nerd herd

 

I was lucky enough to spend the evening of my birthday at the scholarship banquet at the high school.  I was lucky enough to watch my beautiful daughter get recognized for her hard work and her amazing intelligence.  I was lucky enough to spend one last evening with her in the halls of this great school that she loves so much.  I was also lucky to cheer on and congratulate so many of Kara's friends who were also there.

 

  Kara and these friends nicknamed themselves the Nerd Herd way back in 7th grade when they were first grouped together in their advanced  English/History class.  They were a studious bunch.  They were serious about school.  They loved their honors and advanced classes.
 They grew to really love and respect each other.
And yes, they were in fact, a little bit nerdy. 

 

 

As this Nerd Herd grew and matured they remained studious, they still loved their advanced classes, but they relaxed a little, grew into their own, found their little niches in the high school society and their nerdiness kind of faded.  And through all of the changes and growth they always remained close.  Really close.  It was fun to watch their friendship.  It was fun to hear Kara say during her Senior year, "Mom, all of a sudden all of the popular girls are in love with my friends."
 These nerds were nerds no more. 

And so we gathered in the high school auditorium to celebrate their achievements and to celebrate all of their hard work in all of those hard classes. It was a great celebration.
 Here are Kara and Reese showing off their identical scholarships.
  Now isn't that cute.

 And, come on, admit it, a little bit nerdy.

And this birthday girl thinks a full tuition academic scholarship to BYU and a Regence scholarship on top of that is one of the best presents she's ever received. 

Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday.
Happy Birthday to me!