Christmas Part 2

Well, it has been QUITE a busy past week but it has been SO GREAT!  We got up SUPER early last Wednesday and headed to BWI where we hopped on our flight and made it safely to Salt Lake.  Got our rental car (which was upgraded to an SUV big enough for a typical Utah family haha) and headed downtown for a haircut (no, we didn't fly all the way to Utah for a haircut haha) and then off to Seth's former employer's Christmas party.  After a long day of travel and fun, it was off to Chrissy and Ryan's for a good night's rest.  The next day was spent resting up and tying up some last minute Christmas stuff.  That evening, Seth, Jack, and I headed to the Canyons Resort in Park City to do the tasting for our wedding reception and there is only one word to describe it...YUMMMMMM!!!!  Can't wait to share that special day with you...and it's less than 7 months away :)

Most of the rest of the time was spent with Seth's family...eating, visiting, eating, playing games, and - oh yeah, did I mention eating :)  Seriously, this New Year's is a time of reckoning for me to hit the gym and prepare for the marathon in March, but I digress haha!  We had Christmas Eve dinner and opened presents with the fam at Chrissy and Ryan's and spent time between their home and Mindy and Josh's.  Us uncles got lots of quality time this visit and had a great time being with our family!  The Monday after Christmas we even had time to go down to Salt Lake and visit friends at our annual Friend's Christmas Dinner - good times!  Anyway, so much went on and the time passed quickly but we loved every second of it!  Like I said last time, the Holiday season really makes you take a look at your life and appreciate all that you have been given...and for me, although I have been blessed with so many things and opportunities, the most amazing part of my life are the people in it...and YOU are one of them and I love you for it :)  Well, it's about that time to head off to our New Year's Eve festivities but I will talk to you all in 2011!!!

The fam opening presents on Christmas Eve :)

Me, Dayton, Uncle Seth, and Evie <3

Mindy gettin down to my new Wii dance game...good times!

The whole crew (almost) at our Friend's Christmas Dinner!

Chirstmas Part 1

So this year, Seth and I are doing Christmas Part 1 (already done) with the VA family and then Christmas Part 2 (starting Wednesday) with the UT family!  And let me just say how lucky we are to have TWO amazing families that we get to celebrate with!


Christmas Part 1 was GREAT!  We got to Mom's late Friday night (after Beah's Birthday) and then got up on Saturday to open our presents from SANTA :)  Santa sure must have thought we were good boys because he took REALLY good care of us (as you can see from the presents under the tree!)  After unwrapping all the gifts, we headed off to the mall for a few last minute things and then Mom, Seth, and I met Carol and Marge at the Riverside Dinner Theater to see "It's a Wonderful Life." 

 

 

Seth on left, me on right :)

Seth, Carol, Mom, and Marge at the Riverside.

Sunday it was up and at 'em to wrap up the Christmas list and then a traditional visit to La Pizzeria for some lunch before heading home.  Oh, and by the way, Santa gave me an extra special treat: a while back I entered a context in GQ magazine...and this past week I found out I won...an iPad AND an in-home mixology party from Bombay Sapphire Gin's Master Mixologist...SWEET!!!  Well, anyway, needless to say it has been one heck of a stellar week and I hope yours has been too!  I love you all and hope a little special love from us to you arrives this week in your mailboxes!  Merry Christmas and lots of love!  See you next time with a special UTAH edition :) 

I'm 1/6th of a Lawyer!

Hooooorraaaayyyyy!!!!  Well, sorry I'm a little late with my usual update but, all is well...no, all is GRRRREEEAAATTT!!!!  I'm all done with my exams and I can't even tell you how happy that makes me :)  It was two of the most stressful weeks of my life but I have a good feeling about all of my exams and really hope all the work paid off...we will see soon I guess :)  Anyway, to celebrate, I organized a Happy Hour at the Front Page Bar & Grill the night of our last exam and got a part of the place reserved for our Section.  It went great and about 1/2 the section (50 or so people) showed to celebrate the end of the semester!  The next night we celebrated my classmate and friend Beah's birthday at cool restaurant downtown called Lima (before heading down to Fredericksburg for Christmas Part 1)  Anyway, with exams all done I guess it's on to the next step: summer job search...so if anyone knows of any good places, please let me know :)  xo

Beah, me, and Emily celebrating at Happy Hour!

Seth, Emily, Beah, Joanne, (her BF), and Matt outside Lima.

