January (the longest post)

With a few notable exceptions (the Inauguration, Sundance, which deserve their own posts), January went by in a blur. Rumba had her leg surgery. She came from the pound with a ruptured ACL. To fix it, she had to have massive reconstructive bone surgery (they actually have to grind the bones down to fit together without the ACL). She took it like a champ. If you didn't know her before, you wouldn't even think that there was anything wrong with her except for her very stylish haircut. She has been as happy as ever and only seems upset that we won't let her walk down the stairs by herself or take her for long walks.

Cheryl had her approximately 40th birthday party at Bambara. Good drinks, good company.



We spent some time with Dave and Inga. Gabe is walking! He is just too cute. He laughs so hard while he is walking that he knocks himself over.

Jen (FINALLY) got out skiing. Unfortunately she did it the day after she spent two and a half hours at the gym at a weight lifting and hip hop class. Her legs were JELLO by the time she finished!

We attended a reception for Calvin Johnson hosted by the Rocky Mountain Innocence Project, an organization dedicated to exonerating people that have wrongfully convicted. Calvin was convicted of rape and spent 15 years in prison before he was exonerated with DNA evidence. We spoke to him for a little while and still cannot believe what an optimistic (and forgiving) person he is. He said that a lot of people ask him, "How can you not be angry?" He responds, "I have a job. I have a house, a wife, and a daughter to come home to, and a dog that wags its tail. What do I have to be mad about?" It really makes you put your own life and all the minor things we complain about in perspective.

It was also interesting to hear how frequently wrongful convictions happen. The best estimate is 7% of convictions. That may seem like a small number, but when you consider that there are hundreds of people in Utah alone that are serving jail time for crimes they did not commit, it is staggering. Calvin also seemed amused that when convicts get out of prison, they have a support system and get some help from the government, but exonerees get nothing. It doesn't make sense to me.

Jen went to see The Yellow Leaf with her friends. Its run at the Pioneer Theater is its first ever. It has not been in any theater before. The play is a fictionalized history about the summer that Mary and Percy Shelley spent a summer with Lord Byron. It was the same summer that Mary Shelley first concieved Frankenstein. She thought of it as part of a contest that Lord Byron proposed to see who could write the scariest story. It started slow, but got really interesting. I would recommend it if it hadn't already finished showing. Be sure to get your tickets for Romeo and Juliet, though.

Jen also fulfilled her duties as the Young Lawyer Division's community service chair by organizing a toy drive for Utah's domestic violence shelters. The turnout was great. Here is her car filled to the rim with toys, books, and games.

The committee gathered enough toys and money to donate to multiple shelters. When the toys are delivered, volunteers will also participate in game night at the shelters.

B-rad turned 30 and we celebrated at his posh pad in Park City (say that ten times fast). The night started with peanuts and m&ms and ended with Rock Bank on the big screen with stadium seating. :)





I'm sure that more happened during January, but I honestly cannot remember what.