Book Review: The Scarlet Pimpernel

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this! I had a hard time tearing myself away from it.

(The next day)

Okay, so after having a day to absorb the book, there are a couple of things that are bothering me about the book. While I thought Percy and Marguerite's relationship was very interesting, I was frustrated with the way their relationship finished off by the end of the book. It felt like their roles switched, or at least like by the end of the book Marguerite was a weaker person. In the first half she is very independent and intelligent, and by the end it feels like she's completely dependent on Percy. Can't she be in love with him and still think for herself? The other thing that bothered me was that while she was brave to go chasing after Percy, she didn't actually contribute anything to saving Percy. I mean, it was intriguing to follow her behind Chauvelin and to read about what she was willing to go through to save Percy, but if she hadn't shown up things wouldn't have been much different, and I would have appreciated her having some kind of essential part in things turning out well in the end . . . instead of being the one who made a royal mess of everything and having to be dug out of the hole by the daring man.

I'm beginning to sound like a feminist. Scary.


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another attempt at potty training

(I'm really sorry if some people are offended by this running commentary about potty training Kevin, but I want to share it because it's been really helpful to me when other friends have shared their thoughts and experiences. So if you don't want to know, don't read it, and don't think less of me.)

June 11 (Monday):
Over the last weekend we started talking and decided it might be a good idea to try potty training again. We're moving to a new apartment (that is most likely getting new carpet) in a month and a half, so that is one motivation. The other reason is that we feel like Kevin is ready and just needs to be given some time and encouragement. He knows how to use the toilet and has done so many times before, and what we are really aiming for is for him to do it consistently and to recognize the need to go every time.

I've tried a lot of different strategies in the past. I've used elements of Toilet Training in a Day, I've tried letting him run around in underwear, I've tried having him clean up and the practice running to the toilet, and I've tried a lot of other things. A lot of my attempts have just made him more resistant. One of the things I've come to realize is that for him it's important that it's his own accomplishment. I was rereading parts of the book How to Make the Terrible Twos Terrific! a few days ago, and when the author talks about potty training he gives a very interesting insight. Potty training is not about hygiene. It's not about not having to change the kid's diapers anymore. It's about the child gaining independence. When I read that I realized that needs to be the underlying goal this time around. And that is the most frustrating thing about this entire process. I can force him into his carseat, I can pick him up and put him in his bed, I can physically drag him kicking and screaming from the playground, but I can't force him to recognize that he needs to go to the bathroom and go use the toilet. I can't force motivation.

So this time I am trying to look at myself as the consultant and the guide while Kevin figures it out for himself. And I fully expect it to take several weeks.

Day 1 (Monday, June 11):
We had several accidents and one success. I was changing Heidi's diaper before naps and she was dry, so I put her on the froggy potty just to see if she would go. She actually did go, and then Kevin wanted to help dump it in the toilet, so I let him. And then he independently decided to wet in the toilet (the regular one--he isn't interested in using the froggy potty). That was exciting. Since he had gone just before his naps, I let him just stay in underwear for his nap. I was sort of expecting to have to change wet sheets, but when I went in to get him I found that he had just climbed out of his bed and then wet his pants. That was an indication to me that he was aware enough to get out of bed before releasing. Interesting.

Day 2:
Several accidents and one success, again. I had a headache all day and didn't get to lie down much, so it was a rough day. I was not a very nice mom.

Day 3:
A couple of accidents in the morning. I decided to put a diaper on him during his nap, and when he got up from his nap I found that his diaper was completely soaked and had leaked a lot on his clothes. I'm getting concerned that he'll just hold it all the time and then release in his sleep. Then I remembered another idea I read in the terrible twos book and had a feeling I should try it. So I set a timer for one hour. When it beeped, I said, "That's the potty bell! It's time to try going potty." He was very resistant (as he always is when we suggest that he try), and then on the way to the bathroom it occurred to me to tell him he could have a cookie if he would try. It worked. Once I set him on the toilet and handed him the cookie he was okay with it and stayed there for a while. He didn't go, so I set the timer for another hour and told him we'd try again later. The next time I used the same strategy, and this time he wet in the toilet, so we gave him another cookie. A little while later he independently decided to go again and had another success. I didn't want to resort to using treats, especially because generally bribery doesn't work so well with him, but at the same time I feel like he needs a little guidance so that he can go to the potty regularly, and this is a way that we can help him learn to try without having to force him into it. We might have to go from cookies to a few chocolate chips, though, because six to eight cookies a day doesn't seem like a very good idea.

