A whirlwind

My friends, this past month has come and gone in a complete whirlwind of activity!  I finally feel like I have a moment to sit down and put it all together, but there is just so much to say that I really don't know exactly where to start.  I guess, the best place to start is with the most important and exciting thing that has happened in four years...JOSEPH'S GRADUATION!!!  

Can you believe it??  After four years of hard work and sacrifice and being dirt poor, Joseph finally has that piece of paper that says it was all worth it.  Congratulations, Dr. Dougherty, I don't think that there is anyone more proud of you than I am!  :)  

The boys spotted Joseph as we were walking in, and Jake wanted to wear his "funny hat."

Here is Joseph standing in line, anxiously awaiting to hear the name "Dr. Dougherty" and walk across the stage.

Such a proud wife!

 Later we celebrated with some cake and friends, always a winning combination!

Then the next day, we left for the Bahamas to celebrate!!  We dropped our kids off with my parents in Michigan then flew to Florida for a cruise to the Bahamas.

We went on our celebration cruise with our dearest of dear friends the Whiteheads, who also graduated from dental school.

 We were in paradise for four days.  

This was the balcony and view right outside our room

This is a view of our hotel from a beach on the other side of the island.  

 We gorged ourselves on cruise food, went snorkeling, tried Conch (the official food of the Bahamas), laid out on the beautiful beaches, shopped the local vendors, watched a fire breather, and saw one of the boats that they used in the Pirates of the Caribbean when they filmed on the island.

It was an amazing trip, to say the least, and we were sad to have it come to an end.

But, once we came home, it meant we were on to our next adventure: moving!

Thanks to a moving stipend from Joseph's new office, we didn't have to lift a finger during the move.  We hired Two Men and A Truck, and they did everything for us!  Packing, loading, moving, and unloading.  I think I could get used to this "real life" thing.  :)

Jake was more than happy to just chill and watch movies while the men packed and loaded the truck.

 So spoiled!

 Don't worry, I will put pictures up of our new house.  I know you want to see them because I'm always dying to pry into others people's homes myself.  But this is all I have for now...our kitchen full of boxes!

 It doesn't look like that anymore...everything has a place (of course it does with all that cupboard space!) and the boxes are gone.  My dear friend Tawnya came over to help unpack, and I really couldn't have done it without her.

Then, as soon as we got all moved in, we took a little trip to Kansas City to meet up with Joseph's sister and her beautiful family.  Of course, I forgot to take pictures, but we had tons of fun playing with each other and going to Oceans of Fun water park.  Just imagine 6 crazy kids and four adults all sharing one hotel room...it was mayhem and we loved every second of it!  (Except for the part where Jake refused to go to bed and Eli screamed every time we left the room...other than that, it was great!)

So, now we're back home and taking a breather from this whirlwind we've been in.  We're starting to settle into Ottumwa, and Joseph starts his new job next week.  Life is good, and life is progressing.  We're so excited to start this next phase, but of course miss our friends like you wouldn't believe.  I guess you can't have it all. *sigh*