2 Down, 1 To Go!!!

Well, it's been one LOOOONG week...but time is a tickin and my first semester is quickly coming to a close!  This week I had my Torts exam on Monday (3.5 hours) and my Contracts exam on Saturday (4 hours) and MANY hours of studying in between...and after having taken both exams, I think (and HOPE) it paid off!  I took all the allotted time and really feel confident in my performance, so I guess now it's time to focus on my last exam this coming Thursday and wait to see how I do...and I hope you will all love me no matter what cause I really did try my best...but hopefully my best is a 4.0 :-D  Anyway, check out the picture below...my study sessions are pretty ridiculous!

Why, yes, that IS a burrito :)  

 Other than studying, Seth and I took a break on Monday night to celebrate the completion of my FIRST exam and went to a Holiday Party for WACA (the Washington Area Concierge Association).  it was a good time and a nice, much needed break!  Spent a little bit of time Friday trying to do my good deed (for some extra Exam blessing of course) and volunteered in our foreign language legal clinic doing some interpretation for people filing their naturalization papers and it was actually really cool experience!  Other than that, Seth is keeping busy working hard (and finishing our Christmas card!)  and life is good...and before you know it the break will be here and it will be Christmas - yay!!!  Hope all is well for you and look forward to seeing you soon!  Love and hugs til next week :)

Christmas is getting closer and underneath the tree is getting fuller :)

Art Educates...and so does studying...

Well, the semester is all done as far as classes go and its been study time for me!  Exams start on Wednesday and last for 10 days...luckily mine are spread out so I have extra time to study...although today I studied for about 16 hours so I'm not sure if my eyes can last that long B-)

Anyway, this Friday we got to take a break and go to the Art Educates Gala and Art Show at the Katzen Fine Arts Center at my school.  Maria (my Dad's first wife) and my sister Marissa invited Seth and I to attend and we had a great time!  The main purpose was to raise money for the Centronia Arts Center for the youth in the area - they had an auction and craft sale (we even bought a piece of student art for our home!)  It was a good time and, in addition to the nice spread and open bar, we got to meet a lot of really cool people - the Madam Under Secretary of State to Hillary Clinton, the ambassador to El Salvador, and a Federal Judge (to whom Maria sent my resume!)...very nice and so grateful to have a break and to be included in something so fun - thanks Maria and Marissa!!!

Me and Seth all dolled up and ready for the gala :)

The piece we bought is already hanging up!

Anyway, that's about all I got for this week (and while there is still another day left, I can tell you the studying that is to come isn't really blogworthy haha!) so I hope all is well with you guys!  Wish me luck on exams and soon enough I will be done for real with my first semester of school!  Yay!  xoxo

Chris Mouse is in the House!!!

So, for those of you who aren't familiar with the story of Chris Mouse, we need to rewind about 24 years to when Seth was a little boy.  At Christmas, Seth's Mom, Jack, used to invite Petey the Elf to come to the house to visit and bring treats to the kids.  It was a miracle and they were lucky little kids to have a Mom that knew a REAL ELF!!!  Well, as Seth got older, Petey decided he needed to retire and take a break from all the hard work he had done at the Longhurst household.  Then, when Seth had almost forgotten about Petey, he got a note last year from Petey saying that he would be sending a new friend to check in on him...and that visitor was none other than Chris Mouse (yet another one of Santa's little helpers!!!)

Chris Mouse stopped by to spread some Christmas cheer :)

 Anyway, Chris Mouse is in the house and is here to spread cheer til the end of the year!!!  Hooray!!!

Our tree...and of course our computers :)

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!!

What a weekend!!!  Seth got off early on Wednesday and Thanksgiving officially began with making some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and cranberry sauce!  Spent the evening (and pretty much most of the weekend) chillin and relaxing and enjoying our time together :)  Got up on Thursday, made some baked mac'n'cheese, and went to pick up Andre at the airport to head down to Mom's for a gluttonous Thanksgiving meal!  Turkey, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, sweet potato pie, cranberry sauce and stuffing, rolls, cake, pie, and cookies...yeah, and only 5 of us to eat it all!!!

Yeah, this about says it all...Dad resting up after the meal!!!

Anyway, had a really nice weekend with the fam (and some good Thanksgiving Skype action with the Utah fam!) and even celebrated Dad's 70th birthday on Friday night at his favorite buffet :)  Dad, I hope you had a great birthday and enjoyed your 10% discounted meal hehe - I love you Poppy Seed!

