This year has been great to me. Here’s a short recap of some of the things I will remember from 2005 (in no particular order):

College Graduation

Probably my greatest accomplishment of 2005 was my graduation from BYU. I started my college education back in Sep 2000 at Palomar JC in San Marcos, CA. After four quick semesters at Palomar, I transfered to BYU. I really enjoyed my first year and half at BYU but during my second year, I began to wear out. I was just tired of homework, tests, term papers, etc.

Due to cirmcustances in my personal life, I endend up prolonging my graduation a year and a half so I could work full-time. It almost ended up being one of the biggest mistakes of my life. School became even more of a drag and was becoming less and less of a priority in my life. I began thinking that I may not finish school for the time being.

In Jan 2004, Heidi and I had a baby and work was busy and far more exciting than school. Going to class was more of an inconvenience than a learning experience. In fact, during the Winter semester of 2004, I was only taking one course but I missed class seven or eight times and ended up barely passing. Fortunately, I endured the last year of school by re-dedicating myself and regaining some of the interest I had in economics (my major).

Homeownership

Two days before my graduation, Heidi and I closed on our first home — a 1200 sq ft condo in Springville, just south of Provo. We love it. It isn’t very big, but it is perfect for our little family. We could’ve bought a house but we thought that we didn’t need that much space and we liked the idea of a smaller mortgage payment so we can get out of some of the debt we’re carrying a little faster. We plan on moving out in a couple of years and renting the place out. We love the community here and have made several friends along the way. We will miss this place very much when it comes time to move.

Work

Upon graduation, I accepted an offer from my employer, Sewell Direct and boy am I glad I did. Since then, we’ve doubled in size, revenue, and staff — all in a nine month period. 2006 also looks to be a very promising year. We are a small internet retailer of computer hardware and accessories but with very big aspiritations and very high goals, which we have consistently decimated in the past. I work with really good people and absolutely love what I do. I feel very fortunate to be there and proud at the same time of my contributions.

Family

In 2005, Heidi and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. The time has flown by but at the same time, it seems like we’ve experienced so much together. We feel like we’re still on our honeymoon. Speaking of honeymoons, we finally went on our honeymoon this year (we didn’t go on one immediately after we married — a long story that I’ll have to write about some day). We visited Heidi’s family in Peru back in August and while there, Heidi and I went to Machu Picchu. The experience is one we’ll always remember.

This year we also watched our firstborn, Dallin, grow up. In ‘05, Dallin went from walking to running and gooing to talking. Heidi and I are so grateful to have him. He’s the most beautiful part of our lives and we look forward to watching him learn and grow in 2006.