My Amazing Family

I love my family. I miss them a lot. This post by my cousin made me miss them even more (click here). This is a true story folks...nothing was added for drama or humor purposes. Enjoy!

In other news...I'm really domestic. Yay me. I bake banana bread. I feel like making any type of bread is very mom-ish. I even made some little muffin sized breads for easy snacking. (Made one loaf without chocolate chips for the "healthy" eaters around here). This is what I did this afternoon to procrastinate doing schoolwork on a holiday. Wayyyy better than research and reading...and much tastier.

I can procrastinate a little today...because I got a TON done on Saturday. I was pretty pleased with myself. There is always more work that can be done, but I was pretty darn productive considering it was the first college football Saturday of the season. I solved that dilemma fairly easily:

This was my set-up at my carrel on Saturday. Outline on one half of my screen, the game on the other. This is during the BYU game...it ended with only 10 minutes left until the BSU game. Sooo I had a lot of time to get a lot done. Eventually I let the game take over my whole screen and bagged the whole outline thing...but I was very good for the most part.

School is already keeping me very busy. I have two classes that are ending mid-semester, so they move pretty quickly. Plus I am doing Law Review, which is just extra work on top of classes. I do 1 night of editing a week. Doesn't sound too bad, huh? Well, what if I told you that it's 6 of us in a little office, each editing 2 pages of a journal article FOR 4.5 HOURS? Yeah...not an ideal weekly activity...but it is what it is. In addition to that, we each write a 25 page review article throughout the year. Deadlines are set throughout the semester...so staying on top of that keeps me plenty busy as well. Then add class reading, eating, and sleeping...pretty much takes up all the hours in a day.

I am sooo grateful I was able to come back with a bunch of good friends in Moscow, though. Brenda is my roommate again...which saves me from insanity. I honestly don't know what I'd do without her in this little town. I also have a couple really close friends from school that make the crazy law school life bearable. Powder-puff football intramurals are starting up this week...so that will be a good release of stress. Our little law school team does pretty well and we always have tons of fun.

Otherwise, life is good. I can't really complain (though I often want to). I was called to the Stake Relief Society Presidency, which is a little overwhelming with everything else going on in my life, but...I guess I'll make the best of it. And that means more blessings, right?! RIGHT?! (That's what I keep telling myself).

It already seems like summer was SOOOO long ago. Time is playing a rude trick on me, making me feel like I've been in school much longer than 2 weeks. But bring it on, time! I'll show you! (...by blogging instead of utilizing you wisely with schoolwork and productive activities). Oops :)

Annnd another installment of "Kids Say the Darndest Things"

It's my last week of work at the Boys&Girls Club. It is super sad this summer because I won't be returning next summer to be with my kids again. Kind of weird because I have been at the club every summer since it opened in Kuna :(

Anywhoo..the kids have been hilarious and also quite sentimental lately, so I thought I'd share some things that make me chuckle.

One of my favorite boys looks like Harry Potter. He is going into 2nd grade and is an only child. So one day I was talking about my sisters and my brother and this boys says, "I really want a brother".

I say, "well, you can have mine...I don't need him".

Boy responds, "Really? Okay. Is he nice?".

"Yeah. He's really nice. He's just a regular teenage boy. Kinda weird."

"Okay. I'll have him."

"K. I'll bring him to the club in a box for you. He's all yours."

So most kids would probably forget about this conversation, or realize that people don't REALLY give brothers away in a box. BUT not this kid. Every day he comes to me and says, "Maren, you SAID you'd bring me your brother. I really want a brother." Ohhh man. He is the cutest and I just don't know how to break it to him that I'm not going to box my brother Reed up and send him away. So I am still currently dealing with this issue and I have yet to tell this boy that he is out of luck on the whole brother thing. Soooo cute.

This one involves the same boy. Please keep in mind during this story that his father is a police officer.