The rest of the weekend has been spent gearing up for the...wait for it...END OF THE SEMESTER!!!  Hooray!!!  This is my last week of classes...and then come the exams...crazy!!!!  Anyway, I LOVED this little break for Thanksgiving but am SOOO looking forward to a real break over Christmas :) :) :)  Speaking of which, today Seth and I took time to decorate the house for the Holidays and we are officially ready :)

Seth putting up the tree <3

Well, like I said, this next two weeks is gonna be pretty crazy with the end of the semester looming ahead, so I just figured I'd take on last second to tell you all how thankful I am for each and every one of you! While I hope you know every day how much you mean to me, the Holiday season (which for me begins with turkey and last til January!) is an especially important time for me to remind you all how grateful I am to have the amazing family and friends I have been blessed with - so thank you for being YOU...I love you all!!!  :) 

Happy Birthday to ME!

First, I just want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH to all of you who helped make my birthday so special with your gifts, cards, and love...you are all SO amazing and I love you so much! 

Well, to kick off the weekend, I met Seth downtown at his office for a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant in DuPont.  Had some yummy food and a nice bottle of wine and then went for a 'walk'...until the walk turned out to be a surprise!  Seth had made reservations at the Hotel Palomar in DuPont and got a 'spa suite' room with a large soaking jet tub!  Needless to say, we spent a relaxing evening over some champagne and loved every second of it...thanks Panda - I love you!

The tub...AMAZING!!!

Seth in another fancy robe :)

After a refreshing and restful night, we got up, grabbed a danish and coffee, and headed to Alexandria for a day of eating, shopping...and eating with Mom and Carol!  So much fun!!!  We spent the day at Tyson's Corner Center Mall and Mom bought me some new shoes...yay for no more holy shoes :)  Came back to Carol's at the end for some pizza, cake, and presents to wrap up a wonderful day with two of my favorite ladies!  Thanks to Mom, Carol, and Dad for your wonderful gifts and remembering me!

Last but not least, to round out the wonderful weekend, I got to have a virtual b-day celebration over Skype with the family in Utah!  Thank goodness for technology...we were able to Skype Jack, Mindy/Chrissy, and Jay/Tina all over one call...and so much FUN!!!  I even got to open my gifts over the call so they could see my delight with all of their wonderful and thoughtful gifts!  Thanks to you all to for being the most wonderful family I could have ever married into - you're the best!

Me with my BLOG Book and mints :) :) :)

Anyway, as you can see, I am one blessed boy to have so many wonderful people in my life!  Thanks for all the wishes via text, facebook, etc... from all my friends, and thanks again to my family for being the most amazing people in the world!  I love you all!!!!  Now who's ready for some Turkey!?!?! :)

One Down, Three To Go :)

So, for those of you who may not know, my first semester of law school is winding down (and I'm counting the days til break!!!) and this past Friday was my first exam!  Our legal rhetoric program is structured in such a way as to pound you with work in the beginning of the semester so that it can end two weeks before your other classes and allow first year students a little more time to prepare for their other exams.  Anyway, although I don't have my score yet, I am pretty confident that I did well on the exam and can officially say I have completed my first class of my law school career...hooray!!!  What a way to kick off my birthday weekend!!!

My cupcake from Emily!

PB Rice Crispies from Beah!

It's World Pneumonia Day...literally!!!

So this weekend our friend Kody came in from Salt Lake.  He got in on Thursday and we were all ready for a good weekend...but do you believe in foreshadowing?  Well on Friday Kody went out exploring and came home to tell us that it was World Pneumonia Day and people were down at the Mall telling tourists about it...and wouldn't you know that he ended up getting really sick on Friday night and had to cut his trip short :(  I felt so bad that he would come all this way to see us and get sick...but at least we got in some fun times before the cold kicked in!  We went out in DuPont for Bar Review on Thursday night and then Friday headed to Old Town Alexandria for sushi and a walk through Georgetown...fun while it lasted but still had a blast with Kody even if it was only 48 hours :)

Seth and Kody outside an AMAZING wig hope in Old Town!

On Saturday, with Kody sleeping off his cold, Seth and I went to Maria's (my Dad's first wife) house to see some family over dinner and a good visit!  I love living back here cause it seems like we always have people coming to visit (especially my family of course!).  For example, Seth's old boss, Erni, was in town this weekend and, although we didn't get to see her, it's still cool to know that we live in a place that so many people pass through...and will hopefully say hello too while they're here :) (hint hint to you all!)  Anyway, it's about that time to sign out and get some sleep...I need to be rested up for my LAST FULL WEEK OF SCHOOL!!!! 

