Graduation Day!!!!!

For those of you that may not know, Ryan has been taking Distance Education classes (online classes) through Iowa State University since Fall 2004. He always took the summer off so as not to get too burned out. And now, finally, he is done. He received his master's degree in information assurance.
His classes were taught by a wide range of teachers including the stuttering Chinese man,

the near-monotone,

and the nice lady with a lisp.

To complete his degree, we flew to Iowa for his in-person oral examination.

In typical Ryan style, he was working on the presentation right up until the time he gave it. The presentation went well and the graduate committee decided that Ryan passed! It was definitely time to hit up the Iowa State bookstore and show our Cyclone pride.

We enjoyed the ISU campus and the scenery.

Due to some remodeling, the Computer Engineering faculty offices were located in the Nuclear Engineering Lab building, where a nuclear reactor had been decommissioned within that last few years.

Here is a picture from the back entrance. They certainly spare no expenses for computer geeks.

So, finally...the five year journey is over. Gone are the late-nighters and all-nighters. Gone are the days of taking the kids out and about so that daddy can study. As we look back at the long and arduous (Ryan hepled me come up with that word!) journey, we sure are glad that we are looking at it from this end!