage drama, that I think was compounded by the fact that she is younger than others in her grade because she skipped a grade. It was nice to have some decent and serious conversations with them, and I hope that as an aunt I was able to offer some comforting and helpful advice.

We made sure to get a family picture of everyone before it was time to say goodbye.

 Our family left that night, after the party was over to drive home.  We left around 11pm, and drove over night again.  We arrived home around 10 am, just in time to take a nap for a while.  Happy Father's day naps rock!  Then, we worked on the fence and deck for a bit before we went back over to the Hills house.  We taught them how to play Ticket to Ride (that we had learned with Becca).

And of course we had to play with Abel a little bit.

That night was early (as far as hanging out at the Hills goes).  We were tired from the driving and long nights.  Plus, I had my family conference call that evening.