Nick's Grand 27th Birthday!

Since Nick's birthday fell on a Saturday, and I had the Friday before that off of work, I thought maybe we would do something extra special that weekend. The only time Nick had been to the Grand Canyon was when he was too young to remember it. So, we packed up and headed south!

We were so lucky to be able to stay at my uncle's house in St. George and enjoy some shopping and a lot of relaxing on Friday, then on Saturday it was off to see the GRAND CANYON! Although it was a long drive, it was worth it to see that amazing canyon. We had a great time, didn't get stung by any bees or bitten by any mosquitoes, and neither of us got sunburned.

Here are quite a few pictures of our great trip (we cut out a lot, but they're all so great it was hard to only choose a few).

Our first view of the Grand Canyon

The Watch Tower
When he saw this, Nick said it looked like they had it held together with duct tape! (It was actually a huge piece of metal.)

The giant horse flies that floated around like humming birds.

Other amazing views

It's Seedling Season!

Nick and I have never planted seeds and watched them grow. Even though we don't really have a great place to plant the flowers, I really wanted to grow some flower seeds this year. We planted 4 different flower seeds in this little "green house" last Sunday. It is amazing to me how quickly they are growing and how much they grow even within 24 hours.

I love that some of the plants look like they have cute little mouths! I think these two are friends : )

Graduation!

The Bee Story:

Just before last Thursday's commencement, I was waiting with all the other law students to walk to the Marriott Center. A bee flew by and I tried to wave it away, but instead it flew in my collar! One of my friends told me it was stuck there, so I froze and waited for it to fly away... but it didn't. Pretty soon a decent crowd of fellow law students gathered around to see what was going on. I was still frozen, leaning over, with the bee on the inside of my collar.
One of my friends offered to hit my collar and squish it, but I knew I would get stung if he tried it. After they told me where the bee was, I had the idea to wedge the corner of my graduation cap between my neck and the bee to protect my neck, and then my friend could squish the bee between my collar and the hat. (I like to think that this is what will make me a great lawyer -- quick thinking under pressure.) It seemed like the best idea at the time, and we didn't have much time before we had to start walking.
My friend put my cap in place and began pounding on my neck... just as the dignitaries started walking by us! I couldn't see (because I was getting my neck pounded on at the moment), but my friends said that Elder Nelson and President Utchdorf were giving us pretty strange looks as they walked by about 10 feet away.
Once the bee was thoroughly smashed, my friend was able to flip it out of my collar with the cap. I was fine, the cap was fine, and my shirt only had a tiny bee-stain. So before the ceremony even started, I had more of a "pat on the back" than I was expecting.

A reenactment of the bee incident for a few friends that missed it.

The unfortunate bee that decided to fly down my collar.

The Graduation:

There were over 6,000 graduates, so we filled more than a quarter of the Marriott Center.

After Commencement (Left to Right): Aunt Kathy, Emily, me, Peter, Marisa, Alan, Aunt Sydney, CamiCami, Peter, and me

The Graduation Party:

After the commencement ceremony, we waited in the parking lot for an hour trying to get out. I showed up late for my own party. We had dinner at our local church building.

The Convocation:

The law school convocation on Friday was held at the Provo Tabernacle. It was nice having a ceremony just for the law school. With about 150 students, it wasn't nearly as long as the ceremonies for some departments.

Professor Lee (my trademark/copyright professor), Elder Oaks, President Samuelson, Dean Gordon, and Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit

The hooding

Richard, Emily, me, Brenda

The Graduate:

I'm enjoying a few weeks of freedom before my bar study course begins, sleeping in, fixing our cars, watching tv, and catching up on all my favorite websites. I'm still waiting to get a start date from my firm, but we are hoping to move out to D.C. at the end of the summer.