Me, Dad, Sophia, Jay, Maria, Tita, Maritere, Alvaro, and Sebastian at Maria and Jay's.

Terrifc Taco Tuesday!!!

So...this was my last week of Rhetoric...hooray!!!  I turned in my memo and am SO relieve that the semester is winding down...crazy!!!  To celebrate Seth, some classmates, and I all went out to Guapo's for a drink and some yummy comida after class and enjoyed knowing that we've almost made it halfway through the crazy year that is 1L of law school!!  Anyway, just a quick mid-week update with lots of love to all of you...and lots more to come next week since our friend Kody is coming for a fun weekend :) 

Our fiesta at Guapo's to celebrate our memo!

Almost couldn't resist celebrating by jumping in these leaves!!!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Not much new this weekend...just been working on finishing my last memo of the semester for legal rhetoric (yay!) and getting a little ahead on things since our friend Kody from Salt Lake is coming to visit next weekend!  Went to a career/networking event at school on Saturday - crazy that it's already time to get the resume looking good and ready for job searching!  Spent the rest of my time resting up for a busy week and enjoying our beautiful casa!  Anyway, that's about all from our neck of the woods but just wanted to send a little lovin to you all before another week begins!  xoxo

A Weekend of Restoring Sanity

I Love Rock and Roll!

OK, so a mid-week update is unusual for me, but so is the fact that we actually did something cool mid-week, so I thought I'd share :)

Last night Seth and I went to the 20th Anniversary Party at the Hard Rock Cafe D.C. in Chinatown.  One of the owner Seth's company does business with the marketing manager of the Hard Rock and got us VIP Passes to the party.  Met up with some of his co-workers for a drink first (and his boss even paid the tab!) and then headed over to the party for a fun evening.  An up and coming band called "Ready Sets" showcased and they provided food and drinks upstairs for us.  Despite the fact that I had a ton of school work awaiting me at home, Seth and I had a fun night and proved that we aren't an old, boring couple after all :) 

Seth and me at the party <3

"Ready Sets" at the Hard Rock.

Moe Comes to Town!!!

I LOVE living in D.C. because it means I get to play host and tour guide much more often than I did in Salt Lake :)  For example, we have friends coming to either visit or spend the weekend three times over the next two months...and we even had one quick but SPECIAL visitor today!  One of my best girlfriends, Maureen, was in town for her grandma's 80th Birthday party and that meant a visit to our casa was in order!  Moe came over this evening (after a busy day of study and cleaning of course!) and we had a great visit...dinner and gossip are the key to our hearts <3 

Me and Moe :)

Anyway, time flew and we took Moe back to her Aunt's via a scenic drive across the Chesapeake Bay...good times!   Well, it's about that time so I'm off to bed to get ready for another week but we hope to play host to you all soon!  xo :)

Pampering the Queen

Well, first of all, props to me for remembering to take pics of this weekends festivities!  To kick it off Seth and I enjoyed a nice Friday night to ourselves (thank you Groupon for another yummy dinner at Front Page!) and rested up from a hectic week of my classes all being switched around due to scheduling conflicts...last minute changes make me a grumpy boy :-/  BUT on the upside, last week is done and we are one week closer to the end of the first semester :)

Saturday we got up and headed down to Fredericksburg to spend the day with Mom and fulfill her coupon of "A Day of Pampering" we gave her for her birthday.  We started with lunch at La Pizzeria and then headed to the mall for some pedicures (I tried not to laugh when my feet got tickled but it was hard!).  After gettin our nails did we headed to see "Hereafter" at the new Muvico Village Theater for some VIP seating in there premier seating area...nice, HUGE leather chairs, a full service bar and restaurant, and the best view in the house...nothing but the best for our Momma!  Ended the night with some homemade cookin' at Dad's house before saying goodbye and heading back home to rest up for another day.  Although sadly we can't afford to do things like that as often as we'd like, we are glad to be able to do it when we can :)  We love you Momma!!!

Mine and Seth's feet post pedicure...wrapped up in wax to finish :)

Mom and Seth gettin their classy on at the theater.

A Clap on, Clap off Kind of Week!!!

