Well.. lots has changed in the last while. My dad has started his first Master's degree (Predictive Analytics from NorthWestern University) and will be finished hopefully next fall-ish. Meanwhile he has been working ~70 hours a week downtown at his consulting firm as well as applying to grad schools for a 2nd Master's degree- an MBA, for next fall. All of the schools my parents are considering are back east, so we will most likely be back there in a year. Needless to say any free second he has my mom and I snatch up in a hurry! My dad thinks school is fun or something.
But, we love how ambitious and hardworking he is. He is an incredible provider and daddy for me.
My mom has some big plans too, doing her undergrad through BYU and then will get her Master's in Marriage and Family Therapy/Psychotherapy along with all of my daddy's grad school plans over the next few years.
It is a little harder for them now that I am around, because all they want to do is spend time with me:) my mom and dad do homework every night from about 9 p.m. to 12 a.m.(sometimes 1.. or 2 or 3..........) after I go to bed. It's their bonding time:) ha ha. My parents must love me a lot. A lot of people think they are crazy, or ask my mom why she bothers since her main priority is me and raising me, but they are big believers in the idea that the more education parents have, the better off the kids are. My mom says she is doing it for me and to set an example of how important it is to obtain as much education as possible. So, they'll keep being crazy busy and meanwhile I'll announce some big news that we have!
Yep, in 1 month I am moving to Memphis, Tennessee. I will have a chance to grow some little southern roots. We are going for 10 months as a pre-MBA fellowship for my dad to help start up a charter school district. It is an incredibly selective process and I am seriously SO PROUD of him for getting it. He is basically a rockstar.
It is kinda sad to move away from my grandparents and family (okay, actually really sad), but I am excited to have an adventure down south for a while! Plus I'll visit a lot. We will probably be moving a ton the next 3-4 years so I might as well get used to it and enjoy it. My parents really like moving around and living in different areas of the country so I think it'll be a good experience for us all!
Memphis is right on the Mississippi River and has a subtropical climate- basically that means it doesn't get quite as cold as Utah which my mom is real happy about. It gets humid and hot (not even as close to as hot or humid as it is in south Texas where they lived last year, thank heavens). There's lots of barbeque - which my dad is happy about- and you know, southerny things I guess! My parents are going next week to find us a nice little place to live.
I am real excited to see Memphis for the first time and make some little baby friends! Currently my favorite things are plastic water bottles, squash, daddy's tickles, playing with my uncles, crinkly things and definitely not napping.
I'll try to tell my mom to blog a bit more... but you know, all I can really say right now is aaaaaaarrraaaallaaaaaaaayyyaaaaaa.
Xo,
Juliana.
