Graduation

It was one long, busy day yesterday. It started with getting up around 7:30am and getting ready for the big day. My sister and brother-in-law came over around 9am. My mom, sister, and I headed to the Women's Fall Expo while the guys hung out at home. It was a free event with lots of free stuff: samples, pens, and other fun stuff. One stand was giving away reusable shopping bags if you signed a petition and had ur picture taken telling why you would use the bag. So my sister and I did it and got free shopping bags. Too bad they didn't come with groceries in them! Another stand was giving away the new energysaver lightbulbs! So that was exciting to come across.

Anyways, after the expo, we headed back to the house to get my dad and brother-in-law. We then began the journey to the cities. Once up there, we got abunch of pre-grad photos around my school. Most of them were outside, but there were some cool shots taken on the staircase. Around 12:30pm, the journey continued to IHOP for a cheap, yummy lunch. At IHOP, we met up with my aunt, uncle, and cousin. I stayed with them for half my schooling, so it was nice to see them again. And lunch at IHOP is ALWAYS yummy! I got my usual stuffed french toast topped with strawberries.

We arrived at the school around 3pm to check in for the ceremony, and then there we more waiting til the ceremony actually started at 4pm. We took some photos outside to pass the time. Once the doors opened, my family went to find a spot to sit while I ventured behind stage to line up. Surprisingly, the ceremony was pretty quick. There should have been about 220 people graduating, but barely 100 decided to attend. Really the only bad part about it was the speaker. It was the President of the entire university, not just my campus. He opened his speech explaining how he knows that people do not look forward to the speaker because they talk forever and ever and ever... Yet, he spoke for almost a half hour! It started out interesting, but it wasn't the best at keeping my attention. Upon handing out the diplomas, each student got a picture of them recieving the diploma as well as posing between the American flag and the Minnesotan flag. After the ceremony, there was really yummy cake and not so yummy lemonade.

And then it was FINALLY time for ValleyScare, the Halloween Haunt of Valleyfair! And it was awesome! We made it for the starlight prices, so we saved about 10 bucks if not more per person. We went on some rides and through all the haunted attractions. These include Blood Creek Cemetary, Mr. Cleaver's Bloodshed, Hellside Farm, Carnage at Crimson Isle, Chateau du Damn, CarnEvil in 3D, and the Mangler's Asylum. We also watched a Ritual of Fire VooDoo show outside. I've been to it the last two years, and its amazing. The haunted attractions always have the same theme, but the trails are different every season. The show has changed too, but it is always hypnotizing. For those of you that love Halloween, I highly recommend checking it out. It's awesome!

After the Halloween fun, we headed to White Castle for a midnight snack. And because my dad needed his "crave case." So my car isn't gonna smell very good for the next few days. Hopefully I can get it aired out soon! Other than that, it was a great day. And it's exciting to say that I'm now a college graduate. Too bad I don't have a diploma to show for it! I won't get that piece of paper until I'm done with my internship, so I'll have it in a couple months if I'm lucky.

BTW...I've gots a new countdown for all you bloggers out there. Since I reached my first day off a couple days ago, it's time for a new one to start. So, today started that new countdown: 39 days of working until a day off. Since I had today out of the way, there's only 38 days left. And that just happens to be the same countdown til Thanksgiving. Better start that Christmas shopping!