Another Four Months: Spring Greetings

Life goes on, even when the blog does not reflect it. And, as usual, our last four months have been full of change, challenge, and excitement. Here is our attempt to sum things up.

February and March were fairly routine as I spent most of my time on schoolwork and Shaela did almost everything else. However, we had one significant accomplishment in the spring when we completed our long-term food storage, something we had been wanting to do since we got married. After deciding to get it done, we took some time during my Spring Break to purchase appropriate amounts of bulk food items, borrow the #10 can sealer from a local Church cannery, and package everything up. It was a long, all day project but we really enjoyed doing it. Since we did everything in the garage, even Caroline was able to help prepare the cans for sealing! The boxes now take up the entire lower portion of the closet in our study, but they realistically contain enough food to keep us going for a year.

During our self-sufficiency surge, Shaela also got into sprouting. She has become quite the advocate of sprouts and is continually coming up with new and tasty ways to use them. We have had a lot of fun getting back to basics in the way we live (except for Caroline's fancy dresses) and feeling the stability of preparedness

April was finals month, so I spent many long days studying. Fortunately, the time was well spent and I performed well on my exams.

On Cinco de Mayo, we had an appropriate celebration with law school friends and their children, the Whites and the Barons. It also doubled as a celebration of our successful completion of our first year of law school! We had an outstanding feast prepared by James White and a wacky pinata made by Eldon. The little ones had a great time smacking the pinata with some help from their dads.

That evening, Tulan and Caroline played their way into the Grimm's yard next door and ended up on their playground. During a chat with Pete Grimm in his office/museum, I had occasion to don a WWII era dive mask that he has amongst his relics. It is as heavy as it looks.

During May, we moved out of Anne Pinnock's home to make way for her daughter and their family, Andrea and Rob, who will be buying the house and staying with Anne until she wears herself out enough to rest for good (with a name like Action Anne, that is not likely to happen soon). As a result, we spent May moving in to our new home in the East Village of University of Utah's student housing. We love it there. Caroline and Joseph especially benefit from having a park/playground as our front yard. Our old family van, The Beast, was a real benefit that allowed us to move everything by ourself and at our own pace. Since many of our things have been in storage since last July when we left California, it was somewhat like Christmas as we unpacked some boxes, especially as we uncovered some of our nice wedding gifts that have remained in their boxes due to lack of space. As shown below, Caroline had fun drinking out of the enormous ceramic stein from Austria (for those who are familiar with John Wayne's McClintock, she even knows the meaning of "down the hatch"). We were able to feel properly moved in by the end of May when we hit the road and headed west to begin our summer adventure. We like our new home. In the words of one visitor, "you guys know how to make cinder block walls look good!"

After a brief stay with Shaela's family in Las Vegas, we pushed over to Simi Valley for the baptism of Chad & Amy Pettit's second daughter, Madeline. The cousins had lots of fun playing with each other.

Nicole and Madeline are particularly good examples, helpers, and playmates despite the fact that all their other cousins are under the age of three.

Of course, where there is a trampoline, Shaela (our amazing gymnast with her new short hair) has to do some tricks. It is much easier for her to jump now than when she is nine months pregnant ;-)

Joseph also enjoyed the company of cousins, especially his new pal, Charlotte Rose Darracq.

At the beginning of June, I began my work ("summer fun") at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC, also referred to as the Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Center, MAGTFTC) in lovely Twentynine Palms, CA. I qualify that statement with the caveat that it is lovely to anyone who appreciates the desert. While somewhat desolate, isolated, and hot (at this time of year), it really is a neat place.

As a summer funner, I work in the military justice section here but have also taken on responsibility in the administrative law section. I will be handling several guilty pleas ("dives") by acting as Trial Counsel in the next few weeks, but that is about all I am allowed to do in the courtroom at this point. However, my past experience at Camp Pendleton as an Adj continually proves to be invaluable, not just for helping me understand almost everything that goes on, but for being able to apply that expertise in ways that helps the other lawyers here and the units here. Despite my involvement, having limited responsibility and sometimes experiencing some fairly slow days is difficult for someone who is much more comfortable being significantly over-tasked. However, I take advantage of the quiter moments and study things like the Military Rules of Evidence, which will not only help me out in my future work but will also put me ahead of the game next year in school.

Shaela and the kids spent the first part of June in Modesto with "Bobo & Papa" along with Suzanne who is now a Navy wife learning what it is like to have her husband gone on deployment.

Before going to Leavitt's gradutation in Las Vegas, Shaela et al stopped by my temporary desert home and we were able to spend some time together in Twentynine Palms over the weekend.
We had a great time riding the carousel at the Carousel Cafe,
swinging on the playground of our condo-like hotel,
and exploring the Mara Oasis at Joshua Tree National Park.

Should any of you want to visit, we now have two convenient locations to serve you better: Salt Lake City, UT and Twentynine Palms, CA. Hurry, though, because this exclusive offer expires at the beginning of August.