Soon to be both! Today is Dale's Professional Engineer Test. He already took one major test in his career, the Fundamentals of Engineering test four years ago after completing engineering school at USU. To get his license, he has to work as a staff engineer for 4 years to get "real world" experience. Then he has to take his PE. That day is today! I can't believe it. I'm so proud of him. He has been preparing for this test for years, and been studying for it for months. This is a major step in his career, similar to the bar exam for lawyers. It is an 8 hour gruel-fest test. He took 2 three-ring binders (the big ones), a calculator (which we had to buy. I have bought that boy more calculators over the years... ;) ) and two huge text books. He says he is organized and as "ready as he can be". He got a blessing last night from our home teacher, and he feels calm and ready to go.
For giggles, let's take a quick look back five years ago, shall we? This is Dale's senior project--Build a canoe out of concrete that will float. He did it, and here's the proof! (These pics are not great. They are pre-digital, practically from the dinosaur era! My scanner didn't do a great job with the matte finish. Oh, well. We get the idea, right?)
It's kind of hard to tell from the picture below, but the canoe in the front is from BYU. The canoe in the back is USU. BYU is going the right direction. USU is heading exactly 90 degrees away from the right direction. If it weren't for the slightly crooked tip of the canoe, USU would have had an excellent chance to go to Nationals. (Did you know there is a National Concrete Canoe contest? Talk about May Madness!) There has to be a glue-in opportunity here, Dad!
According to my recollection, USU had one of the only canoes that floated. That means that they the canoe all the way under the water till it sinks and then see if it floats to the top again. Dale did the mix design, (that's the junk you put in concrete to make it do what you want it to do, like be strong or heavy, or cheap, or not crack, or float. Normally that would be rocks and cement. Dale's included sand and glass bubbles) and the fact that he was unsinkable enabled him to achieve his crowning achievement in the USU College of Engineering, his career, and possibly his life! (Just ask him. He'll go on for hours about aggregates and properties of this and that. I've heard it a million times; unfortunately for DaleI tune out at the word, "aggregate". Smile and nod, smile and nod! :)
It may be lighter than water, but it's sure not lighter than air! Too bad the pic didn't scan well, Dale's really feeling the weight, and its shown all over his face. hHIYA!
Rub-a-Dub dub, three kids in a concrete canoe! Aren't my babies cute? There were three back then. Sarah is sporting the haircut she gave her self that was to the scalp. Again, you can't really see it, but this is after several months of growth! I remember having to put pink gel in it so it looked like she had any hair at all. That's what you get for being blonde and scissor happy (She also got to Rebecca's, but hers was salvagable). Remember the day she emptied an extra-large size tub of vaseline all over her crib, her walls, and her hair? She looked like she had never seen a bathtub for months afterwards. As it turns out, it's really hard to get 2 cups of grease out of your hair. I don't recommend it for anyone. I still can't handle the smell (or feel) of vaseline after that!
Good job, Dale, I'm proud of you. You've taught me perserverance. You've taught me about the difference between "concrete" and "cement". You've taught me what happens after you flush the toilet. You've taught me how to float. You've taught me that sometimes the path to the finish line takes a few unintentional turns. I love you, and I'm so happy I married you 10 years, one week, and one day ago. Stuck like cement to you! (how romantic...)
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