it's over!

school, that is.  officially.  this weekend was a whirlwind of activity and excitement, and it was completely awesome.

thursday night, mom and dad came into town and the four of us got to spend some down time before all the festivities started.  jb braised some beef deliciousness and i made veggies from the farmer's market.  smothered new potatoes with dill recipe is below - yum.

friday we ran around in the morning until we picked my brother up from the airport.  we were able to have lunch just the nuclear hesterly fam, which never happens and was super fun.  marilyn, jb's mom, came in as well, which was awesome.  friday night was the actual commencement ceremony.  that was pretty lackluster, but helped to make everything feel final and done.  we went to a reception for just my class afterwards that was ok, but by that point i was SO tired, i was just ready to get some sleep.

saturday we woke up early and got the house and yard ready.  all the parental units worked SO hard to make sure everything looked perfect, and it really turned out nice.  it  made jb and i want to spend more time/energy on the yard in the future because i feel like it's so much easier to enjoy it when it's cleaned up.

anyway...about 40-50 people showed up at our house and there were piles of delicious food brought in from louisiana, kansas, and austin.  it was incredible.  everyone was so supportive and it was just phenomenal to have the vast majority of the people i know and love all in one spot.  the weather, though hot, was pretty good, and everyone was able to spread out a bit so our house didn't seem quite as teensy.  jb and i agree it was the best party we've ever thrown.  such a blast.

yesterday was a day of recuperation and farewells and today we're back to the grind at work!  fortunately, this is a 3-day work week, so we just have to get through this, get packed and organized, and then we're OFF to st. thomas!

**new potatoes smothered with fresh dill:
- about 1 pound of fresh new potatoes, skins on
- about half an onion, sliced or chopped
- a few tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- about 2-3 tbsp butter
- salt and pepper to taste

wash potatoes and chop into fourths (the goal is roughly bite-size pieces).  in a big saucepan (that has a lid), put a dab of butter and sautee the onions until translucent.  add the potatoes over a med-high heat until lightly brown and kinda sticking to the bottom of the pan.  pour in about half a cup of water, cover, and simmer over lower heat for about 10 minutes.  check potatoes and stir, adding more water if necessary.  add salt, pepper, remainder of butter, and dill and stir.  re-cover and simmer until water is mostly drained.  you'll probably have to add about 1-1.5 cups of water in half cup increments, and this whole process should take about 30 minutes.  make sure potatoes are fork-tender and that the water is all evaporated.  serve.