washington dc

To most Memorial Day is an extended weekend of fun to kick off the summer, but this year I was able to see the true meaning of the holiday. We went to Washington DC last weekend so we could see the sights and check off another city from our Northeastern city tour and it ended up being much more than that. This was Jason's first visit to our nation’s capital and my third but sadly the first two times I didn't appreciate the memorials so this trip was much more meaningful.

The first stop on our list after we arrived was to check out the paddle boats in the Tidal Basin. That night we walked around the memorials and I loved seeing them all lit up. Before we left everyone kept telling us that DC is a walking city and there was no need to rent a car, and while I didn't think a car was necessary, I do remember thinking the memorials were a lot closer together than they actually are.

We had read before we left that there is a huge parade in DC for Memorial Day called the Rolling Thunder ride to the Vietnam Memorial, and that we would be seeing several motorcycles but I totally didn't expect to see thousands. Most of them rode in that night and were surrounding the Vietnam Memorial. I wasn't alive to witness the tragedies of this war, therefore, seeing the memorial doesn't affect me as it should, but it was so touching to walk among these grown men in their leather vests and long gray ponytails as they wept for the friends they had lost. I am so glad we were able to see this at the beginning of our weekend because I was able to remember what this weekend meant to all the veterans and it helped me gain a greater appreciation for those who have served our country.

The next morning we caught the first tour bus of the day and we were off to see the sights. Once again the sightseeing tour did not disappoint and we were able to see all that we wanted of DC. The next day we visited the Holocaust Museum and were reminded of the hardships many have endured throughout history. This was Jason's favorite stop. We took our time and were able to read everything that took place. We heard stories from survivors of Auschwitz and it was so sad to hear of their losses. We then visited the American History Museum and got to see everything from the First Ladies gowns to Julia Child's kitchen to Jerry Seinfeld’s pirate shirt. We were able to see the Rolling Thunder parade with it's estimated 100,000 motorcycles but most of all we were able to just relax and have an enjoyable weekend with each other before Jason starts his Bar classes.

While in Washington we learned that Monuments are built during someone’s life and Memorials are built after the person passes, and that the Washington Monument was started during his life but was not finished until after his death. We were able to brush up on our history on this vacation but more importantly remember the true meaning of Memorial Day.

Lincoln Memorial

Vietnam Memorial

Jefferson Memorial

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

The White House

Jerry's Shirt

Supreme Court Building

Exorcist Stairs - Jason just had to see them

Georgetown

The National Cathedral

The Rolling Thunder Parade

juris doctor

It's official ... Jason graduated on Friday and now holds the degree of Juris Doctor.



As I sat in the theater at Madison Square Garden and watched Jason and all of his friends march past I couldn't help but get a little emotional. I was so proud to see him in his purple gown, knowing what an accomplishment it was to be graduating from one of the top law schools in the country. The convocation started with a procession of the graduates marching down the isles through the audience down to the front where they were seated and I was lucky enough to have an isle seat on the second row and got to see each graduate as they passed. Jason has made so many great friends at NYU and it was a little sad to think that they would now be scattered across the country.

The speakers did great but my favorite was the hooding ceremony, where each graduate walked across the stage as their name was read as one of their professors then placed a purple velvet hood around their neck, patted them on the back and crowned them juris doctors (or at least that's how it felt to me).



I know it's blurry but doesn't he look so happy?


I loved their purple "doctor's" gowns. They were so much better than the bachlor gowns. First, the fact that they were purple was my favorite, it just made them look like royalty, which in my eyes(after all his hard work) he should be. On the sleeves were three black velvet stripes and the front was faced with black velvet strips with what resembled a crest with the NYU torch and the year 1835 on the chest and then of course the black velvet cap and purple velvet hood.



After the hooding of most of the graduates they then had the hooding of those who's family members were alumni of NYU law and it was so fun to see fathers and mothers hood their children, grandparents hood their grandchildren, siblings hood each other and even husbands, wives and fiances hooding each other. I couldn't help but secretly hope that perhaps someday Jason will be able to hood one of our children/grandchildren.

I am so proud of Jason for graduating from law school; however, I feel like law grads kind of get the shaft in the title department. I mean, if they get the doctor degree then how come the title doesn't come with it? I would prefer seeing Dr. Jason Larkin to Jason Larkin, Esq. and when do you ever see someone placing the suffix with their name? In my eyes I think they are just as important so I am just going to call him My Juris Doctor.

