March Madness

Spring is in the air, school is winding down, and this can only mean one thing: NCAA basketball is well underway and the NBA playoffs are just around the corner! It is officially my absolute FAVORITE time of the year! In my best Dick Vitale voice: "You gotta love it, baby!

My bracket is basically busted (thanks Kansas and Georgetown *sigh*). I took a big gamble on St. Mary's going all the way to the Final Four and I'm hoping they come through for me! It could mean big money! We entered a pool with a bunch of people in my class. So, if the stars align, I could be back in business!

I'll quit talking about basketball, but first let me just remind everyone to cross your fingers for the Jazz, too! They've played great since the start of the year and could make some noise in the playoffs if they get their stuff together. Here's hoping Utah can show they are a contender!

Well, despite a whole lot of basketball watching (Heidi is thrilled about that), believe it or not, I am still in law school. Things are still going well. I can't believe the end of my first year is just six weeks away. I'm well over half way there. It seems like it just started, but sure enough, here we are. That means that I will be applying for a transfer soon too. I might end up only applying to BYU, however. I've been looking into the possibility of applying to BYU, Utah, and UNLV, but the last two don't seem that feasible.

For IN-STATE tuition at Utah it costs $17,950 (before books). If I can get residency here at the University of Wyoming it would only be $9,966. However, the possibility of obtaining residency is still unclear. Some say it is near impossible, others say it is almost guaranteed if you do it right. UNLV is close to $30,000 out of state and there's no way to get an out-of-state tuition waiver. BYU is only $10,280 for LDS students. I will probably still apply at the U and BYU, and just see what happens, if/when it happens. I'm happy here in Wyoming (the school, not the state or city...just so we're clear). We'll just roll with it, I guess.

Right before Spring Break I took a multiple choice Torts exam. Not as easy as I thought it would be! I think it took a lot of people by surprise. The average score was a 67%, the high was 87%, and the low was 47%. I was right in the middle, so I'm not too worried about it. He grades on a curve anyway, so realistically I got like a B (and it is only worth 25% of my overall grade). Plus, Torts never has been my strong subject. So I'll take a B.

In other somewhat-related law school news, a few weeks ago Jared and I went and watched the Wyoming legislature in action over in Cheyenne. It was pretty cool! I've never done that before. He used to be a reporter at the Capitol so he know everyone there. We saw the governor as we were walking by and he invited us in to sit down and chat with him. We also got to go visit with a couple of the state legislators. Kinda cool to see that stuff in action.

The picture to the right is a view from the main floor. The whole building was beautiful, and the woodwork was amazing. There is kind of a cool story about the stairs. The architect who did all the wood work was a very religious guy and made some statement that "Only God's creations are perfect." He then took one of the balusters holding up the banisters on the stairs and turned it upside down so it would be imperfect. Jared pointed out the baluster that was upside down to me. I would have never noticed it, but now that I know it is there, that story is pretty cool.

Anyway, in other news, Heidi and Trey are still doing great! We were able to come back to Utah last week for Spring Break. It was so fun to spend a whole week with them not doing anything in particular. We actually had the opportunity to fly in an airplane with my old boss, Tom Greer (owner of Greer's hardware). He took us up in his private airplane and took us over to the spiral jetty and over Tremonton. We got to the runway and Tom started turning up the engine, preparing for take off. All of a sudden we heard Trey, over the headset, say, "One, two, three!" Hilarious. He did pretty good once we were up in air, except at one point when he started getting a little restless and started throwing a fit. I had Tom dive the airplane down a little bit (enough to make your stomach drop -- Heidi screamed!). Trey didn't make a peep after that! Tom even let me fly the plane for a little while! The whole experience was pretty cool.

As for Heidi, she's been doing amazing at trying to lose weight. She's stayed consistent and determined. I haven't got an update on how many more pounds she's lost, but I'm sure it's some! I know it is hard to stay motivated for this kind of thing (I couldn't do it!), so I've been so impressed with her.

