'Final'-ly, Done

Today I completed my last final at 7:15 pm. Hallelujah! It never feels quite like a celebration moment for me, more of a "I can't wait to crawl into bed and finally sleep" moment. Plus, I'm getting a cold from my daughters. A dripping nose isn't fun to go out with.

But tomorrow, with no work and no school, I'm going to enjoy some sleeping in, some sunshine, and some time with my family!

Thinking about another semester ending, I find it's really difficult to get closure to another semester of school when I've been going for six years now with one more left to go. College has become part of my life, as natural as getting up and eating breakfast. Which makes me wonder, am I going to go through withdrawals when I am finally done? I shudder at the thought. I've been in school WAY too long. I don't want to miss it.

Avery is 9 days old today and is doing great. Her face is filling out a bit. She is a good eater and sleeper, which makes things easier for both us parents, but mostly for Steph. But I can't shake this erie thought that's in the back of my head: we're outnumbered by our children! More people to play with!

Tonight, I will sleep without stress. (Now if only Britta would stay in her bed all night, I'd stand the chance of waking up without my back being in knots.) And good riddance to carrying around a 30 lb book bag! I'm taking a VACATION!

Short-term leases

I've been looking for the past couple of hours for an apartment in DC for my family, and it has become apparent that very few apartment complexes are interested in short-term leases. While I can appreciate that a short-term lease is more expensive, why not charge a little more to cover the cost? Holy moley! Someone should be looking at that end of the market.

What happens if I can't stop?

Starting a new 'hobby' or beginning a new 'habit' always comes with a big question mark: "What happens if I can't stop?" I'm asking that to myself now as I begin writing my first-ever blog entry. Is this something that is going to consume a lot my time, or is this something that I'll do once or twice and then forget the URL. I don't know. It's too soon to tell. But I can tell that I already like writing my thoughts out, but for who to read? Maybe just for me.

I suppose the only worthwhile things I have to share right now are that (1) our third girl Avery was born (hence the blog title "Out-numbered 4 to 1" -- my wife and three girls to me), (2) finals finishing up, meaning I only have one more year of college, and (3) moving to Washington D.C. for a summer internship.

(1) Avery was born on April 17th at 10:02 pm at the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center here in Provo, Utah. She was 8 lb 9 oz and 19 1/2 " long. She's got a BIG mouth, but doesn't cry a lot. Cute, cute, cute. I like being a father of girls. Stephanie is doing fine as well -- just a little tired.

(2) Somehow I've gotten through four of my five finals with the last one tomorrow night. It's been nice to have my mom (aka 'Charlene' for those of you who don't know her,... LOL! Was that only funny to me?) out here helping. (*sigh*) So I really should be studying right now instead of 'blogging'.

(3) Starting May 22nd I'll be working for KPMG (one of the 'big four' international accounting firms) in their Washington D.C. office. We still haven't figured out where we'll be staying or what exactly we're taking and what we're leaving behind, but given items 1 and 2 above, I haven't had much time to think about it. We're excited to go, and we'll likely start full-time out there next summer after I graduate. Whoo hoo!


So, will there be more interesting things to blog about? I suppose so, but will I think to 'blog' them? By the way, sorry for the lack of pictures; I'll add them shortly -- my brother has the digital camera right now, and I haven't uploaded the Avery pics yet.

For now, I know there's one thing I started that I can't stop: gardening! I think I've spent about $100 this year on new plants (flowers and vegatables) that will just be left behind when we go to DC. However, we have a good sprinkler system, and it's been theraputic for me. It has gotten my mind of the stress of school when I needed it most. And it's been fun to have my girls out there with me. I always knew I'd have a "garden of Eden". (was this technically topic #4?)