Here we go again...

As you might have noticed, blogging does not exactly rank very high on our priority list right now. Life has been busy, but very pleasant. Here are the ongoings in a nut shell.

*For the past 8 months Rachael has loved teaching her 3rd graders. Every day is a new adventure. Her students are so bright and love her almost as much as she loves them. With all the horror stories of the stress and pain of the first year teaching she thinks she's had it pretty easy! (There are only a few darling scholars that drive her whacko) She can't believe the school year will be over in only 34 more school days...but who's counting?? She is sad to leave her school because it has been such a great fit for her, but she is excited for the opportunity to support children that need her somewhere else in the country!

Here are a few of our latest class projects: moon phases with oreos and paper mache planets

*John took the LSAT and passed with flying colors. He would never toot his own horn, but luckily his wife does that for him and has let everyone know that John's score ranked within the top 99% of all test takers in the nation. Needless to say, he has been offered acceptance at many great institutions. This past week we were able to travel back East to visit some of the campuses. We had narrowed it down to Georgetown and New York University. We thought that our visit would most likely lead us to Georgetown mostly because of how close it was to family. We loved being able to spend time with all the Hardings (especially our beautiful new niece Emma!!) and the Carvers. A few highlights of the trip were when Rachael got pedicures with the girls, John went kayaking with Dave, both attended Shayne's baseball scrimmage and Becca's play practice, lunch with Kevin, dinner with Fletch and Scotty, easter with Grandma Lauris and the rest of the fam, outlets with the Carvers, and the best was the practical joke Rachael played on Shayne!!

We love Emma!

It was a great trip home and we thought that would definitely sway our decision in Georgetown's favor. But when we visited the campus we didn't feel the magic. We were a little disappointed in our reaction and worried that we may get the same reaction when visiting NYU. But this was not the case! Later that week we took the megabus to the Big Apple and attended NYU's accepted students weekend. We loved the feel of the school. The facilities were amazing. Who would have thought of sticking a school in the middle of a crazy city? We attended class and the professors seemed to know each of their students by name. The other students were so friendly and willing to offer their positive experiences with the school. We spoke with other LDS students who also shared their life as law students and spouses in the big city. We left with a positive affirmation that this was the right place for us. So NYU it is... for now. John is still holding out for UVA because that is his number one choice. He was waitlisted there and hopes to hear from them soon. But if not...start spreading the news, we are leaving for New York!!

*Samson is...Samson. Lately he's developed quite the taste for electronics. We lost a few cords, a cell phone, and a camera to his bad habit. We are hoping he quits. Fast. John's being working quite a bit with him and he's gotten pretty good at heeling. Still not there yet, but on his way. He's got to learn quick if he's going to be a big city dog!

Anyway that's the gist of it. Love you lots! More updates to come, but don't expect them for at least another 5 months :)