We're in the Army now...

It's even more official -- we're in the Army now! Brent swore in tonight and signed all his papers. He's now 2nd Lt. Brent Talbot. Weird, huh?

One of his professors is with the Army and he swore him, as well as our friends Dave Smith and Isaac Sebourn, in at the dental school.

It's a relief to know we're guaranteed money through dental school. I'm so grateful that we've had such a good feeling about the Army and we know it's the right decision for us. We could also end up living in some pretty cool places. :)

Good news...

Yeah! It's official: we've been accepted to the Army's medical scholarship program! And they'll start paying as soon as we can get everything signed, which means they'll pay this semester's tuition, books, etc. We also get the signing bonus and monthly stipend. :) This is great news for us, and we're really excited about the Army's program.

Brent will start out as an officer, but he does have to go to officer training. That might be this summer or it might not be until after school. We'll find out as we get into it. It also means we may qualify to buy a house... Either way, we're relieved to have the money sooner than later and know that we're doing everything we can to pay our way in school. Yeah some more!

Happy New Year's

We also had a great New Year's Eve at Brent's brother's house. Mitch and Julie have a new puppy; just add some grandkids and way too much food! We watched Kung Fu Panda, played pingpong and add lots.

Here's Drew trying to get Ace to bite his finger. He loves that puppy!

Mitch and his puppy -- Julie and Mitch are so funny! They're like parents of a newborn because they have to get up with the dog to let him out and are trying some discipline.

Merry Christmas!

We had a great Christmas! Every year my mom makes apple French toast for breakfast, and we all open our presents. It's not joyful chaos around my house like it is at my in-laws. We only have three kids in my family, and so we've always taken turns and watched each other open presents. It was a little more bedlam because now it's three of us and our spouses plus a grandchild. It was lots of fun.

Drew, however, did not quite get the concept of ripping the wrapping paper, which I thought he would enjoy immensely. He enjoyed the tissue paper littering the floor after the presents much more.

Besides his Superman beanie and gloves, he got several outfits, a nativity book and finger puppets, a shape ball, a big plush basketball and a little doggie in a doghouse.

My grandparents got Drew this cute little FisherPrice set called "Drew and his Rescue Chopper." How fun! It's still at my parents house awaiting shipping to OKC along with most of our other presents. I got new clothes, socks, etc., and Brent got the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD. Then my parents so generously gave us the gift of part of our plane tickets out there, which was my favorite gift of all. It was a great trip home, and very needed. We miss all of you so much!

Wow, Drew really is super. Look at those muscles...

Snow day...

We flew to Utah on Dec. 22, and Dec. 23 was snowy! I went to get some essentials at the store, but other than that, we just got ready for Christmas and stayed off the streets. But Christmas Eve was beautiful! Brent and my brother, Tyler, and his wife, Lindsey, took Drew outside to enjoy the snow.

They pulled Drew around my parents' front yard on a tube, then Tyler and Brent piled up the snow in a pile to make Drew a mini-snow hill. He didn't act really excited at first, but as soon as he got down the hill, he was saying "more, more!" He loved it!

My mom bought him this cute little blue coat for Christmas. He also got a Superman beanie and gloves. He had a blast until his pants got soaked through and he was cold. I wish I had this picture a few weeks earlier -- this would have been on our Christmas cards. It's my new favorite picture of Drew.

He also made this cute little snow angel after I went in the house. Next to it my brother made a big one, but you can't really see the proportions. But trust me, it was cute!

My sister, Sarah, and her hubby, Brennon, traded around their work schedules so they could be with us for Christmas Eve. My grandparents also came over and we had a great evening reading the Christmas story, playing a Christmas game and just being with each other.

These aren't 3D glasses. They're Christmas light glasses. When you look at lights, little images or words appear around each light. My mom bought them for us to go to Temple Square with one year, and we teased her they were too dorky to wear in public. We laugh a lot when we pull them out. Drew liked trying them on, although we couldn't get him to look at the lights.

Back to OKC...

Ahhhhhh, we're back home. Of course our trip went way too fast, but it's always nice to be back in your own house/apartment/bed. Drew was excited to see all his toys.

It was a stark change coming from snowy northern Utah to sunny Oklahoma. We traveled on a good day -- just clouds, no flurries -- and came back to a glorious 77 degrees. Needless to say, we spent some time outside (at the zoo again).

Thanks everyone for making time to see us. We were so glad to see everyone (except Erin and Dave who I'm missing more than ever). We were very lucky to be able to fly out so we didn't have to drive. And we had so much fun!

Drew was pretty good for all our flights. Here's him looking out the window at the plane before his first flight.

Happy 2009! I guess it's back to school...