It was such an honor to be the wife of a graduate and I was touched when people congradulated me as well, I was truly proud of Jason. He has worked harder over the last three years than anyone I have ever known. I have never seen anyone as dedicated to their studies as he was and I feel like it has finally paid off. He continues to thank me for helping him through it but I am the one that needs to thank him. So thank you, Jason, for moving me to this amazing city; for learning what law school is all about; for always working so hard; for the stressful interview process and landing a job that alows us to stay in the city; and for still remembering to make time for me while you did it all. I love you!

Jason's family came to town to celebrate his big day




Some of Jason's law school buddies




Around the law school



**Fun Fact: Jason is the first USU alum to graduate from NYU Law**

color coded

As law school draws to an end I want to document some of Jason's studying habits/quirks. Jason has never studied at the library, (except for the day we were evacuated from our building last year) instead he prefers to lay on his stomach on our bed with his books scattered around him as he types away on his computer. He sometimes has to stop because his arms have gone numb because all the blood has left them but he still prefers the bed to the desk. As finals get closer he can spend an entire day on the bed with a cup of sunflower seeds to keep him awake and a huge bottle of water to quench his thirst. Jason likes to drink caffeinated beverages but before he gets into his finals crunch he has to give it up so he won't get headaches during finals from the caffeine withdrawals. Each night after he has studied all day he has to take a break and watch at least a half hour of TV before going to bed to help his brain unwind. Sometimes he studies quite late right before a final so he also has to wear the headphones when I am trying to sleep - so don't feel too bad for me, I'm not the only one that has to wear them.

But my favorite of all his many quirks are his outlines. In law school a good outline is key to doing well on an exam and I believe Jason has mastered the sport. Some students wait till right before finals to draft an outline but Jason starts working on his from day one. I have no idea what the colors mean but he has his own system that helps him find exactly what he is looking for during an exam. Not only are his outlines color coded but his text books are covered with different colored tabs and the pages are splashed with neon yellow, blue, pink and green. I like to tease him about is highlighting fetish but I guess I can't mock it if it works.

work in progress

We got the keys to our new apartment last weekend so I was able to do a little painting before our furniture arrives from Utah. A lot of you have helped me with paint colors and ideas so here are some pictures of how it looks so far.

The entry way


The living room


The Bedroom



The kitchen


I flew home for a few days last week to pack up our stuff and while I was there I was able to spend some much needed time with the fam. Most of the time was spent packing but my grandma and aunts came up and it was so nice to be together with everyone. And I had so much fun playing with Shae, as you can see, she loves her Hello Kitty.

in bloom

There are so many beautiful trees around our neighborhood that are in full bloom and every year I say I'm going to take pictures and then they all fall off before I get around to it. So to help me remember Mercer and Bleecker streets in the spring time I went out last night and took a few shots.

The trees in our buildings courtyard



This is my favorite little row of trees that I walk by on my way to the grocery store everynight.

reflections of christ

Mark Mabry's exhibit "Reflections of Christ" was on display at our church last weekend and we had the pleasure of seeing his incredible art work. My mother-in-law gave us the book for Christmas and I love all the photos but it was amazing to watch the documentary and learn of his inspiration for each photo and to see them in person. I loved hearing the story of the man who played Christ and how he prepared himself for the shot in the Garden of Gethsemane so that we could all feel his pain and be touched by his sacrifice.

For any of you in the NY area, I would highly recommend seeing the exhibit on display at the Stake Center this weekend. And for those of you who can't, here is a clip of his beautiful photos set to my favorite hymn. The accompaniment of this version of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" was written for his exhibit.



This was one of our favorite photos from the exhibit


**Thanks for telling me about the video, Kimber**

darcy vs. thornton

Has anyone ever seen/heard of the movie North & South from the Elizabeth Gaskell collection? I just finished watching it and now I am obsessed. Mr. Thornton is to die for and I'm still trying to decide who is the bigger hunk, he or Mr. Darcy. I have always been a HUGE fan of Jane Austen's stories and I have seen Pride & Prejudice at least 50 times and I still love it as if it were my first time watching it. I never thought I would love anything more than P&P but I believe it has met it's match. I can't believe I've never heard of Elizabeth Gaskell until now. If you love Jane Austen you have to watch North & South (the BBC version) and tell me what you think.

movin on up ...

to the West side. To a deluxe apartment in the sky.

