Boy Oh Boyers

It was a very busy weekend! We had a great time celebrating Rowan's birthday and Independence Day. We spent lots of time outside and lots of time with friends. Unfortunately it seems that a catastrophic memory card error has resulted in the loss of all photos from Rowan's birthday party. I'm still trying to recover them, but I have a feeling they are gone for good. You should have seen it...Rowan, Kayla, Ander, and Karis all sitting at a little table eating a birthday dinner surrounded by decorations and balloons. It was precious and so much fun.

Here's a picture that did survive, but not from the birthday party. It's from the Independence Day celebration fireworks, where some very nice firemen let Rowan and Karis sit in their fire truck! A truck parked nearby happened to be "Engine 3" and since it was Rowan's third birthday we couldn't resist the photo op!

I couldn't resist making this video to celebrate Rowan's third birthday. We're so thankful to have him as our little boy. Enjoy!

We're catching up on some pictures, and I don't think I ever posted a link to all of the pictures from when Rowan and I went to Jacksonville Beach with Aunt Julie and Uncle Bob. That was a great couple of days of sun and fun (actually I should say shade and fun, since our strategy involved being on the beach only late in the evening and early in the morning). Anyway, it was FUN! :-) Clicking the photo below will take you to the picasa album with all the pictures.

For the past five years, I have been working toward my Ph.D (doctorate) in Computer Science. This involved taking classes during the first couple of years, and then doing research and writing many published papers and finally a dissertation. This morning at 9:00am I defended that dissertation; this means that a committee of four professors asked me lots of questions and judged whether my work was acceptable for the degree to be awarded. I am happy to say that I was successful, and with the exception of some university paperwork, I am officially finished with my degree! I think it will take me some time to adjust to no longer being a student. But I'll adjust quickly to being called "Dr. Boyer," so if you want to do that, go right ahead. :-)

They give you a little bit of space at the beginning of your dissertation to acknowledge people that have helped you along the way to finishing the work, but I could have taken 100 pages to do that instead of just the 2 that I did use. To all my family and friends who have sacrificed their time and energy in so many ways over the long years I've been in school, I don't have the words to tell you how much I appreciate your sacrifice. Thank you.