Age: 38
Occupation: Systems Engineer and Full Time Dad (professional barbequer, sports announcer, Jungle Gym, Taste-Tester, Barber, Cheerleader, Piano Teacher, Math Teacher, Coach, Mechanic, and Tech Support)
Education: A.S. (Snow College, 2004), B.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering (BYU, 2006), PhD in Electrical Engineering (BYU, 2011), MBA (NMSU, 2015)
Ancestry: Caucasian-Western European
Interests and Hobbies
Sports:Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Racquetball, Snowboarding, Swimming, Working out, Wake boarding
Outdoors: Boating, Hiking, Camping, ATV riding, Fishing, Hunting/Clay Pigeon, Traveling/Site Seeing
Repair and Maintenance: Computers, Cars, Home,etc.
Miscellaneous: Playing with the kids (my all time favorite), Reading
Background:
I grew up most of my life in a big family in a small town. My dad (Nolan) was the high school science (chemistry, physics, biology) teacher and my beautiful mother (Sharon) was the perfect home-maker. I had awesome parents who cared about us more than I will ever know. They spent so much time with all of us it amazes me when I look back on my childhood. These two wonderful people taught me to work, play, and love the Lord.
I am the third of ten children. My beautiful sister Deanne is the oldest and cute little Jamie is the youngest. All of the boys in between are Dane, Me, Brian, Jared, Brent, Tyson, Jason, and Justin.
Michael's Family
I loved growing up in a big family. I was never bored and always had someone to hang out with. My brothers and I did everything together as kids (and we still get together as often as possible). We invented games, played sports, went exploring all over the countryside, build forts, and did just about anything we could talk our parents into letting us do (and a few things we couldn't). We had so much fun together as a family.
As a child I was somewhat of an instigator. I was frequently in trouble and taking down anyone I could with me. As I grew up I became less of a pest and began focusing my energy on athletics and education. I was on the baseball, basketball, cross country, and track teams in high school (one of the many benefits of a small town).
When I was in my early adolescence I worked my summers in the melon fields hoeing and picking watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, and other varieties of melon. My Junior year in high school I got a job working at Hatt's Ranch (Hatt's Ranch is a family owned pheasant ranch just outside of Green River). I loved working there. It was so interesting to see all that went into breeding, gathering and incubating eggs, and raising pheasants. During the peak hatch times we would hatch upwards of 40,000+ chicks in one day. It's kind of interesting that a country boy growing up working in the fields would end up as an Electrical Engineer.
After high school I spent two years studying at Snow College where I met my wonderful wife Kristen and life has been good ever since.
Kristen talking about Michael...
Michael is always smiling, laughing or telling me one of his stories. He is a huge tease! Many people are drawn to him because of his natural happiness and sincere concern for others. Friends and family members often confide in Michael because he is good listener, is trustworthy and he likes to just sit down to talk to you for hours. Sometimes I tease him that he is the girl in our relationship because he likes to talk so much. Michael is a hard worker and a good provider. I am so thankful for that because it allows me to be able to be a stay-at-home mom. I think that some of Michael's most valuable traits are that he is unspoiled, unselfish and is always willing to try harder to change his weaknesses. Oh and did I mention that he likes to talk…all the time.
Because Michael grew up in such a large family he has had a lot of experience with children. When we first adopted our sweet Jayla it was so fun to see how easily he fell into the role of dad. I’ve never seen him happier than when he holds our girls. Michael always seemed to know how to get Jessa and Kellan to smile and magically he can kiss Jayla's "owies" better so she can return to her happy little self again. My favorite thing to do is to watch Michael play with our kids. They have him wrapped around their tiny little fingers. The first thing that he says when he comes home from work is, “Where are the kids?” Then he literally mauls them with hugs and kisses…poor kids, although I think they are finally getting used to it.
My all time favorite character trait about Michael is his love for the gospel. He is always trying to set goals for our family and setting goals for himself so that he can aid in making family life more comfortable for me. I never told Michael this, but when we were dating I remember thinking to myself that if I married this guy I knew that he would make my role as a wife and a mother easier because of how supportive, hardworking, and unselfish he is. Well, I was right.
