ions in the blogosphere

We left Provo about a month ago, but before we moved, we got to hang out with many of our awesome friends. This one goes out to all you wonderful Westerners!

First off, a shout-out to our neighbors and good friends, Ashley and Jordan Haug ... thank you for all the late nights hanging out and playing games. We call Jordan the "Black Barron," due to his tendency toward cut-throat strategy, especially in Ticket to Ride. And a big thank you to you guys for all the help with moving and babysitting. Here are Ashley and I with our little ones. Arianna and little Kimball got to be good friends in the few months we were all neighbors.



Arianna's little friend Aslynn received her blessing in April, and we got to be there (in Idaho) for it. Here we are with Luke, Bre, and Aslynn Mecham.


Arianna and Aslynn bonding.

















Before we left Idaho, we also spent an evening with our friends Austin and Liz Dutton... and their Wii.


















Back in Provo, we dedicated as many weekends as possible to hanging out with old friends. We went on a double date with my old roommate Gloria Harris and her husband Kyle, and here is Gloria posing with Arianna. Gloria is expecting a little guy of her own this summer, baby McKennan. We can't wait to see pictures of him!



We also got to go on a double date with Joel and Ami Frost with their little guy, Dain.



Another important baby blessing was that of Megan Joy Muirhead. Brandon and Jenni Mae are two of our favorite people, and we were so glad we got to be there for the blessing of their little bundle of Joy!



After Megan Joy's blessing, we went up northward to West Jordan to visit with my cousin and his family. Here we are with Kenneth and Melinda Flynn, and the youngest of their three boys, Brigham.



Sunday night family dinners will be one of the biggest things we miss. Every Sunday night, we would get together with all the Williamson cousins and do a potluck dinner. Oh, the memories! Here we are with Clark and Bouathong (their little guy Talei was already in bed).



Brad and Leslie Twining, our adopted family, took us out to get malts one last time at Provo's Malt Shoppe. Yummm!



Before we left town, we got to say goodbye to my graduate adviser (and friend!) Dr. Duke Rogers. I worked for Duke starting my sophomore year of college, and then I stayed on with him for my graduate work. So, after 5 years of working together, we finally say goodbye.



And finally, here we are at the graduation party for Ben's cousins Clara and Stephanie. Clara just finished her Bachelor's degree in Recreation Management, and Steph is completing her Master's program this summer in Sociology. The grandparents flew in for the festivities, and we snapped a picture with them before the night was over. I love Arianna's surprised expression in this one!



We feel blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives. We won't forget you, and please don't forget us!

We'll try to catch you up on the past month of excitement.... The first week of April Arianna and I rode the Amtrak from Provo to Sacramento. The train was called the California Zephyr. I was a little nervous about taking the train for the first time, but it was really fun... Arianna and I could walk around whenever we wanted to, we could relax in the observation car, and the people riding the train were pretty friendly. Not to mention, the view through the Sierras was awesome!

When we arrived in Sacramento, my mom was at the station to pick us up. Our first stop was to see the newest member of our family, Jackson Alexander Dunkel. Jody and Heather's baby was born on April 1st, a fitting birth date for my cousin Jody's son. ;-P

On Saturday, April 4th, we went to the Bay Area for my cousin Emily's wedding reception. There we had a family reunion, of sorts... we got to visit with aunts, uncles and cousins before, during and after the festivities of the reception. Here are a few pictures from that weekend.

My cousin Alejandra with Arianna;

Aunts, uncles, and cousins on my mom's side.

Back in Modesto, my dad got in some quality time with Arianna, too. He adores her!

One of my best friends, Anna Keppel, stopped by to visit with us for a little while at my mom’s house (darn, no picture). Arianna and I also got to spend the night with my other best friend, Rebecca Murdock, and her family in their new home in Merced. Her little guy, Elijah, was about 11 months here. He taught Arianna how to growl… now she does it all the time!

All in all, it was an awesome trip. We got to visit with lots of family and old friends, and we even got some great family history information from my aunt Linda about my Walden ancestors. We probably won’t get back to Cali until next May, so it was really wonderful to get to see so many people who are dear to us. Love you Californians!

Here's a quick update for all of you who keep checking the site and are disappointed to see nothing new:
We successfully moved to Ballwin, Missouri last weekend. This week has been spent in unpacking and getting all our furniture and belongings into the proper place in our new apartment.
I begin classes at Logan College of Chiropractic on Wednesday. The doctorate program is about three years long, so we will be here for a while.
Arianna is growing up fast. She now rolls over and does push-ups. She wiggles like she wants to crawl, but isn't there yet. She also is cutting her first tooth and it is sharp!
Melina submitted her Master's Thesis to BYU and everything went through, so she is completely done with her M.S. in Biology. She has done a great job working hard to finish that up.
Well, that's all for now. Once we get regular internet at the apartment we will be better at posting and sharing pictures and videos.
Love to you all.