Molly Hall stepped away from her vehicle parked along Elmhurst Court and straightened her red gown, ready for graduation on a day threatening rain.

That possibility didn't mute the enthusiasm of the 255 graduates - minus a few no-shows - nor did it bother the thousands of family and friends filling the west side bleachers at Dodger Stadium, where Sunday's graduation ceremony for Fort Dodge Senior High started with pomp and circumstance and slid downhill to fun as soon as a student did a cartwheel off the stage after picking up his diploma cover.

Superintendent Doug Van Zyl used his brief welcome to tell students there were "many untold strengths and recourses that live inside of you" and challenged them to keep learning intellectually, morally, technically and professionally.

Student body president Emily Rasmussen introduced the speakers - class valedictorians Diana Chou, Chelsie Crouse and Krista Thompson and salutatorian Abbie Crouse. Those four students combined for 207 A grades and one A- in their high school careers.

Using "Newton's Laws of Motion" as their theme, the four seniors briefly addressed the crowd.

Krista Thompson cautioned fellow students to "never allow external forces to interrupt our movement to our goals evening dresses gowns ," while Diana Chou added, "no matter how divergent our paths after today, we all can anticipate some sort of change. Hold hope and ambition high, so the last four years won't be the highlight" of life.

Sitting among classmates listening to the brief speeches, Tram Trinh Messerly couldn't help but smile. She was graduating with honors less than 10 years after moving from Vietnam to the United States with her mother, Moon, when Moon and Bruce Messerly were married.

"I love you. I'll meet you," she told her parents as she left them sitting in the bleachers.

Once she disappeared into the sea of red gowns gowns , it was impossible for them to pick her out of the crowd across the football field, but they kept looking. This was a big day for their daughter modest bridal gowns modest bridal gowns, and they wanted to watch all of it.

The stands started to fill with people more than an hour before graduation. They came in all types of dress, red wedding dress from shorts to suits, black evening gowns black evening gowns flowing dresses to short skirts, sweaters to black leather jackets, and wearing everything from slippers and flip flops to shiny black shoes and ox-blood open-toed sandals showing off purple toenail polish.

No matter how they dressed or when they came, most came with smiles because it was black bridesmaid dresses black bridesmaid dresses, after all, cheap party dresses a day of celebration. Occasionally, someone in the stands would call out a name and a hand would go in the air, homecoming dresses cheap showing the senior heard his call.

Just as strains of "Pomp and Circumstance" filled the air and the graduating class of 2011 started to cross the field behind a cadre of flag bearers, mist fell on the crowd. No one left.

Diana Chou may never have thought that holding hope high would mean getting through the outdoor graduation before it rained, but the rain held off. Several classmates would have been ready for water with the beach balls they blew up and tried to toss around white dresses white dresses, much to the chagrin of athletic and activities director Tom Kinseth, who eventually got his hands on the plastic balls and popped them - to a loud, bridesmaid dress flower girls dresses collective "boo" from the stands.

It was graduation. The onlookers seemed to like the fun of the bouncing beach balls and the lone blue balloon that fizzled quickly after being turned loose in the air.

Senior Class President Rachel Evans reminded classmates of the class motto as she gave the farewell. "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."

And as the recessional took students on their next steps, a man in the bleachers said, "Well, they just inherited the national debt."