Come What May

So many of you know that Justin applied to some schools to get his PhD. Well none of them accepted us. This thought never really crossed our minds as Justin was filling out the applications, so we didn't really know what to do with ourselves when we found out. But now we've adjusted our thinking and are SO EXCITED to move back to Utah!!!! I can't wait. It has been a wonderful opportunity to be here in Philadelphia, and I am truly sad to leave my wonderful ward (best ward ever), but I'm so happy to be going back to family. Family is so so important to me, and I want my daughter to know her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. It's difficult to do that on the other side of the country....
So we are set to fly into Utah April 25th. We will be living in my parent's basement, probably for about a year. Some people may think "oh that sucks" but not me! I'll have multiple babysitters living right up stairs from me! And this will be my brother Brad's last year at home before he goes on a mission, so it'll be fun to spend more time with him. And also I love my parents. And there will be a little kitchenette thing downstairs for us, so it'll pretty much just be like we're in a little basement apartment, except it will be free, which we like since we are poor and in debt.
Although Philly and I have had our differences when it comes to driving and navigating, we have had some great times here. Here is a little list of things we will miss about Philly:
- Our ward. Our ward rocks. There is so much diversity and culture, and the people in it are nothing short of amazing. Best people I've ever met. And I LOVE my calling. I love my primary class and my activity day girls.
- Our friends. They rock. I hope we can stay in touch with them.
- There's a million cool things to do. We've gone to Gettysburg, Amish country, Valley Forge, Atlantic City/Beach, Washington DC, and done a bunch of things around Philly. We are planning on going to New York before we leave as well.
- The trees. Beautiful!
- The color. I love being the only white person at my grocery store!
- The history!! I love America, and I love being in such a significant place in America's history.
- Justin says: School. He is weird, he really loves school.... He says this year has been really rigorous but his education has been nothing short of "first class" and he has loved his experience at Penn.

Well that's all I can think of for now. Some of the things we won't miss include:
- The "dirt bike gang" as we like to call them. There's a group of boys that must live somewhere around here who have EXTREMELY LOUD dirt bikes that they literally just ride up and down the street for fun or something. I hate them.
- It's no secret I hate driving here. I will not miss it at all.
- Very few restaurants carry Dr Pepper. Lame.
- Humidity.

That's it. I can't think of anything else.

Well, life has yet again surprised us with what's in store. It turns out we're pretty bad at predicting it.... But all we can do is live life to the fullest and enjoy the ride, right? Justin will be reapplying to PhD programs in the Fall, although most said they require 2 years of work experience, but we'll see. Who knows? Not me. In the meantime we will be living the life in my parent's basement with free rent, cable, internet, and babysitting! I'm not complaining!