Well, I think that is all I can think of, for now. I guess I'll sign off and we'll see what happens in the coming weeks!

Hearts Turn To Clovers

I can't believe it has been a month since I last posted. I guess that's why Teri mentioned that I haven't posted in awhile. Ooops! A lot has happened this past month, too. Let's see...

I gave my oral argument a couple weeeks ago. We were given a case from Colorado about a teacher that left ten days before the school year started (in violation of her employment contract) and therefore had her final paycheck withheld. Me and another student each had to prepare a twleve minute argument and get up in front of the judge (my teacher - a district court clerk) and present it. The difficult part about it is that the judge interrupts your presentation and asks questions (which may or may not pertain to what you're talking about). The trick is to answer the question without losing your flow. It seemed to pose some problems for others in the class that went before me. We had to present our arguments in the district courtroom, which added to the apprehension. I was nervous (who wouldn't be) but had done multiple practice arguments with Jared beforehand. Fortunately, when I went in there and gave my argument, I delivered it just how I had practiced. It felt so comfortable and natural! While I was standing up at the podium delivering my argument, I realized that I am doing exactly what I should be doing. It was a cool feeling. I can't wait to do it for real now.

A couple days later we got our grades back. I got 26/30 (one of the highest in the class). I could have got higher but I didn't stop speaking on time (oops!). In the days following, everyone in the class got to meet with the professor to discuss how we did. When I went in to talk to him he asked if I had much public speaking experience. I told him that I had nothing formal. He then told me, "You have what the rest of us wish we had. It just came natural to you. That was the best oral argument I've seen in the last two or three years." I thought that was pretty nice of him to say. A further pat on the back came from Britney. The other day she pulled me aside and told me that when she went in for her meeting with the teacher, he told her that I was "a natural" and "that is the standard everyone should be trying to meet." As if that wasn't enough, another student in my class (actually, it was the lady I argued against) said that my teacher also told her I was a "natural." So, anyway that's enough stroking my ego for now. Oh, wait. Not quite yet...

So, here's another cool bit of information. The law school had a competition to design the new online library catalog logo. As many of you know, I have had some experience in creating logos for other people and business, so I decided to submit something. I found out the other day that my logo had WON! Here's the link: http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/LawLib/logocontest.asp. I've actually changed the colors for logo, so here's the updated one:

The logo will ultimately end up on the online catalog website, which is here: http://uwcatalog.uwyo.edu/search~S2 I did get a prize for winning, but it wasn't much. A cool bag, popcorn, popcorn bowls, a water bottle, and two DVD's (A Civil Action and Paperchase). So anyway, that's kinda cool too.

As for basketball, we lost our first two games but won our third one. We went to the playoffs and won the next two games (one by nearly 30 points). Our last game was the most horrifically refereed game I've even been in. But I'll save my complaining. I am pleased with how far we did get. We were one game away from the championship.

But enough about that, let me give an update on the two people more important than me!

Heidi has been working like crazy to reach her weight loss goal. I've never seen her so determined! She's been averaging a loss of two pounds per week! Incredible. She's been working so hard I'm really proud of her. She's lost almost ten pounds so far! A couple weeks ago we got to travel home for Heidi's cousin's wedding. While there we got to see her uncle Jason and Aunt Teri. They looked incredible! Lots of hardwork and discipline helped them shed some pounds and it totally motivated Heidi. So thanks to those two for not only being good motivators, but for being good people altogether!

Heidi has also been keeping up with her Young Women's calling and it is really bringing her out of her shell. She's given a couple of lessons so far (something I never thought I'd see) and has done an incredible job! She's been given multiple compliments, so I know she's done good and I'm proud of her.

As for Trey Bug... He is talking A LOT more now! He's starting to put sentences together now. Today I came home for lunch and as I was getting ready to leave Trey was in his high chair. He waved his little hand at me and said, "Bye dad-dy. Love you." Cute kid! Heidi has taught him to count to five and his vocabulary is expanding every day.

