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Law School Life

January 2021: I have a dream! by Hunter Schenewark

Too much has happened, and too much is staying in the sealed portion of my plates for now, making a full update impossible, soooo here are some pictures and captions:

I started the year off with covid. Thankfully, my symptoms weren't bad at all. I had a minor sore throat for two days and felt fatigued. And my nose burned in the most unnatural way. That word, unnatural, is the best way to explain this whole illness. (While I never had any respiratory issues, it has been unsettling trying to run since then, and struggling to get air. I haven't made it past 1 mile yet...) And those two days were wonderful, as I had the cutest nurse caring for me. She kept me well fed, attended to any request, and was so sympathetic.

(Personally, the worst part of covid was being in quarantine for days upon days, unable to go out anywhere. My first week of school I attended to via zoom and that was terrible. Plus, when I returned, I was relegated to sitting in the back of every classroom as the front seats were all taken.)

Finally out of quarantine, this is me with my partner Dallin Checketts. We teamed up for an advocacy competition for first-year law students. We had high hopes, and were disappointed to not bring home first place. We did learn lots, and I had a blast preparing and being in front of a "judge." Porter was one of our witnesses for the trial, and he stole the show, doing a remarkably fantastic job, and portraying an old Texas rancher astoundingly well.

Friday January 22nd: Dinner party with some law school friends. We had baked and breaded haddock that was mouthwatering. Maybe the best fish I've ever had.

Dinner was at 5, but the fun went past 11. I had never spent time with any of them outside of school, and it was incredible to see all of their talents. They played piano and sang for hours. Here, Sarah and Maren are doing a Les Mis duet with Cris at the piano. The three of them did an impromptu improvised show after dinner. They made up the words and music on the spot, and honestly, I think it could have been on Broadway. I was crying it was so amazing.

The inside of a birthday card for someone special. Delivered with giant, gooey chocolate chip cookies.

Friday January 29th: Game night with lots of food. Turnout was good, and we played games and talked until 1 a.m., when I politely thanked the last few remaining for the fun times, and remarked it was my bed time. Really fun night, and one that reminded me of what I term, "the miracle of Provo." Some of the people who showed up, I had never met before, and it is always inspiring to meet so many truly good people. I love that about living here. I meet people everyday who are service-oriented, and enjoy good, clean fun, and sincerely want to see others succeed. It's a remarkable place.

Other highlights from the month that was:

MLK Day: This is two celebrations in one. Kevin and Trevor introduced me to MLK day, "Most Loved Kid Day," in which parents call their favorite child. I left my phone on all day, but heard no ringing....maybe next year 

And for the actual MLK Day, Andrew, a friend at school shared how his wife and him go to Chick-fil-a every year as Martin Luther King was from Atlanta, and so is Chick-Fil-A. I immediately thought that was a fun tradition I could get behind, and so made this year one, ordering a couple sandwiches and sharing with Jules.

The Netflix show, "The Queen's Gambit" has brought chess more mainstream, and I've had more friends picking it up. The 19th, John Carlson was in town visiting and we had spaghetti and played a few games, and then I played with Lawson and Bryce at their house. Don't worry, I'm staying undefeated.

I had a wonderful conversation with Pres. Young.

Reigen, Kobe, Dillon, Aaron, Ethan and Porter came over for a chicken and gravy dinner. Everyone's chicken was done, except for Reigen's. For some reason, his was dripping blood. When I noticed that, I freaked out and told him to stop eating it, but he insisted on continuing. It was a tense night, as we waited to see how he'd fare, but his statement that he had a very strong stomach and had eaten plenty worse before was apparently true, as he had nary a problem.

In quarantine, I stayed grilled to the news as the Capitol was overrun. It felt like a true shift in the psyche of the nation.

I watched the inauguration of Pres. Biden.

I was called to serve as a Sunday School Teacher. Which is like a dream come true, and the Bishop loved how happy I was to accept.

My new deadlift record is 345.

Eating at Waffle Love, I had my first savory waffle, a delicious concoction of chicken sandwiched between two Belgians.

And getting kolaches was fun!

