Words for the Wingmen

4/21/2019

Dear Family,

Settle in. This might be is a long one (and I probably forgot some things):

First, we are happy and healthy over in our little corner of Provo. This semester has flown by, and the summer promises new adventures, along with the blessing to hopefully see many of you. We were looking forward to seeing Porter this summer in Texas (more on that later), but we’ve been blessed to talk with him a handful of times via Google Hangouts since the mission rules we’re changed.

Nora: Let’s cut to the chase. This is what most of you want to hear about, so I’ll put it first. Nora is a singing, dancing, running toddler. Her favorite current words are milk, book, and walk. And bug and moon. Every morning when she wakes up, and we lift her out of her bed, she inevitably points sleepily to the ground and says “book.” And then asks for milk. And to go on a walk. She loves to go outside and is fearless on the playground slides. We’re also grateful for the newly shortened church schedule, that she’s adjusting well to one nap, and learning to use sippy cups and utensils all on her own. Every stage in her new life seems more marvelous than the last. She is also eating with a fork and folding her arms and closing her eyes during prayers, and when we called Grampy to sing him “Happy Birthday,” she joined in and then kept going. But she still throws food, so we’ve got things to work on.

AnneMarie: AnneMarie is busy being a beautiful mom and diligent counselor in the Relief Society presidency. She also successfully launched her Pilates studio—The Pilates Haus—in January and has been teaching classes Tuesday and Thursday nights all semester. She’s had great support from family and friends who are constantly inviting others. It’ll go on pause for the summer but will be back and running in the fall. With ministering interviews on Wednesdays and Law School Spouse Association (LAWSA) activities sprinkled in, she’s got a lot going on. And she was elected Wellness Chair for LAWSA for the coming year.









Tanner: This semester has been filled with the classes–Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Civil Procedure, Legislation, Writing, Professional Development–and job hunting. January, I applied to many, many firms, government agencies, judges’ chambers (9th circuit court of appeals), companies, non-profits, and research positions. For awhile, the nets came up empty, but we’ve been blessed to finally figure out what we’ll be doing and where we’ll be through August.

At the end of this week, I am heading to NYC for a week-long intensive seminar on corporate law called the “Deals Academy.” Big shout out to Hunter for letting me borrow his suit!!! While there, I will get to interview with and get to know partners at some of the biggest law firms in the world in the hope that they’ll like me and bring me back to work for them next summer. Stay tuned. As soon as I get back from NYC, we’re headed to down to Las Vegas where AnneMarie and Nora will spend time with grandparents and, from where, I will fly to…Australia. I’ll be down under for the month of May working for the international law firm Baker McKenzie in their Sydney office. Adventure will be had, but it won’t be all fun and games because I’ve got (literally) 100 applications to write for next summer and a four-day write-on process for next year’s law journals.

As soon as I get back from Australia, we’re hitching our wagons up and rolling them across the desert to Texas where we’re thrilled to spend time with the Granbury gang. In between visits to Babe’s restaurant for their chicken and biscuits, I’ll be working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuting federal crimes like human trafficking, gang violence, and white-collar crime. Their office originally denied my application less than a week after I applied in January but called me out of the blue in March and offered me a job. Law enforcement must run in the family somewhere.

In other news, we’ve had some marvelous experiences over the last couple of months. I had the sweet chance to see my mission president and sister last week when they came into town for area authority meetings in Salt Lake. I was nervous my Portuguese wouldn’t stand up to the test, but my president pronounced it just great. Port-dog: Vamos praticar quando voce chegar em casa!

I also attended a sealing ceremony for one of my mission companions, a Brazilian from Rio, who has overcome more odds than I will ever face to be where he is now. With no family to his name, he taught himself English watching cartoons as a child, joined the church as a young man, and got himself into and through college in the US, overcoming obstacles at every point. It was sweet to support him as he begins this new journey.




Earlier this Spring, I also made a trip to Phoenix for the Federalist Society’s National Conference. It was a great conference with federal judges, governors, and supreme court lawyers giving speeches on various legal topics in ASU’s brand-new law school building. On our way down to Phoenix, we stopped at Las Vegas where AnneMarie and Nora stayed to swim during the weekend.




My friends James, Ben, and Mike we’re graciously hosted by the Paces as well. The next morning, before we left, James thought he accidentally locked himself out of his bedroom. Not wanting to call attention to his mistake, he jerry-rigged a ballpoint pen to undo the lock. Imagine his surprise, as he knelt intensely in front of the knob, when the door opened and out walked my mother-in-law! He had forgotten where his room was and we all got a good laugh. James kept us entertained later that day when he and his car’s occupants took a wrong turn and ended up in Flagstaff instead of Phoenix. He called Mike and I as we arrived in Phoenix to ask why we were driving so far ahead of them and why it was snowing.

The conference was also a great excuse to catch a spring training game, so myself and my friends watched the Dodgers put a 12-0 beating on the Padres, including their $300 million-dollar third baseman Manny Machado. I’ve never seen a game with so many homeruns! I also got to spend a bunch of time with my friend Matt who was a superior host himself. Before the conference started, we took a trip down to Superior, AZ for fresh tortillas the size of a suitcase and a visit to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. That place is the stuff of dreams, filled with probably every variety of cacti in the world and ten-thousand other plants growing along paths that wind through canyons and over and around streams. At night, after the conference, we sat out in his hot tub and talked and talked. I’m grateful for good friends.

Ok, speed round:

- I was elected Director of Speakers for BYU’s Federalist Society. If you’re in the area, hit me up to come to one of our excellent events with excellent food.

- I participated in two law school competitions this semester: the Rex E. Lee Moot Court competition, in which I made it through to the second round, and the Woody Deem Trial competition.

- I wrote a piece for the Law School’s magazine, the Clark Memorandum, which will be appearing this Spring.

- I got a teaching assistantship for next year with the writing professor. Should be a great gig, but I do have to write a twelve page memo over the summer, so add that to my list.

- August I will be doing research for Justice Tom Lee of the Utah Supreme Court

- (Also in August, we hope to be in a town near you for interviews!!!)

- AnneMarie and I had a blast snowboarding all night for Valentine’s Day.

- Our church basketball team managed to win one game this season, but it was a lot of fun.

- On another recent trip to Vegas, we had a blast welcoming our friend Jaro from Edinburgh to the wild, wild west and took him on a tour of the Hoover Dam.

- We can’t wait for Dad, Breyer and the Bachs to come visit this week for Hunter’s graduation!

Time to go eat some Easter ham.

Love you all,

Tanner, AnneMarie, and Nora