Jason and I have officially signed our lease and will soon get to call the Upper West Side our new home. It's a little sad to think that I will be leaving my 500 square foot home/room of almost 3 years. I can't believe our studio is the place we have called home for more than half of our marriage. In Utah we never lived in one place for more than 9 months at a time, so it was nice to have been settled in one place for a little longer.

There are definitely a few things I will miss about good old Mercer. I will miss having Jason right there by my side every minute of every day. I will miss seeing him laying on our bed/couch as he studied while I cooked in the kitchen 10 feet away. I will miss living in the Village, it has been so fun trying all the wonderful restaurants and discovering so many amazing gems. I will miss running around Washington Square Park in the mornings. I will miss Mike, our friendly doorman and I will miss riding our bikes to church every Sunday up 5th Avenue. But most of all, I think I will miss always being in the same room with Jason. I know you think we would lose our minds never being apart but it has truly brought us together and helped us really get to know one another.



But there are even more things I won't be missing. I won't miss having to watch tv with headphones. I won't miss not being able to do things while I'm watching tv because the headphone extension only allows me to go 3 ft away from the tv (and heaven forbid I miss part of my show). I won't miss having to go out in the hall and sit in front of the elevators while I talked on the phone so Jason couldn't listen in on my entire conversation. I won't miss having only the bathroom as my place to go when I was mad and didn't want to talk and just needed a door to slam. I won't miss living on the 2nd floor on the busiest street in NY. I won't miss having to open my window every night because it's boiling hot in my apartment in the middle of winter. I won't miss having to turn the tv volume up to 50 so I can hear it over the honking on the street because I have to have the window open because it's too hot in our apartment (if I go blind and deaf at a young age we will know why). I won't miss our dorm-style furniture, comfy lounge chairs and matchy matchy wood furniture, and I won't be missing my kitchenette and 6"x6" counter space. But more than anything I definitely won't miss washing the dishes by hand everynight - I will never live without a dishwasher again.

But all in all we have enjoyed our time in Mercer and will remember it as being the place we lived during one of the scariest, craziest and happiest time of our lives. We have so many memories in our studio and I know in 10 years I will look back and wonder how I ever lived in that much space for that long without going crazy. But I am also very excited to begin this new chapter of our lives in our new apartment we will call home.

dr. laura

The one thing I miss about not having a car is listening to Dr. Laura on the AM everyday. Her talk show was by far our favorite program and we loved when a road trip was planned around the time of her show (Yes, Jason is a HUGE fan).

I love her straight forward approach to every situation and how she is not afraid to tell someone when they are being an idiot, but most of all I love her views on stay-at-home-moms, so I was very excited when I saw her promoting her new book on Larry King the other night. I am not one myself but hope to be someday and I hate that I have to defend that choice when coworkers ask me about my future career goals.

I just thought some of you SAHMs out their might appreciate her new book In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms.

They number in the millions and they are incredibly important to families and to our society, yet they are underappreciated, little respected, and even controversial.

Who are they?

They are the stay-at-home moms.

These are women who know in their hearts that staying home to raise their children is the right choice for the whole family. Some do it from the outset of their marriages, while others make the difficult transition from career-driven women to homemakers. Either way, it is a choice that is incredibly rich and rewarding, not to mention challenging.

Now Dr. Laura, building on principles developed during her long career as a licensed marriage and family therapist, provides a wealth of advice and support, as well as compassion and inspiration, to women as they navigate the wonders and struggles of being stay-at-home moms.

Learn how:

to hold your head high and deal with naysayers;
to see the benefits of being home not only for your children but also for your marriage;
to understand the changes you see in yourself;
to realize that the sacrifices you endure now will make for lasting bonds and a stronger family, in addition to a more cohesive community.

In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms is a special book, a profound and unique understanding of how important it is for mothers to raise their own children.

on set

One of my favorite things about NY is that there is always something going on. We are constantly seeing film crews out and about but very rarely do we ever see anything good.

It was rumored that Angelina is filming her new movie "Salt" at St. Bart's church right next to the building where I work so I've been trying to see if I could catch a glimpse of her. They have been filming for a couple of days and yesterday there was a ton of extras dressed in police uniforms and all the paparazzi were out with their cameras, so I tried to stand next to them to see if I could see her but I had no such luck.

Obviously, the rumors were true and someone was able to get a shot of her.