Mickala and Kyle came over for dinner. They are so much fun to be with. We had fajitas and next thing I know, I'm saying goodnight and buying flowers to gift.

I have had some especially memorable conversations with Mimi this month. I've shed lots of tears with her, and shared even more laughter. I am so blessed to have her as my grandmother. I love listening to her stories and bathing in her wisdom. The Bach's too, have lent a listening ear and helped and comforted me as I've struggled with much this year. I'm so, so grateful they are part of my life.

Genealogy - I went online and clipped obituaries from dearly beloved departed friends. Doing so, I learned lots of new things, like one former Sunday School teacher was a mother of the year in West Virginia, and hosted a locally broadcast cooking tv show. I appreciated remembering them, learning about more of their lives, but also wished I had a chance to talk to them again.

10 days after leaving quarantine, and nearly 3 weeks since any symptoms, I suddenly lost my sense of smell. I could still taste some things, especially fatty foods. However, I discovered my smell was gone as I severely burned my food while cooking. I never set timers and am so used to going by smell to know when something is done cooking. Thankfully one of my roommates was home, as I turned the stove on, went to my room, and didn't have a second thought until that roommate left his room due to the smoke that was starting to fill the house. I didn't smell a thing. Despite trying to be careful, for the week that my smell was gone, I burned a few additional dishes (not nearly as bad though).

Ingrid was born!!!!! January 17th, 2021. A day to remember.

I love this invitation and promise from Pres. Russell M. Nelson:

"Ask your Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, how He feels about you and your mission here on earth. If you ask with real intent, over time the Spirit will whisper the life-changing truth to you. … I promise you that when you begin to catch even a glimpse of how your Heavenly Father sees you and what He is counting on you to do for Him, your life will never be the same!”

With All My Love

Dear Elder Schenewark,

What a week! Still no negative results on my Covid test so I'm still at home. I cannot complain. I've enjoyed cleaning, moving bedrooms, and catching up on projects like hanging pictures that have remined undone for a long time.

Of course baby Ingrid is still the news of the week. She spent some time talking to me, and gave me her hiccups. Dad just grabbed me around the ribs and scared them away, but 40 minutes was brutal. When Tanner said she was getting gas I hung up. She's absolutely adorable.

Breyer and Dad drove to Fort Worth again to pick up some fish. Instead of coming home with glow fish she has four Guppies. She's deciding on some names. Three are orange, two with some black on their tails, and one is yellow. She talks non stop about her fish responsibilities. When Breyer was unable to locate the food this morning she was teary eyed as her fish were looking for food. Update: Finn the fish passed away today, one of the orange ones. She was a little teary eyed. He's in the freezer, and she wants to bury him in the backyard. Update: Finn's in the trash.

The dogs are doing well. The cage has been moved into the boys' room and they're getting use to and liking their new routine. Miller is in charge of their potty breaks, and after their last dark encounter outside, Dodger goes into the cage, and Wagner is shut in the room so he is quick to find his hassock.

Miller had a more successful basketball game Thursday against Joshua, the team winning handily. Miller scored 3/4 of the 40 something points, only playing half the game. The head high school basketball was also in attendance for a few minutes to watch him play.

Sawyer's team won both their district games this week, at home. I'm not sure if they'll be able to do that when the teams have their home advantage. The district is very evenly matched, and it's been a battle every game. They're now 3-2 in districts. Your Aunt Janel and cousin Luke came down to watch Sawyer play. Such a treat to be with family, especially since we haven't been able to gather as often. Even though due to game circumstances Sawyer only had one point, he appreciated them being there. Luke brought a new, fun game to play. Saturday morning Janel and I visited a new bakery in town for breakfast, recommended by the Smiths. It was pricey but okay for a special treat.

Miller wanted to buy a Frisbee on line. He wanted to use his money. I told him no. Instead, I had him dig up the tree that died, re-dig the hole, and we planted the tree that was overgrowing the container. I hope this one lives. Speaking of living Miller survived his almost first full week with braces. The upper half was decorated in blue Monday, and he's been eating like an old man ever since. Yogurt for lunch, soup for dinner, smoothies for breakfast. He's expanded his eating options this weekend, but isn't ready to return to his manly appetite of the past.

