I passed

All of the vital information contained in this post is actually in the title. The rest is just to fill space. My comprehensive exam is over. I received an unconditional pass, a better outcome than I anticipated. I am now a doctoral candidate (that really doesn't mean anything), I just have to do my dissertation to finish. The process was long and hard and I'm just glad that it is over. Thank you for all the prayers, kind words and support. Knowing that many prayers had been offered on my behalf was the thought that carried me through the last few hours.

I'm still alive

Thanks for the prayers, thoughts, and kind words. I lived through my first week of testing! It was very difficult, but I also learned a lot just going through the process. I tested for 24 hours last week, almost all of it was essay writing. Each day the essays became more difficult. After all was said and done, I had about 50 pages of essays. On Monday I can begin my revisions. My goal is to produce another 100 pages of dry boring essays to back up the first 50. All of this is in preparation for my oral exams on December 8th. If all goes well, I will pass on December 8th and move from being a lowly doctoral student to an illustrious and much better looking doctoral candidate. This first week is generally considered to be the hardest part. I'm just glad that it is over.
I would like to thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers. For the last month I have had a lot of trouble sleeping at night, it has been hard to relax and I found myself becoming edgier every day (especially to this one dorky kid in the lab, he just kept ticking me off). With the help of a well timed blessing, and all of your prayers, I was able to get some sleep every night throughout the week. I needed the help, I couldn't have done it without you guys. We are excited to see all of you at Thanksgiving. Thanks again for everything.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACOB!!!!

I know I called, but I thought it deserved to be blogged as well! We had a great Halloween yesterday. I was Superman and Chelsea was an asian. I'll probably wear the costume when you all come so don't fear that you've missed it! I might attach a photo too! Did you guys have a fun Halloween? Ok mom just told me to clean so I'll write more later, but We're so excited to see you guys soon!!

Cross Georgia off the list

I spent most of the last week in Atlanta at a conference sponsored by Schwab. It was my first time in Georgia so it is now officially off the list. Only 15 states left until I've hit all 50! If anyone wants to take a road trip to North Dakota, I'm in. The conference was actually quite fun and I learned a lot about the institutional investment side of the financial planning industry. This is an especially interesting time considering all that is going on right now. I also got to eat at Dad's favorite restaurant in Atlanta, Pitty Pat's Porch. I highly recommend it - it was wonderful. I have now had real Southern cookin'.
On Thursday I'm headed to Boston for two more conferences, then we're stopping in Dallas on the way home for a third. Two of the conferences are academic. I'll be presenting research on two topics; the practice of debt avoidance as a moderator of impulsive buying and the long-term effects of wealth shocks/inheritances on net worth (I know, you all wish that you could be there to hear such riveting topics). The third conference is industry related, I'll be asking people for money to start the financial planning program at UVU. This will be my final school related trip of the semester. I've been taking my notes with me as I still have a lot of studying to do for my exams in November. Good luck to everyone as I know that this is a busy time. You are all in our thoughts and prayers and we appreciate your prayers on our behalf.

Is anyone out there?

Well, I guess it has been a while, but I thought I'd write a little something. Things are finally drying out after our big rainstorm last week. Jacob is as busy as ever, but somehow has found time to run and be with me. He is FANTASTIC!!! This week he heads out to Atlanta for a conference. Then in October he is leaving again for another conference in Boston and then Dallas after that. Then comes COMPS!!!! For those of you who don't know what that is, I'll inform you that it is death. I will not see him for a couple of months and when I do, he really won't be there. For a week straight he takes tests. He has 5 professors. Each professor gives him one question--except one of them will give him two. He writes for hours and hours answering these questions. Literally he is going to be writing ALL DAY and probably into the night. Then after a few weeks, he meets with these professors and for a few days he has to defend all of his answers to their questions. The biggest problem I forsee is that one of these professors has yet to pass ANYONE!!! So, we know that he is going to get through this because he is JACOB and he married me--and if you can get through that, you can pretty much get through ANYTHING, but it is the surviving the daily stuff that we are hoping he can pass through peacefully!I am doing well. School is keeping me busy. I really enjoy my class. They are great kids. I have 18 kids in my class. Yesterday I spent a little too much time there, but hopefully that means I won't be spending as much time there throughout the week. I have also been reading the first book in the series The Great and the Terrible. I really enjoyed being able to read something. I am anxious to start reading the next book. So, all in all, things are great.

Congratulations to Jed and Chelsea! We are excited for both of you!

Love to you all!
The Sybrowsky Family

Hot Water Appreciation Week!

This week we re-entered the 21st century as we finally fixed our water heater. So, in addition to all of the other things going on (school starting, etc…), I would like to dub this week: hot water appreciation week.
The quick version is that our new water heater has a few deliberate design flaws which caused the hot water to shut off. It could not be coaxed back on even for a quick shower. Replacement part after replacement part had to be ordered and they all failed to fix the problem. The good news is that after a week of cold showers, hand washing dishes, and avoiding laundry, we found the right part and we are back in business. I now know more than I ever wanted to about the inner workings of a water heater. I also have the spare parts to cover at least 10 more emergencies.
We are now more appreciative of the simple luxuries that we have and we know not to buy a Whirlpool water heater ever again. Other than that, we are one week into the semester and very excited that football season has started again.

Ok well I can't find any funny picture with other crazy ppl in it, but I'll keep looking! I stared school last week and work this week! I am so busy, its great though! I don't think I've ever been more excited for a Monday before now, because we get school off on Monday and I don't have to work, so it will be a great day! Chad Bavender is up here, we haven't seen him too much, but I think he's staying here tonight so that will be fun! I hope all is well with you guys (by that I mean anyone who reads this) And I'll try to get a picture up soon!

You may have to zoom in to get the full effects of this one! Look at the little man in the pink shirt with his fan. Who is he? A China man. What is he doing? Well, my theory is that he just "came out of the closet" - hence the pink shirt and fan. He's just happy to have it all out in the open. That's my theory!

Home repairs

Hopefully this works. This is a slideshow of some of our home improvements. We have been working hard to get things in shape for our last year or two in Lubbock. We have learned a lot and had a good time working together. We'll put up more pictures of the other rooms and the yard later.

Who's that guy?

