In case anyone out there still checks my blog on occasion I thought I should give an update on my little family. And incase no one checks it after six months of nothing I guess its more of a journal anyway so its still been on my to-do list.
I have an apology to make right up front. I don't have any photos to put up. As you'll soon understand we've been moving around a lot the last little while and on one of those moves my everyday camera was accidentaly put in storage which has about 90% of the photos I've taken of my family. So be prepared for a lengthy post with no cute photos to spice things up.
Utah
The last update I gave Kimball and I were still in Utah waiting to go to a TDY training in October of 2010. At the beginning of July 2010 we got a call asking if we could start at the end of that month instead. Since we were pretty much sitting around waiting to do this training anyway we decided to go for it. Two weeks later we were packed and on our way to Sierra Vista, AZ.
Arizona
We had such a great time down there. You might think summertime in Arizona would be the worst thing in the world (I know that's what I expected), but it was really nice. Sierra Vista has a really high elevation so the temp. only gets about as hot as a Utah summer would. Plus the monsoon season lasts most of the summer. A typical day usually involved a warm morning spent at the park, then down for a nap. Right about then the clouds would come rolling in and we'd have a down pour for a few hours. Most days the rain only lasted long enough to cool things off and we'd go swimming when Kimball got back from work. If this sounds a little too perfect it probably is a little unrealistic, but this is how it was in my mind. I really truly absolutely loved being there!
On top of the weather we had a lot of great company too. Kimball's sister Stephanie lives in Sierra Vista so we got to play with her family quite a bit. As if that weren't enough his brother Danny was doing TDY there, the same time we were. At least every weekend we were getting together with someone or everyone to play. It was great! It was so nice spending time with part of Kimball's family. With so many brothers and sisters all over the country there are a few we don't get to see more than once a year at the reunion. Having six months to get to know them and there kids was perfect!
While we were in Arizona Kimball started talking to his brother-in-law's brother (still with me here?) about a job as a lawyer. He works as a civilian attorney for the military down there and thought some spots would be openning up that Kimball would fit into really well. Before he could qualify he'd have to pass the bar first though. So just after Thanksgiving Kimball registered to take the Idaho Bar Exam in February. Before you have a chance to ask; yes, the job we're hoping for is in Arizona, but because its a federal position it doesn't matter what state he takes the bar in. And since we registered later than normal we'd already missed most the deadlines for other states.
Idaho
Because he only had a couple of months to prepare, Kimball had to quit his job as a banker. We were both sad to see this job go. It had security, health insurance, a paycheck, and room to grow. But with only two months to prep for the Bar Kimball had to study full time if he was going to be ready. And we both agreed that this was the direction we wanted to go.
Thankfully Kimball's dad offered to let us move into their home in Idaho while they spent the winter down south. So right after Christmas we packed up everything from Arizona and made the trip up to Rexburg, Idaho. I have to say, going from a warm Arizona winter to windy, bitter, cold Rexburg isn't very fair. I love Rexburg, I really do. This is where I graduated, not to mention met my future husband, but seriously going from 60-70 degrees to negative whatever is just ridiculous! At least spring is trying to show its face now and then. It snowed yesterday, but its sunny today so it looks like things are starting to defrost.
One advantage to being back in Rexburg is more family. Kimball's brother Bryan lives here with his family and his brother Ammon is here with his for a little while as well. I'm glad Kaden and Jocilyn are getting a chance to meet and get to know so many of their cousins. They've always been close to the ones on the Patterson side, but don't know many of the Jones Family, so that's been a really good thing.
The Bar
Late February Kimball drove up to Boise and took the bar exam. Between the two of us I don't know who was more nervous. I know he wished he could have had an extra couple weeks to prepare, but you take what you get right? In case you don't know the test is a real beast. It takes place over two days involving 12 hours of test taking. One day for multiple choice questions and another for essay questions. Kimball thinks he probably passed, but is still pretty nervous. We wont find out until April 14th so we have a few more weeks of waiting still. If he passed then he can start applying for jobs as a lawyer particularly the one in Arizona. If he didn't...well, the next test date is in July.
Morocco?
Most of Kimball's family has already heard some version of this part, but due to a small misunderstanding and a ridiculous round of telephone we have a few things to clear up. Yes, Kimball will be going to Morocco for about 3 weeks with the National Guard. No, he is not there yet. And absolutely NO, he is not planning to bring his family with him and stay long term.
Basically what's going on is some guy who is based in Morocco is going on leave for about 3 weeks in May and they need someone to fill his position while he's gone. Kimball actually volunteered for this. Can't say I blame him. I was a little jealous when he first told me about it. Though I'm less excited for him now that Lybia's become the mess it's become. Kimball's still excited. He's been training for a long time and is excited to get some experience behind him. The timing works out good too. He's been looking for a job to fill the time until he can work as an attorney, but its been hard to find much.
I'm not sure yet where the kids and I will go when he leaves. It depends on what's going on at the time: Did Kimball pass the bar? Has he found a job in the meantime, and where is that job? We have a few things to figure out before I'll really know what's going on.
Until then I feel kind of like the little engine that could. "I think I can, I think I can." That said I know all this waiting is a lot harder on Kimball. But we're trying to enjoy things as they come and hopefully though our plans haven't really panned out before, we've finally found the right plan that will let us move on to the next part of our life. I'll be sure to keep you posted at least every six months or so. (ha! ha!)