After scheduling it on line, I stopped at a CVS after church today to get a swab test. I thought it would be in my mouth. No. It was a self-induced nasal cleaning. And I have the usual now third in a row Monday afternoon brain pain. Someday I'll test negative. Hopefully! 

So we're waiting to hear from you all about mission life, ward life, missionary companion life. Mostly the good stuff, a little funny stuff thrown in the middle, and the rest of the story.

Did you get our box? I was expecting to hear from you, via text, when you received it this week. Weren't the contents the bomb?!?

Love you! Can't wait to talk with you tomorrow!

Mom

Law School Life

 

14-20: walk with me, I think we’ll find a way by Hunter Schenewark

Yikes! I'm falling way behind. This will be a quick recap:

Monday December 14th,  I felt completely free - done with school, and now left with an unexpected week in Utah instead of Massachusetts, with absolutely no plans. Julie didn't have work, so we did a double date in the afternoon, being joined by her sister Rachel and my friend Kobe. We used little teacup candles and made mini-smores, out of cereal, mini-marshmallows and chocolate chips. I was skeptical, but it ended up being lots of fun, and really tasty too. Much better than normal smores in my opinion. Plus, the weather was quite frightful, or at least freezing, so being inside was nice.

Not my hand, for the record.

 Wednesday was book club - for the last meeting of the year, we finished De Animus. Afraid I still didn't quite understand most of this book.

Friday we had another double date. This one was with Rachel again and Alex. Alex is Reigen and Kobe's roommate who I met hot tubbing a few times, and then ran into him unexpectedly at the plasma donation center. It was a little strange being with him in a normal environment given our previous interactions. Curiously, in his words, since he's only seen me lying on a gurney, or immersed in a hot tub, I was much taller than he expected. Wasn't my favorite date all-in-all. We made gingerbread houses, then went caroling and delivered them. An impromptu snowball fight also broke out.

Saturday, I went up to the Capitol in SLC to help Carson with some film projects. When he was done, he snapped a couple pics for me.

The Capitol is only 10 minutes away from the Keller's house, so I headed over there to meet up with Jules. We had planned to go to the Cheesecake Factory. They don't take reservations in advance, and we knew it would be busy but holy moly, that place is doing good business. We got there at 5, put our names down for the list, and then wandered City Creek Mall for 2 hours. The hostess hinted it would be a 2-2.5 hour wait, so we snacked on some chick-fil-a first to tide us over. We returned to some benches outside the restaurant and waited for another hour before we went inside. Despite such a long wait, it was worth it. The food was amazing! I'm glad we could go, and Jules was nice enough to pay for everything. It was late, but before leaving to head back to Provo, I went back to Julie's neighborhood for a little. It was a really fun date night! Wandering around the mall was a blast, and after dinner we also had time to converse over some deep topics I'd been wanting to talk about and bond more.

The Mall's giant Christmas Tree

Temple Square was closed due to the construction happening, but some lights were still up, including these by the Conference Center.

I found out this week that my old boss, Ben S., quit from ListReports. That was unexpected news. He's still the best boss I've ever had, and I am so thankful for the time I had to learn from him. A few weeks ago, I went to lunch with Vinny and Tanner, two old co-workers. We met up in Lehi at Vinny's favorite place to eat, Jersey Mike's.

 With Ben's exit, it feels like the end of an era at the company. Reportedly, he left because he was tired of feeling like he didn't have much of a voice or say in the company's decisions, with the CEO deciding everything his way. I'm sure most of the Utah sales team will start to drift away. Ben was the glue that held it all together. However, I think that the Board of Directors realizes that the Utah employees will leave without Ben, which makes me think that they are ready to close the door on what has been a less-successful experiment than expected here in Utah.

I love this scripture in Hebrews 12:2 --

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

I know that Christ suffered for all of our sins. He endured unbelievable pain and agony for each and every one of us. But, it was because of the eternal joy that would be possible that he endured. Similarly, I know that if we keep in mind the eternal joy that is possible, we will have greater fortitude to endure and make it through hard times.