I was looking through some pictures today and I found this one which made me think of a new picture competition. “Who’s that guy?” This one is all about pictures with people doing interesting or funny things in the background. They do not have to be pictures of family. Anything goes. Here is my first entry. This is a picture of me at graduation. Look at the old guy on the left and tell me who that guy is and what he is doing. It almost looks like he is supposed to be in the picture. So what do you think? Who is that guy? I think that he is either looking for the bathroom or waiting to share a scripture with Mom. Post your own pictures and give us a chance to respond.

Our little guest...

Here is an up-date on our little bird (Winston, Rabbie, or Ang-mu-sae). We found him in our alley just over a week ago. I was trimming some weeds and I skimmed right over him, missing him by a fraction of an inch. His wing was cut and bleeding. We think that he was pecked by the other birds in our yard (we have one big mean black bird that attacks us when we go out). I moved him inside, much to Carrie’s dismay. He(?) spent the first few days in a make-shift cage in our back room, until we were able to move him to a more suitable home. I spent my time calming down Carrie, then the bird, then Carrie, etc…. Carrie is doing great and the bird’s wing has healed and he can fly again. He is still scared of us. Animal control euthanizes most birds and the pet stores in town will not take him, so, for the time being, he is with us. The good news is that Carrie (dare I say it) is starting to like our little friend. We are hoping that he starts to warm up to us soon. How long does it usually take? We are willing to accept suggestions on names, Winston Churchill is the current front runner (even though I had an annoying student named Winston last semester), followed by Grandpa’s favorite Scottish author, Rabbie (Robert) Burns, and Ang-mu-sae, which is the Korean name for parakeet and the nick-name of Sister Choi’s youngest daughter (I taught Sister Choi on my mission). Let us know what you think. So Mom, there is your up-date. While you guys are gallivanting around the orient, we are doing our best to thwart natural selection and are making every effort to make our little guest comfortable. Be safe and have fun on the rest of your trip.

Chelsea's Adventure

This will be short because most of you may not have even read my last, but today was great! Everyday I spend here, I am more and more convinced about how well established the chirch is here in China. In Hong Kong, Chelsea and I were blessed to be able to do baptisms, while mom and dad did some cealings, we've met many missionarys, and the church meeting today was well attended (American, not Chineese.) Then a President Toronto (related to dads mission pres.) took us to see the spot where David O Mackay dedicated China to the work of the Lord. We were even able to talk to our tour guide a little about the church, even though we could get in legal trouble because of it. The Chineese people are interested about the church. They want the same advantages as the Americans have but, back to Pres. Mackay. He dedicated China in a place in the forbiden city. We walked there, and on the way, a lady came and began speaking to Chelsea. Pres. Toronto explained she wanted a picture with chelsea because of her "blonde" hair! It was so funny. But we had to get out of that part because more people were going to come and ask for pictures with the blonde haired girl. We proceded to the spot that was dedicated and found many many people there. It was a match making convention!! Can you beleive that!! Chelsea was looked at by many many people, but we wouldn't settle for anything less than eight cows (Jonny Lingo!) Also, most of the people who were being matched were born in the 1970's, not a great match for Chelly. It's been a great day, but so so hot and so much walking! I can't wait to go to bed.

China

Ok I just spent about twenty mins telling you about our amazing journey here in China, but then I tried to hit the spell checker, and it all went away. So You'll get the version Chelsea is sending out in an email. A little preview: "It was terribly sad to leave Sydney, the city I love, and see it fade away into the distance. To ease the sorrow, I hit the massage button on the air-plane seat, and that helped a little." The trip has so far only gotten better than that! Can you beleive that! A Massage on an airplane seat! Dad got us upgraded to buissness class on the plane, the first of many many free upgrades we would receive. China is awesome, we wish you guys could be here with us!! Oh and beleive it or not, that picture was actually our room in the JW Marriott in Hong Kong!! It really doesn't do justice to it though, you can't even see the sauna, or spa, or kitchen. As amazing as all of this is, I'm really excited for the day we still have a head of us in SYDNEY! Its weird to think that in one week we'll be in Jackson, Wyoming. Anyway, we'll keep you updated on all the goings on in China, and Australia. See you soon,

Jared

Home, finally

Well, last week I returned to Lubbock from a 3 week trip. I started out in California visiting my sister and her family and I am happy to announce that I am the favorite aunt now! Then I went to Utah for my sister Emily's wedding. I got to see Joseph, but Shauna, at least at that point in the trip, I didn't see--one of us was always asleep. (I got to see her for about 30 minutes the day before I flew out which was great!) Then I went up to Idaho to help my mom and help do wedding reception stuff. The wedding was great and Idaho was fantastic. I am happy to say that my mom seems to be doing really well. She said, "I really feel that my burden has been lifted." She has really felt all the prayers that are being said in her behalf. So, thank you so much! So, now I am home. It was really too long to be away from Jacob. I didn't realize how much I would miss him! Anyway! I am happy to be home. Now I am working on another quilt--this one for my brother who is getting married in August and we are trying to finish up some of our kitchen fix-ups. We are also going to paint one of our bathrooms and recarpet. So, we still have a lot to do. I am also planning on working on some of my school plans. I have a lot to think about to prepare for next year. Life is great. With Jacob being finished with Summer 1, I have enjoyed having him around so much this last week. He starts back up on Tuesday and that will be great for him. So, that's that. I hope that everyone is doing well. I hope the China travelers are enoying their China trip and we are excited to have you come home soon.
Once again, Lubbock is more beautiful than ever if anyone is interested!
Love ya'll!
Carrie

This week in Lubbock

I just finished my first summer term. Only one more to go, then fall, spring, and one more summer. Lest I think ahead too much, making it through this fall will be the trick. Carrie and I have a week off between terms for the 4th. We have tons of house projects left to finish. Hopefully we will be able to get them done and we'll get pictures up soon. We got some news about moving back to Provo. The Dean of the Business school at UVU was let go this week. He was our biggest advocate for starting a financial planning program there. We'll have to see what happens in the next few weeks. Carrie and I are still hopefully optimistic.
We have a new Mission President as of tonight. We have invited them over for Korean b.b.q. on Tuesday night with our missionaries. Korean night at the Sybrowsky home has become somewhat of a tradition here in Lubbock, so we have to do it every other transfer. We had 3 non-members at church today. That's great for us. Only two of them made it the entire three hours as we had interesting church talks today. Dan Brown, author of Divinci Code, would have understood every word. The rest of us, unfortunatly, struggled to grasp the spiritual significance. Why do these things have to happen on the one Sunday when we have investigators there!!! Trying to stay positive, I think that one of the two that made it will come back next week.
I think that the picture competition was a great success. We've got some good ones. I have to be honest, Chelsea's picture 'there are no words' of Christian was one of the, if not the best. Carrie and I laugh over that one frequently. There truly are no words to describe it.
Have fun in China you little world travelers! You had better start warming Dad up to the idea that we are all going to have to go to Hawaii and watch 'What about Bob?' for our next family trip. The blog polls have spoken! Be safe and we'll talk to you when you get back.