Day 4:
Well, the potty timer idea didn't work for long. I just don't know what to do. I feel like I'm just causing problems if I even suggest that Kevin try using the toilet, but I'm afraid to just not say anything because then he'll just go on the floor. I really feel like we just need to get this over with because Kevin is ready in all the other ways and I doubt he will ever be motivated enough to potty train himself without some help. But forcing the issue is just going to cause problems. He knows what to do, but he won't do it. I have no idea why he is so resistant. I don't think he's afraid of the toilet. Maybe it's fear of the unknown (i.e. not wearing diapers anymore) or not wanting to be controlled.

Day 5:
Kevin was disturbingly bored and I made a last minute decision to take him to a children's museum, Kidzu. That meant I had to make the decision about going in public with or without a diaper. I opted for underwear (Kevin asked for it) with a diaper over it and felt good about that. We had a fun time and rode the bus there and back. When we got home, Kevin was still dry, so I asked if he would try to go potty. He said he would if he could have some marshmallows, so I said that would be fine. And he went! He also went again later in the evening after some pressure from Ryan. I find myself clinging to these successes as hope that things will get better. I still feel like this is going to be a long, hard road, but I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.

After a week and a half:
Something clicked or something and the last few days have gone a lot better. Most of the time Kevin will go wet in the toilet if we suggest it or take him, which is a complete change from what the first few days were like. He doesn't take the initiative and go by himself, but if we take him he will go if he needs to. So every couple of hours we will suggest it and he will go. I don't call that potty-trained, but I definitely consider it a step in the right direction. Sometimes he asks for marshmallows as a reward, and I don't mind giving them if he asks. I don't get the feeling that he is going to need that incentive for long. I feel more optimistic now. The new question is how in the world to get him to go #2 in the toilet, but I'm grateful for some success.

The next day:
We had some good successes today. While we were out playing in the lobby with some friends, Kevin decided (unprompted) to use the public restroom there . . . three times. So maybe I don't need to worry so hard about the public/foreign restroom thing. The other thing is that this evening Kevin went #2 in the froggy potty. That was a big leap for him (hmmm . . . not sure how I feel about that pun). He was sort of uncertain and had a hard time. But hopefully he's learned a lot and will keep moving forward in that department. I'm proud of Kevin for all that he is learning. He's really growing up.

6/28
Kevin is continuing to make slow progress. On Sunday we took the risk and took him to church in underwear. He refused to use any of the toilets at the church every time we tried to take him, then just before we left he suddenly expressed an interest in using the small toilet that is in the bathroom in the back of the nursery room. Problem was, it was clogged and also leaking water. But he went willingly once we got home. Occasionally he lets us know he wants to try, but most of the time I just have to remind him every few hours. He's gotten a lot more agreeable about it. Still not sure what we're going to do about #2, though. But I'm grateful that this is working, even if it's slow!

It's always fun to have leftover macaroni for breakfast in Mom and Dad's closet, especially if you get to share it with your baby sister.

One day I made six loaves of whole wheat bread. When Heidi woke up from a nap she pointed the way she wanted to go and took me straight to the bread, where she picked up an entire loaf.

It made me feel like a good mom.

final product

I tried the dress on Heidi this morning and compared the eyelet and the ribbon and the ribbon was the obvious choice. So the dress is finished.

sewing fun

I had a fun time doing some sewing today. You would think I would have more time to do things since I'm not taking classes right now, but for some reason the days end and I feel like I didn't get to read or sew or even fold the clothes. Anyway, I've been itching to sew something for several days and things have just kept conspiring against me so that I didn't have time. Naptimes didn't overlap much and then by bedtime I was tired. Today the kids went down for naps and I was determined to sew something that I've been working on in my head for a while.

