Richard the Fourth

So the fourth Richard Gibson has been added to the line. What fun. Dad and I went out to Dallas and its environs to attend the happy event. We flew into Dallas in the middle of thunderclouds and then spent 2 hours struggling with map directions from the internet and Texas highway reality to make a 45 minutes trip down to Mansfield to spend the weekend with Craig, Janessa and the kids.

Mansfield is a nice little town. We enjoyed the clouds, the greenery, the critters (saw squirrels and rabbits), the rain and the company. Craig has some swallows that have taken up residence in the roof of their patio. It's a beautiful nest. They like to perch on the fan and go around as the wind blows the vanes.

Janessa's family came in on Saturday also so there were cousins galore and lots of talking, stories and food which makes for a good visit. Craig grilled hamburgers and hotdogs Saturday evening and we had Janessa's yummy enchiladas (in three versions: chicken, beef, and veggie) Sunday.

Corban slept through his blessing and Sacrament meeting. When it came time for pictures he was ready for dinner and yelled through the whole thing.

We got to take time for walks on Sunday and Monday before everyone took off. Sunday evening was fun with lightning bugs and rain. Monday was cool and a nice stretch of the legs before we had to leave for the airport. It was too short. We'll have to go back.

Does he not look like his Daddy? I've got find the baby pictures!

IT'S FOR REAL!!!! As if there was any doubt.

As Jeff commented, he can now put "Engineer" on his resume instead of "student". It was a fun weekend and I'm sorry I'm so slow on this. The end of school is always crazy. I can see all your heads nodding in agreement.

We had a great visit in Provo. The weather, as usual, played along and gave us a beautiful graduation day that degenerated into a wet, snowy weekend just for Dana's benefit. Heaven knows that the rest of Provo and environs was heartily tired of the white fluffy stuff. Allison Leybas spent her Spring break from Alpine Elementary just the week before in Arizona with her Mom and Dad because she was tired of the snow. I know, Peter, there's no accounting for taste.

Back to Jeff and the reason we were in Provo in the first place. Elizabeth and Grandparents Larsen went with us (us being Mom, Dad, Matt and Dana) to the Smith Field House to watch the commencement excercises for the School of Engineering. It was a very nice program and it moved along nicely. I guess they have to if they have 3 or 4 taking place in the same building and you have to move all those people in and out in a timely manner.

We were sitting and waiting for "Pomp and Circumstance" when I realized that we had failed to find out from Jeff which side he would be on. Someone said to just look for a real tall graduate. That lasted about the first 30 seconds. Do you know how many tall robed men there were? And quite a few were taller than Jeff. However, we found him and watched him walk. So now it's official. He's a grad student! Check out our graduate.

We got together at Rodney & Marja's Friday evening for dinner. Jeff cooked the steaks and Marja and Whitney provided the salads and dessert. Austin and his fiancee came with Whitney and Craig. Jeff's friend, Melanie Bird, came also to share the event.

We had a good time, although it was too short. Dad and I came home Saturday morning. Dad was officiating at Marilyn Cooper's wedding in the afternoon and I was taking my editors to meet with the Herff-Jones artist to create our cover for next year's yearbook. Matt and Dana stayed over until Sunday evening. Dad's instructions to Jeff were to show them a typical BYU weekend. From what I've gathered, they helped Melanie move, went bowling, walked to church in the rain and walked out in snow. Sounds typical to me.

We enjoyed the visit. We enjoyed meeting Melanie and spending time with Jeff and the rest of the Larsen clan. We are very grateful to Rodney and Marja for opening their home for us. Let's see. . . what's next? Oh yes, baby blessings. The fun never ends.