Well, is it sad that last week about the most exciting thing that happened was when our Clapper came?!...absolutely not I say because it was the low key kind of week/weekend that we were in need of!  As for the Clapper...well, yes, we really did order a Clapper but it's because the lamps in our bedroom are on the wall that isn't operated by the light switch so they have to be turned off manually.  Needless to say Seth, our problem solver, decided to fix that by letting us use a little clap on, clap off action...and we love that the early 90's are alive and well in our house :)

This weekend was pretty chill too.  On Friday night I got the chance to entertain and cook for some of our friends.  Made some chicken parmigiana and pasta and had a good time before heading downtown to birthday party for girl in my section at school.  Had fun (maybe a little too much fun judging from the morning after haha)  and then got up and met Aunt Carol in Alexandria for lunch and a planning session for our New York trip...sooo excited!  Other than that it's been a weekend filled with school, TV, and cleaning house aka my way to de-stress :)  Well, it's time for Peapod to come with our groceries and then we're ready to end the weekend with some 'Desperate Housewives'...hope this week's update didn't put you to sleep but next week looks to be a little more exciting since Mom will be involved :)  Til the next time!

I'm My Own Grandpa!?

OK, so first, I'm not really my own grandpa but, hey, if you had been at our family reunion in good ol' Buena Vista, VA (or as the fam says "bew-na" vista) in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, you would see why that might not be too heard to imagine (I mean, with nicknames in the family like Bug, Rooster, Pig, and Cute, who wouldn't wonder haha!)  Second, I'm SO annoyed I didn't remember my camera...although to my credit, getting up at 6:30AM after a night downtown wasn't too easy!  Anyway, no camera = no pictures, so the pretty little invite that Seth designed is gonna have to suffice :)

The Reunion Invite...thanks Mista Seth!

Got up super early on Saturday and went to pick-up my favorite Marge and headed down to Fredericksburg to meet Mom and Dad to make the drive to the reunion.  It's about a three hour drive down to Buena Vista but it is always a fun trip, especially when my family is all trapped in one car :)  It was really good to see all the extended family (most of whom I hadn't seen since the last reunion in 2007) and, as was to be expected, LOTS of good food was to be had!  Anyway, we had a great day and then came home to enjoy some shuteye and a relaxing rest of the weekend!  Life...is...good!

Woah, I'm Half-Way There...Livin on a Prayer!

Well I almost can't believe it but, it's true...the end of this past week marked the half-way point of my first semester!!!  Time is actually passing really fast because I am really enjoying what I'm doing (although on days I have to get up before the Sun you might have to remind me of that)!  And in spite of all the work, we still seem to know how to have a good time! On Thursday I had the opportunity to attend my initiation into the national chapter of Pi Alpha Delta.  It was actually a really cool experience - we met inside the main hall of the U.S. Supreme Court (hopefully my future office haha!) and were inducted by Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor!  Although there was a happy-hour after, Mista Seth took me out for a special celebration over dinner and drinks at Front Page in DuPont instead :)

Justice Sotomayor reciting the PAD oath.

Anyway, like I said above, since this weekend marked the halfway point of our first semester AND because it was also my friend Emily's B-Day, it also meant it was time to let loose a little bit!  We took advantage of the "foody" nature of D.C. and went on a double date with our friends Beah and Matt - got some Tapas (no, not topless everyone haha!) at this restaurant in Chinatown called La Tasca (we have been wanting to try it forever) and then headed off to Em's for her party and some good times!  We had to get up pretty early the next day but still ended up hangin til pretty late...now lets see who says we're old!

Some of the girls out to celebrate Em's B-Day!

PS: We're Hitched :)

PS: Just a note for those who don't know, Seth and I made it official at the beginning of September and tied the knot legally here in D.C.  We figured we'd take advantage of the legality of it all while it lasts here in the District and are happy to announce it now that we have had the chance to tell the fam in person!  Our wedding is still planned for July 24, 2011 at The Canyons Resort in Park City, UT but just FYI - we got hitched :)

Surprise SLC!!!

Well, I have been DYING to post about this for the past few weeks but I couldn't because it was a surprise..and oh what a surprise it was!  This Friday, Seth and I hopped on a plane and headed off to the SLC for a surprise visit and had a wonderful time!  Thank goodness for the 'secret' setting that lets you create an event without everyone knowing because we were able to organize a get together with our friends downtown and never let word get back to the family early that we were in town :)  Friday we got in at 9:00 PM and then headed over to our friend Ashley's for a get together which was followed by a little bit more pre-game at Kody and Ben's before heading to the W Lounge for a great night of dancing and fun!!!  After closing down the W and saying adios to our friends, we stayed downtown at Hotel Monaco to rest up for a full day of family fun and good times that lay ahead!!!

