Homeowners?

Our house closing is today. We got everything signed and notarized last week, then express-mailed to Jax for the closing. I got a call this afternoon to say that everything was pretty much ready to close; they were waiting only for the seller's mortgage company to issue a statement on what was owed to them.

We were lucky to get our house insured. Most insurers are not writing policies for homes in Florida anymore (the insurance industry has not recovered from recent disasters in Florida and elsewhere on the Gulf Coast), and State Farm last week cancelled the policies of everyone in Jacksonville with 2 miles of the beach (we are a full 15 miles from the beach, I'm happy to say). Whew!

Sam leaves from Rhode Island for Germany tomorrow, and will complete his participation in his summer research program there in August. He reports to the MTC in Preston on August 29 and so won't be back in the U.S. for another 25 months. He's working furiously to get everything ready to leave the country. Got his last immunization yesterday.

Ruth finishes her TASP program this Saturday and flies to Utah. She's working furiously to get her final projects completed and, despite some modest sleep deprivation, seems to be having the time of her life, truly a life-changing experience for her.

Ed completed Lacrosse Camp at BYU last week, and really enjoyed it. He's planning to try out for the lacrosse team at his new high school. I picked up a second-hand lacrosse stick so we can play catch together.

All of us but Sam and Ruth are headed to Southern Utah tomorrow for a Bay family reunion. Lucy and I will leave from there Friday morning (actually before the reunion officially starts) on our cross-country drive to Jax -- I'm loading the van today with pool table, surfboards and other essentials. I have a new faculty orientation on the 7th and Lucy has an important audition (for Jax's middle school of the arts) on the 8th.

Annette, Ruth, Edward, Isaac, and Eleanor will stay in Utah for the auspicious Leslie & Bret wedding. They'll all fly to Jax on Friday night August 10.

I will return to San Francisco on the 9th to received an obscure award (for introducing technology into the courtroom) at the Am. Bar Assoc. convention. I'm delighted to get the recognition, but at least as excited by the networking opportunities it presents. As a result of some preliminary contacts, I've been invited to

• speak to the 9th Circuit's staff attorneys
• attend the meeting of the ABA Judicial Division's International Courts Committee, and
• be a member of the ABA International Law Section's Judicial Affairs Committee.

The award is proving to be a good entree for me in meeting the right people, and the people I have contacted have been very gracious. The ABA is paying for my flight, but would not pay for more than one night in a hotel, so I'll get to freeload off of Bay Area relatives while I'm there. Yay!

We are looking forward to getting back to Jax, settling down and settling in. It's been a hectic summer, but it's been fun to see so much family.