A Day of Awards

On Tuesday April 17, 2012, we had a very busy day :) It was the day after we got to Illinois from South Carolina. Charlotte and I felt a little jetlagged but we were excited that we were able to be in town for the big days for mom and Mary.

For lunch, Mom was recognized for an award that she was up for. She was nominated by CASA for an award for the YWCA. It was a big deal to be nominated. Even though she didn't win (a State Representative beat her out), it was still a huge honor to be nominated out of all of the people in the Peoria area. She had a big cheering section there with her.

Charlotte fell asleep during the lunch but was WIDE AWAKE and ready to go for the awards part. So her and I did some laps outside in the hallway.

My parents. They wore their fancy clothes.

PS The food was actually good. Normally at banquest type things the food is terrible. But this stuff was good. Way to go Civic Center.

Mary is graduating from Mennonite College of Nursing on May 11 (I graduated from there 8 years ago). They had their candle lighting that Tuesday evening. So we went to Normal and attended. Again, my little short stack was into everything, loud, and needed to be out in the hallway for the majority of the ceremony. However, I got to see some of the awards and the lighting of the candles. I'm such an emotional pregnant mess. I got a bit choked during it... not a shocker.

Lynn Kennell was one of my lecture instructors as well as my clinical instructor for OB... my passion. Mary is going to be an OB nurse as well when she starts her new job. Lynn is so proud that we have such a passion for OB. I still keep in touch with her. She's a fabulous woman. Mary got the award "Most Like Lynn Kennell" which was sweet too :)

After the candle lighting, we went out to dinner at Wild Berries... a delish restaurant in Bloomington. Charlotte was NOT in the mood to sit still. She was too busy and tired to care about eating. It had been a long day and she was over it. Thank goodness the restaurant was basically empty.

At least she had Mary and her 2 friends to give her attention.

Even though it was a long day and we were pretty maxed out by the end of it, it was well worth it. We were so glad to be there supporting Mom and Mary.