I was born in Vernal, Utah, on October 30, 1967, three years to the day after my older brother David. I don't think David liked the idea of having to share his birthday, as he was caught hitting me with a wet washcloth when I was still very little. Since then we both have decided that sharing a birthday wasn't so bad, and in fact, was rather unique.
My growing up years were spent in Vernal. I never had to ride the bus to school since we lived only a few blocks from the elementary, junior, and high schools. Being the youngest child I did anything I could to be just like the older kids. I hated to be told I couldn't go somewhere or do something because I "wasn't old enough" and it seemed like I would never be old enough to do anything fun like fishing and hunting. Even during our Family Night games I wasn't allowed to play Pit with everyone else, because I wasn't big enough to hold the cards. Whoever won that hand of Pit would have to go in the other room and play Hi-Ho-Cherry-O with me. I finally protested and insisted on being included with the rest of the family games and soon learned to hold cards much bigger than my hands and before too long I could play (and win) with the big kids.
I enjoyed going out to Grandpa Bennett's farm in Glines and feeding the bum lambs and playing in the frog pond. My grandfather, Buell Bennett, cut all of the kids' hair. I must have been particularly wiggly one day as he cut my hair. I now have a small nick missing out of my right ear where Grandpa slipped with the scissors.
Our grandmother on my father's side lived with us in an apartment my father fixed up for her in the basement of our house. Having Granny in the house was a real treat. She was an incredible cook and was always baking bread and rolls. My love for cooking and eating was learned from helping her in the kitchen.
By the time I reached high school the older kids had all moved out of the house and my high school years I spent pretty much as an only child. It was also about that time I figured out that I wanted to have more than just a high school education. So I worked very hard my high school years to get good grades. My hard worked paid off during my senior year as I won Sterling Scholar in Mathematics and a Utah State Presidential Scholarship. The last part of my senior year turned out to be a growing experience. I had oral surgery to correct a bite alignment problem and spent six weeks with my jaws wired shut. Those six weeks would not have been too bad, but all of the plastic and metal in my mouth prevented me from being able to even mumble. I learned a number of things about myself during those weeks, one, I don't need talk and two, I like to sit back and just watch people. I went to the final Sterling Scholar interviews and my senior prom with my jaws wired shut.
After high school I served a mission for the LDS church in Rosario, Argentina. My love and testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ really grew and developed while I was on my mission. I have drawn on my mission experiences many times over the years and I believe that what I learned on a mission will be a part of me for the rest of my life.
Upon returning from Argentina, I attended Utah State University. I had completed most of my freshman year while still in high school, yet I hadn't decided on a major, so I spent my first year of college taking various classes trying to find a field of study that I liked and could make a living at. It was during this time that I met my wife, Jennifer Fox. Jennifer was born August 14, 1971, in Murray, Utah. She is the youngest of six children. She lived in Huntington, Utah until she was 12 and then her family moved to Green River, Wyoming, where she graduated from high school. Jennifer was in her first year at college when we met.
We dated the remainder of the year and were married in the Salt Lake City Temple on September 7, 1990. I finally decided on Accounting as a major and spent the next three years working towards completing my education. I took classes and studied in the mornings and early afternoon and then worked swing shift to earn enough to live on. With Jennifer working, we managed to make enough to pay the bills. Even though we didn't see each other very much, with Jennifer working days and me working swings, it was a nice time to just be together. We occasionally went camping up Logan canyon and especially enjoyed the Tony Grove area. The summer before we were married, my parents started to remodel and expand on a cabin that my Grandfather, Buell Bennett, had built out of mostly scrap material from the construction of Flaming Gorge Dam. The cabin was supposed to only take a couple of years to expand and remodel, but it has turned into ten years. Working on the cabin has been a real learning experience, but I believe that it has strengthened our family ties more than giving us an education in construction.
Our first child, Kaley, was born on May 24, 1993, in Logan, Utah. She brought a lot of joy to our lives. Jennifer was still working when Kaley was born, and continued to work until Kaley was about 8 months old. She hated being away from her baby, it was hard on her. I finished my Bachelor of Arts in Accounting degree later that summer (1993). After working for a cheese packing plant as an inventory controller, for about a year, we decided to take a job a little closer to home (Vernal). I started working in Roosevelt, Utah, as an accountant for Uintah Basin Telephone Association (now UBTA Communications) on July 25, 1994.
We lived in Vernal with Dad and Mom for about four months before purchasing our first home in Roosevelt. We are living at 1216 Birch Circle, Roosevelt, Utah. Since moving in, our family has grown to three children. My wife, Jennifer, is a stay at home mom who enjoys sewing, cooking and being a mother. Jennifer has been serving in the Primary of our ward since we moved in and is now the first counselor in the Primary Presidency. I was called to be the financial clerk in our ward for a little over a year then I served as Gospel Doctrine instructor for three and one half years and now serve in the Elders Quorum Presidency as Secretary. We enjoy being active in our ward and the friendships we have made will last a life time.
Our second child, Alexander Glade Sessions, was born on January 10, 1996 in Roosevelt, Utah. Kaley was two and one half when Alex was born and we wondered how she would like having someone around that took our attention away from her. We were surprised when she started to stutter! Kaley had been talking so clearly and maturely for her age that we just couldn't understand why she was having problems with stuttering. It took us a while to figure out that it was just her reaction to having a sibling and after about two or three months, the stuttering stopped.
Alex has idolized his big sister from the time he could follow her around. We live in a neighborhood with a lot of kids and Alex started going with Kaley to play when he was just two years old. She has always been good about letting him play with her and her friends. Alex has gained his independence from Kaley and is now playing more like a boy does. Our third child, Morgan, was born in Roosevelt, Utah on October 14, 1998. Alex is absolutely in love with Morgan. He has been very attentive and loving with her and she thoroughly enjoys it!
I am still working for UBTA today, although my role has changed from Accountant to more of a computer technician role. Our company was one of the first to bring Internet access to the Uintah Basin and I have been heavily involved in that since its beginning. I now spend most of my time maintaining and running the computer systems.