Pennsylvania Trip

In mid-may we took a weekend trip to Pennsylvania to see my brother, Sarah and their boys.  As an added bonus we got to spend one more weekend with my parents as well because they were visiting Nathan's family too.  Luke lived that up for all it was worth, getting Papa to cuddle with him until he fell asleep every night.  

Luke remembered Nathan's house from our Christmas visit.  He talked about pushing the button and turning on the ceiling fan and he also remembered Skyler's "ipod."  Luke was allowed to turn on the fan when he ate a new food, like pieces of apple.  He got to do the ipod when it didn't drive people crazy.  But overall he was very interested in Skyler and all the other people.  And we had a great visit.  

Our family got in on Friday, late afternoon.  We hung around the house because my family didn't want to go anywhere near a car.  We ate dinner, played some games.  I think we went to bed kind of early.  

On Saturday we went to Philadelphia to see the Liberty Bell and the historic sights.  There weren't any tickets left for Constitution Hall, and the line to the Liberty Bell looked longer than it was.  The boys left to find a restaurant for lunch and by the time they had found one, the girls had seen the liberty bell.  So the boys missed that-- except for Luke.  He got to see the bell, but was VERY disappointed that he couldn't ring it.  

We went to lunch, and everyone had Philly Steak and Cheese except for me because I didn't feel like it.  I ordered pizza of all things, that turned out to be completely lame compared to the delicious smells of sizzling steak and peppers.  You live and learn, I guess.  So if I ever end up back in Philly I know what I'm ordering.  

After lunch we went to a park to let the boys run around.  There was an Asian festival with dancers, etc.  But there were several booths relating to police work.  Luke and Micah could have sat in the armored care the ENTIRE rest of the day.  We dragged them out after about 20 minutes to play at the playground and ride on the carousel.   They both loved the carousel.  I wish I had remembered to bring my camera!  By that time Micah was beyond tired and losing it, so we left and spent the rest of the day at Nathan's.  

As you can see by the lack of diversity in Luke's clothing, I only remembered to take pictures on Sunday.  But here are some of our bonding moments from that day:

Luke and Skyler doing ipad.

Playing with Skyler's "ipod"

Micah cooking in the kitchen

Dance party on the air mattress 

Playing at the playground

Micah has become a fearless climber.

Driving the boat to get away from sharks

Eating Marshmallows

Reading books

Sharing our great garage sale find ($1) with Zack

Taking pictures with Sarah's phone

Luke took this one:

On Monday morning we went to the Herr's potato chip factory.  I think it was the highlight of our trip.  Our guide looked like a juvenile Elvis wannabe, which is pretty cool.  We got to see Luke and Micah shake (literally) with excitement as they saw the chips land on the shaking conveyor belts, and to end it we got super yummy chips in exciting flavors like Baby Back Ribs, at 50% off.

I hope we get to see Nathan's family again before we move, but we may just see them in Utah for Amber's wedding.  Unless you guys want to meet us somewhere for a camping trip?  What do you say?

How Much Practice is Necessary...

to get to perfect?

Saying Goodbye

It's been a very bitter-sweet month for us.  There have been so many exciting things, like graduation! and visits from family.  We enjoyed the short respite from school in between graduation and starting bar preparation in which we spent much more time as a family.  We have also had some special times with friends.

It's the friend part that is so bitter-sweet.  Saying good-bye isn't fun.  There's no way around that.  We have had to say good-bye to many friends this month.  I never imagined that I had so many "kindred spirits" in this world, but a good many of them live in (or lived in) Williamsburg, VA.

There were a couple bit get-togethers which allowed us to say good-bye to many of our friends and acquaintances.  There was the ending social for the J. Reuben Clark Law Society.

Rachel and Luke driving the tractor

Rachel is a year younger than Luke, but they are super good buds.  Just yesterday he had his very first kiss while playing a princess game with Rachel.  Luke wasn't the best Prince Charming, but he obediently planted a kiss when ordered.

Several of our friends eating dinner

I got to know Heather when I watched her daughter Esme for a few brief months before I ended up too sick to walk (pregnancy...yuck!).  She is so cool!  And of course Keegan is one of my super special friends.  I will miss not having her just a mini-block away.  What will I do when I need a spur-of-the-moment play date next year?!!

A lot of 2L families left town before graduation weekend.  It was crazy to say good-bye so soon.  

Melissa and I hosted a graduation party for Jared and Jason on the Friday evening of graduation weekend.  I was happy to see so many of our good friends.

And glad my parents could be there to meet them.

I was excited to see Baby Sylvia and really meet her for the first time!

I took this picture because it absolutely CRACKS ME UP how boys and girls separate at these kind of get-togethers.  It is one of the ways you know junior high never completely leaves.  Ha Ha

We hope those of you far, far away are having good summers.  Know that we miss you and are happy to have been part of your lives.

