Graduation, gardens, and glass

For Nathan's graduation, his mom, dad and sister paid us and Toledo a visit:

All done! I told Nate that the picture taking that would happen for graduation should be thought of much like our wedding day: he'd get tired of smiling, start to question the poses, and just want to eat.




He clearly survived.

Nate at his normal desk at the law school. I was acting as a stand in for his would be secretary?

Jackie and I in the Manor House gardens at Wildwood Park.



Me, Jackie, Lisa and Jack near the flood plains behind the Manor House.



Jackie photo bombs with the best of 'em.



A bully and his victim: Toledo Botanical Garden

Fortunately, both geese and tulips were plentiful at the Botanical garden.

Toledo Art Museum:

We had never gone to the museum during the day so it was fun to see outside at the same time.

We were also just in time for a glass blowing demonstration.

This made me hungry for a candy bar.

Nathan, Lisa and Jackie in front of the main art museum in Toledo. Luckily, we got there just in time to see approx 5 minutes worth of Egyptian artifacts before we were told to go home, but we were welcome to come back tomorrow. We settled for this fine photo on the front steps.

Niagara Falls/Palmyra

First stop: Niagara Falls, Canadian side

Niagara Falls is too fun to keep to ourselves, so we showed Nate's mom, dad and sister around during their visit. Our first afternoon in, we checked into our hotels, then set out for a walk to orient ourselves.

This kitty and I had a lot in common.

This was a momentous occasion...no stranger was tricked into taking this photo.

Rainbow!

We didn't realize the tulips would still be in bloom; lucky for us they were all over the place.

And our camera's batteries lasted into the evening this time! Canada is beautiful in general, but seeing the falls was a wonderful experience. I'm so glad we were able to go again.

Second stop: Palmyra, NY; Hill Cumorah

Nate at the top of the Hill Cumorah. It was much more of a hill than I had imagined...some poor guy was mowing the lawn very much sideways.

Moroni

Father Jack, Mother Lisa, Brother Nathan, Sister Jackie.

3rd stop: Smith Farm/Sacred Grove:

We happened upon a nest of baby foxes. They upstaged the rest of the farm for a bit; it was fun to see how close to the temple we actually were.

Sacred Grove

Grandin print shop; first editions of the Book of Mormon were printed here.

The print shop has a vacant law office; Nate officially has a backup plan!

Last Stop: Kirtland, Ohio:

As Jackie said, "Done and done!"

Nate and I in front of the Kirtland Temple. We were too late for the tour, but I wasn't too sad about it...we had the grounds all to ourselves.

Back side of temple

Well, I guess we weren't completely alone...yes, we managed to find a kitty that loved Nate. Yes, I took tons of pictures of it. Yes, I wanted to take it home. Yes, Kathryn would be overcome with jealousy.

The grounds were beautiful, flowery, and cat filled. We had a great time!

Married to the Law

Nate graduated from the Toledo College of Law on Sunday, May 9 2010.

To say "I'm really proud of him" seems cliche, and not enough. But I am. I'm proud to be associated with Nathan-always; bragging that he's a law graduate is now just a side perk. :)

Nathan has not only done well in school, but he's remembered that he has a wife that wasn't attending law school. We had plenty of law related conversations, but I never felt like he was trying to seem more important or even more intelligent than he had been before all of this law business began.

I love this picture because he looks smug. I love Nathan because he isn't smug.

Nate continued to keep the right perspective through school; his work was/is very important to him, but he remembered me, his family at home, his friends, and his church calling.

While there are yet more steps to take until Nathan is finished finished, graduation has been a very exciting and emotional step for me to be involved with. I'm so blessed to be associated with someone so ambitious, loyal, loving, considerate, patient, thrifty, brave, clean...so basically I married a really nice scout. But really.

Congratulations Nathan!