His hair was starting to get long again, so Heidi and I decided to take matters into our hands. I busted out the clippers and went to work. I thought he'd be scared, but surprisingly, he didn't mind. In fact, he giggled when I tried to clip the back of his neck. It looks good again!

Well, I guess that's all I can think of to write for now. It's half way through the semester already (crazy, right?). Things are going to be getting crazy from here on out so I should have more to write about. The question is, will I take the time to do it? I guess we'll see...

Nine

Well, I have some good news to report from the land of Frostbite. We received our class rankings last week and I'm happy to say that I am ranked #9 out of 83. I was pleased. They ask the top ten students to write for Law Review, which is a VERY prestigious thing if you get published (in fact, some court decisions have cited Law Review articles!). I'd like to do it, but I don't think I'll be able to. My goal is to transfer after this year, and if that ends up happening (keep your fingers crossed) then I don't want to devote a bunch of time to writing an article only to not see it through. So I don't think I will.

Anyway, the semester is starting off pretty good. I enjoy all my classes, more or less, and I think I have a better grasp on how to study and prepare now. The schedule is a lot more kind to me as well. No more 8:00 classes (except Tuesdays) and the work load toward the end of the week gets significantly lighter. So no complaints there. I won't get another vacation until spring break in March, but I guess I'll live.

I celebrated my birthday on Sunday! Big 27. Weird. I spent it the best way I could imagine - with Heidi and Trey. We went to Fort Collins on Saturday and shopped for some new slippers for Trey, to no avail (however, Heidi found him some "Melmo" slippers right here at KMart in Laramie). We went to the mall and just let Trey run around for an hour, which he LOVED! After that, we went and ate at Coccina's Italian Grill. It was pretty good! Sunday, we just did our usual and relaxed all day. Not a bad birthday at all. Thanks to all of you who posted a birthday greeting...and shame on all of you who didn't! I kid. If anyone is guilty of that, it's me!

Last Thursday we hung out with Jared (my best law school buddy), Ellen (his wife), Tony (my other good law school buddy), and Sam (yet another law school buddy). We all went over to Jared's house and had pizza. It was pretty fun and the conversation never died. Of course, Heidi and I were mostly distracted from preventing Trey from breaking the decorations! This Friday we invited Josh and Miri (from our ward - he's a 2L) to come over and eat pizza and play Wii. So that should be fun too.

I was invited to participate in an intramural basketball team with a few guys in my class and a few of my professors. Most of the guys are NOT good, but it's all for fun anyway, right? We had a game last Wednesday and we lost by 10. However, I had 17 points, so I can't complain too much. The refs sucked, but what's new? I'll spare you the details. One of the professors who is playing is Prof. Wilson who is from Utah, went to the University of Utah, is a member of the church, and served a mission. I'm hoping to get in good with him so he'll write me a letter of recommendation when I apply to transfer.

As for Trey and Heidi, they are doing well! Heidi is perfect just the way she is but apparently she disagrees with me so she's been working out really hard. I don't know if she wanted me to mention this, but she has lost three pounds in two weeks! I'm really proud of her and know she can reach her goal (whatever that goal is?)! I just want her to be happy!

Trey is the funniest, cutest little kid I could have ever hoped to have as my son. He has figured out what toenail clippers are for and Heidi caught him trying them out! He's become a big fan of Elmo and loves to play with his two stuffed Elmos. Here's one last funny story about him. The other day I came home from school and picked him up to hold him. In the meantime, I was really mad about our neighbors (I can't remember what it was now...it could have been a NUMBER of things...**sigh**). I was talking to Heidi and was venting to her. As I was yelling and complaining about them, Trey grabbed my cheeks and turned my head to him so I would make eye contact and then he started yelling at me! He was trying to get me to settle down! As soon as I quit yelling, he stopped holding my cheeks and gave me a big cheesy smile. Kids sure know how to correct their parents, don't they! What a kid.