With All My Love

Dear Elder Schenewark,

I have realized, somewhat abashedly, that I have addressed all your letters to Cooper. My apologies, Elder Schenewark. Here's to a new you!

Yesterday Breyer and Dad spent some time together purchasing items for her 10 gallon fish tank, her Christmas present this year. 

I have been moving bedrooms. I think I mentioned this last week? But now that she's in my former bedroom, she's using one of the nightstands as the base for the aquarium.  After getting the tank up, the filter on, the light attached, the bubbler planned, the rocks cleaned and dumped, the shock added, they drove up to Fort Worth for her planned fish, but came home empty handed. All the stores recommended that she leave the tank up and running empty for a week to adjust the bacteria flow and temperature. To say she was disappointed is an understatement, but she did enjoy going to sleep with her fish light on. The rocks have glow in the dark elements, as will some of her fish. She also has plans for all her birthdays and future Christmas events: her only gift is some sort of animal. Lizard, turtle, rabbit, hamster - she's ready to convert her bookcase into an animal menagerie.  

Miller had a friend event planned, at the last minute, for yesterday as well. One friend had to get dropped off at 8:30 a.m. but arrived at 8:00 a.m. Miller was in the shower so he was greeted by me in my bathrobe. Friends came and left all day, with his event ending 8:30 p.m. Twelve hours of entertaining friends, and Miller was done in. It was actually pretty funny, and they were no problem at all. Pizza for lunch and spaghetti for dinner, a fire pit and s'mores to finish the visit. They propped up the corn hole boards with the large Jenga blocks, and had Breyer putting together bean bags made from rice and old socks. They do need your special touch to make them first class, but they passed in a pinch.

Sawyer finished Shady's knife sheath. His game Friday night got him home 11:45 p.m., so he didn't have a lot of extra umph in him yesterday. He did get some seminary done, and made it to morning shoot around - a mere 600 basketball shots. He scored 23 points out of the 63 points that night, led both teams in scoring, three point shots (2), and free throw points. As the drive was over two hours, and Wichita Falls broadcast the game, we elected to stay home and put him up on the big screen. Your grandmother enjoyed the game as well as some of your brothers. Aunt Becky and Stevie want in on the next game.

The rest of the week was school and practice. Wait. How can I not mention Miller's game Thursday? Oh right. None of us want to remember it.  Burleson Hughes won 74-9. It was awful sitting there watching that crash. Over and over. I won't mention all the thoughts I've had on his coaches and their techniques, but they've been many and frequent. Your grandmother told me to pray for them. I think Miller had four there.

We attended church today. What a treat. We haven't been there in person since the 20th of December. 

This week was National Pastrami Day. Only your father would find that day to celebrate. With my encouragement he brought home some meat, swiss cheese, rye bread. Add in some deli mustard and pickles, it was a SANDWICH. Yum! We've also made plans, while in New York City, to visit Katz's Deli, founded in 1888 and still successfully making pastrami and sandwiches. So so good! Dad had those on his lunch menu every week. I never had any until after we were married. He also purchased sauerkraut but we didn't use it yet.

And of course the exciting news of today was the birth of Inrid. Tanner and AnneMarie will have more details, but we do know she was born about 3:30 p.m. MST, 7 lbs. 13 oz., 20".  Both are doing well, and possibly released by tomorrow evening. We've all been waiting all day for her arrival, and apparently when it happened it was quick! Still waiting on the middle name. Lots of dark hair. So excited for grand baby number two!!

Have a wonderful week! We love you. We love the work you're doing.

