Graduation at Last

After 2 years of Tuesday nights, 1 month of intense summer-school, and a year full of internet classes, Annie finally has completed her Masters in Education at SUU. Annie is happy knowing that she will never have to take a college class again and I am happy that Annie can never use the excuse that she has to study or write a paper - ever again. The ironic thing about her graduation is that this was actually the first time that she ever stepped foot on the actual SUU campus. All of it was done up in Spanish Fork or via the internet.

The actual graduation ceremony was nice - the 5 min that I actually watched. Callin had a hard time holding still as you might imagine. About 5 seconds before the orchestra began their piece, Callin fell on the seats in front of him and let a loud cry that echoed throughout the rest of the arena. That is when he was banished. So while Annie had to sit through a rather long graduation ceremony, I got to play with Cal outside on the grass. Not so bad after all.

Is Annie shrinking or is the gown just too big?

Someday Cal...Someday

Picture perfect afternoon!

After a big traffic delay in Phoenix, we finally arrived in St. George at 2 am only to get up 3 and half hours later to get to Cedar City in time. Needless to say, there was no shower time for me - Can you tell?

San Antonio

Cal and I had a great time in Texas. We went to babysit my brother Josh and Heidi's 4 kids for a week while they went on a cruise. Poor Callin is going to go through a state of loneliness for a while. He really loved all the attention. Sam, Isabel, Noah, Callin, Grace

Most of the week was filled with moments like this. Callin was in heaven.

After all 5 kids went to bed my first night it took me 2 hours to get the house cleaned up from the day's adventures. I am a fast learner. From then on it was, "No computer time until that mess is picked up," and "No dinner until that room is picked up." I have to say, it was not as hard as I thought it would be. They are really good kids!

The Fun Run

The Care For Life 5k turned out to be a blast! I beat Doug by a couple of hairs, but unfortunately they recorded our times as the exact same so he is not letting me say I beat him. The guy at the finish line who took our numbers kept saying, "It was yellow, then gray, yellow, then gray." (I was yellow folks!) I think he thought we were seriously competing. What I am talking about...we were. What can I say, we LOVE a good healthy competition. Doug's parents introduced us to the "15 minute back rub bet." It is a great idea for a couple where both individuals think they are ALWAYS right! Any who...Cal thoroughly enjoyed the race from his jogging stroller!

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday to my Beautiful Mom and my cutest and oldest nephew Ian!

This is officially THE saddest rendition of Happy Birthday that has been produced by the Packard family. Sorry mom! I should have told them before hand that it was for you! But you get the point! Emily did make you a divine Chocolate tort with ice cream and strawberries. I ate 2 for the both of us!

The Professor:

My mom has shown me all the ropes.

From rose pinning, to bean cooking, to having high hopes.

She's never been pushy or even demanding.

But teaching with love has been her standing.

She's always been my BEST pal,

while being hundreds of other's best gal.

She laughs, she listens, and what a great dresser!

I couldn't have asked for a better professor.

Barber Shop

Doug's latest client: Bubba! And no he did not play Jesus in the recent Mesa Temple Easter Pageant. But boy would he would have looked great!

A big THANK YOU to Bubba for all the airport runs and lawn mowing favors! These would be his green feet after a long afternoon of work at our house.

We've Made our Decision...

And the winner (officially) is Baylor Medical School. Houston here we come! We put on our calendars to move around July 14th.

A picture of downtown Houston above. And below is a picture of the Medical Center District which Doug described like a little town buzzing with medical research. Baylor is somewhere in the mist.

We are hoping to live in the near by town of Pearland. I love the name! Only a 15 minute drive for Doug and out of the big city.

The Number 2

2: the number of teeth Callin has (the second is still working its way up)

2: the number of words he can say (Mama or sometimes just mum, and ba-ba)

2: the number of GRANDMA's Callin has in Africa (Doug's mom is over there to hopefully finalize the adoption of Kelvin and bring him home)

2: the number of WONDERFUL days of conference we enjoyed!

2: the number of missionaries that called 2 hours before dinner and asked, "What time is dinner at?" Oh, yea, right, later is better for us!

2: the number of DVD's of Sound of Music we watched this weekend by request of DOUG! We had a great time singing along together!

too: we began "repacking" this weekend. We did a very rushed job when we moved down from Utah and I told Doug I am not hauling everything to Texas. So we began going through each box one by one. We have way TOO much stuff! (I will be making way more than 2 trips to D.I. without Doug knowing!...major pack rat!)

2 + 1: the number of weeks I have left of my 2 classes!

okay, I think I am stretching now! I better stop while I'm ahead!