Anyway, I think that's it for now. We're just counting down the days until we're outta here! At least the weather hasn't been that bad lately! Knock on wood. Till next time...

Officially a 11/2L Law Student -- Hello, 2010!

Ahh...the three week break was great. Now it's back to work.

After two rigorous weeks of law school finals last month, Heidi, Trey, and I headed to Utah for an extended break. It was great to get back to the state. There is definitely a different feel. Utah is so much cleaner, happier, and aesthetically appealing. We got to spend ample time with family this year. It was nice.

It was fun to see Trey experience Christmas this year. He had plenty of toys and clothes from St. Nick to keep him happy. In fact, he was enthralled with his Mr. Potato Head. Go figure that that would be the golden nugget of Christmas.

Trey aged about four years upon receiving his first hair cut! He was pretty unsure about it and he wiggled a lot, but I thought he cooperated surprisingly well. The curly hair in the back was cute, but out of control. It was time. I'm glad we did it too, because he looks even cuter now!

Another cool thing about our trip, is I got to meet the attorney's that I'll be interning for this summer at the Box Elder County Attorney's office. They were all upbeat and interesting guys. I can't wait to be apart of that office and contribute. Should be fun and interesting!

Our time in Utah, not surprisingly, flew by and before we knew it, it was time to go home. I thought it would be weird to be back in town and our apartment, but just as Heidi predicted, it was like we never left. We arrived on Sunday, the day before school started.

On Monday I returned to school to reconvene with my old classmates. Again, not much was different. It was back to business as usual. I'm excited for my classes this semester. I have all new teachers (except one) and I got rid of a particular professor I couldn't stand. So all in all, I was pretty stoked. Here's a list of this semester's classes:

• Civil Procedure
• Torts II
• Constitutional Law
• Contracts II
• Property II
• Appellate Advocacy

I'm hoping to have a strong semester and finish at the top of my class so I can transfer back to Utah! I finished far better than I expected last semester. I thought it would be a disaster. I probably shouldn't reveal the exact details of my grades online, but suffice to say I think it might be enough to put me in the top ten. I was talking with a 2L student who remarked that my GPA was above average and in his class would have easily put me in the top ten. I hope he's right. So now I just have to keep up the pace and dedication and hopefully we'll be home in no time.

Well, it was good to see all of our family and friends on our trip and we were saddened to leave you all behind. We are especially grateful and forever indebted to both of our parents. They have done so much to watch out for our well-being and success and we can't thank them enough. We appreciate them all for putting up with us over the break. Well, I guess I better wrap this up and finish up some things for class tomorrow.

Ciao.

Party Like A Rock Star!

Where has the time gone? I don't know if Heidi agrees with me, but I think that time is flying! Maybe it is because I feel like I can never get everything done that I need to!

I'll be honest. I'm a little nervous. I have a Contracts midterm coming up on Monday. I guess now is the time to prove that I really know what I am doing. But do I? I like to think so. Only time will tell. My contracts professor is actually pretty intense. She got really mad at us the other day because she thinks that we don't read or study the cases. She told us, "You all think that you're just a bunch of g** d*** rockstars and you don't need to study or do anything!" I thought it was kind of an unfair assumption. I truly think that most everyone reads and studies. The problem is when she calls on people to answer questions, they don't seem to know the answer. However, I think it is because she is so intimidating! Oh, well. I guess the tests will show who really does know their stuff. The test will cover: offer, acceptance, consideration, promissory estoppel, and option contracts. That's a big load! So wish me luck.

