Great Attorney Moment

This morning, I had two guardianship hearings. In preparation, I met with a very sweet Down Syndrome girl named Allie. We were having a good conversation about guardianship and Allie's favorite iPad game when, out of no where, she declared, "You're cute." I thanked her for her kind (very kind) words and we continued our conversation. That little comment -- one which would be normally considered socially inappropriate -- was a ray of sweet sunshine. It was, without much doubt, the best moment of my career as an attorney.

Christmas with the Family

We left SLC on Christmas eve to spend time with the family in New Mexico. This year, my brother Bernie and his wife Jo made it down. This is only the second time they've seen Elliot, and the first was when he was sick as a dog. This time, however, Elliot was in prime shape and had a great time with his uncle and aunt. Bernie gave Elliot his first baseball glove, which he promptly used.

Actually, Elliot made out like a bandit this year. He got Candyland (remember that old game?).

But that was just the beginning. He also got a sled.

And a Tonka truck set.

And probably his favorite present of all: playing with momma's ears.

He even got presents from Winston and Carmen. Like I said, he made out like a bandit.

Other than the Christmas morning present ritual, we spent a lot of time together talking and eating. Dem and I did take an evening and saw True Grit, which we really enjoyed. On perk about this trip was Elliot was able to spend his last Sunday in nursery where he actually started nursery about two years ago. In all, it was a great time.

Here are a few more photos, just for memory's sake.

Goblin Valley

Aron Ralstin's book Between a Rock and a Hard Place inspired us to take a hike in southern Utah before returning home from our Christmas vacation. After some searching, we decided on Goblin Valley for a couple reasons: (1) it was on our route home, and (2) Galaxy Quest made it look really cool. Well, it was really cool. the Goblins (more like mushrooms if you ask me) are these interesting formations made by rocks sitting on much less dense soil that is eroded away, leaving the much larger rock on what looks like a stem. And the valley itself seems to come out of nowhere, and ends as quickly as it begins. Elliot, as usual, loved exploring the formations, jumping over the dry stream beds, and generally running wild. We had a great time, and we'll definitely be back this next fall.

Elliot's Three!

Our little stud turned three recently. Unfortunately, his birthday falls invariably close to Thanksgiving, so no one's around for it. Being smart people, we deal with this problem by postponing Elliot's birthday party until December. Unfortunately (again), we are so busy in December, poor little guy didn't get a big birthday party. He did, however, enjoy time with his best little friend Spencer Jeffs and ate sugary, fatty foods. Good times were had by all.