Jake's Graduation

Phew! Jake did it. Jake graduated from Brigham Young University! He graduated with a bachelors of arts degree in Spanish and he minored in Business. 

Day 1: Commencement

The main speaker was Ronald A. Rasband
(Senior President of the Presidency of the Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

I was so touched by his speech it brought me to tears.  Here is his entire speech. But below I've extracted some of my favorite quotes:

"Your degree is much more than an honor hanging on the wall or a memory to recall with perhaps a sigh of relief. It is a statement that you have persevered and achieved, knowing that your purpose here fits into the Lord’s plan for your life."

"We chose to start our family shortly after we were married, having confidence that we would be blessed in our temporal matters if we put the Lord first."

"Jon said to me he was not interested in me because of my academic credentials. (I don’t think he ever knew my grade point average. That was a good thing!) He told me he was interested be-cause he felt significant character traits he saw exemplified in my life would work well in his busi-ness—character traits such as a strong work ethic and the ability to balance all the life-challenging priorities we were faced with at that time."

"...There is a masterpiece within each one of us, and when spiritually nurtured, carefully mentored, and loyally engaged in building up our families and the Lord’s kingdom, all things are possible."

Since the Commencement occurred during Calvin's nap-time, he was quite grumpy! Luckily, Grandpa Bean (a.k.a. the baby whisperer) walked Cal around for a bit and got him to sleep pronto! He slept through the whole thing.

We are so proud of you, Jake! We're your biggest fans.

Grandma and Grandpa Green enjoyed every minute of it. And they definitely helped us out getting comfortable seats in the handicap section.

Jeff and Jill are so proud of you, Jake! I think my Dad got a little sleepy with Calvin.

Calvin: a grumpy mess. But your parents are SOOO proud of you! 

Our little sleepy-guy didn't want to leave Jake's arms.

Day 2: Convocation

This is the day where Jake lined up, waited his turn, moved his tassel to the other side, listened for his name to be called, walked across the stage, shook important peoples' hands, and officially graduated!! 

This is the part where the speaker asked the graduates to stand if...
1) They lived in another country during college years

2) Can fluently speak another language

3) Got married during college years

4) Had a child during college years

...you are so accomplished!

Jake had a fun time walking with his lil sis.

Calvin was a bit unsure about what was happening. But he saw Jake walk! And Calvin was really excited to spot out his Dad in the sea of blue people.

Jake's proud Grandma and Grandpa Green!

Even though I already walked in April with my Dietetics Program, I dressed up again in my cap and gown and took pictures with Jake! Yay! We've graduated! We're done!! ...well, with our undergrad degrees.

Big shout out to our loving parents. Who helped shape us into the people we are today. Thank you for your love and support.

And thanks to our goofy siblings :) We love you!

Our college experience would not have been the same without our dear friend, Justin Norman. He was Jake's roommate at King Henry when Jake and I continued to date after his mission, then we got engaged, then we got married, and we practically adopted Justin into our family. We morphed him into an amazing soccer goalie/player--family initiation.

Also, he's Calvin's Godfather.

School would have been easy-peasy without this little-guy distracting us so much. But we wouldn't have traded it for the world. Thanks for entering our life, Calvin! We love you so much!

...And one day, you'll be graduating from BYU. Meet us back here in a couple decades. Can't wait to watch YOU walk!

Apparently, this is the spot where Charlie took a photo with his Dad when he graduated from BYU.

The is pretty much how the story goes:

Charlie's Dad drove out from Oroville, CA to Charlie's graduation in Provo, UT. He attended the convocation ceremony (about 2 hours long), took one picture with Charlie afterwards, and then drove back to Oroville, CA. Talk about a short trip! I guess Charlie's Dad isn't a warm and fuzzy kind of guy, but making the effort to come out was a pretty big deal! 

Later that day, we went to a BYU soccer game. Going to BYU soccer games was our FAVORITE activity to do as students. Attending our last BYU soccer game during Jake's graduation was a nice way to say "goodbye" to our student life. 

As we looked out, there was a gorgeous sunset on Jake's favorite building on campus: the IPF (Indoor Practice Facility). We played many soccer games in that building with family and lifelong friends. We'll always have fond memories there.

This is our favorite sign on campus. "Enter to learn. Go forth to serve." That's exactly how we feel about our experience at Brigham Young University. We learned so many things academically and spiritually. Now we are taking what we learned out into the world with the mindset to work hard and to serve others.

Phew! We're done. We are BYU graduates of 2013.