Moving :-(

Good'ay Mates!
We are leaving pretty soon, today was our last Sunday in the Dural ward. It was very very sad. Our feeling are comparable to what returned missionary's say, Happy to see the family, but heart broken to leave. Today I was released as 1st assistant and it was very sad. We all had to speak in Sacrament meeting, I'm glad there are only four of us here and not all nine, because it went for a long time as it was! I was awarded today My Duty to God Medallion, so It's nice to have that now checked off, next is....mission!! (Fun Fact: As of a week ago, I can now turn in my mission papers! But I think I'll finish High School first, just because its tradition.) After Church we had a "Linger Longer" pronounced "Linga Longa" and that was fun, but it really felt like you were at your own funeral. We have all been overwhelmed with stress this week, some managing it better than others, so its been like Saturday all week. The movers are coming on Monday, July 1st. However, what we discovered today in the car is that Monday July 1st doesn't exist! the 1st is Tuesday! So we have a whole day more than we thought we had which is great, so much pressure is off now! I recommend this strategy for all people with a deadline for something. The weekend has been especially tiring for me: On Friday I ran a 10k in 57 mins (Duty to God requirement), then as I was frantically packing for Monday, I got four hours of sleep, then went and Played in a four hour Basketball Tournament, then I was running around with friends and doing all kinds of things, then last night I got 7 hours of sleep :-) Congrats to the winners of the Picture contest! I think we all kinda won! I'll see if Mom has anytime to do some Blogging but if not, We'll see you soon!

Budgeting - clear and simple

Just a little finance lesson. We can all use a simple explanation on how to manage our money from time to time. Let's start with budgeting and we'll move on to investing later.

Carrie’s London Concert Debut

I’m taking a significant risk posting this video, but it is the best that I have. This is in the toy department in Harrods, London, during our trip about 3 years ago. We found this fun singing deer, so Carrie decided to sing along. Carrie’s fans (and the deer) have invited her back for another concert. Terms are currently being negotiated.

The sister you never knew you had...

and you may be happy about that.

Wow

There are no words.....

This is the little cupboard above the microwave at the little house. Cirque du soleil, here she comes! We got it closed completely very easily!

The Grand Finale

Here is my proposal. Submit your final two pictures by this Saturday. On Sunday, I'll set up a poll so that we can vote to see who won the picture competition. Everyone will get 5 votes (don't vote for yourself), the winner will get bragging rights for exactly 5 minutes. What say you?

Christmas Crackers

This one has made me laugh ever since I got to know Garry ...

He's so bugged about the paper crowns. Party pooper.

Merry Christmas

If the shoe fits ...

The Triple Alliance

I'd like you all to focus on mom sitting eating a huge pot of something, in the middle of all the presents.
We all love Christmas!
=)

Not so fast, Jacob!!!

Don't eat me!!!

Go speed racer!

I've got to try to find one for Dad in honor of Father's day. Have you been showing these to Mom & Dad?

Not so fast, Chelsea!!!

I'm not done yet! I just got a new program that Joseph told me about called Picasa2 (it's free), I'm sifting throught the 4,409 pictures on my computer. Also, Jed is on the blog now. Things are about to get interesting.

Rebecca? What are you doing?

Look who's pullin out the big guns now!

Rebecca: I love this.

Warning: Now someone declare me the dang winner and I will spare the rest of you. If not... your pictures will come too.

Rebecca: Hahaha.... mom wants to know where you are? Ha...haha.....HA.

What Carrie doesn't like birds???

Diggin' in

I'm sorry Jared, I didn't think that it would come to this. I suppose its best that you know now. You had long hair as a baby and .. well .. we just couldn't stop you sometimes.

My favorite neice

Hahaha!

From A Family of Runners!

Now that's dedication to her training routine ... which is why Skinny Lynnie won the bronze medal at her first official 5K!

Baby Hope

Hope at Valley Forge, showing solidarity with the Revolutionary forces.

Don't tell mom ...

Funny Picture Contest

Can it be a motion picture? If not I'll find another one, but here it is!

The Alternative Title is: My First Kiss

Help Me!

Hello, I know I've been bugging a lot of you about this but I'm kind of worried about it. I am going to the American Idol concert in Salt Lake on July 14th. Mom and Dad and Jared are all leaving for Jackson on the 12th. So I am looking for a way to get up there, hopefully on the morning of the 15th, or even very late the 14th. I would just like as much time up there as possible. So if any of you are planning on driving up on Monday (14th) or Tuesday (15th) of that week PLEASE let me know, because right now I'm not sure how I'll get there. Thanks!

My picture for the competition

Well, I guess it's all about Jed when it comes to funny pictures. I too am waiting to whip out the real big guns though... All I can say is bring it on because I have some mighty fine ones!

Things here are good, we are all very busy packing, cleaning, and being tourists. We've been doing a lot of "lasts" lately. Which is always sad. We are excited for Jackson though, and Jared and I want to go to Disneyland this summer as well.... so if anyone is interested, let us know! It is a lot easier to leave a place when you have lots of things to look foreward to.

I may be quite busy this coming semester seeing as I have one job already and I'm possibly going to pick up another one. This job is 5 days a week 9-10am, as a music/piano teacher at a high school for ...basically teenage girls with babies. I would really like the job, even if it means that I can't ever fake sick and sleep in! So between that and 2-4 hours a day of RESEARCH, and school... I think I am going to be pretty busy. I'm about to sign up for 2 or three EASY online classes to complete over the summer. I thought about doing jogging online... sounds easy haha. But really, I'll take a few classes online, now I'm just rambling since I think I ran out of things to say a while ago. Ok good bye.

