Study, Study, Study whilst celebrating a new President!

Our noses are buried in books--Mark's for the GRE and mine for the NCLEX--but we came up for air on Tuesday to celebrate our new President. On day one in the White House Obama has already made important changes and has again reaffirmed our trust and hope in him.

Obama stated, "I will also hold myself, as president, to a new standard of openness," as he signed the Presidential Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government. President Obama also stated: "For a long time now there's been too much secrecy in this city. The old rules said that if there was a defensible argument for not disclosing something to the American people, then it should not be disclosed. That era is now over. Starting today, every agency and department should know that this administration stands on the side not of those who seek to withhold information, but those who seek to make it known."

I love our President's ethics and values. Here is my favorite part of the Inaugural Address:

"To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders, nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it."

Back to studying.

Happy New Year

We're home but we're self quarantined due to some crazy virulent cold virus. Utah for Christmas was a ball. Chris joined us and we all had fun with the Morris family. What a Christmas! The drive to and from Utah was sunny and clear but most of the days in Utah were incredibly snowy. The valley was pristine and chilly. Mark and Chris spent a day in snowshoes up American Fork canyon. We all got sick but we kept going and going and going. There were many late, late nights playing games--mainly Mexican train and golf; it was a blast.

We are currently studying for our respective tests: Mark for the GRE and Michelle for the NCLEX. The quarantine has some benefits--we are studying a lot more. We celebrated the New Year together on our front and back porches, watching the fireworks and clutching a box of tissue paper.

Happy New Year to all our friends and family. We love you and hope to go outside and play with you all as often as possible in 2009!