I told some of the kids that I wanted to pack them up and take them home and to school with me because I will just miss them too much. They all laugh and one of the older ones says that I can't kidnap children. I told them that I wouldn't ACTUALLY kidnap them because I don't want the police to track me down. They all laugh again. Sooo...we're assuming they all know this is a joke, right?!

Well as I'm leaving work last night this same boy stops me in the hall and says, "I'm coming home with you. You said you wanted to take us home!"

"Well...I can't really kidnap children."

"Can I have a hall-pass? Let me just call my dad."

"Ohhh....ummm...you don't need to ask your dad. I can't take you with me."

"But I really want to come to your house with you. I'll give you my phone number and you can just talk to my dad."

Yeah...I guess this boy just doesn't know when I'm joking. I am realllllly hoping he doesn't go home and tell his police officer dad that I want to kidnap him and I'm planning on taking him to my house. I promise I'm not a creep. But I guess we could kill two birds with one stone and I could bring him home and then let him take my brother with him when he leaves. Hm.

One of my 3rd graders last summer legitimately thought he could beat me in a race. He talked and talked about it and I would just laugh...until he started trash talking and telling me I would lose because I was a girl and I was old and yada yada yada. Sooo I decide to race him. He was fast...but he was a 3rd grader. Of course I'm going to beat him. So I did.

So the other day we're sitting outside reminiscing about that funny time and one of the boys that wasn't there for the event says, "Well, I bet IIIII could beat you." The boy that I beat looks at this kid, puts his hands up, looks almost panicked, and says "YOU REALLY DON'T WANT TO DO THAT!" haha. I wish I could show you through blog how this kid said it. It was as if he never wanted anyone to have to race me again. So...I didn't race this new challenger because he quickly backed off. I chuckled all afternoon.

Finally, I will share just a couple sentimental moments. Sharing them all would make me sad and take up too much blog. But this kid was my 3rd grader last summer (and one of my favorites). Today he came up to me and put his arm around me to walk down the hall. He looked up at me and said, "Maren. I want school to start. But I wish we could make this week never end because I don't want to say goodbye to you. I would rather never go to school if I could see you everyday." Awww. Melt. My. Heart why dontcha?

This kid hasn't been to the club a whole lot this summer, but was in my age group last summer. He was talking about how he was going to come back to the club full-time next summer and one of my kids said, "Maren's not coming back next summer"...the kid responded, "then I'm not either. Wouldn't even be worth it."

Gosh. If only people in real life loved me that much!

So Long Sweet Summer

So today I spent my hour long break from work doing school stuff. Yeah, school doesn't start for 3 weeks, but there is plenty to be done. As I went through emails and started getting a few things done, I realized there is a lot I should have already done and there is plenty more to be done in the next couple weeks. Ugh. Law school fail. I answered some emails, deleted emails that I missed deadlines for (oops), took a gander at my book list, re-read instructions for law review, researched topics for law review, stressed over my fall schedule, emailed academic advisers about my fall schedule, looked over my fall schedule, worried, and made NO final decisions. Productive? A bit. Satisfying and relieving? Not at all.

The past year has gone by so fast. Last year at this time I was getting ready to start my law school journey. I had no idea what I was in for. I was scared, but excited. Nervous, but ready. (to read what I felt the week before school started, click HERE...I laugh at that post now because those things became so routine to me and it really wasn't all that bad). As frightened as I was, I surprised myself with how well I adjusted and how well I did in school. I was really happy with my entire year and I accomplished things that I never imagined I would. I even LIKED school here and there (crazy, I know). It's hard work, but it was somewhat rewarding.

