update on life...

Man, alot has happened in the last couple weeks. I'll explain, no there's too much, let me sum up...


So Kara and I, in an effort to quell rising costs of living while I am finishing school in a recession and really to get some more management experience, set out to find an apartment managment job. After a couple interviews, a job offer and the drama involved with that, we passed over (...in a sense) that offer only to take another one near where we live. Well after our short vacation we got home to move into our new apartment. Not 3 hours into our move I get a call from a family who has a broken toilet. Quite the learning curve right? After fixing that and finishing our move not 3 days later we have a refrigerator go out, OUR REFRIGERATOR! Luckily we had some tenants who hadnt moved in yet so we took our food up to their apartment until they got there. Shortly after that experience we had a tenant's AC unit go out...and then another AC unit. AHHH! all in a week. Quite the job eh. It keeps us busy. Although I will deny this if anyone asks me, it's probably a little more busy than we thought we were going to be. I think my Dad has seen this as I have called him at work with my hands covered in someone's toilet water or my upper body buried deep in an Air Conditioner unit, but he always gives me the technical help I need and the advice I want and never once has rubbed my nose in it that it was probably more than I thought i was gambling for. Thanks Dad, I appreciate that. With Kara and I both working outside of this it will make for a busy year. But we can do it, and in the long run it will be worth it to be able to pay our bills and maybe still have some left over at the end of the month...who knows.


I am excited for this semester to start although I am happy with it taking it's time getting here. This semester I will be able to get one step closer to finishing my degree. in fact all I have left is two semester and then I'm done! (...for a while at least.) Fall semester will be the last of my Marketing classes. Winter semester will just be some left over classes from my cluster and and my Capstone class for the Business department.


I guess as another update, I am the newest ref for the GridKids football. Just a weekend gig. It'll be fun though. I love watching little kids play football. they're just in it to have fun, now the parents on the other hand...not so fun. I'll manage though.


On a final note, Kara started her new job this week. Her first post graduation, prefessional job. She loves it! She is working for Madison School District at the new Madison High School. She works with developing special needs teenagers while they are in high school. It was funny on her first day because she wasnt nervous about the new job, meeting new people, new policies, handling the kids in the classroom, or something like that, she was upset that she had to wear the "stupid, ugly" shirt they were requiring all the faculty and staff to wear the first day. Haha, thats my girl.


On a final final note...Congrats to Jonathan Ridge and Kristina Ridge for graduating from Portland State University. (although it was jonathan who graduated, the spouse always deserves a congrats too.) He graduated Summa Cum Laude, that's quite a feat.

Until Next time...

The beauty and the reverencing things of life.

Well, Kara and I had the opportunity to take two weeks after her graduation and just get out of Rexburg. It was a great two weeks, we were able to go visit her family in Indiana and my family out in Virginia. Indiana was fun, we got to go back to Muncie to visit her family and luckily it was timed just right that her brother attending BYU was able to get time off from the MTC and come out as well. We got to eat some Steak N' Shake and Culvers, attend Kara's Family Reunion (which I have never been to a reunion before) and see some old friends and make some new ones.

During our trip to Virginia I was able to go see my Mom and Dad and their new house. I gotta tell ya, that is one nice house! My Dad was transferred out there a couple months ago. The move has been hard on them. They're far away from family, they don't know anyone out there and really they've never lived anywhere else BUT California. But this move is good for them, hopefully it gives them a second wind in life and helps them stretch their wings. They live just outside of Washington DC, a place I have never been before. It was so amazing to go there and see all the beautiful sites and to see our nation's Capitol. I mean this is stuff I have only seen o

n TV shows and read about in history books. We went into DC and saw the Air and Space museum(a personal favorite of mine, anyone knowing my background would know why), we saw the Art Museum, the National Archives, Fords Theater, The White House, The Vietnam Memorial, Gettysburg, and many many more things. Going back there really made me

appreciate the history of this Nation and what makes us free. I think everyone should go back and visit the memorials and museums and appreciate the beauty an

d experience the reverence of knowing there were people, great people who stood where you now stand.