This is going to be a little jumper for Heidi's birthday when I am done with it. I still need to figure out what I am going to do for straps. There are a lot of options. I could make some wide straps using the same fabric I used for the jumper, I could use some more eyelet (shown on the left of the picture), or I could use some of the green ribbon on the right. So I am interested in people's opinions. Which of those options do you like the best, or do you have a different idea? The pattern on the fabric is little yellow rosebuds. This is some of the fabric my Grandma sent home with me. I also have some similar fabric that is pink with pink rosebuds. Grandma really likes these rosebud patterns. This was a fun and interesting project because I basically drafted it by myself. Instead of using a pattern I just cut out two rectangles, with the dimensions based on a jumper that already fits Heidi well. For the top part I used elastic thread to do several rows of shirring. I tried this a month or so ago on knit fabric and it was incredibly frustrating, but this time I had learned a few things and I was also using cotton instead of knit, so it went quite smoothly. For the bottom I attached some eyelet ruffling. I had to put a lot of thought into how I would do that so it would look nice.

The fabric was from my Grandma, and the eyelet was from my mom, so the only cost for me was a spool of elastic thread and my time.

Oh, and while I'm talking about sewing, I have another question about sewing in general. I don't have a serger, so generally I need to finish my edges with a zigzag stitch. It seems like when I was learning to sew I was always told to press the seams open and then zigzag each side, but when I do that on my old sewing machine the fabric keeps getting distorted. So is it evil to just do the regular seam, zigzag the two edges to each other, and then press it all to one side? I tried this on the jumper and it seemed to work fine, but I'm just curious if it will hold up over time if I do it that way.

Goodreads Review: David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism

David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism by Gregory A. Prince
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I thought this book was really interesting and gave some good insights into the changes the LDS church was going through while David O. McKay was the prophet. If you read it you need to recognize that prophets are human and that they make mistakes, which is why I feel a little hesitant to recommend it to just anybody. The authors were trying to make this an objective book and present the facts, not rave about how wonderful David O. McKay was. I think when you read this book you have to recognize that the church is not stagnant and it has to change to accommodate growth and current events, and you also have to recognize that we are still figuring out how God wants the church to be led. We had to figure out how we would deal with politics, building, finances, organization, etc., and at the time of President McKay our position in some of those areas wasn't established yet, which led to some misunderstandings and conflicts. But in the end I was left feeling very impressed with him and what was accomplished while he was the prophet.

I was impressed at the insights he had in implementing the building program. It was very important to him because he recognized that it was difficult for the church to grow when outside of the United States the members didn't have decent places to meet, which meant they didn't leave a very good impression. (Try inviting your friends to come to Sacrament Meeting in the back room of a bar.) The church grew much more rapidly after nice meetinghouses and temples started being built throughout the world. One of the effects of this was that instead of telling members to come to Zion, they were encouraged to stay where they were and build Zion there, which meant that people with good testimonies stayed put and built up the church throughout the world, so that the church became an international church instead of just a Utah church.

There is a very interesting chapter about the issue of black people receiving the priesthood. It discusses many of the misconceptions around that issue--i.e. they were less faithful/fence-sitters in the war in Heaven, they are cursed because they are descendants of Cain/Ham, etc. (none of which are true). Like I said before, you have to realize that prophets are human and are not perfect. A lot of the apostles at the time had grown up with some views that were racist and because of that they didn't think that black people should have the priesthood. It was interesting to note that Spencer W. Kimball was silent on this issue--and years later he was the prophet who was able to announce that all men would receive the priesthood. People didn't seem to have a very good impression of the civil rights movement here in the West, which is partly understandable since there weren't a lot of black people there. Some of the apostles at the time seem to have associated that civil rights movement with the spread of Communism (especially Ezra Taft Benson). Anyway, I learned a lot of interesting things about the perspective the leaders of the church had at the time on civil rights and black people receiving the priesthood. I get the impression that as time went President McKay learned a lot about the issue and by the time he died was hoping that soon the blacks would be able to receive the priesthood.

Free agency (the ability to choose right and wrong) was really important to President McKay, and because of that I thought he had some really good insights into why Communism is a bad idea. He felt that taking away free agency was a crime and prevents people from making spiritual progress, and from all the things I have studied about Communism, that is exactly what tends to happen under Communist rule.


