ions in the blogosphere

Eight days and 2,800 miles:

This is Kansas. Many people are surprised to learn that it is the 7th longest state in the continental US. We crossed it twice within a week.

This is the college I will be attending in May. It is in a suburb of St Louis, about 30 minutes west of the city.
Our little family on the campus.
This is the apartment we will be moving into on the first of May. It is a very quiet street about five miles from campus.

It finally happened... I have defended my thesis - Wahoo!! This was the last and largest major hurdle on the road to earning my Master's degree, and it feels so good to finally be past it. After nearly three years of hard work and a few setbacks, I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

I defended on Tuesday March 10th, and my defense was in the form of a 45 minute PowerPoint presentation to my committee of three professors and any other fellow students or colleagues who were interested in coming. Ben and Arianna were there, as well as Ben's cousins Steph, Clark, and Clara. It was really cool to have a few cheerleaders in the audience! I really appreciated their support.

After my presentation, everyone was dismissed and I was left to face my committee alone as they asked me questions about my project. This was the part I was really nervous about because I had no way to know what they would ask or how to prepare for their questions. In the end it went pretty well -- they asked me a few questions about my project and my methods, and made a few suggestions about my thesis manuscript. Then they dismissed me while they stayed in the conference room and talked about me amongst themselves. This only lasted 10 minutes or so, and then they came out with signed paperwork in hand and said "Congratulations, you passed!"

As Ben and I were heading back to our car to go home after the long day, we found a wonderful surprise... Steph and Clark had decorated our car with window paint on the outside and balloons on the inside. Ben must have been in on it too, because they seem to have had a car key. They invented new words, such as "Biotastic" and "Theserific," and my favorite was "Master of Mice... and Ben." Seeing these decorations just totally made my day - I was really touched that everyone was celebrating with me, and that so many people cared. Thanks guys!!













So what's next? I just have to finish incorporating the minor edits and few other suggestions my committee members recommended for my written thesis, and then I will be submitting my thesis to the dean of my college for his approval and signature. From there, I print off a few copies of my thesis on some fancy paper and take those to the BYU library to be made into a hard-bound book. My thesis will also be put into PDF format so it can be accessed online. And then I'm done! My official diploma will show an August 2009 graduation.

Let me take a moment to tell you about how wonderful my husband has been through all of this. The months and weeks leading up to my defense were pretty stressful for me, and I needed a lot of time on campus and away from the distractions of home. For months, Ben would come home directly after his classes at UVU to watch Arianna so I could go to BYU campus for a few hours in the afternoons. He did this every day, trying to do his homework during the baby's naps, but not being able to get much done most days. He has sacrificed a lot to help me finish this degree, and I love and adore him for it. I am so blessed to have Ben as my husband, and I am so happy to be his wife. We make a good team, not to mention dang cute kids! I love you Ben!!

We are en route to St Louis. Right now we are in Ft Collins, Colorado, and by tonight we should be in Independence, Missouri. We are going out to Logan College of Chiropractic to tour the campus and set up housing, so it should be a pretty fun trip.
Melina finished up her Master's and did her defense of thesis on Tuesday. she did a great job, but I'll let her blog about that herself.
Arianna is growing like a giggling weed. She is starting to reach for our food, but doesn't actually want to eat any of it. She laughs a lot now. It helps that she is surrounded by adoring fans.It' s hard to believe she will be six months old in just a few weeks. We are looking forward to her Grandpa Williamson getting to see her tomorrow for the first time!

Congratulations. Fifty percent of you knew the dangers of minks. Although animals like wolves and mountain lions may seem more dangerous, they tend to steer clear of humans, and do not seek a confrontation. Minks, on the other hand, are highly aggressive and are one of the few animals that will attack without provocation. In fact, minks are known to kill for fun and not just for food. They are powerful enough to kill pet dogs, and can bite the hand off a child.
So beware of the minks that aren't coats.Next up: which M Night Shyamalan movie was his best?

Well, the results are in for last week's poll. Fifty-seven percent of you thought that Watson and Crick would win in an all-out cage fight between the famous scientists of the centuries. Darwin came in second with 29%. Newton got a lone vote. I agree with the Watson and Crick consensus. After all, they were a tag team, Watson is the only one still alive, and they look like this:
Pretty shifty looking, if you ask me. (Watson and Crick, by the way, were the British scientists who "discovered" DNA)

Now looking to the future: let's test your wilderness survival knowledge. This one should be pretty fun. Please choose the answer you think best, and please don't change your answer after viewing the results. Who knows if the majority will be right...