Almost PhinisheD

I was the last of the three to defend last Tuesday and after all the anticipation and prep it was my turn on the hot seat.  Jenn and Steph were awesome examples and I appreciate them going before me so I could see what was expected.  Although I am convinced you can never be prepared enough for your own defense since you have no way of knowing which questions the committee is going to throw at you.

Matt was so helpful and made me practice the night before and gave me some great feedback.  I woke up to flowers and a little note form Matt and I got ready while Matt took the kids to daycare.  He came back to get me and we headed down to UH early since traffic is so unpredictable.  We got there with plenty of time.  To kill time and divert my attention, we walked over to the bookstore and bought my cap and gown for a little extra pressure to perform!  It was a perfect start to the day.

Jenn and Steph met us down there and we set up Skype for my parents to join in.  It was so awesome to have them part of the day!  In addition to my committee, Kezia and Shelia, two of my colleagues from the Master's program came along with Cherilyn, and old Illimian and doctoral student.


I'll spare you the details but it all went pretty good.  I got great reviews from the committee and left with some minor revisions that are already done and submitted (yay!!!).

Unofficially, Dr Hoffman, Dr. Martin & Dr. Buelow

We were all in celebration mode and headed to Indigo's for martinis and lunch... and more martinis.
Matt took care of us all:).

Cheers!!!

 By the end of lunch we had mapped out our dreams of our future consulting firm :)

It is hard to belief that we started this craziness 5 years ago (Matt and I had just gotten married) and since there have been 6 babies born between the 3 of us: Makaela 4, Gavin 4, Abby 3, Zack 18 mo., Dylan 13 mo., Mia 11mo.  What an adventure!  Of course, this would not have been nearly possible without Matt's support and help and such awesome kiddos!