Seth, Me, and some of the gang at Ashley's casa for good times!

Seth modeling the complimentary (well $80) robe at the Monaco!

After a good night's sleep (kind of) we got up and met with Jay (Seth's oldest brother), his girlfriend, and her son and headed over to Mindy's!  When we pulled up to her house, Seth called her and, as the door opened and she saw all of us standing out front, I thought she was going to faint...and Chrissy and Jack both had that same reaction when they walked in the door...in other words: operation surprise the fam was a success!!!  Had a wonderful 36 hours with them: BBQ, birthday presents/cake for Dayton and Uncle Jay, and La Puente...perfection!  Anyway, it was really great to see the fam and we are SO glad we got to have a reunion - Odoyle stlye!

Me and Evie <3

Jack making her special appearance as the ninja from Dayton's dream!

Minday, Dayton, Uncle Seth, and Jack pre-Birthday candle blowout.

Well, as you can see from all the pics, the weekend was great and made us appreciate how awesome our family and friends really are!  While I have said many times before how great it is to be back in D.C., we just want our Utah peeps to know that nobody will ever take your place...you're the bomb dot com and we love you all :)

Dash for Dad...and Mom on the Metro!!!

Spending time with my parents (although I never thought it was possible many years ago) is SO much fun!!!  Mom and Dad made the trek to come and see us today...and got on the road early enough to make it in time for the 8:00 AM race (and still made it even though they got lost...hehe!)  Seth and I (in an attempt to start gearing up for the National Marathon in March) have been registering for some local races.  Today we rand the Dash for Dad 10K to End Prostate Cancer and both got qualifying times for the marathon.  Mom and Dad walked to 2-Mile Course and beat us back to be there cheering us on at the finish line...what good sports they are :)  

Seth, Me, and Mom post-race.

Seth, Me, and Dad post-race.
Dad: "I could have done the 10K faster but your mother held me back"
Mom: "Yeah right!"

After the race we headed back home to show Mom our home since she had never been here and then headed downtown to the DC Fiesta (Latin-American festival).  Since we live so close to the Metro it is always quicker to just hop on the train and head down...and this was Mom's FIRST time ever riding the Metro...so I made a big deal about it and took pictures just like she did to me on the first day of school haha! 

Mom's first time on the Metro!!!  What a big girl :)

Anyway, took the Metro down to Mt. Pleasant to check out the DC Fiesta in all of its glory...and I felt like I was back in East L.A...tacos, balloons, and espanol all around :)  Had fun walking around and seeing the festivities and then headed back into town for lunch...although I'm having second thoughts about not getting some food from the vendors now :)  

Me, Mom, and Seth at DC Fiesta.

Mom and Dad left a little while ago to make sure they were home for the Redskins game and now it's time to crack the books open (boo!) but just wanted to give a shout out to two of the coolest parents in the world (no matter how dorky you may be hehe) - we love you Mom and Dad!  

You down with PAD, yeah you know me!

This week marked the end of my first month in law school and to celebrate I joined a fraternity...well, sort of :)  There is a nationwide legal fraternity called Pi Alpha Delta (PAD) that I joined mostly for networking and study aid purposes.  It was a fun night though and, in true fraternity fashion, we went downtown to party!  My two new bff's at school (Beah and Emily) along with Seth and some other friends went to Chinatown for dinner and drinks...fun times!  One month down...35 to go :)

Beah, Me, and Emily post-initiation outside of school (aka our second home).

A Puerto Rican Affair

It's so interesting how life brings people together.  Take me and my cousin Maritere for instance.  Maritere is a cousin from my Dad's side in Puerto Rico and until recently it had been about 15 years or so since I had seen her.  Maritere lived in Orlando and came to visit us in the mid-90's with my Aunt Tita and Grandpa.  Recently, however, her husband was offered a job in Maryland and, before we knew it, they were living practically in our back yard and we have seen them twice already!

