Anderson Kid Update

Lots of changes going on with the kids:

Jay and Jaqui are selling their house in North Carolina in anticipation of a move to Parris Island South Carolina. Jay has to report by May 31; he'll be training new recruits on the rifle range. Quite a few folks are looking at the house, but so far no acceptable offers (one or two they didn't take). Baby Jaylin is getting soooo big. She is excited to live even closer to the beach in SC, it's her favorite place, but she also likes to go for stroller rides. Jay and Jaqui have several friends who are currently stationed at Parris, so in a way this move is like going home. They will be living in base housing.

Nate is on his way to Exton, PA where he starts school at the UTI (www.uti.edu) campus on April 22. Exton is located about 20 miles outside of Philly, very near to Valley Forge. We went up to look for housing and last weekend and found Exton to be a lovely suburb complete with big box stores and chain restaurants - which is good for Nate. He'll be looking for a place to work nights (a restaurant) for the year that he is in school. We're so proud of Nate and we're really going to miss him when he moves away from home. Lucky for us he won't be tooo far away and mom has already scoped out some bike trails within the VFNP, so Nate knows to expect a visit.

Josh is stationed at Camp Pendelton, CA - where grandpa Ward became a [Hollywood] Marine. He loves it there, mostly because he is not in boot camp anymore, but also because the most beautiful girls in the world seem to live in California. He's making friends and living in the barracks, but gets out to see San Diego as often as he can. His company will very likely go to Iraq later this year (September?). We'll keep you posted and I'll e-mail Joshua's phone number and address to each of you.

Clay is busy working at Red Lobster and getting ready to take the SAT in preparation for college (he's a Jr. this year). He plans to attend college in Maryland because he wants to be close to his mommy and daddy and most of all his girlfriend (who is a year behind him in school), but then he'll go wherever the best program is. He plans to major in horticulture and be a landscape architect. He may also join the USMC as an officer after college or participate in an ROTC program.

E has decided to be a detective when she grows up. We all think this is a GREAT idea for several reasons. She likes to keep people in line (especially mom - who calls E the "nudgemaster"), is braver than brave and loves to interrogate people. She is applying to the Montgomery County Police Explorer program and is uber focused on her grades --- having figured out that the quickest path to success in her field is a good education and a lot of it!

Joe - in spite several instructions from mommy and daddy not to - is growing up. He recently turned eleven and got a cell phone (I'll e-mail his number too). He is already an expert text messenger and the heir apparent to the nudgemaster. He talks non-stop on his phone with all his cool friends from school. They are busy planning for next year when they will leave elementary school behind for middle school. He is not only getting older, but he just keeps getting taller ... He'll pass E this year and momma next year.