Time to party

OK, here it is......the final chapter in Delanie's Graduation extravaganza!

Tons of friends and family showed up to celebrate with us.  What a fun night!

This is Kathleen and her sweet daughter Sarah.  Kathleen was my first friend in Minnesota.  We worked together at a State Farm office in Eden Prairie.  We became fast friends the first time she made fun of my southern accent! 😉

Jim and I have been so lucky in the neighbor department.  Our neighbors sang "Happy Birthday" to Delanie as a joke.  

This little beauty (below) partied till the break of dawn....

There were more than a few tears shed when the slide show played.  Lauren and Maci put the slide show together and it turned out amazing!!

Click on the link below to watch.....

Delanie's graduation video

The Suggs girls.....

The B's.....Brandi and Bea....

Garrett Todd and Kevin.....

Tracey and Doug.....

Delanie's best friend Tuba Tom......

Gladys Jean and Myrtle Jean.....

People were EVERYWHERE!  They meandered onto the deck and even down to the fire pit....

The future Mr. & Mrs. Albaugh....

Maci hits the hooch.....

The photo below cracks me up.  That look we are giving Delanie describes it all.  😁

Skye and Sophie - Garrett and Maci's dogs - were on Cloud Nine with all the attention.

The graduate......

My boss and his adorable wife, Suzie, came to celebrate (great photo bomb, Bea!)...

Toward the end of the night, we all got a little slap-happy.  It might have something to do with the alcohol.  LOL!

The love birds....

All in all, it was the perfect way to celebrate our beautiful baby girl.  

It's hard to believe that she will be in college soon.  

The adventure starts now!!

Big Night

The time had finally come for our baby girl to graduate high school.

The commencement ceremony was held in downtown Minneapolis at the Mariucci Arena.  The same place the University of Minnesota holds hockey games.  The place is massive!

How did the time go by so fast?  

Memories come flooding back......

The time she fell asleep getting her nails done.

The instructions she gave to the hair stylist when cutting her hair ("cut my bangs in a rainbow with my freckle in the middle").

The hours upon hours of practicing guitar and drums.

The pig tails, my little ponies and fairy costumes.

The band-mates that call her "mom" because she takes care of them.

The pacifier ("sassy") she didn't give up until she turned four.

The way she lit up every time her brother came into the room.

The time she puked inside my Louis Vuitton purse.

Prepare yourself.  I'm about to blow up your screen with lots of pictures from that day.

One thing you can count on with Delanie is that she beats to her own drum.  She is extremely confident and a natural-born leader.  Throughout the ceremony, she kept turning around to wave!

Delanie's principal - Bart Becker - is a very unique leader.  He knows most of the students by name and makes a huge effort to be a good role-model for them.  He wrote a recommendation letter for Delanie when she was applying to colleges.  

In fact, he ends the daily announcements (heard over the school's loud speaker) by telling the kids that he loves them.  💛

In a family of picture-takers, Tracey does it the best.  In fact, she took some of my favorite photos of the entire evening.  

F. A. M. I. L. Y.

After the commencement ceremony, the Seniors head to the school for an All-Night Party.

This is NOT your typical lock-in.  The entire school is set up with stations including hypnotists, hamster ball, dodge ball, dance floors, tons of food, blackjack tables, etc.

Next up......time to party!