Endings and Beginnings

Greetings loyal viewers!  It is about time we get back to blogging.  I must admit that this is my fault since Ashley and I usually take turns blogging and she did the last one.  So here I am, blogging.

For most non-school people, the title of this post would be more representative of New Years and not early May, however, Ashley and I are in school and that means April-May becomes the transition time.

Endings

Ashley and I have now finished our Winter Semester classes and it turned out well for both of us, though we did deal with a lot of stressful times.  My grades this semester tied my for my best semester in college (I have done better during terms, but they are not very comparable) and Ashley's grades this semester was the second best semester she has had and both of our GPAs got bumped up a little bit as a result.

We also ended our assignment at the Provo Temple at the end of March, just as school was getting way too busy to deal with.  It was very bittersweet because we knew that we had made the right decision and could not continue with our shift but we had learned so much and enjoyed the Spirit and the people we worked with.  However, we will always remember the wonderful opportunity to learn more about God, His work, and the promises that are made in the temple.  I have a firm testimony that this opportunity will help our family develop for years to come.

We have also started to experience the changes that come with the end of another year of schooling.  One of our closest friends, Andre, graduated from BYU in April and will be moving with his wife to Colorado later in the Summer.  To celebrate, we were able to attend a barbeque where we were able to take this picture:

This picture has our close friends (from left to right): Steven, Kayla, Michelle, Andre, me, and Ashley.  It was especially memorable since this was the same group that got together for our first date.  In fact, our first date started with a picnic that we held at this exact same park!  Now, here we are almost two years later!

While we still will enjoy the summer together, one couple will move out in July and the rest of us will continue along and start to go our separate ways.

 Beginnings

This time also leads to many new beginnings as well.  Ashley and I are both taking some classes during the Spring.  Ashley is only taking one class and that is related to her internship.  She is doing an internship with DCFS and is working in the Transition to Adult Living section.  She has done a little already and she is really excited about the opportunity even though it will be quite a challenge as well.

I am taking two classes this Spring.  One is my final Spanish class required for my major, which I am excited about, but it is very challenging and I hope I will be able to do well in the course.  The other class is a Senior seminar class in the Humanities Department entitled: Filming Jane Austen.  In this class, I will be reading the Austen novels (minus Northanger Abbey since we just do not have enough time) and we will then watch different film adaptations and analyze them.  We have already started and I am really enjoying the class.

On top of the new classes, we are also delighted to have Ashley's sister, Stephanie, her husband, Matt and their 10 month old child, Anders come here to Provo.  This past weekend, we have been busy helping them move in to their new apartment.  We are delighted to have family living so close and Ashley is especially delighted to have her young nephew near enough to play with.

Proud Uncle with his youngest nephew

Pensive Anders

Happy Baby!

My favorite! :-)

Now that we have a little more time, you can expect more blogs from us.  We are excited to enjoy the new beginnings and remembering the fun times of the past!