I'm not scared this time around. However, I am still a tad stressed about starting school again. This fall is going to be hard work. Probably the hardest semester yet. I wish I felt ready to conquer the challenge, but I find myself feeling nervous and inadequate once again. I know once I get back into the swing of things I'll feel better and it will just feel like regular old school again...but until then, I might freak out a bit. I was telling an old teammate about how I felt and she said, "but isn't that what you're good at?...freaking out?!". And I guess she's right. I put a lot of pressure on myself and freak/stress out a lot...but I do it because it motivates me I guess. I like pressure. Sooo as nervous as I am, I'm glad I have a challenge ahead. (Stay tuned).

Looking back on the past year, it is a blur. It really did fly by faster than any year of my life up to this point. It's one of those years that you look back on and wonder if it even happened. My fear is that my 2L and 3L years will go just as fast. I am going to be spit into the real working world too soon. I sure hope I like my job too...because starting a career at 26...that's a longggg life of the same old same old. Let's just hope time slows down and allows for me to grow up a little bit. I wonder when I'm supposed to FEEL older and grown-up? I'm still waiting. Maybe at 25. I'll let you know. For now, I'm going to try my best to enjoy the last little bit of summer without stressing out. K...ready...GO!

Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE my family? Cuz I do. Absolutely love them.

4th of July weekend:

SO good to see the Colorado cousins. We hadn't seen their whole family in such a long time! They came for the weekend and we were able to chat and eat and party a bit. Sadly, they weren't able to attend the classic Melba Fireworks with us, but we enjoyed the time we had with them.

Harry Potter 7 Part 2:

Now...this was a BIG deal. We have been planning on seeing the last HP movie together since we all saw the 5th movie premier together several years ago. My cousins from Mesa came up, as well as cousins from Utah and my Uncle Quin (who isn't even a HP fan, but came for the fun). We made Deathly Hallows shirts and took up 14 seats in the theater. I can't believe the magic of HP is all over. What a sad time in our lives! I'm glad we got to do it all together though.

Gabe's 100th Bday Bash:

Our beloved dog, Gabe, has recently turned 100 dog years old. The event had to be celebrated. We wore party hats (so did Gabe), played Gabe Bingo, and partied pretty hard. We ended the night watching My Dog Skip. If you haven't seen it, you need to. I feel the party was quite a success and we're hoping we can celebrate 150 years before he leaves us.

As you can see, my summer has been going GREAT! I can't believe in 5 short weeks I will be back in school. AHH! Every time I think about it I get overwhelmed. This fall is going to be a nightmare. Even so, I am kind of ready to be back to my structured schedule/life. I probably won't feel that way once classes start, but for now I think that's what I feel. haha.

I love my summer job and I am a little sad that it is coming to a close very soon. My kids make me laugh every day. I wish I could take them all to school with me because they are so supportive and encouraging (well...most of the time...i've had 2 days this summer that i've wanted to hurt them, but other than that, I have loved every second :) ohhh kids).

Oh summer. You have been good to me.

SYTYCD

Abby and I should not be allowed to watch So You Think You Can Dance. We get too many killer ideas for our dance crew. Choreo queens in the house! (I am laughing pretty hard right now...I kill myself sometimes).

Kids Say The Darndest Things

I try to remember every funny thing that the kids say to me everyday. If it's worthy, I come home and write it down. I look back at my list of funny things sometimes and it cheers me right up. I shall share some:

A 1st/2nd grader says to me:
"You are just a kid. Why don't you act like you're 24?" Well, dear, acting 24 is boring and way lame.

One of my 5th/6th graders shouts to my group after grabbing my arm to get my attention:
"Hey, you've got some flab. Everyone! Look at Maren's flabby arms!" (then he continues to poke at my arms) If that isn't incentive to lift some weights, I don't know what is. Well, it wasn't enough incentive I guess.

A 1st/2nd grader tells me so matter-of-factly:
"You are so tall. Not as tall as my grandma though. She's 8 foot." Of course she is. Now wouldn't that be cool if her gma really WAS 8 ft tall and I'm the crazy one for not believing her...

