Yeah, I'm Still Here

OK, I have been officially chastised for not keeping up with my blog. I have no real excuse, so I'll just leave it at that and carry on. First of all let me congratulate Melinda and Micah for their award winning blogs and also Chris for his latest update with a video even! I applaude all of you for having the fortitude and thoughtfulness to keep us all informed. In comparison, I am scum.

I shall begin with the youngest, Sara. After breaking up with Travis last semester, Sara decided to take a break from school. She came home to Texas in January, got a part-time job and has been taking a couple of independent study classes from BYU. She has been working with me at Allen Physical Therapy doing general office work and sometimes helping out with the patients in the treatment area. It has been a real treat to have her home and to also get to spend time with her at work. I have been doubly blessed. She will be leaving next week to go back to Provo and I am going to miss her terribly. She has enjoyed her break from studies, but the social scene here in Plano leaves quite a bit to be desired, and she was missing her friends from Provo pretty quickly. She is looking forward to getting back to the old gang, taking some classes this summer and hopefully getting a part-time job on campus. If all goes as planned, she should be able to graduate this December.

Matthew was able to transfer from BYU-Idaho to the Provo campus for winter semester. He has really enjoyed the change, although he has also found classes a little more challenging in Provo. He was able to find an apartment just upstairs from Chris, so they ended up in the same ward. They have spent a fair amount of time together and that has been good for both of them. After switching his major from Graphic Design to Business, he has been taking some computer classes trying to see if he has any interest there. He likes the classes and I think is planning on exploring that avenue a bit further. He will be coming home next week for the summer. It seems that he already has a job lined up at Express Fitness where he worked last fall. If it works out, he will really have a leg up because it usually take several weeks to find a good paying summer job around here. Plus, if he gets the promotion to sales that he expects, he won't have to deliver pizzas at the same time like he did last fall.

Chris is looking forward to 4/24 which is his graduation day. He will graduate from BYU with his masters degree in Accounting. We are so proud! The whole family will be there including Nini and Granddad, so it should be a real rip-roarin' party. Right after graduation he plans a trip to Hawaii with Cathy Nixon and her gang for a week to chill out and celebrate. He deserves it! Then it is home to Texas for the summer. He doesn't plan to work because he has several major exams to study for and take during the course of the summer. The CFA, and two or three parts of the CPA exam. That should take care of all of his time until the end of the summer. I think he plans a quick trip to San Fransisco in there somewhere to scope out possible living accommodations and wards since he will be moving there in mid September to begin working at his career with Deloitte. It will be great to have him home for a few months before he moves away to start his "real" life. I just hope he doesn't get too bored or burn out from so much studying.

Mike and Melinda have opted to stay in Rexburg for one more summer. Mike will be taking his last class and looking for a job/internship that will start in the fall. He will graduate in July and they hope to have a job lined up here in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area by then. Meanwhile, Melinda will continue to work at the call center there in Rexburg and try not to go stark raving mad. It being summer and not winter will help a lot with that. I'll probably go up a couple of weeks before graduation and help them clean out and pack up their things in preparation for the big move. They have been in Rexburg now for almost five years.

David and I just keep on keepin' on, so to speak. Not much changes for us except for what changes with the kids. Life is good here in Plano and we are looking forward to the next few weeks. It will be great having Matt and Chris home for the summer (really sad, though, to lose Sara) and be able to spend so much time with them--especially Chris before he is gone into the big wide bad world forever. We are surely proud of our kids and the accomplishments they are acheiving, the choices they are making, and the people they are becoming. What more can we ask out of life than to witness the successes of our children.