The last few weeks have been quite crazy and exciting for us! We got all back and settled into our house after the water damage from this winter, and we are loving the new paint colors we have chosen, but we didn’t get to enjoy it for long. We packed our essentials and moved down to Arizona for the next few months for work. We are backwards snow birds. We fly (drive really) south for the summer and north for the winter.

Before we left, the Kongables came up from Iowa for Easter and to bring Megan home from NDSU for the summer. Owen really enjoyed his first easter! He loved coloring eggs and digging through Easter grass. We also took him to the Red River Zoo with the Kongables. It was his second time going, but considering the first was in the dead of winter, he appreciated this visit more, especially the cow that nuzzled with him. The other highlights of his day were when he rode on a carousel or when he tried to pet an owl that was out for a walk with its handler.

Also before we left, Jess presented her preliminary defense for her phd project! I had the pleasure of attending, and she did amazing. I have it recorded, and I’m considering publishing it if I have enough interest! After a in-depth questioning from her committee, she passed. Jess is now, officially, a phd candidate!

I had the opportunity to fly to Las Vegas to work the Revel Mt. Charleston races, which was a ton of fun. My friends and I went to a premier night showing of Avengers: Endgame, which was really fun, although the late night wasn’t helpful! Because of the heat in Vegas, the race starts about an hour earlier than the other races in the series, which means far less sleep for us.

After the race I was able to head to Hurricane where I attended my sister Alyssa’s endowment ceremony in the St. George temple. I waited there while Jess drove our car and Owen down from Fargo. I know what you are thinking, but I definitely offered to fly into one of the cities she was driving through to help, but she is an incredible woman and she didn’t need my help!

After a few days spent in Hurricane, we headed up and over Black Ridge to Cedar City where we attended Kolton and Emily’s graduation party. The both graduated from SUU with psychology degrees and we couldn’t be more proud.

The next day, Alyssa and Allan were married and sealed in the St. George temple, with a beautiful reception that followed up in Springdale. It was wonderful to celebrate their love surrounded by friends and family. Allan is a great guy and I am happy to call him my brother-in-law. At the reception, Owen was finally able to meet a lot of my family that he hadn't met yet, including his second cousin, Diana, who is just slightly younger than him.

Now, we are settled in to our little (read: TINY) place in Arizona! We celebrated Jessica’s 23rd birthday on the 9th. I got her an Instant Pot! Owen is struggling adjustments, especially his sleep schedule. Otherwise, he is doing absolutely incredible! He still loves to stand with our help or while holding on to furniture, and his favorite thing is to walk around while we hold him up. He is doing really well at sitting on the floor and playing with toys. Everywhere we go, we have to factor in delays to allow time for people to talk to us about his adorable chubby cheeks. Today, we took him to a children’s museum, which he really seemed to enjoy, although there wasn't much there for an 8 month old, which is how old he turned today.