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our school

I think I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel that represents my college years. It looks like I should be able to finish in three more semesters and one summer session. This has been a really challenging phase in my life, and I will be happy to be done . . . although I do suspect that a masters degree might be in my future (it would be a good idea if I were to need to work), but not for a while. I feel very blessed that it's looking like I will be able to graduate. When we decided to start having children I wasn't sure if it would work out. As it is, I have had to make some sacrifices for the sake of my family. When the department has a weekend field trip to study geology in the field, I can't really participate. There are some classes that I can't take because of my family responsibilities. I can't do the summer projects out in the field. I've given up scholarships that required me to go to school full-time because I didn't want to put my kids in day care. It's kind of hard to think about the opportunities to learn that I have given up, but I am still grateful that things have worked out this way. I think it has been a blessing to have my schoolwork during my early years of being a mother because it has helped me to have an identity besides being a homemaker and it has helped me to keep my mind working and growing (although sometimes I suspect I've lost it).

I'm taking a break this summer. I'm at the point where the classes I need to take are only offered during Fall and Spring, except for my field course, which I can't take until next summer. It's been nice to not have to deal with the pressure of all the deadlines and assignments, although for some reason at the end of the day I still feel like I didn't get to accomplish nearly all I wanted to do.

Ryan has a lot more time now to work on his research since I'm not in classes and he doesn't have to teach and grade (he has some grant money that covers his stipend during the summers). It seems like it's slow going, but since he has more time right now he does seem to be making a little more progress.

Heidi and Kevin and the things they do

Heidi is walking more and more, but is making the transition slowly. It seems like Kevin was converted pretty quickly, but she's easing into it.

5/25: Correction. It looks like Heidi's decided walking is the way to go. And not only is she walking, but she can also squat and stand back up (many times in a row) and stand up in the middle of the floor without using something else to help. And she is so proud.

6/9: It's true. Heidi is pretty much converted to walking. And she's trying to figure out how to run.

Her favorite game in the kitchen is pulling things out of cupboards and drawers. She likes to pull out all the ziploc bags and strew them all over the floor, and then she goes for the recycling under the sink. Next is the garbage can.

She figured out how to climb onto Kevin's bed. He has a bunk bed, so she can just use the ladder to get herself high enough to climb onto the bottom bed. I'm really hoping she figures out how to crawl backwards to climb down from things soon, because it's hard to be constantly making sure she's not going to fall off of something.

She learned how to fold her arms today (5/21). I was pretty impressed. I guess we gave her a lot of praise, because Kevin got jealous of the attention and started hitting her arms down whenever she folded them. But when we asked him if he could do a somersault ("mamasalt") he forgot about his jealousy.

She's becoming very attached to this little security blanket with a duck on it that my Aunt Sue sent her. She's always clinging to it whenever I get her up from her bed. She loves it so much that if she stands up and accidentally drops it over the side of the pack n play, she's completely devastated. It's one of those things that I couldn't understand why anyone would get, but now I do understand. Heidi just loves to have a small soft thing to hug when she needs to self-soothe.

She points at everything and says, "Dat."

Climbing onto the stool to peep over the counter.

Looking in the mirror.

Did I mention she's really good at climbing?

Clutching her duck. (She can say "duck" too.)

Here is a video of Heidi walking and waggling her tongue, which is a trick I taught her a few weeks ago.


Here is some more tongue waggling.


And here is Heidi walking.


Kevin loves cinnamon toast these days. Most days he has a couple of slices. He also likes his sandwiches cut into four triangles--which, by the way, is a good way to cut the sandwich for a kid who doesn't eat the crusts, because it's easier to access the inside bread.

He has added "Pigs," "Geese," "Frogs" and "Spiders" to his group of imaginary friends. Sometimes he uses them as an excuse to break rules--for example, the pigs ran out in the road, so he has to get them and bring them back. The pigs are the imaginary friends he interacts with the most right now. Occasionally he feels the need to get food or drinks for both himself and his pigs. He has also asked me a few times to hold his pigs and take them somewhere.

If he doesn't want us to do something he has started saying "No! No thanks!" There was one night when we were sleeping at my grandparents' house when he came out of the room and said, "No thank you dark" (i.e. he was scared because it was so dark in the room). He will also tell us, "Leave it!"

The point of this picture is to show how much Kevin loves stickers. He will just sit there with a sheet of stickers and put them on his shirt for minutes on end. And anytime something keeps Kevin occupied for minutes on end I'm impressed.