Mom

Birth of Baby Ingrid Priscilla Schenewark

 

Missionary President letter

Dear Missionary Parents,

Sister Smith and I would like to keep you informed of the following information that we received, and subsequently sent to each of the California San Jose missionaries regarding civil unrest that may occur January 17-21, 2021:

In light of recent political events and the upcoming presidential inauguration in the United States, please review with your missionaries the following important sections found in Missionary Standards for Disciples of Jesus Christ:

• "To show respect for others and to protect your safety, avoid potentially problematic topics of conversation.  Topics to avoid include local and national politics of the areas where you serve; also avoid private or public political statements." (Missionary Standards for Disciples of Jesus Christ: Supplemental Information, 7.3.1)
• "You may encounter people who are negative or aggressive.  If someone is rude, be polite and leave the situation.  If you sense danger, leave immediately.  The safety of you and your companion (see 4.5) is your first priority."  (Missionary Standards for Disciples of Jesus Christ: Supplemental Information, 7.3.1)  This includes avoiding all protest, riots, and other public demonstrations, as well as conversations related to these public demonstrations.  If missionaries encounter a public demonstration, they should leave immediately.

Where there is the potential for significant unrest, it may be necessary for some missionaries to remain in their apartments at times.  Please use your inspired judgement based on local circumstances and the guidance of the Spirit.

We do not anticipate issues within the California San Jose Mission, but want each of the missionaries to be aware of possible unrest and the importance of following the already published guidelines in the Missionary Standards for Disciples of Jesus Christ.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

Respectfully,

Gary A. Smith

Mission President

California San Jose Mission

1336 Cherry Ave.

San Jose, CA  95125

C 408-858-9001

Granbury Pirates Varsity Basketball Team

 

Letter #3

 Hola y happy new year,

2020 is behind us. This week was an interesting one. For one thing, I had someone offer me drugs for the first time. My companion and I were walking around a neighborhood going to a members house and a dude pulled up in his old beat car and decided that he'd ask the two well groomed men in suits if they'd like drugs. We gave him a pass along card with a picture of Jesus instead. 

I'm also super jealous of the people out here. Everyone has a palm tree in their front yard and an orange tree or lemon tree or pomegranate tree in their back yard. We saw a tree with grapefruits bigger than softballs. I've also started teaching an Elder from Columbia English slang. I've taught him Y'all, punk, no cap, trippin', and this bato (dude) has been teaching me some Spanish slang.

I bought a little notebook to write down all the words I hear and don't know. The first three words this week were

Coquetear—to flirt

Cabello-hair

Cajuela-trunk

So naturally when I was practicing (at a members house) I said " I am going to flirt with the hair on the trunk." I've never seen anyone so off guard jaja.

Quick notes cause P-day is almost over

 I've had two people ask me if my name is German because it looks like Schwarzenegger. 

I'm growing the chiles de árbol that made my tongue sore

A lady in the ward owns a food truck and she let's us eat there for free. She made the burrito in the picture 

I made cinnamon rolls for the first time

Whenever I'm full, I keep saying I'm flat (Llano= flat lleno=full)

The best in the west, 

Elder Sharkbait

(ooh ah ah) 

With All My Love

 

Dear Elder Schenewark,                                                                                                       10 January 2021

What a lovely day! The snow has been falling steadily since 7:30 a.m. It is currently 3:30 p.m. and the ground and trees are covered. I expect it to be slowing down shortly though. Church was cancelled. The boys and Breyer built a snowman to rival the tall one built in Ohio. A snow fort was also begun, snow ball fights occurred, and dog antics were enjoyed. Dad did take some video and pictures for you of the dogs, as per your request.

We are definitely not equipped to handle snow in Texas. The biggest complaint has been the lack of gloves. The coats have proven warm enough. I have enough boots that can be borrowed for footwear, and hats abound, but the fingers have been frozen. We also have no show shovel. Your Aunt Becky, Facetiming me from Joe’s hospital room, thought it hilarious the forecast was for 8” and we had no shovel. I’m not worried. It will most likely be gone by tomorrow.

I had my first official live person find call out this morning, and she was missing from Weatherford – a 70 year old female with dementia. The driving was a bit treacherous, even going down 51, but once I hit downtown the roads were just wet and traveling became a lot easier. She was located safe and sound ½ a mile away from the fence where she hung her purse.

I know you asked for cookie recipes. I will be sending that in a separate email. I will have to find that yummy lemon poppy seed muffin recipe though. So be patient.

