The Countdown Has Begun!

Hi again!  As I mentioned last time, last week I was able to wrap up a case that has been taking over my life for the past month...so now it's time to have a little fun before the time comes to buckle down for exams :(  

This past weekend was chocked full of fun - between dinners, dancing, and kickball, the weekend flew by way too quickly!  To kick things off, I organized a happy hour with my fellow summer associates/soon to be first year associates to catch up and get excited for our post-grad life :)  After that, Seth and I met two of our friends for dinner and drinks at Sixth Engine, this cool new place in Chinatown that we've been wanting to try for a while...YUM!  Sometimes I wish D.C. wasn't such a foodie city...but then again, I'm glad it is :)

Sheila, Bee, me, & Sethy at Sixth Engine.

Saturday I spent most of my day working on a paper, but wrapped up in time to get ready for the last house party we will have before law school is done and some of our friends head off on their next journey :(  It was a great time, which ended in a trip downtown for dancing and jumbo slice :)

Grace (a friend from BYU in DC) and me.

V, me, & Audrey at the Brixton.

After a long night of fun, the sun finished rising and so did I :)  Sunday is kickball day after all, and I'm the co-chair of our service committee so I had to make an appearance.  This week we hosted a charity brunch and were able to raise more than $600 for the DC Center, our local LGBT resource center.  After brunch we had a good game (I even scored), but unfortunately we lost because the game got called for time before the bottom of the last inning when we were up - so unfair!  Oh well, there's always next week!

I swear, I made that catch.

Seth & Maggie were tuckered out from the weekend :)

After a great weekend, we started off this week with the sad news coming out of Boston...it's times like these that remind us just how fragile life can be and how grateful we should be for the small things!  In fact, while not related to the tragedy in Boston, I left my house on Tuesday morning to find U.S. military tanks being transported north via the train tracks and it really made me think just how lucky we are to live in a free country that is so resilient and united...may God bless Boston and the rest of our country now and forever!

A tank at Fort Totten.

The caravan of tanks was headed north.

To end on a more positive note, I officially have only two weeks before I submit my LAST law school exam and we are 31 days away from graduation...the big day is coming and I can't wait!  :)  More to come next time, but much love until then!

Congratulations, Liz and Brandon!

Hello again!  Well, it's been another fun-filled weekend...and I'm pooped before the week really begins...but that's OK, because it was worth it :)

This past weekend was my friend Liz's wedding in Orange, VA.  I've known Liz forever, so I'm happy I was able to make it work!  On Friday, Jen flew in and we enjoyed some time together before heading to Orange on Saturday morning.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with Orange, it's quite a ways out in the boonies (about an hour past Frederickbsurg!), which actually made for such a pretty day...especially since the weather was PERFECT!!!  Between the nice venue, yummy food/open bar, and the good times with friends, we had a blast and are so glad to have shared in Liz's special day!

Jen getting in a pre-wedding stretch!

The Bed & Breakfast...so pretty!

Liz'e brothers walking her down the aisle.

The ray of light...or Liz's dad shining down?!

The Kissing Tree! xoxo

Brandon going in for the garter :) 

Seth, Brandon, Jen, Jen, Liz, and me.

A history of the Willet-Rogers clan :)

Liz and Brandon's first dance...so sweet!

As you can see Liz's attention to detail paid of...the day was just perfect, and we're so happy for the two of them!  Congrats again, Liz and Brandon!!!

Well, that's about all she wrote for today...but luckily for me, I'll have some extra free time this week to write more...because we won our motion today in Court and are ALMOST officially done with this case that has been keeping me bu-say!!!  HOORAY!!!  More to come soon, but until the next time - much love!!

A Night to Remember (Sort Of!): Kris' Bachelorette Party

As I mentioned in my last post, we were traveling on Seth's actual birthday...but I failed to mention that it was Kristin's (Brooke's cousin, whose wedding I am in) bachelorette party in NYC!  So, right after Carol's surprise party, Seth, Brooke, and I headed up to New York to kick off the fun!  We didn't get in until after 2:00AM, so we hit the bed as soon as we got to Kristin's...and luckily we did, because it turned out we would need that rest the next day :)

Part 1 of the festivities involved having high tea at a historic mansion in the Deer Park arboretum.  Kristin's two younger sisters weren't old enough for the evening fun, so we wanted to include them in something a bit more low key.  I hadn't ever been to a high tea before, but it was SO YUMMY!  Between the tea, scones, and sandwiches, I was one stuffed little piglet when we finished!  Then, full of tea and crumpets, it was off to the city for Part 2!