New blog ideas & pics

I've made a few changes to the family blog. I'm trying to get more interactive links, but my blogging skills are not that good yet. I'm calling for a family funny picture competition this month. This is my first entry - "Jed in Irag", later on I'll pull out the big guns. Everyone share your favorite family pics on the blog. Also, let me know if you have any ideas for family polls, etc....
As for me this week, I'm a batchelor again. Carrie flew to California last night to visit her sister. On Wednesday she is off for Utah for another Sister's wedding, then its off to Idaho to help her parents get ready for the wedding reception. In the mean time, I'm going to work like crazy, trying to get through my summer classes and get ready for Fall semester. I do get to join Carrie in Utah this weekend for the wedding, so, I'll see the Utah crew then. Good luck with everything and keep on bloggin'.

Oops ...

Well, school is out. I finished cleaning out my room yesterday. I was offered a position next year. They gave me a raise, which was nice. So, yesterday I was out gardening, pulling weeds and watering. We have a REALLY mean bird that swoops down at us like it is going to attack is. So, I stayed out as long as I could before I thought the bird was going to kill me. It had a little baby fall out of its nest yesterday and I was running in the backyard to turn the water off, which I will get to in a second, when I saw the baby and the big mom bird swooped down at me and I could feel and hear the wind from the swoop as it brushed across me about 1-2 inches from my head. I know it is just protecting it's babies, BUT it is still a little frightning!! Anyway! So, another funny thing happened yesterday. After I finished weeding and planting in the garden I decided to put the sprinkler on the grass. I went in to take a shower while I was doing this. Well, as you can probably predict, I forgot about turning off the water and I left to work at school and run some other errands. Well, about 6 hours later, I remembered that I forgot to turn off the water. So, after about 6 1/2 hours, I raced home to turn off the water. Our yard was pretty flooded. The big problem is that there are water restrictions around here and I went WAY over and watered during the time of day when you are not supposed to. So, anyway! Our water bill is definitely NOT going to be a nice sight. Jacob, being very nice, said it was kind of funny. So, hopefully he'll still think its funny when we get the bill. Well, anyway! I better get going.
Have a great day!!
Carrie

Texas Tech University: Jacob!

Texas Tech University :: APS :: Division of PFP Look! Jacob is on the Internet! I was just looking through iTunes at the Texat Tech Uni and then I clicked a link and it led me to a photo of my Brother! Exciting eh? Although I'm sure that a bunch of you all are on the internet, but it was just cool to see that. I'll write more later.

All I have to say is ...

All I have to say is 7 more days!!!!

Lots to catch up on...

Wow, I haven't been on here for so long! Jacob and Carrie, thats really cool about your kitchen and Purple room, I hope its now another exciting color like orange or turquoise!! ha ha ha just kidding! Kristen and the Kids left today, so that is very sad. Right now they should be in Auckland New Zealand, waiting to get on the big flight to LA. We did lots with both Kristen and Jason and Josh and Sarah. I was in school most of the time, so I miss some stuff, but they let me come to some of my favorite things, like Manly Beach. I'm in my last week of school which means one thing: exams. Today I took IB English, which I was worried about, but I think i did pretty well, and I also had IB Music, (IB is the international form of AP) I'm pretty confident that I did really well!! Tomorrow I've got Spanish, then on Wednesday I've got IB Math and IB Chemistry, then I end on Thursday with History. I still laugh when I think of me being in an IB Math class, ha ha ha, but somehow I'm doing alright! This Friday we are all heading to Perth for out last time there. Once school is over, I think moving is going to feel a lot closer :'( It's going to be great to see all of you, this summer though! Who will I be seeing and when?? Do you have your dates worked out? I hope your all planning on coming to Jackson!! I'm sure you all know, but we are going to China on our way home, so that will be great. Also it wont make it as sad I don't think to come home, not that we aren't all very excited to see you guys though! Congratulations is due to everyone who has accomplished anything! From Baby Boys, to Kitchen islands and improvements! We'll see you all soon and we love you all.
Jared

Late nights ... new kitchen

Wow! What a week! We have had a very busy week. Jacob has had a busy couple of weeks. He and some of our friends decided to help each other out with some home improvement projects. So, Jacob has helped build two fences and our friend Hyrum Smith helped Jacob put in a new kitchen floor! Our house looks a million times better. It is amazing what a little kitchen update will do. We have a new floor and we have repainted the kitchen and the "purple room". (So it is no longer the "purple room". We're coming up with another name for it.) This morning when I walked out of the bedroom into the kitchen, I just felt so happy! We still have a little bit more to do. We have to do some touch up paint to the cupboards and so forth. So, we are nearing our kitchen update goal after sleepless nights. We are now trying to decide what to do about recarpeting our house. Anyway! We'll send some pictures of the new updates when we are all finished.

Other stuff, happening-- 2 1/2 weeks left of school for me, and 3 weeks before I leave for the month of June! I am so excited to travel to see family this summer! Saturday I had a little 50 hour reading party with 4 of my students. Then, this Friday is another party with those that have read 75 hours or more. Saturday we had a pizza and movie party and I think the kids favorite part was the fact that they didn't have to wear their uniform. Friday we are all going swimming. Also fun. I think Jacob will be happy when we are done because we also had a sundae party for the kids who have passed off their multiplication tables. He also came to the school to each lunch with some of my kids who had earned it, of course (since I make them earn EVERYTHING pretty much). The kids LOVE Jacob. He taught them a little finance and then a little Korean game. They think he is so cool. One of my kids bought him a lollipop to say thanks for coming--so sweet. So, anyway, things are going well. We are both looking forward to summer, gardening, visiting, long Sunday walks, and an all in all happy summer. We love you guys!

