Graduation and California, posted by David even if it says Pauline at the bottom

Finally, the post you have been waiting for! It has been very interesting trying to get all the photos arranged the right way, so, after many tries, we are just going to go with the way they are and include some commentary. Further commentary is at the bottom of this post. I could not figure out how to copy it and place it up here.


At Aunt Carolyn's, Aislinn taking the picture.
The two pictures on the right are of the proud Grads and the BYU sign and of course the symbolic ride on the Cougar!











While the pictures show the fun we had, what is not shown is the two flat tires we had on this trip. The first heading into California and the second heading out of California. We ended up with a whole set of new tires! They were in good shape before we left on the trip, but apparently we hit some rough road and caused the van to need an alignment, and extra wear and tear on the tires.



On the left is Jenny, Aunt Eliz, Margaret Halpenny (with whom we all stayed) and Mom.
Below is a picture of the ladies taking a break from shopping on Rodeo Drive.






This is Tom Halpenny who can really cook up a great steak! He is a farrier by trade (That means he is a blacksmith, kids).
On the right is Charite and me, taken in her condo. Below is a picture with Uncle Brendan in the chapel area of his church. We had a great visit with him. A great guy.






Above is Mom and Auntie Eliz in front of Tom and Margaret's home. To the left is proof that we found our way to Beverly Hills. Never did see the Clampetts. Below is Mom, Margaret, Jenny, Auntie Eliz and me on the back porch of Margaret's home.

The picture below shows that we were also able to find Tijuana, Mexico and the many fun things to do there, most of which included shopping and a long wait at customs when returning to San Diego. What a great "zebra"!

This picture is of Auntie Eliz, Mom, Jenny and Emma in front of "The Auld Sod" pub in San Diego. The owner is from Pee's area in Ireland and Auntie Eliz knows him. He wasn't there, but the photo opportunity was.

The following is what I wrote first, but couldn't get the pictures to add after the post.

Finally, the post you have been waiting for! We had a great trip this past August. We pointed the Safari north and west on the 11th of August, headed to Utah for Tara and Marcus's graduation. It was a grand time in Provo; BYU was great and the ceremonies were inspiring. Elder Richard G. Scott was the commencement speaker and he received an Honorary Doctorate.

Aislinn and Rowan were able to join us for the festivities and we enjoyed sharing our hotel with them. Rowan was great, but Aislinn was a bit noisy. (Of course, she had help from Mom!) We also had a nice visit with Marcus's parents and a delicious graduation dinner at an Indian restaurant. Aunt Darlene and Aunt Jean were able to attend and celebrate with us. It was good to see them. Unfortunately, everyone forgot to take pictures at the dinner. We were also able to visit with Aunt Carolyn in Logan. We really enjoyed our visit with her and another opportunity to see the lovely Cache Valley. After helping T & M pack up their belongings for their move to Texas, we saw them off to the south and east and we headed west and south to visit California and met up with Auntie Eliz, her daughter Jenny and Jenny's friend Emma.

All in all, we had a great trip (minus the flat tires) and of course, were happy to return home. The Safari clicked over 200,000 miles by the time we returned, over 5,000 miles on this trip.