One of my 5th/6th grade girls:
"What ethnicity are you?"...(i tell her I'm just white/caucasian)..."That's it?...Are you SURE? You should make sure." Okay...I'll go home and check the family history again. Just to make sure.

One of my 5th/6th graders from my first summer at the club was telling her friend about the staff...while I'm sitting right next to them, mind you (she was just visiting and she is now going into 8th grade):
"Yeah, Maren's awesome most of the day, but she gets grumpy towards the end." Oh they know me so well. Usually grumpy Maren just needs a snack and a break from hearing "Maren Maren Maren Maren". Who ever thought you'd get so sick of hearing your name? Sometimes I get home from work and I hear my name and I instantly am like, "WHATTT?!" oops...

A 3rd/4th grader announces while I'm playing lightning with a group of boys:
"Maren counts as a boy and a girl...cuz she's cool like a boy, but she's still a girl." I'mmm not sure how that works, but I'll take it.

Our first dress-up day at the club was pajama day. Cami and I are standing there in our PJs and a 1st/2nd grader looks at us for a minute and then says:
"And you guys GET PAID FOR THIS?!" hahaha. Not well...but isn't it AWESOME?!

Two of my 5th/6th grade boys:
"Maren, you're single, right?"...other kid, "It's about time you get a boyfriend"...other kid, "yeah, his name is Derek and he's a professional biker" Oh good. Just what I need...10 yr old match-makers.

I don't remember what I did to deserve this, but I was talking to a few 1st/2nd graders:
First girl to me, "You're WEIRD!"...other girl defending me, "No, she's just different"...first girl, "No, she's pretty mental!" The girls and I laughed about that for awhile after. She's def a good judge of character.

More Drama: from an 11 yr old's journal entries...

Well...remember that identical journal entry I said I probably had? I found one. It's not identical, but it's pretty dang similar. Now, seeing as Father's Day is tomorrow, please know that all feelings expressed in this entry are not real/lasting. I don't want anyone to think that I still hate my dad...I probs only hated him for a night (well...probably several nights throughout my pre-teen/teenage years, but you understand). Every parent gets to hear "I hate you" their fair share, right?! Anyways, here's a peek into my 11 yr old life:

July 3, 1998
Write now I have to sit on my bed, my dad made me just cause I said I don't want to wash. Now I can't sleep in the tent with everyone else. I hate my family sometimes. I had to pick a number between 1 and 20 and we were fighting over drying dishes, I got the closest to the number and my dad made me wash - when I got the closest! He told Elsina to pick 1-2-3-4 or 5 and she picked 5 and so she didn't have to wash - He favored Elsina. I'm so mat at my dad - he acts like he doesn't like me and he likes Elsina better.

The real sad part...the entry ended with this:

That'll show him...crossed him out as if he's not my dad. Brutal. I guess that's what ya get if you like Elsina better. haha. Oh dear. How dramatic was I?!

Don't worry...there's more. When my family moved from Layton, UT to Kuna, ID, I was not happy. You can't move a dramatic 11 year old to another state right before the 6th grade. This will be the result:


And finally...one last little thing that I was CRACKING UP about the other day. There are a series of entries that I wrote while mad at my family:

Aug. 21, 1998
We're in our new house. I hate it. It craps. Why did we have to come here? Tonight I'm sleeping in the bathroom tub. Tonight me and Elsina got in a fight, now everybody is against me everybody hates me.

Aug. 22, 1998
I've locked myself in my bedroom and I'm not getting out. I hate my life. I never ended up sleeping in the tub.

