Christmas 2025

I spent my first Christmas in Utah since 2021. It was so weird not being in Yakima. Wesley, William, and I spent Christmas Eve at my mom's house. We ate at Crown Burger and saw the drive-through Christmas lights at the Fairpark. On Christmas, we opened presents and had lunch with my mom and the Turleys. We then went and visited my dad and Mara at their new house in Draper. I finished the evening with Stranger Things. We all have the after Christmas sickness but we at least have the break to get through it.

Burnout

I am suffering major burnout from juggling a toddler, a new job, and a doctoral program. The good news is I'll have two weeks off from school and one week off from work. I will be using the free time to gather old family photos. Only five more days!

UVU Update

I am in the midst of preparing for spring semester at UVU. I am figuring out which instructional assistants want to come back, which classes are eligible, and who the professors want. I also have to hire additional philosophy instructional asdistants. It will be stressful to tell some IAs they won't have a class next semester since there are fewer eligible sections. I am enjoying my new job though! Only 1.5 weeks until Christmas break!

Haven Ward

Wesley and I have been in our new ward, the Haven Ward, for just over two months now. It is a lot like Riverbend. There are lots of young couples and older folks. There are lots of apartments in the ward boundaries so there are a lot of people moving in and out. People are friendly so far and we have already spoken in sacrament meeting. We do not have callings yet. So far, William will be the only child in nursery. It is SO nice to now be in the same stake as Leanna and her family.