HAPPY 8TH ANNIVERSARY

I can not believe that it has been 8 years ago that Brigitte and I got married. It seems like forever ago but at the same time it seems like no time has went by. I would like to do a recap on what has happened in 8 years from the day we got married.
The first year we were married we lived in three different places. We lived in Wagon Wheel apartments in Rexburg while attending Ricks College. Brigitte and I were both taking classes at Ricks and I was also driving to Idaho Falls to take classes at the ISU campus there. This apartment was small but it was great because we were in subsidized housing and were only paying $65 dollars a month for rent. One month our heating bill was more than our rent. Brigitte graduated in the spring. My parents sold their home the same day Brigitte graduated, and so they moved out and we moved in to take care of the house until the new owners took possession. We then moved to Pocatello to attend school there trying to get into the Pharmacy program.
The second year we were both working at Convergys while I was going to school. We both got rather busy with work as well as church callings. In October my dad surprised me for our hunting trip by renting two four wheelers. I was was excited. When we got to the camping site we were unloading the four wheelers when my wedding ring got caught on the rack and cut right into my finger. After rushing to the nearest hospital one hour away, it took three surgical ring saws to get my wedding ring of my finger so that they could stitch it up. Not a fun trip. I think that I was more worried about Brigitte being mad that they had to cut my ring off then she was about me getting hurt. In April while at Brigitte's parents we found out that we were going to have our first child. It was exciting to think that I would be a father. In May I found out that I was once again on the alternate list for Pharmacy school and decided that it was time to take a new career path. My choices were Boise State or University of Utah. I was accepted at both but choose University of Utah for two reasons. The first reason was that field that I wanted to go into was Electrical Engineering and Utah is well known for that degree, and the second was my father-in-law offered me a job working for him and I took it. We moved to Salt Lake City in May into an apartment that was half the size of the apartment that were had been living in for $150 more than we had been paying. I started work the day after we moved there was running a hardware inserter for two straight day before I was moved over to run the laser.
Year three found us in Salt Lake with me working for my father-in-law and then started school in August. It was hard working and going to school that was so far away, but my father-in-law was very generous and helped me out with tuition and scheduling. On December 14th Trevor was born at Jordan Valley hospital in South Jordan. It was difficult because we had been staying at the in-laws during the days leading up to the birth, which was about 20 minutes away. We went to the hospital one night and then next morning they sent us home and then finally the next night we went in and Trevor was born the next morning. We then stayed at the in-laws until after the New Year. The New year brought more school and work. Trevor continued to grow. In May we moved again to a bigger apartment, which we were so ready and excited for. It was so easy to move because I think that we did it all in like five regular truck loads.
The fourth year was more school and work. I was learning a lot in school and was working hard. We decided that it was time for a new bed as well as a new washer and dryer. The wonderful work of 12 months no interest, nothing down. We were able to pay off everything within six months. In September Brigitte got the bug to buy a new home. She finally convinced me to go look at home out in West Jordan. We drove out there and looked one day. Then in November we went back out because she wanted to go look again. There was a new construction sale for Richmond American Homes. We got the information and thought about it over night and decided that we should do it. The next day we went and signed the paper to build our first home. For Christmas we spent it at my parents home. We were the only one that were there that year and it was great because we got spend the time with Trevor opening his presents. I as pretty stupid coming home after Christmas because I just wanted to go see how the coming and drove home through the worst storm ever. I will never do that again. After the New Year it was back to school and work. At work I had been promoted to Production Manager. Business was going good and there were a lot of projects that I was in charge of as well as going to school. It was taking a lot longer for school because I dropped back to part time school, full time work. Once again in May we closed on our house and moved in on Memorial Weekend. It was so exciting being in our own home that I could do my own projects on. The first project was the sprinkler system and the yard. These were done within a month so that Trevor would have a place to play. My brother Jon then came down and helped us pour a concrete stamped patio. It was fun working out in the yard.