Carrie

Back in Lubbock, finally

After a long week. I made it home. I had a fun trip out to Philadelphia and New Jersey. It was really fun to see Becky and Garry. For those that are in the area, I highly recommend Hoboken, NJ. After a crazy finals week I left for Philly, very unprepared for the trip. They canceled the flight before mine so I was able to go out later in exchange for a voucher. Being the fiscally responsible student that I am, I couldn't turn down the voucher, especially after I learned that it was for $250. After my original flight left, I noticed that I was sitting at the front of the plane and that my ticket had been stamped "first class" what a bargain! Or so I thought. After many delays, I finally arrived in Philly at 1:30 am and began the long drive to the hotel. I only got lost once, which was good. Once was enough to learn an important lesson. Never drive around downtown Philly at night, in a minivan. Mom, thanks for the Garmin, it really came in handy. I finally made it to the hotel where I slept for about 3 hours before leaving for the conference. The conference was boring, but that was OK because I worked on my last final through most of the presentation. After that I went to New Jersey to meet Becky and Garry. We had a great time in Hoboken. We ate Thai food and saw New York from the Jersey side. That was the fun part of the trip. The next day it was back to work, visiting Universities and working for the the University. I did take a few minutes to check out the liberty bell and the U.S. mint. Philly is a fun place. I would like to go back. Carrie and I want to do a "National Treasure Tour" and visit D.C., Philly, and Boston. After leaving Philly at 4:00 am, I made it home safely but tired only to start my next project here at home.
The professors that I visited at Utah Valley University came down to visit our school. They have some interest in starting a personal financial planning major at UVU. I was in and out of meetings all day jumping from campus tours to research presentations. There was also an LDS professor interviewing form Georgia, I had to switch off taking him around as well. The good news is that our visitors from UVU loved it. There is a good chance that we will have an offer to come back to Utah to teach at UVU. From the information that we have now, it seems like working at UVU would be a great opportunity. So we will continue to hope for the best, we have a lot of opportunities, we'll just have to wait and see how everything works out.
There is much more to share, but you're going to have to call to get details. I'm going to bed! This next week is our home repair week. We have a lot of projects that have been waiting for a break. We'll put before and after pictures up when we're finished. Happy Mother's Day to Mom, and all Sisters. Carrie and I enjoyed participating in the family fast today. We appreciate your faith and prayers. Have a great week.
Jacob & Carrie

Just to recap - major accomplishments:
I visited 3 more states PA, NJ, & DE (just 15 states to go before I've hit all 50),
Lived through a midnight drive through downtown Philly,
Flew first class (for free),
Got an A's on my finals in Stats and Household Asset Theory,
Impressed the guys from Utah Valley University,
Survived a crazy week &
Made it home safely!

P.S. Show Kristen how to blog when she is in Australia.

Guess what?!?!

It's a Boy!!!!!

Trying to finish the semester

This is the semester that will not end. I was supposed to be done on Tuesday, but there is just too much to do. I'm on my way to Philadelphia, PA tomorrow for a conference. The problem is that I still have one final to take and one to give. Thanks to the miracle of modern technology and a new lap top battery, I can work on the road. I'm going to get back on Thursday just in time to meet with the Dean of the business school at UVU. I visited him in March and now he is coming down to visit us here in Lubbock. Hopefully everything will go well and I'll actually get a job someday. The good news is that by Friday night I'll be home, visitors will be gone, finals will be finished, grades will be posted, and I'll be done. That means on Saturday I can start gardening and doing yard work again. For some that it not a break, but I've been waiting to start working outside again.
Carrie is down to four more weeks of school and can't wait to be finished. She is going to be quite the little traveler this summer, visiting family and going to weddings. It looks like we may even get to see a few of you this summer. That's all for us. Good luck on everything and keep on bloggin'.

Hello everyone,
Well I am in Sydney for the summer/winter and it is great to be back. It feels more like summer here right now then Utah does with all of it's snow and cold...in MAY...crazy. Well I thought I'd share some good news with you all. I wrote a research paper this semester in my Book of Mormon class. It was like 14 pages of a lot of hard work and I was grateful for Rebeccas help on it. Well I got it back a little while ago and notice a beautiful 100% written across it! :) As if that wasn't good enough, my professor wrote a note at the bottom saying..."Outstandig paper. I am interveiwing a few students in an attempt to find a research assistant. Would you be interested?" Obviously... I was. So I e-mailed him back a we met and I was a bit nervous that he would say something like... ummm I'm interview 20 people, or half of the class got 100% on the paper. But he told me I was the ONLY student of his who got a 100, he asked me for an electronic version of my paper that he could use, I was one of three who he was interviewing, I was first in line for the job, and the next highest grade was a 94%. I know you are all thinking that there must have only been 20 people in the class, but this was out of 4 classes, 2 RM classes. So I was very grateful about all of those blessings, and very excited for that opportunity to meet with him (oh it's Daniel Judd by the way. So anyways, he e-mailed me the morning I was leaving for Sydney and let me know that I had the job if I wanted it. So watch out Rebecca and Jacob because I am slowly but surely gaining the title of "the smart one in the family" Haha...just kidding. Just thought I would share my exciting news with the family. So it looks like I will be back at BYU Fall semester with a pretty cool but hard job. But I'm excited for it!

Hello everyone!

Hey guys! Not too much is happening around here. Jacob is getting ready to finish up this semester. Hooray! Only 1 1/2 years left!!! We are so excited. Next year around this time we will probably have a good idea as to where we are going next. Life has a way of taking turns that you don't expect, so it will be interesting. One thing that happened this year that was so awesome for Jacob is that he was awarded the Graduate Instructor of the Year Award. He is really excited and I am very proud of him. I think he is most excited about the award because he gets a little money for it. Just kidding. Actually one of the most exciting parts is the professor that he has had the most difficulty with is one of the professors that nominated him. Kind of neat. Anyway! Congrats to Jacob!

This past week has been good. Tonight we went to a temple worker fireside. Talk about INCREDIBLE!!!! Our temple president gave the best talk I have ever heard on the Savior. Now, I didn't hear the talk by Elder McConkie, the last talk he gave at General Conference about the Savior, but I have read it and I kind of imagine Elder McConkie's talk to be like President Hendricks talk tonight. It was a great night.

Visitors Welcome. Also, we are currently taking reservations for the Sybrowsky Hotel in Lubbock this summer if you would like to sign up. There are a lot of interesting and fun things to do here. We'd love to have anyone come out. The Agriculture museum and the Windmill museum are waiting!