Kevin always wants to get a copy of the Daily Tar Heel (the school newspaper) when we pass the stands. He can do it by himself.

Kevin is really in his element when he is outside. He just loves to walk around and explore things. He likes to collect sticks, hit trees with them, and hold big pieces of grass. He also likes to watch bees and ants, but if they get too close he gets scared.

I think this is a look of pure joy.

Utah trip 2012 part 7: other pictures

Here are some other pictures Ryan took while we were in Utah. (Ryan took all the pictures, by the way.)

This is one of my grandma's roses:

Oh, and I think I need to see a psychologist, because we had everything unpacked and put away the day after we got back. This is definitely not normal behavior.

Utah trip 2012 part 6: Ellen's baptism and everything else

One of the most special events of our trip was getting to attend my sister Ellen's baptism and confirmation on Saturday. Our family is so blessed to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and to have a father who has always been worthy to use the priesthood to baptize each of us when we turned eight years old.

Ryan made a batch of cinnamon rolls for us to eat for breakfast that morning. They were very yummy and sugary, which is just how Ryan likes them.

Here's Ellen with a bracelet Aunt Colleen gave her. She wore the same dress that I wore after my baptism. (Mom had a cute white dress for her, but she didn't want to wear it.)

There was a very special feeling at the baptism. Dad baptized Ellen, and Ryan and Grandpa were the witnesses. Kevin sat down close to the font to see. After the baptism I was a little surprised when he turned around and started crying and saying, "Car? Car?" I guess it was a little scary to see Ellen immersed in the water like that.

After the baptism we all went to the Relief Society room to wait for Ellen and my dad to get into dry clothes.  Kevin seemed to feel a little better about it all after Ellen came in. He saw her come in and exclaimed, "Ellen! All wet! Your hair all wet!"

(By the way, Kevin really liked Ellen. He quickly learned her name, and every time we drove up to my parents' house he would get excited and start saying, "Ellen! Ellen's coming!")

We have a family tradition of telling the story from The Friend (our church's magazine for children) called The Comforter before someone is confirmed, so Melissa shared the story and wrapped a quilt around Ellen to tell her about how the Holy Ghost is a comforter and helps us to feel warm and safe. Then my dad confirmed Ellen a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and she was given the gift of the Holy Ghost. In the confirmation Dad gave her a nice blessing and gave her some counsel about how the Holy Ghost will guide and help her throughout her life. It was so special to be able to be there with Ellen on this special day. The gift of the Holy Ghost has been a great blessing in my life and I'm excited that now Ellen has been given that gift too.

(Unfortunately, Heidi had about had it by the time Saturday rolled around, and she had a meltdown at about the time Ellen was confirmed, so I didn't get to listen to that as closely as I would have liked to. Hopefully it was special for Ellen.)

Next we all took some pictures. Why oh why was I not more vocal about my opinion that we shouldn't take the pictures facing straight into the sun? But oh well.

These ones under the tree turned out pretty nice, though.

Jeanette, Sue, Colleen, and my mom:

After the baptism we went back to my grandparents' house for a while so that Heidi could get a little nap before the luncheon at my parents' ward building. That was somewhat helpful, but she still ended up screaming for a good portion of the luncheon too, which was frustrating. But there was good food and it was nice to get to spend some time with family. It was exciting to meet my cousin Drew's fiancee, Kayla. Heidi took a three-hour nap when we got back to my grandparents' house, and Kevin took a four-hour nap. They were very happy after getting some good sleep.

I ended up coming down with a yucky stomach bug that night and didn't go to church the next day. I was feeling much better by dinnertime, just fatigued. We had Sunday dinner at my grandparents' house, and in addition to my family and Jeanette and Larry, several of my aunts and uncles on my dad's side came. I hope I didn't get anyone sick, but I haven't seen any of them since before we moved to North Carolina, and since I was feeling better I thought it would probably be okay.

