Christmas Letter

Hello to Friends and Family of John and April Kimball!

We hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season and that you have had a wonderful year! We have been lucky to have a great year full of hard work and good times…although we’ve definitely had our challenges!
Starting out this year, we got back to the old grind attending Utah State in Logan, Utah after a wonderful vacation to Mazatlan, Mexico with the Whatcott family. What a fun trip! It was hard to return to the frozen icebox of Logan, but we managed to get back to work. We had a great Spring Break in March when we went to Zion’s National Park and hiked the famous (or infamous!) Angel’s Landing. It was a fun trip full of hiking, biking, and picnics.
In the following months, April found out that she was admitted to the Elementary Education program and signed up for her first dose of education classes for the fall. She also got the guts to cut her long hair short! John decided at last to join the National Guard and got the process of contracting and joining the university’s ROTC program underway.
As an inspired idea of the Whatcotts, we moved in with them for the summer in Salem, Utah. April was able to help following her mom’s knee-replacement surgery and she also wasn’t alone as John attended his month-long Leadership Training Course in Kentucky for the National Guard. (Plus it was nice to save on rent and food!)
Moving was tough, but with the help of Dad Whatcott, it went well. The summer was fun and beneficial for all. Both John and April found jobs that worked around our other commitments. We had some great vacations for reunions and made many memories, as well as some intense family trials. It was great to be surrounded by family and become closer during these hard times.
It was hard to leave, but we eventually found an apartment and returned to Logan. Getting back to school was refreshing as well as difficult. April began experience in the classroom while attending classes afterwards. John had a full 15 credits with three labs and lots of homework. However, we still managed to make some fun trips, including weekends at the Kimball cabin and visiting Jackson Hole and Grand Tetons National Park to celebrate one great year together.
As of October, there is also a new edition to the Kimball family! His name is Rocky the rabbit. He earned his name after proving he is an excellent boxer…at least when you stick your hand in his cage. He’s a Netherland Dwarf bunny with really soft grey fur and he’s a great buddy to have around.
So now here we are, glad to be done with another semester and getting ready to celebrate our first snowy Christmas together here in the U.S. of A. It’s been fun putting up our own Christmas tree and decorating a little, even though we are headed to Mom and Dad Kimballs’ to celebrate. We are also excited to go to Tijuana on a service trip for a week following Christmas with a group from the university! It is an exciting opportunity to serve and give to those that are in need.
Overall, it has been a wonderful year with many of life’s ups and downs. We are grateful for all the wonderful friends and family in our lives, we couldn’t do it without you! We hope you enjoy this wonderful season and that this next year treats you well.

Warm Wishes,
John and April Kimball