We hope that everyone is doing well. We are excited to see some of you throughout the summer, maybe!
Love you all!
Jacob & Carrie

Blue Mountains

Buenos Dias mi familia! We've just arrived from the Blue Mountains after the Mission Presidents Seminar. It was a lot of fun! We stayed in a very nice hotel called Lilianfels. I think most of you have been to it. I came up on Thursday and stayed until Saturday. I got to meet with the Mission Presidents and the Area 70's who came and then mom and Dad and I had fun! We went on some mild hikes around the "Mountains" (They really are more like canyons) and we ate at a very fun chocolate place, then dad and I played a game of pool in their very British "Billiards Room" just before dinner. It was great. We hired two movies from the Hotel, I Robot, and Sleepless in Seattle. We tried to watch them at night but that proved futile so we watched them in the mornings. There is a Super Trip in the makings for around 2016 where we will all probably come down here so I bet you can all look forward to seeing all this then, if not before. Congrats Chelsea for the high grade on your first exam! Congrats Carrie for her garden achievements, and Jacob for his ESPN bracket ranking! Everyone else who reads this, I congratulate you for all you've recently done or plan to do, or just for being you!! We love you all and look forward to seeing Josh and Sarah and the kids here around the beginning of May, and Chelsea on the 1st of May, and Kristen and Jason and the kids later in May. Anyone else who wants to come down, please do!! c ya soon,
love,
Jared

Well, here we are, back to work until the end of the school year. We enjoyed a very nice trip to General Conference. It was nice to see everyone and we enjoyed attending several sessions of conference. So, now we are home and Jacob is working hard to finish strong and I am working hard as well. No new drama at school, surprisingly enough. I don't know what the plan is for next year, yet, but hopefully we'll find out in the next month or two what is going to happen as far as will I have a job there next year. We have started our planting for our garden already. I know you guys are REALLY excited to hear all about that. We always start them indoors until they are strong enough to withstand the wind, which is a little tricky around here. It's really fun to see them start poking their head out. Tomorrow we are going to plant some flowers. It will be great fun. When Jacob blogs, I'll let him tell you all about the plants. Well, I am sleepy, so I am going to close this message! Love you all!
Jacob & Carrie

General Conference

I loved coming to Utah and spending conference weekend with all of you. I went to the first three sessions at the conference center and then listened to the last session with Joseph, Shauna, and Chelsea with the gorgeous view of the Temple as a backdrop. Don't you all love that peaceful conference feeling?

March Madness

Most of you know this, but it needs to be recorded for posterity. Not to gloat, but this is a once in a lifetime event. For all of you March madness fans out there, who are participating in tournament challenge on ESPN, my brackets have done well. My top bracket is at 1330 points. I'm ranked 137th out of over 3.2 million. Not bad for a guy who knows nothing about basketball. Carrie does not understand how cool this is, so I am seeking accolades elsewhere. So, accolade me, and vote for Kansas tonight.

Update

Joseph and I just got back from a fun weekend in San Diego. It was so much fun and the weather was so nice. I just wanted to soak up the sun. We went to my ward's "Prom Night" which was a total blast. They had it all themed 50's and we got to eat in our cars and all the Young Women brought our food out wearing poodle skirts and roller skates. Then we went into the church for the dance and ice cream. It was a really fun night. Joseph and I were just planning on staying for a little bit but ended up staying until it was over :o) We had fun seeing the family and spending sometime at home. Anyways that's about all for now... Oh well except...
WE ARE PREGNANT!!!!

Here's our update

Here's our update! Jacob is doing well. Yesterday he spent a lot of time working outside getting the yard cleaned up. He is SO excited to start planting our garden. He is like a little kid at Christmas. I love that about him. He is really always like a little kid at Christmas. He recently met with the dean of the business school at UVU (formerly UVSC) to talk about starting a financial planning progarm. They sounded very intereted. We are crossing our fingers that we will be able to get back closer to family that quickly! They really liked Jacob too, but who wouldn't? He's been really busy trying to catch up from being gone for a week for Spring Break.
Me. I am doing great! My school gets more intereting by the day, but I really love all of my kids-- all 21 of them and possibly 22 of them in a week or so. I went from 9 students to 21 in a month. Not too bad. I figure that people just keep hearing about me and so they will do ANYTHING to get their child into my classroom. Just kidding! Other than that, we are still enjoying our time at the temple, enjoying our callings, and enjoying spending time together.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers in regards to my mom. She is doing well. She will have to have chemotherapy, but I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for helping us know how to take care of this problem. She, I know, is grateful for all of the prayers. Thanks everyone! We look forward to seeing everyone this summer! We love you all like crazy and we LOVE crazy! :)

Jacob & Carrie

Had a great trip

We are safe, home, and back to work. We had a great trip and we had fun seeing everyone. We'll see you again at conference time.

Coming Home For Conference

Hi Family,
This is just to let you know that we are scheduled to arrive in Utah on a Delta flight, # 1810, Thursday night at 8:05 PM.
Joel and Jacob have kindly offered to pick us up and we will let you work that out as we are honoured that you would take your time for us. We'll be grateful for a ride. Just outside of the baggage claim area, we'll be easy to spot....the very tired ones with lots of bags!
Josh is coming in Saturday morning for the Eagle Court so all the boys will be present. Wouldn't you know it....Doug Martin is in Peru!! So I am thinking....Joel could you ask Wally Barrrus if he could take your picture? Does anyone else have a suggestion? We'll still perhaps have to have Doug at a later date I am thinking, but we do need to capture this wonderful moment.
Any suggestions on what to serve for food after the event? I thought of the pizza man....maybe I am just getting excited to taste that pizza again!!
Must go....lots to do. We leave in 24 hours.
I can't believe that Rebecca left now as we head into town.....what does that imply?!?!?
Carrie ....we got the very cute card of thanks...........so thoughtful. Thank you so much. That reminds me. I was talking to a large gathering of saints here in Australia lately (can't remember where as all the meetings blend together) and I mentioned Jacob leaving for the MTC to begin his mission. When we returned home, after dropping him off, I went down to his room and found the sign that our Zack had stuck on Jacob's bedroom door early that morning. It read,
"I will miss you so muck." I love that! And we have missed all of you so very muck!!!
Our love to you all. Always and forever,
Mom*

I.m Blogging

This is our family home evening activity and so Mom is having me blog to participate. I'm tired and I am now going to bed. Happy FHE. Love, Dad

I know how to BLOG!!!!

