Howdy from the great state of TX! Like Fuzzball, this is my first-ever blog. I have a myspace page but only so I can keep tabs on the YW in our ward. Think I'll take a page out of Cascade's book and do a year-by-year update of life after Oakcrest.

1995-You might remember that I had my mission call by the middle of the summer and was in the MTC just after Labor Day, on my way to Marilia, Brazil. So that's where I was for all of 1996 as well. I have to say that experience was the foundation of everything else to come.

1997-Returned from Brazil in March and within a week, had already had my first date with Christian, the handsome guy pictured as Mr. Incredible here. (This was at a ward "Fall Festival" in 2006.) Since I had was at USU and he was at the U, we did a lot of long-distance dating, which was fine since we grew up only 2 blocks from each other. We were engaged by Father's Day and married 2 days after Christmas.

1998-Student taught at Skyline HS and then started teaching math at Kennedy JHS.

1999-Chris was accepted to Baylor Law School in Waco, TX, so I got a job teaching at a great 3A high school there. Despite anything you may have heard about Branch Davidians, Waco is a great place. We loved our 3 1/2 years there as he earned his JD and MBA.

2000-2001-Got involved as a sponsor of the student council, which led to lots of conventions and after school fun such as planning Homecoming and Red Ribbon Week.

2002-Our daughter was born. I only had to finish out 7 weeks as a working mom. We headed to Dallas and Houston for summer law clerk positions.

2003-Chris graduated, passed the bar, and we moved to the Dallas area. Our first son was born 5 days before we moved into our brand-new home. If you're ever traveling I-30 through Dallas, you'll pass within a mile of our house.

2004-We settled into our current life, learning about the ups and downs of homeownership. I served as the HFPE leader, which enabled me to quickly get acquainted with people at church.

2005-Same old thing....except now I'm in the RS presidency over HFPE. Had fun doing Joy School for my daughter and other preschoolers in the ward.

2006-Second son was born and I get called to Primary. What a blast! Chris got a new job as in-house counsel at a regional bank headquartered in Dallas.

2007-I question the wisdom of our bishop in calling me to be YW President. It consumes my life. A definite love-hate calling. It was a blast to go to Girls Camp and I caught myself thinking frequently about Oakcrest. Did the Joy School thing again for son #1.

2008-Here we are. Adore my family, hate the housework. Love spring and fall in Texas, loathe these humid, triple-digit days of summer. It only snows about once a year, which is fine. Hate the ice storms, though. Enjoy jog/walking with the boys after we do the daily school carpool. Lately we spend a lot of time at the neighborhood pool, which is where we're headed in 6 1/2 hours, so I'd better get some sleep.

--Jen "Indigo"