GRADUATION!!!

Hi there!  Well, I can't believe I'm finally writing this, but I am OFFICIALLY A LAW SCHOOL GRADUATE!!!  The week leading up to graduation was really fun, but also filled with hard work, as studying for the Bar Exam has already begun...but instead of talking about that, I'm gonna focus on all the fun I've had...as that fun is mostly coming to an end for the next two months :(  

To kick start Graduation (and in honor of Emily's birthday!), she and a few friends threw a celebration at MOVA Lounge....and oh what a celebration it was!  But never fear, the fun didn't stop there, as the school hosted a Potomac River cruise for the graduates - good times!

Me and the ladies at MOVA Lounge!

On board the Spirit for our cruise :)

Seth, EmBar, Veronica, EmDem, and me on the Potomac!

With all the fun we were having, graduation seemed to sneak up on us and, before I knew it, the big weekend was here!!!  In fact, the whole weekend was a blur...between family time, a dinner at the Organization of American States, and the graduation/post-graduation parties, I'm still trying to recuperate!

My uncle, Glen, is an alum of my law school...so we all got
invited to a VIP pre-graduation brunch with the Dean :)

Tensie, me, Yasmine, and Shannon in full regalia!

The fam was front row and center to see me graduate!!!

This Irish band was an amazing touch! 

Seth and me: I couldn't have done it without him <3 td="">

Me, EmDem, and Veronica at the post-party...so fun!

With graduation behind me, it was time to say goodbye to some really special people...the hardest of whom was Tensie and EmDem...but after a few tears and lots of hugs, we said our "see you laters" and have already started planning our reunions :)  Luckily (or unluckily) I will be too busy over these next few months to really think about it...speaking of which, it's time to get back to my studies...so until the next time (whenever that may be), much love, gratitude, and best wishes to all of you!!!

MIAMI!!

Hi again!  I can’t believe it’s already time to report back from Miami and that our vacation came and went so quickly :(  Alas, we had such a great time, and time always flies when you’re having fun, so I guess it makes sense :)

We last left off as Seth, Emily, Matt, and I were on our way to the Sunshine state for a much needed vacay.  We arrived on Friday night and hopped on a shuttle from the airport to South Beach to get the fun started!  After arriving at our hotel and dropping off our stuff, we headed out to Ocean Ave. (the main boardwalk by the beach) for some dinner and drinks.  As we were eating (and people watching – it’s a great place for it!), I was surprise to look over and see my friend Lynden from D.C. strolling by!  He was in town with some friends for the weekend (small world!), so we ended up getting to hang with him a couple of times during the trip, which made for a fun and unexpected addition to the trip!

A view of Miami from the plane...start getting excited!!!

Emily and I were excited...

Matt and Seth were a lil tired :) 

Seth, Em, and Matt outside Haddon Hall.

Dinner - a.k.a. a pitcher of Sangria and paella...YUM!

Saturday was our big beach day, so our friend Mike came down from Ft. Lauderdale for a day of fun in the sun!  We kicked the day off with a much-needed drink (and for those who have never been to SoBe, the drinks are HUGE!!!) and some grub before making our way to the beach.  After a few hours in the sun we headed home for a little nap before meeting Lynden and his friends at MOVA Lounge (which funny enough has a location in DC where Emily will be having her birthday party on Friday!) for some drinks.

Me and Mike at the Clevelander for some pre-beach fun!

An early b-day for Em = free cake :)

At the gay beach...literally haha!

Me, Seth, Mike, and Garrett getting some much needed sun!

Me, Mike, Garrett and Seth post-beach and ready for a nap!

Me and Lynden at MOVA Lounge Miami.

The next day turned out to be true to its name: Sunday Funday!!!  We started the day off with brunch at Khong River House (I had just read about that in Conde Nast during the flight down) and filled up on a Thai take on brunch and Bloody Mary’s :)  Sunday also happened to be Cinco de Mayo, so we ended up meeting Lynden for dinner and then (after stopping by his friend’s amazing condo right on the beach for a pre-party) headed out on the town to Twist where we got our dance on in honor of the festivities :)  After a bit too much fun we made our way back home via Dash (the Kardashian boutique) and Pizza Bar for a late night snack - yum!

Brunch = AH-MAZING!

Seth, Em, Matt, and me with Wet Willie's...so refreshing!!!

Española Street on Cinco de Mayo.

Em outside of Dash, the Kardashian's store.

Pizza Bar...especially tasty at 2:00AM :)

Seth and I loooove pizza!!!

After some much needed rest, it was up and at ‘em to get some more R&R at our pool.  The day seemed to fly by and (sadly for me!) Seth had to head home to get back to work…but luckily for me, I had Em and Matt by my side for one more night and day in Miami :)  So, after a pretty low-key day, the three of us headed to dinner and stopped by a microbrewery to top off the night.

Sethy poolside...ain't he cute <3 td="">

Me and Em loving the Sun!!!

To wrap up the trip, we spent most of today eating and soaking up some rays at a (really nice) neighboring hotel pool.  We stopped by for a drink and took advantage of our visit (and their nice lounge chairs) to enjoy some last moments by the beach!  With tons of time left, we decided to catch a movie and then grab one last dinner on the Lincoln Ave. Mall before heading off the airport and back to reality!

A view from Deco Blue's poolside deck...so pretty!!!

One last drink for the road...bless you, Miami :)

Although the trip is almost over and it’s soon back to the grind, I had a blast and now feel recharged and ready to graduate and tackle the bar exam…welllll, maybe that is a little ambitious, but it sure was fun and I am very much looking forward to the next adventure with these wonderful peeps :)   Until the next time, much love <3 o:p="">

School's Out FOREVER!!!

Well, I can’t believe I’m saying this…but I am OFFICIALLY DONE WITH LAW SCHOOL!!!  :)  Hooray!  Since I was in the tax clinic this semester, I only had one actual law school exam – which happened to be on the first day of testing, so I got it out of the way in time for a much needed break!!!

Sethy and the pups...LOVE THEM <3 td="">

My first day off: resting up and TV with the pups :)

As you might have guessed due to me being MIA on the Blog, the past few weeks leading up to my exam and wrapping up clinic stuff have been pretty busy…but as you may already know about me, I made sure to put down the books to make way for some fun!!!  In fact, it seems as if people knew I was in the process winding down, as several friends came to town…and my schedule actually permitted me time to visit with them!!! 

Me and my missionary buddy, Jake!

Me and Klint, a friend from SLC!

Speaking of friends, with law school quickly coming to a close, we’ve been trying to soak up every last moment we can with our friends who are leaving D.C. for greener (and prettier!) pastures after graduation.  Tensie is off to Miami, Yas is off to Philly, and EmDem is off to San Fran (to name a few!)…so our posse is soon to be missing some of its key members :(  On the upside, at least they are all three moving to places I enjoy visiting., since I now have an extra excuse to hop on a flight to visit :)

Me, Brooke, and Veronica at Sign of the Whale.

Me and Tensie at MOVA Lounge DC.

Emily and me pre-Tropicalia.

Me, Mandy, and Tensie at JR's pre-drag show :)

My friend Matt (center) a.k.a. SiSi...and he won :)

Now, with things all wrapped up, I have two weeks until graduation (and only a week and a half til my bar exam review starts - BOO!!!), so I’m trying to enjoy this downtime as much as possible…starting with a trip to Miami :)  Seth, Emily, Matt, and I  are currently at 30,000 feet and jetting toward the sunshine state, so expect more adventures to come soon!  Until South Beach, much love and wishes that a big ray of our sunshine shines down on you :)

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!!