The Next Chapter...

Let me give you a quick recap of our family adventures, starting with the summer of 2005 when I returned home from Toronto as a missionary.

Summer 2005: All-star employee for DR Winn Construction (Albany, Oregon)

Fall/Winter semesters 2005-06: Sophomore at school at BYUI, Whit a freshman (Rexburg, Idaho)

Summer 2006: Got married in April, packed up the baby blue Taurus and started selling pest control (Columbia, South Carolina)

Fall/Winter 2006-07: Junior at school at BYUI, Whit a Sophomore (Rexburg, Idaho)

Summer 2007: Headed out to lead a team selling pest control, with the legend himself Brandon W. (Santa Clarita, California)

Fall/Winter semesters 2007-08: Senior at school at BYUI, Whit a junior (Rexburg, Idaho)

Summer 2008: Headed off once again, third time is a charm. This time following whit, “The Crafty Intern” to Rip City, to be a solicitor one more time baby! (Portland, OR, p.s.-“Rise With Us”)

Fall semester 2008: Seniors, fboth inishing our last semester at BYUI (Rexburg, Idaho)

December 16, 2008: Move to Missouri to start my career and family with my beautiful bride. Which leads me to my report that I have done on Mizzou. Doing this made me feel like I was in 4^th grade again doing a report, I miss those days.

Missouri facts:

NFL:

St Louis Rams who are 2-10, but thanks to the Detroit Lions are not in last place in the NFC. They do have one of the NFL’s leading rushers, Steven Jackson an Oregon State alumni.

KC Chiefs are also 2-10, but they have the Cincinnati Bengals to thank for taking home the last place in the AFC trophy.

MLB:

St Louis Cardinals missed the playoffs last season, but won the World Series in 2006.

KC Royals are known as the laughing stock of baseball. Last year they surprised some people but still finished well below .500 with 75 wins and 87 loses. Lets just say the last time they went to the playoffs I was a chubby one year old.

NBA:

NONE, that is the second biggest blow to me (more on the biggest blow to come, see the airport section). On the other hand I guess I could claim the newly acquired Thunder in Oklahoma City, formerly known as the Seattle Super Sonics. I think they have two wins now this season!

College’s:

Missouri Tigers: Going to the Big 12 Championship game Saturday hoping to pull off the upset. They have really turned their football program around the last few years. Although I think they are still hurting deep down inside from that heart breaking loss to Oregon State in the Sun Bowl in December of 2006. I just learned that their mascot is “TRUMAN THE TIGER” that just brought a smile to my face. Their colors are black and gold, that and other shades of yellow seem to haunt me wherever I go, I just can’t escape them. Their Rivals = Kansas (known as the Border War), the one Big 12 team I have ever cheered for. BTW, did anyone see that game on Saturday, it was an instant classic. I only see two other problems with MU, number one being their “M” logo on hats and such looks too much like the Michigan “M,” especially if the black hat is faded to dark blue (I wonder if former alumni Lloyd Carr had anything to do with that?), and secondly their fight song reminds me of the Mickey Mouse song every time I hear it. Hear is your ESPN, Did you know about Mizzou? Did you know ESPN anchor John Anderson, was an alumni of MU and competed in the high jump as a student athlete?

Missouri State Bears: formerly known as Southwest Missouri State University. The last time MSU went to the playoffs in football (yes they have playoffs) they lost by six in the first round to Idaho (1990). But they have been known to make some noise on the basketball side of things. They play in the Missouri Valley Conference, and we will see if they can get to the big dance this march. I am contemplating season tickets.

City of Springfield:

Nick Name: The Queen City of the Ozarks

Location: (See Map) Southwest corner of the state

Closet Big Cities: Kansas City 211 miles, St. Louis 216 miles, and Tulsa, OK 183 miles

Other Cities: Portland 2,000 miles, SLC 1,280 miles, Minneapolis 640 miles, Washington DC 1,050 miles

Population: 152,000

Politically: In the last election it was the closet state, but ultimately went to McCain.

Demographics: As of the census of 2000, 64,691 households, and 35,709 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,072.0 people per square mile. There were 69,650 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 91.69% White, 3.27% African American, 0.75% Native American, 1.36% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.88% from other races, and 1.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.31% of the population.

Average Gas Prices (State): $1.58

Average home price (State): $136,000 (nationally $206,000)

Sales Tax: 6.6%

Meet the Neighbors: Median age 34. Completed at least some college 58%. Married 47%. Divorced 11%.

Temperature:

Monthly Normal and Low Temperatures (and Precipitation)

Month	Jan	Mar	May	July	Sept	Nov
Norm High °F	41.6	57.8	75.9	89.9	81.2	56.4
Norm Low °F	21.8	34.9	53.4	67.1	57.4	35.3
Precip (in)	2.11	3.82	4.57	3.56	4.83	4.46

Things to do when you visit: play basketball with Ev, countless outdoor activities, Branson shows and theme parks, golf, tennis, really just too many to list, hang out with Richard.

Chapman’s: Yes, my out-laws live nearby in a new development called Saddlebrooke (between Springfield and Branson). They have Kailey and Alissa still at home, while the two boys are off to college.

Airport: The number one drawback, SWA does not fly to Springfield (SFG). Airlines that do fly to SFG are: American, United, Northwest, Delta, and Allegiant.

Overall, we are very grateful to Rexburg, we have had an amazing time here, both in the gym and outside of the gym. Now we are excited to be moving on to our next journey! I hope that was helpful in educating you on the SHOW ME STATE.

*Special thanks to Wikipedia for most of my information