Graduation was a success!

The seminary graduation ceremony was held in an enormous, expansive hall on Bethel’s campus, that highlighted an impressive and awe-inspiring organ.

Look at the size of this place!

Ben and I were impressed.  

The ceremony was typical of most graduation ceremonies. Some people find them boring, but I find them inspiring. Hearing the guest speakers talk about the graduate’s possibilities for the future reminded me of how I felt when I graduated college. It was a great pep talk.

There’s my bro – the tall one.  

 

Just like that – 4.5 years of toiling, studying and dedication, culminated into one moment. Masters of Divinity = EARNED!

He was quite ecstatic.

 

The whole fam was!

We all met up after the ceremony for pictures and a nice reception that featured…

CAKE! Oh yeah…

Afterwards we all headed to downtown Minneapolis for a celebratory dinner at Ike’s Food & Cocktails!

I had been to Ike’s several times when I lived in Minneapolis, and thought the restaurant would be perfect for the fam.

The restaurant has a 40′s supper-club kind of feel,

with warm lights, long booths,

and a full bar running right down the middle of the place.

We were all ready to dig in by the time we got there!

First, some congratulatory bevs. I got a Blue Moon, which I actually got hooked on while living in Minni!

 

Ike’s is known for their hand-crafted, juicy burgers, which you just have to get when you come. I had a tough time deciding between all the different combos, but ultimately went with the Serious Patty Melt.

Serious indeed!!!!

My patty melt had a thick, medium rare burger topped with cheddar cheese and caramelized onions, which was smushed between two slices of parmesan garlic bread.

O.M.G. BEST BURGER EVER!!!! Perfectly seasoned, indulgent and juuuuust right. Every single person loved what they ordered. Ike’s rocks!

The homemade shoestring fries took my meal over the top.

No, the warm chocolate chip cookies they give you at the end of your meal took it over the top…

No, the FOUR LAYER CHOCOLATE CAKE they gave us for free took it over the top!!!!!!!!!!

Pictures cannot do this thing justice – it was literally the size of my head and one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve ever had. Fudgy, sweet and decadent.

It was so big that the SIX of us couldn’t even finish it! Whew!

What a fun, FUN day we all had together. Congrats again to my bro – what an inspiration!  

The next morning, even though the majority of us were still full from dinner, we met up at our spot for breakfast – the Uptown Diner!

No matter what, we must always have breakfast at the Uptown Diner before leaving Minneapolis/St. Paul.

The funky, homey, kick back and relax, Uptown Diner.

Where the meals are as big as a boat,

and the best in town. I got my fave, French Toast!

Cinnamony-sweet, thick and chewy.

Drizzled with maple syrup = pure perfection!!

I had half and gave the rest to my Dad. Like I said, I wasn’t hungry, but had to have a taste!!

I’m so glad we could all be together as a family this weekend (minus my little bro.)

It’s so rare these days, and I treasure every moment together!

The drive home was uneventful, but beautiful.

There’s something so calm and serene about the Midwest.

I just love it…and need to remember these moments when it’s -10 degrees and I’m miserable in February!!

On the way home I finished The Perfect Wife and was itching to get started on Laura Bush’s memoirs, Spoken from the Heart. The Perfect Wife was good, although I prefer memoirs and autobiographies to biographies. You just never know what gets lost in translation, know what I mean?

I’m 39th on the waiting list at the library for her memoirs, and decided that I just couldn’t wait to get it, so Ben and I drove to Costco where I picked it up for almost 50% less than it costs at major bookstores – boo yah!

After we finally got home, I went for a nice long bike ride. It felt amazing to stretch my legs after two days of driving…ahhhhh.

I’m going to get cleaned up, prepare for the rest of the week, and dig into my new book. Don’t you just love getting new stuff?

Have a good night!