Lenita's Graduation

      My family and I traveled to Phoenix, AZ July 6th - 8th, 2007 for the University of Phoenix Online Graduation Ceremonies.  I received a Business Administration Degree with a concentration in Accounting. We had a really great time celebrating together.  My parents, Aunt Juanita, children and husband joined me - check out the pictures in the trip album.

     We left CA @ 7am and the kids slept for the first three hours until we reached Blythe. Stopping for breakfast @ Denny's was funny, there was a bus boy who kept starring out of the kitchen at Anthony "trying to figure out who he was." - He was obviously confused!  :-)  All weekend Anthony had on a huge sun hat because he was traveling to the desert and he looked like a bounty hunter to me.  LOL!  We weren't sure if the ceremony was going to be indoors or outside and it turns out we marched in the same stadium as the 2008 Super Bowl - it was beautiful!!!!!  They served coffee/juice and doughnuts to everyone attending, our speakers founded a world renowned children's organiztion and I was really impressed.

     After breakfast the final two hours of travel time was almost unbearable because the kids were awake, whining and ready to get out of the car.  So needless to say that when we arrived in the lobby of the Sheraton the kids were jumping and running like firecrackers.  Our check-in time was 3pm - it's closer to 1pm but the receptionist took one look at Sime & Laila and we received our room key immediately!  TOO FUNNY!!!!!  The hotel was nice, my favorite amenity was the pool side movies they showed after 8pm while the kids swam in the pool.  We watched Over The Hedge Saturday night, it was 116 degrees and the pool felt like a bath tub.   

      I graduated from high school in 1990 and had quite a bit of fun before settling down and having a family - I appreciate the advances in technology that allowed me to complete my degree online while fulfilling current commitments.  I regreted not finishing college after high school, but was very grateful for the support my husband and family gave during this degree program.  Laila was an infant when I signed up because raising three children in Southern California is expensive and I wanted to optimize my earning potential.  There were many occassions when Anthony cared for the children, the kids played quietly and my parents took the kids on vacation all in an effort to assist me in reaching my goal - THANK YOU - I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!

       Well thanks for checking out our trip, I'll keep posting pictures as the Snow's continue to prosper.  I finished all my classes January 2007 and found a GREAT JOB less than 4 months later as an accountant for Western Digital Corp (www.wdc.com).  I would encourage anyone interested in furthering their career to strongly consider online classes for their convienance and flexibility.

      "Before you begin a thing, remind yourself that difficulties and delays quite impossible to foresee are ahead. If you could see them clearly, naturally you could do a great deal to get rid of them but you can't. You can only see one thing clearly and that is your goal. Form a mental vision of that and cling to it through thick and thin."  - Kathleen Norris