On the family side of things, my little Trey bug is getting smarter and smarter! He blows me away everyday! He can locate his eyes, nose, hair, ears, fingers, toes, cheeks, chin, bum, and...weiner. He walks around saying "mom" and "addy." So freakin' cute. If he has a poopy bum, he'll go into his room, grab a diaper, and bring it out to Heidi so she can change him! Whenever we bless the food he will bow his head until the prayer is done. He helps me do the laundry by handing me clothes from the hamper or I'll hand him clothes from the washer to put in the dryer. He also helps unload the dishwasher by handing me all the utensils, dishes and stuff so I can put it away. He usually won't leave until the job is done! He's the most loving little boy I've ever met. Sometimes I'll whisper in his ear, "go give mommy loves" and he'll hurry off to find her to give her a hug and kisses. There is numerous times when he'll randomly walk up to Heidi or myself, just to pat our cheeks or legs and give us a hug. What a guy. I don't know what it would be like without him. It's been great having him around.

On the social front, things are going good too. This past Saturday we went out to the Indian restaurant with Jared (my school buddy) and his wife Ellen. The service was terrible but the food was incredible! They are both good conversationalists so the evening went well. This coming weekend we're going to hang out with Sam and Brittany from my class (yes, the Brittany I mentioned in my last post). Sam is from Brazil. He's a cool guy. Brittany is one of the few members here. She's from Delaware. So that should be fun too.

Anyway, other than that there's not much else to say. I turned in a couple of papers this past week. A three pager in torts and a ten pager in legal writing. So I am staying busy. I'll let you know how my mid-term and this weekend goes next time. So look forward to that.

Goodness Sakes! and Tummy Aches

It's been a little while since my last post. As you probably have guessed, I've been pretty busy. School got a little more hectic and I've been putting in about 60+ hours per week trying to keep up. I don't get home until after 7:00 now. I'm still keeping up with my school work, so that's good.

I have a Contracts test coming up in the next couple weeks and I have a feeling that it is going to be brutal. It all makes sense in theory, but when you get under a time constraint and you have to put the application into words, it gets a little tricky.

The home life has been good, although I feel like I'm getting less and less time with my family. Poor little Trey Bug has had the stomach flu for the past few days. We gave him a blessing and I think he's pretty much over it now. We only had to wash our love seat three times, our carpet and Trey's crib twice, and our kitchen floor once. Where does all that puke come from? Poor kid. But he's back to being his happy-go-lucky self now.

The social life is still alive and well. It seems like Heidi is meeting new people all the time. A really nice girl in my class, Brittany, came over and talked to her for a while the other day at a school chili cookoff. They really hit it off and Brittany has reminded me every day that she wants to get together with Heidi. So that should be a good way for Heidi to be able to get out of the house.

As for me, I've made a new buddy, Jared. I sit by him in all my classes. We get along great and our personalities really mesh. We're constantly exchanging cynical remarks. He's been good to study with and get input from.

This past Saturday he convinced me to get up early on Saturday and go running with him up in the mountains. I'm not a distance runner so I was hesitant, but I eventually conceded. Big mistake. I haven't worked out, played basketball, or done any serious bodily movement (except turn pages of books) in about two months. Yet, for some reason I agreed to go on a four mile run, UP the mountain, at 8,200 feet elevation. What was I thinking? I kept up for the most part, but I was dead by the time we were heading back and ended up walking most of it. Right now my quads, calfs, feet, hips, and lower back are all VERY sore. It makes me walk a little funny (of course, everyone in Wyoming has a funny, cowboy walk. So maybe I just blend in now). It was nice to have the conversation with Jared, but maybe next time we can leave the running out!

Other than that, not much else is going on. We're just trying to make the best of our time here in Laramie and looking forward to Heidi's family coming to visit us this weekend! I'll have more to update at that time!

Oh, I know people have had a problem posting comments. I've been trying to get that all sorted out, but I don't know if I have yet. Please do me a favor and try to post something. If it doesn't work, send me an e-mail and let me know what is going on. Thanks!

Release the Hounds!

