Four years ago yesterday
I graduated college. 
{Be still my heart}
Mike O'Malley aka the host of former Nickelodeon TV game show Guts = Class of 2006 Graduation Speaker. He Rules. (Yes, the Agro Crag was present at Graduation.)
Roommates. Best Friends. Life.
The infamous Buick ride to the ceremony.
Post Commencement cigars.
Sorry, you know me and flashback pictures. I tend to get carried away. One year ago yesterday:
My sister Leah graduated. I'll stick with the one shot for the sake of getting on with this post.
And yesterday. My cousin AJ graduated Pre-Med, Magna Cum Laude. He will be attending University of Connecticut Med School in the fall on a full scholarship. (I'm allowed to brag, right?) So proud of him. He is going for his PhD in Research Medicine. You know, finding cures for diseases and super smart stuff like that. The other graduate in the below picture is his girlfriend Ali. 
UNH ALUMNI.
AJ & Uncle Bill (My Dad).
AJ with his parents. (My Uncle Tony and Aunt Laurie.)
And with his sister Kate.
More glamor shots of the UNH Alumni crew.
And with Kate and Adam. Kate graduated from Babson in 2007. Adam graduated Syracuse some odd number of years ago.
The proud family.
The Lost Kids. (I'll explain sometime.)What do you think we get all dressed up for nothing?! Heck no we get dressed up to take tons of pictures with every combination of family members possible.
Sisters. Coordinating dresses not planned.
Mother / Daughter. Somehow all three of us match.
Check out the crowd. Ok, now I am going to let you in on a little secret to surviving graduation ceremonies. Your own, your sister or bothers, your cousins, etc. The secret revealed....
Road Mimosas!!
Celebrate and Champagne go hand in hand!
You'll have a blast sipping on these and listening to speech after speech, I promise. Especially if it's your 3rd+ graduation attended at the same college. Certain same speeches from faculty members are given year after year after year.
The Friday night before I purchased 2 bottles of Cristalino Brut.
These sell for $7 each at Hanover Street Liquors. This is the cheapest bottle of champagne you can get in the North End that I've found. They no longer sell Andre at $6 a pop (It's no $3 New Hampshire Andre, but I take what I can get) so Cristalino is my new go-to.
I also bought 6 mini bottles of Tropicana Pure Premium. My go-to orange juice. These were $1.89 each at the White Hen Pantry on Hanover St.
I dumped them one-by-one into my plastic pitcher. The next morning this looked like a little too much OJ so I dumped about a cups worth into another pitcher (to save for later) before I popped the champagne and poured in 1 whole bottle and 3/4 of the second bottle. Then I stirred with a large spoon.
I refilled the individual Tropicana bottles leaving an inch free to top with the bubbly still left in bottle number two. Double checking that the tops were sealed tightly, into my cooler they went. I don't actually have any ice packs so the night before I dumped a bunch of ice-cubes into two large Ziplock bags. They did a great job of keeping the drinks cold on the drive up. In the parking lot I transferred the bottles into my bag.
Once you find seats, offer members of your party an "Orange Juice."
They will thank you.
Sing Alma Mater at the top of your lungs. Then pose with family for pictures. (See above)
Great morning. Champagne Buzz in full swing.
The party moved to The Riverworks Restaurant & Tavern, in the neighboring town of Newmarket, NH.
I had two Bloody Mary's throughout the course of the afternoon.
Then I posed on the front stoop.
Adam and I shared an entree which came with our choice of soup or salad.
The French Onion Soup didn't disappoint.
Neither did the Lobster Mac-n-Cheese.
Yum.
Lunch was followed by Chocolate and Vanilla Confetti cake with fresh strawberries.
It was a fun family celebration as always.
If you happen to find yourself in Newmarket, NH be sure to check out The Riverworks Restaurant and Tavern located at 164 Main Street.
Congrats AJ and Ali. Congrats UNH Class of 2010. Welcome to a family of proud Alumni.
Sisters. Coordinating dresses not planned.
Mother / Daughter. Somehow all three of us match.
Check out the crowd. Ok, now I am going to let you in on a little secret to surviving graduation ceremonies. Your own, your sister or bothers, your cousins, etc. The secret revealed....
Road Mimosas!!
Celebrate and Champagne go hand in hand!
You'll have a blast sipping on these and listening to speech after speech, I promise. Especially if it's your 3rd+ graduation attended at the same college. Certain same speeches from faculty members are given year after year after year.
The Friday night before I purchased 2 bottles of Cristalino Brut.
These sell for $7 each at Hanover Street Liquors. This is the cheapest bottle of champagne you can get in the North End that I've found. They no longer sell Andre at $6 a pop (It's no $3 New Hampshire Andre, but I take what I can get) so Cristalino is my new go-to.
I also bought 6 mini bottles of Tropicana Pure Premium. My go-to orange juice. These were $1.89 each at the White Hen Pantry on Hanover St.
I dumped them one-by-one into my plastic pitcher. The next morning this looked like a little too much OJ so I dumped about a cups worth into another pitcher (to save for later) before I popped the champagne and poured in 1 whole bottle and 3/4 of the second bottle. Then I stirred with a large spoon.
I refilled the individual Tropicana bottles leaving an inch free to top with the bubbly still left in bottle number two. Double checking that the tops were sealed tightly, into my cooler they went. I don't actually have any ice packs so the night before I dumped a bunch of ice-cubes into two large Ziplock bags. They did a great job of keeping the drinks cold on the drive up. In the parking lot I transferred the bottles into my bag.
Once you find seats, offer members of your party an "Orange Juice."
They will thank you.
Sing Alma Mater at the top of your lungs. Then pose with family for pictures. (See above)
Great morning. Champagne Buzz in full swing.
The party moved to The Riverworks Restaurant & Tavern, in the neighboring town of Newmarket, NH.
I had two Bloody Mary's throughout the course of the afternoon.
Then I posed on the front stoop.
Adam and I shared an entree which came with our choice of soup or salad.
The French Onion Soup didn't disappoint.
Neither did the Lobster Mac-n-Cheese.
Yum.
Lunch was followed by Chocolate and Vanilla Confetti cake with fresh strawberries.
It was a fun family celebration as always.
If you happen to find yourself in Newmarket, NH be sure to check out The Riverworks Restaurant and Tavern located at 164 Main Street.
Congrats AJ and Ali. Congrats UNH Class of 2010. Welcome to a family of proud Alumni. 
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