Brittney's Journey Through College

Phew!! I did it! I graduated from Brigham Young University!!! My college years has certainly been a journey to maturity.

 

I started out as a teenager saying goodbye to the love of my life, Jake. He was off to live in Buenos Aires, Argentina for two years to learn Spanish and preach the gospel as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Although his efforts were noble, I heartbrokenly headed to college.

At BYU-Idaho, I was quite miserable without Jake in my life. But I made the most of it. I avoided dating and I studied ALL THE TIME. My favorite part about attending school there was playing competitive soccer. I absolutely loved the school and loved the people that I met while living in Idaho. Life long friends :)

I took some time off to venture to the land of Switzerland! I worked there as an au pair for a wonderful family with 4 children. I enjoyed immersing myself in the Swiss culture, learning German, and exploring 8 different countries through public transportation.

After my adventures in Switzerland I headed back to BYU-Idaho for a semester and then transfered to BYU in Provo, Utah where Jake and I reunited :)

By Christmas we were engaged. And then after the Winter Semester of 2010, we got married on May 7th at the Oakland LDS temple.

I decided that I wanted to pursue my studies toward something about the amazing human body...but what?!? There are so many different routes. I changed my major 4 times: from Biology--> Physiology and Developmenetal Biology-->Food Science-->Exercise Science. I was lined up to graduate April of 2012. 

BUT I was deeply interested in the Dietetics major. It seemed perfect: becoming a Registered Dietitian where I can translate the complexities of food science and its interacts with the body to individuals seeking specific health needs. BYU's competitive Dietetics program only accepts 40 students for a 2-year program. I figured, "What's one more year of school? As long as I'm doing what I love."

So, I applied! And I got in!!!! I was bummed about tacking on an extra year of school. But thrilled to be a part of an incredible program. I contemplated about declining...because I found out I was PREGNANT! But the Dietetics Program Director, Dr. Nora Nyland, reassured me that many women in the exact situation before me completed this program successfully and I could, too! 

This close knit program worked with me and helped me in whatever way that they could in order to do well. They even provided me with my own breast-pumping room to make sure my milk supply remained high. My professors were sooo accommodating and I really appreciate their understanding. With the mindset described in the Family Proclamation to the World, BYU sustains the importance of families described by the LDS Church. I am so grateful for the dynamics at BYU that encouraged me to be the best mom I can be while being the best student I could be.

7 months pregnant, I began the Dietetics Program. After looking over my syllabi, I realized that the baby's due date was in the middle of MIDTERMS!! Sheesh! My nesting period involved getting ahead in school work. Soon enough, I had 39 wonderful friends in the program and they were so excited for the baby to come and willing to help me out however possible.

As my due date approached, I would often talk to the baby and negotiate when he could arrive. I told him that I was planning on him arriving on due date. October 28th would be perfect because it would be a Friday and that would allow us the weekend to recover and for me to return to school on the following Monday or Tuesday. As it turns out, Calvin was quite obedient! He arrived on Friday, October 28th, 2011 and I returned back to school on the following Tuesday. Along with the help with my Mom being around to help watch Calvin, I was able to get back to school and not skip a beat.

Unfortunately, 10 days after delivering, I went to the hospital because I wasn't recovering well. Turns out that I had a retaining placenta. I was immediately admitted to the ER to have a D&C procedure remove what was remaining on my uterine wall. The following day, I was feeling MUCH better. I'm so grateful that my Mom was around to help me figure out what was going wrong and for my Uncle Greg (Dr. Bean--OBGYN) to provide the best medical assistance for me.

The rest of my college career, Jake and I arranged our class schedule so that either one of us was always with Calvin. At times we only had 10 minutes to meet up, hand off Clavin, and get to class!! When it was raining or snowing we carted Clavin in this awesome Schwinn bike trailer that converts into a stroller. With Calvin bundled up in there, he was good to go! 

However, some days when I was running late and I didn't have time to go the long way with the stroller, I would hike a mountain of stairs wearing the Baby Bjorn. Calvin loved it! And I loved seeing peoples faces when they saw how ridiculous we looked. Haha!

Sometimes we had some classes that overlapped that we could not avoid--and Auntie Becca was glad to step in to babysit!

Through stressful times, lack of sleep, and a loving & supportive husband, I was able to finish college! I graduated with a bachelors of science degree in Dietetics and I minored in Family Life.

I am so grateful for all the people that I met and for all the experiences I encountered to shape me into the person I am today.