Pomp & Circumstance or The Hallelujah Chorus?

Is there a doctor in the house? If you're over at my house, the answer is a resounding YES! Three years, two condos and one bouncing baby later, Brandon graduated from the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at UNLV! I know he walked to Pomp & Circumstance, but all I could hear was the Hallelujah Chorus!

Here he is with his advisor at the Cords & Awards ceremony for his graduating class. Dr. P. is significantly shorter than Buddy, so it almost looked as though he was being knighted when he knelt in front of him to receive his cords. Sir Dr Brandon Richards? We'll just stick with the one title.

Awkward moment of the evening: whoever was responsible for the slides neglected to move on from the final presentation so the whole graduating class had their photo taken in front of the Homage to the Outstanding Student slide, complete with her photo. Had she not swept the awards, it might have stung a little less.

It came as a surprise when several of Buddy's classmates got up to receive their cords that no family members were in attendance to snap photos and make obnoxious noises in their general direction. Several reported "my family's at the pool" and still other families had gone shopping in lieu of supporting their graduate. When Buddy was called, his dad and I made all the noise we could so he didn't have to make excuses. Had he decided to explain the absence of his family, it might have gone something like "my sister is about to have a baby in Northern Idaho and my brother-in-law with 5 small children was just released from the ICU in Spokane." His mom was so disappointed that she couldn't be there, but with everything that was going on, it just wasn't feasible - and we understand, Mom! (For the record, Amanda welcomed a beautiful baby boy into the world and Matt's recovery is going well!) Dr. Richards Sr. made the trek in his new truck and looked on with (righteous) pride as his youngest son was recognized for his efforts.

We tried for a family photo, but the youngest member was less-than-cooperative. If it looks like I'm leaning, it's because I am. And I'd venture to say that you would too, if you'd just been slapped across the face multiple times by chubby, out-of-control arms.

We were visiting with one of Buddy's professors and he opted to hold Teagan and must have noticed her star potential and gravitated toward the microphone. "I'd like to thank my Daddy for changing my stinky diapers, and Mummy for changing the really stinky diapers. Yes, I'm wearing Baby Gap..."

 

On Saturday, UNLV held their graduation ceremonies, and we were lucky enough to attend the earlier of the two. I remember graduating from BYU and having all of the doctoral candidates enter first, and I remember them seeming very old. Well, one of those geezers is my husband! See if you can spot him in this sea of old folks.

Yep, there he is in all his educated glory. Not a bad zoom on the old camera, eh?

I felt the need to document the hooding ceremony for posterity, and I'm actually thinking of submitting it to the university as a "What Not to Do" video for the faculty. Buddy got hoodwinked, and by "hoodwinked" I mean that they put his hood on backwards. But a backwards hood doesn't make him any less a doctor...I hope. AND he got serious face time on the scoreboard without dribbling a ball or proposing to anyone, so who am I to complain?

Of course the main event was Buddy sauntering across the stage, but I thought I'd mention the fact that Ronnie Vannucci Jr. of The Killers received his diploma at the same ceremony. He was the subject of a video montage celebrating his perseverance in earning his degree while maintaining his rock star status, travelling the globe and recording hit albums. I'd like to recognize his achievements in the growing of facial hair. His beard was pretty fantastic. Congratulations, Ronnie.

Maintaining dignity and decorum while their peers were walking the walk across the Commencement stage, members of the undergraduate college kept themselves occupied until their names were called to enter the professional world. I borrowed this picture from a friend (thanks, Marissa!) because it was too funny not to share. Beach balls just don't cut it at UNLV.

I kept myself occupied by texting The Man of the Hour at various intervals and trying to zoom in on him to see if I could catch him pondering the meaning of life now that he's all educated and stuff. Instead, I caught him looking like a little boy whose balloon has just popped.

No, it wasn't a typo when I said "I kept myself occupied." But Michelle? Don't you have a feisty rodent of a 6 month old to wrestle? Indeed I do, but isn't that what grandparents are for? So thanks to Grandpa Chuck, I was able to capture the highlights of the event. And, in spite of a raucous and unruly crowd (who insisted on hooting and hollering during the moment of "silence") our champion sleeper came through and snoozed for a good portion of the ceremony. A proud moment, indeed.

How did she manage to sleep through the celebration, you ask? The same way she managed to sleep through a group photo session in the midst of a crowd of thousands. It started out with one small baby and with each snap of a shutter, more seemed to appear out of thin air. But, seeing as Buddy always winds up at the back and she wouldn't have been seen anyway, we can just pretend Teagan was there.

 

Speaking of photo sessions, my social anxiety forced us to relocate for photos of The Big Man on Campus and we found the perfect palm tree to the side of the Thomas & Mack where he could unashamedly pose like this (after we fixed his hood!):

Beaming again with (righteous) pride, Dr. Richards Sr. who, did we mention, managed to make the journey from Moscow to Vegas in under 16 hours with several hundred pounds of our belongings in tow? (Thanks, Pops!) Quite the maiden voyage for the Dodge. Don't worry, he didn't quite break the sound barrier.

With all the hair she had at birth (not so much anymore), we've thought it a shame to cover it up with hats. But she makes the suede octagon look GOOD. Just like her Daddy.

Although we didn't initially anticipate a tradition in the making, it's become customary for a foot poppin' picture at graduation.

The Richards Grad Picture circa 2007 - BYU

The Richards Grad Picture circa 2008 - BYU

And the latest (and probably final) installment:

The Richards Grad Picture circa 2011 - UNLV

When Buddy got accepted to the program in 2008 and his classmates had T-shirts made with "Class of 2011" printed on the back, it might as well have said "Class of 2211" it felt so far away. But, he managed to graduate before we're teleporting and all wearing the same silver jumpsuits. For the first time in 23 years, Brandon isn't a student. So excited to be moving on to the next stage of our lives, which we'll tell you about when it starts in the (crosses fingers) very near future. Until then...

CONGRATULATIONS DR. BRANDON RICHARDS! 

You didn't think we'd let this occasion pass without a jumping picture, did you?