Kennedy Update

So one of my friends that I have not talked to in a long time asked me to do one blog just filling her in on the last couple of years. So if I bore some of you, I am sorry. Here it goes. Jason and I were married on June 10, 2005 in the San Diego LDS Temple. Shortly after we got married, I got a new job as a nanny. I was a nanny for a widower of 4 darling girls for the next 26 months. I worked full-time and went to school full-time. Jason worked for Spott Pest Prevention from May 2005 to December 2007. Jason was taking classes part-time. We later found at that Jason qualified for 18 months of GI Bill. This allowed him to go to school full-time and work part-time in the Fall of 2006. That fall I also became a Weight-Watchers member. Marriage had done some changes to my body. I lost over 20 pounds in the next 9 months through help of Weight Watchers and 24 (got to love Jack Bauer). I would pop in an episode of 24 and get on the stairs (I came to love the stairs-if you want to lose weight, do the stairs, great workout) and the next thing I know, the episode is done, and I have burned between 400 and 500 calories. In June 2006, Jason's father passed away at a young age of 53. It was unexpected. Since Jason's experience in the Navy as a Hospital Corpsman, he found his passion of health care. He was looking into becoming a PA (Physician's Assistant). Plans had changed slightly for Jason. For now, he is pursuing the nursing route and he would eventually like to go back to school to become a PA. When Jason and I were first married, I was going to school for Mathematics. In January 2007, I could not do it anymore. I was well into the major. I was taking this math class that involved no numbers. Those of you who know me, know that I love to plug and chug numbers. That is my zone. I was talking with my visting teacher and she told me to try accounting. I told her I had already tried that once at BYU and I withdrew from it because for one, I had too much on my plate, and two, it was not what I expected. I told her it is more laws and principles and the computer does all the work. She told me, yes, but if something does not balance out, you have to go in there and figure out what went wrong. I thought, mmm. A puzzle? Numbers? Where do I sign up? I took the first accounting class at a community college. It was a small class and everyone had there own computer. I fell in love. I thought, where has this been my whole life?!
So how do we get from sunny California to Oklahoma? My sister and her family moved to Oklahoma in the summer of 2007. I came out for a visit and fell in love with the greenery. Jason and I started talking about the possiblity of moving. I applied to OSU, got accepted, and offered a scholarship. We moved the day after Christmas. Our drive out was quite the experience. I do not know if we will ever make that drive again during the winter. Right outside of Amarillo, Texas, a storm had come through and iced up the roads. I came within inches of hitting the moving truck. We had been on the road for over 12 hours and were ready to be at our hotel. Our last 25 miles that day ended up taking almost 90 minutes. When we finally arrived in our new town, we had lots of strong guys from church help us unpack. It took us a week to get settled, but everything was unpacked, pictures hung, etc. It felt so nice to not have one solitary thing to go through. School started after that and I found a job as a student clerk on campus. Jason got a job at a lumber yard. Jason was commuting to Tulsa for school two times a week. Jason also rediscovered Civil War reenactment. He did this as kid with his family. I got called as 1st Counselor in Young Women's (for those of you who do not knwo, I was asked to be a leader over 14 & 15 year old girls at church). Jason was called as an Elder's Quorum teacher. By March, we had been down to Texas four times to visit family and Jason's Meemaw passed away in March. By April, my grandfather's health had declined drastically. We knew his days were short. I flew out to California the first weekend in April. Before this trip, I had last seen him on Christmas Eve, healthy and happy. When I saw him in April, I wanted him to pass on so his suffering would end. It hurt so much to see him so ill. He knew his time was coming to an end. Two weeks later, he passed away. I was sad that he was gone, but I was also very comforted. I know that he is in a better place with a loving Heavenly Father. I know that Families are Forever and that I will see him again. If I did not see you while I was in California, sorry, but my priority was my grandfather. Once school had ended, I could not find another part-time job on campus, so I applied to Wal-Mart. I have no shame in working there. I loved it. In June, I decided to look for full-time work on campus. I was offered a job in an accounting department on campus. I accepted the position. I continued to work for Wal-Mart at the same time. For several weeks, I worked 70 hours a week. I do not know how people do it all the time. I quit Wal-Mart a few weeks before school started. In June, Jason and I went to California for 1 1/2 weeks to visit friends and family, and my cousin got married! We found out after we moved here that there is a community college in Stillwater so Jason no longer had to make the commute into Tulsa. School started in August. The first part of the semester was really stressful for me. Once I got past one of my classes, things settled down. A few weeks ago, Jason informed me that he wanted to try-out for a semi-pro football team that they have here in Stillwater. Well, he got the Coach's eye. His practices start in December and games start in February so look out for pictures! I am currently trying to get into a workout routine. I really have not had a steady one since moving. I miss my old gym so much (for those of you in Temecula, Flex It is the best). Lately, I have been doing a Biggest Loser workout tape that has been kicking my butt! Either that, or I am extremely out of shape. I cannot figure out what time I want to go to the gym. Mornings are good because it is done, you feel great, and there are no excuses. I enjoy the evenings too because I do not have to wake-up are early, I like taking showers at night, and there is usually good stuff on TV that makes the time go by faster.

This is pretty much what we have been up to. If I forgot something, I will post it later. We are spending the holidays right here in Stillwater. For Thanksgiving, my sister and her family will be out of town. I had the idea to go the Cheesecake Factory for dinner because I am not cooking for two people. Jason found out today that they are closed on Thanksgiving. Bummer! We will spend Christmas day with my sister and her family. This is my first holiday away from home and I am okay with it. I will of course miss everyone. We are excited to get our own Christmas tree and decorate it (we have never had our own tree, my sister was kind enough to let us share theirs when we all lived in my parents home). Sorry to those of you that I bored. For those of you that ever interested, I hope I filled your interest.