(later on Aug. 22)
Dad got mad and said "alright just write in your stupid journal". Then I heard him talking to mom, he said, "well, if I didn't let her she would be balling all night". My dad always says he never says anything bad about me but I guess he lies. Today a tractor on the other street caught on fire. It was exciting. Well, dad just asked Elsina a mean question about me!
Bye
Maren (the hated)

My favorite parts: "it craps"...what the heck? What does that even mean? haha. "I never ended up sleeping in the tub"...this makes me laugh because I legitimately remember getting our red quilt and my pillow and setting up camp in the bathroom. I wonder what went wrong. "My dad always says he never says anything bad about me but I guess he lies"...oh dramatic little Maren, bless your heart. And finally, "today a tractor caught on fire. It was exciting"...WTHeck? So random.
So, there you have it...Abby wasn't the only one that thought she was hated and unloved. And for the record...my dad is the awesomest dad ever. Seriously. Happy Father's Day, Pa! I'm terribly sorry about the 11 year old me.

I was a teenage monster...

So the other night, my little sister and I laughed for quite some time over one of her journal entries from 2003. That means I was 16 yrs old and Abby was 11 3/4 (she specified in a journal entry that she was 11 3/4...not 11, or 12, or even 11 1/2). I guess we laughed about more than one entry...but I will just share the funniest/saddest. I think our relationship at the time was a problem because I was a teenage monster (which I, to this day, will admit) and Abby was a dramatic pre-teen. So we get the following:

June 23, 2003
Why Does Dad and Maren hate me? Maren treats me like a baby and pushes me around. She thinks I can't do nothing! Dad is always on her side so when we fight, I always am the one getting in trouble. Tonight we were planting sod and she kept saying I wasn't working hard enough. I got mad and I had to go to bed, right away! All I was doing was trying to be extra good and work really hard, but Maren found a way to get me in trouble, she always does! Why does Maren hate me? She always points out the smallest flaws, just to get me in trouble!
If that's the way she wants to play, then watch out Maren, I'm coming back to get ya!
Bye,
Abby the Hated, Picked on, etc.

hahaha. "I'm coming back to get ya!"...? Coming back from where?! Oh Abby...

Another entry ended with this:

I know what you're thinking...and yes, this does make me kinda sad and makes me feel kinda bad. Buuuutttt...only kinda. BECAUSE that's life when it comes to sisters. And I have many identical journal entries from my own journal at that age. Everyone was always against me, everyone hated me, I was always the one getting in trouble when it was really a sister's fault, my parents favored my sisters, I was alone and unloved, etc etc. Any one who has ever been 10-16 yrs old with 3 sisters will understand.

The best part of these entries: how hard we laugh about them now. Now that we're older, we often pull out our old, embarrassing journals/diaries and share different things with each other. I have been so near to peeing my pants from laughter SO many times when it comes to reading through these. We can look back on it now and just laugh. I love it. See?...hating each other turned out to be a great thing! Right?!

Highlight of the Week

Just as expected, seeing my Club kids made my week.

The staff for the BGClub this summer visited Reed Elementary yesterday during recess so we could see the kids and publicize for the summer program beginning in a couple weeks. I will share a few of my favorite moments that made me laugh...

We were out at recess with the kindergartners. Keep in mind that these kids were too young to be at the club last summer...so we were complete strangers to all these little ones.

Random little boy with glasses comes up to me: "Hello, what's your name?" (umm...isn't it supposed to be ME that asks for names around here?)
Me: "Hi I'm Maren, what's your name?"
Boy: (shakes my hand)"Michael. Want to race me?"
Me: "Of course, but I must warn you, I'm really fast."
Boy: "That's okay. I'm faster."

So we race several times. Short races. But over and over again. I obviously let him win a few times, tied him a few times, and beat him by one step a few times to keep things interesting. But once after I let him win a couple times in a row, he CLEARLY made sure I won the next one. haha. What a nice little boy. Wanted me to have SOME success. Precious. Then later in our conversation...

Boy: "Maren...when my mom gets here she can get your number and then you can come over to my house and play all day because you are really fun and nice."

Awwwwww. Those little ones just melt my heart.

The most fun was when my 3rd and 4th graders from last summer came out for recess. A couple of my favorite moments with them...

