'Pioneer Woman' Ree Drummond Gets Sentimental Over Her 'Tiny Cowgirl' Daughter's Graduation

The Food Network star shared photos from her daughter's high school graduation day.

Ree Drummond is not ready for her kids to leave the ranch.

Food Network’s Pioneer Woman attended two graduations in one weekend: one for her daughter Paige, 18, and one for her nephew Caleb. As most things are with the cooking star, both graduations were full family affairs. First, the cookbook author shared a photo of her children posing with Caleb in his cap and gown. “They were all tiny cowboys/cowgirls yesterday! Now they won’t stop graduating from high school,” she wrote on Instagram.

Then, she jokingly pleaded with her sons, Bryce, 15, and Todd, 13, to stop growing up. “I asked Bryce and Todd to promise me they will never pursue independence, higher education, or any of that nonsense that would one day take them away from their mother,” Drummond wrote. “(They have not gotten back to me yet…)”

On Sunday, Drummond, who homeschooled all four of her children, attended her daughter Paige’s graduation. Like most moms, she got sentimental over the whole experience. She took to Instagram to document the day, sharing a photo of Paige in a blue graduation cap, surrounded by her three siblings—sister Alex, 20, and brothers Bryce, 15, and Todd, 13. “My babies,” Drummond captioned the photo.

Following the series of Instagram posts, Drummond opened up about her mixed emotions due to the simultaneous illness of a loved one.

“Celebration (graduation) in the midst of sadness (hospice for a loved one),” she wrote. “Life beginning and life ending. Work and life continue in the periphery. I’m elated and devastated, rejoicing and crying. If you see me, you should probably run.”

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Drummond, who lives on a ranch with her family just outside Pawhuska, Oklahoma, recently opened an eight-room “cowboy luxury” hotel in her hometown, which she runs with her husband Ladd. The hotel is located three doors down from The Mercantile, their restaurant, bakery, general store and deli. The couple is also planning to opening a reservations-only steakhouse and pizzeria later this year.