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Happy Monday people!  What a fantastic and summery weekend we had! 

Do you know who this girl is?

As you can see from the red digital date on the photo, this was taken in June, 1999.  Almost 17 years ago.  

She had just graduated from kindergarten and we all went to Colonial Cafe for ice cream to celebrate.  Because when you are the first grandchild, everything gets celebrated.  LOL  Brian and I had gotten her some little gifts to kick off the summer right.  Including these goggles. 

This same girl, my niece Alexis, graduated from William Rainey Harper College on Saturday.  She studied to be a paralegal, and has a full-time paralegal position at a law firm where she has been a receptionist and intern for a while now.

This girl is my oldest niece - an absolute ray of sunshine in our family.  She has mastered the art of making you feel like you are the most important person in the room - and that she has been waiting far too long to see you.  Her personality is larger than life - she throws herself fully into everything she does. 

She is silly and honest and she works hard.  And even though she has been through a lot - missing almost half of her sophomore year in high school due to a severe and largely unexplained illness - she perseveres, has a contagious laugh and is absolutely adorable.  She's unapologetically passionate and fights for what she believes in, which is why it's so great that she is in the field that she's in.  It's perfect for her.

So watch out world, Alexis has her Starbucks, her new Michael Kors handbag and she is HERE.

And I'm so proud to be her Auntie.   :)

I was very excited to appear taller than her in this photo, but then I realized I was wearing heels and she was not.