Exciting Changes

At the tail end of April, Derek graduated with a BS in Neuroscience from BYU. It was many years of hard work, and I'm so very proud of him. During his college years we started dating, got engaged, planned a wedding, got married, struggled through infertility, finally got pregnant, and had a baby. He also worked at least 20 hours a week throughout his college career, and studied and prepared for pharmacy school. I've always admired his drive, and looking back, he really did accomplish a lot with a lot on his plate! It was very stressful at times, and it definitely wasn't easy, but he did it! BYU has been good to us, but we couldn't be more excited to finally be done with that part of our lives.

With that comes the exciting news. Derek was accepted to multiple pharmacy schools all over the country (which didn't surprise me), but we settled on Regis University in Denver, Colorado, and will be moving there in August of this year. It was a tough decision, but based on location, teaching style, tuition costs, and guidance from the Lord, we know it is the right decision.

We have absolutely loved living in the Provo/Orem area, and are so thankful for the great friends we've made here. I also love my current job at O.C. Tanner and have made many friends there, have learned so much, and been given many wonderful experiences and opportunities. It's also been nice that we're so close to most of our family. The culmination of these things makes it very bittersweet that we will be leaving, but we are also so excited to start this next chapter of our journey. Derek is so excited to learn more about being a pharmacist and be that much closer to his dream of working in a hospital (something he's known he wanted to do since he was 12).

I also, despite being sad to leave, am very ready for a change. Growing up, it was rare to be anywhere more than 3-4 years before my family would move somewhere new. Since moving to Provo to attend BYU myself, I have lived in the area for 6 years. Changing apartments made the duration more bearable, but I'm excited for a new place and a new city to explore, and think it will be good for Olivia to experience change and moving as she grows and develops.

With that being said, we're going to try to enjoy this last summer of being so close to friends and family to the fullest before we move and he starts schools back up, so stay tuned for more adventures of the Clarke family.