Yesterday  we actually made the trek out to visit them (they live a little bit outside of Baltimore) and not only was it worth it to see them, but Maritere is a wonderful cook (like her mother) and made a great Puerto Rican spread fro lunch...chicken, rice, spanish beans, sweet plantains, and salad...mmmm!!!  I brought my camera and meant to take pictures but I totally forgot all about it when I walked in the door to the smell of her cooking ;)  Anyway, her husband, Alvaro, runs marathons (and actually got lucky enough to early register for the Marine Corps Marathon here in D.C. which is sadly now sold out) and even has done an Iron Man triathlon (which he did in just under 14 hours...crazy!!!) so we are excited to have someone around to help us find out about cool races and start running again here in D.C.

Well, needless to say, yesterday was wonderful and when it was time to go, her two kids ran up and gave us big hugs and said 'I thought you were going to stay longer? We don't want you to go yet!' (cute!)  Curse you law school for taking over my life haha!!!  For real though, we are so lucky to have so many wonderful people around us in our new home and to be able to spend time with those whom I hadn't seen much since moving out west in 2004.  Even my Aunt Tita (from Puerto Rico) will be coming to visit next month so I am excited to have a family get together and see her for the first time since 2007 and practice my espanol!

The rest of the weekend has been a mix of studying and enjoying the city.  We actually did two date nights this week - Friday (after recovering from Bar Review the night before...going out two nights in a row is hard when you're an old man like me!) we went to dinner and then out in DuPont with some of my law school friends to a mixer with the Georgetown Med School and Saturday went to Columbia Heights for dinner to enjoy eating outside on a patio while the weather is still nice!  Over dinner we were actually talking more about how lucky we are to have so many great opportunities and especially for all the great people we have in our lives...sometimes its hard to believe that we're only in our mid-twenties and blessed as much as we are!  We were talking about the concept of 'home' and that, while we both miss our loved one's in Utah (thank goodness for Skype), we are really loving this opportunity and taking advantage of every day!  Maybe after law school we will all just have to meet in the middle...how does Kansas sound to everybody?  I guess I'm just dying to really be able to say 'We're not in Kansas anymore' and have a dog named Toto :)  Just remember, 'home is where the heart is'...and my heart is with each of you - love you all!  Have a great week!!!

It's Our Life

It's hard to believe that it's been 2 1/2 months since we left Utah already!  D.C. has treated us really well though and we are still continuing to enjoy the new adventure in between all the craziness of work and school!  Seth is keeping busy at work (as usual).  His company, among many of the projects in which they are involved, is in charge of publishing the game-day guides for the..wait for it...SUPER BOWL!!!  Let's just hope that the Redskins make it to the playoffs this year and maybe we will have to road trip it to Dallas to see his handywork and hail to the Redskins!  As for me, I'm pretty boring...unless having your head stuck in a book all day is appealing to you...if so hit me up :)  No, for real, like I've said before I'm really enjoying school and even have some time to get out for our class parties, make some wonderful new friends, and even get involved with our school-wide "Bar Review."...insert funny story here haha:

*So I guess coming from Utah and being a former Cougar I'm not used to drinking in association with school functions.  Enter "Bar Review."  The first week of school I kept hearing about this 'bar review' and the only thing I could think was that it was a weekly prep-course helping prepare students to take the BAR Exam.  Well, boy was I PLEASANTLY surprised to hear that it was actually a club, the "Offical Drinking Club of American Univesity Washington College of Law" to be precise...guess people have found that drinking makes the work a little more bearable ;)*

All the activities aside though, I'm sorry that I really am actually pretty boring lately but, hey, I gotta focus up so when you all reading this do something stupid I can help you out...for FREE :) And soon, after my induction into the Phi Alpha Detla Legal Fraternity (by Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor), I will be one step closer...so wish us luck :)

Gettin Her Kicks on Route to 66!

Just a lil Happy Birthday shoutout to Momma!  She's gonna be a whopping...well, she looks really good for her age I will just say ;D  This weekend (aside from reading my eyes away and writing memos of course) was spent with the familia to celebrate our Mommas birthday!  Seth and I met Aunt Carol and Uncle Skeeter down in the 'burg for the celebration: lunch at Logan's Roadhouse, presents, cake, visiting...and more cake! 

