Hi everyone! We hope that you are all doing well. We thought that we’d catch everyone up on what we’ve been up to this last year.
Katie is still the librarian at Mark Twain Elementary School. She has a fantastic job. Part of her responsibilities include reading stories to the children and helping them find books. Anyone who attends her school can tell you that Katie is somewhat of a superstar there. All the students like Katie and treat her just like a celebrity. Whenever one of her students sees her around town they excitedly call out her name and say “hi”. She receives multitudes of compliments too. Often these compliments come first hand from the students. Other times, the kids tell the parents how much they like Katie and then the parents will mention it to Katie when they see her. Among the compliments she has received from her students are that she is beautiful, and looks like a princess and is “cool”. You can’t get better than that! One student told her that she was sorry that she was moving to a new school because she said that the librarian there probably wouldn’t be as cool as Katie. Katie also gets many offers from students to volunteer to help her in the Library during their school recesses. Sometimes they are too young to help her and Katie tells them that they must be in a higher grade. The students then optimistically exclaim “Oh, OK. Next year then!” Of course, we can all understand why the students all like her so much. Katie is a lovely, kind, helpful person with a very likable personality.
When Katie is not working, she finds time to read and work on the fantasy novels she is writing. Katie and I also enjoy reading together. During this past year we have read together The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
I am still working on my Ph.D. studies at the University of California, Riverside. This will be my last year of studies though as I hope to graduate in June, 2009. I am beginning to search for potential employment for after graduation. Right now I am leaning towards a job with a government agency like the Environmental Protection Agency. But I am also applying for industrial and academic positions as well. I still have about 6 months before I graduate, however, so we probably won’t find anything until my graduation date becomes closer.
Opera House in Sydney, Australia
This summer Katie and I went to Australia for two weeks so that I could attend a scientific conference held in Sydney. I presented my research on the potential risk of pyrethroid insecticides to aquatic animals. At the end of the conference, I received an award for the Best Student Poster Presentation. That was exciting. While in Sydney, Katie and I took time to sightsee. We visited the National Maritime Museum, the Sydney Aquarium and Wildlife Park, and of course visited the famous Opera House and saw the Harbour Bridge. We spent about a week in Sydney. After that, we took a train north to Brisbane to visit my brother Shawn, his wife Jane, and their son Leroy, and my sister Maryann who is currently attending film school there. It was fun seeing all of them. Katie and I also went to the Australia Zoo (Home of the Crocodile Hunter). At the zoo we saw some of the famous animals unique to Australia including koalas, kangaroos, and wombats and Tasmanian Devils. Overall, we really enjoyed our trip to Australia. We thought that the places we visited were very beautiful. One drawback to the trip, however, was the higher prices in Australia (due to a weak US dollar). We also weren’t too terribly thrilled with the food there, but it was tolerable.
Wesley and Katie in Brisbane, Australia
This Christmas, Katie and I will be visiting my parents in Pocatello, Idaho and then spending New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day with my brother Nick and his family in San Diego, California.
We wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a very happy New Year!
Love,
Wesley and Katie Hunter
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