I'm into my second week of law school and things are still going good. I'm starting to get some pretty big work loads. On Monday I only have two classes so I'm done at 12:00. However, Tuesdays are my busiest days - FIVE classes. So I usually have a busy day studying on Monday. After taking about a half hour to come home, eat lunch, and see my family, I get back to studying. Yesterday, I got back to school at 12:30 and ended up staying there until 7:30 pm! I only got up twice during that span to get a drink of water (about a one minute break). That's a whole lot of studying! Interesting thing is, when I'm doing my work, time just flies! Before I knew it, it was 7:30! (Truth be told, I actually didn't get it all done. I neglected my reading for legal writing. But I figured I could get away with it this one time...and I did.)

The material is so awesome to study! I'm loving every second of it. So far we've read a pretty substantial number of cases (I've listed them on the left side), with a variety of situations. I really enjoy coming home and talking to Heidi about them and getting her take on it. We usually agree.

Speaking of Heidi, she has turned out to be freakin' Betty Crocker! She's an amazing cook! We've had some excellent dinners here in Laramie, courtesy of Miss Crocker herself! Tonight was Chicken Curry and it was cooked perfectly with the perfect proportions! We've had Ranch Enchiladas, pizza, baked cheesy potato crisps, just to name a few. She's so good to have dinner ready for me when I get home. What a great wife, eh? I couldn't be doing this without her.

As for the social situation, we went up to the ward campout this past Friday. We got to mingle with some more of the ward members. In fact, we met a girl who was friends with Kaylyn - Shane's (my buddy) wife. Small world. We did have a tense moment on the trip though. We left town with less than a quarter tank of gas in the Element and we had to drive UP the mountain about 45 minutes. The gas light came on half way there. ** gulp ** I didn't think that we'd make it back but I coasted in neutral most of the way back and the Hallewells followed us just in case. By the time I pulled into the gas station, my needle was far below the empty line! (Dad would have shook his head in disgust if he would have known!)

Wednesday we're having another couple from the ward over to play the Wii. The Nish's. They live in the same complex as us and they just moved here too (from Canada). Cool couple. They're expecting a baby soon. Also, since they're from out of the country, neither is allowed to work. He goes to school and she stays home all day. So Heidi has someone nearby she can do stuff with, if she wants.

Well, other than that there's not much else to say. Heidi is posting our apartment pics on her blog, so that's something you can check out. We had dime-sized hail the other day! That would be worth putting some pictures on for! I'll have Heidi put it on her blog.

For now, I better go. My professors have "released the hounds" and I better get running or I'll get devoured! ** yipe! **

A Terrible Father Or A Terrible Lawyer

Day two has come and gone. I have a feeling I'm going to miss the orientation days once the major classwork begins. **sigh** Today was a much less stressful day than yesterday. It was more general information about how to manage stress, student services, and our swearing in to the honor code.

We had the president of the Wyoming Bar Association come and talk to us a little bit about being a lawyer and he had a really interesting comment. A girl in the class asked him how he manages to balance his career and his family. This is what he said: "I could have been a really great lawyer. But with a family, that's not possible. You can either be a really great lawyer and a terrible father, or you can be a really great father and a terrible lawyer." He claimed that he thinks (and hopes) that he's found the right balance. Although he may not be the best lawyer in the country, he also is able to be with his family more often. So I thought that was kind of interesting and applicable to me.

I also had to buy books today. Ouch. You might as well have kicked me in the groin and mugged me cause that's what it felt like! $800 later, I'm ready to begin the semester. It's unbelievable the expenses that come with being a law student, and even more unbelievable how difficult it is to actually secure financial aid for yourself. I don't know how other people are doing it, but it has been an ongoing cause of stress for me! But, I think we'll get it all figured out and be just fine in the end.

The financial aid advisor spoke to us today and had an interesting quote as well, "You should live like a student today, so you don't have to live like a student later." Point taken.

Well, tomorrow is our community service project and I've been assigned to help on the farm! YEE HAW! We also have the concurrent session with our spouses to discuss how NOT to get divorced. Later that evening is the BBQ, so Heidi will finally get to meet some of my fellow classmates. Should be fun!

Anyway, I'm going to sign off so I can go cry into my pillow about how freakin' poor we are! Just kidding (I'll save that for bedtime). :O)