I sure do love my momma...what a cutie!  Thanks for being the best and most amazing Mom a boy could ask for...I love you Marmie :) 

The Seven Stages of Law School

So I was talking to a girl in my section the other day, and she was mentioning that she had read about the "Seven Stages of Law School" and was still trying to figure out exactly where she fit on the scale.  Well, I wasn't too familiar with this but, when I looked more into it, this is what I found:

Stages
1) Shock/Denial
2) Pain/Guilt
3) Anger/Bargaining
4) Loneliness/Depression
5) The Upward Turn
6) Working Through
7) Acceptance/Hope

Well, while I'm sure this can be used for many things besides law school, lets just say I'm in the process of Stages 1-4 all at once right now so I think its pretty applicable hahaha!!!  The end of week two has kind of brought me to the realization that the next three years are definitely gonna put up a fight...but I'm gonna win it :)   For real though, as much work as it is and stressful as it can be at times (like the fact that 3 of my 4 classes are all based 100% on the final exam) I am SOOO loving school and enjoy getting up every day and being able to immerse myself in something that I have dreamed about since second grade!  School has kept me busy between the hours of reading and the beginnings of some memos I have to write.  This past week I even had the opportunity to attend the D.C. Superior Court and watch some cases being heard which just confirmed to me even more that I made the right decision to come to law school...and thank God its the right decision or else I would be pretty upset when those student loan bills started rolling in ;)

Other than school, life has been moving along and Fall is just around the corner.  Seth has been keeping busy between his job and the freelance work he does on the side.  He is quite the worker bee and I know he is glad I'm a little more occupied than I have been in the past so I'm not bored and waiting for him to finish on his computer haha ;) We have been using whatever spare time is left and splitting it between visits to the fam in Fredericksburg (where we are heading tomorrow for Labor Day weekend festivities) and doing some fun stuff here in the city with other family and friends!  Lastly, just as a public shout out, I want to say extra thanks again to Mista Seth for all that he does to make my life easier and better every day...thanks babe - you're the bomb dot com and I love you :) 

Our Casa es Su Casa

Well, after two months of prep the casa is finally all finished and ready for some visitors!!!  Our office/guest room is lonely and ready for YOU!!!  Come visit and check out these before/afters in the mean time :)

Kitchen/Living Room Before

Kitchen/Living Room After

Guest Room/Office Before

Guest Room/Office After

Bedroom Before

Bedroom After

Brandon Roman, Attorney at Law...sort of...

Well, I sure have been quite the slacker lately...and I'm not even in school yet!?!?  While not the most exciting, these past two weeks of being blogless have been pretty busy though...not that it's an excuse to be MIA, but still...I guess it kind of kicked in that I only had two more weeks to get 'er done so I've been running around finishing up everything and enjoying my last little bit of freedom!  When I think about it, I'm honestly really not quite sure where the time all went...I hope that time doesn't pass that fast in school cause I might not be able to get all my work done if it does...and I know some of you are counting on me to get my degree and represent you when your shenanigans go awry so I better get it done :-O

Anyway, amongst all my 'piddling' these past few weeks, I have actually gotten a lot done and had some fun in the process!  The apartment is now (almost) finally ready, so pics are coming soon.  I've also been really lucky to have spent the past three weekends with my family (and seeing as I will have no life starting in 36 hours, I'm glad I got to see them now).  Two weeks ago I went with my mom, Aunt Carol, and Uncle Skeeter (no Seth due to a conflict with his busy work schedule - frowny face) to Pittsburgh for a Colorado Rockie's baseball game.  My cousin Chrys' husband Tom is one of their coaches so he got us all tickets and we had a really fun weekend root, root, rooting for the away team ;-)

Mom, me, and Uncle Skeeter at PNC Field in Pittsburgh.

The and last weekend have been nice as well with Seth and I trekking down to good old Fredericksburg and spending Saturday nights at my mom's to visit and get in some brownie points before I go into hiding in the law library this fall.  Speaking of which...I have actually already officially begun the transition from a summer of fun to a fall of studying!!!  We had orientation this past Thursday and Friday and already have readings and assignments due on our first day of class...which made me realize that we aren't in Kansas (or Provo for that matter) anymore...yikes!  It was really nice to have some guidance as to what to expect though and help get back in school mode.  I've been really nervous with the start of school looming ahead since I've been out of school for a year, but after going through orientation, getting myself all ready with books and such, and even getting a thumbs up from my professor for asking a good question during orientation, I feel like I'm ready to rock it and start this next part of our journey!!!

Me outside my new school!

Just wanted to leave a big thanks here to my family, friends, and of course Mista Seth for all of your love and support!  Although the past two weeks haven't been SUPER exciting, I promise to do better about blogging (although I can't promise it will be super interesting...unless you find torts or contracts to be exhilarating haha!) and keeping you all in the loop!  Much love until next week (and hopefully I will have gotten at least some sleep and be coherent enough to write again)  and please wish me luck!!!