Kaden: "Maren?"
Me: "Yes Kaden?"
Kaden: "Are you done with law school now?"
Me: "How do you remember that I went to law school?"
TJ: "It's easy! You're going to be a lawyer. Duh."

I don't know why it surprises me so much that my kids remembered that. I just don't expect 3rd graders to remember details about my life. Isn't that the cutest thing ever?!

(to one of my 3rd graders with a little mohawk...he thinks he's quite the ladies man...last summer he was juggling several girlfriends, a few of which were like 16 yrs old haha)
Me: "Hey Caden...this is a new hairstyle...I like it"
Caden: "Thanks."
Me: "Well, it's pretty cool...did you do it for the ladies?"
Caden: "Of course Maren."
Me: "So is it workin?"
Caden: "OH YEAH!"
(later he taught me how to raise one eyebrow...a skill he uses to give the little 3rd grade ladies his version of the blue steel look)

hahahaha. Oh man. I know these are probably not as funny to those reading who don't know these kids or aren't around kids much in general...but even writing about them is making me laugh out loud. Can't get enough. That is, until they are driving me absolutely crazy mid-summer. But until then...I LOVE IT!

I AM: a 2L now....and home for the summer!

Ahhh I am done with my first year of law school! Super weird feeling. When I walked into my apartment after finishing my last final, my 19 yr old roommate says, "You're finished with a YEAR of law school...do you feel OLD now?" Uhhhh....well....yeah I guess now I do! Ughhh.

Being done is such a relief. Two weeks of finals. Five classes that each have a 3-4 hr long essay exam. I was on my second to last final (Property...exciting, I know) and I got so bored sitting there after about an hour. It took everything I had to force myself to focus and get something on paper. I struggled with that exam. On the last essay question I could NOT remember one of the things I needed to remember. I ended up making something up that I was actually quite proud of. Well, proud of for a little while. I made the mistake of going home and thinking "I'm going to check that in my notes really quick"....should NOT have checked my notes. It turns out the B.S. answer I had been somewhat proud of was not something to be proud of after all. So I had about 15 minutes worth of a panic attack before I remembered it's okay to maybe get a C...and maybe it won't even be a C. Sooo...I'm no longer panicking about that. BUT getting that grade just might ruin my summer. Stay tuned.

So after that fiasco I had nothing left in me for my last final. It took me about 2.5 hours and it was scheduled to be a 4 hr exam. Oops. Sorry Prof. Goble, I just didn't care for your exam. Products liability, what a bore. I think I put a couple coherent answers together. I'm hoping for 30 points on that exam. Last semester a 28 out of 200 something possible points got me a B...maybe 30 this semester will get me a glorious B+. A girl can hope! I've only had one grade disappointment/freak out so far in law school and I hope it stays that way. I've surprised myself here and there with grades and I hope I can keep that up. But what a way to ruin a summer...giving us our grades after we're already home and not caring about school anymore. Rude.

So NOW what? Well, I decided to use my first week home to relax, move back in, get situated, write a paper, and read. I thought it would be such a relaxing week. Turns out I NEED structure in my life. This week has been painfully boring and I cannot wait for this next week to begin. Starting this week I will spend a couple days in a law office, just kinda following people around and getting more familiar with things...and then the other days at the Boys and Girls Club, preparing for the summer program. Then next week I'm off to Mesa for my cousin's wedding (LaLa I cannot wait for this...soooo excited!) before coming back home and starting full time at the Club with my kids.

I am so excited to go back to working with my kids. I was going to workout a summer internship/externship in a law firm, but after a couple phone calls from my BGClub boss reminding me how fun it is and telling me they really wanted me back, I decided to spend one last summer getting paid to be a kid :) One of my favorite things is having a bunch of little 7-12 yr olds as best friends each summer. Constant entertainment.

Anyways...that was a whole lot of post for not a lot of exciting information. I'm not even going to read back through it...so I apologize for errors. Editing is not worth my time right now.
Stay tuned for summer adventures!

