Time for an Update?

Our time in California is dwindling to an end, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. On the one hand I've been able to fulfill my lifelong dream of escaping winter, on the other (hand) I've been spoiled to the core, and fear my winter survival skills are now zilch. But I guess it's time. We have bigger and better things than more schooling on the horizon, you see. Actually, now that I think about it, Bryan has bigger and better things. Yep, now I remember, I just have more of the same.

Okay, okay, lest you, my extensive readership, peg me as a grumbler, I'm incredibly excited for our next adventure and am so proud of my husband for the countless hours he's worked to achieve his goals. You rock, honey! I'm also not even slightly jealous that he's finished with school because that's probably the most terrifying thing for me in my non-immediate future.

Although we're not sure what the future will bring, we'll sure miss you, aptly named "Golden State."

Now for some eye candy (most of these were not taken in California):

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Vallejo


Charleston, SC


Middle of Nowhere, SD


Sturgis


Yellowstone





Alaska


16 Miles of "Berry Picking" in Alaska


Mexico


View of San Francisco from Alcatraz


Go-Car Tour of San Francisco

Happy Halloween (and my first post)!

Bryan and I got in a festive mood this last Sunday and carved two spook-tacular pumpkins while watching Casper. Bryan’s not much for watching horror movies because he gets too scared, so we decided to carve extra scary pumpkins to compensate for his lack of bravery :).

Stanford

We love our new home! It's even better than advertised.

The weather is perfect, the people are kind, and the campus is gorgeous! We were both surprised at how fantastic it is. And just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I find out Stanford has an on-campus and extremely ritzy ($200 + membership fees for 18 holes) golf course that is only $20 for students!

We haven't been able to explore much because I've been interviewing all week and Afton's been busy studying. Nevertheless, we already have some camping trips planned with some Ward members, including one to Yosemite. We can't wait!

Everybody's very happy here, and we believe it's because of the weather. It's always sunny with a cool breeze. What else could anyone want?!

If we would have known it was so great here, we maybe would have interviewed with some local offices. Despite our love of the area, however, we doubt we could EVER afford a home here. The loveliness of the area is well-reflected in the real estate pricing:).

Anyway, we have nothing but positive things to say. We're going to add some years to our education so that we can stay just a bit longer!

St. John

On Saturday Afton and I boarded a ferry to see the neighboring island of St. John. We didn't really know what to expect, but we sure weren't disappointed!

As a matter of fact, it's now our favorite place ever, and we plan on spending the rest of our vacation there! After our 20 minute ferry ride, we had to hike for about 35 minutes until we arrived at Solomon's Beach. We were so impressed that we've decided never to return to Chicago and be beach bums on St. John for the rest of our lives:).

The only downer was the flippin' stingray that kept coming around and spooking us out of the water. I know we're overly skiddish, but every time I see one I think of the Crocodile Hunter, and if a stringray was able to bring him down, we'd be toast.

On the way home, Afton took me out for ice cream, but the guy running the ice cream stand was high and bothersome that we scarfed our ice cream and left. I have to admit, though, that for being high, he sure could make tasty ice cream!

Just when I thought the island couldn't get any better, we found out that Kenny Chesney (my favorite--though not Afton's favorite...yet) country singer of all time! Now I got the name of the place where he hangs out, I'm going to stalk him until I get a picture with him.

As always when we go to the beach, we look like lobsters. We so look forward to the day when we go to the beach and don't get burnt to a crisp. Afton's getting quite the nice tan already!

More to come...

Reporting from the Virgin Islands!

Wow! The Virgin Islands is everything we hoped it would be!

We live right on the beach in a neat little studio condo (the picture on the upper left is from our deck). At nights, after I return from work, we go down to the beach and snorkel. On the weekends and holidays, we are able to go to other beaches n' stuff.

The fish are outstanding! As soon as I am able to develop the film, we will scan them and put them on the blog.

As for the quality of life on the islands, we're just glad we live in a touristy (a.k.a. safe) area. There is quite a bit of drugs and violence. Transportation is cheap, as you can catch the "Safari" for only $1 (although they'll sometimes try and rip you off if you're a tourist). The food is good (but expensive), we have good friends, the sand is white, and the water is clear and warm. In short, we love this place.

We hope to take more pictures soon and post them...in the meantime, enjoy your summers!

Finished!

Finally! No more studying until 11 o' clock every night! No more stressful Torts, Legislation, or Civil Procedure case law and examinations! I'm free! (and utterly exhausted:)

Most importantly, Afton gets her husband back! She's been wonderfully understanding and patient. I couldn't be a luckier guy.

As for the celebration, I think sleep will suffice.

By the way, I hope these image I downloaded aren't copyrighted... You need to beware of these things, you know...:)

You'll be happy to know that the first year of law school is everything they say it is! We didn't get a Christmas Break, Spring Break, any holidays, or even Saturdays off (of course, we didn't have classes, but we had homework). Good thing summer's here (and the Virgin Islands is right around the corner!!!!!).

Our summer in the Virgin Islands!

Well, we've accepted a job offer from the US Attorney in the Virgin Islands this summer. It will only be for seven weeks, and then we'll have to come back to Chicago for interviews. We're so excited!