Hi everyone! Dad and I are finally home....I can't believe it. The visitors and travel all over Australia are finished for the moment. As I write, Elder and Sister Bednar are on the plane heading for Utah. Zack has been so orphaned since Joseph and Shauna left! Oh, by the way, so many people in Perth asked about Joseph and Shauna. One man, whose home you ate at or visited, said to say, "Hi." Also, a new convert to the church, a young man, loved the Sunday School lesson, Joseph, and sends his love and thanks.

Can't wait to see you all in a few days. Tonight for FHE we cleaned the house in preparation for leaving and Zackie showed us how to blog. Oh, by the way, he is receiving his Eagle Scout award at the Edgemont 4th Ward Chapel on March 22nd. The last of six sons to join their Dad in the Eagle's nest! Wow! If all the Browsky boys can be there we can get Doug Martin to take a long-awaited picture. Please let me know. Jacob, I think you might be there. I don't know the time yet but we asked for the ceremony to be as early as possible on Saturday the 22nd. I wonder what the chances are of getting Josh to fly in for the picture!?!?! Better see if you can all squeeze into your scout shirts!

Dad just received a wonderful letter from President Monson. It began, "Dear Paul...." It finished, "Your brother, Thomas S. Monson." There is a lady in Australia that President Monson would love to visit...to minister to....one by one. He has asked Dad to go in his place. You can imagine the honour that is Dad's to go in the place of the prophet of the Lord on the earth at this time. Yet, as you think about it....each time we visit anyone, we do it in the place of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. What an honour.

Well, thanks to all of you for helping Carrie to have a great birthday. Next is Kaytie and then Eliza and Shauna.

Rebecca, we thank you for all you are doing to help in our absence. I hope Garry is still speaking to us! We so look forward to our fireside in your stake in a few days.

Jed and Chelsea we pray for you in obtaining your very important education (as well as Jacob). As you pray for and seek the Spirit of the Lord, It will assist you as you attend class and listen attentively and then as you study at home. It is expected of you to do well as a Sybrowsky and more importantly as a son /daughter of God. We pray for you and wish you well as it is almost April. Oh, by the way, we are inviting Jed and Chelsea to accompany Dad and I (and I think Zack) to fly to New York on March 28th and return early Monday morning the 31st. Please let me know as we are about to get tickets. Dad and I are giving a fireside in Rebecca and Garry's stake on Sunday night the 30th. Saturday will be a fun day.

Big CONGRATULATIONS to Garry for his acceptance into Columbia University in the MBA programme. Well done, Garry!

Must go............this is too long for a BLOG! We send our love to you all. Enjoy the fact that spring is coming in a few days. Be safe and well. We love you, Mom* (Dad has to do his own blog!)

Happy Birthday to me!

I first want to thank everyone who made my birthday so special. This was probably my favorite birthday since I got my purple bike in 4th grade! :) Anyway! It was a lot of fun. First, Jacob and I drove and drove and drove and drove. Then, we got in and saw Joel, Shannon, and the goils, including Hope! It was great fun. Then, Jacob took me out to dinner and then we went up to Aspen Grove where many of my siblings and my mom were and Rebecca, Chelsea, Ben (the Murph), Joseph, Shauna, and Jed all came up. The cake from Cold Stone was DELICIOUS and the color scheme was perfect! :) We had a great time. I think that the Sybrowsky's got a new look at the real me--Carrie Potter that is famous for the Forky Porky. After that, we went back down and I got to open a nice present from Jacob, a present from Australia, an opal necklace that is beautiful and that I love. Then, the biggest surprise was the present from Mom and Dad Sybrowsky. They must have been inspired because when I opened the gift, I saw part of the painting, new EXACTLY what it was and I burst into tears. They gave me my favorite painting of Christ at the waters of Bethesda. I couldn't even finish opening it. I was in shock. When we did get it open, I sat and stared at it for a long time thinking, "Is this really my painting?" It was awesome.

Anyway! So this morning Jacob and I left for Idaho to spend the week up here with my parents. It is a great treat. We went to church with them and had a wonderful experience. My parents gave me some of my china and have successfully finished my China set. I am thrilled. Now I just have to figure out where to put it all besides the spare room's closet.

We are really looking forward to seeing everyone this weekend for a little bit and then seeing everyone at conference. It is always nice to be together! We love you guys and look forward to any time that we will get to have with you!

See you soon!
Carrie

Brazuca and the Bednars

Cool video Jacob. ha ha ha, I saw it on TV and thought it was the funniest thing ever! Mom has seen the blog, and I'm going to teach them how to use it tomorrow for Family Home Evening. They wanted me to write on it today and tell you that yesterday we went to Manly Beach, and walked around there for a little while, and then we went to a really good Brazilian restaurant called, "Brazuca". Joseph, Shauna, and I went there and had the best food ever! It was just as good this time. Who ever comes down here next will definitely be treated to Brazuca! Today Elder and Sister Bednar got back into Sydney and we had a big fireside which was broad casted to almost every steak center in Australia. Mom and Dad had me drive around the airport while they went in to find the Bednars, it was pretty cool. The fireside was so good as well. We are excited to see you all so soon!! We only have four days left. I will be bringing the Wii for a rematch in Boxing, Tennis, Baseball.... all of it!

For my brothers....

We don't really watch American Idol, but a friend of mine showed me this video. I think it should be our new 'brothers theme song'.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=t3PMy_V-A_o

Update

Hi everyone,

This is the bird we are taking care of here for a little while. Joseph and Shauna have met him, he's really nice! He loves people so much, but he wont go anywhere near a finger out side of his cage. He is a Peach-faced Lovebird. They are named that because they love company so much, birds or people. He gets very sad when he's alone. That's probably more than you wanted to know about him! Mom and Dad came home today from their week long trip with Elder Bednar. He is a great guy! I hope you all get to meet him!! This Sunday he is doing a huge fireside for all of Australia and Steak Presidents are going to send in questions for him from all of Australia! He wants me to be the guy who run them up to him, but I really don't want to do it, it will be so scary in front of everyone. Mom said he might ask me questions while on camera and stuff. Also, we get back to Utah on the 20th of March. Usually around 7/8 pm. I am having my Eagle Court of Honor on Sunday the 22nd, so that will be fun. You guys don't have to come if its going to be too hard or anything, don't feel pressured! ha ha ha. I think thats all for now. Love,
Jared

Come Home!

