Gradumation!

I must preface all this with the statement that the University printed on the program: "Attending this ceremony does not automatically imply that a participant is degree-complete.  All academic credits, financial obligations and the completed diploma application are required prior to official degree conferral."  FINE.  But I kind of graduated! 

This last weekend I walked for graduation with the other 900 some University of Phoenix students at a surprisingly nice ceremony inside the Orleans Arena.  Here are some highlights:



Not my favorite person, but a person who had some good thoughts at times and has made me appreciate my current supervisor and faculty advisor.   A LOT.  :)




Party sparkles after the ceremony.




Half of my face on the left...




Dad, Liz, Mom.




Liz and the J. Harrison kids.




Alisha (snuggling), Liz, and Jim.




Jackie, Liz, Nathan, and Mom Lisa. 




Finally got rid of the robe! 




Graduation lunch at Bahama Breeze.  As always, it was delicious and it was fun to visit with everyone. 




Nathan and Jackie. 




Our graduation picture which will also be counting as our Easter picture (we forgot this year). 




Huzzah for Costco and Steve/Michelle for giving me the idea! 




Me practicing for blowing out the...fireplace.  We didn't have candles, so we went for the next fire source. 




Me (getting emotional) reading cards. 




My new toy!  Thanks to Nate and my family for my sewing machine and other gifts. 




Now that I'm somewhat official, it's apparently okay for me to point at people when I talk.  :) 

 While I'm not completely done (December 18th!), I enjoyed my experience this weekend.  It was a great excuse to see lots of family all at once and it made me stop and think about all of my blessings that have been there in order to get me this far.  Thank you to Nathan and my family for his support, encouragement, and patience.  I don't know if I would've had the energy to keep going alone.  xoxo

Bennifer Eclipse

Ben, Jenn and Gray visited us to see the recent eclipse, Vegas-style.  For the record, nothing is different about a Vegas-style eclipse, but it sounds hot, right? 

One of my many attempts to capture the eclipse...we could see it after staring at the sun several times (yes, we know we weren't supposed to) and it was exciting. 

But not as exciting as this!

Enjoying the dimmed sunlight...little did we know we had stepped away from a recently awoken baby whose form of enthusiasm for the eclipse took the form of infant wrath.  Sorry, Gray. 

We determined a modified salute to the sun helped us view the eclipse a bit better. 

Monday we headed out to Lake Las Vegas to check it out.  It's beautiful out there and pretty desolate...two things I like, so I think we'll visit again. 

Did I mention it was boiling?  Gray took matters into his own hands and cooled off, fountain-style. 

After shopping and eating a few times, we headed to the atrium of the Bellagio for their summer display.  They were messing around with the lights quite a bit, but it was still very pretty.



I'm lucky I have a husband that doesn't get embarrassed...




so is Jenn...;)


Until next time!!



Staying Classy

To mark the end of my first semester of internship, Memorial Day, and just a general need to get out of town, we headed to San Diego for the weekend.  We felt the slight sting of the absence of my travel agent perks, but we branched out and had a good time.  We went on VRBO and found us a lovely, available, and inexpensive rental to escape to.  Nate was able to get off work a bit early on Friday, so we enjoyed a drive mostly in the light of day, stopped at a ratty Wendy's in Victorville, CA and found our little studio by about 10:30pm.  Luckily we didn't disturb the drunken party in full swing next door!

Nate-su in the apartment.  It was small, but very cute with cool decor...like Nate in a mirror.  :)



After sleeping in, we roused ourselves and walked down along the beach to Crystal Pier.  We stayed in Pacific Beach (near Mission Bay/SeaWorld) because we love that area; this trip was no exception. 




Actually walking under the pier was just as frightening as walking on the pier, interestingly enough. 



We took this picture on the pier whilst a conversation re: "what was Michael Jackson's best song" was in full swing.  I should've told them "Ben" and they could've called it a day, but I decided to stay out of it. 

The San Diego Temple...view from the Marshall's parking lot...Nate packed precious view shirts so he is now the owner of a smashing purple Michael Weston-esque number. 



Liz prior to fish taco inhalation.  I was we were ravenous by the time we found Fred's Mexican Cafe, so it could've been disgusting and I wouldn't have cared.  But it was not, so I did. 




On the beach after church.  What happened at church, you ask?  We visited our favorite ward house and met Mitt Romney in Sunday School.  It was a bit crazy to see the Secret Service at church, but after awhile it felt normal.  And at the risk of sounding incredibly cliche, that Brother Romney is very charismatic and very real all at the same time. 



Nate walking in from his frolic in the water.  Regardless of how cold it is, he'll still go.  I was a bit chilly, but he said the water was great.  (He sometimes lies)



Walking along the boardwalk after the swim.  Also not pictured is our evening jog along the boardwalk.  Saturday night we ran from our apartment down to Belmont Park and back.  I just mapped and it was about a 5.5 mile route (much longer than I'm up to at home, but the beautiful scenery, ocean breeze, and inebriated beach walkers made it seem easy-peasy). 




Shopping at Midway.  We did think about visiting the USS Midway, but we reasoned to would be a nice trip when we have a bit more cash...incidentally, we found a Sam Goody location with a fabulous sale that allowed us to get all three seasons of Arrested Development for chicken feed. 




We ended up eating at Hot Dog on a Stick before we headed out...I am thankful to them for creating a turkey dog that makes me feel somewhat less guilty.  Apparently I didn't feel too bad because our dinner ended up being In-N-Out...oopsie!  Gluttony aside, we had a nice, simple, relaxing weekend in 65 degree weather...and before you get too jealous, we came back to 100 degree weather and more roaches than I care to mention.  Hurray for summer and hurray for weekend trips!  :) 



Higleys and the Presidents

For Presidents' Day, Mom and Dad Higley came to town for a visit.  We didn't have much on the schedule, but we had a nice relaxing weekend, kicked off by a visit to our favorite Greek restaurant.  I am starting to feel like we are forcing visitors to go to that place, but seriously, it needs to be tried by all. 

While Nate worked on Friday, I escorted rode with Mom and Dad H (k, this will get confusing; let's say Mom L and Dad J) first to Costco for some necessities (Cashew Clusters), then over to Red Rock Canyon.  Twas a beautiful day for a visit! 

Seriously?!  Total Donkey Yellowstone moment...everyone pulled over and got excited.  Especially me!

We had a chance to visit the temple on Saturday as well...we got this picture after being told we couldn't take photos in their atrium.  Whoopsie! 

The house across from the temple we "discussed" purchasing.  We decided the price was too low and moved on. 

I mean, who doesn't love a yarda* sale on a Saturday??

Why my mother-in-law is so cool.  This was on the 3rd take, too. 

*Spanglish for yard