Dissertation Celebration Part 2: OU

I'm back with the second part of my disseration celebration weekend.  And before I get going, I want to express another big thank you to yall for your kind words of support and congratulations.  Defending felt awesome, but getting cheers and virtual high fives from your blogger friends, well, that makes me feel even better :)

As I mentioned in my last post, the timing of my defense was quite crafty.  I knew Dad's Day Weekend at OU was the first weekend in November, and ever since I was a student there, my whole family would come up for both Dad's Day and Mom's Day.  So now that my little brother is an official Sooner, I thought I'd get in on the family tradition and crash the visit.  And I'm so glad I did.  Seeing Ryan in his new environment was beyond delightful.  He seemed so grown up, so calm, and so well adjusted.  My brother is lightyears ahead of where I was at that age, and I'm so very proud of him.

Whenever I visit Norman, I always make a point to stop by and see my old boss, Andy.  He recruited me to be a Sooner and later recruited me to work in his office.  He was a huge influence on my years at OU, and I can't pass up a chance to stop by and see him and the rest of the PSS gang.

Nothing making me happier than walking on campus, with my family, preparing for the craziness of gameday.  Seriously, there are few things in life that measure up to that feeling.

When Matt and I first started dating, I always thought it was a little weird that he didn't know my OU world.  The craziness, the magic...I was a little nervous he wouldn't be able to get just how much this place means to me.  But after his first visit two years ago, he quickly caught on, and it's so fun to have him share the OU experience not just with me, but also with Ryan.

As we were walking through campus, Matt scurried ahead to snap this pic.  Oh how he loves Cameron :)

Gameday started off early Saturday with a trip to my little brother's fraternity house for a Dad's Day BBQ and then to campus corner for some tailgaiting.  And there's no one I like tailgating with more than this crazy girl.  Jacque is one of my dearest friends from college, and I don't get to see her nearly enough!

I also got to see little Kelby, one of my sweet KKG sisters.  You know those people you haven't seen in years, and when you hug them, you literally think, "Omg, its SO good to see you!"  Kelby is one of those people.

And of course, we had to be those girls...representing our old school Kappa love :)

It's official.  My life would be boring and sad without this guy.  I'm certain of it.

Family pic and definite Christmas card contender.  Since we're all rarely together, getting a family picture was my mom's main goal of the weekend.

Gametime woohoo!  PS: it's so funny to go back through the college and see it through the eyes of a dude.  Such a diffferent experience lol.  And yes, I realize I'm not really "going back through college," but given the fact that I'm an overbearing, creepster big sister, it kinda feels like it :)

A sea of crimson and cream always looks good to me.

The student section was full of these reversible roll out banners with BOOMER on one side, SOONER on the other.  We entertained ourselves for a good twenty minutes coming up with different word possibilities.  This one was obvious after A&M's first touchdown.

Another bonus of the trip, getting to see my dear friend Quy.  Quy and I were on homecoming court together our senior year and became quick friends.  He's now a big time VIP, advising the biggest student group on campus.  I literally could sit and talk with him all day.  Love me some Quy :)

Getting to spend the weekend with my whole family in a place that means so much to me was the best end to my celebration.  My love for OU is pretty insane, but now that Ryan is there, it's even crazier.  I miss the little dude so much, and I'm already counting down the days till Christmas when we'll get to see each other next.

So now that the celebrating is over, I'm working to crank out the final edits and official copyedit stuff.  I can't believe I'm so close to being D-O-N-E with the craziness that has been this Ph.D journey!  PS: I hope everyone is getting to enjoy a short week, with Thanksgiving on Thursday.  Most students are gone, which means I can finally tackle the mound of paperwork sitting on my desk.  Have a wonderful week, friends!