Ok everyone, I am very very excited to see everybody. Jacob and Carrie, what day will you get here? And where will you be staying? I don't know if you would prefer the big house or little house but you would for sure be welcome here! Jared, what day do you guys arrive? I guess I know where you are staying hehe, your bed is already made. But let me know the details. My life... not too much going on, a whole bunch of tests and papers this last week, this week will have calmed down a bit but still pretty busy. Jacob, get ready to help me with my finances. Just took test two, lets just say I wanted to cry as I walked out of the testing center (ok maybe i did cry...) Anywho. Let me know whats up!
Chelsea

Thanks ...

Thanks to everyone that is blogging! Jacob re-invited the rest of the fam, so hopefully people will get on the family unity band wagon and start blogging! :) Jared, have you shown the blog to Mom and Dad? Here is the Lubbock update! We are so excited to leave for our spring break which comes next week! We are going to be in Utah for one day and then head up to Idaho for the week. We are so excited to get out of Dodge for a while. Jacob is busy, as you would assume, with school, church, and other jobs that he picks up here and there. He does a lot of great things AND he is spending time exercising AND he even is getting better about coming to sleep earlier. (When we come out to conference, NOBODY can ruin this!!!! Don't corrupt him! Just kidding-kind of.) I am also pretty busy. We had a teacher quit at school--a 2nd grade teacher. So, the other 3rd grade teacher has taken the 2nd grade class and I have both 3rd grade classes in my room. I still only have 19 kids, but it has been pretty difficult getting everyone adjusted to a different classroom dynamic, but I love being with the kids. Well, we hope everyone is doing well. We hope to see more blogging soon! Happy blogging! :)

Carrie with some additions by Jacob

Hey everyone, Mom and dad are gone for the next few days, there in Perth with Elder Bednar. He was in Sydney on Friday, and I got to go to a missionary meeting with him and all the Sydney missionaries, North and South mission. It was one of the coolest meetings I've ever attended! I was borde and just thinking about Christmas! That was so much fun when you were all here, and we watched darts, then went over to the Bailie's! You should all come back. We're excited to go to Utah in 11 days!! Are all of you coming?

These are our new fish, Raider and Cougar. Surprisingly, they are still alive, so we thought that we would introduce them to the rest of the family. They live in separate bowls above our TV. We are working on getting a plant for each container, right now they just hang our and look at us.

They have a little more room than it seems. The containers seem to magnify the fish.

Other than that, all is well. I'm starting a new class on Tuesday, stats, not exciting. But I only have to take one more stats class so I had better get it over with.

Quick Update

Hey Everyone, Thanks Jacob and Carrie for getting this set up!! Its so nice getting to hear from all of you, especially when we are all spread out like this. Congrats Joseph and Shauna on the race! I've trained you well! Dad is in Perth right now doing a short Steak thing, and then he is back for a few days. On Thursday, Elder Bednar is flying in and on Friday they leave for all the Major cities in Australia. They'll be gone about a week, then a few days after that, we all come to Utah!! I think I will be having an Eagel Court of Honor a weekend or two after we get there, but I still have to clear this with Joel. We are excited to see you all very soon!! Good Night.

Aloha Everyone!~

Thanks to Jacob and Carrie for starting the blog! This should be a lot of fun! So Joseph and I are still in California and are heading up to Utah on Thursday. Time to start the real world huh? Haha So I don't know if everyone heard but Joseph and I ran the Great Aloha Run in Hawaii last Monday and it was a ton of fun. Just over 8 miles! And guess what? Joseph got 19th out of......... 26,000 people!!! Isn't that amazing! And he got first in his age group! Cool huh? I won't even tell you how well I did but let's just say there were still a lot of people behind me :o) Well I hope everyone is doing well! Have a great day!


http://www.greataloharun.com/results/2008/overall

Video of Andrew!

Funny link

I just thought I would share a funny video that my brother sent to me. Enjoy. It is pretty funny. Remember, you can sit and get fit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6Z03j0Pwts

Just so you are not alone

Jacob and Carrie,
Since you've obviously put a lot of work into this blog, I figure I should actually write on it. Thanks for doing this, I don't really have anything interesting to say.... so I just wrote this so you wouldn't be the only ones who had written. :)
Love Chelsea!

Sorry for the few mechanical errors ...

Sorry for the few mechanical errors in my last post. I was falling asleep which will probably not come as much of a shock to some of you. It seems that even when I sit down for a moment, I start to doze. I know that it is getting bad when I start falling asleep while teaching, standing up, or reading to my students. So, sorry about that! Have a great day! We love you all and can't wait to hear from all of you on the blog or any other way we can hear from you!

Carrie

Hi everyone!

I just thought I would start off to say Congrats to Joel and Shannon on the new baby. I am anxious to hear her name, which I am sure we won't know for a few months. Anyway! We hope that Joseph and Shauna are getting settled in Utah. Is it nice to be out of school? Jacob & I are doing great. I'll let him write about himself, though. I am also doing well. I have been busy with school stuff. I am working hard with my 3rd graders and I am having a great time. I am also working on building our school library. This week I meet with the public library to see if they can help us start cataloguing books. Anyway! That;s most of what is happening here! We are excited about the bloggin. We think it will be really fun! Talk to you later!!!

Jacob & Carrie

Welcome

Welcome to the family blog. Believe it or not, we want to stay in touch with all of you! We can now post pictures, videos, kind statements about siblings and other stuff. We are working on the creation of a calendar and a few more features that may be useful in the future. We bought the donmain name sybrowsky.com, hopefully, at some point in the future we can link this blog to the domain name and have a real family website. We invite you all to participate, we hope you will. I don't have e-mail addresses for everyone in the family, so please let me know who I missed and we will invite you to join (e-mail me at jacobsybrowsky@gmail.com).