The fifth year we lived in West Jordan. We traded in Brigitte's Mazda MX3 for a Mitsubishi Montero Sport. This was due to the fact that the traffic in the winter was bad out there and the Mazda was giving out. I did not want to put any more money into that car than I had all ready had. We were making friends and having fun living in our home. For Christmas we received gift certificates to Lowe's for home improvement. We painted the entire main floor over the Christmas break. We painted it a faux marble like. It was very hard but at the same time it was satisfying when it was done and everyone thought that it was wall paper. They were just blown away when we told them that it was paint. We also put pergo flooring in the kitchen and dining area. In May we did not move to our surprise. This was the first time in our marriage that we had not moved within the year.
The sixth year found me getting closer to graduation. I was so excited to be so close. It had seemed like I had three years left of school for four years. During Thanksgiving at the in-laws Brigitte once again found out that she was pregnant. We kept it a secret until the night before her first doctors appointment and that is when we told her family. She told them that there was a one in ten chance that there might be twins because of the fertility drugs that she was taking. The next day I was at work and she called just crying. I asked what was wrong and she said that there was two of them. It took us both a while for the information to sink in until we were excited about it. I called my parents and asked them if they would like to spend a week with us in July to take care of Trevor and the new babies. They caught it right off that we were having twins. They were excited for us. We went to my parents of Christmas and I helped my dad but in their wood floor. It took all day but looked very good when it was all done. At this point at work I was now in charge of printing stickers and creating the designs for the machines that we were building. I was having fun but was also ready to get my degree and move on. On July 20th, Alexa and Maya were born. They were both healthy baby girls but had to remain in the hospital for one extra day because of weight issues. I am very grateful for my mother-in-law who took time everyday for three months to come help Brigitte with the twins. I do not know how we would have made it with out her help.
The seventh year found me starting my second to last year in school. I was so excited to be getting closer. The year just seemed to fly by. In November we traded in the Montero Sport for a Dodge Grand Caravan. It was getting a little tight with two car seats and a booster seat all in the back seat. Christmas was hectic because we took all our gifts down to the in-laws. I think that it took about four trips to get it all there. Having twins was difficult because you had to get two of everything. Trevor got his first bike and was excited to learn to ride it. The spring and summer just flew by and before we knew it we were through another year.
The eighth year brought many surprises and changes in our lives. I started my last year of school in August and started interviewing for new jobs during the first semester. This year was the year of senior projects and I was excited because I had been selected to be on the Micron Clinic. It was my dream to work at Micron. Shortly after starting school Brigitte called one morning while I was at school crying. I was worried that one of the girls got hurt or something. I was shocked when she told me that she was pregnant again. It was right in the middle of changing insurances at work and she did not want to tell anyone that she was pregnant but we could not lie on the application so that is how everyone found out that she was. I finished that semester and we stayed at home for the first time for Christmas. It was the first time our Christmas tree saw Christmas morning. It was quite a mess. I started school again in January and continued to interview for jobs. I finally got an interview with Micron. It went good and I had a second interview. I thought that it was well as well. I had told my father-in-law in February that as soon as I was done with school and found a new job I was gone. On April 9th, Kolby was born and what a blessing he has been. He was the best baby in the hospital and continues to be today. I continued to interview for jobs while waiting to hear back from Micron. It was a tough day when I was turned down by Micron and another job on the same day. It was the next day that I got an email from the school saying that a company in Layton was looking to hire new graduates, which they had never done before. I was still bummed out about not getting the Micron job so I was done looking for jobs for a while. The next morning I decided to send my resume to them and see what happens. Within and hour then had called to set up an appointment for an interview. I was excited. About this same time we were deciding whether or not to put out house on the market. I went to the interview and it went great. It was to work as a contractor for the Air Force on the EFV project. We decided to put our house on the market at this time. A week later they called me back and asked if I could come up to meet the people on base and let them get a feel at what I would like to do. It was a great meeting. As we were leaving Rich, the hiring guy, said that things looked good. He said that I had two choices: Systems Engineer or Test Engineer. I said that I would take either which ever team needed me more. I had to wait a whole week before they called me back. While waiting we sold the house. It was a very stressful time knowing that we sold the house and we were not even sure where I was going to work, but I had a feeling that everything would work out. One morning as I was on my way to work and asked if I could be there in two hours. I said I would be there and they offered me the job. I would start on June 1. We moved out of our house on Memorial Weekend and moved into the in-laws for a month. We had found a house in Clearfield. We moved into our new home on July 3 and celebrated the 4th in our new home.