We are starting grad party prep here too. I bought 17 lbs of boneless Boston Butt yesterday to smoke Saturday for pulled pork tacos, but we have 100 people coming over, so my wife is making me go get more. I think I can squeeze 5 more lbs on the smoker. Then will be grilling corn for corn, tomato and feta salad. Wife is making dips/appetizers. I still need to buy some alcohol for the parents but just some beer and wine. We actually like throwing parties so I am looking forward to it.
@vistajay Can you squeeze a couple more in? What time does it start? It sounds amazing and I’m looking forward to it!!!
@Whistlingal , sure come on over! if you come early you can have a beer with me and the dog while we pretend to be busy around the grill!
@vistajay no crawfish boil?
I’m happy to read of others experience with the prestige bug. I’ll admit to still having it. I have to confess that I occasionally explain that D had a hard time choosing between Middlebury and Columbia. I am growing more happy with her decision but i get plenty of people who say ‘where’s that?’ when we say she’s going to middlebury. I have little doubt that once she’s there we will look back and know she made the right choice
@swtaffy904 , not for an evening party. A crawfish boil is best in the afternoon, silly.
@vistajay
your party prep sounds eerily similar to mine…
@vistajay Ahh now I know why my hubby is always so ‘busy’ with the grill when we Bar-B-Q! I thought he was just being conscientious!
Anyway count me in - and I’ll get there early!
I am still crying over USC, I had visions of visiting California every year, getting some new college gear…most of my explaining, though, is the choice of UT over TAMU. Our little corner of the world is about 80/20 in favor of TAMU.
We still have 2 weeks of school left, but only one major hurdle, Calc BC on Tuesday. Come on, 5!
Nice to see some bellow smokers here. 
Ours is decidedly low-tech - a Pit Barrel Cooker. It was my Christmas present (asked for!) about a year and a half ago, and we love it.
@ollie113 I hear you! But our conner of the world is more like 80/20 in favor of UT over TAMU. DS was an auto admit to UT and we are in commuting distance so I have to do a lot of explaining about his choice of UTD.
@DiotimaDM , when my son accepted his scholarship and I realized how much money I would save, the first thing I impulsively thought about buying was a new grill/smoker. Mine is fine at the moment, but nothing wrong with an upgrade, right?
McGill is not very well known here in Oklahoma, so yes, we have lots of explaining to do! There is a popular restaurant in town by the same name, so on days when D wears her college gear, at least once someone looks at her in a puzzled manner and says, “The steakhouse?”
@ShrimpBurrito that is funny! Sad, but funny. Many people in Austin have never heard of UT Dallas either and it’s a state school! I guess it doesn’t count as a college because they don’t have a football team!
@vistajay Nothing wrong with an upgrade at all. In fact, a new one for you means your S can have the old one(s) for his first apartment, right? So you’d be doing it for him. 
S got into 3 T25 schools, waitlisted at 2 T20 schools and chose instate Honors. No regrets even though one of the four elites turned down or waitlisted was my alma mater. He feels pretty good about doubling his college fund over the next ten years.
@ollie113, love the UT choice over TAMU. Who wants to stand up througout the whole game anyway! Mark your calendar for September 15th when USC comes to Austin. The Horns will be looking to avenge last season’s close loss in Los Angeles. Hookem Horns!
Ahhh @DiotimaDM ! Now you’ve given me another thing to get done before S18 goes off to college. I need to teach him how to grill!
My husband has one of those Weber bullet smokers and three charcoal grills. No gas around here! He has some kind of technique for arranging the wood so that he doesn’t have to replenish it when he smokes a butt overnight. He typically will start around 11 p.m. and it will be ready around 12 hours later (depending on the size and stubborness). The meat will hold at temperature until dinnertime if it is wrapped whole in several layers of foil and put in a preheated cooler insulated with newspaper.
Of course he gets all the glory but I am the one that preps it for the smoker and then does the pulling! And around here, there is a distinction between barbecue and grilling. Just sayin’.
Hmm…all this talk of smoking and grilling is making me hungry! S’s grad party is Grandma’s brainchild so I’m along for the ride. I’m just glad it’s not at our house, since we don’t have room for her entire guest list, plus S’s friends! Congrats to students who have already graduated, or will be this weekend! S’s ceremony is June 9th, so we have a little time. He’s in school for another two weeks.
Tonight was Senior Awards. Not sure the real purpose of the evening as our HS we really doesn’t hand out many awards. They start with awarding a few of the outside scholarships like Masonic, Junior League, etc. Seniors graduating with Latin Honors are announced, approximately 125 of 650ish kids. Top 10%ish are Summa Cum Laude, top 10-15%ish are Magna Cum Laude and top 16-20%ish are Cum Laude They are given honor cords for graduation and a special diploma cover. They announce the students who have enlisted or been appointed to service academies, which I think is awesome, but always surprises me how low the number (maybe 10-12). National Merit Commended and Finalists are announced. Then they wrap up with officially announcing Val and Sal. DD will be graduating Magna Cum Laude.
Val is headed to MIT
Sal is headed to UT - Austin
1 Naval Academy Appointment
1 Merchant Marine Academy Appointment
1 US Coast Guard Appointment
1 Air Force Academy Appointment
My husband and I were discussing the rather low, IMO, number of NMF and decided the Texas 10% Auto Admit may play a role in the low number. No need to score high if you are top 10% and intend to stay in state and are not chasing merit?I
I expect this ceremony to die out in a few years