Walking to the mansion...which I hear is haunted!

Our tray of food...YUMMMM!!!

A view of the NYC skyline.

The second part of the night was so much fun...maybe too much fun :)  We checked in to our hotel and somehow managed to get upgraded to the penthouse, which even had its own balcony...SWEET!  After some pictures and last minute primping, we hopped in a cab and headed off for a crazy night!  We had organized the entire night (and pre-paid everything!) with a party planning company, so everything went smoothly.  We started with dinner (including an open bar that lasted all night!), then hopped in our limo and headed off for the pub crawl...which ended with dancing and some much needed sleep!!!

A view from our balcony...no big deal :)

Melissa, Amanda, Kristin, Brooke, and Me.

The ladies and Sethy.

After some sleep (definitely not enough!), we said our goodbyes and headed back to reality :(  Now I'm counting down the days until we're back in New York for the wedding...less than two months!  I'm so excited and couldn't be happier for Kristin and Rob...love you two!

Happy Birthday, Seth AND Carol!

Last week, I helped two of the most important people in my life celebrate their birthdays!  Seth turned 27 and Carol turned...27 :)  Since their birthdays are so close together, it makes planning things a little difficult...so we decided to have THREE parties instead to make things easier :)

The first party was actually the week before Seth and Carol's birthdays, as we had originally anticipated that we would be out of town the following weekend and therefore unable to celebrate them properly.  So, in honor of these two loved ones, myself, Mom, Dad, and Marge took them to lunch in Old Town and showered them with love...and gifts, of course :)

A combined birthday means a combined birthday cake...and year :)

Seth and Carol making a wish!

The next week, since we were going to be traveling on Seth's actual birthday, I organized a SURPRISE birthday par-tay for Mistah Seth at District of Pi!  All of our friends showed up, and when we walked in yelled "SURPRISE!"...and I think Seth was actually surprised :)

The gang at District of Pi!

Happy Birthday, Sethy!!!

To wrap up the birthday festivities, we had ANOTHER surprise party...but this time it was for Carol :) Unbeknownst to Carol (or most of the family who was attending the party), Chrys and Riley came to town and hid out at our house until time for the party!  So, as you will see in the video below, Carol was quite surprised when those two came walking through the door :)  

SURPRISE...it's Chrys and Riley!

Although it was a whirlwind of a week, I sure am glad there was time to celebrate these two special people who I love SO MUCH!  Happy Birthday, Sethy and Carol - I love you! 

I've Been a Busy Boy...BUT for Good Reason!

Hi there!  Sorry for the delay in posting...life has been CRAY-CRAY!!!  As many of you know, I am a student attorney in the Tax Clinic at my school.  In the clinic, students (under supervision of an attorney) actually have real clients whom we help with their tax issues.  Among my clients, one of the cases is scheduled for Tax Court this coming Monday, so I've been spending essentially every waking moment drafting motions and preparing for my oral argument...which I have to do next week before the Chief Judge - exciting, but a little scary!  Nevertheless, I have a little bit of time today, so I'm taking a break from all that to send some love and updates your way :)

But before I move on to other stuff, I will share one exciting piece of law related business that I've been involved with recently.  Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you know that the Supreme Court took up the Prop.8/DOMA cases this past week.  As part of Lambda Law Society's Executive Board, I helped organize a panel to inform students about the arguments.  I was so impressed with the turnout: the room was overflowing and our Dean even stopped by to show his support!  It sure is great to be surrounded by so many people who are on the RIGHT side of history!

Our panel on the hearings had a GREAT turnout!

Dean Grossman adding his words of support.

Also, as part of Lambda's efforts, I helped organize a group of students from our school who joined in the Human Rights Campaign "March 4 Marriage" in support of marriage equality.  We all wore red (the color of LOVE!) and carried our banner.  It was a really great experience, and I must say how pleased I was to see all the supporters of equality - particularly our straight allies!  I mean, even Bill O'Reilly said that supporters of marriage equality have the stronger argument - now that's some progress :)

A panorama of the scene outside the Supreme Court - awesome!

The support for marriage equality will go down in history!

LOVED all the signs!!!

Our group from Lambda Law Society.

Even the pups came out dressed in red to show their support!

HA - SO TRUE :)

With the arguments behind us, all we can do now is wait and see how the Court comes out.  While I'm hopeful for a broad ruling that will really ensure equality nationwide, I am confident that at least some progress will be made...but either way, the issue is on the national stage and the day for true EQUALITY is within sight - and I for one am proud to be part of the fight!!!

Showing MY support for EQUALITY!