Ashley's Graduation!

Way back in the day of tacky blue wallpaper, cluttering nick-nacks and unplucked eyebrows...there was a darling, darling little girl, the only darling little girl in the Strong family. We were all there at the hospital to welcome her into the world - cone head and all.

And she was spoiled.

Ashley Kate was the only grand-daughter/niece on my side of the family for over four years. NOTHING she did was wrong. EVERYTHING she did was cute. She had the attention of EVERYONE. And everyone loved her. (we STILL love her, too)

Ashley's blessing day with Jill, Beckie and me. Holly, the fourth Strong girl with the exact same smile was elsewhere. (I don't really have huge black moles on my face and neck...I had to scan this picture)

Then came Allison and then Jay (and 18 more from the rest of us 6 kids). But Ashley was still just as cute and brilliant!

I still think of Ashley as a little girl. I think that I can remember her more as a little girl than as an early teenager. (Some might say that is good.) She's always been a good example to her younger cousins and siblings too. So here I am remembering her to be forever 6, maybe 9, but no more than that...and then this happens...


She graduated from high school! But not as a 6 year old, a 17 year old...a beautiful one, too.

20 years ago (cough) when Will and I did this, everyone was CRAMMED into the hot, muggy high school gym. Now the graduation classes are so big - or their support is so huge - that they've moved the graduation ceremonies to UVU in Orem. We sat up in the nose-bleed section. I had to use my video camera to check faces and try to find where Ashley was sitting. It didn't work.

And Dylan didn't like the music.

Then there was our Ashley. She walked across the stage perfectly and smiled beautifully - even though we couldn't actually see her smile -- and became a member of the real world, and her uncle Ryan yelled really loud!

We used to laugh when Ashley was little about how much she looked like Steven and Steven's sisters. We would say: we know she's Steven's...but is she Jill's?

Grandma and Grumpa Strong with Ashley. I wish I could find a picture to show how much younger they looked 17 years ago! HaHaHa, I know...so funny!

Sisters...the sisters who have taught me to text and use facebook. Yo!

Janette and Ashley.

I'm so proud of you, Ashley. My advice - which is free, btw, is to HAVE FUN. Still be good and CTR, but have fun and enjoy this time in your life*. (who is so proud of me and my texting words...huh?)

*having fun still means you have to work and be responsible and save money and go to school, even. But YOU only have to worry about YOU! Enjoy that! Because maybe some day, you'll have a family and you'll be stressed that your children didn't get dinner because there were 3 baseball/softball games tonight, Enrichment that you signed up to take a dessert to, the dishes aren't done, the laundry not folded, you didn't vacuum today and and you're also stressed because it's past 9:30 -- your bed time -- and you're afraid that you're going to sleep in again in the morning and miss your gym class. Again.

Just maybe.