Family Update

Milo is still working for BNSF (Burlington Northern Santa Fe) Railway but is currently working on a tie gang in Washington state. It's a gang of about 50 guys working different machinery that pulls bad ties out and puts new ones in. They are currently near Vancouver but are working eastward. He commutes with two other guys from Billings and comes home every Saturday. He gets home early Saturday morning around 6 am and then leaves again on Sunday around 8 am. So, we appreciate the time that we have with him when he's home and I try to get rid of all my Saturday shifts.

I am staying busy with work and Relief Society. I recently applied for and started another position as an Administrative Clerk at the sheriff's office. I will still dispatch but will be doing less of that and more administrative work. Eventually I hope to be doing all administrative work which will give me my nights and weekends off. Milo and I hope to start building our house by this fall which will be exciting!

Andre is anxiously awaiting his ACT score so he can apply for the Summer Leaders Seminar at West Point. SLS is a week long program of academic classes, military training, physical fitness training and intramural athletics giving high school juniors the opportunity to experience cadet life and to see first-hand what West Point has to offer. Andre is planning on applying to West Point as well, and he makes sure that everything he does in school is geared towards helping his GPA and class rank. He is also scheduled to take the SAT and ACT again in the coming months. He just started working at Whitlock's, a local steakhouse, as a dishwasher and aid to the cooks. He is enjoying working but says he does the best he can in school so he doesn't have to do something like that the rest of his life.

Alex is mainly focusing on school right now but looks forward to teaching piano lessons again soon and volunteering at the local nursing home. She plays in the pep band and is currently the Mia Maid 1st counselor. Alex had the opportunity in early December to meet Sarah Palin in Billings. She drove in to Borders with a lady in our branch. The two of them stood outside in single digit temperatures for two hours waiting in line to get a wrist band. After getting their wrist bands, they hung out at the mall for a while and then went back to stand in line again to meet Sarah Palin. They had pretty tight security and they rushed them through pretty quick, but Alex was SO excited! She was happy that Sarah signed her book "To Alex" and also commented on how cute her scarf was. Click HERE to view a photo of Sarah signing Alex's book.

Connor just finished his first basketball season and absolutely loved playing. He did a great job! We attended his pinewood derby a week ago at the mall in Billings and he won 1st place! With Milo being gone, Andre had helped Connor work on the car and then Milo helped him put the wheels on the morning of the race. We were pretty surprised that he won and Connor was so excited!