Sawer played basketball on Friday night, and I was the only one cleared to attend. I am under the decry from work to not return until I can produce a negative test. Still working on that. So I have had so far an extra week of vacation. Sawyer’s team lost by a basket. It was later determined that a goal tending call that negated the shot by the opposing team was never corrected, and they were incorrectly awarded the points. That definitely changes the outcome of the game but I’m not sure if the district authorities will care enough to overturn the results.

Sawyer has finished the Domino box he was commissioned to make out of leather, as well as a cell phone case. He’s almost caught up on the old orders, and already has new orders to work on.

Your siblings have one more day home, and then they return to school Tuesday. Dad doesn’t begin until the following week.

We have spent this week clearing out my bedroom, moving my belongings to your bedroom, and getting Breyer moved into mine. Got that? She needs her own bedroom. Eventually we’ll buy some new mattresses and make the move official but right now just belongings are being moved.

We love you. We love how much you cook and care for your companions by doing the dishes. Such a good example. And that you’re finding joy in your service by being obedient brings parents no greater joy. Until next week –

Love,

Mom

With All My Love

 4 January 2020

Dear Cooper,

I taught Dodger to shake.

Love,

Breyer

Dear Elder Schenewark,

How are you? Loved talking to you Thursday evening. I do love watching my boys develop their culinary skills. Cannot believe how quickly you picked up making and working with yeast dough. I know your companions are thrilled you’re there – for that alone. They’re eating well. I know there was one more thing you asked for a recipe – biscuits?

Breyer has also been learning to cook since we’ve returned to Texas. She started to make her signature brownies and realized she had no cocoa powder. So we found a Snickerdoodle recipe that could accommodate the flour and sugar already in the bowl. And it is fabulous! Definitely one that will get added to her cookbook, and one that I’ll now use as well. It’s been fun to cook with her – and a bonus that I’m getting more fabulous cookie recipes. Last night she made S’more cookies – basically a chocolate chip cookie recipe that puts smore ingredients inside to cookie dough portions. Just think of all those ingredients plus the two plus cups of butter and you’ll know a bit of our sugar induced coma.

Miller enjoyed his time in Utah especially because he had access to multiple frisbee golf courses. Even in 28 degree weather he wanted to go every day, multiple times a day. For the most part he could finding willing partners. But it was cold. He is now home enjoying barely 60 degree sunny Texas weather and our backyard, with the hopes of going to the course soon.

Dodger and Wagner survived the trip. They did have a few adventures or, I should say our dog sitter had a few adventures. They dug the sewer hole deeper, and started a second. They had to be taken outside on a leash just to be hooked to the lead. They went through the entire bag of frozen dog bones that normally would have lasted over a month. They got loose, were photographed and written about on the neighborhood website ensuring the Counts and another neighbor were quick to let me know about. And, as our sitter doesn’t carry a cell phone, left us worrying a bit longer than necessary. And finally, while outside attempting to put rocks in the quickly expanding dug holes the sitter got locked outside the house. Apparently the dogs jumped on the back door and secured the lock, as they did to me when you were home only she didn’t have a MTC companion to let her back in. So to the tune of $100 she had to borrow our neighbor’s phone to contact the locksmith who rescued her belongings and key inside our home. She was overbaked. Don’t know if she’ll come back. But she did her due diligence in multiple potty breaks and walks on a daily basis.

Sawyer has been in full Cowpoke Leather Co making mode filling orders plaguing him all December. He finished the speaker case including strap. He‘s now working on the oil field arm protectors. He’ll have basketball practice and games to add to the mix starting tomorrow.

We’re all struggling with the virus. Breyer has finally succumbed today. We’ve struggled clearing Sawyer for basketball even though he’s past the mandated, soon to be 7, 10 days. He should be able to play in his game tomorrow evening though.

We missed you at Come Follow Me. We were so excited to see you and your companion in our living room! Please try again next week! The fact that you were the only one up on time, doing what you were suppose to be doing, has made us kind of puffed out. I mean, what parent doesn’t bask in the glory of their son’s obedience? And this isn’t the first time. You had moments with your MTC companion as well. I challenge you to look for the blessings the Lord provides you because of your obedience. Look for your box shortly.

Love,

Mom