And then on Monday we flew home. Our first plane arrived late in Chicago Midway and we had to run to our connecting flight. We were the last people on the plane. The flight wasn't completely full, so Heidi and I got a row to ourselves, but Ryan and Kevin were all the way in back instead of right behind us. When the flight attendant asked me what I wanted to drink and I told him I wanted Sprite, he got a concerned look on his face and asked what was wrong. I said, "What's wrong with Sprite? and he said I just looked a little down. I guess I was pretty tired. And plane flights tend to give me headaches. (Fortunately, this time I was prepared and brought a film case half full of ibuprofin.) Anyway, I told him I was just tired after a long trip, and he said maybe I should get a vodka instead of Sprite. I said Sprite was fine. It was late at night by this point, so they turned off the lights, which was great because both of the kids were able to get to sleep much more easily. Our plane landed in Raleigh around 11:35 at night, and we got home around midnight. Kevin was famished. I was glad our house smelled clean (because I always worry that it might have a bad smell that I don't notice because I'm used to it). And I was glad to have my own pillows. But we were also sad that it will be a long time before we get to see my family again.

Utah trip 2012 part 5

On Friday the house got really full. Aunt Sue and Uncle Spence, and then Aunt Colleen and Aubrey, arrived and we spent the day hanging out at my parents' house. It was pretty packed but it was so fun to see everyone.

I got to spend some time helping Melissa work on her puff quilts (this should give you an idea of what those are). She pinned and stuffed squares and I sewed. I also got into my mom's ribbons and made some cute bows for one of Ellen's friends who had invited her to a birthday party (sorry, no pictures, but they really were darling). And I brought quite a bit of ribbon home with me too. Ribbon bows aren't quite as fun to make as hair flowers, by the way. Ribbon is too slippery and finicky.

At one point during the day Kevin went out the front door without anyone realizing it. It was pretty scary. I already wrote about it in my journal, so I'll just copy and paste that here:

Today we lost Kevin for a little while. It was a scary experience. My parents have a fenced yard and we locked the gates using karabiners, so we’ve been able to just let Kevin go play in the backyard without having to follow him everywhere like we do at home. As long as he’s downstairs or in the backyard I don’t really have to worry too hard about him. Well, this afternoon he was playing in the backyard, and then he came inside and I thought he had gone downstairs where Ryan was to watch a movie. So I was doing other things and assuming that he was just fine, whatever he was doing. But then I decided to check on him and that was when I found out he wasn’t with Ryan and he wasn’t in the backyard. I looked in the front yard and he wasn’t there either. I didn’t quite feel panicked yet, but at the same time I was really nervous because I didn’t even know where to start looking. I had no idea how long he had been gone or which direction he had gone. I was afraid that we had lost him forever, and I knew that life without Kevin would be empty. I was in the front yard and couldn't see him, so I said a quick prayer that we would be able to find him, and I looked once more inside the house and then went back out the front door. And there he was, running back towards the house along the sidewalk carrying Ian’s toy drill, barefoot. I was so relieved and grateful. He hurried to me, and as I looked at his face I could tell that he had been frightened and that he was near tears. I picked him up and hugged him. We will probably never know where he had been or how far he got, but I am so grateful and I know that it was an answer to my prayer from my loving Heavenly Father who watches over every one of his children. I am grateful that he was in the neighborhood and that he hadn’t run into a busy road and gotten hurt.

Utah trip 2012 part 4: Wednesday/Michelle's graduation

We spent most of the days with my family at my parents' house. They have a fenced yard with a nice playground and a sandbox, so once Ryan rigged the gates so that Kevin couldn't open them, we would just send Kevin out back to play without worrying about him. I must have a fenced yard someday! Kevin was really in his element.

I'm really glad Jeanette and Larry could come. I've only been able to meet Aunt Jeanette a couple of times, and I had never met Uncle Larry, so it was nice to spend time with them.

Wednesday evening was Michelle's high school graduation.

Here is the senior choir singing Thou Gracious God Whose Mercy Lends. They did a lovely job.

Ryan did a panorama of the basketball arena where the graduation was held.

Here is Michelle walking out to line up for the commencement ceremony. She's right in the center of the picture with the long brown hair.

Switching the tassle:

The kid with the big hair:

Here's a picture focused in on Michelle. I'll give you a hint: She's wearing a white robe. Okay, I'll give you another: She doesn't have her hat on and she has long brown hair. (This was after the "baby toss"--i.e. they let the kids toss their hats but not very high.)

Melissa, Grandpa, and Uncle Larry:

Michelle after the graduation: