Officially an Orthodontist!

December 6th was a huge day for Chad. After 4 years of undergrad, 4 years of graduate school and 3 years of Orthodontic residency, he officially graduated as an Orthodontist! Of course I had to be there to celebrate, so on December 5th I flew down to Miami to meet Chad and Amy (who had flown down earlier that evening). I landed around midnight so after a late-night snack it was off to bed at Chad's apartment.

The morning of the 6th, Chad and Darnell treated us to a wonderful pancake and bacon breakfast.

 It couldn't believe how beautiful the weather was! It was a perfect balmy 80 degrees with a breezy. I can see why people love to live in places like Florida and California.

After breakfast and some relaxing, we all went out to get some pedicures. It had been forever since I had one, so it was a treat! I always feel bad for the people who have to smooth down my feet--since I get a pedicure maybe once a year, they have their work cut out for them. Needless to say, they always earn a nice tip.

After pedicures we had just enough time to get dressed and drive to the graduation ceremony where we met up with Mom and Grandma who had driven down that morning from New Smyrna Beach.

It was neat to finally meet some of the residents that Chad graduated with. These people lived and breathed the same program together, so the friendships that they built are very strong.

Waiting for the ceremony to start:

Chad with his favorite faculty member:

The seven graduates!

After the ceremony we drove to a seaside restaurant for a celebration dinner with the faculty and graduating class.

 While we waited we got to watch the tarpons swim around begging for food from patrons. It was a little unsettling to see the occasional huge 6-foot-long shadows swimming around a few feet from the dock among all the other 18 inch fish.  I would not want to fall in!

Dinner was nice! They had photos playing from the past three years of all the residents and they did awards and reminisced about the program and the fun times they had together. It seemed like a really close-knit group of friends.

 After dinner, Mom and Grandma drove back to their hotel to spend the night while Amy and I sent back to Chad and Darnell's place. We crashed pretty hard that night after a long day of celebrating.

The next morning we drove to Miami to have breakfast on the beach. We ate at this great restaurant and got to sit outside. It was strange to be eating outside and being almost too hot in December. We did get to do some fun people-watching while we were there. At one point, these two guys came in to eat--one had a dog and the other a parrot. Yep, he brought his parrot to breakfast.

 It was fun to watch. The parrot just sat on the chair and pecked at an english muffin while the men ate. Strange, right?

On our way back to the car we walked along the beach--a topless beach! I've never been to a topless beach before and had no idea what to expect. It seemed like a regular beach to me--people playing football, families jumping in the waves and everyone with swimsuits on. Well, except for a couple older women who were sunbathing sans bikini tops. Yeah, that was a little strange. Meh. To each their own, I guess. 

Amy and I both had to catch planes that afternoon, so we walked around an outdoor mall and did some window shopping with Chad and Darnell until it was time to leave. We even got some famous frozen hot chocolate from Serendipity! 

Thanks Mom and Dad for watching Jude and Cole until George got off work so I could go down and celebrate with Chad! It was fun to take a little trip without the kiddos, although I was really anxious to see them again. 

Congratulations, Chad! I'm so proud of you! We just recently found out that he has been hired to an office in California and will be moving out there mid-January! It's been a dream of his to live in California and I'm so excited for him that it's all panning out. It's been a long road of ups and downs for him, but he stuck it through. I couldn't be happier for him!