Law Grad

Jared graduated from law school on Sunday, May 13.  The graduation was actually outside at the amphitheater, but we had to get a picture in front of the law school.  So here it is:

There were over 200 graduates, so opposed to the policy graduation, this was a huge crowd.  The graduation started at 1:30, and they didn't start calling names until nearly 3.  TOO. MANY. SPEECHES.  Even Jared was bored, so I don't think he'd be offended by my saying that.  

Graduates walking down:

Listening to speeches.

And more speeches.

We did a LOT of this:

And this:

Finally, it was close to Jared's turn!

Most of the time, I love the name Wilkerson.  But there are times I wouldn't mind being an Allred.

Luke loved hearing Jared's name called.  Luke thought it was so cool that he kept saying, "Jared.  Aaron.  Wilkerson," all the way home.  

And it's official!  

Congrats, Grad!

Awards Ceremony

The awards ceremony was the highlight of graduation weekend.  Jared was honored for graduating Summa Cum Laude (top 3%), finishing #6 out of 206 students.  He also made Order of the Coif (top 10%).  On top of GPA honors, he also received the American Bankruptcy Institute Award for his 42 page paper on 363 sales.  I bet you all wish you could read it.  And you probably will be able to because it is sure to be published.  Jared also received the Special Education Advocacy Award for his work in William and Mary's special education advocacy clinic.  He represented students in order to help them get the services they require in the school districts.  I was happy to see Jared receive this award because I know how hard he worked for the clinic.  He was very invested in the students and their families, and he worked for each family as if the student were Luke.  I think being in the parents' shoes, at least in a way, helped him be a wonderful advocate.

This is Jared accepting the Special Education Advocacy Award from Professor Roberts.

This was the only award I saw Jared receive.  I was a little late arriving at the ceremony, and the Order of the Coif awards had already been given.  I was dealing with Micah during the Bankruptcy award.  There was a break where I didn't need to listen for anything (during the law journal awards) during which time I played in the lobby with my parents and the boys.  I let Luke and Micah climb up the stairs and wander around on the second floor for a bit.  Luke looked out a window and found all the air conditioners on the flat roof.  He was so excited he wanted to show Mima.  We went down to find her, and while Luke and Mima went ahead of us, Micah and I climbed up behind.  When we found them, Luke was not at the window as I had expected.  He had discovered a door by the window that led out to the roof and was running around looking at all the air conditioners.  Mom was trapped because the door locked once it closed, so if she chased after him they'd both be locked out on the roof.  Luckily Micah and I were not far behind, so I was able to hand off Micah and herd Luke back inside.  Just in time for the Advocacy Award.  All in all, a very eventful award ceremony.

Good job, Jared!

Public Policy Graduation

Jared always planned on being an attorney when he decided to go to law school, but he has always been very interested in public policy too.  He knew that if he was ever going to get a master's in public policy, he needed to do it concurrently with his law education.  We came to William and Mary because of the dual degree-- Jared was impressed with both the law school and the Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy.

Jared's policy program graduation was on Saturday, May 12th.  The policy program only had 16 master's graduates, so it was a very personable graduation.   Jared knew every single graduate as well as all the faculty, and that made it special for him.  

Jared is wearing a different gown than everyone else because he is wearing the robes for the law school.

Jared, Becca, and ?

Professors Jensen and MacBeth

Waiting for his name

Getting that "diploma"

Luke and I went to the very front of the room right before Jared's name was called so that I could get a good picture.  Right after Jared accepted his diploma, and while I was putting the camera back into the bag, Luke hopped up onto the stage and stuck his hand out to shake Professor Jensen's hand as well.  Luckily everyone just laughed, and Professor Jensen shook Luke's hand and gave him his very own "diploma."

Luke thought it was a spy glass.

Congrats, Jared!!!

So glad you chose William and Mary!!!

Luke's Green Glasses

At Luke's 4 year check-up (we went really late), the nurse did a vision screening.  Luke did fine when he could use both eyes, but when he had to cover one eye to do the test he had some trouble.  So the doctor recommended that we see a pediatric opthamologist/ optometrist.  We had to wait about 4 months before we got an appointment with the doctor our pediatrician recommended.  Luckily Luke's teacher's daughter saw the same doctor for some significant eye problems, so she was able to tell me exactly what to expect.  I prepped Luke well with the information his teacher gave me, and Luke did great during the appointment.  I was expecting the doctor to say that nothing was wrong, but instead she said that Luke is very farsighted and is crossing his eyes to see things up close.  And he needed glasses.  

Luke was adamant that he wanted GREEN glasses.  We went to several stores looking for a pair of green glasses that Luke would wear (his sensory issues are even more sensitive by his face), and it turned out that the doctor's office optical store has a monopoly on green glasses for boys.  So after a few days of running around checking optical selections we went back to the doctor's office to order the ones that he really wanted.

I think he made a pretty good choice:

What You Care About

I am clearly behind on blogging.  I will do my best to catch up in the next few days.  I am not planning to go chronologically.  First, I want to blog about the things you all care about the most: Jared's graduation, Luke's new glasses, cute pictures of Micah, etc.  Then I will catch up with the good-bye parties and such that I care about and want to remember.  So check the blog over the next few days!