How Embarrassing...

So…I am sitting in my bed. It’s 10 pm on a Monday night. I have just realized that this day blows. It feels like there has been 3 different days in this one day alone. I don’t know why. Law school does funny things to my brain sometimes. There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot to look forward to here on out this semester…so instead of thinking about that, I decided I should blog. It’s been too long. I apologize to those that have been waiting and requesting…I just haven’t had it in me. But here I am now! And boy do I have some stories for your entertainment (at least…I hope they entertain you…cuz I laugh about them quite often).

This is my “you know you’ve been in law school too long when….” post.

1. One day last semester I was reading what felt like hundreds of pages for torts. I came along a word I was not familiar with… “destined” …I spent a good 3 minutes trying to decide what “de-styned” meant. I was about to google the definition when it occurred to me that the word was not “de-styned”, it was “destined”. WOW Maren. So glad I didn’t get to the googling of the term. How embarrassing.

2. Around the time my trial brief was due, I often found myself not being able to focus on a single task. One afternoon I got to school and parked in one of the front spots by the school. After ONE CLASS (yes, only about one hour later), I walked out to go home and I could NOT remember where I had parked. I couldn’t think about it clearly, so for some reason I walked myself all the way up the hill to the Kibbie Dome lot (not a terrible walk, but definitely out of the way). Welp, then I realized I had parked right in front that day. What do you do when you realize? There are people around and you have to act like you forgot something, or kinda throw your hands up and do an “oh stupid me” look as you turn around and head back down the hill to your car. Oopsie. How embarrassing.

3. I have one pen that I absolutely love. It’s not special…it’s a free pen from some hotel from my volleyball playing days…but I prefer my notes to be written with it. Well one morning I got to class and had a private panic attack…my pen was gone. Checked my bag, went back down to my desk…no pen. I had to use a stupid pen for notes that day. Middle of my second class, I reach up to tighten my ponytail and guess what I found?! My pen. Used it to put my hair up while reviewing notes before classes that morning. Panicked for nothing. How embarrassing.

4. I was watching an NCAA bball tourney game and one of my friends said it was cool that Virginia had several teams in the tournament. She named a few before I added, “WVU”. Yes, I added West Virginia University to the list of Virginia schools. We just looked at each other for a moment and started laughing. West Virginia happens to be its own state. Good work, Maren. How embarrassing.

5. I wrote “do ‘ nt” in my margins instead of “don’t” (I’ve misplaced apostrophes several times in my notes).

6. I legitimately tried to plug in my computer charger backwards (the side that should be in the outlet into my computer, and the computer plug-in into the outlet). Took me a minute to realize why things weren’t working out.

7. I was editing my appellate brief and I made a correction that I no longer wanted there…guess what I did?! I used white-out to fix it. Yes, I used white-out to fix my fixes. Who does that? HOW….EMBARRASSING.

8. At least I'm not alone. My friend woke up one morning and was barricaded into her bedroom. No recollection of how it happened. This is what happens around the time briefs are due. Also...she was reading through her brief and passed right over an important mistake a few times. Luckily she finally caught it. Instead of "Agent Beckett", she had "Action Beckett" in an important heading. Some things shouldn't be looked over...but often are. Seems fine.

My cousin is BACCKKK!

BRYCE IS HOMEEEEE!!! What a great weekend it was for us Ericsons. Poor Bryce was ambushed by a bunch of crazy siblings and cousins...but he handled it very well. I am so happy to have him back...but super bummed that I'm away at school. And even more sad...both him and his sister, Malea, will head to BYU-I for the summer session in April and will be gone when we are back for the summer. Bummer. But I just thought I'd post a couple pics from the weekend. Cannot wait for an Ericson gathering this summer. COUSINS: Harry Potter party better happen. I will be so disappointed if we don't get it done! I am keeping my fingers crossed for this reunion to happen.