Family letter

Dear Friends and Family,
We hope that this letter finds you well and safe. This year has flown by! They say that the years go faster as you get older. This one has seemed only a few months long so maybe thats why old people forget a lot or think they have already done things. That is the million dollar answer and I will be patiently awaiting my nobel prize. Okay not really but this year has gone by so fast!

Joe is a full time student, part time math tutor, and part time store room manager at the HUB. He loves going to the Utah State Hockey games and also the USU basketball games. GO AGGIES! We are not fans of the football team but other than that school is fantastic! This semester has been a really stressfull one, but from what we have heard its supposed to be the hardest. Still no word yet on a summer internship but we honestly pray that we get to move for a little while and get some engeneering expereince. It has been a whirl wind of a year for us acedemically, but our lives have grown leaps and bounds whatching our little one grow up.

Zoey is walking, running, talking and signing more than ever. She is now 16 months old an is loving the toddler stage. Joe and I have discovered our love for gates, baby leashes, and nap time. We love how energetic Zoey is and how she loves to learn. I have been working very hard to teach her baby sign. She can sign all of the following: uncle (for her uncle Erik), Thank you, please, more, prayer and eat. She can also say the following vocally: up, thank you, mama, dada, nana (grandma Kemp), papa (grandpa Kemp), no and yes. Zoey is our pride and joy and we are so glad that she loves to laugh, smile and be weird like us (I mean it in the best way because we are pretty goofy).

I have been fortunate enough to stay at home with Zoey until she was a year old. I have gone back to school and am studying Dental Hygene. (Remember to brush those teeth!). I love it!!! I am the oldest one in the program (other than the teachers) that I know of. I seem to relate more to my teachers than any of the other students. I can't complain though! Its a self paced program and my goal is to be totally done with the program by June, July or August. It is really a fun and education experence for me and I can't wait to be done with school. My favorite part of life right now is my family. We are very close and love to play, laugh and have a great time goofing around.

We are so excited to go to Colorado to visit Grandma and Grandpa Kemp for Christmas. Please keep us in your prayers because we are leave Christmas Eve in the afternoon. If its like last time then we will be sitting in the airplane on the run way for 45 minutes and then have the plane brake down on us and have to get out onto another plane. Yah not fun with a 6 month old. Anyway... Happy Holidays!

Love,
The Raines Family