Christmas Card Blog Style

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE CALDERS

This has been a busy and exciting year for us. In March we went back east for a Spring Break trip. We had the opportunity to spend time with good friends and Ryan finally got to see the east cost. We spent a week in Rhode Island, Boston and New York City. We had such a great trip. In August we went to Washington DC with my family and grandmother. We had never been to DC and we loved it. There is so much history there and it really instilled in us a sense of patriotism. Lastly, we are finishing up our final year of school to complete our Bachelor's degrees. Both of us plan to graduate in May and couldn't be more excited.

Ryan: Ryan was recently called to serve as the Elder's Quorum President in our ward. He has been very busy, but has loved the opportunity to serve and get to know everyone in our ward. Ryan has also been working hard to finish his Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering with a Math Minor. He currently has a 4.0 GPA in his electrical engineering courses. Ryan is currently working at the Energy Dynamics Laboratory in Logan. He is working on improving the efficiency of wireless power so that it can be used to power electric vehicles. He recently completed his senior design project which included the creation of a wireless power demo that powered a 100 w light bulb. Ryan also sent in applications to graduate school. He has applied to Utah State University, MIT, UC-Berkeley, and University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also applied for a graduate research fellowship through NSF. In January he will be interviewing with NAVAIR. We looked forward to where this next year will take us and Alyssa is so proud of all that he has accomplished.

Alyssa: Alyssa was released as a Primary teacher and has been called to serve as the choir pianist and ward chorister. Alyssa enjoys to opportunity to improve her piano skills and likes organizing the music for sacrament meeting. Alyssa is currently working on her senior project that will be completed in May. Her group is working on designing a gel with silver that can help overcome antibiotic resistant bacteria. This year she will present her research at the National Institute of Biological Engineering conference and at Research Day on Capital Hill in Salt Lake City. She will also graduate in May with a Bachelor's degree in Biological Engineering with a Chemistry Minor. Alyssa has a 3.96 GPA here at Utah State University. Alyssa plans to look for biological engineering jobs upon graduation.

Thank you for your continued love and support. We want to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Love, the Calders

Ryan's Senior Project

Last night the Electrical Engineering department had a demo night for all of the seniors to present their senior projects. It was so fun to see Ryan's project. He is so glad to have the project completed. He did such a good job and I am so proud of all the hard work he has put in this semester.

His project was a wireless power demo. Ryan and his partner Dan were able to power a 100 W light bulb. This is the first time that wireless power has been done in Utah and this is truly Ryan's passion.

Girls Night Out

Last weekend Ryan had a final from 6 pm to Midnight so Perla, Michelle and I got together to celebrate the fact that we all turned 21. Perla and I both turned 21 in December but Michelle had been waiting since January to celebrate with us. We went out to dinner, did some shopping and went and saw Tangled. It was a cute show and it was fun to watch a Disney movie again. I absolutely love these girls and am so lucky to have them as friends.

Christmas Devotional

On Sunday December 5th we went to the First Presidency Christmas devotional at the conference center in Salt Lake City. We drove down with our neighbors and my brother. In Salt Lake we met up with Ryan's family to watch the devotional together. The Tabernacle choir sounded amazing and it was great to hear from the First Presidency in a more relaxed setting. In President Monson's talk he mentioned three stories that he reads during Christmas time. One of them was The Mansion by Henry Van Dyke. Ryan and I recently finished this story and we really liked it. I would recommended it to anyone looking for a Christmas story to read. After the devotional we went and looked a the lights on temple square. I absolutely love Christmas lights and I was like a kid in a candy store. My favorite part is the reflecting pool and this bright orange tree just south of the temple. We had a great time and it was fun to be able to see family!

Birthday

I have gotten really behind in blogging, but the end of the semester can do that to you. Anyways, my birthday was two weeks ago. I am now officially 21! That day Ryan had set up a massage for me. After that we went to dinner at Elements. That night we went and saw Forgotten Carols. Forgotten Carols definitely puts me in Christmas spirit. Overall it was a great day! It was so nice to have a break from the stresses of work and school and be spoiled for a day.