Emma's Graduation

YOU DID IT, EMMA!!! 

Graduation day!  YES!  We were off to school early so we could be well prepared.  The Multi Purpose Hall was all set up beautifully.

The support crew were there.

All the student were called up on stage via Class and in alphabetic order.  So lucky for us Emma was in 12A and fifth on the roll.  So we didn't have to wait long to see her receiving her Graduation Folder.

12A

The ceremony was fantastic.  The teachers all had good and encouraging words for the students.  I wasn't sad that Emma was graduating today because I believe that the best is still to come, but listening the teachers speeches brought a few tears to my eyes. These kids were loved and respected by their teachers and as a parent that is all you want to hear.

After the ceremony was finished the student filed out of the hall and waiting outside was a Guard of Honour from the rest of the school. 

We caught up with Emma at the end where she was celebrating with her fellow students.

Emma and Olivia

Emma, Lucy & Rosemary

Emma and Chantelle

Emma and Marnes

Emma and Harrison

 

A very proud Family there to give Emma support and recognition for a job well done.

 

With Emma and Olivia graduation this year and Hayley and Jake in the same year, my friend Jaki and I thought it would be great to get this photo, only 1 more to go.

Jaki & I

This is a college of all of Emma school photos.

 

Congratulations Emma we are very proud of your accomplishments and the beautiful young lady you have become.

Card: Congratulations

The day has arrived, after 13 years of schooling Emma is Graduating from Year 12.  David and I couldn't be more proud.  Emma has work very hard to get here and she has done with grace and independence, especially over the last two Senior years.  

To mark the occasion we gave Emma a card and a charm for her Pandora Bracelet.  Engraved on the back is "Hard work pays off" and it does.

Emma’s Formal

After a year in the planning the day had arrived for Emma's Formal.  After a short trip to school in the morning for a final rundown of the night ahead it was full steam head for preparation.

 

Emma was booked into McCarthy Hair at Marsden at 1pm to have her hair and make-up done.

Emma had changed her mind a few times and wasn't sure what she would do with her hair.  Back in September she'd had a trail of an up-style but wasn't happy with the outcome.  Emma has very long, thick hair and it couldn't stay up. 

So today she had a different plan, but it took longer than expected.  So she was late getting home.  Emma raced in the door at 3.30 then had to dress and put on her accessories.

She looked stunning the dress was just perfect on her.

Helana, Tiffanie, Nana, Grandad, Nannie and Grampie all came to the house and we did photos

 

Running fashionably late we headed to the Berrinba Wetlands.  A couple of weeks ago Emma got asked to formal by Marnes Kok.  They have gone to school together for the last 5 years and have only now become friends.

 

 

 

 

 

I was so proud of the way Emma moved around the group and caught up with friends.  Of course I was there to get photos. Emma has had a change in friends in the last couple of months, but all differences were put aside for today.

Megan Lobegeiger and Emma have been friends since Year 7.

Chantelle Simmons and Emma became friends in Year 8.

Harrison Shanks and Emma went to Yugumbir together and weren't friend until Harrison transferred to Browns Plains from Runcorn High in Year 9.  The three of them had been inseparable most of high school.

Then there is Savannah Andresassend who is Emma's BBF now.

And lastly Olivia Flegg is Emma's oldest friend who she started Pre-school with in 2005.

 

Marnes had organised their ride into Formal in a black Mercedes.  As it was only a two door Emma sat in the front.

And off they went.

A celebration to mark the end to all the great time.  Even though in era is ending, there is also a new beginning.

Books

After having loan this book twice from the Library I am so glad that I finally read it.  The author had me turning the pages and wondering what would happen next.  The perfect book to read on the cruise, but I had to finish it when I got home, so the holiday lasted a little longer.  This is my first book by this author and I will definitely be looking at more. 

Her husband's suicide left Nora MacKenzie alone, and his shady Wall Street dealings left the Manhattan socialite penniless. By a miracle she's held on to their mountainside farm - Nora's one chance to wring some dignity out of the sham she's been living. The Vermont locals think she's a princess on a back-to-nature kick, but Nora's serious about learning the farming business...if she can figure out where to begin. Against the locals' skepticism, she has only one ally: hardworking, gentle, and patient Charles "C.W." Walker. 

books

David doesn't read books all that often, but with us going away on the cruise I suggested maybe he look at getting a book.  So we went the the Logan Library and didn't know where to start.  I suggested maybe an autobiography.  This is what we came up with.  David really enjoyed the book and the relaxation that came with it.

A year in the life of V8 Supercar Champion Jamie Whincup, as he sets out to win his third consecutive title and overcomes the drama surrounding his controversial switch from Ford to Holden.

'Jamie is right at his peak today, with the ideal mixture of raw speed and experience. He may well surpass my records in the touring car championship. Right at the moment Jamie is the best driver in V8 Supercars.' Mark Skaife, five-time Australian touring car champion + five-time Bathurst winner
The Diary of My Championship Year is a unique glimpse into the life and mind of one of Australia's top sportsmen. This is Jamie Whincup's personal account of the year in which he won his second consecutive V8 Supercar Championship, starting from the big one at Bathurst.
Jamie takes you inside TeamVodafone and unlocks the keys to winning with the most successful team in the world's toughest touring car competition. He holds nothing back, sharing the highs and lows through each and every moment of the V8 Supercar season. He reveals what makes Bathurst so special, his motivation for winning, and how he copes with failure.
For the first time he talks about the controversial switch from Ford to Holden, his relationship with Craig Lowndes, his on-track rivalries and off-track escapes. It's all here as he celebrates at the end of 2009 and works to three-peat as champion in 2010. 

Books

I always like a book from Susan Mallery, and I enjoyed meeting a another member the the Fools Gold community.  Nice, easy romance just right for reading on a cruise.

To overcome her painful past, baker Shelby Gilmore goes on the hunt for a friend, a male friend, to convince her stubborn psyche that men can be trusted. But where in a town as small as Fool's Gold will the petite blonde find a guy willing to not date her? Dark, charming Aidan Mitchell puts the adventure in Mitchell Adventure Tours, and into the beds of his many willing female tourists. Until he realizes he's inadvertently become that guy, the one-night Casanova, and worse, everyone in town knows it. Maybe Shelby's boy/girl experiment will help him see women as more than just conquests so he can change his ways and win back his self-respect. As Aidan and Shelby explore the secret lives of men and women, the heat between them fires up the Fool's Gold rumor mill. If no one will believe they're just friends, maybe they should give the gossips something to really talk about! 

Happy Birthday Tiffanie

Today we helped our Niece/Cousin Tiffanie celebrate her 16th Birthday.

 

Emma and Tiffanie have always had a special connection.  This is a now and then photo:-

 

2017

 

 

2004