Graduation!

April 22, 2011 at 5:00 pm, DeJong Concert Hall

Brett Thomas Nichols received his Juris Doctorate Degree from the
J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University.

It's been a long road, but we've had so many good times along the way. It hit me as Brett took his last final on April 21, 2011 that we're finally done-with law school, and school. It really has gone so much faster than I thought it would. And we suffered less than I thought we would too! I am so proud of Brett. He has balanced so many things and still succeeded, even excelled. I hope he finds the job that he wants that will value him for all that.
He came home from his last final and surprised me with a bouquet of huge, beautiful, white lilies! He said that as he left his last exam, his thoughts turned to me and he was grateful for supporting him. Wow! I was touched. (and it made up for him making me sleep alone as he pulled a couple of all-nighters this week!)
The graduation ceremony was nice. . . and long. I kinda wished we'd gotten a babysitter, but it was also nice to have the girls be able to watch Brett graduate. They've had to sacrifice their dad for three years for it after all! After Brett got his diploma cover and walked around the stage to go back to his seat, Amanda called out "Is that my Daddy?" and Brett heard it. Cute memories. I look at Mandy and think to myself, "That is exactly how long law school is!"
I spent most of the ceremony out in the halls with Ellie, who was so tired but decided she couldn't sleep in my arms. It was frustrating, but at least I got to see Brett walk, hear the best speaker (the first one), and from what I hear, I didn't miss much by missing the main speaker. Thanks to grandparents who basically had full care of Katie and Amanda!

We celebrated with Brett's parents and my parents afterward with
dinner at the Brick Oven Pizzeria.

J. Reuben Clark

Way to go Brett. Now on to Bar Prep and Bar Exams. . .

St. George and Las Vegas

I know it's a month after, but better late than never!!

In October, Brett and I had a little overnight getaway to St. George. We had a free night stay (thanks Steve!) at an awesome place called the Green Gate Village. We stayed in the Christmas Cottage. So fun! We went to Tuacahn and saw Aida. It's one of my favorite musicals from my bachelorette days, but Brett didn't prefer it. That's okay! :) We went out to dinner with our Mission President and wife, the Terry's. We went to a movie in the THEATER and bought POPCORN! (Yes, this is a vacation!!) We took a tour through Brigham Young's home in St. George. We did a session in the St. George temple with family names (thanks Lauretta). It was SOOO fun and SOOO refreshing! We need to remember to be consistent with these outings!!It turned out to be the same weekend that BYU played UNLV in Las Vegas. At Brett's cousin's invitation (thanks David!) we met up with our kids and family (thanks Lauretta and Kevin) and went down to Las Vegas for a brief visit! (Can you see how much help we had???!!!) Katie loved playing with Luke and Mia and the tailgate party was lots of fun. BYU won the game (important!). It was a brief whirlwind trip (what else is new!) but with lots of fun memories.Mia and Katie were such great pals. Mia came over to the blue side by the end of the night.
Mandy loved the popcorn.
Dad won a field goal kicking contest.
Are you red or blue????